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| Strikeforce: ‘Challenger Series’ weigh in results for May 15 event at Save Mart Center Posted: 14 May 2009 10:18 PM PDT
The 20 fighters set to compete at Strikeforce: “Challenger Series” tomorrow night (Friday, May 15) at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif., today tipped the scales at the nearby World Sports Café. According to Strikeforce officials, all participants hit their respective marks, even though it appears that some of them may have come in a bit heavy. Perhaps some mutual concessions were made prior to the event to ensure that all the fights would go on as planned without penalty. BJ Penn protege, “Iron” Mike Aina, is now officially set to take on undefeated Muay Thai specialist, Billy Evangelista, in the main even of the evening. An interesting 135-pound female match up between Miesha Tate and last minute replacement, Sarah Kaufman, will serve as an exciting co-featured fight of the night. Also in action will be Anthony Ruiz, Lavar “Big” Johnson, Aaron Rosa, Bao Quach and others who will all attempt to make the best of their opportunities to show what they can do in front of a live audience on the premium cable network, Showtime. Check out the complete weigh in results for "Strikeforce: Challenger Series after the jump:
*Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than their respective division limits in non title fights. Strikeforce: “Challenger Series” will air live tomorrow night (Friday, May 15), beginning at 11 p.m. ET on Showtime. Remember that MMAmania.com will provide live fight coverage of the televised main card action … so check in early and often for the latest updates. For more information on Strikeforce: “Challenger Series” check out our archive right here. |
| Lashley, Prangley, Eastman and others weigh-in for MFC 21: ‘Hard Knocks’ Posted: 14 May 2009 08:42 PM PDT
Maximum Fighting Championships (MFC) today held the official weigh in for "Hard Knocks," which is an event set to go down from the River Cree Resort and Casino tomorrow evening (Friday, May 15). MFC 21: “Hard Knocks” features a ton of familiar names and faces, including former WWE star Bobby "The Dominator" Lashley (2-0), stepping into the ring against Frank Shamrock-trained Mike Cook (7-3) prior to his colossal pay-per-view (PPV) clash against Bob Sapp set for Prize Fight Promotions on June 27. In the main event, reigning light heavyweight champ Emanuel Newton (13-3) will defend his title for the first time against the well-traveled Trevor Prangley (19-5). Prangley, who is originally from Cape Town, South Africa, has won eight of his last nine fights and holds career wins over such notables as Ultimate Fighter reality show winner Travis Lutter, Yuki Kondo and Chael Sonnen. Two light heavyweight bouts will also be front and center at “Hard Knocks:” David Heath (11-4), who is coming off an electrifying victory over former MFC champion Roger Hollett at MFC 20, will match up against rugged Travis "The Gladiator" Galbraith (16-6) and the always-explosive Aron "The Poster Boy" Lofton (6-1) takes on heavy-handed Marvin "The Beastman" Eastman (15-9). It should be a great night of mixed martial arts action indeed — be sure to check it out if you can. In the meantime, here are the complete weigh in results for MFC 21: "Hard Knocks:"
*Whitford forfeits 25 percent of his purse to Lewis. The fight will still take place. Remember that MFC 21: “Hard Knocks” will air LIVE throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico on HDNet Fights at 10 p.m. ET. For the latest and greatest on all things MFC click here. |
| Rashad Evans, Dan Severn and more on ESPNs ‘MMA Live’ (Video) Posted: 14 May 2009 08:25 PM PDT |
| Dana White: Tom Atencio is an effing ‘loser’ and a ‘goof’ Posted: 14 May 2009 04:41 PM PDT
Props: Cage Writer Quoteworthy:
UFC President Dana White responds to recent comments from Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio about a possible showdown some day in the future. Atencio made the remarks during a recent press conference to promote his upcoming welterweight fight against Randy Hedderick at "Ultimate Chaos," which is scheduled for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss., on June 27. White is clearly not interested — or impressed — with his now rival’s offer. Should he be? |
| Changing styles: Frank Edgar exclusive UFC 98 interview with MMAmania.com Posted: 14 May 2009 11:56 AM PDT
It's hard to believe, but it's been nearly a year since we last saw Frank Edgar inside the Octagon. And if he has it his way, we're going to see a new and improved fighter at UFC 98. We'll call it Frankie 2.0. Tracing Edgar's UFC career, you might not think this guy needs to change things up. He's got a winning formula: he's a four-time national-qualifying collegiate wrestler with great standup and a lot of flexibility (just ask Tyson Griffin). It was enough to amass an undefeated record (5-0, including a win over Jim Miller) to earn a berth into the world's top MMA organization, where he went on to secure hard-fought victories over Griffin, Mark Bocek and Spencer Fisher. In the process, he began redefining the "decision victory," shattering the myth that fights that go to the judges' scorecards are somehow boring and picking up a “Fight of the Night” award in the process. In April 2008, Edgar faced Gray Maynard in perhaps his only fight we've seen that wasn't a complete barn-burner. Maynard used his size and strength to keep Edgar on the ground for most of the fight, eking out the unanimous decision victory and securing himself a spot near the front of the UFC's lightweight pack. The good new is it didn't take long for Edgar to bounce back. Just three months later, Edgar bettered former number one contender Hermes Franca to earn his second “Fight of the Night” honors. He was supposed to follow that up with a December 2008 bout against Matt Wiman, who was on a hot streak of his own, at UFC: "Fight for the Troops." The fight was not to be. A week and a half before, Edgar blew out his knee in training and was forced to withdraw. Miller took his place, out-wrestled the explosive Wiman, and the rest, as they say, is history. Which brings us to today and, certainly, Edgar's biggest challenge to date: former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk. The "Muscle Shark's" body looks like a He-Man action figure … only six or seven inches taller. If “The Answer” had trouble countering Maynard's size and strength, how will he adjust to Sherk? That's what we intend to find out, come Saturday, May 23 at UFC 98: "Evans vs. Machida," when Edgar (9-1) takes on Sherk (33-3-1). It's part of the main card lineup for the pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast, airing live at 10:00 p.m. ET from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. We recently caught up with Edgar, who for the past year has trained at the Ricardo Almeida Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Hamilton, N.J., while continuing to serve as an assistant coach to the Rutgers University wrestling team. We talked about the challenges of putting on weight, his fights with Maynard, Franca and Griffin, and what we have to look forward to, come May 23. He assured us to be ready … because you just might see an all-new Frankie Edgar:
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You last fought Hermes Franca to a unanimous decision victory. Considering Franca is a former number one contender, how big was that win for you? Frank Edgar: Yeah, that was definitely a huge win for me, especially since I was coming off a loss. I was just happy that the UFC gave me the opportunity to fight a tough guy like Hermes. Like you say, he's a former number one contender, so I felt that could definitely put me right back in the picture. And I think it did, obviously, getting this opportunity to fight Sherk. So yeah, that was definitely huge. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You haven't fought since July due to a knee injury … Frank Edgar: Yeah, I was supposed to fight in December, but I hurt my knee, so I had to pull out of that one. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): How's the knee doing now? Frank Edgar: Now it's all good, I'm ready to go. One hundred percent. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You're just, what, 27 years old but already have 10 fights under your belt against some top, top lightweight competitors — guys like Tyson Griffin, Spencer Fisher, Jim Miller, Gray Maynard and most recently against Hermes Franca. Which fight was your favorite and why? Frank Edgar: I'd say my fight with Jim and Tyson were my toughest fights. I mean, obviously, I lost against Gray, but I didn't get beat up too much in that fight. But with Tyson and Jim, they were tough, tough fights. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You train with Ricardo Almeida out of Hamilton, New Jersey. How long have you trained jiu-jitsu, and how would you compare your focus on your ground game with that of your standup? Frank Edgar: I've been training jiu-jitsu as soon as I got in the game, but I've been with Ricardo for the past year, so that just elevated it ten-fold, being with someone at that level. I try and do everything as evenly as possible. Some things slack as you go, but I try to balance it out as best I can between all three different disciplines. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You next face Sean Sherk at UFC 98. Have you changed up anything in your routine to help you prepare for this fight? Have you brought in any new training partners or coaches? Frank Edgar: Not so much. I'm definitely working my wrestling with my wrestlers up at Rutgers University. Sean has a strong wrestling base. I've been working my boxing, sparring with good guys, and my jiu-jitsu, because there's a good chance I could end up on my back. So I'm trying to prepare for all different situations and scenarios. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): In his last few fights, Sherk has talked about how he's been working on his boxing. He always points that out. Do you think he'll try and stand with you, or do you think he'll be forced to go back to his bread and butter and try to take you down? Frank Edgar: I think Sherk's a well-rounded fighter. I think he's going to do it all. I think he will try for the takedown if it's there, and I think he's willing to throw some leather. So it's going to make for an interesting fight. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): In your lone loss to Gray Maynard, he seemed to use his size and strength well to his advantage by holding you down and preventing you from exercising your game plan. Given that Sherk is one of the bigger lightweights, what lessons have you learned from the Maynard fight? How do you plan to counter his shear size and strength? Is it about maintaining distance? Frank Edgar: I think my jiu-jitsu is definitely better off my back, so that's going to help me in the event that I do get taken down. I've put on some size since the Maynard fight. I was a little small for the weight at the time. I feel that I've been chipping away at that as best I can. Putting on weight is not as easy as people think, especially if you're doing it while training as hard as we train in order to get in shape for fights. But I've been putting some size and strength on, so I'm sure that'll come into play a little bit. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): What do you weigh about? Frank Edgar: I'm like a little over '65 right now,* being that I'm really in pretty good shape, the metabolism is kicking in. When you train two or three times a day, it's tough to keep that weight on. *(NOTE: This interview was conducted on Tuesday night, May 12.) Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Both you and Sherk have faced a couple of common opponents, including Franca and Griffin. Both fights were unanimous decisions in your favor, as they were for Sherk. When it comes to game planning, how much of a role do those fights play? Frank Edgar: In my mind, the Tyson fight is hard to compare with Sherk's Tyson fight, because for both me and Tyson it was pretty early in our careers. I think we both improved a lot since then. I think we're different fighters now than we were then. The Hermes fight, both me and Sherk pretty much did the same exact thing to Hermes. So that just shows how evenly matched and how similar fighters we both are. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I gotta say your fight against Tyson Griffin is one of my all-time favorite fights. Frank Edgar: (Laughs.) Thanks. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): He had you in that knee bar at the end of the third. Were you close to tapping from that? Frank Edgar: No. I mean it hurt. Some people may have tapped. My knee definitely popped. It was a pretty tight knee bar. I saw on the screen how much time was left, so in my head I just said, "Let's just go and ride it out. It is what it is at this point." Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I was at home tapping on the couch. Frank Edgar: (Laughs.) Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Do you think the injury — the fact that you haven't fought in almost a year — do you think there's going to be any rust there? Frank Edgar: No, I don't think so, because I trained for that fight I was supposed to fight in December. I hurt myself pretty much a week and a half before the fight. So I had a whole training camp up until that fight. So it was almost like I trained for a fight, I just didn't get that end product. I just think it's going to actually give me the opportunity to be a totally different fighter than I was when I fought a year ago. It's tough to see a difference in fighters when they fight so often, but with some time off, hopefully people will see a big change in my style. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Who do you like in the upcoming lightweight title fight between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian? Frank Edgar: Yeah, I don't know, that's going to be a tough one. I'm definitely interested to see how Penn bounces back from that loss to St. Pierre. I know Florian is very tactical and strategic, so I'm interested to see his game plan in that fight. I'm a fan just like everyone else, so I'm wondering myself. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Hey, Frank, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. I wanted to give you a chance to thank any sponsors or if you have any parting words for your fans? Frank Edgar: I just want to thank my teammates, Ricardo Almeida and my boxing coach, Mark Henry, and all my training partners. And to my fans, thanks for the support and tune in May 23. |
| UFC 98 pre-fight drug test results come back clean from the NSAC for ‘Evans vs. Machida′ Posted: 14 May 2009 11:53 AM PDT
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has confirmed that 4 of the 22 competitors who were tested for illegal/banned substances prior to competing at UFC 98: "Evans vs. Machida″ at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 23 have all passed with flying colors. Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk along with Frank Edgar and former UFC welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra were all screened for performance enhancers such as steroids, as well as drugs of abuse like cocaine and marijuana, among others. Results of those tests all returned negative. The fighters mentioned above were randomly selected. However, athletic commissions typically test the main card participants, as well as those who have failed tests in the past. Sherk was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission following his July 2007 UFC title defense win over Hermes Franca, and as a result was required to test before his UFC 84 fight against B.J. Penn. This time however, Sherk’s name was selected at random. Pre-fight testing is designed to prevent fighters from cycling off certain banned substances as they get closer to fight night. If the threat of testing looms both before and after a fight, there is a better chance of deterring those who consider using performance enhancing drugs. UFC 98 will feature the light heavyweight title fight between Rashad Evans and undefeated challenger Lyoto Machida. Also on the May 23 card, former UFC welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra will finally settle their eternal grudge match. For the latest UFC 98 fight card and rumors click here. |
| UFC completes main card for ‘Declaration’ on August 8 Posted: 14 May 2009 10:59 AM PDT
It has a stellar main event, a blockbuster special attraction — and now UFC 101 has a name. ‘Declaration’ will feature a main event between lightweight champion BJ Penn and number one contender Kenny Florian, as well as UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, stepping up once again to compete at light heavyweight against former 205-pound champion, Forrest Griffin. The UFC finally completed the main card portion of the show after confirming the long rumored main event between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian via its official website. Tickets for the August 8 event, which is slated for the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, May 23 at 10 a.m. ET. UFC Fight Club members and UFC Newsletter subscribers, naturally, will be able to scoop up tickets prior to them being available for public consumption on May 21 and 22, respectively. UFC 101 tickets can also be purchased through StubHub.com (Note: StubHub often has seats available even if the event is "sold out"). It will also be available to watch on pay-per-view (PPV) at 10 p.m. ET on fight night. Check out the finalized main card for UFC 101 fight card after the jump:
Main event: UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian Main card (Televised): 205 lbs.: Forrest Griffin vs. Anderson Silva Under card (May not be broadcast): 170 lbs.: John Howard vs. Tamdan McCrory *Fight not official confirmed by UFC.com. For more on UFC 101 stay dialed in to MMAmania.com and remember to check out our event archive right here. |
| Kenny Florian promotes UFC 101 on Good Day Philadelphia (Video) Posted: 14 May 2009 10:41 AM PDT |
| Bobby Lashley bringing out ‘The Beast’ in Bob Sapp on June 27 Posted: 14 May 2009 10:13 AM PDT
BILOXI, Miss. (May 14, 2009) – Styles make fights and the June 27 main event match-up between contrasting MMA fighters, kick-boxer Bob "The Beast" Sapp and wrestler Bobby Lashley, features a potential instant classic of pure entertainment on the "Ultimate Chaos" pay-per-view event live from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi. The imposing 6-4, 350-pound Sapp (10-3-1), who played in the NFL for four years before becoming an iconic combat fighter in Japan, wants to brawl on his feet while the chiseled 6-3, 265-pound former WWE star Lashley (2-0), 3-time NCAA champion (1996-98) and 4-time All-America wrestler at Missouri Valley College, prefers to ground and pound. "Ultimate Chaos," presented by Prize Fight Promotions and Fight Force International, in association with the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum, Treasure Bay Casino and Budweiser, is being produced and distributed by Gotham MMA and Integrated Sports at 9:00PM ET/6:00PM PT in the United States on cable and satellite via iNDemand, TVN and DirecTV for a suggested retail price of only $29.95. Sapp starred as an offensive lineman on the University of Washington's football team, winning the prestigious Morris Award, and he was selected in the third round of the NFL draft in 1997 by the Chicago Bears. Bob turned to pro wrestling after football and was later recruited by PRIDE in Japan, where his incredible size, strength and bull-rush style made him an instant fan favorite. He went on to star in K-1 as well as become an actor, playing roles in movies like The Longest Yard and Elektra.
"This fight is what fight fans want to see," Sapp said. "It's intriguing and will be very entertaining. Bobby is bringing 'The Beast' out in me- I want to brawl. I'm the last person to say I'm a submission artist. I want to box. I'm a brawler. I'm going to come at him with my long arms and legs, punching and kicking. He's going to come strong at me, trying to take me off balance, but I'll come back with a straight right knee to his jaw and follow with a left hook. He's never been hit by anybody like me. He's new on the MMA scene. Bobby's more or less a grounder and pounder who wants to slam me and hold me down. He'll throw in some elbows and maybe some new, slick MMA moves. What's left? "I'm a huge test for him, which says a lot about Bobby. He has no fear of getting cracked real hard. It could be a flash knockdown or an accumulation of punches, which does worse damage and is tougher to get over. Bobby's powerful, his slams are strong and he does have some pro wrestling moves. But I'll be faster than he imagines. If he wants to be a star in MMA, he needs a more entertaining style of fighting, one that I've built by career on. I'm more of an entertaining fighter than typical MMA guy." After graduating from Missouri Valley College, Lashley joined the U.S. Army and was a 2-time Armed Forces Champion and 2002 Military Games Championship silver medalist. Two years ago, Lashley became a WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) superstar, joining Donald Trump at Wrestlemania 23 in a bet against WWE president Vince McMahon. Lashley won the match and helped Trump shave McMahon's head in the ring. Bobby made his MMA debut last December 13, stopping Joshua Franklin only 0.41 into the opening round, and March 21 he won a 3-round decision versus 37-fight veteran Jason Guida in Pensacola (FL). "This fight is going to let fans in the U.S. know that Bob's still around," Sapp added. "I've been fighting for organizations all over the world, in a ring, not a cage. I want to go at it and make all my fights exciting. I'll be training 20 days in a Judo center in Japan (for a DREAM show there in late May) and it'll be the first time that I'm only training for an MMA fight – no movies, no television, just training everyday. It's a great opportunity for me and American fans are going to see the real Beast." In a co-feature that could be the main event on most cards, former UFC title challenger and feared Brazilian striker, Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo (16-8-0), takes on controversial Dutch heavyweight Gilbert "The Hurricane" Yvel (35-13-3). Dangerous lightweight Din "Dinyero" Thomas (24-8-0), star of The Ultimate Fighter 4, faces former KOTC and Gladiator Challenge champion Javier "Showtime" Vasquez; Canadian lightweight sensation Chris "The Polish Hammer" Horodecki (12-1-0) meets dangerous William "The Bull" Sriyapai (12-4-0). Also fighting on the card are welterweights Brett Cooper (8-4-0) vs. Waachiim "Native Warrior" Spirit Wolf (5-4), Affliction vice president Tom Atencio (1-0) vs. lightweight Randy Hedderick, middleweight James Orso (3-2-0) vs. Colby McMahan (1-0-0), middleweight Danny Abbadi (3-4-0) vs. Lance Thomson (1-0-0), and welterweight Eric Bradley (2-1-0) vs. Colin McKee (3-2-0). All fights and fighters are subject to change. Tickets are priced at $25.00 (limited discount seating), $40.00 (general admission) and $55.00 (premium reserved seating) and sale at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum and all TicketMaster outlets. For more information go to www.theultimatechaos.com, www.fightforce.org or www.mscoastcoliseum.com. Doors open at 5PM/CT, first fight 6 PM/CT, and the first PPV fight is at 8 PM/CT. |
| Grappling champion Roger Gracie in talks with Strikeforce Posted: 14 May 2009 09:47 AM PDT
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently confirmed that he's been in talks with and may be close to signing Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizard Roger Gracie (2-0) according to a report over at Sports Illustrated. Gracie can boast to having one of the slickest ground games in the world, winning accolades such as the CBJJ World Championships and also the ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships several times. In his first few mixed martial arts outings, he would fire off some quick impressive submission victories over veterans of the sport. He made his debut back at Bodog's 'USA vs. Russia' event in December of 2006, forcing Ron Waterman to tap to an armbar. Then he would go on to coax Yuki Kondo into a fight ending rear naked choke back at 'Sengoku 2' last May. The Gracie family member and jiu-jitsu phenom has not competed since then and has been out of action for quite some time with his mixed martial arts career seemingly hitting a roadblock in recent times. He was set to take on Travis Wiuff at 'Sengoku 5' on September 28 of last year until an errant kick during sparring caused what his camp described as "An intermuscular tear to the intercostal muscle between the sixth and seventh left ribs.” World Victory Road officials question whether the injury sustained was genuine or not and even went so far as to accuse him of faking his way out of a fight.
Hopefully that's the last of any bad luck for him and he can finally get back on track. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was also adamant about not throwing Gracie to the wolves and letting him build on his already exceptional skills. Here’s a snip:
Hopefully this talented prospect will get back into the thick of it again, and by the looks of things could be heading to a Showtime card real soon. |
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