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Euphoria Entertainment presents: MMA 'RUSSIAN INVASION'
March 13th, 2004
Trump Taj Mahal
Atlantic City, NJ


Below is the complete card of the 'Russian Invasion' MMA show, which is being promoted by Euphoria Entertainment. The theme of the show is USA vs. Russia, with many up-and-coming American fighters facing off against fighters from the Russia's premier MMA team 'Red Devil'.

The fighters representing the USA will come from the following American MMA teams: American Top Team, Team AKA, Strasser's Freestyle Academy, Team Renzo Gracie, and Team Extreme.

Card Subject To Change:


Jeff Monson vs. Roman Zentsov
Moacyr 'Boca' De Oliveira vs. Andrei Semenov
Derrick Noble vs. Musail Alaudinov
Ben Rothwell vs. Ibragim Magomedov
Joe D'Arce vs. Denis Komkin
Trevor Prangley vs. Arman Gambaryan
Ron Faircloth vs. Sergei Kaznovski
Jason Maxwell vs. Serguei Goliaev
Justin Eilers vs. Mikhail Bogdanov
Tom Muller vs. Alexei Veselozorov


For more information call:
(609) 449-1000
(800) 825-8888

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Xtreme Fighting Organization
March 13, 2004
The Abbey Resort
Lake Geneva, WI

Open: 6:00 p.m.
Start: 7:30 p.m.


Jeff Curran vs. Dan Swift
Adrian Serrano vs. Bill Hill
Bart Palaszewski vs. Antoine Skinner
Damian Decorah vs. Carvin Mafatau
Steve Dau vs. Jason Guida
Jason Bender vs. Gabe Lemley
Ryan Brockner vs. Brandan Adamson
John Bolger vs. Fred Santiago
Greg Heisler vs. Pete Wisneiwski
Paul Sharp vs. Kosta Korres
Mark Wallen vs. Nick Moreno
Dave Budney vs. Adam Bass
Brian Drew vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Bob Sapp

K-1: 'BEAST 2004' in Niigata
March 14, 2004
Toki Messe
Nigata, Japan


MMA matchups:
Bob Sapp vs. Dolgosurem Sumbayazer
Alexey Ignashov vs. Steve Williams
Sam Greco vs. Stefan Gamlin
'Lyoto' Machida vs. Micheal McDonald
Ivan Salaverry vs. Haliun Boldbaatar

K-1 rules matchups:
Eric 'Butterbean' Esch vs. Hiromi Amada
Petr Vandrechek vs. Tatsufumi Tomihira
Tsyoshi Nakasako vs. Mavrick
Cliff Couser vs. Masaaki Miyamoto

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Matt Hughes

Our Zuffa informant 'Coffee Guy tells us that a Matt Hughes vs. Renato 'Charuto' Verissimo matchup is trying to be signed for UFC 48 or 49.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Kimo

Our Zuffa informant 'Coffee Guy' tells us that Kimo Leopoldo will be the opponent for Ken Shamrock in UFC 48, scheduled for July 3rd in Las Vegas.

Shamrock's original opponent was to be 'Tank' Abbott, but it appears that Tank will sign on with K-1, as Fightsport.com first reported.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

1st Copa de Artes Marciais of Sao Jose
March 20-21, 2004
Esporte de Campinas gymnasium
Sao Jose, Brazil

Start: 5:00 p.m.


MMA matchups:
Ademar vs. Moacir Menezes
Sergio vs. Humberto Rosa
Alexandro Traquina vs. Julinho

Submission matcups:
Alexandro Custodio vs. Eduardo Guedes
Tutuba vs. Guto
Feutis vs. Renan Rodrigues
Sidinei vs. Anderson Brito
Alexandre Pereira vs. Marcio Nogueira
Fabiano Pega-Leve vs. Franklin Gensen
Thiago Tavares vs. Crocodilo
Daniel Mexicano vs. Vinicius
Roberto Piaza vs. Bahia
Franklin vs. TBA
Diego Nosferato vs. Jaba

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

K-1 World GP 2004 Japan
March 27th, 2003
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan


Ernesto Hoost vs. Remy Bonjasky
Musashi vs. Akebono
Shannon Briggs vs. Tom Erikson or Gary Goodridge
Alexey Ignashov vs. Carter Williams
Ray Sefo vs. Aziz Khattou
Mike Bernardo vs. Jan Nortje
Jerrol Venetiaan vs. Sergei Gur
Cyril Abidi vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Ignashov (left) sparring with Sam Greco.

Alexey Ignashov spoke with the Japanese media and mentioned that he didn't know anything about his opponent Steve Williams, who he is scheduled to fight on the K-1 show on March 14th.

Ignashov also mentioned that he would like to fight Shinsuke Nakamura, who he has already beaten under controversy.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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
Alexey Ignashov vs. Steve Williams
'Lyoto' Machida vs. Micheal McDonald
Yoshihiro Nakao vs. TBA

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Josh Barnett
Kazuyuki Fujita
T.K. Kohsaka
Yuji Nagata
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:

Petr Vandrechek vs. Tatsufumi Tomihira
Cliff Couser vs. Masaaki Miyamoto
Eric 'Butterbean' Esch vs. Hiromi Amada
Ivan Salaverry vs. Haliun Boldbaatar
Tsyoshi Nakasako vs. Mavrick

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Dewey Cooper
Great Kusatsu
Toru Oishi


Stay tuned for more news on the developing card.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

K-1 World GP 2004 Japan
March 27th, 2003
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan


Ernesto Hoost vs. Remy Bonjasky
Musashi vs. Akebono
Shannon Briggs vs. Tom Erikson or Gary Goodridge
Alexey Ignashov vs. Carter Williams
Ray Sefo vs. Aziz Khattou
Mike Bernardo vs. Jan Nortje
Jerrol Venetiaan vs. Sergei Gur
Cyril Abidi vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

K-1: 'Battle At The Bellagio II'
Friday, April 30th, 2004
Bellagio Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, NV


Rumored matchup:
Shannon Briggs vs. 'Tank Abbott


Fighters scheduled to compete:
Carter Williams
Michael McDonald
Dewey Cooper
Cung Le

Fighters that may participate:
Shannon Briggs
Francois Botha

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Jerome LeBanner

K-1: 'Dynamite'
May 19th, 2004
Japan


MMA matchups:
Bob Sapp vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
Rickson Gracie vs. TBA
Alexey Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Jerome LeBanner vs. Tadao Yasuda
Yuji Nagata vs. TBA
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. TBA
Genki Sudo vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Rafiel Torre (left) with MMA insider Shiloh McIver.

Taken from LukeBeston.NET:


Some more news on the Rafiel Torre murder case. First, a source has confirmed our earlier scoop about Torre getting beat up in jail. At his last court appearance, Torre had a large bruise on the side of his head and two black eyes, so it appears that the beatings were more severe than what I was first told. His preliminary hearing should take place some time in June, so it looks like Torre is in for some rough times ahead.

After inquiring about the nature of Rafiel Torre's relationship with his victim, Bryan Richards, we've learned that it was Richards gave Torre the money to open his martial arts school and Torre pretended to be his friend while having an affair with his wife, Angel Richrads. Bryan Richards' murder, as we'd reported before, was part of a scam concocted by Torre with Angel Richards to collect on a $1 million life insurance policy. The insurance company has still not paid the claim, which has prompted Angel Richards to file a lawsuit against them. That case is still pending in court.

Torre, born Ralph Bartel, was with the brothers of Bryan Richards the night his body was discovered. He accompanied them to the police station nursing a fresh wound on one of his hands. Prior to the murder, Torre had injured the hand while working on his car and had called Bryan Richards, who drove him to the hospital to have the hand treated. The wound had begun to heal, but witnesses noticed fresh blood on Torre's bandage the night of the murder, which might indicate that a struggle took place during the murder and Richards may have attempted to defend himself. Torre attended the victim's funeral, then joined the family to mourn at the Richards residence. He moved in with Angel Richards shortly after.

The most shocking and disturbing news, however, is that Torre's role in the murder has been widely known throughout the mixed martial arts community in California all along. Sources close to LukeBeston.NET have reported that well known promoters, fighters and others in the local MMA scene may have aided in the coverup of this heinous crime.

If you have any information that can aid in the prosecution of all parties responsible for this crime, please call the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department at (909) 387-3545 and ask for Detective Brad Toms. You owe it to Bryan Richards and his family, in particular his two children, ages 5 and 3.

*A LukeBeston.NET exclusive--Must credit LukeBeston.NET when posting, broadcasting or in any way reproducing any portion of this article.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Todd Atkins

Shannon Briggs

Shannon Briggs will be fighting either Gary Goodridge or Tom Erikson on the K-1 show on March 27th.

The final decision on Goodridge or Erikson as his opponent will be decided on today by K-1 management. If Goodridge is in, he will be under a new long term K-1 contract.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Jeff Monson

Jeff Monson released the following statement regarding the incident at the Arnolds:


"Although my match and the match between 'Pe De Pano' and Wade Rome was at the center of the controversy at the Arnolds, I think it is important to come forward and say that the grappling community as a whole was wronged by Relson Gracie and his reoccuring unfairness and money mongering year after year at the Arnolds. Relson Gracie gives grappling a bad name, is a disgrace to the Gracie family, and continually brings out the worst in everyone he deals with.

It is not fair to start a Brazilian vs. American war, or even say the Gracies are not fair. I recently competed in the Rorion submission tournament in California, and although the rules were geared for a guard player everyone was treated with the utmost respect. Toward the end of a match between me and Rorion's own son there was a dispute that could have given the match to Renner. Rorion stepped in, restarted the position and said, "let the competitors decide it on the mat." A class act and also fair to the those competing.

When people travel from all over the country and pay $100 a pop to compete in the Arnolds, Relson owes them 2 things: a smoothly run tournament and fairness. He continually uses the same hall although the tournament has long outgrown it resulting in lines of 30-70 people waiting to get in because the fair marshall wouldn't let anyone else go in.

Relson is interested in making money, not about the spectators and certainly not about the competitors. This is not an opinion. This is a fact based soley on relson's own actions. Unfortunately, Relson hides behind his Gracie name and no one has the fortitude to come forward and tell him to 'fuck off'. He hurts the sport but because of his name and sponsorships he has the means to greatly promote it.

However, as I stated, he cares more about himself than others or the sport itself. During my match Relson had the opportunity to be fair but chose otherwise. A woman (whose name I do not know) was taping the fights and doing some documentary on the pro competitors, taped the morning rules meeting and offered to show on her camcorder the part where Relson said and showed it was o.k. using the canopener to open the guard. He refused, saying "I know the rules to my own tournament."

During the melee several competitors pointed out to Relson the rules meeting where he had discussed this but he retorted, "are you calling me a liar?!" Even after the tournament director John Cooper announced 2x over the loud speaker the match would be restarted. Relson buckled under Pe De Pano's threats of boycotting the tournament and told the ref to announce Pe De Pano the winner. This of course was after Wade took down Pe De Pano but was not awarded points. As a slap in the face, Relson later told Wade that he thought Wade won the match. Why didn't he step in during that match?

Pe De Pano and I split the 1st and 2nd place money. This was not due to anything that happened in the match. This was agreed upon before the match between me and Pe De Pano regardless of the outcome, and to his credit he was true to his word. Although I don't agree with his action of not continuing to fight, I don't blame Pe De Pano. Relson held the power to make the decisions, not Pe De Pano or anyone else.

I regret I took down the ref; although for not standing up for what he thought (he said several times the match should continue), he should be held accountable as well. I wish instead that I punched Relson right in his lying mouth. If certain competitors don't like getting their neck cranked on and don't want to be in a tough match, then I suggest they sign up for the Arnold women's table tennis tournament they hold downstairs from the grappling.

Finally, I would like to thank my ATT team and coaches for the great training but especially the continued support." -Jeff Monson

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Enter the Beast
March 6, 2004
British Columbia, Canada


Ulysses Castro defeats Dan Severn by verbal submission at 2:45, RD 3.
John Alessio defeats Brandon Olsen by armbar at 2:59, RD 1.
Ginelle Marquez defeats Keri Crothers by keylock at 1:12, RD 2.
Shannon Ritch defeats Chris Peak by heel hook at 0:37, RD 1.
Randy Velarde defeats Jody Ingalls by TKO at 3:00, RD 2.
Donovan Vrem defeats Mike Jorgensen by keylock at 1:11, RD 4.
Baz Cunningham defeats Ben Greer by rear naked choke at 2:10, RD 3.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Euphoria Entertainment presents: MMA 'RUSSIAN INVASION'
March 13th, 2004
Trump Taj Mahal
Atlantic City, NJ


Below is the complete card of the 'Russian Invasion' MMA show, which is being promoted by Euphoria Entertainment. The theme of the show is USA vs. Russia, with many up-and-coming American fighters facing off against fighters from the Russia's premier MMA team 'Red Devil'.

The fighters representing the USA will come from the following American MMA teams: American Top Team, Team AKA, Strasser's Freestyle Academy, Team Renzo Gracie, and Team Extreme.

Card Subject To Change:


Jeff Monson vs. Roman Zentsov
Moacyr 'Boca' De Oliveira vs. Andrei Semenov
Derrick Noble vs. Musail Alaudinov
Ben Rothwell vs. Ibragim Magomedov
Joe D'Arce vs. Denis Komkin
Trevor Prangley vs. Arman Gambaryan
Ron Faircloth vs. Sergei Kaznovski
Jason Maxwell vs. Serguei Goliaev
Justin Eilers vs. Mikhail Bogdanov
Tom Muller vs. Alexei Veselozorov


For more information call:
(609) 449-1000
(800) 825-8888

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Xtreme Fighting Organization
March 13, 2004
The Abbey Resort
Lake Geneva, WI

Open: 6:00 p.m.
Start: 7:30 p.m.


Jeff Curran vs. Dan Swift
Adrian Serrano vs. Bill Hill
Bart Palaszewski vs. Antoine Skinner
Damian Decorah vs. Carvin Mafatau
Steve Dau vs. Jason Guida
Jason Bender vs. Gabe Lemley
Ryan Brockner vs. Brandan Adamson
John Bolger vs. Fred Santiago
Greg Heisler vs. Pete Wisneiwski
Paul Sharp vs. Kosta Korres
Mark Wallen vs. Nick Moreno
Dave Budney vs. Adam Bass
Brian Drew vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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
Alexey Ignashov vs. Steve Williams
'Lyoto' Machida vs. Micheal McDonald
Yoshihiro Nakao vs. TBA

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Josh Barnett
Kazuyuki Fujita
T.K. Kohsaka
Yuji Nagata
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:

Petr Vandrechek vs. Tatsufumi Tomihira
Cliff Couser vs. Masaaki Miyamoto
Eric 'Butterbean' Esch vs. Hiromi Amada

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Dewey Cooper
Tsuyoshi Nakasako
Great Kusatsu
Toru Oishi


Stay tuned for more news on the developing card.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

ICE 8: Return of the Heavyweights
Friday, March 19th, 2004
Tori's Station
Fairfield, OH

Open: 6:30 p.m.
Start: 8 p.m.


Kerry Schall vs. Chris Herring
Ron Fields vs. Houston Alexander
Michael Patt vs. Justin Ellison
Maurice Walker vs. John Murphy
Neal Rowe vs. Trevor Garrett
John Paun vs. Sal Agrusa
Lenny Plaza vs. Jim Bova
Dave Hayes vs. Josh Souder
Charles Trice vs. Shawn Coffman
Brian Klonowski vs. Gerald Pierson
Bryan Herring vs. John Moore
Ricky Borders vs. Ricky Hutchins
Ryan Rinsheid vs. Brian Paul
Josh Pelfrey vs. Nathan Fitch
Jake Burriola vs. Dan Swift
Josh Strange vs. Clay Coffman
Thomas Zapf vs. Brian Richardson
Shaun Strange vs. TBA
Jeff Walcott vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

RITC 60: 'Renken vs. Riggs'
Saturday, Mar 20, 2004
Celebrity Theatre
Phoenix, AZ

Doors Open: 5:30 PM
Fight Time: 7:30 PM


Card Subject To Change:

Joe Riggs vs. John Renken
Hans Marrero vs. Joe Frainee
Mike Rainieri vs. Rich Alten
R.J. Gamez vs. Jason Chambers
John Wood vs. TBA
Gabe Casillas vs. TBA
Darrell Parrish vs. Matt Ver Halen
Amos Sotello vs. Gabe Rivas
Daniel Betzold vs. TBA
Troy Tolbert vs. Brandon Oliver
Carlos Ortega vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Ernesto Hoost

K-1 World GP 2004 Japan
March 27th, 2003
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan


K-1 announced the following matchups and fighters that will be participating on their March 27th show. The full line-up will be announced sometime next week:

Confirmed matchups:
Ernesto Hoost vs. Remy Bonjasky
Musashi vs. Akebono

Fighters confirmed to participate:
Shannon Briggs
Carter Williams
Alexey Ignashov
Jerrel Venetiaan
Cyril Abidi
Mike Bernardo
Jan Nortje

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

HOOKnSHOOT
March 27, 2004
Veterans' Memorial Coliseum
Evansville, Indiana

Start: 7:00 PM


Aaron Riley vs. Nuri Shakir
Joseph Baize vs. Angelo Popofski
Heath Pedigo vs. Chris Michael
Wald Bloise vs. TBA
Chad Washburn vs. Stonie Dennis
Del Greer vs. Francesca Menda
Julie Ketzie vs. Terry Blair

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Grapplers Quest: 'The Best of The West Returns'
Saturday, March 27th, 2004
Durango High School
Las Vegas, NV


Featuring 3 Superfight Divisions (Men's Lightweight and Middleweight, and Women's Pro Division). Some of the grapplers scheduled to compete include:

Lightweight Superfight Division
Cameron Earle
Marcos Avellan
Gary Grate

Middleweight Superfight Division
Marcelo Garcia
David Avellan
Moacir 'Boca' Oliveira
Diego Sanchez
Rafael Lovato Jr.
Jake Shields

Women's PRO Superfight Division
Leonor Avellan


SAVE up to $20 - To Register and Pre-Purchase tickets online, here

If you want to mail in your application with a check or money order, click here

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

SuperBrawl 34
Sunday, March 28th, 2004
War Memorial Gymnasium
Maui, HI


Falaniko Vitale vs. Keith Winters
Harris Sarmiento vs. Adam Alverez
Justin Mercado vs. Mason Stickle
Ray 'King Kong' Serraile vs. Eddie Searfross
Kendall Groves vs. Kaipo Kalama
Alan Hinojosa vs. Eddie Yagin
Tyson Naho'oikaika vs. Kolo Koka
Eddie Ferreira vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

SHOOTO GIG CENTRAL Vol.5
March 28th, 2003
Tsurumai Public Hall
Nagoya, Japan


Class-A Bouts:
Ryan Bow vs. Daisuke 'Amazon' Sugie

Class-B Bouts:
Naoki Matsushita vs. Ganjo Tentsuku
Hiroshi Umemura vs. TBA
Hatsu Hioki vs. Yohei Nanbu
Hiroyuki Tanaka vs. Akira Kibe
Takahiro Kajita vs. Toshikazu Iseno
Kenichi Hattori vs. Masaaki Yamamori
Atsushi Takeuchi vs. Takashi Yamamoto
Hayate Usui vs. Takeshi Matsushita

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Pancrase 2004 Brave Tour
March 29th, 2004
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

Open: 17:30
Start: 18:30

Below are the matchups that have been announced so far for the Pancrase show on March 29th:


Yuki Kondo vs. Steve Heath
Keigo Takamori vs. Jun Ishii
David Terrell vs. Osami Shibuya
Eiji Ishikawa vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Yuichi Nakanishi vs. Hikaru Sato
Hidehiko Hasegawa vs. Seiki Ryo
Mitsuyoshi Sato vs. Yukiya Naito
Yuji Hisamatsu vs. Ichiro Kanai

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

European Vale-Tudo 2
April 4th, 2004
Stockholm, Sweden


Travis Lutter vs. Antonio Tello
Chris Bowles vs. Stale Nyang
Dersu Lerma vs. Thomas Hytten
Hiro Kamikozono vs. Mario Stapel
Bernardo Serrini vs. Martin Kampmann
Janne Lukkarinen vs. Bobby Rehman
Alex Reid vs. John Oskar Hammer
Ricky Moore vs. Tchavdar Pavlov
Jean Robert Monier vs. Tor Olav Hauge
Kenneth Rosfort vs. Diego Gonzales
Aaron Blackwell vs. Joar Palm
Christian Dellevag vs. Anders Ericksson

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

HEAT FC 3
April 16th, 2004
Natal, Brazil

Heat FC announced the following matchups for their April 16th show:


Ebenezer Braga vs. Keith Jardine
Erick Tavares vs. Diego Sanches

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Minotauro and CroCop confirmed for the GP.

Listed below are the names of the fighters who are signed, and who are being considered for the opening round of the PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix.

The opening round will feature sixteen fighters, and is scheduled for April:


Officially confirmed:
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira
Mirko 'CroCop' Filipovic
Fedor Emelianenko
Igor Vovchanchyn
Sentoryu
Heath Herring
Sergei Karitonov
Igor Vovchanchyn
Yoshihisa Yamamoto

Unofficially confirmed, and very strong possibilty:
Don Frye
Mark Coleman
Murilo 'Ninja' Rua
Stefan Leko
Quinton Jackson
Tom Erikson
Hidehiko Yoshida
Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazuhiro Nakamura
Hirotaka Yokoi
Yoshihiro Takayama

Possibility, but not likely:
Vanderlei Silva *
Yuki Kondo **

Names have been mentioned in the media, but do not expect them in the GP:
Royce Gracie
Dan Henderson
Hiromitsu Kanehara
Kiyoshi Tamura



* Silva will most likely defend his light heavyweight belt against Kondo, and only be in the GP in the event that Ninja cannot compete.
** Kondo only wants to face Silva in a single fight.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

K-1: 'Battle At The Bellagio II'
Friday, April 30th, 2004
Bellagio Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, NV


Rumored matchup:
Shannon Briggs vs. 'Tank Abbott


Fighters scheduled to compete:
Carter Williams
Michael McDonald
Dewey Cooper
Cung Le

Fighters that may participate:
Shannon Briggs
Francois Botha

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Wallid Ismael and Antonio Inoki.

Wallid Ismael announced that the second edition of the 'Jungle Fight' show is scheduled for May 1st, and will be shown live on Brazilian PPV on the Canal Combat NET/Sky.

Canal Combat will also be airing the PRIDE Heavyweight GP on May 14th, and Meca Vale Tudo 11.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Jerome LeBanner

K-1: 'Dynamite'
May 19th, 2004
Japan

Below are the following matchups that have been announced for the K-1 MMA card on May 19th:


MMA matchups:
Bob Sapp vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
Alexey Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Jerome LeBanner vs. Tadao Yasuda
Yuji Nagata vs. TBA
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. TBA
Genki Sudo vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Scoop McTroll

Jeff Monson

The entire night was filled with problems but during the last match all hell broke loose.

The final was between 'Pe De Pano' and Jeff Monson. Monson had a neck crank on when suddenly the ref disqualified him and awarded first prize to Pe De Pano. A huge argument broke out and Jeff Monson attacked Leo Dalla, taking him down and beating on him. He had to be pulled of by five people.

Witnesses say that Monson was screwed by the judges.

Security was called in to break up the riot and police attended. No further details at this stage.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Hideo Tokoro

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


ZST Grappling Tournament:

Quarterfinals:
Jiro Wakabayashi defeats Masakazu Imanari by decision.
Jeff Curran defeats Evaldas Bunevicius by triangle choke at 1:23, RD 1.
Hidehiko Matsumoto defeats Noboru Asahi by decision.
Hideo Tokoro defeats Masahiro Ohishi by decision.

Semifinals:
Jiro Wakabayashi defeats Jeff Curran by decision.
Hideo Tokoro defeats Hidehiko Matsumoto by decision.

Final:
Hideo Tokoro defeats Jiro Wakabayashi by rear naked choke at 2:39, RD 2.


MMA Superfight:
Remigijus Morkevicius defeats Takahiro Uchiyama by KO at 1:48, RD 1.


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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Naoya Uematsu

Ground Impact 3
March 7th
Differ Ariake
Tokyo, Japan

Professional BJJ matches:
Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa defeats Kazeka Muniz by points (2-0).
Yuki Nakai defeats Alberto Crane by points (3-0).
Toshiyuki Wado defeats TAISHO by points (2-0).
Kuniyoshi Hironaka defeats Daisuke 'Amazon' Sugie by points (5-0).
Cristiano Kaminishi defeats Hiroshi Tsuruya by choke at 6:08.
Mario Sergio Yokoyama defeats Koji Asakura by points (4-0).
Cavalcante Junior defeats Naoyoshi Watanabe by points (3-2).
Tatsuya Onose defeats Naoya Uematsu by points (4-0).

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Tank Abbott vs. Shannon Briggs

Fightsport.com first reported last November that K-1 was looking to sign 'Tank' Abbott to a multi-fight contract for both MMA and K-1 rules fights.

Now we have learned that K-1 has come back to the table and has offered Tank a very substantial contract offer.

If Tank signs with K-1, his first fight on the deal would be against former heavyweight boxing champion Shannon Briggs on the K-1 Vegas, which is scheduled for April 30th at the Bellagio.

Reports were that Tank was going to re-sign with the UFC and fight Ken Shamrock in UFC 47 on April 2nd. Although Tank hasn;t signed anything official with the UFC yet, his re-signing may now be in doubt altogether if he signs with K-1.

More info to come in the next week.

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Anderson Silva (right)

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' reports that former Chute Boxe star Anderson Silva has formed a new MMA and Muay Thai team in Curitiba, Brazil. The name of the team will be the 'Muay Thai Dream Team'.

"I'm training very hard for my return to the international circuit. The team and staff is united. We have good Greco-Roman trainers and jiu-jitsu people from Gracie Barra of Curitiba. In fact, Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira will be coming next week for a few days of training", says Anderson Silva.

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Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' provides the following pictures of the newly formed Gracie Barra Combat Team in training (photos by Marcelo Alonso).

To view the complete gallery, click here

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The Dutch media report that Red Devil teammates Fedor Emelianenko, Alexander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, and Sergei Kaznovski recently traveled to Holland to train with the Golden Glory team, as well as the Bob Schrijber Gym.

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Shidokan Germany has put together the 'German Top Team', which includes fighters from all styles and organizations in Germany. The team will compete in MMA, Muay Thai, and Grappling shows in Germany and internationally.

To visit their official website, go to German-Top-Team.com

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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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