FIGHTSPORT 24-7

SHOOTO
January 24th, 2003
Kourakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Class-A Bouts:
Joao Roque drew with Hiroyuki Takaya.
Marco Louro defeats Shuichiro Katsumura by unanimous decision.
Makoto Ishikawa defeats Tetsuo Katsuta by unanimous decision.
Koutetsu Boku defeats Kohei Yasumi by unanimous decision.

Class-B Bouts:
Mitsuhiro Ishida defeats Takayuki Okouchi by unanimous decision.
Kenji Osawa defeats Hiroyuki Tanaka by unanimous decision.
Tetsu Suzuki defeats Yasushi 'MAD' Watanabe by armbar at 0:52, RD 1.
Junichi Sase defeats Yuki Shoujou by unanimous decision.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Vanderlei Silva

PRIDE Bushido 2
February 15th, 2003
Yokohama Arena
Yokohama, Japan

Below are some of the matchups that DSE/PRIDE has announced for their PRIDE Bushido 2 show, scheduled for February 15th:

Vanderlei Silva vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Mauricio Shogun vs. Akihiro Gono
Leon White aka 'Van Vader' vs. TBA
Hayato Sakurai vs. TBA
Sean Sherk vs. Ryuki Ueyama
Jadyson Costa vs. Ryo Chonan
Takanori Gomi vs. Marcos Aurelio
Daiju Takase vs. Chris Brennan

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Kazushi Sakuraba

The Japanese media is reporting that Kazushi Sakuraba will participate in the PRIDE Heavyweight GP, scheduled for April 25th.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Rickson Gracie

The Japanese media reports that K-1 is working with Rickson Gracie to produce a Rickson 'Bom Ba Ye' event for 2004.

Rickson's possible opponents include Bob Sapp, Mike Tyson, Kosei Inoue, Hidehiko Yoshida, or Yuki Kondo.

According to the Japanese media, the choosing of 'Bom Ba Ye' as the name of the event is meant as a sort of slap in the face to Antonio Inoki, who is in direct competition with K-1 and PRIDE in the MMA supremacy war taking place in Japan right now.

There is talk that K-1 may try to sign Kazuyuki Fujita away from Inoki as well.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Carlos Gracie Jr.

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently interviewed CBJJ president Carlos Gracie Jr.. Here's what "Carlinhos" had to say:

Tatame: The CBJJ starts off with the 1st European Jiu-Jitsu Open championship. Why did you choose Europe?

Carlinhos: Every time I produce a show in a foreign country, the jiu-jitsu starts to grow there. It happened in the US with the Pan-American, and the doors are starting to open up in Europe for jiu-jitsu. There are some competitions in Europe, but they don't use the right rules. I want to create a parameter for them, to show how to produce a tournament, what are the rules...

Tatame: At this European championship, there will be also the 1st National Teams tournament...

Carlinhos: We want that each country have its own BJJ National Team. At this time there will be five blue belt fighters in the below-72kg (below 158 pounds) and five in the over-72kg (over 158 pounds), like the Brazilian Teams Cup. There will probably be countries bringing just one team in the lightweight division, or in the heavyweight division. We decided to have blue belts first because it's easier for each country form a competitive team this way.

Tatame: And the Brazilian National Team...Who are the blue belts fighting for the title?

Carlinhos: Well, this will be decided during the tournament. We will call the men that will be fighting in Lisbon. I think this will make the competition even. If we chose our best blue belts, it'd be impossible to loose.

Tatame: Do you think Europe will become the new United States in terms of jiu-jitsu, in that various Brazilians will open up academies over there as the sport evolves?

Carlinhos: I don;t know if it will become like the United States, but I am sure that in two years Europe will be doing good. The difference is that the Americans love sports, and some Gracies went there to teach. When the American government starts to support the sport, jiu-jitsu will become the new wrestling. But the American market is becoming saturated with teachers, and some of them are going to Europe, like Roger and Robin Gracie.

Tatame: It's not just in the US that the market is becoming saturated. Many black belts back in Brazil say that it's impossible to make a living now from only jiu-jitsu...

Carlinhos: The market is bigger. During the past, we just had my academy, Carlson's, Master Helio's. Today, if you don't have a name in the sport and you're not focused on it, you fall down. There was a time that we did a lot of money when Royce fought in the UFC... But there is a teacher here called Ze Beleza, that discovered a new market teaching children classes.

Tatame: Many people are also claiming that the championships have lost their emotion. There's no more fans cheering and having parties in the stands...what's happening with jiu-jitsu?

Carlinhos: The truth is that Nova Uniao leaving from the CBJJ was not the only problem. In the past, there were four or five big teams fighting for the title: Carlson's, Gracie Barra, Nova Uniao, Royler Gracie's Humaita, and Alliance. If one of them didn't fight, the tournament lost a bit of emotion. Besides the NU problem, Alliance and the Carlson team lost their most important fighters, who've gone on to create their own teams. At this moment, the small teams that were formed by the division of the big ones, are working to become bigger and to improve the competition. We are going through a phase of general change.

Tatame: There are also many jiu-jitsu stars who are switching over to vale tudo...

Carlinhos: Vale tudo is not for everyone. You have to completely dedicate yourself to it, like a professional. In jiu-jitsu, this is not necessary. You can fight just for fun. Most of the fighters think that they will make a lot of money fighting in vale tudo...But we know it isn't that easy. How many fights did athletes like Vanderlei Silva and Rodrigo "Minotauro" have to do for little money before being able to make the kind of money they do today? Let's see how long these guys are prepared to wait until their golden opportunity comes along...

Tatame: The Gracie Barra also has its own vale tudo team, the Gracie Barra Combat Team. Where did the idea for this come from, you or the fighters?

Carlinhos: The opportunity just presented itself. I had already been thinking about it, and the fighters showed that they were leaning towards wanting to do vale tudo. But we already guys that have seen that it is not easy...

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Takanori Gomi (top)

Todd Atkins reports from Japan that Takanori Gomi will participate in the PRIDE Bushido 2 show, shceduled for February 15th. An opponent for Gomi has not been announced yet.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Todd Atkins

Mark Kerr

The next few PRIDE shows will be featuring a lot of American heavyweights. The reason for this is that PRIDE is looking at who they may sign to fight in theie Heavyweight Grand Prix.

With sixteen slots to fill, they are going to need to be scouting some new big guys. Some possible new blood from Brazil may emerge as well, but PRIDE is mainly focusing on American talent. As they already have a large amount of good foreign heavyweights from other countries to represent.

PRIDE does not expect to have a UFC representative in the Heavyweight GP as of this point, but they are planning to have at least five Japanese participants.

This next show should establish a few slots. Tom Erikson has expressed interest in fighting in the GP but the PRIDE producers are afraid he will come in out of shape again. His K-1 fights had him weighing in over 300 pounds, and he was winded very early on in all of them. PRIDE is focused on fighters that are in shape, have a fit look, and are willing to fight with an aggressive style.

Mark Kerr is a guy they are giving a final chance. This is not some big spectacle comeback. If Kerr comes in the same shape as his woeful Brazil Abu Dhabi appearance, he will be gone. By fighting in February, he will prove if he is back in shape, and if he belongs in the GP. He is also fighting for far less money then he has recieved in the past. The bottom line here is that if he looks good, and fights well, he will be one of the sixteen representatives.

Most of the American fighters on this card, and over the next few shows, are fighting for relatively small amounts of money, with hopes of being impressive and securing a slot in the GP.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Matsui vs. Chonan

DEEP
January 22nd, 2004
Kourakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Ryo Chonan defeats Daijiro Matsui by majority decision.
Yusuke Imamura defeats Yasuhito Namekawa by TKO, RD 2.
Hidetaka Monma defeats Seichi Ikemoto by choke, RD 2.
Satoko Shinashi defeats Naoko Oomuro by unanimous decision.
Ryuta Sakurai defeats Tetsuya Onose by KO, RD 1.
Kyosuke Sasaki defeats Takanori Oniki by armbar, RD 2.
Jun Ishii defeats Tadahiro Hosaka by unanimous decision.
Tashiro Nishiuchi defeats Tomoyuki Fukami by unanimous decision.
Masutasu Yano drew with Takayuki Ooba.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Shoji (left) vs. "Shogun" (right)

Japanese magazine 'Gong Kakutogi' recently interviewed Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua after his win against Akira Shoji in the October 5th PRIDE Bushido event. Here's what Shogun had to say (translation by Akira S.):


Gong Kakutogi: That was an impressive victory against Akira Shoji in Pride Bushido!

Shogun: He has been fighting for a long time in PRIDE, he is also very tough, so I was very careful with him. He was able to take me down, but I handled it well and got back up. I was also very confident with my striking. I knew I would win if I was able to keep the fight on the feet. When I took PRIDE's offer, I trained very hard. I am very happy with the result.

Gong Kakutogi: How did you get involved in the martial arts? Was it because of your brother?

Shogun: When I was 15 years old, my brother said "Let's train together, It'll be fun". Basically, I like sports, especially fighting. It really suits me.

Gong Kakutogi: You began with Muay Thai first?

Shogun: Yes. But when I start training, my gym already had vale tudo training, so I started Brazilian jiu-jitsu too. Now I have a Brown belt (after Shogun fought Evangelista Cyborg, his BJJ master Christiano Marcelo gave it to him).

Gong Kakutogi: What is your fighting record?

Shogun: I fought Muay Thai 10 times and won every fight. In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I have 3 Parana state titles, and also finished fourth at the world championships. When I was 19 years old, I took part in Meca vale tudo. That was my first vale tudo fight. Personally, I like Muay Thai, but it is impossible to win a valeu tudo fight if you have only striking skills. If I didn't train Brazilian jiu-jitsu as well, the image of my gym would go down.

Gong Kakutogi: Chute Boxe fighters have a strong sense of family, correct?

Shogun: This is our secret to success...family. Chute Boxe really tought me a way of life. I have a lot of respect for everyone on the team. They are all family to me.

Gong Kakutogi: What kind of training you guys usually do?

Shogun: Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and vale tudo...we do everything. We always practice like it is a real fight, so we often get hurt. But I think in any gym that it is kind of the same thing. We save our energy a week before the match.

Gong Kakutogi: You fought "Cyborg" at Meca last August. In September, you fought in an 8-man tournament, and you fought Shoji this time. Do You fight every month?

Shogun: If I don't get injured, I can fight every month. I practice much like that.

Gong Kakutogi: Cyborg won by impressive KO in Japan before, so how did you beat him?

Shogun: I was thinking like "it's going to be a tough fight, because he is very tough mentally. I thought my ground technique was better than his, and it was. But he wasn't giving up, so I had to finish him by ground and pound to get the T.K.O.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Pancrase 2004 Brave Tour
Friday, February 6th, 2004
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

Kiuma Kunioku vs. Kazuo Misaki
Osami Shibuya vs. Art Santore
Eiji Ishikawa vs. Nathan Quarry
Koji Oishi vs. Heath Sims
Sehaku vs. Keigo Takamori
Miki Shida vs. Mitsuhisa Sunabe
Kenji Shimada vs. Manabu Inoue



Pancrase 2004 Brave Tour
Sunday, February 15th, 2004
Place: Umeda Stera Hall
Osaka, Japan

Yoshiro Maeda vs. Alexandre Carneiro
Takafumi Ito vs. Yuji Hoshino
Satoru Kitaoka vs. OTOKO ! Tokuoka
Yuji Oba vs. Satoshi Watanabe
Daisuke Hanazawa vs. Takuo Miyata
Yohei Tagami vs. Naoji Fujimoto

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Vanderlei Silva

PRIDE Bushido 2
February 15th, 2003
Yokohama Arena
Yokohama, Japan

Below are some of the matchups that DSE/PRIDE has announced for their PRIDE Bushido 2 show, scheduled for February 15th:

Vanderlei Silva vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Mauricio Shogun vs. Akihiro Gono
Leon White aka 'Van Vader' vs. TBA
Sean Sherk vs. Ryuki Ueyama
Jadyson Costa vs. TBA (possibly Ryo Chonan)
Daiju Takase vs. Chris Brennan
Hayato Sakurai vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Jadyson Costa

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently interviewed Chute Boxe up-and-coming fighter Jadyson Costa before his upcoming fight on the February 15th PRIDE Bushido 2 show. Here's what Costa had to say:


Tatame: How did you first get involved in fighting?

Costa: I begun at the age of 13, doing Karate. I then did two years of Boxing, and in 1996 I discovered vale tudo after watching some fights. But I didn't knew anything about the ground, so I decided to learn Jiu-Jitsu in Paranagua (state of Parana). I trained with Almir for a year and a half, and after a championship in Curitiba, I went to train with Renato Tavares. I trained with him for three years. I started fighting Muay Thai in 2001 when I arrived at Chute Boxe. Now I'm a Karate black belt, BJJ purple belt third degree, and Muay Thai light blue belt.

Tatame: And how did you arrive at Chute Boxe?

Costa: In 2000, Renato went to the US. I met Rudimar (Fedrigo, Chute Boxe leader) during the Quiosque Natureza BJJ Cup in 2002. I told him I was interested fighting at Meca, and I showed him a tape with my first four fights. He liked it and matched me up against Cristiano Marcelo at Meca 7. I wanted to grow up inside the sport, so I asked him if I could join the Chute Boxe team. He agreed, and I've been with Chute Boxe for a year and four months. My first bout was in Santa Catarina state against an Hapkido and Taekwondo representative. I submitted him by an armlock from the mount at 2:50.

Tatame: How was your debut at Meca?

Costa: Cristiano was 6 kg (13 pounds) heavier than me, so I decided to do a fast striking game. We started changing punches, but I got submitted by an armlock.

Tatame: Due to the way you fight, a lot of people are calling you the "Little Vanderlei". How do you feel with this comparison to PRIDE champion Vanderlei Silva? Does it give you any added pressure?

Costa: I think the nickname is cool...Vanderlei Silva was always been an idol of mine in vale tudo, even when I didn't fight for Chute Boxe. His fighting style has always inspired me. It increses the expectations, but I'm prepared.

Tatame: This will be your first fight outside of Brazil. Does anything change?

Costa: For me, fighting in Japan won;t make much difference. I will approach it as if I was fighting in a small town in Brazil.

Tatame: Who would you like to fight?

Costa: I would like to face Kaoru Uno, and the SHOOTO champion on my weight, Vitor Shaolin. Both of them are very good and I really admire their technique.

Tatame: How is Jadyson Costa inside the ring? Define your style.

Costa: My style is very aggressive. I like to strike, and continue striking for the entire fight without stopping. but without stopping over the ring. It's all about putting on a show for the audience.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Ken Shamrock

Sources within the WWE have confirmed to Fightsport.com that our scoop that Ken Shamrock would return to the WWE to take on Kurt Angle, may indeed be true.

As we reported, the bout would be billed as a battle of leglock experts. Those same sources also tell us that Shamrock is weighing a few different offers, but that if he signs on with the WWE, the bout will most likely happen at Wrestlemania XX, scheduled for March 14th.

UFC president Dana White also announced yesterday that Ken Shamrock would be participating in the UFC in June, possibly against 'Tank' Abbott.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Scoop McTroll

Ryan Bennett (left)

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

'Where's your dignity-
it's gone just like she is.
And you're groveling about the one that got away.
You'll get no sympathy from her just crying like a baby,
like the big fat stupid baby you've become.
Where's your dignity?' -Bob Dylan


Welcome to the first installment of 'The Bennett Files', an investigative piece by Scoop McTroll on the underhandedness of most people in the MMA industry. Infamous media figure-turned-backstabber Ryan Bennett will be featured today.

As many of you know by now, Ryan Bennett lost his job as the fight interviewer of the UFC. He was replaced by Eddie Bravo, whom bennett acted buddy-buddy with, and even asked Bravo to do some technique video clips for Bennett's website.


Well, Bennett then seemingly tried to get Bravo fired by underhanedly sending the following e-mail to UFC president Dana White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta. What Bennett didn't count on was that one of the tech guys at the Zuffa offices then forwarded the e-mail to Eddie Bravo himself! Notice how Bennett also tried to included the comments of Bruce Buffer.

Observe the backstab firsthand:



____________________________________________________________

Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003 08:04:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: "ryan bennett" | This is spam | Add to Address Book
Subject: UFC Broadcaster smoking weed
To: Lorenzo.Fertitta@StationCasinos.com, dwhite@ufc.tv




Gentlemen;
I know and appreciate the professional image both of you bring
to the sport. With my daily radio show and features on the UFC
I do here at NBC, I like you try to do everything I can to promote the sport.
When I read a post on the underground, I take it a face value.
It's usually a keyboard warrior talking smack. When a Zuffa employee
though gets on there and talks about his drug use, this becomes
an issue as it affects the credibility of the sport that you and
I try to promote in a professional matter daily. I personally would
be fired by NBC for doing something like this. Bruce Buffer said
it best in a recent email to me.

Maybe this is why after an historical Championship main event our
UFC Octagon interviewer calls the new Champion Randy Couture...
"Chuck"... at the end of the interview.

Unbelievably stupid and not good show biz at all! Is this the image
we wish to promote for the UFC, it's fighters and our on-camera
team? I don't think so. What's next... mentioning it on the air during a PPV event.

Disgruntled UFC team member,

Bruce Buffer

Enclosed is the the comments made by Eddie in a thread called "Attn: Eddie Bravo"

------------
From: EddieBravo
Date: 13-Jun-03 01:29 AM

Member Since: 09-May-02

1095 Total Posts




I smoke after I train pretty much everyday, BUT I do cut down alot
when I'm training for a fight.

Cutting out carbs and sugar is torturous when I'm high.

I just got back from teaching my class and I'm about to smoke a
monstrous bowl and go get something to eat

-----------------

From: EddieBravo
Date: 13-Jun-03 01:49 AM

Member Since: 09-May-02

1097 Total Posts




The munchies are real, only when I'm stoned can I eat a large pizza
by myself and then hit an ice cream shop for a hot fudge sundae.




From: EddieBravo
Date: 13-Jun-03 02:19 PM

Member Since: 09-May-02

1098 Total Posts


I spend way more money on food than weed.

peteywheatstraw,

"Grow the bangs back, and slick that @#%$ back again man."

I get more @#%$ with the new dew.

Mental,

Set up a seminar where you live and I'll take you up on that offer.

"good hydro inhibits your appetite. I know this because I'm Canadian and we get real weed here."

I don't know about that, I smoke KILLER @#%$ and I ALWAYS get the
munchies. But the next time I have to cut weight for a fight I'll
look for this magical weed.

Maybe one of you Canadian guys can send me some appetite inhibiting
chronic to help me make weight.



____________________________________________________________


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The UFC reports that Vitor Belfort has arrived in Las Vegas, and continue his training there until his title fight with Randy Couture in UFC 46, shceduled for January 31st.

Asashoryu

The Japan Times is reporting that Asashoryu, the Mongolian-born sumo grand champion, may be moving on to K-1. It is all speculation at this stage however, as Asashoryu has not mentioned anything.

Asashoryu's brother is also a well known pro-wrestler in Japan who goes by the name of 'Blue Wolf'.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

KOTC
Saturday, January 24th, 2004
Office Depot Center

Open: 6:30 PM
Start: 7:30 PM


Vernon 'Tiger' White vs. Marvin Eastman
Eric Pele vs. Travis Fulton
Dan Severn vs. Seth Petruzelli
Jorge Santiago vs. John Cronk
Manny Reyes Jr. vs. Eric O'Brien
Scott Bills vs. Jake Short
Jorge Pereira vs. Todd Carney
Jenny Rivers vs. Erica Montoya
Mike Quinlan vs. Crafton Wallace
Marcel Ferreira vs. Charles McCarthy
Wilson Gouveia vs. Rory Singer
Roger Krahl vs. Brent Carraway
George Crawford vs. Stu Hesselmeyer
Danny Byrket vs. Joe Cervantes

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

New TV show to focus on MMA from all over the world.

Longterm and very reliable sources in the mma industry have informed me of a new television MMA show centered around MMA that is set to debut. The show is called 'Passing The Guard', and it will debut on KDOC on Saturday, March 27, at midnight.

As I have been told, it is a 30-minute show that has already been approved for 14 weeks worth of episodes. The show will look as if it is a sports show, though all of the sports covered will be MMA events. A very similar format has been doing good ratings in Brazil for the last four years on Primetime TV and now it is coming to America. Also, syndication has already been brought up as a definite possibility if ratings are strong for the important Southern California TV market, covering San Diego and Los Angeles.

Finally, credit for this effort belongs to the combined efforts of Sinister Brand and Jorge Guimaraes, the Brazilian producer for the show in Brazil.

As usual, stick to Fightsport.com for exclusive reporting you won't read anywhere else.

*Must credit Fightsport.com and The Jake R. Report when discussing this report*

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Rickson Gracie

Sanspo.com is reporting that K-1 plans on using Rickson Gracie as one of their cornerstones for their MMA promotion in 2004, effectively confirming what Fightsport.com first reported almost three months ago.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

PRIDE 27: 'Inferno'
February 1st, 2003
Osaka Castle Hall
Osaka, Japan


regular matchups:
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Ron Waterman
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Dos Caras Jr.
Murilo 'Ninja' Rua vs. Alexander Otsuka
Ricardo Arona vs. Dean Lister

PRIDE Heavyweight GP qualification matchups:
Heath Herring vs. Gan McGee
Igor Vovchanchin vs. Dan Bobish
Mark Kerr vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto
Sergei Haritonov vs. L.A. Giant

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Vanderlei Silva

PRIDE Bushido 2
February 15th, 2003
Yokohama Arena
Yokohama, Japan

Below are some of the matchups that DSE/PRIDE has announced for their PRIDE Bushido 2 show, scheduled for February 15th:

Vanderlei Silva vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Mauricio Shogun vs. Akihiro Gono
Leon White aka 'Van Vader' vs. TBA
Sean Sherk vs. Ryuki Ueyama
Jadson Costa vs. TBA (possibly Ryo Chonan)
Hayato Sakurai vs. TBA
Daiju Takase vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Jeff Curran

Sources within the Miletich camp have confirmed that Jeff Curran will now replace Ivan Menjivar in UFC 46, scheduled for January 31st.

Curran's opponent will be Matt Serra.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Sentoryu

Yomiuri Sports reports that the Sumo wrestler that is expectec to participate on the April 25th PRIDE card is the 34-year old Sentoryu aka Henry Armstrong Miller.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

"Butterbean" (left)

The Las Vegas Sun is reporting that the Illinois boxing commission has put a stop to a scheduled boxing match between Eric 'Butterbean' Esch and Wally Kienbaum, who had never taken part in a professional boxing event. They were to have fought up to four rounds as part of a card promoted by Jimmy Logan at the 5,000-seat Boutwell Auditorium.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, the Illinois commission member who was overseeing the card read an article in the Las Vegas Sun in which former lightweight champion Livingstone Bramble stated that the fight with Kienbaum barely qualified as legitimate. The Illinois commission member then examined Esch as part of a routine prefight physical, and denied the 340-pound boxer a license for the bout.

As most boxing fans already know, there is crrently an FBI investigation into Top Rank Boxing, as well as Esch.

To read the complete article, click here

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Paulo Filho (top)

Brazilian journalist Eduardo Alonso is reporting that Pancrase and PRIDE veteran Paulo Filho has returned to the Brazilian Top Team

Filho originally left the Brazilian Top Team a few months back to join the newly formed Brazil Dojo team that was started up by Antonio Inoki and Wallid Ismael. Filho joined Brazil Dojo under the premise that he would be sponsored full-time for his training, as well as being able to get more fights in japan.

However, according to Filho, things did not progress as planned. Therefore he decided to come back to the Brazilian Top Team, and they welcomed him back. Mario Sperry is now taking care of Filho's management.

Filho may be participating in the next PRIDE Bushido show, and will continue to compete in the middleweight division.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

PRIDE 27: 'Inferno'
February 1st, 2003
Osaka Castle Hall
Osaka, Japan

Below is the developing card for PRIDE 27 that has been officially announced so far. One or two more matchups may be announced within the week.

Herring/McGee, Vovchanchyn/Bobish, and Kerr/Yamamoto are being billed as 'survival matches', meaning that the loser of those matchups will be cut from the PRIDE roster:


Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Ron Waterman
Heath Herring vs. Gan McGee
Igor Vovchanchin vs. Dan Bobish
Mark Kerr vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto
Sergei Haritonov vs. L.A. Giant
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Dos Caras Jr.
Murilo 'Ninja' Rua vs. Alexander Otsuka

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Vanderlei Silva

PRIDE Bushido 2
February 15th, 2003
Yokohama Arena
Yokohama, Japan

Below are three of the main event matchups that DSE/PRIDE has announced for their PRIDE Bushido 2 show, scheduled for February 15th:

Vanderlei Silva vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Mauricio Shogun vs. Akihiro Gono
Leon White aka 'Van Vader' vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Fedor Emelianenko

DSE/PRIDE announced the following news today regarding their Heavyweight GP, most of which was first reported here on Fightsport.com over a month ago:

1.) Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic, and Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira will compete in the PRIDE Heavyweight GP. Hidehiko Yoshida, Mark Coleman, Don Frye, and Mark Kerr are also being considered at this time.

2. The Heavyweight GP tournament will essentially be an open-weight tournament. Vanderlei Silva, Kazushi Sakuraba and Yuki Kondo were also names mentioned.

3.) The heavyweight GP will be spread out over three shows:

Opening Round - April 25th, 2004
Semifinals - June 8th, 2004
Finals - August 2004

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Frank Shamrock

DSE/PRIDE held a press conference with the Japanese media today in Tokyo, and confirmed some news that Fightsport.com first reported more then a month ago regarding the possible signing of Frank Shamrock, and his possible main event fight against Kazushi Sakuraba in Las Vegas.

DSE/PRIDE stated that a formal contract with Frank Shamrock has been reached, and that they would like him to feature in the main event of their future show in Las Vegas. The possible opponents for Shamrock include Kazushi Sakuraba, Kiyoshi Tamura, and Hayato Sakurai.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Below uis the new and revised schedule that DSE/PRIDE announced for 2004:


PRIDE 27: 'Inferno' - February 1st, 2004

PRIDE Bushido 2 - February 15th, 2004

PRIDE Heavyweight GP - (Opening Round) April 25th, 2004

PRIDE Bushido 3 - May 2004

PRIDE Heavyweight GP - (Semifinals) June 8th, 2004

PRIDE Bushido 4 - July 2004

PRIDE Heavyweight GP - (Finals) August 2004

PRIDE - Las Vegas, USA, September 2004

DSE Pictures movie release - September 2004

PRIDE 28 - October 2004

PRIDE Bushido 5 - November 2004

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Vitor Belfort

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' reports that Vitor Belfort departed for Las Vegas for his scheduled title fight against Randy Couture in UFC 46, scheduled for January 31st.

Regarding Belfort's still-missing sister (who has been missing since January 9th) and how it has affected his preparation, Belfort told Tatame the following, "In spite of the problems, I've maintained my routine and hard training. I hope that everyone that has shown support during these difficult times continue cheering for me. I'm going there to bring back the belt".

The Belfort family has asked anyone who has information regarding their missing daughter Priscilla Veira Belfort to please call Disque-Denuncia at (55-21) 2253-1177.

Dana White

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.


In yet another Fightsport.com exclusive, this reporter has learned from reliable long term employees inside the Zuffa organization that UFC president Dana White is upset at Ken Shamrock for wanting to compete in the Inoki Vegas event. As my sources told me, Inoki has contacted Ken Shamrock and Ken is wanting to compete in Inoki's Vegas debut.

Dana White however, is upset about such a possibility just as he has been with other UFC fighters competing in Japanese events. As I have reported earlier, Dana White has been overheard saying in the Zuffa offices that Inoki, K-1, and PRIDE are all working together to undermine the already weakened UFC and to take over the American market. Dana believes that Inoki trying to get currently their biggest draw to compete in a rival event is part of that plan, and intends to stop Ken competing in Inoki's event at any cost.

Furthermore, Dana is also said to still be holding a grudge against Matt Lindland for agreeing to fight Kazushi Sakuraba on the PRIDE show, though at this time Dana does not plan on firing Lindland as he has already decided to do against Din Thomas and Rich Franklin. The once solid relationship between Ken and Dana White is now being strained because of Shamrock's desire to earn an even bigger payday in the planned Inoki Vegas event, though as my sources told me even the notoriously petty Dana White is not dumb enough to get rid of the biggest ticket and ppv seller in American MMA.

As usual, stick to Fightsport.com and Jake R to keep reading what Dana White doesn't want you to know.

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Ryan Bennett (left)

Fightsport.com's Scoop McTroll goes undercover to bring you 'The Bennett Files'. It is an investigative piece on the underhandedness of most people in the MMA industry. Infamous media figure-turned-backstabber Ryan Bennett will be featured.

Stay tuned for 'The Bennett Files' debut tomorrow afternoon.

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David Loiseau (right)

TKO officially announced Jeremy Horn vs. David Loiseau as the main event of their TKO 15 show, scheduled for February 28th. The fight will be for the TKO middleweight world title.



On a side note, any fighters still owed money by TKO president Stephane Patry, can contact him at:

Stephane Patry, President/CEO
TKO Communications Inc.
Tel: (450) 445-8886
TKOZone.tv

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Mark Kerr

Special report from Shimura Funaki in Japan.


The inside word amongst the Japanese media is that Mark Kerr will make his comeback to MMA in PRIDE 27, scheduled for February 1st. His opponent is rumored to be Norihisa Yamamoto. Look for DSE/PRIDE to announce this tomorrow.

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Ryo Chonan (left)

DEEP
January 22nd, 2004
Kourakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Ryo Chonan vs. Daijiro Matsui
Yasuhito Namekawa vs. Yusuke Imamura
Ikemoto vs. Hidetaka Monma
Satoko Shinashi vs. Naoko Oomuro
Ryuta Sakurai vs. Tetsuya Onose
Kyosuke Sasaki vs. Takanori Oniki
Jun Ishii vs. Tadahiro Hosaka
Tashiro Nishiuchi vs. Tomoyuki Fukami
Masutasu Yano vs. Takayuki Ooba

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Absolute Fighting Championships 7
Friday, February 27th, 2004
War Memorial
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Doors Open: 6:30 pm
Fight Start: 7:30 pm


Card Subject To Change:

Marcel Ferreira vs. Izuru Takeuchi
Jorge Santiago vs. Takuya Wada
Edson Diniz vs. Hiroki Kotani
Thiago 'Pitbull' Alves vs. Nuri Shakir
Charles McCarthy vs. David Bielkheden
Crafton Wallace vs. Antony Rea
Gesias Calvancanti vs. Justin Wisniewski
Efrain Ruiz vs. John Wood
Sauli Heilimo vs. Carlo Prater
Hugo Berto vs. TBA

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By Scoop McTroll

Ken Shamrock

Industry sources have told me that WWE supremo Vince McMahon is very concerned about the move into America of Pride and K-1 MMA. The last time McMahon was this concerned over MMA was when the UFC was under the competent management of SEG and doing huge PPV buys. McMahon's answer to the UFC/SEG threat was to sign away Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn.

This time around, McMahon may be looking to do something similar, and may look to sign up some MMA names in order to cover his ass in case the Japanese version of MMA with all its hyperbole, wins over some of the loyal WWE fans.

Industry sources say to not be surprised if the WWE signs up Ken Shamrock again, as well as Tito Ortiz. Dan Severn and 'Tank' Abbott may also be given offers as well.

According to these sources, Shamrock would face off against Kurt Angle and beat him in a pro-wrestling match. At the end of the fight Tito Ortiz will jump into the ring and mock Shamrock, which will set up a showdown between Shamrock and Ortiz at a future Wrestlemania.

Further fuel to this rumor is also added by the fact that Ortiz has been seen more and more at over the past few months at WWE shows, even getting up in the ring during a live telecast and celebrating with the victors of a tag team match recently. Whether the fight between Shamrock and Ortiz would be an MMA-rules shoot-fight or a pro-wrestling match is not certain at this point.

It will be very interesting to see how this all pans out but there is little doubting that this is a great time for the sport of MMA.

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Tito Ortiz

In another show of true classlessness, the reluctant former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is trying to weasel his way into the Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort title fight, in the event that Belfort pulls out due to any tragic turn of events in the case of his missing sister.

Ortiz is still recovering from his humiliating loss to Randy Couture back in September, but still has to take on Chuck Liddell (the man most everyone has accused Ortiz if ducking for almost four years), and beat him, before he is even thought of for a title shot.

For the record, Vitor Belfort has stated he has no intentions of pulling out of the fight.

Below is Ortiz's comment (under the screenname of FUTA1) about replacing Belfort, which he made (broken english and all) on the UG forum. The response was made in regards to who would replace Belfort if he pulls out:


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: FUTA1
Date: 01/16/04 04:45 AM
Member Since: 01/01/2001
835 Total Posts


Me. I would you to take another spanking.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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As Fightsport.com first reported months ago, the UFC may have a TV deal with SPIKE TV (formerly TNN), that would give the UFC a weekly TV show as early as the autumn of 2004.

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Matt Hughes (right) has not attracted big PPV numbers as a main event fighter.

Jeff Osborne reports the following Pay-Per-View buyrates for the following UFC shows:

UFC 42: 34,000 buys (Hughes vs. Sherk main event)

UFC 45: 37,000 buys (Hughes vs. Trigg main event)

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Jeremy Horn

ICE 7: Meltdown at Metropolis
Friday, January 16th, 2003
Cincinnati, Ohio


Jeremy Horn defeats Ron Fields by TKO at 3:02, RD 2.
Leo Sylvest defeats Greg Franklin by TKO at 1:24, RD 1.
Mojo Horn defeats Gerald Pierson by armbar at 2:20, RD 1.
Dan Swift defeats Ryan Rinshied by guillotine choke at 0:31, RD 2.
Amir Rahnavardi defeats Trevor Garrett by triangle choke at 1:01, RD 1.
Keith Curts defeats Jerrod Doss by neck crank at 1:04, RD 1.
Jason Willis drew with Cowboy Penny.
Jim Bova defeats Billy Rush by TKO at 4:46, RD 2.
Ricky Hutchins defeats Nathan Fitch by guillotine choke at 0:33, RD 1.
Johnathan Murphy defeats Shaun Coffman by KO at 1:45, RD 1.
Mike Werner drew with Dave Cochran.

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Hirotaka Yokoi

The Japanese media is reporting that Hirotaka Yokoi may be the opponent for Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira on the PRIDE 27 show, scheduled for February 1st.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

"Butterbean" (left)

Dean Juipe of the Las Vegas Sun discusses Eric 'Butterbean' Esch and the reason he is now one of the primary targets of the current FBI investigation into boxing. To read the article in its entirety, click here

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Bob Sapp

K-1 announced that the theme for their February 15th show will be Team Sapp vs. Team Akebono.

Bob Sapp and Akebono will both be making guest appearances. Their teams will have seven fighters each, facing off against each other on the card. Below are the lineups for each team:


TEAM AKEBONO
Remy Bonjasky
Shannon Briggs
Stefan Gamlin
'Montanha' Silva
Eric 'Butterbean' Esch
TOA 'The Samoan Beast'
Kimo Leopoldo


TEAM SAPP
Tsuyoshi Nakasako
Hiromi Amada
Yusuke Fujimoto
Shingo Koyasu
Hiraku Hori
Masaaki Miyamoto
Nobu Hayashi

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Dan Severn

Fury Full Contact Fighting 2
January 17, 2004
Guam


Justin Mercado defeats Josh Smith by decision.
Dan Severn defeats Ray Seraile.
Ed Tedtaotao defeats Chris Quenga by TKO, RD 2.
Mike Ulloa defeats Mike Reyes by submission at 4:21, RD 1.
Zachary Brennan defeats Simon Abul by TKO at 4:27, RD 1.

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Ryo Chonan (left)

DEEP
January 22nd, 2004
Kourakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Ryo Chonan vs. Daijiro Matsui
Yasuhito Namekawa vs. Yusuke Imamura
Ikemoto vs. Hidetaka Monma
Satoko Shinashi vs. Naoko Oomuro
Ryuta Sakurai vs. Tetsuya Onose
Kyosuke Sasaki vs. Takanori Oniki
Jun Ishii vs. Tadahiro Hosaka
Tashiro Nishiuchi vs. Tomoyuki Fukami
Masutasu Yano vs. Takayuki Ooba

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KOTC
Saturday, January 24th, 2004
Office Depot Center

Open: 6:30 PM
Start: 7:30 PM


A total of twelve matchups has been scheduled for the card, which will be announced in full in a few days.

Main Events:
Dan Severn vs. Seth Petruzelli
Patrick Smith vs. Vernon 'Tiger' White
John Alessio vs. George Santiago
Paul Rodriguez vs. Melvin Guillard
Manny Reyes Jr. vs. TBA

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SHOOTO
January 24th, 2003
Kourakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Class-A Bouts:
Joao Roque vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
Marco Louro vs. Shuichiro Katsumura
Tetsuo Katsuta vs. Makoto Ishikawa
Kohei Yasumi vs. Koutetsu Boku

Class-B Bouts:
Hiroyuki Tanaka vs. Kenji Osawa
Junichi Sase vs. Yuki Shoujou

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UFC 46: Super Natural
January 31st, 2004
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Las Vegas, NV


Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort (UFC light heavyweight title)
Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn (UFC welterweight title)

Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims
Carlos Newton vs. Renato Verissimo
Lee Murray vs. Jorge Rivera
Matt Serra vs. Ivan Menjivar
Josh Thomson vs. Hermes Franca
Karo Parisian vs. Geirges St-Pierre

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Ivan Menjivar (top)

The Canadian media reports that Canadian-based fighter Ivan Menjivar will replace Gerald Strebendt on the UFC 46 card, which is scheduled for January 31st.

Strebendt had to pull out of the card due to an injury he sustained in training. Menjivar's opponent will be Matt Serra.

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