Posts Tagged ‘highlight’

Bellator 62 Recap: Prindle takes heavyweight tournament while Woodard, Hawn, Weedman and Michel advance in Season 6 lightweight tournament

by on March 23, 2012 11:06:47 PM in Features, Fighter Features   |   No Comments »

Season 6 lightweight tournament semi-finalist, Lloyd Woodard (Photo courtesy of mmadailynews.wordpress.com)

 

Returning to the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas, Bellator began their Season 6 lightweight tournament Friday night.

With the main event already decided at the weigh-ins; Thiago Santos came in well overweight, forcing Bellator officials to hand the heavyweight tournament win to Eric Prindle.  The automatic win for Prindle now sets up a heavyweight title bout against the champion, Cole Konrad.

The night also saw the start of the lightweight tournament where Lloyd Woodard snapped the arm of season four tournament finalist Patricky Freire, Rick Hawn tossed his Judo aside and TKO’d Ricardo Tirloni, Brent Weedman forced J.J. Ambrose to submit via choke and Thiago Michel unanimously defeated Rene Nazare; all securing their way into the Bellator lightweight tournament semi-finals.

Proving to possibly be fight of the night, Freire and Woodard put on a first round worth waiting for.  After a quick pause in action due to a low knee, both fighters turned it up a gear and started swinging.

Taking the bout to the second round, Freire appeared to have Woodard rocked, however, that was far from the truth.  The match hit the ground, which one would think favored the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black-belt, Freire, but Woodard showed that he was no slouch.  After a scramble, Woodard held onto the arm of Freire, locking on a kimura until it snapped at the elbow, forcing the “Pitbull” to hand the semi-final round to his American opponent.

Judo met Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in this tournament quarterfinal between Hawn and Tirloni.  While both fighters are considered grapplers, they had no intentions of taking the fight to the ground.

As the opening bell rings, the Olympian, Hawn, quickly takes control of the cage landing crisp strikes forcing Tirloni to brawl.  As the Brazilian is forced backwards, Hawn landed a right hand that instantly dropped Tirloni to his back and the American followed continuing to strike until the referee stoppage.

The BJJ practitioner quickly got back to his feet, but it was too late, Hawn was already on to the semi-finals.

Right off the bat, both Weedman and Ambrose meet in the center of the cage swinging with Weedman landing the better of the two.  Dropping Ambrose early with a left hand, Weedman allowed his opponent to stand up; which may have proved to be the wrong decision, but it wasn’t.

Taking the fight to the mat early in the second, Weedman proved to be too much for the Bellator newcomer, submitting Ambrose via von flue choke midway through the round; solidifying his spot in the semi-final round of the lightweight tournament.

Opening the Bellator lightweight tournament was a bout between Bellator veteran, Nazare and the newly acquired, Michel out of Brazil.  Nazare tries to establish himself as the dominant force early, but Michel quickly turns the tides and controls the striking during the fight.

Looking to try his luck on the ground, Nazare managed to take down Michel late in the third round, eventually securing an arm-triangle from half-guard.  Trying to tighten the submission, the bell rang ending the bout.  All judges saw the fight in favor of Michel, sending him to the semi-final round.

Bellator 62: Rick Hawn travels to be the best

by on March 23, 2012 5:19:56 PM in Features, Fighter Features   |   No Comments »

Bellator lightweight Rick Hawn.

A new locale is expected to make a difference in a familiar tournament for Rick Hawn.

At Bellator 43 Hawn (Twitter: @RickHawnMMA) Hawn was defeated by Jay Hieron in Bellator’s Season 4 welterweight tournament finale.  The loss also marked the first defeat in Hawn’s career, which now stands at 11-1.  Though, Hawn had success in the 170-pound weight class, he is entering the Bellator Season 6 tournament as a lightweight.

Hawn meets Ricardo Tirloni on Friday in the opening round of the tournament at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Tex.  Hawn said making the 155-pound division will be easier than expected due to the addition of a nutritionist, and having endured a previous Bellator tournament will give him an edge.

“I think it helps me a lot,” Hawn admitted to MMADieHards.com.  “I think about half the guys haven’t been in the tournament before, so I’m looking forward to it.  It’s been a long break since my last fight.”

Hawn is a lifelong judoka, but has converted into a mixed martial artist.

His ability to flip, throw and toss an opponent is some of the best the sport has to offer.  He has won multiple medals in U.S. national competition, two Pan American Games and was a 2004 judo Olympian.  Hawn’s base may be grappling, but the Chicago native has seven victories via KO/TKO on his record.

Hawn said from the beginning of his MMA career he intended on being a well-rounded fighter, and not labeled as a judo guy.  He trains his striking and grappling equally in order to become the best fighter he can be.

Hawn’s theory for training is: To be the best; you have to train with the best.

“I go where the bodies are,” Hawn said.  “I was in the Boston area, went to a couple of gyms up there.  (I was at) Triumph BJJ in New Hampshire, did some good training there.  And obviously down at the Renzo Gracie Academy.

“My main gym is Tristar in Montreal.  I train with Georges St-Pierre and Rory McDonald and a bunch of other guys up there.  It’s a great place to be.”

Training at an array of gyms is a surefire way to improve.  Prior to being a teammate at Tristar under Firas Zahabi, Hawn was fighting out of Sityodtong.  His exit from the facility was on good terms and solely for the purpose of becoming a better mixed martial artist.

For Hawn, the moving around is not a new form of preparing for battle; he has always approached competition in this manner.

“Back in my judo career I went to the best schools in the States,” Hawn said.  “I don’t see myself ever not doing that.  For me to not go where the best guys are is absurd.  I want to go where the best guys are and that kind of lead me to Tristar.  They’re one of the top gyms in the world.”

UFC on Fuel TV 3: Mike Easton Battles for Bantamweight Supremacy

by on March 23, 2012 7:27:09 AM in Features, Fighter Features   |   No Comments »

UFC bantamweight Mike "The Hulk" Easton poses after a workout session. (Photo courtesy of the Washington Times)

UFC bantamweight Mike “The Hulk” Easton (Twitter: @mikeeastonmma) will fight friend or foe for first-place status in his division.

The 12-1 Anacostia, Washington D.C. native will definitely engage an enemy when he faces the 17-7 Yves “The Tiger” Jabouin at UFC on Fuel TV 3 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. Both stand in each other’s way for bantamweight dominance, so there will be no love lost when they meet in the Octagon on May 15.

“Jabouin is a beast,” Easton told MMADiehards in an e-mail exchange on St. Patrick’s Day last Saturday. “He likes to fight. We’re going to put on a super high-paced fight. He’s an exciting and worthy adversary.”

Easton and Jabouin have been on a collision course since both men entered the UFC in 2011. Easton debuted with a TKO of Byron Bloodworth in October followed by a unanimous decision victory against Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian in January. Jabouin, meanwhile, submitted Pablo “The Scarecrow” Garza in April before taking split decisions wins against Ian “The Barn Owl” Loveland and Walel “The Gazelle” Watson in August then December.

Easton said that true to the bantamweight style, both himself and Jabouin attack with blinding speed. Jabouin is renowned for his striking, Easton said, so he’ll counter with his own knockout power or his skills as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

“My strategy is to take his mind and body to a place he’s never been before,” Easton declared. “I’ll fight him standing or on the ground. I’m ready to mix it up with him.”

A win over Jabouin would propel Easton closer to bantamweight’s glass ceiling. Looking down from the top is 19-1 Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz, the division’s king and one of the world’s best pound-for-pound fighters. He’s also one of Easton’s closest friends. Should they meet, Easton said he’s prepared to take the title from his long-time training partner.

“Of course I’d fight Dominick,” Easton said when asked about his camaraderie with Cruz. “It’s my job, first of all, and right now he is the best 135 lb. fighter in the division. My ultimate goal is to win that belt and if I had to fight him I would. He’s my boy, I love him and I would give it my best and my all, but we will have no problem fighting each other for the belt.”

For now, Easton’s energy is focused on Jabouin. “The Hulk” said he already feels confident of victory given Fairfax is so close to his Washington D.C. hometown. No stranger to risking it in the District, Easton’s experiences fighting and training in D.C.’s MMA subculture will make the Patriot Center feel like familiar territory.

“Fairfax feels very much like home to me,” Easton said. “Anytime you are fighting at home it feels like an advantage. I love having my team and my hometown fans nearby for support.”

Easton said that regardless of his next fight’s outcome, he’ll continue battling up the bantamweight ranks. Having once held the Ultimate Warrior Challenge title for that division, he said he’s eager to gain UFC gold in his new home.

“We don’t stop,” Easton said of bantamweight fighters. “We’re really technical, and now that I’m in the division we have knockout power too. My goal for 2012 is to keep moving up the ladder, keep winning and keep moving toward the goal of becoming a UFC champion.”

Video: Bellator Champion Cole Konrad interviews heavyweight tourney finalist Eric Prindle

by on March 22, 2012 5:51:55 PM in Videos   |   No Comments »

Bellator Heavyweight tournament finalist Eric Prindle breaks down of his fight against Thiago Santos.

VIDEO POWERED BY: GAMMA LABS

MMADieHards.com enlisted the help of Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad to interview heavyweight tournament finalist Eric Prindle, who faces Thiago Santos at Bellator 62 in Laredo, Texas.

UFC on Fuel TV 3: Donald Cerrone Readies for a Shootout

by on March 22, 2012 4:00:03 PM in Features, Fighter Features   |   No Comments »

UFC lightweight Donald Cerrone. (Photo courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone (Twitter: @DonaldCerrone) wants a Wild West duel for his UFC on Fuel TV 3 matchup.

The 17-4 UFC lightweight will face 20-7 Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens at the May 15 fight card in Fairfax, Va.’s Patriot Center. Speaking with MMADiehards last week Wednesday, “The Cowboy” claimed his upcoming bout will put the “ugly” in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

“I’m super excited to fight Stephens as he shows up,” Cerrone said following a visit to the Inova Fairfax Hospital. “This guy comes to bring it. Stephens stands in the pocket and doesn’t go down easily. It’s going to be a great fight.”

Cerrone said his strategy against Stephens is simple: the Albuquerque, N.M. fighter plans on standing toe-to-toe with his foe and winning the striking war. An accomplished Muay Thai martial artist, Cerrone has one Knockout of the Night on his record and a long history of delivering big beatings. Should that fail, the lanky lightweight has no problem lassoing opponents on the ground with an array of chokes and armbars.

“I plan on going out and throwing down,” Cerrone said. “That’s what the fans want to see. An exciting fight is about not backing down and just fighting. It’s the only style I know.”

Such aggressive showmanship has won Cerrone a whopping seven Fight of the Night honors, five in the WEC and two in the UFC. He’ll look for another at Fuel TV 3, hoping to upstage the main event’s featherweight fight between 12-3 “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and 12-1 Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier. Given Cerrone can also claim 2009′s Fight of the Year and 2008′s Round of the Year on his resume, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Ironically, Cerrone’s original opponent at UFC on Fuel TV 3 wasn’t Stephens. “The Cowboy” was initially set to clash with the 41-8-1 Yves “The Thugjitsu Master” Edwards, only for Edwards to drop out after an injury. As Cerrone sees it, how you fight is more important than whom.

“The condition at the TapOut ranch is superb,” Cerrone said of his 10-acre training ranch in Albuquerque. “We have guys from all over the world come out here and train. It’s awesome man. I’ve had weeks to prepare so I’m all good with Stephens like I would have been with Edwards.”

Cerrone said he’s particularly eager to face Stephens as it’s his first UFC fight in 2012. Fighting in the Octagon five times last year, Cerrone lost only once, dropping a decision to 15-7 Nate Diaz at UFC 141 last December. Cerrone said he’s eager to remain as active this year, vowing to fight as much as possible.

“I want to do maybe seven fights,” Cerrone said. “That’s my plan.”

If “The Cowboy” seems particularly driven, it’s because he is. Cerrone said he wants to reign supreme at lightweight this year. Standing in his way is current champion and former WEC peer Benson “Smooth” Henderson, the division’s new 16-2 champion following UFC 144. Having lost twice to Henderson in the WEC, Cerrone said he’s eager to show he can ride roughshod over the champ in their next encounter.

“I want to be the champion this year,” Cerrone said. “I really like Henderson. He’s the big dog on top. I’m excited he got the title and I’m excited to take it from him.”

Bellator 62: Lloyd Woodard: Nothing sweet about losing to this “Cupcake”

by on March 22, 2012 11:06:34 AM in Features, Fighter Features   |   No Comments »

Bellator Season 6 lightweight tourney competitor Lloyd Woodard

A loss to Lloyd Woodard is embarrassing in more ways than one.

Woodard (Twitter: @mmacupcake) compiled an undefeated record of 11-0 before suffering his first career loss to Michael Chandler at Bellator 40.  The setback forced Woodard’s exit from the Bellator Season 4 lightweight tournament, but the Montana native is nearing his return to the cage and is making another run at Bellator gold.

Woodard is welcomed back to the cage by Patricky “Pitbull” Freire in the quarterfinal round of the Bellator Season 6 lightweight tournament.  The tournament is set to commence Friday at Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Tex., and Woodard is eagerly anticipating an opponent he requested.

“He comes to scrap, and that’s what I want,” Woodard told Amy Barton, Mike Fester and Alex Donno on MMA Beatdown Radio on the MMA DieHards Radio Network.  “I need somebody that’s going to hit me hard because I’m definitely going out there to hit him hard.

“After I fought Carey Vanier, I scored a TKO over him, it really ticked me off that (Freire) knocked out “Razor” Rob (McCullough) in the third round.  That kind of overplayed my knockout.  I thought I was going to be played on the highlight reel, but he was on the highlight reel.  So, after that fight I went to Bjorn (Rebney) and said I want Patricky.”

Woodard didn’t immediately have his wish granted.

The Dogpound Fight Team member was matched up against Chandler, who went on to become champion following season four, and lost a decision.  Woodard said the two combatants had a good fight, but after splitting the first two rounds, Chandler outworked him in the final frame.

The defeat was a minor obstruction on Woodard’s path to get the title, and an eye-opener as to what he needs to improve in order to accomplish his goal.

“What I learned from that was good old fashion, get your wrestling up to par,” Woodard admitted.  “He’s a monster wrestler, and for me to be good enough to get that belt from him, I have to be good enough to where he’s not going to be able to control me on the ground or even put me on the ground.  Even though he’s wrestled all of his life, I worked just as hard in a short amount of time to make up for my not wrestling all of life.”

In order to advance his wrestling skill-set, Woodard has been spending time with Matt Lindland at Team Quest in Portland, Ore.  The knowledge the Olympic silver medalist wrestler brings to the gym is essential in the progression of Woodard becoming the well-rounded fighter he aspires to be.

Woodard has proven his ability to win bouts standing or on the mat throughout his 11 victories.  He said he enjoys fighting and does it as a full-time job.  Woodard acknowledges that he has to train in multiple disciplines to be an elite mixed martial artist, but he continuously emphasized on toughness.

How does a combatant so concerned with being tough end up with a moniker such as “Cupcake?”

“My coach at the time wanted to call me ‘Pretty Boy Lloyd,’ and I said no way,” Woodard explained.  “I’m not taking the name of some horrible, loudmouth boxer.  After we got to the fight I still hadn’t put down a nickname.  I was sitting there and (my coach) comes up and is like, ‘No worries, we just put you down as Cupcake.  It will be really funny.’  After I smashed the guy in the first round, you know, he got beat up by a guy named “Cupcake.”  It sticks.

“Nobody wants to lose to a guy named “Cupcake,” especially when I’m painting my toenails pink.”

Darce Side Radio: Rad Martinez and Chris Lozano

by on March 22, 2012 8:00:05 AM in Radio   |   No Comments »

Chris Lozano (Left) and Rad Martinez (Right) join the the Darce Side Radio.

 

Michael Stets and Hector Castro break down the latest news in MMA.

Bellator featherweight Rad Martinez and Bellator welterweight Chris Lozano are this week’s guests!

 

Topps UFC 2012 Knockout series unleashed

by on March 21, 2012 4:27:51 PM in Features, Fighter Features   |   No Comments »

The Topps UFC 2012 Knockout series hit shelves today and they offer new features as well as old favorites.

Topps (Twitter: @toppscards) UFC 2012 Knockout series’ newest addition to the collection is the Fist-O-Graph cards.  The oversized card will display an image of a mixed martial artist with their signature and an imprint of their fist.  There are 10 different Strikeforce and UFC fighter Fist-O-Graph cards to collect.

The popular relic cards that Topps offered in the past have been taken to a new level with the UFC Knockout 2012 line.  This time the relic cards in this series consist of Dual Autographed Fight relics, which entail two fighter autographs and a piece from the mat the competed on.  The Autographed Fighter relics contain an autograph and a piece of an authentic worn item.  The Between Rounds Autographed relics feature the Octagon girls, pieces of their outfits, round cards, robes, and an autograph.  The Triple Threads Autographed relics are three relics in individually created die-cut windows and an autograph.  The Fight Mat relics display a mixed martial artist along with a piece of mat on which they fought, and the Fighter Gear relics which shows fighter-worn shorts or shirts.

A very unique relic that Topps UFC 2012 Knockout series provides is the Triple Threads relic double combos.  That is six book cards highlighting six fighters each on Triple Threads card, each with a relic piece in individually created die-cut windows.

Topps introduced some new appearances to the autograph cards in UFC Knockout 2012 series, as well.  Fighter Autographs cards feature fighters and on-card autographs. First-time signers will receive the “First Autograph Issue” foil stamp.  The Notable Nickname Autographs showcase fighters and their signed nickname on the card.  To add a little flash to the series, the Full-Contact Autograph card will offer fighters sign on-card autographs in silver ink, and the Red Ink line which has fighter nicknames in red ink.

Three very exciting things about the autograph cards in the Topps UFC 2012 Knockout series are the Three of a Kind Triple Autograph cards, SickSigs Autographs, and the Autographed Glove Redemption cards.

The Three of a Kind Triple Autograph cards each display three fighters who share a common bond and their autographs.  SickSigs contains cards each featuring six fighter autographs, and Autographed Glove Redemption cards have a code good to redeem a UFC glove signed by a fighter.

Topps UFC 2012 Knockout series has creative new aspects to please the MMA enthusiast, but they also included the previous parallel cards and base cards that consist of the premier fighters in the sport.

Daniel Cormier: Recovering well, enjoys Fedor comparison, awaits ‘dangerous’ Barnett

by on March 21, 2012 10:26:48 AM in Videos   |   No Comments »

Daniel Cormier (L) defeating Jason Riley (R) at Strikeforce: Houston.

Daniel Cormier (Twitter: @dc_mma) spoke to MMADieHards.com about recovering from hand surgery, a move to the UFC and his upcoming Strikeforce bout against Josh Barnett.  Also, he shared his thoughts on being compared to a mixed martial artist Cormier refers to as, “The greatest heavyweight of all time.”

Nick Catone vs. Chris Camozzi set for UFC on FX 4

by on March 20, 2012 8:11:02 PM in Features, Fighter Features   |   No Comments »

Nick Catone (photo courtesy of Sherdog)

Bob Badders confirmed for MMADieHards.com that Chris Camozzi and Nick Catone are set to meet at UFC on FX 4 on June 22 at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

Camozzi (16-5) has gone 1-1 since his return to the UFC, most recently defeating Dustin Jacoby via guillotine-choke at UFC on Fox 2.  The Ultimate Fight 11 participant was released from the UFC in January 2011, following a loss to Kyle Noke.  Camozzi beat Joey Villaseñor in a bout outside the Octagon, but was welcomed back in October of last year and lost to Francis Carmont at UFC 137.

Catone’s (9-2) last outing had him defeat Constantinos Philippou at UFC 128 in a catch-weight bout of 195 pounds, and he is currently riding a two-fight win streak.  Catone was expected to face Aaron Simpson at UFC 136, but withdrew from the bout due to a torn achilles tendon.  Since joining the UFC in 2009, Catone was compiled a winning record of 3-2.

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