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| Frank Mir video: ‘Probably only 10 people in the world who can beat me in a fight’ Posted: 21 Jan 2009 08:15 AM CST |
| MMA Quick Quote: Fedor Emelianenko and Kirill Sidelnikov beat each other with branches Posted: 21 Jan 2009 12:27 AM CST
– The last man to hold the Pride FC heavyweight title, Fedor Emelianenko, reveals a bizarre (and perhaps antiquated) recuperative practice that he and his primary training partner, Kirill Sidelnikov, often rely on to stay fresh after training sessions. The sauna is located in a rundown house in Emelianenko’s hometown of Stary Oskol, Russia. The odd-looking procedure was demonstrated through fogged glass during the 60-minute “Baddest Man on the Planet” special, which aired on FOX Sports Net (FSN) this evening. If you missed the show, go watch it. Fedor is unlike any other major mixed martial arts fighter in the world on so many different levels. It’s remarkable, really. |
| Sean Sherk vs Frank Edgar UFC 98 fight on tap for May 23 Posted: 20 Jan 2009 09:28 PM CST
Former lightweight champion Sean Sherk (33-3) will attempt to get one step closer to reclaiming his 155-pound title when he collides with top division contender Frank Edgar (9-1) at UFC 98 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 23. MMAmania.com has learned from a source close to the Sherk camp that the bout has been agreed upon and will be a featured fight of the evening. Sherk failed to reclaim his title against BJ Penn at UFC 84: "Ill Will" back in May 2008. It was his first fight since being stripped of the title and suspended for six months because of a positive test for steroids that he refuted vigorously. At the ripe old age of 35, the “Muscle Shark” rebounded with unanimous decision win over Tyson Griffin at UFC 90: "Silva vs. Cote," demonstrating much improved striking skills. Primarily known for his overwhelming wrestling attack, Sherk’s most recent multidimensional approach earned him and Griffin the "Fight of the Night." He won the vacant title back in 2006, outpointing Kenny Florian on all three judges scorecards in a blood-soaked five-round bout. His loss to Penn -– the first since 2005 -– snapped a three fight win streak. Edgar recently sustained a knee injury, which forced him out of a high profile fight against Matt Wiman at UFC Fight Night 16: "Fight for the Troops" on December 10. He was replaced by Jim Miller — a surging prospect who Edgar defeated earlier in his career — on short notice. Prior to being scratched from that fight, “The Answer” rebounded from the first professional loss of his career to Gray Maynard (unanimous decision) at UFC Fight Night 13 to outpoint former number one contender Hermes Franca on all three judges scorecards at UFC Fight Night 14: "Silva vs. Irvin" in July 2008. The latter bout also earned "Fight of the Night" honors, making a showdown with Sherk — who is also a wrestler turned mixed martial artist — a possible up-and-down, back-and-forth action-packed battle. Edgar recently earned a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu while training at Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu in Hamilton, N.J., under Ricardo Almeida — the star pupil of Renzo Gracie. He is a decorated high school (Toms River High School East) and collegiate (Clarion University) wrestler out of Toms River, N.J., who also moonlights as an assistant wrestling coach at Rutgers University. Jim Miller, Tyson Griffin, Mark Bocek and Spencer Fisher are just a few of the notable opponents who Edgar has handled, which has helped him rise to the top of the very crowded UFC 155-pound division in short order. If he can add Sherk to that hit list it would be that much more impressive. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more announcements and fight card rumors regarding UFC 98. |
| Posted: 20 Jan 2009 06:16 PM CST
Try before you buy. Suffolk County Assemblyman Steven Englebright has introduced a bill to New York Legislators aimed at legalizing mixed martial arts in the “Empire State.” MMA is currently unregulated in New York, and appeared to be on the verge of being sanctioned in 2008, but some eleventh-hour concerns from uneducated members of the Assembly Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development scuttled its passage. Another session on the matter began in the state capital on January 7 and could be voted on as early as next week. The new bill up for consideration includes a three-year ‘Sunset Clause,’ which is basically a law with an expiration date. A sunset clause would give legislators an opportunity to study the sport of MMA and gauge its economic and social impact on the state of New York. The bill would expire after three years unless legislative action is taken to extend it. UFC Vice President for Government and Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner and president of the company Dana White are ratcheting up the economic rhetoric and financial success of its mixed martial events in hopes of using the economic benefits of live shows to influence voters who may be on the fence. Money talks … and the UFC has the numbers to back it up. An independent economic impact study indicated that the promotion would generate about $11.5 million for the "Big Apple." Still, it will have an uphill battle so long as detractors like Democratic Assemblyman Bob Reilly, who referred to the sport of MMA as a “Glorification of brutality and violence,” have their say in the vote. Keep your fingers crossed. Thanks to MMAmaniac “Mahde” for the heads up. |
| Affliction NYC press conference: Oscar de La Hoya is excited to be promoting MMA (Pic) Posted: 20 Jan 2009 05:35 PM CST
Check out more pictures from today’s press conference at Trump Tower in New York City to promote Affliction's "Day of Reckoning"after the jump.
Current WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko: M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein: Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio: The Donald: Golden Boy Promotions owner Oscar de La Hoya: For a recap of today’s press conference click here. |
| Fedor Emelianenko video ‘Road to Reckoning’ (Episode one) Posted: 20 Jan 2009 03:56 PM CST Touche, Mr. Arlovski: |
| Brian Stann vs Krzysztof Soszynski UFC 97 fight on tap Posted: 20 Jan 2009 03:44 PM CST A light heavyweight match up between The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 semi-finalist Krzysztof Soszynski and former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 205-pound champion Brian “All American” Stann (6-1) has been added to the UFC 97 card, according to MMAWeekly.com. “The Polish Experiment” is, unsurprisingly, of Polish decent. However, he resides in Winnipeg, Canada, making this a homecoming of sorts for him at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, on April 18. Soszynski defeated Mike Stewart (technical knockout) and Kyle Kingsbury (armbar) on TUF last season before losing to eventual runner-up Vinicius Magalhães in the semi-finals. He most recently competed at TUF 8 Finale in December, stopping Shane Primm with a second round submission. The Team Quest-trained fighter is currently riding a four-fight win streak after dropping his last two bouts in the now defunct International Fight League (IFL) to heavyweight Ben Rothwell (technical knockout) and light heavyweight Reese Andy (split decision). Soszynski trains under Dan Henderson in Temecula, Calif., along with training partner Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. He has a strong wrestling base, power in his both his hands and feet and solid submission skills to boot. Stann, on the other hand, is basically just a power puncher. In fact, all six of his career wins have been first round stoppages because of strikes. In his last fight at WEC 35 in August, he not only lost his 205 pound title to Steve Cantwell, but he was more or less exposed by Cantwell’s more technical striking. “The All American,” however, holds a previous win over Cantwell at WEC 26 nearly a year and a half ago. The former Marine was supposed to make his Octagon debut in December on the “Fight For the Troops” card in a rubber match with Cantwell, but had to back out with a foot injury. Cantwell went on to win his first fight in the UFC against replacement fighter Razak Al-Hassan. Stann now puts a third fight with his rival on the back burner to focus on potentially a much more difficult fight with the well rounded and more experienced Soszynski on April 18. Company President Dana White recently announced during the UFC 93 post-event press conference that Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua would square off in the main event of UFC 97. Stay locked to MMAmania.com for more on the developing fight card. |
| Miguel Torres in talks to face Brian Bowles at WEC 40 Posted: 20 Jan 2009 01:56 PM CST
At WEC 37: “Torres vs. Tapia” back in December, 135-pound champion Miguel Torres retained his title with a TKO victory over the previously undefeated Manny Tapia. Earlier that evening on same card, fellow bantamweight Brian Bowles defeated Will Ribeiro via guillotine choke to determine the future number one contender for Torres’ strap. Reports have surfaced that the Las Vegas based organization is set to officially announce the match up between Torres and Bowles for WEC 40 on April 5. A venue has yet to be determined for the event, but it will likely take place in Chicago, Illinois - a place that the 28 year old Torres has called home for many years. Fellow “Windy City” resident, UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar, told MMAmania.com about Torres’ early days fighting in Chicago during an interview last July. Here’s a snip:
Torres (35-1) shouldn’t have any trouble filling up an arena this time around either, considering he’s the bantamweight world champion and is widely considered the best 135-pounder in the world. In short, that city has been waiting for his return and they’re sure to go nuts for their hometown boy on April 5. The champ has put together four straight wins under the WEC banner beginning with his debut for the promotion in September of 2007 against Jeff Bedard, easily winning with a first round triangle choke. Following that he was granted a title shot against Chase Beebe at WEC 32 in February, also taking it early with a first round submission. Since that time he’s successfully defended his title on two occasions. Once in a memorable battle with Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 34, and then of course the second against Tapia in December. Torres is clearly established with over 35 pro fights to his credit. Bowles on the other hand, is one of the real up and coming prospects in the organization. He’s also put together four solid wins for the promotion over Charlie Valencia (submission), Marcos Galvao (knockout), Damacio Page (submission) and Will Ribeiro (submission). Bowles trains out of the “Hard Core” gym in Athens, which is considered the American Top Team of Georgia. Some other recognizable names that train there are Rory Singer, Cale Yarbrough, Stephen Ledbetter and others. No question he’s earned his number one contender spot, but he’ll be facing a stiff challenge against Torres in the champ’s hometown. The odds are clearly stacked against him and he’ll need to be at his absolute best on April 5 to stay competitive. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on WEC 40 as the card develops. |
| Affliction MMA press conference gives one last hurrah for Jan. 24 pay-per-view Posted: 20 Jan 2009 01:11 PM CST
Trump's Affliction Entertainment, M1 Global, and Oscar de La Hoya's Golden Boy Entertainment were all on hand today at Trump Tower in New York City to promote Affliction’s "Day of Reckoning" mixed martial arts event scheduled for January 24 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. "Day of Reckoning," will air live on pay-per-view (PPV) this Saturday at 10pm ET and feature one of the most anticipated fights in the history of the sport between WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC title holder Andrei Arlovski. Prior to the PPV broadcast, which will be produced and distributed by Showtime Networks Inc. in conjunction with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, several fights will be televised on the HDNet channel. In fact, a light heavyweight tilt between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Vladimir Matyushenko will headline the televised HDNet preliminary card that will serve as a lead in to the PPV event, which is slated to begin at 9pm ET on fight night. Emelianenko himself was on hand to perform his usual shtick of smiling and acting humble. It was surprising to see him making the media rounds so close to one of the biggest fights in his career, especially after he was so adamant about avoiding pre-fight distractions. Even more surprising was to see “The Baddest Man on the Planet” clomping around in a sweater that looks like it was found on the set of Sesame Street. Also in attendance was former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who continually referred to himself as “One of the best light heavyweights in the world.” “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” will serve as color commentator for Saturday’s event. Ortiz was heavy on the praise for Emelianenko, and even promised to fight him should he ever drop to 205 lbs. Rounding out the cast of characters was Boxing superstar Oscar de La Hoya, who tried very hard to sound sincere about his newfound passion for mixed martial arts, despite some initial awkwardness on the mic. Affliction honcho Tom Atencio wrapped things up with an adequate job of further promoting “Day of Reckoning,” and told those in attendance that he hopes to have four Affliction MMA shows per year, and an additional ten shows co-promoted with M1 Global for a total of fourteen events annually. |
| Dave Kaplan vs George Roop UFC 98 fight in the works Posted: 20 Jan 2009 10:27 AM CST Team Mir team members from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season eight, David Kaplan (2-2) and George Roop (8-4), will likely face off in a lightweight battle at UFC 98 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 23, according to AroundTheOctagon.com. Kaplan — an iron-chinned country capital-naming savant who cannot be knocked out – dropped his Octagon debut to Junie Browning via submission at TUF 8 Finale in December 2008. It was his second consecutive defeat, but the silver lining for "Diamond" is that the performance earned "Fight of the Night" honors. He was bounced by Phillipe Nover via first round submission during the 16-man tournament-style mixed martial arts reality series, which airs on Spike TV. Roop was also unsuccessful in his promotional debut at TUF 8 Finale, losing a close split decision to Shane Nelson. The result snapped a three-fight win streak for the Arizon native. Like Kaplan, Roop also fell victim to a Nover submission on the show during a semifinal match. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on UFC 98 and fight card updates — it appears that big things are in the works … literally. |
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