FIGHTSPORT 24-7

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


B.J. Penn defeats Rodrigo Gracie by unanimous decision.
Carter Williams defeats Tom Howard by KO at 2:16, RD 1.
Royler Gracie defeats Kazuyuki Miyata by triangle choke at 2:46, RD 2.
Yoshihiro Nakao defeats Wes 'Cabbage' Correira by split decision.
Sean O'Haire defeats Shungo Oyama by TKO, RD 1.
Aitor Canup defeats Juda A'Alona by guillotine choke, RD 1.
Kristoff Midoux defeats Mike Malone by KO at 0:34, RD 1.
Antoni Hardonk defeats Wes Sims by keylock at 4:24, RD 1.
Dennis Hallman defeats Ross Ebanez by rear naked choke at 1:13, RD 1.
Gilbert Melendez defeats Kaynan Kaku by TKO at 3:58, RD 2.

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KOTC
November 20th, 2004
Belterra Casino
Belterra, IN


Shone Carter defeats Buddy Clinton by decision.
Travis Fulton defeats Don Richards by TKO at 5:00, RD 1.
Forrest Petz defeats Ro Bower by KO, RD 1.
Allen Weichkert defeats Gary Myers by TKO, RD 1.
Jeff Cox defeats Sean Huffman by unanimous decision.
Dan Swift defeats Jeremy Bolt by guillotine choke, RD 2.
Darrell Smith defeats Andre Garcia by rear naked choke, RD 1.
Mike Boyd defeats Jason Bryant by majority decision.
Nick Olberding defeats Doug Sour by TKO, RD 1.
Jesse Chilton defeats Rory Prazak by KO, RD 1.
Scott Hope defeats Josh Sauder by unanimous decision.

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Ironheart Crown 8: 'Ethereal'
November 20, 2004
Hammond, Indiana


Derrick Noble defeats Keith Wisniewski by unanimous decision.
Miguel Torres defeats Alex Khanbabian by armbar at 1:01, RD 1.
Thiago Alves defeats Jason Chambers by TKO at 4:57, RD 1.
Gesias Calvancanti defeats Bart Palaszewski by guillotine choke at 1:03, RD 1.
Ron Fields defeats Jake Ambrose by TKO at 2:21, RD 1.
Andrei Soares defeats Ulysses Rocha by unanimous decision.
Mario Williams defeats Charles Barron by armbar at 1:23, RD 2.
Joe Pierson defeats Jay Estrada by triangle choke at 1:41, RD 1.
John Paun drew with Kyle Watson.
Joao Hurdy defeats Dave Pearson by TKO at 1:58, RD 1.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

XFC 6
November 20th, 2004
Southport Sharks AFL Club
Queensland, Australia


Brad Morris defeats Steve Thomas by majority decision.
Mick Cutajar defeats Matt Foki by kneebar at 1:28, RD 3.
Ben Mallia defeats Brandon Bell by TKO at 1:21, RD 3.
James Te Huna defeats Kym Robinson by rear naked choke at 2:19, RD 1.
George Sitoropoulos defeats Gavin Murie by armbar at 1:28, RD 1.
Carl Toomey defeats Trent Deboo by TKO at 1:01, RD 1.
Dennis Roberts defeats Matt Knight by TKO at 1:43, RD 2.
Cade Brown defeats Trevor Farnell by guillotine choke at 1:17, RD 2.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Roy Jones Jr. has signed a deal to host the next installment of the wildly popular Super Brawl show airing nationally, late nights on SPIKE TV, Comedy Central, Fox Sports and many other stations. Roy will be at the December 11th, Ultimate Super Brawl show to begin shooting the program.

Rhadi Ferguson

The American Top Team announced that American Judo Olympian Rhadi Ferguson has joined their academy.

Ferguson, who also trains in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Lloyd Irvin, stated that he will still remain a part of Team Lloyd Irvin when it comes to jiu-jitsu.

Ferguson added that he still plans to try and compete in the 2008 Olympics.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Makoto Takimoto

The Japanese media is reporting that DSE/PRIDE is very close to signing Japanese Olympic Judo gold medalist Makoto Takimoto to a fight contract.

If signed, it is expected that Takimoto would participate in a middleweight MMA matchup on the PRIDE card on December 31st.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Jerome LeBanner

The Japanese media is reporting that Jerome Le Banner will face either Kazuyuki Fujita or Yoshihiro Akiyama in an MMA-rules matchup on the K-1 card on December 31st.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Tsuyoshi Kohsaka

The Japanese media is now reporting that a Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka matchup may now be a possibility for the PRIDE show on December 31st.

That possible list of opponents for Cro Cop is now the following:


Mark Hunt
Kevin Randleman
Vanderlei Silva
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Kaoru Uno

Brazilian Top Team manager Mario Sperry told Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' that the reason Hermes Franca will not be on the SHOOTO card on December 14th is because Kaoru Uno did not accept the Franca as an opponent.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Joachim Hansen

The Brazilian media is reporting that Hermes Franca will not be participating on the SHOOTO year end show on December 14th.

It was expected that Franca would face Kaoru Uno, but the Japanese media is saying that Uno may now be facing Joachim Hansen.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Wes Sims

Wes Sims announced that he is signed to face Ricco Rodriguez on the ROTR 7 card, which is scheduled for February 2005.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Eddie Goldstein

Sean Gannon (left) applying a guillotine choke to Kimbo Slice.

Falaniko Vitale (center)

Sources in Hawaii are saying that Falaniko Vitale is now off of the ROTR 6 card due to personal reasons. A replacement is expected to be announced tomorrow.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

'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
Dennis Hallman vs. Ross Ebanez

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

KOTC
November 20th, 2004
Belterra Casino
Belterra, IN


Shone Carter vs. Buddy Clinton
Don Richards vs. Travis Fulton
Gary Myers vs. Jody Poff
Stonnie Dennis vs. Jeremey Bolt
Jeff Cox vs. Shaw Huffman
Dave Stone vs. Andre Garcia
Jake Short vs. Arfael Dias
Forrest Petz vs. Ro Brower
Nick Olberding vs. Carvin Masatau
Jason Bryant vs. Mike Boyed
Josh Sourder vs. Scott Hope

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

XFC 6
November 20th, 2004
Southport Sharks AFL Club
Queensland, Australia


Frank Shamrock is scheduled to make an appearance and sign autographs.

Tony Bonello vs. TBA
Steve Thomas vs. Brad Morris
Matt Foki vs. Mick Cutajar
Carl Toomey vs. Trent Deboo
Brandon Bell vs. Matt Te Paa
Mal Foki vs. TBA
James Te Huna vs. Kym Robinson
Art Murray vs. Cade Brown
Sahsa Nachouki vs. Gareth Henderson
Hussan El Husseini vs. Adam Webster

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

SHOOTO: 'Rookie Tournament 2004 Final'
November 25th, 2004
Kitazawa Town Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Kentaro Maeda vs. Sakae Niimi
'Heat' Takeshi vs. Yusei Shimokawa
Tenkei Fujimiya vs. Sakae Kasuya
Issei Tsurumi vs. Atsushi Takeuchi
So Tazawa vs. Kouetsu Okazaki
Yu Shiori vs. Takamitsu Oba
Junji Ikoma vs. Homare Kuboyama

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

TKO 18: 'Impact'
November 26th, 2004
Pierre-Charbonneau Centre
Montreal, Canada


David Loiseau vs. TBA
Donald Ouimet vs. Steve Duquette
Shane Rice vs. Stephane Vigneault
Todd Gouwenberg vs. Rob McDonald
Curtis Stout vs. Stephan Potvin
David Beneteau vs. Icho Larenas
Johnathan Goulet vs. TBA
Sam Stout vs. TBA
Ryan Diaz vs. TBA
Phillipe Lagace vs. TBA



Any fighters still owed money by TKO president Stephane Patry, can contact him at:

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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Pancrase: '2004 Brave Tour'
November 26th, 2004
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

The following matchup was officially anounced for the Pancrase show on November 26th. The final card is expected to have 8-9 matchups:


Gustavo 'Ximu' Machado vs. Keiichiro Yamamiya

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

SHOOTO Brazil: 'MMA New Generation'
November 28, 2004
Circulo Militar Gymnasium
Curitiba, Brazil


A-class bouts:
Jadyson Costa vs. William Casquilha
Katel Kubis vs. Julian Jaba
'Indio' vs. Aranha
Gildo Lima vs. Naja
Araribe Boi vs. Maicon
Divino vs. Fabio Silva
Wagner Tiburcio vs. Rodrigo

B-class bouts:
Fernando Vieira vs. Luis Afonso
Carlos Eduardo vs. Serginho
Wanderlei vs. Fernando Fefe

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Robbie Lawler (right) with Dana White (center) offering an admiring glance.

Longterm and reliable sources in Iowa have informed
this cyber reporter that Phil Baroni and Robbie Lawler
will be squaring off at UFC 51. As my source
explained to me, Dana White is a big fan of both
fighters and wants to see one of them get back on a
winning streak. I was also told that whoever wins
this matchup will be given a push by Zuffa for a later
Middleweight title shot, provided he can win one or
two more fights.

As usual, stick to the Jake R Report, where all the
news that is fit to scoop is printed.

This Jake R Report was originally filed at 7:45pm on
Wednesday, November 16.

*Jake R exclusive: Must credit the Jake R Report when
discussing this story.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

The Japanese media is reporting that a Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Kevin Randleman matchup may now be taking place on the PRIDE card on December 31st.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Bruce Buffer, who is affectionately referred to by many MMA fans as "The Frank Stallone of Ring Announcing".

Bruce Buffer, the lesser known brother of Micheal, will be the ring announcer for the Hawaiian MMA show ROTR 6 show on November 20th.

"This is going to be a combination of work and pleasure for me", says Buffer, who plans to do some surfing while in Hawaii.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Matt Lindland announced that tickets are now on sale for the Sport Fight 8 show on January 8th.

For more information, go to SportFight.tv

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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Sean Gannon (left) applying a guillotine choke to Kimbo Slice.

Underground bare knuckle fighting legend-killer (as well as Boston police officer) Sean 'The Cannon' Gannon spoke to MMA fans on the Sherdog forums regarding his victory over Florida street fighting legend Kimbo Slice. Here's a few of the things Gannon had to say:


Gannon to his fans: "Hi everybody, I'm just got back from the hospital, was reading the threads, am touched by the support i've gotten from so many people."

Gannon on Kimbo Slice: "I was very impressed with Kimbo. I boxed at a very elite amateur level and I had good, competitive fights with national champions (US and Russian) as well as US Olympian Jason Estrada. I went into that fight thinking "if I can hang with those guys, what are the odds someone guy off the street will be able box with me?" I was surprised to discover that Kimbo is legitimatley only a notch below a national champion level boxer. He really is that good. Before the ignorant start piping in, you're talking to someone who KNOWS. I'm no armchair strategist, I've actually fought these guys, and I'm telling you Kimbo is at that level. Unless you've fought national champions, and fought Kimbo, u have no basis for knowledge. The only thing giving me an edge was my MA skills. And his streetfighting skills were great too!"

Gannon on being accused of cheating during the fight: "I don't like being accused of being a cheater, especially by people who don't have a clue what the rules actually were. We originally wanted a no rules match, but Kimbo's people demanded special rules to protect their fighter. We wrote a (very) short list of rules, and both parties signed off on it prior to the fight. They asked for no ground work and this was agreed to. We never agreed to no submissions, and we can't be held responsible if his team was so ignorant of our sport that they didn't realize you could do submissions standing. Same with knees. They asked for no kicks and we agreed. Kicks were clearly defined as "striking with any part of the shin or foot". Knee strikes were completely legal. I followed the rules to the letter, but Kimbo's team violated them repeatedly.

The rules were signed by both parties prior to fight time. Our team was completely aware of the rules, and all the chaos stemmed from a lack of real fight experience on his team. It was like when Tyson had his buddies work his corner in the 'Buster' Douglas fight, and they didn't even bring an endswell. Kimbo is a tremendous competitor and deserved better."

Gannon thinks Kimbo deserves to get paid: "I don't know if his medical insurance is as good as mine, and I wrote to Iceberg about setting up a fund to help him if he needs it. If he isn't hurt, he still deserves some bread for being such a warrior and having a tremendous heart. Anyone who was entertained by the fight should kick him a little something, he earned it."

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

PRIDE president Sakakibara spoke with the Japanese media and had the following statement to say regarding their show on December 31st:


"I think the fighters that fight today understand the style of fighting that we are looking for. PRIDE fighters live for fighting. They need to fight. I think that was what motivated them to give us these great matches.

I'd like to set up a rematch between Josh (Barnett) and Mirko (Filipovic) as soon as possible but that will depend on Josh's shoulder and the will of the two fighters. If they are in shape to do it, New Year's Eve would be fine.

DSE is proud to have (Vanderlei) Silva as our Champion and we want to show our respect for him. Those at the top often lose their motivation but, even now, he stoically continues to become stronger. Because Silva is that kind of guy, he doesn't want to have an easy match on New Year's Eve. He himself said that he wants 'to fight a heavyweight', so it may be a heavyweight that he fights.

I would like to see UFC fighters participate in next year's Middleweight Grand Prix. Last year, Chuck Liddell participated. Next time, I hope that Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort and Tito Ortiz will participate. We plan on beginning negotiations with the UFC from tomorrow.

I believe that (Rulon) Gardner will train under Dan Henderson and be in shape by the day of the fight. I'm sure he has a lot of strength when grappling and there are many dangers for (Hidehiko) Yoshida if the fight goes to the ground.

I'm not really considering (Naoya) Ogawa for the New Year's Eve show, as he is quite busy with the HUSTLE promotion."

Nobuyuki Sakakibara
DSE President

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Josh Grossman

Kaoru Uno

Looks like SHOOTO and K-1 will fight for the services of Kaoru Uno.

SHOOTO is trying to set up a Kaoru Uno vs. Hermes Franca matchup for their year end show on December 14th. I would actually give them the edge since Uno was their fighter for so long, and may feel loyalty to them over K-1 (who want to match B.J. Penn against Uno for New Years Eve).

Uno has said in the magazines that he wants to face B.J. Penn for a third time badly, so we will have to wait and see.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Larry Holmes (right)

Heavyweight boxing icon and former world champion Larry Holmes regularly answers questions from fans on his messageboard on LarryHolmes.com, and had some interesting replies when asked about how he'd do against MMA fighters. Here's what Holmes had to say:


Larry Holmes on fighting a grappler: To fight a wrestler type you have to throw jab combinations and right hooks to the body. The body shots will stop the guy.

Larry Holmes when asked how he'd do against a grappler such as Ken Shamrock: If I ever get the cahnce to fight Ken Shamrock I would jab and move. Shamrock would not have a chance against my jab. I would make him move around and throw jabs and right hands for a few rounds until I stop him in the 8th round. I haven't seen Ken too much, but I do know he can't handle my jab and right hand.

Larry Holmes on how he'd do against Bob Sapp: I would kick Sapp's butt. He is big but can't fight. Sapp won't fight me because he knows my jab and right hand will stop him.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By the Predator

Kimbo Slice (left) vs. Sean Gannon

What Sean Gannon did was both illegal, immoral, and highly dangerous. He shamed the honorable profession of cagefighting like no one else possibly could. His actions could end up banning MMA in several states, possibly everywhere if enough media figures get a hold of it.

I would also like to get Gannon to Arizona and into the cage to teach him a lesson in respect, but only if it is a legal, sanctioned sporting event, not some slugfest illegal streetbrawl with questionable characters sitting ringside. I speak for cagefighters nationwide when I say we need to rid this sport of all the bad apples who hurt its image, and Gannon is definitely one of them.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Josh Grossman

Sean Gannon (left) applying a guillotine choke to Kimbo Slice.

LOL at this so called 'win' for Mr. Gannon. He cheated at least 4 times according the rules that were put in place. He did manage to rock Kimbo early with a punch but other than that he was getting beaten like a drum for the legal portion of the fight.

The 2 guillotine holds won the fight for him in my opinion. Especially the second one which seemed to take Kimbo's energy completely away. I also found it very amusing to see how much the mma.tv fanboys were lying about this fight. Gannon looked horrible standing up and got drilled constantly by Kimbo's superior technique. Considering that Kimbo has nothing but street training that is hilarious.

Gannon has professional training at an NHB gym and with the police force. He is also supposedly a several times Golden Gloves Champion in his state. Yet his head looked worse than Enson Inoue's did after his fight with Igor Vovchanchin.

Gannon may have won this fight with his excess cheating, but he clearly lost the battle. If he had not cheated he would have recieved even worse damage. I hope they have a rematch and the rules are followed. Kimbo clearly showed he could wreck Gannon during the legal portion of this match.

What also impressed me was the fact that the older Kimbo was pushing the taller and bigger man around the mat with ease while they were both fresh. If Kimbo trained even a little for this fight he could possibly kill Gannon in the process of kicking his ass.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie confirmed what Fightsport.com reporter Jake R first reported on September 28th, that he will face Akebono on the K-1 show on December 31st.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Tape Lord

Kimbo Slice (far right) was knocked out by MMA fighter/police officer Sean Gannon last night in an unsanctioned bare knuckled boxing match, which observers described as a brutal 20-minute war of attrition.

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


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ROTR TO BE BETTER THEN UFC
Tape Lord, does ROTR have a realistic chance of surpassing the UFC as the top MMA promotion in the US?
- BJandCabbageFan
Hawaii

Tape Lord's reply: I don't know that the Penn family (who promote ROTR) have (or are willing to spend) the resources to match Zuffa's UFC budget, but I can tell you for sure that they have much more smarts in running their promotion.

When you match the smarts and adequate resources of ROTR against the directionless, misspent money, and frugal ways of the UFC, then I'd have to say that ROTR will equal the UFC, if not better them in due time.

When you factor in that K-1 seems to be helping ROTR to become a feeder show for them, then it may very well find the financial resources to match or surpass Zuffa's UFC budget. If this turns out to be the case, then ROTR will definitely blow right by the Zuffa-managed UFC in my honest opinion.


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WHO SHOULD VANDERLEI'S NEXT OPPONENT BE?
PRIDE has announced that they will be signing a star Bigger than Rulon Gardner for their New Year show... in all likelyhood this fighter will be put up against Vanderlei Silva, since he seems to be the only fighter without an opponent that would be big enough to take on a name bigger than Rulon.

Given the above and the many rumors have been going around the internet of who it is... if you were Silva's management, which superstar would you put Vanderlei in against next?
- Theaxemurderer
Miami, FL

Tape Lord's reply: Theaxemurderer, I don't think Silva's management have anyone in particular they want him to face. They have confidence in Silva and in their ability to prepare him for any challenge. From what I know, they would just prefer it be a top fighter, and an exciting one at that.

As for Silva, he also does not care who he faces. He just wants to fight and put on a show. But in this particular instance, Silva has stated he would very much like to face Randy Couture. And if not Couture, then he would like to face a top fighter, such as Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic again, or any top light heavyweight or heavyweight.

From what the Japanese media is saying however, it seems that PRIDE may match him up against a Japanese Olympic Judo champion with not much (if any) MMA experience.


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SHERDOG SITE
Tape Lord, have you ever visited to the Sherdog site? I rarely visit Sherdog's site because it has too many insignificant Bells & whistles, and it's "maze-like" in its construction. I'm on dial-up, one day I tried to find a stat on Kimo and it took 5 hours for the page to load )-:

Plus, I got some kind of spyware and my PC started acting like it caught the flu. I was pissed off like a mofo bro
- Better Mouse Trap
Hollywood, CA

Tape Lord's reply: Better Mouse Trap, yes I have visited Sherdog's site in the past, mainly for its fighter data base, but I do not go there anymore because of the spyware. You are correct, all the spyware on that site has made it pretty much impossible to go there without doing some sort of near permanent damage to your computer. I once went there on some old PC from an internet cafe and the thing froze up and then blew a fuse. It started to even have smoke coming out its air vent, so I promptly paid my bill and left. When I came back the next day the PC was gone for repair.

The good news is that fight fans who value their privacy and PC health need not worry about going to Sherdog's for his fighter data base ever again, as Fightsport.com will be launching its very own (and much higher grade) fighter data base in 2005.


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GANNON VS. KIMBO WAS A DISGRACE!
I think that supposed MMA fighter and police officer Rich Gannon set the great sport of MMA back a few years with his dangerous unsanctioned streetfight. I think he should be barred for life from competeting by all Athletic Commissions, be permanently suspended from his policeman duties, and possibly face jail time for assault.
-Andrew Bryant
Pheonix, Arizona

Tape Lord's reply: Andy, I don't know how things are done in Arizona, but I think you are taking this fight way too seriously. This is true NHB and you should just sit back and enjoy it my friend.

Anyway, Gannon did nothing wrong according to the law, as both men consented to what they called a "sparring match".


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FOOL OF THE WEEK
I think a new feature to go alongside the MMM should be Tapelords MMA 'Fool of the Week'. Last week it was clearly Sherdog.
- T. Trinidad
Puerto Rico

Tape Lord's reply: That sounds like a pretty good idea. There are certainly no shortage of fools in the world of MMA. We may not have had an official fool of the week award, but I can tell you that our official fool of the year award has been won the last three years in a row by UFC president Dana White.


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Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Fabricio Werdum (left) and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently interviewed Fabricio Werdum. Here's what Werdum had to say (interview by Alexandre Lobo):


Tatame: How did it your association with Mirko Cro Cop come about? Tell us a little bit of the story behind that...

Werdum: I was at home on the internet, when suddenly my phone rang. It was Ken Imai trying to make a proposal, and then he told me that his interpreter would call me the next morning, because it was four in the morning in Japan. The only thing is that his interpreter called me back only five minutes later, telling me that Ken wanted to contract me for three years to train Mirko in Coratia. I would also be provided a house, food, and a monthly salary! I said of course!! The only problem is that the proposal was made just after I had announced that I was moving to Chute Boxe... but I couldn't miss an opportunity like that one. Ken also guaranteed me four fights per year in PRIDE.

Tatame: What is your training routine over there?

Werdum: At 7:00 in the morning we run three kilometers. After that I do weight training, then one hour of jiu-jitsu until 10:30. Then we eat and rest until the second part of our training, which begins at 5:00 in the afternoon, until 8:30 at night, whcih includes boxing, jiu-jitsu, and vale tudo.

Tatame: Is Mirko suited for the ground? What are the best qualities you see in Mirko's game?

Werdum: For the time being he is more interested in knowing how to defend. Mirko is very explosive and very strong, and he is very good at measuring his distance. He has a good base, but his biggest difficulty is escaping from the mount. It used to be!!! Not anymore... (laughs) I can say that Mirko's ground game is much better today. He asks me to teach him how to escape from all the positions. The guy has a future...

Tatame: Have you been training any standup with Mirko?

Werdum: Our boxing coach, Vlador, gives me some special attention every day. I am taking advantage of everything I can, but the biggest difference in my game since I've been here has been my physical preparation and boxing. I train standup every day with the guy! I spend my Saturdays and Sundays in bed with a lot of ice on my legs...

Tatame: Our October issue did a report on MMA in Europe. How is the level of MMA in Croatia?

Werdum: I don't know what I can tell you about MMA in Croatia, because I haven't seen hardly anything. Mirko's team, the Cro Cop Squad Gym, has ten fighters. One of Mirko's students, Igor Pokrajac, is very good. There are very few events around here, and the biggest problem for local fighters for sure is the ground game. But I can guarantee that it won't be anymore!

Tatame: And your debut in PRIDE? Do you have anything marked down?

Werdum: My debut will be on December 31st, and I'll be accompanying Mirko in his corner.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Vitor Belfort

The word amongst the Japanese media is that DSE/PRIDE will begin negotiations with the Brazilian Top Team to sign Vitor Belfort, once his exclusive contract expires with the UFC.

According to the Japanese media, DSE/PRIDE would very much like to make a rematch between Belfort and Vanderlei Silva.

The Japanese media is also speculating that K-1 will most likely show a strong interest in signing Belfort as well.

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

KOTC
November 20th, 2004
Belterra Casino
Belterra, IN


Shone Carter vs. Buddy Clinton
Don Richards vs. Travis Fulton
Gary Myers vs. Jody Poff
Stonnie Dennis vs. Jeremey Bolt
Jeff Cox vs. Shaw Huffman
Dave Stone vs. Andre Garcia
Jake Short vs. Arfael Dias
Forrest Petz vs. Ro Brower
Nick Olberding vs. Carvin Masatau
Jason Bryant vs. Mike Boyed
Josh Sourder vs. Scott Hope

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

SHOOTO: 'Rookie Tournament 2004 Final'
November 25th, 2004
Kitazawa Town Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Kentaro Maeda vs. Sakae Niimi
'Heat' Takeshi vs. Yusei Shimokawa
Tenkei Fujimiya vs. Sakae Kasuya
Issei Tsurumi vs. Atsushi Takeuchi
So Tazawa vs. Kouetsu Okazaki
Yu Shiori vs. Takamitsu Oba
Junji Ikoma vs. Homare Kuboyama

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

TKO 18: 'Impact'
November 26th, 2004
Pierre-Charbonneau Centre
Montreal, Canada


David Loiseau vs. TBA
Donald Ouimet vs. Steve Duquette
Shane Rice vs. Stephane Vigneault
Todd Gouwenberg vs. Rob McDonald
Curtis Stout vs. Stephan Potvin
David Beneteau vs. Icho Larenas
Johnathan Goulet vs. TBA
Sam Stout vs. TBA
Ryan Diaz vs. TBA
Phillipe Lagace vs. TBA



Any fighters still owed money by TKO president Stephane Patry, can contact him at:

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

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Pancrase: '2004 Brave Tour'
November 26th, 2004
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

The following matchup was officially anounced for the Pancrase show on November 26th. The final card is expected to have 8-9 matchups:


Gustavo 'Ximu' Machado vs. Keiichiro Yamamiya

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Akebono and Sapp in last year's ratings blockbuster.

The Japanese media is reporting that the Bob Sapp vs. Akebono matchup that K-1 is planning for December 31st will be an MMA-rules matchup.

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Remy Bonjasky

The K-1 website recently interviewed current K-1 champion Remy Bonjasky. Here's what Bonjasky had to say (interview by Michael Afromowitz):


K-1: Last December, you entered The Tokyo Dome a contender. This year, you're returning as the defending champion. How does that affect your mindset, in terms of added pressure felt to outperform your competition?

Bonjasky: Well, last year I went into the Finals as a debutante so I wasn't looking to win. I mean, everyone is looking forward to win, but as a debutante you just want to be there and show people what you're made of. But, I won all the matches and I became champion. Right now, I'm defending champion and there is a lot of pressure because all of the contenders want to beat me. For me, I need to train harder to win and try to be even sharper than last year.

K-1: How is training going for the tournament?

Bonjasky: Right now, it's going great. We don't have any injuries so that's the most important thing because I can train 100 percent. So, I'm doing great now.

K-1: What is your opinion of the competition in the tournament draw this year in comparison to that of last year?

Bonjasky: Well, last year I fought against Peter Graham, also a debutante, and (Cyril) Abidi, and Musashi. If you look at the fighters from last year and from now, I think it's pretty much the same, but the fighters in my bracket this year are a lot stronger. It's gonna be tough to win it again because you've got the three-time champion (Peter Aerts) and the four-time champion. It's gonna be tougher than last year, but I'm gritty and I'm very young so I think the time is right to pull it off again.

K-1: You're scheduled to take on Ernesto Hoost in the first tournament round. This is one of the most anticipated bouts in the sport's history. How do you feel you match up with Ernesto at this stage of your career?

Bonjasky: Ernesto is a very good fighter and he's shown us for the last 10 years that he's one of the best by winning (the tournament) four times. For me to fight against Ernesto is like an honor but, on the other hand, I want to win. Right now, I'm not looking at the whole tournament. I just want to win against Ernesto.

K-1: So, this is a very meaningful fight to you.

Bonjasky: It is. I'm not gonna fight against him just to win on points or to spare myself for the second round or the finals. I'm gonna fight like it's a 'Superfight', like it's one fight.

K-1: A lot of people are looking at this fight between you and Ernesto as a fight between the old guard versus the new guard - the fighter who had been the most dominant in K-1 until recently against the fighter who is supposed to take his place as the best. How do you feel about that?

Bonjasky: I'm happy people are looking at it this way. I think it's time for Ernesto to retire because he is one of the dominant fighters in the K-1 and it's time to give the belt to another young guy who is doing his best to also be a dominant fighter.

K-1: You and Ernesto are from the same country, yet your fighting style is very unique from his. It's also unique from other Dutch Muay Thai kickboxers, most of whom have fighting styles similar to one another. Why do you feel your style developed so differently?

Bonjasky: I think because I've watched a lot of fights from the lighter divisions. They use a lot of techniques that a lot of heavyweights don't use. Heavyweights don't use a lot of techniques (requiring) speed because they're too big. For me, I'm not a toe-to-toe fighter or a hard puncher so I need to use my speed and do a lot of things with it. I can't stand toe to toe fighting against guys like Ray Sefo, Ernesto, or Peter (Aerts) so I have to do a lot of other things to fight against them like the jumping knees or jumping high kicks. My fights have to take advantage of my speed.

K-1: What would you consider the most creative knockout that you've ever delivered on an opponent in a K-1 fight?

Bonjasky: I think in the fight with Vernon White. I was really trying to get him with a knee to the head, but he moved too early to the left side. That left me some time to hit him with a kick instead of a knee to the head. I think that was one of the best knockouts I ever saw (Laughs).

K-1: Overall, you fought a very strong tournament during that event in Las Vegas last summer. Do you think winning that tournament represents somewhat of a turning point in your career, one that gave you the momentum to win your fight in October with Bob Sapp and to win the December tournament?

Bonjasky: I think the turning point was when I fought a very bad match against (K-1 contender) Semmy Schilt - a very bad one. That, for me, was the turning point. That made me say 'Hey, I have to do something' because if I fight a bad match like this one, my career will be over. We started training a little differently and (began) using a lot of creative kicks. When I fought in the Las Vegas tournament, my game was different and my appearance was different. In the fight against Bob, I think you saw a different face. If you look at the fighter before I fought Semmy Schilt, it was completely different.

K-1: I noticed that you finally have an official nickname - "The Flying Gentleman". When I saw you after the Las Vegas tournament last August, you still hadn’t taken on a nickname. Who gave it to you?

Bonjasky: A lot of people were trying to give me the name "The Black Panther". but that name is the name of a (music) group and I didn't want to have something to do with these guys. I told everyone I didn't want that name and, at the same time, a lot of people were calling me "The Gentleman", because I'm always dressed nicely, or "The Fly". So, that's how the name came about.

K-1: I was going to bring up the subject of having gentleman-like attributes. You seem to bring a sense of class to a sport that is very tough and can be brutal on its competitors. How important do you feel it is to have athletes like this who represent the sport as gentleman and show the public that there are people like this who are out there competing?

Bonjasky: I think it's very important because, in the ring, you have to be a strong fighter and a good athlete. At the same time, you have to respect the rules. You have to respect everything you've been taught. A lot of people think these fighters are criminals or just aggressive guys by nature. In the ring, I'm trying to be who I am, while still using my techniques as a fighter to do the best I can. I won't ever kick or punch somebody while they're on the ground, though. Outside of the ring, you don't have to fight, so why be an aggressive guy? I see a lot of fighters who are aggressive in the ring and outside of the ring. That's not Remy.

K-1: What can we expect to see from Remy Bonjasky on December 4th?

Bonjasky: A lot of spectacles - especially against Ernesto. I'm gonna use everything I've got to beat him. It's very important to me. I'm going to try to attack, attack, attack.

K-1: Is there anything else you would like to let the fans know?

Bonjasky: I just want to say to my fans that I love them. I hope they will cheer for me and wish me luck because I'm fighting for them. I'm trying to give them exciting fights. They deserve it because they're the ones who support me. So, I'm gonna try to show them great knockouts.

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Kaoklai vs. Bernardo on the K-1/New Japan produced "Titans" show.

The word amongst the Japanese media is that New Japan Kickboxing will act as a sort of feeder system for K-1.

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SHOOTO
December 14th, 2004
Tokyo, Japan


Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Jake Shields vs. Akira Kikuchi
Jens Pulver vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira vs. Hideki Kadowaki
Rumina Sato vs. Katsuya Toida
Makoto Ishikawa vs. Ian J. Shaffa

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KOTC: 'Revenge'
November 14th, 2004
Soboba Casino
Saboba, CA


Alex Richard defeats Paul Karsky by submission, RD 2.
Jeff Clark defeats Tony Llamas by triangle choke at 0:28, RD 1.
Sost Infante defeats Jose Ramirez by TKO, RD 1.
Robert Breslin defeats Frank Guerrero by rear naked choke, RD 1.
Fernando Gonzalez defeats Reggie Orr by TKO, RD 2.
Frankie Bollinger defeats Billy Thompson by TKO at 1:40, RD 1.
Paul Buentello defeats Bo Cantrall by KO at 0:45, RD 1.
James Fanshier defeats Thomas Denny by split decision.
Takumi Nakayama defeats Charlie Kohler by TKO at 2:35, RD 2.
Urijah Faber defeats Eben Kaneshiro by TKO at 4:33, RD 3.
'Kadillac' Marshbanks defeats Jerry Vrbanovic by majority decision.
Dave Hisquierdo defeats Charles Bennett by triangle choke at 1:56, RD 2.
Cal Worsham defeats Will Scott by TKO at 0:52, RD 1.
Anthony Ruiz defeats Brian Sesma by TKO at 5:00, RD 1.
Shonie Carter defeats John Cronk by TKO at 5:00, RD 1.
Randy Velarde defeats Robert Emerson by majority decision.
Russ Miura defeats Hiroyuki Abe by DQ at 2:29, RD 1.
Mike Guymon defeats Joe Frainee by TKO at 2:22, RD 1.
Ray Lazama defeats Richard Villes by submission at 4:31, RD 1.

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"Le Gaylord" Fabre (bottom right) quickly tapping out to an armbar.

Greatest Common Multiple: Demolition 20
November 14, 2004
Tokyo FM Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Yasuhiro Urushitani defeats John Dodson by unanimous decision.
Takahito Iida defeats 'Le Gaylord' Fabre by armbar at 4:35, RD 1.
Teymur Aliyev defeats Tadahiro Hosaka by TKO at 1:08, RD 1.
Keisuke Yamada defeats Masayuki Demise by KO at 4:29, RD 2.
'Tiger' Ishii defeats Katsuya Murofushi by TKO at 3:59, RD 2.
Shinpei Sotoyama defeats Kintaro by TKO at 2:18, RD 1.
'K-Taro' Nakamura defeats Atsushi Inoue by rear naked choke at 2:11, RD 1.

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Rage in the Cage 66
November 13, 2004
Casa Grande, Arizona


Joseph Riggs defeats Thomas Gil by Submission armbar at 2:05, RD 1.
Frank Sanchez defeats R.J. Gamez by choke at 1:56, RD 1.
Melesio Perales defeats Paul Arroyo by majority decision.
Richie Hightower defeats Jeremy Neer by TKO at 0:50, RD 1.
Troy Tolbert defeats Donald Paskiewiez by TKO at 0:43, RD 1.
Eddie Castro defeats Nick Hedrick by armbar at 2:17, RD 1.
Neil Abbott defeats Joey Juvera by armbar at 1:57, RD 1.

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ADCC announced that tickets for the 6th ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships will go on pre-sale in December.

The event will take place from May 28-29, 2005, at 'The Pyramid in Long Beach, California. The facility seats around 4,200 people.

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By Josh Grossman

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger


On November 9th, the state of California continued its drive towards sanctioning professional MMA bouts with a hearing of the California State Athletic Commission, the regulatory body chartered with controlling combat sports in the state.

Six of the commission's seven members listened to and asked questions of representatives from the MMA community, including DSE and Zuffa.

The commission set January 27th as the day it hoped to finish the regulation process so that the body could send new rules to Sacramento for approval and funding. That is the first step for the CSAC if it hopes to recieve money from the state and begin regulating MMA sometime during the first half of 2005.

Acting Executive Director Dean Lohuis opened the discussion by informing the commission that a recently requested budget change proposal, earmarked for MMA to the tune of USD$46,000, was denied by the state's budget office.

"On the surface that looks bad," Lohuis said while addressing the commissioners. "But what they really told me is that they wanted to make sure that we have the mixed martial arts regulation in place and approved, and then they would give it to us. So that puts more priority on getting these regulations approved. ..."

Many different promoters/promotions with varying interests have already expressed interest in promoting shows in California.

PRIDE promoter DSE played a prominent role at Tuesday's hearing. PRIDE representative Turi Altavilla expressed the company's desire to hold events in the United States, particularly California or Nevada, where DSE was granted a promoter's license June 2002.

"We've been cultivating the U.S. market and we believe the time is now to have an event in California. ... However, there are some rules of ours that differ from the Unified Rules," Altavilla told the commissioners.

DSE provided a handout to the commission listing PRIDE's injury statistics between March 2001 through August 2004, separating injuries specific to PRIDE rules from those incurred by maneuvers allowed in the Unified Rules. Of the 114 injuries outlined on the one-page spread sheet, only 12 were directly attributed to PRIDE rules.

"Our rules have evolved from our experience as promoters," Altavilla noted. "And also, I would hope to uphold the integrity of the sport and protect the fighters as well. We feel over the course of 40 events that we are ensuring the safety of the fighters by these rules while also promoting exciting matches. We'd definitely like the rules to be considered. Modifying these rules would be a big factor for us in our decision making process and finding a location to have our first event. Having an event in California would benefit our company, would benefit the sport, but would also benefit the state."

Altavilla went on to point out the differences between PRIDE and other events. "We've never used a cage," he said. "We've used a ring since the beginning. Since 1997 we've had more than 340 matches; we've never had a problem with the ring. Very fan-friendly. We feel the ring is very important for us, not only functionally but as a symbol of our brand of mixed martial arts, like some other promoters have theirs."

Most everyone, except for mainly Zuffa, expressed a strong desire to see the commission adopt a less prohibitive rule structure. Longtime California fight advocate Nelson 'Doc' Hamilton recommended that the CSAC avoid jumping onto the Unified Rules bandwagon, and instead find a way to make the pending MMA regulations unique to the state.

"I hope that this commission will not paint itself into a corner simply because [there's] an eagerness to get certain things done because money's involved," Hamilton said. "If you're going to pass rules -- and we had a good set of rules before; they were good enough for New Jersey and Nevada to adopt with some tinkering -- however, you might want to look at some other alternatives in addition to those rules. Because, if we're in competition as a state body, then what you want to do is you want to be able to invite in anybody that wants to promote in this state that is willing to meet your requirements. And in so doing, send a message that California is open for business, we are friendly and come promote here.

"You have to protect the public, you have to protect the competitor. Once you've done that, I don't know that you should be micromanaging insofar as the rules go. If they work for certain organizations and they can prove to you that they work and they can show you data that, 'hey, this is what we've got,' then you should be open to hearing what they have to say. At least in my estimation. Otherwise, all you're doing is rubber-stamping what we've already done, and now we're walking in lock-step with everybody else."

When it came time Zuffa representative and COO Kirk Hendrick to make his pitch, the commission asked him to keep his comments to a minimum. Hendrick babbled something to the effect of Zuffa's pledge to take the UFC only to those states where "health and safety is the paramount concern."

MMA insiders Stephen Quadros and Paul Herrera were on hand to offer assistance. K-1 representative Geoff Moss was also on hand, but only as an observer.

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Chris Brennan (bottom)

MMA journeyman Chris Brennan will be taking money from a charity seminar he is participating in with a few other fighters.

Here is what the charity seminar organizer had to say:


"I am paying for Chris Brennan. Wade Rome and Hermes Franca volunteered to pay their own airfare to donate their time to the event. Randy Bloom volunteered to pay his own airfare for the event. Jeff Curran is driving. I am paying everyone's food for the whole seminar, water, etc. Companies are donating items to the charity event for the fighters, and people in attendence who purchase raffle tickets at the door."

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Shannon Ritch

MMA journeyman Shannon Ritch is currently in the warzone of Iraq, and had the following to say to MMA fans everywhere:


I am in Iraq and wanted to just take a min and say hello. Things here are crazy- This is definatly a war zone, Rockets and IED and Car Bombs-VBIED's all of the time. along with fire fights. I have been here over a month and so far so good. It is a great job, with great people. I work along side some of the top Military People in Iraq- at times I even get a chance to get to the gym and train. They have mats- and I have met some guys from Holland Military and we train Kickboxing, and a ton of guys to practice BJJ. Taking one day at a time, and this is a very serious job. I already know several guys that have lost there lives- its for REAL over here, no tapping out.

Anyway Just wanted to say hello. I will be Back from Iraq in late april...I am looking to step back in the cage soon after.

best wishes,

Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch



editors note: We at Fightsport.com would like to wish Shannon Ritch the utmost luck and a safe return home.

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By Josh Grossman

Jens Pulver

Even though SHOOTO announced this the Jens Pulver vs. Hiroki Takaya matchup as official, I have found out that negotiations are still ongoing, and that the fight is now uncertain.

Jens Pulver has offers from both SHOOTO and PRIDE to fight this month.

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