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| UFC 93 video trailer for ‘Franklin vs Henderson’ Posted: 19 Nov 2008 08:40 AM CST |
| Proposed UFC ad campaign to feature the impact of MMA on popular sports Posted: 19 Nov 2008 08:24 AM CST Props: HarbenPictures.com via LiftStudios.com Quoteworthy:
Check out the rest of the photos after the jump.
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| Fast and furious: Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral Strikeforce interview exclusive with MMAmania.com Posted: 18 Nov 2008 11:35 PM CST
Renato "Babalu" Sobral (30-7) doesn't make many excuses — sometimes it's your day, sometimes it's not. And sometimes you put a guy in an anaconda choke and don't let go until he learns his lesson. But one thing's for sure: when the cage door shuts this Friday night, November 21, at Strikeforce: "Destruction," Babalu is going to be nothing but business when he takes on the promotion's light heavyweight champion, Bobby Southworth (9-5). The event takes place at the HP Pavillion in San Jose, California and will air on HDNet. Fighting for the title of a signature MMA promotion like Strikeforce is a big step in the right direction for Babalu. After losing back-to-back fights to then-UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell (21-6) and Jason Lambert (23-9), and then being released by the UFC for refusing to relinquish a chokehold on David Heath (9-4), despite tapping, some thought Babalu's career might be in jeopardy. However, the submission wizard appears to have bounced back, posting three consecutive wins, including a three-round unanimous decision victory over Mike Whitehead (23-6) at Affliction: "Banned" back in July. He's now won 13 of his last 15 fights, which includes wins over Trevor Prangley (18-5), Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (16-3) and Jeremy Horn (80-18-5) all in the same night at IFC: "Global Domination." We caught up with the Gracie Barra Combat Team member to ask him about his recent win over Whitehead, the UFC's decision to cut him and about how a fighter makes his money these days (that is, not by signing exclusive contracts with only one promotion). Side note: Babalu's manager, Richard Wilner, recently told MMAmania.com, "Many fighters don't have speed coaches, but I have a feeling after they see this fight, a lot of fighters will be going out and hiring speed coaches." Babalu has been training with speed coach Rick Hagedorn from Speedburners for this fight. Let's get to it.
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You recently defeated Mike Whitehead (23-6) via unanimous decision at Affliction Banned. How do you feel about how that fight went, both the good and the bad? Babalu Sobral: Of course I wish I could have finished the fight, but I couldn't. Mike Whitehead is one of the toughest opponents I've had my whole life. But I'm very happy. He's one of the tough guys on the scene. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Fight fans were hoping to see you and Tito Ortiz square off at an Affliction event that never happened. I know that you two have traded jabs in the past. Is this a fight that you still want to see happen? Babalu Sobral: If the fight could happen, it'd be awesome. The chance to fight Tito would be amazing. But if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. What can I do? Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Is there still bad blood between you two? Babalu Sobral: There is nothing between us. It's not bad or good. It's all professional. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): After the incident with the UFC releasing you from your contract because of the David Heath incident, what was your reaction to that? Did you think that that was a double standard, given some of the crap other fighters have done in the past and who weren't released from their contracts? Babalu Sobral: I don't know. If they didn't (release other fighters), that's not my business. What they did to me … I made my mistake, I paid my bills, they kicked me off, they fined me for 25 Gs … I don't have any … that's in the past now. I look forward to the future. So if (a similar thing) happens to anybody, it's not my business. It just is what it is. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You've fought 10 times in the UFC, dating back to 2000. Would you ever like to return to the UFC? Do you think that will ever happen? Babalu Sobral: My future is now with Strikeforce on November 21 against Bobby Southworth. That's my future. (Note: We’ll get in touch with Babalu before his Matt Lindland fight on January 24 … he wanted to focus on Southworth during this interview.) Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well let's talk about that fight. It's for the Strikeforce light heavyweight title. What does it mean to you to be fighting for the title again, especially since this is the main event of such a strong promotion like Strikeforce? Where some of the other promotions have been failing, Strikeforce seems to be pushing right through. What does this opportunity mean to you? Babalu Sobral: It means a lot to me. Strikeforce is a good organization. They have pretty good fighters over there, and you have the chance to fight on NBC — that's pretty good. And I think it's a good challenge to fight Bobby. He's been a champion for a while. I go to fight and take his belt, that's what I'm going to do. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): What problems, if any, do you see a fighter like Bobby Southworth bringing to the table? Babalu Sobral: He's the champion. He's got skills. Of course he has skills, otherwise he wouldn't be the champion. He's got good hands, he's a good striker, and he has pretty good technique. But I'm training hard, and I'm going to walk through him. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Do you plan to keep the fight standing as long as possible, or would you prefer… Babalu Sobral: I plan to finish the fight as quick as possible. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): So do you think that you're going to have better luck on the ground? Babalu Sobral: I don't know. I don't know. It's a surprise (laughs). Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I heard that you recently opened up a new gym in Cerritos. Babalu Sobral: Yes, we opened my gym in Cerritos two weeks ago. Check us out at BabaluBJJ.com. Right now, I'm very focused on my fight, but when I finish my fight, I'll be back at my gym, working at my gym, teaching jiu-jitsu there in Cerritos in California. I'm very happy to have it. I have a lot of students, and my students are happy because they are going to watch my fight. They know, they talk to me and say, "Ah, this is fun, because now the guy we are watching on TV is the guy we are training with together." But the thing is, if you train jiu-jitsu, that's a lot of teaching. I now have a place for when I retire I have a place to stay and give my knowledge away. Give something back to martial arts that they gave to me my whole life. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): So are you living in the U.S. full time now? Babalu Sobral: Yes, that is correct. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I've also read that in the past, I don't know, six months or so, that you've signed several non-exclusive contracts with a variety of promotions. Obviously, there's the Affliction fight and now the upcoming Strikeforce fight. But I've also read about Hardcore Championship Fighting, Xcess Fighting, there was that Ring of Fire fight. Is that accurate that you have signed non-exclusive deals with multiple promotions? Babalu Sobral: That's the way everyone does. That way you can make money, when you need money, you can fight people who are the best at where they are. When they lock you down someplace, sometimes you don't have fights. You might have one fight, but … basically you're stuck in one place that doesn't have a fight for everybody. They care about the promotion, but they don't care about the fighters. The fighters have to make money to live. So really you are the best, but if you lose, they take you away. Still anything can happen in a fight. You train for two months, and 15 minutes, 25 minutes, have to prove what you are. Sometimes it doesn't happen, sometimes you have bad luck, sometimes you have a bad day. But you are still a fighter. But then, you can come back and make some money. Start training and make some money again. But if still lock yourself down in one place you might not make money. You can make money anywhere. I don't care if you have to make money to live. That's the kind of bullshit I don't like. But yes, we are under contract with Strikeforce and Affliction, no others. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): With both of those promotions having signed you, that should keep you busy well into 2009. Can we expect to see you fighting more frequently in 2009? Babalu Sobral: Oh definitely. Definitely. I have a chance to fight more and work more. That's what I want to do. I want to fight more, as much as possible. Not because of money, just because I like to fight (laughs). Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, I can tell you that there are a lot of fight fans who are looking forward to this fight between you and Bobby. I really appreciate the time you took to talk with us, and I wanted to give you an opportunity to plug any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans. Babalu Sobral: Keep looking for my next bout. I'm going to take his belt, and I'm going to be champion of Strikeforce. I'd first like to thank MMAmania.com for this opportunity. I'd like to thank Strikeforce for the opportunity, as well as Affliction for being able to work together to allow this fight to happen. The fight wouldn't be possible without the support of sponsors who have been very good to us, including Affliction as an apparel sponsor, Hitman and Metal Mulisha. Thanks to Dr. Scott Connelly of Progenics. Thanks to all the coaches and training partners, including Marcio Feitosa, my jiu-jitsu coach and head instructor of Gracie Barra; Justin Fortune, my boxing coach of Fortune Gym in Hollywood; Rick Hagedorn, my speed coach from Speedburners. Thanks to my strength coach Eric Arevalo of Virtus Strength and Conditioning; and Erik Paulson from Combat Submission Wrestling (CSW) and Josh Barnett. Special thanks to Richard Wilner, "Babalu" Sobral's manager, for helping make this interview happen, as well as Strikeforce Vice President Mike Afromowitz. |
| MMA Quick Quote: Brock Lesnar would not make it out of first round against Fedor Emelianenko Posted: 18 Nov 2008 11:31 PM CST
– MMA’s “Baghdad Bob,” er, M-1 Global American Vice President Jerry Millen issues a statement via MMAWeekly.com regarding the likely result of a potential match up between WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and newly crowned UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar that will more than likely never happen anytime soon - if ever. Unsurprisingly, the Russian cyborg heaps praise on Randy Couture — the man who Lesnar defeated at UFC 91 — for his performance against the former WWE superstar during the interview. The two have quite a bit of history together. So too do White and Millen. It’s epic. Google it. |
| Will fight for food: A conversation with Strikeforce middleweight Tony Johnson Posted: 18 Nov 2008 11:19 PM CST
With just three days to prepare, Johnson stepped up to face Marcus Gaines at the War Gods event on September 21 at the Salinas Sports Complex in Salinas California and stopped the more experienced Gaines in just 25 seconds. As Johnson tells MMAmania.com (www.MMAmania.com), taking the fight was his only option, regardless of the time frame, because it had the potential to give him unprecedented exposure. “We fought in Selinas, California in the War Gods Show. It’s a local show here, but they are doing a reality show with it. It’s airing on Comcast. It seems to be a big deal here in California.” It’s not uncommon for fighters to be injured in training, and an unfortunate mishap at the American Kickboxing Academy left Gaines original opponent taking an unscheduled nap in the middle of training camp. “One of our partners Nate Moore was getting ready to fight {Gaines} and in training he actually suffered a knockout with Trevor Prangley so they needed someone to fill in at the last second. I took the fight on about three days notice.” Taking a fight with only three days notice can present enormous obstacles for a fighter and often times leave them unprepared for their opponent. In addition to being physically unprepared, trying to formulate a gameplan for a fighter you know little about can be a tremendous challenge. “I had no clue what Marcus was about. I knew he was a seasoned fighter. He had like 15 fights. Just went out there, 25 seconds, knocked him out! Got in and got out real quick. So it was pretty nice.” Not only did Johnson get by unscathed, he also got the opportunity to get himself some airtime on the reality show they were filming during the event. And if that reality show doesn’t do him justice, there is another one that seems to be pretty successful at elevating fighters to mainstream status. “I tried out for the reality show for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) and so hopefully that will go through and I’ll get the nod on that.” But Johnson knows he can’t start looking ahead. Before he makes it to the big time, he’ll have to find a way to get past the talented Eric Lawson this Friday at Strikeforce “Destruction” in San Jose. Lawson has won all three of his Strikeforce fights via rear naked choke. “I’m looking forward to this Eric Lawson fight. He’s 7-2 and he’s a real strong wrestler. He’s really made a name for himself in Strikeforce. This will be a good fight. If I can look impressive and if I can get a good win here I’d like to make Strikforce my home - if the TUF thing doesn’t work out. But I’m really looking forward to the reality show.” For Johnson there is no turning back now. Success means not only fame and possibly fortune, but a one-way ticket out of his mobile home and into the grocery store. “I gotta eat! I work at LA Boxing. I’m a trainer. But that’s it, a part time gig for some extra money. I live in an RV right now to be honest with you, in a parking lot. Every day I wake up in that RV in the parking lot, I know it’s time for me to go to work and after the fight is over I need to get paid and get the hell out of that RV.” On November 21, he’ll finally have his chance. As far as a prediction, he doesn’t offer a win or loss, but does promise one thing: “It is going to be a hell of a fight.” For more on Tony, check out his Web site here and MySpace page here. |
| UFC 94 video Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn media tour (Part 2) Posted: 18 Nov 2008 09:30 PM CST |
| UFC 94: Jon Fitch vs Akihiro Gono (Exclusive) Posted: 18 Nov 2008 07:44 PM CST
Top welterweight contender Jon Fitch (17-3) and Akihiro Gono (29-13-7) have been offered bout agreements to face off once and for all at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs Penn 2″ on January 31 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, MMAmania.com (www.mmamania.com) has learned. This fight was originally scheduled for UFC 82 “Pride of a Champion” back in March at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, until a hand injury suffered by Gono forced Chris Wilson to step in and take his place. Fitch would go on to defeat Wilson, his eighth straight victory in the UFC, before losing a violent five round decision to welterweight deity Georges “Rush” St. Pierre in their championship match from UFC 87 “Seek and Destroy” on August 9. Fitch will be facing a very experienced competitor in Gono. A longtime veteran of Japanese MMA including PRIDE, Pancrase and Shooto brings both a well-rounded style and a colorful personality. Gono is an even 1-1 so far in his UFC career. After submitting Tamdan McCrory via armbar at UFC 78 he came up on the losing end of a split-decision against the venerable Dan Hardy at UFC 89. UFC 94 is the blockbuster Super Bowl weekend pay-per-view (PPV) event for the promotion, which features the welterweight superfight between former 170-pound champion and current lightweight kingpin BJ Penn versus reigning welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Unbeaten light heavyweight contenders Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva are also booked to finally hook ‘em up to determine the top division contender to start the 2009 fight season. To check out the latest UFC 94 fight card and rumors click here. |
| Strikeforce weigh-in details and information for ‘Destruction’ Posted: 18 Nov 2008 07:25 PM CST
The weigh-ins for the event will take place on Thursday, November 20 at the Palm Court in the lobby area of Hotel DeAnza starting at 5:30pm PT. For those in town looking to rub elbows, take pictures and get autographs from some of the fighters remember that the weigh-ins are FREE to attend and open to the public. MMA veterans Yves Edwards and Duane “Bang” Ludwig will face off at a catch weight of 164 pounds after lightweight champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson was forced to bow out of the match due to a foot injury. Also in action is former Elite XC middleweight contender Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith. He’ll be taking on the heavy-handed Terry Martin in what looks to be a recipe for a great stand-up battle. Welterweights Luke Stewart and Joe “Diesel” Riggs will also square off in a fight that was supposed to go down earlier this summer at the “Melendez vs. Thomson” event in June. Riggs is coming off a controversial loss to Kazuo Misaki at “Strikeforce at the Mansion II” while Stewart pulled off a first round submission win over Jesse Juarez to get back in the win column after losing his MMA debut to Tiki Ghosn back in March. Kim Couture, wife of former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture will also be featured in main card action in just her second career pro fight when she takes on Lina Kvokov. Here is the complete line-up: Main event: 205 lbs.: Light Heavyweight Champion Bobby Southworth (9-5) vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral (30-7) Main card (Televised): 155 lbs.: Yves Edwards (34-14-1) vs. Duane “Bang” Ludwig (17-8) Under card (May not be broadcast): 175 lbs.: Lemont Davis (2-1) vs. Brian Schwartz (0-1) Be sure to check back Thursday evening for the complete weigh-in results. MMAmania.com will be the spot for all your Strikeforce: “Destruction” news and updates, so check in early and often on fight night. We will provide up to the minute results beginning at 10pm ET with the HDNet broadcast. |
| (Way) Over the top: UFC creator launches full contact arm wrestling tournament Posted: 18 Nov 2008 06:13 PM CST
Somewhere out there Rick Zumwalt is rolling over in his grave. UFC creator Art Davie has decided to add a new and bizarre entry into the world of combat sports with his newest creation: The XARM Heavyweight Tournament. Set to debut on November 19 in San Bernardino, California and televised live on RipeTV.com, the XARM Tournament does what drunk people have been doing in bars and saloons for over a hundred years: Arm wrestling and kicking ass. Think of Bull Hurley’s cheap shot on Lincoln Hawk in the finals of Over the Top and you pretty much have the premise for his entire sport. Either that or Davie was sitting around the house getting high and contemplating which sport he could put an X in front of to capitalize on the popularity of televised fighting. Here’s what to expect, courtesy of MarketWatch.com:
Earlier this year we were treated to YAMMA Pit Fighting, the bastard child of another UFC pioneer in Bob Meyrowitz. Considering how well that panned out, the chances for Davie and his vision of killer handshakes are a bit bleak. Still, it’s going to be available for free on the Internet, so I’m willing to give it a fair shake. What else is there to watch on Wednesday nights? Oh, right. |
| Paulo Filho likely released from WEC contract and will not fight in UFC … for now Posted: 18 Nov 2008 01:18 PM CST
Paulo Filho — the last man to hold the WEC middleweight title (albeit under bizarre circumstances) — has apparently been cut by Zuffa following his unanimous decision loss to Chael Sonnen last month and will not join the the UFC roster once the promotion dissolves its 185-pound category, according to WrestlingObserver.com via FiveOuncesOfPain.com. Filho signed with the WEC last year with an undefeated record (14-0) and a reputation as one of the top 185 pounders in the world. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist was brought in to bolster the credibility of the division and help the organization grow. Therefore, it came as no surprise that he was granted an immediate opportunity to challenge Joe Doerksen for the vacant division title in just his first fight with the promotion. Filho made a statement out of Doerksen with a first round technical knockout, sending notice to all other WEC middleweights that this division was now his. The promotion wasted no time in getting its champion back into action with his first title defense against Sonnen at WEC 31 just four months later. Filho was a huge favorite to win the bout and nobody gave the challenger much of a chance to win. However, Sonnen came to fight that night. He dictated the pace and controlled where the action went with his wrestling base and reach advantage. He was clearly ahead on the scorecards before the champ slipped in a fight-ending armbar late in the second round to retain his title. Most people chalked up the poor performance by Filho to a simple case of him just having a bad night, but behind the scenes there was a lot more going on. It was revealed shortly thereafter that Filho was in the midst of a long-term battle with depression and substance abuse. Accordingly, he clearly was not devoting himself completely to fighting and for the first time it showed up in his performance. A rematch with Sonnen was postponed for almost a year while the promotion allowed Filho time to recover from his illnesses and return to form as one of the best in the world. Many people believed he had done just that during his time away from competing and that it would show during the fight at WEC 36. Clearly that wasn’t the case. He came into the weigh-ins for the bout at a staggering seven pounds over the 185 pound division limit. It was obvious then — and even more so throughout the fight — that he was still dealing with a lot of personal demons that were preventing him from competing at the level we all knew he capable of competing at. Filho holds career wins over Kazuo Misaki, Ninja Rua, Ryo Chonon, Yuki Kondo and plenty of other world class caliber fighters. The talent and skill set is there, but for the time being he clearly has a few screws that need some tightening. This move by Zuffa comes as no surprise. Two years ago Filho could have easily made the move to the UFC and been more than competitive, but as of right now, he’s just not ready. This is an important time in his life, not only as a fighter, but as a human being. Hopefully he can get the professional help he needs to get his life in order. nd then maybe we as fans will get the opportunity to see this talented fighter back in action at 100 percent … maybe even in the UFC. |
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