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| Thursday - November 1, 2001 |
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By Jim Genia 
The weigh-ins for the Ultimate Fighting Championship 34 took place at the MGM Grand today, and though fans had an easy time meeting the UFC's top stars, some of the fighters had a tougher time cutting weight. One fighter in particular, Homer Moore, had to be re-weighed -- after taking full advantage of the hour grace period permitted under Nevada State Athletic Commission rules.Cutting weight, which is a fact of life in nearly any sport with weight classes, played no small role in today's event. In the 155 to 169.9 pound welterweight division, both challenger and champion were cautiously optimistic before stepping on the scale. Challenger Matt Hughes was 177 pounds back in Iowa, but when he got to Vegas, he found himself at 185. "No big deal," he said, as fans began to file in and clamor for autographs. "It's my fault, but I should be fine." He later made weight, coming in at 169.9 pounds. Welterweight champ Carlos Newton, who usually walks around at 185 to 190, was 171 pounds just prior to the official weigh-ins. He was 169 when it counted. "I feel great," he said afterwards. "Very genki." "Genki," when translated from Japanese, means "healthy" or "peppy" -- which was an accurate description of the champ as his trainers led him off to the buffet. In the light-heavyweight division, Evan Tanner came in at 199 pounds. His opponent, Homer Moore, did not make weight at that time, as he was a pound and a half over the 205-pound limit. As per Nevada rules, Homer was given time to work it off. He returned to the scale at 202 pounds. Present at the second weigh-in were Homer's cornermen, and Zuffa official Lisa Faircloth and owner Lorenza Fertitta. Evan was not present, although it was done with his consent -- and videotaped. None of the heavyweights seemed to have weight-cutting worries - heavyweight champ Randy Couture weighed in at 225 pounds, while challenger Pedro Rizzo was 235 pounds. Pete Williams and Ricco Rodriguez weighed in at 230 and 240 pounds, respectively. Josh Barnett was 245, while Bobby Hoffman tipped the scales at 254 - the heaviest competitor on the card. Newcomer Frank Mir was 247, which raised the eyebrows of his opponent, Roberto Traven. Roberto was only 214 pounds himself. Lightweights Caol Uno and BJ Penn were 153 and 154 pounds. In the middleweight division, "New York Bad-Ass" Phil Baroni was 184.5 pounds. Olympian Matt Lindland was only a half-pound less, weighing in at 184. 
Present for autograph signing were light-heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz, middleweight champ Dave Menne, and lightweight champ Jens Pulver. Rounding out the roster were fighters Chuck Liddell and Gil Castillo, and former Playboy model Angelica Bridges. Not present were the fans who had flocked to the weigh-ins for UFC 33, as the turnout seemed to be slightly less than before. Still, the atmosphere was one of anticipation. Will this show be more exciting than the last? Will the judges end up deciding all the fights? We'll know tomorrow night.
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UFC 34 Pre-fight Interview By Aaron Crecy 
Matt Lindland will make his third appearance in the Octagon when he puts his unbeaten MMA record on the line versus the outspoken Phil Baroni at UFC 34. A 2000 Olympic silver medallist in Greco-Roman wrestling, Lindland's last fight ended by disqualification when Ricardo Almeida received a third foul for illegal kicks to the face. However, Lindland was well ahead on all three judges' card prior to the DQ, which came with approximately forty seconds remaining in the bout. Lindland is a member of Team Quest, along with Randy Couture and Dan Henderson. He lives and trains in Gresham, Oregon, where he and his two business partners own a thriving used car dealership. Matt took some time to answer some questions earlier this week, speaking candidly about his opponent, his training, and his fight with Almeida. FCF: If Phil Baroni's punches are as big as his mouth, you might be in trouble. What is your opinion on his pre-fight trash talking? ML: Phil Baroni? Is that the guy I'm fighting? FCF: With the Greco-Roman World Championships in December, how much of your training is devoted to MMA as compared to wrestling? Is there a crossover between the two types of training? I imagine it helps with cardio. ML: I've been training only for MMA. After this fight I will start thinking about the Worlds. I always use Greco-Roman as part of my MMA training, although I have been concentrating on my striking FCF: This fight promises to be a match-up of two ground and pounders -- do you have the advantage, considering that Baroni's has never faced someone with your elite wrestling skills? As a Greco-Roman wrestler who focuses on upper body attacks, do you have trouble defending leg attacks? ML: I was actually a pretty decent freestyle and collegiate wrestler. I won two national freestyle titles and was a Pan Am freestyle champion. I train with some high level wrestlers and the only guy I have trouble stopping any takedowns against is Randy. If Phil was a decent wrestler I think I would have heard of him. FCF: What have you done to improve your striking and submission skills since your last appearance in the Octagon, a win by DQ over Ricardo Almeida in UFC 31? Who have you been training with other than Randy? ML: Dan, of course. I think he is great at subs and the stuff he uses and shows me works right into my style. I also work with a lot of other good submission guys, not just wrestlers. I also trained with Maurice Smith. FCF: With Dan Henderson in Japan and Couture preparing for the main event, who will be in your corner at UFC 34? Give us your thoughts on the difficulty of having the UFC and Pride on the same weekend -- and given the time change, the same day. ML: Dan would be my first choice to corner -- he did a great job last time. I will have Chael Sonnen in my corner. Dan worked with Chael and got him ready to corner. I would like Randy to come out for the fight but that's up to him FCF: You took some criticism after your last UFC appearance -- although you were winning decisively before Almeida was DQ'd with about forty seconds remaining in the fight, some Internet fans complained that it was boring. What are your thoughts? ML: WWF. That's what I say to those fans -- watch the WWF. Almeida is a world class submission fighter. I fought a smart fight and did what I had to do to get the win. Sure it would be great to be the most exciting fighter and I hope to become more exciting, but this is a sport and I'm out there to win. I train to win, and I think that's exciting FCF: What feedback did Dana White and Joe Silva give you? Did the fan backlash have something to do with the UFC passing you over for a fight with Dave Menne for the then-vacant middleweight belt, or did your plans to compete in the World Championships prevent the match-up? ML: I was supposed to compete in the worlds that same weekend and that's why I didn't fight Dave. The worlds were cancelled and I could have fought but it was to late. FCF: Is it difficult balancing your training with your car dealership (USA Auto Wholesale)? How much time do you dedicate to training? ML: No. My business partners are great about picking up my slack when I'm training. They are very supportive and huge fans of the sport. So, I work hard when I'm not training and when it's time to train that's all I do. FCF: Do you prefer the hard sell or the soft sell? ML: My goal is to find my customers a quality pre-owned vehicle at a fair price that fits their budget. If needed, I am also determined to help secure financing for all my customers -- even those with bad credit. Anyone who might be in the market for a pre-owned vehicle can visit us online at www.usaautowholesale.com. FCF: Do you plan to retire from amateur wrestling after the World Championships and focus 100% on MMA? ML: I wouldn't say retire, but take some I do plan to train MMA full time and make this my career FCF: Who wins in practice -- you or Dan? He says your best-of-three victory over him at the World Team Trials was a fluke -- something about you cheating and biting. ML: I kick his ass. He begged me not to hurt him in those matches. Good luck, Dan -- beat somebody up in Japan. |
 Closing In On Championship Chaos By Aaron Crecy Tokyo -- There is a chill in the Tokyo air, but the temperature at the Shinjuku Hilton is almost at a boiling point as Pride 17 approaches. All the fighters gathered today for a press conference, where they were introduced to the media, shook hands and posed for photos. All but Vanderlei Silva, that is, who chose to stare icily at Kazushi Sakuraba rather than shake his opponent's outstretched hand. Nobuhiko Takada was not present at the press conference.
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 UFC 34: High Voltage Tickets available from: Ticket Master: 702-474-4000 & MGM Grand: 877-880-0880 LINE-UP:* Main card: Prelims: *Card subject to change |
Special Night On SunshineFCF runs on Thursday this week Catch an all new episode of Full Contact Fighter TV tonight on Sunshine Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time). This jam-packed show will include...
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Ready to do it again! By Eduardo Alonso 
When Vanderlei Silva fought Japanese superstar and Pride posterboy Kazushi Sakuraba for the first time on March 25th, few people believed in his chances to win. However it took Vanderlei less than two minutes to finish the fight, stun the Japanese audience, and become the first fighter to defeat Sakuraba at Pride. Not only that but with this victory the popularity of the "Axe Murderer" grew all over the world, and after lots of speculation and expectations, the awaited rematch is finally going to happen! The Tokyo Dome will hold a crowd of more than 50,000 fans to witness who will prevail this time! In this short conversation with FCF, right before Vanderlei got to his plane to fly to Japan, the Chute Boxe star shows that he is more than ready to do it all over again, and become the first ever Pride Middleweight champion!FCF: After your overwhelming victory over Kazushi Sakuraba at Pride 13, you are going to fight him again a very anticipated rematch. How are you feeling about this fight? VS: I have a very good expectation about this fight, I have been preparing hard from a long time, and I expect to knock him out again! FCF: At the first time you two fought, Sakuraba accepted to trade punches with you to most people's surprise. Do you expect him to fight as open as he did last time, or do you believe he may present some kind of surprises? VS: I believe that for me there's no such thing as fighting one way or another! A fight is a fight! I'm the same, he is the same, and it doesn't matter! I'll go right at him! There's no secret, so I believe nothing changes! We'll both fight to win! FCF: Are you concerned with the rule that Pride uses about the weight difference? Do you believe that rule (That when a fighter weighs 10kg or more than his opponent he can't use knees and kicks to an opponent on all fours) will hinder you in any way? VS: No, I don't think so. I fight under the rules, but I believe that maybe this fight won't even go to the ground. Maybe I'll even knock him out standing. FCF: You always enter every event very well prepared. How was your preparation for this fight against Sakuraba? VS: I have been training a lot of cardio, taking care of my stamina. To tell you the truth I have been preparing for a longer fight you know. Maybe it can last more than 2 rounds, I don't know! I believe everything can happen. If for any reason the fight goes longer than expected he will be surprised because I'm in great condition! FCF: Pride will now finally have its belt, and you can be the first Pride middleweight champion if you beat Sakuraba. What does this means to you? VS: I believe this is a unique chance. Pride is for sure the biggest NHB event in the world, and I believe that becoming the first Pride Middleweight champion will be great for my career! I think that every fighter dreams to be the champion of such an event, to have the belt, etc. This is really very important for every fighter! This is like a dream! FCF: Your teammate Murilo "Ninja" Rua will also be fighting at the event, doing probably the toughest fight of his career, against the experienced Dan Henderson, whom you already fought at Pride 12. What can we expect from Ninja this time? VS: You can expect a very aggressive Ninja in this fight, and I believe he is going to run over Dan Henderson! If I could bet on this fight I would bet a lot of money on Ninja. I believe Murilo is going to rock the house! FCF: Any final message to your fans? VS: Watch out for Chute Boxe, Vanderlei, Ninja, because Chute Boxe is all about brawling! We are going to do what you want to see! Who watches NHB wants to see real fights, hard fights, knockouts, and that's what we are going to give to you! There'll be lots of action! Every time that there's a Chute Boxe athlete fighting, check it out because it'll be a good fight! FCF: Thanks once again Vanderlei! The best of luck in your fight! VS: Thanks a lot! Don't miss it! |
| Friday - November 2, 2001 |
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By Jim Genia Take a stroll through the lobby of the MGM Grand right now and you'll run into a veritable beehive of fans and fighters. Welterweight champ Carlos Newton can't walk more than a dozen feet without being approached for an autograph. Randy Couture and Matt Lindland look calm and relaxed, shaking the occasional hand. UFC veteran Brad Kohler mingles with fans from the Internet. Rookie Frank Mir is more serious, although no less friendly. Joe Silva, Zuffa's matchmaker, is all smiles. Is there any anxiousness? Any pressure on the people behind the action to make this show better than the last? "Look for a good stand-up fight," says Carlos, promising to deliver. "Tell the fans to be ready." Opponent Matt Hughes assures the same -- a stand-up war -- and with 25 people here from his hometown, including his father, brother, and two sisters, Matt has every reason to give it his all. 
"Everything's very smooth," says Joe, when asked about the UFC's state of affairs a few short hours before show time. "Everything's looking good. I'm feeling very positive." With a grin he adds: "Nobody's gone through a window. Nobody's fallen off the top of the MGM." Everyone has taken their fight seriously, as evidenced by their overall conditioning at the weigh-in, and Joe is thankful for that. He describes the rules meeting and how the fighters seemed "pumped." If you were to come up to him after the last show, you would've clearly seen his disappointment. Today, however, his outlook has vastly improved. His faith in his fighters keeps him optimistic.And while the matchmaker may have much at stake tonight, no one has more to lose than the fans. Do they seem wary, in light of a previous show riddled with overly-cautious competitors taking the matches to decisions? That's hard to say. As they flock to the fighters, pens and UFC posters in hand, they seem too preoccupied to care. |
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Eddie Goldman returns to the airwaves with a "no holds barred news" special on WBAI's "Lightshow" late Friday/early Saturday Nov. 3. He will preview the Tszyu-Judah fight that will be held Saturday night and review UFC 34 held Friday night. "Lightshow" airs weekly late Friday night/early Saturday morning, 3-5 AM Eastern Time. The special "No Holds Barred News" segment will go on at approximately 3:15 AM and run to 3:45 AM EST, early Saturday morning, November 3. WBAI broadcasts in New York on 99.5 FM. For those not in the New York area, WBAI can also be heard live on the Internet. There are two sites that stream the signal: http://www.wbai.org/ and http://www.2600.com/wbai. |
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UFC 34: High Voltage Tickets available from: Ticket Master: 702-474-4000 & MGM Grand: 877-880-0880 LINE-UP:* Main card: Prelims: *Card subject to change |
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Renzo Gracie explains how defending his wife and children led to legal woes By Aaron Crecy 
In recent weeks, the mixed martial arts community has been awash with rumors about Renzo Gracie's brush with the law. One of the most well-respected fighters in the business, Gracie was arrested and charged with simple assault when he struck a gas station owner who had cursed at his wife and child. In Tokyo for Pride 17, where he will face Japanese pro wrestler Michiyoshi Ohara, Renzo was eager to set the record straight and explain the series of events that led to his arrest.FCF: I'd like to talk to you talk to you about two things -- first, the situation that happened before you came here, and secondly, about your upcoming fight. RG: Right. The situation back home -- you'd like to talk about me being arrested. FCF: Well, there have been a lot of rumors going around and I would like to get the real story. RG: What happened was, my wife was taking the kids out with my nanny and the light on the dashboard went on for gasoline. She pulled over at the first gas station that she saw, which was at an intersection that has three gas stations. She was going up and she turned right into the first gas station that she saw. When she went in, she realized that the tank was on the other side, so she actually pulled up on the wrong side. As she tried to back up, some other cars pulled up on the other side and she would have had to wait. So what she did was turn around and go across the street to another gas station. After she pulled over at the next gas station and got out of the car to take the seat belt off my kid, this guy come screaming at her, cursing at her -- this was a big guy -- and she could not even understand why he was doing that. It was actually the owner of the other gas station that she drove through. He crossed the street and he started cursing at her and being very aggressive. FCF: For driving through his station? RG: For driving through his station. He was very nasty and insulting, so she right away locked herself in the car and called me. I was on my way to New York on the train, and could hear him screaming at her the whole time. He was cursing and screaming and threatening her. He took her license plate number and being very aggressive. I told her to just hang up the phone and call the police. But she said, "No, it seems like he's going to leave." So I waited a little bit on the phone with her until the guy took off and went back to his gas station. I told her not to worry, that I would go and talk to him the next day to see what happened and what he was so angry about. FCF: Did he take her license plate to try to get her a ticket for cutting through his station? RG: Yeah, I believe he said, "I'm going to write you a fucking ticket." That's what he said. FCF: But basically, nothing ever happened with the ticket. RG: I didn't give him time, I believed, that's what happened. Because the next day I went there six times but I couldn't find him. So, on the following day I was on the way to work out at the gym and stopped by there first to see if I could find him. So I went to the gas station and did the same thing as my wife -- I drove through to look for him and he was already giving me nasty looks when he saw me pulling over the car without putting gas in. So he was acting the same way toward me. So I stepped out of the car and I was very polite to hem. I started to ask him, "I believe my wife had a problem here two days back. She was driving a black car and she drove through this gas station. When she went across the street, someone was yelling and cursing at her in a threatening manner. Do you know anything about that?" And I knew it was him by the description that she gave me. Then he started to be very nasty to me and started insulting me a lot. And I said, "Look, there's no reason for you to scream. I'm right next to you and I can hear you well." And he goes, "I'll talk to you the fuck way that I want." At that moment, he pushed my chest and made a motion like he was going to throw me a right hand. So I hit him with a left slap and a right slap. From the moment that I slapped him, he fell and when he fell he started screaming for help. "Help. Help, police!" So I just placed my hands in my pockets and I was looking at him and I said, "Help? So my wife comes here with my kid and you were screaming at her and being nasty to her. And when a man comes here to talk to you, you throw yourself on the floor and start screaming for help and call the police?" Then three people came out of the gas station with chairs, a flashlight and tools. I just told them, "Look guys, you don't want to get the beating that this guy deserves. So just keep yourselves away from me, otherwise you're going to get the beating that this motherfucker should be taking." And they did that -- they stayed away. So then the cops arrived, and since it was me that drove to his gas station, they took me to the police station. I believe the guy filed a simple assault complaint and we have a court date on November 30th. Everything is going to be fine. FCF: But you also filed a simple assault charge, didn't you? RG: Yes, I filed a simple assault complaint since he pushed me and tried to swing at me. We're going to go to court and see what the judges say. If they give me community service or something like that, I may be seen cleaning the streets on the road crew dressed in orange. FCF: Does he have a court date, too? RG: Yes, the same date. We both have the same date. FCF: So basically, you're going to testify against each other. RG: Yes. FCF: So then it was really no problem coming to Pride. RG: No. I didn't hurt him and it was no problem at all. FCF: It seems as if it was more of a matter of defending yourself and your family. RG: Yes, especially because I don't even raise my voice in front of my kids, so how could I allow this stranger to do that? FCF: You're known as one of the classiest fighters in MMA, so this is a situation that a lot of people were curious about. RG: Actually, when I went there, I was looking to have him apologize to my wife in front of my kids. I was just going to tell him that I would bring my wife over with the kids so he could apologize to her. But he didn't seem to be thinking of things the same way. He was thinking differently. He probably had some personal problems that he tried to take out on his customers. 
FCF: On to a more positive topic -- you're back in Pride.RG: Hell yeah! FCF: And you seem pretty excited about it. RG: Very happy, I can't wait. I'm in very good shape now and I'm 100% sure that this will reflect in my fight, so I really cannot wait to fight -- I wish it was yesterday. FCF: Your opponent comes from New Japan Professional Wrestling? RG: I believe he is a judo wrestler, a big guy. He is supposed to weigh about 110 kilos, which is about 245 pounds or something like that. FCF: You're never afraid to take on bigger guys. RG: Like I told you before, I actually outweigh him by 50 pounds -- I have balls of steel and they're pretty heavy! So, I'm a little bit over his weight, actually. FCF: You seem as though you have put on a little muscle since your last appearance in Pride. RG: I've been constantly lifting and training a lot at Parisi's school in North Jersey. I've been seeing a lot of good results -- I've been able to improve my weight. I've gained a few pounds and I'm feeling much stronger and much faster, so I'm curious to see how I'm going to perform in this next fight. FCF: In addition to practicing your striking against dudes at gas stations, have you been working on your standup? RG: I've been working a little bit. I have a very good trainer who comes to my academy. His name is Edgar. He's a very good boxer and he helps me a lot. FCF: Thank you for sitting down to talk with me. RG: It's my pleasure, always. I'll see you after the fight, when we've had a chance to see if my new cross-training strategies work or not. |
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By Abel Pulver 
John Lewis makes his debut as a promoter when, on November third, his WFA takes over The Hard Rock Cafe for an evening of MMA at it's finest. For the freshman promoter, things just couldn't be better. " I have a pretty good understanding of match ups," admits Lewis. "I thought about who could fight who and it just fell into place from there. I feel very lucky because I was able to acquire all of my first choices and they are all 'A' level fighters." When asked if this is what fans should expect from his future show in February, Lewis responded, "I am open to all camps everywhere. I will take chances with both up and coming fighters and established ones as well. I want to be helpful to fighters because I want the sport to move ahead. I've been in the game a long time, and with the respect I've earned I can now give something back." And on paper this is sure one great debut.Ask Marvin Eastman what to expect against Rich Franklin on Saturday night and he'll tell you, "I am a more complete fighter who is ready to go 100% full boar the entire fight. My greatest asset is my ability to adapt to situations and not let adversity throw me off. The way I see it is that I didn't get into this to lose. However, whatever I have to do to get my W, I will. If an opening comes for a knockout I'll take it, but I'm ready to go all three rounds and dominate every one of them." In the 155-pound class, Brazilian, Joao Roque fills in for Alfonso Alcarez, against Stephen Paling. Roque took the fight on short notice and admits, "this isn't ideal for me because I didn't have as much time as I would've liked. But I'm ready, I've improved my stand up skills a lot and I wouldn't fight if I wasn't going in to win. It should be an aggressive fight that I for sure should win." Ronald Jhun makes his mainland debut against the physical specimen Jermaine "Bam Bam" Andre. "I'm ready," said Jhun. "I've gone over everything not only physically but mentally and spiritually as well. He (Andre) looks like a good striker who keeps it coming so this should be a good test. I'm very motivated for this fight because it is a huge step up for me and a great chance to showcase my ability." In a match up that puts together a strong wrestler versus a good boxer, Frank Trigg and LaVerne Clark will take center stage. Trigg says, "I'm just excited to be back home in my back yard. I haven't fought here in two years so I hope to put on a good show for John Lewis and hopefully be invited back. I'm not going to make predictions but I will say that I only fight to be victorious." For Clark it is much the same. "I've worked very hard for this fight," said Clark, "I've been at M.F.S. a lot more than usual working on my wrestling defense and sharpening up my punches. Some say he [Trigg] has a suspect chin, so I'm gonna test him. If we're on our feet, I'm going to test him. When we hit the ground I'm going to test him as well. Whoever controls the position and where the fight takes place will win." It may be a night after the UFC but this show and the caliber of fighters there within takes second seat to no one. For Lewis it is a culmination of years of hard work. For us, the fans, it is another great show to watch and keep an eye out for in the future. |
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Press Conference/Weigh-In November 1, 2001 By Michael Onzuka - Mike@onzuka.com The weigh-in was held at its normal home, 24 Hour Fitness, at 11:00 am today. The card stayed intact and we have not heard of any last minute changes -- which is a change in itself in the fight game. Everyone seems to be happy, healthy, and ready to put on a good show for the Hawaii fans. MMA veterans Lance Gibson was present to support Ryan Diaz and Enson Inoue was there to support his older brother Egan. Also in attendance was Shark Tank leader, Eddie Millis to corner his pocket dynamite, Jose Lopez who is facing local fighter Lincoln Tyler. For three of the fighters, this will be their debut fight and leaves the fight fans guessing as to what they will bring to the ring tomorrow night at Neil Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. Of these three fighters, the one that has been generating the most talk by far is the monster from Ewa (pronounced Eva) Beach and semi-main event fighter, Miles Tynanes. Tynanes is known as a heavy hitter by the locals in a tough area of Oahu. He trains out of Marcelo Tigre's gym so his animal instincts are probably being well encouraged and enhanced. During the interview session of the press conference, Tynanes did not seem to respect Cabbage Correira's punching power, nor his grappling ability. He claims to be comfortable in all positions, both on the ground and standing. Cabbage is a man of hard left hooks, but little words and just encouraged everyone to be there to see two big guys throwing some big punches and to watch a great fight. With the expansion of mixed martial arts, it is only a matter of time before we see more women competing. This card includes a special rematch of local fighter, Betta Yeung trained by HMC instructor Haru Shimanishi trying to avenge her debut loss against Shimanishi's partner Matt Hume's (of AMC) Sarah "The Finisher" Finaseth. The fans are in for a treat because both women look fit and mean (kind of the same face I get when I deny shopping to my wife and believe me, that's mean!). Local favorite and University of Hawaii football standout, Falaniko Vitale returns to the ring at a lighter weight of 190 lbs against the veteran, John "The Saint" Renken. The fight was originally set at 185 lbs, but both fighters exceeded the weight limit and a newly constructed weight was agreed upon. Vitale looks ready for the big time and Renken may just be a stepping stone until Vitale gets his hands on a ranked opponent. "The Saint" will utilize his experience and try to upset the local fighter and show him that he is not ready for huge fights, not just yet. Hawaii's Egan Inoue has his eyes set for a birth in the UFC, but he first has to beat some ranked fighters to prove to Zuffa that he is UFC material. Canada's Joe Doerkson brings a 19-2 record, most if not all by submission, to Hawaii to try to push Egan aside and enter the Octagon himself. This could be a make or break fight for both fighters. Super Brawl has a very extensive history of catapulting fighters to the highest level of competition such as Vitor Belfort, Heath Herring, Rico Rodriguez, Josh Barnet, Bobby Hoffman, to name a few and these two could be the next. With Inoue being a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and submission grappling medalist, Doerkson's submission based fight game will be put to the test, but they don't hand out number 10 rankings if he cannot handle himself. This fight looks to be a technical ground battle, but it may be determined by the fighter that dominates the stand up part of the game. A couple high intensity and fast paced light weight matches featuring some exciting fighters will lead the way to the four fights previewed above. The card looks solid enough to pull fans away from pay-per-view and the UFC on the same night to see some live action. With the fighters weighed in and the cards confirmed, each fighter will try to steal the limelight of the fight hungry Hawaii fans. The fans here are getting educated about MMA extremely fast and will see a good mix of good old fashion brawling and a lot of technique. With the recent addition of local television replays of the event, Super Brawl is expected to grow in attendance and spread MMA to a wider fan base. Super Brawl XXII "United We Stand!" November 2, 2001 Neil Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii 1. 155lbs 2x5 minute rounds Kaika Tiger NP v Jay R. Palmer 153.2 lbs (Team Tiger ) 0-0 (Freelance) 20-12 2. 170lbs 2x5 minute rounds Deshaun Johnson 164.5 lbs v Kolo Koka NP (HMC) 0-0 (Grappling Unlimited) 1-1 3. 145lbs 3x5 minute rounds Ryan Diaz 144 lbs v Eddie Yagin 143.8 lbs (Gibson Pankration/AMC, Seattle) 8-3 (Grappling Unlimited) 3-0 4. 135lbs 3x5 minute rounds Jose Lopez 132.4 lbs v Lincoln Tyler 135.6 lbs (Shark Tank) 2-0-1 (Freelance) 5-1 5. Special Female Match 120lbs 2x5 minute rounds Sarah "The Finisher" Finaseth 120.6 lbs v Beta Yeung 118.5 lbs (AMC) Seattle 4-0 (HMC) 0-1 6. 185lbs 3x5 minute rounds John "The Saint" Renken 190 lbs v Falaniko Vitale 190 lbs (Nashville, TN) 16-7-3 (Grappling Unlimited) 8-1 7. 265lbs+ 3x5 minute rounds Miles Tynanes 263 lbs v Wes "Cabbage" Correira 285.8 lbs (Team Tiger) 0-0 (Grappling Unlimited) 7-3 8. Super Brawl Middleweight Championship 3x5 minute rounds Joe Doerksen 184.4 lbs v Egan Inoue 183.2 lbs (Team Extreme) 19-2 (Grappling Unlimited) 11-3 |
From the event's promoter:
After taking a few months off to nurse an injured knee, Kerry "Meat Truck" Schall will make a return to the ring in his hometown of Cincinnati.Schall, a veteran of Extreme Challenge, WEF, Rings USA and Rings Japan, will take on Len Walker in the heavyweight main event of Extreme Fights on Nov. 10 at the Electra nightclub. Tickets for the event start at $20 and are available at Excaliber Fitness and at Electra. Doors open at 4 p.m. with the first bout at 5 p.m. Approximately 10 fights are scheduled with some of the top amateurs in the Cincinnati area scheduled to compete. The 6-foot-3 Schall has trimmed to 265 pounds (down from 300) as the result of some strict training. Walker, who has previous bouts against Dan Severn and Greg Wikan, is 5-10 and 240. For more information, contact promoter Monte Cox at 563 332-2075 or by email at Fiteiowa@aol.com. |
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From the event's promoter: Super Brawl 21 Air Dates "PANCRASE 2001 PROOF TOUR" Tuesday, October 30, 2001 Korakuen Hall(Tokyo, Japan) doors open: 5:30PM/ fights start: 6:30PM live gate: 2,300 sold out
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| Saturday - November 3, 2001 |
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By Aaron Crecy Click here for Pride 17 results |
 Zuffa Delivers By Jim Genia Two stunning knockouts. Two submissions. Two referee stoppages and one tap out due to strikes. And only one match going the distance. Playing to an almost full arena, the Ultimate Fighting Championship 34 "High Voltage" show lived up to the expectations of all the fans seeking the best in mixed martial arts combat. There was no denying it: Zuffa delivered. Heavyweight champ Randy Couture retained his belt, stopping Pedro Rizzo in the third round with strikes from Rizzo's guard. Couture showed vastly improved kickboxing skills, thanks to his time spent training with Maurice Smith, while Rizzo's own striking never seemed to get off the ground. After some tentative exchanges on their feet, Couture took him down and landed powerful punches, opening up a bad cut on the bridge of Rizzo's nose and over his left eye. It was the unanswered punches -- not the bleeding -- that forced referee Big John McCarthy to halt the fight. In the welterweight championship bout, challenger Matt Hughes slammed his way to victory over champ Carlos Newton in the second round. Although reversed and mounted at one point, Hughes displayed phenomenal strength with his powerful takedowns. Finding himself caught in a triangle choke from Newton's guard, Hughes lifted the crafty Canadian up and carried him to the edge of the Octagon -- then slammed Newton to the mat, thereby earning the knockout. It was an unprecedented move and an amazing sight, made all the more amazing by the fact that Hughes himself then briefly blacked out from the choke. Hughes earned the win, and avenged the loss Newton had given to his friend and mentor, Pat Miletich. 
On the undercard, BJ Penn further proved his "Phenom" status by knocking out Japanese legend Caol Uno in only eleven seconds into the first round. After avoiding a leaping kick, Penn unleashed a blazing right, left, then four lightning-fast uppercuts, leaving Uno unconscious on his back.Team Punishment heavyweight Ricco Rodriguez showed greatly improved conditioning in his match, and dominated his opponent with superior grappling. He secured rear mount on Pete Williams in the second round, and a barrage of punches to Williams' head forced referee Mario Yamasaki to stop the fight. The "Baby-Faced Assassin" Josh Barnett defeated Bobby Hoffman with strikes from the sidemount in the second round. Hoffman, the current King Of The Cage heavyweight champ, was forced to tap before ever getting a chance to unleash his own heavy hands. In the preliminary matches, Evan Tanner secured an armbar from the guard, forcing Homer Moore to tap in the second round. Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland out-wrestled Phil Baroni, earning a majority decision after three rounds -- despite Baroni's display of powerful punches and great heart. In another big surprise of the night, Frank Mir, a wrestler and purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, submitted via armbar Abu Dhabi grappling champ Roberto Traven in the first round. There were an array happy faces at the post-fight press conference, though no one seemed happier than UFC president Dana White. Thanking the fighters and the fans, he was extremely pleased with how the event had turned out -- for he had proved to the world that Zuffa is more than capable of delivering one of the best shows in MMA today. Results-
November 2001 issue of FULL CONTACT FIGHTER, subscribe now! Check out the FCF Shop for the lowest prices on UFC videos! |
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Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii November 3, 2001 By Chris Onzuka - Chris@onzuka.com 
I am not sure if it was the "United We Stand" title or fighters on the card that brought out the crowd, but Las Vegas was definitely not the only place rocking. While the UFC was being held in Las Vegas, the Blaisdell Arena was rumbling back in Hawaii with a sizable crowd on hand. The night was filled with great fights. In just about every fight the tide turned at least a couple times as to which fighter was in control of the match. Not one of the matches would go to a decision and referees; Haru Shiminishi and Steve English would be working hard on every one of the contests. A couple of the fights that stood out had to be the war between Eddie Yagin and Ryan Diaz. Diaz had Yagin in trouble early and almost finished the fight, but Yagin showed a ton of heart and came back and KO'd Diaz laying him out for a while. The women also came to fight. Beta Yeung showed that going back to the gym and focusing on her unsuccessful debut really paid off when she arm barred Sarah Finaseth in under 30 seconds, causing the crowd to go into a frenzy. And last, but not least, Egan Inoue took apart Joe Doerksen in impressive fashion. Inoue wanted to prove that not only should he be in the middleweight top 10 rankings, but he should be the next one in line to challenge the newly crowned, Dave Menne for his UFC middleweight championship belt. Only time will tell, but T. Jay Thompson's Super Brawl has always been a hotbed for new talent that makes it to the UFC. In fact, UFC 34's fight card consisted of five fighters that were featured in Super Brawl at one time or another. I hear that Thompson has a contact by the name of Tommy Dakota that can get people noticed... [sorry, inside joke]. If you haven't subscribed to Full Contact Fighter, what are you waiting for? The compete fight descriptions will be in the next issue!
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| Sunday - November 4, 2001 |
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From Hammer House: 
Nathaniel Allen Burress (Sept. 5, 1973 - Oct. 31, 2001), an up and coming Mixed Martial Arts fighter out of the Columbus based Hammer House, tragically passed away while on the brink of his career. An undefeated MMA fighter with a record of 3-0, he had "more promise and drive than I have seen in any other aspiring fighter," said his trainer, former UFC & Pride Grand Prix Champion Mark "The Hammer" Coleman, "he was a falling star [who fell] before his time to shine."His athletic ambition and ability was evident early on. At Steubenville High School, he was a letterman in both football and wrestling. In football he earned the titles of Eastern District Lineman of the year, All State Lineman, and State of Ohio Lineman. His forte, however, was wrestling, as he was the OVAC State Champ with a record for pins that was unsurpassed in his time at Big Red. His ambition manifested while attending Kent State University, as he simultaneously was a member of both the football and wrestling teams. After attending KSU, he went on to play Arena football for a year with the Missouri Tigers and then for the Wheeling Greyhounds. Recently, he ventured into the ambitious area of MMA fighting where a year of athletic training was soon to pay off. Due to his knack for wrestling, he declared grappling to be his MMA specialty. After being the first runner up in the Wheeling Tough Man contest, Nate won his first two official MMA fights in the Cage-Rage II held in Kokomo, Indiana. In his most recent fight, held less than 2 weeks prior to his passing on Oct. 20th, Nate shined with victory. His fight lasted over six minutes, and he left victorious bragging that the competitor did not even hit his pretty face. Nate was quoted as being an "animal in the cage" by the Cage-Rage III promoters. Promoters touted him as one that we definitely want to keep our eyes on for the future. Known for his ability to refuse to tap out, he would have been a phenomenon rare even in the no-holds-barred MMA world. Nate would have been without a doubt one of the most famous people out of Steubenville, Ohio. He was, and still is, the pride of the Ohio Valley for his athletic achievements. Nate's pride and joy, his only son, Joshua Allen Nichols, resides with his mother Lisa Nichols of Steubenville. Perhaps he will continue to follow in his father's footsteps in the upcoming years at the Steubenville Big Red, although, because of his son's exceptional intellect, it was always Nate's hope that his son pursues academic endeavors first and foremost. Nate was born in Wheeling, West Virginia and was a resident of Columbus, Ohio in his final days. His recently chosen theme song "Number 1" by his favorite rapper, Nelly, suited him well as his song to come out to before entering the cage. In the eyes of the sports-oriented Ohio Valley and in those of the Hammer House, he will always be #1. Before entering the cage and as well as after exiting it, Nate always knew he was #1. That was the mental edge that always put him over the top. Mark Coleman had this to say about Nate:
Our deepest condolences go out to Nathaniel's family and friends from everyone at FCF. Rest In Peace. |
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Added to Pride Results Click here for Pride 17 results, fight summaries & post-fight pictures |
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WFA Results Held November 3, 2001 At The Joint Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, Nevada
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| Monday - November 5, 2001 |
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WFA Pictures! Photography By Tom DeFazio  Click here for more pictures Keep checking back, plenty more to follow! |
From UFC/Zuffa: INDEMAND Replays Tues, Nov 6 11:30P ET (iN1) Thurs, Nov 8 10:00P ET (iN2)  DIRECTV Direct Ticket Replays: Channel 101 Mon, Nov 5 (Direct ticket) Wed, Nov 7 (Direct ticket) Thur, Nov 8 (Direct ticket) Fri, Nov 9 (Direct ticket) Mon, Nov 12 (Direct ticket) Tues, Nov 13 (Direct ticket) Wed, Nov 14 (Direct ticket) Mon, Nov 19 (Direct ticket) Fri, Nov 23 (Direct ticket) Thur, Nov 29 (Direct ticket)  Dish Network Replays Tue, Nov 6 @ 9:00pm ET Wed, Nov 7 @ 12:00am ET Mon, Nov 12 @ 5:00am ET (All Day) Thu, Nov 15 @ 5:00am ET (All Day) Fri, Nov 16 @ 5:00am ET (All Day) Mon, Nov 19 @ 5:00am ET (All Day) Thu, Nov 22 @ 5:00am ET (All Day) Tue, Nov 27 @ 5:00am ET (All Day) |
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From the event's promoter: PRESENTS WARRIOR'S CHALLENGE XVI Gold Country Casino, Orville, CA 11-9-01 
The International Fighting Championships ("IFC") is going to hit Gold Country Casino in Orville, California, and hit it hard! On November 9, 2001, the IFC is going to present Warrior's Challenge XVI. In the main event, former IFC Americas' Super Heavyweight Champion Brad Gabriel will face UFCF Veteran Gary Marshall for the vacant Native American Heavyweight Championship. Both these big men can bang, and they have both said that they are looking for a knockout! The card will also feature Steve Heath, the former IFC Light Heavyweight Americas Champion, in his return to the cage against Dustin Moe. Fight fans will also get to see Benji Radich, an up and coming welterweight from Dennis Hallman's camp, who brings a record of 7-0 into the cage. Plus, two top woman fighters will square off when KC Nolan fights Judy Neff. Call 1-800-334-9400 for ticket information today. With 12 exciting fights in all, the house will rock! Gold Country Casino, Orville, CA 11-9-01 UPDATED CARD
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From the event's promoter: FIGHT NIGHT @ BROADRIPPLE PLACE NOV. 11, 2001 We are looking forward to the Danger Zones first show at Broadripple Place. The address of is 4610 Parnell Ave. Ft. Wayne, IN. The show starts at 6 pm. Nov. 11 and doors open at 5 pm. Tickets are $25 and $15 and are available at the door and through The Danger Zone. The table tickets are going fast! Don't miss the most action packed mixed martial arts event in the Midwest! Please feel free to contact us through our web site http://www.the-dangerzone.com/ The following is what the card looks like to date: It is always subject to change! The fighters have come from all over the country to fight for the right to be crowned Danger Zone Champion! SINGLE AMATEUR FIGHT 165 lb. Seth Horn NC. VS. Brian Densberger PA. SINGLE PRO FIGHT 185-190 lb. Matt Shaw MI. vs. Dave Benefield LA. FEMALE FIGHT 150 lb. Adnrea Grishman LA. vs. Jennifer Irons IN. Amateur Tournaments
Dan Severn-Becky Levi The Danger Zone Inc. http://www.the-dangerzone.com/ | ||||||
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UFC 34 Pictures! Photography By Joel Gold  Click here for more pictures Keep checking back, plenty more to follow! |
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From RITC Writer/Statistician John Petrilli: 2 Weeks, 15 Events !!! The resurgence of MMA popularity is illustrated by the fact that 15 MMA events are occurring over a 2 week period. We've had the "main courses": UFC 34, Pride 17, WFA 1, SuperBrawl 22, Mass Destruction 5 and Shooto. Now it's time to enjoy the "desserts": RITC 31 (Nov 7), IFC 16 (Nov 9), IC (Nov 10), EF (Nov 10), BattleJax (Nov 10), IVC (Nov 11), GC 8 (Nov 17), EC Trials (Nov 17) and HnS (Nov 17/18). Next up in the rotation is Rage in the Cage 31. Date: Wednesday, November 7, 2001 Time: Doors Open: 5:30 PM, Fight Time: 7:30 PM Location: Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona VIP Seating (first 3 rows): $25 "A" Sections (next 7 rows): $22.50 "B" Sections (next 12 rows): $20 Teams from New Mexico, Oklahoma and Nevada are coming to Phoenix to challenge Team Brausa and other Arizona fighters. Team Brausa will be led by team captain Farrell Frisby, 19-year-old sensation Edwin Dewees and the newest Team Brausa member, Joseph Riggs, a formidable heavyweight fighter who burst onto the scene with a very impressive win in RITC 30. Joseph Riggs is destined to make a name for himself in MMA. Also returning to RITC action will be Michelle "GrappleGirl" Farrow (Leininger Dojo) and Justin "Big Dawg" Lyon (Savage Te Dawg Pound). Martin Escobar, who was recently promoted to brown belt, will be bring his Debrazil Academy Team from Tucson to compete. Tickets for RITC available at the Celebrity Theatre Box Office (602-267-1600) or at Ticketmaster (480-784-4444). For additional information, please call 480-446-8127 or visit www.rageinthecage.com |
| Tuesday - November 6, 2001 |
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UFC 34 Pictures! Photography By Joel Gold  Click here for more pictures Keep checking back, plenty more to follow! |
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Catch an all new episode of Full Contact Fighter TV tonight on MSG Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time). This jam-packed show will include...
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By Eduardo Alonso After the very unfortunate injury that Vitor Belfort suffered almost a week before his UFC title match with Tito Ortiz, in September, Belfort had to take surgery on his triceps and was forced to rest and stay out of training for a long period of time. Finally Vitor is fully recovered and back in training. "The Phenom" has been appearing in some of Brazil's most famous TV shows lately, talking about several subjects related to fighting and trying to improve the Jiu-Jitsu and NHB fighter image in the country. Yesterday, after appearing on one of those TV shows, Belfort talked with FCF: "Thank God I'm recovered now! I'm fine. And I went back to training this week!" Vitor also said that he will fight Tito Ortiz for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in March, and probably will go to the next UFC in January to promote the fight. Despite all that time off due to this injury, The Phenom looked to be in very good shape and he is eager to fight again. |
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| Wednesday - November 7, 2001 |
 Give Us Your Thoughts... This month we want to hear your thoughts on the UFC 34: High Voltage event held in Las Vegas Nevada on November 2. Some of the commentary we receive may appear in the November 2001 issue of FCF Click here to take the survey |
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WFA Pictures! Photography By Tom DeFazio  Click here for more pictures Keep checking back, plenty more to follow! |
From Susumu's Gallery:
Hello, We have added 29 photos from Pride 17 held on November 3rd. Please enjoy! Susumu's Gallery: http://come.to/susumu |
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From the event's promoter: There have been add ons to the show and changes. Aaron Raftery out of Dave Strasser's Gym will be fighting Dave Benefield from LA. who trains with John Dixson and Rich Clementi. This is the only pro bout on the card along with 6 amateur tournaments and 2 other single fights. Rafael Llobis out of Ft. Wayne IN. will be entering the 136-150 tournament. As well as the following fighters: Ken Pribik, Dan Swift, Chris Vandermolen, Derek Bergey, Edward Adquina, and Michael Fusco. Dan Severn-Becky Levi The Danger Zone Inc. http://www.the-dangerzone.com/ |
| Friday - November 9, 2001 |
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Catch the new episode of Full Contact Fighter TV tonight on the Sunshine Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time). This jam-packed show will include...
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| Saturday - November 10, 2001 |
For FASTEST service call in your credit card order (516)922-1081 Or Click here to order securely online with your credit card or print off the order form & mail it in with your payment |
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From the event's promoter: Memorial Coliseum, Evansville, IN OFFICIAL SHOOTO MATCHES FINALIZED FOR HOOKnSHOOT'S BIGGEST OFFERING EVER! 
"We are ready to go!" howls HnS Promoter Jeff Osborne. "We have gotten a finalized card for the HOOKnSHOOT 'KINGS' weekend, and we have to say we are psyched about this show!"."We have 3 fighters from Japan's SHOOTO organization coming to fight, we have fighters from Brazil, Spain, Poland and England. We have an international show, plus we have 4 HOOKnSHOOT Championship matches!" continues Osborne. "We think coming off a cancelled show, that we have put together a great comeback and a great finale for the 2001 year!". Riley to Make SHOOTO Debut - One of Two "A" Class v. "B" Class Challenge Matches 
One of the highlights is the debut of Aaron Riley in SHOOTO. The young Riley, and HnS superstar who is coming off a rare defeat is rated an A Class fighter by SHOOTO, but his match is rated "B" Class. Osborne explains "SHOOTO allows A Class fighters to face B Class fighters in matches, but they are rated B Class matches. It is viewed as a challenge from the younger fighter, a test, and I think Curtis Stout and Mike Willus are both stepping up in competition for this one." Stout faces off against 5-1 Shiko Yamashita from Japan, another highly anticipated match."All in all, we have 13 OFFICIAL SHOOTO matches, and 4 HOOKnSHOOT Title bouts, so this is definitely a show to see!" concludes Osborne. FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17th, 2001 - EVANSVILLE, IN MEMORIAL COLISEUM START TIME: 7 PM SHOOTO MATCHES:
SHOOTO MATCHES:
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From the event's promoter: Saboba Casino News 
Gladiator Challenge will return to Southern California to host its 8th event at Saboba Casino in San Jacinto California on November 17, 2001.This event is scheduled for 6 undercard fights & 5 feature bouts with 5 main events. 16 total action packed, No Holds Barred matchups. First off in the main event, guaranteed to be a barnburner, we have Todd Medina fighting for the 205lbs & under, Title Belt against Amod from Team Freedom. Amod is looking lean & mean weighing in at 197lbs. Down from 230lbs, his weight when he ankle locked Ricco Rodriquez last summer in the Submission Grappling Championships. This card also features the Gladiator Challenge 155lbs title fight for the belt between Victor Hunsacker vs Juliano Prado. Victor, who now trains with Millennia Jui Jitsu, brings a wealth of mixed martial arts experience to the cage with over 20 Pro fights & will put it all on the line against the Brazillian Jui Jitsu Superstar, Juliano Prado who has multiple National & World Jui Jitsu titles to his name. Another interesting matchup features Kauai Kupihea vs Jason "The Punisher" Lambert. Kauai who won the first KOTC 8 man heavy weight tournament looks to over come his recent loss to Eric Pele at KOTC #12, while Lambert looks to improve his 7-1 NHB record & keep Kauai on a loosing streak. This card also features outstanding fighters from Combat Grappling, Next Generation, Millennia Jui JItsu, Team Roughnecks, Shark Tank & the always tough Kohler Jui Jitsu. Tickets are on sale now and you can Purchase them at: www.ticketsplus.com or call Tickets plus at:(800)585-3737 or Saboba Casino at: (909)654-2883 |
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ON WBAI'S "LIGHTSHOW" TO FEATURE WRESTLING COACH KEVIN JACKSON & BOXING'S LOU DIBELLA By Eddie Goldman Two very important upcoming events in the combat sports will be featured this week on the "No Holds Barred News" segment on WBAI's "Lightshow." Kevin Jackson, the U.S. National Freestyle Team coach, himself an Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion wrestler and former UFC and Extreme Fighting competitor, will preview the 2001 Freestyle Wrestling World Championships, to be held Nov. 22-25 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Kevin evaluates the U.S. team and offers his thoughts on who has the best chance on the American team to win a gold medal. The 2001 World Championships of Wrestling were originally scheduled for Sept. 26-29 in New York's Madison Square Garden, but were postponed and moved following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. We will also speak with Lou DiBella, CEO of DiBella Entertainment, who is putting on a boxing card called "Fighting for America: A Night of Thanksgiving" on Nov. 23 at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. All the proceeds from this card, plus the purses from the several 2000 Olympic boxers on the card, will go to the Twin Towers Fund, established by New York Mayor Giuliani to benefit the families of uniformed workers lost or injured in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The three undefeated Olympians fighting on the card are Jermain Taylor, Clarence Vinson, and Brian Viloria. Also on the card will be James Butler vs. Richard Grant, Brian Adams vs. Richard Kiley, Paulie Malignaggi, Jeffrey Resto, and former WBO junior lightweight champion Regilio Tuur. The first fight will start at 6:30 PM EST. At 9 PM EST, ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" will begin televising the show. "Lightshow" airs weekly late Friday night/early Saturday morning, 3-5 AM Eastern Time. The "No Holds Barred News" segment will air this week in the second hour of the show, between 4 AM and 5 AM EST, early Saturday morning, November 10. Both of this week's interviews are prerecorded. WBAI broadcasts in New York on 99.5 FM. For those not in the New York area, WBAI can also be heard live on the Internet. There are two sites that stream the signal: http://www.wbai.org/ and http://www.2600.com/wbai. At this time broadcasts of "Lightshow" are not archived, but we are working on getting these audio interviews posted somewhere. WBAI is a 50,000 watt, non-commercial station. This means that, unlike the advertiser-supported media, our opinions are not restrained by any commercial interests. "Lightshow" is an arts and entertainment show whose main host and producer is Fred Geobold. I was a co-producer on this show from 1993 to 1998, and it was on "Lightshow" that I began coverage of mixed martial arts with interviews of Royce Gracie and Manny Yarbrough prior to UFC III in 1994. I rejoined the show as a producer and co-host in September 2001. |
| Sunday - November 11, 2001 |
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Sunday, November 11, 2001 Poliedra Arena, Caracas By Aaron Crecy Alternate fight
Look for complete coverage of the event in the December issue of Full Contact Fighter |
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16-Man Absolute Tournament Billed as Battle between U.S. & Brazil By Aaron Crecy CARACAS -- It is the first time that the IVC has ventured into Venezuela -- and what a way to make a first impression. The tournament format is rare enough, much less a 16-man, Absolute weight-class competition with less prohibitive rules than the Ultimate Fighting Championship and even the Pride Fighting Championship. Coordinated by Sergio Batarelli disciple Mauricio Netto and produced by the Florida-based International Group, IVC Venezuela features a mixture of young and seasoned fighters from the United States and Brazil. Though several better known fighters such as Americans Jason Godsey, Dan Bobish and Roger Neff withdrew from the event earlier in the week, the bracket remains loaded with promising fighters hoping to make a name for themselves -- and claim the $10,000 first prize. 
Just 21, Netto is organizing his first MMA event after serving as Batarelli's understudy for several years. "The IVC was always known as being the world's toughest event -- the only one that remained true to Brazil's original Vale Tudo rules," says Netto. "But we've learned from experience. With a 16-man Absolute class tournament, the winner will have to fight four times in one evening. So, it was necessary to implement a few rules to decrease the likelihood of cuts. Otherwise, the fighters might not be able to continue." Batarelli will officiate each of the event's fifteen bouts. The rules are as follows:
IVC Venezuela Sunday, November 11, 2001 at 4:00 PM Poliedra Arena, Caracas Fighters
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From the event's promoter: Ultimate Pankration: The Greatest Sport in History Returns Tonight PerforMax Productions debuts its Ultimate Pankration event tonight at Casino Morongo in California. MMA legend Marco "King of the Streets" Ruas returns to action against Jason Lambert. Also on the card: Danny "Hard As" Steele Vs. Rob "Razor" McCullough 2 Middleweight bouts featuring: "Little" Joe Stevenson & Eddie Ruiz 4-man Heavyweight Tournament (up to 225lbs.) Amir Rahnavardi Jeff Newton George Allen David Davis 4-man Super-Heavyweight Tournament (Over 225lbs.) Harout Terzyan Aaron Brink "Nasty" Zane Frazier Mark "The Bear" Smith Tickets are available at local Ticketmaster outlets or through the Casino Morongo at (800) 252-4499. The gates open at 4 P.M. and the first bout takes place at 6 P.M., Sunday, November 11th, 2001. Casino Morongo is located right off interstate 10, twenty minutes west of Palm Springs, California. It is visible from the highway at the Cabazon exit. For more information, please visit http://www.ultimatepankration.com. Card subject to change |
From Susumu's Gallery:
Hello, We have added 31 pictures from UFC 34 held on November 2nd. Please enjoy! Susumu's Gallery: http://come.to/susumu |
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From Pancrase: "PANCRASE 2001 PROOF TOUR" TOKYO / YOKOHAMA vs. GRABAKA TEAM CHALLENGE Middleweight King of Pancrase Title Match 8 - Man Heavyweight Tournament Final SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2001 (DOORS OPEN: 5:00PM, FIGHTS START: 6:30PM) YOKOHAMA CULTURE GYMNASIUM, KANAGAWA, JAPAN
as of November 5, 2001 Open-weight 9th Open-weight K.O.P. Semmy Schilt(Holland/Golden Glory)
2nd Light heavyweight K.O.P. Sanae Kikuta(Pancrase GRABAKA)
1st Middleweight K.O.P. Nathan Marquardt(U.S.A./Colorado Stars)
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| Monday - November 12, 2001 |
Veteran's Day FCF would like to thank, honor & remember those brave soldiers who have served their country. |
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American Defeats Four Brazilians En Route to International Vale Tudo Championship; Vocal Venezuelan Audience Treated to Evening of Incredible MMA Action By Aaron Crecy 
CARACAS--It was a night of amazing discoveries, as several of mixed martial arts' future stars gleamed brightly. After all was said and done, it was American Alex Stiebling who stood above all others, the winner of the 16-Man Absolute Class IVC Venezuela International Vale Tudo Championship and the accompanying $10,000 purse.Behind the strength of the submissions -- two heel hooks and a rear naked choke -- and a stunning knockout, Stiebling, of the Integrated Fighting Academy in Indianapolis, succeeded in winning the affection of the once pro-Brazilian crowd as he laid claim to the title of this inaugural event. With half of his hair dyed blue in a patriotic gesture, Stiebling infused energy into the arena with every entrance, dancing his way through a throng of adoring fans and into the ring. Then, he proceeded to electrify the audience with each courageous performance, displaying strong powerful strikes, outstanding wrestling skills, superb submissions and an extremely aggressive, attacking style. But Stiebling was not the only fighter to impress, as a trio of young Brazilians also raised eyebrows. Runner-up Angelo Araujo -- who was previously undefeated -- delivered a rousing performance, displaying a solid combination ground and standup skills along with extraordinary conditioning and resolve. Meanwhile, semi-finalist Evangelista "Cyborg" Silva Rodrigues performed admirably as well, exhibiting devastating power and unusual strength. Similarly, Jefferson "Tank" da Silva proved to be a force in the ring, with strong standup and ground skills to go with uncommon strength. To a man, each of the fighters was pleased as the event drew to a close. They produced an evening of action-packed fights that kept the audience on its feet throughout and then mingled with the crowd after the event, signing autographs and posing for photographs. After a week at a five-star hotel, television and radio appearances, dressing rooms overflowing with fruit and juices and an outpouring of appreciation from those in attendance, the fighters -- most of them up and coming -- happily soaked up the star treatment. Local promoters Mario d' Alfonso and Jesus Santana and IVC representatives Sergio Batarelli and Mauricio Netto are to be commended for putting together a thrilling MMA event. If this venture continues, MMA fans can look forward to tremendous match-ups as the next generation of stars put their skills to the test against one another in various South and Central American venues. Click here for fight summaries & post-fight photos |
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From the event's promoter: Fight Night at Broadripple Place Nov. 11, 2001 Ft. Wayne, IN. The Danger Zone will return to Broadripple Place Jan. 13, 2002. Amateur fights two by 5 minute rounds. Pro bout two by 6 minute rounds wtih a 3 minute OT if needed. Single Bouts Female Bout Pro Bout 136-150lb. Amateur Tournament Semi Finals Finals 151-165 lb. Amateur Tournament Semi Finals Finals 166-180 lbs. Finals 181-195 lb. Finals 196-210 Finals 211-above Finals |
| Tuesday - November 13, 2001 |
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This week's episode of Full Contact Fighter TV will feature... Highlights of Williams/Rodriguez, Barnett/Hoffman, and Penn/Uno from UFC 34: High Voltage. Also, a feature on UCC and highlights of the Light Heavyweight King of Pancrase title fight betweek Minowa and Kikuta. The show will air tonight on MSG Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time) and again on Friday night on the Sunshine Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time). Check with your local cable or satellite provider and your local listings. |
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From the event's promoter: MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio -- Kerry Schall, better known as "Meat Truck," made his return to the ring after a knee injury a quick, but impressive event at Extreme Fights near Cincinnati. Schall defended a takedown, then landed a flurry of punches to the head of Chicago's Lenn Walker that forced a tapout only 33 seconds into the main event of an eight-bout card. Schall, a veteran of Extreme Challenge and RINGS Japan, came into the bout at a lean 265 pounds... down 30 pounds from his previous bout. "I worked hard for this fight... I wanted to make a statement," Schall said. "I'm doing this fulltime now, and hopefully, I'll be ready for the bigger events next year." Schall, who trains at Excaliber Fitness with up-and-coming Rich Franklin, said he would train a lot at Miletich Martial Arts Center in Iowa the next few months. The results:
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 More WFA pictures have been posted Click here to check 'em out  |
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From the event's promoter: Main Events: Matt Rogers (Peacocks Academy\Jacksonville, FL) Vs Eric Hill (Spartan Academy\Orlando, Fl): This fight started off with immediate excitement. The two fighters clinched up immediately and Matt Rogers scored a take down. Then the fighters were stood up as they were in a stalemate position. They clinched up again and Hill initiated a head and arm take down. However Rogers countered and took Hills back. Hill attempted to escape but found him self mounted and backed up against the cage. Rogers began to unleash big right hands. And the Referee Mansour Hedari stopped the bout much to everyone's dismay, as Hill was able to defend himself and was simply in a bad position. Mansour Hedari, the referee, was not in a position where he was able to see if Hill could not defend himself. Which the referee himself, also stated after the fight. He was simply trying to protect the fighter from injury however upon reviewing the video it is clear that the stoppage was quite early. Eric Hill whom himself was very concerned that the bout was stopped when he was unharmed, handled the situation like a complete gentleman raising the hand of Rogers while most of the crowd was very disgruntled about the stoppage. Eric himself stated after the bout that he doesn't really care about wins or losses he does this for the competition, which he enjoys, and that he enjoys putting on a great fight for the spectators. However, take nothing away from Matt Rogers who was bringing the fight to Eric Hill. Matt also stated he felt that it was an early stoppage and would have no problem giving Hill a rematch. Mike Lee (F-2 Arena\Gainsville, FL) Vs Kenny Tenerio (USA Shootfighing\Birmingham, AL) This was a battle of 2 KOTC veterans. Both with big records, Mike Lee came in with 20wins and Tenerio with 11wins to his name. Tenerio ran forward and pressured for the take down immediately. Mike Lee stopped the take down attempt and sank in his patented Mike Lee Super Guillotine. Tenerio tried to escape and foot stomped Lee a few times. Lee being a veteran wasn't about to give up his position even with the pressure from Tenerio's stomps. Lee tightened the Guillotine forcing Tenerio to tap at 1:03 into the first round. Chad Cook (Arab, AL) Vs John Hosegood (High Performance Martial Arts\Lakeland FL) Chad Cook dominated the fight from the get go. Cook took Hosegood down and landed in side position where he delivered a big knee to Hosegood's face, which broke his nose. Cook proceeded to take mount where he was unleashing some punches to Hosgood's head. Hosegood covered up well but Cook made space and cracked a right hand to the temple of Hosegood to win by KO. Other Highlights: Up and coming Heavy-weight Seth Petruzelli fighting out of Kokopelli's Gym in Orlando, destroyed local Jacksonville fighter Victor Majuskaus. Petruzelli opened with a big uppercut and followed with a flury of punches followed with a big suplex where Petruzelli landed 3 more punches that rearranged Majuskas's face. Steve Dunn of Peacocks Academy had a war with Jimmy Prima a heavy-handed fighter from Mississippi. Prima came out banging and landed big hooks and uppercuts Dunn stuck in there and landed a couple of good inside leg kicks. Dunn took Prima Down and punished him with blow after blow to the head winning the fight by TKO. But look out for Prima he is only 18 and with hands like his he is going to be a tough opponent for anyone. Official Results:
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| Wednesday - November 14, 2001 |
From the event's promoter: FIGHT CARD The Shogun card is finalized for December 15th 2001 at the Honolulu Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. There will be 12 matches, with 6 featuring Hawaiian fighters.
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From the event's promoter: November 10, 2001 - Hammond, Indiana With nearly 3000 people in attendance, this year's Ironheart Crown exceeded the production's previous events by a large margin. The quality of fights has also continued to improve. There were four exciting title bouts on the card. Additionally, first-time fighter, Stephan Bonnar of the Carlson Gracie Team, made a name for himself with an incredible debut which earned him this year's Ultimate Athlete Award. Here are brief results of the show. Lightweight Tournament Semi Final #1 Miguel Torres vs. Nick Mitchell - Torres by unanimous decision after 10 min Lightweight Tournament Semi Final #2 Dave Nowacyzk vs. Steve Reyna - Reyna by submission (armbar) at 2:39 of the 1st Rd. Middleweight Tournament Semi Final #1 Joe Paun vs. James O'Connor - Paun by unanamous decision after 10 min Middleweight Tournament Semi Final #2 Herman Reyes vs. Jake Ambrose - Reyes by split decision after 10 min Heavyweight Tournament Semi Final #1 Stephan Bonnar vs. Brian Ebersole - Bonnar by submission (guilotine choke) at 0:51 of the 1st Rd. Heavyweight Tournament Semi Final #2 Josh Krueger advances to final (Chris Albandia didn't pass prefight physical exam due to illness.) Exhibition Match Kyle Hensgen vs. Jeremy Morrison - Hensgen by submission (armbar) at 2:11 of the 1st Rd. Lightweight Tournament Final Miguel Torres vs. Steve Reyna - Torres by medical stoppage (broken toe) after 1st Rd (5 min bout). Middleweight Tournament Final Joe Paun vs. Herman Reyes - Paun by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:25 of the 1st Rd. Heavyweight Tournament Final Stephan Bonnar vs. Josh Kruger - Bonnar by submission (armbar) at 2:55 of the 1st Rd. Ironheart Crown Lightweight Championship Title Bout Henry Matamoros vs. Shannon Ritch - Matamoros by submission (armbar) at 0:47 of the 1st Rd. Ironheart Crown Middleweight Championship Title Bout Jay Buck vs. Brett Al-Azzawi - Buck by submission (guilotine choke) at 3:53 of the 2nd Rd. Ironheart Crown Heavyweight Championship Title Bout Jim Theobald vs. Steve Lauretto - Theobald by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:30 of the 1st Rd. Ironheart Crown Openweight Championship Title Bout Vaughan Palelei vs. Milan Timkovic - Palelei by submission (guilotine choke) at 1:49 of the 1st Rd. Champions: 2001 Lightweight Champion: Henry Matamoros 2001 Middleweight Champion: Jay Buck 2001 Heavyweight Champion: Jim Theobald 2001 Openweight Champion: Vaughan Palelei Awards: Fight of the Night: Jay Buck & Brett Al-Azzawi Heavy Hands: Jay Buck Master of Submission: Henry Matamoros Ultimate Athlete: Stephan Bonnar |
| Thursday - November 15, 2001 |
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From the event's promoter: This Weekend in Bayonne, NJ The NAGC will be held over the course of two days this weekend (Saturday 11/17 & Sunday 11/18), and will feature two superfights in addition to the No-Gi & Gi tournaments. The superfights will be Dan "The Beast" Severn Vs. Wade Rome and Sean Alvarez Vs. Carlos Catania. The event will take place at Marist High School, 1241 Kennedy Blvd., Bayonne, NJ 07002. Click here for further information including directions, schedule of events, etc. |
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From RITC Writer/Statistician John Petrilli: Date: Saturday, December 15, 2001 Time: Doors Open: 6:00PM, Fight Time: 7:30PM Location: Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona RITC XXXII has been moved from Wednesday night (Dec 12) to Saturday night (Dec 15). This new date should make our final show of the year more fan and fighter friendly. We're busy trying to line-up a Super Main Event for RITC XXXII. Details will be released when they are finalized. Tickets for RITC available at the Celebrity Theatre Box Office ( 602-267-1600 ) or at Ticketmaster (480-784-4444). For additional information, please call 480-446-8127 or visit www.rageinthecage.com Submission Grappling Tournament Location: Mesa Centennial Center 263 North Center Street Mesa, AZ 85201 Weigh-Ins: 10:00 AM Fight Time: 12:00 PM All competitors will receive a Competition T-Shirt All first place winners will receive a trophy 2nd and 3rd places will receive a medal Outstanding performer will win a Howard Gi For more information, please call Roland Sarria at 480-446-8127. Convenient point-to-point driving directions can be easily obtained at the following Yahoo site (this is a great site to bookmark for any traveling directions within the US): http://maps.yahoo.com/py/ddResults.py |
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From the event's promoter: Fighter Open II is an open submission fighting elimination tournament, with 1000 USD to the winner of each weight class! It takes place in Copenhagen - Denmark, on the 2nd of February 2002. Last application date is the 31st of December 2001. For online information, rules, poster and application: http://www.shootersshootfighting.com/fighteropen2/default.htm Best regards August Wallen President Shooters Shootfighting |
| Friday - November 16, 2001 |
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Tonight's episode of Full Contact Fighter TV on the Sunshine Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time) will feature... Highlights of Williams/Rodriguez, Barnett/Hoffman, and Penn/Uno from UFC 34: High Voltage. Also, a feature on UCC and highlights of the Light Heavyweight King of Pancrase title fight betweek Minowa and Kikuta. Check with your local cable or satellite provider and your local listings. |
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From UFC/Zuffa: TICKETS ON SALE MONDAY (NOV. 19) FOR UFC: THROW DOWN AT MOHEGAN SUN ARENA, JAN. 11 Jens Pulver to defend lightweight title against B. J. Penn Dave Menne to meet Murilo Bustamante for middleweight crown LAS VEGAS, November 15, 2001….Tickets, $200, $100, $60 and $30, go on sale Monday (Nov. 19) at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office, at tickets.com or by calling tickets.com at 1-800-477-6849 for the all-new Ultimate Fighting Championship's UFC: Throw Down, which will be held Friday, January 11, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Lightweight champion Jens Pulver of Davenport, Iowa, will defend his belt for the second time against B. J. Penn of Wainaku, Hilo, Hawaii, as the main event of an eight-fight card. UFC Middleweight Champion Dave Menne of Forest Lake, Minn., will defend his title for the first time against top contender Murilo Bustamante of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Additional bouts will be announced. UFC: Throw Down also will be available on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, Dish Network, Bell ExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST. The suggested retail price will be $29.95. Pulver (20-2-1 in Mixed Martial Arts) is undefeated in the UFC (5-0-1). He won the vacant lightweight championship Feb. 23 at UFC: Battle On the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ, with a unanimous decision over Caol Uno. He successfully defended his belt Sept. 28 at UFC: Victory In Vegas with a unanimous decision over Dennis Hallman. Penn (4-0-0 in MMA) lived up to his nickname, "The Prodigy," with an 11-second, first-round knockout of Uno Nov. 2 at UFC: High Voltage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Menne (35-3-1 in MMA) will defend his title for the first time since winning the middleweight belt Sept. 28 at UFC: Victory In Vegas in a five-round unanimous decision over Gil Castillo. Bustamante (9-1-1 in MMA) will drop a weight classification to meet Menne. He has fought as a light heavyweight (185-204.9 pounds) in previous UFC competition. Middleweights compete at 170-184.9 pounds. The Mohegan Sun is located on 240 acres along the banks of the Thames River in Uncasville, CT. It is approximately one mile from the interchange of I-395 and Connecticut Route 2A and is within easy access of New York, Boston, Hartford and Providence. With state-of-the-art lighting and sound, Mohegan Sun Arena is the premier entertainment venue in Connecticut. Major sporting events, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship, championship boxing, world-renowned entertainers and trade shows call the 10,000-seat arena home. |
The Full Contact Fighter World Rankings for November are in, click here to see who's on top this month |
| Saturday - November 17, 2001 |
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CAPTURES VACANT ISKA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE 
Friday night in Long Island, NY, famed kickboxer and FCF columnist Derek Panza of the USA took on #1 ranked world contender Simon Dore of the UK for the prestigious ISKA World Super Heavyweight Title (don't let the belt fool ya). Panza, who has been absent from the ring for almost 2 years, is known for his devastating punch combinations that usually leave his opponents KO'd. However, in order to win the belt and defeat the experienced Dore, Panza would have to go the full 12 rounds.Panza is the owner of Panza Kickboxing (516.656.5775), one the most successful fight gyms on the East Coast. With an undefeated professional boxing record (7-0, 4 KO's) to go along with his equally impressive kickboxing record (17-1, 12 KO's) Panza is not only great in the ring, he is also an impressive teacher as well -- Congrats from the staff of Full Contact Fighter |
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From the event's promoter: OUELLET & PAIN ready to go TOE to TOE! 
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25th 2002 VERDUN AUDITORIUM MONTREAL , QUEBEC The Universal Combat Challenge will be returning to Montreal with a BANG as the most electrifying UCC warriors will once again light up the RING OF FURYTM. At UCC 6, top ten ranked pro boxer Stephane Ouellet made his MMA debut by easily punching his opponent into submission. This was an explosive way for the boxer to enter the world of MMA and many feel that he is ready to step up against a greater challenge. By setting a new record for the fastest win in the UCC (7 seconds) he told the fight world that he is indeed ready for a tougher opponent. UCC 6 also saw the return of UCC "Bad Guy" PAIN Peters in what is being described as a horror show of a bout. PAIN was all intensity as he entered the ring to face Belgium Muay Thai fighter Dirk Waardenburg. There was no chance for Dirk as he was grounded and pounded like never before seen in the UCC's RING OF FURYTM. After countless punches to the face and head, PAIN ended the bout with an impressive arm bar submission. The crowd roared for more PAIN while future opponents thought of changing weight classes. It is only fitting that the two most devastating fighters at UCC 6 will meet as the Main Event of UCC 7 and it's more than fitting that the event be titled after these aggressive BAD BOYS! PAIN has fought some of the best in the MMA game and feels that he will also be able to rumble with a top 10 ranked pro boxer like Stephane Ouellet. With 24 KO's in the boxing ring, Ouellet undoubtedly has the tools to go to war and be the last man standing. On January 25th the fight world will find out if Stephane Ouellet is ready to battle a ranked UCC warrior or if he will feel the PAIN like so many have in the past. Also on the UCC 7 card... see the return of the UCC World Lightweight Champion Sean "Pimp Daddy" Pierson, David "The Crow" Loiseau, Jason "The Jedi" St-Louis, Joel Leblanc, Stephan Potvin and much much more!!! Watch the UCC 7 fight card unfold by checking the official web site of the UCC at www.ucczone.ca |
| Sunday - November 18, 2001 |
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by Joe Hall 
Ian "The Machine" Freeman won the HOOKnSHOOT Super Heavyweight Title Saturday night with a unanimous decision over Carlos Barreto. For three rounds, Freeman effectively sprawled on Barreto's takedown attempts, draining the lanky Brazilian both mentally and physically. Barreto consistently absorbed punishment with each failed endeavor, and midway through the second round, he was struggling just to comply with the referee's instructions to stand as
Freeman backed out of his guard. The final five minutes were no different -- the England native pancaked and punished Barreto until the final bell rang. Afterwards, Freeman assured the crowd that "'The Machine' is back!"In other action Phil Johns retained his HNS Lightweight Title with a unanimous decision over Leigh Remedios, Aaron Riley soundly defeated Mike Willus with an arm lock, and Takumi Nakayama forced Henry Matamoros to verbally submit from exhaustion in the third round. HOOKnSHOOT KINGS - Day 1 Results Hermes Franca def. Mike Brown by Triangle Choke in Rd 1 Wald Bloise def. Dave Phillips by Unanimous Decision (10:00) Curtis Stout def. Shiko Yamashita by Unanimous Decision (15:00) Wilson Goveia def. Ray Casias by Arm Lock in Rd 1 Tony Dedolph and Justin Wisniewski Drew (15:00) Judy Neff def. Shelby Walker by Arm Lock in Rd 1 Takumi Nakayama def. Henry Matamoros by Verbal Submission in Rd 3 Chris Monson def. Alexandre Ferreira by Ref Stoppage in Rd 2 Aaron Riley def. Mike Willus by Arm Lock in Rd 1 HNS Lightweight Title Phil Johns def. Leigh Remedios by Unanimous Decision (15:00) HNS Super Heavyweight Title Ian Freeman def. Carlos Barreto by Unanimous Decision (15:00) |
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From the event's promoter: DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Tim Sylvia lived up to his nickname of the "Grizzly Bear" on Saturday as the 6-foot-8, 270-pounder mauled opponent Greg Wikan at the Extreme Trials. Sylvia, now 7-0, dominated position throughout the bout and landed the majority of punches before winning by choke at 2:20 of the third round (12:20 overall). It was the second win over Wikan in less than a year, but a much more decisive victory this time around. Wikan, who weighed 229, said he is trying to drop weight and compete at the 205 division. In the co-main event, Michigan's Matt Shaw scored a quick win over hometown favorite Jason Medina. After Shaw landed a good right hand, the two got tangled in the ropes and fell to the canvas. Medina injured a knee and could not continue... only 59 seconds into the first round. He had to be helped out of the ring and the doctor said the knee injury "looked serious." Four fighters claimed weight-class victories and earned berths into the 2001 U.S. MMA National Championships. Winning titles were: Dedrick Westbrook at 150-under; Tim Hernandez at 170-under; James Wade at 210-under and Wayne Pitman at heavyweight. Drew McFedries and Daryl Guthmiller advanced to the finals of the 190 division, but since both had already earned berths to the Nationals in previous events, there was no need for a final. The outstanding fighter of the Trials had to be Westbrook, a muscular newcomer from the Miletich Martial Arts Center. After winning his first bout in 31 seconds with a guillotine, Westbrook landed a big right hand and captured the division title with a 7-second knockout in the finals. Complete results 150-under Dedrick Westbrook def. Jeremy Griffith, :31 guillotine; CHAMPIONSHIP: Westbrook def. Nick Marin, :07 KO. 170-under Chad Sutton def. Stephen Machlachland, 2:22 armbar; Tim Hernandez def. Joe Sales, 1:11 armbar; CHAMPIONSHIP: Hernandez def. Sutton, 2:10 guillotine. 190-under Mike Gritti def. Mike Porzelins, 1:08 choke; Drew McFedries def. Dan Anderson, 1:23 triangle; Daryl Guthmiller def. Aaron Griffith, :37 choke; McFedries def. Gritti, 1:30 corner throws in towel; Guthmiller def. Anthony Porcelli, 10:00 can't come out for OT period. No championship. 210-under CHAMPIONSHIP: James Wade def. Ryan Antle, 1:24 Rd. 2 (6:24) tap from punches. Heavyweight Wayne Pitman def. Brandon Quigley, 3:22 rear choke; Justin Jobe def. Jonathan Spears, :30 Rd. 2 (5:30) guillotine; CHAMPIONSHIP: Pitman def. Jobe, 2:52 side choke. Pro bouts Tim Sylvia def. Greg Wikan, 2:20 Rd. 3 (12:20) choke. Matt Shaw def. Jason Medina, :59 injury default. |
From Susumu's Gallery:
Hello, We have added 27 pictures from WFA held on November 3rd. Please enjoy! Susumu's Gallery: http://come.to/susumu |
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From the event's promoter: Homer Moore vs Joseph Riggs Time: Doors Open: 5:30PM, Fight Time: 8:00PM Location: Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona $20 General Admission Kids under 12 Free!!! RITC XXXII has been moved from Wednesday night (Dec 12) to Saturday night (Dec 15). This new date should make our show more fan and fighter friendly. We've also lined up a Super Main Event for our 9th show of the year. Super Main Event: Homer "The Rock" Moore (205 lbs) vs Joseph Riggs (245 lbs), Team USA Wrestling/Brausa Academy This should be a fascinating matchup as Homer tries to get back on the winning track following his loss in UFC 34 earlier this month. It will be Homer's quickness and experiece against Joseph's youth, solid base and raw power. Homer is 30 years old and Joseph is 19. Joseph is now ranked as the #3 fighter in the RITC Heavyweight Division and welcomes this challenge early in his career. He was a two-time state heavyweight wrestling champion, is very skilled in boxing and is now adding brazilian jiu-jitsu to his arsenal. We're also doing some preliminary planning for CY2002 to make our RITC shows even more "fan-friendly" while offering local and out-of-state fighters a great place to showcase their skills. Fight Card subject to change. Tickets for RITC available at the Celebrity Theatre Box Office (602-267-1600) or at Ticketmaster (480-784-4444). For additional information, please call 480-446-8127 or visit www.rageinthecage.com |
| Monday - November 19, 2001 |
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From the event's promoter: AT SABOBA CASINO (RESULTS)
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For FASTEST service call in your credit card order (516)922-1081 Or Click here to order securely online with your credit card or print off the order form & mail it in with your payment |
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HOOKnSHOOT Sunday Matinee by Joe Hall 
Scott Henze thwarted the submission attempts of Angelo Popofski in the main event and final match of the two day fight card, closing the bout in the second round with a flurry of punches that forced the referree to call a halt to the action. The fight of the afternoon was undoubtedly Ivan Salaverry's decision victory over Jason Rigsby. Salaverry, of AMC Pankration, consistently held the upper hand in a number of toe-to-toe exchanges that took place during the 10 minute battle. Takumi Nakayama won the Fighter of the Weekend Award after his relentess performance Saturday night in a win over Henry Matamoros. HOOKnSHOOT KINGS - Day 2 Results Mike Delaney and Don Richard Drew (10:00) Yohei Suzuki def. Victor Estrada by Ref Stoppage in Rd 2 Eric Schafer and Jim DeSouza Drew (10:00) Ivan Salaverry def. Jason Rigsby by Unanimous Decision (10:00) HNS Featherweight Title Anthony Hamlett def. Jeff Curran by KO in Rd 1 Main Event Scott Henze def. Angelo Popofski by Ref Stoppage in Rd 2 |
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From the event's promoter: Gold Country Casino, Orville, CA - 11-9-01 Pat Minihan def. James Ringler - KO 0:03 R1 Tim Kennedy def. Jody Burke - Front forearm choke 1:44 R1 Ray Benavides def. Derik Tessier - Rear choke R1 Tim Mc Kenzie def. Dax Bruce - TKO Strikes, mount R1 Randy Spence def. Ben Melendez - Armbar 0:49 R1 Mike Quaintance def. Shaun Beckett - Leg tri-choke 1:45 R1 Judy Neff def. K C Nolan - KO 2:16 R1 Sean Gray def. Tony Oberding - TKO Strikes 4:49 R1 Anthony Hamlet def. David Gigi - TKO Strikes 3:10 R3 Jake Gibson def. Carlos Garcia - TKO Strikes 2:21 R1 Benji Radach def. Willy Solorio - TKO Strikes 1:23 R1 Gary Marshall def. Brad Gabriel - TKO Strikes 1:31 R1 |
| Tuesday - November 20, 2001 |
For FASTEST service call in your credit card order (516)922-1081 Or Click here to order securely online with your credit card or print off the order form & mail it in with your payment |
In this issue...|
From Koichi Kawasaki: November 20th 2001 - KORAKUEN HALL at Tokyo, Japan SHOOT BOXING PRO-OFFICIAL EXPERT CLASS RULE, 3min 5R 9th Match (70kg) Kenichi Ogata (Caesar GYM) SB S-welterweight Champ vs. Daniel Silva (Chute Boxe, Brazil) J MECA Vale Tudo Champ 8th Match (62Kg) Tatsuya Maeda (Neyagawa GYM) SB S-featherweight Champ vs. Osmar Dias (Chute Boxe, Brazil) J Brazilian Muay Thai Champ 7th Match (73Kg) Ryuji Goto (STEAL TH) SB Middleweight 1st vs. Mauricio Amado (Chute Boxe, Brazil) JBrazil Storm Muay Thai Champ KICK BOXING SPECIAL MATCH PRO-OFFICIAL,3min 5R 6th Match (68.5Kg) Hiroyuki Doi (Caesar GYM) SB World welter Champ vs. Daniel Dawson (Team ISS, Austria) JWMTA World S-welter Camp SHOOT BOXING PRO-OFFICIAL EXPERT CLASS RULE, 3min 5R 5th Match (85Kg) Kouji Iga (Ryusei juku) SB Heavy weight 2nd vs. Cyrille Diabate (Club Haute Tension) JWKA Heavyweight Champ 4th Match (65Kg) Hiroki Shishido (Caesar GYM) SB Lightweight Champ vs. Shannon "F16" Forrester J WMTA Commonwelth S Lightweight Champ 3rd Match (60Kg) Hideo Mihara (Caesar GYM) SB S-featherweight 4th vs. Tomohiro Oikawa (Ryusei juku) 2nd Match (80Kg) YU IKEDA (Shonan GYM) vs. Yuzo Ishizuka (Ryusei juku) SHOOT BOXING PRO-OFFICIAL FRESHMAN CLASS RULE, 3min 3R 1st Match (55Kg) Noruyuki Imai (Caesar GYM) vs. Takafumi Ichimasa (Osaka GYM) WHAT IS SHOOT BOXING(SB)?: Former kickboxing champion Caesar Takeshi (Ring name) established SHOOT BOXING ASSOCIATION in 1985. Mr. Caesar took advice about a new style of fighting in the STANDING POSITION from the "God of pro-wrestling" Karl Gotch along with Satoru Sayama who is founder of Shooto and very famous pro-wrestler as "TIGER MASK." It is punching, kicking, and throwing and standing-submission with stand fight rules. SHOOT BOXING rules is STANDING VALE TUDO. Mr. Akira Maeda and Mr. Nobuhiko Takada often studied kickboxing under Caesar Takeshi's instruction. And SB produced many good fighters, like Naoyuki Taira, Takehiro Murahama who went to a draw with Royler, and Hayato Sakurai, and Manson Gibson participated many times also. And now SB fighters challenge to fight at RINGS also. Kenichi Ogata joined last October 20 at RINGS, and Tatsuya Maeda will participate RINGS on December 21 too. |
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This week's episode of Full Contact Fighter TV will feature... Highlights of the action packed UFC 34: High Voltage undercard including Frank Mir vs. Roberto Traven and Matt Lindland vs. Phil Baroni. Highlights of Vernon "Tiger" White's latest fight at King of the Cage. Also, a feature on mixed martial arts pioneer Ken Shamrock. The show will air tonight on MSG Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time) and again on Friday night on the Sunshine Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time). Check with your local cable or satellite provider and your local listings. |
| Wednesday - November 21, 2001 |
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From DSE USA: (a.k.a. PRIDE-18) Information & Announced Match  Announced card: PRIDE-18 Information DATE: Dec. 23rd, 2001 GATE OPEN 3:00 PM FIGHT START 5:00 PM PLACE: Marine Messe Fukuoka (Fukuoka -Pref./Kyushu Region, Japan) Pay-Per-View: SkyPerfecTV (JAPAN, Dec. 23rd Live PPV) DIRECTV, DishNetwork, TVN (USA, Jan. 6th)
Other matches to be announced shortly |
Semmy Schilt
Yoshihiro Takayama| Friday - November 23, 2001 |
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This week's episode of Full Contact Fighter TV will feature... Highlights of the action packed UFC 34: High Voltage undercard including Frank Mir vs. Roberto Traven and Matt Lindland vs. Phil Baroni. Highlights of Vernon "Tiger" White's latest fight at King of the Cage. Also, a feature on mixed martial arts pioneer Ken Shamrock. The show will air tonight on the Sunshine Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time). Check with your local cable or satellite provider and your local listings. |
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By Eduardo Alonso As the year is coming to an end, the next MECA event is approaching and promoter Rudimar Fedrigo is taking care of the final details on what promises to be the best MECA event yet. Rudimar talked today with FCF and shared some news on the event. MECA 6 is now officially scheduled for January 26th, in the Brazilian city of Curitiba. The venue has yet to be decided, but it seems that the Circulo Militar [the venue that held the previous MECA events] won't be among the choices. Rudimar also told FCF that Chute Boxe heavyweight Assuerio Silva won't be fighting Carlos Barreto as originally planned, due to a knee injury that required surgery. Assuerio is supposed to back in about 90 days, but he will miss the MECA event. After this show, MECA will have an official middleweight and heavyweight champion. The heavyweight title will be decided in a fight between UFC and Pride veteran Carlos Barreto and newcomer Marcelo Souza. Souza will be replacing Assuerio Silva, and comes in with some pretty good credentials: he is a purple belt in BJJ, a brown belt in kickboxing and has some boxing and Muay Thai experience. On top all of that, he weighs 264 lbs. The middleweight belt will be decided in a bout between Chute Boxe rising star/Pride veteran Murilo Ninja Rua and Jorge Navalhada, who is also very experienced and coming from important wins in Brazilian NHB events. To complete the card, UFC and IVC veteran Jorge Macaco Patino will be facing a tough UFC veteran in Flavio Moura. Flavio is coming from some wins in minor NHB events around Brazil, and seems to be in the best shape of his life. Also Luiz Azeredo, the only man to beat Anderson Silva in NHB will be returning to MECA to face a Royler Gracie student. Rudimar also managed to say that he still has some surprises left for this event, we will have more details very soon! MECA 6 looks to be shaping up to be a great show, and FCF will be there to cover the action! |
From DSE:
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 24 9PM ET/ 6PM PT Don't miss out today's hottest up coming star HEATH HERRING go for his first world heavyweight title against RODRIGO NOGUEIRA. Watch KAZUSHI SAKURABA try to avenge his lost to WANDERLEI SILVA in an exciting championship rematch. Watch Champion Chaos aka PRIDE-17! Available for $24.95 at DIRECTV, DISHNETWORK and TVN. MIDDLE WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wanderlei Silva HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Heath Herring vs. Rodorigo Nogueira FEATURED HEAVYWEIGHTS Semmy Schilt vs. Masaaki Satake Mario Sperry vs. Igor Vovchanchyn Quinton Jackson vs. Yuki Ishikawa Tom Erikson vs. Matt Skelton MIDDLEWEIGHTS Dan Henderson vs. Murilo Ninja Renzo Gracie vs. Michiyoshi Ohara |
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From Pancrase: This is to officially announce that Pancrase Organization has changed the current four(4) weight divisions to the following seven(7) divisions beginning with the event held on January 27th, 2002. Thank you for your understanding.
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| Saturday - November 24, 2001 |
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Interview with Pele Landi By Eduardo Alonso Photographs by Joel Gold Originally printed in the October 2001 issue of FCF 
Jose "Pele" Landi Johns was born in Cuba, and spent most of his early days learning the values of family, patriotism and courage. There he took the first steps in his sporting life, and grew learning to like fights and dreaming of being a champion some day. But as life makes some unexpected turns, Pele and his family moved from Cuba when he was still a child, and destiny sent the young Jose Landi to South America, eventually settling in Brazil.With the incentive of his father, a former boxer, and his will to compete and the fighting spirit that was born with him, he grew up fighting in the streets of Brazil. Reality gave him the need to learn how to defend himself against all sorts of violence. It was then that Muay Thai and the Chute Boxe academy appeared in the young boy's life, and from then on, he wasn't just Jose Landi, the kid, he was "Pele" the fighter. What happened next is all history, Pele developed his skills training with the Chute Boxe team and became one of the most exciting, controversial and talented NHB fighters in the world, fighting in some epic battles, taking part in some of the biggest rivalries in the history of NHB, and mostly carrying the Brazilian and the Chute Boxe flag all over the globe with a lot of pride. Sometimes hated, and most of the times loved, Pele Landi now shows why he is so respected by those who know him well, and why he is one of the most honest fighters that ever stepped to an NHB ring. In this very long conversation, Pele shared his views all possible subjects, and showed why there's not a single fighter like him in the game! FCF: It's a pleasure to interview you Pele! Pele: My pleasure! FCF: Although you were born in Cuba, you moved to Brazil and adopted the country as your own. When and how did you come to Brazil? How old were you? Pele: I was seven or eight years old. I lived in Peru for a year, and then we came to Brazil. The reason was because of Cuba's political regime, the communism and stuff. So, we came here. FCF: You always show lots of pride in fighting for Brazil; you've entered the ring wearing the Brazilian national squad shirt a couple of times. What does the country mean to you? And do you believe that there is any kind of preconceptions towards the Brazilian fighters abroad? Pele: I believe there isn't any sort of preconception. Everybody is trying to win. As for Brazil, I'm an immigrant; in fact I'm Brazil you know! If you take a close look, Brazil is still young and everybody is somewhat of a foreigner here. I feel at home. There's also something about patriotism that you get in Cuba. I went to school there when I was a kid, and you learn about patriotism, sports, and all that stuff. So I learned to have pride to fight for my country and this came with me all the way. FCF: Your father was a boxer, and he was the one that gave you incentive to practice the sport. How did your interest for martial arts start, and how did the transition from boxing to Muay Thai happen? Pele: I always did boxing during my whole life. But then my father was training in a new academy and he made friends with a Capoeirista [a practitioner of the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira] named Burgues from Parana [a state in Brazil]; he is very well known here. So, I started to train Capoeira, and I got into a street fight and I got the worst of it, so from then on I decided that I would never want Capoeira again. [laughs] I thought, "I want that Chute Boxe thing!" That was already getting very famous here. Everybody in the town was going like, "Chute Boxe is the real deal, Chute Boxe, Chute Boxe..." you know how it works, and I wanted to meet the guy that everyone was talking about, the guy that was kicking everybody's ass, that fought hard, went after everyone and stuff like that, and this guy was Rudimar [Rudimar Fedrigo, Chute Boxe team coach], who was still very young at that time. And then they brought me to Rudimar's school. I was 16 years old. I was already very old! [Laughs] I started to go to the academy, to train and stuff, and then within 3 months, less than 3 months, I was already fighting in the Metropolitan Muay Thai championship! And I won! And it was funny because my style of fighting appeared right there in the ring. It was comical, because the guy did a spin kick, and I got to the ropes and I'd shake my head, like saying, "No, no." Then it was [like in a move]! I did the same spin kick that he tried, and "Bam!" it hit him right in the stomach, and I almost sent him out of the ring with it! And the crowd went nuts! When he recovered, I got him in the clinch and knocked him out with knees! FCF: Is it true that when you started at the academy, you were so good that with only 3 months of training you were already fighting in the Brazilian Championship? Pele: Yes, but I couldn't win the Brazilian Championship. They were more experienced fighters who knew how to carry the fights and stuff. Also, let me tell you... in this Brazilian Championship I kneed myself! [Laughs] I'm serious! We have the tape and everything. I was in the clinch, and went for a knee so high that I hit myself on the chin!! [Laughs] It's funny that I only noticed that it was I that hit me after some years watching the tape! FCF: And did you get staggered by your own knee in the fight? [Laughs] Pele: I don't know, at that time I felt it hard. [Laughs] It was very funny! [Laughs] FCF: Was Rudimar Fedrigo your first master in Muay Thai? Pele: The master [Rudimar] was opening two academies. The central academy was already full, and he was opening another one, very huge with two floors and stuff, and he told me to go there. A student of his, Noguchi, was teaching there. But I stayed with him for only about 6 months, because then Noguchi wanted to open his own academy, you know how it goes. When they split, he took all of his students and I stayed with Rudimar from then on. FCF: The Muay Thai training is very tough and demanding. Did you ever think about giving up when you were a kid? Pele: Never, never! I needed to defend myself you know. And the best way to do it was to learn at the Chute Boxe academy, to really be able to defend myself in the streets. FCF: Did you fight a lot in the streets when you were younger? Pele: Oh, I was always fighting. Even though I have some sort of a bad image, I haven't been in street fights for the last 6 or 7 years. It's a bit tough to get rid of this image. I was very aggressive, fighting all the time. I weighed 67kg [148 lbs.], can you imagine? It was easy to come and fight me [laughs], but I had a lot of speed, had a bad temper... And my dad was a fighter, so he didn't like me to fight, but if I fought and took a beating... I would take another beating at home! It was tough! God! A lot of times I would have to stay out of the house crying, because I couldn't go home with drenched eyes! I was afraid of my father! In fact my father is a very nice guy, but you know. FCF: When did you realize that you were going to be a professional fighter and start dedicating all of your time to fighting? Pele: The first time that I went to take a look at the Chute Boxe academy, I went there alone, to take a look and stuff, you know how it goes. Then I got there and I saw a guy named Edimar, who was a student of Rudimar's. Edimar was a great fighter... he was perfect! There were cameras on him, people screaming and he was training hard! Globo [the biggest TV network in Brazil] was there too, and this was back in 1988. He was going to Los Angeles to fight in a championship... And I thought this was all wonderful! At that time I thought "Wow. I'm going to do the same!" I was used to see my father in the ring and stuff, so this feeling I had since I was very young! Back in Cuba, my grandma lived near the boxing gymnasium there. Across the street from her house there was the boxing gym! So I went to the entrance and kept looking at the ring, watching the guys training and stuff. I was still very young; I went there barefoot and stuff. FCF: Did you have to quit studying when you decided to dedicate your time fully to training? Pele: I always studied. But there was a time that I couldn't do it anymore; I needed to choose between studying and training. There was a time that I would get to the academy early in the morning and would come back around 10 o'clock at night! I believe that for about 36 months I trained Muay Thai 7 hours straight per day. FCF: How many Muay Thai matches did you fight before your NHB days? Are there any Muay Thai matches that you still recall with joy from those days? Pele: I did lots of Muay Thai fights. I was Brazilian champion and stuff, but I believe that my first fight was the one that left the biggest impression on me. It was against a guy 15kg heavier, so it was great. FCF: How did the sport of NHB appear in your life? Was it difficult to adapt to this new style of fighting in the beginning? Pele: A good number of years ago, me and my wife were in need of money and stuff, you know how it is, so I started to go around and I told Rudimar about my intention to fight NHB, and he said, "Well Pele, you know you'll have to win." and I said, "Okay, I know." So then I hit the road looking for fights. I remember that I hit the road, and some of my students took me to Sao Paulo, and I fought... And it went like that. It wasn't difficult to adapt. I never believed in anything besides guts, courage! At the Chute Boxe academy, we were already doing some Jiu Jitsu training with Master Nico, who was a guy that trained with some of the Gracies and years and years ago; he died at 67 years old. He taught us everything in the beginning, the very basics of the sport. FCF: Where was your debut in NHB? Pele: My debut was back in 1990 or '91, in a challenge between Chute Boxe and Capoeira. They challenged us; they got me on the beach with around 40 guys! I told them that this wasn't going to end there. I got back here in Curitiba and I told the master about it. Then we went to their academy and made a mess, so we appointed a date for the challenge, to settle things. It was great, everybody from Chute Boxe knocked out their opponents! FCF: Were there a lot of challenges in the academy back in the old days? Pele: Lots! I remember that I was too light and nobody believed in my skills, so boxers would come to the academy to challenge me! People in the night clubs would start things like "Who is that? Who is that? That's Pele?" and they would came right after me starting a fight! Suddenly I was there, quiet, well dressed and stuff, and I would have to fight right there on the spot, over and over again. It wasn't easy by any means to be able to get the deserved space and recognition for Chute Boxe. |
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From RITC Writer/Statistician John Petrilli: Homer Moore vs. Joseph Riggs Jimmy Ambriz vs. "A-Dawg" Sullivan Date: Saturday, December 15, 2001 Time: Doors Open: 5:30PM, Fight Time: 8:00PM Location: Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona $20 General Admission Kids under 12 Free !!! Co-Main Events: Homer "The Rock" Moore (205 lbs) vs. Joseph Riggs (245 lbs), Team USA Wrestling/Brausa Academy Jimmy Ambriz (305 lbs), Medina Freestyle Fight Team vs. Allan "A-Dawg" Sullivan (230 lbs), Savage Te Dawg Pound Rage in the Cage 32 just got even better with a newly announced Co-Main Event. Jimmy Ambriz is fresh off of a TKO win in Gladiator Challenge #8. He's undefeated in his Rage in the Cage appearances and is currently ranked #2 in the RITC Heavyweight Division. "A-Dawg" Sullivan is a very experienced fighter. He has a 4-2 record against UFC veterans with wins over Leininger, Pardo, Moskowitz and Judson and losses to Dodd and Fulton. He's 8-1 in his Rage in the Cage appearances and is currently ranked #4 in the RITC Heavyweight Division. This is a classic matchup featuring an outstanding standup striker against an outstanding grappler/submission fighter. Using the current RITC rankings, the Main Events represent #1 ranked vs #3 ranked and #2 ranked vs #4 ranked. Very exciting matchups in what should be a landmark event for Rage in the Cage. There will be at least 12 fights on the card, with a minimum of four Heavyweight bouts which have proved very popular with our MMA fans. Fight Card subject to change. Tickets for RITC available at the Celebrity Theatre Box Office (602-267-1600) or at Ticketmaster (480-784-4444). For additional information, please call 480-446-8127 or visit www.rageinthecage.com |
| Sunday - November 25, 2001 |
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From Susumu's Gallery: Hello, We have added 33 pictures from Shootboxing held on November 20th. Please enjoy! Susumu's Gallery: http://come.to/susumu |
| Monday - November 26, 2001 |
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Interview with Pele Landi By Eduardo Alonso Photographs by Joel Gold (Scroll down to Saturday's post for Part 1) Originally printed in the October 2001 issue of FCF 
FCF: One of your most memorable fights, the one that really promoted your name all over the world, was your first fight against Macaco, back in 1996. Did his antics; his way of fighting back then motivate you even more for the fight?Pele: I have this old problem, when I take it personally, I have a 99% chance to win, and then it's all about heart. But Macaco is a very nice person, I stayed with him in Rio de Janeiro, and he paid the hotel for me and stuff, he has a huge heart, is a very nice person, he changed a lot as a person! He is a true fighter! He will be always there. FCF: Because there was a big rivalry back then... Pele: Back in those days people wanted him to take Rickson's place, he was on the cover of all magazines, and he was really good in fact. FCF: When you felt that you had the control in the fight, and started to punish him, what went through your head? Did you have the exact notion of what that fight could represent in your career back then? Pele: I got to Sao Paulo for the fight without knowing him, and I got to know him 3 days before the event in a magazine. I knew I was going to win, I was very well prepared. I was sure that there wasn't anyone in Brazil back then who could take the Brazilian belt from me. FCF: Soon there came the rematch against Macaco at the WVC in 1997. Did you expect a tougher fight than it was? Pele: I don't know. I came to fight, and we brawled. After that they put Johil in the alternates, and it was all settled. If I would win the first fight, they would put Johil against me. Johil wasn't going to fight you know, and everything was already set up. I always suffered a lot with these type of things. Then there was a time that I was doing great and they threw Chuck [Liddell] against me, but that's how life goes. FCF: For a long time there was a big rivalry between you and Macaco, something very personal. Is it true that some fights happened when you two met outside of the ring? Pele: Well, Macaco and I had an incident at a rules meeting once, but this is all in the past. FCF: Macaco said recently that the rivalry between you two is over, and now you both respect each other. How is your relationship with him these days? What do you think of him now? Pele: Nowadays, he comes to Curitiba and enjoys the night with my students! He is coming to the right place, because Curitiba is a warrior's land! When you step here you already feel the need to do a good fight. He is a very nice guy! FCF: After your fight against Macaco, one of your biggest rivalries was against Johil de Oliveira. In the first fight, after an amazing battle, you ended up losing the fight on a judges' decision. Why couldn't you do your usual game in this fight? Pele: I believe that I lacked knowledge back then. Johil was very experienced back then, and he kept holding the fight, controlling it. I didn't have any guard movement, and I was apathetic, and he kept on pounding. At the same time I never thought about giving up, I even wanted the 15-minute overtime, but they didn't allow it. In fact, I didn't even have the condition to fight the overtime. FCF: One of the most impressive pictures that I ever saw was the one of your face after your first fight against Johil... Pele: I never saw anyone get like that in a fight! FCF: When the rematch came in 1999, you dominated the fight; defending his takedown attempts and winning by decision after punishing him a lot. What do you think you did differently in the rematch that you couldn't do in the first fight? Pele: I was very well prepared; I knew I was going to win. I don't know, I think I wanted to kill Johil! [Laughs] There was even an incident at the airport! Then he felt how I was eager to fight him. FCF: I was going to ask you that. Vanderlei Silva once told me about it. What happened in the airport between you two? Pele: I saw him, looked at his face and I called him names, and he said, " Well, take easy! You can't do that!" It was enough to look at his face and my blood would get hot! He wanted to shake my hand! Was he crazy? [Laughs] He made my face look like a drum and then wanted to shake my hand! [Laughs] It's a bit too much! [Laughs] I looked at his face and called him a son of a bitch, and said that he was a coward! And he asked, "Why?" and I told him, "because you are!" Then, before hell broke loose, all the guys were holding him and avoiding a fight. And there was a guy with a laptop there, who just sat and typed the story right on the spot and sent it over the 'net [laughs]. FCF: I remember that in that fight you would sprawl, defend his takedowns, and start to punish him. Very close to the style that a lot of fighters are using now, and you already did it a few years ago. Pele: For sure! I was already warning people back then that this style was going to rule, and people didn't believe me back then. And back then who started to adapt this style? Maurice Smith! He would stay on the bottom throwing punches and people thought, "Gee, what's this guy doing throwing strikes from the guard?" And he was very successful back then, but now, with these new rules that don't allow elbows, it's a bit tougher to do it. FCF: At IVC 5 you gave quite a show, beating Gerald Taylor, Jorge Pereira and Milton Bahia. How was this event for you? And what do you think about fighting 3 times in one night? Pele: I always liked it! And it's even better now that we fight only one fight. But to fight 3 times in one night you have be very well prepared. And at the IVC it was very funny, because you had to record the little intros before the fight a few days before the event. [Laughs] "Well, now I'm going to the second fight of the night, and I hope I'll win!" Then, " Now I'm going to the third fight of the night, and I'm ready! Come with me!" And all that some days before the event! [Laughs] The event was tranquil! I was ready, very well prepared! FCF: At IVC 6, you faced Chuck Liddell, who's now around the top of the light heavyweight rankings all over the world, fighting in events like Pride and the UFC. He won the fight by decision. Do you think the decision was correct? And what was your biggest difficulty in that fight? Pele: The biggest difficulty was my own, with my physical preparation. I knocked him down and couldn't kick his face! It was like my leg was heavy as hell! Then I thought, "Gee, I'm in trouble." He was in front of me on all fours and I couldn't kick his face! I couldn't! I was feeling very heavy, I had gained 5 kg in a short time, and I didn't know this weight, I wasn't used to fighting with this weight. The decision was correct; he got up from the knockdown. And then [IVC promoter/referee Sergio] Batarelli got in front of him, and then left and says "Go on!"... Gee! [Laughs] it's tough this way. FCF: In your fight against Pat Miletich, who was the UFC champion back then, at WEF... You won the fight, and became the WEF champion. How was the tension before that fight? Were you sure about the win? Pele: I was confident. Because I knew that Miletich fought under the rules, fought at the correct weight. He quit in fact, because of his back. But I punished him a lot with knees to the body; I was doing some internal damage on him. Also, there was some smoke coming out of him when I kneed him! And after I hit him with knees from the clinch, I took him down. I even went for a leg lock! I knew that I wasn't going to achieve any success with the lock, but I did it only to make him aware of everything, and then I got up and kicked his face. 
FCF: After your fight against Miletich, there came your famous fight against Dave Menne. A lot of people believe you won that fight and deserved the win, but the decision went to him. Was it difficult to accept that decision?Pele: It wasn't difficult you know why? Because Dave Menne couldn't look at my eyes after the fight. He couldn't. I was on the other side of the ring with Coleman congratulating me, a lot of fighters and people talking to me, and Dave Menne passed by limping, with blood dropping from his face, with the belt, and when he was about to pass by me he looks to the ground and kept on walking. When I saw that I thought, "well, I can't even comment on it," that decision was a joke! The crowd was chanting "USA! USA!" and when they raised Menne's hand, you needed to see the crowd's reaction. There were people leaving the arena! And the main event was yet to happen! I was hurting him, and he was backing up and only defending when the fight was over. I took him down and told him to get up! He's a wrestler! FCF: Do you think that is tough for a Brazilian fighter, fighting in the USA, to beat an American fighter by decision, since most of the judges are American? Pele: Look, it wasn't difficult, but there who was voting was the owner of rings, who voted against me. There were another guy that speaks Portuguese, but trains those guys as well, so I couldn't win a decision you know. And I was even doing some antics, and making fun of him during the fight, so it was impossible to win a decision. FCF: Recently a rematch between you and Dave Menne almost happened at the UFC. Do you still think about fighting him again? And what would you do differently in another fight against him? Pele: Dave Menne for me is just another fighter. I only think that Dave Menne is very smart, and already made a lot of money in a short amount of time. And you have athletes like myself that are fighting for more than 10 years who didn't make this much money. But this happens; God is giving him all that success for a reason. I'll have a special motivation against him once we get inside the ring. He knows he couldn't handle me, and he is going to need to accept the consequences. I'll crush Dave Menne! I'll give him a beating! I'm serious! I'll kick his ass. FCF: After this fight at WEF, there was a big rivalry between the people from Dave Menne's camp -- especially Matt Hughes -- and you. Is it true that he wanted to start a fight against you in the hotel? What really happened? Pele: It was in the corridor. He was like "Dave Menne! Yeah!" and I told him, "You're crazy man, this is my profession. Do you think I'll be here talking about something I didn't win?" You know, I'm not going to celebrate any win if I'm not sure about my performance. FCF: With all this rivalry, you two finally fought at Kuwait, at the Warriors War event. You won the fight by knockout, after hitting him with a knee, after Hughes went for a takedown. Is it true that you only entered the event to fight Matt Hughes? What did this fight mean to you? Pele: Yeah, for sure! That fight meant a lot back then, but afterwards it didn't mean much. But I went there to fight against him! I knew the way to win was with that sort of knees, but he felt like a rock! A rock! He seemed like made of concrete when he was on side mount! FCF: After the fight, in a very nice attitude, Matt Hughes came to congratulate you. Is there any rivalry between you two? Did you two talk after the fight? Pele: No! There isn't any rivalry! It was a foolish thing. He wanted things that way, I told him "Don't go this way, 'cause it's dangerous." |
| Tuesday - November 27, 2001 |
From Josh Hedges of Zuffa/UFC: Semenov & Suloev Sign With UFC Russian fighters Andrei Semenov and Amar Suloev have signed contracts to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Both fighters will be featured on the UFC: Throw Down card on January 11, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Their opponents have yet to be determined. Tickets for UFC: Throw Down are on sale now at MoheganSun.com and Tickets.com, or by phone at 1-800-477-6849 or 1-888-226-7711. |
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This week's episode of Full Contact Fighter TV will feature... Highlights of Pride 17: Championship Chaos. A review of John Lewis' new show WFA. A feature on UFC Light Heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz. Also interviews with Jens Pulver and BJ Penn on their upcoming lightweight title bout at UFC 35. The show will air tonight on MSG Network at 11:30PM (Eastern time) and again on Friday night on the Sunshine Network at 11:00PM (Eastern time). Check with your local cable or satellite provider and your local listings. |
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From the event's promoter: "BATTLE IN BELLEVUE VIII" Saturday, December 1st - 8:00PM Main event will feature Tristan Wit (Current UFCF Wa. State Kickboxing Champion) VS Matt May from Idaho Kickboxing. This will be a rematch from September's show which ended in a draw and was the fight of the night. Tristan's sister, Yuiet Wit, will make her boxing debut VS Beth Westover from Idaho South Boxing Club. In the Semi-Main event will have Middleweights Scott Norton from Maurice Smith's Grappling VS Dax Bruce from Dennis's Hallman's Victory Athletics in a Pankration bout. One of the crowd's favorite events is the TAG TEAM SUBMISSION fight. It will pit Triet Wit & Zack Mukia VS Luis Guillen & Jeff Medley Plus 5 other Kickboxing, Boxing and Pankration bouts. Tickets are on sale now at Maurice Smith Kickboxing Center (425) 576-5300 and AMC Kickboxing Center (425) 822-9656. TICKET PRICES ARE: V.I.P. RINGSIDE $25.00 GENERAL ADDMISSION $20.00 FIGHT LOCATION: MAURICE SMITH KICKBOXING CENTER 2620 - BELLEVUE WAY N.E. BELLEVUE, WA. 98004 |
| Wednesday - November 28, 2001 |
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From the event's promoter: Presents "STORM" 2001 A night of Kickboxing, Pankration and Tag Team Submission action Sponsored by La Quinta Inn, Kirkland, WA Ask for special fight night rate! Room reservations 425-828-6585 Date: December 8, 2001 Doors open: 7:00PM Fights Start: 8:00PM Location: AMC Kickboxing & Pankration 427 6th street South Kirkland, WA 98033 425-822-9656 www.pankration.com This is where the Pacific NW greats got their start...come and meet N.W. superstars:
AMC Kickboxing & Pankration 427 6th street South Kirkland, WA 425-822-9656 www.pankration.com Pearson's black belt academy 3109 McDougall Everett, WA 425-252-5222 Ringside-$25 rows 1&2 VIP-$20 rows 3&4 General-$15 Current line up (subject to change)
Sponsored by La Quinta Inn, Kirkland, WA Ask for special fight night rate! Room reservations 425-828-6585 |
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Interview with Pele Landi By Eduardo Alonso Photographs by Joel Gold Scroll down to Monday's post (11/26) for Part 2 & Saturday's post (11/24) for Part 1 Originally printed in the October 2001 issue of FCF 
FCF: You ended up losing to Kareem Barklaev in the event's semi-final. There was lots of complaining from the fighters about the event's organization and some things suited to help Barklaev. Is it true that he was fighting above the weight of the event?Pele: In fact he was watching his weight. What they did was to make us have a very heavy dinner, then a large breakfast, so we would eat a lot and gain a lot of weight before the weigh-in. And right after the breakfast they came in with the weigh-ins! With that I weighed 87kg, almost 88kg! And I was supposed to be around 83 or 84kg. And Barklaev weighed around 91kg. FCF: Do you believe that the problems that you had with the trip to Kuwait, with the lack of support from the event, hindered you in that fight? Pele: I believe so. I traveled for 54 hours! I traveled a lot, and then when I got off the plane I ran for an hour in Kuwait, because my legs were all swollen, due to the trip. Then I had dinner, slept a little, took breakfast, made weight and went to the arena to fight! All that fast. It's tough. FCF: It was quiet a mess... Pele: They didn't even have a plane ticket for me... Well, Amaury Bitetti gave up before the event. He was supposed to fight against a partner of Barklaev, and he said, "I'm not going to brawl against this guy!" and I asked him why, and he told me "look at the size of this guy's hand!" [Laughs] and we laughed a lot, because the guy had a huge hand! With some weird fingers, unbelievably big. [laughs] Man! I looked and the guy's hand was gigantic! [Laughs] my God! They're all with that structure there. [laughs] The truth, jokes aside, is that the guy was very heavy for Amaury, it was completely absurd, and Amaury did the right thing. He is a smart guy. FCF: Do you want to have a chance to fight Barklaev again in the future? Pele: For sure, in fact I believe that he isn't a fighter to fight against me. When I saw his first fight, I thought he was a very bad fighter. He fought against a Spanish guy and he had all sorts of problems. But then against me he did everything! He dominated the fight. I did nothing against him. I wasn't myself. 
Pele: Sure, and besides that I was weighing 79kg, and Matsui was at least 89kg. When you are heavy and face a guy even heavier it's okay! But when you are very light, around the 70-kilo range, and you face someone heavy, it's not the same thing! I want to emphasize this, because there are people that don't know about it. And what's Matsui? Matsui is a guy who isn't intelligent in the ring, but he's a guy that has a lot of will and a lot of cardio. Then I took my pupil [Murilo Ninja] and threw him against Matsui, because he has a lot of will and cardio too, and he's very talented! FCF: Early in the fight, after connecting with some good strikes against Matsui, you went to fight on the ground, almost finishing him. If you fought him today, would you opt to keep punishing him standing instead of looking to fight on the ground? Pele: I can look for every type of fight, on the ground or standing. But I like to fight standing. When I connected with the knee, if I had landed two kicks to his face, the referee would have stopped the fight... but you know, I was well prepared, but I was too light. Now I'll fight a bit heavier. FCF: You still have one fight left in your contract with Pride. Is it true that you were very close to fighting in PRIDE 16, but they couldn't find an opponent for you? Pele: They tried a lot of opponents. They went after everybody. FCF: Isn't it frustrating to train so hard, and end up not fighting? Pele: Well, no problem. We have Vanderlei fighting, so many athletes who need to fight. I want to help Nilson de Castro now to get back to fighting. He was away for a while, but I talked to him and told him that he should be fighting with us. He's very tough; Very talented. So we have a lot of people to work here, and meanwhile I'm always training. FCF: Is there any chance that you will fight in Pride 17? Can we expect to see Pele back in the event? Pele: For the November show they didn't tell me anything; besides I'm not even training sharply to fight. But they told me that for December I'll be fighting. FCF: Whom would you like to fight in Pride, or in any event for that matter? Pele: All of them! All of them! Well, I would like to fight against a professional that in my eyes can do a great fight with me... Dan Henderson. I believe that this would be a great fight. He is a tough guy; he comes in to fight! I think it'll be great! FCF: Who do you believe are the best fighters in the world nowadays? Pele: Nowadays only Vanderlei! Vanderlei is the top guy right now! FCF: At the last Pride, your student Murilo Ninja gave quite a show beating Matsui. Was there any special motivation because Matsui beat you in the past? And what can we expect from Ninja in the future? Pele: I told him that since I lost to Matsui, he needed to avenge my name. Ninja is going to be the best fighter in the world for sure! When he came to me, he told me that he wanted to be a pro. So I told him, "You're going to be the best fighter in the world, are you ready?" I'm going to make him the best fighter in the world! 
FCF: He is even showing some great ground skills!Pele: My God! He loves Jiu Jitsu. He enters all the tournaments... He almost eats with his gi on! [Laughs] We love Jiu Jitsu here; everybody here has a passion for Jiu Jitsu. If people think bad about us, it's because of some position that some people have that doesn't even have a reason to exist towards warriors like us! There are guys that want a piece of us, and want to do NHB without strikes! [Laughs] They act all tough and stuff! Wait a second; next to us they can't do that. [laughs] Ninja has been training with me for 3 years now, and I have another great student coming, Carioca! He's living with me, and he's been training with me for 6 years now! He weighs around 67kg, and he will be starting to fight NHB as a pro now! We are going to put him to fight in MECA! FCF: An amazing union characterizes the Chute Boxe academy, and its fighters have been standing out all over the world. Do you believe that this union is the secret of the academy success? Pele: Sure! We've had a dream since we were kids, teenagers... "Let's train! We are going to be the best!" And this has continued to this day! And there's the organization! We are so much of a family that we can even call ourselves a gang! Rudimar calls the shots here. Rudimar is the main man here, then Rafael Cordeiro is also very important, then everybody is treated the same. Here, if you make any mistakes you are going to be punished! For real! It doesn't matter who you are, how old you are. Respect is the key. FCF: And you guys train with each other every day! Everybody trains with everybody, some real NHB training... Pele: And that's why I love to be here talking to you now! [Laughs] I was supposed to be there training with Anderson! He has great boxing! It's crazy. [Laughs] His nickname is "Jab." His jab is like a straight punch, it hurts! He's very talented. Besides, in the old days he was my opponent twice in Muay Thai matches! We fought two times, and I won both. But in one of those fights he was dominating the whole fight, giving a little show, when I knocked him down in the fourth round, and the referee opened the count, and I won. This was back in the days that he trained with Noguchi; he got his black belt from him. FCF: I didn't have the chance to watch Anderson's fight against Sakurai, but he is very impressive... Pele: I watched it during the last Pride, and in fact Sakurai was there, and he didn't even look at Anderson. Do you know what I mean? FCF: Sakurai could also have been your opponent, and there's always the talk about you fighting Frank Trigg... Pele: Yeah, I have heard a lot about this guy and about a fight between us. But I don't even know who he is. I believe it can happen. FCF: Are you a Jiu Jitsu purple belt? How is your ground training nowadays? Pele: I'm a purple belt, and I'm on my way to my brown belt. I'll get back to my Jiu Jitsu training with the gi on today or tomorrow. I want to train six months straight at least to sharpen my game. I don't even take my gi off; it gets all dirty and black. People even call me a mechanic. [laughs] One day I'll be a Jiu Jitsu black belt! I don't care if it'll take a zillion years, but I'll be a black belt one day! And I train wrestling with "He-Man" too; he brought some new techniques for us. FCF: How is your physical preparation? Pele: I train, I run, lift weights, swim, a bit of everything. FCF: Vanderlei Silva, your training partner, is going to rematch Kazushi Sakuraba in November at Pride. How do you think the fight will go this time? Pele: Vanderlei is on the right track. He is very strong; he's the top now. He will win. Where Vanderlei strikes, he knocks you down! FCF: Your master Rudimar Fedrigo has been organizing the MECA World Vale Tudo in Curitiba. You fought in the event once, easily beating "Diamante Negro." Do you still intend to fight in the event in the future? Pele: Of course! MECA is great! Whenever the master calls me, I'm in. Next year we will have a lot of MECA events, and this will give more people the chance to appear and fight. It will be great! FCF: Do you believe that Holland has the best Muay Thai in the world? Pele: I admire the Muay Thai from Thailand a lot. But with the guys we have here, I'm starting to change my point of view. Katel did great in Thailand, and he isn't even the best Muay Thai fighter that we have here, although he's a great fighter! So, I think we're getting really better. FCF: Do you still think about fighting in Muay Thai events, or K-1? Pele: K-1 is not for me, because I'm too light. I'll need a lot of years to be a heavyweight. But Muay Thai for sure. FCF: What are your projects for the future Pele? Pele: I want to make a lot of money, to support my family and provide the best things possible for my kid. That's all I think about now. In the future I want to manage athletes and help them, and also when I finish my career, I want to do movies and be an actor in the USA! I was even talking to Stephen Quadros about it, and I want him to be my manager in the movie career in the future. FCF: Do you want your son to follow your steps and become a fighter? Pele: No doubt about it! This is inevitable. He will be a champion! His purse is now at $500,000. [Laughs], He already has the size of a 14-month-old baby, and weighs like an 11-month-old! [Laughs] FCF: Any final messages for your fans worldwide, Pele? Pele: I want to tell my fans that I'm always concerned about keeping my posture as a warrior, and I hope that they will never forget me! I don't want to go through this life as another one, I want to leave something remarkable. 100 years in the future, I want people to enter the academy and see my picture, and people remember me as a warrior who fought with heart and for the fans. FCF: Thanks a lot for the interview! It was a huge pleasure! Pele: I want to send a hug and a kiss for my family! Thanks a lot, it was great! |
| Thursday - November 29, 2001 |
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From the event's promoter: JEREMY HORN TO FIGHT FOR UCC WORLD LHW CHAMPIONSHIP 
Montreal (Canada) - On January 25th, 2002 the UCC will host what will be its largest and most high profile event to date. In late October, the main event was signed between "UCC Bad Guy" Pain Peters and pro boxer Stephane Ouellet. This fight alone is guaranteed to once again sell out the Verdun Auditorium as the anticipation for this fight becomes higher with every passing day! On November 20th UCC President Stephane Patry completed the full fight card for UCC 7 thus launching the January 25th event into the history books as the most star studded combat sport event ever to hit Canadian soil.The semi-main event of the night will see the return of Montreal's Stephan Potvin. At UCC 6 Potvin stunned and silenced his critics as he totally dismantled top 10 ranked Joe Doerksen and instantly put himself on the map as a top player in this game. Potvin will battle for the UCC World LHW crown against none other than Jeremy Horn! Horn is on many peoples top-5 list and is one of the most experienced fighters in the world. Jeremy has competed with great success in the UFC, RINGS and Extreme Challenge to name a few. Now he will debut in the UNIVERSAL COMBAT CHALLENGE against Stephan Potvin with the winner going home the newly crowned UCC World LHW champion! How could an event entitled BAD BOYS go down in history without the "Pimp Daddy" being on the card? Ever since Sean Pierson captured the UCC World Lightweight title at UCC 3, fans have anxiously awaited his return in the Ring of Fury. At UCC 7, he will return to make his first defence against UFC, KOTC and Superbrawl veteran John Alessio. Alessio is well known in the fight world and has big wins over such names as Ben Earwood, J.R Palmer and Thomas Denny. He also fought Pat Miletich for the UFC World Lightweight championship. Now he will enter the Ring of Fury against one of the most feared UCC warriors and UCC World Lightweight champion Sean Pierson. Both of these young athletes are strong on the ground as well as having dangerous striking abilities and on January 25th, 2002 they will meet in the UCC to determine who will go home the champ! Also on the card: Former UCC Canadian MW champion Jason "The Matrix" St-Louis will join the list of BAD BOYS when he battles "The Secret Weapon" Joel Leblanc in a lightweight superfight. Former UCC Canadian LHW champion Jeromie Sills is hoping to get back to his winning ways when he faces UCC 3 veteran Yan Pellerin. In a LW ranking bout Ivan Menjivar will face local phenom George St-Pierre. In a SLW ranking bout UCC 4 and 6 veteran Yves "The Tiger" Jabouin will battle four time golden gloves winner Fredrick Poirier. Stephane Vigneault made his debut at UCC 5 in what ended up being the only fight of the night (due to rain) he soundly defeated kickboxer Scott Clay. At UCC 7 he will fight one of Canada's most experienced fighters and former Canadian LW champion J-F Bolduc. Also look for a HUGE announcement regarding the fighter that will face "THE CROW" David Loiseau at UCC 7!!!! Be sure to keep up on all the action on the official web site of the UNIVERSAL COMBAT CHALLENGE www.ucczone.ca |
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From UCC promoter: UCC "BAD GUY" PAIN PETERS READY TO ADMINISTER MORE PAIN! 
What is your height and weight? PAIN: I'm 5'11, 176 POUNDS What is your fighting style? PAIN: Fuck people up... What is your martial art background? PAIN: Kidokan judo What got you interested in MMA? PAIN: Fighting legally anything goes and getting paid for it Tell us about your MMA debut. PAIN: I fucked a guy (Brian Dunn) up in 23 seconds. Who was your toughest opponent so far? PAIN: Matt Hughes Which pro fighters were your biggest influence? PAIN: Tank Abbott, Matt Hughes and Vanderlei Silva are my favorites. Sakuraba, Denis Hallman and Justin Bruckmann are a big influence in my life right now. Tell us about your first three fights with the UCC. PAIN: UCC 3 was the most painful experience in my life as a fighter, nevermore is all I have to say about that fight. At UCC 4, for a fight I didn't train for I sure had a lot of fun! Redemption was mine! In UCC 6 my quest for blood has began and getting bigger. What is your motivation when stepping into the ring? PAIN: Pain, punishment, torture, blood lust, revenge and fucking people up. I will never run short on motivation, trust me! Jeff Davis was honoured to fight Stephane Ouellet at UCC 6, are you? PAIN: I don't know what the big deal is about Mr. Cheap shot. I'm not honored to fight him. What are your thoughts on your opponent for UCC 7? PAIN: I hate him. He has no respect for MMA. Do you think he would do a cheap shot like that in boxing? His cornermans were jumping up and down like he really accomplished something... I don't want to shake my opponents hand and I really enjoy watching them bleed and suffer. One thing's for sure, I want them to know it's coming, I wouldn't want to win a fight the way he beat Davis. He has no heart for MMA and I also think he did that out of fear, so, if he was afraid of Jeff Davis, let me tell you he's in allot of trouble! Stephane Ouellet was a top-10 ranked pro boxer, does that concern you? PAIN: With all his skills I wouldn't want to be the man to look across the ring at me and my sick intentions... What will be your goal when entering the ring against Ouellet? PAIN: Stupid question. Jeff Davis was his 1st opponent in MMA and I will be his last... My goal is that he feels the pain forever more! I will not say "good fight" when it's over, I will thank him for the extra 2,000 fans and keep them for me! How will you train for this fight? PAIN: I will train my hardest only to ensure I give him a real beating. I will get help from my club: karma martial arts, Kidokan judo, Wendel Alexander and Sean Pierson. I will also train with Justin Bruckmann and some Shah Franco's boys, mike kitchen, David Nicholls and team Tompkins. Anything else you want to add? PAIN: Jeff Davis spoke a lot of shit about Ouellet before his fight. That's not what I'm doing. I'm angry with his disrespect for MMA, and besides that, it's just another opportunity for me to unleash hell. |
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Sportfighting Event Canceled By Loretta Hunt In an awful turn of events today for mixed martial arts, the much-anticipated Sportfighting event, to be held on December 7, 2001, has been canceled. Sportfighting was to take place at the newly constructed RexPlex facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The show's promoter, Brian Cimins released this statement today regarding the cancellation: "We are truly sorry to inform you that due to a 'lease breach' between RexPlex and their 'landlord,' RexPlex was forced to cancel our premier Sportfighting event. The event was not listed in their 'Use of Premises Restrictive Covenant'. My apologies go out to all those who worked so hard to help me with this event, and especially the fighters and instructors who worked so hard to participate in it." An avid fan and supporter of MMA, Brian Cimins has successfully hosted grappling events and tournaments in the past including New York's Kimono Kombat and numerous Grapplers Quests in both New York and Las Vegas. This was to be his first venture into mixed martial arts, recently sanctioned in New Jersey. Speaking to Brian briefly today, he did not wish to comment on the legal issues that will undoubtedly arise from this turn of events, but instead is focusing his energies on notifying the fighters, other participants, and those that had purchased tickets. According to Brian, almost 800 tickets had sold as of this morning. Brian has asked that anyone having purchased tickets may e-mail him at Director@Grapplers.com or call 973-831-4121 to request refunds and that every ticket will be refunded. Brian is hoping to reschedule Sportfighting in the future. In the meantime, he will turn his attention to the upcoming West Coast Grapplers Quest Championships to be held on February 23, 2002 in Las Vega, Nevada. Brian will also host the Grapplers Quest-Kimono Kombat U.S. National Championships to be held on March 23rd and 24th at Marist High School in Bayonne, New Jersey. |
| Friday - November 30, 2001 |
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This week's episode of Full Contact Fighter TV will feature... Highlights of Pride 17: Championship Chaos. A review of John Lewis' new show WFA. A feature on UFC Light Heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz. Also interviews with Jens Pulver and BJ Penn on their upcoming lightweight title bout at UFC 35. The show will air tonight on the Sunshine Network at 11:00PM (Eastern time). Check with your local cable or satellite provider and your local listings. |
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