MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Prospects fill out Nov. 21 "Strikeforce: Destruction" fight card

With Strikeforce champions Josh Thomson and Bobby Southworth ready to contend, and with Joe Riggs set to face Luke Stewart, in main-card bouts, Strikeforce has filled out the rest of its "Destruction" fight card with prospects and up-and-comers.

Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz confirmed the updated "Strikeforce: Destruction" fight card with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today.

The event takes place Nov. 21 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and airs live on HDNet.

In the night's main event, Thomson (16-2) defends his world lightweight title against Yves Edwards (31-14-1) in a rematch from their classic UFC 49 bout. In the August 2004 bout, Edwards earned a first-round knockout with an off-balacnce high kick that has since become a staple of UFC highlight reels. It was one of only two losses in Thomson's career.

Southworth (9-5), meanwhile, defends his world light-heavyweight title as former UFC fighter Renato "Babalu" Sobral (30-7) makes his long-awaited Strikeforce debut. The two fighters were first scheduled to meet in September, but both suffered injuries and were forced off the Sept. 19 card.

In the night's other featured bout, Riggs (28-11) returns to the welterweight division to face Stewart (6-1), who holds notable wins over Jason Von Flue and Jeremiah Metcalf. Stewart's lone loss was a unanimous decision to Tiki Ghosn at March's "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le."

The rest of the card includes:

Champ Josh Thomson vs. Yves Edwards (for lightweight title)
Champ Bobby Southworth vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral (for light heavyweight title)
Luke Stewart vs. Joe Riggs
Lemont Davis vs. Brian Schwartz
Tony Johnson vs. Eric Lawson
Darren Uyenoyama vs. Brad Royster
Alvin Cacdac vs. Jose Palacios
Cyrillo Padilha vs. Bobby Stack
Zakary Bucia vs. Jaime Rodriguez
Raul Castillo vs. Kurt Osiander
Nik Theotikos vs. Luke Rockhold

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mike Whitehead returns to win column with M-1 Challenge victory

Former UFC fighter and "The Ultimate Fighter 2" cast member Mike Whitehead (23-6) rebounded from a July loss to Renato "Babalu" Sobral and picked up his 14th victory in his past 15 fights with a first-round submission victory over Leo Pla (4-2) on Wednesday.

The fight capped off the M-1 Challenge 8th Edition, which took place in conjunction with the Affliction Entertainment at Harrah's North Kansas City Casino.

The M-1 Challenge, which recently partnered with Affliction, is a team-based international competition designed for young fighters who want fight experience. The top fighters can win spots on major M-1 fight cards.

Whitehead, a three-time All-American wrestler at the University of Missouri, competed in one of the night's two superfights, which showcase established stars. He submitted Pla with a guillotine choke just 80 seconds into the fight. It was his 12th submission victory in 23 pro wins.

Whitehead last competed in July at "Affliction: Banned," where he suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Sobral. Since back-to-back losses to Tim Sylvia in 2002, Whitehead had been stopped only once -- via injury in a WEC 13 loss to Brandon Vera.

In the night's other superfight, local fighter Bobby Voelker (17-5) defeated Amir Rahnavardi (10-10) via unanimous decision.

After hosting events in Holland, Russia, Spain, South Korea and England, M-1 made its U.S. debut at the Kansas City event.

 

[Shogun Locc]

SCHOENAUER OFF WEC 36, STEINBEISS IN LIMBO

Steve Steinbeiss' World Extreme Cagefighting debut just keeps going in circles. He was originally slated to debut against highly touted wrestler Mark Munoz at WEC 36 when it was scheduled for Sept. 10 in Hollywood, Fla. Then Munoz had to withdraw due to a knee injury.

Ultimate Fighter season 1 cast member Alex Schoenauer kept Steinbeiss on the card though, stepping in on short notice.

Then Ike stepped into the picture. The third most costly hurricane in U.S. history, Ike didn't actually cause much direct havoc in the Hollywood area, but its threat was strong enough to cause the WEC to postpone the event until Nov. 5.

The Schoenauer vs. Steinbeiss fight was kept intact for the new date... that is, up until Schoenauer suffered an injury. According to sources close to the fighter's camp, Schoenauer suffered a torn hamstring and will be unable to fight next week in Florida, once again leaving Steinbeiss wondering about his WEC debut.

With a week to go until fight night, it is unclear if a substitute will be lined up in time.

This was supposed to be one of the WEC's final 205-pound bouts, as the promotion intends to deactivate both the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions following its final show this year on Dec. 3 in Las Vegas.

 

[Shogun Locc]

JUNIE BROWNING REFORMS AT XTREME COUTURE

Junie Browning, who has become this season’s public enemy No. 1 on "The Ultimate Fighter” reality show, has decided to pick up his training schedule and work with Xtreme Couture. Representatives of the gym confirmed the news to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday.

As soon as the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter started, just about everyone picked Browning as the cast member that would long be remembered for his antics and behavior in the house.

Now with his move to Xtreme Couture, fans and critics alike will understand that obviously Browning is taking his fight career as seriously as he did any craziness in the house while filming the show.

UFC heavyweight champion and founder of Xtreme Couture, Randy Couture, talked about Browning's addition to the team during a recent appearance on MMAWeekly Radio.

"He’s been very quiet in the gym, there’s been no antics, there’s been no nothing," Couture said. "He shows up everyday and straps his gloves on and gets his work done.”

Currently the young Kentucky native holds a 2-0 professional record and as of now on The Ultimate Fighter has also defeated housemate Roli Delgado by decision.

Browning joins a camp of unbelievable talent in the lightweight division including fighters such as Tyson Griffin, Gray Maynard and former TUF champion Mac Danzig. Of course he will also benefit from coaches like Shawn Tompkins and Randy Couture to learn from their experience in how to succeed in MMA.

According to reports, Browning started training with the camp about a week and a half ago.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC VET CARMELO MARRERO HEADS TO WEC 36

Steve Steinbeiss may make his World Extreme Cagefighting debut before the promotion deactivates his weight class after all. Following several false starts with WEC 36 in September, Steinbeiss' bout with Alex Schoenauer, part of the rescheduled event for Nov. 5, fell through Wednesday as Schoenauer had to drop out of the bout due to a torn hamstring.

MMAWeekly.com learned on Thursday that UFC veteran Carmelo Marrero has verbally agreed to step into the bout at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Steinbeiss, with a 4-1 professional record in tow, hasn't seen action since June of this year at a small show in Laughlin, Nev. Having cut his professional teeth as part of the short-lived Bodog Fight promotion, he has been going stir crazy waiting for his opportunity to compete in the WEC and prove himself in the UFC's sister promotion.

This fight is also a big opportunity for Marrero. He didn't last long his first go around in the UFC, garnering a 1-2 record in the Octagon. He has since won three fights (with one no contest decision) on smaller promotions, and this will be his opportunity to give UFC officials another look to see if he has progressed enough to be welcomed back into the promotion.

The WEC is shutting down its light heavyweight and middleweight divisions following its Dec. 3 effort in Las Vegas, so these last few fights in either class – Steinbeiss and Marrero being at 205 pounds – are important auditions for the fighters that hope to move into the UFC.

 

[Shogun Locc]

BACK IN UFC; COUTURE QUESTIONS AFFLICTION CEO

Spending more than a year away from the sport, UFC heavyweight champion Randy “The Natural” Couture is ready to return on Nov. 15 to face Brock Lesnar at UFC 91. It was a long, strange trip through lawsuits, courtrooms, and other various legal battles, but the champ is ready to get back to his office in the Octagon.

“Fighting in the cage is what I do best. Courtrooms and depositions and crap like that, it’s not really up my alley,” Couture said during a recent appearance on MMAWeekly Radio. “Realistically, I’ve got a short window of opportunity to continue to compete at this level, so I need to take advantage of that while the window’s still open.”

During his time away from the UFC, Couture was focused on making a fight happen with top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, and the Affliction promotion seemed to be the place leading the charge to make it happen.

While the current UFC champion maintained a business relationship with the organization promoting the “Xtreme Couture” clothing line, the two never had any negotiations for Couture to compete for them in the ring.

Recently, Affliction co-founder Todd Beard, while appearing on the Scott Ferrall Show, made a bold statement about Couture regarding his match-up against Brock Lesnar in the UFC.

“Randy, if you’re listening right now, I hope (expletive) Lesnar kills you,” Beard stated.

Harsh words from an executive at a company that Couture still deals with and the founder of Xtreme Couture believes it’s gone beyond a normal rivalry between promotions.

“I really don’t understand where Todd Beard’s coming from in his attack to me, my wife, and my attorney, and now the Ferttitas and Lorenzo specifically, and Dana White. I don’t understand it,” stated Couture. “He feels there’s this adversarial relationship created and I just don’t get it. It’s gone beyond kind of the antics of being a promoter, so we’ll see how all that unfolds, and where the relationship stands, and where we end up with that down the road.

“Frankly, it’s a bunch of crap and I don’t need anymore crap in my life, so focus on the positive, which is this fight which is in two weeks and let the rest of that stuff go.”

As far as the Xtreme Couture brand goes, fans will not see the champion don the clothing in the UFC upon his return in November.

“No, as long as they’re in the fight business and not just a t-shirt company then they’re looked at as a competitor, which puts the Xtreme Couture clothing brand that they manufacture in competition with the UFC as well,” he said.

Building for the future with a tremendous gym and clothing line, Couture understands the importance of his brand name, but is also stuck working between the UFC as a fighter and Affliction as a business man.

“Obviously the brand is important to me. I’ve spent going on 12 years developing the reputation and the name of Xtreme Couture and Affliction helped build that, distribute that, manufacture that, and build it into a reputable clothing line,” Couture commented. “The crossover’s where things get a little hazy, so I don’t know what’s going to happen with that.”

Now with Beard coming out with very damaging statements towards Couture, could the future with Affliction be on rocky ground?

“It’s certainly going to be affected. The relationship’s already been affected by Todd Beard’s demeanor and some of the things he’s said, so that’s all up in the air,” Couture said in closing.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Commentary: The UFC’s Cage Fighter Problem

With the recent banning of the Cage fighter brand, one has to question what is at the heart of the embargo on the MMA apparel line? From this perspective, the UFC’s push towards getting its fighter to sign the newly instituted merchandising agreements is playing a large role in the UFC’s moves toward blocking the ascension of Cage Fighter.

The main selling point of the the merchandise agreement to the fighters is the unmatched marketing power of the UFC machine. Heretofore, only the UFC or one of its surrogates (TapouT) would have the marketing strength or distribution channels to properly sell merchandise on a national level to a mass market. With the Cage Fighter brand making in roads with Wal-Mart, the fighter is faced with a viable alternative to signing the UFC’s merchandising agreement. The Wal-Mart deal offers a distribution channel unmatched in retailing, and would allow the fighter to maximize his marketing dollars while not signing away his rights in perpetuity to the UFC.

The terms of the UFC’s merchandising agreements have been discussed before as being remarkably one-side in favor of the company. Media outlet MMAFA Blog has discussed the agreement in great detail, going over the pitfalls of the contract for the fighter. The MMAFA blog details the draconian terms of the agreement. The UFC’s merchandising agreement looks attractive only in the absence of any viable alternatives. Cage Fighter and its deal with Wal-Mart is the first step in such a viable alternative being available, and as was much the case with other fighting promotions, the UFC looks to counter-program.

It should be interesting to see what form the Wal-mart deal takes for MMA Authentics. With the Cage Fighter or associated brands not being allowed in the Octagon, the next logical step would be to offer athlete branded merch. The UFC can impact your brand if it doesn’t allow Cage Fighter in the Octagon, but a shirt that also brands the fighter on an equal level with the company would be much less vulnerable to such moves. The UFC will ban a Cage Fighter shirt, but a shirt branded with say BJ Penn’s name on it would be much harder to impair. The UFC has to push Penn, with his status as Lightweight champion and Top 5 P4p’er.

 

[Shogun Locc]

MMA Media Matters: Can You Trust What You Are Reading?

Ivan Trembow has a piece up that asks the hard questions about the UFC’s policy of buying off coverage from mainstream media outlets. Dana White recently elaborated on the UFC’s practice of exchanging of cash for coverage with respect to Scott Ferrall. Trembow boils down the argument pretty well:

So, without full disclosure from any media outlet that is being paid by Zuffa to cover UFC events, this runs the risk of tainting the water for everyone who covers MMA because consumers have no way of knowing which media outlets are being paid by Zuffa to cover UFC events and which ones aren’t. Without full disclosure from these media outlets, there’s no way to distinguish between media outlets who praise the UFC for genuine reasons and media outlets who praise the UFC because they’re “being paid to like it.”

This area is only a piece of the puzzle when it comes to the media and how it relates to the UFC. Through various deals with media outlets, or the tying of access to coverage, what we have arrived at is a MMA media corps that lacks any adversarial role in its coverage of the UFC. And with a fanbase that is generally conditioned to support the organization over the fighters or the sport itself, you are left with readership that doesn’t care if the tough questions are asked. One of the best pieces of radio I have heard in the past few years was the infamous Dan Patrick interview of NBA head David Stern, with Patrick raking Stern over the coals for his suspension of players for a playoff game. Would that kind of scenario even be possible in MMA?

 

[Shogun Locc]

DAVID BIELKHEDEN: "IF THE UFC SIGNED HIM, HE WOULD BECOME CHAMP IN A YEAR"
link: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content3702.html?PHPSESSID=7a0f66e6e9ba75db7da7655669a0a486
"I knew he had a lot of experience with standup fighting and I had already submitted him before so I knew I was better on the ground," stated UFC lightweight contender David Bielkheden as he talked about his recent win over Jess Liaudin at UFC 89. Check out what else he had to say as he talks about his future plans, Ricardo Arona, BJ Penn and much more.

 

[Shogun Locc]

ROB EMERSON: "I JUST WANT TO BE IN MEMORABLE FIGHTS"
link: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content3701.html
"I want to be in the fights that everyone sits and watches. I just want to be in good fights the rest of my career. I don't want to be that guy where fans are changing the channel and can't watch. Whether I get knocked out or I'm knocking somebody out I just want to be in memorable fights," stated UFC lightweight contender Rob Emerson as he talked about his future plans. Check out what else he had to say as he talks about EliteXC, the current cast of TUF and much more.

 

[Shogun Locc]

HDNet reaches deal to purchase IFL assets for $650,000 (Updated)

A bankruptcy court has cleared the way for HDNet to purchase the remaining assets of the International Fight League.

During a hearing Wednesday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York authorized the now-defunct IFL to sell the assets, which include the league's video and image library, to HDNet for $650,000 and the assumption of certain IFL liabilities.

HDNet made its bid in September, and no other bids were submitted. The deal is still contingent on certain closing conditions.

In addition to the media library, HDNet also receives IFL's brand name and other intellectual property.

When contacted today by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), HDNet issued the following statement: "We have a deal in place for the IFL assets that we expect to close; we can’t give any details right now."

In addition to the media library, HDNet will receive IFL's brand name and other intellectual property. The purchase is aimed at acquiring additional MMA content, which the cable network can use under its HDNet Fights banner.

The IFL formed in January 2006 and introduced a team format. The organization had struck broadcast deals with FSN and MyNetworkTV, and at one time, the publicly traded company had a market value in the hundreds of millions of dollars. However, the organization struggled to draw fans and ratings, and despite announcing a rash of changes for the 2008 fight season, the cancellation of its Aug. 15 show was essentially the final nail in its coffin.

Completion of this week's transaction effectively closes the book on the IFL, which held its last event in May and ceased operations in July.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Cheick Kongo and C.B. Dollaway part of finalized UFC 92 main card

UFC heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo and "The Ultimate Fighter 7" runner-up C.B. Dollaway have both earned spots on the televised main card of "UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008."

Bouts of Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio and Kongo vs. Mustapha Al-Turk fill out a main card that also features UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans, UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir, and Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson.

The UFC's year-end events takes place Dec. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay per view.

The UFC today officially announced those bouts, as well as the night's preliminary card, for UFC 92. As in years' past, the UFC's year-end pay-per-view event is one of the year's stronger cards with two title fights and a potential No. 1 contender's bout between Jackson and Silva.

Aside from a heavyweight bout between Dan Evensen and Pat Barry, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) previously reported or passed along news of the other UFC 92 bouts, including the recent addition of fan favorite Matt Hamill vs. UFC rookie Reese Andy.

One surprise from the line-up is the placement of Yushin Okami, who is perhaps now the No. 1 middleweight contender, on the night's un-televised preliminary card. Okami, who fights for the first time since his second-round knockout of Evan Tanner in March, has won eight of his past nine fights and now has a 6-1 record in the UFC.

The UFC 92 card now includes:

MAIN CARD

Champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir (for interim UFC heavyweight title)
Champ Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans (for UFC light heavyweight title)
C.B. Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio
Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva
Mustafa Al-Turk vs. Cheick Kongo
PRELIMINARY CARD

Dean Lister vs. Yushin Okami
Mark Burch vs. Antoni Hardonk
Reese Andy vs. Matt Hamill
Brad Blackburn vs. Ryo Chonan
Pat Barry vs. Dan Evensen

 

[Shogun Locc]

The WEC and Urijah Faber headed to pay per view in 2009

World Extreme Cagefighting and the organization's biggest star, featherweight champion Urijah Faber, will test the pay-per-view waters in 2009.

The organization, which was acquired by the UFC's parent company in December 2006, went from a regional hit to arguably the world's current No. 2 fight promotion with the UFC's backing. And now, after building a solid audience on the cable channel Versus, the WEC will make its PPV debut next year.

Faber discussed the WEC's broadcast plans, and his own plans for the future, with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) during a Versus-sponsored media call on Wednesday.

Faber, who meets Mike Brown next week at WEC 36, said the addition of PPV to the WEC's broadcast offerings only makes sense.

"Versus and the WEC together are doing a great job of getting the promotion out there, and I don't see any crossing over with the UFC and the WEC," Faber said. "I do, however, see pay per view being in the future for sure. (UFC executives) Dana (White) and Lorezo (Fertitta) said something to me about that. Peter Dropick, who's the VP (of the WEC), said something to me about that. Of course I'd be on the [fight card]."

Faber, though, admits that no concrete details are in place. However, he said the move to pay per view, which has proven to be a tough nut to crack for just about every organization except the UFC, is proof that the WEC has long-term potential.

"It's definitely going to happen in 2009," Faber said. "I don't know against who or what the scenario is going to be. It's only been two years since it's been under the Zuffa umbrella, and look how far it's come. I think there's a lot more exciting things to happen in the next few years -- this being one of them."

Faber, who won the WEC title at WEC 19 in March 2007, has made five successful title defenses during his current 13-fight win streak. During that time, he's become the face of the organization and the go-to guy for WEC"s mainstream media appearances.

WEC executives have found worthy challengers during the 29-year-old's title reign, which included a June bout with Jens Pulver in the most successful WEC event to date. However, Faber thinks the future may hold some challenges outside the 145-pound division -- ones surely to help the organization garner the coveted PPV buys.

While Faber is considering the move to 155 (pounds) for the occasional fight, it's not for the sole reason of avenging the only loss of his career: a third-TKO defeat to Tyson Griffin in a 2005 Gladiators Challenge title fight.

"I don't really dwell on losses," said Faber (21-1), who's only had the one during his five-year career. "I wouldn't go up to do anything other than make some good paydays because, you know, there are some fights up there people want to see. I naturally walk around at 154 (pounds), and I've been trying to gain weight. I've been up to 158 fairly consistently before this fight, but my weight always goes back down."

While he'd obviously give up a size advantage in the 155-pound division, he's willing to make the move for a blockbuster fight.


He's also willing to drop a weight class for such a bout.

"If I did go up, it'd be more for a super-fight like maybe a champion vs. champion for a 155-pound match or down to 135 (pounds) for a champion-vs.-champion (fight) or a super-fight against whoever the folks want to see," Faber said. "That's whether it's (Norifumi) 'Kid' Yamamoto or (WEC bantamweight champ) Miguel Torres or whoever has the belt somewhere else like a B.J. Penn."

Faber, though, said it will all depend on the situation. For now, priority No. 1 is simply securing victories.

"I just want to keep on winning right now," he said. "When the time is right, and when it's lucrative and makes the most sense, i'd like to make some of those moves. But for now, I just want to keep winning."

 

[Shogun Locc]

MATT RIDDLE OUT OF UFC 91 BOUT DUE TO INJURY

The welterweight debut of former “Ultimate Fighter” 185-pound cast member Matt Riddle will have to wait. He has suffered a knee injury that will force him out of his upcoming bout against Ryan Thomas on the undercard of UFC 91 on Nov. 15.

Riddle’s injury was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the situation.

Riddle made a great impression on fans during his time on The Ultimate Fighter and after the show wrapped up filming, he relocated to Arizona to train alongside former housemate C.B. Dollaway at Arizona Combat Sports.

In his first official fight in the UFC, Riddle won a decisive unanimous decision over Dante Rivera at The Ultimate Fighter finale show in June.

For the fight in November, Riddle was cutting weight and making his 170-pound debut, but during training for the bout the young fighter fell victim to a knee injury that will likely require surgery and could keep him on the shelf for the better part of six to eight weeks.

No word has come down from the UFC about a possible replacement to step in for Riddle to take on Ryan Thomas at this time.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Junior dos Santos Interview

Junior “Cigano” dos Santos debut in UFC couldn’t be better. Fighting in MMA only for three years, period in which he got seven victories and lost only one fight, the fighter impressed the American crowd with a great knockout against Fabrício Werdum in 81 seconds. In an exclusive interview with TATAME, Junior spoke about the happiness after the victory, the tactics for the combat, the inspiration on trainings and analized the category in UFC, which has as interim champion his close friend and teacher Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira. Check below the complete interview with the Cigano.

Which was the importance of this victory in your UFC debut?
It was very important, showed that the job that I did worked perfectly. I worked hard for three months, between Rio de Janeiro and Salvador (Bahia). It was very hard, but it was worthy. It was rewarding come out of that octagon with the victory. The sensation is unbelievable, after the fight my legs were weak (laughs).

Which was the strategy for the fight?
Striking isn’t Werdum’s strongest point, but on the gruond he is a phenomenon, so the tactics was keep the fight stand up. We saw that he down a lot his head when when he punches, so we worked the upper, which is a blow that I like very much and I always applied well in Boxe, to finish the fight.

Did his interviews before the fight motivated more yourself?
Yes, they motivated myself, because fight is fight and, although he is expert fighter, he should have had more respect to me. The experience counts, for sure, but we can’t predict the result of a fight before it happens only because the other guy isn’t known.

Who helped you in the training for this fight?
Many people believed and helped me, but (Luis) Dórea was my coach and my psychologist, made me believe all the time that I could win this fight. Minotauro and Minotouro (Nogueiras) also helped me a lot, supported and trained me, (Edson) Draggo helped me a lot in the physical preparation, he left me very strong and with a lot of gas. I knew that Werdum would want to take me down, but it wouldn’t be that easy, because I was feeling myself very strong. The preparation maybe has been my biggest change, because I never have worked so much this part. I stabilized my weight with 108kg and I did a great job of explosion.

Minotauro is the UFC interim champion. If the event puts you to face him, would you fight against him for the belt?
It’s impossible, I’d never face him. He is my ground master. I think that he’ll win this GP, so I’d be his guardian. To fight against him, people would have to face me first (laughs).

When will you come back to fight in UFC?
I think that I’ll be back only next year, but after this victory I want to come back as soon as possible to fight in that octagon.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Another Judo Medalist switches to MMA

Hiroshi Izumi, a silver medalist in Judo at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, is expected to sign shortly with World Victory Road's "Sengoku," Nikkan Sports reports.
Izumi competed in the 90 kg division as an Olympian and has also placed gold in the division at the 2005 World Judo Championships, the East Asian Judo Championships in 2007 and the World University Games in 2003.

The 26-year-old Izumi, who will ask for his release from the All Japan Judo Federation once the contract is signed with World Victory Road,will most likely debut at the promotion's New Year's Eve event "Sengoku 7" on January 4.

Izumi made up his mind Wednesday to officially pursue mixed martial arts after consulting with "Sengoku" heavyweight and 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist in Judo Hidehiko Yoshida.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Sergey Golyaey is confident of winning

Sergey Golyaev had an interview in Tokyo on Oct 30.

" I have a Muay Thai background, but have won by submission many times. I train Sambo with my teammates, and submission techniques with my trainer. I had been training with Fedor Emelianenko for a while. It was about 3 years ago and he was stronger back then. I'm certain of defeating him now."

" Top 3 lightweight fighters is Takanori Gomi, Joakim Hansen and me. I defeat Gomi by my left punch, and fight with a winner of the tournament on Jan 4."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Breaking: TKO President Patry Steps Down

TKO Championship Fighting's president and founder, Stephane Patry, has stepped down from his post effective November 15th, the promotion announced this evening.

"Apres plus de 8 ans a la presidence de TKO, je suis pret a relever de nouveaux defis. Je continuerai a gerer la carriere plusieurs athletes dont je m'occupe deja et j'air recu quelques offres interessantes sure lesquelles je dois pencher," a ajoute Patry.

Alright, time to show off my french-speaking skills:

"After eight years as TKO president, I am ready to pursue new ventures," Patry said via press release. "I will continue to manage the career of several athletes and I have already received a few interesting offers that I am considering."

The Montreal-based TKO promotion is widely considered the number one promotion in Canada. They have held 44 professional events including ten inside Montreal's Bell Centre.

Many of Canada's top fighters have competed for TKO including Georges St-Pierre, Patrick Cote, and Chris Horodecki. Even current UFC Octagon girl Edith Labelle (above) got her start in TKO.

Patry has represented a long list of fighters outside of duties as TKO president including GSP and currently Patrick Cote, among others.

No word just yet on who will replace Patry as TKO president.

 

[naner12]

Pat Barry vs. Dan Evensen

Evensen is dead.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Evensen is dead.

Evensen has more experience then Pat Barry and could easily get a win agianst Barry especially since pat has only 3 fights in his career while Evensen is 10 - 3 - 0 but this is MMA and anything can happen.