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LukeBeston.net supplies us with the following banners of former comic book reviewer/MMA internet journalist/known gambler Jake Rossen, who still refuses to pay the USD$3,000 he owes to respected MMA insider Shiloh McIver.

For those who aren't familiar with the Rossen scandal/story, scroll down to our news on February 7th to read the article.

Download your favorite banner, and 'support the sport' by helping to bring the liars and phonies of MMA to justice:









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Ignasov (left) sparring with Sam Greco.

Todd Atkins reports from Japan that a rematch between Alexey Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura has been announced to take place at the K-1 MMA show, scheduled for May 19th. A possible matchup of Bob Sapp vs. Kazuyuki Fujita and rematch between Jerome LeBanner vs. Tadao Yasuda are also trying to be signed for the same show.

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KOTC: 'After Shock'
Friday, February 20th, 2003
Soboba Casino
Soboba, CA


This card will air on a one week delayed Pay-Per-View on February 29th, 2004, available on Dish Network, Direct TV, TVN, and Bell Express VU:


Joe Stevenson defeats Joe Camacho by rear naked choke at 4:36, RD 2.
Charles Bennett defeats Shad Smith by KO at 0:40, RD 1.
Dan Severn drew with Jerry Verbanovic.
Charlie Valencia defeats Bobby Gamboa by judges decision.
Thomas Denny defeats Jake Gomez by triangle choke at 2:15, RD 1.
Romie Aram defeats Mike Penabler by judges decision.
Brian Foster defeats Dustin Arden by rear naked choke at 3:19, RD 1.
Chad Davis defeats Mike Seal by triangle choke at 1:47, RD 2.
Brian Sesma defeats Brian Pardoe by TKO at 2:27, RD 1.
Thomas Kenny defeats Ray Elbe by keylock at 2:36, RD 1.
Larry Landless defeats Tony Berg by rear naked choke 1:41, RD 1.
Randy Velarde defeated Brian Vanderford by TKO at 4:57, RD 1.
Wander Braga defeats Jason Cleveland by armbar at 1:14, RD 1.

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European Vale-Tudo 4
April 4th, 2004
Stockholm, Sweden


Confirmed matchups;
Tor Olav Hauge vs. Jean Robert Monier
Mario Stapel vs. Hiro Kamikozono
Thomas Hytten vs. Dersu Lerma

Other fighters scheduled to participate:
Christian Dellevag
Aaron Blackwell
Diego Gonzales
Tchavdar Pavlov
John Oskar Hammer
Bobby Rehman
Joakim Engberg
Martin Kampmann

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UFC 47: 'It's On!'
April 2nd, 2004
Mandalay Bay
Las Vegas, NV


Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell
Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski
Wes 'Cabbage' Correira vs. Mike Kyle
Jonathan Wiezorek vs. Wade Shipp
Robbie Lawler vs. Nick Diaz
Chris Lytle vs. Tiki Ghosn
Yves Edwards vs. Hermes Franca
Genki Sudo vs. Mike Brown

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Phil Baroni (left)

The Conneticut Athletic Comission was scheduled to give a final ruling yesterday rule on whether UFC fighter Phil Baroni would continue his one-year suspension, or if the suspension would be reduced to six months.

However, the commission has postponed the final ruling until sometime next week.

Baroni was originally handed a one-year suspension by the commission for punching referee Larry Landless at UFC 45, which took place on November 21st, 2003. Baroni struck Landless after having his fight against Evan Tanner controversially stopped.

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By Tape Lord

Frank Mir

Hello my friends, Zuffa informant 'Coffee Guy' relays to me the following info:

UFC president Dana White supposedly wants to give Frank Mir a shot at the heavyweight belt in UFC 48, scheduled for July 3rd.

Mir would get the winner of the Tim Sylvia vs. Andre Arlovski heavyweight title fight, which is taking place in UFC 47 on April 2nd.

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Phil Baroni (far right) after striking referee Larry Landless.

The Conneticut Athletic Comission is expected to rule today whether UFC fighter Phil Baroni will continue his suspension of one year, or if the suspension will be cut in half to six months.

Baroni was handed a one-year suspension by the commission for punching referee Larry Landless at UFC 45, which took place on November 21st, 2003. Baroni struck Landless after having his fight against Evan Tanner controversially stopped.

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Genki Sudo

Yomiuri Sports reports that Yuji Nagata and Genki Sudo have confirmed their participation in the K-1 MMA show.

The first two shows will take place on March 14th and then May 19th. Sudo will participate on the May 19th show.

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Shaolin (top)

Special report from Shimura Funaki in Japan.

The inside word amongst the Japanese media is that SHOOTO is planning to match up 155-pound champ Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro against the winner of the Kaoru Uno vs. Tetsuji Kawajiri matchup.

Likewise, SHOOTO is planning to match up 145-pound champ Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira against the winner of the Jens Pulver vs. Naoya Uematsu matchup. In the event that Uematsu beats Pulver, then SHOOTO will most likely make Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto as Pequeno's next opponent.

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Rodrigo Gracie

Rodrigo Gracie, part of the new generation of Gracie fighters making their mark, had the following to say regarding what opponent he would like to face in the future:

"I really want to fight Kazushi Sakuraba. I need to change his nickname of Gracie Killer and I have the ability to beat him. I know I can beat him and hope they give me the challenge". -Rodrigo Gracie

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KOTC: 'After Shock'
Friday, February 20th, 2003
Soboba Casino
Soboba, CA

Doors open: 6:30PM
Fights start: 8:00PM

This card will air on a one week delayed Pay-Per-View on February 29th, 2004, available on Dish Network, Direct TV, TVN, and Bell Express VU:


Main event matchups:
Dan Severn vs. Jerry Verbanovic
Joe Stevenson vs. Joe Camacho
Bobby Gamboa vs. David Rivas
Shad Smith vs. Charles Bennett
Thomas Denny vs. Jake Gomez

Other fighters scheduled to participate:
Romi Aram
Wander Braga
Mike Seal
Bryan Pardoe
Brian Sesma
Logan Layton
Dale Breese
Michael Penalber
Chad Davis
Randy Velarde
Richard Solis
Matt Stansell
Chad Washburn
Manny Tapia
Jorge Periera

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Musashi

K-1 announced the matchup of Musashi vs. Akebono for their show on March 27th. Akebono was originally supposed to fight former K-1 champion Mark Hunt, but negotiations for the fight did not pan out.

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Gilbert Yvel

'It's Showtime'
May 20th, 2004
Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam, Holland


MMA matchups:
Gilbert Yvel vs. Cheick Kongo
Joop Kasteel vs. Dave Vader
Rodney Faverus vs. Melvin Manhoef
Dave Dalgliesh vs. Barrington Patterson
Irma Verhoeff vs. Yoko Takahashi

Muay Thai/Kickboxing matchups:
Alexey Ignashov vs. Semmy Schilt
Rayen Simson vs. Sahin Yakut
Badr Hari vs. Aziz Khattou
Fikri Tijarti vs. Chris van Venrooy
Joerie Mes vs. Aschwin Balrak
Gago Drago vs. Stjepan Veselic

Boxing matchups:
Lucia Rijker vs. Lisa Holewyne
Regillo Aaron vs. Francisco Mora

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Royce Gracie

UFC legend Royce Gracie makes an appearance in the March 2004 issue of 'Maxim' magazine, giving some tips on self defense. His contribution will appear in the 'How To' section of the magazine.

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Dennis Hallman (right)

There have been rumblings in the MMA media that AMC Pankration founder Matt Hume may make his next comeback into MMA at a future PRIDE Bushido show.

However, Dennis Hallman, who once trained with Hume but now seems to be at odds with him, had the following to say regarding a Hume comeback:

'Matt Hume will never fight again and if he did it wouldn't be against an opponent that had a chance to beat him. OLD AND WORN OUT NEWS.' -Dennis Hallman


Hume has fought exactly two times in the last seven years, his last fight being an armbar victory over Shawn 'Pain' Peters on December 13, 2002.

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Special report from Shimura Funaki in Japan.

The inside word from Japan is that WWE supremo Vince McMahon recently had some discussions with the heads of DSE/PRIDE, with the idea of possibly cross-promoting a future show, and having some talent exchange. For fans that don't know, DSE also promotes a pro-wrestling event called Hustle-1.

It's said that McMahon has supposedly been very impressed with the MMA phenomenon in Japan, and how Japanese pro-wrestling organizations have used it to increase their popularity. The WWE shows last week in Japan did not do so well as expected in terms of attendance, and McMahon is reportedly thinking of even staging a shoot-fight on his next show in Japan.

McMahon has also supposedly seen the vast potential to do the same in America with his already established fanbase.


More news to come on this in the next two months.

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Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

The Japanese media is reporting that a Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson vs. Hidehiko Yoshida matchup is being considered as a first round matchup in the PRIDE Heavyweight GP, scheduled for April.

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Vanderlei Silva

The Japanese media is reporting that Vanderlei Silva vs. Yuki Kondo will most likely be happening in April. The fight will either be a title fight, or it will take place as part of the PRIDE Heavyweight GP.

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Mario Sperry

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' reports that Mario Sperry completed the last fight of his PRIDE contract with his recent win over Mike Bencic, and is currently in negotiations to sign a new 3-fight deal with PRIDE.

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Peter Aerts (right)

The Japanese media is reporting that Peter Aerts may face pro-wrestler Steve Williams in an MMA fight at the K-1 MMA show, scheduled for March 14th.

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Naoyuki Kotani

ZST GT-F Update
March 7, 2004
Tokyo, Japan


ZST Grappling Tournament:
Jeff Curran vs. TBA
Hideo Tokoro vs. Masahiro Ohishi
Masakazu Imanari vs. Jiro Wakabayashi
Hidehiko Matsumoto vs. Noboru Asahi

Elimination Bout to get into Tournament
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Remigijus Morkevicius


Genesis tournament Line-Up :
Chikara Sato vs. Soichiro Kato
Kenzi Daikanyama vs. Hirotaka Miyakawa
Toshiaki Komatsu vs. Takatora Iwasa
Yusaku Hanakuma vs. Shinichiro Tsunagawa

Single Bouts:
Yuta Watanabe vs. Tsuneyuki Nozu
Takuya Fujisawa vs. Takeshi Sakamoto

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

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Naoya Uematsu

Ground Impact 3
March 7th
Differ Ariake
Tokyo, Japan

Professional BJJ matches:
Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa vs. Kazeka Muniz
Yuki Nakai vs. Alberto Crane
Toshiyuki Wado vs. TAISHO
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Daisuke 'Amazon' Sugie
Cristiano Kaminishi vs. Hiroshi Tsuruya
Mario Sergio Yokoyama vs. Koji Asakura
Cavalcante Junior vs. Naoyoshi Watanabe
Naoya Uematsu vs. Hiroyuki Abe

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Bob Sapp

K-1
March 14th, 2004
Bandaijima Messe Convention Center
Nigata, Japan

The following K-1 will consist of mostly MMA matchups, with a few K-1 rules fights on the undercard.


MMA PORTION OF THE CARD:

Main event:
Bob Sapp vs. Dolgosurem Sumbayazer

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Peter Aerts
Josh Barnett
Kazuyuki Fujita
'Lyoto' Machida
T.K. Kohsaka
Yuji Nagata
Yoshihiro Nakao
Masayuki Naruse
Shinsuke Nakamura
Kensuke Sasaki

Fighters that may participate (either still negotiations, or may participate in next show):
Rickson Gracie
Kimo Leopoldo
Pedro Rizzo
Alexy Ignashov
Kosei Inoue
Enson Inoue
Genki Sudo
Sylvester Terkay
'Montanha' Silva



K-1 RULES PORTION OF THE CARD:

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Micheal McDonald
Eric 'Butterbean' Esch
Petr Vandrechek
Dewey Cooper
Tsuyoshi Nakasako
Tatsufumi Tomihira
Great Kusatsu
Toru Oishi
Masaaki Miyamoto
Hiromi Amada


Stay tuned for more news on the developing card.

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Josh Barnett

The Japanese media is reporting that MMA fighters and pro-wrestlers contracted to Antonio Inoki's New Japan organization will be participating in the K-1 MMA show that is scheduled for March 14th in Nigata, Japan.

The New Japan representatives will go by the name of the 'Inoki Army', and will be comprised of the following MMA fighters and pro-wrestlers so far:

Josh Barnett
Kazuyuki Fujita
'Lyoto' Machida
T.K. Kohsaka
Yuji Nagata
Masayuki Naruse
Shinsuke Nakamura
Kensuke Sasaki

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Peter Aerts

The Japanese media is reporting that 3-time K-1 champion Peter Aerts will make his MMA debut on K-1'a MMA show, scheduled for March 14th.

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"Montahna" (left) vs. Fujimoto (right)

Brazilian fighter 'Montanha' Silva', who reportedly stands around 7'3 and weighs more then 300 pounds, has been improving in strides since getting disqualified in his K-1 debut against Musashi. Since that time, Silva has gone the distance with 4-time K-1 champion Ernesto Hoost, and just recently knocked out rising Japanese heavyweight Yusuke Fujimoto.

According to Montanha's manager, Sergio Batarelli, the Brazilian is evolving his standup game from streetfighting to becoming a real fighter.

"Congratulations have to go out to his trainer Roney Alex. He took a very raw Montanha, trained him and transformed the giant into a real fighter. Montanha is starting to become a worrisome matchup for the big stars K-1, due to the evolution of his technique, his strength, speed, and coordination for his size", explains Batarelli.

On his fight with Fujimoto, Montanha says, "He punches much harder then Musashi and Ernesto Hoost". But Montanha showed some power of his own, knocking down the durable Fujimoto twice in the second round, before knocking him out in the third with a straight right. Doctors examined Fujimoto after the fight and determined that he had also broken his arm due to Montanha's powerful kicks.

"Even Musashi and Hoost have already said that Montanha's kick is abnormally powerful", says Batarelli.

With steady improvement and performances like these, Montanha's immense potential looks like it will eventually be realized.

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By Todd Atkins

Vitor Belfort

After a brief hiatus from action, Zuffa informant 'Coffee Guy' has returned to give me the following report on Vitor Belfort.

First off, Vitor Belfort does NOT currently have ANY fights remaining on his Zuffa contract. What makes this interesting is the fact that UFC president Dana White has made reports to the contrary through the MMAWeekly newssite. Vitor in not under contract and is now a free agent, and MMA Weekly is basically being used by Zuffa.

Speculation is that Vitor will indeed re-sign with Zuffa but not for any LOW BALL offer. This is why Belfort is not doing anything to build up any potential fights that could or could not happen, thus not agreeing to the third fight with Randy Couture through public media. Belfort is always a very tough businessman, and Zuffa will have to pay top dollar to keep him. Vitor right now is sitting in prime position with several big fights on the table with both the UFC and bigger money fights in PRIDE (who have been in talks with Belfort recently).

Look for Belfort to re-sign with the UFC and fight Randy Couture for a third time once Zuffa meets his financial demands, contrary to MMA Weekly's consistently wrong reports. IMO Randy Couture and Zuffa are using MMA Weekly, as they always do, to pressure Belfort into agreeing to terms that meet their best interests.

Zuffa has been using Ryan Bennett and MMA Weekly for this purpose, while running down Bennett constantly back at the Zuffa offices. White and Zuffa know that Bennett is more than willing to sacrifice his own person dignity to regain a job with the UFC. So using his website and radio show is a perfect set up for them to get what they want, while not giving Bennett his job back. Zuffa knows that Bennett wants to be involved with UFC so badly that he cannot sleep at night, and thus MMA Weekly has become the current Zuffa proganda website of choice, replacing some of the older ones that used to hold the top spot, such as MaxFighting, which has dropped off the ratings radar.

*Please credit Fightsport.com, Todd Atkins (TM), and the Atkins Insider report when discussing this article.

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Tito Ortiz

Respected movie site Darkhorizons.com is reporting that there is a good chance that the movie that Tito Ortiz had a minor supporting role in, 'The Crow: Wicked Prayer', will go straight to video and not have a theatrical release.

There film has supposedly had a very bad buzz from insiders, and people associated with the film have supposedly stated that it will be in video stores by the end of the year.

The cast of the film include David Boreanez, Tara Reid, Edward Furlong, Dennis Hopper, and Macy Gray. Tito Ortiz plays a minor role as a gang leader. The film was directed by Lance Mungia, whose past work include the movie 'Six String Samurai'.

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Lee Murray

We've had many e-mails asking us to re-post Lee Murray's account of his streetfight with Tito Ortiz, so here it is (the following quotes are from an interview with Lee Murray by Ryan Bennett):


Lee Murray on his streetfight with Tito Ortiz at the UFC 38 aftershow party in London, England: "(Laughs). He's not even a man. He can't even admit to what happened. He has to come up with all this bullshit lies, saying, I had slippery shoes on. Hey, next time he comes to fight me, make sure he doesn't wear dress shoes. He ain't even man enough to say what happened. He said he got jumped by five guys or ten guys. The guy comes running at me, the guy come at me. Must have thought I was an idiot and come running at me throwing punches and thought I wasn't going to do nothing about it. What did he think, I was gonna run away? On the street, I got two, three, four hundred street fights, I've been street fighting all my life and this guy's got ten or twenty fights in the octagon and thinks he's gonna scare me off."

Lee Murray explains the sequence of events leading up to the altercation with Tito Ortiz: "I was speaking to him at fight, in the club, we was chattin. Pat and a few other guys were talking. We went outside and there was some commotion. I couldn't really see what was going on. Me and my friend were trying to break it with Pat and a few others and it kicked off. One guy tried to hit my friend and I jumped in and that's when Tito jumped in on me. I think the guy I stepped in on was one of his friends. Then he is coming to me. Pat and three other guys stepped between us. Then, his friend got knocked out cold. I was laughing, he seen me and took his jacket off. I took my jacket off, my watch off and put it in my pocket. He come running at me throwing punches and I smacked him up."

Lee Murray comments on Tito's excuse that he was drunk during their street fight: "We was both drinking. Tito was drunk, what about me? I was drinking vodkas and champagne all night. I was drunk as well. What does he think, I was sober and just finished a couple of rounds of shadow boxing and was ready? I was drinking all night and had dress shoes on as well. Dress shoes, what kind of excuse is that? If he was half a man, he'd come up with a better excuse than that. If that was me, you know what I'd have said? I'd have said, ah yeah, I was drunk, I scraped with a fighter and got a whaping. I wouldn't say I had dress shoes on and got rushed by ten guys."

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Dana White

When asked by the American MMA media about DSE/PRIDE and their announcement to the Japanese media that they plan on taking over the American market from the UFC, UFC president Dana White said:

'I have no idea where this is coming from. I mean we talked about bringing Fujita and Sakuraba to fight in the Octagon many months ago, but other than that we haven't spoken about working something out or having any kind of fights. If they want to send some guys over here great.' -Dana White

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SHOOTO
February 27th, 2004
Zurich, Switzerland

Marcelo Alfaie vs. Pierre Guillet
Luiz Firmino Buscape vs. Rafles La Rose
Vitelmo 'Catel' Kubis vs. TBA
Augusto F. Guimaraes vs. Sergio Platzer
Ricardo Pezao vs. Paul Jenkins
Ivan Mussardo vs. Dennis Kelly
Bram van Koppen vs. Patrick Decaro
Omar Marron vs. TBA
Ken Groh vs. TBA

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Final details regarding the DVD production of Heat FC 1 and 2 for the American market are just about complete. The DVDs will most likely be available in the summer.

HEAT FC 3 is scheduled for either April 15th or April 16th, in the northern Brazilian city of Natal.

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Vitor Belfort (right)


Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently spoke with newly crowned UFC lightheavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. Here's what Vitor had to say:

Tatame: After the disappearance of your sister, you had all the reason in the world not to fight...where did you find the strength to enter the octagon in UFC 46?

Vitor: After all this happened, I concentrated on focusing all my energies on conquering the title. All my sister wanted was to see me return to the top. It was always her dream to see me win and avenge my loss to Couture, and to win back the UFC belt. That fight was a way for me to try and give her two presents at the same time...day to day is very difficult, sometimes I cry when I think about her. Wherever she is right now, I still believe she is still alive. I dedicate this victory to her.

Tatame: Tell us about the punch?

Vitor: I trained a lot in finding openings to strike him, and that's exactly what I did. He threw a jab which I blocked. He then threw a kick and a right. I avoided his right and countered with a right. I felt that my right got through, then he clinched and tried to pull me towards the fence...my corner yelled to let myself out and start hitting him. I was just about to launch a hook, but sincerely speaking, I didn't feel good about doing that. I felt bad about having to do such a thing because he was obviously hurt, and I like Randy a lot. He is an excellent human being. I thank God that the referee stopped the fight at that moment.

Tatame: Some people are saying that you conquered that belt by luck...

Vitor: In my opinion, they say that because everybody in the world, myself included, expected a long and hard fight...but sometimes these kind of things happen in full contact sports. Honestly speaking, my boxing trainer told me something that I think rings true: "The one who was lucky was actually Randy for escaping that right with only a cut. If that punch had landed cleanly, he would've been dropped."

Tatame: Is it true that at the time the fight was stopped, you said to Randy that you didn't deserve the victory?

Vitor: It's true. I was upset that I couldn't show everything I had trained for. In reality, I didn't want to win the fight in that manner. But he responded: "No. You deserve it. You trained hard for this, and having to go through the troubles you're going through, you still got in the octagon and fought. You deserve this belt."

Tatame: Some say that your next fight should be a rematch with Couture. Others say that you should fight the winner of the fight between Ortiz and Liddell. In the end, who will your next fight be against?

Vitor: Personally, I would like a chance to unify the belts between PRIDE and the UFC. It was what Randy was wanting to do. I think it's very important that the major events in the world have a good relationship, like in Boxing. A unification bout between PRIDE and the UFC would be a landmark event in the sport, and I would like to be a part of that. But you never know what the promoters plan to do.

Tatame: How important was your wife Joana in this victory?

Vitor: Joana is a fantastic woman. She only gives me support, and she was fundamental in my conquest of the title. Our marriage has made me much stronger. We are very united, very happy, and best friends. Joana and my family were very instrumental in this difficult time.

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Jean Silva

Cage Rage 5
February 15th, 2004
Ceasars Nightclub
London, England


Jean Silva defeats Leigh Remedios by KO, RD 3.
Paul Jenkins drew with Suley Mahmoud.
Mark Epstein defeats Lance King by KO
Ronaldo Campos defeats Mike Johnson by armbar.
Ricky Moore defeats Benoit Derot.
Paul Sutherland defeats Sammy Schiavo by TKO.
Carla Sullivan defeats Ruth Darbisher by armbar.
Ian Butlein defeats Chine Weerasinghe by TKO.

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SHOOTO
February 12th, 2004
Keilor Basketball Center
Melbourne, Australia


Class-A Bouts:
Soa Palalei defeats Christian Wellisch in TKO, RD 2.
Colin Crosby drew with Keiran Hewitt.

Class-B Bouts:
Sam Nest defeats Ross Dallow by rear naked choke, RD 2.
Cris Brown defeats Jun 'Gonzui' Kitagawa by TKO, RD 2.
Travers Grubb defeats Nick Telewski by TKO, RD 1.
Kym Robinson defeats Matthew Knight by armbar, RD 1.
Jon Valuri drew with Andrew Specht.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

Fightsport.com recieved the following info from various MMA insiders regarding DSE/PRIDE and their announcement that they plan on taking over the American market from the UFC:


Key Points:

1.) DSE/PRIDE has finally realized that Zuffa will not spend the money to compete with them, and see no reason why they cannot go in and try to overtake the American market.

2.) The success of UFC 40, due mainly to Ken Shamrock, showed DSE/PRIDE that the fans still come out in numbers to see the old school UFC legends, of which they have many on their roster.

3. DSE/PRIDE may be working with Vince McMahon in doing some cross-promoting and talent exchange in both America, and when the WWE comes to Japan.


Furthermore, DSE/PRIDE is planning a mega show for their September card in Las Vegas. Some of the UFC legends, as well as modern day MMA stars, you can expect to see on the card include:

UFC legends:
Royce Gracie
Frank Shamrock
Mark Coleman
Don Frye
Ken Shamrock (Shamrock's UFC deal is non-exclusive)
'Tank' Abbott (if he doesn't re-sign with the UFC)

MMA stars:
Vanderlei Silva
Kazushi Sakuraba


We will have more on this developing story in the next few weeks.

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Frank Shamrock

The Japanese media confirmed what Fightsport.com reported almost three months ago, that Frank Shamrock has verbally agreed a 3-fight contract with PRIDE. It is expected that Shamrock will sign the deal within the next two weeks.

PRIDE has not officially announced it yet, but it is believed that Shamrock will make his PRIDE debut in either April, or in the September show in Las Vegas.

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Croatian power agent Miro Mijatovic announced that he has paid the show money for the December 31st Inoki 'Bom Ba Ye' show to Semmy Schilt, Stefan Leko, and Alistair Overeem out of his own pocket.

Mijatovic was at the center of controversy as he was being accused of taking a big chunk of the show money from the Inoki show, leaving several fighters unpaid.

Mijatovic added that he has reconciled his relationship with Dutch agent Bas Boon, who represents some of the fighters who had not been paid.

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Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

Sources close to the Miletich camp are saying that Pat Miletich recieved an e-mail from Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic saying that he would like to come to Iowa and train with him and the Miletich team.

CroCop would supposedly train with Miletich during the period of time leading up to the PRIDE Heavyweight GP opening round in April. Those sources also added that Miletich is very open to the idea, and that this will most likely happen.

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Bob Sapp

Bob Sapp announced at today's (Japan time) K-1 show that he will be fighting an MMA match in March against former Mongolian Olympic wrestler Dolgosurem Sumbayazer.

Sumbayazer's last MMA fight was a loss against T.K. Kohsaka, in a fight he was supposedly winning before injuring his shoulder when slamming Kohsaka.

Sumbayazer's younger brother is the current Sumo Champion Asahoyru. His other brother is a pro wrestler named 'Blue Wolf.

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The Fight Factor is the newest on-line MMA radio show, and it will be having its second show today at 7:00 PM GMT-ET Time.

This week's show will feature Frank Shamrock as a guest. To listen to the show, go to TheFightFactor

For more information on The Fight Factor, e-mail Contactus@thefightfactor.com

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By Todd Atkins

Chute Boxe celebrate.

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


Fightsport.com's Japan-based MMA journalist Todd Atkins attended the PRIDE Bushido 2 event in Japan today, and gave us the following indepth report:


Chute Boxe vs. Japan matchups:

Vanderlei Silva defeats Ikuhisa Minowa by KO, RD 1.
This fight was a joke IMO. Minowa has lost to guys his own size several times, and now he is getting his ass kicked by guys much bigger. This fight was over early as Silva stuffed a Minowa takedown, took top position and then KO'd Minowa with the first clean punch he landed while in Minowa's guard.

Mauricio Shogun defeats Akihiro Gono by KO, RD 1.
I do not know what Gono was doing in this fight. Gono has shown solid striking over his career but he chose to run away from Shogun at every opportunity. Shogun was easily able to gain the Thai clinch whenever he wanted and ripped Gono with knees to the body and head throughout. Whenever the fight was at a distance he would close on Gono with punches and then grap the Thai clinch again. Finally he was able to knock the running Gono down and deliver a brutal soccer kick that ended the match.

Takanori Gomi defeats Jadyson Costa by TKO, RD 1.
Gomi took Costa down immediately, passed, and then mounted and rained down punches until the referee finally decided to halt the bout. Easy victory for Gomi.



Regular matchups:

Mirko 'CroCop' Filipovic defeats Yoshihisa Yamamoto by TKO, RD 1.
This fight was joke, Yamamoto was claiming that he "DDT'd" Kerr in the previous PRIDE resulting in the KO. Mirko came out and starting kicking Yamamoto in the leg while Yamamoto tried to act like they did not hurt him. Cro Cop continued kicking his ass until he hurt Yamamoto with some punches and then knocked him down ending the fight. This fight was a lot worse that I am even making it out to be, but I do not remember everything I saw.

Rodrigo Gracie defeats Hayato Sakurai by judges decision.
Rodrigo Gracie basically won this fight by dry hump. But Sakurai made some very stupid mistakes in the fight that ultimately cost him position each time. He tried for a spin kick and got taken down, and also tried a couple of Judo throws that he got taken down off of. Gracie was never able to take him down when he was not commiting himself to something wild. Most boring fight on the night by far.

Daiju Takase defeats Chris Brennan by unanimous decision.
School was in session and Takase was giving free lessons. Takase showed why he considered one of the Japan's top grapplers, showcasing improved takedowns, and passing Brennan's guard all day long. The only problem was that he was unable to submit Brennan, although he had several submission chances to do so. Brennan was caught once in a reverse triangle that did not seem to be choking him, and once in a very deep Kimura (which Takase had a few other times not as deep in the match). The only times Brennan was not on his back where at the beginnings of each round. At one point in the fight I felt bad for Brennan when the ref asked him to improve his position. I was wondering to myself exactly what the ref was expecting him to improve on. It is not easy to improve your position when you are sidemounted by Takase. Ryan Bow told me that the first time he grappled Takase, the embarrasement made him feel like quitting fighting altogether. Easy win for Takase, and I expect bigger things from him in future PRIDE events.

Mario Sperry defeats Mike Bencic by KO, RD 1.
This fight was over in a matter of seconds as Sperry nailed Batman with a straight right that knocked him out, a couple of punches on the ground after was just icing for Sperry.

Sean Sherk defeats Ryuki Ueyama by unanimous decision.
Sherk looked really good in this fight IMO. He was not able to finish the fight, but his guard passing was excellent. He was able to take Ueyama down constantly throughout the fight. But Ueyama was game enough to not get the crap beat out of him. Sherk win this one by easy decision.

Yasuhito Namekawa defeats Egidijus Valavicius by guillotine choke, RD 1.
This fight did not last very long as Namekawa was able to lock the guillotine on (which he seemed to have forever) and finally the Russian tapped.

Yusin Okami defeats Ryuta Sakurai by judges decision.
Okami's main offense was GNP in this fight, but Sakurai had a very good chance to win in round 1 as he kimura locked Okami solidly and anyone else probably would have tapped. Okami managed to escape and resumed his takedown and GNP offense for the duration of round 2.

Choi Mu Bae defeats Yusuke Imamura by choke, RD 1.
IMO Mu Bae did not really show that much. He seems to have good wrestling skill, but his punches are not very powerful and his submission need ALOT of work. Besides Imamura sucks horribly and should not be fighting in any PRIDE event ever again.

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"Cro Cop" (left) vs. Yamamoto (bottom)

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


Chute Boxe vs. Japan matchups:
Vanderlei Silva defeats Ikuhisa Minowa by KO, RD 1.
Mauricio Shogun defeats Akihiro Gono by KO, RD 1.
Takanori Gomi defeats Jadyson Costa by TKO, RD 1.

Regular matchups:
Mirko 'CroCop' Filipovic defeats Yoshihisa Yamamoto by TKO, RD 1.
Mario Sperry defeats Mike Bencic by KO, RD 1.
Rodrigo Gracie defeats Hayato Sakurai by judges decision.
Sean Sherk defeats Ryuki Ueyama by unanimous decision.
Daiju Takase defeats Chris Brennan by unanimous decision.
Yasuhito Namekawa defeats Egidijus Valavicius by guillotine choke, RD 1.
Yusin Okami defeats Ryuta Sakurai by judges decision.
Choi Mu Bae defeats Yusuke Imamura by choke, RD 1.

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Sapp raises Musashi's hand.

K-1: 'Burning 2004'
February 15th, 2004
Okinawa Convention Center
Okinawa, Japan


Remy Bonjasky defeats Tsuyoshi Nakasako by KO, RD 3.
Musashi defeats Stefan Gamlin by KO at 2:53, RD 2.
Petr Vandrachek defeats Shingo Koyasu by KO, RD 1.
'Montanha' Silva defeats Yusuke Fujimoto by KO, RD 3.
'Big' Mo defeats Hiraku Hori by KO, RD 4.
Great Kusatsu defeats Fabiano by KO, RD 1.
Hiromi Amada defeats Kimo Leopoldo by KO, RD 2.

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Yoshiro Maeda

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

Yoshiro Maeda defeats Alexandre Carneiro by TKO, RD 2.
Takafumi Ito drew with Yuji Hoshino.
Satoru Kitaoka drew with Tadahiro Hosaka.
Yuji Oba defeats Satoshi Watanabe by judges decision.
Daisuke Hanazawa drew with Takuo Miyata.
Yohei Tagami defeats Naoji Fujimoto by judges decision.

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Make sure to check out Fightsport.com tomorrow, as Tape Lord, Shimura Funaki, and Scoop Tanaka will have some exclusive groundbreaking news regarding the PRIDE vs. UFC war that is forming.

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Fightsport.com announced it months ago, and now DSE/PRIDE officially announced to the Japanese media that it plans to essentially take over the American MMA market from the UFC.

DSE/PRIDE stated that they plan on having eith a 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 elimination series of PRIDE vs. UFC. The winners will move on to the PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix finals in August.

DSE/PRIDE added that their Las Vegas show in September will be a PRIDE vs. UFC format.

The Japanese coverage of this story can be found at Sanspo.com and Sportsnavi.co.jp.

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