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- Puppet Master: Jens Pulver WEC 41 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com
- MMA Quick Quote: Nick Diaz baited a ‘burnt out’ Scott Smith
- Mike Kyle video talks upset KO over ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante during June 6 Strikeforce event
- Gilbert Melendez set to rematch Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thompson on August 15
- Strikeforce: ‘Lawler vs Shields’ recap and final thoughts
- LIVE Strikeforce results and coverage tonight (June 6) for Lawler vs Shields!
- Gina Carano vs Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos confirmed for August 15 Strikeforce event
- WEC 41 weigh in results for ‘Brown vs Faber 2’
- Cheick Kongo video on Cain Velasquez UFC 99 fight and more
- Lyoto Machida vs Mauricio Rua confirmed for UFC 104 on October 24
| Puppet Master: Jens Pulver WEC 41 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com Posted: 07 Jun 2009 02:16 AM PDT
Jens Pulver (22-11-1) was once a scrappy collegiate wrestler with stellar stand-up skills who captured the UFC's first-ever lightweight title. That was at UFC 30 in 2001. "Lil Evil" would go on to defend his title two more times — including earning a majority decision win over BJ Penn — before leaving the UFC to fight in various other MMA promotions, including Shooto, PRIDE and the IFL. He also boxed professionally. Since returning to the Zuffa family in 2006, Pulver has dropped to featherweight and earned a shot at the WEC featherweight title, but lost the five-round unanimous decision to then-champion Urijah Faber. Then came a first-round TKO loss to Leonard Garcia (which earned Garcia a title shot), followed by a rematch with Faber and another loss (this one coming by way of guillotine choke in the first round). Before you knew it, Pulver had lost five of his last six fights, albeit to stiff competition. MMA fans and commentators alike began wondering if we're witnessing the beginning of the end of a legendary career. Has the sport passed him by? Ever the realist, Pulver admits the sport did start to pass him by during his "three-year slump." But just as many in his situation would choose to move on to something else, Pulver sees it as a chance to continue learning, continue to grow and evolve as the sport evolves. You can, as he sees it, teach an old dog new tricks. In many ways, Pulver faces the biggest test of his career Sunday night, June 7, at WEC 41: "Brown vs. Faber 2," when the 33-year-old elder statesman meets 20-year-old rising talent Josh Grispi (12-1), who many have called a "new breed" of fighter. As Pulver notes, when you're on a skid at this point in your career, every fight is your biggest fight, because the younger fighters recognize how a win over a legend can catapult their careers. We recently caught up with Pulver to ask him about this new breed of fighters, see how he plans to counter the length and reach of Grispi, and find out which is the better motivator: Anger or the love of competing. Have a look:
Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): When preparing for a fight, do you watch tape on your opponent, and if so, what did you learn from Grispi's first two WEC fights? Jens Pulver: Yeah, I watched his Miller, I watched his Hominick. High kicks, aggression — he likes to throw down. He's just a good all-around fighter … But I know he loves those kicks. He loves them kicks. But okay, cool, you just can't let him … those kicks can't go unanswered. You can't let him pop them off and not get three in his face for doing it. You gotta move and think like that. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): Grispi's fairly tall for 145. How do you plan on countering his reach advantage? Jens Pulver: I'm gonna stick my head in his chest and never take it off. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): (Laughs) Jens Pulver: You know? That's it. If he threw straight punches, I'd be a little bit more worried; but they're hooks, so he's already shortening himself up a little bit there. His kicks … use a lot of leg. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): Given that he seems to be fairly well-rounded, despite being just 20 years old. Do you go in with the "sprawl n brawl" mentality — your bread and butter — or are you comfortable no matter where this fight goes? Jens Pulver: Well, that's the thing. In my last few fights, I've just been uncomfortable period. I don't really know what's been happening, so now it's back to just what I did well — the fundamentals — which is to brawl, make the guy guess, back him up, stuff his shots, and just hurt him where they're at. But these last guys, all these new well-rounded fighters, they're great standing up and on the ground. Like I said, the sport passed me by when I was in my three-year slump there, and it's just me trying to catch up with them. So really I'm just out there, I wanna be the puppet-master, man, I wanna make this kid flinch and dance. I wanna land my shots standing up, and then from there, of course, if I can stuff the shots, great, I'm gonna stuff 'em, but I'm gonna take my shots too. It's just time to start being more well-rounded, I've been working on it and chasing it. It's gotta come out at some point, it might as well be this one. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): I'm curious about your training camp for this fight. Talking about getting back to the fundamentals, can you talk briefly about the training camp, about how you've been preparing for the fight? Jens Pulver: Yeah, I went back to the CFX , that's the one with the tennis balls. They got me in great shape for that first fight with Faber. Granted, I was slow, but that wasn't because of them, that was just the way I was training. I went back to my boxing gym over there with the Alley Cat Boxing and Jeff Perez. I went to the wrestling room at Bettendorf High School, I was wrestling with the Trizzinos. So I got my wrestling back. I was religiously wrestling there for a few months. And then of course going to Miletich and doing what I do there. Spar with Junior and L.C. Davis and those guys, grapple with those guys. I was just branching out. I was utilizing Iowa, everything that I've had before. But above that, I got to stay home every day. My wife-to-be — we're getting married on the 4th of July — Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): Ah, congratulations Jens Pulver: Thank you. She supports me incredibly. We got to treat her like it was the training camp at the same time, because I'd just hover downstairs, but I'd come upstairs and we'd eat and hang out. I needed to be around my son, man. He just turned five months, and I get to say that I didn't miss one day of it. I was there for it all. So we did what we needed to do to make it work, but it was a blast staying home. I think when people see me … When they see me get on the scale, when they see me weigh in, they're gonna go "Oh." That's a promise. No, this one's gonna turn heads. When people see how hard I've been working, this is gonna turn heads. That soft body that got hit with the body shot against Faber, that ain't never happening again in my life — the soft body part. The liver? Maybe. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): In a sport where it seems like a lot of MMA fans have short memories and a lot of times you're only as good as your last win, and here you're on a bit of a slump in terms of the win/losses, how vital is a win here for you? Jens Pulver: It's huge. That's what people don't understand. No, I'm not gonna hang 'em up. No, I'm not gonna retire — man, at 33? Hell no, who's gonna retire at 33, you're crazy. But what I'm gonna have to do is … I'm sitting here, what do I do? I'm caught in a crazy position. I'm — and I don't mean this in a pompous way — I'm Jens Pulver. So I automatically can't go out there and have an amateur career, you know what I mean? But I'm also "legendary" Jens Pulver, or however you want to put it. So yeah, I was there when a ground guy really only knew the ground, and a stand-up guy really only knew stand up. This sport has evolved so much from that, that now I'm sittin' there, I'm the one left behind, but I'm still trying to compete. I'm at that age where I'm the one trying to learn. That's what it feels like to me. So that world champion was back — boop! — I was in the pioneer days when I was making things happen. Now six years later, all these guys that watched me do it are in here drilling me in the face. It's awesome. I'm learning like everybody else is. I don't get an amateur career, I don't get that luxury of being able to fight 35 times before I get recognized. I walked into this thing damn near recognized, and ever since then with the explosiveness of the sport, that's not an option. Every time I fight it's going to be like a world title fight for these kids, they know it's a catapult. So my confidence is down, but by the same token … Look it, this is my "yeah, you've lost five of your last six fights, we're gonna give ya Grispi." What?! That's as easy as it gets for me, I guess. (Laughs) That's why you don't see me whining and bitching about losing these fights, because I know what's happening inside of me, I know the training that I'm doing, so I'm confident. But yeah, man, winning's huge. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): Well, I think it's that attitude that makes you so loved by so many fans. I read about you answering a question about what motivates you. You had said that anger used to, but now you are putting "Lil' Evil" to rest and getting back to the old Jens Pulver. As you get older, which is easier for a fighter — being motivated by anger or being motivated by the love of just competing? Jens Pulver: Having them both is beautiful. But I think at the end of the day being driven just by the sport, yeah, that's good, but it's nowhere near as good as the kid who's starving, who's saying this is life and death. I have to get better because this is what I want more than anything in the world. Sleeping in the gym from morning practice to evening practice, and things like that. There's a difference between the two for sure. But still, loving the sport? Yeah, man, that gets you in there into training, and it's still extremely tough. You gotta love it to even get in there and train day in and day out. But that's without the anger. I'm just saying for me, I had to have that. I never did this to stand out and go, "I want everybody to think I'm tough." Nah, man, I knew I was tough. I was tough from the first day my dad punched me in the face at five years old. I knew I could take a beating. That's why I did this. I loved wrestling, I loved competing, I loved training. I had no other choice but this. So having that kind of drive, that's something, because what makes that happen and what makes it easier to get a pro fight I think is because it drives you every minute of every day. It's not something you can just … you don't just get to put it aside. When you love the gym and you love fighting, you put your jacket on when you go into the gym … You take your jacket off, you leave the gym, and you can go be whatever else you are, whoever else you are. But when all you are is driven and chasing a world title, you eat, sleep, dream, breathe, and that's all you think about. That's the difference. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): You replaced Frank Mir as color commentator at WEC 39. How did you like the experience, and is it something you care to pursue again? Jens Pulver: I love it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I don't know how good a job I did, but again, I love being part of the WEC and the UFC. I love being around them. I know Mir had to get ready, he had things to do, so I love the fact that I got to step in and do that. That's the direction I want to go. It's the best seat in the house, and you get to talk and people listen, talk about fights, and just hang out. I love it. It's perfect for me. So I'm hoping that I get that opportunity again, but when this fighting career's over, I'm hoping that I can just sit down and hang out with the UFC and just talk about fights all day. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): Any thoughts on Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber 2? Jens Pulver: Yeah, you gotta go with the champ. It's up to Faber to get it from him. Is he feeling the pressure? How's he gonna do, what's he gonna look like? Brown ain't feeling jack. Brown knows that that was no fluke. He knows he can knock that guy out. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): Well, Jens, thanks again for taking the time to talk with us. Would you like to thank any sponsors? Jens Pulver: No problem. And yes, there's one big one: XSI-now.com . What they are is Xtreme Sports Insurance. You know how hard it is to be an ultimate fighter, with this as your employment, to find insurance? Well, these guys have set it up, and this is what they're here for. All those young fighters, you try and go get insurance, and they laugh in your grill. But, if you go to that XSI-now.com, that's the place for fighters to get health insurance. So I would really push it. I would really ask for everybody to push it, because there's not too many places. I tried to get … whatever, like Blue Shield. They said, "You know what you did?" And I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, it's whatever." So they charge you extra and double. But the XSI-now.com , the Xtreme Sports Insurance, for me, that's why I went with them, and they insure me now. Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com ): Spoken like a true veteran, always looking out for the younger guys. Jens Pulver: Well then you got Tapout and people like that. But I always gotta thank Tapout , I love 'em to death. It's all about the fight, man, we'll just see what happens. |
| MMA Quick Quote: Nick Diaz baited a ‘burnt out’ Scott Smith Posted: 07 Jun 2009 02:15 AM PDT
Top Strikeforce draw Nick Diaz discusses his three round war with Scott Smith at Strikeforce: ‘Lawler vs. Shields’ on June 6. The wily Diaz obliterated Smith in the stand up and submitted him via Brabo choke in the third round. One has to wonder if a rematch with Robbie Lawler is in the near future considering the history between these two scrappers. Diaz won their first contest by KO and despite a loss to Jake Shields last night, Lawler would be the perfect opponent for the California bad-boy. The question here is whether or not a potential win over Lawler will put him at the top of the food chain.? He will never fight teammate Jaske Shields, so who else is there? Sound off, Maniacs. |
| Mike Kyle video talks upset KO over ‘Feijao’ Cavalcante during June 6 Strikeforce event Posted: 07 Jun 2009 01:50 AM PDT |
| Gilbert Melendez set to rematch Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thompson on August 15 Posted: 07 Jun 2009 12:13 AM PDT
Strikeforce confirmed during its June 6 ‘Lawler vs. Shields’ event that Interim Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez (15-2) will rematch current Strikeforce 155-pound champ Josh Thompson (16-2) on the main card of their August 15 event. Thompson and Melendez were originally set to collide at the April 11 ‘Shamrock vs. Diaz’ event until Thomson broke his left leg during training. Melendez went on to face Rodrigo Damm for the interim strap. "El Nino" dropped a decisive unanimous decision to "The Punk" in June 2008. The loss was only the second of his sparkling 16-fight career, which includes notable wins over Hiroyuki Takaya, Clay Guida, Tatsuya Kawajiri and others. His only other defeat came via unanimous decision to Mitsuhiro Ishida at Yarennoka on New Years Eve 2007. Ishida has since signed with Strikeforce and made a successful debut for the promotion with a first round submission win over Justin Wilcox last September. After capturing the title from Melendez, Thompson defeated Ashe Bowman (first round technical knockout win) at "Strikeforce at the Mansion II" in 2008. "The Punk" is a worthy champion with an extremely versatile attack. Twelve of his 16 career wins have been by some form of stoppage (four technical knockouts and eight submissions). He holds notable career wins over Duane "Bang" Ludwig, "Razor" Rob McCullough, Hermes Franca, Nam Phan and Melendez. The August 15 Strikeforce event is expected to feature Gina Carano finally taking on Cristiane Santos as well as the long-anticipated return of Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on this event as they develop. |
| Strikeforce: ‘Lawler vs Shields’ recap and final thoughts Posted: 06 Jun 2009 09:35 PM PDT
Strikeforce: "Lawler vs. Shields" from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 6, has come to a close. The big story coming out of the live Showtime broadcast was the "Grimm" upset for the ultra-popular Andrei Arlovski, who was obliterated inside thirty seconds by the lead-fisted Brett Rogers. Arlovski went for a routine low kick to open the bout but when Rogers bumrushed him, "The Pitbull" retreated — and forgot to bring his head with him. Rogers seized the opportunity and drilled Arlovski with a crushing left-right combo that sent the Belarusian to the floor. At first glance the lightning-fast stoppage by John McCarthy seemed to border on premature, but the Showtime replay confirmed that the stoppage was on point — and likely a big favor to Arlovski — who could have been on the receiving end of some serious damage. The fireworks from that fight were enough to make up for the rather anti-climatic main event that saw Robbie Lawler play right into the hands of jiu-jitsu ace Jake Shields. "Ruthless" was getting his timing down and picking his spots, but inexplicably offered up his neck on a silver platter when Shields jumped into guard. Lawler contemplated a Rampage-esque slam to break out (with a little help from the cage), but Shields had it locked down and Lawler was forced to throw in the towel. As expected, Nick Diaz and Scott Smith put on a ridiculous display of striking as the two started banging from the opening bell. Diaz was clearly getting the better of the exchanges but Smith (as usual) showed a ton of guts and determination and even answered the maniacal Diaz blow-for-blow on several occasions. The final numbers had Diaz throwing 397 punches — and landing more than 50 percent of them. Think of E. Honda on weed and you have tonight’s performance in a nutshell. There was some fan-unfriendly scuttlebutt from the peanut gallery about Diaz ending it with a "cheap" submission, but after the display he gave us in rounds one and two there was little to prove in the striking department. After all, why end up like Benji Radach when you have a black belt under Cesar Gracie? The match up between Joe Riggs and Phil Baroni turned out to be a pleasant surprise with plenty of action. The two exchanged on their feet and on the ground for the entire fight with "Diesel" clearly getting the better of the exchanges. He may not be "the best EVA " but the "New York Bad Ass" did show improved cardio despite fading in the last stanza. Riggs was sharp throughout. One thing that didn’t fade was Baroni’s heart — even after taking several big knees to the face and head. Maybe with this win Joe Riggs has finally earned that shot at Jake Shields he so desperately wanted. Rounding out the main card was Kevin Randleman, making his long-anticipated Strikeforce debut after fighting only once in almost three years. The effects of the layoff were quite apparent as "The Monster" was out of gas by the end of the first. Whitehead didn’t fair much better in the conditioning department, as the rumor mill inside the Scottrade Center claims he was forced to cut from 236 pounds to 205 the day of the weigh-ins. As a result, the two failed to electrify the St. Louis crowd — though to his credit "Iron" Mike was the busier of the two and did show a lot of heart after getting clowned in the third. Whitehead now pushes his record to an impressive 15-1 since March of 2006. Randleman’s meter is running as the 37-year-old has to make some major adjustments — and fast if he hopes to compete in the Strikeforce light heavyweight division (or anywhere else for that matter). The undercard saw the considerable momentum Rafael Cavalcante had built up during his 3-0 run under the Elite XC banner quickly vanquished courtesy of a Mike Kyle assault towards the end of the second round. A plump "Feijao" showed brief flashes of the talent that garnered him so much praise, but in the end looked to be victimized by his own poor conditioning, setting up the crushing right hand by Kyle that put him to sleep for several minutes. And following the stoppage, "MAK" made sure he gave Anderson Silva, who was cageside in support of Cavalcante, all kinds of dirty looks — which "The Spider" gave right back. Maybe that kind of intensity will jumpstart the seemingly stalled attack of Silva when he competes at UFC 101 on August 8. Perhaps any Griffin injuries can therefore be traced back to the scowl of Mike Kyle. ‘Lawler vs. Shields’ was a solid show with a major upset that will be talked about for days to come. If you missed any of the action, be sure to check out our complete Strikeforce results and blow-by-blow coverage by clicking here . Now that’s enough out of me for one night, it's time to hear your thoughts. What did you think? |
| LIVE Strikeforce results and coverage tonight (June 6) for Lawler vs Shields! Posted: 06 Jun 2009 04:31 PM PDT
Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of Strikeforce: “Lawler vs. Shields.” If you're going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main Strikeforce results post and not this one. Enjoy the show, Maniacs! |
| Gina Carano vs Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos confirmed for August 15 Strikeforce event Posted: 06 Jun 2009 03:31 PM PDT
Strikeforce today confirmed that former Elite XC fighter and recent Strikeforce acquisition Cristiane Santos (7-1) will finally fight female fighting sensation Gina Carano (7-0) at the upcoming Strikeforce event planned for August 15. "Cyborg," the wife of former Pride FC fighter Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, burst onto the scene in May of 2008 with a dominating performance against Shayna Baszler in her debut under the Elite XC banner. Like her husband, she's a product of the Brazilian Chute Boxe Academy, a style that's evident as soon as she steps foot in the cage. Her most recent fight was on the Strikeforce: ‘Shamrock vs. Diaz’ card last April when she received heavy criticism for missing weight for her fight against Japanese import Hitomi Akano. Santos brutalized “Girlfight Monster” for two rounds before stopping her with strikes in the final frame. Since the fall of Elite XC immediately following Elite XC: "Heat" in 2008, Santos has been clear on the fact that she wanted to fight Carano, the face of women's MMA and one-time Elite XC headliner. And "Conviction" is more than happy to oblige. The only obstacle preventing the blockbuster fight from happening, however, was the confusion still left over from the Pro Elite fighter contracts. Now that Strikeforce has secured Carano after finally acquiring her contract in the Pro Elite sale, the eventual superfight is set now to go down on August 15. The female American Gladiator has been on the sidelines ever since her thrashing of Kelly Kobald at ‘Heat’ back in October 2008. A victory over the dangerous Santos would undoubtedly cement her status as one of the world’s top female fighters. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more information on Strikeforce August 15 card as it continues to come together. |
| WEC 41 weigh in results for ‘Brown vs Faber 2’ Posted: 06 Jun 2009 03:29 PM PDT
The official weigh-in event for WEC 41: "Brown vs. Faber 2" is complete for the event that is set to go off from the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California, this Sunday night (June 7). With the exception of Frank Gomez who missed his mark by 1.5 pounds, all fighters set to compete on the card made their respective marks on the scale without incident. Gomez later weighed in (sans fight shorts) and successfully came in at the limit of 136 pounds. WEC 41 will feature a monster rematch between Mike Thomas Brown and hometown hero, Urijah "The California Kid" Faber, in a featherweight championship bout with Brown's 145-pound title on the line. In the co main event, Jose Aldo and Cub Swanson are set to collide in another dynamite featherweight showdown. Number one lightweight contender Donald Cerrone will also return to action against James Krause on the televised main card after an undisclosed injury forced Rich "Cleat" Crunkilton to withdraw from the 155-pound contest. And remember that The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 alum, Manny Gamburyan, will likely do his best to ensure that his promotional debut makes the Versus telecast. WEC 41 is scheduled to air live on the Versus network beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET on fight night. Here are the complete WEC 41 weigh in results:
Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights. Remember, MMAmania.com will provide live coverage of the action on fight night beginning with the 9:30 p.m. telecast on Versus, as well as up-to-the minute quick results of the entire under card earlier in the evening. Check in early and often. In the meantime, feel free to leave your WEC 41-related thoughts and predictions in the comments section below. For more on WEC 41 be sure to hit up our archive for the promotion right here . |
| Cheick Kongo video on Cain Velasquez UFC 99 fight and more Posted: 06 Jun 2009 03:29 PM PDT |
| Lyoto Machida vs Mauricio Rua confirmed for UFC 104 on October 24 Posted: 06 Jun 2009 01:31 PM PDT
It’s time for some Brazilian-on-Brazilian crime. MMAmania.com has learned that bout agreements have been signed for the light heavyweight title fight between newly-minted champion Lyoto Machida (15-0) and 2005 Pride FC Middleweight Grand Prix winner Mauricio Rua (18-3) for UFC 104 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on October 24. "Shogun" is coming off a first round technical knockout of former 205-pound champion, Chuck Liddell, at UFC 97: "Redemption" last month. He defeated Mark Coleman via third round technical knockout in a lackluster performance earlier this year at UFC 93: "Franklin vs. Henderson" to earn a crack at the "Iceman." It's perhaps not the match up that most fans expected, especially when UFC President Dana White was quick to announce that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson would be the first to challenge Machida for his newly-won world title. But that all went out the window a few days later when Jackson apparently pressed UFC officials to settle a score with Rashad Evans via The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 first rather than compete to get his belt back. That left "The Dragon" — who flattened Evans at UFC 98 to win the belt — all of a sudden without a number one contender … until now. Despite his recent success, some UFC fans still aren’t sold on the abilities of Rua, who must now muster up some of the mojo he had during his blistering run in PRIDE to try and overcome an opponent who went from tentative to homicidal in the span of three figthts. Machida will also try to stop the revolving door that has continued to spin atop the division afterChuckLiddell coughed up the 205-pound belt just over two years ago. In fact since May of 2007, the light heavyweight title has changed hands a total of four times. No question Rua will be looking to make it five. Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more details on UFC 104 as they develop. |
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