The Mixed Martial Arts Thread.

Littledragon

Above The Law
SuperBrawl: Icon - July 23.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005
MMA fans in Honolulu Hawaii will be treated once again to a world class MMA show on Saturday night July 23rd. Super Brawl Champion Falaniko Vitale will put his shiny new belt on the line against "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler.

"I was thrilled to knock out (Masanori) Suda and win the belt. (Vitale won the belt on April 9th with a thrilling flyin punch K.O.) I waited a long time for that opportunity" said Niko VItale. When asked why he did not take a "tune-up" fight, Vitale responded, "The fans don't want to see me fight a tomato can. The fans here in Hawaii are a big part of what I do. They stood behind me on my way up and I don't want to dissapoint them."

The ever comfident Lawler stated "I am very excited for this fight. Niko is a big powerfull guy but I plan on standing in front of him and throwing some big powrfull shots of my own." When asked about fighting in Niko's hometown and a possible judges decision Lawler replied "We don't need to worry about that. This fight will not make it that far. Somebody will end up on the canvas."
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
World Extreme Fighting From Houston, Texas.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Don’t miss your chance to see the World Extreme Fighting coming to you live for the first time live in Houston, TX - one night only, Saturday, July 16th at the Toyota Center.

Shot for shot, pound for pound, fighters will face-off inside the octagon cage proving once and for all who the champion of World Extreme Fighting is. Buy your tickets now for the action-packed WEF event. Tickets start at $20 for a full night of fighting! This will be an intense, take-down, knock- out event - the athletes and the fight of a lifetime.

There will be discount tickets for offered. Your order will be processed with best available seating. Seating is subject to availability. Deadline to purchase tickets will be July 8, 2005.

Saturday, July 16, 2005. @ 7:30 pm

Tickets prices include:

$75.00 discounted to $70.00
$55.00 discounted to $50.00
$35.00 discounted to $30.00
$25.00 discounted to $20.00

To purchase discounted tickets please contact Tiffany Hill at 713-758-7577

Tickets On Sale NOW!

Buy your tickets early to guarantee great seats!!!!!!!!!!

Participating Fighters
Sam Adkins
Eric Loveless
Nick Gonzalez
Lee King
Randy Huaer
Adam Arendondo
Angel Espino
Freddie Especuerta
James Pokluda
Brandon McDowell
Javier Mejia
Ty Baker
Jody Draper
Conor Brantley
Victor Garza
Frank Kimsey
Rocky Long
Devon Miller
Steve Jimenez
Jose Luiz Munoz
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
The Northern Touch: Ultimate Cage Wars Wrap Up.

June 23, 2005
by Kelsey Mowatt (pactproductions@gmail.com)

This week’s edition includes a final in-depth look at the UCW card from Saturday including results and interviews with Shawn Tompkins, Justin Tavernini, Cody Dillman and UCW promoter and competitor Kryzstof Soszynski.

Soszynski: Wins Big at UCW: Caged Inferno

Saturday night turned out to be another huge success in the mixed martial arts career of Winnipeg native Kryzstof Soszynski. The Winnipeg native managed to secure a victory over Ron Fields in the main event at Caged Inferno, an event that Soszynski promoted himself.

“I thought the show was great,” Soszynski said. “I have received a lot of feed back and everyone was very happy with the show, giant screens, a ramp for fighters, more lights, louder sound, and better food for the VIPs. As far as the attendance goes I do not have the final numbers but 2,500 roughly.”

The card from all reports included several outstanding battles, including a slugfest between Team Tompkins fighter Aaron Tregear and Lethbridge stand out Jesse Bongfeldt.

Soszynski was impressed with Tregear’s performance.

“This was a great war,” he said. “Both fighters came out hard. Jesse took some good shots but came back fighting hard, had a near guillotine for the finish, just could not squeeze hard enough for the finish. Aaron is huge — wow what a specimen. He definitely was the stronger of the two. And great cardio: Jesse was getting a bit tired and Aaron just kept coming. And at the beginning of round three Jesse took a lot of hard shots and the ref had to step in.”

Several fights stood out for Soszynski, and the promoter wanted to make note of it to Sherdog.com.

“Matt Macdonald versus Chris Horodecki was a great war. Matt for his first MMA fight showed a lot of heart and determination; he knew he had a very tough fight. He trained like a mad man and gave everything he had in this fight. Horodecki is for sure going places in the sport only being 17 years old; wow the kid is good.

“Jon Henderson is also a young up and comer and showed a lot. He was dropped and came back strong and finished his opponent.

“Curt Mckinnon also is another young up and comer who has impressed me a lot. And I would love to see Aaron Tregear versus Curt Mckinnon at UCW 3 on October 22.”

Ricardo Francois had been Soszynski’s scheduled opponent for the UCW main event however Francois informed the organization he would be unable to fight several days before the event. Veteran fighter Ron Fields stepped in on extremely short notice to take on one of Canada’s fastest rising light heavyweights.

Putting a professional record of 9-1 on the line against Fields and his record of 8-12, Soszynski did not disappoint his hometown fans in winning the bout shortly within the first round.

“I really don’t remember much to be honest,” he said, “too much adrenaline. I remember a takedown, and I passed the guard then went for an armbar, which he defended and got on top of me. Then I quickly secured another armbar from the bottom. I did not feel him tap but I let go because it felt like it was on for a while.”

Another victory for Soszynski is furthering the fighter’s will to make it to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Soszynski is convinced that if he can defeat Bobby Southworth at the upcoming Freedom Fight in July, the UFC may in fact come a calling.

Finally, with details rather limited at this point, Soszynski also wanted to inform Sherdog.com and his supporters that he will no longer be training with Rodrigo Munduruca and his team. “I am no longer a member of Team Munduruca,” he said. “I was kicked out of the club right after UCW Caged Inferno, don’t know the reasons why. I will be training with Joe (Doerksen) for a while and then maybe head over to train with Joe at Jeremy Horn’s club or perhaps Team Tompkins which also invited me.”

UCW: Caged Inferno, Official Results from June 18

Jerin Valel def. Shane Slade TKO 1:40 R1
Grant Tennant def. Scott Gaulton TKO 1:23 R1
Curt McKinnon def. Jacob Macdonald submission (triangle choke) 1:29 R1
Jon Henderson def. Lee Gaudet TKO 3:44 R1
Kevin Manderson def. John Laing submission (rear-naked choke) 2:23 R1
Bill Boland def. Jeff Sutherland TKO 2:28 R1
Chris Clements def. Brad Calder TKO 1:40 R1
Justin Tavernini def. Sonny Leong submission (armbar) 4:20 R1
Cody Dillman def. Alex Sung submission (guillotine choke) 0:57 R1
Chris Horodecki def. Matt Macdonald TKO (doctor stoppage) 1:21 R3
Aaron Tregear def. Jesse Bongfeldt TKO 1:46 R3
Krzysztof Soszynski def. Ron Fields submission (armbar) 2:25 R1

Team Tompkins Rolls to Victory at UCW: Caged Inferno

Shawn Tompkins and his team left Winnipeg this weekend on a high note, seeing three team members pull out victories at the UCW with Tompkins having nothing but praise for the event and its organizers.

“The event was one of the best run shows that I have ever taken my team to compete in,” Tompkins told Sherdog.com. “Mr. Soszynski was very fighter- and fan-friendly and this is what will make Ultimate Cage Wars one of the best organizations of the future.”

Tompkins’s team has increased its presence on the Canadian MMA scene at virtually every card lately and this weekend’s UCW was no different. The team out of London, Ontario, saw members Aaron Tregear, Chris Horodecki, and Chris Clements all win via technical knockout on Saturday night, further entrenching Team Tompkins as one of Canada’s leading competitive teams. Tompkins understandably was very proud of his fighter’s accomplishments.

“Aaron 'Double Barrel' Tregaer is one of my fastest rising stars,” he said. “But we came into the event knowing that Jesse Bongfeldt is a tough individual with a lot of great experience. Tregear followed our game plan perfectly taking the fight to Jesse immediately and hurting him with some serious strikes. The same way we treat every fight — each round became more and more intense for Tregear as we always pick the pace up. By the third round it was just a matter of landing that picture perfect back knee to the face and the fight was over. Look for big things with Aaron Tregear as I can see him going big places by the conclusion of 2005.”

“Chris Horodecki has been patiently waiting to make his MMA debut and as we predicted he was pretty much untouchable,” Tompkins continued. “Horodecki has been the training partner of Mark 'the Machine' Hominick for four years now and that has helped him overcome any kind of onslaught. He is a very complete fighter and will be making his TKO debut in September of this year. I believe he will be the holder of the Fighter of the night award many times in the near future.

“Chris Clements is also another upcoming Team Tompkins fighter with much to prove. The fight he did on the weekend in UCW is just the beginning of a bright future for him at 185 pounds. He hits harder pound-for-pound than any fighter I've ever trained.”

Other team member notables Sam Stout and Mark Hominick are scheduled to compete in upcoming TKO title fights. Unfortunately due to a recent injury, Hominick’s super lightweight title fight with Ryan Diaz will likely be postponed.

“This has been a rough summer for Mark 'The Machine' Hominick,” began Tompkins. “He has been faced with a crushed finger from his summer job. All is well with it for now, but we are still waiting for a release from the doctor for him to be able to fight. It looks like the Hominick-Diaz fight will not happen until September. But you can be sure Hominick will be ready and for now we are planning to have the same result in that fight as we did the last time.”

Fresh off a victory at K-1 in Japan Sam Stout continues to get ready for his title chance against Donald Ouimet, July 15 at TKO 21.

“We are really looking forward to having a new Team Tompkins TKO champion when Sam 'Hands of Stone' Stout fights July 15th for the lightweight title against Donald Ouimet. Stout has been very active with fighting and training this year and is currently with our brother school in Chicago training at Jeff Curran's. He will return to me in two weeks and we will put on the finishing touches.”
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
PRIDE Announces Bout Order For Critical Countdown 2005.

Thursday, June 23, 2005
TOKYO, Japan – The bout order has been announced for PRIDE FIGHTING’S next event, CRITICAL COUNTDOWN 2005.

FIGHTCARD:
(Shown in order from first to last)

Sergei Kharitonov (Russia) vs. Pedro Rizzo (Brazil)
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (Brazil) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazil) *
Igor Vovchanchyn (Ukraine) vs. Alistair Overeem (Holland) *
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (Croatia) vs. Ibragim Magomedov (Russia)
Makoto Takimoto (Japan) vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (Japan)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Brazil) vs. Pawel Nastula (Poland)
Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan) vs. Ricardo Arona (Brazil) *
Wanderlei Silva (Brazil) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan) *

* Tournament Match (Participants and Matches Subject to Change)

PRIDE FIGHTING’S 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament spans three events … TOTAL ELIMINATION (opening round), CRITICAL COUNTDOWN (Second Round) and FINAL CONFLICT (Semi-Finals and Finals). The date for FINAL CONFLICT will be announced soon.

CRITICAL COUNTDOWN 2005 premieres on North American pay per view via iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, VU!, and Viewer’s Choice Canada on July 1st at 10:00pm EST, 7:00pm PST (including a countdown show at 9:30pm EST, 6:30pm PST). For additional replay times, please contact your pay per view provider.

Related News:
Wanderlei Silva and Shogun Depart from Curitiba
Arona Talks Grand Prix, Silva and Fighting Teammates
Sherdog.com Preview: PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Critical Countdown
PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 Video Trailer
PRIDE Announces More Matches For Critical Countdown 2005
Additional Matches Added to PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005
PRIDE Announces Two Matches For Critical Countdown 2005
Quarterfinal PRIDE Middleweight GP Bouts Announced
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
FX3 “X”Plosion: Bisping Stops Cook.

June 23, 2005
by David George

READING, England, June 18 — The Rivermead Leisure Centre hosted the newest thing in UK mixed martial arts on Saturday, the Freestyle Fighting Federation. FX3 blasted out with new rules and a new octagonal ring in a bid to revolutionize the UK MMA scene. With an extremely vocal crowd of just shy of 1,500 people and an exciting evening of fighting, FX3 is off to a roaring start.

The new rules include using one 10-minute round with each fighter permitted a single 60 second timeout, to be called by a fighter’s corner when both fighters are standing, allowing the fighter whose corner called the timeout treatment whilst the other fighter remains in a neutral corner.

However, the most talked about rule change from the NSAC rules is the 60-second grappling time limit on the ground. If neither fighter is in a dominant position within this time the fighters will be returned to their feet and the fight continued. This rule was put in place to eliminate stalling on the ground, as each fighter must work to secure the finish, or be stood up.

On the face of it, you would expect this to favor the stand-up fighter, but a surprising number of fights ended up being won by submission or TKO on the ground.

The ring itself is a fairly small 23 feet across, but this lends itself to the “always on the attack” bias of the rules. There is nowhere to hide in this ring (except through the ropes, as you will see later).

And so the night begins with these words from referee Grant Waterman, “Are you ready to fight? Let’s fight!”

Heavyweight action up first as France’s Jerome Laulan and Germany’s Jochen Gieb both come straight out to trade kicks before Laulan secures the takedown into Gieb’s guard. With no work forthcoming the fighters are stood up at the end of the 60-second period, before returning to the same position courtesy of Laulan’s trip takedown.

This time Laulan passes Gieb’s guard straight to mount and begins to pound out an opening. Gieb, in an effort to defend the strikes, leaves his arms flailing and Laulan spins for the armbar to win by submission at 3:44.

On to the middleweights now with Amir Subasic arriving in the ring with no gloves. After a short hunt the official FX3 branded gloves were soon found for him and the fight was on.

Frenchman Antony Espinasse arrives in the ring, followed by trainer Damien Riccio, looking physically much bigger than the Bosnian and the strength advantage he had was telling in this match up.

A great deal of time was spent in clinch work up against the ropes with Subasic attempting a number of hip throws on the bigger man. Eventually it was Espinasse who won the battle for the takedown and he mounted Subasic and began to throw shots to the head. It was at this point that Espinasse landed an illegal downward elbow, he was warned and one point was deducted from his score.

The fight was restarted standing but went straight back to the floor as Subasic attempted an overhead sweep takedown. Unfortunately for Subasic his attempt failed and he was mounted for his troubles. From this position Espinasse was able to secure a mounted reverse triangle choke and Subasic submitted at 3:13.

Continuing the theme of fighter’s arriving incorrectly attired, Laurent Bonafoux arrived into the ring wearing his wrestling boots before being informed he would not be allowed to fight in them.

Nigel Whitear, a local fighter brought a lot of support with him, but was unable to enforce his will on the Frenchman in this fight. After a brief determined exchange Whitear was brought to the canvas by Bonafoux’s double-leg takedown. Bonafoux did not capitalize on his top position though and Whitear landed a number of good shots from the bottom guard.

This inactivity forced a standup after the regulation 60 seconds and a hard leg kick by Whitear resulted in him being put on his back again, this time Bonafoux managed to make it to side control where he landed some good elbow strikes. Whitear escapes to half guard but while eating shots his guard is passed again. Bonafoux sensing an opening, rolls into an armbar attempt but Whitear defends for dear life and Bonafoux wastes some energy trying to force the issue.

Whitear scrambles to his feet and Bonafoux, knowing his armbar has failed, locks in a standing guillotine, falls back and sweeps Whitear over his head. From the top mount position, Bonafoux jumps to side control securing the keylock submission at 3:35.

In the time it takes to turn to the person next to you and remark that Frederic Fernandez looks a lot like his brother Emmanuel, you’d have missed his fight with Ashleigh Grimshaw.

Following a right low kick from Grimshaw, which even the back rows could hear, Fernandez, a BJJ brown belt, used his strikes to flurry and catch Grimshaw, who was out before he hit the canvas.

The referee leapt on Grimshaw to protect him from damage and was pulled into guard by the dazed UK fighter. The Frenchman wins by KO at 0:16.

Standing at 6’2” tall, Philipp Schade makes for an intimidating figure in the lightweight division. But UK’s Dave Swann attempts to close in and take the bigger German down, to nullify his reach advantage in the stand-up. A failed takedown by Swann results in him being mounted, but he quickly escapes into Schade’s guard by bridging over. Schade, showing excellent jiu-jitsu, scissor sweeps Swann back into mount but just as before, Swann immediately reverses the position.

Schade tries to sweep again, but Swann is wise to this now, and showing good base begins to throw a series of powerful knees to Schade’s buttocks from within his guard.

The fighters are stood up after 60 seconds. Schade shoots in and slams Swann to the canvas, where Swann is again mounted. At this point Schade begins to throw a number of shots to set up the armbar, which he spins to. Swann slips out and from here on in begins his ascendancy.

Swann, taking a strange half “mount”/half “half guard” position — he’s mounted across Schade’s chest but with one of Schade’s legs inside and bent up against his upper body — begins to throw the first truly powerful punches of this match. Schade covers up desperately before attempting a sweep then a leg lock.

From this position Swann slides into full mount, where he rains a number of unanswered blows down on the German. With no intelligent defense forthcoming Swann wins by referee stoppage at 4:22.

Swann is visibly elated to have battled through such adversity to take the win and salutes the crowd for their support.
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
K-1 Hero's announced the full card for their July 6, Yoyogi Gymnasium card.

K-1 Hero's announced the full card for their July 6, Yoyogi Gymnasium card.

K-1 legends Peter Aerts and Ray Sefo will be making their mma debut's against Wakashoyo and Min Soo Kim.

2x5
Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Arslan Magomedov
Hideo Tokoro vs. Alexandre Franca Nogueira
Koji Yoshida vs. Royler Gracie
Takehiro Murahama vs. Remigijus Morkevicius
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Jani Lax

3x5
Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Ian Schaffa
Bob Sapp vs. Alan Karaev
Ray Sefo vs. Min Soo Kim
Peter Aerts vs. Wakashoyo
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Carl Toomey
Rodrigo Gracie vs. Kiuma Kunioku
Katsuya Inoue vs. Akira Kikuchi

Caol Uno was pulled off the card due to a neck injury.
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
After a slow start to his professional career, Bart Palaszewski has hit his stride... winning the Xtreme Fighting Organization lightweight title and beating 14 of 16 opponents.

Clay Guida hopes to take the title away today at XFO 6 and extend his own winning streak to 12 in the process.

"It makes for a great title fight... two well-liked fighters from Chicago battling it out in Chicago for the bragging rights and the XFO title," said co-promoter Dan Lardy. "This fight has generated a lot of hype, which has translated into ticket sales... we'll definitely have our biggest crowd ever."

The bigger crowd can also be attributed to one big decision... the XFO is being held outside at 4 p.m. today. The event is still at the Lakemoor Banquet Facility, but it will be held out back in a field where there is plenty of room. Gates opening at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at the gate, or by calling Curran Martial Arts at 815 356-0454.

The last three XFO events have sold out and crowds packed into the banquet hall. This time, up to 3,000 spectators can watch the show. And, with 18 bouts on the card, it promises to be a lengthy afternoon of fighting.

UFC veteran Jeff Curran (21-7) will step up to the lightweight division again to take on Steve Kinnison (12-3) in the main event. Also, UFC vet Gideon Ray (8-2-1) will face dangerous Dennis Reed (41-35-1) in a middleweight bout.

June 25 * Lakemoor Banquet Facility, Lakemoor, IL

Main event
Steve Kinnison vs. Jeff Curran

XFO title fight
Bart Palaszewski vs. Clay Guida

Feature bouts
Dennis Reed vs. Gideon Ray

Main card
Red Shafer vs. Jason Guida
Shawn McCauley vs. Rory Markham
Chris Malgeri vs. Gabe Lemley
Jay Estrada vs. Brandon Adamson
Ryan McGivern vs. Mike Todorovic

Under Card
Tyler Combs vs. Nate Mohr
Zack Kidd vs. Darby Haanpaa
Omar Choudhury vs. John Hosman
Robert Hitte vs. Mike Fouke
Mike Pegg vs. Ali Lewis
Vito Woods vs. Jason Bender
John Friedland vs. Scott Bickerstaff
Justin Hutter vs. Terry Davinney
Reese Shaner vs. John Eldridge
TBA vs. Adam Maciejewski
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
Pride FC Results.

June 26, 2005
by Akira Fujimoto (tokyoite3000@yahoo.com)

TOKYO, June 26 — Saitama Super Arena is a massive building, one where 45,102 souls gathered Sunday night to bear witness to the second round of PRIDE’s Middleweight Grand Prix, featuring several of the world’s best 205-pound fighters.

Sunday’s main event featured Hidehiko Yoshida dojo member Kazuhiro Nakamura against Wanderlei Silva, the reigning PRIDE middleweight (205 pounds) and middleweight Grand Prix champion. My head told me Silva was going to win this one, but my heart said that if anyone could pull off an upset, it would be Nakamura.

Silva has fought two hard bouts with Yoshida and many were hoping for another classic with his protégé. Backstage I saw Silva warm up with his trainer; he worked sprawls and knees and looked just devastating.

The fight started with Nakamura, who fought in a short sleeve judo gi top and shorts, and Silva trading punches. I was a little shocked that Nakamura was willing to stand and trade with Silva in a bout that looked a bit like a K-1 match. Eventually the two fighters got into a clinch and Nakamura ended up on the ground, to which Silva responded by attempting some of his infamous stomps.

After some scrambling, both fighters got back to their feet and the slugfest continued. You could see that the bunching up of Nakamura’s gi was interfering with his punching, so while facing Silva he quickly ripped it off. This was where the beginning of the end happened for Nakamura.

It looked like Nakamura almost expected Silva to stand down for a second while he ripped off his gi top. Of course, Silva did no such thing and kept coming at Nakamura full throttle. A second after Nakamura got the gi top off, he was downed by a punch from Silva.

After another brief scramble, Silva managed to mount his opponent. From here he started to rain down with strikes and the fight was stopped at the 5:24 mark of round one. With the victory Silva, one of three Brazilians to gain the distinction, earned entry into August’s GP Finals.

Silva’s Chute Boxe team member, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, took on Brazilian Top Team fighter Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. This was probably the most exciting bout of the night, as both fighters came out swinging. Once again, this fight looked more like a K-1 match rather than an MMA fight; whenever they were on their feet, they just went at each other throwing vicious bombs.

Both fighters got knocked down with punches during the course of this slobber knocker. Shogun was able to Greco-Roman Nogueira down several times, yet on the ground both fighters struggled hard to get good positions. Nogueira attempted several kimuras and triangles.

These guys kept pounding each other for 20 minutes until the final bell signaled no more. Shogun took the unanimous decision. Afterwards, the effects of the fight could be seen on Shogun, who sported a really nasty looking black eye.

In another highly anticipated Grand Prix fight, crowd favorite Kazushi Sakuraba took on Ricardo Arona. Prior to this match, Sherdog.com’s Masa Fukui and I saw a bicycle in the backstage area and wondered what it was doing there. A little later, our speculation was answered when we saw Sakuraba, dressed up as a Japanese junior high school student, riding the bike down the walkway to the ring.

The first round started and both fighters moved around, feeling each other out. Eventually Sakuraba, who came to the ring with mountains of tape on both knees, went for a shot. But Arona caught him and fired some knees from the top. Both fighters got to their feet and continued to circle around the ring. Sakuraba went in for another shot, only to be caught in a similar situation, with Arona holding on to him and firing knees to his head.

Towards the end of the round, with both fighters on the canvas, Sakuraba had a nice attempt at an armbar, but it slipped away from him.

While watching this on the monitor in the post-fight interview space, Shogun and some other members of the Chute Boxe team stood right behind me in the adjacent warm up area watching as well.

The second period was a tough one for Sakuraba. Arona caught him after a failed shot attempt and drove knees to his head from the top. This is how most of the round played out. The Japanese star survived to see the end of the round but he couldn’t continue into the third.

Backstage I saw Sakuraba having to be helped to his dressing room. Apparently after the fight he went directly to the hospital. Hopefully we’ll be able to see him fight another day, but I think that retirement may be looming.

The only tournament match-up without a Brazilian competitor featured “The Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem versus the master of the Russian hook, Igor Vovchanchyn. I was really looking forward to this fight and my money was on Igor — seeing him in real life, you quickly realize that his guy is one tough, strong dude.

The fight started and Overeem threw some of his patented knees. Action briefly went to the ground where Overeem took side control. Eventually they got to their feet and the Dutchman caught Vovchanchyn in a standing guillotine, choking his fellow European for the tapout just 80 seconds after the opening bell. This was a pretty quick victory, which was both surprising and disappointing.

One of the great things about being backstage is that you get to see how the fighters are outside of the ring. Vovchanchyn chatted up a storm with Sergei Kharitonov next to the interview area while Overeem had his gorgeous girlfriend with him.

During his interview, Overeem said that he had a strange dream that he would win with a guillotine. He further stated that he’s comfortable on the ground but prefers striking, and that he was hoping to face the winner of the Sakuraba-Arona fight.
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
‘Mighty Mo’ and Botha Usher In Mayhem At The Mirage.

-1 “Battle at Bellagio III” tournament champion “Mighty Mo” Siligia (26-3 (20 KO’s) will collide with former world boxing champion Francois “The White Buffalo” Botha (46-11-2 (30 KO’s) during a three-round K-1 “Mayhem At The Mirage” Superfight on Saturday, August 13th.

Expected to be a duel dominated by punching power, the matchup between the 265 pound Siligia and the 250 pound Botha will mark the first time ever that the two will have met in competition.

Siligia is coming off his single greatest triumph in the squared circle, a hard-fought, Superfight victory over reigning K-1 king Remy Bonjasky at Las Vegas, Nevada’s Bellagio on Saturday, April 30th. A considerable underdog, Siligia patiently waited to close the distance between his long legged opponent and him and, upon finally doing so in the third and final scheduled round of action, struck Bonjasky down with a short, but vicious right hand. Bonjasky recovered, but the knockdown gave Siligia a slight edge on the judges’ scorecards and a victory via split decision.

Since he made his introduction to K-1 last February, Siligia, a protégé of trainer Eddy Millis, has become recognized as a force amongst martial arts fighting’s best, one who recently expanded his arsenal to include a heavy roundhouse kick. During what was only the second tournament start of his career on August 7th of last year, the stocky, heavy hitter defeated three straight opponents to capture the K-1 “Battle at Bellagio III” tournament championship.

A former International Boxing Federation (IBF) world heavyweight crownholder, Botha undertook a new challenge in “The New Fighting Sport” a year and a half ago. After coming up short in his first few attempts, the South African native abruptly turned his fortunes around towards the close of last year when he scored back to back knockouts on two of the sport’s most accomplished figures in Peter Aerts and Jerome LeBanner in September and December, respectively.

Botha’s only four defeats in the world of boxing came at the hands of Michael Moorer, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, and Wladimir Klitschko, all of whom were present or former world champions at the time Botha faced them.

Tickets for K-1 “Mayhem At The Mirage” will officially go on sale on K-1 North America’s website, www.k-1usa.net, on Friday, July 1st. Tickets will be priced at $300, $200, $100, and $50, respectively.

The remainder of the lineup for the August 13th K-1 event has yet to be announced, but the names of participating fighters will be revealed gradually over the course of the next several weeks.

Mighty Mo vs Frans Botha
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
Aftermath Of Pride GP.

June 27, 2005
by Stephen Martinez (stephen_lynnpa@yahoo.com)

TOKYO, June 27 — By now many Sherdog.com readers already checked out Sunday’s PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix results along with the videos and reports provided by Masa Fukui and his half-twin brother Akira Fujimoto.

While these two have been talking all weekend about parties and girls and covering the event for the fans out there, I, on the other hand, have nothing interesting to say about my PRIDE weekend. No parties. No girls waiting for me before or after the show.

In fact the only interesting thing that happened to me this weekend was the fact that I spent close to two hours on the train to go to Saitama Super Arena to catch PRIDE. Same way when I come back home after another two hours on the train. Now the bad thing is I usually fall sleep on the train just to wake up and find myself still on the middle of the train line on my way there or coming back home. The good thing is, despite all the pain I need to endure to go to Saitama, I really enjoy this sport and I won’t change this opportunity to see a live PRIDE show for anything.

Anyway, let’s break this special edition of the Nippon Joho with some PRIDE GP matches that caught my attention. This is not a play-by-play of what happened Sunday. But since I was checking the show live while taking my pictures for Sherdog.com I got to see some stuff inside the arena that might not be available on Friday’s American tape-delayed Pay-Per-View.

Is Kharitonov a Machine or Rizzo Overrated?

The first bout on the card placed the new Russian sensation Sergei Kharinotov against former UFC top contender Pedro Rizzo. Now this was Kharinotov seventh fight inside PRIDE and he’s quickly climbing the ranks of popularity among Japanese fans. He got a huge reaction from the crowd, while Rizzo received the usual “welcome to Japan” treatment from the audience.

Kharinotov only needed two minutes to brutalize Rizzo with strikes while Rizzo looked slow, out of shape and without rhythm. I think the biggest mistake on Rizzo’s part was taking two years off just to step inside the ring against a top fighter in his comeback. Meanwhile, Kharinotov is just getting better and better with each fight, especially with his striking.

Quite interesting is the fact that Kharinotov told the Japanese media after his brutal knockout of Murilo Rua back at PRIDE Total Elimination 2004 that he doesn’t like striking and he would rather consider himself a grappler. Kharinotov is likely in the running for a title shot against the winner of Mirko Filipovic and Fedor Emelianenko, or probably a rematch with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to determinate who become the new No. 1 contender.

The Koji Fuse Report

Koji Fuse is one of Japan’s top mixed martial arts journalists. He usually writes reports and articles for SportNavi Japan along with other local MMA magazines. Between Fuse articles we can always find a pre-PRIDE show report where he picks the winner of each bout along with some interesting inside information about the fighters and the possible outcome. From this article I got some interesting piece of information regarding UFC and PRIDE dealings to exchange fighters between promotions.

According to Fuse’s article, PRIDE offered Kharinotov to Zuffa for the last UFC 53. Fuse explained the deal was to place Kharinotov against Tim Sylvia as part of the exchange deal between both UFC and PRIDE, but Sylvia turned down the offer. This gave DSE the idea to place Rizzo against Kharinotov in PRIDE because Rizzo is considered an ex-UFC fighter.

Now I don’t know the other side of the story as to why Sylvia turned down the fight versus Kharinotov in UFC just to take later a fight versus Assuerio Silva at the upcoming UFC 54. Probably he was told not to take the fight against a not well know fighter like Kharinotov. But then he goes and takes the fight with Assuerio, so this doesn’t make sense.

Perhaps Sylvia didn’t want anything to do with the Russian fighter inside the cage. Whatever it is, this is quite interesting because we were really close to have for the first time a UFC vs. PRIDE fight inside the octagon. But I guess we will need to wait a little bit more.

Shogun is the Real Deal

If I need to find a word to describe the Mauricio Rua versus Antonio Rogerio Nogueira match it would be “war.” Both fighters came at each other hard with strikes and gave us the best bout of the night — and probably one of the best matches this year so far.

Shogun is red hot in Japan right now. The crowd seems to love him, especially the girls and PRIDE knows this. His Chute Boxe style is the perfect combination between aggression and excitement for the fans, but a total nightmare to every opponent.

Rodrigo Nogueira impressed the hell out of me with his striking; he landed good punches and even knocked down Shogun early in the first round. Now I see some controversy regarding the decision floating around between our very own forum users at Sherdog.net, and while I’m not a fight expert I see Shogun winning the match fair and square.

I don’t take any credit away from Nogueira, since he also did a hell of a fight but the biggest Brazilian Top Team weakness showed up once again in this fight and this is more likely what cost the fight to Nogueira in the judges’ cards.

BTT fighters in PRIDE, with Arona being the exception, show little improvement in the wrestling/takedown department. I counted the same clinch trip from Shogun to Nogueira like six times with pretty much all of them giving Shogun top position. Most of the time when the fight was on the ground we found Shogun scoring punches from the top or scoring diving punches over Nogueira. So in other words Rua did a lot more than Nogueira to take the fight down and work from there.

Sure Nogueira had some nice submission attempts but Shogun answered with flying punches, stomps, soccer kicks and sheer aggression from inside Nogueira guard.

With Quinton Jackson pretty much gone or taking a break from PRIDE, I see both Shogun and Nogueira taking a spot next to Arona as the top three fighters inside the PRIDE middleweight division behind champion Wanderlei Silva.
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
June 29, 2005
by Scott Holmes (sholmes@stgarchitects.com)

PLANO, Texas, June 24 — Ten years ago I dragged five of my friends (back when I had friends) to a coliseum in Amarillo, Texas. My friends didn't really know what they were in for. I had fallen in love with this thing called the UFC about a year prior and now here it was in my own town.

The “coliseum” was a crappy building that normally housed rodeos and tractor pulls. Coliseums normally conjure up images of Roman times and this place, with its boxing ring in the middle of a dirt floor, resembled more of something out of “Roadhouse”.

The event was called Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation (USWF for short). It was a Pancrase-style fight with most of the usual rules but only allowed for "open hand" strikes. With 90 percent of the crowd unsure of what they were about to witness, the atmosphere was still pretty electric.

Most of the guys on the fight card were nobodies or local tough guys, so we all had fun picking who we thought would win this UFC-style tournament. Minutes before the event began I spotted one of my dad’s friends from church. He was an Olympic alternate stud wrestler who had just moved to town. I had a pretty good idea of who might win the tournament.

None of us knew then that in the final match that night, we would see history in the making as UFC veteran Paul Jones would beat up a young kid named Heath Herring.

Like I said it’s been about 10 years, and after seeing this sport explode I finally was able to see “closed fist” fighting in Texas.

Inferno Meltdown was the first of three shows slated for this summer from new fight organization Inferno Promotions. Looking to seize on the rising popularity of MMA and the new rule changes in Texas, the Inferno brass plans on showcasing the local talented athletes that are trying to compete.

Inferno was held at the Plano Centre in the Dallas suburb of Plano. The venue was small and intimate, which is great for the smaller shows. Picture if you will, a large oversized hotel conference room with a large stage on one end. I’d guess the place could hold a couple thousand fans. Most of the room was full by the end of the night making it a pretty good turnout for a first time show.

I appreciated the attention to detail and how everything ran real smooth. The ring crew, announcer, ref and production crew were all first rate, something you almost never see at a smaller show. I was impressed with the large screens above the ring so you could see all the action. Outside in the lobby, many vendors and sponsors had booths set up and that was a pretty novel idea, sponsorship combined with actual exposure to the fans.

With exception to maybe the beer line being too long, it was a near perfect place to see a fight. The beer line wasn’t my problem though because I skipped the beer in lieu of trying to run down Pete Spratt and Guy Mezger, both of who were there to corner young fighters. Pete sounded excited about his upcoming match with T.U.F. wrestler Josh Koscheck. He told me that he matches up well with Josh’s style and thinks that he’ll be able to handle Josh’s take-you-down-and-hold-on skills.

Mr. Mezger was also kind enough to talk to me and not ignore me like the majority of Dallas’s women. First off he’s doing very well health wise and told me that he looked forward to seeing his guys get to compete and try to help Texas catch up with the rest of the MMA friendly states.

I was just about to ask Guy what he thought about the whole Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes madness when I heard the music start back up in the main room and I excused myself for the first bout.

James Montgomery and Troy Owen were both around the 200lb mark and they rushed each other as soon as the bell rang. Owens attempted a throw on Montgomery but instead ended up being mounted. Montgomery started throwing punches from up top. They scooted under the ropes and the ref stood them up for a restart.

Again they ended up under the ropes somehow and on the restart Owens grabbed Montgomery in a schoolyard "bulldog" headlock. Montgomery slipped out but then got caught in a standing guillotine. He didn’t look to be in much trouble but then they dropped to the ground and Owen maintained the guillotine and trapped Montgomery's leg to keep him from maneuvering to get out.

Montgomery wasn’t totally choked but his windpipe as getting squeezed like a toy. Stuck without many options he tried to wait patiently for Owen to tire out and release the hold, but after a minute or so Montgomery was screwed. He tapped and Owen won by tapout at 4:58 in the first round.

I’ll refrain from giving you the ending times of the rest of the fights. All but one ended early in the first round.

Guy Mezger was on hand to corner Eric Schambari and his training showed. Schambari started the fight off against Jamey Herbert with a solid right cross that turned Herbert's head and woke up the crowd.

Herbert was taken down easily and Schambari secured side mount where he fired off some punches to the grill and big knees to Herbert's ribs. From the North/South position Schambari secured Herbert's right arm and cranked out a kimura, ending the fight by tapout in just a few minutes. Schambari is a Grappler’s Quest competitor and looks fairly technical. I’ll be looking forward to seeing him fight again.
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
Latest MMA News!

K-1 World Max 2005 Final
K-1 announced match-ups for the 2005 World K-1 Max Finals set for July 20, 2005 from the Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa, Japan.

Defending champion Buakaw Por.Pramuk from Thailand takes on Mongolian Jadamba Narantungalag in the first quarterfinal and 2004 runner-up Masato fights Greece's always dangerous Mike Zambidis.

Buakaw Por.Pramuk vs Jadamba Narantungalag
Albert Kraus vs John Wayne Parr
Takayuki Kohiruimaki vs Andy Souwer
Masato vs Mike Zambidis

Reserve Fight
Kasuya Yasuhiro vs Darius Skliaudys

Superfight
Yoshihiro Sato vs Virgil Kalakoda
------------------------------------
Cung Le's Born to Fight V
BORN TO FIGHT is an annual amateur kickboxing event focused around San Shou, also known as Chinese Kickboxing.

The largest of its kind in the US, this event is one of the best venues for a young fighter to try his San Shou skills as well as a premier display of San Shou at its best.

This year’s event is on track to achieve the same great success as BORN TO FIGHT I through IV. In fact, with interest already brewing from some of the approximate 3500 attendees of last years packed house it will be more than explosively exciting. We are confident with many returning competitors from backgrounds in point fighting, Karate, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, and Olympic style Tae Kwon Do that the fight for a coveted BORN TO FIGHT Gold Medal will be challenging, but in the reach of all that train hard as champions.

To add to the excitement and prestige, the best fights of the tournament are being filmed for a documentary pilot. The grand experience of SUPER FIGHT NIGHT will be sure to impress all spectators. This year the reputation of BORN TO FIGHT transcends international borders to bring top amateur competitors from other parts of the world as well as some of our own top amateur champions. Obtaining a BORN TO FIGHT title is one of the most prestigious of the year. This will be an event to remember for all who wish to see the world champions of the future.

USA SAN SHOU TEAM TRAILS held at BORN TO FIGHT V

The Team Trials for the USA San Shou Team will be held at BORN TO FIGHT during the day time tournament. Every other year, the USA sends some of its best San Shou fighters to compete in a San Shou worldwide championship for the ultimate test of skills. In 2003, The USA team comprised 5 men and 4 women. Competition was fierce but the team managed to bring home one bronze, one silver, and one gold medal. The gold medal the USA's first ever and was won by veteran BORN TO FIGHT fighter Elaina Maxwell. This year's world championships will be held in Vietnam in December, and Cung Le will be heading up the training for the team. Experienced San Shou fighters are welcomed to try out for the team. Trials are held in a tournament like elimination. To qualify for the trials, you must first become a member of the USA Wushu Kung Fu Federation (USAWKF). Annual membership is $25.

Then you must register for fighting using the standard BORN TO FIGHT V application. Indicate on your registration that you are trying out for the USA team. Registration fee of $60 for the team trials is separate from the fees for the BORN TO FIGHT tournament.
-------------------------------------
Sakuraba Released from Tokyo Hospital
Fears of the second severe orbital bone injury in Kazushi Sakuraba's career were quelled Saturday when the Takada Dojo announced his release from a Tokyo-area hospital after spending four days there following a brutal TKO loss to Ricardo Arona on June 26.

Nearly three years after a broken eye socket against heavyweight Mirko Filipovic appeared to endanger his career, Sakuraba, a natural 185-pound fighter whose résumé includes numerous battles against heavier men, appears to have fought his last 205-pound fight, PRIDE president Noboyuki Sakakibara told the press days after the fight.

Should he continue fighting, Sakuraba has an open invitation into PRIDE’s Bushido “welterweight” (183-pound) tournament later this year, Sakakibara said.
----------------
Cage Rage 12: Weir Back on Track, “Shaolin” Dominates Again
LONDON, July 2 — Credit must be given where credit is due. There have been better Cage Rage cards on paper but as far as I am concerned, this one tonight in the Wembley Conference Centre was a landmark event.

One controversial match aside, these fights delivered everything that the promoters could have wished for — and more. We saw new stars arise, ailing fortunes recover and bright flames extinguished. We were treated to what were, on the whole, exciting, fast-paced fights filled with triumph, disappointment and frustration.

There was a worry that the withdrawal of Lee Murray from the card would result in a severe loss of attendance but this did not seem to materialize. Although there were quite a few empty seats at the beginning of the show these were gradually filled up and by the time the main event fights rolled around, the arena looked mostly packed.

It was to be a night of revelations and reintroductions as the real Mark Weir finally stood up to the counted. No more reckless explosions at the beginning of each round - his was a performance characterized by controlled, carefully rationalized aggression.

Weir opened with a takedown, landing in Sol Gilbert's guard and announcing his intentions with a flurry of strikes on the ground. There were a couple of pauses in the punishment as the prone Gilbert managed to push Weir off him with his feet.

But "The Wizard" would not be put off and just kept coming, jumping back on top of his opponent and cutting loose with rapid-fire elbows and punches. Gilbert tried to stem the flow by tying Weir's gangly limbs up.

Towards the end of the first round Weir calmly passed the guard and a desperate Gilbert rolled over. Weir gratefully took his back and seemed to have the rear-naked choke locked in tight but Gilbert gutted it out with just ten seconds left in an exciting first round.

I saw Sol Gilbert' face as he came out for the second round and he looked frustrated and intimidated. I've never seen that expression on his face before and it stuck with me as Weir moved forward, scenting blood.

A frustrated Gilbert missed a wild swing as the two exchanged, and Weir took advantage, forcing his opponent to the canvas where he punished him again with more ground-and-pound.

This was to be the story of the round. Weir patiently stalked his frustrated, retreating opponent across the cage, bossing the stand-up exchanges and scoring a second takedown late in the round, mounting and continuing to clobber his battered opponent into submission.

As the round ended we were afforded a glimpse of the future in Gilbert's mashed up face — a referee stoppage, which, sure enough, materialized between the rounds. Weir redeemed himself with a fantastic performance and a great victory to become the new Cage Rage British middleweight champion.

In a very real clash of the titans, 6-foot-4, 300-pound Antonio "Pezao" Silva beat Rafael "Earthquake" Carino senseless. There's no other way to put justice to the sheer power of the 23-year-old Brazilian.

Silva's hands look like sledgehammers and tonight they acted like that too. The younger Brazilian was clearly looking for the knockout from the beginning, testing Carino's chin with a heavy jab as the fight opened. Carino had seen enough, expending a lot of energy in closing the distance, tying up the younger man and pushing him against the cage. From here there was a brief stall as Carino was unable to take Silva down and the relatively small Grant Waterman was forced to separate the two giants and restart them in the middle of the cage.

As the fight resumed Silva once again looked for his big shot as Carino charged him; the two big men crashed against the side of the cage as Carino sought to sufficiently tie the younger man up to work out how to take him down.

This is where Silva showed his mettle, reversing the clinch so that it was Carino who was forced against the cage. The younger man then separated, jerking himself free of Carino's grip before starting to unload on his opponent. Carino is tough but the power of Silva's shots was just awesome to behold. With Carino put down and Silva following him to the ground, Carino's corner threw in the towel at 2:59 of the first round.

In the evening's only controversy Alex Reid was officially awarded a victory over Kyosuke Sasaki following what can only be described as an unfortunate sequence of events.

The fight opened well, with the pre-fight interviews showing Reid's smiling face announcing that "sushi is on the menu." Sasaki, looking soft and considerably smaller, survived a brief assault on the feet before the Englishman slipped throwing a kick.

Sasaki was in for a couple of early shocks as tried to leap into Reid's guard, only to be confronted by some surprisingly effective upward heel kicks from the prone Englishman. Sasaki had some trouble keeping out of the way of Reid's flailing legs but eventually skipped past them to take side-control.

Although Reid made him work hard for it, Sasaki moved to a reverse mount on his opponent, working first for Reid's leg before transitioning to attack an arm. As he did so, Reid began to throw knees from the bottom position, with one of these opening a deep cut over Sasaki's right eye.

Regardless of the cut, Sasaki has Reid's arm locked up tight, clearly in the process of swinging from mount to score the armbar when the fight was stopped by the referee to check Sasaki's cut.

The Japanese fighter was livid, arching his hips to show that he was moments from finishing his opponent. But the referee wanted the big cut checked out and the fighters were separated. As Sasaki was being treated no effort was made to keep Reid in a neutral corner and the Englishman returned to his corner for advice.

Eventually it was time for the fight to be restarted and Grant Waterman tried to replace the fighters in their original positions. Unfortunately the original positions happened to be with Sasaki poised to armbar his opponent and an argument ensued between Sasaki and Reid's corner as to how close the former had been to finishing his opponent.

The crowd booed and eventually Sasaki was put on top without a grip on Reid's arm. The round ended with Sasaki controlling position but failing to finish. The doctor ruled that the Japanese fighter was unable to come out for the second round and thus Reid was handed his victory.

This result was disgraceful and should be ruled a No Contest as soon as the film can be reviewed to confirm the accuracy of this account. Sasaki was wronged four times — first he had a cut opened by an illegal move (Reid was kneeing a downed opponent); then he was forced to stop just as he seemed poised to win; then he was kept in a neutral corner while his opponent received advice; and finally he was forced to restart from an inferior position when the fight was eventually resumed.

This cannot be right. Any of these is a reason for a No Contest and I'm sure that Reid, who is an excellent fighter in his own right, will not be satisfied by this outcome. This was not a fair outcome and everybody knows it.
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
UFC 55 Update!

Following news that UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir would not be ready to return to the Octagon in October, the UFC will likely hold its interim heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski, off Fall's UFC 55 card, Sherdog.com learned Tuesday night.

Budding superstar Forrest Griffin, who will be all over television thanks to Spike TV's push of season two of the "Ultimate Fighter," including an August appearance on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman, could get the opportunity to headline the October card, UFC president Dana White told Sherdog.com.
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
Latest MMA News!

Notes from the Midwest Fight Scene.

As I sit here typing my second column, I am in awe that I actually worried I wouldn’t have enough material to keep you updated on the Midwest fight scene.

Instead, I’m not going to have room to fill you in on everything — what a great problem to have in a sport that just a few years ago very few people even knew existed.

This month’s topic? Farm shows and farm show fighters with real potential!

I can’t tell you how sick I am of seeing the “tough guy” walk around the little small town show like he owns the place. I was once checking out a farm show, when one of these tough guys walks past, strutting his stuff. After blowing a snot rocket in the garbage can next to me, he says to my friend, “You should be a fighter, you have the size.” Little did Mr. Tough Guy know he was not only saying this to a fighter, he was saying it to a UFC fighter!

I felt bad for him and turned my head. I couldn’t watch Mr. Tough Guy make a fool of himself, and my friend just smiled politely. My brother, Travis, describes this so perfectly: “Testosterone fills the air like cranking up the AC to high in July!”

We’ve all seen it. My point being, this past month I had the pleasure of observing some up-and-comers with real potential, real style and budding talent. What a breath of fresh air! I only hope they realize what they have and actually make use of it.

July 15. Atlanta, Georgia.

Last weekend, one Midwest fighter broke away from the local fight scene to challenge himself. Stepping up to fight a UFC vet, this up-until-now “farm show” fighter showed more ambition and heart than many of his counterparts.

Meet Mike Van Meer.

Turning 26 on August 22, the five-foot-five fighter went head-to-head with UFC vet “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy in Atlanta, Georgia’s International Sport Combat Federation: “Full Throttle 3.” Though he tapped to an armbar at 4:09 in round two, the former college wrestler stood toe-to-toe with McCarthy, trading blows throughout the first round.

“I trained all stand-up for this fight because I expected him to try and take me down,” said Van Meer. While experience shows it’s in the fighter’s best interest to stick to his own game, Van Meer wasn’t too far off course, as a surprised McCarthy later admitted to Van Meer that he was, “the first fighter to take me out of my element.”

Getting over his disappointment of the L, Van Meer realizes, “I was in a no-lose situation. This fight was a huge stepping-stone for me, a great learning experience. My main goal was to return to Atlanta [and to do that] I wanted to put on a show.

“This fight gave me more confidence, and I realized what I need to work on if I want to step up my game.”

The once 250-pounder appears to be on track. Ready to take his fighting to the next level, he gave up fast food and beer. The now light heavyweight has dropped over 50 pounds and plans to fight as a middleweight and eventually a welterweight. When he’s not training with Des Moines Extreme Fighting and occasionally the Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Iowa four days a week, he runs the other three.

With upcoming fights in local shows (July 30 and August 6), Van Meer is serious about the sport he loves. “I’d like to make a name for myself,” he said, and he knows hard work, discipline and stepping out of your comfort zone are the ways to accomplish just that.

Midwest fighter Chris Mickle also fought in “Full Throttle 3.” Congratulations guys, for bringing the Midwest up-and-coming fight game to other parts of the country.
----------------

Hansen and Sakurai Probable for August SHOOTO.

July 22, 2005
by Stephen Martinez (stephen_lynnpa@yahoo.com)

TOKYO, July 22 — Top SHOOTO promoter Sustain is currently working on its final card for the August 20 event at Yokohama Cultural gym. Sherdog.com has learned the SHOOTO commission and Sustain are in talks right now with Joachim Hansen to be part of the August 20 card.

The Norwegian was offered current SHOOTO welterweight Pacific champion Koutetsu Boku, with the winner to fight Tatsuya Kawajiri in December for the SHOOTO World welterweight title.

Since August SHOOTO shows are important in terms of title matches and names, Sustain has thrown around some possible names for this show, which will be headlined by the match between Rumina Sato and Gilbert Melendez.

Sustain also wants Hayato “Mach” Sakurai to face current SHOOTO middleweight champion Akira Kikuchi in a non-title match. Sakurai was officially announced weeks ago by Sustain as part of their August card.

In case both Sakurai and Hansen participate in August, they will have only one month to get ready for the upcoming PRIDE Bushido 160-pound Grand Prix, which is scheduled for Tokyo’s Ariake Colosseum on September 25.

This is the possible look for the upcoming SHOOTO card in August:

Gilbert Melendez (Cesar Gracie Academy, USA) vs. Rumina Sato (K'z Factory, Japan)

Mitsuhiro Ishida (Team TOPS, Japan) vs. Takashi Nakakura (SHOOTO Gym Osaka, Japan)

(Lightweight Rookie Tourney Semifinal) Kyotaro Nakao (SHOOTO Gym Yokohama, Japan) vs. Yutaka Nishioka (Paraestra Matsudo, Japan)

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (Mach Dojo, Japan) vs. Akira Kikuchi (Killer Bee, Japan)

Joachim Hansen (Team Scandinavia, Norway) vs. Koutetsu Boku (Killer Bee, Japan)
---------
Hammer House Fighting Championship 20

Friday, July 22, 2005
Just one week following HHCF 19, Wes Sims and team Hammer House is back with HHCF 20, set for this Saturday, July 23.

The event will be held at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Hilliard, Ohio, at 2:30 pm.

OFFICIAL FIGHT CARD

Prelims
Jeremy Price vs Christopher Walker
Mike McNabb vs Adam Jones
Casey Hoeflich vs Robbie Nickels
Joey Whitt vs Jimmy Donovan
Jason LaGrange vs Josh Whitt

Main
Phil Ramer vs Matt Truckovich
Roc Castricone vs Rob Hendee
Dan Hawley vs John Robertson
Tommy Ridenbaugh vs Rob Copenhaven
Josh Hendricks vs Jason DeAngelo
Shane Lightle vs Greg Franklin

Saturday, July 23
Gates open @ 12
Fights start @ 2:30pm
General $10
Ringside $20
Columbus-Franklin County Fair
Hilliard, Ohio
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
Latest MMA News!!

K-1’s “Mayhem At The Mirage” Reserve Bouts Announced

Like any other professional sport, K-1 uses a methodical approach to recruiting and breaking in new talent for its competitive circuit.

Its “reserve bouts,” the series of three-round contests it presents during each of its events in order to have at its disposal replacement competitors for those who become injured during tournament action, have served as a trial stage for those seeking a more permanent career in “The New Fighting Sport.”

On Saturday, a handful of new faces will realize their long-standing dreams during “Mayhem At The Mirage” tournament reserve matchups at Las Vegas, Nevada’s Mirage Hotel and Casino. Here is a look at the new class of American martial arts fighters coming to Sin City.

Patrick Barry:

Height: 5’11” Weight: 230 lbs. Discipline: Muay Thai and Kung-Fu

On April 30th, undefeated prospect Patrick Barry was granted his first shot at becoming a member of the world’s premiere fighting organization. The magic that the stocky knockout artist had displayed during his previous appearances in the ring, however, did not follow him to Las Vegas for his tournament reserve bout matchup with fellow rising star Scott Lighty. Over the course of their three-round matchup, Lighty repeatedly beat Barry to the punch and outscored him considerably over the course of three rounds before handing Barry his first loss.

Undaunted by his initial showing, the 26-year-old will return to Las Vegas for another reserve fight start. To prepare himself adequately for the challenge that can be as taxing psychologically as it is physically, Barry sought help from an individual who has experienced the same ups and downs that comes with life in the martial arts fight world. Six-time K-1 veteran and four-time world Muay Thai champion, Jeff “Duke” Roufus, spent several weeks fine-tuning Barry’s game for the big-time.

“I’m way more advanced this time,” said Barry. “I’ve got guidance now from someone who’s been in the game for 20 years and knows the ropes. I have a support team – training partners, sparring partners, and all of the other things that I didn’t have before.”

Imani Lee:

Height: 6’5” Weight: 295 lbs. Discipline: Boxing and Kickboxing

Two years ago, Virginia native Imani Lee aspired to be boxing’s next great heavyweight. His ambition drove him to Los Angeles, California where he quickly befriended and became a training partner of two-time world champion, James “Lights Out” Toney, as well as former heavyweight champion Michael Moorer and Lamon Brewster.

As Lee’s visibility soared, opportunities, including an appearance on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, followed in suit. Along the way, however, he became disillusioned by the politics for which boxing is all too well-known.

Around the same time that he was becoming frustrated with the hurdles involved in the business of the “sweet science,” Lee made the acquaintance of K-1 superstar Bob Sapp and martial arts trainer Eddy Millis and felt a sudden inspiration after seeing Sapp’s life story documented on the HBO series, “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.”

“Watching Bob Sapp and seeing what he came from was what really made me want to become a part of K-1,” said Lee, who has since become a Millis protégé. Lee’s association with Millis’s California-based Shark Tank camp has allowed the fighter to train with K-1 “Battle at Bellagio III” tournament winner, “Mighty Mo” Siligia. “The opportunity to fight in K-1 is like a dream come true. I’ve wanted to for a while because it’s boxing and kickboxing at the same time and I felt like it was the only sport that really wasn’t tainted by the promoters and the managers involved.”

Since making a transformation from puncher to martial arts fighter, Lee has tested his newfound skills in tournament format competition on a few occasions and has enjoyed significant success. “My kicking was kind of questionable, but my hand speed and my hands were great,” noted Lee about his first experience in martial arts style combat. “So the first time I fought, I knocked the guy out with one punch. From that point on, they were calling me the Muhammed Ali of kickboxing.”

Rick Cheek:

Height: 6’4” Weight: 270 lbs. Discipline: Kickboxing

Word has spread quickly about the dangerous capabilities of 27-year-old Rick Cheek. With an unblemished record of 14-0 (12 KO’s) and three North American amateur tournament championships under his belt, it is no wonder why.

Aside from his experience in single-elimination format competition, Cheek brings to K-1 the kind of physical power that wins Grand Prix tournaments. In stopping 12 of his first 14 opponents, he has rightfully earned the nickname “Savage.”

Cheek is trained by world class kickboxer, Billy Olson of the Nor/Cal Fighting Alliance.

Mike Sheppard:

Height: 6’2” Weight: 217 lbs. Discipline: Boxing and Kickboxing

Since his childhood in which he studied the art of Karate, Sheppard has devoted his life to combat sports. From boxing to mixed martial arts to kickboxing, the West Virginian’s life has been consumed with battles in the squared circle and, at 30 years of age, he feels he is ripe for a prosperous career in K-1.

“Most of the guys I’ve kickboxed don’t have the experience that I’ve had with their hands,” said Sheppard, a veteran of 15 professional boxing bouts. Over the last three years, he has applied his western boxing skills to competition under kickboxing rules. “I don’t get excited and I don’t get nervous. I’ve been in there with some of the best boxers and I’ve seen just about everything there is to see.”

Last November, Sheppard caught the eyes of K-1 recruiters when he defeated three straight opponents to capture the eight-man, single-elimination “Heavyweight Gladiators” tournament championship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lighty was amongst his three victims.

Azem Maksutaj: Heir Hopeful
In 1994, a 30-year-old Andy Hug became an inspiration to European fighters after he emerged one of the first superstars in the sport of K-1 that was, at the time, still in its infancy. Since his tragic, leukemia-related death seven years ago, however, there has not yet emerged an individual from Hug’s native Switzerland to carry the torch once held by the fallen champion.

At 30 years of age, five-time world Muay Thai champion Azem Maksutaj is aiming to fill Hug’s shoes. A former training partner of Hug, the Swiss Muay Thai stylist has devoted the last six years of his career to feeling out the ranks in K-1’s worldwide competitive circuit.

Next Saturday, August 13th, Maksutaj will have another opportunity to earn his first K-1 tournament crown and bring himself one step closer to attaining his ultimate goal of becoming an icon. The eight-man, single-elimination “Mayhem At The Mirage” affair will also provide him with a chance to avenge a defeat that he suffered at the hands of three-time Las Vegas K-1 tournament champion, Michael McDonald (pictures), in Sweden on May 21st. Maksutaj fought McDonald to a three-round draw, but was handed a loss after K-1’s customary, “sudden death” round was added to the fight in order to determine a winner.

Speaking from a hotel room in Croatia where he spent one week of his ten week training camp with martial arts fighting superstar, Mirko Filipovic (pictures), Maksutaj makes it clear that he feels his time to shine has come.

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about your experience training with Mirko?

A: Listen, I am preparing now for around eight weeks. In Switzerland, since Andy Hug died, we haven’t had a team and top fight partners. I thought where can I go for sparring and I saw Cro Cop when I went to fight in K-1 three years ago in Zagreb. I did sparring with him then. He liked my style and he asked me when he was preparing for a fight if I could come train for a week with him. It’s good for me to spar with him because I can see where I am with power and everything.

Q: How has working with him helped you improve as a fighter?

A: I mean, he is the best. Nobody can help you much like him. I need only one week (with him). My training is in Switzerland. I have boxing trainers there and Thai boxing trainers there. The problem in Switzerland is that you don’t have enough sparring partners so I thought it would help to go to Croatia for a week.

Q: What is your training in Switzerland like?

A: I started in Muay Thai when I was young. Now I am older and heavier and I’m trying to do K-1 more. I was training also with Andy Hug. Now, I also have a boxing license.

Q: So, you were a part of “Team Andy” back in the 90’s (Hug formed Team Andy, a squad of up and coming martial arts fighters, while living and training in Japan)?

A: No. Team Andy – we don’t have this team anymore because of Japan. We can’t use this name anymore. You know, Team Andy was just (in existence) about three, four, or five years. Andy was always in Japan. He (would) come (back) one or two months to Switzerland. I have my own gym (Wing Thai gym) now for 11 years. I train by myself with my own trainers and my own team.

Q: So, when you trained with Andy, it was only in Switzerland, not Japan?

A: Only in Switzerland. Yes.

Q: What was the experience of training with Andy like?

A: He was helping everybody. He was helping me very much. He was asking me one year before he died if I wanted to come to Japan. But, I had a gym in Switzerland and I didn’t want to leave my gym and my family. But, Andy was Andy – always perfect. His last five years, he was the best. When he was changing from Karate to Thai boxing, which was around 1992, he didn’t have so good a chance. But, after 1995, he was good again.

Q: Your first round opponent in Las Vegas will be Michael McDonald (pictures), whom you fought earlier this year. How do you feel you will match up with him this time?

A: Oh, you know, Michael McDonald (pictures) is good. But, I think he is now too old. (During the fight), he was on the floor two times. I was on the floor one time. But, he has big name and (the judges) called it a draw. In the extra round, we both were tired. But, now let’s see. I don’t want to talk too much. You will see, though.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to tell people?

A: In 1997, I was in Las Vegas and I liked it. It will be nice to be there again. I just want to show people the spirit I have. Everybody thinks that Swiss guys aren’t so strong. I don’t know why, but I will show them true fighting spirit.

Marquardt Decisions Salaverry in “Ultimate Fight Night” Debut

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 6 — Presuming UFC president Dana White hoped tonight for a replay of the successful “Ultimate Fighter” season finale, which was viewed by 3.3 million people when it aired live on Spike TV in April, he’s probably not very happy right now.

Saturday’s first ever basic cable telecast of the UFC on Spike TV’s “Ultimate Fight Night” offered a lesson for a company that is manic about control: “As Real As it Gets” can be both a good and bad thing.

Headlined by a middleweight non-title bout between veterans Ivan Salaverry (pictures) and Nathan Marquardt (pictures), the eight-fight card, packed with young UFC fighters and season one cast members from TUF, left most of the sold-out Cox Pavilion crowd grumbling its displeasure as they exited the building.

Odds are, fans watching at home weren’t ecstatic either.

In the main event, Marquardt fought a technical, tactical battle against Salaverry, earning a unanimous decision victory (30-27 on each judge’s card). Sherdog.com agreed with the scoring.

Both Marquardt, a Denver, Colo. product making his UFC debut after 20 professional bouts in Japan’s Pancrase organization, and Salaverry employed a defensive tact, neither willing to offer an uneducated flurry often seen among less experienced fighters.

“It was really strategic, I believe,” Salaverry said after the fight. “I would believe that a lot of MMA enthusiasts would enjoy it. The crowd itself I don’t think did. All in all, it was weird. It was like fighting my shadow.”

Coming into the bout it was thought that Marquardt and Salaverry were evenly matched middleweights, their fighting styles and tactics near identical. And in many ways that bore out during their 15 minutes in the Octagon.

(Though many will call this bout boring, it was a contest between two pros. Fights like this demand five rounds, not the three currently proscribed for non-championship bouts.)

The difference in the fight came from their physical tools, as Marquardt was the more athletic fighter. His quickness edge was clear in the fight’s first minutes and he scored to Salaverry’s front leg with blistering Thai kicks. Their effects paid dividends and soon Salaverry only circled and offered pedestrian strikes.

Marquardt simply blocked and countered, and after two periods was in clear control of the fight.

“I think how he got me basically was when I committed to the low-kick, mid-kick or high-kick, then he was able to get a takedown off of it,” Salaverry said. “Basically there wasn’t anything on the ground that he did to me. He tried to take my back and even then it didn’t work.”

For Salaverry to have had a shot, he needed to come out aggressively in round three. But it turned out to be the least compelling round for the Seattle, Wash.-based fighter.

As Marquardt continued his effort, stopping each of Salaverry’s takedown attempts, tactically countering the UFC veteran in every department, the frustration mounted — both for Salaverry and fans in the arena.

Marquardt is no stranger to competitive bouts that go the distance, and he was content with the pace of the fight. Salaverry presented no danger and he knew the decision was his if he couldn’t finish before time ran out.

“It feels great, mainly because I trained so hard,” Marquardt said. “It feels real good.”

“Hopefully next time it’s going to be a more exciting fight.”

The victory sets up a possible UFC middleweight title shot for Marquardt, a three-time King of Pancrase. “I’m here for the belt,” he said. “I’m here to be the champion. God’s given me all the gifts to be champion.”
 

yudansha

TheGreatOne
Ultimate Fighter 2 coming soon!

They say it will feature heavyweights this time, too. Did you get a chance to watch Ultimate Fight Night, LD?
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
yudansha said:
They say it will feature heavyweights this time, too. Did you get a chance to watch Ultimate Fight Night, LD?


Yup I watched the Ultimate Fight Night, it was great.

I also can't wait to see TUF 2.
----------------------------------

"Ultimate Fight Night" No. 1 Saturday Night!


The debut of Spike TV's "Ultimate Fight Night" scored a 1.5 rating Saturday night, peaking at 2.8 during the final quarter hour, which featured the eight-bout card's main event between Nathan Marquardt (pictures) and Ivan Salaverry (pictures).

Over 2 million viewers tuned in during the prime time showing of UFC's first-ever free, live basic cable telecast. "Ultimate Fight Night" knocked out the competition, taking the number-one slot for all cable programming on Saturday night, outdrawing both an NFL pre-season game between the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons and ESPN's X-Games.
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
Latest MMA News!! (2 Posts)

PRIDE Bushido Welterweight, Lightweight Finals Set.

TOKYO, Sept. 25 — The fists were flying at Ariake Coliseum tonight as PRIDE held the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of its Bushido Lightweight and Welterweight tournaments.

This event boasted arguably the finest collection of fighters from the 160- and 183-pound weight classes. In all, it took 14 fights to determine what fighters would move on to faced each other in the finals on New Year’s Eve at PRIDE’s Otoko Matsuri event.

Japanese lightweights Takanori Gomi (Pictures) and Hayato Sakurai (Pictures) pushed ahead, while long-time veterans of the so-called pound-for-pound list, Dan Henderson (Pictures) and Murilo Bustamante (Pictures), will fight on December 31.

Bushido ace Gomi faced Chute Boxe rival Luiz Azeredo (Pictures) in the semifinals. The last time these two met at Bushido 7, the match ended in a bit of a melee between Gomi’s camp and the members of Chute Boxe. A lot of bad blood has run between these combatants and no doubt Azeredo was looking to avenge his knockout loss to the Japanese superstar.

This bout, like many during the evening, was a real slugfest. The two fighters seemed to have no objections to settling their differences on their feet. Both were moving around the ring well, displaying their impressive boxing skills. The speed of the punches that these guys where throwing at each other was awe inspiring, showing no signs of slowing down throughout the duration of the match.

Gomi often came charging in with flurries of punches, gaining the upper hand by rocking the Brazilian in the corner. It was obvious that Gomi wanted to keep this entire affair standing up. When Azeredo did score the takedown, Gomi would do very little on the ground apart from holding his opponent, waiting for the referee to stand them up.

Azeredo got rocked many times from Gomi’s fists. The Bushido ace switched his stance between southpaw and orthodox several times, employing effective counter-punching throughout. The Japanese fighter often caught his opponent’s low kicks, following up with takedowns.

This match was going a mile a minute with neither fighter standing down. Azeredo wasn’t able to stagger Gomi to the extent to which he himself got rocked. The fight went the distance and Gomi was awarded the unanimous victory.

The other semifinal match-up on the lightweight side saw former SHOOTO middleweight champion Hayato “Mach” Sakurai face off against the Norwegian nightmare, Joachim Hansen (Pictures).

This was an extremely high-paced match-up, with a good balance between stand-up and ground work. My Sherdog.com partner, Stephen Martinez, commented that Sakurai looked like the 2000 SHOOTO version of himself — lightning fast, attempting difficult, high-risk moves and constantly pushing the fight.

Both fighters scored several takedowns from shots and throws. On their feet, both were giving and receiving heavy bombs. Sakurai was able to land a hard shot that sent Hansen reeling backwards to the ground. In the clinch, the Norwegian often threw his razor sharp knees, trying to connect with Sakurai’s head.

Hansen was an absolute stomping machine in this one, constantly standing and trying to cave in the head of his downed opponent with his foot. The ground work displayed by both fighters was masterful, as each constantly worked to achieve better position, attempted submissions and moved to escape from dangerous situations. Sakurai often tried Achilles and ankle locks, but Hansen had the presence of mind to see them coming and escape.

This fight was very even and went the distance. I remember thinking that I would hate to be the one to have to judge this contest. In the end, it was Sakurai who walked away with the decision.

In the welterweight tournament one semifinal pitted former Olympic wrestler and current Team Quest member Dan Henderson (Pictures) against tough Pancrase veteran and Grabaka fighter Akihiro Gono (Pictures). This fight remained mostly on the feet. Gono was the unfortunate victim of two unintentional headbutts, but the Japanese fighter recovered quickly to continue fighting.

Gono moved well laterally and covered well to defend against the bombs that Henderson threw against him. The Grabaka fighter mixed up his punches, throwing to the head and body. He also effectively utilized fast low kicks, often catching Henderson by surprise. But the American was able to block or avoid most of what was coming at him.

After trading back-and-forth on their feet, and a little bit of work on the ground, Gono found himself backed into a corner. From here he got drawn into a standing slugfest with the dangerous Henderson.

Both fighters started throwing with reckless abandon. In a situation like this, it’s only a matter of time before somebody eats a punch and in this case it was Gono who ended up taking a hard right hand, which sent him to the canvas.

Gono grabbed Henderson’s leg as an automatic reaction when going down after the powerful strike, but Henderson followed up with punches against his downed opponent until the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

The other welterweight semifinal saw the popular “real pro wrestler” Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) take on Brazilian Top Team ace Murilo Bustamante (Pictures). The often bizarre, yet always entertaining Minowa spent some time training on Mount Fuji to prepare for this tournament. Apparently however, he succumbed to altitude sickness for his efforts.

Minowa came to the ring wearing a red “wife beater” and the crowd roared and chanted with the beat of the hugely popular Japanese fighter’s entrance music. Watch on a TV monitor, I could feel the vibrations all the way in the interview room.

Bustamante scored several trips and shots but Minowa defended well against a Kimura attempt from the Brazilian. Minowa was able to sink in a deep guillotine after being taken down, but even though Bustamante looked to be a bit of trouble he managed to escape.

The Brazilian Top Team member was able to score the mount, then after a scramble he took Minowa’s back, only to end up in mount again, this time applying an arm-triangle choke. Minowa seemed to be fading, but managed to shrimp hard and escape.

After some more work on the ground, Bustamante stood at the ends of his downed opponent’s feet. From here he threw a stomp. This is where things get a bit mysterious. It seemed that the stomp may have hit Minowa low and the Japanese fighter reacted by trying to sit up, defenses down, almost expecting the referee to stop the action and give him a chance to recover.

Bustamante, of course, did not stop and proceeded to nail the half-prone Minowa with a monstrous soccer kick to face. This sent the Japanese fighter reeling back. Bustamante scurried around on his feet to Minowa’s side and continued to throw soccer kicks. Minowa turned to all fours and turtled to avoid the kicks. The referee rushed in and stopped the fight.

K-1 World GP '05 Final Draw.

TOKYO, September 25, 2005 -- This year's K-1 Final Eight fighters were determined with fists and feet at the Osaka Dome on Saturday. Today, in front of hundreds of fans and media at the outdoor arena of the Roppongi Hills Complex in Tokyo, a draw was held to establish who will fight whom at the November 19 Tokyo Dome Final.

The pairings were determined under K-1's traditional selection system, which combines elements of choice with a bit of good old fashioned luck. All eight fighters first reach in turn into a box to blindly choose from balls, these bearing the numbers one through eight. Next, fighters proceed, in the order dictated by their number, to the stage. There they are free to stand in any available fighters' spot indicated as A through H. This becomes the tournament tree -- A vs B and C vs D being the first bracket; E vs F and G vs H being the second.

Generally, fighters opt to position themselves in earlier bouts (positions A and B being the first fight), as these spots on the card will afford longer rests for those who advance. But after the first selection has been made, strategy also enters into the process. If, for example, the selector likes his chances against someone already committed, he can place himself beside that fighter if the position is still available. Or, if the selector prefers to avoid an already committed fighter, he can install himself elsewhere -- beside either another fighter or a vacant position.

Picking along with Defending WGP Champion Remy Bonjasky of Holland today were Peter Aerts (Pictures) (Holland), Hong-Man Choi (South Korea), Ruslan Karaev (Russia), Jerome LeBanner (Pictures) (France), Musashi (Japan), Semmy Schilt (Pictures) (Holland) and Ray Sefo (Pictures) (New Zealand).

Sefo got first ball, and installed himself in position "C," the red corner of the second bout. Next up was Hong-Man Choi, who elected to avoid Sefo and instead take the blue corner for the first bout. When Bonjasky selected third, he was faced with the choice of taking a second bracket berth or else lining up beside either Sefo or Choi. After careful consideration, Bonjasky decided to step into the red corner of the first bout and a date with Choi.

Said Bonjasky: "I chose Choi because he is the new guy in K-1, and he's a great guy and I want to test him. He's big and tall, but I think if I jump then I can reach him with my knees!"

Semmy Schilt (Pictures) had the next number and rather venture into the second bracket, walked straight up and paired off with Sefo.

"I had a feeling beforehand that I was going to end up fighting one of the big guys, either Choi or Semmy" said Sefo, "and that prediction came true. I have another prediction, which I am going to keep to myself for now, but you will all find out when the night of the Final arrives."

Jerome LeBanner (Pictures) then went to the red corner for the third bout, giving the next selector, Ruslan Karaev, the opportunity to step in beside him. But Karaev declined, preferring to take his chances in the fourth bout. Musashi drew the seventh ball, and was so had the choice of either LeBanner or Karaev. After a quick huddle with his brother Tomo, the Japanese fighter planted himself in the red corner of the last match, beside Karaev. It therefore fell by default to Aerts to fight LeBanner in the third bout.

Said LeBanner, "I would have preferred to fight a young guy, because Peter is my friend, but as Peter knows it's friendship outside the ring and war inside the ring!" After Karaev remarked that he was going to focus his training on defensive techniques in advance of the Final, Musashi drew a laugh from the crowd with his comments: "If Ruslan wants to fight more defensively, then I will oblige him by fighting even more aggressively!"

The K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 Final is set for Tokyo Dome on Saturday November 19. It will be same-day broadcast across Japan by the Fuji TV Network. Remy Bonjasky vs Hong-Man Choi
Ray Sefo (Pictures) vs Semmy Schilt (Pictures)
Musashi vs Ruslan Karaev
Peter Aerts (Pictures) vs Jerome LeBanner (Pictures)

PRIDE - Bushido 9 Results!
Paulo Filho Ryuta Sakurai Submission (Armbar) 3:49 1
2 Akihiro Gono Daniel Acacio Decision (Unaminous) 5:00 2
3 Dan Henderson Ryo Chonan KO (Punch) 0:22 1
4 Ikuhisa Minowa Phil Baroni Decision (Unaminous) 5:00 2
5 Murilo Bustamante Masanori Suda Submission (Armbar) 3:20 1
6 Dokonjonosuke Mishima Charles Bennett Submission (Ankle Lock) 4:04 1
7 Hayato Sakurai Jens Pulver TKO (Strikes) 8:56 1
8 Joachim Hansen Yves Edwards Decision (Split) 5:00 2
9 Takanori Gomi Tatsuya Kawajiri Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 7:42 1
10 Luiz Azeredo Naoyuki Kotani KO (Punch) 0:11 1
11 Dan Henderson Akihiro Gono KO (Punch) 7:58 1
12 Murilo Bustamante Ikuhisa Minowa TKO (Strikes) 9:51 1
13 Hayato Sakurai Joachim Hansen Decision (Unaminous) 5:00 2
14 Takanori Gomi Luiz Azeredo Decision (Unaminous) 5:00 2
 

Littledragon

Above The Law
Latest MMA News (Part2)

Thompson Makes Most of Opportunity, Wins FFC Tourney.

TUNICA, Miss., Sept. 24 — Coming into Saturday’s Freestyle Fighting Championship welterweight tournament inside this city’s Grand Casino the Gulf Coast-based promotion looked to have some very good young talent lined up. But, said Freestyle Fighting Championship promoter Rob Braniff: "This event has been a nightmare to keep together."

Fighters have dropped out and plans changed among other problems. But nonetheless the guys at FFC came through with a solid lineup and by the time it was over Nick Thompson (Pictures), a very big 170 pounder who came into tonight’s tournament as the favorite, reigned victorious.

This tourney showed some great all around fighting. Submissions seemed to be the finish of choice for this event. Let’s get to the fights. Since this was a tournament the FFC used a two-round four-minute format to try to keep the fighters fresh and able to continue. In the opening quarterfinal bout of the tournament Thompson came in looking pretty big after coming down from 185.

He came in feeling Chris Conley out a bit with a few jabs then began to push the fight. He clearly controlled round one with leg kicks and punches, and also a takedown and guard pass followed with some punishment from side and guard as well.

Thompson finished the round with a nice high kick to convincingly take the opening period. Round two started where round one ended: with some knees and punches from Thompson. Conley at this point went for a few takedowns then some clinching only to absorb some nice knees from Thompson. The fight ended with the best exchange of the fight as Thompson went on to win by unanimous decision.

Glen Mincer, who was back in the ring after a year off because of a broken jaw, took this fight versus Victor Moreno on three-day notice. Mincer had troubles with Moreno’s reach, as he was the smaller fighter of the two.

Moreno started with a takedown but Mincer was quickly back up to his feet and landed a big right that stunned Moreno. Then Moreno came back with a flurry of his own, and to top it off he partially landed a head kick. Both fighters had some good action in round one with the round ending as Moreno looked for an armbar that seemed too close for Mincer's comfort. But the bell ring to end the period.

Round two saw Mincer start off with a takedown. When they got back to their feet Moreno landed some big leg kicks and punches. But Mincer did not seem to be too affected by them. The period ended with some good action by both fighters.

It was a very good fight with lots of action and Mincer showed how tough he is by taking all Moreno could give in the fight. In Moreno’s unanimous decision victory he showed very good stand-up with knees, kicks and punches mixed in with a nice armbar attempt.

Dustin Hazlette submitted John Shakleford with a rear-naked choke 2:42 of round one. The fight started a bit slow but got right to the action as Hazlette threw some nice punches and the two fighters ended in the clinch with both throwing some knees. As they went down from the clinch Hazlette was able to get the back of Shakleford and sink in the rear-naked choke.

The final quarterfinal bout had a big Dereck Keasley come out and took control of his fight with Wayne Bogart from the start with a kick and a few big punches before topping it all off with a really big slam. Keasley was able to get the full mount and pound on Bogart until he turned his back and Keasley was able to sing the rear-naked choke in for the win 2:40 of round one.

Keasley did sustain a cut in this fight, but I was unable to actually tell how as the fight was stopped at one point for the doctor to check it out. It was nothing serious as the fight was able to continue.

Moving into the semifinals Nick Thompson (Pictures) got a bit of a scare as he shot in but was stopped by Victor Moreno, catching Thompson in a guillotine that seemed to be pretty deep. But he was able to squeeze out of it to end up in Moreno’s guard. Thompson tried a choke of his own (anaconda choke) but Moreno was able to also battle out of it to end up in side mount.

Thompson ended the round with another takedown of Moreno and was ale to get full mount only to hear the bell to end the round. In round two both fighters had unsuccessful takedown attempts to start the round, then Thompson was able to get the takedown and apply the guillotine to win the fight.

Round one between Dustin Hazlette and Dereck Keasley was pretty close as Hazlette pulled guard only to eat some elbows. Yet he hung tough and still worked for subs the whole time. After a bit of a lull in the fight they were restarted and Keasley ended the round with a nice leg kick. It was a very close round.

Period two saw Keasley start off with a nice takedown to end up in Hazlette’s guard and begin with the elbows again. Keasley was able to drop Hazlette at the end of the round and pounded him from side mount as the bell ended.

Hazlette could not mount enough of an attack to sway the judges, who saw it unanimously for Keasley.

In the finals, which seemed like the best match-up of the night, as both fighters are both big welterweights, Keasley came into the fight seeming a bit more fatigued then Thompson. I feel this was a big key to the fight.

Keasley got the first takedown in this fight. Then both fighters made it to their feet and Thompson ended up in Keasley's guard from a takedown, finding himself in a triangle. But was able to get out of it. Thompson was in Keasley’s guard and rained down some punches, but did take an up-kick to the face. He stopped for a second and complained to referee about it but went about his business.

Thompson went down into Keasley’s guard and was able to get mount and apply a side-choke that forced Keasley to tapout. The tourney was a very competitive show. Thompson showed why he won the 185-pound tourney by displaying composure and good all around fighting ability.

So as most shows these days shy away from tourneys the FFC shows us all how great tournaments can actually be. No one was injured and everyone was able to continue onto the next round, which always makes a tourney smooth sailing. Up next for Nick Thompson (Pictures) looks to be a date with FFC welterweight champion Keith Wisniewski (Pictures).
 
Top