May 11, 2008
ACROSS THE POND: BRITISH MMA NEWS

Cage Rage 26: Extreme Results
By David West

If Randy Couture is Captain America, Ian Freeman must be Captain Britain. Coming out of retirement at 40 to challenge Paul Cahoon for his old British light-heavyweight title, Freeman snubbed his nose at Father Time and gave Cahoon a lesson in ground and pound for three rounds to reclaim his belt. Despite being ten years the senior, Freeman looked in much better shape than the defending champion and as the fight progressed, his conditioning allowed him to maintain constant aggression and emphatically shut down Cahoon. There was some bravado from Cahoon in round one, responding to Freeman’s strikes on the ground by yelling at him for more, but Freeman was only too happy to oblige. Freeman’s superior wrestling let him escape whenever he was on the bottom before Cahoon could score and kept him in control when he was on top, denying Cahoon any chance to use his Muay Thai. With the crowd cheering him on, Freeman won all three rounds to put himself back on top of the British 205 pound division.

Freeman Pounding Cahoon

Che Mills won the vacant British welterweight belt by stopping Marius Zaromskis on a cut. Zaromskis found how Dangerous Mills is on the outside, taking some hard punches early in round one that opened up a cut under his right eye. Zaromskis responded by working in the clinches and taking the fight to the floor, but with a deep cut right on his tear duct he couldn’t continue after the first round.

Mills won’t have to look far for his first defence with Ross Pointon hollering “Where’s my belt?” after tapping out Ross Mason. Expectations of a kickboxing match were quickly dispelled as they hit the floor early. Mason attempted an arm bar from his back, Pointon responded with his own arm bar, then snatched a leg and furiously cranked on a heel hook that brought the tap out. Pointon’s ground game has improved beyond all recognition and he looks to be a major force in the British welterweight ranks in the future.

Pointon Applying the Painful Submission to Mason

Matt Ewin kept his British middleweight belt, using his trademark ground and pound style to rough up the very durable Mark Epstein in a tough three round battle. Epstein showed he’d done his homework by taking Ewin down to start round one, not waiting for Ewin to shoot. However, Ewin tied up well from his back and was adept at reversing and keeping top position throughout the match. He’s able to generate jarring power with his strikes on the floor and has the cardio to maintain continuous pressure that takes its toll mentally and physically on his opponents. Epstein gamely stayed the course and tried to turn the tide, but Ewin took the unanimous decision after dominating the wrestling and landing the heavier strikes.

Brad Pickett and Paul Reed had a thrilling back and forth battle for three rounds in a very competitive match. Reed made excellent use of his jab throughout the fight, opening a cut on Pickett’s eyebrow, and scored with knees when he caught Pickett in a head and arm hold, but Pickett staggered Reed with a hook thrown off his jab in round one and knocked him down with a flying knee in round three to cinch the majority decision in one of the best matches of the night.

Marc Goddard was out to avenge his submission defeat to Henrique “Chocolate” Nogueira in their light-heavyweight meeting, but had to settle for a draw. Noguiera was determined to take the fight to the canvas, but had to work very hard for every takedown and Goddard tied him up tight as a vice on the ground and never gave Nogueira any openings to set up strikes or submissions. Goddard scored one knockdown with an uppercut and was able to land some solid punches when on top of Nogueira, but the final result was a draw.

Harvey Harra looked ferocious in dismantling Gary Kelly. Harra picked his opponent apart in the standing exchanges; fluidly mixing kicks in with his fast hands before finishing with a triangle after a bloodied Kelly took him down. Hopefully we’ll see more of this impressive lightweight soon.

Pickett (l) and Reed Exchanging Strikes

Full Results

Ian Freeman def. Paul Cahoon by Unanimous Decision
Che Mills def. Marius Zaromskis by TKO (doctor stoppage – cut) after R1
James Zikic def. Rodney Glunder by Arm Bar 0:25 R3
Ross Pointon def. Ross Mason by Heel Hook 1:36 R1
Matt Ewin def. Mark Epstein def. Unanimous Decision
Marc Goddard DRAW Henrique Nogueira
Brad Pickett def. Paul Reed by Majority Decision
Popek Rak def. Kev Simms by TKO (referee stoppage – strikes) 1:12 R1
Chris Rice def. Edgelson Lue by TKO (referee stoppage – strikes) 1:35 R3
Harvey Harra def. Gary Kelly by Triangle 3:46 R1

May 11, 2008
DREAM 3 RESULTS
Alvarez Defeats Hansen in Thriller, Uno Upsets Ishida
By Kelsey Mowatt

The Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, hosted the third offering from the relatively new promotion Dream today, and although the card featured bouts from several weight divisions, the event’s main emphasis was the lightweights. Highlighting the card was the second round of the promotion’s Lightweight Grand-Prix which got underway on March 15th, with notable competitors like Eddie Alvarez, Joachim Hansen, Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Mitsuhiro Ishida all advancing to Sunday’s second round.

In one of the tournament’s most anticipated match-ups, up-and-coming American lightweight Eddie Alvarez, took on Norway’s highly regarded Joachim Hansen. Round one would unfold in the manner many MMA fans thought, as the two noted strikers were more than willing to test the other fighter’s abilities standing. Although Hansen demonstrated remarkable recovery abilities, the Pride veteran was floored, not once, but twice by hard right hooks from Alvarez. When Hansen did appear to land a telling blow, Alvarez fell back to his wrestling and took Hansen to the mat, leaving few doubts that the Philadelphia fighter won round one.

Alvarez

Round two saw more of the action take place on the mat, and Hansen had Alvarez on the defensive for much of it, with a series of submission attempts. Despite the fluidity of Hansen’s ground game, Alvarez remained composed, and nicely rolled out of several Kimura and armbar attempts. With one minute left in the bout Alvarez worked his way back to his feet and began his pursuit of Hansen once again. Seconds before the final bell sounded the American landed a high kick to the head of Hansen, one that if it had come from a fresher Alvarez earlier in the bout, might have ended the fight instantly. In the end, the judge’s awarded Alvarez the Unanimous Decision victory, sending the American lightweight on to the next round.

In another all-star match-up between two of Japan’s more notable lightweight fighters, Mitsuhiro Ishida faced off against Caol Uno. Although Uno has had a long and successful career, many had Ishida as the favorite, in part, due to the fact he defeated top ten ranked Gilbert Melendez by Unanimous Decision at Yarennoka’s New Year’s Eve event.

For much of round one it appeared that an upset might be in the making, as Uno kept the renowned wrestler in Ishida at bay with kicks and punches, while stuffing several of his opponent’s takedown attempts. Finally as the round neared its end, Ishida was finally able to get Uno to the mat, eventually attempting a rear-naked-choke that Uno nicely defended.

In round it wouldn’t take long for Uno to complete his upset bid. After failing to take Uno down with another shot from the outside, Ishida swung around to Uno’s back, however, the crafty veteran quickly reversed the position and took Ishida’s back instead. From there, Uno worked in a fight ending rear-naked-choke, serving notice to the MMA world that he has plenty of fight left in him.

In the other second round lightweight match-up, Tatsuya Kawajiri worked his way to Unanimous Decision victory over Luis Buscape, to advance to the tourney’s semi-finals. The winner of the June 15th bout between Shinya Aoki and Katsuhiko Nagata will determine the tournament’s last semi-finalist.

In a welterweight match-up featured on the card; Elite XC fighter Nick Diaz took on Japan’s Katsuya Inoue. In typical Diaz fashion, as soon as the opening bell sounded, the Stockton fighter began to stalk Inoue around the ring while landing punches to his opponent’s body and head. Despite the frenetic pace being set by Diaz, Inoue remained defiant, and landed several of his own shots in return. Eventually Diaz began to overwhelm Inoue as the opening round neared its end, and after several hard left-right combos to Inoue that dazed the Japanese fighter considerably, his corner threw in the towel to bring a halt to the action.

At middleweight, Jason “Mayhem” Miller took on Katsuyori Shibata, with the winner set to advance to the second round of Dream’s Middleweight Grand-Prix. After some early showboating from Miller and a fierce striking exchange to begin the bout, the American fighter took Shibata to the mat. From there Miller dominated the action, eventually securing the crucifix position, where he battered Shibata’s face with punches and knees. Although Shibata would eventually escape from the precarious position, Miller soon regained full mount, and after landing several hard right hands from above, the referee jumped in to save Shibata from any further punishment.

In an alternate bout for Dream’s Middleweight Grand-Prix; Melvin Manhoef took on Dae Won Kim. Although many would have expected Manhoef to dominate the action standing, it would be Kim early on who dazed the feared striker with a hard right hand. From there, although Kim promptly took Manhoef to the mat and began to work from sidemount, the Dutch fighter remained calm and eventually worked his way out from underneath. Now, with Manhoef working from above in sidemount, the Hero’s veteran landed a cracking right knee to the head of his opponent that dazed Kim considerably. Several follow up hammer fists from Manhoef gave the referee no choice but to stop the action at 4:08 of the first round.

Dream 3 Full Results

Eddie Alvarez def. Joachim Hansen by Unanimous Decision
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Luis Buscape by Unanimous Decision
Caol Uno def. Mitsuhiro Ishida by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:38, R2
Nick Diaz def. Katsuya Inoue by TKO 6:45, R1
Daisuke Nakamura def. Bu Kyung Jung by KO 1:19, R2
Melvin Manhoef def. Dae Won Kim by TKO 4:08, R1
Jason Miller def. Katsuyori Shibata by TKO 6:57, R1
Takeshi Yamazaki def. Shoji Maruyama by Unanimous Decision

May 10, 2008
USFL: WAR IN THE WOODS III
McGreal Steals the Show, Olsen Doesn’t Disappoint

By Derek Constable

LEDYARD, Ct. -- Despite many changes to the fight card just days before fight night, the United States Fight League put on its best show to date on Friday, as the organization scheduled about a half dozen professional fights alongside four amateur bouts and three grappling exhibitions.

Brian Olsen, a veteran of World Extreme Cagefighting and native to New London, Ct., returned to fight in his home state after two shots North across the border to Canada where he competed in Ultimate Generation Combat 16 and 17.

Olsen was well received by the crowd and took care of business as he dismantled Fernando Perez with two solid takedowns and some heavy shots to body as well as the head. In under two minutes, Olsen pummeled Perez into submission, as he continuously attacked the head of his opponent from side mount. Perez could only manage to use a single arm as a shield while getting beat on his back and made it easy for the referee to call a stop to the action at 1:41of Round One and award the win to Olsen by technical knockout.

The fight of the night came in the featherweight division as the undefeated Pat McGreal took on Barrington Douse, a tough kid from Springfield who growled at McGreal from start to finish like an angry dog staring down the mailman.

On paper, McGreal looked to be the favorite -- a 4-0 fighter with excellent cardio and wins by both TKO as well as submission against an 0-2 fighter with not much of a reputation -- but Douse won over the crowd after a hard fought second round that ended with a strong arm bar attempt near the end of the round. McGreal made it through the final 10 seconds of Round Two but any longer and he may have entered Round Three with a broken arm.

In Round Three it was anyone’s game. Both fighters needed to finish strong and go for broke rather than play it safe and try to win on any scorecards. McGreal tried a flying knee to Douse’s midsection at the beginning of the final round, but it didn’t land quite where he wanted it to and the result instead was an illegal low blow.

Douse took a few moments to catch his wind and then came right back at McGreal with bad intentions, but the scrappy red-head from Team Bombsquad prevailed with a brilliant knockout by spinning back fist. McGreal connected with a heavy haymaker as soon as the fight resumed after the low blow, but Douse ate the shot and tried to chase McGreal into a corner with kicks and punches. McGreal instead circled left and delivered the most beautiful spinning back fist since Shonie Carter and Matt Serra.

“I’ve been fighting for awhile now and I’ve submitted a guy, I’ve won by TKO, but it’s an awesome feeling to get a win by a pure knockout,” McGreal said. “It feels really, really good.”

Will Kerr, the Untamed Welterweight Champion, added a new title belt to his collection after he defeated Ricardo Funch for the USFL Grappling Championship, 5-4, in the third match of the evening. As usual, Team Link of Ludlow, Ma., was on a tear taking two of the first three grappling exhibitions by submission. Alexandre Moreno defeated Josh Hesser by rear naked choke and Gabriel Santos defeated Julio Feliciano by arm triangle -- so it up to Kerr to sidetrack the train known as Team Link.

It was the only grappling contest to go the distance and as usual their were some different opinions from the corners on the scoring for takedowns, passes and submission attempts, but Kerr won by an extremely close margin and continues to showcase his own unique brand of grappling at each and every War in the Woods event.

He doesn’t quite approach his opponents as a jiu-jitsu guy or a wrestler, but as a grappler in the truest sense of the word -- he uses leverage, power and position to always stay in the optimal place for success.

Jon Jones who won his first three pro fights while fighting three weekends in a row, made it four wins in five weeks as he delivered yet another knockout in just his first month as a professional mixed martial artist. This week he faced Ryan “Big Country” Verrett, a native of Connecticut who requested no knees or elbows just hours before the fight and yet forgot about the rules himself long enough to hit Jones square in the groin with a low knee.

Jones took about a minute’s rest to recover and then decided if knees and elbows weren’t allowed he’d just finish Verrett the old fashioned way … with his own two hands.

He stalked Verrett for a few seconds after the low blow, ate a small leg kick, and then Jones let loose a right cross with the force of a teenager decapitating mailboxes with a Louisville slugger. Verrett fell to the floor immediately and just like he did in his pro debut, Jones threw his arms in the air out of pure joy and excitement.

Then with his hands raised in victory, he noticed Verrett begin to sit up and quickly snuffed out any desire ‘Big Country’ may have had left to compete. A left, a right and a one final left were thrown before the ref intervened and awarded Jones his fourth consecutive win in just five weeks.

WWIII had amateur knockouts, there were pro knockouts and two out of three grappling contests ended decisively by tapouts not decisions. It’s not easy to put together a winning fight card just days before an event, but the USFL has continued to prove that no matter what obstacles are thrown their way -- the show must go on. After all it doesn’t matter who didn’t show up or pass a physical exam, all that really matters is the talent that does make it in the ring on fight night.

Final results

Main Event

Brian Olsen def. Fernando Perez by TKO 1:41 R1.

Pros

Jon Jones def. Ryan Verrett by KO 2:58 R1.
Reggie Higgins def. Kym Sturdivant by Key Lock 1:21 R1.
Chris Simmons def. Matt Smith by Triangle 2:20 R1.
Pat McGreal def Barrington KO :42 R3.

Amateurs

Sean Cahill def. James Malvesti by Unanimous Decision [30-26, 30-27, 30-27].
Dan Conway def. Zack Mayo by Guillotine :31 R1.
TJ Hepburn def. Joe West by Armbar 2:48 R1.
Nick Sergicomi def. Mike Bryant by Americana 2:47 R1.

USFL Grappling Championship:
Will Kerr def. Ricardo Funch, 5-4. (1 x 5 min Rd.)

Grappling

Alexandre Moreno def. Josh Hesser by RNC 1:42 R1.
Gabriel Santos def. Julio Feliciano by Arm Triangle 3:27 R1.

May 10, 2008
RING OF COMBAT RESULTS
Catone Crowned Champ at Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat 19
by Jim Genia

(May 9th, Tropicana Casino & Resort, Atlantic City) It was business as usual at Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat 19, with crowd-pleasing knockouts, smooth submissions and hard-fought battles the order of the evening. Highlights of the night included:

Stanco rains down strikes on Berracol

• The face-punching party between Anthony LaDonna and Mike Medrano. In the end, LaDonna rocked Medrano good, but Medrano returned the favor with a dramatic knockout.
• Dave Branch’s dominant performance over the very tough Alexis Aquino. You have to be a real badass to finish Aquino, and with his sharp striking and solid clinch, a badass is apparently what Branch is.
• Constantinos Phillippou’s heavy hands, which he used to punish the heck out of Ricardo Romero. Romero took the split decision thanks to his wrestling, experience and heart, but Phillippou really took it to him.
• Nick Catone’s star performance over Mitch Whitesel. The two were pretty evenly matched in the wrestling department, so Catone turned up the heat with strikes to get the stoppage – and earn himself a championship belt.

Full results:

Anthony Morrisson (Rhino Fight Team-156lbs) vs. Eddie Fyvie (Spa City BJJ-155lbs)
Fyvie via triangle choke at 3:47 of Round One.

Joe Diamond (AC MMA-193lbs) vs. Bill Scott (BJJ Shore Academy/Ricardo Almeida-190lbs)
Scott via armbar at 1:54 of Round Two.

Anthony Vetro (Inazuma Te Ryu-198lbs) vs. “Crazy” Chris Schlesinger (Soca/Bellmore Kickboxing-188lbs)
Schlesinger via rear naked choke at :47 of Round Two.

Mike Medrano (Rhino Fight Team-171lbs) vs. Anthony LaDonna (Serra/Longo-170lbs)
Medrano via KO (punch) at 1:22 of Round Two.

Alexis Aquino (Rhino Fight Team-186lbs) vs. Dave Branch (Team Renzo/Insight-185lbs)
Branch via referee stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 3:29 of Round One.

Dom Stanco (Bellmore Kickboxing-175lbs) vs. Mark Berraciol (BJJ Shore Academy/Ricardo Almeida-174lbs)
Stanco via referee stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 3:21 of Round Two.

Doug Gordon (Team Rush/Elite BJJ-179lbs) vs. LeVon Maynard (Global Martial Arts-178lbs)
Gordon via referee stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 2:15 of Round One.

Ricardo Romero (Advanced Martial Arts-205lbs) vs. Constantinos Phillippou (Serra/Longo-205lbs)
Romero via split decision.

USKBA Middleweight Championship
Nick Catone (BJJ Shore Academy/Ricardo Almeida-185lbs) vs. Mitch Whitesel (WreckRoom-185lbs)
Catone via referee stoppage due to unanswered strikes at 2:27 of Round One.

May 9, 2008
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May 9, 2008
ACROSS THE POND: BRITISH MMA NEWS

Cage Rage 26 – Extreme Preview
By David West

Tomorrow night the biggest name in British MMA will face the toughest test in a career that has hitherto gone from strength to strength. It’s not a fighter under pressure tomorrow, but Cage Rage itself. While the promotion has distinguished itself as Britain’s most successful domestic MMA brand, it has always been firmly rooted in London, but Cage Rage 26 will be the first Cage Rage show held in Birmingham, away from the familiar stomping grounds of Wembley. If that wasn’t enough, it will be the first event without Andy Geer, who has left the promotion in the hands of his co-founder Dave O’Donnell.

Freeman

The card is almost exclusively made up of British fighters – all three title fights on the bill are for British belts, headlined by the light-heavyweight title contest between Ian “The Machine” Freeman, coming out of another short-lived retirement, to face reigning champion Paul Cahoon. Both men hold decision wins over former champion Mark Epstein and both have fallen victim to the heavy hands of Melvin Manhoef. Freeman has the edge in experience and his ground and pound put Frank Mir to sleep back at UFC 38, so he’ll probably look for the takedown and try to finish Cahoon on the canvas. Cahoon’s lethal right hand was showcased when he dropped Elvis Sinosic with one Exocet missile of an overhand right at Cage Rage 24. Cahoon honed his Muay Thai skills training in Holland with Team Golden Glory so he’ll likely look to stay on his feet and make Freeman pay for every takedown attempt. Freeman looked in amazing shape when he was at the SENI Martial Arts Expo two weeks ago so this one should be explosive.

Fighting for the British welterweight title vacated by Paul Daley, Marius Zaromskis will look to avenge his defeat to Che Mills. A precise kickboxer who can throw brutal kicks with either leg, Zaromskis will have to find his way inside the taller Mills long reach. The cousin of Mark Weir, Mills has knockout power in his long arms and in their first encounter, at Contenders 2, he KO’d Zaromskis with a perfectly timed knee to the chin. While Zaromskis has improved considerably since, with highlight reel performances against Ross Mason and Damien Riccio, no one has been able to last a single round with Mills in his last five wins (discounting one no-contest). Mills has to be the favourite, leaving it up to Zaromskis to go for the upset win.

Holland’s Rodney Faverus has superb stand-up but like too many kickboxers, his ground game has never been the equal of his striking. His opponent tomorrow will be London’s James Zikic who is tough as old boots and has shown an inhuman ability to soak up abuse and come back slugging. Zikic has fought in MMA, boxing and K-1 so he’ll no doubt be only too happy to stand and trade with Faverus, but Zikic has never been big for the division and Faverus may be able to rough him up in the clinches. Coming off four losses Faverus needs the win, while a victory for Zikic could earn him a crack at the winner of Cahoon-Freeman for the British title.

Two popular welterweights clash when Ross Mason takes on Ross Pointon. Mason got back on track with a TKO of Henrique Santana after dropping three in a row, while Pointon was unlucky to get stopped on a nasty cut in his last fight against Marius Zaromskis. Pointon has showed a markedly improved skill set in all areas of his game in recent outings, but there must be a question mark hanging over him about whether he’ll get cut again. Mason has great Muay Thai and should be well matched with Pointon’s San Shou kickboxing background, but if Mason can re-open the scar tissue on Pointon’s forehead, Pointon may find his career facing another setback.

Pointon Will Face Mason at Cage Rage 26

Looking to claim his third Cage Rage title, Mark Epstein continues working his way down the weight divisions to challenge British middleweight champ Matt Ewin. Epstein throws big bombs and loves to let fly with his left hook, but stylistically he’ll have his hands full with Ewin, who will look for the takedown and work his ground and pound. Epstein will be fighting not just for the title, but for the pride of his team London Shootfighters. Ewin has made a habit of collecting the scalps of London Shootfighters’ members – he holds wins over Suley Mahmoud, Gaz Rorison, Sol Gilbert and Alex Reid. His style may not be spectacular, but he possesses great strength, prodigious cardio and will test Epstein’s resolve to the limit. Expect this one to become a test of wills that will go the distance with Ewin probably taking the nod.

After taking a break in 2006, Marc Goddard returned to action dropping down from heavyweight to light-heavyweight and disposed of his first two opponents in his comeback, Ivan Serati and Tony Bentley, by TKO. He’ll be out for revenge against the Wolfslair’s Henrique Nogueira who beat him by guillotine when they fought at Cage Warriors back in 2005. Goddard has looked revitalised since moving down to 205 but he’ll have to sprawl and brawl and stay wary of Nogueira’s submissions.

Popular featherweight Brad Pickett returns to Cage Rage to face Paul Reed, who is coming off his unsuccessful title bid against Emanuel Fernandez at FX3. Reed has tasty ground and pound, but Pickett is notoriously difficult to hold down. Reed’s biggest win to date was over BJJ black belt Alexandre Izidro, but Pickett’s much more well rounded than Izidro and he loves to throw punches in bunches. Pickett should be able to scramble out of danger on the floor and gradually wear down Reed with pressure on the feet.

Full Fight Card:

Ian Freeman vs. Paul Cahoon
Che Mills vs. Marius Zaromskis
Rodney Faverus vs. James Zikic
Ross Mason vs. Ross Pointon
Mark Epstein vs. Matt Ewin
Henrique Nogueira vs. Marc Goddard
Paul Reed vs. Brad Pickett
Kev Simms vs. Popek Rak
Roman Webber vs. Scott Fairclough
Chris Rice vs. Edgelson Lue
Harvey Harra vs. Gary Kelly

May 9, 2008
ADRENALINE UPDATE

Adrenaline Card Released
By Steven Marrocco

Adrenaline MMA, or the promotion formerly known as M-1 Global, released details on their inaugural card to be held June 14th at the Sears Centre in Chicago, Illinois. A Midwest-heavy line up leads the way for a main event showdown between Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Jeff Monson and Pride vet Mike Russow. Fans outside of Chicago will have to make the drive to the Windy City if they want to see the show, as the event is live only.

"Monson is far more than just a veteran," said Adrenaline CEO Monte Cox. "He has fought in every major event in the world and competed for countless titles, including the UFC heavyweight title. He comes into the event having won 18 of his last 20 bouts and is looking to prove Russow is not yet ready for the big time.

Monson

"Russow, on the other hand, has been crushing opposition and has been tested twice in major events... losing to then No. 6 ranked Sergei Kharitonov in Pride, then crushing Roman Zentzov in Japan's Yarennoka event last New Years Eve. He's ready to show he should be considered among the world's best."

The announcement comes seven months after the promotion stutter stepped while trying to keep their crown jewel, Fedor Emelianenko, only to become mired in disagreement with the Russian wing of M-1 over the cost of the Russian star. In late March, the CEO Monte Cox and his partners in Sibling Sports finally severed ties with Emelianenko, and the promotion downscaled its original plans for free TV and pay per view.

Cox now appears to be spearheading operations of the company, with several fighters on his management roster appearing in the show, including Russow. His latest well-publicized signing, Tim Sylvia, will be appearing against none other than Emelianenko at new-kid-on-the block Affliction’s first show on July 19th in Anaheim, California.

In addition to Russow and Monson, UFC vet and Chicago native Terry Martin will take on PRIDE and fellow UFC vet Daiju Takase. Martin is coming off his first pro boxing victory over Ricardo Upchirch. Takase was last knocked out by Hector Lombard in an Australian event in early 2006. Other fighters of note scheduled to appear are King of the Cage Lightweight Champion Clay French, Jeff Cox, Kerry Schall, and IFL vets Bart Palaszewski, Rory Markham, and Mark Miller.

May 9, 2008
PALACE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
Several Titles Change Hands at PFC 8
By FCF Staff

Leemore, California, hosted Palace Fighting Championship 8 last night, the promotion’s second event in the last two weeks. The PFC 8 card featured 4 title fights in addition to 8 preliminary bouts.

In the main event, Diego Saraiva was unable to defend his PFC lightweight championship as the UFC veteran lost by Unanimous Decision to Brian Cobb. With the win, Cobb’s record improves to 12-4 while Saraiva’s drops to 11-7-1.

Nate Loughran submitted PFC middleweight champ Kenny Ento in the second round to lay claim to the promotion’s 185lb. belt. With the victory, Loughran extends his perfect record to 8-0 while Ento’s falls to 9-4.

And in another bout that saw a PFC belt change hands, Jorge Evangelista defeated Art Arciniega by Unanimous Decision to become the promotion’s featherweight champion. The loss, which is Arciniega’s first, drops the former champion’s record to 6-1 while Evangelista’s improves to 7-2-1.

In the last title fight of the evening, Shawn Klarcyk (8-2) became the PFC Interim Bantamweight Champion by submitting Jason Georgianna (7-3) in the second round. The interim title bout was set up after PFC Bantamweight champ Rolando Velasco was unable to defend his title against Klarcyk due to an injury.

Some of the results from the preliminary bouts included; IFL veteran Devin Cole stopped Vince Lucero in the first round for the TKO win, Pride vet Olaf Alfonso KO’ed Chris Solomon just 28 seconds into round one, and former “Ultimate Fighter” competitor Lodune Sincaid, earned his 13th career victory, by submitting Rafeal Del Real in the first round.

PFC 8 Results

PFC Featherweight Title Fight
Jorge Evangelista defeated Art Arciniega by Unanimous Decision.

PFC Middleweight Title Fight
Nate Loughran submitted Kenny Ento at 2:30 of Rd.2.

PFC Interim Bantamweight Title Fight
Shawn Klarcyk (8-2) submitted Jason Georgianna (7-3) at 57 seconds of Rd.2.

PFC Lightweight Title Fight
Brian Cobb (12-4) defeated Diego Saraiva (11-7-1) by Unanimous Decision.

Sergio Cortez defeated Poppies Martinez by stoppage due to an injury at 2:57 of Rd.1
Devin Cole defeated Vince Lucero by TKO at 1:17 of Rd.1.
Olaf Alfonso knocked out Chris Solomon at 28 seconds of Rd.1.
Casey Olson submitted Sergio Quinones at 46 seconds of Rd.1.
Dustin Akabari defeated Cody Canterbury by TKO at 1:37 of Rd.1.
Lodune Sincaid submitted Rafael Del Real at 1:03 of Rd.1.
Joseph Benavidez submitted Maurice Eazel at 1:02 of Rd.1.
Dan Russom defeated Thonglor Armatsena by Majority Decision.

May 9, 2008
NEWS UPDATE

Hardcore Championship Fighting Ceases Operations
By Kelsey Mowatt

Hardcore Championship Fighting CEO, Keith Crawford, confirmed to FCF this afternoon that the Canadian company will no longer be promoting events. The news comes as somewhat of a surprise, due to the fact that according to several reports, which were confirmed by Crawford, the sale of the promotion had been imminent. Crawford informed FCF that the Canadian sports network, The Score, had been the potential buyer.

Although Crawford would not comment on details surrounding why the relatively new promotion has ceased operations, he did confirm that he will be moving forward with his own event. Former HCF partner, Dave Houshiar, is also going to apparently continue to promote, and will be starting up his own organization.

HCF made several headlines during its short tenure, having notable fighters like Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Gegard Mousasi and Aleksander Emelianenko compete on its cards. At HCF’s last event on March 29th, David Loiseau worked his way to a Unanimous Decision victory over Todd Gouwenberg in the card’s main event.

Loiseau (Top) During his Mar. 29th Bout with Gouwenberg

May 8, 2008
ADVERTISEMENT: RING OF COMBAT 19

May 8, 2008
WORLD EXTREME CAGEFIGHTING NEWS

Curran Looking Forward to June 1st Tilt with Brown
By Kelsey Mowatt

On June 1st, at the upcoming World Extreme Cagefighting event in Sacramento, California, two of the United States more accomplished and respected featherweights will face off. Of course, the card’s main event competitors in WEC 145lb. champion Urijah Faber and challenger Jens Pulver fit this description, but so do scheduled undercard rivals, Jeff Curran and Mike Brown.

“I thought it was a perfect opponent,” Curran told FCF when asked for his reaction when he found out he would fight Mike Brown next. “It’s the perfect opponent for what I’m trying to achieve out of the sport, staying, fighting high level guys from this point forward. I think it’s a great match-up, I don’t think one person has a huge advantage over anything, he might have a little bit of the advantage in wrestling, which I’m working on. I might have a little advantage over the jiu-jitsu which I’m sure he’s working on, so I don’t think there’s any huge advantages for either of us, it’s a great match-up in that sense.”

When one considers that several years ago featherweight fighters around North American were mostly relegated to smaller shows and received virtually no exposure, the WEC, in a relatively short period of time, has brought the 145lb. division into the spotlight. For fans of the featherweight division, a bout between two veteran fighters in Curran (30-9-1) and Brown (16-4) is an all-star match-up; unfortunately, it is a match-up that might not be broadcast come June 1st.

Curran

“It surprised me, because I was told it was,” said Curran commenting on the fact that the WEC site does not have his fight with Brown locked in for the Versus broadcast. “I was really pissed off, I mean for someone like me and Mike Brown to go fight each other and not let the world see it, pisses me off. I was told that it’s being filmed for a feature bout for the new WEC Wreckage show that’s coming out a few weeks later or something like that, so they wanted to save it, or if it’s a quick fight they might give me a double whammy and show it. So that would be good. They made it clear that the fight will be aired fairly shortly.”

Which is good news, despite his recent second round submission loss to the current champion Faber at WEC 31 last December, Curran remains one of the featherweight division’s most respected fighters. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt is 8-2 in his last ten fights, a stretch that includes wins over highly regarded fighters in Antonio Carvalho and Wagnney Fabiano.

Brown has also had a ton of success as of late, and has won 6 straight since being submitted by Masakazu Imanari at Deep 22 in December, 2005. The accomplished wrestler, whose winning streak also includes a win of Yves Edwards, continues to round out his game with the world famous American Top Team in Florida. On account of Brown’s wrestling pedigree, some have raised comparisons between Curran’s upcoming opponent in Brown, and his last one in Faber.

“I think there are a lot of differences,” says Curran in dismissing the notion that Brown and Faber might be similar types of fighters. “I think Mike’s a lot more composed; I don’t mean that in a bad way for either one of them, I just think that Urijah is more unpredictable of a fighter. I think Mike Brown is more by the book, I’m a little more by the book, I’ve been known to throw the odd crazy thing but it’s not typical for me, you know what I’m saying? Where Urijah is always trying to pull something off and is a little dangerous from every position. You can have him on his back and he’ll cut you with an elbow, or pull off something, I just think Mike Brown is more composed in that sense. More conventional, Urijah is more unorthodox.”

It’s been over 5 months now since Curran failed in his bid to unseat Faber as the WEC champion. After Curran appeared to have the rising star in some serious trouble during round one, Faber went on to submit the accomplished jiu-jitsu practitioner in round two with a guillotine choke. At the time, it was heralded by many as Faber’s greatest victory to date.

“That fight sent me into a depression,” Curran candidly told FCF when asked about the loss to Faber. “It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve dealt with in my life, apart from deaths in the family and major things like that. It was heartbreaking. Not only have I never been submitted in a fight in my life, I’ve never been caught in a choke in my jiu-jitsu career, in a match. The whole world just ended for me right there, looking into the first round I’m riding his back, thinking ‘this is too easy.’ Not over confident at all, but it was how I thought it was going to go, I could hear the crowd, I could see the belt around my waist, and my life changing, the next thing I know the round’s over. Never going to make that mistake again, I’m going to be really conscious about what I’m doing, I got a little bit away from myself, to push the pace, make sure I’m not laying back waiting until the round ends, it didn’t pay off.”

May 8, 2008
CHRIS LYTLE

Chris Lytle’s Number One Wish: No Lay and Pray
By Steven Marrocco

It’s got to be exciting to hear that your home city might be on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s list of places to visit. That’s what Dave Meltzer of Yahoo Sports said of Indianapolis, Indiana, home to welterweight veteran Chris Lytle. Fighting at the Canseco Fieldhouse -- he once headlined a fight against current “The Ultimate Fighter” contestant Matt Brown only a year ago -- would be a dream come true for the Indianan.

“I think [the UFC has] learned that anything they do in the Midwest is pretty much going to sell out,” Lytle tells FCF.

Lytle

First, he has to get by Josh Koscheck, whom he’s scheduled to fight at UFC 86 on July 5th in Las Vegas. One of the American Kickboxing Academy’s strongest welterweights, Koscheck got back in the winner’s column with an impressive TKO victory over Dustin Hazelett at UFC 82. At first glance, the fight appears to be a nightmare for Lytle, whose hopes for a title shot were dashed under the smothering groundwork of Matt Hughes at UFC 68 last March.

As wrestlers go, Koscheck is prototype for the art, combining lighting-fast takedowns with ground-and-pound from the top. True, Koscheck has made a concerted effort to shrug off the label of wrestler, especially in his performance against Hazelett, but without question, fighters have strong tendencies to go back to their instincts when challenged. And with three years and a 13-1-1 record in boxing, Lytle will not be an easy task for Koscheck.

So was Lytle irritated when he got the call?

“I’m not mad about it at all,” Lytle counters. “They offer me fights and I always have the opportunity to say ‘no thank you.’ But to be honest with you, it seems to me when Koscheck lost his last fight to St. Pierre, he’s been changing it up a little bit, and that’s all I’m asking for. I don’t care if you try to take me down, that’s part of the sport, just don’t hold me and not do anything.”

You might say that Lytle is counting on Koscheck’s ego to play into his hand. Despite sustaining a fight-ending cut in his bout with Thiago Alves at UFC 78, Lytle got what he wanted, someone to stand toe to toe with him.

“I’d say just about all the fights I’ve lost have been where a guy’s trying to win a decision on me,” Lytle continues. “So I haven’t been in too many fights where the guy’s coming out and looking to end the fight, and it hasn’t been a fantastic fight or I’ve come out on top. I’ve figured out that I’m a fighter, but I’m also an entertainer, and I want every fight that I’m going to be in to be entertaining.”

Lytle acknowledges that such an approach may net the same result as the Alves fight. But like his day job as a firefighter, there’s an easy way of looking at the issue.

“I’m a firm believer in if you play with fire, you’re gonna get burned,” Lytle said. “If occasionally I’m going to be on the receiving end of that, so be it.”

Lytle’s camp, the Integrated Fighting Academy, has moved into an 8000 square foot camp closer to the city. It’s a far cry from the cramped quarters of their old home -- FCF can testify to that. Lytle has at least a month to go before he begins his two-a-day workouts.

And even though he respects Koscheck’s hands, his game plan is still rooted in avoiding a repeat of his tangle with Hughes.

“Avoid the takedown,” Lytle said first. “But really avoid the laying down and having him pull a Matt Hughes on me. My main goal is to create space. If I’m on bottom, I’ve got to create space to make it difficult for him to control me. I just can’t let him dictate what’s going to happen in the fight.”

May 6, 2008
RING OF COMBAT PREVIEW

HDNet Fights Presents: Ring of Combat 19 Preview
By Jim Genia

When: May 9th
Where: Tropicana Resort & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
What: HDNet Fights Presents: Ring of Combat 19

When we last saw Eddie Fyvie, he was knocking his opponent into next week. When we last saw “Crazy” Chris Schlesinger, he was waging a frenzied grappling war. When we last saw Tom Velasquez, he was pulling a rabbit out of his hat in the form of a lightning-quick heelhook victory. Promoter Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat returns on May 9th, and it brings with it Fyvie, Schlesinger and Velasquez – three exciting fighters who, along with elite scrappers Alexis Aquino, Ricardo Romero, and Doug Gordon, are sure to provide action. Here’s a look at the full ROC 18 card:

Preliminary Bouts:
LW: Chris Steele vs. Eddie Fyvie (Spa City BJJ)
WW: Mike Medrano (Rhino Fight Team) vs. Anthony Budine (Serra/Longo)

Main Card:
LHW: Joe Diamond (AC MMA) vs. Bill Scott (BJJ Shore Academy/Ricardo Almeida)
WW: Robert Cunane (LA Boxing) vs. Tom Velasquez (Team Endgame)
LHW: Anthony Vetro (Inazuma Te Ryu) vs. “Crazy” Chris Schlesinger (Soca/Bellmore Kickboxing)
WW: Kevin Horowitz (Rhino Fight Team) vs. Anthony LaDonna (Serra/Longo)
MW: Alexis Aquino (Rhino Fight Team) vs. Dave Branch (Team Renzo/Insight)
MW: Dom Stanco (Bellmore Kickboxing) vs. Mark Berraciol (BJJ Shore Academy/Ricardo Almeida)
MW: Doug Gordon (Team Rush/Elite BJJ) vs. LeVon Maynard
LHW: Ricardo Romero (Advanced Martial Arts) vs. Constantinos Phillippou (Serra/Longo)

USKBA Middleweight Championship
Nick Catone (BJJ Shore Academy/Ricardo Almeida) vs. Mitch Whitesel (Wreck Room)

May 6, 2008
NEVADA STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION UPDATE
Sherk Clears NSAC Drug Test
By FCF Staff

Sherk

The Nevada State Athletic Commission’s Executive Director, Keith Kizer, announced today that former UFC lightweight champ Sean Sherk, has tested negative for steroids and drugs heading into his May 24th title fight with current UFC 155lb. champion, BJ Penn.

“The NSAC received Mr. Sherk’s steroid and drug test results this morning and they were all negative,” Kizer’s email stated today.

Sherk will look to reclaim the UFC lightweight belt when he faces Penn at UFC 84. The fighter was stripped of his title last year, due to failing a Californian State Athletic Commission’s drug test, following Sherk’ successful title defense against Hermes Franca on June 7th at UFC 73.

The NSAC previously announced that Penn has already tested negative in out of competition testing heading into the May 24th tilt.

May 6, 2008
THE NORTHERN TOUCH: NEWS AND NOTES FROM CANADIAN MMA

Bosse Looking to Dismantle “The Project”
Heavyweight Prospect Will Fight Wes Sims at TKO 34
By Kelsey Mowatt

On June 7th, the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, will host the latest offering from TKO Championship Fighting, an event which will be headlined by a heavyweight tilt between Quebec’s own Steve "The Boss" Bosse, and heavyweight veteran, Wes "The Project" Sims. It is a crucial fight for Bosse, the former professional hockey player has gone 2-1 since he began fighting last June, and Sims will be without question, the biggest name he will have fought to date.

“Sims has good experience,” Bosse told FCF when we caught up with him today. “He has a lot of fights in MMA; it is a good opportunity for me to make my name in MMA.”

Both of Bosse’s wins thus far have come via strikes; at TK0 29 the former St. Jean Chiefs player stopped David Fraser in round one and at TKO 30 last September, Bosse also finished Jody Burke with strikes for the first round TKO victory. Due to the fact that the 6’10 tall Sims will tower over the 6’0 Bosse, it will be interesting to see what game plan the Canadian heavyweight employs against his American opponent.

“The plan is the standing game,” Bosse says. “I don’t want to go the jiu-jitsu game, or the wrestling game, I don’t want to go to the clinch game with this guy because he’s tall, it’s easy for him to hit me with his knee, I want to use my stand-up game.”

Bosse has been utilizing the plethora of MMA talent and gyms that are located in Quebec, in fact, the 26 year-old-fighter transitioned into the sport with the help of trainers like Fabio Holanda, who have helped train Canadian stars like Patrick Cote and Georges St. Pierre.

“Fabio Holanda at the Gamma gym in Montreal,” Bosse stated when asked about his training camp. “For my stand-up I train with Team Bergeron in Drummondville, when I went to Thailand I trained with a Muay Thai coach who is also now in Montreal and is coaching me.”

Not only is the upcoming fight with Sims crucial for Bosse because of Sim’s experience and name recognition factor, but also because Bosse is coming off his first career loss. At TKO 31 last December the former TKO heavyweight champion Icho Larenas stopped Bosse in the third round.

“It was a good fight for me,” Bosse said in recalling the bout. “The fight gave me good experience for the sport, I learned I can’t give all my shots, all my energy in the first round. I can’t always go for the kill every second.”

Bosse (L) Throwing a Right Hand at Larenas

It’s not often that fighters are promoted to main event status after having only one or two fights under their belts, but due to Bosse’s days as well known hockey pugilist in Quebec’s LNAH league, Bosse’s MMA career is already one that is being closely monitored. Bosse, who during the 2006-2007 LNAH season earned 254 penalty minutes in just 27 games, has retired from hockey so he can put all of his energy into his MMA career. Although Bosse’s days of “dropping the gloves” are behind him, the heavyweight prospect concedes that his experience in trading punches on a sheet of ice has been a huge asset to his MMA career.

“For sure it helped me,” Bosse said. “When I came to MMA I had a lot of fans, it’s good for me. It helped me because I’ve fought in front of crowds and it helped me just for fighting. Now it’s not the same kind of fight, it’s not just punches, now its elbows, knees and kicks, but I’ve worked very hard to become a good fighter.”