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| Friday - February 1, 2002 |
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By Eduardo Alonso The sixth edition of MECA World Vale Tudo presented an amazing night of action to the NHB fans of Curitiba! The arena was packed with 4,000 fans, with many more stuck outside missing the show because the place was already full. Most of the big Brazilian names in the NHB game were in attendance. Fighters like Wallid Ismail, Vanderlei Silva, Pele Landi, Mario Sperry, Rodrigo Minotauro, Murilo Bustamante, Ebenezer Braga, Pedro Rizzo, Murilo Ninja and even the legendary Carlson Gracie were on hand to check out the action. Pedro Rizzo and Vanderlei Silva even worked as referees for the event, and nobody left the arena until the last fight was over. The night even featured a challenge from Navalhada to Murilo Ninja, and a surprising challenge from Marcelo Giudice to Wallid Ismail! The crowd went wild -- both with the fighters outside of the ring, and with the amazing action-packed fights on the ring! Here are the results of the event! PRELIMINARY BOUT: Marcelão (Chute Boxe/PR) Defeated Paulão (Arena/PR) by judges' decision after 3 Rounds. Marcelao got the win on a judges' decision because he pressed the fight during the 3 rounds. However this was a Muay Thai war, and Paulao showed amazing technique. Marcelo won the fight with his tremendous heart more than anything else. There was blood all over the ring, and Marcelao left the fight with a very busted up face. UNDERCARD: Daniel Acácio (Formiga/RJ) defeated Zinho (Miguel Repana/SP) by tap out due to strikes in the first round. Daniel Acacio won in impressive fashion. He knocked down Zinho with the first punch of the fight. Zinho would never recover. The fight was soon over for him, after several strikes on the ground. The crowd went nuts, and Daniel got a deserved win. Luis Azeredo (Gold Team/SP) defeated Cristiano Marcello (Royler Gracie/RJ) by Ref. stoppage in the first round. This fight was amazing, a back and forth battle both standing up, and on the ground. But Azeredo's experience was a bit too much for the young Cristiano, and soon Azeredo got control on the fight striking from the top on the ground. Cristiano fought with heart and took all the punishment he could, but Pedro Rizzo decided to stop the fight near the end of the round, and this was the right decision for sure. Bicudo (Brazilian Top Team/PR) defeated Fábio Shon (Califa/GO) by verbal submission in the first round. This fight was the only disappointment of the night. The fight had a slow rhythm, and suddenly to everyone's surprise, Fabio Shon verbally quit for no apparent reason. Nilson Castro (Chute Boxe/PR) defeated Guilherme Lima(Jiu Jitsu) by knockout in the first round. The crowd went absolutely crazy for this fight! Nilson entered the ring very focused. There was some bad blood between the two fighters, because at the weigh-ins Nilson went to shake his opponent's hand, but Lima decided not to accept, instead he stared at Nilson. Huge mistake! The Chute Boxe fighter entered the ring with fire in his eyes and gave him a beating from the start, an amazing fight! Nilson kept the fight standing up, and both fighters traded a lot of strikes, but Nilson was the superior striker and KO'd Lima with knees in the first round. Nilson is ready for a bigger event for sure. Alexandre Gomes(BVT) defeated Marcelo Clemente (Royler Gracie/RJ) by judges' decision after 3 rounds. This was a close fight, with both fighters having their moments throughout the fight. Marcelo succeeded in taking Alexandre down in the third round and controlled the fight in the end, however Alexandre's stand up game in the first two rounds may have impressed the judges and they gave him the win. Gustavo Ximú (Ruas VT/RJ) defeated Jorge "Macaco" Patino (Gold Team/SP) by heel hook in the first round. This was probably the biggest fight of the night, and the crowd was on their feet for this one. Macaco had a good number of supporters there who traveled all the way from Sao Paulo to watch his fight. He started the fight exploding and looking for the takedown, and later tried to catch Ximu's back. However Ximu was very relaxed and composed on the ring, and went for a heel hook on the spot. He tried it twice, went for a knee bar, and later got the heel hook at around 3 minutes into the fight! Macaco had no choice but to tap, and Ximu got a big win that may put him on PRIDE. Jorge "Navalhada" (Carlson Gracie/RJ) Defeated "Diamante Negro" by tap out due to strikes in the first round. Navalhada controlled the fight from the start. He took "Diamante" down, and worked on a Kimura. Later he got the mount and kept on hitting Diamante. Diamante fought with his heart and resisted for a good period of minutes, but Navalhada's technique was too much for him, and he tapped out near the end of the round. After the fight Navalhada issued a challenge to Ninja, who entered the ring and said, "I accept the challenge to fight him at the next MECA, and I'm going to crush him!" Needless to say, the crowd went nuts as Ninja left the ring staring at Navalhada. Anderson Silva (Chute Boxe/PR) Defeated Jucão (Brazilian Top Team/RJ) by ref. stoppage at the first round. This was another show by Anderson Silva. He came in doing his trademarked Muay Thai and throwing his famous jabs. Soon he got a knockdown, and from there on Jucao tried hard to take him down. When Jucao finally succeed on a takedown attempt, Anderson was able to reverse him and get the mount! In amazing fashion he punished Jucao until he was practically out! Another amazing display of skills by Anderson. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT: Carlos Barreto (Rio de Janeiro) Defeated Marcelo Souza (São Paulo) by Doctor stoppage in the first round. Carlos Barreto entered the fight knowing what he needed to do to win the fight, and he did just that. With a solid game plan, he took Marcelo down early in the fight and worked on passing his guard. After a standup he took Marcelo down again and worked to get mount, where he punished his opponent with several strikes to the face. Marcelo's eye was seriously damaged and the referee stopped the fight to take a look at his eye. The doctors decided to stop the fight near the end of the first round, and Carlao is now the first ever MECA Heavyweight champion! Don't miss the February issue of FCF for a complete MECA 6 coverage! |
| Saturday - February 2, 2002 |
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Ironic Twist of Fate Leaves Champ Out of UFC 36 Title Fight FULL CONTACT FIGHTER EXCLUSIVE  Fans have waited what seems like an eternity for the Tito Ortiz vs. Vitor Belfort light-heavyweight title fight, unfortunately, we will have to wait even longer for much-anticipated battle. The match was originally scheduled for last September, but had to be postponed due to a serious injury Vitor suffered during training. Vitor had surgery to repair his triceps (torn when he accidentally smashed his elbow through a glass window at the gym). Vitor's arm began to heal and the bout was rescheduled to take place at UFC 36 in Las Vegas on March 22nd. Internet gossips immediately started to speculate what Vitor would injure next. Well, in an ironic twist of fate, Tito has suffered a debilitating knee injury during training and will not be able to fight Vitor on March 22nd. 
Although Tito wants to take the fight anyway, the severity of the injury will not allow it. There is no indication how long Tito will be side-lined, but he is definitely out of UFC 36. Although Zuffa was not immediately available for comment, it seems that the logical choice for a replacement would be FCF #4 ranked Light-heavyweight contender Chuck Liddell [pictured at right]. Stay tuned to FCF for more info as it develops.
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| Sunday - February 3, 2002 |
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From the event's promoter: will include Radnov, 'Meat Truck' 
Promoters have announced the first four fighters taking part in the mega "Return of the Heavyweights" tournament. Mike Radnov, former training partner for Ken Shamrock, and Kerry "Meat Truck" Schall are among the first fighters to commit to the three-part event that concludes with a huge 16-man tourney in Honolulu, Hawaii. Radnov and Schall will be joined by William Hill and Jason Brilz at the Extreme Challenge 46 eight-man qualifying tourney Feb. 16 in Des Moines, Iowa. The remaining fighters for the Des Moines event will be announced soon. The second qualifying event is March 16 in Orem, Utah... followed by the Honolulu finals April 25-26 at the Blaisdell Arena. "The Return of the Heavyweights is designed to give all the unknowns a chance to show what they can do in a large event," said co-promoter Monte Cox. "We've been contacted by some pretty high-level guys, but we aren't looking for fighters that have been in the UFC and Pride... we want to discover new talent... find the next stars." Cox, who promotes the Extreme Challenge, is co-producing the event with Super Brawl promoter T. Jay Thompson, who a year ago held a heavyweight event in Honolulu that included then relatively unknowns Josh Barnett, Bobby Hoffman, Ricco Rodriguez, Heath Herring, John Marsh and Travis Fulton. "We wanted to improve on the last heavyweight tourney... hard to do when six of the eight fighters ended up in UFC or Pride," Thompson said. "So, we doubled the field to 16 fighters and added the two qualifying events." The overall winner in Honolulu will receive $10,000 and a golden opportunity to be seen by all the major promotions in the sport. 
"Return of the Heavyweights" is being presented by Full Contact Fighter and will be shown on Full Contact Fighter TV.Extreme Challenge 46 will be held at the 7 Flags Event Center in Clive, Iowa. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster outlets. Also scheduled is a single welterweight bout between unbeaten Jason Black [pictured] and James "Mad Dog" Meals. The heavyweights... Mike Radnov 6-1, 260, Dallas, Texas MMA record: 5-2 Strengths: Submission wrestling Kerry Schall 6-3, 270, Cincinnati, Ohio MMA record: 11-3 Strengths: Wrestling, jiu-jitsu William Hill 6-2, 240, Aurora, Ill. MMA record: 0-0 Strengths: Boxing Jason Brilz 6-0, 230, Omaha, Neb. MMA record: 6-1 Strengths: Wrestling, jiu-jitsu |
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From the event's promoter: Submission Grappling Championship The Grapplers Quest West Coast Submission Grappling Championship is heating up for February 23rd's Las Vegas showdown. Some of the best submission grapplers from around the world unite to determine who is the best on the ground! We have received registrations from 278 competitors from 37 different academies. We are expecting the competitor turnout to reach 500 competitors and more than 50 teams from all over the United States!!! Grapplers Quest - Las Vegas West Coast Submission Grappling Championships Saturday, February 23rd, 2002 Durango High School 7100 West Dewey Drive Las Vegas, NV Pre-Register Online Today at: http://www.grapplers.com/store/midscreen.cfm |
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From RITC Writer/Statistician John Petrilli: By a razor thin margin, RITC 33 outdrew ESPN Championship Boxing (Jirov vs Castro) that was held the prior night at the same venue, Celebrity Theatre, in Phoenix, Arizona. The high energy show was one of the best RITC events ever, and nearly topped our all-time attendance record of 2,208 that we had last January for RITC 24. Adam Durant, a talented college wrestler, won his match with an impressive 34 second choke out victory over the #4 ranked RITC Lightweight. This win earned Fighter of the Night honors for Adam. Other candidates for this honor were Phil Lyons, Brad Pole, Rich Moss, Kenneth Alexander, Wayland Berry, Joseph Riggs and Edwin Dewees. Marcus "Conan" Silveira, BJJ specialist and veteran on UFC, WEF and EF, was in attendance for RITC 33. Props to Team Bad Boy USA from San Diego for posting a 2 - 0 record against top competition. Results: Phil Lyons (182 lbs), AZ Fight Club defeated by ref stoppage (strikes), :53 Rd 2 Donny Deutsch (175 lbs), Way of Kempo Brad Pole (150 lbs), Team Bad Boy USA (San Diego) defeated by decision (2 - 1) Farrell Frisby (154 lbs), Brausa Academy Adam Durant, College Wrestler Defeated by submission (choke), :34 Rd 1 Nathan Bulitta (154 lbs), Brausa II Academy Albert Lucerno (273 lbs), Asher Combat Academy defeated by TKO, 2:02 Rd 1 Charles LeBlanc (274 lbs), Freestyle NHB Rich Moss (182 lbs), Brausa Academy defeated by submission (arm bar), 1:43 Rd 1 Shane Schertzer (184 lbs), DeLuca Combat Academy (NM) Brian Pardoe (203 lbs), Brausa Academy defeated by decision (2 - 0 - 1) Pat Larson (206 lbs), Brausa II Academy Ted Opalinski (202 lbs), Brausa Academy defeated by decision (3 - 0) Austin Fox (194 lbs), AZ Fight Club Kenneth Alexander (167 lbs), Team Bad Boy USA (San Diego) defeated by ref stoppage, 2:06 Rd 2 Joe Cronin (159 lbs), AZ Fight Club Justin Lyon (375 lbs), Savage Te Dawg Pound defeated by submission (strikes), :42 Rd 1 Micah Barbea (284 lbs), Mixed Martial Arts Wayland Berry (250 lbs), Brausa Academy defeated by medical stoppage, 1:57 Rd 1 Jed Hunt ( 316 lbs ), College Football Player Joseph Riggs (235 lbs), Wrestler/Boxer, Team USA defeated by submission ( strikes ), 2:00 Rd 1 Joey Vigueria ( 239 lbs ), Jiu-Jitsu Main Event Edwin Dewees (201 lbs), Brausa Academy defeated by submission (arm bar), 1:05 Rd 1 Brad Reynolds (199 lbs), Warrior's Spirit Fighting Team Next Event: RITC 34 Xtreme Sports Fighting Friday March 15, 2002 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 - February 4, 2002 |
FCF TV is on TSN tonight at 8:30PM EST! |
| Tuesday - February 5, 2002 |
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By Eduardo Alonso With the sudden and unfortunate injury that Tito Ortiz suffered this week, the main event of UFC 36 between Belfort and Ortiz is once again at least postponed, and the fans were left wondering who "The Phenom" would face in his return in the Octagon. Chuck Liddell's name came up as a possibility. Vitor was rumored to not want to fight in the next UFC, but he assured us this afternoon that this is not the case, and instead he wants to face Randy Couture! "Right now we're negotiating, but I want to face Randy Couture for the Title," said the Brazilian Phenom. "It's not that I don't want to fight, I want to! And since I can't face Tito, I want to face Couture. He is the one that I want to fight against now." Belfort is still training hard and waiting to know what the UFC will decide, but "The Phenom" is really determined. Will we see one of the most awaited rematches of NHB? Only the UFC can tell. |
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Because of Tito's injury Vitor Belfort was offered Chuck Liddell as an opponent at the same amount of money. Vitor missed multiple deadlines to accept Chuck as an opponent so we had to move on. It does not make any sense for Vitor to fight Randy Couture because they already fought and Randy won convincingly. Vitor is not a heavyweight fighter. We believe he can be a force in the light heavyweight division and we look forward to having him compete in that division in the future. Dana White |
Zuffa has scrambled to fill the void left by the loss of the Light-heavyweight title fight, and at the present time, it looks like Josh Barnett will face off against Randy Couture at UFC 36 on March 22nd in a bid to take Couture's Heavyweight title and belt. Stay tuned to FCF for the latest updates as they happen. |
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Vitor Belfort is Everywhere! By Eduardo Alonso Vitor Belfort has been everywhere over the last couple of months. "The Phenom" could be seen as a guest in numerous talk shows on Brazilian Networks, debating the most diverse issues, from the violence on the streets to the media image of a fighter. Besides his abilities as a fighter, Vitor also shown his newfound abilities as a cook on a Brazilian TV show, teaching the spectators how to make a nice, healthy meal. If all that was not enough, he could also be seen at boxer Acelino Freitas' corner in his match against Joel Casamayor in Las Vegas. 
From cooking on TV shows, to boxing match appearances, Vitor Belfort is truly everywhere! But probably the most important happening in "The Phenom's" life outside of the ring was an appearance on Brazil's most popular soap opera, "The Clone", playing the character of Vitor Belfort himself! "It was very interesting and I was very honored. This is an amazing honor for an athlete, to play himself on a national TV soap opera," Vitor said in describing his TV soap experience. His participation on the drama is not over and his character will return later in the plot. [This item was written just before the news of Tito's injury broke] But with probably the most important fight of his life coming in the month of March, fighting against UFC champion Tito Ortiz, one could be worried about Belfort's training for the fight, with all those media appearances. But "The Phenom" remains as focused as ever, and he knows his training must come first and foremost. "There's a time for everything," assured Belfort. "I can't do all those media appearances now. Right now it's time to train and the main thing now is the fight! So if anyone wants to film anything or do any article, right now I'm only talking about the fight. After Tito I'll do any TV shows or things like that, it will be a pleasure. But now, it's all about the fight"
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From Josh Hedges of Zuffa/UFC: ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP TO AIR WEEKLY SHOW ON SKY SPORTS IN U.K., IRELAND STARTING FEB. 7 LAS VEGAS, February 5, 2002...Officials of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today announced it has signed an exclusive television distribution agreement with British Sky Broadcasting (BskyB), Great Britain's leading sports television channel, to air "Ultimate Fighting Championship," a one-hour fight show, for 23 consecutive weeks at 11 p.m., every Thursday starting February 7, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The agreement represents a landmark for the UFC's international distribution strategy. For millions of British and Irish sports fans, it represents the opportunity to watch the world's best mixed martial arts fighters. "Ultimate Fighting Championship" will feature videotaped championship fights and top matches in each of the UFC's five weight divisions and will bring U.K and Irish fight fans an insiders view into mixed martial arts with personal interviews with its top stars. The host will be UFC announcer Mike Goldberg. The series will include championship bouts and matches featuring UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, Light Heavyweight Champ Tito Ortiz, Middleweight Champ Murilo Bustamante, Welterweight Champ Matt Hughes, Lightweight Champ Jens Pulver and top contenders Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Pat Miletich, BJ Penn, Chuck Liddell and many others. "Today starts a new era in our history and is recognition of our development in the past year," said Dana F. White, UFC president. "This agreement with Sky will increase the international growth of our sport. The United Kingdom and Ireland have some of the world's most knowledgeable fight fans. We look forward to entertaining them each week." In the U.S., UFC events are available to over 50 million pay-per-view television subscribers. UFC: Ultimate Knockouts, a one-hour show featuring the best knockouts in its history, will premiere at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST, Saturday, Feb. 9 on iN DEMAND, DirecTV, The Dish Network, Bell ExpressVu and Viewers Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $9.95. A free re-play will begin immediately after the premiere on all cable systems. Other re-play schedules include: iN DEMAND, Channel iN1, Feb. 9/Feb. 10, 10 p.m. PST/1 a.m. EST; Feb. 12, 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST and 11 p.m. EST/8 p.m. PST; Channel iN2, Feb. 10, 4:30 p.m. EST/1:30 p.m. PST and Feb. 18, 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST. On DirecTV's Channel 195, the re-play schedule includes all-day tickets on Feb. 10, Feb. 12, Feb. 13, Feb. 18, Feb. 21, Feb. 22 and Feb. 26. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the leading mixed martial arts fighting organization in the world. It is owned and operated by Zuffa LLC, which is headquarterd in Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Wednesday - February 6, 2002 |
From Josh Hedges of Zuffa/UFC: ORTIZ INJURED; COUTURE TO MEET BARNETT FOR HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE AT UFC: WORLDS COLLIDE, MARCH 22, AT MGM GRAND Belfort Fight Off; Light Heavyweight Champ Suffers Torn Knee Ligament in Training LAS VEGAS, February 6, 2002...Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz of Huntington Beach, Calif., suffered a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last week in training and will not defend his title March 22 against top contender Vitor Belfort of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at UFC: Worlds Collide at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Ortiz will undergo surgery in Los Angeles to repair the ligament damage and is expected to make a full recovery. Belfort will not be fighting on the card. He was given the option to fight another opponent, but allowed the deadline to expire before making a decision. The Ortiz-Belfort fight will be re-scheduled. The UFC today announced that Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture of Gresham, Ore., who is undefeated in the Octagon, will meet top contender Josh Barnett (25-1-0) of Seattle, Wash., for the heavyweight crown as the new main event of the March 22 fight card. In the co-feature, Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes (25-3-0) of Hillsboro, Ill., will defend his belt for the first time against top-ranked Japanese legend Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (15-1-2) of Ibaraki, Japan. Tickets, $300, $200, $100, $60 and $30, are available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office, at all Ticket Master outlets, by calling 702-474-4000, or at www.Ticketmaster.com. UFC: Worlds Collide also will be available at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, Dish Network, Bell EspressVu and Viewers Choice Canada pay-per-view. The suggested retail price is $29.95. "Tito was practicing takedown moves when he felt a pop and a sharp pain in his knee. He went to his doctor immediately and the ligament damage was diagnosed. He is expected to fully recover after surgery and rest. We are very excited about the Couture-Barnett fight. Josh has definitely earned this opportunity," said UFC President Dana White. The Couture-Barnett title fight has been much anticipated by UFC fans. It will be the "Battle of Seattle" in Las Vegas because Couture is a native of Everett, Wash. and Barnett is a native of Seattle, Wash. Couture, "The Natural," has held the heavyweight title longer than any of the other former champs. He has defended his belt twice against Pedro Rizzo of Rio de Janeiro, most recently Nov. 2 at the MGM Grand. Barnett, the "Baby Faced Assassin," is the heir apparent coming off of two straight submission victories in the Octagon. In his last fight, Nov. 2 at the MGM Grand, he defeated Bobby Hoffman by submission with a flurry of punches. Hughes won the welterweight title Nov. 2 with a stunning knockout of champion Carlos Newton, who attempted to end the fight with a triangle choke. Hughes scooped him off the ground and slammed him to the mat. Sakurai is recognized as one of the greatest fighters ever. He has defeated UFC veterans Caol Uno, Jutaro Nakao and Marcelo Aguiar as well as wrestling standout Frank Trigg and jiu-jitsu world champion Haroldo Bunn. Fans have long-awaited his appearance in the Octagon. Fighters from Japan, Belarus, Australia, Brazil and the U.S. will collide in the eight-fight card. Other fights include: two heavyweight bouts featuring Rizzo (10-3-0) against Andrei Arlovski (5-2-0) of Minsk, Belarus, and UFC veteran Pete Williams (8-4-0) of San Diego, Calif. taking on new UFC fan favorite Frank Mir (3-0-0) of Las Vegas. In light heavyweight action, Evan Tanner (6-1-0) of Gresham, Ore., will meet Elvis Sinosic (4-4-1) of Sydney, Australia; in a middleweight bout, former UFC champ Pat Miletich (26-4-2) of Bettendorf, Iowa, will tangle with U.S. Olympic silver medal wrestling champ Matt Lindland (6-0-0) of Eagle Creek, Ore.; in the welterweight division, Sean Sherk (19-0-1) of Brooklyn Park, Minn., will fight Nakao (12-7-2) from Tokyo, Japan, and in lightweight action, Din Thomas (16-2-0) of Orlando, Fla., will meet Matt Serra (9-1-0) of Long Island, N.Y. |
From the event's promoter:
Saturday, February 9, 2002 5:00PM Soboba Casino San Jacinto, California Hosted by Eddie Bravo and Don "The Dragon" Wilson, "King of the Cage" attacks with a FURY! See 12 total matches including hard-hitting 350-pound Dan Bobish versus 340-pound wrecking machine, "Big" Eric Pele, as both giants battle it out for the vacant KOTC Heavyweight Championship Belt. See Jiu-Jitsu superstar Dean Lister versus stud fighter Jacen Flynn in the long awaited rematch from KOTC "Wet n' Wild." There's also the "little giants" as Charlie Valencia takes on David Velasques for the newly formed KOTC Featherweight Championship Belt. "King of the Cage" World Featherweight Championship Match Charlie Valencia vs. David Velasques Dean Lister vs. Jacen Flynn Jason Lambert vs. Jason Jones Mike Bourke vs. Aaron Brink John Chrisostomo vs. Fernando Vasconcelos Naassor Lewis vs. John alessio Plus 5 more matches! Get your tickets now! For ticket info call the Soboba Casino at 909-654-2883. |
Be sure to check out the HUGE $avings on King of the Cage video & DVD packages 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 |
| Thursday - February 7, 2002 |
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From the event's promoter: **1 Match Added** Hawaii's David "Kawika" Pa'aluhi will take on Pride Veteran and IFC Lightweight Champion Bobby Southworth.Warriors Quest are very excited in starting this year with a real BLAST! |
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Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii February 2, 2002 By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com 
This event started off a little more interesting for me than usual because I had just flew in from Guam, where I spent a week working (at my real job) and came to the arena straight from the airport. I quickly rushed into a telephone booth, where I tore open my formal button shirt and changed into my Full Contact Fighter uniform right before I went into the arena. Alright, I actually changed shirts in the parking lot of the arena, but that sounded a lot more exciting than reality. There are a lot of submission grappling tournaments to help build MMA fighters' ground game, but there were not any venues for the MMA competitor to gain experience with their stand up skills, so the AFC was born. The AFC is the brainchild of Jesus Is Lord's Ray "Bradda" Cooper. From speaking with Ray and his partner and wife, Monica, they have been wanting to put on an event like this for a long time. The AFC is basically a modified Toughman contest. The modification being the addition of one takedown per round. Everything else is basically the same as the Toughman; 3 - 1 minute rounds with a 1minute rest, 16 ounce gloves and boxing headgear. The takedown added an interesting dynamic to primarily a Toughman competition. It allowed fighters who got stunned or were in trouble to take their opponent to the ground and hopefully get a chance to shake the cobwebs. As the name states, this is an amateur competition so there was a mix of competitor's experience and cardiovascular conditioning. There were a few bouts that slowed down because of the fighter's conditioning, however there were a surprising number of matches that went the distance with both fighters throwing everything they had INCLUDING the kitchen sink. There were two 8-man single elimination tournaments. One 200lbs and over tournament and one under 200lbs tournament. The winners of each tournament could choose either a $1,000 cash prize and not be invited back to defend their title or they could choose to receive a $1,000 Home Depot gift certificate and be invited to defend their title in the next event. This was definitely an interesting choice of awards for the champions. The crowd enjoyed the big and wide punches. Some punches being thrown from New Jersey. The crowd that attended seemed to love the hard hitting action and I would not be surprised if the crowds got larger and larger for the next events because Hawaiian fans love two fighters "dukin' it out." After the event, both Ray Cooper and Bozo Paling (whose brother fought, as well as some fighters that he trained) said that they much rather be in the ring than on the outside of it.
Under 200lbs 8-man Tournament:Shaft Rideros (Haleiwa) def. Donald Calaruda (Waianae) Decision after 3 rounds. Over 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Jack Tapeni (Waianae) def. Richard Garcia (Waianae) Knock out at 39 seconds in round 1. Under 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Bo Tompson (Kapolei) def. Eddy Ohia (Waimanalo) Decision after 3 rounds. Over 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Jamison Ah Quin (Hilo) def. Sean Donahue (Honolulu) Referee stoppage (fighter not adequately protecting himself.) at 29 seconds of round 2. Under 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Clyde Paling (Ka'aawa) def. Daniel Lopez (Honolulu) Decision after 3 rounds. Over 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Vai Togia (Waianae) def. Ben Cordero (Honolulu) Decision after 3 rounds. Under 200lbs 8-man Tournament: John Kukahiko (Kailua) def. Bam Bam Kaalakamanu (Ewa Beach) Decision after 3 rounds. Over 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Ross Hose (Waianae) def. Dante Brown (Honolulu) Knock out at 11 seconds in round 2. Semi-Finals: Under 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Shaft Rideros (Haleiwa) def. Clyde Paling (Ka'aawa) Decision after 3 rounds. Over 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Vai Togia (Waianae) def. Jack Tapeni (Waianae) Referee stoppage (fighter did not want to fight) at 49 seconds in round 2. Under 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Bo Tompson (Kapolei) def. John Kukahiko (Kailua) Referee stoppage at 56 seconds in round 2. Over 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Jamison Ah Quin (Hilo) def. Ross Hose (Waianae) Decision after 3 rounds. Finals: Under 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Shaft Rideros (Haleiwa) def. Bo Tompson (Kapolei) Decision after 3 rounds. Over 200lbs 8-man Tournament: Vai Togia (Waianae) def. Jamison Ah Quin (Hilo) Referee stoppage (apparent broken nose) at 26 seconds in round 1. |
| Sunday - February 10, 2002 |
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Held February 9, 2002 Soboba Casino - San Jacinto, California By Aaron Crecy 
Adam Lynn def. Brian Warren by judges' decision Fight Two Randy Velarde def. Tom Kenney by submission (tapped to arm bar), 3:15 R1 
Fight ThreeThomas Denny def. Ray Perales by submission (arm bar) 2:31 R1 Fight Four Phillip Miller def. John Hosegood by KO, 3:43 R1 Fight Five Joe Stevenson def. Jerry Gummo by submission (rear-naked choke), 1:05 R1 Fight Six John Alessio def. Nassor Lewis by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:07 R1 Fight Seven Fernando Vasconcelos def. John Crisostomo by TKO (strikes), 3:00 R1 Fight Eight Jason Lambert def. Jason Jones by TKO (strikes) 1:17 R2 Fight Nine Dean Lister def. Jacen Flynn by submission (Kimura), 4:28 R2 Fight 10: KOTC Featherweight Championship Match Charlie Valencia def. Dave Velasquez by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:43 R1 Fight 11: Heavyweight Championship Match Dan Bobish def. Eric Pele by submission (corner threw in towel), 1:10 R2 |
From the event's promoter:  Egan Inoue to defend Title in Hawaii Challenger Marcos De Silva is "Deadly"! Saturday night, March 9, the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii will rock as hometown favorite Egan Inoue and Brazilian submission specialist Marco De Silva battle for the coveted Super Brawl middleweight Championship belt. This will be Inoue's toughest test to date. In his last appearance in Super Brawl, De Silva choked Hawaiian fighter, Ronald "The Machine Gun" Jhun unconscious in less than 3 minutes! "Marcos is big and strong. His submissions are deadly! These are truly two of the elite fighters in the world at this weight. This has the ear markings of an epic battle!" T.Jay Thompson, Promoter. Inoue's record is unblemished in the 185lb class. He has retained a Super Brawl title belt for over 3 years. One, in the old heavyweight class (over 200lbs) by beating Marcelo Tiger in a controversial match in 1999. And most recently, he obtained the Super Brawl middleweight title by beating #10 World ranked Joe Doerksen in Super Brawl 22. "I really enjoy fighting in Hawaii. It means a lot to me to have the hometown fans behind me." When asked about how he thought the fight would go, Inoue responded, "This guy is no joke. I was there when he beat Ronald. I don't plan on suffering the same fate!" De Silva, grew up in the mean streets of Fortunado, Brazil. He is a multiple Jiu-Jitsu black belt champion and speaks little English, letting his fighting do the talking for him. "I respect Egan Inoue, but I will defeat him like the others." Tickets are on sale at the Blaisdell Center box office, all tickets plus outlets or online at http://www.ticketplushawaii.com/ Contact: T.Jay Thompson tj@superbrawl.tv (808) 524-6062 |
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From the event's promoter: Two Additional Match-Ups Announced Tom Erikson vs. Tim Catalfo Wallid Ismail vs. Alex Steibling Previously announced match-ups: Ken Shamrock vs. Don Frye Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Enson Inoue Wanderlei Silva vs. Kiyoshi Tamura Heath Herring vs. Igor Vovchanchyn Carlos Newton vs. Pele Daijiro Matsui vs. Rodrigo Gracie Event Information: DATE: February 24th, 2002 GATE OPEN 2:00 PM FIGHT START 4:00 PM PLACE: Saitama Super-Arena (Omiya, Saitama-Pref., Japan) Pay-Per-View; SkyPerfecTV (JAPAN, Feb. 24th Live PPV) DIRECTV, DishNetwork, TVN, Bell Express Vu (Feb. 24th same day PPV) Viewer's Choice Canada (Tape Delay PPV) |
| Monday - February 11, 2002 |
FCF TV is on TSN tonight at 10:00PM EST & tomorrow night on MSG at 11:30PM EST |
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From the event's promoter: March 29, 2002 Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii Tickets on Sale Now! Get it at the Blaisdell Box Office or any Tickets Plus Locations or Charge by Phone at 808-526-4400. Advance General Admission $25.00, on the event Day $28.00, Ringside $45.00. |
| Tuesday - February 12, 2002 |
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From the event's promoter: 'Return of the Heavyweights' Four more tournament fighters for Extreme Challenge 46: Return of the Heavyweights have been announced by promoter Monte Cox. Ben Rothwell and Ron Faircloth of Wisconsin, Jarvis Weiss of Minnesota and Seth Peters of Missouri will take part in the 8-man tourney scheduled for Feb. 16 at the 7 Flags Event Center in Clive, Iowa. Tickets for the event are on sale at TicketMaster, order by phone at (515) 243-1888. Rothwell is a solid puncher from the Dave Strasser camp and boasts a 9-1 record, losing only a decision to undefeated Tim Sylvia; Faircloth is an aggressive striker, also from the Strasser camp; Weiss is a muscular wrestling coach trained by UFC veteran Brad Kohler; and Peters is a wrestler with striking skills. In an alternate match, Johnathan Ivey of Tennessee will face Russ Speers of Minnesota. "I think the second set of fighters gives us a very balanced event," Cox said. "As I said before, we were looking for young, unknown talent... not names that everybody would recognize. We're hoping to find a star out of this group." The winner and runnerup in EC 46 will earn a berth in the mega 16-man heavyweight tourney in Honolulu, Hawaii, on April 25-26. The winner of that event will pocket $10,000. Jason Brilz, who was previously announced, has withdrawn from the event due to an injury. A replacement is currently being sought. The newest tournament fighters... Ben Rothwell 6-5, 250, Kenosha, Wis. MMA record: 9-1 Strengths: Striking Ron Faircloth 5-10, 230, Madison, Wis. MMA record: 5-2 Strengths: Striking Jarvis Weiss 6-3, 270, Minneapolis, Minn. MMA record: 2-0 Strengths: Wrestling, power Seth Peters 6-1, 240, Cape Girard, Mo. MMA record: 1-1-1 Strengths: Wrestling, striking Fighters previously announced... Mike Radnov 6-1, 260, Dallas, Texas MMA record: 5-2 Strengths: Submission wrestling Kerry Schall 6-3, 270, Cincinnati, Ohio MMA record: 11-3 Strengths: Wrestling, jiu-jitsu William Hill 6-2, 240, Aurora, Ill. MMA record: 0-0 Strengths: Boxing |
| Wednesday - February 13, 2002 |
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From the event's promoter: Lineup Announced
Alt: Johnathan Ivey vs. Russ Speers Feature: Jason Black (15-0-1) vs. James Meals (9-7) |
 DVD & VHS video tapes coming soon! Pre-order now Be sure to check out the HUGE $avings on Pride video & DVD packages 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: By Keith Mills Held February 9, 2002 War Memorial Stadium Ft Lauderdale, FL 
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| Thursday - February 14, 2002 Happy VD |
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Anderson Silva and Rafael Cordeiro By Eduardo Alonso Many now consider Anderson Silva one of the top ranked fighters in his weight division, and he earned these accolades after being the first man to defeat Japanese hero Hayato Sakurai in NHB. After this impressive win Anderson was approached by both the UFC and PRIDE to fight in their events, but after a lot of talk he ended up fighting at MECA in Brazil, and little is sure about what's next for him. Rafael Cordeiro is, along with Rudimar Fedrigo, one of those responsible for the hard training that has been making the Chute Boxe team achieve a lot of success all over the world. But besides being a coach, Rafael is still a fighter and the chance of his return to the ring is increasing month after month. FCF had the opportunity to catch up with Anderson Silva and Rafael Cordeiro for a quick talk regarding both fighters' futures! 
FCF: Rafael, you are one of the main people responsible for Anderson's training. A lot of people were shocked when he beat Hayato Sakurai in Japan, but for you this was expected. What can we expect from him in the future?Rafael: I believe Anderson never had the physical and technical condition that he has now. And his dream is to fight at K-1! So what we plan for Anderson is that at least in two years from now he will be fighting at K-1. FCF: So that's why he is doing some work to gain weight... Rafael: And that's why we want this time to prepare him for K-1. So he can gain weight, and fighting NHB in mean time. If he is weighing 81kg, he will fight NHB in the 81kg division; if in the next event he is weighing 84kg, he will fight in the 86kg division, and from there on until he reaches around 94, 95kg. I believe that for Anderson 95kg is the ideal weight to fight in K-1. So for this year we will work with Anderson looking for PRIDE and K-1. 
FCF: Anderson, at MECA 6 you showed up weighing a bit more than you usually weigh for your fights. I understand that you have been working to gain weight recently. Do you believe that this is helping your game even more?Anderson: I believe so. I think it's always important for the athlete to develop the physical part too, especially in my case, because I'm an athlete that is looking forward to be fighting for K-1. My main objective is to fight in K-1. So I'm training hard for it. I'm training a lot of Muay Thai. I'm training as much Muay Thai as I can. I'm training a lot of Jiu-Jitsu too, but I'm emphasizing more on my Muay Thai, because my main objective as a fighter is to maybe finish my career as an undefeated K-1 champion! FCF: You spent a good amount of time waiting to know if you were going to fight for the UFC or for PRIDE. Did this situation hinder your training in any way? Anderson: No, I kept my dedication as always. I believe it didn't hinder my training at all. My training stayed the same as usual, even because I don't have the pretension of fighting so soon in the bigger events. So I'm working to gain weight, and when the time comes for me to fight at PRIDE, I'll fight! I believe that I have already been showing my work, my value. I believe that when the right time comes for me to fight at PRIDE people will call me. Meanwhile I keep training hard with the guys here, and I'll look to develop my technique even more. FCF: Talking about training hard, you are always training hard with all the guys from the Chute Boxe team. When are we going to see you back in the ring fighting Rafael? Rafael: I gained some weight now. I'm weighing 82kg, and I'm looking to fight again this year! Everybody on the team asks for it! Vanderlei is always asking me to fight again and stuff like that, so I'm going to fight again for the guys. Because I know that they are willing to see me fighting again. So you are going to hear my name a lot this year for sure. FCF: Thanks a lot for your time. Anderson: Thank you. Rafael: It's always a pleasure. |
The latest FCF contest winner, Jason Weaver from Vancouver, WA - USA, supplied the following caption for the picture above...It's all I can do to not look at that stupid mohawk!Harry wins a long-sleeve NHB shirt and FCF beanie hat. Here are some other interesting captions that were submitted...
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From Koichi "Booker K" Kawasaki: DSE/Pride has announced the fight order of Pride.19 / Pride Fighting Championships "Bad Blood" (February 24th) and "The Best"(February 22nd) as follows. Pride.19 / Pride Fighting Championships "Bad Blood" Date: February 24th, 2002 Open: 14:00 Start 16:00 Place: Saitama Super Arena (Saitama-Pref , Japan) 1st Match Tom "Big Cat" Erikson vs. Tim "Obake" Catalfo 2nd Match Wallid Ismail vs. Alex Stiebling 3rd Match Daijiro Matsui vs. Rodrigo "Highlander" Gracie 4th Match Carlos Newton vs. Pele 5th Match Heath Herring vs. Igor Vovchanchyn 6th Match Don Frye vs. Ken Shamrock 7th Match Enson Inoue vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 8th Match *Pride Middle Weight Title Match Wanderlei Silva vs. Kiyoshi Tamura The Best Date: February 22nd, 2002 Open: 18:00 Start 19:00 Place: Korakuen Hall (Tokyo , Japan) 1st Match Souichi Nishida vs. Giant Ochiai 2nd Match Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Anthony Macias 3rd Match Mammoth Sasaki vs. Kim Jong Wang 4th Match Daijyu Takase vs. Johil De Oliveira 5th Match Koh Soukun vs. Amir 6th Match Yusuke Imamura vs. Joe Son |
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From the event's promoter: Card Announced! Indiana's MMA company steps up with a packed card for March 9th, in Evansville Indiana's Memorial Coliseum. "This is SHOOTO." starts HnS promoter Jeff Osborne. "We are glad to open 2002 with a bang, we think we are putting together a great card for HOOKnSHOOT OVERDRIVE. I know we say 'This is our best show ever' a lot, but I think it is a sign that we are doing something consistent" continues Osborne. "The April 13th ladies show has commanded a lot of attention, and that will be a lot of fun, but this March 9th show will hopefully set the tone for the rest of the year." Osborne states. "We will have a lot more details in the days to come, but we wanted to release the lineup now." "We want to thank the SHOOTO Commission in Japan and their people here in the USA - I think we are beginning to grow this 'union' as well." Osborne elaborates after stating that all the matches on the card would be OFFICIAL SHOOTO, sanctioned by the SC in Japan. This is a first in the US, something Osborne describes as "another HnS milestone and a feather in our underdog cap". "Of course, this is subject to change, we hope we won't have to, but with what we have seen this year..." concludes Osborne. MAIN CARD - OFFICIAL SHOOTO: 2 RD: B CLASS (185 lbs): Jim DeSouza (Massachusetts Submission Academy, Amherst, MA) v. Angelo Popofski (Caique JJ, Detroit, MI.) 2 RD: B CLASS (155 lbs): Hermes Franca (Silveira Brothers, Fortaleza, Brazil) v. Mike Willus (Pittsburgh TOP, Pittsburgh, PA.) 2 RD: B CLASS (135 lbs): Matee Jedeetipak (Integrated Fighting, Indianapolis, IN.) v. Dan "Pennsylvania Hit Man" Swift (Kyle Saunders BJJ, Erie, PA.) 2 RD: B CLASS (185 lbs): Manuel Garcia (Independente, Asturias, Spain) v. Jason Rigsby (Ottawa Nautilus, Ottawa, IL.) 2 RD: B CLASS (265 lbs): Roger Neff (Team Idaho, Couer D'lane, ID.) v. Alexandro Aspas (Academia SHOOT, Valencia, Spain) 3 RD: A CLASS (170 lbs): Alexandre Barros (Ruas Vale Tudo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) v. CJ Fernandes (PRO GYM, Belleville, IL.) 3 RD: A CLASS (185 lbs): Chris Brown (Melbourne, Australia) v. Moacir "Boca" De Oliveira (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 3 RD: A CLASS (205 lbs): Dustin Denes (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Orlando, FL.) v. Dan "The Wolfman" Theodore (Self Focus Dojo, Lansing, MI.) 3 RD: A CLASS (215 lbs): Rogerio "Minotoro" Noguiera (Brazilian TOP TEAM, Bahia, Brazil - pictured below in red t-shirt) v. Jim Theobold (TEAM ROJAS, Chicago, IL.) 
3 RD: A CLASS / HnS NONTITLE MATCH (135 lbs): Hudson Rocha (TOP TEAM, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) v. (Champion) Ichaku Murata (HnS, Osaka, Japan) 3 RD: A CLASS / HOOKnSHOOT TITLE MATCH (185 lbs): (Challenger) Ivan Salaverry (AMC Pankration, Seattle, WA.) v. (Champion) John Renken (EXTREME CF, Ft Campbell, KY.) Interested in Tickets? E-mail hooknshoot@aol.com immediately! |
| Friday - February 15, 2002 |
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Wallid is coming to Japan! By Eduardo Alonso 
Wallid Ismail is without a doubt one of the most controversial and charismatic fighters in the NHB game. Winning or losing Ismail is always producing epic rivalries and entertaining fights for the audience, and now he is about to face his toughest challenge in recent years: a face-off with IVC champion Alex Stiebling. Wallid left for Japan on Thursday, February 14th, but he managed to speak with FCF in the cab on the way to the airport, as FCF heats up for PRIDE 19!FCF: Wallid, a good amount of time has passed after your win over Shungo Oyama at PRIDE 15, and now you're finally going to fight at PRIDE again. Have you been anxious to fight again during this layoff? Wallid: Look, what happened is that I had closed a deal to fight against Daijiro Matsui in December. But I don't know what happened, if Matsui didn't want to take the fight or what, but with around 10 days left for the fight, the fight was unfortunately cancelled. So I kept training for this fight in February, and I'm tranquil. I'm here for whatever may come. FCF: But does this layoff increase your will to fight? Wallid: Without a doubt! I'm eager to fight! FCF: Your opponent will be Alex Stiebling, who won the recent 16-man IVC tournament and also made his debut in PRIDE defeating Allan Goes. What do you know about your opponent? Wallid: Man, he is very good! He is a young kid that has been standing out. In the last 3 months he beat five Brazilians, so it's going to be a tough fight. But I'm ready. I'm ready for the war! FCF: Did you watch his fight against Goes? What did you think of that fight? Wallid: I watched it. The worst thing that exists is for you to analyze another fighter's fight. I find it ridiculous when people do that. It has already happened with me when I happened to lose, or when other fighters lose... some guys that aren't fighting start to say things like, "Gee, he didn't do that, he should've done that, etc." I believe to say these kinds of things is to act like a fool! Because a real fighter doesn't need to keep commenting on the other fighter's fights. I believe that only those who don't really fight comment on this kind of stuff. I don't think that is right for a real fighter to keep commenting on stuff like, "he made a mistake there, and he made another mistake there," because anything can happen inside the ring. I believe that those who criticize the fighters are a bunch of fools! Because anyone that enters the ring to fight is already a warrior in my book. FCF: Well, to lose you've got to enter the ring first... Wallid: Exactly! Like something that always bothered me a lot; some members of the Gracie family would never fight. Like Rickson and some others, but he would always talk about the guys that were fighting a lot! When the guy that was fighting a lot would lose, they would badmouth the guy! "He should've done that, or he shouldn't have done that," I think this is a dull thing. It's easy for you not to fight and keep analyzing the fights of those who fight. This is the role of a fool! Who must analyze the fights are those who are paid to analyze fights. A fighter that wants to be an analyst must get in there to brawl! FCF: You have focused a lot on your standing up training, and also on your wrestling training lately. Do you feel more comfortable to trading nowadays? Wallid: A lot more! I'm fine man. Let's see what will happen in this fight. I trained a lot for this fight, and I'm coming to Japan a lot earlier than usual. Because in the two fights that I lost, my condition was always a factor. You can see that I never lacked in guts or will, and the few times that I happened to suffer an adverse result, only two times during my whole career, it was because of my conditioning and the time-zone thing. Because I would get to Japan two days before the fight, but not now man! Now I'm going ten days before the fight, and I trained a lot for that. FCF: Also you have been showing an improved cardio condition in all of your recent fights. Do you feel that Wallid is now a much better conditioned athlete? Wallid: Nowadays I'm without a doubt a professional athlete! In the old days, I was a guy that didn't respect my opponents a lot. For example, I would leave Brazil 10 days before a fight, go to the USA and only get to Japan like 3 days before the fight! I didn't respect my opponents. I thought that I was going to beat the guys quickly, no matter what. And that was when I had the adverse results. But nowadays I'm totally professional. I train for that. To represent Brazil and my state of Amazonas. So I'm ready for war! Those old days are over, you can even see that I'm not doing any TV shows anymore and stuff like that, because Wallid is now concentrated in training. The days that I was on TV all the time were the days that I didn't train. FCF: Who will be in your corner for this fight? Wallid: In my corner I'll have Darrel Gholar, Carlson Gracie, Luis Alves, and of course the support of my managers, Sergio Batarelli and Marcos Jara. FCF: How do you imagine this fight unfolding? How do you believe the fight is going to be decided? Wallid: I'll say something man, excuse the word that I'll use, but now there are only 10 days for the fight, so I say fuck-off! Now it's time to brawl! I don't have to be thinking if it's going to be like this or like that, it's time to brawl! We'll go there to brawl and let's see what will happen in the end! I'm prepared to brawl! In any way he wants to! If he wants to brawl standing and I can't take him to the ground, let's brawl standing! If he wants to go to the ground, let's go to the ground! I'll go everywhere he wants to! Fuck-off, you know? FCF: You were challenged at the last MECA event by Marcelo Giudice, a Ryan Gracie student. What did you think of this challenge? Wallid: [Laughs] This was nonsense. Poor guy, I pity him. He's wanting to promote himself. Because let me tell you something funny, at the hotel he was scared to death. He was walking with his head down and stuff, but once he got to the event and he knew that there were people to break up the fight, he got tough again! He doesn't even have the condition to fight me. Man! Where did this guy already fight? Who is this guy? This guy is nothing, a nobody! FCF: After your fight at PRIDE 19, what can we expect from you in the near future? Wallid: This fight aside, I'm ready for war! That's it; I'm ready to continue, to keep training and fighting and give plenty of joy to the ones that supports me, and plenty of sadness to my opponents! Because there's no easy time. For how long have you been hearing my name in the fight game? You can see that there's always a bunch of young fighters coming, but Wallid is always here! A warrior! For how many years have you been hearing about me? A lot of years! The young guys will come and go and I'm always here, with a lot of discipline and a lot of faith in God. FCF: Is there anyone that you would like to face? Like maybe a rematch against Akira Shoji in PRIDE? Wallid: This is what I want the most! This is what I ask [for] the most in Japan. But man, those two guys that beat me, Takahashi and Shoji, they run from me like the devil runs from the cross! And a guy that I believe it would be a good fight is Rickson! But gee, he only talks. But let it roll. FCF: And what about Ryan? Is there any chance of this fight finally happening? Wallid: Man, he got spanked on his butt by Sakuraba. I don't even like to analyze fights, but gee, he is a poor guy. He doesn't exist. Then, gee, he lost to that Japanese fighter that weighs 10kg less than him! I only talk about him because he is nothing, and because he talked about me first! FCF: Any final message for your fans? Wallid: I'm here, a warrior as always! I'm ready for whatever may come, and with the help of God I'll bring another victory to Brazil. And let's keep going! FCF: Thanks a lot Wallid. The best of luck in your fight. Wallid: Thanks man. |
 FCF is your source for SuperBrawl videos Pre-order now Be sure to check out the HUGE $avings on the SuperBrawl video package 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 |
| Saturday - February 16, 2002 |
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By Keith Mills Des Moines, IA -- The weigh-ins and rules meeting are finished here in IA and the fighters are getting ready for the event tonight at the 7 Flags Event Center. Seth Peters is still in transit but all the other fighters are present and seem in good health. The winner and runner-up of tonight's tournament will compete in the third T. Jay Thompson/Monte Cox tournament held in Hawaii in April. Hopes are high the winner of that tournament will be considered for the UFC. Tonight's 8-man tournament will also hold a feature bout between Jason Black and James Meals, sure to be worth the admission by itself. Jason is 15-0-1 in MMA fighting out of the Miletich Martial Arts camp. Jason is 9-7 with experience in RITC, Rumble In The Rockies, and Absolute Fighting Challenge. Jason seems calm and ready, saying "it's an honor to fight someone from the Miletich team."
Judges Andre Roberts, Tom Sauer, and Jesse Jones are all fighters themselves. UFC vet Brad Kohler is also on hand cornering for one of the tournament fighters. Tonight's event will be held in the old four-sided cage with IA rules which allow knees on the ground, open hand and forearm strikes but no punches to the back of the head, and shoes if a fighter gives up the option to kick. The cage is 8' high and measures 20x20. Tickets are still available. |
| Sunday - February 17, 2002 |
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By Keith Mills 
Des Moines, IA-Rothwell, Black victorious in Extreme Challenge Return of the Heavyweights. The results:
Tournament winner Ben Rothwell received a first bracket bye when Seth Peters never showed up. He took Ivey's place starting with the second bracket when Ivey had to drop out due to a broken hand. Rothwell's first opponent of the night, Kerry Schall, broke his foot in the bracket against William Hill but decided to fight again anyway. Schall had to quit between rounds when the pain became too great to continue. In the finals Rothwell faced Radnov who was the only fighter to go past 1 round in the first bracket. Radnov received a cut under his eye and a bloody nose in one of his fights and had an ice pack to his face before entering the cage against Rothwell. Round 1 of the finals went back and forth between Rothwell and Radnov on the feet but Radnov achieved a superior position on the ground briefly and almost caught Rothwell in a guillotine choke. In round 2 Rothwell hit Radnov with a good knee and right opening up the cut under the eye and causing the doctor to stop the fight. Rothwell and Radnov both advance to the Hawaii 16-man tournament in April.In the feature bout many people, myself included, thought going into it James Meals was in over his head against the 15-0-1 Jason Black, but word around the bar is not many people are willing to fight Black. James made a good effort, almost getting a guillotine before Jason delivered strikes from side control to get the TKO. |
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By Keith Mills 
Monte Cox is the promoter for Extreme Challenge as well as the manager for the Miletich Martial Arts team. For the last 5 years Extreme Challenge has been the starting point or an early stop for rising stars as Jeremy Horn in addition to current and past UFC champions Matt Hughes, Pat Miletich, and Dave Menne. This interview with Monte Cox was conducted at the hotel the night before UFC35 where Jens Pulver defended his title and Dave Menne lost his.FCF: You're one of the most dominant managers in this sport right now... MC: The only thing with that is that I have more champions than everyone else but I don't have the #1 golden boys of the sport. Tito Ortiz is the #1 fighter in the US; he's the star. In Japan there's all these Heavyweights that are making a lot of money. We're kind of the Lightweight capital right now. We have the 155-pound champion, the 175-pound champion, and the 185-pound champion, but we don't have the other weights. I don't really know how dominant that makes us. It means right now that we're doing something right. This all goes back to the Miletich Martial Arts Center, the training, it goes hand in hand. They do the training and try to work with each other and I try to move them along in their careers. It's been a nice marriage. FCF: Even though these people are different weight classes they still train together? MC: They all train together. FCF: So for instance Pulver has to train against Hughes? MC: Of course. That's what makes Pulver so good. Every day in the gym Jens Pulver has to go against Matt Hughes, Jeremy Horn, Dave Menne, Pat Miletich...every day. So by the time they get to the fight they get to someone their weight he's all excited. He said the other night 'I can't wait to fight someone my size'. We don't have anyone his size. He has to be able to perform against world champions at higher weights, so when he gets in against guys in his own weight class he tends to dominate. FCF: I disagree with you about not being a dominant manager. Not only seeing your fighters repeatedly in the rankings but also when we look up other fighter's record there are your guys left and right. They are some of the most experienced fighters. Although they may not get the biggest paycheck or be the internet favorites, from the point of view of the American fight scene they are some of the most recognizable names. MC: The thing with the manager thing is there are only a handful of guys. Most people couldn't name 2 other managers in this sport. I do it full time so I'm one of the few. If there are others that do this for a living I don't know too many of them in the US especially. Maybe I rank 1 in a field of 1. It's not I take guys that are already world champions and start managing them-I haven't don't that with anybody. We take guys that are learning and young and just starting out and we build them. Jeremy Horn, Pat Miletich, and Dave Menne and all these guys started with me when they had like 2 fights or no fights. 40 fights later they're champions. 50 fights later for Horn and he's in Pride. It's been a long road. I think we've done a good job getting them ready, moving them up in the competition. That's what we do best. FCF: Your fighters are repeatedly not respected as much as perhaps they should be... 
MC: The funny thing with Dave was that he came in and beat Fabiano Iha convincingly and then Iha gets back in the next two times and Menne's left out. He goes "what am I supposed to do, should I have lost?" Then when he finally does get back in it's a title shot. And that came on the heels of proving in Kuwait he was one of the best if not the best 185#er in the world by beating all those guys. (Note: Joe Silva of UFC has some very good reasons to allow only 1 fighter per manager per weight class which kept Dave out while Pat Miletich was champion, among which is the fact Miletich's people will train together but not fight each other). The reason I think a lot of our guys aren't respected #1 is we don't live on the East Coast or the West Coast. The Mid-West has more of a work ethic and we kind of keep to ourselves. We're not flamboyant; you don't see our guys on the internet much. The people who are complaining don't understand wrestling and ground control. They don't understand game plans. That's what we do. We go out with one thing in mind: we have to win. People can say all the time "you have to entertain the fans"; no you have to win in this sport. If you don't win you don't become a champion. If you don't become a champion you don't make any money. As much as everyone can say, "you can go out and loose good," yeah that's great but your money doesn't go up and you don't win titles that way. I don't find our style that boring. If you like college wrestling you'd love what we do. We work position, try to pick out an opponent's weakness, and exploit it. We don't go out with a striker and try to strike with them and get knocked out. You can't do that. We don't want to.FCF: But your fighters themselves have a variety of styles. You have Hughes who really stands out most as an incredible wrestler but then you have Pulver who stands out most as a striker... MC: Then you have Horn is mainly Jiu-Jitsu and you have Menne who is a little bit of everything and you have Pat who has really good stand-up but is also a wrestler. All those guys have wrestling backgrounds. FCF: My theory is since we have the traditional media capitals in LA and NY while you're isolated in the mid-west you don't have as easy national media coverage and that may be why your guys aren't respected as much. MC: The reason we don't get as much coverage now is simply we don't do as many shows. I'm concentrating a lot more on management than promotion. It used to be I'd write the reports and send more in. I had more time. Now I'm sending just shorter reports and getting the results in but I don't do as much as I used to. I just don't have the time to do the reporting. Because of where we're located we never had reporters sent by the media. FCF: Also I think not having a website is handicapping you too. MC: A little bit, but I ran the website and it was ok but again it was the same deal; if I have time to write all the results then I'd send them out to all the other websites and get them up. If I don't have time to write those I don't have time to write them for my website either. I just flat out don't have the time. I decided just to not do that for right now. We'll bring it back sometime, I just had trouble with people running the website. I would write so many stories and then I'd get scooped on other websites on my own stuff. I got tired of that. FCF: So you don't see any change as far as relocation? MC: I'm not going to move anywhere. We're successful because of where we are. We get the mid-western wrestling based guys and try to make them fighters and it's been pretty successful, we don't have any real reason to change. FCF: What's the next Extreme Challenge show? MC: T Jay Thompson and I are working together. We're doing a series of three shows. The first will be Feb 16th in Des Moines, Iowa. 8-man Heavyweight tournament with the winner and runner up advancing to a big show in Hawaii in April. March 16th in Utah we're going to do another 8-man tournament with the winner and runner up advancing to Hawaii. Once you get to Hawaii it's going to be a 16-man 2-day tournament with the winner getting 10 grand and a pretty good chance of getting in the UFC. We talked to them and they're going to come and watch and take someone from there. It's a really big tournament for us to give out 10 grand to 1 person. Hopefully we can find a star somewhere. FCF: Since losing Bobby Hoffman I'm not aware of any heavyweights fighting under you. MC: I have 3. Right now I have Tom Sauer, I've got Tim Silvia who's a 6'8 guy of Pat Miletich who is undefeated, and I've got Kerry "Meat Truck" Schall who's won 6 in a row. So I've got those three that are still out there. They're not quite UFC level yet but they will be, wait 6 months. FCF: What about light-heavyweight? MC: Light Heavyweight we've got Jeremy Horn but coming up we have Rich Franklin who's one of the best up and comers. He's 15-0 and won the main event at the John Lewis WFA beating Marvin Eastman in a minute. We also have Nate Schroeder who debuted in the UFC at 225: he can make 205 now. FCF: So you released Bobby Hoffman... MC: That was my call, not his call. I sent him off. FCF: Did that have anything to do with failing the drug test in the UFC? MC: Had nothing to do with any of that. I sent him to Japan to compete in a Rings event. It was a 4-man tournament (where) he won his first bout, found out he wasn't getting as much money as Jeremy Horn was getting in the event but Jeremy Horn is more popular in Japan. It's a difference of like 2 grand; it wasn't a big deal. He got all pissed off and refused to go out and fight the second fight, screaming and yelling at all the people there and making a general embarrassment of himself and our team. It was too much. He got drunk that night and was making a fool of himself, making threats against me and my family and stuff like that. We just said that's enough and I cut him immediately. He never fit in with our group; our group trains really hard. FCF: Is that the only fighter you let go? MC: Nope, I had one other -- Sean Sherk. We took him to 19-0 back when they were only allowing 1 guy per weight class in the UFC and he wanted to be in the UFC, that was his goal. He left my management to seek other management so he could get in the UFC. He's going to be in UFC in March. I don't think he had anything against me. FCF: Would he fight against Miletich people? MC: Sure he would. Never trained with them, never a part of them. He trained with Menne but never trained with anyone else. |
| Monday - February 18, 2002 |
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FCF TV is on tomorrow (Tuesday) night on MSG at 11:30PM EST |
From the event's promoter: THE DANGER ZONE Upcoming show information: April 7, 2002 Ft. Wayne, IN. Broadripple Place Fight Night III. Amateur card with one pro bout. April 13, 2002 Newtown, ND. 4 Bears Casino - The Danger Zone North American Champion Series "Caged Heat" Pro title Tournament, single pro bouts, Dan Severn as main event, and single amateur fights. May 25, 2002 Augusta, GA. The Danger Zone North American Championship Series "Sudden Impact". 135 lb title defense with Matt Hamilton, 175 lb. Title Tournament. Karl Schmidt, Tony Frykland, Dave Strasser, and TBA. Single Pro bouts and single amateur fights. Two belts are on the line in Georgia! Severn as the main event. June 2, 2002 Ft. Wayne, IN. Broadripple Place Fight Night IV. Amateur card with one pro bout. August 2002 Kewadin Casino Sault Saint Marie, MI. Pro title tournament, single pro bouts, and amateur fights. We want to showcase MI. fighting talent. Oct. 2002 Grand Casino Hinkley, MN. Please go to www.the-dangerzone.com and fill out a fighter application. |
| Tuesday - February 19, 2002 |
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From the event's promoter: Season with Iowa Event The Extreme Challenge Trials will begin the 2002 season with an event March 9 at Stars & Stripes nightclub in Davenport, Iowa. The all-amateur event features tournaments in five weight divisions -- 150-under, 170-under, 190-under, 210-under and heavyweight. Winners in each division earn berths to the U.S. MMA National Championships held at the end of the year. Each winner at Nationals receives a pro contract to compete for Extreme Challenge or Super Brawl. The Trials will start at 2 p.m. with weigh-ins set from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Fighters should contact Monte Cox at Fiteiowa@aol.com or 563-332-2075 to enter. The Castle Lodge Hotel, located a half-mile from the venue, offers double rooms for $45 for Trials fighters and fans. Call 563-359-7141 for reservations. |
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...|
Minotauro Ready To Prove It Once Again! By Eduardo Alonso 
PRIDE's heavyweight champion Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira is one of the few fighters in the NHB game that enjoys the position of unanimity. No one questions Minotauro's technique. Despite that he is always willing to prove what he believes inside the ring, and he will never pick his opponents. The Brazilian Top Team member became the PRIDE champion in November, after an impressive win against Heath Herring, and this will be the first time he will fight after he won his belt. With PRIDE 19 less than a week away, Minotauro is leaving for Japan today, but he managed to share his views about the fight with FCF before his departure, as FCF keeps heating up for PRIDE 19!
FCF: This is your first fight at PRIDE since you became the Heavyweight champion. Are you feeling a bigger pressure now that you have the belt? Minotauro: Look, I'm feeling a bit more pressure. I think it's the responsibility of doing an exciting fight. But I'm tranquil, my main concern is to try to do my best, try to put at least 50% of everything that I train here at the academy in the fight. But no pressure is bigger than the pressure that I put on myself to perform well and please the fans. FCF: Speaking about the pressure that you put on yourself, you are a fighter that impresses everybody with the quickness that you improve your game. You seem to pick-up techniques very fast, and your game seems to be always evolving at an amazing speed. Do you believe this is also due to the pressure that you put on yourself? Minotauro: Of course, but ever since I came to the Brazilian Top Team, and even before, I work a lot! There is days that I train 6 or 7 hours per day, both the technical and tactical training, in fact not only the technical training, but my fighting strategy as well. And the technical condition that my team gives me helped me to evolve a lot, not only in the Top Team, but also at Luis Alves, where I train Muay Thai. We train Muay Thai and NHB there too. At the Top Team I was able gather this two trainings, and I believe this was the key for me. FCF: Your opponent at PRIDE 19 is Enson Inoue, who already beat names like Randy Couture. What do you think of Enson as an opponent? Minotauro: I respect him! He is a very technical fighter. He dominates the ground technique, which I also do. He is a fighter that likes to trade standing up, inclusively he is a guy that goes to trade toe-to-toe and now he went to Thailand to train Muay Thai. So, he dominates both techniques, on the ground and standing up and I also do. So we're going to get in there and test our techniques. FCF: Do you believe the fact that he is also a Jiu Jitsu fighter, like yourself, will help or hinder your style in the fight? Minotauro: Look, I like to fight against guys that are good ground fighters, because the guy will get there and play the game with me, play my game. He will not stall. If he wants to play with me and open the game with me, the fight will turn in to a beautiful fight! All of the sudden he could stall the game a bit since he knows his ground game, and this is my concern, if the other guy starts to stall or to slip all the time, and the fight becomes an ugly fight for the public. So, if he is a smart fighter and wants to do a good show for the public, we have the condition, with his technique along with mine technique, to give a great spectacle for the public. FCF: What do you think of Enson's ground technique? Minotauro: In the NHB game he succeeded in applying his technique very well. He likes to catch the arm, like I saw in some of his fights. Like in his fight against Royce Alger in the UFC, and of course his fight against Randy Couture, where he managed to get a nice arm-lock. Even in his loss to Mark Kerr he managed to hold on till the end thanks to his ground technique! You got to keep in mind that when Mark Kerr was at the top a lot of people failed to hold Mark Kerr. So I admire his technique, he has guts and he has a lot of heart. FCF: This is your first fight as the PRIDE champion, but your belt won't be on the line. Do you think that is takes off some of the pressure, or even adds more pressure in to the fight? Minotauro: Look, I understand PRIDE's situation. Vanderlei is going to put his belt on the line now, against Tamura who is a famous guy in Japan. So, maybe it wouldn't be good for them to get two main events in the same night, two title fights. Because you got to have one fight that will draw the entire event, and this time it's Vanderlei's fight. It would even be bad for me to share this with him, so I believe in the next time I'll even be used to fight as the champion, and I will lose a bit of this weight that was put in my back for this fight. So I believe the next time will be the right time to put my belt on the line. FCF: You have been showing a very good Muay Thai in your last fights, even against Heath Herring. Do you still emphasize on this part of the training? How was your preparation for this fight? Minotauro: I use to do the technical part on the mornings, but I stop doing in on the last month because now I'm doing only the specific fighting training. But usually I would do the technical and physical part on the morning, training positions and doing my physical preparation. In fact I did that last month, for about a month or so. Then I started only doing the fighting part of the training, and this consists of some ground positions that I train on the morning, and after 6 pm I do only a lot of Muay Thai! I leave my home close to 6 pm and I'll only get home after 9 pm. So for me one thing complements the other, and on the intervals I also train Wrestling with Darrel Gohlar. FCF: Who will be on your corner for this fight? Minotauro: I believe Mario Sperry and Luis Alves. 
FCF: You have been trading a lot of punches in your latest fights. Have you been feeling more comfortable fighting standing up with all that Muay Thai training you is doing?Minotauro: Look, I trace a strategy before I get into the fight. But the strategy will vary a lot according to the opponent's answers for it. If I enter the fight looking to trade, and I can even be better technically than him, but he manages to close to distance and stuff and I don't feel comfortable to trade, I'll go to Jiu Jitsu, where I also have the resources to do a good fight. And If I'm not going anywhere on the ground, like it happened with me before in a fight against Jeremy Horn… I wasn't being able to get him, he was very slippery and the ring was also very slippery. I know that I wasn't being able to develop my game like I would like to do, so I started to look for the standing up fight! I believe a fighter must have a lot of resources in his game. I started to fight standing, to get some takedowns, and to score points. Because in a fight there's a time that you feel that you won't be able to get your opponent! As I felt with Heath Herring! He was playing defense against me! He entered my guard and didn't try to pass it. He didn't open and kept his elbows closed all the time. While on the ground he kept pushing and I felt his was resting to stand up again, so I thought "Well, I'm going to rest too and I'm going to trade now". So I try to feel my opponent! I can't tell you how the fight is going to because sometimes things don't go according to your game plan. But I'm prepared to trade! I'm training it everyday the same way that I train the ground game. FCF: Speaking about your fight against Herring, did you hurt your knee during that fight and kept going? What really happened? Minotauro: No it wasn't my knee. When I entered on a punching sequence while we were on the corner he managed to hit me with a low kick on the posterior side of my thigh. And my muscle sort of locked in a way that I wasn't being able to bend or strain my leg! And this happened right in the first round, at around 8 minutes in to the fight I believe. There was even a time that I got his back on the fight, and I couldn't develop my game very well. When the round was over, between the first and the second round, Luis Alves did a quick massage on the muscle, and he even couldn't do much so Herring would not see what was happening! Then in the middle of the fight it didn't get back to normal, but it improved a lot and I could keep on fighting till the end. But I complained a lot during the fight "Gee! Is hurting a lot" and my corner would say "No, no! This is your chance! you got to go till the end! C'mon!" I wouldn't say that I thought about quitting during the fight, but it was very tough. FCF: You have been winning a big number of fans in Japan with your victories there, but this time you're facing a local hero. Do you believe the crowd can be a factor in this fight? Minotauro: I don't think so. The Japanese public enjoys technique, and when I'm doing a good fight they're screaming and stuff, so this motivates me to do my techniques. I feel that the Japanese public respects the fighter a lot; not only the Japanese fighter, but also they respect any fighter. If you get an arm-lock, or a beautiful position he will cheer the same way. He is there to see the techniques, not only to cheer for a fighter. And I believe that there are a lot of people there that, despite liking Enson Inoue, will cheer for me too! FCF: How do you think this fight will unfold? Minotauro: I'll try to fight to get a finishing hold. I don't know what he is planning, but he is also a guy that loves to finish the fights with submissions. I believe this has a great chance of happening. FCF: Right now you're focused on Enson, but what are your plans for the future? Is there anyone that you would like to fight? Minotauro: Look, I think that I would like to fight one day against Randy Couture. The public demands this fight. Everyone keeps asking me about it, if I would like to face him and stuff. He is someone that I would like to face. He is the UFC champion and is a great fighter, and I believe this would be a challenge that would attract me a lot. FCF: Do you believe an interchange between the UFC and PRIDE would be good for the sport? Minotauro: I believe it would be good for the UFC and it would be good for PRIDE if they could do two fights, one in America and the other in Japan. It would be a great attraction and it would only help the sport. It would get the American public more used to PRIDE, and the Japanese public more used to the UFC. It would make the UFC more popular in Japan and PRIDE more popular in America. But I guess they are thinking about doing it, even doing a PRIDE in the USA. FCF: Any final message for your fans? Minotauro: All that technique that I have been showing in my fights, and everything that I was able to accomplish so far comes from the motivations that my fans give me. The Japanese fans, the American fans, and even the fighting people here in Brazil are already talking about my fights, and the fights in general, so I think that NHB as a sport is already becoming more popular! So the motivation is bigger! The fighters are training more and becoming more professional! And the important thing is that all that motivation comes from the public! So all that I can say is thanks a lot! FCF: And do you have any message for those that are willing to take away your belt? Minotauro: I have been training a lot! And now that I have the belt I want to keep it. My battle was to get to the top, and now that I got there are still a lot of fighters that I have to beat to try to prove my technique. To prove that I'm not there by accident. So now I'm training a lot and it won't be easy to take the belt from me! I want to be with the belt, or at least fighting for him, at least in the next 10 years or so, because I believe the belt's home is here in Brazil. FCF: Thanks a lot for the interview! And good luck in your fight. Minotauro: It was my pleasure! |
| Thursday - February 21, 2002 |
 Come visit Full Contact Fighter at the Arnold Fitness Expo in Columbus, OH this Friday thru Sunday. UFC World Lightweight Champion "Little Evil" Jens Pulver [pictured] will be signing autographs on collectable UFC fight posters. A few surprise guests from the world of sports will be dropping by the booth as well. Plenty of great deals on all Full Contact Fighter gear. Stop by Booth 112 and say hello! |
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The "Axe Murderer" is looking for another victim! By Eduardo Alonso Vanderlei Silva has fought his way into becoming the first ever PRIDE Middleweight Champion with wins against the likes of Dan Henderson, Guy Mezger and Kazushi Sakuraba. Undefeated in PRIDE and with a record of more than 20 NHB fights, Vanderlei is already one of the stars of the sport and he is always willing to fight, no matter when and against whom. With a vicious style and a lot of aggressiveness, the "Axe Murderer" will now face he's first title defense in Japan, against the local hero Kyoshi Tamura. Whether Tamura will or won't be able to handle Silva's striking ferocity remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure; whenever Vanderlei is fighting, anything can happen but a boring fight! Tow days before leaving for Japan Vanderlei Silva spoke with FCF about his views on this fight, as FCF continues to bring the best PRIDE coverage, and gets more heated than ever for PRIDE 19! FCF: With a few days left before the event, are you anxious to get in there and fight? VS: I'm training a lot, so I don't have time even to get anxious now. Since I'm training a lot, all of my body is hurting, so I'm training and resting more than I think about the fight. I'll start to think about the fight a day before it. FCF: You'll be defending your PRIDE belt in this fight for the first time. Does the fact that you'll be putting your title on the line on this fight increase your responsibility? VS: I think so. Since I'm the champion I have to try to stay the champion for as much time as I can, so I think the responsibility increased, but the training increased in the same proportion. FCF: Inclusively because in your last fight the belt wasn't on the line… VS: This time the responsibility is a lot bigger. FCF: What do you know about your opponent, Kyoshi Tamura? VS: Gee, I only know his name! (Laughs) I don't even know his weight, or his height! I don't know a thing! But I like it better this way! FCF: A lot of fighters like to develop a tactic and study their opponents. But you don't! Do you like to fight only out of your instincts? VS: For me it's better, because if a guy knows a lot from his opponent he tends to neutralize his own game. He gets locked, because there's no way for you to guess what the other is going to do, and watching his fights you'll tend to only look at the things that he does well! So I believe that this will hinder you more than will help you. FCF: How was your training for this fight? VS: In the past I wasn't doing much weight lifting, but now I entered the best gym of Curitiba! The gym owner didn't want to let me train there for free, so I ended up having to pay to be able to train there! (Laughs) I'm doing a lot of weight lifting; I'm running a lot and swimming a lot! And in this past weeks I started to brawl in the academy once again. I have been brawling a lot with the guys! I'm brawling with Pele, with Anderson! Inclusively tomorrow morning the thing is going to get hot again! FCF: So your training rhythm continues the same until the date of your departure? VS: For sure! It continues this way until Monday, when I left for Japan. But in Japan things changes a bit. Because the day before I was about to fight Guy Mezger at PRIDE 10, on a Saturday, Pele and I started to do some training, and the thing got real hard! So in the middle of our hardcore training I blew my knee! I blew my knee and I couldn't walk! At the same night I was limping! On the fighting day at the breakfast I was limping! And I had to fight with my knee hurt, and thank God I was able to win! So, nowadays once we get to Japan we ease the training a bit in terms of intensity, but the running and swimming part of the training stays the same. FCF: How about sparring with Anderson Vanderlei? How's the experience? VS: Man, yesterday I did 16 minutes of Boxing with Anderson! Gee, my chin is all scratched up because of the training helmet! (Laughs) FCF: Did you eat a lot of his jabs? (Laughs) VS: Gee man! (Laughs) The guys has the arm of a monkey, like those monkey with long arms (Laughs) His arm goes beyond his knee! (Laughs) His punches were connecting, and I threw mine and they weren't getting even close! It's tough man! His jab is horrible to deal with! FCF: Tamura said in a recent interview that he hasn't being able to get much sleep lately, because of PRIDE's rules. He also went on to say that he didn't like this rules very much. What do you think of those statements? VS: Man, I just got married and I'm sleeping like an angel! (Laughs) My lady gives me a somniferous here that I'm sleeping a lot! (Laughs) But as for the Tamura, this is just talk! No fighter thinks like that. I don't buy that, this thing of the guy acting like he's a poor-thing don't convince me. So for me there's no such as thing as this. I'll face this with a lot of seriousness! I'll face it like a brawl! It doesn't matter to me what the guy says or doesn't says! Things are different with me. FCF: How do you believe this fight will unfold? VS: I would like very much to really trade blows! I would like to trade punches, hit him with knees, I don't know! I would like to make him fall! The intension is to score a knockout! And most of all do a good showing to my public! But I'm prepared to fight all the 20 minutes if I need to. FCF: You recently got married. Your new life of a married man changed your training routine for this fight? VS: It changed that now I have my wife along with me, and she's my allied. She takes care of me, and she's giving me all the support in the world so I can only worry about training. When I get home everything is ready, she's really a great companion. So now I believe that I'm getting to a level, if not the maximum, very close to the maximum of professionalism as a fighter. FCF: So, can we expect an even better Vanderlei as a fighter now? VS: For sure! Now that I got married I'm with a lot more fuel to burn! FCF: Your long-time teammate Pele Landi is also coming back to PRIDE, facing the former UFC Champion Carlos Newton. How was Pele's preparation for this fight? VS: The same as I did! We train together, and he's really very tough! I'm with two black eyes now since two days ago because of him! The guy is an animal! He was weighting 92kg and he dropped to 84kg now! He will drop one more kilo to fight at 83kg, because they asked him to fight at 83kg. FCF: What do you believe will happen in this fight between Pele and Newton? VS: Gee, I think it'll end with a kick to the face. Or maybe with a knee, because his knee is also very strong! I believe that Carlos Newton won't last three minutes. Gee, there's no way he will last that much. FCF: What are your plans for the year of 2002, after PRIDE 19? VS: This year we will have 7 PRIDE events. I would like to fight them all! I want to fight in all of them! No matter where! It can be in Hawaii, Japan, Sao Jose dos Pinhais [Where Vanderlei lives in Curitiba] (Laughs) it doesn't matter, where PRIDE appears I'll fight! FCF: Man, what about your honeymoon? (Laughs) VS: Well, the honeymoon will be on our first anniversary! (Laughs) I already told my baby (Laughs), no I'm kidding. To tell you the truth if find it difficult to get a honeymoon better than we're having! (Laughs) FCF: Any final message for your fans? VS: I want to say that I'm training a lot, and I expect to do what they expect me to do! I want to say that I'm a young fighter, so I'm in touch with all the things that the guys that follow my work are doing! I have the same life of all of my fans; I do the same things that all my fans do! I want to say for the guys to enjoy life, the nights and the girls! And most of all to enjoy a lot of NHB and start to train in some fight, because this is the way! Let's train something, and most of all let's believe a lot in God! We're nothing without him, and I know how much he helped in my life! There's no such thing as luck, nothing happen out of the blue, you got to train hard and believe in God. FCF: Do you have any message for those that are after your belt? VS: Come in and try to get it. The more people that are after my belt, the better for me! I want to tell anyone that wants my title that it's there, and I'm welcoming challenges. If anyone is weighting 205lbs, I'll fight anyone! And for the people that are talking about me all the time, I hope they'll back up what they're talking! Because I don't want anyone talking about me, and then coming near me like a girl trying to kiss my ass. I want the guy to be a man! Anyone that is talking about me will have to back it up when they're in front of me! This thing of talking about me from my back, and then coming in my face trying to be all nice and acting like a poor-thing doesn't exists with me! I'll punch their mouths on the spot! FCF: Thanks a lot for the interview! The best of luck on the 24th! VS: Thanks a lot man! |
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20 MMA Bouts this Weekend By Keith Mills Springfield, MA -- This Saturday, February 23, Kipp Kollar holds Mass Destruction VI at the South End Community Center in Springfield. 20 open hand MMA matches will take place including the following title matches: Middleweight Title Fight: Ted Govola Jr. (Dog Pound) vs. Ron Kieltyka (Rickson Gracie) Welterweight Title Fight: Zack Wakeman (Tai-Kai/Machado) vs. Mike Littlefield (Boneyard/BostonBJJ) Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Jorge Rivera (Milford, MA) vs. TBD (Possibly Marco DeLima) Originally Kipp was trying to hold some closed-fist matches as he explains: "As you all know, we have been working very closely with the State of Massachusetts Boxing Commission to first get MMA legalized in the State, which obviously was a success. The 2nd step is to get closed fist matches legalized. The date for this has been a moving target and we have been trying to work with the commission to pinpoint a date using our Mass Destruction events. Originally we had hoped to have all fights closed fist for MD6, then just a few. While the commission has given the thumbs up to 'Exhibition Closed Fist Matches' for the purpose of demonstrating to the public that Closed Fist matches are not dangerous. The only problem with this definition is that none of our fighters are interested in demonstrating how not to hurt their opponents. It's a catch-22 and we are working with the commission to clarify what we can and can't do that evening. For know, all of the above matches will be open hand. We will attempt to have a closed fist match that meets their requirements and still be a fight. Again we wanted to inform you all in case this was the only reason you were coming to the show. We expect to see closed fists in all our fights, unfortunately [this will] not happen at this show." Tickets are still on sale. |
| Friday - February 22, 2002 |
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From the event's promoter: Battle On Broadway Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 8:00PM Crowne Plaza Hotel 1605 Broadway (49th ST. & Broadway) Manhattan - NYC, NY 212-977-4000 Pro Battle Of The Champions Kick & USKBA World Championship Luis Ruiz Vs. Kadir Kadri Pro USKBA Lightweight World Championship Marco Seis Vs. Tim Lane Pro Lightweight Bout Tommy Rodriguez Vs. Paul Gutierrez Freestyle Mixed Martial Arts Exhibition East Coast Championship Steve Anshelewitz Vs. Pierre Guillet Amateur Muay Thai Bout Shennen Maceo Vs. Joe Sampieri Muay Thai Bout Oleg Vs. Terrance Connor NYS Muay Thai Championship Shawn Seagrave Vs. Steve Berkolayko Women's Muay Thai Bout Jamie Lynn Vs. Kat Diaz Freestyle Mixed Martial Arts Exhibition Nardu Debrah Vs. Brad Daddis Muay Thai Bout Elvis Garcia Vs. Luke Cummo Muay Thai Bout Mark Lecroulant Vs. Lamont Muay Thai Bout James Wellington Vs. Nizar Balghiti Muay Thai Bout Alex Bessonov Vs. Willie Rivera For tickets & information call: (718)372-9089 - (516)294-6313 - (212)977-4000 |
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From Koichi "Booker K" Kawasaki: "The Best" Held February 22nd, 2002 At Korakuen Hall (Tokyo, Japan)
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Matt Hughes By Keith Mills 
Des Moines, IA -- Matt Hughes is scheduled to fight Hayato "Mach" Sakurai for the Welterweight title at UFC36: When Worlds Collide in Vegas. I caught up with Matt before the last Extreme Challenge where I tried to get his perspective on his title defense.FCF: What do you think of Sakurai? MH: You got to respect him as a fighter. Very good standing and very good on the ground with decent takedowns so he's really the very first all around fighter that I've fought. Carlos (Newton) has a weak stand-up game and everybody's always been weak somewhere. Well, Sakurai's not. It'll be interesting. FCF: How many of Sakurai's fights have you reviewed? MH: I've seen a lot of them. I've seen 2 or 3 of them live. With Trigg I saw that live. I have not seen the Anderson Silva fight yet so I'm interested in seeing that tape and I'll look at the Trigg fight. Those are probably the only two I'll look at real hard. FCF: Are you doing anything different to prepare for this one? MH: No. I'm not doing anything different right now, just getting my body ready. Working a lot of stand-up and a lot of grappling. When it gets within a couple of weeks we'll start working a lot especially for Sakurai. Not to that point yet. FCF: Has your life changed since becoming the champion? MH: I train a lot harder. As far as having the belt, no. FCF: You don't think you're more recognizable? Do strangers stop you and say 'hi'? MH: I've been a twin my whole life so I've always had a lot of publicity and stuff like that through wrestling. I really don't think about that much. FCF: Any final words to the readers of Full contact Fighter? MH: Thanks to those guys because without people paying money to watch me fight I wouldn't have an occupation right now. |
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From RITC writer/statistician John Petrilli: Date: March 2, 2002 Location: Mesa Centennial Center 263 North Center Street Mesa, AZ 85201 Weigh-Ins: 10:00 AM Fight Time: 12:00 Noon 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 http://maps.yahoo.com/py/ddResults.py |
| Saturday - February 23, 2002 |
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From the event's promoter: 'Return of Heavyweights' 
Unbeaten heavyweights Tim Sylvia and Matt Frembling are among the fighters who will make up the 8-man tournament at Extreme Challenge 47: Return of the Heavyweights.The second portion of the 3-show event will be held March 16 at the McKay Events Center in Orem, Utah. "Our first show, in Des Moines, proved to be a physical battle," said co-promoter Monte Cox. "We had a broken hand, broken foot, 24 stitches for one guy, and seven more for another. "In Utah, we have a more even battle on paper as most of the fighters are either unbeaten, or have a lot of experience. Whoever comes out on top in this tourney will make quite a name for himself." In Des Moines, the tourney was won by underdog Ben Rothwell, a 20-year-old who defeated Mike Radnov in the finals. Both fighters advanced to the mega 16-man tournament scheduled April 25-26 at the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. Picking a favorite in Utah will be difficult. Sylvia, a 6-foot-8, 260-pounder who trains at the Miletich Martial Arts Center, boasts a 7-0 record. Frembling is 6-foot, 240 pounds and also has a perfect 7-0 mark. He trains with UFC vet John Lober. Also in the field are Gabe Beaupurthy, a 6-2, 255-pounder who trained in wrestling with Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner; and Rocky Batastini, 6-2, 300 pounds, who has some of the most dynamic knockouts in Extreme Challenge and Super Brawl history. The remaining four tournament heavyweights will be announced at a later date. Also scheduled on the card is a women's bout for the Extreme Challenge middleweight title. Salt Lake City's Jennifer Howe (6-0) will put her title on the line against Angela Restad of Seattle. Tickets for Extreme Challenge 47: Return of the Heavyweights will go on sale Monday at all Smith Tixx locations and at the McKay Events Center box office. The tournament fighters... 
Tim Sylvia [pictured]6-8, 260, Bettendorf, Iowa MMA record: 7-0 Strengths: Striking, reach Matt Frembling 6-0, 240, Los Angeles MMA record: 7-0 Strengths: Well-rounded Gabe Beaupurthy 6-2, 255, Colorado Springs MMA record: 6-3 Strengths: Judo, wrestling Rocky Batastini 6-2, 300, Reno, Nev. MMA record: 11-6 Strengths: Striking |
From RITC writer/statistician John Petrilli:
Date: Friday, March 15, 2002 Time: Doors Open: 6:00PM, Fight Time: 8:00PM Location: Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona Tickets $20 (rows 14-25), $30 (rows 4-13) and $45 (rows 1-3) The Celebrity Theatre Box Office at 602-267-1600 can hold advanced ticket purchases at will-call. Order your tickets early for the best seating selections. Main Event: Homer "The Rock" Moore (210 lbs) vs. Joesph Riggs (235 lbs) Moore vs. Riggs: This should be a fascinating matchup as Homer tries to get back on the winning track following his loss in UFC 34 in November and his draw in UA-The Genesis in January. It will be Homer's quickness and experience 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 is a two-time state heavyweight wrestling champion, is very skilled in boxing and is also adding brazilian jiu-jitsu to his arsenal. It will be Ground (Moore) vs Pound (Riggs). We all know what a great takedown artist Homer is. Joseph also has excellent takedown skills and complements this with very heavy handed power. He has won all his fights in Round 1 (2:32, :33 and 2:00) by submission due to strikes. Stay tuned for a possible awesome Co-Main Event matchup that would absolutely "rock" Celebrity Theatre and satisfy all RITC fans. We are in the process of trying to sign this fight and an official announcement could come as early as next week. There will be a total of 12 fights. 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 |
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From the event's promoter: Additional Fights to be Announced Soon! Official Fights
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| Sunday - February 24, 2002 |
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By Aaron Crecy Click here for Pride 19 results & post-fight pictures |
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By Loretta Hunt 
The night started off with a bang, as promoters Louis Neglia and Ray Longo brought their popular Long Island fight show to New York's Crowne Plaza Hotel in Times Square, New York. Battle On Broadway began with a devastating knockout at twenty seconds into the first match, one of six Muay Thai fights that night, and this seemed to set the pace for things to come. Around 800 fans (many standing room only) turned out to catch some of the action, and although the final matches crept into the morning hours, it would have been hard to catch many of them leaving their seats early. Also included on the card this evening were American kickboxing bouts, two freestyle mixed martials arts exhibition matches, as well as a women’s Muay Thai battle that electrified the crowd. Here are the results:Muay Thai Bout Steve McCabe def. Andre Mitchell - KO* :20 R1 *Match is under review by the promoter due to complaint of possible illegal knee to head Muay Thai Bout Mark Lecroulant def. Oleg Busygin - KO :37 R2 Freestyle Mixed Martial Arts Exhibition Nardu Debrah def. Brad Daddis - Triangle choke 2:05 Muay Thai Bout Luke Cummo def. Elvis Garcia - Split decision after 3 rounds NYS Muay Thai Championship LaMont Sitsutam vs. Steve Berkolayko - Majority draw after 3 rounds Pro Lightweight Bout Tommy Rodriguez def. Paul Gutierrez - Unanimous decision after 5 rounds Pro Battle of Champions Devon Cormack def. George Bustemante - Unanimous decision after 5 rounds Women's Muay Thai Bout Kat Diaz def. Jamie Lynn - Unanimous decision after 3 rounds Muay Thai Bout Vlad Klikfeld vs. Joe Sampieri - Draw after 3 rounds Freestyle Mixed Martial Arts Exhibition East Coast Championship Steve Anshelewitz vs. Pierre Guillet - Draw after 10-min reg. + 3 min. OT Pro Battle Of The Champions Kick & USKBA World Championship Luis Ruiz def. Kadir Kadri - Split decision after 10 rounds Pro USKBA Lightweight World Championship Tim Lane def. Marco Seis - KO :55 R4 Look for full coverage of the event in the March issue of FCF |
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Bad Blood Ready to Spill By Aaron Crecy 
Tokyo -- On paper, Pride 19 has the ingredients to be the most entertaining card in the event's brief history. That's because Bad Blood boasts elements of tension, intrigue, melodrama and, well, bad blood.Despite the staged press conference altercation -- another of which took place in Japan on Friday evening -- the marquee fight between Don Frye and Ken Shamrock pits two aged showmen who are not eager to share a fading spotlight. There is also the return of fan favorite Enson Inoue, a proven warrior who appears to be hopelessly overmatched versus heavyweight titleholder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira [pictured]. Then, Rodrigo Gracie comes in as somewhat of an enigma, having achieved success in Abu Dhabi but remaining relatively unproved in mixed martial arts. In Daijiro Matsui, the young Gracie faces a game competitor, but one who has endured a lion's share of beatings of late. Of course, the formidable card also includes several other main event-worthy match-ups such as Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons and Carlos Newton, Heath Herring versus Igor Vovchanchyn and Tom Erikson against Tim Catalfo. And then there is the fearsome Vanderlei Silva, Pride's reigning middleweight champion taking on yet another overmatched Japanese in Kiyoshi Tamura. Bad, good or indifferent, blood is sure to spill this evening at Pride 19! News and Notes: 
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Pride 19 Preview: Bad Blood Draws Near Frye, Shamrock headline Pride 19; heavyweight laden card also features Nogueira vs. Inoue, Vovchanchyn vs. Herring, Erikson vs. Catalfo; Silva to defend title against Tamura; Newton, Pele to finally meet. By Aaron Crecy It has been nearly a decade in the making, a dream match-up for which old school mixed martial arts fans once clamored. Thus, Pride 19 promises to be met with considerable interest as Done Frye takes on Ken Shamrock in the main event on February 24, 2002. Past their prime? Perhaps -- but it remains a captivating pairing nonetheless, one that should have taken place in the mid-nineties, yet one that elicits considerable excitement today. That the battle-hardened veterans will headline a card that features a middleweight title fight and the reigning Pride heavyweight belt holder is a testament to their enduring popularity in Japan and worldwide. After all, most every MMA fan can recall the 36-year-old Frye's gutsy victory over David "Tank" Abbott in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's 1996 Ultimate Ultimate. Nor will many soon forget Shamrock's UFC battles versus no holds barred legends such as Royce Gracie and Dan Severn. "The UFC and all these other organizations have failed to realize that people still remember the original fighters," asserted Shamrock, who will turn 38 in early February. "They're trying to bring in new faces and trying to build new names without building them off the old names -- and that's the way most things happen. The UFC is a good example of that -- they brought in Tito Ortiz, who had never really beaten anybody. They're trying to build the name of someone who has been beaten by Frank Shamrock, who has been beaten by Guy [Mezger], but really has never faced a Royce Gracie or a Mark Coleman or a Dan Severn or a Ken Shamrock. I think Pride has the right idea." "It's a hell of a compliment for both Shamrock and I," said Frye. "I hope Vanderlei [Silva] doesn't take it the wrong way. I think this is the best card that Pride has put together and it might even be the best card in mixed martial arts ever." But while the two men are both steeped in MMA history and even served as tag team partners during a pro-wrestling match at the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye on New Year's Eve 2000, Frye and Shamrock they share what has been described as a mutual dislike for one another -- making Bad Blood an appropriate theme for Pride 19. "Ken's never treated me with any respect," explained Frye. "Every time I've seen him at the UFC he's been arrogant toward me -- toward everybody. And even after I won a couple UFCs, he was still arrogant to me. Then, he said a bunch of bad things about Dan Gable that I thought were highly inappropriate. So, he pissed me off." While Shamrock is a bit more tight-lipped in his account of the long-running feud, he does acknowledge that this fight has been a long time coming. "Don is one of the few [pre-Zuffa UFC] I haven't fought," explains Shamrock. "I would have fought Don in the Ultimate Ultimate, but I broke my hand in the process of beating Brian Johnston. I would have fought Tank next and then I would have faced Don in the finals." Frye brings a near flawless MMA record into the match-up, with two UFC tournament titles and a loss in the finals of a third to Mark Coleman. And while Shamrock never won a UFC tournament championship, he is a former King of Pancrase and boasts a 25-7-2 record with victories over the likes of Bas Rutten, Masakatsu Funaki, Dan Severn, Brian Johnston and draws with Oleg Taktarov and Royce Gracie. After demolishing Alexander Otsuka in his return to MMA in May 2000, Shamrock experienced a setback when he asked his corner to throw in the towel late in the first round of a subsequent fight with Kazuyuki Fujita, though he was exhibiting solid standup and was seemingly in complete control. "My body just ran into a brick," Shamrock recalled. "I started seeing fuzzy things, white things. I just couldn't focus and my lungs wouldn't catch any breath. I felt like I was having a heart attack, but in fact, I don't know what it was. I still don't know to this day. I went and got checked out and everything was fine." This time, Shamrock plans to make an altogether different exit from the ring. "I didn't get the opportunity to train like I needed to for that fight," he said. "I had never felt out of shape before, so I was always able to go in and do what I needed to do. There were a lot of personal problems, but now I have my life back in order." "I hate it when people call us 'legends of the sport' and 'pioneers of the sport,'" admitted Frye. "It makes me feel old when I hear that." When asked to explain the secret behind his extraordinary longevity, Frye claims that it is nothing other than good fortune. "Randy Couture is a phenomenal athlete -- always has been. Bas Rutten is a fantastic athlete, too. Me, I'm just lucky. I'm held together with tape and glue," he said. Neither fighter is lacking for confidence entering Pride 19, and both claim that the other to be an ideal opponent. "It'll be the best $30 you've ever spent in your life -- I guarantee you," stated Frye. "I think that I have an advantage over Shamrock when I'm standing up. His strength is definitely on the ground, so it's going to be a hell of a battle down there." "I have one more fight left on my contract after I beat up Ken," stated Frye. "I plan on getting a shot at [Antonio Rodrigo] Nogueira's [heavyweight title] belt. I think that the winner of this fight should be the number one contender." "Don't get me wrong," Shamrock cautioned, "I don't mind having a belt, but I'm not looking right now for a belt -- I'm looking to get some good fights and I think Don Frye is a good fight for me. He's aggressive, he likes to come straight in and he likes to fight. That type of fighter I do well against. I like guys who are aggressive, guys who like to come and fight." The two gladiators will take part in a five-city press junket in the first week of February as Pride hopes to build momentum for its first-ever same-day international pay-per-view broadcast. It's an unusual arrangement, given that fighters typically seclude themselves in a comfortable environment in the weeks preceding a competition. Now Frye and Shamrock will face off for five consecutive days of press conferences and autograph signings. "Hell, I'm ready for a break," said Frye. "I'm kind of tired, so five days off won't hurt me. I guess that's part of being in the middle of the spotlight. "Ken Shamrock is a professional," Frye continued. "I hope we both behave ourselves like professional athletes and not like a bunch of jackasses that you see in pro boxing world." "It's going to be pretty rough," Shamrock said, "but it's important that we can get this out and let people know that we're back. You have to do this kind of stuff to get it done. It's a little hard on the fighters, but I think it's necessary to get it out there. There were people in there at the beginning such as me and Royce Gracie who helped create this mixed martial arts world. It didn't seem for a long time that anybody really cared about who we were or what we've done, so I just appreciate that Pride is using me in this aspect in the United States to draw an audience. We're not fighting for a belt, but it does mean something and it means a lot to the fans out there." When queried about a possible rematch with Gilbert Yvel, who he defeated via disqualification in Pride 16, Frye was typically sardonic, yet serious. "It's a definite possibility -- one of those definite maybes," he said. "I'm looking forward to fighting him when I'm healthy." Other Pride 19 match-ups include a middleweight title bout between Vanderlei Silva (18-3) and Kiyoshi Tamura (8-5), a RINGS veteran with impressive credentials. With seven victories and a No Contest in his last eight fights, Silva is in the midst of a prolific win streak. Having devoured his past four opponents via TKO -- all Japanese fighters -- Dream Stage Entertainment hopes that the venomous Brazilian will finally meet his match in Tamura. With wins over Renzo Gracie, Dave Menne, Jeremy Horn and Pat Miletich, this would seem to be the case. However, Tamura's success has primarily come versus lighter fighters who lacked Silva's strength and power. Don't be surprised if Silva leaves the ring with his TKO streak intact. Pride 19 will also feature several other heavyweight fights, including a non-title fight between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (14-1-1) and Enson Inoue (11-6). Though Inoue announced his retirement after two consecutive TKO losses -- to Igor Vovchanchyn in Pride 10 and Heath Herring in Pride 12 -- he will once again put his warrior spirit to the test, this time versus Pride's reigning heavyweight champion. And while Inoue originally requested a fight with Silva, Nogueira should give him more than enough of a challenge -- look for a Nogueira submission once Inoue becomes fatigued. In what could be one of the most intriguing fights on the card, Heath Herring (14-6) takes on Igor Vovchanchyn (37-4-1), who has appeared in every show -- save one -- since Pride 3. Though Nogueira exposed Herring's weaknesses in the standup last November, Mario Sperry similarly exposed a hole in Vovchanchyn's previously effective groundwork. In this match-up, Herring's significant size and weight advantage could prove to be the difference, just so long as he is able to take the fight to the canvas. If the fight stays standing for too long, Herring could end up going to the ground alone -- via knockout. Another fight that holds the promise of an exciting conclusion is Carlos Newton (9-5) and Jose "Pele" Landi (11-6). This is a bout that might very well have taken place in the Octagon had Pele not lost to Daijiro Matsui in Pride 14, which prompted the UFC to withdraw a pending contract offer. Meanwhile, a controversial defeat that forced Newton to relinquish his UFC welterweight title to Matt Hughes in UFC 34 should provide ample motivation for the carefree Canadian. While Pele often shows flashes of brilliance -- such as when he knocked out Hughes with a knee to the head in Kuwait in February 2001 -- Newton should prevail behind the strength of his superior strength, technique and grappling skills. Though there is actually a third heavyweight fight on the card, it should be nothing more than a spectacle, as Tom Erikson (8-1-1) takes on the diminutive Tim Catalfo (2-1), who is nearly a foot shorter than the six-foot five-inch leviathan -- and roughly 50 pounds lighter. Surely, it is a pairing meant to entertain the live audience at Saitama Super Arena, as the David versus Goliath angle seems to fare well in Japan. In the other fight that Pride announced before press time -- the eighth and final bout was not yet confirmed -- Matsui (4-8-2) will face Rodrigo Gracie (1-0). It seems like an ideal opportunity for the battered Matsui to earn a rare win, as he faces an untested Jiu-Jitsu specialist whose surname is sure to excite the crowd. Meanwhile, the Gracie family and their students have been in a bit of a funk -- a win from Rodrigo could start the buzz anew. It's a coin flip. Whatever the results, Pride 19 represents a huge step forward for Dream Stage Entertainment and the Pride Fighting Championship. For the first time in recent memory, they have announced the majority of their fight card well in advance. In addition to providing the combatants with the advantage of training for a specific opponent, this strategy should also help generate pay-per-view interest. To that end, this event marks Dream Stage's transition to same-day PPV broadcasts, on an expanded cable and satellite network. At the end of the day, Bad Blood may provide the transfusion Pride needs to launch a foray onto American soil in 2002. |
| Tuesday - February 26, 2002 |
FCF TV is on tonight on MSG at 11:30PM EST |
| Wednesday - February 27, 2002 |
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By Keith Mills 
Springfield, MA--Mass Destruction VI made headway or should I say handway in MA this weekend when they held 15 fight bouts plus 2 grappling and 1 closed fist exhibition matches [pictured at right]. The event was sanctioned by the MA Boxing Commission including the judges and refs. Promoter Kipp Kollar has been trying hard lately to get closed fist matches legalized in the state so tonight's closed fist exhibition by Jeremy Libiszewski and Christian Stickney was a leap forward.UFC fighter Keith Rockell [pictured below] made his debut as a ref sanctioned by the state of MA. 
In addition there were exhibition matches including Marcos Gomez and Jesse Quiterio in a kids grappling match (both were 9 years old), and the all-important Jeremy Libiszewski and Christian Stickney in a closed fist exhibition. |
From Susumu's Gallery: Hello, We have added 25 pictures from Pride 19 held on February 24th. Please enjoy! Susumu's Gallery: http://come.to/susumu |
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From RITC writer/statistician John Petrilli: Homer Moore vs. Joseph Riggs Edwin Dewees vs. Drew Fickett Time: Doors Open: 6:00PM, Fight Time: 8:00PM Location: Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona Tickets $20 (rows 14-25), $30 (rows 4-13) and $45 (rows 1-3) The Celebrity Theatre Box Office at 602-267-1600 can hold advanced ticket purchases at will-call. Co-Main Events: Homer "The Rock" Moore (210 lbs) vs. Joseph Riggs (235 lbs) Edwin Dewees (195 lbs) vs. Drew Fickett (185 lbs) Rage in the Cage is proud to announce an outstanding Co-Main Event matchup for RITC 34, Edwin Dewees vs. Drew Fickett. Edwin Dewees is currently on a 16-fight win streak in RITC matches. During this streak, he has one decision victory (over Christophe Leininger), 14 round 1 submissions and one round 2 submission. An awesome streak!! Drew Fickett has an undefeated (8-0) record in RITC matches. During this streak, he has one decision victory (over the current #1 ranked RITC Welterweight) and seven round 1 submissions/KO's. Also an awesome streak!! Cumulatively, that's 24 straight RITC victories with 21 of these occurring in the first round. Drew was recently selected as the top RITC "pound for pound" fighter, with Edwin a close second. On March 15, the top RITC "pound for pound" fighter will be determined in the ring, the way it should be. This is a dream matchup for RITC fans. Don't be shutout, get your tickets early. There will be a total of 12 fights. 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 |
| Thursday - February 28, 2002 |
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From the event's promoter: 'Return of the Heavyweights' 
A mixture of strikers and grapplers complete the tournament field for Extreme Challenge 47: Return of the Heavyweights.Undefeated Mike Kyle [pictured], huge Ernest "Samson" Henderson, Brad Anderson and Eric Klepper will compete in the 8-man heavyweight tourney March 16 at McKay Events Center in Orem, Utah. They join previously announced fighters Tim Sylvia, Rocky Batastini, Matt Frembling and Gabe Beaupurthy. In an alternate bout, Ray Harris will face Dino Delacruz. "These final four guys were picked from a pretty large group of fighters," said co-promoter Monte Cox. "We wanted to get a good mixture, so we took Kyle and Klepper, who are known for their strong striking ability... and Henderson and Anderson, who have wrestling and submission experience." The winner and runnerup in the tourney will earn berths in the mega 16-man heavyweight tourney at Super Brawl on April 26-27 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Winner of that event pockets $10,000. In the first qualifier, held earlier this month in Des Moines, Iowa, winner Ben Rothwell and runnerup Mike Radnov earned berths into the Hawaii event. Besides the tourney and alternate fight, it was previously announced that local favorite Jennifer Howe would defend her Extreme Challenge women's title against Angela Restad of Seattle. Also, Salt Lake's Phil Henderson will battle Provo's Chris Kiever in and all-Utah heavyweight bout. The tourney field...
Mike Kyle6-4, 250, Boise, Idaho MMA record: 7-0 Strengths: Knockout power Ernest Henderson 6-3, 380, Ellensburg, Washington MMA record: 0-1 Strengths: Jiu-Jitsu, judo Brad Anderson 6-2, 220, Colorado Springs, Colo. MMA record: 4-1 Strengths: Wrestling, judo Eric Klepper 6-7, 280, Temecula, Calif. MMA record: 5-4 Strengths: Muay Thai Tim Sylvia 6-8, 260, Bettendorf, Iowa MMA record: 7-0 Strengths: Striking, reach Matt Frembling 6-0, 240, Los Angeles MMA record: 7-0 Strengths: Well-rounded Gabe Beaupurthy 6-2, 255, Colorado Springs MMA record: 6-3 Strengths: Judo, wrestling Rocky Batastini 6-2, 300, Reno, Nev. MMA record: 11-6 Strengths: Striking Alternate fighters... Ray Harris 6-0, 250, Cincinnati, Ohio MMA record: 0-0 Strengths: Striking Dino Delacruz 5-10, 315, Salt Lake City MMA record: 0-0 Strengths: Striking |
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