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- Tito Ortiz is getting cozy with Strikeforce … possible fight deal on the horizon? (Video)
- Keeping it simple: Jon Fitch UFC 100 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com
- UFC Quick Quote: Lyoto Machida is not impressed with his performance
- Gilbert Yvel: ‘I’m sorry Pedro … but I had to keep going until the referee said stop’ (Video)
- WCF 7 results from Shriner’s Auditorium on June 27
- Kenny Florian: Diego Sanchez should be careful what he wishes for
- Gilbert Yvel vs Paul Buentello Affliction fight now likely for Aug. 1
- Bobby Lashley vs Bob Sapp fight video at ‘Ultimate Chaos’
| Tito Ortiz is getting cozy with Strikeforce … possible fight deal on the horizon? (Video) Posted: 28 Jun 2009 07:59 PM PDT Skip ahead to about the four minute mark: |
| Keeping it simple: Jon Fitch UFC 100 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com Posted: 28 Jun 2009 06:11 PM PDT
Jon Fitch is the Rodney Dangerfield of mixed martial arts: he gets “no respect.” After getting cut from the first season of The Ultimate Fighter at the last minute by the show's producers, he was forced to take the long road to the pinnacle of the sport. His treacherous journey was filled with one under card fight after the next. It would also be one victory after the next, including wins over top flight welterweights like Josh Burkman, Brock Larson, Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez. UFC brass finally took noticed after he won eight UFC fights in a row (15 straight overall), which tied him with Royce Gracie's all-time record for consecutive UFC wins (a record that was later broken by Anderson Silva at UFC 97). It was only then that he was deemed qualified enough and marketable enough to be issued a shot at welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre — many other fighters have earned title shots accomplishing much less. UFC 87 did not go as planned, however, with Fitch losing a five-round unanimous decision to “Rush” back in August 2008. It was his first loss ever at 170 pounds in his professional career, which began back in July 2002. His other two career losses were fought at the 205-pound light heavyweight limit. Fitch regrouped and won in dominating fashion over Pride FC veteran Akihiro Gono at UFC 94 via unanimous decision. He was once again relegated to the under card for this event. That’s not the case in his next fight — Fitch is set to battle young Brazilian Paulo Thiago at UFC 100 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 11. It’s one more important step in his journey back to another potential shot at the title. Naturally, it won’t be easy — few fights are on the loaded UFC welterweight class. Thiago is coming off a knockout victory over Fitch's American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) teammate, Josh Koscheck, at UFC 95, which marked his Octagon debut. He’ll be out to make it two straight in the UFC and against AKA on fight night. Fitch took some time out of his busy schedule to discuss The Ultimate Fighter, nicknames, MMA in Indiana, cartoons, and, of course, Paulo Thiago. Check it out:
Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): I want to go back to the casting of The Ultimate Fighter 1 season. A lot of people may not be aware just how close you were to becoming a contestant on the show. Talk a little bit about how that played out for you and how they ultimately came to their decision. Jon Fitch: I went through the whole process and everything. I was ready to go quit my job. I told my friends and family that I was getting ready to go. I was actually at the airport waiting to get on the plane. I only had about 15 minutes until boarding started. I got a phone call from one of the producers. He pretty much said, "Sorry but we reformatted the show and we don't have room for you so don't get on the plane." Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Everyone knows you had to tie Royce Gracie's consecutive wins record before they gave you a title shot against Georges St. Pierre. Do you think that since you weren't on the TUF show it was a disadvantage to you in the following years as far as marketability and popularity goes? Jon Fitch: Yeah anyone who has been on The Ultimate Fighter has had a huge advantage in exposure that's for sure. I fought a lot of dark matches on the under cards. It was pretty much impossible for most people to have been able to watch my fighting and my progression and know anything about me. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): I want to move forward to the night of UFC 94. Before your fight your opponent Akihiro Gono and his cornermen are dressed in evening gowns like they're going to prom. At what point did you take notice and what was going through your head? Jon Fitch: We were getting staged to get called to the cage and, you know, there is a little tunnel. People might not know this but you're right there with your opponent in that area. There is not much distance between us. We walked around the corner and we started approaching since he was announced first and at the tunnel already. I started noticing some dresses. I was like, "What the hell are these ring girls doing? Why don't they have their normal ring girl outfits on? What's going on?" I noticed the big hair and stuff like that and I was like, "Oh shit, that's Gono and his guys." I kind of put my head down and started looking at the floor. I didn't want to start laughing at that time. I wanted to stay focused. I made sure not to watch his entrance just because I didn't want to start laughing too hard. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you think they were trying to psyche you out or that's just how those guys roll? Jon Fitch: He's been in the business for so long he's an entertainer. It's just one of the things he likes to do is make an entrance out of it. He has fun with fighting and that's the way it should be. I have more respect for guys that can make fun of themselves and do stuff like that than the guys who pretend to be tough guys or hard asses and put on a mean face. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): I spoke with your teammate Mike Swick a couple weeks ago. He told me how you guys used to watch Maury Povich a lot in between training sessions when you were roommates? Jon Fitch: We lived together for about seven months. We'd get done training about two o'clock. We'd get home and shower and everything and have our lunch and it would be time to watch Maury and the "who's not the father episodes" would be on. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): What else are you watching these days? UFC Unleashed? O'Reilly Factor? Jon Fitch: I watch a lot of cartoons; Futurama, Family Guy, Metalocalypse, Robot Chicken. There are a bunch of good ones on Cartoon Network. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Does that mean you're a South Park guy too? Jon Fitch: Yeah for sure. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Please tell me you've seen the Maury Povich South Park episode then? Jon Fitch: "Boy with balls on chin." Oh yeah! Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): I've always wondered about this. Let's say you want to watch UFC 101. Does the UFC make you buy the event on pay-per-view if you want to view it at home? Jon Fitch: Yeah if I wanted to watch it at home I'd have to pay for it. Luckily I'm in a position where I can usually get some money out of somebody to make an appearance locally. I'll have guys over at my house sometimes and I'll get it just so the younger guys (AKA teammates) can watch it. We don't just watch. We try to breakdown fights too. We try to think about why certain things happen in certain fights and what techniques are working and which ones aren't. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): I wanted to ask you if you have a favorite catchphrase that Mike Goldberg or Joe Rogan use time and time again or is there one thing they always say about you that makes you laugh? Jon Fitch: No, I'm fighting so I don't really know anything about what they say. I don't really hear them. Probably the greatest thing Joe has ever said on the air was "Goat's vagina." I can't remember what he was talking about but it was something about a goat's vagina. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You're officially a UFC veteran at this point but still no nickname. I heard one of your training partners Jake Shields say recently that he's been trying to avoid one his whole career. Are you trying to do the same? Jon Fitch: I just don't think there is a reason for having one. The really sad thing is that guys give themselves a nickname. I think that is the most pathetic thing someone could ever do, give themselves a nickname. A nickname is something that should come from your teammates or your friends. It should be something you don't like really. I can't just show up one day and tell everyone to call me "Cobra." It's something I don't need and nothing has ever really stuck. I think I just have a strong name as it is and it's easy to remember. Just Jon Fitch is enough for people. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): What about "Jock" Fitch? You like that? Jon Fitch: (laughs) I think I'll just wait until people start calling me "Champ." Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Going back to Swick. What did you think of his performance against Ben Saunders at UFC 99? Did it pretty much go like you expected it to? Jon Fitch: Yeah it did. We weren't really expecting Saunders to take him down quite as fast and hold him down as much as he was trying, but we had a good idea on how that fight was going to go and Mike did a great job. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): You have probably heard by now that the state of Indiana is now sanctioning MMA as of June 1. How excited are you about the possibility of fighting close to where you grew up and went to school? Jon Fitch: It's awesome. I'm super pumped about it. In fact, I'm going to head back to Indiana after my fight and put on a couple free seminars and a couple open workouts for the media at my buddies gym in Lafayette and at a gym I found in Ft. Wayne also. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Do you still consider yourself a Hoosier at heart or have you officially "Gone Hollywood" on us Jon? Jon Fitch: I'm still a country boy. When I was living in Indiana I didn't think I was a country boy until I got out to California and I realized how country I was. I'm still a simple person at heart. The materialistic crap that goes along with the west coast I'm not into at all. I think it throws a lot of people off because people approach me about making money and stuff like that and even with sponsors and things. I'm more concerned with quality of products and whether or not I actually use them rather than how much they're willing to pay me to say I use it. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Your next opponent is Paulo Thiago at UFC 100. He's still a bit of a mystery at this point. What do you know about him as far as his strengths and weaknesses? Jon Fitch: He's scrappy. That's the biggest thing about him. He's a really scrappy guy. He can come in at different angles than you're used to. He can do things he's really not supposed to and still get away with it. I have to be very careful and very tight with my technique and keep some good pressure on him but I can't get into that risk game. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Your teammate Josh Koscheck fought him at UFC 95. Has he helped you out a lot as far as what you can expect to see from Paulo? Jon Fitch: We couldn't really get much out of that fight. It was a short fight. Koscheck was doing a good job and winning the fight up until he got caught. You can't learn a lot from it but we we're able to catch some videos of him and see some other fights and get a perspective of what he's about. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): If you're fortunate enough to get past Paulo do you feel like that will be enough to earn you another title shot against the Georges St. Pierre/Thiago Alves winner? Jon Fitch: I might need another fight. Thiago and GSP are fighting the same night. I'd like to fight again sooner than probably they're going to be ready to after that fight. It depends on the bosses and what they say. I know that I need at least one or two more impressive wins, not just normal victories, and I know I'll put myself right back into a title shot. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Who do you like in the GSP/Alves fight? Jon Fitch: I'm not going to make a prediction on the fight. I will just say that I want GSP to win because he's the guy that I want to fight for the belt. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): One of the UFC 100 fights that isn't getting a lot of attention is the Joe Rogan/Bruce Buffer exhibition match at the UFC Fan Expo. Who are you putting your money on (Note: This was an April Fools joke)? Jon Fitch: Oh really? I haven't heard anything about that. I don't know if Buffer trains much. I know Rogan has some jiu-jitsu so I might have to go with Rogan on that one. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Well Jon that's all I had for you. Would you like to pass along anything to your fans out there or thank any sponsors? Jon Fitch: Check out FitchFighter.com and MMAInstructional.com. They can learn how to fight like me, from me, and also from Spencer Fisher, Frankie Edgar, Dave Camarillo, and Dan Camarillo. It's a great Web site and great resource if you don't have a lot of good instructors nearby. Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com): Thanks Jon. I appreciate the time. Best of luck at UFC 100 and we'll run you down again soon. Jon Fitch: Alright, cool man. Derek Bolender is a staff writer for InsideFights.com. He is also syndicated at FoxSports.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DerekMMAwriter and on Facebook. Look for future articles from him on MMAmania.com. |
| UFC Quick Quote: Lyoto Machida is not impressed with his performance Posted: 28 Jun 2009 05:02 PM PDT
– Undefeated UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida tells Tatame.com that he does not consider himself the best 205-pound fighter in the world. He doesn’t offer up anyone who he thinks is better, saying instead that the praise heaped on him as the best in class after defeating Rashad Evans to capture the title is premature. “The Dragon” now has seven straight wins inside the Octagon and 15 overall since his mixed marital arts career began in 2003. It’s hard to argue otherwise at this point, but perhaps with a win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua — widely considered the top light heavyweight in the world about 18 months ago before getting derailed by several serious knee injuries — Machida will convince himself. What do you think … is anyone better right now? |
| Gilbert Yvel: ‘I’m sorry Pedro … but I had to keep going until the referee said stop’ (Video) Posted: 28 Jun 2009 10:39 AM PDT See what all the buzz is about after the jump … Gilbert Yvel vs Pedro Rizzo fight video:
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| WCF 7 results from Shriner’s Auditorium on June 27 Posted: 28 Jun 2009 10:00 AM PDT
World Championship Fighting (WCF) presented what many fans are calling their best fight card ever, live from the Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass., on June 27, 2009. While there was no marquee main event featuring fighters who already have national recognition, the card was filled with fighters ready to break into the national spotlight. As usual for WCF, the crowd was filled with a who’s who of MMA stars. UFC Fighters Jorge Rivera and John Howard joined Mark DellaGrotte, Sean Gannon and former Middleweight Boxing Champion Dana Rosenblatt were in attendance, along with actor Kevin James, who is filming a movie locally. The night’s main event featured two of New England’s best middleweights in Woody Weatherby from Renzo Gracie NH and Dan Keefe, from Brickhouse Fight Team. The fight was a war from start to finish with Keefe controlling most of the action, and Weatherby landing the cleaner strikes. Keefe pushed the pace undeterred by the big shots from Weatherby, and was able to take the fight to the ground where he was able to grind on Weatherby and rough him up a little. As the fight wore on, it turned into battle of Weatherby attempting submissions, with Keefe escaping and making Woody pay with big shots from the top. The fight came down to the wire with Weatherby locking in his best submission of the night, an arm bar that looked to be enough to finish the fight, but Keefe was able to hold on and take the hard fought victory by decision.
The night also featured a pair of big lightweight fights that featured four exciting and popular fighters. Calvin Kattar took on undefeated Rodrigo Almeida in the night’s co-main event, and the crowd was going crazy for both fighters from start to finish. Rodrigo was able to get in tight on Kattar and avoid his devastating punching power, and for the first time Kattar was force to show his impressive wrestling and jiu-jitsu game. As Almeida was fighting hard for a takedown, Kattar was able to lock up a tight guillotine choke and pull guard for the submission victory halfway through round 1. In the second pairing of top lightweights, John Benoit and Damien Trites put on the most exciting fight of the night, a thrilling back and forth battle that truly brought out the best in both fighters. Benoit was able to land more effective punches and kicks on their feet, and bloodied Trites up quite a bit. On the floor, both fighters had their moments, but the combination of Benoit’s submission attempts and big combinations were enough to earn a decision, and get him back on track for a title run. Official results from WCF 7:
Looking ahead, World Championship Fighting also announced a featured fight for WCF 8, which will take place this fall. Wilmington’s Dan Bonnell makes his return to the ring to take on the streaking Josh LaBerge in what promises to be an exciting match up. Stay tuned for big announcements about WCF 8 in the coming weeks. |
| Kenny Florian: Diego Sanchez should be careful what he wishes for Posted: 28 Jun 2009 09:58 AM PDT
Props: BostonHerald.com Quoteworthy:
Number one lightweight contender Kenny Florian responds to statements made by Diego Sanchez following his split decision win over Clay Guida at the June 20 TUF 9 Finale. “Nightmare” thinks it is he, not the man he ‘walked through’ more than four years ago, who is next in line for the 155-pound strap. Aside from the loss to Sanchez in his UFC debut, Florian dropped a blood-soaked unanimous decision to Sean Sherk for the then vacant division title at UFC 64: "Unstoppable" back in October 2006. He has not tasted defeat since, winning six straight against many of the best the class had to offer and going 9-1 overall during that span. If he manages to get past BJ Penn at UFC 101 on August 8 in Philadelphia, we could see them finally determine which TUF-guy has evolved the most. Thoughts? |
| Gilbert Yvel vs Paul Buentello Affliction fight now likely for Aug. 1 Posted: 28 Jun 2009 07:45 AM PDT
With a scary-looking win last night, Gilbert Yvel is now set to take on Paul Buentello at Affliction: “Trilogy,” which is scheduled for the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 1, 2009. “The Hurricane” just got done storming Pedro Rizzo at “Ultimate Chaos” from the Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss., stopping the Brazilian in the first round with a series of strikes that were downright criminal (albeit legal inside a cage). He announced after the knockout that the victory earned him another shot under the Affliction banner. The Dutch Muay Thai specialist was roughed up by former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett in his first attempt with the promotion at "Day of Reckoning" on Jan. 24. Prior to the beating he took against "The Babyface Assassin," Yvel was enjoying a seven-fight win streak, dating back to mid 2006. He’ll look to again get back to winning consecutive fights in little less than six weeks, but it won’t be easy against "The Headhunter."
Buentello — who was originally booked to battle Tim Sylvia before he sustained a nine-second knockout loss to aging professional boxer Ray Mercer earlier this month — was last seen using Kiril Sidelnikov's face as a human punching bag for almost three full rounds at Affliction 2: "Day of Reckoning" earlier this year. The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product went on to eventually score a late third round technical knockout over the Russian Sambo specialist, who later tested positive for having banned substances in his system after the match. This will be Buentello's third appearance under the Affliction banner — he outpointed last minute replacement Gary Goodridge on the judges scorecards to earn a unanimous decision victory in the promotion's inaugural show in 2008. Over his past 13 fights Buentello has only dropped two contests — one was for a shot at Andrei Arlovski's UFC heavyweight title back at UFC 55 and the other was at the hands of Alistair Overeem last November on a Strikeforce card. Affliction 3: "Trilogy" will feature a main event between WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and top-ranked division player, Josh Barnett. Former Dream middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi is also expected to make his fighting debut on American shores against Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Renato “Babalu” Sobral. To check out the latest fight card and rumors for Affliction 3: "Trilogy" click here. |
| Bobby Lashley vs Bob Sapp fight video at ‘Ultimate Chaos’ Posted: 28 Jun 2009 07:03 AM PDT |
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