Jan 11 - UFC Fight Night 20

Ultimate Fighting Championship

January 11, 2010

Patriot Center,

Fairfax, Virginia, United States

FIGHT CARD

Gray Maynard (No. 6 LW) vs. Nate Diaz

Efrain Escudero vs. Evan Dunham

Aaron Simpson vs. Tom Lawlor

Amir Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn

Chris Leben vs. Jay Silva

Gerald Harris vs. Mike Massenzio

Rick Story vs. Jesse Lennox

Thiago Tavares vs. Nik Lentz

Rory MacDonald vs. Michael Guymon

Kyle Bradley vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Nick Catone vs. Steve Steinbeiss

Mar 6 - WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz

World Extreme Cagefighting

March 6, 2010

Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio

WEC 47 FIGHT CARD

WEC Bantamweight Championship

Brian Bowles (No. 1 BW, No. 9 PFP) vs. Dominick Cruz (No. 5 BW)

Jan 10 - WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson

World Extreme Cagefighting

January 10, 2010

Arco Arena - Sacramento, Calif.

WEC 46 FIGHT CARD

WEC Lightweight Championship

Jamie Varner vs. Benson Henderson

Urijah Faber (No. 3 FW) vs. Raphael Assuncao (No. 5 FW)

Mike Thomas Brown (No. 2 FW, No. 8 PFP) vs. Anthony Morrison

Mackens Semerzier (No. 8 FW) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

Dave Jansen vs. Kamal Shalorus

Akitoshi Tamura (No. 7 BW) vs. Charlie Valencia

Wagnney Fabiano (No. 9 FW) vs. Frank Gomez

Mark Hominick vs. Bryan Caraway

Eddie Wineland (No. 10 BW) vs. George Roop

Will Campuzano vs. Coty Wheeler

Jan 30 - Strikforce Miami

at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, FL

MAIN CARD

NICK DIAZ (20-7) VS MARIUS ZAROMSKIS (12-3)

CRISTIANE CYBORG SANTOS (9-1) VS MARLOES COENEN (17-3)

HERSCHEL WALKER (0-0) VS TBA

BOBBY LASHLEY (4-0) VS TBA

TIME

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 2010 - 10:00PM/ET (PRELIMS AT 8:00PM)

HOW TO WATCH:

LIVE ON SHOWTIME - IN CANADA ON SUPERCHANNEL

TICKETS

Feb 6 - UFC 109: Relentless

Ultimate Fighting Championship

February 6, 2010

Mandalay Bay Events Center - Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

UFC 109 FIGHT CARD

Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman

Josh Koscheck (No. 5 WW) vs. Paulo Thiago (No. 6 WW)

Nate Marquardt (No. 2 MW) vs. Chael Sonnen (No. 6 MW)

Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg

Demian Maia (No. 4 MW) vs. Dan Miller

Mac Danzig vs. Justin Buchholz

Ronnys Torres vs. Melvin Guillard

Tim Hague vs. Chris Tuchscherer

Phillipe Nover vs. Robert Emerson

Rolles Gracie vs. Mostapha Al-Turk

Feb 21 - UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez

Ultimate Fighting Championship

February 21, 2010

Acer Arena - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

UFC 110 FIGHT CARD

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (No. 4 HW) vs. Cain Velasquez (No. 9 HW)

Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping

Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropoulos

Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell

Goran Reljic vs. C.B. Dollaway

Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Chris Lytle vs. Brian Foster

James Te Huna vs. Igor Pokrajac

Elvis Sinosic vs. Chris Haseman

The Break Up!

*insert Ferio photochop here*

According to a recent article on Yahoo Sports the highly anticipated fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao is temporarily off as of Tuesday. The cancellation stems from a disagreement regarding drug testing procedures. Mayweather's camp insisted on adopting a random Olympic-style drug testing administered by the US Anti-Doping Agency. However Bob Arum quickly suggested an alternative to try to save the fight from being canceled. He proposed that there would be three blood drws and unlimited urine tests.

Arum (who I suspect obtained his medical degree from Casaca University) assured everyone that frequent urine testing is sufficient in the final 30 days to prevent either fighter from using performance enhancing drugs.

“Everything can be picked up by urinalysis,” Arum said. “Everything.”

I guess the Olympics have it all wrong then Bobby! Someone get Marion Jones on the phone. She will be happy to hear the good news.

Travis Tygart, the CEO of USADA, disputed Arum's support of urinalysis. Tygart stated that a combination of both urine and blood would be necessary to be deemed effective. He also said that the most effective method would be to subject athletes to random testing.

“To have an effective program, you have to collect blood and urine,” Tygart said. “The reason for that is that there are some things that are only detected in urine and there are some prohibited drugs that are both very lethal and potent from a performance-enhancing standpoint that are only detected in blood. One of those, for example, is human-growth hormone (HGH). There is no urine-based tested for human-growth hormone. It doesn’t show up in the urine. It’s only a blood-based test. That’s true of a number of prohibited substances, particularly those that would enhance and aid a boxer.”

So it looks like we have an old Mexican standoff here. Arum angrily said that a deal (compromise) would have to be reached by today if the fight would be salvaged. He suggestd that a Kansas City based National Center for Drug Free Sports conduct the testing. He had some choice words for Mayweather that only Bobby could put so eloquently

“The fight is definitely off,” Arum said. “I read their statement and we’re not acceding to it. Unless they pull that statement and call me, they can go screw themselves.”

It looks like we have an good old Mexican Standoff. Both camps are not budging. However Pacman is really making himself look suspicious in my opinion. If Pacquiao chooses not to fight because of random testing, what will this mean for his career as a a boxer? There have been a couple of people come out and make allegations against him and the use of steroids. If the day comes that an athlete can dictate when and how he/she is tested for performance drugs it will be a sad one in sports history.

'Rampage' Post Says Fighter to Return to UFC

A new blog entry posted late Wednesday under Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s name on the fighter’s official Web site says the former UFC light heavyweight champion will be returning to the promotion to complete his contract.

“Now, I wanted to let my fans know that I'm going to come back to the UFC & finish my contract,” read the entry. “Not because the haters are talking s--t about me being scared of Rashad or Titties or anybody else. I'm coming back for my fans & to shut Rashad's mouth up & shut Dana's mouth up. Then after that I'm going back to doing movies & I might do a boxing match once a year just to stay in shape. Hate on dis!”

The entry did not give any timetable for Jackson’s return.

Jackson, 31, had previously announced that he was “done with fighting” via another Web site post on Sept. 22. That first entry cited multiple grievances with the promotion following the fighter’s decision to bow out of a fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 107 on Dec. 12 in Memphis, Tenn., to take a starring role in the feature film “A-Team.” The bout was to have been the culmination of this season’s Spike TV series “The Ultimate Fighter,” where Jackson and Evans’ volatile relationship as rival coaches was well documented.

In Jackson’s absence, Evans was re-assigned to a headlining bout against Thiago Silva at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas.

Jackson’s portrayal on the reality show, which concludes its tenth season with a live finale event on Saturday on Las Vegas, was also addressed in Wednesday’s entry.

“I've noticed that the UFC & TUF have some fans brainwashed or something,” read the entry. “They still haven't realized yet that the TV show is just a TV show. I did my job by entertaining people and if you ever paid any attention to me, that's what I'm known for doing.”

Source

STRIKEFORCE makes it's S Florida debut at BANKATLANTIC Center on Jan 30!

HERSCHEL WALKER TO MAKE HIS MMA DEBUT; NICK "BAD BOY" DIAZ AND CRIS CYBORG RETURN TO ACTION!

Just months after the stunning announcement that he would try his hand at mixed martial arts (MMA), NFL and NCAA football legend, Herschel Walker, will make his highly-anticipated Strikeforce MMA debut at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on Saturday, January 30. Superstar Nick Diaz and Strikeforce world 145-pound women's champion Cris Cyborg will also see action in the cage against opponents to be announced during Strikeforce's historic first visit to the state of Florida.

Tickets officially go on-sale next Friday, Dec. 11 at the BankAtlantic Center ticket office as well as online at www.Ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800)745-3000.

Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time Pro Bowl competitor, will face an opponent to be announced in one of as many as five live, SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) televised bouts on the STRIKEFORCE card.

The 6 foot 1 inch, 220 pound former running back, who already holds a fifth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and boasts additional training in the combat disciplines of Muay Thai and Kenpo, recently entered a 12 week MMA training camp at San Jose, California’s American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), which plays home to a host of the world’s greatest fighters, including STRIKEFORCE Lightweight Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson and undefeated middleweight superstar Cung Le.

Walker, a 1999 College Hall of Fame inductee who was also selected to Sports Illustrated’s NCAA All-Century Team that year, has never been one to shy away from the road less traveled. Following his junior year at the University of Georgia where he had set the NCAA freshman rushing record en route to an undefeated season and Sugar Bowl championship victory over Notre Dame, Walker, a born-again Christian, astonished the sports world by withdrawing from school to play professional ball in the newly formed United States Football League (USFL) rather than wait to enter the NFL draft after the graduation of his collegiate class, a rule maintained by the world’s largest professional football league at the time. While the vast majority of football players typically follow an intensive weight room regimen, Walker relied on bodyweight exercise, conditioning, and calisthenics while maintaining very little body fat. Walker was eventually drafted in 1985 by The Dallas Cowboys and established himself as a premiere running back in the league. In 1986, he was the driving force behind a historic trade that sent in to The Minnesota Vikings in exchange for five players and six draft picks. In 12 NFL seasons with four different teams, he became the only player to gain 4,000 yards three different ways – rushing, receiving, and kickoff returns. He is one of six players to exceed 60 touchdowns rushing and 20 touchdowns receiving and is the only player in NFL history to register a 90 plus yard reception, a 90 plus yard run, and a 90 plus yard kickoff return, all in one season (1994). Off the gridiron, Walker has achieved a handful of feats, including a seventh place finish in the 1992 Winter Olympics two-man bobsled competition. Now 47 years of age, the native of Wrightsville, Georgia will look to conquer a whole new world.

Diaz will make his first start since he submitted hard-hitting Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith with a rear naked choke in the third round (1:41) of their STRIKEFORCE: Lawler vs. Shields matchup at St. Louis, Missouri’s Scottrade Center on June 6, 2009. The 26 year old Diaz, a native of Stockton, California, will put a five fight win streak on the line.

Cyborg made history on August 15, 2009 when the 24-year-old native of Brazil stopped superstar Gina Carano with a punishing barrage of strikes in the first round (4:59) of their meeting to become the first-ever STRIKEFORCE women’s champion. The long-awaited showdown between Carano and Cyborg also marked the first women’s main event in the history of any major MMA promotion.

Doors at BankAtlantic Center open at 7 p.m. The first non-televised, preliminary card fight will begin at 8 p.m.

STRIKEFORCE in March 2009 signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA events on the premium cable television network. The promotion made its live, primetime debut on CBS with the “Fedor vs. Rogers” mega-fight that it co-promoted with M-1 Global on Saturday, November 7 and generated 5.46 million viewers for the main event between the world’s number one heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, and superstar Brett “The Grim” Rogers.

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy - Flying Triangle

Mayweather-Pacquiao fight nearly finalized

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
Dec 1, 8:58 pm EST

The much-anticipated bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao is all but set for March 13, a source told Yahoo! Sports.

Mayweather has agreed to terms and promoter Bob Arum is making a trip to Manila, Philippines, to finalize a deal with Pacquiao, the source said.

Las Vegas, Dallas and New Orleans are the front-runners to host the bout, which is expected to become the highest-grossing boxing match in the sport’s history.

Pacquiao is the top pound-for-pound fighter in nearly every major ranking, including Yahoo! Sports. Mayweather is No. 2 in most rankings and was No. 1 in nearly all of the polls before he briefly retired in June 2008.

Pacquiao is coming off a 12th-round stoppage of Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, a bout in which he won the World Boxing Organization welterweight championship and erased fears that he is not a legitimate welterweight.

Cotto was a legitimate welterweight in his prime and Pacquiao dominated, knocking him down twice and cruising to the one-sided victory.

Mayweather routed Juan Manuel Marquez, who had previously been ranked No. 2 in the Yahoo! Sports poll, in a Sept. 19 fight at the MGM Grand.

The public demand for the fight has been enormous, putting pressure on Arum and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who represents Mayweather, to get a deal done.

Promoters had targeted May 1 for the fight almost from the moment that Pacquiao stopped Cotto. But Pacquiao filed Tuesday to run for Congress in the Philippines and the election will be held on May 10.

Given that, the bout with Mayweather had to be moved up to March 13 or pushed back until September.

Though there were reports that Arum was considering matching Pacquiao with new WBO super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman on March 13 in Dallas, that was a diversionary move and was never serious, the source said.

A survey team from Top Rank will inspect Dallas Cowboys Stadium as a possible venue. The MGM Grand Garden Arena and the New Orleans Superdome are also in the running to host the mega-fight, the source said.

Pacquiao to run for congress seat in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP)-Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao submitted his
candidacy for the 2010 elections Tuesday, his second attempt at a
congressional seat.

Pacquiao defeated Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas last month to win his seventh
world boxing titles in seven different weight classes. He was accompanied by
his wife, Jinkee, and mother, Dionisia, in filing his candidacy in southern
Sarangani province's Alabel township.

He was defeated in 2007 when he ran for the congressional seat in General
Santos city, where he began his boxing career.

A former baker and construction worker born to a poor family, Pacquiao
became an embodiment of a rags-to-riches story in the country where
one-third of the 90 million people live on less than $1 a day.

Pacquiao told The Associated Press in March he wanted to serve the many poor
people in his province.

"I want to help them because I know what they feel right now. It is not easy
to help other people. That is a big responsibility. I will focus on that for
the meantime," he told AP.

It wasn't immediately clear if he will still fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. if
he wins in congress.

Supporters cheered as he released white balloons and showed them his
certificate as the lead candidate of his party, the People's Champ Movement,
outside the Commission on Elections office in Alabel, about 620 miles south
of Manila.

Grapplers Quest - Dec 12, 2009

Watch UFC 106: Marcus Davis vs Ben Saunders

Watch UFC 106: Kendall Grove vs Jake Rosholt

Watch UFC 106: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Luis Cane

UFC 106: Paulo Thiago vs Jacob Volkmann

Watch UFC 106: Koscheck vs Johnson

Watch UFC 106: Ortiz vs Griffin 2

Erin wins bronze at the California Classic

Bruno Tostes gets his black belt from Renzo Gracie, right after Tim toasts him!

Workshop w/ Laercio Fernandez this weekend at Robot

This Sat, Nov 21st, at 1pm, Laercio Lima Fernandes will be visiting Robot to do his last workshop before returning to Sao Paulo.

This is an exceptional opportunity to train with one of the leading black belts from Lotus Club Sao Paulo. Among Laercio's myriad wins, he has the following recent black belt titles:



Black Belt Titles:
1st US Nationals Champion 2009 (IBJJF)
1st Place Brazilian Nationals 2008 (CBJJE)
3rd Place Brazilian Nationals 2007 (CBJJE)

The workshop is $20 if you preregister and $25 if you pay at the door.

To preregister, please send an email to david@robotbjj.com

Georges St. Pierre wants to wrestle in the Olympics? It's not that easy

Georges St. Pierre said he's going to try to wrestle for Canada in 2012. Competing for your country in the Olympics is an amazing feat, and a worthy goal for a competitor like St. Pierre. There is one problem, though. Canada is already pretty well stocked with wrestlers at 74 kg (163 lbs.), the weight GSP would likely compete at.

Matt Gentry, an NCAA champion for Stanford University, represented Canada at the 2008 Olympics at 74 kg. Now an assistant coach at Stanford, Gentry plans to try for the Olympics again in 2012. He points out that having GSP in the mix could strengthen Canada's delegation, but it isn't easy to get there.

"Evan McDonald is the number one guy in Canada at that weight. If St. Pierre comes in, there's going to be a lot of depth at that weight," Gentry told Cagewriter. "That kind of depth is only going to make our country better. It will make the representative who ends up competing more tested, and they'll have to work harder to earn that spot, which will pay off in the long run."

McDonald wrestled for Canada in the world championships this past September. If GSP were to try to wrestle in the Olympics, he would need to get through both Gentry and McDonald. With such little freestyle wrestling experience, it could be difficult.

"He does have good takedowns, he does have good blast doubles, but it's hard to make the comparison," Gentry said. "But [MMA fighters] stand upright. I've seen those blast doubles, and he's certainly a horse in terms of conditioning, but it is pretty different. It's such a technical sport."

Yes, St. Pierre is very adept at using wrestling during fights. However, there is a huge difference between taking down a striker like Thiago Alves at will and trying to do the same against Buvaisar Saitiev, the Russian gold medalist at GSP's weight class and one of the most dominant wrestlers of the past decade.

Just qualifying your country's weight class for the Olympics is a difficult feat. It requires the wrestler to take a top eight placing at the 2011 World Championships, win their continental championship -- for GSP, it would be the Pan-American Championships -- or win one of the two qualifying tournaments. How hard is that? Only one country, Russia, qualified wrestlers in every weight class for Beijing. Out of eighteen weight classes, Canada qualified ten of them in 2008.

Making Canada's team is also a time-intensive feat. GSP would need to start with the Canadian national championships in 2011 to become part of the ladder of competitors for the Olympic Trials. After that, GSP would need to win the Canadian Olympic Trials, usually held in December of the year before the Olympics. This would tie up GSP for more than a year.

Still, Gentry isn't going to look past St. Pierre if he does try for the Olympics.

"He's a competitor, I'm sure that he'll be tough to beat, no matter what he's competing in."

By Maggie Hendricks

Watch the Entire Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers

CBS.com makes the entire Fedor vs Rogers event available for viewing in high definition on their site. Relive the two hour event including Fedor Emelianenko's spectacular knock out victory over Brett Rogers!

"StrikeForce: Challengers" This Friday!!!!

Strikeforce Challengers - Live at Memorial Hall in Kansas City on Friday
night, November 20 - 8PM.

Don't miss Kansas City's Rudy Bears take on rising superstar Tyron Woodley
in the main event! Plus, local favorite Bobby Voelker takes on Erik Apple,
Kerry Vera battles Kim "Sugar Free" Couture, Aaron Rosa takes on Feijao and
it's the return to the cage of local favorites, Brian Davidson and Lee
Gibson.

COMPLETE FIGHT CARD
Televised Bouts:

Tyron "T-Wood" Woodley (4-0) vs. Rudy Bears (13-5)
Kerry Vera (1-0) vs. Kim "Sugar Free" Couture (1-1)
Erik Apple (10-1) vs. Bobby Voelker (20-7)
Aaron Rosa (12-2) vs. Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (7-2)
Kevin Casey (2-0) vs. Chade Vance (7-3)

Non-Televised Bouts:
Lee Gibson (10-4) vs. Joe Wilk (8-2)
Brian Davidson (5-1) vs. Russel Patrick (5-2)
Andrew Waters (1-1) vs. Nick Nolte (0-1)
Dominic Brown (15-13) vs. TBA
Darryl Cobb (1-0) vs. Gary Tapasua (debut)
Mike Chandler (1-0) vs. Rich Bouphanouvong (1-1)

TIME
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 - 10:00PM/CT (PRELIMS AT 8:00PM)

HOW TO WATCH
LIVE ON SHOWTIME

Five-Year Plan: One Gracie Garage in Every City

Five-Year Plan: One Gracie Garage in Every City

Since 1925, the goal of the Gracie Academy has been to empower everyone with
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. For people who do not live near a Certified Gracie
Jiu-Jitsu Training Center, do not have internet access, or cannot find a
dedicated training partner, a Gracie Garage may be the only way to learn the
art. As a result, we are determined to establish at least one Gracie Garage
in every city by January 1, 2015, and for that, we need your help.

What is a Gracie Garage?
A Gracie Garage is any unofficial training center dedicated to the practice
of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu that is equipped with at least 100 square feet of mats
and is led by a devoted practitioner of the art. Gracie Garage members
access the Gracie Academy curriculum through Gracie University (or the
Gracie Combatives DVDs), and work together to perfect the techniques and
climb through the belt ranks. Although the original Gracie Garage was an
actual garage in which Rorion and Royce had their humble beginnings
(pictured below), a modern day Gracie Garage can be operated out of any
location, from a one bedroom apartment to an existing martial arts school.

New Benefits for Gracie Garage Leaders
Realizing the critical role that these unofficial training centers play in
spreading the art of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, not only have we decided to eliminate
all costs associated with becoming a Gracie Garage, but we will reward all
Gracie Garage leaders with the following benefits:

* The Family Hookup: Gracie Garage leaders are family, and family members do
not pay for classes at the Gracie Academy. Each year, you may train up to
ten days at the Gracie Academy Headquarters (Torrance, CA) at no charge. You
can redeem your training all in one trip or divide it among several shorter
trips. Just show up with your gi, and we'll take care of the rest.

* Early Master Cycle Access: Each time a Master Cycle course is produced for
Gracie University, we will first grant access to our Certified Instructors.
Then, we will make it available to Gracie Garage leaders. Only after we have
received feedback from certified instructors and garage leaders will we
release the Master Cycle lessons to the general public.

* 10% Discount on all Gracie Merchandise: Most people wear Gracie Gear to
look good; family members wear it to spread the word. As a result, we give
all Gracie Garage leaders a 10% discount on all Gracie merchandise - at all
times. This includes everything in the Gracie Store, from t-shirts and
training equipment to duffel bags and Champion Juicers.

* Surprise Visit by the Gracie Brothers: Every six months, we will randomly
select one Gracie Garage to receive a private seminar with one of the Gracie
Brothers at no charge. As an active Gracie Garage, we automatically enter
your facility in the drawing for this highly coveted training opportunity!
When Ryron, Rener, or Ralek knock on your door, please let them in.

Watch the Brotherly Breakdown
For a full breakdown of the Gracie Garage benefits, and to learn how you can
join the Gracie Brothers in spreading Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to every city in the
world, click on the link below.

New Video: Gracie Garage Brotherly Breakdown

DMX fight update

DMX fight update: Rapper is out because he wanted the fight fixed?
By Steve Cofield
Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:20 pm EST

Earl Simmons better known as "DMX" isn't such a tough guy afterall. The
rapper made headlines back in September when it leaked that he'd be making
his debut as an MMA fighter against someone named Eric Martinez on a Dec. 12
Alabama card.

DMX, 38, started trash talking from the get-go saying he wasn't even going
to train for the fight:

"We got a phone call, you know, asking if I wanted to participate in it.
Yeah, why not? I figured I could do it. I'm just going to walk in as it
is... It wouldn't be fair if I trained. I can fight for real though, so it
is what it is."

The fight is now off because of ridiculous language DMX and his manager
wanted in the fight contract. DMX needs to talk pro wrestling promoter Vince
McMahon. According to documents acquired by TMZ:

X's manager, Nakia Walker, submitted an addendum to the rapper's
original contract for the fight, stipulating: "Event Promoter and Management
agree that [DMX] is scheduled to win the Boxing Challenge."

Huh? That doesn't sound like a real fight.

Walker also added a line which read, "All parties agree this event has
been scheduled to occur only in fun and that the artist involved is not a
professional boxer."

Part of the agreement was also not to release any of the details of the
pre-determined results to the public. DMX now says he wants to fight
regardless but the promoters, with a sour taste in their mouths, said no
dice. Thunder Promotions has inserted Coolio to fight Martinez.

DMX is fresh out jail after serving a 90 day sentence in Arizona. He was
locked up on charges of animal cruelty, theft and drug possession.

StrikeForce: Challengers - November 20

"STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS" READY TO WAGE WAR IN KANSAS CITY, KS ON NOVEMBER 20!

RISING SUPERSTAR TYRON WOODLEY TO MAKE HIS MAIN EVENT DEBUT AGAINST LOCAL FAVORITE RUDY BEARS!

In mixed martial arts, champions are not born, they're made. And before they're champions, they're challengers, fighting their way to the top for one chance at greatness..........

Rockstar Energy Drink presents Strikeforce Challengers in association with Shamrock Promotions - Live at Memorial Hall in Kansas City on Friday night, November 20 - 8PM.

Don't miss Kansas City's Rudy Bears take on rising superstar Tyron Woodley in the main event! Plus, local favorite Bobby Voelker takes on Erik Apple, Kerry Vera battles Kim "Sugar Free" Couture, Aaron Rosa takes on Feijao and it's the return to the cage of local favorites, Brian Davidson and Lee Gibson.

StrikeForce: Evolution - December 19

StrikeForce: Evolution featuring Cung Le, Robbie Lawler, King Mo and Jacare is set for December 19 at HP Pavilion in San Jose

Pre-sale tickets for StrikForce Insiders on sale tomorrow at 10:00 am PST.

The stakes will be high when Strikeforce closes out a spectacular 2009 with the return of one of the most prolific and exciting fighters in Mixed Martial Arts - unbeaten former Strikeforce world middleweight champion Cung Le, who will face Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith in the main event of a star-studded lineup at HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA on Saturday, Dec. 19, on Showtime®.

Joining Le (6-0) and Smith (16-6) will be three other outstanding and widely recognized 185-pound stalwarts, "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (16-5), Matt "The Law" Lindland (21-6) and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (10-2) as well as light heavyweight star (205 pounds) Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (5-0). Lindland will face Souza in what represents both fighters' Strikeforce debuts. Opponents for Lawler and "King Mo,'' whose start will also be his first with STRIKEFORCE, will be announced soon.

Special presale tickets for "Strikeforce Insiders" go on sale tomorrow, November 10 at 10:00AM/PT online at Ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000 when using the following presale code: STKMMA

St. Pierre New Face of Under Armour, Aims for Feb. or March Return to the Octagon

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre has signed a multi-year endorsement deal with performance apparel leader Under Armour, the company announced Thursday.

St. Pierre, 28, will become the face of Under Armour’s popular BoxerJock and BoxerBrief Underwear line this Spring, and will be featured in a multi-platform advertising campaign for its ColdGear apparel line this holiday season, as well its Recharge post-workout suit campaign.

“Not only is Georges one of the biggest stars in one of fastest growing sports in the world, but his strategic approach and the energy he brings to each competition make him a special kind of athlete,”

said Steve Battista, Under Armour Senior Vice President, Brand, in a prepared release.

“His dedication to training and making himself the best at what he does perfectly aligns with our Brand’s mission. When we found out that he was a fan of ours, we seized the opportunity to secure this partnership. He fits well into the Under Armour family.”

The deal marks the second time the affable mixed martial artist has courted a major advertiser outside of the sport’s usual fare. In March 2008, St. Pierre became the first fighter picked up by Gatorade for a North American campaign, appearing in its “G” campaign commercials and print ads in Rolling Stone and others.

St. Pierre joins Baltimore Ravens’ Ray Lewis, New York Giants’ Brandon Jacobs, Chicago Cubs’ Alfonso Soriano, lacrosse superstar Paul Rabil, and U.S. Olympian Lindsey Jacobellis among Under Armour’s current spokespersons.

Meanwhile, St. Pierre’s manager, Shari Spencer, said the fighter is still recovering from a groin injury sustained during his successful five-round title defense against Thiago Alves at UFC 100 last July in Las Vegas. Spencer said St. Pierre is aiming for a February or March return to the Octagon.

Down-and-Out Fighter's Big Payday

If anyone needed a huge post fight bonus at UFC 104, it was Pat Barry. The heavyweight out of New Orleans, scored Knockout of the Night and Fight of the Night for his victory over Antoni Hardonk. That was good enough for $120,000. Good thing, Barry needed the infusion of cash in the worst way. He confirmed to MMAScrapsRadio that he was completely down on his luck before the fight, agreeing that he had little to eat in Los Angeles the week of the fight.

"I still had my apartment but if something would've happened and the fight had been canceled, I would've been evicted six days later."

Barry, 30, said he didn't even tell his trainer Duke Roufus for fear that he would think the fighter had the wrong motivation going into the fight. Barry said he didn't ask anyone for money including his mother:

"I could ask someone but then at the same time, how hard are you going to work for something if everytime you get in trouble somebody catches you? I did something to put myself in this position I have to work my way out of it."

Barry got his $120,000 bonus check last Tuesday. He couldn't believe it. When he went to deposit the check, his truck wouldn't start. Barry got a jump and hit the bank sporting a black eye and pink striped shorts.

"I go to the bank, I'm sweaty, I've got the black eye, I haven't shaven in two days, I'm strung out because I haven't slept, I have green circles under my eyes so I'm like 'Can I have a deposit slip mam?'. She gives it to me, I fill it out hand it to her. She looks at the deposit slip, then the check, then looks at me and says 'Excuse me I'll be right back.' Then a manager comes out, a guy in a suit and says 'What seems to be the problem?' I was like 'Well I have a black eye, that's the only problem I know this looks really ridiculous.' So he asks me for my ID, I hand him my license an he's like 'Your license says Pat Barry, but this check was written to Patrick Barry.' So I decided to be funny and tell him Pat Barry is in my trunk right now. He didnt laugh. So I told him take your time man do whatever you need to do because I have no where to go and my truck probably wont start when I go outside so you can just do whatever you need to do. An hour later he came back and everything was fine, the check was in my bank account."

Source

Alves on GSP: Fighting GSP for Title Is a Different Game

Before his recent withdrawal from a rematch with Jon Fitch due to a small tear to the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee, Thiago Alves sat down with Sherdog.com and reflected on his title bout loss to Georges St. Pierre.

St. Pierre had trumpeted Alves as his most dangerous opponent to date. In the end GSP claimed a dominant unanimous decision, and Alves couldn’t help but feel he had given the champion too much respect.

“When you fight a guy like Georges St. Pierre, you have to think that he is good,” Alves said. “He’s the best fighter out there, in my opinion, but before the fight you have this respect because you don’t know what to expect until you are in there. Then, once he gets going, it is hard to catch up to him.”

St. Pierre ran out to a big lead against Alves and, despite suffering a groin injury late in the fight, he was able to shut down the explosive American Top Team product. Regardless of the outcome, though, Alves is confident the experience he gained in his 25 minutes with the champ will pay off should he get another crack at him.

“That’s why everyone who fights him says, ‘Now I know what it takes to beat him.’ I have seen what it takes,” Alves said. “I saw all the ghosts that appear when you fight for a title. People can say a lot of things to you like, ‘Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine,’ but when you step in there, you see it’s a whole different ballgame because you are fighting against the champion and you’re trying to take his belt away. You know he isn’t going to just give it to you. He’s the best fighter in the world and he has been there so many times.”

Although Alves feels he might have given St. Pierre too much credit before the bout, he left the cage respecting the UFC welterweight titleholder even more.

“It made me gain so much more respect for him. He’s such a great champion, he’s such a great fighter that I want to beat him. I want to be better than him,” Alves said. “That’s what I want, to be like Georges St. Pierre but better. You always have to look up to the best, and he is the best in my weight division, so I want to be like him but better.”

Asked if he wanted to rematch St. Pierre right away, Alves smiled and nodded: “I would fight him again yesterday.”

Source

Cal Classic 2009

The California Classic International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Gi and No Gi Championship hosted by Rommel Dunbar
Men, women and juniors

Sunday, November 15
Riverside Convention Center
3443 Orange Street, Riverside CA 92501
Starts at 9am

official site

Illness Forces Lesnar Postponement

Brock Lesnar, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s massive heavyweight titleholder, was forced to withdraw Monday from his highly anticipated Nov. 21 title defense in Las Vegas against Shane Carwin.
Carwin, via his Twitter feed, said the fight will be rescheduled for UFC 108 on Jan. 2.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to Yahoo! Sports. White said Lesnar has been ill for more than three-and-a-half weeks and unable to train. With the bout at UFC 106 less than a month away, Lesnar was forced to postpone the title defense.
“He said he’s never been this sick in his life,” White said. “He said it’s been going on for a long time and he just hasn’t been able to shake it.”
Lesnar’s co-manager, Brian Stegeman, said he does not know whether Lesnar had H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, and that he is beyond the stage at which he could be tested for the virus. He said Lesnar had upper respiratory issues, fever and extreme fatigue.
“Honestly, he’s been sick since the beginning of this camp and he’s had to take days off throughout,” Stegeman said.
The fight matches two of the biggest and most powerful heavyweights in the UFC. Lesnar (4-1), a former World Wrestling Entertainment star, was a junior college and NCAA Division I wrestling champion. Carwin is a former Division II national wrestling champion.
Both men weigh around 295 pounds and cut weight to make the heavyweight division’s 265-pound limit.
Carwin (11-0), who made several appearances in Los Angeles on Saturday to promote the fight, was clearly disappointed at getting the news.
“My heart just sank, as you can imagine,” Carwin told Yahoo! Sports upon hearing the news about the fight postponement.
The UFC announced Monday afternoon it will move the previously scheduled Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin fight, a rematch of an epic 2006 contest won by Ortiz on a controversial split decision, into the Nov. 21 main event slot
Stegeman said Lesnar just took an entire week off from training with no appreciable improvement. He said Lesnar’s head mixed martial arts coach, Marty Morgan, didn’t think he’d have enough training time to properly prepare.
“We kept thinking that he’d get better and be back at it, but it finally got to a point here where we were looking at a situation where Brock would have just two weeks to train for this fight.
“That’s just not fair to him. There’s no way a two-week training camp is even close to being fair to him and we all realized that. We kept hoping Brock would respond and get better, but it just lingered.”

Source

UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun

UFC 104 will take place in the world famous Los Angeles Staple Center. Spike TV will be airing two preliminary bouts live. Now at first I thought it was really nice of them to televise the fights that no one ever pays attention to for free. However I just confirmed that it will be a light heavyweight match up that has a jiu-jitsu beast against a winner of The Ultimate Fighter.

 

Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer

 

If you have been living under a rock then you are probably not familiar with Bader. He emerged as the undegeated light heavyweight winner of TUF Season 8. Shafer is obviously the underdog in this match up. I'm sure Dana White is hoping Shafer doesn't turn out to be another Petruzelli. He has a proven record and his jiu-jitsu can be a threat to Bader but I doubt he can outwrestle him.

 

Bader had an incredible win over Vinny Magalhaes in his UFC debut when he knocked him out but many have criticised him for his less than impressive performace against Carmelo Marrero at UFC Fight Night 18. He seemed to be inconsistent for that fight with an opponent known for a weak guard. If Baders goes into Saturday's fight struggling with his offensive game he could get himself on our next Knuckle Sammich of the Week.

Master Cycle - Side Mount Seminars in Virginia

From October 16-17, 2009, Ryron Gracie will be visiting the Certified Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Training Center in Norfolk, Virginia to teach three Master Cycle seminars. The focus of the seminars will be first-stripe blue belt techniques from Chapter 2 of the Master Cycle – Side Mount. Ryron will go over most important controls, escapes, and submissions beyond those covered in the Gracie Combatives course as well as the Rapid Master Drills that should be used to internalize the newly learned techniques. If you’re a Gracie Combatives student who lives in or around Virginia, don’t miss this opportunity to learn the next layer of street applicable side mount techniques directly from the source!

Session 1: Friday, October 16 @ 6:30-8:30pm – Side Mount Escapes and Rapid Mastery Drills
Session 2: Saturday, October 17 @ 9:00-11:00am – Side Mount Controls and Rapid Mastery Drills
Session 3: Saturday, October 17 @ 12:00-2:00pm – Side Mount Submissions and Rapid Mastery Drills

 

Location: Norfolk Karate Academy
Regular Price per session: $75 per person ($200 for all three sessions)
Gracie University Student Discount: $50 per session ($125 for all three sessions)
Training Attire: Gi preferred but not mandatory.
Experience Level: Gracie Combatives knowledge will help, but isn’t mandatory.
Private Classes: Very limited quantity available upon request, contact Bill Odom for information.
Reserve a Spot: Space is limited - Call Bill Odom @ (757) 621-8997 to save your spot.

Knuckle Sammich of the Week

TUF 10 - Kimbo Slice vs Roy Nelson

Dec 5 - Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale

FIGHT CARD

Matchups:
Jon Jones vs. Matt Hamill
Frankie Edgar (No. 7 LW) vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Dennis Hallman vs. John Howard
Mark Bocek vs. Matt Veach

Nov 21 - UFC 106: Lesnar vs. Carwin

UFC 106 FIGHT CARD

Matchups:
UFC Heavyweight Championship
Brock Lesnar (No. 2 HW) vs. Shane Carwin (No. 10 HW) Tito Ortiz vs. Mark
Coleman
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (No. 9 LHW) vs. Luis Arthur Cane (No. 8 LHW)
Dustin Hazelett vs. Karo Parisyan
Jon Fitch (No. 2 WW, No. 8 PFP) vs. Ricardo Almeida
Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni
Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders

Nov 14 - UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera

UFC 105 FIGHT CARD

Matchups:
Randy Couture (No. 8 HW) vs. Brandon Vera
Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang
Dan Hardy (No. 10 WW) vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Aaron Riley vs. Ross Pearson
Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway
Matt Riddle vs. Nick Osipczak
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman
Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty

Oct 24 - UFC 104: Machida vs. Rua

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Lyoto Machida (No. 1 LHW, No. 4 PFP) vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (No. 4 LHW)

Ben Rothwell vs. Cain Velasquez
Josh Neer vs. Gleison Tibau
Spencer Fisher vs. Joe Stevenson
Anthony Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Yushin Okami (No. 3 MW) vs. Chael Sonnen (No. 9 MW)
Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer
Chase Gormley vs. Stefan Struve
Patrick Barry vs. Antoni Hardonk
Jorge Rivera vs. Rob Kimmons
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Razak Al-Hassan

MMA Fighter Mayhem Miller flips out on EA Sports MMA programmers

Strikeforce Challengers: Results

MyKnuckleSammich has Strikeforce results for the main card of Friday's Strikeforce Challengers at the SpiritBank Event Center in Bixby, Okla.

Featured on the card are Tim Kennedy vs. Zak Cummings, two-time US Olympian Daniel Cormier, The Ultimate Fighter 7 assistant coach Zach Light and K-1 veteran Ray Sefo.

Daniel Cormier vs. Gary Frazier

Cormier wins by TKO (punches) - R2, 3:39

Travis Calanoc vs. Thomas Longacre

Longacre wins by unanimous decision

Zach Light vs. Tyron Woodley

Woodley wins by armbar submission - R2, 3:38

Ray Sefo vs. Kevin Jordan

Sefo wins by verbal submission - R2, 0:24

Tim Kennedy vs. Zak Cummings

Kennedy wins by north-south choke - R2, 2:43

Klitschko vs Arreola Saturday Sept 26

WOF heavyweight title fight at 8pm Saturday at Staple center.

Strikeforce Challengers: Cummings v Kennedy

All fighters made weight Thursday in Tulsa, Okla. For Strikeforce
Challengers event scheduled for tonight at the SpiritBank Event Center.

Headliners Tim Kennedy and Zak Cummings both weighed 186 pounds for their
middleweight bout. The show also features Tyrone Woodley against Zach Light
(170.4), and the MMA debut of two-time Olympian Daniel Cormier (250.2), who
meets Gary Frazier (245.2).

The event airs on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Main Card:
Tim Kennedy (186) vs. Zak Cummings (186)
Ray Sefo (240.8) vs. Kevin Jordan (236.6)
Tyron Woodley (171) vs. Zach Light (170.4)
Thomas Longarce (148) vs. Travis Calanoc (146.6)
Daniel Cormier (250.2) vs. Gary Frazier (245.2)

Non-Televised Fights:
Lacey Schuckman (121) vs. Jeri Sitzes (120.4)
Levi Avera (175.4) vs. Paul Bradley (176.6)
Trey Houston (183.6) vs. Brandon Gaines (187.8)
Kenny Giddens (155.2) vs. Jon Carson (155.8)
Nick Gibbons (147) vs. Josh Pulsifer (147.6)
Lemont Davis (168.4) vs. Dillon Smith (169.4)

KO of the Week: Machida KO's Evans

Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers, Saturday Nov 7, 2009

LIVE ON CBS!


FIGHT CARD (ADDITIONAL FIGHTS TO BE ADDED SHORTLY)

Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) vs. Brett Rogers (10-0) - 3X5 – Heavyweights

 

TICKETS ON SALE THIS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT 10:00AM/PT!  CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

SPECIAL PRESALE OPPORTUNITY FOR "STRIKEFORCE INSIDERS" BEGINS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 AT 10:00AM/CT!

Kimbo Slice Talks About Loss To Seth Petruzelli & Ready To Come Back

No Ma'am

Ed O'Neill (aka Al Bundy) has been training with Rorion for 15 years making him an honorary member of the Gracie Family. Over the last several months he has had to take some time off the mat to work on his newest television show, Modern Family, which premiers on the ABC television network this Wednesday, September 23 at 9:00pm (Eastern and Pacific). If you're home, be sure to tune in and support your distant jiu-jitsu brother. The show is hilarious, Ed guarantees it.

Source

Former NFL Star Herschel Walker signed with Strikeforce

Herschel Walker, the Heisman Trophy-winning running back and former NFL player with the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys, has found a new career: mixed martial arts. The 47-year-old Walker has signed a contract with Strikeforce to fight at an unspecified date. He will begin training with American Kickboxing Academy, the high-profile camp in San Jose, Calif., that trains UFC standouts Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, Jon Fitch, Cain Velasquez and Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson.

"I've been training for several years. I would play college football games on Saturday and then compete in martial arts tournaments on Sunday after church. I'm now looking forward to opening up another chapter in my life and to competing in MMA," said Walker in a news release.

Walker is not the first high-profile athlete to make the jump to MMA. In the current season of "The Ultimate Fighter," four former NFL players are trying for a chance at a contract with the UFC, most notably Marcus Jones, who played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for seven years. Cleveland Cavaliers star Shaquille O'Neal has trained in mixed martial arts for years, and made jokes about challenging former UFC champ Chuck Liddell.

That doesn't mean that the road to MMA success will be easy for Walker, who retired from football in 1997. During last week's episode of "The Ultimate Fighter," Jones became sick from the intense workouts that MMA requires. Afterwards, he noted that he never had to work that hard in the NFL.

Walker will also have the obstacle of age in front of him. Though there are fighters who compete well into their forties -- most notably Randy Couture, who is 46 -- but those fighters did not spend much of their lives being tackled by 265 pound linebackers. The wear and tear on a running back should not be dismissed when looking at Walker's chances.

At the same time, it will be hard not to root for him. He's been an MMA fan for years, and was even at UFC 103 this past weekend in Dallas. Walker is a modern-day Jim Thorpe, having competed in the Olympic bobsled, professional football and now MMA. Now, he will test the bounds of his age and health again in MMA. Seeing a 47-year-old man walk the walk in this manner is downright inspirational.

Source

Floyd Mayweather Vs Manuel Marquez

Floyd Mayweather vs Shane Mosley

UFC 103 Fight Results

Main Fight card (Televised):

• Vitor Belfort defeats Rich Franklin via TKO (Strikes) Round 1
• Junior Dos Santos defeats Mirko Cro Cop via Verbal Submission (Strikes) Round 3
• Paul Daley defeats Martin Kampmann via TKO (Strikes) Round 1
• Josh Koscheck defeats Frank Trigg via TKO (Strikes) Round 1
• Tyson Griffin defeats Hermes Franca via TKO (Strikes) Round 2

Preliminary Fight match:

• Efrain Escudero defeats Cole Miller via knockout in Round 1
• Tomasz Drwal defeats Drew McFedries via submission (rear naked choke) in Round 2
• Jim Miller defeats Steve Lopez via technical knockout (shoulder injury) in Round 2
• Nick “The Carnie” Lentz defeats Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira via unanimous decision
• Rick Story defeats Brian Foster via submission (arm triangle choke) in Round 2
• Eliot “The Fire” Marshall defeats Jason Brilz via split decision
• Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko defeats Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision
• Rafael dos Anjos defeats Rob “The Saint” Emerson via unanimous decision

Gracie Combatives Works for a Five Year Old Child!

On August 11, 2009 Michael Reynolds purchased the Gracie Combatives DVD collection and on Tuesday, August 25, his five-year old son used lesson 23 on the school bus. That evening he called the Gracie Academy Headquarters and left a very interesting message. Click on the link below to listen.

Master Cycle Mount Seminar in Oklahoma

On September 19, 2009, from 10:00am – 12:00pm, Rener Gracie will be teaching a Master Cycle seminar in Edmond, Oklahoma. The focus of the seminar will be mount control and submission strategies against a skilled opponent (Master Cycle – Chapter 1 of 7). The first portion of the seminar will be dedicated to learning the most important mount control strategies. The second portion will be dedicated to learning the most reliable submission series from the mount (no-gi). The final segment of the seminar will be dedicated to Rapid Mastery Drills – specific training exercises of varying intensity levels designed to increase retention of the newly learned techniques.

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2009
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm
Location: Redline Jiu-Jitsu Academy (745 Enterprise Dr. Ste 190, Edmond, OK 73013)
Reserve Your Spot: 405-694-6566 (ask for Ty)
Cost: $50 (pre-register) or $75 (at the door)
Attire: Gi or No-gi (no tank tops allowed)
Experience Required: None
Advice: If you live in or around Oklahoma, don’t miss it. Space is very limited!

 

KNUCKLE SAMMICH of the Week

Bob Arum Blasts Floyd Mayweather, MMA

Thanks to El Rayo De Jalisco from jpsoh.com for this video.