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  Monday - May 1, 2006
Jacaré, Machida Top Jungle Fight 6
By Marcelo Alonso

MANAUS, Brazil, April 29 -- Brazilian jiu-jitsu representatives were the great stars of Jungle Fight 6, the popular promotion speared by Wallid Ismail and broadcast live all over the country via pay-per-view.

Top world jiu-jitsu black belts Thalles Leite and Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza were the big names of the event, both taking a little more than two minutes to topple their opponents, considered world-class strikers themselves.

After a takedown and mount, Jacaré caught Russian Alexsander Shlemenko, the great revelation of Jungle Fight 5 for his rousing bout with Jose "Pelé" Landi-Jons, by Katagatami (arm triangle) choke. The Russian tried to resist the hold and ended up unconscious.

Returning to Jungle Fight, Landi-Jons fell victim to the same application against Nova União's newest phenom Thalles Leite, but in this case, Pelé didn't resist and tapped out.

In another "grappler versus striker" battle, Peruvian UFC veteran Tony De Souza (Nova União) recovered from a knockdown, then went on to submit Brazilian Muay Thai standout Katel Kubis (Noguchi) by heelhook.

In the main event, the local audience of almost two thousand were entertained with the amazing striking battle between Lyoto Machida and Dimitri Wanderlei. 20-year-old Wanderlei gave the K-1 fighter a difficult time in the first round, but Machida returned more concentrated and in the second and almost knocked Wanderlei out, opening a big cut on his eyelid that obliged the referee to stop the fight in the middle of the third round.

Lyoto's brother, Shinzo Machida, was not so lucky facing French fighter Bryan Rafik, student of Joan Carneiro (BTT France). Getting the worse end of the stand-up game, Rafik took Machida to the ground and submitted him with a guillotine choke.

BTT representative Danilo Indio made a nice debut in Jungle Fight, defeating Frodi Hansen by choke in the second round.

The night of jiu-jitsu began with the local world BJJ champion, Davina Maciel beating the Japanese Kanako Inaba by TKO. Adriano Martins, from the same team as Davina, bested solid
boxer Steve Reyna in the second round by choke after getting knocked down by the American.

A local world jiu-jitsu champions dispute between Marcos Loro (Nova União) and Fredson Paixão (GBCT) proved disappointing with a very boring grappling match. After taking Paixão down multiple times, Loro won by decision.

Jungle Fight 6 Results
  • Davina Maciel def. Kanako Inaba – TKO 1:24 R2
  • Adriano Martins def. Steve Reyna - Submission 2:25 R3
  • Marco Loro def. Frédson Paixão - Unanimous decision
  • Bryan Rafiq def. Shinzo Machida - Submission (choke) 2:10 R2
  • Danillo Índio def. Frodi Hansen - Submission (choke) 2:40 R2
  • Tony de Souza def. Katel Kubis - Submission (heelhook) 4:48 R1
  • Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza def. Alexsander Shlemenko – Submission (Kata gatame) 2:10 R1
  • Thales Leites def. José "Pelé" Landi-Jons - Submission (Kata gatame) 2:20 R1
  • Lyoto Machida def. Dimitri Wanderlei – TKO (ref stoppage- cut) 3:24 R3

ECC Survives Ban to Become First MMA Event in Atlantic Canada
By Peter Parsons

April 29 – History was made tonight as an astonishing 5,650 fans packed the sold-out Halifax Forum for the first ever mixed martial arts event in Nova Scotia. Extreme Cage Combat (ECC) was a professional fight card sanctioned by the Nova Scotia Boxing Authority.

The battle began long before the first fighter stepped foot in the cage. On March 28, Halifax regional council held a vote to ban "cage fighting," as it had been commonly referred to by the local media. The vote did not pass.

Going into the event, there was a tremendous amount of negative publicity from the mainstream media, but that in turn helped the ECC sell out. "I barely had to touch my marketing budget for this event," says promoter Peter Martell, a local night club manager and Renzo Gracie brown belt. Martell, who has worked years at getting the sport of MMA sanctioned in the province of Nova Scotia, was very happy with the way his first show turned out. "I thought it was a fantastic card, Rob (Walker) did a great job putting this card together," says Martell.

The main event pitted New Glasgow, Nova Scotia native Jason "the Athlete" MacDonald against two-time UFC veteran Gideon "the Gladiator" Ray of Hackney's Reality Combat. MacDonald repeatedly took Ray to the mat where he landed some effective ground-and-pound. MacDonald, who now fights out of Red Deer, Alberta, looked to be the stronger fighter and dominated the majority of the fight with the exception of a couple of ankle lock attempts by the game Hackney-trained fighter. This was a rebound fight for MacDonald, who, after losing back-to-back fights against "The Ultimate Fighter 3" standout Kalib Starnes and UFC veteran Patrick Cote, managed to outwork Ray.

"I continue to take tough fights because my goal is to fight in the UFC," said an ecstatic MacDonald in his locker room post-fight. When asked about fighting in his home province for the first time MacDonald replied, "Fighting in front of my family and friends for the first time added some pressure, but it gave me a boost."

Next up for MacDonald is a fight in the Maximum Fighting Championships on September 8 in Edmonton, Alberta. "I've been busy with a lot of fights lately and I want to take a bit of a rest," Macdonald said of his future plans, "but, if the UFC were to call before then, I would jump at the opportunity."

In the semi-main event, Halifax's own Roger Hollett, son of local boxing hero Ralph Hollett, came in to the loudest ovation of the night. Hollett didn't disappoint as he showed a well-rounded game in defeating a tough Peter Rogers in the first round. Hollett landed some good strikes standing before getting the takedown. Once on the mat, Hollett advanced to full mount where he landed some solid ground-and-pound before executing a text book armbar for the victory in front of a boisterous hometown crowd.

In what could arguably be called the fight of the night, Marcus Soares fighter Garrett Davis defeated previously unbeaten Rowan Cunningham by guillotine choke. This welterweight chess match between two very skilled fighters saw Davis control the majority of the fight before tapping out Cunningham early in the third round.

In the lone heavyweight bout of the night, Team Boreland's Ray Penny unloaded some vicious ground-and-pound, knocking out opponent Chris Carroll in the first round.

Extreme Cage Combat has big plans for the future with events booked for the next two years. "Our next show will be in Moncton (New Brunswick) on June 17. We'll be back in Halifax on July 22 and we'll be in Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) in September," says the events promoter Peter Martell of the start of what he hopes will be a healthy run for the sport in its newest Canadian market.

Extreme Cage Combat "Collision Course" Results

Dave Scholten def. Nino Bezerra – Submission (Strikes) 3:56 R1

Daniel Hardstaff def. Adam MacDonald – TKO (Ref stoppage –strikes) 4:43 R2

Bryan Edge def. Corey Knapp – Rear-naked choke 2:08 R1

Robert Colbourne def. Matt Hill – Neck crank 1:48 R1

Jason McKay def. Mike Large – Guillotine choke 0:10 R3

Stjepan Vujnovic def. Tony Lagnaro – Triangle choke 2:04 R1

Ray Penny def. Chris Carroll – KO (punches on the ground) 2:36 R1

TJ Grand def. Craig Skinner – Armbar 3:00 R1

Garrett Davis def. Rowan Cunningham – Guillotine choke 1:58 R3

Roger Hollett def. Peter Rogers – Armbar 3:50 R1

Jason MacDonald def. Gideon Ray – Unanimous decision

From DSE/Pride:
NOGUIERA/ZULUZINHO, ZENTSOV/YVEL
ANNOUNCED FOR TOTAL ELIMINATION ABSOLUTE

TOKYO, Japan – Two additional bouts have been announced for PRIDE FIGHTING'S upcoming May 5th event, TOTAL ELIMINATION ABSOLUTE 2006 ... it will be Brazil versus Brazil as ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUIERA faces ZULUZINHO in the opening round of the absolute weight tournament ... in the second bout Russia's ROMAN ZENTSOV takes on GILBERT YVEL of Holland in a non-tournament match.

The card so far features Japanese Olympic gold medallist HIDEHIKO YOSHIDA against former WBO/NABO cruiserweight boxing champion YOSUKE NISHIJIMA, the "Croatian Sensation" MIRKO "CROCOP" FILIPOVIC versus Japanese star IKUHISA "THE PUNK" MINOWA, AMC Pankration's JOSH "BABY-FACED ASSASSIN" BARNETT versus Red Devil's ALEKSANDER EMELIANENKO, England's JAMES "MEGA PUNK" THOMPSON versus Japanese hero KAZUYUKI FUJITA, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu phenom FABRICIO WERDUM versus Dutchman ALISTAIR OVEREEM, and finally, New Zealand's MARK HUNT versus Japan's TSUYOSHI "TK" KOSAKA.

TOTAL ELIMINATION ABSOLUTE is the first round of PRIDE FIGHTING'S 2006 16-Man Grand Prix Tournament. ABSOLUTE means no weight classes. The tournament will span three events ... TOTAL ELIMINATION ABSOLUTE (Opening Round), CRITICAL COUNTDOWN ABSOLUTE (Second Round) and FINAL CONFLICT ABSOLUTE (Semi-Finals and Finals). Dates for the latter two events will be announced soon.

TOTAL EILIMINATION ABSOLUTE 2006 is scheduled to premiere on North American pay per view on Friday, May 5th, 2006.

INDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN
PPV Premiere Date: Friday, May 5th, 2006
Premiere Time: 10:00 pm ET, 7:00 pm PT
Count Down show: 9:30 pm ET, 6:30 pm PT

TOURNAMENT MATCHES

Hidehiko Yoshida (Japan) VS. Yosuke Nishijima (Japan)
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Croatia) VS. Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa (Japan)
Josh Barnett (USA) VS. Aleksander Emelianenko (Russia)
"TK" Kosaka (Japan) VS. Mark Hunt (New Zealand)
Kazuyuki Fujita (Japan) VS. James Thompson (UK)
Alistair Overeem (Holland) VS Fabricio Werdum (Brazil)
Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera (Brazil) VS. Zuluzinho (Brazil)

NON-TOURNAMENT MATCH

Roman Zentsov (Russia) VS. Gilbert Yvel (Holland)

Participants and fight card subject to change.

For additional replay times, please contact your pay per view provider.

From the event's promoter:
OUIMET IS OUT, TKO LOOKING
FOR A LAST MINUTE REPLACEMENT

(MONTREAL, CANADA) TKO Major League MMA regrets to inform their loyal fans that Donald Ouimet has been forced to withdraw from his fight this Friday night against rising star, Jay Estrada. While working this past Saturday, Ouimet suffered a laceration to his hand requiring four stitches to close the gash. A fifteen time TKO veteran, was very anxious to get back into action but unfortunately, he must now wait another long month before relieving his frustrations against whichever unfortunate sole dares to stand inside the TKO ring with him.

TKO is working feverishly to find a suitable replacement for Jay Estrada with only four days notice. Estrada is no stranger to fighting last minute replacements. He fought and dominated rising star, Samuel Guillet, at TKO 24 when Lightweight Champion, Sam Stout, withdrew on short notice because of an illness. Estrada remains undeterred in his quest to capture the TKO Championship one day.

TKO 25 remains a spectacular event with 10 explosive fights. Mark Hominick versus Hatsu Hioki may be the most important fight in TKO history! Chris Horodecki versus Mike Bell has all the potential to be the fight of 2006! Be sure not to miss out on this night of Canadian history. Call 514-998-MMA1 (6621) now to ensure yourself a spot for amazing MMA action!

  Thursday - May 4, 2006
"MMA Ring" Approved in Cali, Yet Sport Faces "Golden" Pains
By Loretta Hunt

A unanimous 5-0 vote by the California State Athletic Commission last Thursday in downtown Los Angeles approved an amendment to allow the utilization of a "ring enclosed by ropes" in mixed martial arts events in the Golden State. (Since the sport's legalization in California on December 28, MMA contests had only been allowed in a cage.)

The amendment to Section 523 of the California Code of Regulations, drafted by CSAC Executive Director Armando Garcia and strongly lobbied by Dream Stage Entertainment, promoters of PRIDE, calls for an apparatus similar to that utilized by the popular Japanese promotion, with additional ropes and an extended lip to the traditional boxing ring. "Sub referees," as PRIDE stations around its ring to keep competitors from falling out, were not included in the language passed.

Pride's model ring
PRIDE submitted a model of their ring to the Commission.

Pending its approval by both the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Office of Administrative Law, California events could take place in the MMA-style ring as early as 45 or as late as 120 days.

The swift approval of the ring did not foreshadow the remaining MMA-related agenda for the day. Over the next six hours, the CSAC reviewed and, in some cases, investigated all five of the MMA events that have already taken place in its jurisdiction up till that day.

CSAC Executive Officer Armando Garcia
Garcia
"Where do I begin? CSAC Executive Officer Armando Garcia began with his report to an attentive Commission. "We've had a few ups and quite a few downs."

"It doesn't appear to me, that they're [the promoters] used to working in the structure where you have minimum medial requirements, where they have to turn in information regarding the athletes that are participating on their cards," Garcia described of his experiences since March 10's Strikeforce, which marked the state's first sanctioned event.

Of Garcia's concerns were last-minute proposed match-ups and the promoters' failure to deliver requisite medical paperwork needed to license fighters in the State within its 72-hour cut-off period. Illustrating his dilemmas, Garcia referred to four events the CSAC had scheduled for the coming Saturday, April 29 (the XFC would cancel its event later that day, bringing the number down to three), and stated that he had half the medical documentation missing on each of the shows.

Garcia also expressed his obstacles in accessing professional debuting fighters, which he estimated have made up 40 to 50 percent of the cards he's encountered. In the cases of proposed fighters carrying a 0-0 professional record, Garcia told the Commission he had assigned inspectors to visit the candidates at their gyms throughout the State for three to five minutes of grappling and two to three minutes of bag work to demonstrate they were ready to compete in an MMA fight.

However, with no money specifically allocated for this extra type of inspector work, Garcia said he had reached his budget's constraints and that debut fighters might have to be reconsidered till the end of the Commission's fiscal year on June 30. This date will also mark the end of the CSAC as a government agency. From July 1 on, boxing and MMA (along with other state-sanctioned combat arts disciplines) will be overseen by the Department of Consumer affairs.

In reviewing the five MMA promotions that held events in the State up till that date, Garcia was complimentary of March 11's Total Combat, April 7's Total Fighting Alliance, and April 15's UFC. West Coast Fighters' Promotions, which held an IFC event in Sacramento on April 1, and March 10's Strikeforce did not fair as well, even though the latter has remained the highest attended MMA event in North America to this date with 18,265 spectators.

Look for a full report on the state of MMA in California in the next issue of Full Contact Fighter.

Bellingham Bash
Held April 29, 2006
At the Pacific Northwest Karate Center
Bellingham, WA
By Mike Neva

The inaugural Lockflow.com submission grappling tournament was an overwhelming success much to the delight of promoter, Charles Pearson. With 66 competitors ranging from the youth novice division to the men's expert, it was a full day of grappling action. If a marathon of grappling wasn't enough to wet the fans' appetite, the promoters also capped off the day with the first ever Bellingham Bash, which included a mixed card of mma, kickboxing, muay thai, and the final rounds of the absolute grappling division.

The lone kickboxing bout proved to be the most exciting match of the evening as Yancy Bagby bravely gutted it out against the noticeably taller Nick Howlett. From the outset, Bagby was being peppered with punching combos and was dropped from the strikes multiple times during the contest. The resolve of the staulky Bagby had the crowd roaring their approval as time after time he showed the heart of a champion by wildly bombing back with punches of his own, but in the end it was not enough as Howlett won a unanimous decision after 3 rounds.

On the MMA side of the docket, the bouts were all fast, one-sided affairs, with two of the three matches not reaching the one minute mark. After a quick takedown and guard pass, Ryan Alverez had little trouble dispatching an overwhelmed Brandon Callihan with a rear-naked choke. And to close the evening's action, first timer Muhammed Mustafa, a product of Abu Dahbi runner up, Otto Olson, used his wrestling background to ground and pound his way to a TKO victory at only 57 seconds of the opening round.

Ryan Alverez choking Brandon Callihan
Alverez choking Callihan.

MMA Results
Ken Mishima def. Devin Palmer by rear-naked choke at 2:13 of R1
Ryan Alverez def. Brandon Callihan by rear-naked choke at 0:51 of R1
Muhammed Mustafa def. Cesar Gonzales by TKO (ref stoppage - punches) at 0:57 of R1

Kickboxing Results
Nick Howlett def. Yancy Bagby by unanimous decision after R3

Muay Thai Results
Beau France def. Tripp Sheer by split decision after R3

Submission Grappling Results

Submission Grappling Semifinals
Brian Shaw def. Malembe Gonzales by a score of 2 - 0
Otto Olson def. Mario Miranda by advantage

Submission Grappling Finals
Otto Olson def. Brian Shaw by guillotine choke

  Friday - May 5, 2006
Twenty for WEC:
Trio of Championship Fights Scheduled for Central Cali Standout Report and photos by Daisy Rosas

(Thursday, May 4) Weigh-ins for World Extreme Cagefighting's 20th event kicked off today in Lemoore. Headlining tomorrow night's card, which begins at 6 pm at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, WEC Heavyweight Champion Brian Olsen defends his title against Mike Kyle. For the vacant Light Heavyweight title, "The Ultimate Fighter" season one competitor Lodune Sincaid meets Dan Molina, a member of Ken Shamrock's newly-formed Lion's Den out of Susanville; while The Pit's Antonio Banuelos takes on Duneland Vale Tudo's Eddie Wineland for the promotion's 135-pound accolade.

WEC XX Weigh-ins Results
  • Keith Barry (205 lbs) vs. Donny Rider (204.5 lbs)
  • Kenny Ento (185 lbs) vs. Phil Collins (185 lbs)
  • Jimmy Dexter (184 lbs) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (185 lbs)
  • Ashe Bowman (165.5 lbs) vs. Cassio Werneck (165 lbs)
  • Gil "the Pitbull" Real (155 lbs) vs. Nathan Diaz (155 lbs)
  • Randy Hauer (160 lbs) vs. "Razor" Rob McCullough (160 lbs)
  • Paul "Monster" Moreno (204 lbs) vs. Jeremy Freitag (205 lbs)
  • Glover "the Brazilian Pitbull" Teixeira (205 lbs) vs. Carlton "the Councilman" Jones (206 lbs)

  • North American Lightweight Championship (155)
    Cory "Casper" Cass (154 lbs) vs. Poppies "Tachi Kid" Martinez (155 lbs)

  • WEC Bantamweight Championship (135)
    Eddie Wineland (135 lbs) vs. Antonio Banuelos (135 lbs)

  • WEC Championship Light Heavyweight Fight (205)
    Lodune Sincaid (205 lbs) vs. Dan Molina (203 lbs)

  • WEC Championship Heavyweight Fight (265)
    Mike "Mak" Kyle (240.5 lbs) vs. Brian Olsen*
    *Olsen to weigh-in later this evening

Collins (left) vs. Ento
Collins (left) vs. Ento

Real (left) vs. Diaz
Real (left) vs. Diaz

Randy HauerRob McCullough
HauerMcCullough


  Saturday - May 6, 2006
PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix Results


Click here for article and photos

PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix
North American PPV premiere: May 5, 2006


Kyle DQ'd for Illegal Kick;
Wineland upsets Banuelos for WEC 135-pound Title

Report by Joseph Rios - Photos by Daisy Rosas

Kyle on Olsen's back
Kyle on Olsen's back
LEMOORE, Calif., June 5 -- Mike Kyle's ferocity after landing an illegal kick to a grounded Brian Olsen prompted off-duty referee Herb Dean to fly into the cage and pry him from the bloodied champion.

Leading into the sequence that would squash his hopes of the WEC Heavyweight title, Kyle stood up with Olsen, the reigning champion, riding his back. As he rose, Olsen toppled from Kyle's 6'3" frame, and just as Olsen climbed to a knee, Kyle swung around and connected the top of his right foot with the front of Olsen's face.

Seeing that he was dazed, Kyle pounced with brutal lefts and rights. Referee Josh Rosenthal attempted to stop the fight immediately following the kick, but Kyle had already gone on the attack. Kyle was disqualified 2:42 into the first round for the blow and Olsen retained the title.

After the response by Dean and Rosenthal, Olsen rose to both knees. Blood poured onto the mat from his nostrils like a wide open faucet. Paramedics took the champion away shortly after he wobbled backstage. A pile of bloodied towels remained in the cage. Olsen's teeth also left their mark on Kyle's right foot. Blood trickled from the jagged cut, collateral damage for the punishment his foot did to Olsen's face.

Along with the WEC 135-pound Championship, Eddie Wineland took the biggest upset award for the night. Wineland, hailing from Portage, Indiana, showed the heavily favored Antonio Banuelos the true meaning of "Midwest swing."

Banuelos(Left) and Wineland exchange simultaneous kicks.
Banuelos(Left) vs. Wineland
Wineland peppered Banuelos with lightning-fast combinations. The two traded blows throughout the stand-up bout. Banuelos landed hard rights amidst the flurry, but never sent Wineland packing. All the boxing culminated with a stunning right hook by Wineland to a ducking Banuelos. Wineland pounded the last nail in the champ's coffin with a right kick as Banuelos stammered backward. The Indiana native tacked up the knockout at 2:35.

Hometown boy, Poppies "Tachi Kid" Martinez, ran screaming from the ring after Cory Cass injured his shoulder during an armbar submission that earned Cass the victory. Cass landed a fierce right uppercut in the opening seconds and after the two went to the floor, Cass slipped on the armbar. The pop from Martinez's arm rang out from centerstage. The referee ended the fight immediately after only 47 seconds of action.

UFC veteran Nick Diaz has reason to be proud of his brother Nathan, as he dominated his lightweight bout with Gil Rael. Diaz spent much of the of 3:35 long fight mounted on top of Rael. Rael flopped on his stomach to protect his face and clenched Diaz when they were face-to-face.

Diaz tagged Rael with solid shots, but Rael hung in. Diaz stayed in control and his shots connected more frequently until they were right on top of one another - forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Lodune Sincaid, veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter" season one, laid waste to Dan Molina from Ken Shamrock's Lions Den with a rear-naked choke 3:17 into the first round. Sincaid had the mount on Molina and took advantage of it with deflected connections to the head and face of Molina. When Molina rolled out to get away from his punches, Sincaid was able to go in for the choke.

Kenny Ento, also a native of Lemoore, has made a name for himself putting down opponents with submissions. His middleweight bout with Phil Collins was no different. It became obvious after the bell that the shorter, thicker built Collins had the strength advantage over the taller, thinner Ento. Collins slammed Ento to the mat and manhandled him across the cage, landed a right to the Ento's chin that sent him stumbling into the fence. Ento quickly recovered, and as the two went to the mat, Ento worked in an armbar, earning him the submission 1:07 into the first round.

Because he cut weight leading up to the fight, Cassio Werneck felt weak in the ring he told the audience later. That didn't stop him from earning a victory by submission, though, over Ashe Bowman 3:05 into the second round. Werneck kept Bowman on his back most of the first round. Werneck, and while partially mounted on top of Bowman in the second, Werneck was able to clamp on the armbar to end the fight.

WEC Cage Fighting Results
  • Keith Berry def. Donny Rider - TKO (referee stoppage-strikes) 0:36 R1
  • Kenny Ento def. Phil Collins - Submission (Armbar) 1:07 R1
  • Fernando Gonzalez def. Jimmy Dexter - Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 4:09 R1
  • Cassio Werneck def. Ashe Bowman - Submission (Armbar) 3:05 R 2
  • Nathan Diaz def. Gil Rael - TKO 3:35 R1
  • Rob McCullough def. Randy Hauer - TKO ((referee stoppage-strikes) 2:36 R1
  • Jeremy Freitag def. Jose Mendez - Submission (Armbar) 2:22 R1
  • Glover Teixeira def. Carlton Jones - TKO (referee stoppage-strikes) 1:57 R1
  • Cory Cass def. Poppies Martinez - Submission (Armbar) 0:47 R1
    Cass becomes WEC North American Lightweight Champion
  • Eddie Wineland def. Antonio Banuelos - KO 2:36 R1
    Wineland becomes the WEC 135-pound Champion
  • Lodune Sincaid def. Dan Molina - Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 3:17 R1
    Sincaid becomes WEC Light Heavyweight Champion
  • Brian Olsen def. Mike Kyle - Disqualification (Illegal Head Kick) 2:42 R1
    Olsen retains WEC Heavyweight Championship

"Ragnarok" Rings True in Sweden:
European Vale Tudo Holds Last Event Under Pending MMA Ban
Report and photos by Keith Mills

Wallen on top of Boiko
Wallen on top of Boiko
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 6 -- Eleven fights transpired on the European Vale Tudo 6 card aptly titled "Ragnarok," the Norse mythos denoting the twilight of the Gods. With the Swedish parliament expected to ban MMA in the Nordic country in just under three weeks as MMA's popularity reaches an all-time high in the U.S. and elsewhere, the event's name was not been lost on the sport's local proponents, who contend the move is attributed to election year politics in the city renowned for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Full Contact Fighter was on hand for the first EVT in Stockholm two years ago and was also in attendance here for its last, a first installment of FCF's "European Vacation" series.

This card was still a landmark despite the black cloud of impending doom settling over this country's MMA community. The first women's fight in Scandinavia was won by Nadia Van Der Wel, even after her opponent Elina Nilsson was getting the better of the striking. Top-ranked European Shooto contender David Baron was def.eated by Sweden's own Per Eklund, and local legend August Wallen made submitting Brazilian Top Team member Paulo Boiko look easy. However, the fight of the night had to go to Matti Makela and Thomas Valentin for their back-and-forth war. Makela finally won with a succession of knees to the head.

The only downside to the evening was the amount of warnings handed out for fighters kicking at the head of their downed opponents, not too surprising considering this show booked fighters from France, Holland, Denmark, Brazil, and the UK.

Even with the sport set to be banned in the country, there is still hope. MMA is set to get its debut on Swedish television with a PRIDE event tomorrow night and this EVT show in the near future. One would think that this exposure, two local MMA magazines, and the extensive Shooters Gym network would have an influence with the government's pending decision, but that remains to be seen.

Look for a full report on EVT 6 and more on this insane whirlwind tour of Europe in an upcoming issue of Full Contact Fighter.

EVT 6 "Ragnarok" Results
  • Navid Yousefi def. Jean Robert Monier - Decision
  • Olivier Elizabet def. Kristian Hacklou - TKO R1
  • Tchavdar Pavlov def. Petri Jarvinen TKO R1
  • Nadia Van Der Wel def. Elina Nilsson - Armbar R1
  • Kenneth Rosfort def. Christian Dellevag - Decision
  • Johan Antonsson def. Kristian Lexell - TKO R1
  • Camara Bouna def. Sonny Nielsen - TKO R1
  • Ake Bergvall def. Ludovic Perreira - Decision
  • Matti Makela def. Thomas Valentin - Submission (strikes) R3
  • Pierre Guillet def. Laurent Bonafoux - Decision
  • Per Eklund def. David Baron - Decision
  • August Wallen def. Paulo Boiko – Rear-Naked Choke R3

  Sunday - May 7, 2006
The Northern Touch:
News and Notes from Canadian MMA

By Kelsey Mowatt

"Pequeno" Nogueira Out, Takeshi In Against Carvalho for Shooto 143-Pound Title

Team Shah Franco fighter Antonio Carvalho informed FCF this week that he will now be fighting Lion Takeshi May 12 in Tokyo, Japan for the Shooto 143-pound World Title, instead of current Champion Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira. Due to a knee injury, Nogueira will be unable to defend his title this Saturday, a belt the highly-regarded Brazilian fighter has not defended now in 14 months. A report on Shooto's official site today stated that Nogueira had been stripped of his title.

"Usually when Shah calls me at weird times it going to bad news, so when he said Pequeno was out with a knee injury I wasn't surprised," says Carvalho. "It's tough. You had your sights set on someone and then have to consider new things, I have to change from someone who guillotine's everyone to a guy who punches everyone's head in. I'm assuming it's for the belt because that's what the contract says, Nogueira hasn't defended his belt in 14 months so it wouldn't surprise me if they are stripping him of it."

Carvalho (9-1), who defeated Japanese Shooto legend Rumina Sato in February with TKO, will be taking on Takeshi (8-1) now for a second time. Their previous fight occurred in August of last year, when Carvalho gave Takeshi his first career loss, winning the fight by majority decision. Despite his disappointment in not being able to meet Pequeno, Carvalho is looking forward to this next installment with Takeshi, and the opportunity to win the Shooto World Title.

"I think he saw a different me in my first fight with him," Carvalho maintains. "When I first started fighting in Japan, I realized I had to come back and work on my grappling. Against Sato, I think those adjustments really helped. I totally didn't think they would offer me a title shot; I figured I was in the title picture because of the win over Rumina, but I thought they would have Pequeno and Gilbert (Melendez) throw down. But I think with Takeshi he's a good draw in Japan for Shooto, he's kind of old school, wears the old school shorts. I'm assuming he'll come out throwing his hands - that's his bread and butter. For me, if the most comfortable thing to do is what I'm doing, I'll keep doing it, whether it's on the ground or standing."

Menjivar Defeats Nakahara at K-1 Hero's 2006

Canadian resident Ivan Menjivar defeated Taiyo Nakahara by unanimous decision May 3 at the Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan for K-1 Hero's 2006 event. The win is a nice follow-up to Menjivar's recent loss to Urijah Faber at TKO 24, where "the Pride of El Salvador" was disqualified for kicking a downed Faber, a move not allowed under the organization's rules. According to Menjivar, whose record now climbs to 18-4, the outcome of his latest fight with Nakahara was never in doubt as he awaited the judge's decision, as he was extremely confident his performance had secured him the victory.

"Most of the fight was standing and I tried to put pressure on him the entire time," Menjivar tells FCF. "I blocked his kicks and punches; when we clinched I kneed him to the head and cut him. I got in some spinning back kicks and spinning backfists. I controlled the whole fight, took him down a couple of times, I was never hurt and never was in danger. I knew I had won the fight."

Menjivar fought Nakahara in K-1 Hero's 155-pound division, a departure from the145-pound weight class the 5'5 tall fighter has usually competed in. For an organization that has such notable lightweights as Caol Uno, Genki Sudo and Champion Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, Menjivar is keenly aware of the potential match-ups that might await him if he continues to compete at 155 pounds.

"I prefer to fight at 145 pounds," Menjivar admits. "That is where I think I'm at my best. These fighters at 155 are bigger and stronger, but I'm willing to do it. To fight a big name like Uno or Sudo it would have to be for big money. It's hard for me at 155 but depending on the check, I'll fight anyone. I like fighting in Japan - the people at K-1 are very professional and all the people there love the sport."

With the recent news that Mark Hominick has lost his TKO Featherweight Title to Hatsu Hioki, Menjivar, who still has fights left on his TKO contract, was open to the idea of fighting the newly crowned Champion.

"If I have time to train and life is good," Menjivar says, "I'll fight him sure; I have fights left with TKO so we'll see what happens."

  Monday - May 8, 2006
Combat in the Cage: Beginnings
Report and photos by Jim Genia

Tom DeBlass on top of Rich Dunn
DeBlass on top of Dunn
(May 6th, Voorhees, New Jersey) The amateurs were at it again, and though the cage was set up in the gymnasium of the Eastern Regional High School, promoter Ed Hsu's Combat in the Cage was no less entertaining than his debut event in Atlantic City. Featuring 18 budding fighters from as far away as New York and Pennsylvania, the show was a mixture of smooth takedowns and fast punches, with a heavy dose of technical submissions thrown in. Highlights of the night included:
  • Jersey Shore BJJ's Tinn Tupy's controlling ground game, which had him in the driver's seat throughout his bout.
  • The dominant striking of Joe Diamond's MMA's Rich Collazo Jr., as he picked apart Nick Taylor to earn the decision.
  • Ricardo Almeida-student Tom DeBlass' successful return to action, where he submitted Richard Dunn with a slick toehold.
Results:

Chris Dietzal works a footlock on Nick Eiben
Dietzal works a footlock on Eiben

  • Tinn Tupy (Jersey Shore BJJ-138lbs) vs. David Poniatowski (Hamilton Martial Arts-137lbs)
    Tupy via unanimous decision.

  • Kevin Lenau (Okinawan Kenpo Karate Academy-159lbs) vs. Phil Ferraro (Eclectic Martial Arts-156lbs)
    Ferraro via keylock at 1:01 of R2.

  • Rich Collazo Jr. (Joe Diamond's MMA-157lbs) vs. Nick Taylor (Eclectic Martial Arts-162lbs)
    Collazo via unanimous decision.

  • Chris Dietzal (Yamasaki-157lbs) vs. Nick Eiben (Pittsburgh Submission Fighters Club-157lbs)
    Dietzal via armbar at 1:21 of R2.

  • David Trapanese (Jersey Shore BJJ-173lbs) vs. Mike Buzzone (Red Dragon Dojo-168lbs)
    Trapanese via unanimous decision.

  • Ryan Wadsworth (Joe Diamond's MMA-210lbs) vs. Derek Hopkins (Berks County BJJ-205lbs)
    Hopkins via armbar at 2:32 of R1.

  • Alexis Aquino (TNT Martial Arts-194lbs) vs. Heath Macaluso (Aikido of New York-190lbs)
    Aquino via guillotine at 1:15 of R1.

  • Tom DeBlass (Team Renzo/Almeida-195lbs) vs. Rich Dunn (Aikido of New York-192lbs)
    DeBlass via toehold at 1:17 of R1.

  • Greg Soto (Jersey Shore BJJ-172lbs) vs. Carl D'Alessandro (Joe Diamond's MMA-184lbs)
    Soto via armbar at 2:21 of R1.

  Tuesday - May 9, 2006
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TKO 25 Aftermath:
Hominick Vows: "I Will Get My Title Back"

By Kelsey Mowatt

Team Tompkins fighter Mark "the Machine" Hominick lost his TKO Featherweight World Championship to Hatsu Hioki Saturday night at TKO 25 in Montreal, Quebec, bringing to an end the fighter's five-fight winning streak. Coming into the event fresh off a recent upset victory over world-class lightweight Yves Edwards at UFC 58 in March, the loss to Hioki is being touted by some as an upset in its own right. Hioki, however, is ranked number seven in Shooto's 145-pound weight division and. with this latest win over Hominick, now carries an impressive 9-1-1 record. In fact, Hioki was brought over from Japan to offer Hominick stiff competition, and did just that on Saturday night.

The first round of the fight saw Hioki taking the action to the canvas, where the Shooto fighter was able to impose his grappling skills on the now former featherweight Champion.

"It was back and forth action with Hioki controlling the ground game in the first round," says Hominick recalling Saturday's fight. "He had good passing ability but was not doing any real damage."

Although Hominick was able to keep the action standing for a longer period in the second round, the fight once again spilled to the mat, where Hioki's ground skills and ability to negate Hominick's vaunted striking game came to fruition at the end of round two. With less than a minute left in the round, Hioki secured what would end up being, the fight-ending submission.

"In the second round, after a brief stand-up he got the takedown and was within my guard," Hominick tells FCF. "I had an extremely close armbar that he escaped and ended up on top near the end of the round. With 30 seconds left in the round, I reversed from the bottom and got tied up in a triangle. I heard the 10 second marker and thought I was going to make it out of the round, but I ended up going out cold just as the bell went."

Hominick had not tapped out to the submission before the round ended, and as the referee jumped in to separate the fighters to their respective corners, it only then became apparent that the champion was in fact unconscious. The loss drops Hominick's record to 10-5, and even though the 23-year-old fighter is very disappointed with the result, he is remaining confident in his abilities.

"Congrats to Hioki," says Hominick. "I am really sorry to any of my fans that I let down. I will be back stronger than ever and get my title back."

Holanda Hands Robinson First Defeat

Canada's Brazilian Top Team instructor Fabio Holanda defeated up-and-comer Gracie fighter Alvin Robinson at TKO 25 as well, stopping the previously undefeated fighter at 4:30 of round two by TKO. Robinson, who has been rumored to be fighting on an upcoming UFC "Ultimate Fight Night," had won his first five MMA fights, while Holanda was coming off a recent loss to Rich Clementi at TKO 24. With both fighters touting an extensive background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it was of no real surprise then that the opening round was spent mostly on the mat.

"That's what I expected," Holanda tells FCF. "I saw his record and all his wins were by submission. He was pretty good on the ground and I expected to be better than him. There was a lot of back and forth action, but in the end I think I proved I was the better fighter."

With both fighters going for submission attempts in the first round, Robinson came close to ending the fight first, when he nearly sunk in a rear-naked choke around the neck of Holanda.

"It was close," Holanda admits. "I was confident though I'd be able to escape; I wasn't ready to give up. There was a lot of back and forth action, but I wasn't in any real danger after that."

The second round would mark the turning point of the fight, as Holanda began to press his will on Robinson in a fight that still was being contested on the mat. Finally, as the end of round two neared, Holanda's skillful positioning and ground-and-pound assault would ultimately hand Robinson his first career defeat.

"He was on his back and I had his arm trapped behind his back. " Holanda recalls. "I was in his half guard and I started to hurt him with punches - he could only defend with one arm. From there, I went right into full mount and trapped his arm with my knee. At the time I didn't know if it would be the end of the fight, but I knew he was in a lot of trouble. I heard the UFC is looking at him so it's a big win for me. I've never fought an easy guy."

The win brings Holanda's record to 3-4, while Robinson's falls to 5-1. In other notable action from TKO 25 "Confrontation," in what several reports are calling an extremely competitive fight, Chris Horodecki managed to take out tough Mike Bell at 2:33 of round two via TKO, Damacio Page knocked out Thierry Quenneville with a slam at 1:02 of round one, and Martin Desilets submitted Stephane Pinet with a rear-naked choke at 3:11 of the opening round.

From the event's promoter:
IFL Logo
TICKETS GO ON SALE MAY 10th FOR INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE'S FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT ON JUNE 3 FEATURING THE SILVERBACKS VS. TIGERSHARKS ALONG WITH SEVERAL SUPER FIGHTS
Local Fighters, Including Hoboken's Jamal Patterson, New York City's Erik Owings and Long Island's Jay Hieron, to be Showcased at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City

New York City – May 9, 2006 – The world's first team-based mixed martial arts organization, International Fight LeagueTM (IFL), announced that its first championship event, pitting Pat Miletich's Silverbacks vs. Maurice Smith's Tigersharks, will be held on Saturday, June 3 at 8pm at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. The evening's stellar card will be rounded out by several Super Fights featuring many fighters from the Tri-State area. Tickets are on sale now retailing from $35 - $150 and available at all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com (1.800.736.1420), and the Taj Mahal Box Office.

In the battle of the Silverbacks vs. Tigersharks, the matches are:
  • Lightweight:: Bart Palaszewski (20-7-0, McHenry, IL) vs. Rafael Dias (6-1-0, Rio De Janeiro)
  • Welterweight: Rory Markham (6-1-0, Chicago, IL) vs. Brad Blackburn (8-7-0, Olympia, WA)
  • Middleweight: Ryan McGivern (7-1-0, Bettendorf, IA) vs. Dennis Hallman (36-11-2, Yelm, WA)
  • Light Heavyweight:: Travis Wiuff (40-8-0, Rochester, MN) vs. Reese Andy (2-0-0, Seattle, WA)
  • Heavyweight: Ben Rothwell (17-5-0, Wisconsin) vs. Devin Cole (5-1-0, Medford, OR)
The IFL in finalizing several Super Fights, which at this time will feature New York-based Erik Owings (1-0-0, Covington, KY), Alex Schoenauer (9-4-0, Yakima, WA), New Jersey native Jamal Patterson (1-0-0, Hoboken, NJ) and Long Island's son Jay Hieron (8-2-0, Freeport, NY). Additional details will be announced shortly.

The IFL's first event, which recently took place on April 29 at the Trump Taj Mahal, featured fast-paced action, with nine out of 11 fights ending in a KO or submission. In addition to the Silverbacks and Tigersharks, also fighting were the IFL's Pitbulls, led by Renzo Gracie and the Anacondas, coached by Bas Rutten. Those teams, along with the upcoming action taking place June 3, will be televised as three distinct broadcasts on Fox Sports Net on May 21, May 28 and June 5 at 6pm local time. The televised shows are produced and directed by Emmy award-winning producer Peter Lasser, who has worked on several Olympic telecasts as well as with ESPN, NBC Sports, NFL Films and FSN, among others.

Officially announced in January 2006, the International Fight League is the brainchild of Kurt Otto and Gareb Shamus. The avid, business-minded executives have created a stir by introducing the team-based concept and a more regulated approach to the aggressive sport. The team concept, which truly sets the IFL apart from other MMA organizations, mirrors national sports leagues such as the NFL and NBA and allows MMA, the combination of jiu-jitsu, karate, judo, kick-boxing, wrestling, and boxing to reach a broader audience.

  Thursday - May 11, 2006
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From the event's promoter:
'Revenge:' Overeem Steps Up To Face Belfort In Strikeforce Main Event

May 10, 2006; New York, NY -- Pride Fighting Championship superstar, Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem, will replace an ailing Kevin Randleman as the opponent of former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight king, Vitor Belfort, in the main event of the Strikeforce mixed martial arts cage fighting mega-card that will take place at San Jose, California's HP Pavilion on Friday, June 9th. The headlining contest, which will also serve as a rematch to last year's meeting between the two that Overeem won, has prompted Strikeforce promoters to aptly re-title their event "Revenge."

"We are extremely pleased that we've been able to rectify the unfortunate situation that had temporarily stripped us of a main event and that our solution will allow us to give our fans the world-class matchup that they expected in the first place," said Javier Mendez, Fighter Relations Consultant for Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment (SVS&E). Mendez was instrumental in the swift acquisition of Overeem after Randleman's camp revealed that a shoulder injury would prevent their fighter from entering the cage.

On April 23rd of last year, Overeem and Belfort went to war during Pride's "Total Elimination 2005" card at Osaka, Japan's Osaka Dome. The bout came to an end 9 minutes and 36 seconds into the first round (Note: Pride Fighting Championship schedules the first round of its bouts for 10 minutes) after Overeem, a kickboxer with strong submission skills, slapped a guillotine choke on Belfort.

Two months after the victory, Overeem notched another career-defining win inside of one round when he submitted Russian powerhouse, Igor "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn, with, interestingly enough, the same choke as he had Belfort.

The towering 6 foot 5 inch Overeem, who will celebrate his 26th birthday next Wednesday, is a native of Holland and a member of Team Golden Glory, one of martial arts fighting's premiere competition squads that boasts the likes of K-1 champions Semmy Schilt and Chalid Arrab as members. The matchup in San Jose will mark "The Demolition Man's" debut in The United States.

The 29 year old Belfort's return to the cage comes off the heels of his successful debut in the sport of professional boxing that saw him score a first round knockout of Josemario Neves during an event in Salvador, Brazil on April 11th.

A native of Brazil and a six-time veteran of the Japan-based Pride Fighting Championship, Belfort burst onto the mixed martial arts scene at age 19 in 1996 and quickly gained distinction for his explosive punching prowess that outshined his superior Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills. Belfort's hands led him to five consecutive knockouts in his first five professional starts, earning him the nickname "The Phenom."

While Belfort has claimed victories over a host of big names in the sport including Randy Couture, Heath Herring, and Gilbert Yvel, it was his stunning 44 second stoppage of Wanderlei Silva on October 16, 1998 that remains his greatest conquest to date as well as one of the sport's most memorable moments. A technical knockout was declared after Belfort unloaded an onslaught of punches that forced Silva back from one end of the cage to the other.

Belfort is a former member of Brazilian Top Team, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu squad founded by legendary and recently deceased trainer, Carlson Gracie.

Tickets for Strikeforce "Revenge" are on sale at the HP Pavilion box office (408-287-7070) as well as at all Ticketmaster (408-998-TIXS) outlets and Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com). An arena seating chart can be easily accessed by visiting Strikeforce's official website, www.strikeforceusa.net, and clicking on the "Tickets" link.

On Friday, March 10th, Strikeforce made history twice over with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at the HP Pavilion, played host to 18,265 fans, the largest-ever attendance at a mixed martial arts fight card held in North America.

The Strikeforce mixed martial arts event is being produced by Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment (SVS&E, www.svse.net), a leading producer of major sporting and entertainment events and the exclusive producer of such events for San Jose, California's largest entertainment venue, HP Pavilion. SVS&E's many properties include "Fight Night at the Tank" professional boxing; the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks; and the annual ATP men's professional tennis "SAP Open" event.

From DSE/Pride:
14 FIGHTERS AND 2 MATCH UPS ANNOUNCED FOR
BUSHIDO SURVIVAL '06

TOKYO, Japan –- Fourteen fighters and two match ups have been announced for PRIDE FIGHTING'S upcoming June 4th event, BUSHIDO SURVIVAL '06 ... scheduled tournament participants will be PHIL BARONI (USA), RYO CHONAN (Japan), JOEY VILLASENOR (USA), MURILO "NINJA" RUA (Brazil), AKIHIRO GONO (Japan), AMAR SULOEV (Russia), DENIS KANG (Korea/Canada), MURILO BUSTAMANTE (Brazil), KAZUO MISAKI (Japan), MAKOTO TAKIMOTO (Japan), GEGARD MOUSASI (Armenia/Holland), PAULO FILHO (Brazil), HECTOR LOMBARD (Cuba/Australia), and YOON DONG SIK (Korea). In addition, the first two matches of the tournament were announced:

Joey Villasenor (USA) vs. Ryo Chonan (Japan)
Makoto Takimoto (Japan) vs. Gegard Mousasi (Armenia/Holland)

PRIDE FIGHTING'S BUSHIDO SURVIVAL '06 is the opening round of an exclusive 16-man welterweight tournament, which will take place June 4th from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. The tournament will span three events, with the subsequent event dates to be announced soon. BUSHIDO SURVIVAL '06 is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view on Sunday, June 4, 2006 at 10:00pm (EST), 7:00pm (PST).

BUSHIDO SURVIVAL '06 will take place from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan and is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view via iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, VU!, and Viewer's Choice Canada.

North American Pay Per View Schedule:
PPV Premiere Date: Sunday, June 4th, 2006
Premiere Time: 7:00 pm PST, 10:00 pm EST
Count Down Show: 6:30 pm PST, 9:30 pm EST
BUSHIDO SURVIVAL '06 will be available at a rate of $ 29.95
For additional replay times, please contact your pay per view provider.

BUSHIDO SURVIVAL '06

Welterweight Tournament Fight Card*
Joey Villasenor (USA) vs. Ryo Chonan (Japan)
Makoto Takimoto (Japan) vs. Gegard Mousasi (Armenia/Holland)

Additional Welterweight Tournament Participants*
Phil Baroni (USA)
Denis Kang (Canada/Korea)
Yoon Dong Sik (Korea)
Murilo Bustamante (Brazil)
Paulo Filho (Brazil)
Hector Lombard (Cuba/Australia)
Akihiro Gono (Japan)
Kazuo Misaki (Japan)
Amar Suloev (Russia)
Murilo "Ninja" Rua (Brazil)

Lightweight Non-Tournament Participants*
Hayato Sakurai (Japan)
Tatsuya Kawajiri (Japan)
Mitsuhiro Ishida (Japan)
Marcus Aurelio (Brazil)
* Fight Card and Participants Subject to Change.

  Sunday - May 14, 2006
Franca Victory Effortless,
First State-Sanctioned Ladies Bout in Cali Competitive
at Total Combat 14

By Loretta Hunt

Del Mar, California, May 13 -- It took a carrot-topped Hermes Franca only 53 seconds to secure a nearly effortless armbar tap out from local staple Toby Imada at tonight's Total Combat 14 "Throwdown." His third victory in a row since returning to competition after a trio of losses in 2005 and a subsequent six-month hiatus, the Brazilian lightweight's tour of the mid-level promotions across America has so far yielded him title belts in Florida's AFC and the Golden State's WEC in the span of two months.

Franca was scheduled to go for his third title tonight against Total Combat lightweight champion Adam Lynn before the Next Generation fighter was injured in training. The 12-5 Franca seemed perfectly content with the undisputed victory here though, last year's turmoil of his break from American Top Team seemingly behind him. Franca scored an initial takedown on the 14-10 Imada off an opening high kick, and then the California fighter rose and took Franca down himself, just the place the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt wanted to be for the easy finish.

After holding the auspicious honor of becoming the first southern California state-sanctioned MMA event in March, Total Combat spread its wings a bit by moving to a larger outdoor arena at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. An estimated audience of 2,500 partook of what has become the cornerstone promotion of the San Diego arena for its solid matchmaking (bouts are uncannily competitive from top to bottom), and polished presentation, which includes their go-go dancing Combat Dolls. And although it was far from a sellout tonight, it would be hard to fathom that those that did attend left disappointed.

Whether the audience realized it or not, they witnessed a highly-competitive female bout by industry standards between Kellyn Huehn and Crystal Harris, the first-ever California state-sanctioned female bout. Cornered by the San Diego Fight Club, Heuhn's crisper one-twos catapulted her ahead in a gripping opening exchange before the Valley Fight Club's Harris scored a soft takedown. From her back, Huehn demonstrated excellent grappling skills, maneuvering to North-South position where she latched on an armbar Harris eventually averted.

In the second round, Harris reversed an initial takedown and connected some sizable punches on a swelling Huehn that were only amplified by the close-ups of her squinched face on the jumbo screens. Scrambling to their feet, Huehn startled Harris with a big punch, but the tough-as-nails mother of three took it as another invitation to go toe-to-toe.

Their surprisingly technical trading continued into round three, and when Harris took the majority decision even though it should have gone to Huehn for her overall control on the mats in rounds one and three, the crowd was too satisfied to even notice.

In the evening co-main event, BJ Penn MMA's Jay Carter got off to a fine start against Tijuana power puncher Edwin Aguilar. Lanky Hawaiian Carter kept Aguilar's fists at bay in their evenly-matched clinches and with takedowns in the first period of action, but Aguilar came back in the second looking more like his highlight reels, firing off a line of uppercuts and short hooks that chased a backtracking Carter's will to fight away in the drop of a dime. Then taking the softened Carter down easily, Aguilar mounted and began to unload. The referee gave the Hawaiian ample time to improve position before halting the action.

Local favorite and former TC lightweight champion Alex Garcia had his way with seasoned vet Shad Smith throughout their three-round melee. Although Smith can be seen on fight tapes dating back to 2000's KOTC 3, he had his hands full with swift wrestler Garcia, who had his senior cornered on the fence and under serious fire more than once. Add in Garcia's crowd-pleasing suplexes and there should have been no question of the City Boxing rep's victory had it gone to the judges. The problem was Garcia got careless in the third, turning his back and walking away from a bloody Smith before reconvening with him centerstage for one more fateful shoot. Grasping the guillotine around Garcia's protruding neck, Smith fell to his back and got the guillotine tap out with only two minutes left on the clock.

Edward "9 Millimeter" Ratliff called it the "sling blade," an airborne front somersault that sent his heels digging into downed opponent Jamie Schmidt's chest. Reminscent of Charles "Crazy Horse" Bennett, Ratliff's entertaining "Karate" antics amused the crowd, and more importantly, eventually took his opponent out of his game, even after Schmidt had secured mount earlier in the round and nearly finished with an armbar in its latter seconds.

Building on his momentum, Ratliff landed a spinning back kick to open the second stanza, and when Schmidt erroneously pulled Ratliff down on top of him, Ratliff went to work in mount. Schmidt flipped to his back immediately and referee Schorle rightfully stepped in when the motionless bottom fighter seemed unable to help himself out. Rising slower than normal to his feet, Schmidt's brow now bore a sizable cut that would need multiple stitches.

Lower down the card, lightweight up-and-comer Chance Ferrar's unearthly speed and athleticism allowed him a most dominant experience over a game but too green Jeremy McHon, of Tony Galindo's Bull Pen. Unable to tag the blur in front of him, McHon caught a mouth full of knee each time he dropped levels for the takedown. His sprawls as solid as they come, Ferrar only met trouble when he threw an unintentional, yet illegal knee to a fence-pinned McHon from side control. Getting penalized a point for the infraction, Ferrar again claimed side control in the second and summoned the cut and a doctor's stoppage from some hard elbows to McHon's face. Ferrar will be one to watch in the coming year.

Wrestler Grant Whitmer didn't know what hit him, but his name was Josh Williams, who he came in with a wild kick Whitmer ducked, but then caught Whitmer with some fast and furious punches that sent him back and bouncing off the fence. Although Whitmer was able to recover his balance, William didn't give him the chance to shoot, flooring the Camp Pendelton member with a right and follow-up shots before referee Jason Herzog stepped in to stop it. Out on his feet, Whitmer grabbed the closest leg he could find, lifting Herzog in the air before he came to his senses.

Starting the night off on a high note, Las Vegas resident Ryan Smith tackled fellow wrestler Fred Leavy to a three-round unanimous decision; while Tony Galindo's Bull Pen fighter Gary Padilla shut down tough Camp Pendelton wrestler Josh Griggs with big slams and relentless out-positioning.

Total Combat 14 "Throwdown" Results

3 Rounds (3 Minutes each)
Ryan Smith def. Fred Leavy - Unanimous decision
Chance Farrar def. Jeremy McHon - TKO (Doctor stoppage) 1:53 R2
Richard Dalton def. Tony Velarde - Submission (Velarde unable to answer bell) 3:00 R2
Josh Williams def. Grant Whitmer - TKO (Ref stoppage - strikes) 0:35 R1
Gary Padilla def. Josh Griggs - Unanimous decision
Edward Ratcliff def. Jamie Schmidt - TKO (Ref stoppage - strikes) 1:14 R2
Crystal Harris def. Kellyn Huehn - Majority decision

3 Rounds (5 Minutes each)
Tim Percy def. Allen Sullivan - TKO (Ref stoppage - strikes) 1:35 R1
Shad Smith def. Alex Garcia - Submission (Guillotine choke) 2:35 R3
Edwin Aguilar def. Jay Carter - TKO (Ref stoppage - strikes) 3:31 R2
Hermes Franca def. Toby Imada - Submission (Armbar) 0:53 R1

  Monday - May 15, 2006
WFA Reborn?
Rampage vs. Lindland Headlines July 22 "King of the Streets" Event
By Loretta Hunt

LOS ANGELES, May 15 -- With a stroke of their pens, Quinton "Rampage" and Matt Lindland put to an end rumors they would fight one another in the re-launched World Fighting Alliance. Agreeing to meet at 205 pounds for July 22's "King of the Streets" event at The Forum in Inglewood, California, Jackson and Lindland headline a card that will include Brazilian-Japanese K-1 standout Lyoto Machida and former UFC middleweight contender Ivan Salaverry among others.

Lindland and Jackson sign contracts as WFA promoters Goodman and Palazzo look on
Lindland and Jackson sign contracts
as WFA promoters Goodman and Palazzo look on

The WFA, once owned by fighter John Lewis and :"Club Rubber" traveling nightclub magnate John Huntington, ran a trio of Las Vegas MMA events between 2001 and 2002 before funding for the promotion ran dry. It is unclear if either Lewis or Huntington still have a connection with the organization's reinvention.

"We will be the premiere mixed martial arts organization in the world," WFA CEO Jeremy Lappen confidently relayed to an audience of selected media in its L.A. offices. "We are a 'fighters first' organization. We're going to be building our brand off the fighters themselves, off their stories, off their personalities, off their unique backgrounds they bring into play."

To punctuate Lappen's words, Jackson was asked to unveil a sampling of the WFA's billboard marketing campaign. Titled "Rampage Reborn," the ad featured the chain-necklaced former PRIDE personality Jackson in a menacing pose.

New WFA marketing campaign

"Ka Ching," Jackson voice spiked when asked why he chose the WFA over a handful of rumored offers, which included the UFC... "The WFA offered me the most money. All of these other so-called 'big companies' deals were lacking, they were kinda small, and I knew the WFA would promote me the way I wanted to be promoted."

"The more they take care of me, the more I'll take care of them," Jackson continued. "All the years I've been fighting in these other shows, they've been pretending like they've been treating me good, but backstage they've been dogging me to my face."

"They're a 'fighter first' organization," Lindland concurred. "They're doing a great job of promoting the fighters, so we're gonna go out there and provide a great show for the fans."

Lappen, who has managed Jackson, Randy Couture, Jens Pulver, and Bas Rutten in the past, refrained from commenting on his new position with the promotion. Along with Lappen, the WFA's management and ownership group also includes Las Vegas attorneys Ross Goodman and Louis Palazzo, and retired businessman William McFarlane.

WFA "King of the Streets" Announced Line-Up

Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Lindland
Ricco Rodriguez vs. Ron Waterman
Lyoto Machida vs. Vernon White
Ivan Salaverry vs. Art Santore
Kimo Leopoldo vs TBA
Rob McCullough vs. TBA
Jason Miller vs. TBA

Pangea Fights Bring Combat Arts Tradition Back to Hollywood Palladium
Ruediger Taps Out Young in Comeback Victory

By Loretta Hunt - Photo by Daisy Rosas

Pangea is the theory that the Earth was once one massive land mass before it made way for the oceans, that the continents as we know it once aligned together like puzzle pieces.

Proposing that mixed martial arts can unite these masses together once again through competition, Pangea Fights made its debut Friday night at the famed Hollywood Palladium on Sunset and Vine in Los Angeles. A mecca for kickboxing in the '70s and '80s, greats like Benny "The Jet" Urquidez and Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunningham once attracted the celebrity clientele to the 2,000-seat hall. On this night, a 10-fight card, comprised of more newcomers than names, attracted an estimated crowd of 900 to the nostalgic site.

In the main event, a calm Brian Warren (8-4) weathered an early takedown and heelhook attempt from Brodie Farber (7-2) and maneuvered to his own North-South choke. Unable to get the tapout, Warren moved to side control and a head and arm choke that Farber rode to the bell. Farber threw heavy knees in their second round clinch before the tangled pair fell to the mats, and Warren then transitioned into the triangle choke for the finish.

Former WEC lightweight champion Gabe Ruediger took a trio of Trenell "Savant" Young's one-two combinations in the second round of their matching, and subject to the stockier Young's body slams and power knees in the clinch, "Godzilla" found himself in clear deficit going into their final round together. Not wasting any time, Ruediger dropped levels for the takedown at the bell and swiftly moved to mount and began to soften Young with punches before tipping off the side for a wrenching armbar.

In a shocker for the local Bomb Squad/10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu friendly crowd, Jimmy Smith (4-1) caught Eddie Bravo brown belt Jason Chambers (8-4-2) with an excruciating-looking heelhook for the 1:55 first round tapout. At the bell, Chambers walked right into a one-two before securing a soft takedown on Smith. From a scramble, Chambers almost secured a smooth armbar, now on the bottom, before Smith expertly leaned back for the submission that would end it. Although many cageside commented they'd heard a large "pop" before Chambers tapped, the fighter eventually rose and walked out of the arena on his own accord limp-free.

Also on the card, a poised Steve Magdeleno stayed in the game despite an aggressive Joe Calavitta's power slams and general cage control throughout their three rounds' action, a respectable pro debut for both fighters. Team Wildman's Calavitta connected with hooks and purposeful ground-and-pound whenever warranted and would have surely been awarded the decision – that is until Magdeleno latched on a tight triangle choke from Calavitta's second-to-last slam. Lifting Magadeleno off the mat and plunging him down one final time, Calavitta couldn't shake off the tapout with only 15 seconds left to go.

In a competitive light heavyweight offering, Travis Gambino edged out Team Wildman's Lucas Taber by split decision, a bout FCF scored 29-28 in favor of Taber. The deceptively doughy Gambino carried an effective straight, but was betrayed by his stamina in the final round and found himself on the bottom of Taber's punches till the bell.

Gambino connects with Taber's chin
Gambino connects with Taber's chin

Pangea Fights "The Beginning" Results

3 Rounds (5 Minutes)
Brian Warren def. Brodie Farber - Submission (Triangle Choke) 1:54 R2
Gabe Ruediger def. Trenell "Savant" Young - Submission (Armbar) 1:29 R3
James Smith def. Jason Chambers – Submission (Heelhook) 1:55 R1*

3 Rounds (3 Minutes)
Scott Epstein def. Reuben Duran – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2:40 R1
Steve Magdaleno def. Joe Calavitta – Submission (Triangle Choke) 2:45 R3
Conor Huen def. Martin Hench – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2:54 R2
Travis Gambino def. Lucas Taber – Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Tony Gomez def. Rafael Ramos – Tapout (exhaustion) 1:40 R2
Edgar Cruz def. Randy Bullard – TKO (referee stoppage- strikes) :51 R2
Jonathan Romero def. Isamu Himaru – Unanimous Decision (30-27 all)

*Announced for 4-minute rounds

From the event's promoter:
IFL Logo
FOX SPORTS NET SETS DATES FOR WORLD PREMIERE TELEVISION BROADCAST OF THE INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUETM'S FIRST EVENTS
Three Original Taped Telecasts Will Air Nationally on May 21, May 28 and June 4, Highlighting New League's Innovative Team-Based Concept

Los Angeles – May 15, 2006 – Underscoring the fast-growing popularity of mixed martial arts, Fox Sports Net (FSN), a division of the FOX Broadcasting Company and News Corp, today announced the dates and times it plans to world premiere the International Fight LeagueTM (IFL) on national television. The action-packed one-hour shows will air on May 21, May 28 and June 4, with each original show cut from footage gathered during the IFL's April 29 and June 3 events in Atlantic City at Trump Taj Mahal.

Recently formed, the IFL mixes the intense action of mixed martial arts (MMA) with the established team-and season-based approach found in America's most loved sports. MMA legends Bas Rutten, Pat Miletich, Renzo Gracie and Maurice Smith are the coaches of four teams – Anacondas, Silverbacks, Pitbulls and Tigersharks, respectively – comprised of five fighters each in the lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. The events are held in a ring (not in a cage), believed to be the most conducive environment for fighters, fans and production.

Viewers are encouraged to check their local listings, as it will be the Silverbacks and Anacondas battling on FSN's first telecast on Sunday, May 21, followed by the Pitbulls vs. Tigersharks on Sunday, May 28. The two winning teams will then be seen squaring off for the IFL Legends Championship broadcast on Sunday, June 4.

"MMA is the future of fighting," said Michael Feller, FSN Vice President of Programming. "The IFL adds a great new dimension to the MMA genre that FSN is proud to be able to showcase for our viewers."

IFL's televised shows are produced and directed by Emmy award-winning producer Peter Lasser, who has worked on several Olympic telecasts as well as with ESPN, NBC Sports, NFL Films and FSN, among others.

The IFL was formed by Gareb Shamus, founder and chairman of the comics empire Wizard Entertainment Group, and Kurt Otto, a highly successful New Jersey real estate investor and a life-long martial arts participant.

"We're going to give the fans what they want," said the IFL's Shamus. "Our first event on April 29 at the Taj Mahal had a lot of great action, with nine out of 11 fights ending in a KO or submission. That, along with more great fights coming up at our June 3 event, will make for three very powerful TV shows on FSN."

Added the IFL's Otto, "We've got MMA legends as coaches and some of the best young fighters around, and all of them have really embraced the concept of the IFL. There was an energy and camaraderie throughout our first event that was electric. We intend on extending that buzz to our next event on June 3 and can't wait to show the fans how great it's all going to look on TV."

From the event's promoter:
New WFA marketing campaign
Eilers back in 'Hall' for Combat in the Cage 2

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The last time Justin Eilers fought in Boardwalk Hall he was battling for the world heavyweight championship. He left the arena in an ambulance... without the championship belt. Eilers suffered two broken hands, a broken nose and a torn ACL in his loss to former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski. On Saturday, May 20, Eilers will return to the "Hall" and once again will headline a mixed martial arts event. This time, he'll face hard-hitting Sherman Pendergarst in the main event of Combat in the Cage 2. "I think I still have pieces of me scattered around that place," Eilers joked about Boardwalk Hall. "Honestly, I'm excited to go back. And, hopefully, it will be a completely different result from the last time." Eilers (9-5-1) is a 4-time UFC veteran and a banger who has the reputation of either knocking out his opponent, or being knocked out himself. "I don't like decisions," he says. "I like for a fight to end decisively." Pendergarst, nicknamed "The Tank," has a 5-2 record and has won three straight bouts... none of them by decision.

Also featured on the card will be Canadian standout and 4-time UFC veteran Joe Doerksen of Winnipeg. Like Eilers, a member of Team Extreme, Doerksen has a 33-9 record and owns wins over standout Chris Leben, Lee Murray, Denis Kang, Ed Herman and Patrick Cote.

Big Bryan Vetell of the Renzo Gracie Academy will make his MMA debut and local standout Billy Craparo, who recently won a title in Ring of Combat, will also compete on the card.

Tickets are available by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-736-1420 or go to www.ticketmaster.com and look under Combat in the Cage.


MAIN EVENT
Sherman Pendergarst (5-2) vs. Justin Eilers (9-5-1) hwt.

FEATURE BOUTS
Leremy Johnson vs. Joe Doerksen 205
Boban Simic (1-0) vs. Bryan Vetell (0-0) hwt.

MAIN CARD
Craig Gunder (1-1) vs. Tom Galechio (1-0) 170
Jamie Toney (4-2) vs. Billy Craparo (3-0) 170
Kevin Manderson (6-4-1) vs. John Mahlow (4-4) 155
Jerry Spiegel (4-17) vs. Eric Tavares (4-5) 185
Franklin Ferrer (1-0) vs. Stephan Cloud (0-0) 185
Anthony Montanaro (0-1) vs. Christian Geraci (0-1) 155
TBA vs. Scott Malloy (0-1) 155

  Tuesday - May 16, 2006
IFL on BDSSP May 17, 2006

Carvalho Injures Knee In Shooto Title Fight Loss to Inoue
By Kelsey Mowatt

"Lion" Takeshi Inoue defeated Shah Franco fighter Antonio Carvalho on Friday night, at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, winning the Shooto Lightweight Championship. Carvalho had been slated to fight "Pequeno" Nogueira for the 143-pound title. However, the Brazilian fighter was unable to fight due to a knee injury and was stripped of his belt after he couldn't defend his title within Shooto's mandatory 18-month term.

In what can only be termed as tragic irony, Carvalho informed FCF this week that he too has incurred a similar injury to Nogueira's, an injury he incurred during his fight with Inoue.

"When I slipped, I tore a ligament in my knee," Carvalho says of the injury to his left knee. "I think it is the ACL. It was already slightly damaged, but I pretty much tore during that fight. However, that still does not explain my inability to not defend myself properly from my back. Whether, I had injured myself or not I would not have won the fight anyway. Him pounding me into the ground has nothing to do with my knee."

Friday's fight marked the second time Carvalho and Lion had met, as Carvalho defeated Inoue last August at Shooto 2005 10th edition by majority decision. Carvalho, who had told FCF last week that he expected Inoue to come out striking, was ready for the stand-up exchanges that ensued after the opening bell sounded.

"I circled away from his power side and attempted some fakes," Carvalho tells FCF. "He tried to come forward and that is when I fired a high left kick that landed solid. I tried two straight rights that missed their mark. As he stumbled back, I noticed that his hands dropped to his side. He was literally out on his feet. In fact, after the fight, Lion asked me what I had hit him with because he did not remember how we got to the ground!"

Unfortunately for Carvalho, the momentum he had after stunning Inoue soon withered away, as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt was unable to finish the fight after the bout spilled to the mat. Lion's counter-punches to Carvalho's submission attempts found there mark, as the referee was forced to stop the bout at 3:06 of the first round, giving the Inoue the TKO victory.

There was almost a delayed reaction," Carvalho recalls. "When I shuffled forward, I tried a right high kick to finish the job, but my left leg slipped from under me and he just caught me on the way down which made it look like he took me down, but he didn't. I had actually slipped and lost my balance. Once on the ground, I was convinced that I could submit him. I tried for triangles and armbars, but as soon as I would miss, he would posture up and throw some bombs down. I just didn't have the right answers and I didn't defend the punches properly. I was too convinced that I was going to submit him. This was a technical mistake."

Carvalho knew from previous experience that Inoue would once again be a most formidable opponent and has nothing but respect for Shooto's new Lightweight Champion.

"He had the revenge factor in his mind as well as the belt," Carvalho says. "He fought with his heart and took advantage of every opening. I have never been pounded like that before. The ref was justified in stopping the fight, Lion Takeshi fought like a champion, I did not. I did not deserve to be a champion that night. I lost the fight. I have a ton of respect for Lion Takeshi and he is a true champion."

The win brings Takeshi's record to 9-1, and marks the third win a row for Inoue since losing in his only career defeat to Carvalho last summer. After defeating Japanese legend Rumina Sato in February by TKO, in what was arguably the high point of Carvalho's career thus far, Friday night's outcome has been bitterly disappointing for the Toronto resident. Until a better prognosis can be given on Carvalho's injured knee, talk of his future plans and a possible rubber match with Inoue will have to wait.

"I need to heal first and then see what happens from here," Carvalho tells FCF. "I don't think I will ever be the same again. I'm going to have to dig deep and find out why I fight and become strong again. Right now I am heartbroken and I am lucky that I have such wonderful people encouraging me to continue to pursue my dream. I love my family and friends and without them I would be nothing. I would also like to thank all the Canadian fans that supported me and always gave me words of encouragement and believed that I could win. They have not gone unnoticed. I thank you all very much!"

  Wednesday - May 17, 2006
Prelude to Combat in the Cage II
By Jim Genia

When: May 20th. Where: Boardwalk Hall. What: Combat in the Cage II. Promoter Ed Hsu returns to Atlantic City with the next installment of his professional MMA event, which features a pair of UFC veterans, a few local studs, and a roster of up-and-comers -- all battling it out in the cage. Here's a look at some of the fighters:

Justin Eilers
He's a star on the UFC's highlight reel, but whether he's knocking someone out or getting knocked out himself, Miletich-trained Justin Eilers just comes to bang. In his last visit to Boardwalk Hall, he faced UFC Heavyweight Champ Andre Arlovski and came up short against the dominant striker. This time around his opponent is Sherman Pendergarst -- a dominant wrestler. Will Eilers come out on top?

Sherman Pendergarst
He wrestled Division I in college, and has been making waves in the local MMA scene with his willingness to throw down. Team Raww Dogg's Pendergarst has got some accurate hands (he knocked out Glen Sandull in 19 seconds at the last Sportfighting), but takedowns are his bread-and-butter. Does he have what it takes to pound out a win over the UFC veteran?

Joe Doerksen
A Canadian-version of Jeremy Horn, Doerksen is a well-rounded fighter with a penchant for submissions and a fight record a mile long. At Combat in the Cage II, Doerksen takes on journeyman Leremy Johnson in what will be his first fight in New Jersey. Will he make a splash?

Brian Vetell
After cutting his teeth at the underground shows in New York, Team Renzo 330-pounder and New York State wrestling champ Brian Vetell steps in the cage to make his pro debut against the hard-punching Boban Simic. Expect some "big things" when these two super-heavyweight behemoths step into the cage.

Billy Craparo
A scrapper. A technician. An enigma. Billy Craparo is all of these things. Scoring some wins before disappearing for a few years, and reemerging recently to capture the Ring of Combat belt, Craparo has proven to be threat to anyone (due in no small part to his boxing and submission skills). At Combat in the Cage II, he takes on Jamie Toney -- a fellow scrapper who's sure to meet Craparo head on.

The full card as of 5/16/06:

MAIN EVENT
Sherman Pendergarst vs. Justin Eilers

FEATURE BOUTS
Leremy Johnson vs. Joe Doerksen
Boban Simic vs. Brian Vetell

MAIN CARD
Jamie Toney vs. Billy Craparo
Eric Tavares vs. Jerry Spiegel
Franklin Ferrer vs. Stephan Cloud
Anthony Montanaro vs. Christian Geraci
Kevin Manderson vs. John Mahlow
Scott Malloy vs. Mike Schneck Jr.
Tom Galechio vs. Craig Gunder

Across The Pond: British MMA News
By David West

Manhoef Faces The Machine in July

Whilst the headliner scheduled for July 1's Cage Rage 17 "Ultimate Challenge will be the Tank Abbott-Amokrane Sabet match, British fans are already talking about the newly announced contest between Melvin Manhoef and Ian "The Machine" Freeman. The explosive Dutchman Manhoef holds the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight World Title, but in this fight his belt will not be on the line, as the match will be contested at the catch weight of 96 kg (211 lbs). Freeman had announced his retirement last year, but it seems the lure of the ring and a shot at Manhoef have brought him back into competition. Manhoef is coming off a brutal win over Shungo Oyama at K-1 Hero's and will have youth on his side, while Freeman has the edge in experience.

Britain Takes on Germany at Cage Warriors

Cage Warriors 6 "Strike Force," set to take place on May 27 in Coventry, showcases a clash between fighters from the UK and Germany. KOTC veteran Mario Stapel (9-6-0) will challenge BJJ specialist Alexandre Izidro (4-4-0) for the lightweight crown, while tough welterweight Ross Mason will hope to get back to winning ways after losing to Chris Lytle when he faces Denis Siver from Germany's Outside Club Fight Team.

Cage Warriors 6 Current Fight card:

CWFC Lightweight Title Bout
(Champion) Alexandre "Xandinho" Izidro vs. Mario Stapel

Middleweight
Jose "Ze" Marcello Figueira Rodrigues vs. Andre Balschmieter

Welterweight Bouts
Ross "The Boss" Mason vs. Dennis Siver
Josenildo "Luquinha" Ramarho vs. Daniel Weichel
Jim Wallhead vs. Peter Angerer

Lightweight
Cengiz Dana vs. TBA
Mark Spencer vs. Franco de Leonardis

Non-UK vs. Germany Bouts

CWFC Featherweight Title Bout
(Champion) Danny Batten vs. Paul McVeigh

House of Pain British Middleweight Title Bout (vacant)
Bruce Davis vs. Ben Walker

Welterweight
Arni "The Ice Viking" Isaksson vs. Diego Gonzales

Middleweight
Chris Rice vs. Paul Kelly

Lightweight
Mick Sinclair vs. Jay Gilbey

  Friday - May 19, 2006
The Brazilian Beat
Shogun Looks to September, Royce Ready and "Gi-less," Rizzo Fighting in the U.S., BTT News and more!

The Brazilian Beat:
      It's not often that you have one weekend full of MMA action in this country. Through the entire year, there are, of course, many weekends without any meaningful fighting action in sight, and sometimes shows are scheduled for the same day, splitting fans' attentions.

      However, this coming weekend presents a different situation, as both Saturday and Sunday will feature very important national-level MMA shows on each day, giving hardcore fans with a chance to follow both.

      Being such a unique happening, and maybe the only time this will happen this year, this reporter had to come back to FCF with the much-awaited news of the Brazilian scene.
  • Chute Boxe prodigy Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's recovery process continues to go better than expected, following the severe elbow injury suffered he suffered in February's PRIDE bout against Mark Coleman. The 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion has already been running and swimming for two weeks, and will most likely resume light fight training, mainly techniques at first, next week. Rua told FCF that he is not been feeling any pain whatsoever in his elbow during swimming and running, and has had complete movement with the arm of the injured elbow, showing signs of a great recovery. Shogun is expected to fight again in September, and Full Contact Fighter will keep following his recovery.

  • Speaking of the Shogun, his brother Murilo "Ninja" Rua has been training extremely hard, awaiting his June 4's PRIDE Bushido Welterweight Grand Prix bout against MMA sensation Denis Kang. Rua just found out about his opponent one day before the official announcement, and has been weighing in around 88 kg, getting ready to cut the extra weight in the coming weeks. Ninja told FCF he is feeling much more comfortable and stronger at his current lighter weight now, and he hopes to have a much better performance at his new weight class this time around. Both Rua brothers, Ninja and Shogun, went to the city of Brasilia, capital of Brasil this past Wednesday to attend a ceremony devoted to a peace campaign in Brazil spearheaded fight community and one Brazilian fight magazine. Both got back to Curitiba this past Thursday, where Ninja resumed his training immediately. Saturday, May 20 will be a special day in the Rua family, as they will celebrate Murilo Ninja's 26th birthday with a barbecue party at their parent's house. Murilo's birthday is, in fact, on the 22nd, however, for obvious reasons the celebration will take place this weekend.

  • MMA legend Royce Gracie is in the final stages of his preparation for his much-awaited clash against Matt Hughes. His brother Royler Gracie is currently in the USA helping him out in training, along with Rolker and Rodrigo Gracie, as well as his kickboxing coach Nono, making sure everything will be set by fight time. The bout is not only just eagerly awaited by the fans, but for the three-time UFC champion Gracie as well, as he told FCF that his return to the UFC for this special match gives him many good memories of where it all started, and stated he is truly ready for the task, and now it's just a matter of delivering on fight night. One interesting aspect is that, due to UFC rules, Royce Gracie won't be wearing a gi into this bout, as he confirmed to FCF.
Click here to continue The Beat


  Sunday - May 21, 2006
The Gamble:
Home Viewers Get a First Peak at the International Fight League Tonight on FOX Sports Network
by Derek Callahan

On the surface, the difference between the International Fight League and other rookie MMA organizations looks like it's just a much greener show. Not necessarily more inexperienced, but just infused with a lot more money. According to one half of the two-man team behind the show, that isn't necessarily the case. The difference between the IFL and others may start with better funding, but that doesn't mean much if it isn't invested in different ideas, and consistent quality.

Gareb Shamus
Gareb Shamus
"It's an incredible collaboration, we wanted to take the best of everything," says Gareb Shamus, a businessman who made his name with the Wizard Entertainment group, a comic book and popular culture media empire. "We want to create a quality product in everything that we do. That's what stands the test of time."

From the coaches, to the fighters, all the way to the crew that will air "The International Fight League" starting tonight on the FOX Sports Network, Shamus concludes that everyone must be on top of their game in order to make the show work. To Shamus, the long-term investment in MMA that they have showed is a big reason for their broadcast success. The IFL had Fox Sports all aboard before they even put on an event. "That's the kind of commitment we've put into the sport, we were able to convince Fox," he says.

From the results of their first show, Shamus was pleased with how it unfolded. "We couldn't have expected that action," he says, citing all the different ways that the fights were finished. "We had to deliver the show the first time out of the gate. We had couple of upsets. When people see what it looks like on TV, I think they'll be very impressed."

Shamus is a man who, through his work with Wizard, has grown accustomed to the type of people that go to fights. So, when his friend Kurt Otto approached him with the idea of coming into the sport, it seemed like a logical move. "He started telling me about it and it just really clicked. He brought it to my attention and I was thinking, 'This is my audience.'" The 18 to 34 year olds that the IFL is shooting for have long been studied through Shamus' previous investments.

"If you look at the similarities between the sport and the marketing I do, it's very similar," he says. "I know that audience, how companies want to reach them. And also how that audience wants to be reached." The precedent set by the success of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV augurs well for the IFL, because the ratings were proven to be potentially there well before a show was produced. Now that the company is active and underway, the efficient crew that Shamus demands siphons all the way up to Otto and himself.

Lindland and Jackson sign contracts as WFA promoters Goodman and Palazzo look on
Gareb Shamus overseeing things at IFL's inaugural event with partner Kurt Otto

From the side of the fans, "I know how to put on big events, how to get people excited about being in the same place at the same time," says Shamus. It was only logical for him to team up with Otto on the project that targets his longtime audience. Shamus also befits the notion that, of course, a man mired in the business of celebrities and superheroes could draw parallels to MMA; if for no other reason, than because, "as far as I'm concerned a lot of the guys are celebrities, and they are superheroes."

With a new season set to start next year, complete with a new series of coaches, the IFL looks to continue the team aspect of their show because of the added element that Shamus and others feel it adds. "We wanted to be different, we didn't want to just take advantage of what other people have done. We don't need to," he says. By, "working with a lot of people in the industry, including the coaches," the brass at the IFL is confident enough in their knowledge of the game to try and push the envelope with future shows.

"We have ourselves under the microscope," says Shamus, referencing their first shot at the industry. "Even as the show went on there are things we were changing, things internally. In terms of pacing, what we do before, after the fights." A final part of the differences the IFL seek is the idea that going hand-in-hand with the right companies will lend a certain juice to their show that others lack.

"We have relationships with very large companies. It's all relationships that I've already worked on in my past," says Shamus. Associations to Coke, X-Box and other groups that aim for that coveted 18-to-34 demographic will put the IFL on a separate pedestal based on how marketing works. The money put into the IFL helps the overall quality of the product; the team-oriented atmosphere separates it from other shows that have helped to steer the MMA market towards saturation, and relationships with companies that share their interests make for airtight marketing. Above all else though, the IFL is getting their licks in before they settle into a seasonal routine that will see some new fighters and new coaches.

"We're setting the ground stage so when we get into our first full season everyone will be on the same page and everyone's interests are aligned," says Shamus. If and when that happens, all these ideas, previously almost foreign to MMA, will become less and less of a gamble.

"The International Fight League" debuts tonight on the FOX Sports Network. Check local listings for times.

Storm Samurai Sold Out for Tonight
By Eduardo Alonso

Almost everything is set for another interesting edition of Storm Samurai tonight in the city of Curitiba, hometown of Chute Boxe. Almost, because at the official weigh-ins, on Saturday, May 20th, at 11 am, some fighters weren't able to attend for various reasons, therefore their weights had to be taken later on. However, most of the fighters were on hand and made weight properly, and nothing will hinder the show at the house of spectacles Master Hall, starting at 6 pm local time, as all the fights are on and by the time this article was finished all fighters who missed the official weigh-ins had been already contacted and had things set for a different time.

One of the most important attractions of the show, IFL veteran Gustavo Ximu was one of the fighters who couldn't attend the official weigh-ins. Ximu and his cornerman, UFC fighter Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz had problems with their flight to Curitiba, causing them to arrive in the city at 2:30 PM. However, Ximu told FCF he wouldn't have any problems making weight at 83 kg for the bout. Expectations are running high for Ximu's bout against Meca veteran Marcelo Brito, as well as for the participation of Chute Boxe young guns Fernando Bettega, Fabio Silva and Michael Costa, not to mention the women's bout between Cristiane "Cyborg," fiancé of Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos. A sold out arena is announced for the show, and FCF will be there covering all the action. Check out the full card with the, or most of them, official weights of the fighters:
  • Luis Fernando (Gentilini - 75.6 kg) vs. Jefferson "Cascao" (Chute Boxe -80 kg)
  • Fabio Cesar (World Strong - 83 kg) vs. Cassiano Tytschyo (Chute Boxe - 83.6 kg)
  • Alexandre "Jacare" (Nocaute 72.6kg) vs. Luciano "Monge" (Chute Boxe - 72kg)
  • Wado Rego (Wado-De La Riva) vs. Luciano "Macarrao" (Noguchi Fight Team) *
  • Gil Freitas (Never Shake - 83.5kg) vs. Fernando Bettega (Chute Boxe - 84.8kg)
  • Felipe Borges (RFT) vs. Marcio Gracinha (Chute Boxe) *
  • Paulo Souza (Nova Uniao - 93.6kg) vs. Fernando Lageano (Chute Boxe - 95kg)
  • Julio Cesar Bilik (Gentilini - 75.3kg) vs. Michael Costa (Chute Boxe - 78kg)
  • Gustavo "Ximu" (Gracie Barra) vs. Marcelo Brito (Arena) *
  • Elaine Santiago (Zanco) vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" (Chute Boxe) *
  • Jorge Bezerra (Never Shake -85.1kg) vs. Fabio Silva (Chute Boxe - 86.5kg)
*Fighters weren't able to make weight at the official weigh-ins, before this article was written.

  Monday - May 22, 2006
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Across The Pond: British MMA News
By David West
Photo courtesy of Ian Freeman

Ian Freeman vs. Melvin Manhoef - Photo courtesy of Ian Freeman
Freeman (left) vs. Manhoef
Freeman Takes Shot at Cage Rage Title

Cage Rage has announced that the July 1 clash between Ian "The Machine" Freeman and "the Manhunter" Melvin Manhoef will no longer be a catch-weight match: the pair will now vie for the Cage Rage Light-Heavyweight World Title. Manhoef won the title when he knocked out Chute Boxe's Fabio Piemonte, then defended his belt in spectacular fashion against Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos in April. Freeman will be coming out of retirement for the match and making his first outing in the (under) 205-pound weight division at the same time.

Cage Rage: Contenders Fight Card

In addition to their show on July 1, this Sunday sees the debut of Cage Rage's new feeder show, Contenders, to be held at their old stomping grounds of Caesar's Nightclub in South London. Suley Mahmoud was set to headline, but was forced out by injury and Jess Liaudin has taken his place to face Lee Doski. There is plenty of talent on the card, including Marius Zaromskis, a thunder-fisted Lithuanian training with London Shootfighters who has won all three of his fights to date by stoppage. Zaromskis will face Cambridge-based fighter Afnan Saheed, who won a wild slugfest with Rich Kenny at Intense Fighting 3, so this one promises fireworks.

Undefeated featherweight Ronnie Mann (7-0-0) will tangle with London Pancrase's Ashley Grimshaw (2-2-0), whilst Chris Freeborn, who holds a win over Cage Rage's Featherweight Champion Brad Pickett, will face Ricky Andrews in a lightweight contest as Andrews moves down from welterweight.

Current Contenders Fight Card:

Lee Doski vs. Jess Liaudin
Dennis Kelly vs. Dave Lee
Brad Conway vs. Attila Kubilay
Ronnie Mann vs. Ashley Grimshaw
Chris Freeborn vs. Ricky Andrews
Afnan Saheed vs. Marius Zaromskis
Dorlan O' Mally vs. Ed Smith
Paulo Milan vs. Sami Berik
Jake Bostwick vs. Torey Groman
Matt Sellars vs. Danny Mann
Jordan Miller vs. Mark Smith
Vaughan Harvey vs. Stuart Grant

ZT Fight Night 2 Coming June 25

After a successful debut show in February, fighter and promoter Sol Gilbert has announced the line-up for the second ZT Fight Night, scheduled for June 25 at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort, just south of London. Four members of Team SHOOT Espana, including UFC and Cage Rage veteran Tulio Palhares are on the bill. Palhares will meet Tom Watson, from the Gorilla Academy, who overwhelmed Michael Watson at the first ZT Fight Night. The highly unorthodox welterweight Sami Berik will test his Chinese martial arts against Lee Doski, provided both are in one piece after their matches at Cage Rage: Contenders. Heavyweight prospect Ryan White (3-0-0), who has never had an opponent last beyond the first round in three matches, will meet Martin Thompson (2-1-0), coming off a loss at Cage Rage 16.

ZT Fight Night 2 Current Card:

MMA
Ryan White vs. Martin Thompson
Sami Berik vs. Lee Doski
Tom Watson vs. Tulio Palhares
Brian Adams vs. Armando Sixel
Nigel Whitear vs. Richard Walker
Jon Hathaway vs. Jim Morris
Alex Backhouse vs. Steve Bagley
Martin Hayman vs. Lloyd Lovejoy
Carlos Granell vs. Phil Else
Enrique Anton vs. Alberto Mira

Kickboxing
Scott Gibson vs. Mick Trott
Danny Zahran vs. Enz Arrif
Damion Whythe vs. Colin Jon

Cold Doesn't Deter Heated Action at Storm Samurai 11
Report and photos by Eduardo Alonso

Cristiane Cyborg
Cristiane Cyborg
BRAZIL, May 21 -- Not even the cold rainy weather gracing the city of Curitiba could put a stop to the will of the young fighters that stepped inside the Storm Samurai ring for yet one more edition of the already traditional event. Only three fights out of eleven ended up going the distance, with many submissions and knockouts presented to the crowd. Once again the crowd that showed was a good number, but it could have been more with some better weather, as lots of ticket buyers chose not to attend. The audience that did partake were almost fully composed of Chute Boxe supporters, as is easily understandable with Curitiba being the hometown of the famous team.

The Chute Boxe fighters didn't disappoint their fans that night. With Fabio Silva controlling the action against opponent Jorge Bezerra, who wasn't willing to engage throughout most of the fight; Marcio Gracinha showing interesting composure for a young fighter facing an experienced opponent in Felipe Borges; Cristiane "Cyborg" mauling her opponent once again; and Michael "Maicon" Costa exploding into fierce action for a quick submission in around one minute of his fight, Chute Boxe fans were bound to be pleased after the show.

The most technical bout of the night, however, featured seasoned veteran Gustavo "Ximu" Machado, from Gracie Barra, facing the tough and talented Marcelo Brito. The bout was very even with Ximu using all his experience, striking skills and clinch work to dominate in win the first and third rounds, while Brito fought hard and managed to give him some trouble in round number two, showing that the two of them will be seen again in many shows to come around the world. FCF will have more Storm Samurai coverage in its next issue.

Ninja, Wanderlei and Shogun
Ninja, Wanderlei & Shogun

Ximu in a clinch with Brito
Ximu in a clinch with Brito
Storm Samurai 11 Results
  • Jeferson "Cascao" def. Luis Fernando - TKO R1
  • Cassiano Tytschyo def. Fabio Cesar - Submission (Guillotine choke) R1
  • Luciano "Monge" def. Alexandre "Jacare" - Submission (Armbar) R2
  • Luciano "Macarrao" def. Waldo Rego - TKO (Ref stoppage) R2
  • Gil Freitas def. Fernando Betega - TKO (Ref stoppage) R3
  • Marcio Gracinha def. Felipe Borges - Unanimous decision
  • Fernando Lageano def. Paulo Souza - Submission (Kata gatame choke) R2
  • Michael "Maicon" Costa def. Julio Cesar Bilik - Submission (Triangle choke) R1
  • Gustavo "Ximu" Machado def. Marcelo Brito - Split decision
  • Cristiane "Cyborg" def. Elaine Santiago - TKO (Corner threw in towel) R1
  • Fabio Silva def. Jorge Bezerra - Unanimous decision

Combat in the Cage II:
Heavyweight Showdown

Report by Jim Genia

Sherman Pendergarst (left) vs. Justin Eilers
Pendergarst (left) vs. Eilers
(May 20th, Atlantic City, New Jersey) One of the top bangers in the Northeast took on a UFC veteran tonight at Combat in the Cage II, and fans were treated to an absolute slugfest as these two heavyweights had their showdown. In promoter Ed Hsu's latest installment of his pro-MMA event, there were submission, knockouts, and the kind of seesaw battles that keeps the crowd on their feet - and Boardwalk Hall was certainly rocking. Highlights of the night included:
  • Team Carvalho's Erick Tavares, he dropped Jerry Spiegel with his fast and accurate hands.
  • Team Carvalho's Franklin Ferrer and Real Combat's Stephane Cloud, who waged war for the duration of their bout.
  • The back-and-forth battle between UFC-veteran Justin Eilers and local stud Sherman Pendergarst, which saw both men inflict damage before Eilers ended it with repeated body shots.
Results:
  • Kevin Manderson (freestyle-154lbs) vs. John Mahlow (St. Augustine Combat Club-155lbs)
    Mahlow via rear choke at 4:16 of R1.

  • Jerry Spiegel (Team Lionkill-186lbs) vs. Erick Tavares (Team Carvahlo-184lbs)
    Tavares via KO at 1:01 of R1.

  • Anthony Montanaro (Pitts Penn-156lbs) vs. Khristian Geraci (Real Combat-156lbs)
    No Contest due to an accidental knee to the groin.

  • Mike Schneck Jr. (Xtreme Fitness-158lbs) vs. Tom Gallechio (Rhino Fight Team-168lbs)
    Gallechio via split decision.

  • Franklin Ferrer (Team Carvalho-184lbs) vs. Stephane Cloud (Real Combat-185lbs)
    Ferrer via armbar at 4:25 of R1 - a great fight!

  • Leremy Johnson (Advanced BKJ-205lbs) vs. Joe Doerksen (Team Extreme-201lbs)
    Doerksen via tap out due to strikes at 4:30 of R1 - total domination by Doerksen.

  • Jamie Toney (Team Jorge Gurgel-166lbs) vs. Billy Craparo (Pitts Penn-171lbs)
    Toney via rear choke at 3:35 of R1.

  • Sherman Pendergarst (Raww Dogg-248lbs) vs. Justin Eilers (Team Extreme-235lbs)
    Eilers via KO at 4:34 of R2 - an awesome performance by both men!

  Tuesday - May 23, 2006
"I Invite Him to Stand with Me,"
Alessio Goads Sanchez with Belated UFC 60 Shot

By Kelsey Mowatt

Johnny Alessio and Diego Sanchez will do battle this Saturday night at Los Angeles' famous Staples Center for UFC 60 "Hughes vs. Gracie" event, in what promises to be one of the night's more compelling match-ups. Barring any last minute complication's similar to the viral infection that prevented Sanchez from fighting the Canadian at UFC 59, these two welterweights will finally test what has now been months of preparation for their upcoming bout. One should only review the records of the two to find evidence to the fact, that indeed, despite the resounding fanfare that is surrounding the event's Matt Hughes and Royce Gracie fight, this fight (currently scheduled to be televised on pay-per-view) has the potential to be one of UFC 60's best.

"The Ultimate Fighter" season one welterweight champion Sanchez has a well-documented undefeated record of 14-0, including a recent memorable win over Nick Diaz at the reality show's season two finale. Sanchez served notice to his doubters, most notably, Diaz himself, that the New Mexico fighter was for real. 26-year-old Alessio comes into the fight with a record of 16-7, and has only lost two fights to Jonathan Goulet and Jason Black since the year 2000. Despite wins over accomplished fighters like Ronald Jhun, Chris Brennan, and Thomas Denny, he will be a huge underdog on the betting lines come Saturday night.

"Absolutely," says Alessio, acknowledging that many are not picking him to defeat Sanchez. "That's fine with me. I know what I'm capable of and people can underestimate all they want. Everyone will be saying, 'Damn, where did that guy come from?' after Saturday night. They all know Diego, but they don't know me. He was on a show that was huge; the sport got so much more popular because of that show and afterwards, they put a lot of money into him because he had won. I actually think this is the best possible fight for me. When I win this fight, then everyone will remember."

Part of Alessio's confidence comes as a result from the high altitude training the fighter has been undergoing in Utah with Jeremy Horn, Joe Riggs, Jay Hieron, and conditioning expert Billy Rush. Alessio, who normally trains out of Millennia Jiu-Jitsu with such noted fighters as Javier Vasquez and King of the Cage World Lightweight Champion Mac Danzig, departed for Utah from California to complete his pre-fight training.

"I live in California and train at Millennia, but for the last two to three weeks of training, I come out here," Alessio says. "The training is unbelievable, Billy Rush is a conditioning wizard. We train three times a day with Billy monitoring everything. Having Jeremy Horn, who's fought the who's who of the sport, helping you out of course is great, and then with the other guys here as well, it's a pretty good bunch. When you come back down to sea level, it will be that much easier to breathe and to fight. Training is always the hard part; the fight is always the fun part."

Alessio is keenly aware of Sanchez's abilities, having monitored the fighter's career closely, as both men competed often within the welterweight division of King of the Cage. As a result, Alessio believes he has a full understanding of what he needs to do Saturday night if he hopes to hand Sanchez his first career defeat.

"I knew Diego from a lot of the KOTC shows," Alessio tells FCF. "I knew when he signed up for the reality show and saw the line-up for the show, he had a good shot to be a finalist. He's beaten some tough guys, but to call himself the uncrowned champion is really going too far. I think he's a one-dimensional fighter. He throws a couple of punches and then goes for the takedown. I mean he brings it on the ground, and I know he wants to take me down and ground-and-pound me or go for a submission, but I'm going to fight my fight on the ground. I invite him to stand with me - it would make my night easy -- but I've been doing the grappling as long as he has. If I'm taken down I'll be going for submissions too -- I'm not at all worried about my abilities on the ground."

Thus according to Alessio's prediction for the fight, MMA observers and fans alike will be well aware of the Canadian welterweight come Sunday morning.

"I'm definitely going for the KO, I really think I have the advantage standing," Alessio says. "I don't think it will happen right away, it will probably happen after some fighting on the ground, stopping a few of his takedowns, but I think in the second round I'll get the TKO or KO."

From the event's promoter:
Thomson, Jackson Look To Deliver Wins At Strikeforce 'Revenge'

Lightweight (155 lb. limit) star Josh "The Punk" Thomson will attempt to steer his career back on track when meets Harris "The Hitman" Sarmiento during "Revenge," the 10-bout Strikeforce mixed martial arts mega-card that will take place at San Jose, California's HP Pavilion on Friday, June 9th. Middleweight (185 lb. limit) Eugene "The Wolf" Jackson, meanwhile, will look to build on his successful comeback when he squares off with Mike Seal during the star-studded affair.

The 27-year-old Thomson is coming off a heart-wrenching loss to Chicago, Illinois's Clay Guida. With the vacant Strikeforce lightweight championship on the line during March 10th's "Shamrock vs. Gracie" card, Thomson put forth a gutsy effort as he battled, predominantly from the guard position, to ward off the ground and pound tactics and repeated submission attempts by a relentless Guida. More than once, Thomson attempted to comprise his opponent's arm, but it was to no avail as Guida escaped each time and was declared the winner by unanimous decision after five rounds of non-stop action.

A former wrestling standout at NCAA Division I Stanford University, Thomson, a resident of San Jose, has established himself as a force in the sport of mixed martial arts.
To date, he has notched three victories in The Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) octagon. In his sole start with Japan's Pride Fighting Championship on July 17, 2005, Thomson submitted Daisuke Sugie with a kneebar.

Thomson's "Revenge" opponent, Sarmiento, is also endeavoring to rebound from a defeat that he suffered at the hands of undefeated sensation Gilbert Melendez during the "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event. The 23 year old Sarmiento is a native of Waipahu, Hawaii and a rugged brawler with over 30 mixed martial arts bouts under his belt.

In his first start in nearly three years, Jackson systematically wore down Mexico's Jorge "The Naked Man" Ortiz while the two repeatedly battled for position on the ground. After three rounds of action came to a close, Jackson was awarded the win by way of unanimous judges' decision.

The 39-year-old Jackson, who hails from East Palo Alto, California, entered the world of mixed martial arts eight years ago as a rugged street brawler with no formal martial arts training. Jackson has since evolved, adopting world-class trainers Javier Mendez and "Crazy Bob" Cook of American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) as his mentors.

The Strikeforce "Revenge" bill will be headlined by a rematch between former UFC light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort, and Pride Fighting Championship superstar, Alistair Overeem. During their first encounter at Pride's "Total Elimination 2005" event a year ago, Belfort and Overeem battled for nine and a half minutes (Note: Pride Fighting Championship schedules the first round of its bouts for 10 minutes) before Overeem secured a guillotine choke on Belfort and forced the Brazilian fighter to tap out.

Another rematch will see World San Shou kickboxing champion Cung Le face "Mr. Unbreakable" Brian Warren. Le, whose start marks his second career appearance under mixed martial arts rules, defeated Warren by way of unanimous decision in a bout contested under San Shou rules in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 30, 2004.

The card will also be highlighted by a matchup between undefeated 22-year-old Tyson Griffin and K-1 and UFC veteran, Duane "Bang" Ludwig, as well as a meeting between light heavyweights Bobby Southworth and James Irvin. Southworth introduced himself to the masses during Spike TV's premiere season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series two years ago.

Strikeforce 155 lb. champion, Clay Guida, will set out to defend his crown for the first time and former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar, Daniel Puder, will make his third career mixed martial arts appearance during the event.

Tickets for Strikeforce "Revenge" are on sale at the HP Pavilion box office (408-287-7070) as well as at all Ticketmaster (408-998-TIXS) outlets and Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com).

Strikeforce made history twice over on March 10th with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at the HP Pavilion, played host to 18,265 fans, the largest-ever attendance at a mixed martial arts fight card held in North America.

The Strikeforce mixed martial arts event is being produced by Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment (SVS&E, www.svse.net), a leading producer of major sporting and entertainment events and the exclusive producer of such events for San Jose, California's largest entertainment venue, HP Pavilion. SVS&E's many properties include "Fight Night at the Tank" professional boxing; the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks; and the annual ATP men's professional tennis "SAP Open" event.

  Thursday - May 25, 2006
CSAC Suspends Kyle for WEC XX Episode Against Champion Olsen
By Loretta Hunt - Photo by Daisy Rosas

Via a letter dated May 23, mixed martial artist Mike Kyle was informed that he had been temporarily suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for his behavior in a heavyweight title bout against defending champion Brian Olsen at May 5's World Extreme Cagefighting XX, held at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Kyle's name was also placed on a national suspension list pending further review of the incident.

"In reviewing the bout it is apparent that your conduct was not only a violation of the rules, but went against all sportsmanship," wrote CSAC Executive Officer wrote in the letter obtained by FCF. "You brutally beat an already downed and possibly unconscious opponent. You even struck him after the referee told you both verbally and physically to stop."

During the bout, Kyle had kicked a kneeling Olsen in the face, an infraction according to all MMA regulations' versions currently utilized in the U.S. Olsen had been both verbally and physically instructed by referee Josh Rosenthal to halt the action at this time, but continued to strike Olsen until a second referee ascended the cage to assist Rosenthal in pulling Kyle off the now debilitated fighter.

Referee Josh Rosenthal tries in vain to pull Mike Kyle off of Brian Olsen
Rosenthal tries to pull Kyle off Olsen

Although the event was not held under the CSAC's regulatory jurisdiction, public protest led Garcia to request and review a DVD of the bout. According to Garcia, Article 11, Statute 390 of California's boxing regulations (of which MMA is not exempt) states that, "Any licensee who violates the laws of the State of California…or the rules of the Athletic Commission…who fails or refuses to comply with a valid order of a commission representative, or who conducts himself or herself at any time or place in a manner which is deemed by the commission to reflect discredit to boxing, may have his or her license revoked, or may be fined, suspended or otherwise disciplined in such manner as the commission may direct."

Kyle will have the right to request a hearing to appeal the ruling and must do so in writing within thirty days from the May 23 date.

MMA Expanding, Chiapparelli Pushes Grappling Event
L.A. Sub X Debuts Friday Night
By Derek Callahan

At the moment, Rico Chiapparelli is the guy leaving the party when everyone else is just showing up. On Friday, May 26, the first installment of Chiapparelli's new Professional Submission League "L.A. Sub X" will play out at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show will be a series of one-on-one submission matches featuring many of today's prominent mixed martial arts names.

UFC veterans Jeff Monson and Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz will be competing in separate matches; R1 staples Trigg and Matyushenko will also be on the card, as MMA representation is rounded out by welterweight Jake Shields. Familiar grappling circuit names like Ronald "Jacare" Souza and Marcelo Garcia have also been advertised to participate, with $35-$150 tickets available.

As MMA is exploding nationally more than it ever has in it's 12-year history, Chiapparelli, owner of the R1 gym that has produced the likes of Trigg and Matyushenko, is shying away from MMA and keeping closer to his roots. "We're trying to fit in where people don't like the fighting but do like the competition," he says on why he chose to put on a grappling event instead of a fighting one.

Hoping that there is a big enough demographic in Southern California to make an event like this profitable, Chiapparelli is optimistic about going in a separate direction from the recent breakout of seemingly countless sanctioned MMA events in the state. "The grassroots have been huge forever [but] everybody is getting into the game now," he says. "There's a huge over-saturation in the market."

One risk to the show will be that, in a culture where people seem to be looking for something more and more extreme, Chiapparelli is aiming to promote the tamer side of MMA. Still, the SoCal location is optimal: in a place where MMA is turning into the new prime activity, introducing where it came from may not be too outrageous an idea.

"Most people got into fighting through Brazilian jiu-jitsu and now wrestling," says Chiapparelli, who eventually plans to crown champions in his show. As of yet there are no weight classes, but where each competitor needs to be on the scales is, according to Chiapparelli, written out within their contract.

"Because of the increased awareness [of MMA] everyone should be profiting," says Chiapparelli. "There is a market for it, we just don't know how big it is."

For Chiapparelli the event is the first of what he hopes will be many. For one thing, he now has the time to put forth the effort required to make a successful show.

"With the maturation of the fighters I can focus on other things," he says, noting that Matyushenko and Trigg now require "no guidance at all." As MMA gets bigger in California, Chiapparelli sees more doors opening for success in the market. "We're trying to ride that wave," he says.

Tickets for L.A. Sub X can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.

  Friday - May 26, 2006
MMA Documentary Hits Canadian Network TV This Weekend
St. Pierre and Loiseau Among Subjects Spotlighted

By Peter Parsons

Evan Solomon
Evan Solomon
As mixed martial arts continues its march into mainstream, America's neighbors up North are getting in on the act as well. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a network television outlet in Canada, will air a documentary investigating the sport on May 28 in the morning on CBC News: Sunday and at night on CBC News: Sunday Night.

CBC's Evan Solomon was at the inaugural Extreme Cage Combat (ECC) event in Halifax on April 29, and spoke with FCF regarding the project.

"We're doing a documentary and a story on the rise of mixed martial arts in Canada," says Solomon, co-host of CBC News: Sunday, a popular weekly news program amongst Canadian viewers. For two months, Solomon and his crew followed Canadian superstars Georges St. Pierre and David Loiseau through their rigorous training regimens in Montreal, culminating with their headline fights at the UFC 58 "Canada vs. USA" event in Las Vegas.

It wasn't enough for Solomon to focus on St. Pierre and Loiseau, but also to investigate the recent growth of MMA in Canada, which includes events such as the ECC, the first-ever MMA event in Atlantic Canada. "Why did 5500 people buy tickets to this event and only 1200 buy tickets to a boxing match here in Halifax just two weeks ago?" queries Solomon.

Solomon, whose producer trains Muay Thai and executive producer trains Brazilian jiu-jitsu, is fascinated by the growing popularity of MMA in Canada. "We are right in the middle of the hockey playoffs and we live in Canada. A lot of people would not normally miss Hockey Night in Canada (CBC's highest rated program), but 5,500 people who would probably watch hockey are going out to watch an un-televised MMA event. I don't know about you, but I'm a journalist and I smell a story."

MMA's newest documentary airs May 28 in the morning on CBC News: Sunday and at night on CBC News: Sunday Night. Check your local listings for times.

FCF New Issue Check out what's in the current issue of FCF ...

PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix: Yoshida, Nogueira, Filipovic, Fujita, Barnett, Hunt and Werdum advance.

The Original: Royce Gracie makes his return to the Octagon.

UFC 59: Sylvia recaptures heavyweight title; Ortiz split decisions TV idol Griffin in California.

Tim Sylvia talks about his two-year struggle to get back the heavyweight title, a rematch with Arlovski and more.

Good, Bad or Just Plain Ugly?: Bottom of the Barrel Shows.

Little Big Man: Urijah Faber is climbing to the top of the 145-pound division, collecting championship belts along the way.

IFL Debut: International Fight League's "team" test-drive a strong one.

Mark Kerr has comeback on his mind. What does the sport have in mind for him?

WEC 20: A DQ for Kyle, a title for Wineland.

Ring of Combat 10 showcases the East Coast's elite.

Jungle Fight 6 - Kings of the Amazon Forest: The "Alligator" the "Anaconda" reign.

Sportfighting 3: Beatdowns and battles.

AFC 16: Franca gets second title, Yamashita earns Shooto accolade.

"The Spider" weaves magic in London. Anderson Silva saves Cage Rage 16's "Critical Condition" with elbow heard around the world.

Combat in the Cage: Amateurs do the darndest things.

Focus on Lethbridge, Canada.

Local stars shine at Reality Fighting 12.

In our monthly columns...

In Matt Hume's techniques, Daniel Eng & Steve Skidds demonstrate Parry-Cross-Leg Kick.

Bart Palaszewski BioFile.

Fight fans make their picks for UFC 60 and give their thoughts on Hughes vs. Gracie.

Every issue of Full Contact Fighter is jam-packed with fight news from the U.S. to Brazil to Japan. FCF travels the globe to bring the fights to you. Get yours today! Available at Tower Records stores around the world or by subscription...


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From the event's promoter:
TKO 26
AN EXPLOSIVE NIGHT OF MMA ACTION IN VICTORIAVILLE!

(MONTREAL/VICTORIAVILLE, CANADA) - TKO Major League MMA is excited to make its return to the city which lives and breaths for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Victoriaville! TKO 26: HEATWAVE will feature the best talent in Canadian MMA fighting their hearts out to move up proverbial ladder. This spectacular event will take place on Friday, June 30th, 2006 at the COLISEE DESJARDINS in the beautiful, quaint town of Victoriaville, Quebec. Canada Day may be the next day, but the fireworks are set to detonate the night before at TKO!

In the main event, Victoriaville's heavy hitter, MARTIN DESILETS (4-0-0) will face the greatest challenge of his life! Desilets always manages to thrill the crowd with his aggressive fighting style and spectacular knockouts. He has amassed a perfect record in his young career and feels that it's now time to take the next big step in his career. TKO has granted him his wish as a top notch International superstar, soon to be announced, will be coming to town looking to defeat Desilets in front of his home town supporters. The roars of the Victoriaville fans will be deafening as they cheer him on. Can Desilets win the big one?

CHRIS HORODECKI (4-0-0) will square off against fellow TKO sensation, SAMUEL GUILLET (3-2-0). These are two of the best, young prospects in the TKO organization! Each brings something different with them into the ring. Horodecki is best known for his striking prowess while Guillet is renowned for his heart, well rounded skills and slick submission game. However, Horodecki's ground game should be not overlooked as it was mainly because of his superior wrestling skills that he gained his last two victories. In contrast, Guillet was stopped in his last fight against an extremely tough, Jay Estrada. Guillet took that fight on a few days notice and will surely be looking to bounce back with what would be considered a huge win over Horodecki. Fireworks and excitement are guaranteed when these two young phenoms clash!

Also on the card: The return of "The Playboy" STEPHANE DUBE (2-1-0), as he tries for another spectacular KO victory against the very tough MIKE BELL (2-2-0) of Edmonton, Alberta; The record man for the fastest knock-out in MMA history CHRIS CLEMENTS (1-1-0) will go toe-to-toe with amateur kickboxing champion MARTIN GRANDMONT (3-2-0); The huge muscular monster from Winnipeg, Manitoba KRZYSTOF SOSZYNSKI (7-5-1) is also back as he is set to take on Chicoutimi's own SEBASTIEN GAUTHIER (1-0-0); this fantastic card also includes athletes such as FABIO HOLANDA (3-4-0), DAVE PARISEAU (3-2-0), AARON TREGEAR (3-3-0), DAVID GOULET (6-4-0) and STEVE CLAVEAU (2-5-0).

A total of ten (10) explosive bouts! Tickets ($35, $50, $100 and $200) go on sale Monday May 29th by calling the TKO ticket office at 514-998-MMA1 (6621).

TKO SUPERSTARS GEORGES ST-PIERRE, PATRICK COTE, SAM STOUT, JONATHAN GOULET and DAVID LOISEAU will be on hand at the event for autographs and pictures!

  Saturday - May 27, 2006
David Subs Goliath:
"Mayhem" Arm-Triangles "Giant" in 46 at Icon 46
Report and photo by Chris Onzuka

May 26, 2006 -- A "David vs. Goliath" headliner tonight from the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii set up number-one contender Jason "Mayhem" Miller getting back in line to take on current Icon Sport Middleweight champion Robbie Lawler.

So the saying goes "The best-laid plans of mice and men…" The broken hand that Robbie Lawler suffered in February 25 Icon 45 fight against FalinikoVitale and Miller's legal problems stemming from a December arrest for alleged burglary and assault has thrown the Icon Sport Middleweight division into turmoil these past few months.

However, tonight changed all that. Mayhem was back in action, as Miller made his return to the ring following a suspension by the Icon Sport organization while his legal issues played out. It was quite a comeback – Miller, who now fights at 185 pounds, took on the 6'7", 370-pound Stephan Gamlin. Almost quicker than the biblical David could whip out his trusty slingshot, Mayhem submitted his Goliath with an arm-triangle choke in 46 seconds.

Miller choking Gamlin
Miller choking Gamlin

Other highlights on the card included the furious pace of the Derek Stadler-Ku Lee fight, with Lee coming after Stadler like a bat out of hell. Stadler hung tough and submitted the wildman.

Kaleo Kwon and up-and-comer Marshall Harvest each turned the tides numerous times in their three rounds together, while the fight of the night was Sydney Silva's bout against Lawrence Shorter - a classic match-up of the jiu-jitsu fighter taking on the wrestler. Shorter lived up to his nickname with an incredible pre-fight vertical leap and proved overwhelmingly strong. Silva locked up submission attempt after submission attempt, which Shorter picked up and slammed his way out of. After about three minutes, the intensity finally slowed. In the second round, Silva landed a punch that stunned Shorter and Silva took control of the fight and finished him with an arm-triangle choke.

A blast from the past, Gary Meyers met a revitalized fighter in Ray Seraille. Seraille took some time off from the fight game to develop his skills and make a proper comeback. It looks like he is well on his way.

"The Ultimate Fighter" Season 2 contestant Anthony "The Crush" Torres had his first fight back since appearing on the show, defeating Jerry Hackney with a referee stoppage from strikes from the mount. After a heartfelt dedication in his entrance video to the brother he recently lost, Icon Sport's newest superstar in the making Tyson Nam took on a tough Bill Dexter. Nam proved that not only does he have star potential, but the skills to back it up. Nam dominated the fight, but Dexter kept him on his toes with some active guard work.

Icon Sport 46 Results
  • 135 lbs (3 Rounds - 3 Minutes)
    Ikaika Silva (Animal House, Ewa Beach) def. Jared Santos (Bulls Pen, Honolulu) - Submission (Armbar) 0:34 R1

  • 210 lbs (3 Rounds - 3 Minutes)
    Ron Verdadero (Jesus Is Lord, Waipahu) def. Jack Richardson (Bulls Pen, Honolulu) - Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

  • 165 lbs (3 Rounds - 3 Minutes) - Derek Stadler (Bulls Pen, Honolulu) def. Ku "The Prophecy" Lee (Federation Koko, Honolulu)
    Submission (Rear-naked choke) 2:07 R1

  • Heavyweight (3 Rounds - 3 Minutes)
    Pat Collins (Team Papakolea, Honolulu) def. Jarret "Baby Cabbage" Lindsey (Bulls Pen, Honolulu) - Unanimous decision (30-29, 30-27, 29-28)

  • 155 lbs (3 Rounds - 3 Minutes)
    Kaleo Kwon (Eastsidaz, Waimanalo) def. Marshall Harvest (Animal House, Ewa Beach)
    Majority decision (29-28, 28-28, 29-28)

  • MMA: 170 lbs (3 Rounds - 5 Minutes)
    Sydney Silva (HMC, Honolulu) def, Lawrence "Little Randleman" Shorter (St. Louis, MO) – Submission (Arm-triangle choke) 1:05 R2

  • Heavyweight (3 Rounds - 5 Minutes)
    Ray "The Big Easy" Seraille (Grappling Unlimited, Honolulu) def. Gary "Iron Bear" Myers (Muncie, IN) - TKO (Ref stoppage) 2:59 R1

  • 175 lbs (3 Rounds - 5 Minutes)
    Anthony Torres (Team MMAD, Kailua) def. Jerry Hackney (Advanced BKJ, Charleston, WV) - TKO (Ref stoppage - strikes) 4:12 R1

  • 135 lbs (3 Rounds - 3 Minutes)
    Tyson Nam (Grappling Unlimited, Honolulu) def. Bill "Spider" Dexter (Dean Lister/The Boxing Club, San Diego) - Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

  • Open-Weight 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
    Jason "Mayhem" Miller (Pig Hunters, Mt. Ka'ala) def. Stefan "Giant" Gamlin (Freelance, Peoria, AZ) - Submission (Arm-triangle choke) 0:46 R1

  Sunday - May 28, 2006
Hughes Pummels Torch out of Gracie's Hands,
Trio of Subs Marks UFC 60's Main Card

Report by Derek Callahan - Photos by Daisy Rosas

Royce Gracie leaves the cage after losing to Matt Hughes
Gracie leaves cage after loss to Hughes
No matter what you want to think about the direction of the UFC as it gaits to the coveted mainstream, one thing is certain: Shaquille O' Neal has never dunked at the McNichols Arena. Making a notable debut at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, UFC 60 had the type of match-ups that make a fan jittery with excitement and then frustrated with anticipation. The main event gave the show a different feel from any other in recent memory -- it was after all, the first UFC appearance for Royce Gracie in over a decade, the man who had been credited with single-handedly changing the face of martial arts in this country.

The victor of UFC 1, 2, and 4's tournaments was surrounded by family and looked calm as he headed to the Octagon for the first time in over ten years to a standing ovation. Shortly after, a recording of Hank Williams brought Matt Hughes out, where the question was brought up as to whether or not a country boy could indeed survive. As was mentioned by the broadcast team, Hughes was assumedly happy about the five extra pounds that he didn't have to cut, as the pair would meet at a catch weight of 175 pounds.

The fight began with both legends standing, Hughes adapting to the role of being a better striker than his opponent. After a scramble, Hughes was able to spin Gracie down into side control, where he worked from the top. Gracie tried to roll out, showed his back and got to half guard.

Hughes worked a straight armlock, twisting Gracie's appendage one way and then the other. As they scrambled, Hughes took Gracie's back, locking in his hooks as his elder stretched out belly down flat on the canvas. Hughes paused, and then let loose with several connecting shots to the sides of Gracie's head, stopping only when referee John McCarthy halted the onslaught.

After the bout, both fighters were as gracious in their respective roles of winner and loser as could be. Although somewhat deflated with a purplish mouse forming quickly under his eye, Gracie smirked when he nodded at his post-fight question, and assured the crowd that he would be back for more, though it is now definitive to say his best days are behind him. For his part, Hughes never wavered, for he showed the fans the extent of his repertoire, which is something he knew he had all along.

Abu Dhabi Absolute division champion Dean Lister took advantage of a boxer's style to win his UFC debut via triangle choke. Lister started the bout with a high kick and straight right hand, and from there, transitioned to the ground, yanking Italian-Brazilian Alessio Sakara down with him. After working towards an omo plata, Lister changed his M.O. and looked for a triangle. He found it, and got the tap from Sakara.

Diego Sanchez (top) on John Alessio's back
Sanchez on Alessio's back
Canadian John Alessio's confidence had to rise throughout round one when he stuffed at least five of Diego Sanchez's takedown attempts. It was evident that "The Ultimate Fighter" season one middleweight champion, now fighting back at his preferred weight of 170 pounds, needed the bout on the ground in order to be comfortable.

A relentless Sanchez hunted the takedown well into round two, and finally got his opponent to the ground at just under four minutes in, although it was short-lived. Alessio rolled backwards out of his own open guard and to his feet to the crowd's approval. The two welterweights circled, trading hands, and both were able to land, but Alessio seemed to get the best lick in with a stiff left jab that ripped a gash over Sanchez's right eye.

The third frame, from the midway point to the final bell, was a new sight in the Octagon. At about 3:30, a flying knee led to Sanchez taking Alessio's back. A body triangle held Sanchez on as he searched for a rear naked choke. Alessio tried to neutralize the arm that Sanchez attempted his submission with, and the cat-and-mouse game went on. As the end approached, Sanchez let loose with some short, and then some long punches from behind. It was enough to pick up the decision (with two scores of 29-28 and a single 30-27), but not enough to win over the crowd, who booed the decision.

Mike Swick victorious
Swick wins
Heavyweight Brandon Vera put his 6-0 record on the line against Assuerio Silva, and at 2:39 of round one he upped it to 7-0. Silva and Vera exchanged high kicks and jabs to start the second bout of the featured card. Although much leaner, the California up-and-comer didn't appear to be too much faster than the Brazilian who had lost a decision to Tim Sylvia at UFN 4. After an accidental poke to Silva's eye, Vera was picked up and slammed hard to the canvas. Midway through the slam, Vera sank in a guillotine and finished up from the guard.

After touching gloves and dancing around for openings, strikers Joe Riggs and Mike Swick looked comfortable bringing in UFC 60. Swick didn't look at all fazed by the southpaw preference of Riggs, and proved it by landing a solid right roundhouse to the body. Around 4:30 of round one the crowd was already booing the lack of action, but their impatience was rewarded with a quickness. Swick used his right leg to perfection, whacking it against the side of Riggs's head. As cheesy as the nickname sounds, Mike Swick actually deserves the "Quick" moniker. After eating the kick, Riggs looked flustered and proved it by shooting in for a double- leg without a set-up. That was where he was caught in a guillotine, which Swick promptly finished from the guard.

UFC 60 Main Card Results
  • Mike Swick def. Joe Riggs - Submission (Guillotine choke) 2:19 R1
  • Brandon Vera def. Assuerio Silva - Submission (Guillotine choke) 2:39 R1
  • Diego Sanchez def. John Alessio - Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Dean Lister def. Alessio Sakara - Submission (Triangle choke) 2:20 R1
  • Matt Hughes def. Royce Gracie - TKO (Ref stoppage- strikes) 4:39 R1

Fisher "King" of UFC 60 Prelims
By Loretta Hunt

If it was the UFC's aim to create a star or two tonight, their prayers were answered. With the highest tier of the Staples Center sardined with fans in comparison to the sparsely inhabited floor level seating, the dark bouts of UFC 60 catapulted a couple of names up the roster for future cash-ins.

3-0-1 lightweight Rick Davis was handpicked to take the brunt of 18-6-1 Melvin Guillard's punches, and he held up his end. A buoyant Guillard bounced from left to right before zooming in around 30 seconds with fast knees from the clinch. A one-two from New Orlean's Guillard and Davis was on his backside. The Las Vegas fighter rose and threw back a low kick just as Guillard answered with a whopping overhand right hook. Like deadweight, David fell forward chin first, his body folding at the hip joint on the way down. Guillard was rewarded with hearty applause for a stinging opener.

Rebounding from his infamously mind-numbing UFC 56 debut with partner-in-crime Kevin Jordan, Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga returned to the Octagon tonight a bit surer of himself. Taking down American Top Team's Fabiano Scherner at will, Napao easily outscored him in the first round both on the feet and on the mat, leaving Scherner cut and bleeding under his right eye going into the second.

After a prolonged between-rounds rest period that went well past one minute as a cageside physician flashed a light into Scherner's eyes, the fight progressed on. Ducking Scherner's wild left, Gonzaga landed a stiff jab that wobbled Scherner, then followed him with a right kick and a body shot in succession. Scherner flew back and bounced off the cage, dropping to his knees and reaching for Gonzaga's legs to recoup positioning. Referee Steve Mazzagatti halted the bout just then, a premature if not inappropriate stoppage if there ever was one.

After dropping a split decision to Sam Stout at March's UFC 58 as a last-minute replacement, Spencer Fisher wore the other shoe this evening. One-week replacement Matt Wiman hardly had the experience to match the MFS Elite lightweight, but that didn't stop him from trying. A slow start for Fisher aided the 3-2 Wiman's soft takedown on his 17-2 foe. Stalled on the mat, Fisher eventually mustered to his feet, but Wiman grabbed the guillotine on "the King's" rise and the two crashed to the mat again. Fisher escaped, but soon found himself defending a rear naked choke, which he broke free from before returning to his feet. From here, Fisher took the reigns with a flying knee attempt, reversing a takedown attempt to settle into Wiman's guard. Connecting with an elbow, a sizeable gash drew blood from Wiman's forehead as the round culminated. Pushing each other as they passed to get back to their corners, the pair's animosity fueled the crowd.

Although it looked as if the cutman would be unable to stop the trickle from Wiman's vertical forehead rip, the Armory rep rose from his corner and coaxed Fisher across the cage with the taunt "Do you wanna go? Let's go." Fisher obliged , expertly maneuvering himself off of Wiman's takedown attempt into the Florida fighter's guard. Backing up and out to his feet, Fisher then charged in with a flying left knee, catapulting himself over Wiman's shoulder and clotheslining him to the ground with his dragging left arm. Fisher hardly had the time to twist around to survey the damage – seeing Wiman's dazed expression, referee John McCarthy jumped in to halt the action. The audience went wild.

Looking the part of seasoned pro among of an undercard of relative youngsters, Jeremy Horn welcomed the takedowns of Team Quest's Chael Sonnen, an opponent the Utah resident had bested already on two previous occasions.

From his back, Horn masterfully sported an open butterfly guard, his heels resting comfortably on Sonnen's hips as the wrestler tried to connect with elbows from above. Horn punched in his card and went to work, and Sonnen methodically countered Horn's attempt to leverage a guillotine choke by rolling himself and his clinging foe to their side.

From another opening bell takedown at the top of round two, Horn finally released his trapped arm and latched on an armbar, which he torqued by pressing his triangled leg underneath and against Sonnen's neck for the 1:17 tap out.

UFC 60 Preliminary Bouts Results
  • Jeremy Horn def. Chael Sonnen – Submission (Armbar) 1:17 R2
  • Spencer Fisher def. Matt Wiman – TKO (Ref stoppage - knee) 1:43 R2
  • Gabriel Gonzaga def. Fabiano Scherner- TKO (Ref stoppage- strikes) 0:24 R2
  • Melvin Guillard def. Rick Davis – KO 1:37 R1

More is Better Says IFL's Schoenauer
League's Second Bracket Airs Tonight on FOX Sports Network
By Derek Callahan - Photos by Tom DeFazio

For Alex Schoenauer, the light-heavyweight fighter America watched come from behind with a stunning heelhook victory in his televised International Fight League bout last week against Travis Wiuff, it's all about the experience.

Alex Schoenauer defeats Travis Wiuff
Schoenauer defeats Wiuff

As FSN airs the second bracket of the IFL's Legends Championships tonight featuring Maurice Smith's Tiger Sharks against Renzo Gracie's Pitbulls, Schoenauer (the sole member of Bas Rutten's Anacondas to come away on the winning end) prepares for Jamal Patterson (1-0), who he'll meet at June 3's IFL Finals in an added non-team match-up.

Getting into the ring and trying the things he's worked on in the gym is what Schoenauer, the 11-4 veteran of "The Ultimate Fighter's" inaugural season, looks forward to most. "The more you fight in the ring, the more comfortable you're going to be," says Schoenauer. But was he comfortable getting choked out three times in his first five fights since the show wrapped?

"I was trying to get as much ring time as possible, preparing myself," explains Schoenauer. It goes back to before Spike TV, prior to the weeks training around the clock with fellow UFC hopefuls. Undefeated when he started on the show, Schoenauer sees it as the point where he was kicked into overdrive as a fighter, regardless of how much experience he felt he had previously. Of all the participants on the original show, "I was the one who improved the quickest," says Schoenauer. But he concedes that, "I didn't have time to develop, I was a mediocre jiu-jitsu guy."

Schoenauer left his first and, so far, only UFC fight on the wrong end of a 20-second knockout. Mike Swick made it a quick night, so with his inexperience in mind, Schoenauer set out to change what was wrong. He would do it in the ring, regardless of the potential for mistakes along the way.

"I made some bad decisions in fights, but it paid off," he says. "As long as you train harder and learn something it's not a loss." Schoenauer earned himself the luxury of hindsight while professing the positives of a "fight first, worry about the record later" theory. That's because after the losses to Swick, the 3-3 Buck Meredith, Midwest standout Jason Brilz and former "TUF" housemate Lodune Sincaid, Schoenauer looks to have turned a corner.

"Getting hit in the face twice a day, six days a week, you're going to get better," says Schoenauer, who trains now with the Las Vegas Combat Club. It was at the IFL's premier event that Schoenauer pulled off the biggest upset -- and win -- of his career.

Travis Wiuff slugs Alex Schoenauer with a solid right
Wiuff slugs Schoenauer with a solid right

"I was obviously losing both rounds, I was stuffing takedowns [but] he was a stronger fighter," he says about his opponent, UFC veteran Wiuff.

"But from fighting so much, I saw an opportunity and was able to take it," he says. Schoenauer picked up the win for Rutten's Anacondas, putting the Argentinean-born fighter on a temporary pedestal in the light heavyweight division. He vows to stay there.

"I paid my dues; now I'm winning some big fights," he says. "Once I get to the next step, I stay there." The win earned him another appearance in the IFL, and it seems difficult to imagine someone who has gambled more to get to where they are. Under contract not to fight until called on by the UFC, Schoenauer had other plans after the reality show's completion.

"We all know how the UFC is: they get around to you when they get around to you," he says. With that in mind, Schoenauer says he brought his concerns to UFC president Dana White. "I told him 'Hey, whenever you need me, I'll fight for you.' I'm sure whenever they need me they'll call," he says. From then on a free agent, Schoenauer is relaxed about where he is now because "I'm happy where I'm at; I'm plenty busy right now."

He's busy training for the IFL and Patterson, a new sensation who came out of left field to submit Matt Horwich in his debut fight. Patterson, a Renzo Gracie-trained fighter who boxes at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, fought for the Pitbulls on the last IFL card.

"I know he's probably not as good as Travis Wiuff," says Schoenauer, who credits Kevin Randleman with helping him improve his wrestling. "He is a known jiu-jitsu guy, he's got a lot of experience in the jiu-jitsu world. I don't think he's as comfortable with his hands as I am."

This being the last of Schoenauer's two-fight deal with the IFL, free agency is once again in his near future. As a TUF veteran, Schoenauer is one of the most familiar faces that the IFL is putting on FOX Sports Net. However, he doesn't see it quite like that. "I really don't think of it as 'Oh, I'm on TV again,'" says Schoenauer. For him, it's all a bout getting into the ring and preparing for the future, whatever it may bring.

From the event's promoter:
IFL Logo
IFL on Fox Sports Net

International Fight League #2 on Fox Sports Net – Sunday May 28 6:00 pm check your local listings

New York PITBULLS Vs. Seattle TIGERSHARKS (Semi-Finals)
Renzo Gracie – Coach | Maurice Smith – Coach
  • Eric Owings vs. Justin Jones
  • Gustavo Machado vs. Brad Blackburn
  • Delson Heleno vs. Dennis Hallman
  • Jamal Patterson vs. Matt Horwich
  • Carlos Cline vs. Devin Cole
Air Times by Region:
  • FSN ARIZONA Sun - 05/28/2006 05:30 PM
  • FSN ARIZONA Sun - 05/28/2006 02:00 AM
  • FSN ARIZONA Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 PM
  • FSN ARIZONA Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM
  • FSN BAY AREA Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Pacific
  • FSN BAY AREA Tue - 05/30/2006 12:00 PM Pacific
  • FSN BAY AREA Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Pacific
  • FSN CHICAGO Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Central
  • FSN CHICAGO Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Central
  • FSN CHICAGO Tue - 05/30/2006 09:00 PM Central
  • FSN CHICAGO Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Central
  • FSN DETROIT Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN DETROIT Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN DETROIT Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Eastern
  • FSN DETROIT Wed - 05/31/2006 01:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN FLORIDA Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN FLORIDA Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN FLORIDA Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Eastern
  • FSN MIDWEST Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Central
  • FSN MIDWEST Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Central
  • FSN MIDWEST Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Central
  • FSN NEW ENGLAND Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN NEW ENGLAND Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Eastern 4,424
  • FSN NEW ENGLAND Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Eastern 4,424
  • FSN NEW YORK Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Eastern 6,247
  • FSN NEW YORK Mon - 05/29/2006 12:00 PM Eastern 6,247
  • FSN NEW YORK Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Eastern 6,247
  • FSN NEW YORK Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Eastern 6,247
  • FSN NORTH (Minnesota) Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Central
  • FSN NORTH (Minnesota) Mon - 05/29/2006 12:00 PM Central
  • FSN NORTH (Minnesota) Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Central
  • FSN NORTH (Minnesota) Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Central
  • FSN NORTH (Wisconsin) Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Central
  • FSN NORTH (Wisconsin) Mon - 05/29/2006 12:00 PM Central
  • FSN NORTH (Wisconsin) Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Central
  • FSN NORTH (Wisconsin) Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Central
  • FSN NORTHWEST Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Pacific
  • FSN NORTHWEST Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Pacific
  • FSN NORTHWEST Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Pacific
  • FSN OHIO Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN OHIO Mon - 05/29/2006 12:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN OHIO Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN OHIO Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Eastern
  • FSN PITTSBURGH Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN PITTSBURGH Mon - 05/29/2006 01:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN PITTSBURGH Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN PITTSBURGH Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Eastern
  • FSN ROCKY MOUNTAIN Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Mountain
  • FSN ROCKY MOUNTAIN Sun - 05/28/2006 02:00 AM Mountain
  • FSN ROCKY MOUNTAIN Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Mountain
  • FSN ROCKY MOUNTAIN Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Mountain
  • FSN ROCKY MOUNTAIN (Non-Rockies) Tue - 05/30/2006 01:00 PM
  • FSN SOUTH Sun - 05/28/2006 07:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN SOUTH Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Eastern
  • FSN SOUTH Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Eastern
  • FSN SOUTHWEST Sun - 05/28/2006 06:00 PM Central
  • FSN SOUTHWEST Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Central
  • FSN SOUTHWEST (Dallas & San Antonio) Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM
  • FSN WEST Sun - 05/28/2006 05:00 PM Pacific
  • FSN WEST Sun - 05/28/2006 02:00 AM Pacific
  • FSN WEST Tue - 05/30/2006 03:00 PM Pacific
  • FSN WEST Tue - 05/30/2006 02:00 AM Pacific
  • COMCAST MID ATLANTIC Sun - 05/28/2006 12:00 AM Eastern

  Monday - May 29, 2006 - Memorial Day
Full Contact Fighter would like to thank all the men and women who have fought in the many wars to preserve our freedoms.

Many unsung heroes have lost their lives in the fight for freedom.

Full Contact Fighter would like to thank you and thank the families of the fallen heroes.

From the event's promoter:
MFC Logo
MFC 7 "USA VS. RUSSIA III" CARD COMPLETE

ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY -- The largest international mixed martial arts promotion in the United States, Mixed Fighting Championship, is excited to announce that the "USA vs. Russia III" card has been finalized and should be the promotion's strongest international team competition to date. The card features some of the top fighters from around the United States doing battle against some of the toughest fighters that Russia has to offer.

Although "USA vs. Russia III" is the main focus of MFC 7, the June 3rd mega-card also features the first ever MFC title fight as Derrick Noble faces Eddie Alvarez for the welterweight title. If that weren't enough, the MFC Challenge preliminary fights are highlighted by many bouts of American vs. Japanese competitors as well as four of the top female fighters in the world today: Tara Larosa, Hitomi Akano, Amanda Buckner, and Shayna Baszler.

Scheduled to make a special guest appearance to award the championship belt at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City is none other than Fedor Emelianenko, undefeated Pride heavyweight champion. Fedor has come to the United States especially to lend his support to MFC and will teach a master class the next day at the Howard Johnson Hotel in the Crystal Ballroom.

Don't miss this exciting night of action! Tickets for MFC 7 "USA vs. Russia III" are available now and can be purchased directly through all Ticketmaster locations (1-800-736-1420 or www.ticketmaster.com). Visit www.mfcsport.com, the official web site of the Mixed Fighting Championship, for the latest news and updates.

MFC 7 "U.S.A. vs. RUSSIA III"
Saturday, June 3rd
Boardwalk Hall
Atlantic City, New Jersey

Welterweight Championship Bout
Eddie Alvarez (USA) vs. Derrick Noble (USA)

USA vs. RUSSIA III
Sergey Kaznovsky (Russia) vs. Jerome Smith (USA)
Alexey Veselovzorov (Russia) vs. Mike Patt (USA)
Erik Oganov (Russia) vs. Chris Liguori (USA)
Vladimir Zenin (Russia) vs. Matt Lee (USA)
Vadim Kulchitsky (Russia) vs. Joey Brown (USA)

MFC Challenge
Preliminary Fights
Tara Larosa (USA) vs. Hitomi Akano (Japan)
Amanda Buckner (USA) vs. Shayna Basler (USA)
Kaream Ellington (USA) vs. Kenichi Yamaoto (Japan)
Pat O'Malley (USA) vs. Eric Tavares (Brazil)
Michael Alden (USA) vs. Yusuke Masuda (Japan)
Stephen Haigh (USA) vs. Toraji (Japan)

Cage Rage's "Contenders" Yields
Report and photos by David West

Ronnie Mann jumps on Ashley Grimshaw
Mann jumping on Grimshaw
LONDON, May 28 -- It was back to their old stomping grounds at Caesar's Nightclub in South London for the debut of Cage Rage's official feeder show, Contenders. Solid matchmaking meant an action-packed card, with only two of eleven fights lasting the distance.

One of these, between Ashley Grimshaw, from London Pancrase, and Ronnie Mann, from Trojan Free Fighters, was the fight of the night, a three-round back and forth battle that saw the two featherweights trading furiously on their feet and both almost securing submissions on the ground. Grimshaw nearly caught Mann with an armbar, then narrowly escaped a triangle. There were flying stomps and high kicks from Mann, with Grimshaw answering with spinning back fists and superman punches. Mann took the first round, but Grimshaw seemed to grow in strength as the fight progressed. After a very close second round, Grimshaw turned up the pressure in the final period, attacking relentlessly on his feet and landing hard hammerfists on the ground. A rematch seems almost certain.

At the top of the bill, Combat Submission Wrestling stylist Dave Lee needed just under a minute and half to triangle Carlson Gracie purple belt Dennis Kelly. Kelly tried everything to escape -- slamming Lee twice and scrambling frantically -- but Lee kept the submission on tight and Kelly had to tap after 1:27.

Heavy-handed Marius Zaromskis remains undefeated after stopping Cambridge Free Fight's Afnan Saheed. Saheed started well, using low kicks and sharp counter-punching, even sending Zaromskis to the canvas with a straight right counter to a kick. Zaromskis kept his wits, recovered his footing and when he trapped Saheed against the fence. He floored him with a two-fisted assault, then pounded him until Saheed tapped out.

Sami Berik had London Thai Fighters' Paulo Milano in trouble when he managed to take top position on the mat and went wild slashing down with his left, but Milano escaped, took Berik's back and choked him out.

O'Mally mounted on Smith
O'Mally mounted on Smith

Full Results:
  • Dave Lee def. Dennis Kelly - Tapout (Triangle choke) 1:27 R1
  • Attila Kubilay def. Brad Conway - TKO (Ref stoppage - strikes) 4:27 R1
  • Ashley Grimshaw DRAW Ronnie Mann - Majority draw
  • Chris Freeborn def. Ricky Andrews - Tapout (Rear-naked choke) 4:16 R2
  • Marius Zaromskis def. Afnan Saheed - Tapout (Strikes) 2:21 R1
  • Ed Smith def. Dorlan O'Mally - Unanimous decision
  • Paulo Milano def. Sami Berik - Tapout (Rear-naked choke) 4:00 R1
  • Jake Bostwick def. Torey Groman - KO 0:09 R1
  • Danny Mann def. Matt Sellars - TKO (Ref stoppage- strikes) 2:21 R1
  • Jordan Miller def. Mark Smith - Tapout (Triangle choke) 1:41 R1
  • Vaughn Harvey def. Stuart Grant - Tapout (Strikes) 1:46 R1

  Tuesday - May 30, 2006
Ultimate Cage Wars 4:
Day Gets Controversial Stoppage Against Fontaine, Menjivar Rolls with Win Over Tavernini
By Kelsey Mowatt

Although the vast majority of the MMA world was transfixed on Los Angeles, California and UFC 60 this past Saturday night, approximately 2,000 fans packed into the Winnipeg Convention Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba that same evening to take in Ultimate Cage Wars 4. Promoted by local fighter Krzysztof Soszynski, the event has come to be the province's most notable MMA promotion, having drawn crowds for previous events as high as 4,000.

This card's main event pitted Winnipeg fighter and former TKO Middleweight Champion Chris Fontaine against Canadian Martial Arts Centre fighter Jason Day in a light heavyweight battle. Day came into UCW 4 on a three-fight winning streak, while Fontaine was hoping to build off a recent win over Gerome Grady, having lost his previous two fights before that to Jason Macdonald and UFC veteran Gideon Ray. Despite the hometown support, Fontaine was unable to stifle Day's ground-and-pound attack, giving the Lethbridge fighter the first round TKO victory and his fourth win in a row.

"Jason Day beating Chris Fontaine was the big upset of the night," says promoter and former Fontaine teammate Soszynksi. "Day controlled the fight from start to finish, very impressive, a controversial stoppage - some say he was okay and some thought the fight needed to be stopped."

With only seconds remaining in the opening round, the referee stopped the fight as Day punished Fontaine along the cage fence. Although Day himself thinks it was a legitimate stoppage, he understands why Fontaine's trainers, Joe Doerksen and Rodrigo Munduruca might have thought Fontaine could have held on until the end of the round.

"Basically I had him pinned on the cage fence," Day tells FCF. "He swung in for an armbar so I stacked him up. I hurt him with two or three left elbows and then followed them up with several hard left hooks. I saw his eyes roll up into his head and he wasn't really defending himself anymore. I think the referee recognized he was in trouble and stopped the fight. I think it was a legitimate stoppage, he's a tough fighter and can take a beating, I know Joe and Rodrigo thought he could hold on until the rest of the round, but I don't know if he could have taken many more shots for the last 13 seconds or so that were left."

Controversy aside, Day is ecstatic about defeating Fontaine, who is regarded across Canada for being an extremely resilient fighter and punishing striker. The win brings Day's combined pro-am record to 8-5, while Fontaine's drops to 11-10.

"I felt in control from the start of the fight," Day says. "I definitely knew that I didn't want to stand him with him and exchange. I took him down and worked my ground game, that's where I'm most comfortable. I never really felt like I was in any danger. He went for an armbar, but it was never really locked in, at no point did I really feel threatened. I really have to thank Lee Mein, he brought a lot more work into my training and our team has really come together."

Day's teammate Justin Tavernini took on highly-regarded bantamweight Ivan Menjivar, who was fresh off a recent unanimous decision win over Taiyo Nakahara at K-1 Hero's 5 on May 3. Despite being a huge underdog in the fight, Tavernini still managed to push Menjivar early on, nearly landing a high kick to the head that resulted in Menjivar taking the fight to the ground. From there, Menjivar demonstrated the skills that have earned the "Pride of El Salvador" an impressive 20-4 record, as the fighter, who currently resides in Montreal, submitted Tavernini with a triangle choke in the first round.

According to Soszynski, the card was highlighted with several impressive performances, in addition to the action that Day and Menjivar brought to Winnipeg Saturday night.

"Great performances form Dominick Blais and Aaron Tregear - this was the fight of the night," Soszynski recalls. "These guys had a stand-up war, each was close to finishing their opponent in the first round [Tregear won by TKO in round two]. Sutherland versus Hamzeh was another great fight, back and forth action. Hamzeh is an animal, and he has not fought in 14 months. [Hamzeh won by first round TKO). I was also impressed with Graydon Tannas, [who defeated Curt McKinnon by TKO in round one]. Tavernini, who took on one of the best fighters in the world at 145 in Ivan Menjivar, and Jesse Bongfeldt who had a lay off of nine months." [Bongfeldt came away with a first round TKO over Keith Sogla.]

The UCW is slated to hold its next card September 9 in Brandon, Manitoba, where the promotions bantamweight, lightweight, welterweight and heavyweight titles will be on the line.

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