| Tuesday - February 20, 2007 |
"Kid" Robinson to Make UFC Debut on April 7th
By FCF Staff
Ring of Fire promoter and Alvin Robinson's manager, Sven Bean, announced on FCF Radio this week that the up and coming lightweight fighter will make his "big show" debut at UFC 69. The event, which is scheduled for April 7th, in Houston, Texas, at the Toyota Centre, will see Robinson take on another notable rising commodity in Roger Huerta (16-1-1), who has gone undefeated in first 2 UFC appearances. Most recently at UFC 67 this month, Huerta stopped John Halverson in 19 seconds with strikes, making the follow up fight to his UFC debut a successful one, where he worked his way to a unanimous decision victory over Jason Dent at UFC 63 last September.
Robinson likely entrenched his shot in the UFC this weekend by defeating Olly Bradstreet at Ring of Fire 28, which was held in Broomfield, Colorado. Robinson extended his record to 8-1 with the win, submitting Bradstreet with a first round rear naked choke at 1:47. The loss for Bradstreet was only his second in over 20 fights, as his combined pro-am record now stands at 22-2. Robinson, who has a well accomplished and extensive background in wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Royce Gracie, has now won 3 fights in a row, with his only career loss coming to Fabio Holanda, Brazilian Top Team Canada's head jiu-jitsu instructor.
UFC 69 now has 6 fights confirmed for the card, including the welterweight title bout between Champion Georges St.Pierre and Matt Serra, Diego Sanchez taking on Josh Koschek, Alan Belcher vs. Kendall Grove, Brad Imes meeting Heath Herring, Thales Leites vs. Pete Sell, Marcus Davis fighting Pete Spratt, and the aforementioned encounter between Alvin Robinson and Roger Huerta.
Also at ROF 28 this past Saturday, Duane "Bang" Ludwig, defeated Shinya Kumazawa, choking out the Japanese fighter with a second round side choke at 4:32. The win for Ludwig makes it 2 in a row, as after dropping back to back fights to Tyson Griffin and Josh Thomson at Strikeforce 2 and 3 respectively, Ludwig defeated Tony Fryklund by TKO at Strikeforce 4 last December. Ludwig's record now stands at 15-6.
For more information on this weekend's ROF event, check out the latest edition of FCF Radio that features the organization's promoter, Sven Bean.
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ECC 5 Card Beginning to Take Form
Extreme Caged Combat has announced several championship bouts for the organization's upcoming March 31st card, which will take place at the Halifax Forum, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The card will crown 3 new champions that night for the promotion, with the lightheavyweight, welterweight and lightweight belts up for grabs.
Headlining ECC 5, "A Night of Champions", will be an ECC lightheavyweight title fight between Roger Hollett and Ricardeau Francois. Hollett will bring a record of 4-0 to the card, as the Maritimes' fighter preserved his undefeated streak earlier this month at the Maximum Fighting Championship's "Gridiron" event. Requiring just 36 seconds, Hollett knocked out professional football player, Edmonton Eskimo fullback Mike Maurer, with a devastating head kick, left hook combination. The win was Hollett's first via striking, as the Team Titan's fighter won all 3 of his previous fights by submission.
Francois carries a record of 12-7, and has recently fallen on some tougher times, losing three fights in a row. The losses have come against fairly notable opposition however, including guillotine submission losses to KOTC Canada's Lightheavyweight Champion Travis Galbraith, and top ranked Canadian LHW, Jason Day. The 6'6 tall Francois has a win over Wes Sims on his record, as well as a split decision loss to UFC veteran Patrick Cote. During a streak in 2003 and 2004, Francois won five fights in a row, with four of those wins coming way of strikes.
Next up in the ECC welterweight title fight, Rowan Cunningham will take on Cory Macdonald for the 170 pound belt. Cunningham is an experienced grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor, and holds a record of 4-1. Most recently, Cunningham defeated Jordan Jewell at Apex's "A Night of Champions" last October, submitting his opponent with a second round triangle choke. Cunningham's only career loss thus far was to Marcus Soares fighter, Garrett Davis, who defeated the fighter at ECC 1 last April.
Corey Macdonald also carries a record of 4-1, and will be fighting for the first time on March 31st in nearly a year. In Macdonald's last bout in May of 2006, he defeated Francois Flibotte by first round TKO at Ultimate Generation Combat 13. Macdonald also holds a win over TKO veteran Martin Grandmont, and interestingly has only lost to Eric Beaulieu, a fighter Cunningham has defeated twice.
The third title bout of the night will be for the ECC lightweight belt as Halifax fighter Jason Mackay will fight Shaun Krsya. Similarly to his Titans teammate Hollett, Mackay also holds an undefeated record of 4-0. At ECC 4 in December, Mackay submitted Daniel Grandmaison in the first round with an armbar to earn his 4th career victory. Prior to that encounter, Mackay was involved in a thrilling three round war with Jacob Macdonald last October at Apex, where the Nova Scotia resident worked his way to unanimous decision victory.
Krysa is also undefeated in his professional career, carrying a record of 4-0, but does have one loss competing in the amateur bracket, where the fighter went 1-1. Krsya will be hoping to make his return to the ECC as successful as his debut was fighting for the organization, as he defeated Marc-Andre Joly with a first round armbar in December. Prior to that, fighting at Apex's "Evolution" event last June, Krsya got the first round rear victory over Sean Ragnitz, submitting the fighter with a rear naked choke.
The ECC website is also reporting that the upcoming card will also feature the province of Nova Scotia's first female fight, although no details as to who the competitors will be have been announced.
Canada Well Represented In BodogFight Season 2
The current "St.Petersburg" season of BodogFight, which is airing every Tuesday night in Canada on the Fight Network, is set to feature several fighters from the Northern Nation. In the season's premiere show last week, Team Revolution's Kultar "Black Mamba" Gill, was defeated by Rodrigo Damm, as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt submitted the K-1 Hero's veteran with a rear naked choke. Gill's Revolution teammate, Tyler Jackson, is set to take on Dmitry Samoilov in this week's episode.
Also competing for British Columbia's Team Revolution is the veteran Bill "The Butcher" Mahood, whose fight against Khalil Ibrahim is set to air on March 20th. Another Canadian, heavyweight Kristof Midoux, will have his fight against Roman Zentsov broadcast on February 27th.
Upcoming Canadian MMA Events
- Extreme Cage Combat 5- March 31, Halifax Forum, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Ultimate Cage Wars- April 7th, Winnipeg Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Maximum Fighting Championship "Unplugged 3"- April 20th, Crowne Plaza, Edmonton, Alberta
- King of the Cage- April 28th, Vernon, British Columbia
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Don't Call Him Alex:
Alexis Aquino is as fierce as a pit bull and as focused as a samurai
By Derek Constable
Johnny Cash once wrote a song about a boy named Sue who grew up quick and mean, but in Deptford, New Jersey, it's a man named Alexis that's tearing through the ranks of Atlantic City's Cage Fury Fighting Championships.
Alexis Aquino is undefeated as a mixed martial arts fighter, and when the door shuts behind him in the cage, it's best to be somewhere else.
"A lot of guys go out there and they don't make it personal. They look at it like it's a competition, but it's not a competition, to me it's a fight," Aquino said. "I think my fights should be illegal because I really want to hurt the other guy. I mean I'm really trying my best to hurt him."
Aquino was named after his father's favorite boxer, Alexis Arguello, and carries his family's love for boxing with him in the cage. His fighting philosophy runs parallel to that of current UFC Champion Chuck Liddell -- avoid takedowns, be a better boxer than everyone else and you'll win 90 percent of the time.
Not only has this style of fighting propelled Aquino to a 3-0 record, it's won him the respect of the fans as well.
"People want to see punches and knees," Aquino said. "You can't make a highlight reel of submissions and market that. Take some knockouts and you can market that unbelievably, just like Chuck Liddell."
Despite carrying the tools of a boxer to work with him, Aquino fights with the heart of something else … a pit bull.
"Everyone's got the nickname "The Pit bull." Not me, but my style emulates a pit bull fight," he said. "When two pit bulls get in the cage, they close the door and slap them in the nose. I have my brother do the same thing for me before every fight. You don't see pit bulls go out and hug each other before a fight and you're never going to see me high-five a guy until after the fight."
When Aquino squared-off with Tiger Schulmann instructor Nissim Levy at CFFC III, he was in Levy's face from the moment he entered the cage until when his hand was raised after going three full rounds. Aquino said later that he knew Levy was a more accomplished boxer, but felt his own striking game was light years ahead of the competition.
"I knew where to place my head and go with the punch instead of getting hit by it," he said. "Nissim is a warrior. I never had someone eat one of my punches and smile at me. I knew I couldn't knock him out, so I beat him boxing."
Aquino credits his trainer Tom Cuff for a lot of his success, but said there's no way he could do it without his older brother Jesse. The two brothers grew up in South Jersey on a dead-end street with no one else to play with, and while every win in the cage is marked down for Alexis, he would tell you he's fighting for his brother.
"He's my ‘little' big brother," Aquino said. "It takes a lot to mentally prepare myself for a fight, because I'm the nicest guy you'll ever meet outside the cage. I don't fight for my brother, I fight for me, but he prepares me to the fact that it's like I'm fighting for him. He makes it personal."
Another fighter Aquino relates to, besides Liddell and a pit bull, is PRIDE's Wanderlei Silva. He admires the way Silva gets into an opponent's head before a fight, and how he never stops attacking, even though he has holes in his game that people try to exploit.
"I don't know anyone that's said they are looking forward to fighting Wanderlei,"
Aquino said. "Whether you think you can beat him or not, you're scared."
The unblemished pro record of this Deptford son has certainly caused a stir in the MMA community, and with such brutal wins over quality opponents, a middleweight-title shot cannot be far away.
"It's already been offered to me. Not that I don't think I can win the title, but I want to be positive," Aquino said. "I analyze every little thing. I even find mistakes in my own videos. When you're fighting for a title, you want to be perfect. You don't want to make a mistake."
Perhaps one day the name Alexis Aquino will light up a sign on fight night in Las Vegas, as he graces the MGM Grand to defend his middleweight crown. Today however, you can still see Aquino busting heads in Atlantic City, where this dog has yet to meet his match when the cage door slams shut.
"Hopefully it will be a household name someday," he said. "Something like that … it's not your average John Smith."
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From the event's promoter:
ACTION!: INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE ATHLETES GATHER IN MIAMI FOR "IFL BATTLEGROUND" PROMOS, TITLE SEQUENCE SHOOT
Intensive Two-day Studio Shoot Puts Pieces In Place For March 12 Premiere Of Mixed Martial Arts Series On MyNetworkTV
MIAMI and BOCA RATON, Fla., February 19, 2007 – Ben Rothwell let out a primal scream, one to which fans of the International Fight League Silverbacks' star have become accustomed. But this time, instead of occurring in the ring with one of the league's other heavyweights on the business end, the venue was a Boca Raton, Fla., television studio with a heavy bag and the MyNetworkTV cameras in the firing line.
That scene wrapped two days of intensive activity in several studio and outdoor venues, as 11 of the top IFL athletes served as subjects in interviews, green-screen shoots, titles, interstitials and promos, all key elements of "IFL Battleground," the exciting new series which will debut on March 12 on MyNetworkTV affiliates across the country. The two-hour program, which will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT/MT, will cover the stories of each of the athletes both in and out of the ring, bringing fans all of the event and behind the scenes action of the world's first team-based professional mixed martial arts league. Segments will take viewers up close during the competition and also into the locker rooms, training routines, and home lives of this diverse set of athletes who are a part of the world's fastest growing professional and recreational sport.
MyNetworkTV reaches more than 95% of U.S. television households -- or more than 100 million homes across the nation. Each of the 22 episodes of "IFL Battleground" will be re-broadcasted on Saturdays from 8-10 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT/MT.
In between interviews and choreographed green-screen sessions, several of the athletes also made a side trip to "Salvation," a Miami Beach tattoo parlor, for some critique of their art, and, for the Silverbacks' Bart Palaszewski, some new ink. They also took a spin on scooters, all with the cameras in tow. In addition to Palaszewski and Rothwell, also participating were: Jay Hieron and Chris Horodecki of the Anacondas; John Gunderson of the Lions; Vladimir Matyushenko and Antonio McKee of the Sabres; Chad Griggs of the Scorpions; Rory Markham of the Silverbacks; Brad Blackburn of the Tiger Sharks; and Ryan Schultz of the Wolfpack.
"It was a great experience being part of the making of ‘IFL Battleground,'" said Markham, who also has a role in the upcoming feature film The Death and Life of Bobby Z. "It will be exciting to see how all the pieces we did in the two days fit together when the show hits the air."
Blackburn, Griggs, Horodecki, Markham and McKee also shot promotional spots for more than a dozen MyNetworkTV affiliates nationwide and provided commentary for MyNetworkTV screenings of feature films to air in the days leading up to the debut of "IFL Battleground." The others participated in a series of interviews and promotional pieces for WBFS-TV, My33 in Miami/Fort Lauderdale.
Viewers can locate their local MyNetworkTV affiliate online at http://www.mynetworktv.com/local_stations.html. In addition to the 44 hours of "IFL Battleground," mixed martial arts fans can catch one-hour broadcasts of IFL action on Fox Sports Net on Fridays at 11 p.m., beginning on February 23, for a total of 66 hours of original-run IFL programming on over-the-air television or basic cable.
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| Monday - February 19, 2007 |
New episode of FCF Radio
In our latest broadcast,
we talk with Ring of Fire promoter Sven Bean, and MMA writers, Steven Marrocco and Jeff "Wombat" Meszaros.
Click here to listen/download.
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| Saturday - February 17, 2007 |
Aoki Defeats Kikuchi For A Second Time
By FCF Staff
Shooto's Middleweight Champion, (76kg) Shinya Aoki, successfully defended his title on Saturday, defeating Akira Kikuchi at the organization's "Back to Our Roots" event in Yokohoma, Japan. In what must have been an extremely competitive bout, the Japanese promotion's website reported that Aoki worked his way to a split decision victory over Kikuchi, extending Aoki's record to 10-2. Aoki previously defeated the top ranked Kikuchi by unanimous decision last February, on the same date, at Shooto's "The Victory of the Truth" card.
The win for Aoki, helps entrench the Japanese fighter as one of the world's better lightweight fighters, as the Shooto Champion has now won seven fights straight, a streak that includes several impressive victories. After originally defeating Kikuchi last February, Aoki went on to submit Jason Black in the first round with a triangle choke at Pride Bushido 12 last August. The loss for Black was only his second career defeat in over 20 fights, with his only other loss coming due to an injury he incurred against Shonie Carter in a February, 2006 fight. After Aoki followed that up with a flying triangle choke win over Clay French at Bushido 13 in November, the grappling sensation then proceeded to submit the highly regarded Joachim Hansen, with a highlight reel gogoplatta last New Year's Eve, at Pride's "Shockwave" event.
The loss for Kikuchi drops his record to 14-3, and outside of his two losses to Aoki, the fighter's only other defeat was to Jake Shields in 2003. Kikuchi later avenged that loss to the American welterweight, earning a unanimous decision victory over Shields one year later at Shooto's, "End of the Year" event in December.
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| Friday - February 16, 2007 |
Welterweights Will Take Ring in BodogFight Week 2
By Kelsey Mowatt
In week two of BodogFight's Season 2, St.Petersburg, welterweight fighters will take to the ring next, to compete for a spot on the promotion's upcoming April 9th pay per view card, "Clash of Nations", that will also take place in the historical Russian city. In this week's upcoming bout between the two fighters in the American bracket, UFC veteran Steve Berger will face off against BodogFight season 1 contestant Jorge Masvidal. Berger has been competing since 1998, and carries a well traveled record of 17-15-2. The St.Louis fighter has been in the ring with a who's who resume of MMA that includes the likes of Jake Shields, Din Thomas, Robbie Lawler and Jason Black. Berger's most notable wins include victories over Shonie Carter, Rich Clementi, and Pete Spratt.
Masvidal is far less experienced then Berger with a record of 9-2, but the Floridian can also boast of some impressive victories. In last season's BodogFight, Masvidal worked his way to a majority decision victory over Keith Wisniewski, and also has a TKO win over Joe Lauzon at the Absolute Fighting Championship 12 in April 2005. Masvidal's only losses have come to Raphael Assuncao and Paul Rodriguez two years ago, since that time, the welterweight fighter has won three bouts in a row.
The international match-up will pit Canadian fighter Tyler Jackson against the Russian, Dmitry Samoilov. Representing Team Revolution out of British Columbia's Lower Mainland region, Jackson will bring a record of 7-3 to the bout. Most recently Jackson defeated Donald Ouimet at TKO 27 in September, tapping out the organization's former lightweight champ with a first round armbar. Before losing to John Mahlow last June at Apex's "Evolution" by armbar submission, Jackson had won four fights in a row, three of which came via strikes.
Samoilov is somewhat of an unknown commodity, with only 1 win so far in his professional MMA career. According to the BodogFight website, the Russian fighter has been training in martial arts since the age of six, and is an expert in Sambo and Judo.
The next episode of BodogFight can be seen Tuesday night, February 20th, on ION Television in the U.S., or the Fight Network in Canada. Each episode is also available for viewing on the BodogFight website.
In last week's lightweight action, after pressing Rodrigo Damm earlier in the bout with strikes, Team Revolution's "Black Mamba," (Kultar Gill) finally was submitted with a rear naked choke by the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist in the second round. In a fantastic battle between two highly regarded American lightweights, American Top Team fighter Mike Brown worked his way to a decision victory over UFC and Pride veteran, Yves Edwards.
Week three, which will air on February 27th, is set to feature heavyweight competition. In the international bout, Canadian Kristof Midoux (5-6) will meet Roman Zentsov (14-10), and Cain Velasquez (1-0) is set to fight Jeremiah Constant (4-0) in the American bracket.
The BodogFight, April 9th pay per view card will be headlined by Fedor Emelianenko taking on Matt Lindland, who is planning on moving up to the heavyweight division to fight the Pride Champion. For more information on the bout, check out the interview below with Emelianenko by FCF's Steven Marocco, from earlier this week.
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| Thursday - February 15, 2007 |
Marcus "Conan" Silveira to
Make MMA Return March 31st
By FCF Staff
 | | Conan |
Ultimate Fighting Championship and Extreme Fighting veteran heavyweight, Marcus Silveira, is set to make his MMA return on March 31st at the James L. Knight Centre, in Miami, Florida, at the Panther Fight League's debut event. The 42 year old Silveira (5-4) will be competing for the first time since 2002, when he lost to Wes Sims by TKO at Hook N Shoot's Absolute Fighting Championship 1. The American Top Team fighter is perhaps best remembered for his battles with Maurice Smith, as Silveira went 3-0 to begin his MMA career until losing to Smith by KO at Extreme Fighting 3 in October of 1996. Silveira later avenged that defeat, submitting Smith with an arm triangle choke at World Extreme Fighting 7 in October of 1999. His encounter with Kazushi Sakuraba at UFC Ultimate Japan 1 in 1997 will also not be soon forgotten, as Silveira was submitted by the future Japanese super-star with an armbar in the first round.
His opponent will be Johnathan Ivey (25-31), who despite his losing record has won 7 fights in a row, with his only loss in his last ten fights coming to the undefeated Jake O'Brien. Ivey has been fighting professionally now for nearly ten years, and has competed against some of the sports more notable fighters, including Ben Rothwell, Travis Wiuff, Justin Eilers, Dan Severn, and Jeremy Horn.
Panther Fight League 1: "Genesis" has 11 fights currently scheduled for the upcoming March 31st event, and the website is also reporting that Tim Sylvia, Rich Franklin and Sean Sherk will be in attendance. Prior to the event at 5:30, the three fighters will be available for autographs. A portion of the event's ticket sales will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression.
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Controversy Abounds at TKO 28
Last Friday's, February 9th, TKO 28 event, which was held at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, was plagued by controversy and debate. From all reports, the fight between TKO Featherweight Champion Hatsu Hioki and Mark Hominick was extremely competitive, and the majority decision that was awarded to Hioki, is going to be appealed by Hominick's camp.
"Team Tompkins and Mark Hominick will appeal the decision rendered by the judges," says TKO promoter Stephane Patry, echoing Hominick's statements on FCF Radio, that the fighter and his team will appeal the decision with the appropriate Quebec athletic commission.
The bout marked the second time Hioki and Hominick have done battle, as the Japanese Pride veteran defeated Hominick for his title at TKO 25 last May. In their first encounter Hioki submitted the former champion in the second round with a triangle choke, this time around however, the two 145 pound fighters were unable to leave the fight out of the judge's hands. Depending on what transpires over the next few months in both fighter's careers, one would think that a third fight between the two would be a considerable draw. For fans that were unable to attend the bout live in Montreal, TKO 28 will be available on Viewer's Choice pay per view this Friday in Canada.
In another controversial bout, Jonathan Goulet stopped Thomas Schulte at the end of the first round with strikes. According to reports and Patry, the referee did not hear the bell ending the round, and as a result, the stoppage should not have been made as time had already elapsed.
"The stoppage in the Schulte, Goulet fight was made about 5 seconds after the bell rang," Patry tells FCF. "The referee didn't hear the bell and the commission didn't do anything about it, so if I was Thomas Schulte, I would be very pissed off. I think this fight should be declared a no-contest."
In the event's other title fight, TKO Lightweight Champion Sam Stout successfully defended his title once again against Fabio Holanda. At the conclusion of round 2, Holanda was unable to continue, giving Stout the corner stoppage win.
"I was very happy with Sam's performance in that fight," Patry says. "I think Fabio Holanda had a huge opportunity in this fight and should've trained for a 5 round fight."
Controversy aside, TKO 28 drew a huge crowd to the Bell Centre, truly demonstrating that MMA is quickly becoming a main stream sport in the province of Quebec.
"I was extremely happy with the event, the production and obviously the attendance," Patry reports. "We broke the Canadian record for assistance in a MMA event, previously held by us with TKO 27 at the Bell Center. We had 7,937 people."
In other action from TKO 28:
Team Tompkins fighter Chris Clements stopped David Medd with strikes in the second round, Luke Caudillo knocked out Samuel Guillet in 12 seconds, Steve Claveau submitted Jason St.Louis with a first round triangle choke at 3:12, Martin Grandmont stopped David Pariseau with strikes at 3:19 of the first round, and James Dube got the TKO win over James Martinez, stopping his opponent at 4:17 of Round 1.
Toronto Dragons and New Look Roster Meet the Wolfpack on February 23rd
The Toronto Dragons will have a new look roster when they take on the Portland Wolfpack at the upcoming International Fight League event in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 23rd. Perhaps most notably, the Dragon's will be without world class middleweight Joe Doersken, who is expected to make his Pride debut sometime this spring. Former Canadian National Team wrestler Brent Beauparlant will drop down from his lightheavyweight position on the team to middleweight to face Matt Horwich. Wojtek Kaszowski, the team's former heavyweight, will go down to 205 pounds to fight John Krohn. Brazilian Rafael Feijao has been brought into fill the team's heavyweight slot and will take on Devin Cole.
With the news that Ivan Menjivar will be taking some time off from MMA competition, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Wagnney Fabiano has been brought into the Dragon fold to fill the roster's lightweight position. Fabiano has a record 4-1, and has defeated Tommy Lee, Matt Fiordirosa and Bao Quach. Fabiano's IFL debut will be against Team Quest fighter Ian Loveland. Claude Patrick, who made his Dragon's debut a successful one last September by submitting Ray Steinbess, remains as the team's welterweight.
Upcoming Canadian MMA Events
- Extreme Cage Combat 5 - March 31, Halifax Forum, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Ultimate Cage Wars - April 7th, Winnipeg Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Maximum Fighting Championship "Unplugged 3" - April 20th, Crowne Plaza, Edmonton, Alberta
- King of the Cage - April 28th, Vernon, British Columbia
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Fedor Gets Ready for Matt Lindland
By Steven Marrocco
 | | Fedor Emelianenko |
Just weeks ago, Olympic Silver Medalist Matt Lindland revealed he had inked a deal to fight at heavyweight the number one-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko for BodogFight's April 9th pay-per-view in St. Petersburg, Russia. Lindland, a stalwart middleweight who has twice made the jump to the 205-pound class, will be expected to give up at least 20 pounds to the Russian champion.
Fresh off a win against Mark Hunt at Pride's recent Shockwave card, Emelianenko spoke to FCF about the unusual fight, his thoughts on Lindland, and his current fighting life.
FCF: What are you doing in St. Petersburg now?
FE: I am dealing with my teeth right now, some dental work. I've been delaying it for a long time so I have to take care of it right now.
FCF: Your team, the Red Devil Sport Club, was featured on Bodogfight. Can you describe how your relationship with them developed and how they asked you to fight?
FE: I have the best relationship with Bodog fight right now. I don't remember very well, but I think they first asked me to fight before the Costa Rica fight. (Note: Emelianenko is most likely referring to the first season of BodogFight, shot in Costa Rica)
FCF: What were your first thoughts when you learned you would be fighting Matt Lindland?
FE: Unfortunately, I haven't seen his fights, so I can't say much about this right now. I've only heard a lot of good things about him. I know he's a very good fighter. He has shown good results as a fighter.
FCF: Your previously scheduled opponent, Jeff Monson, also had a strong wrestling and submission background. Matt Lindland is an Olympic Silver Medalist in wrestling. Are you adjusting your training to fit his style? Will your preparation be similar to your fight with Mark Coleman, who was also a strong wrestler?
FE: Of course my preparation changes depending on who I'm fighting with, and I'm trying to find out what kind of a fighter I have to fight with, what he's strong in, if it's more of the sparring I have to work on. But no matter who I'm going to fight, I'm trying to be prepared with everything.
FCF: Do you feel Lindland is a challenge for you? Are there any ways you think he is dangerous to you?
FE: I know he is a silver medalist, and that he is a champion. I know it's going to be a serious fight. I really don't know what kind of threat he presents. But in all my fights I'm always ready for the worst, to deal with anything.
FCF: You've had a couple of injuries to your hand and your toe in the past year. Are you currently injury free? Have there been any complications in your hand since your surgery?
FE: My foot is completely healed. But one of my fingers is not back to normal, it's not 100-percent. Much better than before the surgery, but not 100-percent.
FCF: Did it get aggravated in your last fight with Mark Hunt?
FE: No, it's something I aggravated before. It's unpleasant because I feel pain whenever I have to hit something with my hand.
FCF: Would you say these injuries were caused by your style of training? Have you adjusted your training since to be more careful of injuries?
FE: I really don't want to think about my injuries, especially when I'm fighting, I usually don't think about it. I just want to do a 100-percent job.
FCF: What did you take away from fighting in the United States last October? How were the American fans compared to the Japanese fans?
FE: It was really nice to see how the American public reacted. American fans are probably closer to [Russian] fans in general than the Japanese, or others, in the way they show emotions.
FCF: As the heavyweight champion, you live an extremely busy life. How do you balance your personal life and your fighting life?
FE: I never thought about it. Of course it takes a lot of time, training and work, so sometimes there's not enough time for [my] personal private life.
FCF: You've said in previous interviews that being able to outthink your opponent in the ring is one of the keys to victory. You're an avid chess player. Do you see your fights as a chess match?
FE: No, I don't. Chess is more to pass the time, and it's my hobby. I like it.
FCF: You've said that perfection in MMA is creating a fighting spirit. Who shaped your fighting spirit?
FE: First of all I worked on it myself. And of course, my coaches. They teach me and direct me.
FCF: Yes, but what gives you your toughness and calmness inside the ring?
FE: It's my life. It's my personality. I'm very calm and sure of myself by nature.
FCF: You've beaten most of the top fighters in the world. You've been the Pride Heavyweight Champion for over three years. Is it ever a challenge to keep yourself motivated when you've already faced the toughest opposition?
FE: First of all, there are a lot of boys that are coming up behind me, so I'm an example to them. I know that as long as I'm at the top, I show them a way, I tell them what they need to be like. Also, it's a good thing for me to know that when I win, it's Russia that I represent. And people know about Russia through knowing me.
FCF: Would you like to see mixed martial arts become an Olympic sport in the future?
FE: Of course I would. That would be great.
FCF: Do you see yourself transitioning to being a coach after your fighting career is over?
FE: It's possible, but I'm not through yet. I'm already teaching some boys a little bit, but not much.
FCF: Are you training with your brother at all?
FE: No, not really.
FCF: Do you miss your brother's presence in your training?
FE: We had a kind of a misunderstanding and a quarrel, and I'm not missing him at the moment.
FCF: Any word from Pride on your next opponent?
FE: No, not right now. I know nothing yet. Pride wants me to fight Josh Barnett or Rulon Gardner. [Gardner] is the Olympic champion.
FCF: If you have to fight Josh Barnett, will it be harder to fight him because you're friends?
FE: Of course I won't like to fight against Josh because we're friends. But I'm not thinking about this fight yet.
FCF: Do you have a message for Matt Lindland?
FE: First of all, I want to wish him good luck. I hope that the fight takes place and nobody's hurt too much, and both of us show a beautiful fight.
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From the event's promoter:
Historic, First Ever, State Sanctioned All Girls Caged Match:
"FATAL FEMMES" CARD ON FEB. 17 IN LOS ANGELES PITS TOP AMERICAN MUSCLE VS. JAPAN CHAMPS
Emerging "Mixed Martial Arts" Sport Said To Be USA's Fastest Growing Spectator Attraction Among Young Men
(Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 5, 2007)---It's not your daddy's old school mud wrestling that's a draw these days for men, 18-34, but all female caged fighting that ‘s generating crowds and TV ratings, especially at testosterone driven Spike TV.
The first-ever, state sanctioned all female MMA (mixed martial arts) "caged fighting" card, featuring fighters from the U.S., Japan and Mexico, will take place Sat., Feb. 17, at the Japan Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Titled "Fatal Femmes Fighting" and presented by J.I.M.M., LLC, the event features lightweight, flyweight and middleweight match ups for a total of eight fights.
Some of the sport's hottest talents, including the USA's Lisa Ward and Japan's Masako Yoshida, will be on hand, doing battle in the night's most anticipated bout.
A.J. Benza, current host of "High Stakes Poster," will help announce the event and provide color commentary.
Promoter Eddy Millis calls the Feb. 17 event "an historic moment for a sport that's just begging its ascension."
"Unlike pro wrestling, these are real fighters going toe to toe for championship titles," he adds.
Sixteen of the sport's best exponents will fill out the Saturday night card, including Latina Jessica Pené.
Featured on numerous national news shows, such as "60 Minutes," caged fighting draws more cable pay per views buys these days than conventional boxing and its individual live events have grossed as much as $5 million each.
Tickets, priced at $45, $75 and $95 are on sale at the Japanese American Theatre (213 680 3700), or by calling 1-877-FFF-9381.
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| Wednesday - February 14, 2007 - Happy Valentine's Day |
FCF Survey
Give Us Your Thoughts...
We'd like to hear your thoughts on the fight between Renzo Gracie and Frank Shamrock at EliteXC this past weekend. Was it a good stoppage? Should Shamrock have been DQ'd? Was Gracie able to continue? Do you want to see a rematch? The results of the survey and some of the commentary we receive may appear in the upcoming issue of FCF.
Click here to take the survey
 | | Shamrock (bottom) vs. Gracie |
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UFC Returns to the UK
By Richard Pickard
The Ultimate Fighting Championship have set up a London, UK office and are getting ready to launch a series of events in the UK, under the charge of recently-hired Marshall Zelaznik, former Vice President of iN Demand Networks.
In fact, the organization announced this week via its website, that the first show will be UFC 70 scheduled for April 21, 2007 at the Manchester Evening News Arena.
Although no formal announcement regarding future shows has been made to the media yet, the UFC are predicted to run shows up and down the country, including the initial show in Manchester, two shows in London and one in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The rumor mill is in full flow regarding the likely fight card and who will kick off the first UK event since the British debut, UFC 38 "Brawl at the Hall" in July 2002. Some of the rumored bouts are:
- Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Cheick Kongo
- Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
- Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic
- Jess Liaudin vs. Dennis Siver
- Abdul Mohamed vs. David Lee
Mouth-watering stuff already!...although it remains to be seen whether the UFC throw their latest sizeable investment Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in as the headliner, or indeed let the UK host the Tito vs Forrest re-match, it does seem a safe bet that TUF season 3 winner Michael "The Count" Bisping will definitely play his part. In a recent interview with NBC, UFC President Dana White confirmed "I expect Mike Bisping to be a big star in 2007".
There is little doubt that the arrival of the UFC will disrupt the current UK scene dominated by the Cage Rage promotion. The Cage Rage events have been held every 2-3 months in London since September 2002, historically they have attracted a host of international fighters including: Anderson Silva, Vitor Ribeiro, Chris Lytle, Jorge Rivera, Mark Kerr and Gilbert Yvel. Alongside this imported talent, Cage Rage have supported the homegrown UK pros such as: Ian Freeman, Mark Weir, Leigh Remedios and James Thompson.
As Cage Rage has an affiliation to the Pride Fighting Championships, the UFC has been working hard behind the scenes to sign-up the top European un-contracted fighters to minimum 3 fight deals. This should guarantee some real local interest as the fight card will mix huge household name UFC favorites brought in to top the bill, with the best UK talent matched against continental Europeans rising stars.
It remains to be seen whether Pride will be inclined to support Cage Rage by shipping in some Japanese favorites to provide a viable alternative promotion. If it fails to do so, in all likelihood the British MMA fan will be spending their hard-earned cash traveling to watch the UFC events, and resign most other promotions to the second division.
With the British MMA scene presently taking off in such a huge way - Cage Rage had to switch venues from the Wembley Conference Centre to the Arena for shows from 2006 after selling out to 8,000 plus fans show after show - the UFC appear to be timing their return to UK shores perfectly.
British teams are also becoming more established with outfits such as: London Shootfighters (Lee Murray and Jean Silva); Elite Fighting Systems (Cage Rage fighter school producing fighters such as: Brad Pickett and Mark Epstein); Wolfs Lair (Mike Bisping); Rough House (Paul Daley), able to provide homegrown talent that pose a realistic threat to top European imports and the household UFC names.
Alongside these teams, more and more MMA gyms are springing up on a monthly basis, in the past 12 months high ranking UK pro's such as Sol Gilbert and Jess Liaudin have both set up their own MMA academies. The expectation is that the British MMA scene is very much on the way up and is likely to provide another revenue stream for Zuffa, as they embark on their quest for global domination of the combat sports world.
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| Tuesday - February 13, 2007 |
Antonio Carvalho Joins FCF Fold
Full Contact Fighter is honored to welcome Shooto contender Antonio Carvalho to our writing staff. Once a month, Antonio will be sending in his "Carvalho Report", a journal of sorts, which will tell readers about his experiences living, training and fighting overseas in Japan. The Team Shah Franco fighter recently relocated to Japan from Toronto, Canada, to pursue more training opportunities in the Nation where many of his greatest career successes have come thus far, competing in Shooto. Readers can also look forward to interviews that Antonio will be also sending in with various Japanese fighters, in addition to his monthly "Carvalho Report."
The Carvalho Report:
The Life and Times of a Shooto Contender in Japan
By Antonio Carvalho
 | | Antonio at AACC |
I finally made it to Japan. After sitting on a plane for fifteen hours, I was where I wanted to be. I must thank my good friends Mr. Yoshi Tanaka and his son Danny. Also, special thanks to Yuta Takahashi. Before I begin to tell you about my experiences in Japan, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Antonio "Pato" Carvalho. I am part of the Franco/Behring team out of Toronto, Canada. I have been competing in MMA for over four years and have fought most of my career in Shooto. It has been a dream of mine to one day live and train in Japan. I am now living that dream. On top of that, my new team was waiting for my arrival. So after a good night sleep, it was off to the Abe Ani Combat Club gym. The AACC gym is located in the Omori area in Tokyo. AACC is literally inside a massive Gold's Gym on the seventh floor of the building. The facility is gorgeous and it provides you with everything you need to get a great workout. As soon as you walk up a flight of stairs, you will be amazed at how enormous everything is. Right away you will notice the large boxing ring and all the necessary boxing equipment. On the left side, beside the boxing area, there are all kinds of heavy bags. To the right of the boxing ring, there is a huge area dedicated to mat space for any kind of grappling. The first time I saw the mat area, I could not believe how large this place really was. I had never seen so much mat space at one place in a club.
As soon as I arrived, I was brought over to where Hiroyuki Abe and Megumi Fujii were. They are the head instructors of the AACC gym. Hiroyuki Abe greeted me immediately with a smile and a hug. I am very grateful to Abe-san. Because when he found out that I wanted to live and train in Japan, he offered me a spot amongst his team. Abe is a very kind, down to earth person outside of the ring. It certainly is much different than when you meet him in the ring. Watching Abe fight, you quickly realize that he can be your worst nightmare. He never gives up and will fight until the end. That is a quality of a fighter that I respect dearly. Abe is a veteran of the game and is someone I look up too. He has had many battles in the ring and is a rare combination of great fighter and teacher. Taking part in his classes, I have learned so many new tricks and techniques to implement into my game. I finally learned how to do those crazy sliding tackle footlocks that Imanari has made famous! From wrestling, striking and jiu-jitsu, Hiroyuki Abe can teach it all.
Megumi Fujii is the other instructor at AACC, which has a larger contingent of female fighters than most places because of her. A poster figure for SmackGirl and Shooto, many consider her pound for pound the best female fighter in Japan or even the world. I certainly won't argue with that. The first time I got a chance to roll with her, it was a whirlwind of submission techniques being thrown at me. I was so impressed with her. Fast, fluid and technical, she is quite an amazing person. She certainly takes away the stereotype that some people have that women can't fight. However, like Abe, she is a sweetheart outside the ring. Always concerned about everyone around her and helping everyone when need be. This caring attitude is spread though out the whole AACC team. Everyone is there to help each other get better. However, that doesn't mean that hardcore training doesn't happen at AACC; far from that actually. While there is a recreational part to the club, there are many pros at the AACC gym. Often times I would find out that some fighters were from other gyms and they came to AACC for the hard training. Usually after every class, Abe will keep the pros behind and put us through some rigorous strength and conditioning routines. Many of these pros fight in organizations such as DEEP, ZST and Shootboxing. Shootboxing is a promotion where it is kickboxing with takedowns, throws and standing submissions. In fact, I have already decided that I am going to throw my hat in the Shootboxing ring and give it a try. Abe took me to meet the promoters and they have already guaranteed me a spot on a future show. I am looking forward to that.
 | | Antonio at Kaminarimon |
Overall, my experiences in Japan so far have been fantastic. Besides tumbling down the escalator along with my suitcases at the airport and than getting lost multiple times in Tokyo, I am enjoying Japan and have totally engrossed myself in Japanese culture. I have had plenty traditional Japanese foods. I have already visited the famous Kaminarimon Gate in Arakawa. Not to mention everything that is MMA in Japan. Within the first few days of my stay, I was invited to a Shooto press conference where it was announced that Hiroyuki Abe would take on Shooto 65kg champion "Lion" Takeshi on the next big Shooto card called "Back to our Roots". It was also announced that Ishida, after his devastating lose to Gomi in Pride, relinquished his Pacific-rim Shooto belt because he can't defend his title within the allotted time frame required by the Shooto commission. I even got put in the spot light for a bit. The Shooto commission just threw me in front of the cameras so that I could make a brief comment regarding my future in Japan and Shooto. "I really hope to be fighting in the Shooto ring again soon." was all I could think of at the time.
Also, none other than Shinya Aoki and Masakazu Imanari have asked me to come train at the official DEEP training facility. I got this message though a text message on my buddy's phone. The message included a photo which the title read, "He is waiting for you!" It was a picture of Masakazu Imanari! Better watch out for those leg locks! I'll tell you all about that experience next time though! And in between all of that, Abe-san is taking me to the waterfalls with a karate team for some good old fashioned training and meditation in the cold. This should be quite an interesting experience. Until next time.
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Two More Bouts Confirmed for UFC 69
By FCF Staff
The Ultimate Fighting Championship website is reporting two more confirmed fights for the upcoming UFC 69 card, "Shootout", which will take place at the Toyota Centre, April 7th, in Houston, Texas. In a middleweight bout that has been added to the card, "Ultimate Fighter" Season 3 winner, Kendall Grove (8-3), will take on Alan Belcher (9-2). Since defeating Ed Herman by unanimous decision at the TUF 3 finale on June 24th last year, Grove looked impressive in his only appearance since, stopping Chris Price with strikes in the first round at Ultimate Fight Night 7 on October 10th. The Hawaiian fighter has continued to train with Tito Ortiz and Team Punishment since winning the TUF 3 middleweight bracket, and as a result, has in all likelihood, added to his skill set considerably.
Belcher is coming off a KO win over Jorge Santiago at UFN 8 on December 13th, a fight the Biloxi native won in highlight reel fashion with a deadly right kick to Santiago's head. The devastating KO was a nice way for Belcher to rebound, after he dropped a unanimous decision loss to Yushin Okami at UFC 62 last August.
In a welterweight bout that has been confirmed for the card, noted strikers Marcus Davis (10-4) will meet up with Pete Spratt (15-9). Davis, since losing both of his first two fights in the UFC to Melvin Guillard and Joe Stevenson back in 2005, has been on a roll as of late, winning seven fights in a row. Since returning to UFC competition, the TUF Season 2 veteran has won both his two fights, defeating Forrest Petz and Shonie Carter at UFN 7 and 8 respectively. Davis has worked on his ground game extensively over the last two years, which no doubt has contributed heavily to the fighters winning streak.
Spratt is also another TUF veteran who has recently had some success returning to the UFC fold. Since defeating Robbie Lawler at UFC 42 in April, 2003, Spratt has gone 3-3, with all of these losses coming against notable opposition in Georges St.Pierre, Chris Lytle, and Josh Koscheck. In Spratt's last UFC appearance, the "Secret Weapon" submitted Jeremy Jackson in the second round at the TUF finale card on November 11th.
The UFC site also confirmed that Mike Swick. Roger Huerta and Heath Herring are all scheduled to compete at the upcoming April 7th event however, no opponents have been announced. The main event for UFC 69 will feature Georges St.Pierre taking on Matt Serra, with the undercard also set to feature Josh Koschek vs. Diego Sanchez, and Thales Leites taking on Pete Sell.
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Ring of Fire 28 Teams Up With HDNet
By FCF Staff
The Ring of Fire MMA promotion announced this week, via a press release, that the organization has signed a deal with the HDNet television network. According to the statement, the upcoming R0F 28 card that will be held on February 16th in Broomfield, Colorado, and will be taped for 2 different HDNet broadcasts at a later date.
"I am thrilled to be working with HDNet on this project," Sven Bean, president of FY Productions said in the release. "HDNet has shown themselves to be a forward thinking company, and I like to think that ROF has an incredible future ahead. We have a great event planned and I am happy that people all across America will have a chance to see it."
The announcement marks yet another agreement between television broadcasters and MMA promotions, something that seems to be almost a monthly occurrence as of late. The deal between HDNet and ROF will also tie Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to the sport of MMA at least somewhat, as Cuban is the co-founder and President of the high definition network.
"Mixed Martial Arts events are a key part of our Friday night line-up," Mark Cuban, was quoted as saying in the release. "We're very excited to bring all the intensity of this Ring of Fire event to our viewers in brilliant high def."
The two programs will also feature stories on Duane Ludwig and Alvin Robinson, who are both slated to compete on February 16th. In the main event Ludwig (14-6) is set to take on Shinya Kumazawa (4-1-1), while Robinson (7-1) will fight Olly Bradstreet, who has a combined pro-am record of 22-1.
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From the event's promoter:
BodogFight: St. Petersburg Series Debut Showcases MMA Star Yves Edwards
Following the overwhelming success of its hit debut season, BodogFight changes backdrops for its second season of mixed martial arts action. Swapping the sunny shores of Costa Rica for the frigid Russian tundra, BodogFight: St. Petersburg promises to amp up the intensity. It does just that with a first episode that spotlights a match involving one of the most exciting pound-for-pound fighters on the MMA scene.
Yves Edwards, the self-proclaimed creator of "Thug-Jitsu", carries an impressive 31-11-1 record into the ring against the muscular Mike Brown in a welterweight tilt that highlights the premiere of BodogFight: St. Petersburg. The weekly series debuts Tuesday, February 13 at 11 p.m./10 p.m. Central on ION Television, with viewers in more than 90 million U.S. homes being treated to two great bouts, culminating with Edwards vs. Brown.
Edwards, a 30-year-old native of Nassau, Bahamas, is a well-rounded veteran fighter who describes himself as "a professional ass kicker". He is well schooled at Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but also boasts a strong boxing pedigree. He calls this unique blend of styles "Thug-Jitsu", and teaches it to students at his Revolution Dojo in Houston, Texas.
His opponent in St. Petersburg earned a biology degree from Norwich University in Vermont, but Brown prefers the ring to the lab. A native of Maine, the 31-year-old now fights out of Florida, but has traversed the globe - including stops in Japan, England and Brazil - to work with some of the top trainers in MMA. Now training with American Top Team, Brown is a UFC veteran who also holds the AFC 145-pound title. He is a boxer/wrestler who will be tested by Edwards' quickness.
The Brown-Edwards fight will be preceded by a bout that features a classic contrast in styles as 27-year-old Indian striker "Black Mamba" of Team Revolution takes on 26-year-old Brazilian wrestler Rodrigo "Crazy Face" Damm.
Like his venomous namesake, "Black Mamba" is quick and deadly, while Damm is patient and tactical. Trained by Peter de Andrade, Damm holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Their fight kicks of the exciting season of BodogFight: St. Petersburg, an eight-episode reality series that will be followed by a pay-per-view spectacular in April.
In addition to being broadcast on ION Television, all episodes of the series will be available to fight fans worldwide through streaming video on www.BodogFight.com. MMA followers will get access to previews, recaps, behind-the-scenes exclusives, fighter bios and additional footage only available online.
BodogFight's PPV Clash of the Nations: Russia's Fedor Emelianenko vs. USA's Matt Lindland
BodogFight announces today a mammoth card for a Superfight pay-per-view spectacular that promises to be raved about for ages. On Saturday, April 14, live from the ICE Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, "BodogFight: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Lindland, Clash of the Nations" takes place before an international audience in what will be an unforgettable event in mixed martial arts history.
Lindland, the No. 1-ranked middleweight fighter in the world, steps up in weight class to take on the top-ranked heavyweight fighter on the planet, Fedor Emelianenko - and Lindland will fight on the Russian superstar's home turf. So, is he nuts?
"Yes, I am crazy," confirms Lindland, who has agreed to a six-fight deal with Bodog Entertainment. "That's why I got into this sport, but I don't make a habit of taking fights I don't feel I can win. I want to fight the best guys out there, and I appreciate BodogFight giving me the opportunity to fight the very best."
Bodog Entertainment Founder Calvin Ayre is certainly looking forward to the event, which will be rich with the style and entertainment appeal that Bodog is famous for. "Fedor and Matt are both superstars in the world of MMA, and being able to showcase both of them on the same card is very exciting," Ayre said. "With BodogFight, we aim to offer fans the absolute best in MMA entertainment, and as this event will show, we're throwing down the gauntlet."
This event will also mark the first time Fedor Emelianenko will appear on the same card as his brother, Aleksander, who will fight American Jiu-Jitsu specialist Eric "Big" Pele. Needless to say, the Emelianenko brothers will be anxious to put on a show at the ICE Palace in front of their hometown fans.
Also included on the card will be the winners of the hit reality show BodogFight: St. Petersburg, who will each compete for a cash prize and a contract.
Join veteran play-by-play announcer Colonel Bob Sheridan, color commentator Paul Lazenby, and special guest host and BodogMusic artist Bif Naked for all the action, beginning with the half-hour Countdown Show airing at 8:30 p.m. EST (5:30 p.m. PST) on April 14, 2007. This preview will be followed by the three-hour PPV show at 9:00 p.m. EST (6:00 p.m. PST) that will be viewed by millions worldwide.
"BodogFight: Fedor Emelianenko vs Matt Lindland, Clash of the Nations" PPV will be available on a number of PPV distributors - check local listings for your area. More details available soon on www.BodogFight.com/PPV.
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| Monday - February 12, 2007 |
Torres' Win Streak at 11, Hornbuckle, Maciejewski Light up Total Fight Challenge 10
By Dustin Lee DePue - Photos by Riley Kerestes
Hammond, IN -- Frigid Midwestern temperatures were no match for MMA on Saturday night as fighters brought the heat to the Hammond Civic Center where the Total Fight Challenge held its tenth event. Roughly 1400 fans were in attendance for the seventeen-fight card which featured fifteen MMA and two Muay Thai fights.
The main event featured 135 pound Midwest sensation Miguel Angel Torres taking on crafty striker Charles Wilson. With a record of 29-1 and victories over Clay French, Ryan Ackerman and Joe Pearson, Torres was the clear favorite heading into the fight.
 | | Torres locks up a triangle on Wilson |
Lanky and swift, Wilson needed to keep the fight standing where he could utilize his unorthodox striking (Wilson has a kung-fu background) and long reach to frustrate Torres and avoid his dangerous submission game.
As the opening bell sounded, Wilson swept across the ring, bouncing in and out of range as he looked for an opening. He didn't waste any time, throwing an axe kick as a setup for a lighting fast right straight that seemed to travel halfway across the ring before tagging Torres and knocking him to the mat. Not wanting any of Torres' ground game, Wilson let him stand up. Blood began to trickle from a cut under Torres' left eye. Unfazed, Torres pressed forward, a stolid look that Wilson would later say impressed him. If Torres proved anything in this fight, it's that he's a machine.
Wilson did a great job stuffing Torres' takedowns for much of the first round; however, Torres kept pressing and finally nailed it, quickly transitioning into a triangle choke. Wilson was able to defend despite the apparent tightness of the hold but the struggle took its toll on his stamina. Coming into round two Wilson had clearly lost his fifth gear. Without his speed, Wilson found himself back on the mat fighting off a relentless submission attack. Amazingly, Wilson was once again able to survive the onslaught of triangles and armbars, any one of which looked tight enough to end the fight, as the bell sounded to end round two. This was to be his final triumph. As much improved as he looked, Wilson could only dodge so many bullets, as he was finally caught in a triangle at 1:29 of the third round.
Torres proves again why he is a force at 135. If he were heavier, he'd have surely had his shot at the UFC by now. At twenty-five years old, there is still the chance that his frame will grow enough to support 155 pounds. Until then, we'll enjoy his decimation of the rank and file featherweights here in the Midwest.
A spark set off by Boban Simic's disrespectful cornermen nearly set afire a riot on the main floor after Samic's unanimous decision loss to fellow heavyweight Adam Maciejewski. Known for heavy hands and little else, Simic lives to dish out punishment with two fists born only for haymakers. It's a hell of a great show when someone tries to stand with him, and Maciejewski showed he was unafraid. He also showed that he was smart. After two flurries in which both fighters landed big punches and the screaming of the crowd reached a murderous pitch, Maciejewski used his superior wrestling ability to shoot in under Simic's telegraphed haymakers and score several big takedowns. On the mat, Maciejewski's ground and pound was flat and unimpressive but scored points nonetheless.
In the second round, Simic's frustration with his opponent began to show. Samic seemed to expect Maciejewski to stand and trade bombs with him. Samic would do better to work on his wrestling than expect his opponents not to use theirs. It was the final minute of the fight that inspired in Simic's corner such intense rage. On top of Samic, Maciejewski was trying to stay busy. He wasn't landing any significant shots and with a minute left Samic began to ask the referee for a standup. With thirty seconds left, he was angry, as was the crowd. The referee looked like he was going to stand them up but the punches Maciejewski was throwing (few of which were landing cleanly) kept him from pulling the trigger. In the end, the bell sounded and the fight was over. Maciejewski was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
Simic's cornermen then began yelling obscenities and threats at Maciejewski's trainer, UFC veteran Keith Hackney. Hackney just rolled his eyes. Simic's corner continued to thrash about until security stepped in and a struggle began to engulf that side of the floor. Luckily, a potential riot resulted in little more than a ruckus as the offending members of Simic's entourage were dragged off by police. There was an impromptu intermission to cool things down and the rest of the evening went by without incident.
Triston Yunker surprised many with his handling of the tough and skilled Jason Chambers. Chambers shot in for a takedown early in the fight. Yunker rolled out of danger and ended up with a scarf hold on Chambers, from which he locked Chamber's arm, forcing Chambers to tap at 1:29 of the first round. After the fight, Chambers could be seen favoring his elbow, saying to his corner that it had popped out. An impressive if somewhat surprising win for Triston Yunker.
Local favorite Dan Hornbuckle added to his list of quick finishes a thirty-five second victory over Alex Carter. Carter filled in for Jasper Hudson on one days notice. Carter opened up the fight with a takedown attempt. After a quick scramble, Hornbuckle latched on the fight-ending triangle choke.
 | | Hornbuckle finshing off Carter |
Eddie Wineland chased Dan Swift for much of their two round fight, peppering him with jabs, leg kicks and a few stiff crosses for good measure. Swift clearly wanted the fight on the ground, a desire that went mostly unfulfilled as Wineland stuffed almost all of Swifts takedown attempts. Swift ran out of moves and was reduced to falling to his butt and on one occasion yelling, "C'mon" as his opponent waited for him to stand. Wineland's aggressiveness and the damage dealt to Swifts left knee from kicks were enough for an easy unanimous decision victory.
Jesse Chilton outmaneuvered Emerson Rushing, escaping from the guard to Rushing's back where Chilton was able to finish with the rear-naked choke.
In amateur action, Darius Turcinskas destroyed Keith McNeely with a flurry of powerful punches that had McNeely reeling within seconds. The ref should have stepped in sooner as McNeely was staggering around in a daze before being knocked out in just twenty-six seconds.
Eric Rasmussen exhibited a commanding ring presence in his technical domination of Justin Donovan, hurting him early with punch combinations before knocking him out with a knee to the head.
Jim Peterson wore down the much younger Tom Eppens with solid clinch work while avoiding Eppens takedown attempts. Peterson continually slipped the right hook over Eppens jab, tagging him again and again before finishing him with punches on the ground.
 | | Peterson cracking Eppens in the jaw |
Full Results
Professional MMA Bouts
3x5 minute rounds
Miguel Torres def. Charles Wilson by triangle choke 1:29 R3
2x5 minute rounds
Triston Yunker def. Jason Chambers by armbar 1:29 R1
Dan Hornbuckle def. Alex Carter by triangle choke 0:35 R1
Jesse Chilton def. Emerson Rushing by rear-naked choke 2:17 R1
Eddie Wineland def. Dan Swift by unanimous decision (20-18, 20-18)
Adam Maciejewski def. Boban Samic by unanimous decision
Roberto D'leon def. Dylan Sprawl by submission due to strikes 2:02 R1
Juan De Dios Maguana def. Chris Reedy by TKO (ref stoppage due to strikes) 1:56 R1
Amateur MMA Bouts
2x3 minute rounds
Jim Peterson def. Tom Eppens by TKO (Ref stoppage due to strikes) 4:50 R1
Daniel Ney draw Vinnie Hoffman (20-18, 18-19, 19-19)
Mike Cannon def. Richard Graveline by TKO (ref stoppage due to strikes) 1:41 R1
Eric Rasmussen def. Justin Donovan by KO 1:47 R1
Thomas Vesey def. Giovanni Fosko by Submission due to strikes 1:07 R1
Hulise Davilos def. Darin Watt by armbar 0:53 R1
Professional Muay Thai Bout
Chidi Nyokuni def. Cirus Washington by TKO 2:21 R3
Amateur Muay Thai Bout
Jose Maldanado def. Clinton Brown by unanimous decision
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| Sunday - February 11, 2007 |
Elite XC Makes Respectable Debut
in First Premium Channel MMA Bout
Report by Steven Marrocco - Photos by Keith Mills
Saturday, February 10, 2007, Southaven, Mississippi: Though its main event was mired in controversy, the boxing and MMA minds behind Pro Elite pulled off an exciting night of fights. The partisan audience and media stood rapt at the possible birth of a new star in the sport, the charming and brutal Gina Carano, as Exite XC put female MMA on a national platform for the first time.
Holding steady around two thirds full, an estimated 1400 fans at the Desoto Civic Centre, witnessed another chapter in the somewhat overplayed saga of Gracie vs. Shamrock. For his part, Frank was his usual cocky self, proclaiming to Gracie, "I'm going to tire you out on the ground and then knock you out." Gracie, sporting his IFL team shorts, spoke of his boxing training, but ultimately concluded, "I am looking to submit Frank the same way he is looking to knock me out."
Sporting the usual 20-plus Gracie entourage behind him, Gracie looked calm and still inside the ring. Shamrock announced his presence quickly with several unanswered leg kicks. By the third kick, Gracie had had enough, initiating a takedown by catching Frank's leg. Ensconced in half guard, Shamrock did his best to stay busy from the bottom, defending Gracie's mount attempts and kneeing Gracie to the body and head.
Interestingly, it was Shamrock's business that laid the groundwork for the controversy.
From the start, Shamrock's advantage in stand-up was evident, as he tagged Gracie several times in response to Gracie's shot. Stunned several times by the punches, Gracie took Shamrock down again with relative ease, but couldn't cinch a submission before being stood up by ref Herb Dean.
| | Shamrock (bottom) vs. Gracie |
By the second round, Shamrock's punches had taken some of the spring out of Renzo's step, causing him to shoot for a fourth time. Sitting in Frank's half guard at the edge of the cage, Frank again retorted with knees to Gracie's head. Stepping in to separate them, ref Dean called foul, but Gracie had rolled to his back, clutching his head. Looking wide eyed and distant, Gracie could not regain his composure as Shamrock bounced around in his corner.
"I thought we came to fight," Shamrock shouted to fans cageside.
After initially raising Shamrock's hand, the win was reversed, giving Gracie the win by disqualification.
Asked for clarification, Dean told the ringside interviewer that he had earlier called foul on Shamrock for the infraction, and upon the second illegal knee, went to take away a point. Because Gracie couldn't continue, the bout was ruled a disqualification in Gracie's favor.
Afterwards, Shamrock was apologetic, but undeterred. "I'm sorry, I made a mistake, I broke the rules," Shamrock said. "I'll fight any one of those guys again, for sure. I'm old school; I thought we came to fight."
Gracie was taken to a local hospital for a possible concussion. Their post-fight press conference was simultaneously called off.
Greg Jackson disciple Joey Villasenor took challenger David Loiseau out of his element from the beginning, using the clinch to take the Canadian down at will. The bout followed a familiar pattern, with Loiseau looking for the home run kick/punch combination as Villasenor came in, clinched, and tossed the Crow to the ground. Punishing Loiseau from side mount and at his back, Villasenor shook off a last minute rally from his opponent to take a unanimous 30-27 victory.
Gina Carano put on a dazzling display of mixed martial arts as she foiled her game opponent Julie Kedzie. Though Kedzie never gave up, challenging the undefeated Carano at every turn, the weight behind Carano's punches and kicks devastated Kedzie throughout the fight. Unable to submit Carano after gaining an important takedown in the second, Kedzie continued to dig deep and fight on impressively to the bell.
 | | Villasenor (right) vs. Loiseau |
For their effort, the audience gave the two a standing ovation, witnessing the best-case scenario for this debut of sorts. "It turned out wonderful for us and the sport," Carano said afterwards.
 | | Carano landing a right on Kedzie |
 | | Silva lands a knee on Cabbage |
American Top Team's Antonio Silva bullied UFC and Rumble on the Rock vet Wesley "Cabbage" Correira before stopping him with an unlikely flying knee. Attempting to backpeddle out of trouble, Cabbage ate a sneaky left hook that sent him to the canvas at 3:49 of the first.
Erratic, charismatic, and quite possibly, a great fighter, Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett took to the cage like the actor he wants to be, knocking out City Boxing's KJ Noons. After exchanging a series of taunts, grins, and scowls with Bennett, Noons caught the worse end of a right hook exchange, dropping him to the canvas at 3:43 of the first round. After multiple backflips off the cage, the announcement of an acting career, and generous boos from the audience, Bennett finally exited.
On the Internet broadcast card, Tim Persey hammered his opponent Bo Cantrell with a series of hooks that had Cantrell out on his feet at 1:33 of the first.
Former IFL Anaconda Mike Pyle made quick work of fellow welterweight Ross Ebanez, choking him out at 1:33 of the first.
In a back and forth battle, lightweights Adriano Nasal and Javier Vazquez gave it their all in a three round war. Despite a last minute comeback from Nasal, Vazquez walked away with a Split Decision victory.
Deadly striker Edson Berto outstruck local favorite John-David Shackelford, got dropped by a left hook and kick that sent him to the mat. Although struggling for a submission, the ref called the bout at 2:27 of round 2.
Riki Fukuda gave fellow local favorite Chris Gates a taste of his first knockout as Fukuda launched a series of downward punches on his foe that had signaled the submission by strikes at 1:18 of the first round.
Elite XC Full Results:
- Tim Persey def. Bo Cantrell at 1:33 of R1 by KO
- Mike Pyle def. Ross Ebanez at 1:55 of R1 by submission (rear-naked choke)
- Javier Vazquez def. Adriano Nasal at 5:00 of R3 by split decision (29-28, 29-27, 28-29)
- Edson Berto def. John-David Shackelford at 2:27 of R2 by TKO
- Riki Fukuda def. Chris Gates at 1:18 of R1 by submission (strikes)
- Charles Bennett def. KJ Noons at 3:43 of R1 by TKO
- Gina Carano def. Julie Kedzie at 5:00 of R3 by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Joey Villasenor def. David Loiseau at 5:00 of R3 by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Antonio Silva def. Wesley Correira at 3:49 of R1 by TKO
- Renzo Gracie def. Frank Shamrock at 2:00 of R2 by referee disqualification (illegal knee to back of head)
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Cage Rage 20 – Born 2 Fight
Held Feb 10, 2007
Wembley Arena, London, England
Report & photos by David West
 | | Butterbean moves in on Thompson |
Although there were two living legends of MMA on the card at Cage Rage 20, it was the newcomers who brought the excitement, whilst the legends appeared ready for the history books. In the main event Eric "Butterbean" Esch tagged James Thompson with two looping overhand rights that looked like Butterbean was winding up a baseball pitch. The first staggered Thompson, the second dropped him to all fours. Butterbean landed three more shots to Thompson's head and the referee jumped in. A groggy Thompson tried to keep fighting, and the crowd wasn't happy about the stoppage, but he was taking big punches and not defending himself.
Mark Kerr looked like he would rather have been anywhere but inside a cage. He slipped throwing a high kick and was pounded on the floor by London Shootfighters' Mustapha Al Turk until Kerr tapped out. Kerr has fallen from world beater to the status of being a stepping stone for rising heavyweights and he should hang up his gloves on the basis of this performance.
 | | Turk pounding on Kerr |
Similarly, UFC champion Dan Severn gave a slow, plodding performance against Dave Legeno that drew continuous booing from the crowd. Severn inexplicably chose to stand with Legeno for the first two rounds, with Legeno landed the cleaner punches. In the third round Severn scored two easy low single leg takedowns, suggesting he could have done so at any time in the preceding rounds. However, he was unable to do much damage on the floor, leading to Legeno getting the judges decision.
The best action of the night came from welterweights Marios Zaromskis, from London Shootfighters, and France's Damien Riccio. After a measured start, by the second round they were going hammer and tongs with Zaromskis asserting himself in the standing exchanges. In the third round, Zaromskis increased the pressure and battered Riccio from pillar to post, but the game Frenchman kept coming back for more. Zaromskis scored a knockdown from a spinning heel kick to the head and eventually got the stoppage from a nasty cut that left Riccio drenched in blood. A hell of a fight as both men showed heart, technique and tons of guts.
 | | Zaromskis (right) punching Riccio |
Robbie Olivier's wish to become the first British champion to win a Cage Rage World title was brought to an abrupt stop by submission master Masakazu Imanari. The Japanese grappler was taken down by Olivier after leaping at him with a jumping front kick, but he instantly slipped on an arm bar that forced the Brit to tap out. Imanari's countryman Daijiro Matsui quickly disposed of late replacement Tom Watson with an arm bar of his own and was the happiest man in all England following his victory after a string of messy results at Cage Rage, including a controversial draw with Alex Reid and a loss by cut to Pierre Guillet.
In the big news of the evening Bob Sapp announced that he will be fighting at Cage Rage 21 in April. The British heavyweights were practically falling over themselves for a shot at the gigantic American. First of all Dave Legeno called Sapp out, leading to a confrontation in the cage. Then Robert Berry came in, grabbed the microphone and said "I'll take the fight, Bob", before James Thompson jumped into the cage to add his name to the list. Form an orderly queue, gentlemen.
Full Results
- Eric "Butterbean" Esch def. James Thompson by KO, 0:43 R1
- Mustapha Al Turk def. Mark Kerr by Tap-out (strikes) 2:29 R1
- Tengiz Tedoradze def. Rob Broughton by TKO (doctor stoppage – cut) 0:58 R2
- Dave Legeno def. Dan Severn by Unanimous Decision
- Daijiro Matsui def. Tom Watson by Arm Bar 0:59 R1
- Robert Berry def. Mark Buchanan by Tap-out (strikes) 2:18 R1
- Tom Blackledge def. Tom Howard by KO 0:40 R1
- Masakazu Imanari def. Robbie Olivier by Arm Bar, 0:27 R1
- Marios Zaromskis def. Damien Riccio by TKO (doctor stoppage – cut) 4:37 R3
- Ronnie Mann def. Ashley Grimshaw by Unanimous Decision
- Jack Toczyelowski def. Jason Barret by TKO (doctor stoppage – cut) 4:04 R1
- Francis Heagney def. Lee Doski by Kimura 2:50 R2
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Icon Sport: "All In"
Held February 9, 2007
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Report by Chris Onzuka - Photo by Aaron Meyer
The fighters prepared for battle, thousands of people were eager for the action, I guess you could say that everyone was "All In" for Icon Sport's latest event. Icon Sport introduced some attractive recent acquisitions in Renato "Charuto" Verissimo and heavyweight Scott Junk to not only add depth, but bring in some local talent to please the crowd. This was a fast paced night of action as only two of the 13 bouts went to a decision. The heavy hitters got to show off their skill, racking up KO's like Mark Moreno and Justin Bacholz. There were also a fair number of submissions. "All In" all, a lot of action kept the crowd in check. Unfortunately, the main event had to be scratched due to Robbie Lawler. Lawler came down with a case of food poisoning on about Tuesday. Lawler held off withdrawing from the event, hoping that he would recover in time. Current Icon Sport Middleweight Champion, Frank Trigg stepped in the ring to announce that he will be fighting Robbie Lawler soon, possibly as soon as Icon Sport event in April.
 | | Bott choking Taufa'ao |
- 140-lbs 3 x 3 Mins
Devon Chong (Hard Knocks, Waianae) def. Isaiah Cobb-Adams (Animal House, Ewa Beach)
Submission via arm bar from the guard at 0:50 in R1.
- 135-lbs 3 x 3 Mins
Duane Haney (Bulls Pen, Honolulu) def. Jay Bolos (Animal House, Ewa Beach)
Submission via rear naked choke at 1:26 in R2.
- Heavyweight 3 x 3 Mins
Richard Desforge (Hard Knocks, Waianae) def. Allen Lau (Grappling Unlimited, Honolulu)
TKO via referee stoppage due to strikes at 2:34 in R2.
- 160-lbs 3 x 3 Mins
Justin Bucholz (Bulls Pen, Honolulu) def. Brandon Pieper (Hard Knocks, Waianae)
TKO via referee stoppage from punches from the guard at 1:07 in R1
- 145-lbs 3 x 3 Mins
Sadhu Bott (HMC, Honolulu) def. Peni Taufa'ao (Eastsidaz, Waiamanalo)
Submission via rear-naked choke at 1:36 in R2.
- 195-lbs 3 x 3 Mins
Kala Kolohe Hose (Bad Intentions, Waianae) def. Kekoa Baker (Fearless Fight Club, Kapolei)
TKO via referee stoppage due to strikes at 1:07 in R1.
- Heavyweight 3 x 3 Mins
Randy Lueder (MMA Development, Kailua) def. Ron "Killing" Fields (Killing Fields MMA, Ohio)
Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after 3 rounds.
- 150-lbs 3 x 3 Mins
Jerome Kekumu (Hard Knocks, Waianae) def. Mike Balasi (Grappling Unlimited, Honolulu)
Unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) after 3 rounds.
- 170-lbs 3 x 5 Mins
Mark Moreno (Bulls Pen, Honolulu) vs. Sam Jackson (Reinhardt MMA, Iowa)
KO via kick to the head at 0:24 in R1
- 145-lb Hawaii State Title 3 x 5 Mins
Bronson Pieper (Hard Knocks, Waianae) def. "The Eastside Strangler" Chico Cantiberos (Eastsidaz, Waimanalo)
KO at 3:23 in R1
* Pieper becomes the new Icon Sport Hawaii State Champion.
- Heavyweight 3 x 5: Mins
Scott "Punk Haole" Junk (MMA Development, Kailua) def. John George (Reinhardt MMA, Iowa)
KO via straight right punch at 0:10 in R1
- 205-lbs 3 x 5 Mins
Jeremy "Half-Man Half-Amazing" Williams (Legends Gym, Hollywood) def. Derek Thornton (Freelance, Honolulu)
Submission via guillotine at 3:48 in Round 1
- 185-lbs 3 x 5 Mins
"Charuto" Renato Verissimo (HMC, Honolulu) def. Kris Fleurestil Reinhardt (MMA, Iowa)
TKO via referee stoppage due to strikes from the back mount at 2:19 in R1
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| Friday - February 9, 2007 |
EliteXC: New Promotion Makes Debut this Weekend
By Keith Mills
All systems are go for EliteXC's debut show this weekend, also known as "Showtime's MMA debut" due to that cable network showing five of the ten bouts starting at 10 PM Saturday night. The other five fights will be aired on EliteXC's website. Briefly it appeared this card may be without a headline fight when another promotion, Strikeforce, tried to sue Frank Shamrock for breach of contract and sought an injunction preventing Frank from fighting Renzo Gracie. According to the Gracie camp, the lawsuit between Strikeforce and headliner Frank Shamrock for breach of contract has been settled now that Showtime, stepped in and brokered a deal involving a future Strikeforce card to be aired on Showtime. Now that the lawsuit is settled the countdown is on.
The official preview is airing on Showtime but here is a different view. This show really shows the vision of Gary Shaw pitting the champions of different organizations against each other. Shaw himself is a boxing promoter and former regulator in New Jersey that originally turned down MMA in that state. According to Shaw, EliteXC is not trying to compete with the UFC, but to be a venue for champions from different organizations to determine who the best truly are. In fact this card is arguably a tour de force of the North American perspective of the MMA scene, thanks in large part to matchmaker J.D. Penn of Rumble on the Rock. Champions from King of the Cage, Gladiator Challenge, WEC, and TKO face off against vets of UFC, IFL, Strikeforce, HOOKnSHOOT, AFC, Pride, and even BodogFIGHT. The main event is even a former UFC Champion against a Pride and Abu Dhabi Submission Fighting Worlds vet.
The Super Heavyweight fight featuring UFC vet Wesley "Cabbage" Correira and Antonio Silva looks to be a barn burner. Cabbage went 1-3 in the '06 season and went 2-2 in his UFC career, but his two losses in the UFC were to champions Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski, while his losses outside the UFC have frequently been the most exciting of those shows. Silva on the other hand, has had a much shorter career in Cage Rage in England among others, but his only loss was in BodogFIGHT to KOTC Super Heavyweight Champion Eric Pele. Coming in with an estimated twenty-plus pound weight advantage Silva may make up the experience factor with the size factor. Both fighters are known for their first round aggression, so don't expect this one to be boring in any sense.
 |  | | Loiseau | Correira (right) |
In the Full Contact Fighter archives is Kelsey Mowatt's update with UFC vet/TKO Champion David "The Crow" Loiseau and he is right, his fight against Joey Villasenor could very well be the most compelling fight. Training this time at City Boxing with UFC vet Brandon Vera among others, could give Loiseau a new lease on life and snap him out of his two-loss '06 record. Having gone 4-3 in the UFC fans should be familiar with Loiseau and his skills in the clinch and with his elbows. Pride vet Joey Villasenor may be less known to most fans but is very similar. Villasenor trains out of Jackson's Fight Team in Albuquerque, the same team that fields Diego Sanchez, Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, and many more. Villasenor is also the former King of the Cage Middleweight Champion, having won and defended that belt seven times most recently against John Cronk after which he relinquished the title. Joey competed in last year's Pride Middleweight Grand Prix where he lost a controversial split decision to Ryo Chonan for his first loss in almost four years, but even he admits he made mistakes against Robbie Lawler in Pride in October, resulting in a 0:22 KO. Now hungry for the win and knowing his back is against the wall, Joey is coming to EliteXC to prove he isn't all hype.
 | | Villasenor |
Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett was also in a Pride Grand Prix, his being the Lightweight tournament last June where he lost to current Shooto Champion Tatsuya Kawajiri. Krazy Horse may be coming off a '06 0-3 record with two more losses in KOTC, but what he lacks in technique, he makes up for as one of the exciting fighters, arguably giving Shonie Carter competition for biggest showman in North America...when Krazy Horse is not in jail that is. KJ Noons on the other hand is all about technique. Also training out of City Boxing Noons is 7-1 in boxing, 4-1 in MMA (not the 3-0 as EliteXC's website states), and 13-1 in Muay Thai. If Noons can handle Bennett's unorthodox style it could be over quick, but if not, this fight could be the fight of the night.
Click here to continue the article
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Pride Announces Two More Fights for February 24th Card
By FCF Staff
The official Pride website is reporting that two more bouts have been confirmed for the organization's upcoming February 24th "Second Coming" card, to be held at the Thomas and Mack Centre in Las Vegas, Nevada. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (12-2) will make his return to competition after a 6 month layoff against Thierry Sokoudjou (2-1). Nogueira will be looking to remain in the middleweight title picture by defeating his Team Quest opponent, as it has been widely speculated the Brazilian Top Team fighter will get a chance to face the winner of the upcoming Pride 33 main event. In what is of course well documented by now, Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva will face Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson in the 205-pound bracket, to headline the show on the 24TH. Nogueira has won eight of his nine appearances in Pride thus far, and most recently the fighter stopped Allistair Overeem with strikes at Pride's Absolute event last July. His only loss in over 4 years came when Nogueira dropped a decision loss to "Shogun" Rua at Pride's "Critical Countdown" on June 26th, 2005.
Sokoudjou is by far the lesser experienced of the two in MMA competition, but has a plethora of competitive Judo experience, including medal winning performances at the U.S. Open Judo Championships. It will be interesting to see what Team Quest has been able to add to the fighter's arsenal who is being coined the "African Assassin" on the Pride website.
Another lightweight match-up has been added to the card as Joachim Hansen (14-4-1) will meet King of the Cage veteran Jason Ireland (16-6-1). Hansen will be looking to rebound from his highlight reel gogo-platta submission loss to Shinya Aoki at Pride "Shockwave" on New Year's Eve. Despite the loss, the Norwegian fighter is still widely regarded as one of the world's best lightweight fighters, having defeated the likes of Rumina Sato, Takanori Gomi, Yves Edwards and "JZ" Cavalcante during his storied seven-year career.
For Ireland it will be the chance of a lifetime on the 24th, as the fighter will be making his Pride debut, likely as a heavy underdog. The Michigan fighter has won three of his last four fights however, and recently stopped Jimmy Boyd in the first round with strikes on January 26th at KOTC "Mass Destruction." Of Ireland's 6 losses, several of them have come against very notable opposition, including Jorge Gurgel, Mac Danzig, and Dustin Hazelett. Until being injured in a hit and run accident in 2004, Ireland won an astounding nine fights in a row during the 2003 year.
With the announcement of these two fights this week, the Pride 33 "Second Coming" card now stands at eight bouts.
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| Thursday - February 8, 2007 |
FCF Survey
Give Us Your Thoughts...
We'd like to hear your thoughts on the current happenings in the MMA world. Whatever is on your mind ... your thoughts on UFC 67 ... Cro Cop and Rampage coming to the UFC, the impact of this on both UFC and Pride ... the IFL deal with MyNetworks ... EliteXC ... BodogFight ... the state of the sport today and where you'd like to see it five or ten years from now ... whatever you'd like to talk about, we'd like to hear it. The results of the survey and some of the commentary we receive may appear in the upcoming issue of FCF.
Click here to take the survey
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Hominick vs. Hioki headlines TKO 28 this weekend
Canadian MMA fans will be treated to a compelling main event this weekend at TKO 28 "Inevitable", when Mark Hominick (13-5) faces Hatsu Hioki (11-1-1) for the TKO World Featherweight Championship. The bout, which will take place Friday night, February 9th, at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Quebec, features a rematch of two of the world's more notable 145 pound fighters. Hioki rendered Hominick unconscious with a second round triangle choke at TKO 25 last May, taking the Team Tompkins' fighter's title. The devastating loss caught many off guard at the time, as Hominick had recently made his UFC debut a triumphant one on March 4th, submitting Yves Edwards with a triangle choke. Since his last fight with Hioki, Hominick has won three fights in a row, defeating Samuel Guillet, Doug Edwards and perhaps most notably, Jorge Gurgel at UFN 5 on June 28th.
Although Hioki was a not a well known commodity to many MMA fans here in North America when he defeated Hominick, the Japanese fighter had been making waves overseas competing in Shooto. Hioki had a record of 8-1-1 before making his North American debut, a record that also included a win over tough Miletich fighter Joe Pearson in March of 2005. Since his championship win over Hominick at TKO 25, the Japanese fighter has won 3 fights in a row, including a decision victory over Jeff Curran at his Pride Bushido debut last August.
There is little question that Hominick will be heavily favored to regain his title if he can keep the fight standing. If Hioki can once again get the fight to the mat similarly to their first encounter, it will be interesting to see how far Hominick's jiu-jitsu has progressed over the last year. The deciding factor in this fight likely will be each fighter's wrestling ability, which will determine whether or not the fight remains standing for the majority of the bout, or if it's spent on the mat.
Essentially the same criteria for TKO 28's main event applies to the bout between Lightweight Champion Sam Stout (10-2-1) and Brazilian Top Team Canada's head jiu-jitsu instructor, Fabio Holanda (4-4). Stout is of course, similarly to Hominick, highly regarded for his striking skills, which seem to come part in parcel with being a member of Team Tompkins. Although Stout has 6 wins on his record coming way of strikes, the London fighter has likely worked on his ground game considerably since losing to Kenny Florian by rear naked choke at the Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale last June. In his last fight at TKO 27 on September 29th, Stout demonstrated some of his ground skills by submitting Jay Estrada with an armbar in the second round.
Holanda has won 4 of 5 fights since dropping down to lightweight competition, holding submission victories over such notable lightweights like Kultar Gill, Blake Fredrickson and Alvin Robinson. Holanda has also been working on his stand up game, but probably has a ways to go yet before he rivals Stout in that range. Once again, it probably will be the wrestling abilities of each fighter that will determine where this bout is fought, and whether or not Stout defends his belt, or the title changes hands.
The scheduled TKO welterweight title bout between Steven Vigneault and Jonathan Goulet has been put on hold due to an injury Vigneault incurred in his training camp. Instead, Team Jackson fighter Thomas Schulte (13-5) will head to Montreal to meet up with Jonathan Goulet (16-7). Although Schulte is not a UFC veteran like his opponent Goulet, one would be fool hardy to underestimate any fighter from the highly regarded New Mexico team. Goulet will of course be looking to impress, after going 2-2 so far in his UFC appearances, a win over Schulte will certainly go a long ways to hasten his return to the MMA giant.
Some other fights scheduled for TKO 28 include; Chris Clements vs. David Medd, Jason St.Louis taking on Steve Claveau, Samuel Guillet meeting Luke Caudillo, and David Pariseau fighting Martin Grandmont.
Gladiator Fighting Series Colosseum 4: Munduruca and Fontaine both win
At last Friday's Gladiator Fighting Series, Colosseum 4 event that was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Rodrigo Munduruca and Chris Fontaine were both able to give their hometown crowd reason to cheer. Middleweight Fontaine submitted Mitch Whitesel with a first round kimura, while BJJ black belt and local instructor Munduruca, also won via a submission, tapping out Rob Smith with a first round armbar.
Upcoming Canadian MMA Events
- TKO 28 "Inevitable"- February 9th, Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
- Extreme Cage Combat 5- March 31, Halifax Forum, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Ultimate Cage Wars- April 7th, Winnipeg Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Maximum Fighting Championship "Unplugged 3"- April 20th, Crowne Plaza, Edmonton, Alberta
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Strikeforce and Elite XC Strike "Strategic Alliance"
By FCF Staff
MMA promotions Elite XC and Strikeforce announced via a press release today, that an official agreement to co-promote events which feature former UFC Champion Frank Shamrock has been reached. Shamrock is under contract to both organizations, and is scheduled to fight Renzo Gracie this Saturday at Elite XC's debut event in Southaven, Mississippi, and Phil Baroni on the upcoming April, Strikeforce card. Until this deal was reached this week, there had been speculation that Shamrock's fight with Gracie might be in jeopardy of being delayed, due to contractual issues.
The release stated that the new partnership will begin when Shamrock faces Baroni, as both Elite XC and Strikeforce will be involved in promoting the pay per view event.
The February 10th, debut event for Elite XC will be broadcast on Showtime this Saturday, with 5 of the cards fights scheduled to be shown. The event will also be available for Canadian viewers via the Fight Network.
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BodogFight Announces Impressive List of Match-Ups for Season 3
By FCF Staff
In a press release today from the upstart MMA promotion BodogFight, the organization announced the scheduled fights for the upcoming third season of the promotion's reality television program. Filming of the bouts will begin on February 10th in Costa Rica, and will eventually be available for viewing on the BodogFight website or via ION Television. The current roster of fighters scheduled to compete in BodogFight's season 3 carries with it some very notable names, including the likes of Jake Shields, Jose "Pele" Landi, Trevor Prangley, Chael Sonnen, and Nick Thompson among several others.
BodogFight's second season which was filmed in St.Petersburg, Russia, recently wrapped filming and is set to air on February 13th, with the season ending pay per view event scheduled for April.
Here is the complete list of the scheduled bouts for BodogFight Season 3.
Heavyweights
Mario Rinaldi (USA) vs. Roy Nelson (USA)
Mark Burch (USA) vs. Yoshiki Takahashi (Japan)
Kellan Flukinger (USA) vs. Miodrag Petkovich (Croatia)
Dan Evensen (USA) vs. Jeremiah Constant (USA)
Daniel Puder (USA) vs. Michael Alden (USA)
Light-Heavyweights
Mike Patt (USA) vs. Todd Gouwenberg (Canada)
Francis Carmont (France) vs. Jeff Ford (USA)
Antony Rea (France) vs. David Avellan (USA)
Moise Rimbon (France) vs. Alex Steibling (USA)
Middleweights
Chael Sonnen (USA) vs. Tim McKenzie (USA)
Trevor Prangley (USA) vs. Pierre Guillet (UK)
Matt Ewin (UK) vs. Andrei Semenov (Russia)
Grzegorz Jakubowski (Poland) vs. Andy Foster (USA)
Izuru Takeuchi (Japan) vs. Kyacey Uscola (USA)
Eugene Jackson (USA) vs. Diego Visotzky (Argentina)
Welterweights
Eddie Alvarez (USA) vs. Scott Henze (USA)
Nick Thompson (USA) vs. Dustin Denes (USA)
Stephen Haigh (USA) vs. Takuya Wada (Japan)
Jose "Pele" Landi (Brazil) vs. Phil Norman (UK)
Piotr Jakacynzki (Sweden) vs. Steve Berger (USA)
Zach Light (USA) vs. Jake Ellenberger (USA)
Jake Shields (USA) vs. Ray Steinbeiss (USA)
Lightweights
Brad Pickett (UK) vs. JR Sims (USA)
Nick Agallar (USA) vs. Ryan Bow (Japan/USA)
Rafael Diaz (USA/Brazil) vs. Sami Aziz (Sweden)
Tyler Jackson (Canada) vs. Kyle Watson (USA)
David Love (USA) vs. Atsuhiro Tsuboi (Japan)
135 Ladies
Tara LaRosa (USA) vs. Shanya Bazler (USA)
Tama-Chan (Japan) vs. Jan Finney (USA)
125 Ladies
Rosie Sexton (UK) vs. Windy Tomomi (Japan)
Carina Damm (Brazil) vs. Molly Helsel (USA)
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| Wednesday - February 7, 2007 |
From the event's promoter:
INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE (IFL) MOVES APRIL 13 EVENT TO MOHEGAN SUN FOR FIRST-EVER SAME NIGHT TELEVISED TEAM COMPETITION
Fox Sports Net to show team matchup between Renzo Gracie's Pitbulls and Matt Lindland's Wolfpack same night at 11 p.m.
NEW YORK, February 7, 2007 -- The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world's first team-based professional mixed martial arts league, announced today that it will move its Friday, April 13, event from Lakeland, Florida, to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and that the event will be shown the same night on Fox Sports Net at 11 p.m. in all markets. The live show at Mohegan Sun will begin at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets will be available starting February 10 through www.ifl.tv or via Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com, by telephone or at Ticketmaster outlets.
"We are very excited that FSN has agreed to give us a window to show our product the same night, and we felt that in order to produce the best event possible we needed to move to a site and an area which we have already had success and know very well," said IFL Co-founder and Commissioner Kurt Otto. "As we have said all along, 2007 will be the year for us to test many things to see what works best, and although we know how strong the MMA following is in Florida and that we will be there at some point, we felt the best site for our first same-night broadcast would be Mohegan Sun."
Mohegan Sun hosted the finals of the IFL "World Team Championships" on December 29, 2006, and in front of a near-capacity crowd, Pat Miletich's Silverbacks defeated Matt Lindland's Wolfpack for the title.
The matchups at Mohegan Sun will include the Tucson-based Scorpions, coached by MMA legend Don Frye, taking on the Toronto-based Dragons, coached by MMA world champion Carlos "The Ronin" Newton. The Portland-based Wolfpack, led by world champion and Olympic wrestling Silver Medalist Matt Lindland, will take on the New York-based Pitbulls, led by world jiu-jitsu champion Renzo Gracie.
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From the event's promoter:
INTERNATIONAL FIG |
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