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Mark Weir

XTREME FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2: 'THE PERFECT STORM'

(Date to be announced)

Mark Weir vs. Gregory Bouhelagem
Mustapha Al-Turk vs. Buster Ward
Gerald Strebendt vs. Pat Carr
Matt Ewin vs. Xavier Foupapokam
Suley Mahmoud vs. Frank Kunjero
Lee Threlfall vs. Kassim Annan
Dave Roach vs. Kris Hughes
Peter Bucht vs. Adrian De Gorsky
Joachim Emberg vs. Mario Stapel
James Taylor vs. Cyril Rousseau
Anders Ericsson vs. Dave Jones
Matt Thorpe vs. Che Mills
Obi Silassi vs. Barry Quail
Leon Howell vs. John Waite
Alex Cook vs. Andy Evans
Paul Tighe vs. Derek Morris
Lee Bowes vs. Kim Phillips
Phillip Scholard vs. Ray Burns

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International Federation of Pankration Athlima
November 20 - 24, 2003,
Copenhagen, Denmark

Bushido Sport Center
Klosterport 4A
8000 Arhus C
Denmark


The International Federation of Pankration Athlima announces the IFPA 2003 World Cup according to the below:

- Individual fights of Men and Women over 18 years old.
- Team fights of Men and Women over 18 years old.


Tel.: +4586183044
Fax: +4586183313
e-mail: info@shoshindo.dk


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By Todd Atkins

Ken Shamrock

The Atkins Insider is currently working on some big inside stuff. As of today I will report a few odds and ends.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta wants the UFC patterned after boxing as far as a total card goes. One big headline fight and the under card filled with true up and comers that are not paid very much. Word is that future UFC's will not have stacked cards anymore.

The last PPV did not do so bad, but it didn't come close to approaching the numbers that Tito vs. Ken Shamrock did.

Dana wanted Ken Shamrock badly for UFC 45 but he just isn't physically ready right now.

The HWT picture is really a mess. No decisions of late on how exactly the title will be decided. It is believed that it will not even be addressed until AFTER UFC 45. Dana thinks Ricco Rodriguez will beat Pedro Rizzo, they then could have Ricco vs. Frank Mir for the title in January.

Tito Ortiz is still demanding to fight Randy Couture despite his internet plea to let the fans decide who he will fight. Speculation is that Tito thinks Chuck Liddell is going to get beat soundly at the Pride Grand Prix Finals. Then he will say that Chuck Liddell doesn't deserve a fight with him. Time will tell, but by contract Tito gets a rematch unless he works something different out with Zuffa.

As you may know, Gan McGee was dropped from his contract after his loss to Tim Sylvia.

Vladdy Matyushenko fought the last fight of his contract and Frank Trigg told UFC that Vladdy broke a small bone in his hand prior to his fight with Andre Arlovski and had it in a cast for a few weeks. Frank Trigg also said that Vladdy will drop down to 205 and fight there from now on. UFC may be interested in him at this weight, but will only pay him very low in comparison.

Frank Mir is getting HUGE, and most believe he will weigh in close to the weight limit. One has to wonder how he got so big so fast?

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Kevin Randleman

According to sources inside the Hammer House camp, Kevin Randleman will face Kazushi Sakuraba on the November 9th PRIDE GP Finals card. The winner would be one of the alternates for the GP.

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Fedor Emelianenko (right)

PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko has announced that he is leaving the Russian Top Team, and switching over to the Red Devil team, which is based out of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Emelianenko's reasons for leaving Russian Top Team have not been confirmed yet, but insiders say it is due to management reasons. The Red Devil team has a stronger relationship with PRIDE, as well as other groups.

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Kazushi Sakuraba (bottom)

The Japanese media report that in honor of pro-wrestler Michael Hegstrand('Hawk' from the 'Road Warriors' tag team), Kazushi Sakuraba will do 'costume play' and come out as Hawk at PRIDE's GP Finals show on November 9th at the Tokyo Dome.

Hegstrand passed away on October 19th from a heart attack.

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Mir (bottom) vs. Sims.

UFC president Dana White announced on Boxing Insider that a rematch between Frank Mir and Wes Sims will take place in UFC 45 on November 21st.

As most fans remember last time, Wes Sims was disqualified in the fight after illegally foot stomping Mir in the face.

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Jerome Le Banner

MAN-Magazine reports the following update regarding Jerome Le Banner and his plans:

- Le Banner said that he wants to fight both Bob Sapp (whom he doesn't seem to like too much), and Mike Tyson.

- He expects to fight Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic sometime in 2004.

- He still has the steel plate in his arm from last year's fracture in the K-1 final. It should be removed in February, 2004.

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Sefo vs. Williams

K-1 North American champ Carter Williams and his trainer Gene Fields have filed a formal protest to K-1, regarding Carter's controversial loss to Ray Sefo on the October 11th K-1: 'Final Elimination' show in Osaka, Japan.

The fight was stopped early due to Williams fouls on Sefo, which resulted in Sefo not being able to continue. Williams and Fields are hoping that they will be invited back to Japan to compete on the World Grand Prix Finals card in December in either in a tournament reserve fight or in the eight-man tournament should a spot suddenly open up. Team Williams has yet to hear back from K-1 headquarters in Japan with a response to its protest.

While it's already been rumored that Williams might be on the Finals card as a reserve fight regardless, one has to wonder now if this formal protest by Team Williams will hurt those chances. Especially since Williams obviously committed many fouls in that fight, resulting in his opponent Ray Sefo (who is a big fan favorite in Japan) not being able to finish.

More info to come on this next week.

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Kazuyoshi Ishii

Puroresu Power reports the following:

Kazuyoshi Ishii is fighting in court to have the right to return to work for K-1. Ishii's next trial is on Novbember 21st, and a conclusion to the court matter over tax evasion will happen on December 1st.

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Raye and Ronny Sefo.

Jerome Winters of MAN-Magazine recently interviewed K-1 star veteran Ray Sefo, with his brother and fellow K-1 veteran Rony Sefo there as well, asking them questions sent in by the fans. Here's what the Sefo brothers had to say:


MAN-Magazine: Is there a distinction between the fighting spirit of the Maori and other cultures?

Ray: First of all, we're Samoan/German, not Maori. But I think that "fighting spirit", or whatever a particular culture calls it is pretty much the same across the board.

MAN-Magazine: Do you consider yourself a positive figureheads for the Maori?

Ray: As again, we're not Maori, however we would hope that we are postive role models for all Polynesain youth.

MAN-Magazine: What do you guy's prefer, boxing or kicking?

Ray: Both really, no real preference, we enjoy both boxing and kickboxing.

MAN-Magazine: You always seem relaxed in a sort of way when you are in a tough battle, would you please comment on that?

Ray: Its important to maintain focus in the ring, and I've never had any problem keeping my composure throughout a fight. I guess that makes me look relaxed in the ring.

MAN-Magazine:Both your timing is perfect. Do you have a special workout for that or is it a given talent?

Ray: I think we all have naturally good timing, but we do specific timing drills as well, everybody should.

MAN-Magazine: Ray, we know that you are capable to comeback every round even when all seems lost. Is this an element of your personality, or did you do a special mental workout?

Ray: It's me personally really, I never give up, never say die in anything in my life, including fighting.

MAN-Magazine:Are you well known in your home country compared to Japan? Or in other words do they appreciate your achievements?

Ray: I'm more well known in Japan, although my profile in New Zealand gets bigger and bigger all the time. On my last visit back home I noticed that I was recognized a lot more.

MAN-Magazine:Do you travel together to the events and support each other?

Ray: Always.

MAN-Magazine:What is special about two brothers, being part of the K-1 'circus'?

Ray: Just being able to be there for each other and provide support for each other, in and out of the ring.

MAN-Magazine: Do you both have different styles?

Ray: Yes, we do. I'm more of a go foward fighter from the word go, where as Rony gets better as the fight progresses.

MAN-Magazine: Do you have the same coach?

Ray: Well basically we coach each other, with some additional input from other members of Team Sefo, specifically Linoln, Aaron, Jayson, Faii, and Dixon.

MAN-Magazine: How does your training schedule look like, is it different from each other?

Ray: Our training schedule is pretty much identical.

MAN-Magazine: How important is tradition for you?

Ray: Whether you are talking about martial arts or culture, they are both important to me.

MAN-Magazine: When did you have your last 'HANGI'? Was it a good one?

Ray: In Samoa we call a hangi an "umu". Last one I was at was about 5 years ago, they are all good :)

MAN-Magazine: Do you both have other hobbyies and interests besides Martial Arts?

Ray: I like to play tennis, pool, golf, reading, and movies. I have a huge DVD collection. Rony likes to read and play chess.

MAN-Magazine: Ronny, can you tell us something about your last fight in Croatia? What went wrong?

Rony:Nothing went wrong, last time we fought he was willing to stand and trade more, were as this time he ran from the 3rd round onwards.

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Alexa.com just updated their internet ratings for this week. Below are the Alexa.com rankings for the top 10 MMA websites as of October 19th, 2003.

Fightsport.com has been the fastest-growing MMA website the last few months and have taken over the number 3 spot this month, pushing Sherdog.net down to number 4. MMA.tv moved into the number one spot almost two months ago, knocking Sherdog.com down to number 2. MMAWeekly.com remains steady at number 5, while Subfighter.com has moved up to the number 6 spot.

The official site of the UFC fell down to number 7, while the official site of PRIDE has remained steady at number 8 for the last few months. Adcombat.com has remained at number 9, despite its ratings having improved a great deal. MaxFighting.com survived by a thread to hang on to the number 10 spot.



MMA RANKINGS:

1.) MMA.tv - Traffic Rank for mma.tv: 4,767

2.) Sherdog.com - Traffic Rank for sherdog.com: 7,399

3.) Fightsport.com - Traffic Rank for fightsport.com: 10,670

4.) Sherdog.net - Traffic Rank for sherdog.net: 10,751

5.) MMAWeekly.com - Traffic Rank for mmaweekly.com: 13,036

6.) Subfighter.com - Traffic Rank for subfighter.com: 18,845

7.) UFC.tv - Traffic Rank for ufc.tv: 21,028

8.) Pridefc.com - Traffic Rank for pridefc.com: 31,173

9.) Adcombat.com - Traffic Rank for adcombat.com: 32,503

10.) Maxfighting.com - Traffic Rank for maxfighting.com: 54,866







Alexa.com tracks the internet ratings with the use of the Alexa toolbar, which is used by no less then 10 million people. Almost all of the Alexa toolbar users also use Amazon.com and Google, making the Alexa.com rankings very important with advertisers. Alexa.com is arguably the most respected internet ratings system in the business.

How to read the Alexa.com rankings: The traffic rank indicates the website's ranking amongst english-language websites. As the number goes lower, it indicates that the website is ranked higher.

For example:

a website with a traffic rank of '1', means that it is the number one visited english-language website on the internet, according to Alexa.com's 10 million users.

a website with a traffic rank of '10,221', means that it is the 10,221st most visited english-language website on the internet, according to Alexa.com's 10 million users.

a website with a traffic rank or '90,594', means that it is the 90,594th most visited english-language website on the internet, according to Alexa.com's 10 million users.

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SHOOTO: WANNA SHOOTO 2003
November 3, 2003
Kourakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Class-A Bouts:
Tetsuo Katsuta vs. Makoto Ishikawa
Naoya Uematsu vs. Katsuya Toida

Class-B Bouts:
John Olav Einemo vs. Mindaugas Kulikaukas
Shuichiro Katsumura vs. Eugenji Konkov
Shigetoshi Iwase vs. Nico Nasieri
Kenji Osawa vs. Augusto Frota
Yohei Nanbu vs. Akitoshi Tamura
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Seigi Fujioka

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Carlos Barreto

Heat FC 2
November 27th
Natal, Brazil

Below are the matchups that have been announced so far for the second Heat FC show:

Carlos Barreto vs. Travis Wiuff
Alan Goes vs. Gustavo 'Ximu' Machado
Forrest Griffin vs. Edson 'Paredao'
Vinicius 'Draculinho' vs. Kleber Galdino
Silmar Rodrigo vs. Chris Fontaine

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AFC & FCC Present: FREESTYLE COMBAT CHALLENGE 12
Saturday, October 18th, 2003
Racine Memorial Hall
Racine, WI


Nick Aguilar defeats Joe Jordan by TKO at 2:28, RD 2.
Ron Faircloth defeats Doug Sauer by keylock at 2:33, RD 1.
Brad Lynde drew with Brian Ebersole.
Emyr Bussard defeats Pat O' Malley by kneebar at 1:47, RD 1.
Ryan Ackerman defeats David Love by guillotine at 1:27, RD 2.
Damian Decorah defeats Mike Delaney by judges decision.
Renato Tavares defeats Brian Geraghty by judges decision.
Jason Ireland defeats Justin Weiman by guillotine at 0:52, RD 1.
Dan Hart defeats Nick Thompson by guillotine at 0:30, RD 1.
Darrell Smith defeats Glen Mincer by rear naked choke at 3:21, RD 1.
Joel Blanton defeats Brian Grey by rear naked choke at 1:18, RD 1.

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Vanderlei Silva, Chute Boxe's most well known star.

The Brazilian powerhouse MMA team of Chute Boxe has announced that they will be opening an affiliate branch of their academy in Japan. The Japanese affiliate will be run by Sergio Cunha, who is one of the coaches of the team back in Brazil.

"Chute Boxe now has an embassy in Japan. Our athletes will always help out Sergio whenever they are in Japan", announced Chute Boxe head trainer Rudimar Fedrigo.

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Joachim Hansen

SHOOTO's newly crowned welterweight champion Joachim Hansen recently did an interview for Japanese MMA magazine Gong Kakutogi. Here's what Joachim had to say, along with some comments ADCC champion and training partner Jon Olaf Einemo, who also sat in on the interview (translation by Akira S.):


Gong Kakutogi: First off, congratulations on your victory against Gomi, and becoming the new SHOOTO world welterweight champion.

Hansen: Thank you (with a smile).

Gong Kakutogi: I didn't know you were able to smile...let alone smile like this.

Hansen: (looks surprised) Of course! I smile when I'm happy. Did you think I wasn't able to smile or what?

Gong Kakutogi: Oh, no! But this is the first time I've seen you smile. I've seen your pictures in your last 5 interviews and you did not smile in any of them, so...

Hansen: Ha ha! Yes, I don't smile when magazines take fight pictures. Now I'm happy and relaxed because I won the SHOOTO belt, which I respect a lot. That's been my dream since I started training for fighting.

Gong Kakutogi: Anyway, I'm happy that I can introduce your smiling face for the first time in this magazine. So, let's get back to your fight against Gomi. How was your first impression of him?

Hansen: His punches were really heavy and compact, he hits like a hammer. Also, his balance was very good, and he was able to take me down as well. He is a really strong fighter like I thought.

Gong Kakutogi: Before the fight you said: "Even if he takes me down, I will be able to win". So you were not afraid about his ground'n'pound punches?

Hansen: Not at all! I'm always training from my back, so I was very relaxed when he took me down. And (he points his finger to his teammate Jon Olaf Einemo) I am the smallest person in my gym, so I always train with bigger people like him.

Gong Kakutogi: And you kept your composure when you got caught with Gomi's counter strikes too.

Hansen: After "Finn Fight" in 2001, I started training my standup striking very hard. Honestly, my strikes are not 100%, but I was able to deal with Gomi's boxing technique. So now I have confidence about it.

Gong Kakutogi: Was it a turning point in the fight when you almost had the choke hold sunk in, in the middle of second round?

Hansen: Yes, I thought the fight will finish then, but he held my glove and pulled my fingers. If he would have not done that, I think it would have been finished. But I know that every fight doesn't have an "If".

Gong Kakutogi: What is the first reason you won?

Hansen: I think I won because I fought aggressive, that's all. I hit him back every time he hit me, and the fact I was able to get his back too.

Gong Kakutogi: And Mr. Einemo, you are a good friend of Joachim in training and outside of training. So I want to ask you, where does his strength come from?

Einemo: I think it comes from his will, and his great animal instinct. He will never give up . And one more thing, he really has a hard head. His nickname is "Bathead Hansen" (with a smile).

Gong Kakutogi: Yes, his head looks so hard...anyway, you now have the SHOOTO belt. Did you sleep well after that?

Hansen: Yes, I had to sleep with my belt at my side because I accidentally broke Einemo's belt after he won ADCC. So I thought: "Now he will do the same". (with a smile)

Einemo: Yes, I tried...(with a smile)

Gong Kakutogi: That belt is a traditional one, so you have to take care of it please (with a smile). Now I want to ask you a personal question?

Hansen: O.K. I'll answer anything.

Gong Kakutogi: So, when was your first love?

Hansen: Oh, you have to ask me this?

Gong Kakutogi: Sorry, because I am wondering if your personal life is different from your tough look.

Hansen: It was when I was 16.

Gong Kakutogi: 16! It unexpected...actually late.

Hansen: She is my hometown girl. I've liked her since I was 7 years old.

Gong Kakutogi: I'd like to hear your future goals as the champion.

Hansen: I don't choose anything about my career, but SHOOTO has a big show in December, correct? Maybe I'm going to fight before that. So, I can say one thing, I won't be a person with a big or bad attitude, even as a champion. I respect every person who has a good heart, it doesn't matter if they are a fighter or not. And I will maintain a good heart too. I am looking forward to fight in Japan, which I really love.

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Royler Gracie's new book entitled 'Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Submission Grappling Techniques' is being released and should be shipping by October 29th. Kid Peligro also contibutes his writing and editing skills to the book.

In this book, Royler shows 102 of his most effective moves for competition, and the moves that made him a 3-time ADCC Champion. Royler also talks about strategy, training, and many other aspects of submission grappling.

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


MMA rules fights:
Alberto Crane defeats Christian Carvahlo by rear naked chome at 3:56, RD 1. (ROF Rocky Mountain lightweight title)
Patrick Smith defeats Allan 'A-Dawg' Sullivan by KO at 3:35, RD 1.
Fabian Acuna defeats Danny Jung by guilltonie choke at 2:31, RD 1.
Chilo Gonzales defeats Reuben Esco by TKO at 1:15, RD 1.
Luke Caudillo defeats Brock Jensen by unanimous decision.
Keith Wilson defeats Joshua Kaine by TKO at 2:13, RD 2.
Tom Sarah defeats Rocky Johnson by triangle choke at 1:14, RD 2.
Christian Sanders defeats Vern Baca by TKO, RD 1.

K-1 rules fights:
Nick Rondinelli defeats Cruz Chacon by unanimous decision.
Tony Johnson defeats Steven Simmons by KO at 1:25, RD 1.

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