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Manny Reyes knocked unconscious and recieving oxygen.

Fightsport.com correspondent Paulo Silva was live at yesterday's AFC 10 show to give us a report on the much anticipated Hermes Franca vs. Manny Reyes matchup:


"Reyes opened the fight throwing a jab that landed but did not phase Franca. Reyes followed up with a few leg kicks that didn't have any power.

Reyes seemed like his strategy was to stick and move but his footwork was very bad. Franca closed the distance, clinched, and took Reyes down with a foot sweep. Reyes was trying to get guard while attempting to underhook Franca's right arm, but Franca got knee on stomach and landed a powerful shot that knocked Ryeys out cold.

The crowd went erupted with loud cheers and Reyes was out for at least five minutes, recieving oxygen the entire time. The police were called to disperse the crowd from around the ring and to make sure Reyes and his corner were able to leave safely, which they did."

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Absolute Fighting Championships 10
Saturday, October 30th, 2004
War Memorial Coliseum
Ft Lauderdale, FL


Hermes Franca defeats Manny Reyes Jr. by KO, RD 1.
Mike Brown defeats Renato Tavares by unanimous decision.
Charles McCarthy defeats Keith Rockel by armbar, RD 2.
Raphael Dias defeats Brian Medlin by armbar, RD 1.
Carlo Praeter defeats Efrain Ruiz by decision.
Petrus Walker drew with Rob Smith.
Pat Healy defeats Dan Hardy by guillotine, RD 1.

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SportsNavi.co.jp provides the following PRIDE 28 weigh-in pics. To view the complete gallery, click here







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Fightsport.com readers who have registered screennames at our forums can now participate on our 'FS 24-7 On-Line Picks Contest'.

You can register your picks for every major show on our 'No Holds Barred' forum. Results of every participant will be saved after every show, and the top 3 winners at the end of the year will recieve special prizes.

To vote for the upcoming PRIDE 28 show, click here
If you are not a registered member, contact fightsport_24_7@yahoo.com

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Rulon Gardner (far left)

DSE/PRIDE president Sakakibara confirmed today what Fightsport.com first reported on August 14th, that DSE/PRIDE has signed former US Olympic Greco-Roman gold medalist Rulon Gardner to participate in an MMA matchup on their December 31st show.

Sakakibara went on to say that tehy have signed Gardner to a 2-year contract, and that his opponent on December 31st may possibly be Hidehiko Yoshida or Naoya Ogawa.

Sakakibara also hinted that Gardner will be training at Team Quest.

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Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic (right)

The Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Josh Barnett matchup has had some pro wrestling-style hype to it amongst the Japanese fanbase, mainly due to it being billed as a PRIDE vs. New Japan matchup.

The latest has the Japanese media reporting that the airline cargo has once again lost the Croatian-flag shorts of Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic.

The same thing legitimately happened to Cro Cop a few months back, although many in the Japanese media have speculated that this time it may just be another pro wrestling-style angle by both PRIDE and Cro Cop's Japanese agent Ken Imai to add some last minute hype to the matchup.

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Heath Herring (second from left)

The Brazilian media reports that Heath Herring has spent the last three months training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas with reknowned BJJ instructors Ricardo Pires and Sergio Penha.

Herring hopes the BJJ training will show a new dimension to his game in his upcoming fight against Hirotaka Yokoi.

Herring still trains his Muay Thai in Holland with Cor Hemmers, but also plans to continue to train his BJJ with Pires and Penha for a few more months.

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Ryron Gracie

Grapplers Quest announced that their Ryron Gracie vs. Marc Laimon grappling superfight, scheduled for November 6th, will be available live on internet pay-per-view.

The PPV will cost USD$9.99 and can be watched and purchased at Dataflix.com

Only 1,100 Data Streams are available for this PPV video, so Pre-Purchase is recommended to secure your spot to view the match. The USD$9.99 purchase will also enable you to view the match up to five times.

The match will be a No-Gi, 30-minute, All Submissions Legal Grappling Superfight.

For more information, go to Grapplers.com

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Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort told Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' that he is back with the Brazilian Top Team, and that it is all but official.

Belfort went on to say that he will partner with BTT on opening up a branch in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Belfort is now based.

Belfort added that his own team, the VB Team, that is based out of Sao Paulo will still exist, and that the fighters he trains will also be managed by BTT.

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Jeff "Sherdog" Sherwood (right)

400-pound MMA internet journalist and mail order business guru Jeff 'Sherdog' Sherwood blasted Zuffa's deal to distribute UFC DVDs at Walmart.

Here's what Sherdog had to say:


People don't realize that Walmart is destroying small businesses in the communities that they invade. How are smaller stores expected to compete with this massive corporate machine that can sell whatever they want for whatever low price they want and still make millions? Walmart is keeping the poor people poor.

Amen.....It is great UFC has now gotten into all these stores and sell thier DVD's for dirt. It does wonders to help the mma websites that try to support the sport.

But good news I hear that Walmart is now going to start using UFC fighters in their store advertisments to get the UFC DVD's popular. Plus they are even coming out with a special Zuffa line of clothes. But whatever you do do not drink the Zuffa kool aid they are coming out with or we will all shave our heads.

One last bonus they will be having a very special sunday add the weekend after the UFC so you can view all your favorite pictures from the show. -Jeff 'Sherdog' Sherwood

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Vanderlei Silva is an overwhelming favorite around the world.

Fightsport.com did a survery amongst its members on who they think will win their fights in upcoming PRIDE 28 card. Japanese site JRB did the same survery with the Japanese fans.

Most of Fightsport.com's members are english-speaking, mostly from North America, with a minority being from Australia, Europe, and english-speaking ex-Pats in foreign countries. Most of JRB's members are native Japanese living in Japan. Below are the results:


Fightsport.com survery (North America, Australia, Europe):

Vanderlei Silva: 75% Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 25%
Josh Barnett: 54% Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic: 46%
Dan Henderson: 78% Kazuhiro Nakamura: 22%
Mark Hunt: 75% Dan Bobish: 25%
Heath Herring: 73% Hirotaka Yokoi: 27%
Alistair Overeem: 79% Hiromitsu Kanehara: 21%
Alexander Emelianenko: 93% James Thompson: 7%
Ricardo Arona: 87% Sergei Ignachov: 13%
Soa Paleilei: 73% Cho Mu Bae: 27%


JRB Survery (Japan):

Vanderlei Silva: 91% Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 9%
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic: 59% Josh Barnett: 41%
Dan Henderson: 64% Kazuhiro Nakamura: 36%
Mark Hunt: 77% Dan Bobish: 23%
Heath Herring: 56% Hirotaka Yokoi: 44%
Alistair Overeem: 62% Hiromitsu Kanehara: 38%
Alexander Emelianenko: 89% James Thompson: 11%
Ricardo Arona: 82% Sergei Ignachov: 18%
Cho Mu Bae: 90% Soa Paleilei: 10%

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Japanese fans view Quinton Jackson as another victory for Vanderlei Silva.

Japanese correspondent Shimura Funaki brings up some interesting points on the different perceptions amongst MMA fans in North America and Japan regarding the upcoming Vanderlei Silva vs. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson title fight:


The North American fans generally view the Silva vs. Jackson matchup as being one of Vanderlei Silva's toughest tests in a few years.

This mode of thinking mainly stemming from the perception that outside of Kazushi Sakuraba and Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic, Silva has not faced top quality opposition since he has been the PRIDE light heavyweight champion for the past few years.

The North American fans almost all view Rampage as a much tougher light heavyweight then Kazushi Sakuraba, Hidehiko Yoshida, or Yuki Kondo.


Whereas the Japanese fans view the matchup as being one of Vanderlei Silva's least toughest tests as the champion.

This mode of thinking stemming from the fact that Silva already destroyed Jackson in the final of last year's PRIDE Middleweight GP, and also from the fact that Silva crushed the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba three times, and Sakuraba seemed to easily choke out Jackson before that.

The Japanese fans also see Silva as the ultimate warrior, having really beaten Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic, even though the rules stated it was a draw. They also saw Silva beat Olympic champion Hidehiko Yoshida, as well as easily KO or TKO Japanese stars such as Yuki Kondo, Kiyoshi Tamura, and Hiromitsu Kanehara.

In fact, due to all the facts stated above, the Japanese fans view Silva's fights against Sakuraba, Cro Cop, Yoshida, and Kondo as being much tougher challenges then the upcoming challenge against Rampage.

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Fightsport.com readers who have registered screennames at our forums can now participate on our 'FS 24-7 On-Line Picks Contest'.

You can register your picks for every major show on our 'No Holds Barred' forum. Results of every participant will be saved after every show, and the top 3 winners at the end of the year will recieve special prizes.

To vote for the upcoming PRIDE 28 show, click here
If you are not a registered member, contact fightsport_24_7@yahoo.com

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Dan Henderson

Brazilian journalist Luca Atalla recently interviewed Dan Henderson. Here's what Henderson had to say:


LA: How's the training going for the upcoming fight?

Henderson: It's going good. I'm in shape. I kind of have a cold right now. I got sick in the last couple of days, but it's not too bad. I'm still training and I fill pretty healthy.

LA: What about the knee you had surgery on last year. Is it well?

Henderson: The knee is good, everything is good. I'm always gonna have some annoying pains, never going to be a 100% again, but the knee recovered good. It doesn't give me any problems right now.

LA: Well I suppose it does not affect your famous heart...

Henderson: The heart is always the same. Absolutely! Everybody should expect a battle. I'm ready to fight, I'm anxious, and I haven't fought in almost a year. Murilo was my last fight, so I'm anxious to fight again.

LA: Any particular motivation for the fact that the winner of this fight will
participate in next year's Grand Prix?

Henderson: Ah, I don't know. They didn't tell me that. (laughs)

LA: What about a second fight against Silva, is it in your plans to happen soon?

Henderson: I don't know. I hope within the next few months, maybe early next year or something. My next two or three fights I'd like to get a fight for the title. If he has it, I'd like to fight him. If Quinton Jackson has it, I'd have to fight Quinton.

LA: Who do you think is going to win?

Henderson: Ah, I don't know, it's hard to go against Vanderlei for the way he dominated the last time they fought. I know Quinton has been training hard and changed the few things, and it might be a closer fight this time. I don't know, Vanderlei will probably still win. Quinton is an underdog.

LA: Actually the fight the Brazilian fans want to see is a second fight between you and Vanderlei...

Henderson: It was one of the toughest fights I've had, probably the toughest, but I would like to fight him again. I think, like you said, all the fans want to see that as well, not just in Brazil but in Japan too.

LA: I can't not ask about your fight against Murilo Bustamante. After that, he complained of a headbutt and thought the result wasn't fair. What is your version of the events?

Henderson: Well, I mean, we did bang heads a little bit but he still tried to ake me down afterwards. After we banged heads, he tried to grab my legs and take me down. I think I caught him real quick afterwards with the knee to the face, so my opinion is the outcome probably would have still been the same. I was still going to win the fight. It might've been a longer fight but I feel like our styles matched up against each other in my favor. But Murilo is a tough fighter and I was a little surprised in his last fight against Nakamura, he didn't look quite in shape...

LA: What about Nakamura?

Henderson: He's not a good big submission guy, he's not a big knockout guy, but he looks tough and he controls real well. I want to fight hard and put on an exciting fight. Someone like him might just kind of get on top and hold me down, and I wanna make sure that I avoid that, maybe knocking him out earlier or something.

LA: You beat Minotauro in King of Kings, 2000, in a fight he claims he was the winner. In 2002, you guys fought again and he submitted you, but you were invited to fight with only a few days notice. Do you think there's a chance for another fight against him?

Henderson: A third match, a tie breaker? I think so, I think it could happen. I would like it. I thought that in the last fight I a had a real short notice. It's kind tough to fight him with not too much time to train. I would've liked more time to prepare for him. I think he felt that he maybe should have won the first fight we had, so I think we could have a third fight just to kind put everyone's mind at rest. No controversy, no nothing.

LA: In your wrestling career you were trained by Bob Anderson, right?

Henderson: Yes, for many years, since the third grade, eight or nine years old up until Ifinished my career. I trained like twenty years with him.

LA: Did he speak about Jiu-Jitsu and his friendship with Rolls Gracie?

Henderson: Yes, he told us about his trips over there. But we were always speaking about wrestling, and it was like a different sport growing up so I didn't pay attention too much. When I got involved in fighting he brought it up again, and it was so long ago for him that you know he was over skilled in a lot of submission stuff. Anyway, when we grew up we did some sambo, and freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling, and we had some submission taught in sambo.

LA: It seems like this time you are not training at Team Quest. What is the reason for that?

Henderson: Randy is in Las Vegas. The UFC is filming a reality show, kind a like Survivor. Randy is filming that so he can't leave Las Vegas for three months. I was actually up in Oregon over the weekend (Saturday to Tuesday) just for a little bit of training, but I got good training here in California.

LA: How long you are going to fight in MMA?

Henderson: Maybe two more years, three more years, I don't know. I look at Randy and I think maybe I can go for seven or eight more years.

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Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic recently stated to Japanese magazine Kakutogi Tsushin that he plans on representing PRIDE well by beating Josh Barnett this coming Sunday.

The Cro Cop vs. Barnett matchup is being viewed by the Japanese media and fans as a matchup of PRIDE vs. New Japan.

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Josh Barnett

Josh Barnett arrived in Japan this past Wednesday and stated to the Japanese media that he plans on beating Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic in less then six minutes.

Barnett went on to say that he will accomplish his victory by using a variety of pro wrestling moves, including the German Suplex.

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Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson answered some questions for the Japanese media two days back. Here's a few things that Rampage had to say:


Quinton Jackson on his new found faith in Christianity: "After having a bad dream, I prayed and was able to be in touch with God. Though I used to say dirty words, flirt with girls and drink, those days are all over."

Quinton Jackson on Vanderlei Silva's comment regarding Jackson's new found faith: "Some people wouldn't believe my change. Everything has changed. I can do whatever now because God stays in my heart...."

Quinton Jackson promising he will not lose any of his aggressiveness: "Fighting is not a goal, but a job. It's just a sport. The bible says 'use your power not for your master but for God'. I'll do my 120% to win a championship belt."

Quinton Jackson when asked about his 28-year old Japanese girlfriend: "I wanna marry her in the next year".

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Fightsport.com readers who have registered screennames at our forums can now participate on our 'FS 24-7 On-Line Picks Contest'.

You can register your picks for every major show on our 'No Holds Barred' forum. Results of every participant will be saved after every show, and the top 3 winners at the end of the year will recieve special prizes.

To vote for the upcoming PRIDE 28 show, click here
If you are not a registered member, contact fightsport_24_7@yahoo.com

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

K-1 Brazil
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Military Police Center Gymnasium
Goias, Brazil


K-1 rules tournament (over 90 kg/198 pounds):
Flavio Costa vs. Vitor Miranda
Claudinei Kozan 'Gladiador' vs. Dimitri Wanderlei
Eduardo Maiorino vs. Joabe Silva
Dierlei 'Bugalu' vs. Daniel Jeraige

K-1 rules matchups:
Manoel Fonseca vs. Claudio Goncalves
Alex Silva vs. Bruno Miranda

MMA rules matchups:
Rani Yarhya vs. Fabio Shon
Marfio Canoletti vs. Ronildo Augusto Cesar Braga
Christopher Almeida vs. Leandro Silva

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PRIDE 28: 'High Octane'
October 31st, 2004
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan

DSE/PRIDE officially announced the full card for PRIDE 28 today. The card will feature nine matchups:


Vanderlei Silva vs. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson
Josh Barnett vs. Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic
Dan Henderson vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Mark Hunt vs. Dan Bobish
Alistair Overeem vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara
Alexander Emelianenko vs. James Thompson
Ricardo Arona vs. Sergei Ignachov
Soa Paleilei vs. Cho Mu Bae
Heath Herring vs. Hirotaka Yokoi

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Absolute Fighting Championships 10
Saturday, October 30th, 2004
War Memorial Coliseum
Ft Lauderdale, FL


Hermes Franca vs. Manny Reyes Jr.
Renato Tavares vs. Mike Brown
Keith Rockel vs. Charles McCarthy
Rory Singer vs. Crafton Wallace
Raphael Dias vs. Brian Medlin
Efrain Ruiz vs. Carlo Praeter
Moacyr 'Boca' Oliveira vs. Luigi Fioravanti
Brian Geraghty vs. Scott Johnson
Petrus Walker vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Daniel Gracie

Sources in Hawaii are saying that a possible matchup of Daniel Gracie vs. Adam 'Barnone' Guerra is a possibility for the ROTR 6 card on November 20th.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

by Todd Atkins

Tito Ortiz (left) being exposed once again, this time by Patrick Cote, who is a slow-fisted middleweight with no ground skills and only five fights of MMA experience in Canadian MMA.

After reading the latest pathetic spin jobs put out by the Zuffa-friendly media, I felt the need to set the record straight. I will focus my comments on the worst of them all, an Ortiz vs. Cote spin job written by Mike Sloan of Sherdog. Here is my take on his ridiculous comments:


"One thing I can't agree with, though, is how Tito has been bashed since his victory. 'Fans' on the various web forums ridiculed him for not disposing of Cote early and that his fight was far too boring. Well, while Ortiz can be penalized for not finishing the job within the allotted 15 minutes, credit must be given to Cote as well. He is a tough Canadian that not many were aware of, and Ortiz can assuredly be included in the group. He was training his ass off for Guy Mezger; only to have his opponent changed a week or so before UFC 50. Ortiz could have taken the noble route and opted not to fight Cote because a late replacement for any fighter is always a dangerous opponent (I can name ten boxing examples of late replacements scoring the upset, but again, that is another article.)" -Mike Sloan

Here the foolish Sloan makes excuses for Tito's horrible performance by saying that he was 'training his ass off for Guy Mezger'. Last time I checked Guy Mezger was mostly a striker (just like Cote) only much better, and much more experienced.

Common sense would tell you that training for Mezger would more than prepare Ortiz to face a rookie like Cote. Why Sloan cannot figure this out is beyond me.

It is also hard for me to understand why Sloan cannot figure out the criticism of Ortiz's performance. It would seem normal for fans to expect Tito to finish a subpar rookie like Cote. After all we usually almost always see good fighters routinely beat the shit out of tomato can replacements in most major events. The fans criticism of Ortiz is more than justified because he failed in his efforts to finish a below average rookie fighter, end of story.

"Only Tito knows how deeply the losses to Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell have affected him. And only Tito knows what it took for 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy' to show his face in the Octagon after failing in bold efforts to back up his cocky trash talk. While Ortiz lost to two of the best light heavies on Earth, and not to a few Garbage Pail Kids means a lot, but back-to-back losses are devastating no matter who they are against. Ortiz has accepted those losses and has moved on, starting from Square One after months of rummaging through the ashes of what was once his 205-pound kingdom." -Mike Sloan

Actually, most intelligent fans of the sport (most of whom post at Fightsport.com) know exactly what the losses have done to Tito. Tito Ortiz was scared to death to face either one of those guys and did everything in his power to avoid it. The losses he sustained in those fights only showed why he tried so hard to duck them in the first place. Ortiz is finished as a top fighter in this sport, and will never reclaim the UFC title unless Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell leave the UFC.

Furthermore, the real fans (most of whom post at Fightsport.com) have known for more then four years that Ortiz is arguably one of the most overrated MMA 'champions' ever. The real fans have always had Ortiz pegged. They said all along that his striking is not good and he does not like to get hit. That he is a heavyweight at fight time who has only looked good against middleweights who could not prevent his bodylock takedown and stall job. That he has lost to every good fighter he has faced. That he would lose badly to the first fighter his size who also has skill (which has happened twice in a row now), and that he would always try to duck any top contender who can strike and be a danger to prevent his takedowns (which we saw happen over the last few years against Liddell).

"So is Tito Ortiz back and ready to conquer the world again? Well, the jury is still out on that last question, but he is ready to give it a shot. Tito certainly appears ready to do so, but whether or not he is 'back' remains to be seen. A showdown with fellow fallen angel Vitor Belfort is in the works, a war neither fighter can afford to lose. Belfort has the ability to dispose of Ortiz and Tito knows it, yet he is still willing to lay it all on the line, ready to die for another crack at either Liddell or Couture." -Mike Sloan

Like I already said above Tito is finished and will lose big to any of the fighters mentioned in that pathetic babble.

"Let's just hope that Zuffa is smart about Tito's career and doesn't throw him into the Octagon against Couture or Liddell immediately because if Ortiz would happen to lose again, it would be detrimental to his MMA career, as well as Zuffa's potential money machine. A battle with Belfort is a must as Ortiz should beat him, but Zuffa should line up several beatable guys for Tito to demolish before he gets to lock horns with either Couture or Liddell again. Tito is the bread winner for the UFC and if handled properly, he can and will be the skeleton key for unlocking the door to making MMA mainstream. That is how important Tito is to the sport. That is how important it was for him to win last Friday. Whether fans enjoyed the three rounds of domination is one thing; having Ortiz back in the winner's circle is another." -Mike Sloan

LOL at Tito Ortiz being 'the skeleton key for unlocking the door to making MMA mainstream'. A fighter that does everything in his power to duck good opposition will never be the key to the sport crossing over. Fans recognize great champions who are willing to put it on the line against the best fighters available to them. Not a boring fighter whose only offense is to crowd sub par fighters into the fence and stall his way to victory, only to dodge the real competition at all costs. Ortiz does a better job of fighting outside the octagon to avoid real competition than he does in it against the pathetic opponents he is actually able to beat as of late (fortunately this list of fighters is getting smaller). Bottom line is that Ken Shamrock is Zuffa's breadwinner and always will be as long as he is fighting.

In closing I hope that Mike Sloan learns to understand that the truth of his real opinion is more important than getting a free pass into the latest UFC event. Until the fan boy journalists of American MMA stop writing these kind of press pass articles the sport will never fully grow.

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Ken Shamrock

Greetings MMA fans, Scoop McTroll here, bringing you The Inside Word, the latest news, rumors and gossip in the MMA scene.

Today's Inside Word is that after the reasonable buy rate for UFC 48 featuring Ken Shamrock and Kimo as the Main event, UFC president Dana White was eager to hold a match between Shamrock and 'Tank' Abbott.

Obviously not subscribing to the once bitten, twice shy philosophy, Dana White has signed Tank to a new one-fight contract that hinges on Ken Shamrock agreeing to the fight. Basically, if Ken doesn't sign then Tank will not be returning to the UFC.

Shamrock is said to be a bit pissed off with recent comments made about him by Dana White. In a recent interview White virtually blamed Shamrock for the cancelling of UFC 51 in Japan. Shamrock was pissed about this and said so in a response to White's comments. However Shamrock is first and foremost a businessman, and he will happily fight Tank in an upcoming UFC but he is going to make Dana pay for it.

Look for Ken to receive a record payment figure for this fight. If the fight does not happen it will be mean that Dana balked at the figures Ken was talking.

Ken looks to have some great paydays in the twilight of his career. The Tank Abbott fight and his rumored third fight with Royce Gracie could finally give him the kind of money he needs as a man fighting Father Time as much as anyone else.

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Vanderlei Silva

Vanderlei Silva arrived in Japan today and answered some questions for the Japanese media:


Vanderlei Silva on knocking out Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson with many knees in their first fight: "Rampage ate up my knees 22 times in our previous fight. This time it will be 23 knees. I don't care for him much. He should show some respect toward the champion. He behaves badly."

Vanderlei Silva on Rampage's decision to become a Christian: "Anyone can decide to become a Christian. The difference is in the level of faith."

Vanderlei Silva on his future plans: "I would like to fight top level fighters such as Cro cop, Nogueira, Fedor, or Yoshida too, in the PRIDE New Year show."

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Fightsport.com readers who have registered screennames at our forums can now participate on our 'FS 24-7 On-Line Picks Contest'.

You can register your picks for every major show on our 'No Holds Barred' forum. Results of every participant will be saved after every show, and the top 3 winners at the end of the year will recieve special prizes.

To vote for the upcoming PRIDE 28 show, click here
If you are not a registered member, contact fightsport_24_7@yahoo.com

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Josh Barnett (left)

The Japanese media is reporting that DSE/PRIDE is paying Josh Barnett a guaranteed USD$100,000 for his fight against Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic.

Furthermore, DSE/PRIDE also paid New Japan a sum of USD$100,000 to be able to sign Barnett while he is still under contract to New Japan.

Barnett has a multi-fight deal with DSE/PRIDE, and it is believed he will continue to recieve USD$100,000 per fight not including bonuses.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Todd Atkins

Kazuyuki Fujita

A matchup of Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Akebono should be officially agreed upon soon for the K-1 show on December 31st. it should be good for ratings.

Furthermore, K-1 producer Sadaharu Tanigawa told the Japanesemedia that the Fujita vs. Akebono matchup is going to be made for the show, it is just not officially signed yet.

I am hearing that negotiations for the originally proposed Royce Gracie vs. Akebono matchup fell through from Royce's end.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

"Tank" Abbott

'Tank' Abbott has come to terms with Zuffa on a 1-fight deal. The deal can possibly be extended to become a 3-fight deal if he wins his first match.

Zuffa wants Tank to face Ken Shamrock in either UFC 51 or UFC 52. As of now, Shamrock has not signed on to do the fight.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Coffee Guy

Dana White appearing to be looking directly at Robbie Lawler's crotch.

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

The following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant called 'Coffee Guy':


In no big surprise, it looks like the UFC is offering Robbie Lawler a new fight contract.

The official stance seems to be that Lawler is exciting, win or lose. But in reality, most of the people here in the Zuffa offices think that Dana White doesn't want to accept that yet another chosen poster boy is not living up to expectations.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

B.J. Penn

'Rumble on the Rock 6'
November 20th, 2004
Blaisdell Arena
Honolulu, Hawaii


B.J. Penn vs. Rodrigo Gracie
Carter Williams vs. Tom Howard
Royler Gracie vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
Wes 'Cabbage' Correira vs. Yoshihiro Nakao
Sean O'Haire vs. Shungo Oyama
Kirk Kipapa vs. Spencer Canup
Falaniko Vitale vs. Kristoff Midoux
Wes Sims vs. Anthony Hardonk
Luciano Noguiera vs. Danny Steele
Ross Ebanez vs. Nathan Diaz
Gilbert Melendez vs. Kaynan Kaku

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Royce Gracie

Greetings MMA fans, Scoop McTroll here, bringing you The Inside Word, the latest news, rumors and gossip in the MMA scene.

Today's Inside Word is that I am hearing from a contact in Japan that one of the major MMA promotions in Japan are trying to secure Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight for sometime early next year.

The other part of the rumor is that the fight will be held in Las Vegas, as part of an all-star MMA card.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira

The Japanese media is reporting that the Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Fedor Emelianenko rematch has been signed for their show December 31st.

According to the Japanese media, the matchup will be officially announced by DSE/PRIDE this coming Friday.

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Masato

K-1 announced a K-1-rules matchup of Masato vs. Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto for their show on December 31st.

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Vanderlei Silva

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently interviewed Vanderlei Silva. Here's what Arona had to say (interview by Eduardo Ferreira):


Tatame: You will now face Quinton Jackson for a second time in the PRIDE ring. How is your preparation going?

Vanderlei: I've never had such good sparring as I'm having now. The guys are hitting me a lot and I am bruied all over. My face is almost healed (laughs). I'm feeling super good about winning.

Tatame: What are you expecting this time?

Vanderlei: I expect this to be the last fight against him (laughs). I'm prepared to punch him for all 20 minutes, but I'm going for the knock out.

Tatame: Quinton is now following a religious path and says that he has changed a lot...

Vanderlei: The guy needs to do just that. Staying on the wrong path won't get him anywhere.

Tatame: Ricardo Arona told us during an interview that regardless of who wins on October 31st, that the middleweight belt will be in the wrong hands...

Vanderlei: He's a good athlete. Everybody wants to be the champion, but you've got to fight for it. He's still very young and has a lot to learn. Arona needs to put down the violin and get a hold of his little sack. What he should be worried about is when he's in front of me and I spank him like a child.

Tatame: DSE is thinking of staging another Middleweight Grand Prix for next year. You are the reigning GP champion. Do you have any interest to fight in next year's GP?

Vanderlei: I hope to be invited to fight in the upcoming Middleweight GP. If I am called, I will fight for sure. I look at fighting as my profession, and I take that very seriously. I want to always be fighting.

Tatame: What about a fight against Randy Couture, will it happen or not?

Vanderlei: I don't know, but I would face him anywhere. It could be in the octagon or the ring, but I wan't to fight him. I'm feeling good to fight standing or on the ground, and Couture doesn't know how to do a good guard. In the fight against Belfort, he neutralized Belfort's game and did his job. Vitor lacked movement.

Tatame: Evangelista Cyborg will face Yuki Kondo in Pancrase. You quickly bulldozed Kondo in your last fight. Did you have any advice for Cyborg?

Vanderlei: I don't know much about Kondo. I knew he had done good fights, but I only watched parts of his fight against Ze Mario Sperry. The truth is that he puts on a spectacular show, and so does Cyborg. What I told Cyborg is that he needs to go forward and throw many kicks to Kondo's face until he knocks him out.

Tatame: Send a message out to your fans...

Vanderlei: I'd like my fans to root hard for me so that the belt continues to stay in Brazil. I never do anything without giving my all. I'm going to sweat for this win, and if I have to give blood, then I'll give it.

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Ricardo Arona

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently interviewd Ricardo Arona. Here's what Arona had to say (interview by Alexandre Lobo):


Tatame: On October 31st, Vanderlei Silva will put his light heavyweight belt on the line against Quinton Jackson. You fought Jackson once, and for sure you know Vanderlei's game. How do you think this fight will play out?

Arona: Fights depend a lot on the moment. The first time they fought Jackson made a mistake by having a very limited game. A fighter needs to be prepared for any situation inside the ring. After Quinton took those strikes that left him stunned, he continued wanting to fight on the feet, and he took a sequence of knees. He needed to take that fight to the ground or pull guard. Nobody takes fourteen knees in one fight. In reality that is a grave mistake! In all honesty, he lost that fight due to his own mistakes more then to Vanderlei. He could've escaped from those knees in many different ways.

Tatame: So you're saying that if Quinton prepares himself better for this fight...

Arona: Well, if Quinton Jackson enters the ring really confident...but not just with his mouth, because he likes to talk a lot...but you know what? I personally don't care who will win. Originally I had some issues with Vanderlei. But Quinton Jackson crossed my path and gave me a loss under a bad circumstance. Now I want both of them. It doesn't matter which one is the champion. I want the both of them, and I want to settle our issues once and for all.

Tatame: How did you feel after your loss to Quinton Jackson, especially since he will now fight for the belt?

Arona: I felt very sad, but not with my performance. I was putting on a great fight and surprising him in the standup, where he usually does better. In all honesty, I felt sad in the way the fight ended. What he did was against the rules and that fight should be considered a no-contest. When I got slammed I took a very hard headbutt to my jaw that left me dazed.

Tatame: After that fight you disappeared for a while...

Arona: I was recovering from some injuries, because I faced Jackson with an injured knee. While I was recovering I was also waiting for confirmation on my next PRIDE fight.

Tatame: You will fight on October 31st?

Arona: Everything is certain from my side. I'm training a lot, and I'm already in the fighting spirit. The only thing left is to find out know who I'll be fighting, so that I can focus on him and be ready to step into the ring and put on a show. (editor's note: Arona's opponent on October 31st was announced as Sergei Ignachov)

Tatame: It's being said that PRIDE will launch another Middleweight GP next year. Will you be in it?

Arona: I hope to put on some great fights so that I can be invited again, just like last year when I was chosen from a pool of many athletes from around the world. I felt very honored by that, and I want to show that I can win it and be the champion of this weight class. For me, the middleweight belt is not in the right hands. The middleweight belt doesn't belong to Vanderlei or to Quinton Jackson. That belt was made for me and I will prove it, you can be sure of that.

Tatame: You are the ADCC superfight champion, and the tournament will return next year. Are you already thinking about your superfight against Dean Lister?

Arona: I still have two MMA fights before that, and until then I will only try to be focused on the ring. But any way, I do think about Abu Dhabi every day, watching tapes, studying, reading the magazines. I'm starting to breathe Abu Dhabi again so that I can face Dean Lister and put on a great superfight. I'm four-times champion of Abu Dhabi, and getting a fifth title would be a record that noone else has accomplished yet. That is very important to me. I want to continue to be the owner of the ADCC belt.

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By Tape Lord

Dana White appearing to be looking directly at Robbie Lawler's crotch.

Hello my friends, Tape Lord's 'Monday Morning Mailbag' is back! Below are some of the more interesting e-mails I recieved as one of the editors of this newspage. Enjoy...

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DANA WHITE GAZING AT FIGHTER CROTCHES?
Is it me or was Dana White looking at every fighter's crotch during the UFC 50 weigh-ins??
-Phil
Bayside, New York

Tape Lord's reply: Honestly speaking, I've seen Dana do this at previous UFC weigh-ins as well. I'm not sure if it's just coincidence or a funny camera angle, but you are not alone in observing this.


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UFC 50 WAS HORRIBLE
This card really sucked. Yeah I know 6 out of 7 fights didn't go the distance but who really gives a shit about watching Franklin, Rivera, Cote, St-Pierre, Tanner, and all the rest of those bums. The only guy that entertained me was Frank Trigg. I don't even wannna get into what a fucking stiff Tito is!
- UFC SUCKS
Boston, MA

Tape Lord's reply: UFC SUCKS, your sentiments were the same as most MMA fans. UFC 50's undercard fights had very good finishes, but it was still the type of card you'd find on a high B-level show, not the supposedly premier MMA event in North America. Tito's boring main event display and complete ineptitude in not being able to finish off a plodding, slow-fisted middleweight with no ground skills only cemented that card's dismal status. Fortunately we have a true world class level card in PRIDE 28 to look forward to next week.


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WHAT HAPPENED TO TITO?
A few years back Tito seemed unbeatable? What happened to him?
- Ivan S.
Los Angeles, CA

Tape Lord's reply: Ivan, nothing much happened except for reality. The reality is that Tito was just never that good. He's always been a heavyweight who doesn't know how to strike and who doesn't like to get hit, beating on middleweights who couldn't prevent his bodylock takedowns.

Tito finally faced someone his size with skill in Couture and got promptly beat down. The same happened against Liddell, and the same will happen against any of the top light heavyweights IMHO. The myth that was Tito, which was marketed hard by Dana White and Zuffa, was finally exposed. The fight against Cote only served to further drive that point.


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DANA WHITE GOING FOR LEATHER MAFIOSI LOOK?
Is dana white going for the full blown Peretti look? He has the leather jacket, the shaved head, thinking he knows a lot more about the sport than he really does, and now the homosexual stare at lawler's crotch. We all knew lawler was a posterboy of Dana, but this proves Big D really is on Lawler's nuts.
- nhb critic
Calgary, Canada


Tape Lord's reply: Dana does seem behind on the times. Just a few months back he was still sporting the docksiders look, which basically went out of style 10 years ago. I have a good friend that suggested the reason for this could possibly be that Lorenzo Fertitta gives all of his expensive hand-me-downs to Dana, but it's all speculation at this point.

As for him looking at Lawler's crotch, you just one of many that has noticed this crotch-gazing habit of Dana White's.


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CAN SILVA BEAT A RESTED RAMPAGE?
Can Vanderlei Silva beat a Quinton Jackson that is fully rested? What's your prediction?
- Simon Tanaka
San Jose, CA

Tape Lord's reply: It will be a war, but I think that Vanderlei will beat Quinton again. Silva's power and hand speed are at an all-time high right now. While his style seems to leave him open to counters, Silva's ability to slip punches is very underrated, and I don't think Jackson will be able to catch him. As for the ground game, I think Silva can neutralize Jackson's G'n'P, and any prolonged period of time on the ground will see them stood up. I think that Silva will either win a decision or get a late TKO. That is just my opinion however, and anything can happen in a fight.


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By Coffee Guy

Vitor Belfort

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

The following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant called 'Coffee Guy':


Dana White wants to have a Vitor Belfort vs. Tito Ortiz matchup for the main event of the UFC 51 card, which takes place a day before the SuperBowl.

Belfort has already agreed to the matchup. All that remains is getting Ortiz to agree to fight him. That might be easier said then done however LOL.

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Lutter brutally knocks out Eastman.

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

Fightsport.com correspondent 'POOPCHUTEBOX' gives us the following unbiased review of the UFC 50: 'The War of '04' show, which he attended live on October 22nd in Atlantic City, New Jersey:


I attended the tastelessly titled, considering the current situation in Iraq, and the over 1000 families that have been destroyed forever by the death of a loved one, UFC 50: 'The War In '04' in Atlantic City on Friday night. To start off, I had recently put down the venue, Boardwalk Hall, as being minor league. But it seemed like a different facility then last week at Reality Fighting 7. It wasn't the greatest place to see a fight, but better then I originally gave it credit for. So I stand corrected.

I'm not going to review the fights in great detail, because most people have either seen them, or read the other reviews out there, and this is long enough without that.

Before the fights, people started lining up on the boardwalk outside for the pre-fight autograph signing. Let's just say that if a tidal wave happened to hit during this time, the world would be a better place. It was basically a convention of fanboys and stalkers. The worst amongst them was a mongoloid looking guy, who was carrying a baseball bat for everybody to sign. Not a program. Not a boxing glove, or something else mma related. A baseball bat. The next time I go to a baseball game, I'm going to try to get my guitar signed.

A few fighters mingled around, talking to the fans, until they realized what they were dealing with, and headed for safer ground. The first fighter to be seen was Marvin Eastman, who arrived at the venue by himself, walking along the boardwalk. No escort from anybody from Zuffa, so I was really hoping he'd keep walking and end up lost, and the card could have been a bigger mess. But he made it to the right place, where one guy screamed "Holy Shit, It's Marvin Eastman!!!" as if he just spotted Elvis. Eastman, who was 90 minutes away from fighting, tried to ignore him, and kept singing to himself. But this dipshit insisted on bothering him and getting an autograph. Because having the name Marvin Eastman written on a piece of paper is going to finally make him popular. Jackass.

Next up was Eddie Bravo, who walked out of the arena, to zero recognition. Somebody said 'who's that little guy' as he walked away, but nobody seemed to know.

Matt Lindland was next to arrive, and let me say, he is one creepy looking sonuvabitch. He was really nice and patient with the fanboys. He posed for every picture, signed every autograph, he seemed like a very nice guy. But he really needs to wear some sort of mask from now, it would increase his marketability. If pro wrestling can do it, maybe he can start a trend in MMA.

'Big' John McCarthy was next, and he really is a big guy. He looked a lot bigger then almost every fighter there. I though tit was pretty symbolic, that as he was heading towards the arena, there were a few homeless people laying on the boardwalk, not moving at all. Instead of ordering them to stand up, he just walked around them.

He's been around for a while, so wisely, he blew right past the high pitch screams of the guys waiting on line.

Tim Sylvia was next. He was surrounded quickly, and signed autographs, and took pictures for everyone. He even signed egghead's bat, but looked like he was seriously contemplating taking a swing at him with it. At this point, Tim did not seem to be in a very good mood. While this was going on, Frank Mir came outside, limping very heavily, with the aid of a cane. Sylvia got out of there as soon as Mir came out. I know Tim said some derogatory things about Mir after he got his arm wrecked by him, but I don't know if that's the reason he took off.

Anyway, as soon as Mir came out the door, all hell broke loose. Apparently, Frank Mir is a big draw for the type of people who were there, he seemed very appealing to this group of fan's lifestyle. Some of the comments I overheard were "Oh my God, look how handsome he is," "my heart is beating so fast!!' "I gotta give him a hug," "Damn, he looks like a Greek God," and "I don't see what the big deal is about him." Out of those comments, the only one spoken by a female was the last one. At this point, I was questioning what the hell I was doing there. Being that I was at the same place as these people, I started to also wonder if I was one of them. I concluded I am not, because if I was, I'd realize it, and promptly kill myself.

During this, the freak with the baseball bat was besides himself with glee. He wouldn't give Mir an inch of space, or let anybody else talk to him. He immediately latched onto him, like a jealous wife. He went on and on about the shoulderlock he submitted Pete Williams with. Only he didn't know what Pete Williams name was, or the hold he beat him with, what part of the body it hurt, or when it happened. Since Mir had no clue what this mutant was talking about, the walking circus sideshow decided to show him, only in the standing position. I guess being able to actually touch Frank Mir's body was too much for him, and he got too excited, and literally almost sent Mir flying, damaging his broken leg even more. Mir barely caught himself before going down. For some reason, even though Frank Mir is their heavyweight champion, and is so important that their entire event in Japan (that Dana White guaranteed was going to make a big profit) had to be canceled because of his injury, and was the color commentator on the pay per view broadcast, Zuffa let him go outside into a crowd with hormonally frenzied fanboys without even one security guard. But I'm sure that if Mir would have ended up being knocked over, and injured further, Dana would go on about "how much bad luck" he has had.

While this was going on, Dana could be seen inside the doors, frantically talking on his cell phone, having a very animated conversation. I figured that he was either irritated because A) his phone wasn't working because he wasn't able to get a deal done with a cell phone provider, or B) Tito Ortiz was holding him up for more money again.

At 6:30, they started letting the lines in, with the first 150 people allowed entry. In typical Zuffa fashion, it was bungled. The whole time, there were 2 lines formed. But when they were going to start letting everybody in, they decided to make it 4 lines, meaning people who just got there walked right up to the front of the new line, and people who waited for hours got left out, while other people looking to use the bathroom ended up getting in...

To read the rest of the in-depth report, click here

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Ortiz vs. Cote

Fightsport.com recieved over 1,000 e-mails from the fans this past weekend, expressing their thoughts on the UFC 50 show that took place.

We estimate that approximately 99% of all those e-mails we recieved were critical of UFC 50. We have posted a few of those e-mails below:


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The UFC ended 2004 in a whimper. UFC 50 had nothing to build on. A couple of good small fighters but no major stars or big fights to look forward to. The good news was the promising annoucement of a TV deal with Fox and Spike TV. Other than that this show was a dud. The loyal faithful will have to wait until Super Bowl weekend when Zuffa hopes to make 2005 its greatest year ever.

Zuffa needs to bring in some heavier, exciting fighters. Right now that's one of the UFC's problems...They don't have that many exciting matchups left. With Spike TV and Fox, hopefully some new personalities that can fight emerge.
-Jack Johnson
Las Vegas, Nevada

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This show was pathetic. Dana White the boxercise instructor and his idiot bosses who inherited all their money from daddy are the biggest fools in the fighting industry.
-nhb critic
Calgary, Canada

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This UFC sucked more then that modified karate chop that John Hackelman teaches his fighters.
-Resident Fatty
Pheonix, Arizona

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Ortiz will not be able to beat anyone of importance in the future. IMO his career is pretty much over at this point. If he cannot finish a guy like Cote then he will be even more brutalized against guys like Liddell and Couture. I think UFC will offer him Belfort and he will refuse it. Honestly I doubt Ortiz will fight anyone of quality ever again.
-Todd Atkins
Tokyo, Japan

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on a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being like a Grand Prix id give it a 4 .
-Daren Roth
Huntington Station, New York

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B.J. Penn

'Rumble on the Rock 6'
November 22nd, 2004
Hawaii

The Japanese media is reporting the following possible line-up for the ROTR 6 show on November 22nd:


B.J. Penn vs. Rodrigo Gracie
Royler Gracie vs. TBA (possibly Joao Roque)
Wes 'Cabbage' Correira vs. Wes Sims
Carter Williams vs. Tom Howard
Sean O'Haire vs. Shungo Oyama
Falaniko Vitale vs. TBA
Jake Shields vs. Ross Ebanez
Gilbert Melendez vs. Kaynan Kaku

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Travis Fulton

MMA journeyman Travis Fulton was knocked out last night in the first round of a sanctioned boxing match against undefeated heavyweight prospect David Rodriguez.

Below is a description of the fight from the El Paso Times:


Rodriguez, who packed a trim, powerful 245 pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame, picked his shots perfectly, stopping Travis Fulton with a thunderous body shot 2:01 into the opening round.

Rodriguez, the big Coronado High School graduate, improved his record to 17-0, leaving all 17 of his opponents dazed and confused on the canvas.

He dropped the 255-pound Fulton with a crushing left hook, toppling him in near slow motion. Moments later, Rodriguez landed the body shot that crumpled the Waterloo, Iowa, fighter, sounding like air going out of a balloon.

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