Features | MMA DIEHARDS

Archive for the ‘Features’ Category

UFC on FX 1 Fresh Faces: Tom Hayden, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Nick Denis, Pat Schilling, Jared Papazian, Daniel Pineda

Pat Schilling awaiting his UFC debut. (Photo courtesy of MMABay.)

UFC on FX 1 takes place this Friday at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., and features a main event between Jim Miller and Melvin Guillard.

Six combatants will make their UFC debut, including a former Best Buy employee, a former champion in two weight classes, and a European making his N. American debut. Find out who they are in this edition of Fresh Faces.

Name: Tom Hayden

Weight class: Featherweight

Record: 8-0 (5 (T)KO’s 2 submissions)

Recent body of work: Defeated Harry Johnson via submission at AAMMA 13 “Absolute Action MMA 13” in May of 2011.

Who he is: Hayden is not only undefeated, he also has never had a bout go to the judges’ scorecards. Having seven finished opponents to his credit, Hayden’s closest thing to a blemish on his record is a victory he picked up by way of DQ against Mike Baskis at CNG Promotions: “Queen City Meltdown” in 2010. The American attempted to represent his country for The Ultimate Fighter 9 against the U.K., but failed to accomplish a spot in the house after losing in the eliminator round.

Name: Jared Papazian

Weight class: Bantamweight

Record: 14-6 (5 (T)KO’s, 1 submission)

Recent body of work: Defeated Marvin Garcia via decision at KOTC: “First Defense” on Sept. 15, 2011.

Who he is: Papazian accumulated all 20 of his professional bouts in under four years- fighting 12 times in 23 months between 2009 and 2010. Training under Gokor Chivichyan at Hayastan MMA Academy in California alongside Ronda Rousey and Manny Gamburyan, Papazian makes his Octagon debut having won eight of his last nine contests. In addition, Papazian is riding a three-fight win streak, all of which by unanimous decision, and is vacating the KOTC bantamweight championship to test the UFC waters.

Name: Khabib Nurmagomedov

Weight class: Lightweight

Record: 16-0 (6 (T)KO’s, 6 submissions)

Recent body of work: Defeated Arymarcel Santos via TKO at ProFC: “Battle of Caucas”

Who he is: Following an undefeated career in Europe, Nurmagomedov acquired the management of Mike Constantino and began training at AMA Fight Club. Nurmagomedov is a Sambo competitor and has won three championships- Combat Sambo World championship, Combat Sambo Russian national championship, and the European “Army Hand-to-Hand Fight” championship- in the martial art. He recently signed a six-fight contract with the UFC and trains alongside Strikeforce’s Adlan Amagov, Bellator’s Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, and the UFC’s Azamat Gashimov.

Name: Pat Schilling

Weight class: Featherweight

Record: 5-0 (1 (T)KO’s, 4 submissions)

Recent body of work: Defeated Cody Larson via submission due to punches at Brutaal Fight Night: “Brutaal Myth” in June 2011.

Who he is: Schilling has vacated his position at Best Buy for a spot on the UFC roster. He was the Brutaal Genesis 145-pound champion in the amateur leagues and leapt into the pros in January 2010. Since turning pro, the Ambition MMA teammate has not made it out of the first round Schilling has executed a different finish in each victory- TKO, triangle-choke, leg-lock, knee-bar, and submission due to punches- proving he is dangerous wherever the fight takes place.

Name: Daniel Pineda

Weight class: Featherweight

Record: 15-7 (6 (T)KO’s, 9 submissions)

Recent body of work: Defeated Gilbert Jimenez via TKO at Legacy Fighting Championship 9 in December 2011.

Who he is: Fighting out of the 4oz Fight Team in Houston, Texas., Pineda possesses a well-versed ground game for a gym that is primarily focused on BJJ. Pineda competed in Bellator twice, but honed his skills and garnered experience in the Legacy Fighting Championship in his native state of Texas. While under the LFC banner, Pineda managed dual champion status as the lightweight and featherweight title holder. The Texan had a rocky 2009, going 1-4, but has turned things around since and enters the Octagon on a five-fight win streak.

Name: Nick Denis

Weight class: Bantamweight

Record: 10-2 (9 (T)KO’s, 1 submission)

Recent body of work: Defeated Nick Mamalis via KO at Wreck MMA – Unfinished Business in October 2011.

Who he is: Denis is a Canadian mixed martial artist who has competed in his native country and Japan throughout his career. After a 7-0 start, Denis met Marlon Sandro at World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 8 and suffered a TKO defeat. Denis returned to Canada and picked up back-to-back knockout wins, and then headed to Japan where he lost to Yuji Hoshino via submission. Denis is beginning his UFC career coming off a victory over Mamalis that had the Canadian slam the Bellator veteran unconscious.

After conquering a career in MMA, El Conquistador is calling it quits

UFC Middleweight contender, Jorge "El Conquistador" Rivera

With retirement on the horizon, Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera does not have a closed mind on what is to come.

“El Conquistador” (twitter: @Jorge_Conquista) has entertained fight fans for the last ten years and in the process collected a respectable 19-9 record. Looking to hang up the gloves within the next 12 months, Rivera looks to start this year opposite to how 2011 ended.

On the UFC’s official inaugural Fox Entertainment Group (FEG) event, UFC on FX 1, Rivera has been selected to face 13 year fight veteran, Eric Schafer.

In preparing for the special occasion, Rivera has his training in line and does not feel any added pressure for the televised event.

“Everything is going and well, thank you,” Rivera said to MMA Beatdown on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. “It has been a good camp as usual, working with the same people, so it’s going well. I actually enjoy being the first fight of the night because in the back you know exactly when you’re going to go on, how long you need to warm up and its pre-set, so it’s easy to prepare for it.”

Schafer first made his appearance in a UFC Octagon back in 2006 at UFC 62. Since then, he has had eight fights with the organization over the last six years, compiling a 3-5 record.

In Schafer’s most recent attempt at making a name for himself in the UFC, he faced Aaron Simpson at UFC 136 in October. As with his two previous outings with the promotion, the Milwaukee based fighter fell short, losing the fight via unanimous decision.

Not being the type of man to spill the beans, Rivera did give a synopsis of his upcoming opponent.

“He’s bigger then I am,” Rivera admitted. “He’s a tough guy, he is durable, and a decent ground game so it should be a good fight.”

Coming into the fight, Rivera will have lost his last two consecutive fights and is going to be flirting with the proverbial three strikes, you are out myth that haunts UFC stablemates. Not looking to be a victim of three in a row, Rivera understands that winning is the bottom line.

“It is not something that I try to think about,” Rivera said. “I just focus on going in there, doing my job and winning the fight. Losing sucks, so no one likes to lose and losing two in a row is a horrible feeling so I can imagine that three would be worse. You always want to win, that’s’ the bottom line.”

Throughout “El Conquistador’s” illustrious ten year career, it was no bright path as he had to fight the likes of former UFC champion Rich Franklin, 68-fight veteran Dennis Hallman and most recently, one of the top middleweight contenders in the UFC, Michael Bisping.

One of the most memorable fights from Rivera’s resume is one that he remembers vividly with the current UFC middleweight champion, Anders Silva. Even back then, he knew that there was something special.

“It was April 30, 2005,” Rivera remembered. “It was an honor to fight him and back then I knew that he was that good. I watched him in Pride and knew that he was an outstanding fighter and that he came from a good camp. He was a monster in the cage and a huge element outside the cage; it was a pleasure to meet him and get to know him. It was a humbling defeat, but I enjoyed it; it was a good time.”

Making his inaugural appearance with the UFC at the age of 30, Rivera has spent the majority of the last eight years committed to the organization. With 14 fights registered within the premier MMA promotion, added to the fact that he is turning 40 years young on Feb. 24, the season four “TUF” veteran is still taking things one fight at a time, but already knows what lies ahead.

“I’ll be turning 40 this year so this will be my last year doing this,” announced Rivera. “You can only do this for so long and I’m extremely grateful to God, Zuffa and everyone at the UFC that I’ve been able to do it this long. I’m grateful for it, I’ve enjoyed my time, had a lot of fun, but this is going to be the last year I’m doing this.”

While Rivera is preparing to step away from the cage as a professional fighter, he is not entirely going to leave the sport behind. Setting himself up for life after the cage, Rivera has created Rivera Athletic Center in Milford, Massachusetts where they concentrate on incorporating mixed martial arts training with strength and conditioning training.

Rivera may have his immediate goals set on retiring and teaching, but when it comes down to it, money changes everything.

“For now, yes,” Rivera said. “But I’m always open to something that is going to make more money, so I’m open to all different things.”

Gina Carano’s success in “Haywire” will determine return to MMA

by Jason Kelly on January 20, 2012 10:34:58 AM in Features, Fighter Features | No Comments »

Gina Carano in "Haywire"

MMA star, movie actress, American Gladiator, magazine model, advocate for women’s mixed martial arts; even Gina Carano doesn’t know what’s next in her successful life.

Recognized as the person to put female MMA on the map, Carano broke away from the sport to venture into acting. The former Strikeforce fighter appeared in publications from Sports Illustrated to Maxim, and then threw her hat into the acting pool in a film produced by Michael Jai White entitled Blood and Bone. The movie was the beginning of Carano’s endeavor in front of the camera.

When the 1990’s hit show American Gladiators returned in 2008, Carano joined the cast as “Crush”. After dominating aspiring women on the game show Carano had the privilege to be in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, an Electronic Arts real-time strategy video game. Carano reverted to MMA in 2009, but did not get her desired outcome against Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in the Strikeforce women’s featherweight championship.

This sparked a break in Carano’s MMA career, but birthed a newfound occupation for “Conviction”.

Carano is awaiting her first feature movie to be released on Jan. 20, named “Haywire”. The Steven Soderbergh film depicts Carano as Mallory Kane, a freelance covert operative. Not only was it a blockbuster film, it also placed Carano alongside respected actors such as Michael Douglas, Channing Tatum and Antonio Banderas.

Carano was intimidated to act with a group of such accomplished movie stars, but found them remarkably pleasant to be around.

“It was very surprising,” Carano admitted to Hector Castro and Michael Steczkowski on The Darce Side Radio on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. “It was kind of cool because here are these actors who are in the business and they’ve done the movies people love and the movies people hate, so they’ve had their lives out there and exposed. I think if there was anybody I was supposed to go through this kind of scenario with, it was them. They’re such genuine and nonjudgmental people.”

Though, Carano’s fellow actors were supportive, there was a specific sex symbol she had a romantic scene with in the film.

Tatum, a rising A-lister in Hollywood, has magazine pictures pinned up on teenage girls’ walls across America and has grown women drooling over him. Carano and Tatum had a steamy moment onscreen in “Haywire”, but the former Muay Thai fighter swears she had no attraction to an actor that is also versed in MMA, just nerves.

“Oh no, he’s a married man,” Carano confessed. “I respect married men, so instead he was more like a brother to me, a very attractive brother with a wife and kid.

“You better believe I was nervous for those scenes. I could feel my heart beat through my mouth.”

No matter the sex appeal, Tatum was considerate to Carano, but she found guidance through all her cast mates.

“I got along with Channing tremendously and it was kind of interesting to share the same physicality as him, but I spent most of my time with Michael Fassbender” Carano admitted. “He was kind of a mentor to me, and Hugh Ewan McGregor. I could go on for an hour about each one of these individuals and how great they are. I’m a fan of them and their careers, but I’m really fans of the human beings they are because they were all so genuine to me and so good to work with me and really actually excited to be physical.”

Movies may be Carano’s new forte, but she cannot forget where she came from.

She only suffered one defeat in her MMA career after enduring a prosperous run in professional Muay Thai competitions. Carano is commonly referred to as “The Face of Women’s MMA” and she is proud of that fact. As for a return to the sport, Carano cannot confirm or deny until the success of “Haywire” is determined.

“I do miss it and I’m actually very proud to be from the sport of MMA,” Carano stated. “I am more of a fan now than I have ever been because I’m able to watch fights. When I was fighting I would get so nervous to the point where I couldn’t even watch.

“It’s not something I can do for the rest of my life so it would be nice to start another career and have other opportunities open. At the same time I’m trying to get on the other side of January 20^th so I can give a straight answer on what I plan to do. It’s kind of all up in the air right now.”

Now that Carano can be a spectator in MMA and sit on the sidelines, she can also partake in the budding drama between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey as a fan. Tate has criticized Rousey for not paying her dues and receiving a title shot. Carano does not have the same beliefs as Tate, but she respects both combatants equally.

“I think we as a whole sport should be welcoming her,” said Carano. “She was an Olympic athlete that became attracted to our sport. I think that’s amazing and huge. At the same time I also respect Miesha Tate a lot because I thought Marloes Coenen was going to win that fight. I also think they should bring back Marloes, I don’t know why she was ever let go from Strikeforce. But, I respect Miesha a lot, she’s worked her butt off to get where she is at. I respect Ronda because she has a lot more experience and has been under a ton of pressure and she has the right attitude. I’m looking forward to that fight and I think it’s going to be great for women’s MMA.”

Carano’s opinion on women’s MMA is arguably the most important; therefore she should be the one to represent the females in the sport.

The UFC has been in a grueling court battle with the State of New York for a few years. The Culinary Workers Union is attempting to keep MMA out of The Big Apple, but Zuffa execs are doing whatever it takes to educate the state. That also means finding the proper female to defend both genders involved in the sport.

There is nobody better than Carano for that assignment.

“Dana White called me and said ‘We would really love if you could represent female’s MMA for the lawsuit against the State of New York,” Carano explained. “Every other form of competition in martial arts up until putting it together is legal, but for some reason that is not legal. I think that has more to do with politics than mixed martial arts itself. You can look at mixed martial arts in a beautiful way as every country has their martial arts, but it forces us to combine them and get in touch with another country’s martial arts. Then we get to represent that in that cage.”

With MMA on hold for the meantime, Carano has submerged herself in acting. She may not be able to comment on her return to the sport, but she has something in mind.

“I got advice from an actress and she said just be very selective,” Carano said. “We got some certain projects that we’re thinking about and now we got some other projects coming in. I don’t know, I think it’s going to be interesting.”

FAQ of MMA with Brian Blue: Integrating Strength, Power, and Speed into your Conditioning

by Brian Blue on January 19, 2012 10:26:17 AM in Features, Fighter Features | No Comments »

StrikeForce fighter Derek Brunson works on his foot speed with Coach Brian Blue.

These circuits demonstrate an easy way to integrate both strength and power movements into a conditioning workout. Power and endurance are usually seen as being completely unrelated, however, good program design can help a fighter produce high levels of power for a longer period of time. Rather than having an extremely high max power output and a huge drop-off over time, fighters need to be able to maintain a high power output for longer, even if their max is slightly lower. I also like to work speed and footwork drills in as an active rest period. This allows you to maintain good stand-up speed even when you start to fatigue.

- Warmup (5 minutes)

- Include jog, backpedal, shuffles, and stance drills

- Dynamic flexibility (Iron cross, scorpion, lunges, leg swings, etc.)

- Complete each circuit 3 times. Circuits consist of a heavy strength exercise followed immediately by a power exercise of the same movement. These exercises are fairly basic, allowing almost anyone to do this wherever they work out. Work quickly between exercise 1 and 2, and quickly between 3 and 4. Work 4-6 ladder drills in between each pair of exercises. Use the ladder drills that I covered in last week’s article.

- Circuit 1

- Bench Press – 6 reps

- Plyo Pushup – 6 reps

- Barbell Deadlifts – 6 reps

- Box Jumps – 6 reps

- Circuit 2

- Power Cleans – 6

- Med Ball Granny Toss – 6

- Dumbbell Push Press – 8

- Med Ball Shot-put – 4 each arm

- Circuit 3

- Barbell Front Squat – 6

- Russian Hops – 6

- Pulldowns or Rows – 8-12

- Med Ball Slams – 8-12

Brian Blue is the owner of All Star Sports Academy in Toms River and Jackson, N.J. He possesses a Bachelor of Science in Phys. Ed. /Adult Fitness from Kean University in Hillside, N.J. Blue works with athletes of all levels, from children to professional, and from a variety of sports. Blue (Twitter: @ASsportsacademy) will be enlightening readers at MMADieHards.com on a weekly basis about physical training and conditioning, giving helpful tips and answering questions.

UFC on FX 1: Christian Morecraft not going to stand with Barry at “Wrestle Mania”

by Jason Kelly on January 18, 2012 8:00:46 AM in Features, Fighter Features | 1 Comment »

Christian Morecraft choking Sean McCorkle at Nogueira vs. Davis (Photo: Bloodyelbow)

Christian Morecraft is anticipating something similar to a WWF match.

UFC on FX features a bout involving Morecraft and Pat Barry on Jan. 20 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The bout marks the inauguration of the promotion on Fox Entertainment Group’s (FEG) pay television channel FX.

Morecraft appreciates the opportunity to participate in the historic event, not to mention his opponent.

“It’s huge to me,” Morecraft admitted to MMADieHards.com. “It means the UFC is expanding which is good for us- the fighters. It’s phenomenal, it’s an honor and it’s an honor to fight Pat Barry. Before I got in the UFC he was one of my favorite fighters, and he is still one of my favorite fighters. It just so happens to be that I’m fighting him.”

To prepare for a mixed martial artist he is fond of, Morecraft called upon his colleagues at Team Bombsquad.

Located in New York, Team Bombsquad is headed up by Ryan Ciotoli, and houses fighters such as Pat Bennett, Rene Nazare, and dozens more to assist Morecraft. Knowing Barry is an accomplished kickboxer, Morecraft made the decision to bring in some unique training partners.

Morecraft said he could not reveal who he brought in as per their request, but they can strike similar to the 2005 Kings of Kickboxing tournament champion and they were a little taller. To Morecraft, that’s neither here nor there, because this is his fight.

“We’re going to obviously try to stay away from his striking” Morecraft said. “If I was going to fight his fight I would need someone to mimic him the whole time, but I’m going to fight my fight and there’s not going to be a whole lot of striking going on.”

Morecraft did not hesitate to admit his plan is to take Barry to the canvas, and his reason for it is simple.

“If you were going to fight Pat Barry would you stand with him?” Morecraft asked. “No, you probably wouldn’t. Therefore, my game plan is the same as yours, take him down.”

Fortunately, this is mixed martial arts, not kickboxing, so Morecraft has other options besides striking.

Barry won the aforementioned 2005 Kings of Kickboxing tournament and the 2003 and 2004 U.S. Open Sanshou championship prior to entering MMA. After three victories in Combat USA in 2008, the New Orleans native was in the UFC before the year was out. Barry has seven (3-4) Octagon bouts to Morecraft’s 3 (1-2), nevertheless, the Team Bombsquad combatant is planning to make this contest reminiscent of when Hulk Hogan teamed up with Mr. T and ”Superfly” Jimmy Snuka.

“He’s got more professional experience, but I think I have more all-around tools.” Morecraft explained. “I have the size advantage, obviously. It’s going to be a good battle. I like putting on a show for the fans and going out there and tearing the walls down, making an explosion almost like its Wrestle Mania I all over again.”

If Morecraft defeats Barry he could be in position to compete against one the Strikeforce heavyweights that the UFC is slowly acquiring. Morecraft agrees with Zuffa’s decision to merge the largest division from the two promotions and develop the weigh class.

“It’s going to be huge,” Morecraft said. “We don’t need to be spread out; we need to be all under the same league because there’s not that many of us. We’re not as deep as the other divisions so it’s good, it’s a good thing.”

Before Morecraft contemplates his next opponent he has to conquer Barry. Looking to avoid a kickboxing match, Morecraft wants to execute a game plan that will involve minimal striking.

Something similar to a WWF match.

Twitter MMA: Best of the Week for Jan. 8- Jan. 15

by Jason Kelly on January 16, 2012 3:00:02 PM in Features, Fighter Features | No Comments »

danawhite Dana White

@TheFightingPost @joshgrossespn Josh is a pessimistic scumbag who pitched the story. The beauty is we filmed the interview too.

danawhite Dana White

@TheFightingPost can’t stand the lying 2 faced media fucks!! So glad we did this one right cause ESPN can NOT be trusted.

danawhite Dana White

@TheFightingPost @joshgrossespn trust me I have been a part of ESPN hack jobs that’s why I don’t do those BS shows and why we filmed it

danawhite Dana White

@TheFightingPost in an attempt by gross and ESPN to do a hack job on us we were ready this time!! We are gonna blast these hacks!!

ForrestGriffin Forrest Griffin

Not sure but I’m thinking this UFC stuff might catch on. It’s still too soon to tell

MiguelTorresMMA Miguel Angel Torres

So it finally decided to snow, thanks global warming for prolonging the inevitable for as long as you did. It meant a lot.

MiguelTorresMMA Miguel Angel Torres

Nothing about the winter is awesome. Can’t wait to move to Florida, I’ll take the chance of a hurricane over snow every year any day.

ChrisWeidmanUFC Chris Weidman

Check out my grill pic.twitter.com/S3H7ukGH

BasRuttenMMA Bas Rutten

If Cyborg wants to clear her name, simple, send the drink to the athletic commission, let them test it. I just don’t believe they put it in

BasRuttenMMA Bas Rutten

Drinks to LOSE weight, if they DO put roids in, show the drink and her name is cleared. Its what I would do. Like I said b4, they all say “I

BasRuttenMMA Bas Rutten

Took something over the counter”. What? Tell us what u took? Help your fellow fighters not to make the same mistake by accident, just saying

CungLe185 Cung Le

It was a medical reason @Anthony_Rumble did not make weight. SAFETY FIRST! It is not easy cutting 40 plus pounds.

danawhite Dana White

BS call for Erick Silva

kennyflorian Kenny Florian

Is instant replay a necessary thing for MMA? Wins/Losses can make or break a fighter and their career.

kennyflorian Kenny Florian

Palhares’ sub win from #UFCRio confirms he is the most dangerous man once the fight hits the octagon mat. Style nightmare for the Spider.

kennyflorian Kenny Florian

The least Edson Barboza could do last night was thank Steven Seagal for teaching him that kick last night. #Gratitude #KO #Kicks #Moo-Moos

kennyflorian Kenny Florian

Jose Aldo is a perfect example of what happens when superior athleticism, great technique, hard work & killer instinct all come together.

KoreanZombieMMA Chan Sung Jung

Now I’m the only one.

In Their Own Words: The Week’s Noteworthy MMA Quotes

by Jason Kelly on January 15, 2012 4:15:52 PM in Features, Fighter Features | No Comments »

“The UFC has gone out and strategically bought out every company or they cut the knees out from underneath them when they tried to get started by putting on shows when their shows were on. Which is fine, there’s nothing wrong with that kind of business. But when you get into that kind of position, then don’t use that kind of position to hold the fighters hostage.”
- Ken Shamrock insinuated the UFC conducts shady business on ESPNE: 60.

“We have a better product, we put up our money and we were smarter than everyone else. We’re giving these guys tremendous opportunity to be able to make more money, get bigger exposure, get bigger sponsors. And when you throw out the term monopoly, that’s the most ridiculous thing anyone could ever say.”
- Lorenzo Fertitta negated Shamrock’s accusations on ESPN’s E: 60.

“This thing started making money in 2005, 2006,” White said of the UFC’s growth. “It’s 2012. If you look at the money the guys made from 2006 to 2012, it’s phenomenal what we’ve done. These guys are coming out, and they got Ken Shamrock. Are you [expletive] kidding me? You know how much money Ken Shamrock owes me?

“Ken Shamrock filed a bogus lawsuit against us and lost. He owes us that money. Do you know what I’ve done for Ken Shamrock? Ken Shamrock, when I brought him over, he was broke – flat [expletive] broke. He was in income-tax trouble. His knee was shot. I rebuilt his knee. I got him out of income-tax trouble, fronted him a [expletive]-load of money. We gave him money – literally gave him money – $60,000. We gave him $60,000 just to get him back on his feet. You know how much money he made in the two fights he fought with us? It was $2.5 million.

“[Expletive] you, Ken Shamrock.”

“They went out and tried to talk to all these fighters. The fighters were calling us going, ‘ESPN is here.’ One of them notably was Matt Serra. Matt Serra said, ‘They come in, they waste my [expletive] time, they set up all their cameras, and when I started giving the interview, they didn’t like what I was saying. They shut the [expletive] thing down and left.’ We had numerous fighters say that. They were calling me and saying, ‘ESPN is showing up and wanted to do an interview, and when they don’t like what we say, they leave the interview.’

“They had to dig so deep they had to find Ken Shamrock, the guy who ends up getting busted for steroids three times after he leaves the UFC,” White said. “You couldn’t find a more honorable, honest and great guy to come out and interview than Ken Shamrock? I have absolutely zero respect for Ken Shamrock. I think Ken Shamrock is a horrible [expletive] human being.”
- Dana White commented on Shamrock and ESPN to mmajunkie.com.

“Gina rocks. And yeah, she’s kinda like my opposite, you know, like in every way. She’s like brunette with short hair with a nice rack that’s a good striker. I’m like a blond with long hair that’s like a good grappler that has a nice ass. We were made for each other to hang out. Gina’s cool, I’m so happy for her. I would not be a fighter if it wasn’t for her. I wouldn’t think this career would be possible for me if I hadn’t seen what she was already doing.”
- Ronda Rousey compares herself to Gina Carano on Full Contact Fighter.

“I’m not sure when I’ll come back event because I’m still with a shoulder injury, another injury arouse recently on my lower back, so I’m getting treatment”
- Anderson Silva revealed an injury he suffered to Tatame.com.

“I totally understand that you get a lot of MMA fans that don’t understand the style of wrestling or they just don’t like it, and everyone has an opinion. If it was up to me, of course I would go out there and knock everybody out in the first 30 seconds of a fight. I mean that’s the easiest thing to do. You go through a whole camp and you go through the first 30 seconds and the fight is over. Obviously at this level guys are tough and it’s not always going to happen that way. It’s so much harder going a full fight. We all know wrestling is my strength, and wrestling and cardio and stand-up cardio is completely different. We’re looking to exploit that. The wrestling mentality, and I think that’s why some people just criticize, but the wrestling mentality is to go, go, go, get your hands on them, grind and wear them out and break them down. A lot of the time that takes a while especially because guys are in such good shape nowadays. That grind, that ability to break your opponent, just takes longer than it used to. I see the criticism, and a lot of people don’t like it, but that’s my style. I started wrestling when I was five years old, that’s what I do, and I haven’t lost a round in MMA yet, and that’s just the dominating style of wrestlers. Wrestling is my strength, it’s my bread and butter, and it’s something I’ll do till the day I die.”
- Chad Mendes talked to MMA Weekly about his style of fighting.

“Rumble Johnson is not on weight today, and when I say he’s not on weight he’s way off weight. This is not the first time this has happened with Johnson. He moved up to 185-pounds so this wouldn’t happen to him at 170 pounds, and here we are in the same position. Belfort came in like a professional on weight, and Anthony Johnson comes in as a total unprofessional, way overweight. The stipulation is, Vitor does not want him to weigh more than 205 pounds by tomorrow. So we will see how this plays out. He’ll weigh in today and have to weigh in tomorrow. As a fighter, you are a professional. You are contracted to come in at a certain weight.”
- White explained Anthony Johnson’s situation prior to UFC 142 on FUEL TV.

“I’m already laughing at what ppl are saying. Yeah it was for medical reason and I did what the UFC Dr Told me to do. Believe it or don’t I give a f**k cuz the ppl close to me were freaking out but I’m still alive and something like this has never happen before. Say what you want I’m still gonna do my thang. You try not having feeling in your legs and can’t move then and see how you look at life after that.”
- Johnson addressed his haters via Facebook.

“This is his third time. Three strikes and you’re gone.

“That was one of the most unprofessional things I’ve ever seen. The guy was at 170 pounds. He moved up to 185 pounds so this wouldn’t happen anymore, and this is the worst weight-cutting disaster he’s ever had. He almost ruined the co-main event here in Brazil. I don’t know what else to say about that one. I’m not happy about it.

“I knew what the decision was when I talked to you on Friday. This is his third time. Listen, the guy was having problems making 170 pounds. He wanted to stay at 170 or whatever his deal was. You go to 185, and you blow it as bad as he blew it? That’s bad, man.

“I don’t dislike the guy. I like him very much actually. When you talk to Anthony Johnson, he’s a good guy.

“I don’t know who you blame in this one. Do you blame him? Do you blame his team? Do you blame his camp? I mean who takes the blame in this one? Ultimately, you’re a grown man. You’re responsible for your own actions.”
- White said at the post-fight press conference of Johnson’s failure to make weight.

“I think Mario Yamasaki is one of the best in the world at refereeing MMA. No doubt about it. He’s got great insight to the sport, he’s a lifelong martial artist, and he’s a really smart guy. What I was acting from, is that I saw an incredible young talent get denied a KO victory for a questionable call. When I entered into the Octagon and was told of the official ruling that Silva was going to be disqualified for illegal blows to the back of the head everyone that I was around who heard the news opened their mouths in shock. Everyone said, ‘what?’

“Calling fight as a referee is hard as F*CK. If I was a referee Dana would probably hate me more than he hates Mazzagatti. I wouldn’t want that job! That’s a shit load of pressure.”
- Joe Rogan talked about the debacle involving Mario Yamasaki’s stoppage Erick Silva at UFC 142 via The Underground.

UFC 142 main card: Aldo wows, Belfort overcomes weighty challenge, and a disqualification occurs

by Robert G. Reynolds on January 15, 2012 12:27:22 AM in Features, Fighter Features | No Comments »

Jose Aldo and the other WEC superstars are taking their act to the UFC.(photo courtesy of Karl Gehring/The Denver Post)

UFC 142 took place in Rio de Janeiro with the UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo proving why he is one of the most dominant fighters with the organization.

Aldo managed to stop the challenger Chad Mendes in the first round, while Vitor Belfort made an example out of Anthony Johnson with a submission win.

Edson Barboza knocked out Terry Etim in spectacular fashion, Carlo Prater collects a disqualification win over Erick Silva, while Rousimar Palhares snags the leg of Mike Massenzio to add to his collection.

With Mendes unable to take the champion down, frustrations started to appear on the face of the challenger.

Near the end of the first round, Mendes was able to grab hold of Aldo and control the back standing against the cage. Once Aldo was able to separate the hands of Mendes, he immediately turned and landed a left knee to the head of “Money” Mendes.

With one second left in the round, referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight handing Mendes the first loss of his career and increasing Aldo’s win streak to 14.

Johnson came out of the gate flying with a high energy pace that is not typical for the American. Taking Belfort down early, Johnson landed punches that swelled the right eye of the Brazilian.

Belfort managed to take control on the ground near the end of the first round and snagged back control over the tiring Johnson. With 14-seconds left in the first round, Belfort managed to lock in a rear naked choke, forcing Johnson to tap out, giving Belfort his first submission victory since 2001.

Like a boa constrictor in the Amazon River, when Palhares grabbed a hold of Massenzio, it only took a few seconds to take the life out of the middleweight fighter.

A minute into the bout, Palhares took Massenzio took the ground and in one smooth motion, locked on a leg lock, forcing the American to tap before his knee suffered any more damage.

“What a great victory! It’s what I always say when I get in there, if it’s God’s will then it is God’s will. I went in there and got it done. I like submissions and I got another one tonight.”

With a quick knee from Silva, Prater dropped to the canvass and fell victim to the swarm of Silva.

However, referee Mario Yamasaki felt that Silva had delivered illegal blows to the back of Prater’s head and disqualified Silva, handing him the second loss of his professional career.

“I’m not a judge. I didn’t stop the fight. All I know is that he hit me and it sent a shock of pain through my body unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I don’t know if the shots were legal. I just know it was unlike anything I’ve ever felt.”

Etim surprisingly came out early looking for the takedown, but was quickly swept by Edson Barboza on the way down. After Barboza found his rhythm, he established a home for his leg kick and took control of the bout.

Coming into the third round, Barboza kept Etim’s attention on the leg kicks and landed a life changed wheel kick to the head that may be cause for knock out of the night.

“When you fight in Brazil, it’s unlike fighting in any other place in the world. In a fight, you try things and hope they work. Tonight, it (the kick) worked. It’s something I’ve practiced a lot and I finally was able to land it hard. I’m happy with this outcome and you can expect more of that soon.”

UFC 142 Prelims: Gonzaga back to old form, Alcantara wins confusing decision, Pyle makes quick work of Funch

by Robert G. Reynolds on January 14, 2012 10:32:52 PM in Features, Fighter Features | No Comments »

With the UFC making their return to Brazil and the move to FOX, the preliminary fights were shown live on FX.

Gabriel Gonzaga submits Ednaldo Oliveira, Mike Pyle takes out Ricardo Funch in 82-seconds.

Sam Stout fell short against Thiago Tavares, and Yuri Alcantara decisions Michihiro Omigawa, and Felipe Arantes defeats Canadian Carvalho.

Stout was immediately on the defensive with Tavares doing everything in his power to turn this bout into a grappling match and take the fight to the ground. However, this only lasted for the first round.

For the balance of the fight it became a stand-up battle that saw both fighters landing the odd devastating blow. In the end, the judges found that Tavares was the dominant fighter and gave him the unanimous decision win, extending his win streak to two in a row.

“Sam Stout was the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced and this is the biggest win of my career. I thought about this fight for a long time. I have to be honest: of all the ways I saw this fight going, I never expected to beat him striking. I tried to take the fight to the ground, but he has great takedown defense. The fight stayed on the feet and I was able to win there. I want another big name next.”

Staying true to his word, Gonzaga went back to his roots and remembered to bring his jiu-jitsu black belt to the cage with him. Not wasting anytime, Gonzaga closed the distance early and managed to take Oliveira to the ground.

Once on the ground, “Napao” smothered the undefeated Oliveira until he gave up his back and Gonzaga sunk in the rear naked choke, forcing the tap at 3:22 of the very first round.

Alcantara’s match against Omigawa began with some slight confusion to end the opening frame. The Brazilian applied an armbar in the dying seconds of Round 1 and it appeared that referee Leon Roberts deemed the bout finished. After Alcantara celebrating and Omigawa arguing his case that he did not tap out the contest continued. The Japanese mixed martial artist could not change the outcome of the featherweight affair, regardless. Alcantara accomplished a decision victory in the meeting and made the UFC aware of what he wants next.

“This was like the World Cup for me tonight,” Alcantara said in a post-fight interview. “To fight against a veteran like him was a true honor. I hope this win proved to the UFC that I’m ready for the main card. I felt like a complete fighter in there tonight.”

Pyle made quick work of Funch.

The contest lasted a duration of just over one minute until Pyle blasted Funch with two solid punches and finished with a knee that crumpled the Brazilian. “Quicksand” followed Funch to the canvas and continued to land bombs until the referee called the bout. Pyle was gracious in victory following his previous bout, which did not go the American’s way.

“After my last fight, I took a step back and readjusted some things in my training,” Pyle said. “I knew that I had to really take a look at my whole MMA game and I think you saw some of the adjustments and improvements tonight. My striking and my overall game have evolved. This was an important fight for me in my career and I appreciate Ricardo taking this fight on short notice.”

After taking some punishment in Round 1, Arantes came back strong in the final 10 minutes. Round 2 was dominated by the Brazilian, and Round 3 is where the damage came into play. Arantes controlled Carvalho and distributed vicious ground and pound that caused a cut and bloodied the nose of the Canadian. The bout went to the judges’ scorecards and they awarded Arantes the unanimous decision, 29-28 across the board.

MMA DieHards Counterpunch: UFC 142

by Jason Kelly on January 14, 2012 3:58:50 PM in Features, Fighter Features | No Comments »

Vitor Belfort (L) stare down with Anthony Johnson (R) at UFC 142 weigh-ins. (Photo courtesy of mmajunkie.com)

MMA DieHards Counterpunch takes on UFC 142 this Saturday at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

UFC 142 features a main event featherweight championship bout between champion Jose Aldo and challenger Chad Mendes. Other notable fights on the main card include Anthony Johnson vs. Vitor Belfort, Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio and Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater.

MMADieHards.com put together a team of our finest writers to bring you Counterpunch for the event. The group independently makes its selections for each fight. Minority picks will be defended by one of the panelists making that selection.

Joining us this week will be newcomer Mike Steczkowski, Joe Rizzo, Robert G. Reynolds, and host of MMA Beatdown on the MMA DieHards Radio Network, Mike Fester. Jason Kelly also participated in the panel but did not have an assignment from his selections.

Erick Silva is not covered below, as he was unanimously selected.

Below we list the match, the fighter being defended and the author of the defense.

Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho
Defending Arantes: Joe Rizzo

Arantes has been on the cusp, and nearly pulled off the upset in his first trip back home in the UFC’s last show in Brazil. Carvalho makes his long-awaited UFC debut, but has shown to hit trouble in his career when facing higher-level opponents. Arantes will that youth (at 23, he is nine years younger) and the experience of already fighting in the UFC will pay off in a first-round stoppage.

Michihiro Omigawa vs. Yuri Alcantara
Defending Omigawa: Joe Rizzo

Omigawa’s record of 13-10-1 is deceiving, because he’s 9-3 since dropping to featherweight. One of those losses came to Darren Elkins in a fight that was so badly bothced by the judges that Dana White took the unusual step of giving Omigawa his win bonus after the fight. The other losses were to featherweight title contender Chad Mendes and the well-regarded Masanori Kanehara. Alcantara (26-3) has backed up his lofty record in his two Zuffa fights, beating down Ricardo Lamas at WEC 53 and earning a decision over Felipe Arantes at UFC 134, but he’s going to have plenty of trouble with Omigawa, who has the tools to neutralize Alcantara’s offense and keep the fight where he wants it. Omigawa wrestles his way to a decision.

Ricardo Funch vs. Mike Pyle
Defending Funch: Michael Steczkowski

The former WEC Welterweight Champ and Xtreme Couture fighter Pyle (4-3 UFC) is a heavy favorite over the Brazilian Team link member “Golden Boy” Ricardo Funch (0-2 UFC) for obvious reasons. He is a former WEC Champ, and has more experience against top opponents under his belt.

The last top opponent “Quicksand” faced was budding star Rory McDonald at UFC 133. Pyle looked like he sank in his own nickname losing by TKO in the first round.

Funch won his last fight albeit outside the UFC against Bellator veteran Ryan Quinn at Premier FC 7. His two UFC losses were to Claude Patrick and to Johnny Hendricks. Nothing to hang your head about losing to those two, especially avoiding getting knocked out by Hendricks left hand for 3 Rounds. Funch also brought two additional welterweights up to Team Link to help him for this fight, Bellator veteran Lyman Good, and CFFC fighter Bradley Desir.

Although winning his last three contests prior to the McDonald loss, I feel that Pyle’s best days are behind him and Funch will get his first win in the Octagon. Funch, a BJJ black belt, won’t submit the equally game on the ground Pyle, he will finish the American in the second round via TKO.

Edinaldo Oliveira vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Defending Oliveira: Robert G. Reynolds

Let’s face it folks, Gonzaga is not the same fighter he was that one night when he shocked the MMA world. When most people hear that name, they think of the epic night when Gonzaga served Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic some of his own medicine; sending him to the hospital with a right head kick of his own.

However, just for those that do not remember (my fellow colleagues), that was in 2007 and Gonzaga has only gone 4-5 since.

Stepping in to welcome back the one hit wonder is going to be the undefeated UFC newcomer Oliveira. With a perfect 13-0-1 record, Oliveira is not exactly your physical specimen of a heavyweight, but he has been able to finish 10 of his 13 wins before the judges’ had a say in the decision.

Gonzaga is a fighter of the past and is going to be a big name for Oliveira to add to his unblemished resume. With both combatants fighting in their native homeland, expect this to be an extremely high paced brawl. Without a doubt, this one is going to end in the first round with Oliveira stopping Gonzaga against the cage via punches.

Thiago Tavares vs. Sam Stout
Defending Tavares: Mike Fester

This fight was actually much easier for me to pick. For me, this fight boils down to whether or not it will end up on the ground. If it does, Tavares has a sizable advantage. “Hands of Stone” does have the potential to end any fight with one swing but I feel like Tavares will not allow standing with him to be part of the game plan. I see Tavares doing whatever he needs to do to get the fight on the ground and then run a complete BJJ clinic on Sam Stout. I predict Tavares by choke, somewhere in the second round.

Terry Etim vs. Edson Barboza
Defending Etim: Mike Fester

By far and large, I have yet to be impressed by Barbosa. His three fights in the UFC have been good, but far from great. On the other hand, Etim is the complete opposite. Sure he has a few loses, but when he wins, he wins in style. His ground game is beyond impressive as is the time he spends standing with his opponents. He appears to be fully recovered from a rib injury that kept him out of action for the better part of 2011 and he seems eager to make up for lost time. I think Etim will overwhelm Barbosa and choke him out in the first.

Mike Massenzio vs. Rousimar Palhares
Defending Massenzio: Michael Steczkowski

This contest has the hometown Palhares (6-2 UFC) favored to win because he is considered the superior grappler to Massenzio (2-3), and holds a higher rank among the UFC middleweight division.

Massenzio won a decision over Steve Cantwell last time out at UFC 136, after losing a bout at light heavyweight in his UFC return to Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 131. Palhares continued his sometimes bizarre behavior the last time the UFC went to Brazil at UFC 134, by jumping on top of the cage believing he had knocked out Dan Miller. “Toquinho” earned a decision victory after the fight continued. Everyone remembers the complaint to the ref after Nate Marquardt had escaped a submission attempt, which led to his demise in that bout via TKO. How about his failure to stop cranking a fight winning leg lock on Tomas Drwal at UFC 111, which led to a 90 day suspension.

Rousimar is not a very smart or heady fighter in my opinion and has shown a penchant for mental lapses. While Massenzio is not as decorated in jiu-jitsu as “Toquinho”, he is more than good enough to hang, and grappling in an MMA fight evens itself out when you get hit with four ounce gloves.

If Massenzio avoids any trouble on the ground and does more than Palhares standing, he will go the distance for the third consecutive time and take this fight via decision.

Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
Defending Johnson: Mike Fester

This was actually a very hard fight for me to pick. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to go with Belfort. I go back to the commercials when he was fighting Silva and all of the praise and accolades they dropped on him throughout that fight build up would have convinced almost anyone he was the best in the world. Clearly, that is not the case. But I do think he’s better than Anthony Johnson. Johnson is a very good fighter. People do tend to forget that his wrestling is so strong because of the string of highlight worthy knockouts he had in the UFC but it is strong. And while Belfort has fallen victim to the “wrestler’s curse” a few times, I think he’s going to be far too fast and far too aggressive for Rumble to handle. I think Belfort takes a KO in the first round.

Chad Mendes vs. Jose Aldo
Defending Mendes: Joe Rizzo

For a title fight against a dominant champion, Mendes, at plus-220, is not exactly a huge underdog. He’ll stick to a simple plan of taking a few licks to get inside, and then putting Aldo on his back, trying to ground-and-pound him. By the later rounds, Aldo’s explosiveness on the feet will become a tick reduced, and Mendes will continue to work the plan, walking away with the belt after a five-round decision.

Page 42 of 145« First «...10 20 30...40 414243 44...50 60 70...»Last »