MMA News Thread

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Bellator Fighting Championships signs Jorge Masvidal to exclusive deal

Bellator Fighting Championships' roster of fighters has another solid addition.

The organization today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that rising lightweight prospect Jorge Masvidal (16-3) has signed an exclusive deal with Bellator and will compete in the organization's 155-pound tournament.

Masvidal, a member of American Top Team's Miami squad, has won 10 of his past 11 fights.

Past victories have come over notables Ryan Schultz, Joe Lauzon and Yves Edwards in organizations such as Strikeforce, BodogFIGHT and World Victory Road's Sengoku promotion. The 24-year-old has posted stoppages in eight of his 16 professional wins.

"Jorge's world-class skills and ability to beat the best in his division on any given night may be a surprise to some MMA fans, but not to those of us who have seen him fight," Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney stated. "Jorge is a great example of today's true world-class mixed martial arts fighter, possessing a complete set of skills across multiple disciplines. Jorge can beat you standing or on the ground and brings excitement to every fight he's in. He will be a major challenge to anyone in our 155-pound tournament."

Bellator, which will premiere on ESPN Deportes on April 4 and run for 12 weeks every Saturday night (on a one-day tape delay), will feature tournament and non-tournament bouts in shows around the U.S. Three-month, eight-man tournaments will be held in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions, and each winner could earn up to $250,000.

 

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Ronnys Torres' UFC debut scrapped due to pending knee surgery

UFC newcomer Ronnys Torres (14-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who was scheduled to meet Melvin Guillard (21-7-2 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 18, has been forced off the card due to a knee injury and pending surgery.

An American-based representative for the Nova Uniao team member today told MMAjunkie.com that the injury, suffered during a recent training session, is expected to sideline the fighter for up to six months.

Torres tore ligaments in his right knee. Surgery is expected to take place in the next week or two.

Prior to signing with the UFC, Torres amassed a current eight-fight win streak in his native Brazil. The submission specialist has posted 12 stoppages in his 14 career wins; seven have come via submission.

UFC Fight Night 18 takes place April 1.

 

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AFFLICTION: MATYUSHENKO READY FOR NOGUEIRA

Sometimes a fight goes under the radar during the hyping period that often precursors large MMA events. For this Saturday’s Affliction show, "Day of Reckoning," that fight could very well be the light-heavyweight mach-up between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko.

While both fighters are widely regarded as Top 10 talent, the unassuming nature of each man makes for a fight that could easily exceed expectations.

For Matyushenko, the match-up not only means an opportunity to face top-level talent, but a platform to showcase the skills that will keep him far more busy than he was in 2008.

“It was kind of a frustrating year for me – getting ready for (an IFL) fight and that fight gets cancelled, getting ready for another fight (in Affliction) and that fight gets postponed, but better late than never,” said Matyushenko of his nine-month layoff.

“It’s frustrating because I’m not the kind of person that can just sit around and wait. I have a gym and I train other (pro) fighters and recreational fighters; just keeping busy because that’s how the fight game goes sometimes.”

With Affliction being postponed from October of last year to Saturday it would be easy for a fighter to lose patience, but a well-seasoned veteran like Matyushenko knows how to handle the anticipation.

“You can’t be too antsy because by the time the fight actually happens you’ll already be tired,” he commented. “When the time comes, you’ll fight and hopefully it will be a good fight.”

By now he is very familiar with his opponent, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira; a fighter he’s fought previously and has been spending the better part of half a year preparing for.

“He’s going to come out and try to hit me in the face, submit me, and do bad stuff to me,” commented Matyushenko of the fight. “I’m going to try to defend it and kick his ass.”

After waiting nearly a year to get back into action, he looks to stay busy in 2009 with an open-ended contract that will allow him to appear elsewhere if possible.

“Three or four fights this year would be good,” he stated. “Part of it is my job – if I put up a good show (the promotion) makes good money and they put on more shows – that’s how it goes.

“I’m open for other fights. Affliction is my first priority, but I can fight elsewhere if they have no fights coming.”

At 38-years-old, Matyushenko has no intentions of slowing down now, especially while the sport is hitting its highest point yet, both in popularity and revenue.

“If I’m getting paid for it, I’m going to keep doing it,” he chuckled. “Right now is a good time to do it, because with all the stuff with the economy, it looks like MMA is not slowing down. It’s getting as popular as ever, so it’s a good time.

“I just like to train, train my guys, and test myself. It’s just like racing cars, seeing how far and fast you can go.”

With the MMA world focused on the top half of the Affliction card this coming Saturday; the one fight fans may not want to miss could easily be Matyushenko’s showdown with Nogueira should both fighters keep to the level of competition they’ve been at over the years.

“Thank you to my sponsors Valhalla Brand and HCK; all my coaches and training partners at VMAT,” Matyushenko closed out. “All you guys come check out the fights at the Honda Center on Jan. 24, and thanks for your support.”

 

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FRANK MIR TALKS REMATCH WITH BROCK LESNAR

Ultimate Fighting Championship interim heavyweight champion Frank Mir and UFC heavyweight titleholder Brock Lesnar will rematch to unify the belts later this year. Mir recently spoke with MMAWeekly.com about the rematch, Lesnar's improvements and why he feels he'll be the undisputed, two-time heavyweight champion after what will be their second fight.

Mir defeated Lesnar in the former professional wrestler's UFC debut at UFC 81 on Feb. 2, 2008.

"There's a lot of hype behind Brock. I don't think that right now people have me as a clear-cut favorite in the fight as far as what I understand and what people are telling me. So, to be able to go out there and fight him for the title, and he was really the start of what kind of got me back into the limelight, that I think this helps finish it off," the Las Vegas resident said about fighting Lesnar for a second time. "I'm happy to go in and fight Brock and do it again."

Lesnar made his UFC debut in his second professional mixed martial arts bout and surprised a lot of people in his losing effort against the more experienced Mir. Looking ahead to the rematch, the 29-year-old heavyweight doesn't think it will be a walk in the park.

"I don't think it will be an easy fight by no means. I think he's going to learn his lessons from the first time. I just still think that I'm the better fighter. I've been doing it a lot longer. There's not that drastic of a size difference between the two of us," Mir told MMAWeekly.com. " I stay between 250 and 260. No matter what, he has to show up at 265 the night before. How much weight can he put on? Ten-fifteen pounds, tops – 280 when I weigh 260 – 20 pounds is not drastic. It's not going to be deathly. But I have years of experience on him that he doesn't have in the MMA world."

Mir acknowledged that Lesnar has improved since their first fight, but doesn't believe he's had the time to transform his abilities to the level of a world-class fighter.

"I think he's improved a little bit, but I still think it takes a long time. No one picks this up in four or five fights," said the UFC interim heavyweight titleholder. "What fighter have you seen yet that in four fights is unbelievably technical? We can go through any weight class you want.

"Lets look at Urijah Faber at his fourth or fifth fight. What was he compared to what he is now? If we go to Miguel Torres, if we go to St. Pierre, you can pick the best fighters in the world. How good are they on their fifth fight compared to how good they are now," asked Mir. "We're talking about world-class guys. We're talking BJ Penn's and stuff. Let's be realistic - Matt Hughes. Come on. If Brock Lesnar is able to be a world-class mixed martial artist on his fifth fight, that means he's the best mixed martial artist pound-for-pound that ever came into MMA. That's a pretty steep statement there. We're talking you're up there with Anderson Silva and St. Pierre and Miguel Torres. That's a pretty long, tall list to be on top of."

"If he does it, I'll be impressed out of my mind," he added.

Mir anticipates more striking in the rematch and Lesnar to come in with a different game plan than their first go around. "I think it's going to be a lot more striking, obviously, this time. I think honestly there's going to be a lot more striking, but Brock's never really been punched in a pro fight. I think he's going to try to stand up with me for a little while, and then when that doesn't go his way he's going to take me down and try to ground and pound me and hope he's a lot more strategic about avoiding submissions."

And Mir doesn't disagree with that strategy for Lesnar. In fact, he would employ the same tact if he were coaching Lesnar. "If I was coaching him, that's what I'd do, sort of push the pace. Even in the fight with Nogueira, it only went seven minutes. Who still knows whether I truly have a gas tank or not? Obviously you see that I do have stand up skills. You know what I can do on the ground, so why don't we just test the gas tank now? I'd say, 'Don't get hurt early on with a punch. Don't do something stupid and get caught in a submission. Take the fight the to the second or third round and see what Mir really can do.' Which is great for me if he could do that because then I can showcase more about what I can do. That's what the fight is about. I want to show more and more my depths in my ability. If he can make it further, it's a plus for me in my career."

Although he expects a different game plan out of Lesnar, Mir is interested what that game plan may be.

"My striking, now, is up to a level that I don't think his is at. My jiu-jistu's still at a level I don't think his is at. Obviously he can out wrestle me, but it's kind of like, okay, pick your poison," stated the former UFC heavyweight titleholder. "Do you want to stand with me? I can't take Brock down. If Brock wants to stand on our feet, it will be a stand-up war. Does he really want to stand up with me? Okay, Nogueira's a much better boxer than he is and we saw what happened there. At the same time, does he want to shoot and take me down? That might not be the best thing either. So, he's kind of really in a weird situation.

"I'm kind of curious what his plans will be, so I'm just preparing to go ahead and beat him at the stand-up and beat him on the ground. "

 

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SOKOUDJOU KICKS OFF NEW YEAR AT AFFLICTION

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou has too much time on his hands.

He’s just finished a training session with mentor Dan Henderson and the others at Team Quest South, and says he has a stack of 10 DVD’s waiting for him at home.

“I have nothing going on besides school and fighting right now,” Sokoudjou told MMAWeekly.com. “I don’t have a family where I need some time to spend with family, all I have is fighting, so I want to do this 100 percent.”

After almost three years as a professional fighter, his mom still doesn’t know what he does for a living. According to him, there’s only one channel in Cameroon, and it’s in French. If he fights there, the jig might be up.

Last March, the Cameroon native decided he’d had enough of waiting around, and enrolled in ITT Technical Institute, because, as they say, you can’t fight forever.

He’s now studying to become a network security specialist at the technical college. It gives him something to do, and takes his mind off his job. In the past, he overtrained because there wasn’t much else to do. He went into fights feeling less than sharp.

“I wasn’t listening to my body,” Sokoudjou said. “I thought I was. I (was) just going in there, (saying) I want to beat this guy. I want to be flashy. I want to show some skills. So, not keeping it simple.”

Sokoudjou wants to keep it simple for his upcoming fight with Renato “Babalu” Sobral at Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning.” It’s always a temptation to get creative.

“In my first UFC fight there was a lot of pressure, but after that, I told myself I’m in this because I love it,” he said. “It’s recreation for me. The only thing I’m still kind of dealing with is trying to do things – watch a bunch of kung-fu movies and wanting to be the guy in the kung-fu movie doing all those crazy, fancy things. If I have an opportunity to make it flashy, I will, but for now my main focus is basics.”

In the gym, Sokoudjou’s training partners drill him on guillotine defense. Babalu has rightly earned his place as a submission expert in MMA, though Sokoudjou doesn’t necessarily draw a parallel to another jiu-jitsu master he faced, Ricardo Arona.

“He’s got better boxing I would say, watching his last Affliction fight,” said Sokoudjou. “On the ground, he’s Babalu. He’s got some sick guillotines and gogoplata… all those crazy names I can’t pronounce. I’ve tried to do his moves, but I’m so not flexible.”

The last year has been something of a roller coaster for the affable light heavyweight. After entering the UFC in 2007 on a wave of hype, he went 1-1 in 2008 competition. Following his last fight, a loss to Luis Cane at UFC 89, he was released from the organization. He was a free agent for mere weeks before signing on to upstart Affliction. The move promised better paydays and a busier schedule, which meant less time doing nothing.

Looking back, he takes the ups and downs in stride.

“That’s the business,” he said. “You can work hard, you can do anything. When you’re up there, you enjoy it. When you’re down there, you do the best you can to go back. I’ve been in Judo where I had my butt kicked every day, and this isn’t new to me. The only difference is this is 2009. It’s a different sport. That’s how it goes.”

His first New Year’s resolution is to defeat Babalu and anyone that stands in his way this year.

“It’s a new year, it’s a new me, so come out and watch the fight,” says Sokoudjou.

 

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CHASE BEEBE TO SIGN 3-FIGHT DEAL WITH DREAM

Former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe has announced his intention to sign a three-fight deal with Japanese promotion DREAM this week. The fighter confirmed his intentions to MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday evening.

Beebe was originally considering a trip overseas in late October after fulfilling the last fight of his WEC contract at WEC 34, but an offer to face Jeff Curran in December's WEC 37 delayed his decision. When Curran injured his hand and was forced to bow out of the fight, Beebe lobbied for the DREAM contract.

Beebe will move up a weight class for his DREAM obligations, participating in the promotion's upcoming featherweight tournament in March. He also expects to keep a bantamweight fight with Mike Easton at Ultimate Warrior Challenge on Feb. 21.

Beebe said he would be in the opposite bracket of the man he expected to face in the tournament finals, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, however, a Monday report from the Japanese sports website Sports Navi confirmed that Yamamoto would not be participating in the March event due to a persisting knee injury.

As it stands, Beebe's opponent for the first round of the tournament will likely remain unknown until days before the event, given the last-minute matchmaking of the promotion.

“I'm really excited for the experience, man,” Beebe told MMAWeekly.com. “Getting to go out there and fight for a different culture. I went out there with my buddy Clay French, and it was pretty cool, seeing how it all goes down. Just dead silent… how much respect the fans have for the sport. I think it would be cool to be part of that.

“Obviously, I love fighting in my own country, and the WEC, it's my home. I'm going to try to make a name for myself out there and come back to WEC, see if I can't get my belt back.”

 

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Gegard Mousasi mulls move to light heavyweight to possibly face winner of Affliction’s Sobral vs Sokoudjou

“To me the next challenge is to move up a division. It’s not because I don’t see middleweight as a challenge but because my body’s getting bigger. I always came down, came down and because of my age my body’s getting bigger and bigger. It’s something that I needed to do. I think the timing is good to go up. I may fight the winner of Babalu vs. Sokoudjou but I don’t know for sure. It’s eventually up to Affliction and M-1 who they want me to fight. It’s a tough division because every guy is explosive, every guy is fast and has good strength. It’s a tough division and there’s a lot of good names. It’s not my goal to be the best light heavyweight in the world, something I’ve always wanted is to be a heavyweight. I plan, over one year maybe two years, to build to heavyweight.”

 

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Jonathan Goulet unable to take UFC 97 fight vs. Tamdan McCrory

FiveOuncesofPain.com has learned that Canadian welterweight Jonathan “The Road Warrior” Goulet has turned down his proposed bout with Tamdan McCrory after he was unable to gain medical clearance for his injured knee.

A few weeks ago, FiveOuncesofPain.com broke news that Goulet was offered a fight with McCrory but the bout hinged on the fact that Goulet needed to receive medical clearance. Goulet suffered the knee injury last month during his first round TKO loss to Mike Swick at “UFC Fight for the Troops.”

Goulet, a native of Victoriaville, Quebec, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 22-10. Goulet holds UFC victories over Jay Hieron, Luke Cummo, Paul Georgieff, and Kuniyoshi Hironaka.

McCrory, a native of Courtland, New York, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 10-2. McCrory holds UFC victories over Pete Spratt and Luke Cummo.

 

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Report: Sean Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar on tap for UFC 98

A new published report is claiming that former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk is slated to test his superb wrestling skills against another former collegiate wrestler in Frankie Edgar.

The news comes courtesy of MMAMania.com, which quotes a source to Sherk as indicating that the fight has been agreed to and is scheduled to take place at UFC 98 on May 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sherk improved his overall MMA record to 33-3-1following a unanimous decision victory over Tyson Griffin during UFC 90 this past October. A long-time UFC veteran, the Minnesota native holds notable victories in his Octagon career over Nick Diaz, Kenny Florian, Benji Radach, and Tiki Ghosn.

Edgar is 9-1 and has not competed since recording a unanimous decision victory over Hermes Franca during UFC Fight Night 14 this past July, The win improved Edgar’s UFC record to 4-1 with notable victories over Griffin, Spencer Fisher, and Mark Bocek.

 

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Palhares “getting mature” for a titleshot

Back in Brazil after celebrating Rousimar Palhares’ second victory at UFC 93, against Jeremy Horn, Murilo Bustamante, Brazilian Top Team coach, spoke with TATAME.com about the victory the pupil, dominating the fight and getting the unanimous decision victory. "Everything is perfect. He hurt his hand, but now everything is fine, we are happy with the victory".

Doing a quick analysis of victory, Bustamante sees a great evolution in the Brazilian game, despite not submitting the American. "I think, in general, that the fight was great. He went through difficulties because of the hand, the fight lasted three rounds, Jeremy is a very experienced man and gave him a tough work on the ground. He failed to submit, because of his injured hand, but we feel that it was good,” said Murilo. "The longer he stays in the octagon is better. If he enters there and ends it in the first round would be great, of course, but he needs to get experienced in the octagon. It was great. We still have things to improve, but we had improved a lot from his last fight for now".

Coming from defeat to Dan Henderson in UFC 88, the coach sees an improvement in the performance of the fighter "He worked well on the ground and pound, but needs to calm down a little more and it’ll come with time. The last round was the best one, fought smarter. He gave a very strong pace in the first and get tired. This fight was crucial to make a leap forward for him at the event".

After submitting Ivan Salaverry in his UFC debut, Palhares faced the toughest battle in his second fight. Coming from two of title fights, Dan Henderson needed to win to continue alive in the event, and Rousimar had a golden chance to grow up in the category, but the unanimous decision loss put him back again. “After the first fight we set a strategy to cut the track and get closer to a titleshot faster, and that’s why we chosen to fight Henderson. But we saw that we had a lot of things to improve and then try to get closer to the belt, so we want to get mature first, then try to dominate the category. We’re not in a hurry for the belt, we want him mature enough, take every fight”, concluded Murilo.

 

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Danillo Villefort ready for WEC 38

With the WEC debut scheduled for January 25th, Danillo "Índio" Villefort faced a biggest challenge in his preparation for the fight against Mike Campbell, at WEC 38. Used to compete with the middleweight division, the Brazilian, who naturally weighs 205lbs, has agreed to drop one category and fight at 177lbs in the octagon. "The preparation was cool, my big concern was the weight, but now everything is ok. I’m working with JC Santana at American Top Team, who is an excellent professional that made me ready for that", says Danillo, weighing 185lbs a week ten days before the fight.

Doing a specific training for Campbell, the Brazilian had to find some different training. "He’s a left-handed striker, but isn’t very tall, which is good. He seems not to accept too much of the ground game, but I’m ready to fight, no matter where. The important is that he’s a left-handed athlete, so I had to do some changes in my game, but Mohamed Ouali, my Muay Thai coach, already put the things in the right place, now it’s just fun”.

Fighting in the welterweight division now, the Brazilian doesn’t know yet if he’ll stay in it or try to go back to the middleweight, in the UFC. "I want to see, first, how I will do in this division, then decide if I keep it or go back. If I feel good, I maintain, but I can go up and be automatically transferred to UFC, since there’s no more 185lbs category in the WEC anymore", revealed Villefort.

On the same night, at WEC 38, his compatriot José Aldo comes back to the octagon after two knockouts and Danillo is cheering for the Brazilian. “Aldo is flying, but I can’t say anything about this fight because I don’t know his opponent (Rolando Perez), but I bet on him definitely. If he wins, he deserves a titleshot, but it depends on the negotiation from his manager with the show", he said. And if Aldo wins and gets a chance for the title, he’ll face Mike Brown, Danillo’s team partner at American Top Team.

"He’s in Mike Brown’s category? Man, that’s complicated", warns Villefort. Following Mike in trainings for the first title defense, Danilo comments the preparation of the champion. "He’s training well, but hasn’t pressed a lot yet. Mike has a big physical structure for this category, his punch is very strong in comparison with the guys of this weight, He’s such an animal in wrestling… He’s a guy difficult to be beaten", analyzes the Brazilian.

 

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Horodecki off Affliction Card

Lightweight entry Chris Horodecki will not be able to compete at this Saturday’s Affliction “Day of Reckoning” at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio confirmed to Sherdog.com on Wednesday.

Horodecki, who attended a press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning for the blockbuster event, will not be re-licensed by the California State Athletic Commission in time to face UFC veteran Dan Lauzon.

It is believed the 22-year-old Canadian did not pass his medical requirements, but California statutes do not allow the state agency to reveal the cause of Horodecki’s omission from Saturday’s card.

“Because of medical history, I can’t disclose what it was,” said CSAC Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas. “All I can tell you is that there is a medical and paperwork aspect that has to be fulfilled. The paperwork aspect was fulfilled.”

The baby-faced Horodecki (12-1) fought last in California for the International Fight League in March 2007.

Douglas said Atencio and himself are working closely to exhaust all efforts to find a suitable replacement in time to salvage the featured lightweight bout that was to have kicked off a stacked pay-per-view.

“Affliction has been phenomenal during this licensing process, so when something like this happens, we can all keep moving and we will do everything we can to try and assist them as much as possible,” said Douglas from the CSAC’s Sacramento office Wednesday evening.

Horodecki’s head trainer, Shawn Tompkins, was initially unavailable for comment.

 

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GILBERT YVEL CLEARED TO FIGHT AT AFFLICTION

Controversial Dutch heavyweight Gilbert Yvel has been officially cleared to face Josh Barnett at Affliction's "Day of Reckoning" on Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

Bill Douglas, Assistant Executive Officer of the California State Athletic Commission, informed MMAWeekly.com that Yvel had submitted his final paperwork a little after 5 p.m. today and was subsequently issued a license to compete.

Douglas said Yvel's path to Saturday's ring was not an easy one, and he will be on a tight leash when he faces Barnett in the co-main event of the evening.

"He went through a vary tough licensing process. I would venture to say tougher than anything Mike Kyle or (Kazushi) Sakuraba went through," he said.

"He went through it, and it was done in a fair and equitable manner, and he made it. Gilbert understands that while we are fair, there is even less than a zero tolerance policy in play here. So at this point, the rest is up to him to show the world what kind of professional he is."

Among Yvel's first statements at a press conference for "Day of Reckoning" on Wednesday in Los Angeles was a "thank you" to the commission.

The winner of Saturday's bout will face the winner of Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski in March or April.

 

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GILBERT YVEL APOLOGIZES FOR MISDEEDS, EYES BELT

As he prepares for his clash with Josh Barnett at Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning,” Gilbert Yvel hates training. He hates running, hates kettlebells, and hates plyometrics – all the things today’s mixed martial artist does to get ready. But he does them, because Barnett will be his toughest challenge to date, because it will put him closer to a belt, and because trainer John Lewis tells him to.

There are fringe benefits to the rigor.

“I got my abs back,” Yvel tells MMAWeekly.com. “I’m looking sexy now.”

But before you see him on late night TV pitching “Body by Yvel,” he’s buckling down. He arrived in Las Vegas to kick off the New Year, and was blown away by its training atmosphere.

“I’ve never trained this hard in my life,” he says. “We train in Holland maybe one, two hours in the morning, maybe two hours in the evening. Training over here, wow. I’m training with the best, so I’ll be with the best.”

When MMAWeekly catches up to him, he’s giving Stephan Bonnar fits inside the caged sparring area of Xtreme Couture. After the session, Bonnar walks over and taps his glove.

“Thanks for the ass kicking,” the UFC light heavyweight says.

If he’s victorious at “Day of Reckoning” on Jan. 24, he’ll face the winner of the night’s main event, Fedor Emelianenko or Andre Arlovski, for a WAMMA heavyweight belt. More than that, a good performance – or trouble-free performance, more accurately – would quell some of the controversy he stirs amongst American fans.

The last major incident was four years ago, though Yvel stretches that to five or six. After a dispute at “Fight Festival 12” in Finland, he knocked a referee down and kicked him. Lewis says the referee in question was also the promoter and trainer for Yvel’s opponent, and had abused the Dutch striker in the hours leading to the fight, but Yvel won’t disclose details.

Nevertheless, when he came to the states, he found a small committee waiting for him at the California State Athletic Commission. Its representatives wanted to know he wouldn’t misbehave.

“The actions I did make so much a big impact in all the fighting world, and I didn’t know,” says Yvel. “Of course, sometimes I look at YouTube at the fight of UFC and Affliction, but when I’m here, now, I feel how big MMA is around the world. In Holland, somebody calls you: ‘you want to fight?’ Yeah, how much? The fight. Here, it’s like unbelievable. I went to the commission… it was like, wow, it’s like real.”

So real, in fact, that he had to succumb to much scrutiny to get cleared to fight.

Yvel realizes his actions have brought him to this point, and is quick to apologize for them.

“I did something wrong,” he says. “But people don’t know. I did something, but they don’t know what’s happened before that. Still, at the end, it was wrong what I did. It’s in my past, and don’t hear my name and (think) Gilbert Yvel, he’s a bad guy. I’m getting older, I’m getting more mature, and the sport is getting bigger and more professional – and me too. I made mistakes, but if you keep talking about that, that’s stupid. There are more things about me.”

Those things may or may not jive with some fans who have labeled him a “dirty fighter,” and according to Yvel, that can’t be helped.

“Randy (Couture), he’s like the perfect man: the natural, the nice guy,” he says. “But not everybody can be like that. Everybody’s different. I do things my way. Now, I’m gonna obey the rules, but I’m still going to do things my way.”

Back on the fight side of preparation, he’s been focusing intensely on his ground game with Lewis. Not for a minute does he think Barnett will want to engage him in his stock and trade.

“He’s probably just going to go straight to the ground with me, because he’s safe over there,” says Yvel. “He probably won’t want to stand up with me, I think he’ll be a little scared. But it’s okay, we’ve got some secret weapons on the ground. We’ll see what happens.”

The current holder of the WAMMA heavyweight title, Fedor Emelianenko, doesn’t concern him, nor does its challenger, Andrei Arlovski. He says after defeating Barnett, he will relish a championship belt.

“I hope it’s the big one – the big heavy one,” Yvel says of the strap. “I’m gonna walk around on the Strip everywhere. I’m gonna sleep with it… I’m going to go to the movies with it; I’m probably going to have sex with it. So I don’t care when I win it –because I’m going to win it from you guys, I’m sorry – but who is Fedor or Arlovski, I just want to go for the belt. So Fedor and Arlovski are just two guys standing between me and my belt.”

 

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GOLDEN BOY OSCAR DE LA HOYA READY FOR MMA

“Just for the press, don't get any ideas, I'm not becoming an MMA fighter,” assured Oscar De La Hoya as he rose to the Affliction podium on Wednesday at the Sunset Strip's House of Blues.

The fighters of Saturday’s “Day of Reckoning” rode shotgun with the 10-time world champion as he and Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio heralded their new partnership.

“We are involved because it is the biggest event in MMA, probably in history,” De La Hoya said. “We figured what better way to get involved in MMA than with this fight right here.”

The CEO and figurehead of Golden Boy Promotions spoke of applying his company’s model to the fledgling MMA promotion.

“In a short period of time, we have become the premier boxing promoter in the world,” he continued. “That same business model that we have, we want to bring it over to MMA. We want to grow the sport and we feel that real competition doesn't hurt anyone.”

De La Hoya’s initial reservations about a partnership, evidenced by his company’s withdrawal from plans to co-promote with Affliction in early 2008, were quieted by the success of “Banned,” Affliction’s first MMA venture.

“We wanted to have that indication and see how Affliction does,” De La Hoya explained to MMAWeekly.com. “They’ve been very successful; they really want to push the MMA in a major way, they want to be a major player in the promoting business. Now that we saw what they are capable of doing, now we can come in and bring our expertise into this venture and really grow the sport… and take it to the next level.

“We like to be involved with big fights. Fedor and Arlovski, I don’t think it gets any bigger than this.”

De La Hoya downplayed conflict with his company’s other event, a welterweight boxing clash between “Sugar” Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito, set to take place on the same evening as “Reckoning.”

“We obviously sat down and talked about it,” he said. “We talked about it with Affliction, with talked about it with Showtime pay-per-view, we talked about it with HBO. We strongly believe that it’s a whole different audience. Both shows will be sold out, there’s no doubt about that. We just felt that it’s not going to hurt anyone.”

De La Hoya said the success of “Reckoning” would determine the future of the partnership with Affliction, but saw a bright future for his company’s involvement in the sport. When the partnership sees its public unveiling on Saturday, De La Hoya will be ringside, according to Atencio.

“I believe it’s a bright one,” he said. “I believe there’s no looking back. I believe the MMA world is growing at a rapid pace. Obviously, UFC has been doing a tremendous job. We commend them for that, because the business model they have is a tremendous one. But I’ve always said in everything, it doesn’t hurt to have a little competition, and we felt there’s a tremendous opportunity for us to not only get involved, but really be a major player.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Cerrone Training with GSP; Varner Still Confident

Who will emerge as the WEC’s 155-pound champion Sunday in San Diego is subject to heated debate, but one thing is for sure: Champion Jamie Varner is entering the cage against Donald Cerrone with a ton of confidence.

“I can beat Donald anywhere,” said Varner (15-2, with two no contests), who is making his second title defense. “I can beat him on my feet, on my back or even out in the parking lot. That being said, Donald is strong on his feet and on the ground. But I’m stronger than him in all areas except kickboxing. His kickboxing is better than mine, but it’s not far off. If he wants to stand, it will be a short night for him.”

Cerrone (9-0, one no contest), in contrast, said Varner isn’t tough enough to hang on to his championship.

“I think we can mentally break (Varner),” said Cerrone. “I feel like if I push the pace and try to mentally break him, I can.”

Varner, a member of the Arizona Combat Sports camp, won his championship with a first-round knockout of “Razor” Rob McCullough at WEC 32 in February. He then defended his title with another first-round KO, taking out Marcus Hicks in 2:08 at WEC 35 in August.

“Jamie’s had a long camp,” said Trevor Lally, Varner’s trainer at ACS. “He’s been in camp more than eight weeks for this fight and has been doing more sparring and jiu-jitsu work to get ready. He eats, sleeps and breathes fighting.

“Jamie’s strongest aspect is that he’s very clean all the way around. He’s strong on the feet, strong on the ground and he works harder than 99 percent of the fighters out there. If you think he’s going to shoot, you have to watch out for his hands. Plus, he gets stronger as the fight goes on.”

Cerrone, a member of Greg Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts Academy in New Mexico, earned his title shot by winning a unanimous decision over McCullough at WEC 36 in November. It was his second fight since serving a nine-month suspension for testing positive for a diuretic following his victory over Kenneth Alexander in September 2007.

“The time off was a blessing in disguise,” said Cerrone. “Before (the suspension), everything was coming so fast for me and having to sit out gave me a chance to work on my wrestling and submission skills. I worked every day while I was out, and it let me be where I am now.”

Jackson said the 25-year-old Cerrone is still a work in progress and his potential is almost limitless.

“The great thing about Donald is that as amazing a fighter as he already is, he can still get better,” said the world-renowned trainer. “He’s a great fighter and extremely coachable. He’s not near his peak yet.”

To get ready for Varner, Cerrone has been training in Montreal with UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, who is preparing for a fight with B.J. Penn at UFC 94 on Jan. 31.

“It’s been awesome training with GSP,” said Cerrone. “He’s been through all of the stuff I’m going through right now. He’s taken me under his wing, and I’m doing everything he is, so I know I’m getting ready for this fight the right way.”

In addition to having eight submissions in his nine wins, Cerrone holds a 25-0 amateur kickboxing record and wouldn’t mind the fight turning into a slugfest.

“I’m a solid boxer and I have a lot of confidence in my ground-and-pound,“ he said. “If Jamie wants to stand and bang, that’s good. I’d rather we just draw a line in the sand and bang it out.”

Jackson said that both fighters’ skills cancel each other out and that the outcome could be decided by one small mistake.

“I think this fight is going to be a technical war,” Jackson said. “Both fighters are solid all the way around, and we’re looking forward to the challenge. It’s going to come down to the little things and which fighter can stick to his game plan better. Whoever is the better man will win the title.”

Lally is confident enough in Varner that he predicted an early ending to the fight in the champ’s favor.

“Jamie’s a tough guy,” said Lally. “He’s not afraid to fight, whether it’s in the standup or on the ground. I don’t think Donald has ever fought anybody like Jamie. If Jamie doesn’t hold back, his only enemy is himself.

“I think Jamie’s going to win by KO or choke. I want to say about halfway through the second round. There’s no way it’s going to a decision.”

Varner points to the differing results against McCullough as a reason to expect him to keep his title.

“I feel like I’m going to be the toughest fighter that Donald’s ever faced or will face,” Varner said. “I feel like I’m one of the best lightweights in the world. I knocked out Rob McCullough when he hadn’t lost in five years. Donald decisioned McCullough when he was coming off the loss to me. I think that shows where we stand.

“I’m going to put Donald to sleep. It’s not going past the second round.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Next step for former UFC champ Nogueira still unclear

Since suffering a disappointing TKO loss to Frank Mir AT "UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008" in December, former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has found himself as the subject of much speculation.

Multiple reports have recently surfaced in various media outlets linking the 32-year-old to a potential bout with either Randy Couture or Cheick Kongo.

But Nogueira's manager, Ed Soares, recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the next step for the Brazilian has yet to be determined.

"None of that's true," Soares said flatly of the rumors.

Soares did admit that the UFC had mentioned a bout with former UFC champion Couture (16-9 MMA, 13-6 UFC). But that possibility was put on an indefinite hold as Couture will be sidelined for the better part of 2009 due to his latest feature-film role in addition to a surgery the 45-year-old underwent earlier this month to remove two abnormally large bone spurs from his left elbow.

"[The UFC] mentioned something about fighting Couture, but it never (materialized)," Couture said. "They mentioned, 'Hey would you guys be interested?' I said, 'That would be a great fight.' But that was about it."

After it became clear that a Couture fight was unlikely for Nogueira, additional reports linked the former champ to a bout with French striker Kongo (13-4-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at the as-yet-unannounced UFC 99, believed to be scheduled for June 20 in Cologne, Germany.

Soares said there has been no discussion with the organization regarding a potential Nogueira vs. Kongo bout.

"[The UFC] never mentioned anything about Cheick Kongo," Soares said. "We have no dates, nothing. I haven't even been contacted about it."

Nogueira spent the weeks following his Dec. 27 loss vacationing in his native Brazil. "Minotauro" recently returned the U.S. and will be in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday night to support his brother, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, in his "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" bout with Vladimir Matyushenko.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Medical Beat: Update on Horodecki's injury and a look at bulging disks

Chris Horodecki, the now 21-year-old "Polish Hammer" who enjoyed a meteoric rise during the IFL's brief history, ran into trouble during his medical evaluation for Saturday's "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" event, which MMAjunkie.com reported late Wednesday.

He was unable to gain a license for competition in California, scrubbing him from his pay-per-view bout with Dan Lauzon.

As reported by Sam Caplan of fiveouncesofpain.com, Horodecki's manager/trainer, Shawn Tompkins, stated the fighter lacks 80 percent strength in his right arm secondary to a bulging disk in his neck.

From a medical perspective, this is a very interesting explanation. Very rarely would merely a bulging disks cause significant weakness. Herniated disks? Commonly. Bulging disks? Not so much. Also this type of pathology/injury is exceedingly uncommon in an otherwise healthy 21-year-old.

I have often made the statement that many times athletes must be protected from themselves due to their competitive nature. This statement is rarely popular or well received. But this appears to be a prime example.

One would have to wonder why Horodecki even attempted to obtain a license to compete with significant (80 percent) arm weakness. For one, how could he intelligently defend himself? And two, might there be a high likelihood that competing could make this problem far worse?

Why did he attempt licensure? Simple. Because fighters fight. Just as all professional athletes are paid to perform – many times without regard to their potential short-term and long-term physical and/or mental well being.

Hardcore fans commonly complain about the necessity of thorough pre-fight medical evaluations. Clearly the California State Athletic Commission's comprehensive evaluation process protected a talented, young man with a very promising future ahead of him.

Job well done.

Now a young man can receive proper medical treatment and hopefully continue with his career and enjoy a full life.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Snake Team seeks higher plane with PFC wins

UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo may currently be the most well-known French striker currently competing in MMA, but he doesn't have the corner on the market.

Former EliteXC light-heavyweight Cyrile Diabate (12-6-1) made his presence known with a blood-filled decision win over Jaime Fletcher at "ShoXC: Hamman vs. Suganuma II" in August 2008. Now "The Snake" will look to continue his winning ways against "The Ultimate Fighter" veteran Lodune Sincaid (14-6) at Thursday's "PFC 12: High Stakes" in Lemoore, Calif.

And he's bringing fellow Snake Team fighter Xavier Foupa-Pokam (19-9) with him in their shot at a successful U.S. invasion.

"I was interested in an MMA career because it's getting bigger and bigger," Diabate recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "There's more opportunities for fighters. If I make it over here (in the U.S.), and we make it over here, there's more opportunities for the rest of the team as well. It was a logical step for me to try and hit the American market."

Making his way to the U.S. has been a long process for the 36-year-old Diabate.

"I started off kickboxing at the end of 1991," Diabate said. "I was French amateur champion the first year and then French semi-pro champion the year after that. It just continued from there."

While Diabate found enough success in kickboxing, Mauy-Thai and Savate to start his own academy just outside of Paris, the French native soon found himself enthralled by the development of mixed martial arts.

"For me [competing in MMA] was the next logical step," Diabate said. "I really like effective and realistic fighting. Muay-Thai was definitely, for me, the best stand-up art. But as soon as I started getting interested with MMA and watching the UFC back in the early 90's, I was really interested in competing in that style.

"It just looked more realistic and more free in terms of technique. Even though I still competed in Muay-Thai and kickboxing I was really interested in MMA."

Diabate won his first two professional fights in 1999 and 2000, and the Snake Team quickly became an all-MMA academy.

"We stopped training only kickboxing a long time ago," Diabate said. "We only do MMA now."

Diabate still leads the striking drills at Snake Team, but his team paired with Sankuno, a nearby grappling-based gym, to provide a complete MMA curriculum.

"We've got a couple of really good grapplers helping us out at the gym," Diabate said. "We've been training only MMA now for at least eight years."

Diabate enjoyed early success in his transition to MMA, losing just one of his first eight bouts. Then "The Snake" hit a skid in 2004, losing four-straight.

"For my part, those losses were due to personal problems," Diabate said. "At that point in my life I shouldn't have been in a cage or a ring. I should have been at home taking care of my problems.

"But sometimes you go -- you know, pride or whatever -- you feel strong and that you're still doing well and that you can still win in a fight. My mind wasn't in the right place for me to be winning. It showed up on my record. But as soon as I got my problems sorted out, I started winning again."

Diabate's new streak includes six wins in his past seven bouts. That run would be even more impressive if it wasn't overshadowed by his own student, Foupa-Pokam, who has won 11 of his past 12 contests.

"I see myself more professional in the way I'm fighting, the way I'm training and the way I'm handling the sport as a whole," Foupa-Pokam said. "That's what's making me more efficient right now."

"Professor X" will also be competing at PFC 12. The 26-year-old will square off with BodogFIGHT and King of the Cage veteran Kyacey Uscola (15-12).

"I know he's a tough guy," Foupa-Pokam said. "He's a very good wrestler. He's going to take the fight to me, so it's going to be a good one.

"My goal right now is to have a good fight and win this one in a very good way."

The two French fighters are looking forward to their second appearance in front of U.S. fans. And the duo hopes that impressive wins will continue to earn them opportunities to better their game.

"We've been here (at Team Quest) for a couple of months every time just to help out the guys," Diabate said. "Dan (Henderson) brought me in a year ago to help prepare for Anderson Silva because I'm a southpaw and tall like Anderson. And my strategy is Muay-Thai, of course. The relationship with Team Quest, straight away we had a good relationship. They liked the way I was teaching striking.

"And of course, coming in here (to Team QUest) and training with elite wrestlers was great for our team as well. I came here with two other fighters from the Snake Team, and Xavier was one of them. It was a great opportunity for us to come over, and since then we've been back a couple of times each."

Foupa-Pokam will be making his second appearance for the PFC, Diabate his first. And while each hopes to put on an impressive show and earn their way back to the U.S., Foupa-Pokam has an even simpler mission.

"It's going to be punishment time, just wait for it."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mike Swick's next bout determined after UFC 94 main event

UFC welterweight Mike Swick (13-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has made it clear on several occasions that he wants a shot at the division's No. 1 contender, Thiago Alves (16-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC).

But despite recent comments by Marcus Davis that led many to believe a Swick vs. Alves bout was on tap for February, sources close to both fighters have alerted MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the two are not currently scheduled to meet.

But things could change following UFC 94.

The immediate future of several fighters appears to hang in the balance pending the results of the Jan. 31 welterweight title fight between B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre.

Reports from several sources close to the organization suggest that should St. Pierre defeat Penn for a second time and retain his 170-pound title, the French-Canadian would make his next defense against Alves.

But should 155-pound champion Penn prove victorious in his quest to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously, it is believed his next bout would be a lightweight title defense.

Should that scenario play out, both Alves and Swick have expressed their desire to stay busy while waiting on Penn to return to the welterweight division.

Swick said he is still focused on a potential bout with Alves but will settle for another opponent should the Brazilian be granted a title shot.

"I still really want that fight with Alves," Swick recently told MMAjunkie.com. "But if I can't get that fight, I'll take whoever the UFC gives me. Hopefully I'll be back in March or April."

Swick has won three-straight fights since dropping to the 170-pound division in 2008. After decision wins over Marcus Davis and Josh Burkman, the 29-year-old returned to his "Quick" ways with a 33-second TKO over Jonathan Goulet at UFC Fight Night 16 in December 2008.

Alves has established himself as a top contender in the UFC after reeling off seven-straight wins in the welterweight division. The 25-year-old was last in action in a dominating decision victory over fellow top-contender Josh Koscheck at "UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote" in October 2008.