MMA News and Notes

Delusional · 09-25-2007, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoneCrusher

Try this. You'll need to register, but it might be what you want.

i registered but didnt see, or couldnt find anything on it yet. ill keep checking though. thanks

ReproMan · 09-26-2007, 05:35 PM

His hair is great.

Quote:

Kazuhiro Nakamura Fails UFC 76 Drug Test

Posted by MMA Junkie on September 26, 2007 at 6:24 pm ET

Kazuhiro Nakamura (11-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who made his octagon debut with a unanimous-decision loss to Ryoto Machida this past weekend at UFC 76, has been suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for a failed drug test due to marijuana.

According to Bill Douglas of the CSAC, the fighter has been fined $500 and suspended three months, which runs through Dec. 21.

The other 17 fighters who took part in the pay-per-view event all tested negative for drugs of abuse. The CSAC also tests for anabolic steroids and masking agents, though those test results are still pending.

Nakamura, who competed exclusively in PRIDE Fighting Championships prior to signing with the UFC, is known for grand ring entrances; on Saturday, he walked to the octagon holding an ornate umbrella that continually poked fans and ringside personnel. He’s won a big fan following due to his eccentric behavior.

UFC 76 took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and featured Keith Jardine’s split-decision upset of Chuck Liddell in the night’s main event.

ReproMan · 09-26-2007, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Clay Guida vs. Roger Huerta Targeted for December’s “TUF” Finale

Posted by MMA Junkie on September 26, 2007 at 11:26 am ET

The rumors appear legit.

MMAjunkie.com (UFC news, MMA news, UFC rumors, UFC gossip, fighter interviews and event previews and recaps - MMAjunkie.com (formerly UFCjunkie.com)) has learned that UFC and Spike TV officials are working on a Clay Guida vs. Roger Huerta fight that would headline The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale. The event takes place Dec. 8 at The Palms Las Vegas and airs on Spike TV.

Although Spike TV officials had no comment about the fight, sources close to both fighters confirm that the main-event bout is in the works. Contracts for the fight have not been signed, though.

Huerta (19-1-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in May, has rose to prominence during his five-fight win streak in the UFC. After defeating Jason Dent and John Halverson, Huerta topped Leonard Garcia in a legendary unanimous-decision victory at UFC 69. The heavily marketed fighter most recently scored a third-round TKO of Alberto Crane last month at UFC 74.

Guida (22-8 MMA, 2-2 UFC), a Midwest-based veteran with 30 fights in just four years, made his octagon debut at UFC 64 with a second-round submission of Justin James. After controversial decision losses to Din Thomas and Tyson Griffin, he rebounded with a win over Marcus Aurelio last month at UFC 74. Guida dominated the fight, and though two judges awarded him winning scores of 30-27, one judge gave the victory to Aurelio with a 29-28 score.

In addition to Guida vs. Huerta, the two finalists from “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra,” the latest installment of the popular Spike TV reality series, will also compete at the event.

ReproMan · 09-26-2007, 05:41 PM

Minotauro Will End the Year with Kongo

Quote:

Minotauro Will End the Year with Kongo

September 25th, 2007 · 3 Comments

Sound the horns because Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira will face Cheick Kongo on the December 29th UFC show. It was widely speculated that Frank Mir would be Kongo’s next opponent; however, in a recent interview with Portaldovaletudo.com.br, Minotauro confirmed that he is next in line to face Kongo. In fact, Minotauro has already started training for the fight. Minotauro admits that he is looking to win by submission, but should the fight remain standing up, he is confident that he can trade with Kongo. To all our Portuguese readers out there you can check out the complete interview here.

BoneCrusher · 09-26-2007, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delusional

i registered but didnt see, or couldnt find anything on it yet. ill keep checking though. thanks

It was there when I posted the link, but is not now it would seem. DO you do torrents?

BoneCrusher · 09-26-2007, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReproMan

His hair is great.

[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/AR/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg[/IMG]

It looks like a friggen beany and HE looks BAKED.

"Hey res all fry to America and smoke a lefty befo da Figh". "Hia ... domo, domoarigato Nakamura-sama".

A Black Guy · 09-27-2007, 09:25 AM

Thiago Tavares interview

Did you feel you were harmed by the judges in your last UFC fight? What would you have done diffrently.

- Who saw the fight, knows who won. I believe I could have hit him more, have lost less positions and worked more the G'n'P. But anyways, I know I won. The important is that the won that they gave him stayed in his record. In my mind, I feel like I lost the first round and won the remaining rounds. I got takedowns, I was better in the ground, didn't get knockdowned, the punch in the eye was in GnP. I think they gave him the win for taking me off of the mount and the back, and getting up from the takedowns.

Clay Guida also lost to Tyson in a decision and went out saying that Randy Couture was "the man". Do you think that the presence of Randy in his corner made the diffrence.

- When the fight was over, I looked at Murilo (Bustamante) and asked if I won, he said Yes, that I won rounds 2 and 3. When I sit in the chair and looked at the big screen and saw that they were filming Couture together with him I thought "It is over, now I am fucked". At the time I cheered too to try to take over the crowd, but when they filmed Couture the audience was cheering, it was fucked. OK, the fight was close, but Unanimous Decision? Fuck, I didn't even win the 2nd round? Lots of takedowns, flying knee, dominated the ground, did GnP from half-guard... but I will train more for next fight.

It was the first negative result from your career, does that shake you in any way?

No, not at all. You know why? Because I've always dreamed of losing like that, battling it hardly, like a man., representing my friends and team. They were 3 alucinating rounds, classified as fight of the night. I've always knew sometime I was gonna lose and I wanted it to be in a war. It wasn't some KO, but in a tight decision, maybe a robbery. I am very calm, this loss will cost me 20 victories.

Will you still fight this year?

-I have 3 more fights in my contract. Dana White came to me and said it was a great fight, considered the best in the event. I should fight again in November. The guys saw that winning or losing, I am there. I will never guaranty a victory, but to beat me you have to give your very very best.

Tyson Griffin can be BJ Penn's next opponent if Sean Shekr's title is stripped. Who you think would win?

-Tyson defends stuff very well. Nobody in UFC can defend like him; was he better than me in the ground? Maybe in boxing he was, his game is to fight tough. He is not good in anything, but defends well. He is too short, stalky, has no arm and no neck. He trades, sprawls, is tough to anyone really. I hope a lot that they put him against BJ Penn and that he wins, so then I can win my next 3 fights and ask for a fight with him. I pray everyday for that.

(...)

What do you think of Gesias Cavalcante's second championship of Hero's?

-JZ was amazing right? What did he do to Shaolin man? Shaolin is amazing, a machine and JZ ran over him; Against Dida, he was smart, fought slow, could have done a pretty fight with more stand-up, but was smart and put him on his back and fought calm. JZ is no doubt the best LW in the world.

ReproMan · 09-28-2007, 06:27 AM

Quote:

- MELENDEZ RETURNS MORE DETERMINED THAN EVER
Friday, September 28, 2007 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com

Since the acquisition of Pride by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s parent company, fans have been patiently waiting to see many of Pride’s contracted stars debut in new promotions. One fighter that is about to have his wait come to an end is the current number-three ranked lightweight in the MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings, Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez.

Melendez stormed the world stage last year with stunning victories in Pride including a fight of the year candidate with perennial top ten fighter Tatsuya Kawajiri.

The Cesar Gracie trained student now will return to his roots in Strikeforce to face Tetsuji Kato at the Playboy Mansion on Saturday night in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“I’m very excited,” said Melendez about his return to MMA. “Even though I wasn’t fighting, I didn’t take any time off. It’s like I’ve been working for free. I’ve been training so hard and helping my buddies get ready for fights. It feels good that my hard work is going to pay off.”

The time off from fighting for most of the Pride fighters left with contracts when Zuffa purchased the company was a matter of negotiation or waiting for the deal to expire so they could sign with another organization. Melendez had an existing deal with Strikeforce that allowed him to fight the regardless of his Pride contract.

“I basically played the waiting game with the Pride thing,” stated Melendez. “[i] had a lot of faith in them that it would come around and get things together and it didn’t work out.”
Now with his Strikeforce deal in place, many fans are asking the obvious question if Melendez will end up in the UFC, where the lightweight division has taken shape over the last few months.

“There’s a chance I could end up anywhere,” said Melendez about a possible deal with the UFC. “It’s a sport and I fight for the love, but it’s also a business and I’m trying to make a career out of it and a life out of it.

“I really want to fight (Sean) Sherk. It’s a big thing for me to fight Sherk. Maybe I could talk to Dana White or he could give me that call when that time comes and we’ll see what happens.”

Never one to back down from challenges, Melendez also welcomed a fight with current K-1 standout Gezias “JZ” Calvancante.

“Maybe we can fight by the end of this year if K-1 can make it happen,” Melendez said.
Never one to look past an opponent, Melendez is focused on the business at hand and that business for now starts and stops with Tetsuji Kato.

“I get extra motivated because I hear people say ‘oh, you’re going to walk through this guy’ which I never, ever think that,” said Melendez about his opponent. “I need to make sure that I don’t think that, that I don’t underestimate him.”

Dealing with a nine-month-plus layoff since his last fight, Melendez is determined to get back into full-time competition and is not happy at all that he had to wait that long for a fight.

“This has been too long and I’m upset with how some of the things worked out, and I’m upset I had to wait this long to fight,” stated Melendez.

Kato may be the unlucky recipient of the anger and frustration that Melendez has been feeling. Fans will find out for sure at the StrikeForce show on Saturday night at the Playboy Mansion.

Strikeforce will stream its Sept. 29 “Strikeforce at the Mansion” event, including Melendez’s fight, live to a worldwide audience exclusively at Yahoo! Sports.

A Black Guy · 09-29-2007, 07:10 AM

Al Bundy scores 4 touchdowns in a single game, earns a Gracie brown belt, and still goes to the nudie bar.

http://videos.proelite.com/46768

ReproMan · 09-29-2007, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A Black Guy

Al Bundy scores 4 touchdowns in a single game, earns a Gracie brown belt, and still goes to the nudie bar.

videos.proelite.com » Ed O'neill Interview: Academy, Ed, Gracie, O'neill, Torrance: videos video

I don't think I agreed with a single thing he said.

A Black Guy · 09-29-2007, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReproMan

I don't think I agreed with a single thing he said.

Everything he said was exactly the same as what my dad said after UFC 75.

Must be an older timers thing.

When I sent him the Royce-Hughes fight, he called me and said "that's bullshit, something was wrong with Royce."

AKIRA · 09-29-2007, 11:52 AM

Hows your dad doing anyway? (I tried calling you, but I guess someone cant afford Nextel..)

A Black Guy · 09-29-2007, 12:04 PM

He's up there at Shands now. We got rid of Nextel, my number's still the same though.

BoneCrusher · 09-29-2007, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Tank Abbott training hard for brawl with Kimbo

Valor client David "Tank" Abbott is taking his upcoming Cage Fury FC bout with fellow heavy handed brawler Kimbo Slice very seriously. Tank, "The Original Huntington Beach Bad Boy" has been spending hours in the gym daily at Westminster Boxing Club in Southern California to prepare for the slugfest on October 12 in Atlantic City, NJ. In fact, through his training, Tank has already shed twenty pounds, and claims to feel better conditioning-wise than he has in years. Both Tank and Kimbo are known for their devastating knock out punching power. There likely won't be much finesse in this war, but it promises to be entertaining. We at Valor wish Tank continued success in his training, and are excited to see him do what he does best on October 12. SOURCE

BoneCrusher · 09-30-2007, 10:37 AM

Whhhahahahahaaa watch at the 6 second mark as Forrest expresses himself to the chute box corner.

YouTube Video

KickNit · 09-30-2007, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKIRA

"I always liked Coleman, but he hasnt been doing good lately, right? I mean losses to Fedor isnt exactly terrible by any means, but how much more steam does this engine have?

Everyone goes through a slump from time to time. He'll bounce back.

ReproMan · 10-01-2007, 10:01 AM

PRIDE and Prejudice

Quote:

PRIDE and Prejudice

October 1, 2007
by Jake Rossen (jrossen@sherdog.com)

Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) should've been our first clue.

The wild card UFC heavyweight was coming off both a knockout loss to Tim Sylvia (Pictures) and an eight-month sabbatical in 2003 when he agreed to face PRIDE star Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures) in the promotion's home turf of Saitama, Japan, on just two weeks' notice.

The battle between two former titleholders was the closest fans had seen to an inter-promotional clash with any real substance. At the final bell, most observers -- including ringside commentator Mark Coleman (Pictures) -- believed Rodriguez's positional dominance would earn him the decision.

Instead, Nogueira won. And while the winner's purse is certainly more practical for a mortgage payment than a moral victory, it was Rodriguez who came out with the evidence stateside fans had been longing for.

In a head-on collision between two reputable stars of warring promotions, it was pretty much a dead heat. PRIDE, contrary to the testimony of its fanatical followers, did not decimate the imported competition.

Did not, in fact, even make it bleed much.

That divisive rivalry -- largely manufactured by inflammatory Internet threads but aided and abetted by juvenile sniping from company chairs -- took on another dimension in 2005, when UFC critics declared the promotion's "Ultimate Fighter" campaign to be nothing but a factory for hammy "personalities" who had no business in the ring. When fans weren't busy pitting global corporations against one another, they were eager to see stars they'd been force-fed wind up face down on the canvas.

That kind of audience war-mongering reached its apex in September 2007, when presumed reality TV cartoon character Forrest Griffin (Pictures) dared to face PRIDE's vicious Grand Prix champion, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

Observers wrote Griffin's obituary early; PRIDE devotees seemed to take a palpable glee in the inevitable beating he was to receive. This was the ultimate meeting of UFC's hamburger vs. Japan's Kobe beef, and those beholden to PRIDE would take great pleasure in heckling Griffin's lifeless form.

Someone did indeed require a chalk outline that Saturday, but it wasn't Griffin.

Normally a whirlwind of arms, legs and knees, Shogun responded to Griffin's methodical attack by shooting sloppy takedowns. By round two, he was huffing like Thomas the Tank Engine, sucking up air like it was on sale. Come round three, he was defenseless against a Griffin rear-naked choke and meekly tapped the mat.

The man who had emerged unscathed in battles with Ricardo Arona (Pictures), Quinton Jackson (Pictures), and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures) was reduced to a submissive position against an athlete who was never even discussed as the best the promotion had to offer.

Humbling? An inkblot on your shirt is humbling. For fans of the PRIDE brand, a foreign bigger brother so often used as leverage to rebuke the UFC's stateside dominance, this was devastating.

Shogun's defeat was preceded by other meltdowns. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic is 1-2 in the UFC, an ignoble mark for someone once considered the most feared heavyweight in the game. Takanori Gomi (Pictures) was handled by Nick Diaz (Pictures), apparently while Diaz was stoned.

With the year winding down, the mythology of PRIDE has nearly dissolved, a fate that undoubtedly gives pleasure to UFC brass who insisted the competition was just as fierce in North America as anywhere else.

There are the excuses. The cage is too big; they cannot soccer-kick or stomp; the crowds are more vocal; athletes cannot inject vials of testosterone into their asses without fear of detection, withering their aggression and stamina.

All of those explanations are fine in an Oliver Stone, Zapruder flick kind of way. The truth? Forrest Griffin (Pictures) was simply a better fighter than Rua on the night it counted most.

With Shogun barely cutting weight, Griffin was likely a good 20 pounds heavier than Rua at fight time. He pressured Rua and refused to let him get comfortable. He hit him, lots, which tends to siphon one's gas tank.

This does not mean Griffin could beat Arona, or Overeem, or Nogueira. Unlike "Highlander," Griffin cannot absorb the powers of his fallen foes. But his specific skill set, and the way in which he executed it, was the perfect antidote to Rua's attack.

That's it. No more, no less.

PRIDE athletes, bereft of any specially packaged tomato cans to dine on, are likely to continue looking very human in the Octagon. The legacies of Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), "Cro Cop" and pending addition Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) were built in part on squash matches that made them look unstoppable. That's virtually unheard of in the Ultimate, where even unheralded opponents have the capability of flattening out anyone.

More importantly, the UFC refuses to manipulate athletes to achieve a preferred outcome. Fighters in PRIDE frequently complained of being coerced into competing on short notice, or with injuries, to boost the chances of their adversaries.

Athletes who refused sudden "opportunities" were threatened with burn notices. Tournaments further confused the issue, with fresher fighters tearing into weathered finalists. And it would be perhaps too optimistic to ignore the more restrictive drug policies in the States. "Cycling" on and off steroids, a common behavior used to manipulate the system, takes practice.

PRIDE's legacy as a compelling mixed martial arts institution will continue; Rua represents only himself and his camp. His future victories and defeats will have merit only as a reflection of his own abilities -- they don't prove fans right or wrong about anything.

Except, of course, on how best to argue pointlessly.

For comments, email jrossen@sherdog.com

KickNit · 10-01-2007, 01:01 PM

Good article, Repro Man

ReproMan · 10-01-2007, 01:27 PM

YouTube Video

A Black Guy · 10-01-2007, 02:13 PM

I Am Hoangreeeee

BoneCrusher · 10-02-2007, 08:44 AM

"He's a powerful puncher ... das for sure."

I doubt Bas has had a focus-mit punched off of his hand in quite a while.

Tank is fucked. So are a lot of other fighters in the HW division.

09-29-2007, 11:52 AM	#462
AKIRA I am Rollo Tomassee.. Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Outside the box Posts: 7,519 Photos: 3	Hows your dad doing anyway? (I tried calling you, but I guess someone cant afford Nextel..) Last edited by AKIRA : 09-29-2007 at 11:53 AM. Reason: a massive hard on
	6' 209lbs (8/16) Bench 360 (11/29) Weighted Pullups 80lbs 3x3 (3/19) Squat 370 Deadlift after herniation 385lbs 3x3 (3/17) NASM certified 2/06 Journal

10-01-2007, 01:01 PM	#468
KickNit Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 37	Good article, Repro Man
KickNit Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 37	KickNit @ http://www.fitnessrubber.com

09-27-2007, 09:25 AM	#457
A Black Guy Registered Offender Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Fort Pierce, FL Posts: 678 Photos: 1	Thiago Tavares interview Did you feel you were harmed by the judges in your last UFC fight? What would you have done diffrently. - Who saw the fight, knows who won. I believe I could have hit him more, have lost less positions and worked more the G'n'P. But anyways, I know I won. The important is that the won that they gave him stayed in his record. In my mind, I feel like I lost the first round and won the remaining rounds. I got takedowns, I was better in the ground, didn't get knockdowned, the punch in the eye was in GnP. I think they gave him the win for taking me off of the mount and the back, and getting up from the takedowns. Clay Guida also lost to Tyson in a decision and went out saying that Randy Couture was "the man". Do you think that the presence of Randy in his corner made the diffrence. - When the fight was over, I looked at Murilo (Bustamante) and asked if I won, he said Yes, that I won rounds 2 and 3. When I sit in the chair and looked at the big screen and saw that they were filming Couture together with him I thought "It is over, now I am fucked". At the time I cheered too to try to take over the crowd, but when they filmed Couture the audience was cheering, it was fucked. OK, the fight was close, but Unanimous Decision? Fuck, I didn't even win the 2nd round? Lots of takedowns, flying knee, dominated the ground, did GnP from half-guard... but I will train more for next fight. It was the first negative result from your career, does that shake you in any way? No, not at all. You know why? Because I've always dreamed of losing like that, battling it hardly, like a man., representing my friends and team. They were 3 alucinating rounds, classified as fight of the night. I've always knew sometime I was gonna lose and I wanted it to be in a war. It wasn't some KO, but in a tight decision, maybe a robbery. I am very calm, this loss will cost me 20 victories. Will you still fight this year? -I have 3 more fights in my contract. Dana White came to me and said it was a great fight, considered the best in the event. I should fight again in November. The guys saw that winning or losing, I am there. I will never guaranty a victory, but to beat me you have to give your very very best. Tyson Griffin can be BJ Penn's next opponent if Sean Shekr's title is stripped. Who you think would win? -Tyson defends stuff very well. Nobody in UFC can defend like him; was he better than me in the ground? Maybe in boxing he was, his game is to fight tough. He is not good in anything, but defends well. He is too short, stalky, has no arm and no neck. He trades, sprawls, is tough to anyone really. I hope a lot that they put him against BJ Penn and that he wins, so then I can win my next 3 fights and ask for a fight with him. I pray everyday for that. (...) What do you think of Gesias Cavalcante's second championship of Hero's? -JZ was amazing right? What did he do to Shaolin man? Shaolin is amazing, a machine and JZ ran over him; Against Dida, he was smart, fought slow, could have done a pretty fight with more stand-up, but was smart and put him on his back and fought calm. JZ is no doubt the best LW in the world.

09-29-2007, 07:10 AM	#459
A Black Guy Registered Offender Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Fort Pierce, FL Posts: 678 Photos: 1	Al Bundy scores 4 touchdowns in a single game, earns a Gracie brown belt, and still goes to the nudie bar. http://videos.proelite.com/46768

09-29-2007, 12:04 PM	#463
A Black Guy Registered Offender Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Fort Pierce, FL Posts: 678 Photos: 1	He's up there at Shands now. We got rid of Nextel, my number's still the same though.

10-01-2007, 02:13 PM	#470
A Black Guy Registered Offender Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Fort Pierce, FL Posts: 678 Photos: 1	I Am Hoangreeeee

10-02-2007, 08:44 AM	#471
BoneCrusher Lift or Die Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Austin Texas Posts: 8,342	"He's a powerful puncher ... das for sure." I doubt Bas has had a focus-mit punched off of his hand in quite a while. Tank is fucked. So are a lot of other fighters in the HW division.