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World Extreme Cagefighting: Halloween Fury 2…Bad Blood
October 17th, 2003
The Palace Indian Gaming Center
Lemoore, CA

MMA Fights:
Cole Escovedo defeats Anthony Hamlet by TKO at 1:30, RD 2. (WEC lightweight title)
Shonie Carter defeats T.J. Taylor by judges decision. (WEC welterweight title)
Mike Kyle defeats Jerry Vrbanovic by KO at 0:12, RD 1.
Tom Owens defeats Tony Alanis by TKO at 1:49, RD 1.
Chris Leben defeats Brian Sleeman by armbar at 3:15, RD 1.
Poppies Martinez defeats A.J. Weiman by rear naked choke at 2:01, RD 1.
Fernandez Gonzalez defeats Mike Castillo by TKO at 1:27, RD 1.
Sean Liddell defeats Chris Saunders by TKO, RD 1.
Ryan Schultz defeats Hannibal Adolfo by KO at 0:25, RD 1.
Olaf Alfonzo defeats Randy Bowers by armbar at 3:05, RD 1.
Jason Von Flue defeats Chris Irvine by choke at 2:04, RD 1.
Richard Montoya defeats Travis Stuart by choke at 0:38, RD 1.

Muay Thai Fights:
Yai Mua defeats Toshi Yuki Nakagawa by KO at 2:00, RD 1.

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'Challenge Original Brazilian Vale-Tudo'
October 17th, 2003
Circulo Militar Gymnasium
Curitiba, Brazil

Eliezer 'Ninja' defeats Gelson 'Aranha' by KO, RD 1.
Marivaldo Moreira defeats Wander Santos by TKO, RD 1.
Franklin Jensen defeats Paulo 'Canhao' by KO, RD 1.
Sandro Reni defeats Daniel Alves by TKO, RD 1.
Emerson Graxaim defeats Alexandre Marciano by TKO, RD 1.
Leonardo Pelucio defeats Ricardo Savamu by TKO, RD 2.
Jeferson 'Gaucho' defeats Evandro Oliveira by KO, RD 1.
Wagner Kurio defeats Kaue Dudus by TKO, RD 1.
Luis Charneski defeats Everton Santos by KO, RD 1.

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Renzo Gracie

Andre Araujo, of Brazilian magazine Tatame, caught up with Renzo Gracie during the Brazilian release of his book Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique, co-written with Royler Gracie. Here's what Renzo had to say:


Tatame: How does it feel to finally release the book in Portuguese?

Renzo: Now that it's in our language, it feels much different! We've already sold over 80,000 copies around the world with the English, French, and Japanese versions. I hope we can surpass the limit of 120,000 copies.

Tatame: Many BJJ veterans from the old guard came out for the book's release. How was it to see all these old friends?

Renzo: I was really happy to see so many old friends here, seeing all the people that I grew up with, and who were a big part of my childhood. It was a rare occasion, and was what made me the happiest about bringing the book here to Brazil.

Tatame: The Gracies won 3-2 against the Japanese team at PRIDE Bushido, in what were toughly contested matches. How do you evaluate the evolution of the Japanese fighters?

Renzo: They haven't evolved at all. They hire referees that cheat for them. Watch the fight and then tell me what you think.

Tatame: Is it true that you now fight for the newly formed Gracie Barra Combat Team?

Renzo: Yes. The Gracie Barra Combat Team is up and running, and very strong. I am the international arm of the team.

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Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira

Brazilian magazine Tatame reports that Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira is spending some time training with the brother/trainer of boxing world champion and fellow Brazilian Acelino 'Popo' Freitas. Minotauro also trained with 'Popo' himself during the summer, and when he was an amateur boxer many years ago.

Minotauro hopes to polish his standup skills more in preparation for his fight against Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic on November 9th.

According to Minotauro, "I've always trained standup striking, and I am preparing to defend Cro Cop's strikes. I feel that by blocking his kicks and taking him to the ground, that I will be able to fight my kind of game and submit him".

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Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira

Todd Atkins from from Japan that Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira will defend his SHOOTO lightweight belt against Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto on the December 14th year end show.

Matchups on the card now include:

Joachim Hansen vs. Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro
Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira vs. Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto
Ryan Bow vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

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By Eddie Goldstein


Tito Ortiz

After the public relations blunder of broken promises and blatantly ducking more contenders, the reluctant former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz and his management have now devised a marketing angle where Ortiz will supposedly let his fans pick his next opponent.

This does however bring up another question...why not just fight the man your bosses (who pay your salary) over at Zuffa have already stated they want you to fight next?

That man of course would be Chuck Liddell, the fighter that Ortiz ducked for over two years. After recieving much deserved criticism for this, Ortiz then stated the following in three different interviews:

'And if anyone thinks I'm afraid of Chuck Liddell, Chuck Liddell is in for a whuppin'! Win, lose or draw against Randy Couture, he's the next opponent for me in my mind no matter what. I've got what I held out for.' -Tito Ortiz

But after UFC 44, Ortiz then said he did NOT want to fight Liddell, instead preferring a rematch with Couture. His bosses over at Zuffa said otherwise, stating that they want him to fight Chuck Liddell next. Now comes the marketing angle by Ortiz (which just looks like another last ditch attempt to duck Liddell again) of letting his fans pick his next opponent. In Ortiz's own words (usual bad grammar and all):

'I want all fan to pick my next opponent. Who's Next!!!!!!' -Tito Ortiz


Will Ortiz keep to his word or break yet another promise? Only time will tell, but if you want to vote for who you'd like to see him fight next, go to his site and cast your vote. I voted for Chuck Liddell.




Eddie Goldstein is a legendary underground journalist of boxing, pro-wrestling, and now MMA. His contributions to MMA can be found here exclusively at Fightsport.com from now on.

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Flavio Moura (right)

IVC veteran Flavio Moura has announced that he has joined the Gracie Barra Combat Team. Moura is the second Luta-Livre fighter to join the Gracie Barra Team, the first one being MMA and ADCC veteran Alexandre 'Cacareco', who came over from Ruas Vale-Tudo last June.

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Kimo

The inaugural KO King Fighting Championship, that was scheduled for November in South Korea, was postponed by its promoters. No reason or new date was given.

Fighters such as Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira, Kimo Leopoldo, Dan Severn, and Ikuhisa Minowa were scheduled to compete.

On a side note, numerous newspaper articles on how organized crime want to get into MMA in Korea have been printed in the past few months.

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Internet fighter Quincy "Spice" Rice

Quincy Rice, who has been labeled by many in the MMA community as an 'internet fighter', posed a challenge to Fightsport.com to send one of its reporters to his school in Michigan for a challenge spar of any choosing.

Fightsport.com responded to the challenge and offered to send our beat reporter called 'BIRD', who not only wanted to have a boxing sparring match with Rice, but also that he would spar Rice's best student right after!

When Rice read our reply posted at the Underground forum, Rice refused to accept the challenge and the message was quickly deleted by moderators. Finally through more persistence on the part of BIRD, Rice changed the challenge around and said BIRD would have to box, kickbox, wrestle, do judo and submissions.

BIRD accepted the challenge once again, and then Quincy Rice suddenly disappeared, even though he was still posting many messages on other threads. Quincy Rice now refuses to live up to his challenge.

Shame on you Quincy Rice, and it is no wonder that many promoters and competitors in the MMA and grappling community call you the 'internet fighter' and the 'Grappling Circuit Jobber'. The nicknames are well earned in the opinion of Fightsport.com.

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Wallid Ismael and Antonio Inoki

Anotnio Inoki and Wallid Ismael announced the following dates and possible locations for the next two Jungle Fight events:

Jungle Fight 2
January 17th, 2003
Japan

Jungle Fight 3
April, 2003
Las Vegas, NV

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The Japanese media is reporting that there is a strong possibility of a Mike Tyson vs. Ernesto Hoost matchup taking place at the K-1 2003 World GP Final on December 6th, 2003.

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After the success of the HBO documentary 'The Smashing Machine', producers John Hyams and Jon Greenhalgh have revealed that an adaptation to the big screen may be next. 'The Smashing Machine' was based on former UFC champ and PRIDE veteran Mark Kerr and his trials and tribulations in and out of MMA, leading up to his failure to win the 2000 PRIDE GP.

The script for a movie adaptation is not yet complete, but the potential movie has already attracted interest from actors like Vin Diesel and Mark Wahlberg. Jon Greenhalgh will produce the film, while John Hyams will most likely contribute in a non-directorial capacity.

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Kazushi Sakuraba (bottom)

The Japanese media reports that DSE would like to matchup Kazushi Sakuraba against an opponent from the UFC. The names of Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Phil Baroni, and Randy Couture have been mentioned.

But according to our inside sources in DSE, don't expect any of these matchups to happen. It's just talk to hype up the anticipation of who Sakuraba's opponent will be. Our sources say that DSE is really wanting to make a matchup between Sakuraba and Kiyoshi Tamura, but contract details have to be worked out with Tamura first.

More info to come on this in the next week.

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Jose "Pele" Landi-Jons

'Challenge Original Brazilian Vale-Tudo'
October 17th, 2003
Circulo Militar Gymnasiun
Curitiba, Brazil

Below is the card for the event being promoted by Jose 'Pele' Landi-Jons this Friday night:

Eliezer 'Ninja' vs. Gelson 'Aranha'
Wander vs. Marivaldo
Franklin vs. 'Canhao'
Sandrao vs. Daniel
Marciano vs. Graxaim
Pelucio vs. Savamu
'Gaucho' vs. Eevandro
Kaue vs. Wagner Kurio
Luis Charneski vs. Everton

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Larry Papadopoulos (top) against Masanori Suda.

Australian MMA pioneer Larry Papadopoulos is holding an MMA seminar in England. Papadopoulos was consistently ranked number one in his SHOOTO weight class up until he retired two years ago. The usual political reasons in SHOOTO, and Erik Paulson even giving up his belt in order not to fight the feared Aussie fighter kept him from getting his deserved shot at the belt.

Papadopoulos is currently on a trip around the world training people such as Randy Couture, and he has agreed to stop over in England with Team Savage and hold a seminar. English magazine 'Combat' will be there to provide a full report in its magazine.

Seminar location:
Burnham on Sea leisure centre
Burnham on Sea

Start: 1300
Finish: 1700
Fee: 10 pounds

Any inquires or for tickets call Alex Owen on: 07812064402 or 01275858679

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SHOOTO 'Warrior Spirit: Evolution'
November 14, 2003
Orleans Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, NV

Line-up Subject To Change:

Class-A Bouts:
Javier Vazquez vs. Rob Emerson
Aaron Riley vs. Drew Fickett
John Fitch vs. Adam Lynn
Nick Ertl vs. Rick Davis
Alfonso Alcarez vs. Ryan Ackerman
Erica Montoya vs. Jamie Lynn

Kickboxing Bouts:
Marvin Eastman vs. Simon Diouf
Albert Torres vs. Eric Osario

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A portrait of Tito Ortiz running away from Lee Murray (in background).

Lee Murray has launched an official website. To view the site, click here

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Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira

DSE has announced that PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko has injured himself in training and is out of the PRIDE 'Final Conflict' card on November 9th, in which he was scheduled to defend his belt against Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic.

Former PRIDE heavyweight champ Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira will replace Emelianenko, and he will take on Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic for an interim heavyweight title, with the winner facing a healthy Fedor Emelianenko sometime in 2004.

Emelianenko badly injured his thumb in his last fight with Gary Goodridge, which he just re-injured in training for his fight against Filipovic. The extent of the damage has not been revealed, but it is known that it is quite bad, and will possibly neeed surgery and a few months to heal.

DSE also announced that Kazushi Sakuraba will be fighting on the card against a soon-to-be-named opponent, but his fight will not have anything to do with the middleweight GP.

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Mike Tyson

Puroresu Power reports the following:

The WBC held a convention in Moscow, Russia, last week, and promoters at the convention stated that Mike Tyson had interest in boxing. The group of directors in the WBC are not happy with Tyson fighting in K-1, and there is a big persuasion campaign for Tyson not to work in K-1 or else he would face sanctions in boxing.

There is supposed to be an event on January 24th at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, with Mike Tyson fighting (perhaps against Michael Moorer). This is becoming a PR nightmare for K-1 in Japan.

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Brazilian magazine Tatame announced that Carlos Barreto vs. Travis Wiuff will take place on the Heat FC 2 show, scheduled for November 27th in Natal, Brazil.

Below are the announced matchups for the card so far:

Carlos Barreto vs. Travis Wiuff
Alan Goes vs. Gustavo 'Ximu' Machado
Forrest Griffin vs. Lucas Lopes

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Nathan Marquardt (right)

Below are the matchups that have been announced so far for the Pancrase card on November 30th:

Sanae Kikuta vs. Yuki Kondo (light heavyweight KOP title)
Nathan Marquardt vs. Ricardo Almeida (middleweight KOP title)
Kiuma Kunioku vs. Ken'ichi Serizawa (welterweight KOP title)

Nilson Castro vs. Akihiro Gono
Barrett Yoshida vs. Yoshiro Maeda

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Jens Pulver

IFC: 'Battleground Boise'
Saturday, October 25, 2003
Bank of America Centre
Boise, Idaho

The International Fighting Championships (IFC) will stage a 10-bout show from Boise, Idaho, on October 25th. Below are some of the fighters scheduled to compete:

Jens Pulver
Justin Eilers
Eric Heinz fight
Mike Kyle
Larry Garrison
Roger Neff
Lee Anderson

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European Vale Tudo: 'Genesis'
December 6th, 2003
Copenhagen, Denmark

European Vale Tudo (EVT) is the newest MMA promotion to start up in Europe. Below is the developing card for their inaugural show on December 6th:

Daniel Bergman vs. Guy Mezger
Travis Lutter vs. TBA
Richard Bohlenius vs. TBA

Any prospective fighters interested in fighting on the card, please contact matchmaker@europeanvaletudo.com

More information avaliable at EuropeanValeTudo.com

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Our sources in Brazil tell us that the Brazilian MMA promotion known as Heat FC is not completely done. What happened is that the promoters had sort of a nasty split, and the promoter who left the group (Marcelo 'Tetel') put out a press release yesterday saying that Heat FC had ceased operations.

Below is a new press release from Eduardo Alonso, who is still promoting the HEAT FC promotion:

"Despite recent rumors to the contrary, the fastest growing MMA show in Brazil, HEAT FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP, is not over. The show is still alive and growing, with its second edition scheduled for November 27th, and fights being signed. In what was a busy week for the promoters, a lot of inside stuff took place and it all ended in internal problems that caused a split among the show's owners.

However, the show is very much alive and some more fights for the HEAT FC 2 card are going to be announced later this week and MMA fans worldwide can count on plenty of fighting action in the end of November, in the city of Natal, Brazil, as was originally planned. HEAT is not dead; on the contrary, it's going to get even bigger. Stay tuned for more details." - Eduardo Alonso

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Tim Sylvia (left)

Sources in Las Vegas have informed Fightsport.com that the Nevada State Athletic Commission have made their final ruling regarding UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, who was caught using anabolic steroids in his recent fight with Gan McGee.

The NSAC handed out the following penalties to Sylvia:

1. A fine of USD$7,500.
2. A four month suspension.
3. Sylvia must give up his UFC heavyweight title.

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Carlos Newton vs. Renzo Gracie

World famous MMA photographer Susumu Nagao now has pictures up of the PRIDE Bushido event that just took place on October 5th. To check out the pictures on Susumu's site, click here

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Antonio Inoki (right)

Puroresu Power reports the following:

Antonio Inoki will be flying to Las Vegas soon to check out prospects of running a big show in February. Inoki will complete his booking for the Bom-Ba-Ye card for December 31st at the end of the month.

Inoki admitted that he is acquiring a promoting license for Las Vegas. Inoki said that nothing is set in stone for Vegas but that he's deep into the process and will announce details on Tuesday (October 28th) when he comes back to Japan.

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Sapp (left) vs. Bomjasky was the highest rated of all sporting events.

According to Full Video Research Ltd. Co., the K-1 'Final Elimination' show, which aired on Fuji TV on October 11th, was the highest rated sports show in Japan, drawing a 21.6 rating. The highest quarter hour rating was for Bob Sapp vs. Remy Bonjasky, drawing a whopping 28.5 rating.


Below are the top 10 Japanese Sports TV ratings for October 6th to October 12th, according to the Video Research Ltd. Co. of Japan:

1. K-1 World GP 2003 Tournament: Fuji TV, 10/11/03, 21:24-23:04 (110 minutes), 21.6
2. Soccer (Lithuania vs. Japan): Fuji TV, 10/11/03, 19:10-21:24 (17.1)
3. MLB - Yankees vs. Red Sox: NHK, 10/12/03, 15:09-16:45 (96 minutes), 9.0
4. F-1 Japan Grand Prix '03: Fuji TV, 10/12/03, 22:00-24:00, 8.7
5. Sports Review: Nippon TV, 10/12/03, 23:30-24:10, 8.7
6. Sunday Sports: NHK, 10/12/03 21:55-22:54, 8.5
7. FC Japan Soccer: TV-Asahi, 10/12/03, 23:55-24:25, 7.1
8. J-Sports Super Soccer PLUS: Tokyo Broadcasting System, 10/11/03, 0:00-0:45, 7.0
9. Sapp domination of K-1! K-1 World Series '03 Special: Fuji TV, 10/11, 16:30-17:30, 6.5
10. MLB: New York vs. Boston: NHK, 10/9, 12:20-12:45, 6.4

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The KOTC promotion has announced that it will change their rules to allow knees to a downed opponent.

Insiders say that since KOTC felt they weren't going to get over in Las Vegas anyway, that they saw no need to try and adhere to the Nevada State Athletic Commission's stringent rules, since KOTC runs almost all of their shows from Indian reservations in California.

We at Fightsport.com think this is as great rules change, and one that points MMA in the right direction. We can only hope that the UFC tries to get this rule changed with the NSAC as well. Of course knowing theZuffa and the UFC's propensity for dropping the ball, don't expect this to happen anytime soon.

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Naoyuki Kotani

The opening round of ZST's 16-man lightweight GP takes place on November 23rd, 2003. The semifinals and finals will take place on January 11th 2004.

Eleven of the sizteen fighters have been announced for the opening round. The final five fighters will be announced within three weeks:


ZST LightweighGP (opening round):
Remigijus Morkevicius
Igor Isaikin
Jorge Gurgel
Marcus Aurelio
Jason Maxwell
Naoyuki Kotani
Masahiro Oishi
Masakazu Imanari
Hideo Tokoro
Takumi Yano
Taisho


The prize money is as follows:

Champion - 5,000,000 yen (approximately USD$42,000)
2nd place - 1,500,000 yen (approximately USD$12,500)
3rd place - 700,000 yen (approximately USD$6,000)

Prize money for first submission or KO - 100,000 yen (approximately USD$850)
Prize money for second submission or KO - 200,000 yen (approximately USD$1,700)
Prize money for third submission or KO - 300,000 yen (approximately USD$2,550)
Prize money for fourth submission or KO - 400,000 yen (approximately USD$3,350)

You can check out ZST's english-language website by clicking here

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Lee Murray (driving bus) chasing the fleeing Tito Ortiz.

The president of the unofficial Lee Murray Fan Club has started his daily newssite for all things Lee Murray, as well as his insightful experiences and philosophies on life.

To view the site, click here

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The Brazilian MMA promotion known as Heat FC has ceased operations. Below is an announcement from one of the shows promoters:

"After the huge success in the first and only edition, Heat Fighting Championships meets the finish line of its short existence.

Unfortunately, due to financial issues from several different kinds of partnerships between the associates was broken and the show no longer exists. Heat FC will give me both good and bad memories and although the fresh ones are more from the second group, I am happy to have been a part and to have contributed for a new moment in MMA in Brazil. Heat was the pionner show with the intent to not copy but follow an international standard regarding production, and condition of performance for the MMA athletes. Natal was certainly one of best spots in Brazil for an MMA show and for sure will still be.

For those who believed in Heat FC, be sure that the seed wiil grow and everybody in the MMA business in Brazil will be happy with the results real soon."

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Javier Vasquez

According to sources in California ana Japan, former KOTC lightweight champ Javier Vasquez is pretty much recovered from his knee surgery for torn ligaments, and is tentatively scheduled to make his return on the November SHOOTO card.

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John Alessio

KOTC welterweight champion John Alessio has announced that he has just signed a 3-fight boxing deal.

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K-1 WORLD GP 2003 FINAL
December 6th, 2003
Tokyo Dome,
Tokyo, Japan

World GP Finals Tournament:
Stefan Leko vs. Cyril Abidi
Peter Graham vs. Remy Bonjasky
Musashi vs. Ray Sefo
Alexey Ignashov vs. Peter Aerts

Alternate Bout:
Bob Sapp vs. Francois Botha

Super Fights:
Carter Williams vs. TBA
Jerrel Venetian vs. TBA


If Botha wins, he becomes the reserve fighter in the tournament in the event that someone gets injured. If Sapp wins, neither man will be a reserve.

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Randy Couture (top) beating on the hapless Tito Ortiz (bottom).

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer is reporting that UFC 44 did around 80,000 PPV buys only, and that the show did a smaller live gate than originally thought.

* Editor's note: This would go in tune with what many media and fans who were live at UFC 44 reported, that the arena did not look sold out and that there were many empty seats.

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Mark Coleman

Former UFC champ and PRIDE GP winner Mark Coleman underwent successful neck surgery by the famous neck surgeon Dr. Jho in Pittsburgh. It is the same doctor that did the same alternative neck procedure to former Olympic gold medalist and WWE wrestler Kurt Angle.

Coleman has also stated to the media he now plans a return to MMA, has completed his coPRIDE contract, and is now a free agent. Some media were speculating that he may make a return to the UFC, but sources close to Coleman told Fightsport.com that he plans on staying in Japan and either fighting in one of the big MMA events again, or pursue a career in pro-wrestling over there.

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Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua

Brazilian magazine Tatame recently interviewed Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua. Here's what Shogun had to say (Interview by Eduardo Ferreira):

Tatame: What's your evaluation of your debut in Pride Bushido against the experienced Akira Shoji?

Shogun: I think that I did very well. I started off better in the standup, but he tried to take me to the ground. Shoji tried a leg lock, but I was able to escape and get the fight back to the standup. Akira didn't want to trade strikes though, and he was able to take me down again, and almost got mount. I was able to reverse the position, got back up, and knocked him out with punches. Shoji fell to the floor unconscious but the referee didn't realize this, so I gave him one more kick.

Tatame: That was your second international event, and the first one in Japan. How did you feel fighting in PRIDE?

Shogun: I felt like I was at home. The Japanese treat me very well, it felt as if I was fighting in Meca.

Tatame: Have you recieved any offers from PRIDE?

Shogun: Until now, no, but the promoters liked me very much and complimented me a lot. However, I intend to take some time off until the end of the year so that I can take care of my knee, which is a little banged up. I believe it's some type of inflamation, so I will train a little lighter and return to fighting only in the coming year. But, if I get a good offer, then I'm here and I'll fight. I'm prepared.

Tatame: You came in having been appointed as the big Chute Boxe star after Vanderlei Silva. Does that affect you? What do you think of this?

Shogun: It only brings me more motivation. I am honored to be compared with Vanderlei because he is awesome. Of course I want to show my game and to be recognized for my work.

Tatame: Do you see a difference in your career since you started becoming more internationally famous as a fighter?

Shogun: I think that everything is still the same...the only difference I've noticed that people used to point at me and say, "That's 'Ninja's' borther." Now people recognize me as 'Shogun'.

Tatame: Speaking about your growing international fame, after you beat Cyborg in Meca, many people considered you as favorite to win the IFC tournament. How do you analyze your loss in the IFC to Babalu?

Shogun: I was doing really well in that fight, everybody told me I was winning, but I made a mistake and I got submitted. But the loss didn't affect me. I lifted my head up and went on to knock out the experienced Akira Shoji in my second international fight.

Tatame: What are the plans of the team, since you, your brother, and Vanderlei are all in the same weight class?

Shogun: For the time being, my priority is to stay in this weight class, and my brother plans to do the same. But in two or three years I would like to move up to heavyweight. I leave everything in the hands of my two masters. If they tell me to move up to heavyweight right now, then I'll do it with all my heart and so on a supplementation program to fight at that weight.

Tatame: How has your relationship with your brother 'Ninja' been since your meteoric rise as a fighter? Did it bring about any jealousy?

Shogun: No way, not at all. We are partners and great friends. We always help each other out in training.

Tatame: By the way, how is Ninja doing in his preparation to face Marcelo 'Tigre' at Meca 10?

Shogun: He will kick his ass. Ninja hasn't fought for one year and he wants to show how good he is. He is very well prepared.

Tatame: Your success hasn't only been in the ring. You were also hired as a model for a fashion store. How did you get involved in modeling?

Shogun: I started three years ago. I was at a mall here in Curitiba and there were three women and a queer looking at me. One of the women approached me and asked me if I was a model and if I wanted to work as one. I told her that I wasn't a model, and I was a bit distrustful of her, so she gave me her card. When I got back home I told the story to my mother and she told me to call the woman back, telling me that I didn't have anything to lose. I called her back, they did my picture portfolio for free, and they went out to get me some modeling jobs. It was really good because I made some extra money, but modeling is a second option. My first priority is fighting.

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Baret Yoshida (bottom)

Todd Atkins reports the following from Japan:

SHOOTO and ADCC veteran Baret Yoshida will make his debut in the Pancrase organization on their November 30th card.

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Mark Kerr (hands raised)

The HBO documentary 'The Smashing Machine' will be released on DVD on October 28, 2003. The Smashing Machine features MMA fighter Mark Kerr as he battles through drug addiction on his way through to the PRIDE 2000 Heavyweight Grand Prix, a tournament he is favored to win but ultimately fails trying. The documentary also features MMA fighters such as Mark Coleman, Renzo Gracie, and Bas Rutten in minor roles.



You can pre-order the DVD at Amazon.com

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Frank Mir

The big rumor on the internet forums are that if Tim Sylvia gets suspended by the NSAC, that Zuffa will strip him if his heavyweight title and matchup Ricco Rodriguez vs. Frank Mir for the heavyweight title in UFC 45.

We contacted our Zuffa informant called 'Coffee Guy', and he confirmed to us that this is a very strong possibility, but that UFC president Dana White has not decided yet whether to strip Sylvia, and whether Mir and Rodriguez would fight for the actual title or an interim title.

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Ron Waterman (left)

PANCRASE 2003 HYBRID TOUR
Friday, October 31st, 2003
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

Open: 17:30
Start: 18:30

Complete Card (Subject To Change):

Ron Waterman vs. Jun Ishii
Akihiro Gono vs. Watanabe Izuru
Izuru Takeuchi vs. Eiji Ishikawa
Kosei Kubota vs. Yuichi Nakanishi
Satoru Kitaoka vs. Naoki Seki
Keigo Takamori vs. Hur Sung Jin
Takuya Wada vs. Minoru Ozawa
Miki Shida vs. Masahito Wachi

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SHOOTO
October 31st, 2003
Kitazawa Town Hall
Tokyo, Japan

(line-up incomplete)

Class-A Bouts:
Junji Ikoma vs. Takeyasu Hirono

Class-B Bouts:
Tomonari Kanomata vs. Nobuhiro Obiya
Issei Tsurumi vs. Tiger Ishii
Lion Takeshi vs. Masanori 'Gatch' Sugatani
Koji Takeuchi vs. Ganjo Tentsuku
So Tazawa vs. Takahiro Hosoi

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Paulo Filho

Brazilian magazine Tatame recently interviewed Paulo Filho and asked ghim about his recent switch from Brazilian Top Team to Brazil Dojo. Here's what Paulo had to say (Interview by Alexandre Lobo):

Tatame:Why did you decide to join the Brazil Dojo?

Filho: It was purely a professional decision. I've been without a fight for a long time and I don;t have a fixed income. Professionally, BTT is sensational, but I need to fight, and I need to make some money. My father has health problems and I need to help him. Wallid offered me a good deal for me to fight.

Tatame: Under what basis was your contract with Wallid signed?

Filho: In reality, it's not really a contract. He guaranteed me three fights, and an allowance for training expenses. I am already confirmed for the Inoki BOM-BA-YE on December 31st.

Tatame: And what about your contract with Pride? Will the changing of teams hurt it?

Filho: My contract with PRIDE was for teo fights during a one-year time period. I only had one fight (a submission victory over Akira Shoji in PRIDE 22, on September of 2002), and then my contract expired.

Tatame: All of a sudden you are in the middle of this "war" between BTT and Brazil Dojo. How is your relationship with your old teammates, principally with the team's head Ze Mario (Sperry), Murilo (Bustamante), and Bebeo (Duarte)?

Filho: I already talked to Ze Mario and Murilo, and I had explained everything. I love everyone at BTT, they are like my brothers and I am sure they understand my situation, but my ship had sunk! I want to make it very clear that I have any interest whatsoever to fight with anyone from BTT.

Tatame: You were considered one of the favorites to to win the September IFC tourney that Babalu ended up winning. You injured your knee right before that event and could not compete. How are you now?

Filho: I'm going to get a blood test in a few days for an arthroscopy I'm getting done on my knee. I tore the lateral meniscus and a piece of it is going to have to be removed. But the doctores guaranteed that I will be able to walk the same day, and that in two to three weeks I will be able to resume training.

Tatame: A lot of people questioned your injury because you were a referee in the Jungle Fight event right after...

Filho: I refereed that event because I needed the money. I was counting on the money from the IFC before that...in all honesty I was crippled throughout the whole event and felt a lot of pain in my knee. My knee got really swollen after the event, but I needed the money. The time for romanticizing about MMA is over...

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by Ron Merrill


(The following commentary by Ron Merrill is taken from InsideFighting.com)

Why is it that I can sit here looking at the line-up for the UFC 45, 10th anniversary show and feel a little ripped off? What does it mean exactly - that word - 'anniversary?' According to my American Heritage Dictionary, there are two definitions for 'anniversary.' The first: "The annually recurring date of a past event, especially one of historical, national, or personal importance: a wedding anniversary; the anniversary of the founding of Rome." Okay, that would seem to cover just about anything from Christ's birth to the attacks on 9/11. Here's the second definition: "A celebration commemorating such a date." Ah. Now that's more like it. I think that the UFC was aiming for some sort of commemorative celebration when they announced that they were hosting an anniversary show.

Working from the premise that the UFC is looking to commemorate 10 years of mixed martial arts in the United States by offering a terrific card in its fans' honor, I really have to raise issue with the choice of line-ups. This is not to say that each of the matches on the UFC 45 card don't represent outstanding MMA action or potential greatness down the road, it's just that most of them aren't in keeping with what I feel that the 10th anniversary show is all about. Maybe in order to understand what I mean, it's necessary to take a little trip down memory lane.

Way back in the olden days, when I was walking to school, 10 miles uphill...both ways...in the snow...okay, maybe not that far back. Let's just go back to 1993. Now, I know we all have a story to tell about where we were when we first viewed no holds barred fighting, so I won't bore you with all the details of mine. Suffice to say, I caught the action right from the onset. After seeing an expose on "human cockfighting", I was hooked. From that point on I wanted to get my hands on every copy of no holds barred fight tapes in existence. I traveled to the far-reaching video stores of my area in search of missing tapes from the UFC series. The minor success of the UFC led to a multitude of spin-off promotions that produced videos with limited availability as well. You could say that a short, but intense dose of no holds barred viewing turned me into a fan for life.

As the 90's dragged along, no holds barred became commonly referred to as mixed martial arts (MMA), and the sport developed. But not without severe pressure from special interests groups, often spearheaded by prominent politicians the likes of Sen. John McCain (R. Arizona). The resulting attention by the media and its pundits forced MMA shows to scramble for last minute venue changes due to promoter's licenses being retracted. All the while, fans held their breath and crossed their fingers in hopes of seeing the next show. We were content to fill the same old show barns on county fairgrounds as well as civic centers in dull locations, all for the love of the sport.

Slowly but surely, MMA and the politicians reached a tentative piece with one another. The sport, whose development had been hindered by adversity, was once again back from its knees and beginning to stand tall. The show barns and civic centers were replaced with magnificent casino venues. Bar-fighting brawlers were traded in for highly trained fighting machines. Mixed martial arts in America had overcome it's demons and planted itself firmly as a point of interest with mainstream attention coming from ESPN, Fox Sports Network, The Late Show and Carson Daily just to name a few. Now that's something to celebrate!

So how about loosening the purse strings, Zuffa? Open up the wallet just a little wider. There are tens of thousands of MMA fans out there to whom this show should be dedicated. There are thousands more who you have picked up recently with the increased marketing efforts. They will gauge the 10th anniversary show not so much as a celebration of where you've been, but where you're going. Let's make this show a great one! Let's see some of the old familiar faces again. How about working out a deal with Royce? It just doesn't seem right to celebrate in the house that Royce built without inviting him to the party.

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Ultimate Crush and New Japan Pro-wrestlingOctober 13th, 2003
Tokyo Dome
Tokyo, Japan

MMA matches:
Josh Barnett defeats Yoshiki Takahashi by triangle choke, 2 RD. (Open-weight KOP title)
Osami Shibuya defeats Khaliun Boldbataar by choke at 4:46, RD 2.
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka defeats Ricardo Morais by unanimous decision.

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Frans Botha

K-1 announced that Bob Sapp vs. Frans Botha will take place at the December 6th K-1 Finals show at Tokyo Dome show.

K-1 matchmaker Sadaharu Tanigawa said that if Botha wins, that he would go on to be the 'reserve fighter' for the K-1 Finals tournament in the event that one of the eight tournament competitors gets hurt. If Sapp wins, he wins the match only.

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Bob Sapp (left) vs. Remy Bonjasky.

The following pictures of the October 11th K-1 'Final Elimination' event are brought to you courtesy of K-1 USA.

To view the entire gallery, click here

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Randy Couture in amazing shape at the age of 40.

Dr. Ryan Parsons is Randy Couture's nutritionist and Chiropractor, and the creator of Light Force Supplements. Dr Parsons and his supplements are largely credited as one of the keys to Randy's amazing shape at the age of 40. Boxing Insider recently interviewed Dr. Parsons and asked him many questions regarding his methods. Here's what Dr. Parsons had to say:

BoxingInsider: Tell us about Randy Couture training regimen, and what the rest of us can learn from Randy's Successes?

Dr. Parsons: Randy is the most coachable athlete I have ever come across. Coachable in that he is always willing to look at his game and recognize what isn't working and what he could be doing a little bit better. He's open minded and listens to advice from people. Even as a 4-time UFC Champion and he was willing to change his diet around and incorporate different stand up techniques, submissions, and different ways to control his opponents. A lot of people get to a certain level of success and all of a sudden become stuck in a rut. Randy is just the opposite. I think one of the main keys to his success is his opening mindedness, his willingness to try things, to experiment and improve.

He's been like this ever since I've known him. We became friends in 1996. We had a mini training camp going on in Huntington Beach before the Olympic trials. I lived with Dan Henderson and Heath Sims at the time and Randy stayed with us for a few months. I was in the middle of Chiropractic school so I had all these guys to use pretty much as my "dummies" - to adjust and experiment with nutritional approaches.

BoxingInsider: What did Randy Couture do specifically this time different that he hasn't done in any other fight?

Dr. Parsons: This time I had more time to work with him. I actually went up to Oregon for a few weeks before [the fight]. Matt Lindland had been working his neck pretty hard in practice and the left side of Randy's neck and shoulder were fired up. I adjusted him almost daily. He got daily messages, some times two times a day. The focus was first to get him out of pain, make sure his body is ready to go. [Second,] plan out his nutrition. He had already made some of the changes. He was on "the greens" but we increased the amount of alkaline foods in his diet. I cooked most of the meals while I was up there to make sure he was on track. By the time we got to Vegas, he was injury free. Most of the work was done. There was just very small tune-up type stuff. His hard practices stopped at about ten days out - so his body had plenty of time to recuperate. He actually cut his training back a bit, didn't train quite as hard, as late as he used to for his prior fights. He did that with Chuck and again with Tito. His body really just came into its own and peeked at the right time. During our week in Vegas we continued what we had been doing. We made a trip to whole foods to get some good organic produce so his nutrition didn't suffer the week in Vegas before the fight.

BoxingInsider: Tell us about Light Force "High Energy Greens" that are for sale?

Dr. Parsons: The high-energy greens are a combination of 48 different alkalizing grasses, herbs, and vegetables combined with MSM. What they do is help alkalize the body. Hard training as well as the average diet and lifestyle most people live are very acidic in nature. When you have an acid build up in your body, your conditioning decreases, your performance and health can suffer. So recognizing the type of training that a lot of people do, especially Randy, getting ready for a big fight like this, we had to make sure there was the least amount of acid build up in his body as possible. And that is where the greens come in. They are a whole food source that is a great way to alkalize the blood and are loaded with nutrition.

Simply mixing them with water and drinking them down, you get tremendous benefits. That is one thing we did with Randy. Everyday was started with Light force greens drink with a little bit of lemon into it. He also had fresh greens, Kale spinach - not your typical breakfast foods. He had those though out the day with every meal. It is a different approach but very effective.

BoxingInsider: Is light force for every body? Or is it specifically for professional athletes?

Dr. Parsons: My approach all along, when I work with the general public or athletes, is generally what is going to be better for your health is going to be better for your performance. We have Randy's mother taking it and she feels better, strange thing - her frozen shoulder actually cleaned up. When your body starts to get healthy and cleans, the self healing capacity we all have takes over.

BoxingInsider: There are no safety issues or anything like that?

Dr. Parsons: No, it is completely natural the whole food, there is nothing nasty in there so you don't have to worry about any of that stuff. I do recommend talking to a health professional before taking any supplements. Most people don't have any allergy problems or there is no ephedra based products in there. So it is a good natural whole food that anybody can take.

BoxingInsider: What is your advice to people who want to clean up their lives and their diets starting tomorrow after being inspired by what Randy has accomplished?

Dr. Parsons: I am a firm believer in not trying to change everything over night. A lot of people try to do that and get overwhelmed or frustrated. Eventually they resort back to the patterns that created the problem in the first place. The one thing that we focused on with Randy is 'what we can do to make a 1 or 2 percent difference?' How can we improve by a very small amount regularly? If he can improve 1 or 2 percent a week do that over a period of weeks or months... in 6 or 7 months he is going to be a different type of an athlete.

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RING OF FIRE 10
Saturday, October 18th, 2003
Douglas County Events Center
Castle Rock, CO

Doors open: 6:30 PM
Fights start: 7:30 PM


MMA rules fights:

Christian Carvahlo vs. Alberto Crane (ROF Rocky Mountain lightweight title)
Patrick Smith vs. Allan 'A-Dawg' Sullivan
Fabian Acuna vs. Danny Jung
Rocky Von Gogh vs. TBA
Luke Caudillo vs. TBA
Keith Wilson vs. Joshua Kaine
Lamont Smith vs. Aaron Treager
Rocky Johnson vs. Tom Sarah
Christian Sanders vs. Brock Jensen

K-1 rules fights:
Cruz Chacon vs. Nick Rondinelli
Tony Johnson vs. Steven Simmons
Mike Baldwin vs. Ryan Fotheringham

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Extreme Challenge 54
October 12, 2003
Illinois

Bart Palaszewski defeats Jay Estrada by TKO at 3:23, RD 3
Kerry Schall defeats Demian Decorah by split decision.
Mustafa Hussaini defeats Brian Borzell by unanimous decision.
Terry Martin defeats Greg Franklin by keylock at 2:27, RD 1.
Joey Gilbert defeats Josh Rave by unanimous decision.
Jason Guida vs. Steve Dau decalred a no-contest.
Rory Markham defeats John Bulger by KO at 0:59, RD 1.
Sam Hoger defeats Adam Maciejewski by triangle choke at 1:29, RD 1.
Brian Bresler defeats Davis Hayes by TKO at 1:12, RD 3.


EC Tournament
Semifinals:
LaVerne Clark defeats Mac Danzig by unanimous decision.
Rafal Piszczek defeats Jay Buck by ankle lock at 2:33, RD 1.

Final:
LaVerne Clark defeats Rafal Piszczek by unanimous decision.

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Ultimate Submission Showdown
Saturday, October 11, 2003
James Armstrong Theatre
Torrance, CA


Tournament:

Quarterfinals:
David Avellan defeats Rener Gracie by a score of 12-7.
Peter Angerer defeats Keigo Kunihara by heel hook.
Ryron Gracie defeats Jeff Monson by a score of 12-11.
Travis Lutter defeats Lance Campbell by keylock.

Semifinals:
David Avellan defeats Peter Angerer by submission.
Travis Lutter defeats Ryron Gracie by a score of 12-2.

Final:
Travis Lutter defeats David Avellan by a score of 13-1.


Alternate bouts (round robin):
Nilsen defeats Marcio Corletta
Marcio Corletta defeats Harris
Marcio Corletta defeats Nilsen

Corletta automatically qualifies for the next USS event.

For more information, go to IGJJF.com

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