MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Fighters make weight for Bellator Fighting Championships Week 7 show

The 18 competitors slated for tonight's Bellator Fighting Championships Week 7 event made weight for the show.

The weigh-ins took place at Chicago's Hotel Sax, and tonight's show takes place at the historic Aragon Ballroom.

Tonight's event, which airs Saturday on ESPN Deportes, includes the semifinal round of the organization's welterweight tournament. Highly touted Lyman Good meets veteran Jorge Ortiz, and former UFC champion Dave Menne takes on prospect Omar De La Cruz.

All four competitors were within the 171-pound limit.

Each tournament winner receives $50,000 tonight. A win at the tournament's finale next month will earn the winner Bellator's first-ever welterweight belt and an additional $100,000.

The full weigh-in results included:

* 170 lbs. tourney semifinal: Lyman Good (171) vs. Jorge Ortiz (170)
* 170 lbs. tourney semifinal: Omar De La Cruz (169.5) vs. Dave Menne (171)
* 155 lbs. non-tourney: Lorenzo Borgomeo (154) vs. Troy Gerhart (155.5)
* 265 lbs. non-tourney: Eddie Sanchez (231) vs. Jay White (259)
* 155 lbs. non-tourney: Alonzo Martinez (157) vs. Victor Meza (156)
* 170 lbs. non-tourney: DeRay Davis (171) vs. Jesse Juarez (171.5)
* 170 lbs. non-tourney: Anthony Lapsley (171) vs. Ryan Williams (170)
* 170 lbs. non-tourney: Kevin Knabjian (171) vs. Jacob Volkman (171)
* 135 lbs. non-tourney: Leslie Smith (136) vs. Kerry Vera (136)

 

[Shogun Locc]

Chuck Liddell "still working out and training" but undecided on retirement

Dana White says Chuck Liddell is retired.

Liddell's trainer, John Hackleman, says he's not and that "The Iceman" has more than one fight left in him.

After all the back-and-forth, Liddell has finally weighed in and said that he is still "working out and training" but that he hasn't made a decision regarding his possible retirement from the sport.

"I'm going to take some time off and figure out what I want to do, and see what else I think I can do," the 39-year-old Liddell told MMAMadness.com in an exclusive interview. "I'm too emotional to make a rational decision, so I want to wait and take my time. I'm not going to make that decision until I sit down and look at it after a little while.

"I need some time off anyway, and when everyone stops worrying about it, I’ll make my decision on my own."

Immediately after Liddell's TKO loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97 – his fourth loss in five fights (and the third via knockout) – White announced that the fight was Liddell's last.

"He's a huge superstar, and we could still sell lots of tickets (with Liddell)," White said in the post-UFC 97 press conference. "But I don't care about that. I care about him. I care about his health, and it's over, man. It's over."

In the press conference, Liddell was noncommittal but eventually relented and said the fight was probably his last.

"Yeah, that's probably the case," Liddell said. "I'm not going to make any decisions until I go home to talk to everybody, talk to my people and my friends. ... But it's probably safe to say (I'm retired)."

For White, he's continually stated that he's pushing for retirement simply to protect Liddell.

"I don't want him to fight anymore," White said. "He [expletive] doesn't have anything to prove. Nothing to prove. He doesn't have to prove anything to me or the rest of world. He has [expletive] loads of money. There's no reason for it. ... I don't care how much he draws. I don't want to see him get hurt."

As we reported here at MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), White even has plans for Liddell to join the company as a UFC employee.

Among the possibilities, White mentioned Liddell working with UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs to push for MMA legislation in states and other countries that do not current regulate the sport.

"He's not just going to get a paycheck," White said. "I want him to play a role in this [company] and actually come in and work and do something. I'm going to give him a real job."

However, earlier this month, Hackleman, Liddell's longtime trainer and friend, told MMAjunkie.com the door hasn't been shut on Liddell fighting again.

"Just on his abilities, his skill and his power, and what he has left, I think he has more than one fight left in him," Hackleman said. "Maybe his game isn't what it was 10 years ago. I don't know. But he's definitely at the top of the food chain."

Liddell (21-7 with a record 16 UFC victories) turned pro in 1998 and made his MMA and UFC debut at UFC 17. He won the UFC's light-heavyweight title in 2005 and made four consecutive title defenses before losing the belt to Quinton Jackson in 2007.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Quick Quote: Matt Hughes has an empty bag

“Matt Hughes lost his athleticism, his explosiveness. When that goes, you have to rely a little bit more on technique. That’s where he’s gonna have some trouble. He used to be the bigger, stronger and better athlete than most of these guys and he could just do his thing, and that’s what’s been his biggest downfall, his ego. I’m sure he thinks that because he’s bigger than me or that he can bench press more than me that he’ll just come in and take me down. He thinks he has it in the bag. I’m not training for the Matt Hughes that lost his last two fights, I’m training for the Matt Hughes of old. That’s the difference, and he’s gonna find out the hard way.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Hands up! UFC welterweight Chris Wilson robbed in Brazil

UFC welterweight Chris Wilson is pulling out all the stops for his UFC 98 fight against Brock Larson from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 23.

Of course after being the victim of a home invasion in Brazil, where Wilson resides with his wife and two children, anything Larson throws at him will probably seem like a walk in the park.

From “The Professor” (Courtesy of Slam! Sports):

“As I came into the apartment complex, a guy held me up at gunpoint and then he called his friends. And then a total of five people came up to the apartment. They were armed and my family was in the bathroom - I’ve got two kids - so it was just a terrible situation … they cleaned out whatever they wanted. They were after small stuff, but they took our TV and my laptop, and jewelry. And they took some of the kids’ clothing and Nike tennis shoes, which are expensive down here … Then they put everything in my car, made me take them somewhere. It was just terrible. Wasn’t sure if I was coming back from that one. But it all worked out.”

The Team Nogueira fighter, the son of Baptist missionaries, has spent most of his life in Brazil. Despite the incident, Wilson will fight as scheduled.

The Professor is coming off a split-decision loss to John Howard at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2″ back in January. It was the lone bright spot on a rather uneventful card, bringing home co “Fight of the Night” honors.

Wilson had a recent four-fight win streak snapped in early 2008 when he stepped up to take on top division contender — and Koscheck training partner — Jon Fitch on super short notice in a losing effort (unanimous decision).

He was invited back shortly thereafter and defeated Steve Bruno in a lopsided unanimous decision at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy.” This will mark his fourth fight under the UFC banner.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Lyoto: “I’d like to test myself against Lesnar”

The Brazilian fighter Lyoto Machida has impressed the MMA world with his unorthodox striking. After beating opponents like Tito Ortiz, Thierry Sokoudjou and Thiago Silva in UFC’s octagon, Machida will have this chance for the belt at May 23, but, before the fight, he accepted the invite from TATAME.com and answered our subscribers. On the chat, he spoke about his start in the martial arts and talked about a possible run for the UFC heavyweight title in the future.

“I don’t think about fight at heavyweight division, but I think about a challenge, maybe against the heavyweight champion, but it’s time for it now. My focus, for sure, is on my division now, later is later. Maybe a fight against Brock Lesnar. He’s a huge guy, showed himself very aggressive and strong, who knows if one day we can fight… I respect him as a fighter, he’s very strong, but I’m professional and I’d like to test myself”, said Lyoto.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Hacran Dias talks submission victory at M-1

In only fours years of professional MMA, Hacran Dias remains undefeated. After shining in the Brazilian events, the fighter was scheduled to fight at Brazil’s team at M-1 Challenge tournament at last edition, which took place at São Paulo, Brazil, last Saturday (9). Against the Red Devil fighter Amirkhan Mazikhov, Hacran needed only one round to submit with a rear naked choke and get out of the ring satisfied. “I was a good experience, represent Brazil, it was great to win the Russians. I’m very happy and just waiting for the next one”, says Dias.

After losing the first stage against the American team, the Brazilians knew that they needed to win by 5x0 to still have chances on the tournament. “We needed to win, we would only have chances if all of us win, so everybody went there to win. Now, we have to win by 5x0 the Koreans and cheer for the Russians to beat the Americans”. First Brazilian to fight in last edition, Hacran revealed his game plan wasn’t go right inside and take the fight to the ground from the beginning.

“I wasn’t going there to take the fight to the ground on the beginning, I was calm there, wanted to strike standing and see what would happen, but when the fight went to the ground everything was alright with my Jiu-JItsu. I would fight standing and, if I had some trouble, take the fight to te ground”, remembers, celebrating his eleventh win in the undefeated carer.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Shogun’s coach on MMA seminar in the U.S

Described as one of the main factors for Shogun’s return to his best shape, the workaholic coach Sérgio Cunha badly celebrated Maurício’s knockout over Chuck Liddell. Given the proximity of the location of the event with the city of Minneapolis, United States, where his friends, the brothers Joey and Jacob Clark (Olympic medalist in 2002) train, Cunha did a Muay Thai and MMA seminar at the brother’s academy, on May 3. "I went there to meet my friends, Joey and Jacob, who are Olympic athletes, and I gave a seminar for professional fighters. Jacob is a great friend I made in Hawaii and is also one of the coaches of the U.S. Olympic team", says Cunha. The seminar was so successful that the brothers have provided a video on the internet with some images of the “class”. Check below the video of the seminar.

 

[Shogun Locc]

The Crusher & Evil Fist Preparing! “I Will Show Them A Real Fight”

Tatsuya Kawajiri and Hiroyuki Takaya held an open training session together with Team Kurofune trainer Takeshi Yamada at the JB Sports Gym in Tokyo today. They had the same training menu (shadowboxing, sparring, mitts, etc.) and talked with the press afterward.

Kawajiri thinks that Calvan is a complete fighter, he has all aspects of MMA down. However, trainer Yamada has watched a lot of Calvan’s fights and has a counter-plan. Kawajiri doesn’t really think about the DREAM belt right now, if it happens it happens (literally if I do it I will do it).

When asked about the Super Hulk Tournament Kawajiri said: “I don’t know about the hulk or Canseco, but I will show the real thing. I will show them a real fight, I will make people watching on TV think that MMA is awesome”.

He isn’t interested in the Super Hulk Tournament but he understands, though it makes him feel sick, that “with only us” (fighters like him) a lot of people will not watch.

Takaya questions why his opponent, Yoshiro Maeda, didn’t come to the press conference where the Featherweight GP quarterfinals were announced since he himself woke up at 5 o’clock to take the train from Osaka to participate in it. About his weight, cutting down to 63 kg this time is no problem. Trainer Yamada has watched a lot of Maeda’s fights too.

 

[Shogun Locc]

SENGOKU IX! First Card Announcement Next Week

The first match-ups for SENGOKU IX on August 2nd will be announced sometime next week. The opponent of Kitaoka and the semifinals of the GP fights will be announced. The other fights on the card will consist of big fights between fighters aiming at belts in SENGOKU.

 

[B-Buzz]

don't feel like making a thread for this, but did anyone else see that bullshit with Evangelista?

For anyone who didn't see it, in the 2nd round he and Aina were scrambling to the feet, Evangelista threw what looked like a knee to the head while Aina still had a hand and knee down and he complained, Herb Dean stopped the fight. On the replay we saw that the knee hit under his armpit, didn't connect with any part of the head, but Aina kept complaining that his jaw hurt and they stopped the fight and declaired Aina winner by DQ.

I hope he never gets a fight again, that's complete bullshit to say in the interviews that it hit your head while the replays showing it didn't come close.

 

[Shaniac]

Devin Cole ex IFL fighter, gives undefeated DJ Linderman his first loss as a pro. DJ is a fighter out of a small town Yreka ca, supposedly strikeforce is looking into signing him.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Weight Schmeight, Says Mousasi

Becoming a poster boy for MMA diehards and under-active housewives everywhere, Gegard Mousasi will officially begin his “Weight is Just a Number” campaign in May.

Mousasi (24-2-1), who relinquished his Dream middleweight title in January to face bulkier opposition and (hopefully) bigger competitive challenges, will join monsters like Hong Man Choi and Bob Sapp in the promotion’s freakish “Super Hulk” tournament on May 26 in Yokohama, Japan.

But when it comes to the battle of the scales, are Mousasi’s eyes bigger than his body mass?

The 23-year-old standout draws hardheaded Samoan and 2000 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Mark Hunt in the first round. Skimming this tale of the tape, Hunt could weigh anywhere between 280 and 300 pounds come fight time. Mousasi tells Sherdog.com that he’ll shoot for 98 kilograms, or a whopping 216 pounds.

Tipping his hat to martial arts’ purists that believe a true champion can succeed against any opponent ginormous or small, the surprisingly shy and unassuming Mousasi stands firmly in Camp Cajones.

So don’t go telling the Armenian-born Holland-based fighter that he might be biting off more than he can chew.

“Fedor [Emelianenko] is also small,” Mousasi told Sherdog.com in an exclusive interview last January. “Mike Tyson was also very small for a heavyweight, but he beat the crap out of people.”

Once the dust settles on the “Super Hulk” experiment though, the 6-foot-1 Mousasi’s future might lie in the 205–pound division, whose cup runneth over into the UFC’s Octagon.

If Mousasi is really looking for a challenge, light heavyweights like UFC champion Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, and even middleweight king Anderson Silva –- who’s been known to moonlight at 205 pounds –- would all be engaging opposition for sure. However, they’re not on Mousasi’s radar just yet.

“I think it would be good fights, but those fights I don’t concentrate on because they are only UFC. I don’t think about those fights,” he said.

In fact, Mousasi doesn’t see an Octagon debut in his future, at least not in 2009. He plans to make his stateside debut for Affliction in August, while staying loyal to the promotion that has given him leniency in his recent pursuits.

“I want to stay with Dream because they have treated me very well,” Mousasi said in January. “It feels like, if I go to UFC, I let them down. I want to go to boxing too. I’d like to fight Vitor Belfort in boxing. I think that would be a good, interesting fight that people would want to see.”

Forget boxing. How about an MMA bout in August? There’s little doubt Mousasi would turn that down if Affliction could pull it off this summer.

As for Hunt, Mousasi seems to have his strategy all etched out, although he isn’t at liberty to share it.

“It’s not about the weight. It’s about how I can fight better,” Mousasi wrote cryptically in an email to Sherdog.com shortly after his bout with Hunt was announced. “Trust me, I am going to win.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Despite delay in fighting Matt Serra, Matt Hughes insists nothing changed

A fight nearly three years in the making, it's difficult to imagine two opponents less similar then former UFC champions Matt Hughes (42-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) and Matt Serra (9-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC).

The well-documented rivalry that began in 2006 with "The Ultimate Fighter 4" – and later reached a boiling point in "TUF 6" – will finally be decided at Saturday night's "UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida" in Las Vegas.

And while the bout may have lost some luster in the eyes of the public, Hughes insists nothing has changed for the participants.

"I don't think it changes a whole lot," Hughes said on a recent media call. "Yes, we've both had injuries, but I mean that happens in our sport when you're as rough on our bodies as we are. But I think the fans still want to see it.

"Obviously, him and I still want this fight to go on. So the bottom line is nothing's really changed."

Originally scheduled to meet in December 2007 at UFC 79, a Serra back injury forced the delay of the contest. Hughes then suffered a knee injury in his most recent fight, a June 2008 loss to current top contender Thiago Alves.

Hughes said he was able to recover fully without the need of surgery.

"In the last fight I tore my MCL and partially tore the PCL, but they grew back together," Hughes said. "I did not go under the knife."

And while Hughes hasn't fought in over 11 months – and hasn't registered a victory in over two years – the once-dominant, guaranteed hall-of-famer insists his time off has been a good thing.

"Well you know, I'm getting older now," Hughes said. "So the time off was actually pretty nice. But I've switched things up a little bit. I went to a lot of training camps. I went out a lot to different places and didn't stay home as much."

Hughes is undoubtedly one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history. The former champion put together two separate six-fight winning streaks in the UFC, won the welterweight title on two different occasions and defended the belt seven times.

And despite those successes, Hughes has suffered recent criticism largely due to the potential character flaws so readily pointed out by Serra. But with his place in UFC lore firmly secured, Hughes insists the positives have far outweighed the hate.

"I think any time you voice your opinion or you're just an outspoken guy or you just wear your heart on your sleeve, you're going to have people that love you and people that hate you," Hughes said. "And I get a fair amount of fan mail. And obviously I get some hate mail, too.

"I don't mind you know. It's all part of the game and I don't sweat it either way."

For all of bravado, all of his promises, all of his glories, Serra has put together just a 2-2 record in hist four years in the UFC.

While a stunning victory over Georges St. Pierre has cemented "The Terror's" own place in the annals of UFC history, it's hardly a record unmatched by his peers.

Meanwhile, the legendary Hughes has put together just a 4-3 mark in that same time frame – though his supporters would undoubtedly point out that the wins included B.J. Penn and Royce Gracie, while the losses came to the two men who will contest the 170-pound belt in July.

It's an emotion-filled battle, that even if a little late is certainly better than never.

They share a first name, they've taken turns wearing the same UFC belt. But in the words of Hughes, the two Matt's are simply "just two different people."

 

[Shogun Locc]

LARSON WANTS TO FINISH WILSON, BE A CONTENDER

Former WEC welterweight contender turned UFC prospect Brock Larson has done his homework.

He knows that to get in the good graces of the UFC execs’ that he needs to:
A) Win decisively and impressively. Check.
B) Be on call for potential early comebacks. Check.

Fresh off of a two-minute drubbing of Jesse Sanders this past April at UFC Fight Night in Nashville, Tenn., headlined by former foe Carlos Condit, Larson made his return to the big show after a more than two-year absence. It had been an eight-month lapse since his prior bout with the WEC against former title challenger Carlo Prater.

Larson showed the sort of tenacity and experience that he brings in every fight; poised and ready to go. It’s hard to argue with the results.

“(The fight with Jesse) was real good. It was how you envision the perfect fight and that’s what we planned and that’s what we did, so it feels good,” he proclaimed as a guest on MMAWeekly Radio.

Outside of his two losses to Top 10 welterweights Jon Fitch and Carlos Condit, the Minnesota native is nearly perfect as a professional. Having been victorious 25 out of 27 tries, Larson has defeated 17 of those opponents by way of submission (which he describes as Gorilla Juijitsu) and four by way of knockout.

It's interesting to note that in one night alone, in his Extreme Challenge days, Larson took on former IFL middleweight champion Ryan McGivern, UFC and Strikeforce veteran Ryan Jensen, and current TUF contestant Demarques Johnson of Team USA to claim honors as Extreme Challenge 63 tournament champion.

Stepping up on short notice to replace an injured Josh Koscheck at UFC 98 in Las Vegas, he will lock horns with Chris Wilson on the preliminary portion of the card. After having the layoff between transitioning from the WEC to the UFC, Larson is pleased with the workload and has no complaints or hesitations coming into this fight just over a month out his last appearance.

“Work is good, work is good. I’m happy to be fighting again” he said.

“I was quite happy to hear that (the UFC) were interested and I was glad to take the fight. At first they offered it to me, but they didn’t know for sure if they were going to offer it to me or maybe another fighter, so I was happy that I got the call and was glad they obliged.”

With his sights set on Wilson (for the moment), the newly minted father expressed his interests in vindication, a rematch stemming from his WEC days with Carlos Condit, who was unsuccessful in his own UFC debut.

“I’m game. I don’t know what Condit plans on doing, but whenever they want to put that fight together I’ll be up. Nothing against Condit, not that he’s not a great fighter, but I think that I could change some things around a little bit and get victorious in that fight.”

With training partners in former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk and current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and some cross-training with former UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne, it’s that kind of atmosphere that keeps Larson motivated and eager to learn.

“We’ve got all these guys that are getting ready for fights anyways; there’s an Extreme Challenge that a lot of local guys are getting ready for as well so everybody’s training.

“Dave Menne and his guys... I’ve been at his gym sparring and training as well. Everybody in there seems to be getting after it right now, so it’s good timing for me; get ready and get some good training in.”

Obviously putting in the time and effort going into a fight with a well respected veteran in Chris Wilson, who has defeated the likes of Rory Markham and Jay Hieron in his IFL days, Brainerd, Minnesota’s favorite son is looking to make a statement that a fighter of his caliber should not be stuck on the untelevised broadcast, but rather propelled to main card status and considered a contender in the shark tank that is the UFC welterweight division.

“Nobody has been able to finish Chris, so it’s going to be a challenge for me to get out there and to finish him. He’s had three fights now (in the UFC) and nobody’s been able to go outside the distance with him except for some tough dudes, so I’m excited to break that streak and be the first guy to finish him.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dana White to appear at New York City release of "UFC 2009 Undisputed"

With the highly anticipated rollout of THQ's "UFC 2009 Undisputed" – the first UFC-related video game since 2004 – just hours away, GameStop officials have confirmed that UFC President Dana White will be on hand at a New York City GameStop for the store's midnight launch event.

The GameStop unit located at 1282 Broadway in New York City is one of more than 1,300 units that will be open at midnight on May 19 for the game's official release.

THQ producers will also be on-hand to answer questions regarding "UFC 2009 Undisputed."

Special giveaways are planned for the event. While GameStop officials could not confirm with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) what those giveaways would entail, store personnel did reveal that the store would be open to the public beginning at 10 p.m. ET.

In addition to the earliest-possible access to "UFC 2009 Undisputed," available for both the Xbox360 and PlayStation 3, buyers who purchase the game through GameStop will have immediate access to Ryan Bader and Efrain Escudero as playable characters.

Units purchased from other retailers will have to wait 90 days to access the two "TUF" winners as free downloadable content, according to THQ officials.

New York City's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, appears in "UFC 2009 Undisputed" as a playable venue despite the state's current lack of regulation for mixed martial arts events.

Following White's midnight appearance at GameStop, the UFC executive will also appear on Tuesday's episode of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" to promote the release of "UFC 2009 Undisputed," as well as Saturday night's "UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida" pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.

 

[Shogun Locc]

JITTERS GONE, "PROFESSOR X" READY FOR UFC 98

He certainly didn’t look it, but Xavier Foupa-Pokam says the UFC jitters got him at UFC 97.

“I was feeling very great in the locker-room, and just before the corridor to the path to the Octagon,” Foupa-Pokam told MMAWeekly.com. “Then, I started to feel tense and didn't fight the way I should have. I wasn't lucid; I was short of breath.”

“Professor X” is far from alone in the experience. The UFC debut continues to be, for lack of a better term, an “X factor" when evaluating newcomers. Foupa-Pokam had 29 fights on his resume when he stepped into the cage. But as so much anecdotal evidence has shown, even the most experienced fighters can lose their composure when they step onto the big stage.

His opponent, Denis Kang, suffered his own jitters on his debut at UFC 93, despite 40-plus fights on his ledger.

Nevertheless, Professor X blasted Kang with kicks and punches throughout much of their three-round battle, looking every bit an explosive menace. But he says adrenaline made him more tired than ever before.

“I had troubles recovering rapidly, and I made mistakes I normally never do that spoiled a lot of energy,” he said. "Normally, I often go to a fight very confident. I consider a fight like a party that celebrates the end of a hard preparation; that's maybe why I often dance a bit when on the path to the cage or the ring. The day before the fight, I was still wondering why a lot of journalists were asking me if I wasn't afraid of feeling too nervous on this first UFC fight. Now I understand why.”

Foupa-Pokam is embarrassed when he looks at the fight now.

“I feel particularly ashamed of myself when I see me bending over and putting my hands on my knees,” he continued. "I had never done this before. I always work a lot on my conditioning; stamina has always been considered as one of my strengths. When people watch the fight, they have a feeling I have no takedown defense, no wrestling, and no ground.”

In the end, it was Kang’s ground game that won him the unanimous decision from the judges. A humbling moment for the Professor, to be sure, and one he never wants to repeat again.

Foupa-Pokam, a native of Paris, France, was ordered to take up a sport by his mother at age 11 along with his brother. His brother chose soccer; he chose karate. After seven years of katas, he got bored with “high-level karate strategies” and took up Muay Thai at a school next to his house. Champ Cyrille Diabate, current striking coach for Team USA on “The Ultimate Fighter” season nine, ran the school. Nine years later, he and Diabate still train together. A former TV cameraman, he’s now a full-time fighter.

Foupa-Pokam faces slugger Drew McFedries at UFC 98, a short-notice replacement for the injured James Irvin. While he would love the opportunity to stand and trade, the Professor is not banking on it.

“I wish he would!” said Foupa-Pokam. “But it’s MMA, not Muay Thai, and I have to be ready for everything.”

He says the fact that he and McFedries are southpaws doesn’t complicate the fight.

“It's not easier or harder to fight a southpaw, it's just different,” he said. “Of course, I'm more used to fighting righty guys in competition, but I’ve already had southpaw opponents.”

Plus, he has years of experience with Diabate, a lefty with range.

More than any technique, though, he wants to prove that UFC 97 will never happen again.

“I've had a short, but complete fight preparation for this one,” he said. “I kept working on everything at the same time. I'm looking forward to show everybody that the Kang bout was an accident.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

DISCOVERY CHANNEL 'TIME WARPS' MMA STARS

When can a raindrop transform from an everyday mundane collection of seconds into a violent, yet beautiful explosion of cascading water?

When said raindrop is slowed down 10,000 times its normal speed.

Thus is the premise for the Discovery Channel’s “Time Warp” series, a show where everything from human movement to explosions to simple events of a regular day are transformed from normal to extraordinary thanks to modern technology.

It’s that same technology that, when applied to the skills of top female MMA fighter and “American Gladiators” star Erin “Steel” Toughill, UFC lightweight title contender Kenny Florian, and top grappling instructors Dave and Dan Camarillo, turns the world of fighting into the art of war.

“Time Warp” host and mad scientist/artist Jeff Lieberman spoke to MMAWeekly.com to discuss his show and how MMA has played a big part in its development as it speeds through its second season on the Discovery Channel.

“It’s arguable there would ever be a ‘Time Warp’ without having a Kenny Florian and Mark DellaGrotte involved,” said Lieberman.

“When we put together the pilot episode, one of the segments we wanted to do was the human element. So we brought in Kenny Florian and his trainer, Mark, to demonstrate some of their techniques and close-ups of what the bodies go through under these extreme circumstances.”

From there it was only a matter of a punch from Florian to DellaGrotte’s face shown in super slow-motion that sealed the deal for Discovery Channel execs, leading to the series being picked up for its current run.

For those unfamiliar with the show’s premise, Lieberman breaks it down as, “Using different types of visual technology to show viewers things they’d never be able to see with the human eye.

“We do things like human/animal behavior, things that are pure science like chemical reactions, explosions or even industrial tools and machinery that moves too fast for humans to see, and then also the wonder of the everyday, things people take for granted that we show under a new lens to show them what they’re missing.”

Armed with technology capable of slowing down action to upwards of 100,000 times its normal speed, “Time Warp” can open up whole new perspectives on a range of subjects, including the return of MMA for an upcoming episode.

“By bringing in experts like Kenny, Erin and the Camarillo brothers, we are given a view of something we would never see in real time,” stated Lieberman. “When we review things in high-speed video, they can learn new things about their own techniques and can show us all the details that may have taken them 10 years to be able to recreate in the first place.

“What do you guys do in a normal interaction, normal fights, and how can we break that down so that the average viewer of our show really appreciates what goes into these things.”

These things are just the tip of the iceberg that “Time Warp” will be covering in its current second season.

“We’ve done things like parachuting, poisonous snakes, sumo wrestlers, and hung out with Metallica and filmed how each of them individually makes music,” commented Lieberman. “We went straight from Metallica to Cirque du Soleil and their kind of performances (to) things like Penn & Teller doing slight of hand.

“From there we’ll do some natural phenomena like water drops with a fluid dynamics professor that, unless you look really close and really fast, you’ll never notice things happening. We really go all over the place; from science, to people, to animals, to the everyday – there’s no shortage of materials for us to take a look at.”

It’s rare when we truly are given an opportunity to see things from a new perspective. With “Time Warp” we get that chance, and whether it’s showcasing MMA techniques or a parachute opening, Lieberman feels there’s something for everyone on the show.

“I think the biggest thing is, we have these technologies that quite literally are magic,” he concluded. “That really can show you things that you’ll never be able to see with your human eye, and MMA is a great context to see magical things happen to the human body.

“The show airs at 8 p.m. (Eastern) every Wednesday, and if you want to see something that’s going to blow your mind, it’s a great show to check out.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

B.J. Penn has "no interest in ever fighting in Nevada or Las Vegas again"

While UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn wasn't able to attend this past Wednesday's Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing on "Greasegate," that certainly hasn't stopped the Hawaiian from developing a firm opinion.

In a recently released video blog on his official website, Penn blasted NSAC executive director Keith Kizer, and the champ also said he had no desire to ever fight in Nevada again.

"I will say that, for me personally, Keith Kizer can't be trusted," Penn said. "I don't trust him in any way. ... Honestly I have no interest in ever fighting in Nevada or Las Vegas again, and that's all I have to say about that whole situation."

Penn's latest statement was a reaction to the NSAC's recent hearing regarding the lightweight champ's complaint that UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre was guilty of improperly using Vaseline to gain an unfair advantage in their Jan. 31 fight.

The NSAC has yet to take any formal action regarding the complaint, and both Kizer and commissioner Pat Lundvall have openly stated they see no need for disciplinary action.

Penn wasn't able to attend the meeting due to his training schedule in anticipation of an Aug. 8 title defense at UFC 101 with Kenny Florian. Penn's mother videotaped the proceedings, and he elaborated on his feelings in the video blog.

"All that stuff is important to me, but I've got a big fight coming up with Kenny Florian, so I can't concentrate on that too much," Penn said. "But I will say, the athletic commission, from what I understand the whole thing's not finished.

"The athletic commission can do whatever they want. It's Nevada's commission. They can do whatever they want. ... As far as what they're going to do, who knows. We'll see what happens."

Many MMA observers have expressed concern that Penn, a fighter famous for his motivational concerns, may be allowing the ongoing case with the NSAC to affect his preparation for the upcoming fight with Florian.

Penn insisted he was focused on the task at hand.

"Florian's great," Penn said. "He's got good kickboxing, good jiu-jitsu and good wrestling. I know he's good everywhere.

"I've just got to be ready and be on my toes. I know he's good everywhere. I've got to go out and be better than him."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic returns at UFC 99 to face Mustapha Al-Turk

Pride FC 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (24-6-2) — who is on a speedy recovery from knee surgery following his technical knockout win over Hong Man Choi at Field’s Dynamite!! on New Year’s Eve — announced his return to the UFC this afternoon against Mustapha Al-Turk on June 13 from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany.

From the Croat’s official blog:

I decided to fight in the UFC again, because of the stronger competition in the heavyweight division. My next opponent will be Mustapha Al-Turk. I didn’t do well in my first three appearances - I wasn’t myself. By returning to the cage I want to prove that I can still fight at highest level, no matter when or where. It’s hard to talk about concrete plans, but I would really like to fight at least three times this year. I wish to fight against quality opponents and to fight my way up to a title shot but for now, I’ll focus only on my next fight and after that we’ll see what’s going to be on the menu next. I want to say thank you Mr. Dana White for your interest and for an invitation back to the UFC. I owe you a lot from our first deal, and I’ll make it up to you.

The Croatian striker had fallen on hard times since his tournament-winning performance over two years ago, losing two of five fights and looking listless in the process. He started things off with a bang, stopping Eddie Sanchez in his UFC debut, but a highlight reel knockout loss to Gabriel Gonzaga and a rib-crushing defeat to Cheick Kongo put his UFC career on ice.

Cro Cop vowed to one day return and finish what he started (though few believed him). Now he looks to make good on that promise.

After two wins in Dream (and a no contest with bitter rival Alistair Overeem), the former Croatian Cop elected to have knee surgery to correct a nagging injury and now declares that he is free of the physical and mental distractions that have plagued him over the past few years.

And a dominating performance over Al-Turk would go a long way to prove it.

Al Turk — who was originally reported to be facing undefeated American Top Team (ATT) heavyweight Todd Duffee, fights out of the famous London Shoot gym in the United Kingdom.

He came up short in his debut against Cheick Kongo at UFC 92 after a successful run in Europe on the Cage Rage circuit. In fact, he has six wins in seven attempts for the promotion and was riding a two-fight win streak before getting dismantled at “The Ultimate 2008″.

He is a pretty well-rounded fighter with serviceable boxing and solid grappling skills -– good enough to earn him the British Cage Rage heavyweight title.

UFC 99 will be headlined by former middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin taking on ex-PRIDE smashing machine Wanderlei Silva in his middleweight debut. Heath Herring and Cain Velasquez as well as Mike Swick and Ben Saunders are also expected to hook ‘em up.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Aaron Simpson and Steve Steinbeiss competing in separate fights at UFC 103; Possible for Phoenix, Az.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has just learned from sources close to both fighters that Aaron Simpson and Steve Steinbeiss will be competing in separate fights at UFC 103.

No date or location has been announced announced for UFC 103 but the same source confirmed that Phoenix, Arizona is one location being considered for the event.

Arizona is among the growing number of states that have recently sanctioned their mixed martial arts rules to include elbows on the ground among other rule changes that make them identical to the UFC’s.

Arizona is also a hot bed for MMA activity and lays home to numerous top mixed martial artists such as Ryan Bader, CB Dollaway, Jamie Varner, Efrain Escudero, Joe Riggs, Don Frye, Benson Henderson and countless others.

Simpson is a two time All-American wrestler that won a Pac 10 championship while with Arizona State University before eventually going to become a coach for the illustrious wrestling program. He is undefeated in his mixed martial arts with nothing but TKO’s or knockouts in his five professional career and most recently made his UFC debut a successful one, stopping former training partner Tim McKenzie by TKO in the first round at UFC Fight Night 18 in April.

Steinbeiss is a K-1 veteran and training partner to Simpson at the highly respected Arizona Combat Sports. He was recently scheduled to face off with Ryan Jensen at UFC Fight Night 18 before Jensen was forced out of the bout at the last second.