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| Kimbo Slice vs Ken Shamrock Elite XC fight preview and prediction Posted: 04 Oct 2008 07:37 AM CDT
Elite XC: "Heat" — the third installment of "Saturday Night Fights" on CBS — is set to go off live from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., this Saturday, October 4, beginning at 9 p.m. ET on national television. To get us prepared for the event, we will showcase a daily feature for each main card fight leading up to the event. These features will include information on the fighters, predictions, as well as training notes from each fighter. The main event of the card is a heavyweight battle between hometown favorite Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson (3-0) and UFC hall of famer Ken “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Shamrock (26-13-2). Here's the breakdown:
Fighter backgrounds: Kimbo Slice – Kimbo is a 34-year-old fighter from Miami, Florida. He made his name by knocking guys out in backyard bareknuckle street fights. His popularity skyrocketed when the fights were shown on the internet via YouTube.com. Despite his rugged street brawler image, Slice is a very intelligent guy. After starring as a linebacker on his high school football team, he earned an academic scholarship to the University of Miami. After a year and a half at the school he decided he was better fit using his intimidating presence to make a living, so he became a bodyguard for the world famous Reality Kings pornography company. It was there he built the reputation as somebody not to be messed with. Soon he was part of the underground fight scene and the rest is history. He made his mixed martial arts debut on June 23, 2007, at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 5 against former heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer. Slice surprised many by taking the fight to the ground and pulling off a first round guillotine choke submission. On October 11 his deal with Pro Elite was announced and this Saturday will be his fourth fight under its Elite XC banner. Ken Shamrock – Shamrock is a 44-year-old fighter from Susanville, California. He is known as a dominant competitor in the UFC heavyweight division in its early days and is now a hall of famer for the organization. He was also the first king of Pancrase after defeating Manabu Yamada in the 1994 tournament. During the late nineties he signed on and competed for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man.” He had many memorable matches there, including a victory over “The Rock” in the 1998 King of the Ring final. After his stint with the WWF, he returned to mixed martial arts under the Pride FC banner where he went (1-2) before returning to the UFC at UFC 40 where he lost to Tito Ortiz. He was brought on as a coach of season three of “The Ultimate Fighter” alongside Ortiz. Many view Shamrock as being the worst coach in any of the seven seasons of the program because of his lack of dedication toward his team and the show. He fought Tito at the Finale and lost for the second time. He later went on to lose for a third time to “The Huntington Beach Badboy” and decided it was time to hang up the gloves. The retirement did not last, however, and Shamrock was back in the cage less than two years later competing at Cage Rage 25 against Robert Berry. He appeared to have the fire back leading up to the bout, but Berry banged him up pretty good, handing him his eighth loss in 10 fights. This Saturday will be his first fight since the first round knockout loss to “Buzz” Berry six months ago. Training notes: Kimbo Slice – He gets his training from MMA legend Bas Rutten and Randy Khatami — not a bad duo to learn the ropes from. Under their tutelage he’s hoping to shed the street brawler image and become more of a well rounded mixed martial artist. Here’s his thoughts on his team and his training:
He also added this:
He feels good about fighting this Saturday in front of his hometown fans too. Here’s a snip:
Ken Shamrock — Shamrock has been training out of the Lion’s Den for this fight — a camp he founded in the early nineties to help himself and others progress in MMA. He’s been training with some of his old training partners like Vernon White, Guy Mezger, his conditioning coach Dan Freeman and his boxing coach Roman Pollock in hopes of turning around his recent struggles in the cage. Here’s a snip:
Shamrock holds two previous victories over Kimbo’s head trainer, Bas Rutten, both by leg lock submissions. He’s not keeping it a secret that he wants to finish the pupil in the same fasion:
Fight breakdown: A fully clothed Shamrock tipped the scales at 206.5 pounds for this heavyweight fight. That’s dangerously close to being under the limit. He’s giving up nearly 30 pounds to Slice. It’s been obvious since this fight was announced that Shamrock’s best chance at winning would be by taking it to the ground and working for a submission, but that game plan is going to be a lot more difficult to execute with the huge size and strength disadvantage. We commend Shamrock for sticking up for himself at the weigh-ins and stepping into the cage with the bearded brawler on Saturday night, but his chances to win this aren’t looking too good. He still has the edge in experience and grappling, but if “Buzz” Berry and Tito Ortiz can manhandle him like they did, it’s not a stretch to expect similar results from a younger, hungrier Kimbo Slice. This fight was put together with name value and television ratings in mind, not competition. Shamrock will be sleeping by the end of the first round. Enjoy your bread, Kimbo, it’s how a fighter eat. Final prediction: Kimbo Slice via knockout in round one Remember, MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of all the action tonight, beginning at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. It’s going to be a great night of fights. Click here. |
| Shooto ‘Shooting Disco 6′ preview Posted: 04 Oct 2008 02:41 AM CDT
By Stefan Manojlovic Japanese MMA mainstay Shooto has finalized the main card for its upcoming show “Shooting Disco 6″ on Sunday, October 5 at Shinyuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan. There may not be an abundance of familiar faces but Shooto has a good reputation for delivering an exciting night of fights. Keep in mind that fighters such as Takanori Gomi, Tatsuya Kawajiri and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai all made their debuts in Shooto. Will we see a future star in the making at tomorrow’s event? There are plenty of exciting prospects in the Rookie Tournament Semifinals. Keep your eye on Haruo Ochi (2-0). Ochi had an impressive debut at Shooting Disco 4 with a first round knockout over Masumi Tozawa via brutal slam. He followed that up by choking out the venerable Yuta Nezu in the first round at Shooto Tradition 2 with a bulldog choke. On the main card, Ryuichi Miki (6-2-3) is looking for a win after drawing against Yasuhiro Urushitani at Shooto Tradition 1 last May. He faces the experienced but inconsistent Jin Akimoto (10-11-4), who is coming off a draw himself back at Shooting Disco 5. They collide in a bantamweight (123lbs) scrap. Middleweight (167lbs) action pits the heavy-handed Taisuke Okuno (5-2-1) against Yoichiro Sato (1-0-1). Okuno squashed Masayoshi Ichikawa in just 26 seconds at GCM just over a month ago and all five of his wins have come by (T)KO. It could be an early night for the less experienced Sato.
Daiji Takahashi (6-10-2) desperately needs a win against Seiji Otsuka (8-8-4). Takahashi is on a four fight losing streak and I’m sure Otsuka is hoping to make it five. Three seems to be the magic number for Kz Factory’s Sakae Kasuya (3-3-3). He squares off against Hidenori Nishino (1-2-1) in a lightweight (143lbs) bout while Maru Kotobuki and Guy Delemeau are making their MMA debuts. Here is the official fight card for Shooting Disco 6: Main Card Flyweight Rookie Tournament Semifinal Bantamweight Rookie Tournament Semifinal Featherweight Rookie Tournament Semifinal |
| Posted: 04 Oct 2008 12:38 AM CDT |
| Strikeforce recap for ‘Payback’ Posted: 04 Oct 2008 12:35 AM CDT
The San Jose-based mixed martial arts organization Strikeforce made a successful trip to the Broomfield Events Center in Denver, Colo., with “Payback” last night. There were some exciting finishes and several young, up-and-coming prospects on display. Hometown fighter Duane “Bang” Ludwig avenged a previous defeat to Sam “The Squeeze” Morgan in the main event of the night. Here’s how all the main card action played out.
The first fight of the HDNet broadcast was a battle of 145 pounders as Tyler Toner and Ricky Johnson met in the cage. Toner used a very impressive variety of kicks and strikes to overwhelm Johnson for a technical knockout victory. A bloodied up Johnson somehow survived into the second round, but Toner was way too much for him. He took a mounted position midway through the second and finished him off. The next bout featured the gorgeous Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson taking on Tyra Parker in a 112 pound female scrap. Waterson proved to be more than a pretty face by finishing Parker in just over a minute with a rear naked choke. Carlos Zevallos made his professional MMA debut a successful one against Andrew “The Silencer” Walker. He was rocked by a big left hand right off the bat, and looked to be on his way out. But he weathered the storm, and Walker blew his load trying for the finish. Zevallos stayed composed and eventually was able to get the fight to the mat where he worked for the full mount and pounded out his exhausted opponent late in the first round. Strikeforce lightweight up and coming star Billy Evangelista survived an early scare from ex-UFC fighter Luke Caudillo to regroup for a unanimous decision win. Once “Lil Hulk” failed to finish the fight when he had Evangelista reeling early, he appeared frustrated and couldn’t put anything else together for the rest of the fight. Evangelista grinded out the second and third rounds using timely strikes and some decent ground and pound to remain undefeated. Another UFC veteran was also unsuccessful at “Payback.” Pete Spratt was outworked for the entire fight by Donnie Liles, succumbing to a rear naked choke midway through the last round, losing for the third time in his last four fights. This was Liles’ Strikeforce debut and he certainly earned himself a spot on a future card. Expect to see him again. The co-main event was a match between two experienced MMA vets, Niko Vitale and Frank Trigg. It would have certainly been worthy of main event status had the card not been in Denver - hometown of Duane Ludwig. Trigg used an aggressive attack with a lot of knees, punches and takedowns to earn the unanimous decision win. This was the fifth win in the last six fights for “Twinkle Toes” all against quality opposition. Duane Ludwig handed Sam Morgan his fourth loss in a row with a first round submission from strikes in the main event. After a little back and forth from the ground to the feet, “Bang” drilled Morgan with a left hand to the body followed up by huge right hand that put him on the mat. Ludwig went in for the kill and Morgan didn’t have an intelligent defense other than tapping out. For the most part “Payback” was a solid event. There were a few dry spells and there could have been a little more star power. But there were some exciting comebacks, quality finishes, and a wide variety of mixed martial arts. Overall it was enjoyable night of fights. Next up for Strikeforce is a return trip home to the HP Pavillion in San Jose, Calif., on November 21. Company Lightweight Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson is expected to defend his title for the first time against a yet to be determined opponent in the main event. Possible candidates include Mitsuhiro Ishida and Gilbert Melendez among others … see you then! |
| Strikeforce results for ‘Payback’ at the Broomfield Events Center LIVE Posted: 03 Oct 2008 08:00 PM CDT
Strikeforce: “Payback” will take place tonight at the Broomfield Events Center in Broomfield, Colo., and will air live on HDNet beginning at 10 p.m. ET. MMAmania.com will provide up to the minute live results of the action below. Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the events to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment or ten before you leave and chat with many of our readers during the show — it always turns out to be a great discussion. Without further delay, see the latest Strikeforce: “Payback” results after the jump below.
Main event: Duane “Bang” Ludwig defeats Sam “The Squeeze” Morgan via submission (strikes) at 2:01 of round one Main card: Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg defeats Falaniko “Niko” Vitale via unanimous decision Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after Strikeforce: “Payback.” Stick around. |
| Elite XC weigh-in photo gallery for ‘Heat’ Posted: 03 Oct 2008 07:57 PM CDT
Check out the complete EliteXC picture gallery after the jump
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| Ready to Xplode: Saying N.O. to lackluster training Posted: 03 Oct 2008 07:58 PM CDT
The average person can get away with spending a couple of hours per week in the gym as a means to staying in shape. For the aspiring fighter, however, it’s a couple of hours per day. Weights, treadmills and stationary bikes are all a part of the daily routine. But so are striking, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. That’s a lot to ask of your body, and probably one of the biggest reasons fighters like Forrest Griffin are starting to align themselves with nutritional supplement companies like BSN. At the rate mixed martial artists are evolving, you can either run with the pack, or get left in the dust. Training is so critical to success and getting the most out of your training of course depends on how prepared you are.
I’ve seen plenty of guys at my gym just go through the motions in their grappling sessions because they’re suffering from muscle fatigue. If you’re not familiar with grappling or basic wrestling, trying to hold a man of relative size and weight to the floor while he tries to do the same to you is physically exhausting. And it happens fast. On the treadmill you can lower your speed until your heart rate stabilizes, but once you’ve depleted your muscles, you’ll be spending the rest of the day limping around like Aloysius Snuffleupagus. That’s what makes a product like N.O.-Xplode invaluable to MMA training. What started as one of bodybuilding’s best kept secrets is now becoming the standard practice at most dojos and training facilities for the simple fact that it maximizes your workout through an increase in muscular endurance. And getting ripped in the process is a nice little bonus. For the fourth straight year, N.O.-Xplode has won “Muscle Builder of the Year” from Bodybuilding.com. And its parent company BSN has won “Brand of the Year” three years in a row. One of the reasons I like N.O.-Xplode is because the nitric oxide increases the blood flow in my body and keeps my muscles at DEFCON 1 throughout my training (but particularly in response to stress). When you’ve gotten a hold of an arm and you’re trying to secure the armbar, believe me every ounce of strength and energy counts. Now as a gym rat I’ve always been a fan of nitric oxide, but the early days had me swallowing horse pills for an inconsistent and often delayed effect. BSN has eliminated that headache by making N.O.-Xplode in powder form and if you haven’t tried the blue raspberry - I highly recommend it. It tastes like a Snoopy Sno-Cone! Aside from the nitric oxide, N.O.-Xplode has a proprietary blend of four advanced creatine analogs designed to increase ATP production during training. I was blowing past my usual “sticking points” in about a week. I also like the balance of the caffeine and the alkaloids. Instead of having that energy rush that makes your heart race like you narrowly missed an oncoming cement truck, I was focused and alert. No jitters! Naturally you can’t just pop the top and suck down a N.O.-Xplode smoothie. It works fast, for me it took about 15 minutes. You have to first establish your tolerance (and level of sweetness) so start small and work your way up. Try to avoid taking it unless you plan on training or exercising immediately afterwards. You don’t need to be walking around the office high-kicking the water cooler. And for God’s sake please follow the directions on the bottle and be cognizant of the warning label. I find most nutritional aids to be interchangeable but for me N.O.-Xplode is far and away the best all-in-one supplement for the money. Some places will recommend you stack it with Cell Mass or something similar but I was content with N.O.-Xplode by itself. With the constant energy, strength, power and focus, I actually found myself looking forward to training. Go figure! Sure, there are plenty of supplements out there, but ask yourself, do you want to be the Terminator or Tiny Tim? |
| Elite XC releases additional tickets for ‘Heat’ at BankAtlantic Center Posted: 03 Oct 2008 07:55 PM CDT
What a difference 3,000 miles and a hometown fight for Kimbo Slice makes. Elite XC hasn’t had any trouble selling tickets to “Heat” at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., for tomorrow night, which features a heavyweight main event between the hometown favorite and UFC hall of famer, Ken Shamrock. The organization announced yesterday that it was releasing additional seats and opening up more sections for Saturday night’s event because of an overwhelming demand for tickets. Here’s a snip from Jeremy Lappen, Head of Fight Operations for Elite XC:
This could just be a product of South Floridians coming out to support their boy Kimbo Slice, or it could be a sign that Elite XC finally starting to right the ship. If the promotion can pull in solid television ratings tomorrow night — and if the huge event they have in the works for November 8 in Reno, Nevada, is a hit — it could actually make a go at turning into a successful mixed martial arts organization. First things first … CBS tomorrow night — there’s a lot on the line. |
| EliteXC weigh-in results for ‘Heat’ Posted: 03 Oct 2008 02:18 PM CDT
The last of the formalities before fight time will take place today with the official fighter weigh-ins. MMAmania.com will be in attendance at the arena for the festivities and provide the latest results when the fighters tip the scales today at 4 p.m. ET. The big question going in is whether or not Gina Carano will make the 140-pound weight limit for her fight with Kelly Kobald. “Conviction” failed to cut the weight for her May 31 match against Kaitlin Young. She came in at 144.5 pounds and was docked a percentage of her purse for the bout. Carano, however, was confident during a conference call last week that she would make the weight for this fight saying, “I’m going to weigh 140 pounds for the fight. I’ve got really high expectations for this weigh-in.” We’ll find out shortly. ***Update*** We just got back from the arena, and this was one of the more eventful weigh-ins in recent memory. First, Gina Carano did not make weight on her first attempt. She tipped the scales at 142.75 pounds on the first try. She was visibly drained from cutting the weight, and it was clear she wasn’t going to be able to lose the 1.75 pounds she would need to in order to make the limit. But she was dedicated to hitting the mark. So dedicated in fact that she decided to take off the sports bra and skirt she was wearing in hopes that losing her clothes would make the difference. You read that right. Apparently that skirt had a pretty high thread count too because losing it did the trick, and she made 141 pounds. Obviously they were covering every inch of her with towels, but she was completely nude otherwise. Damn towels! There were also two altercations to report. Paul Daley and Jake Shields both weighed in and made the weight limit for their 170 pound title fight. Everything was cool until they had to square off for the cameras. “Semtex” immediately started in with the trash talking. Shields didn’t take too kindly to the disrespect, and there was some pushing and shoving that followed. Both guys looked heated when they were finally separated. That fight is going to be all fireworks tomorrow night. These two definitely have no love lost. Finally, after everybody else got up there, Shamrock and Kimbo weighed in for their main event fight. When it came time to square off Kimbo refused to look Shamrock in the eye. Instead he flexed his arms and stared out at the crowd. When the camera lights stopped flashing, the Miami native turned around and started walking off the stage. Shamrock didn’t like that one bit and screamed out, “don’t turn your back on me” and shoved him hard in the back. Shit hit the fan at that point. Bas Rutten was trying to get at Shamrock. Kimbo’s posse went nuts. Kimbo was furious. It was insane. Ken Shamrock might have just dug his own grave with that little stunt. We’ll find out tomorrow night. Here are the rest of the official results (look for these to be updated around 4 p.m. ET): 265 lbs.: Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson (234.5) vs. Ken Shamrock (206.5) *Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights. Remember, MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of all the action on fight night, beginning at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. Click here. |
| UFC Quick Quote: Marcus Davis is going to float and sting against Paul Kelly at UFC 89 Posted: 03 Oct 2008 12:16 PM CDT
“I think his plan will be to throw big thumping punches to get me to clinch with him, I’m just not gonna do it…. I’ve got the longer reach, I’m an inch taller, I’m gonna smash him with jabs, he’s gonna reach for me, I’m gonna move. Every time he drops his head I’m gonna smash him with an uppercut and every time he straightens up I’m gonna smash him with punches. He’s gonna be chasing me around the ring, every time he swings I won’t be there. I can not only hit hard coming forward, I can hit hard on the slide. A lot of people have a tough time punching hard on the move, but that’s all I’ve been working on in this camp. I’ve just been working on throwing bombs while on the move. It’s gonna be a frustrating fight for him, I’m gonna catch every time he reaches, every time he gets desperate, he’ll be chasing as I lead the fight and that’s when I’ll finish it." – Marcus Davis provides SetantaSports.com with his gameplan for Paul Kelly at UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben,” which takes place at The National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England, on October 18. “The Irish Hand Grenade” also indicates that he is still not 100 percent because of a shoulder injury that he suffered prior to the unanimous decision loss — his first in 11 fights — to Mike Swick earlier this year. |
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