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

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

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









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Royce Gracie (left) facing off to a cardboard cut-out of Akebono.

K-1: 'Premium 2004 Dynamite!!'
December 31st, 2004
Osaka Dome,
Osaka, Japan


Officially announced MMA rules matchups:
Royce Gracie vs. Akebono
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Karam Ibrahim
Heath Herring vs. Sam Greco
B.J. Penn vs. Kaoru Uno
Mike Bernardo vs. Bobby Ologun

Officially announced K-1 rules matchups:
Bob Sapp vs. Kaoklai Kaennorsing
Masato vs. Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto
Ray Sefo vs. Gary Goodridge
Musashi vs. TBA

Possible MMA rules matchups:
Jerome Le Banner vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama or Sean O'Haire

Other fighters to possibly be on the card:
Don Frye
Tom Erikson
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka
Wakanohana

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PRIDE: 'Shockwave'
December 31st, 2004
Satama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan


Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Fedor Emelianenko
Rulon Gardner vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
Vanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Kevin Randleman
Dan Henderson vs. Yuki Kondo
Ryan Gracie vs. Yoji Anjoh
Crosley Gracie vs. Ryo Chonan
Stefan Leko vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Jens Pulver vs. Takanori Gomi
Henry 'Sentoryu' Miller vs. Makoto Takimoto
'Giant' Silva vs. Choi Mu Bae

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Fallen UFC Champion turned Journeyman, Tito Ortiz (left) with a friend.

UFC 51: 'Super Saturday'
February 5th, 2004
Mandalay Bay
Las Vegas, NV


Officially announced matchups:
Vitor Belfort vs. Tito Ortiz
Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski
Evan Tanner vs. Dave Terrell
Phil Baroni vs. Robbie Lawler
David Loiseau vs. Joe Riggs
Mike Kyle vs. James Irvin

Possible matchups:
B.J. Penn vs. Frank Trigg

Possible participants:
Nick Diaz
Karo Parisyan
Chris Lytle

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UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta will executive produce a film about the UFC. The film will be released via their Insomnia Entertainment banner.

John Herzfeld will write and direct the film, while Trent Othick will produce. Lifelong Fertitta cronie and former boxercize instructor Dana White (who has no background in big business or movie producing) will be handed a job as an executive producer.

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Don Frye

MMA star veteran Don Frye has an acting part in the newest Japanese Godzilla movie.

Frye plays the submarine captain who seals Godzilla in ice, and then helps to release him in time to fight off an alien invasion of monsters.

Here is a description of Frye's performance according to the movie review site Fangoria.com:


"Tough-guy Frye gets the Schwarzenegger-style one-liners (gems like "There's two things you didn't know about Earth: me... and Godzilla", and utters them all with robotic gruffness."

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Vanderlei Silva after successfully defending his PRIDE belt by brutally knocking out Quinton Jackson for a second time in his career.

Vanderlei Silva was recently interviewed for the PRIDE website. Here's what Silva had to say:


PRIDE: Many people have said that your fight against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in PRIDE 28 was your best bout yet.

Vanderlei: I'm glad that they say that. I think that was one of my best bouts, too.

PRIDE: When did you begin training for this bout?

Vanderlei: From November, when I began to think about fighting. I train over-all, without just focusing on striking or groundwork.

PRIDE: You continue to have amazing fights but which do you personally feel was your greatest fight?

Vanderlei: Probably my first fight with Sakuraba, of course. That fight had the deepest meaning for me.

PRIDE: Is there one you think was your worst bout?

Vanderlei: Not at all. I think all fights are great fights.

PRIDE: What about the fights you lost outside of PRIDE against Vitor Belfort or Tito Ortiz?

Vanderlei: Those fights didn't turn out well but, for me, they were good experiences and that makes them good fights.

PRIDE: Why did you lose?

Vanderlei: I didn't have much jujitsu technique then. That's why I lost.

PRIDE: (DSE) President Sakakibara has said that he wants to invite those two and Randy Couture to the Middleweight Grand Prix planned for next year. Do you want to fight those guys?

Vanderlei: (answers without hesitation) Of course. I think it's good if they will really fight in PRIDE. I would like to fight all three of them.

PRIDE: After your fight with Jackson, you said that you'd like to fight Couture before he retires.

Vanderlei: Well, his age is what it is and he'll probably retire in the near future. So, I want to fight him before then. He's the UFC Champion, after all.

PRIDE: Do you think you have any weak points?

Vanderlei: Mmm... I've never thought about that. Even I don't know. I'm always training to get rid of my weak points.

PRIDE: Do you ever think about skipping practice and having fun?

Vanderlei: Never. I think I have strong perseverance.

PRIDE: Where does that power come from?

Vanderlei: I think it's God's power, of course.

PRIDE: Have you ever felt fear?

Vanderlei: Actually, I feel fear in every fight but every fighter feels that fear. It's important to make that fear work for you. When you feel fear, you have to face it head on and fight. That's the best. Running away is the worst.

PRIDE: Have you ever dreamed before a fight that you would lose?

Vanderlei: Honestly, yes. I've seen many nightmares. Sometimes it scares me and I jump out of bed when I see them because, for me, losing is my greatest fear.

PRIDE: Have you always had this strong mental drive to conquer your fears?

Vanderlei: No, not really. It just came to me as I grew up.

PRIDE: Is it something that you gained from training at Chute Boxe?

Vanderlei: Exactly.

PRIDE: Is the support of people around you important to you?

Vanderlei: Yes. I think it's all because of them and I think of everyone as my family.

PRIDE: What gives you the most strength?

Vanderlei: That's God. I think everyone has their own way of thinking and there are some that won't believe me or will think it's stupid, but God's power is really important to me. I'm always going to believe in God.

PRIDE: Do you pray to God before your matches?

Vanderlei: Praying before matches and asking for protection has become my custom. I ask Him to give me strength, to take my fear and to prevent injuries. Finally, I pray that He will give me the victory.

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Some of the announced participants for the PRIDE show on December 31st.

Below the matchups that have been officially announced for the PRIDE show on December 31st. The final card is scheduled to have a total of ten matchups:


Officially announced matchups:
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Fedor Emelianenko
Rulon Gardner vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
Vanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Kevin Randleman
Crosley Gracie vs. Ryo Chonan
Jens Pulver vs. Takanori Gomi
Dan Henderson vs. Yuki Kondo
Stefan Leko vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Henry 'Sentoryu' Miller vs. Makoto Takimoto
'Giant' Silva vs. Choi Mu Bae

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Heath Herring

The Japanese media is reporting that an mma-rules matchup of Heath Herring vs. Sam Greco will take place on the K-1 card on December 31st.

The Japanese media added that Herring has left DSE/PRIDE, and will be fighting for the K-1 organization.

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Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira

The Japanese media reports that Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogeuria has added in some new knee strikes to his arsenal for his upcoming fight against Fedor Emelianenko on December 31st.

The Japanese media also reports that according to Fedor, his strategy for defeating Minotauro is now complete.

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Anderson Silva

The Japanese media is reporting that a rematch of Anderson Silva vs. Hayato Sakurai may take place on either the PRIDE show on December 31st or on the next PRIDE Bushido card.

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By Josh Grossman

Crosley Gracie (far left) victorious over Hayato Sakurai in the recent PRIDE Bushido 5 show.

PRIDE New Year show: The matchup of Crosley Gracie vs. Ryo Chonan is a done deal for the December 31st show. This will pit two fighters coming off big wins in the recent PRIDE Bushido show.

K-1 New Year show: K-1 is actually entertaining the idea of having Bob Sapp face the small Thai Boxer Kaoklai, who KO'ed 'Mighty' Mo Siligia in in the K-1 GP Finals.

UFC 51: B.J. Penn will make his return to the UFC, and will face Frank Trigg. The number one contender ranking will be on the line. Apparently Penn has been calling Zuffa trying to get back in the show for a while now.

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By Coffee Guy

David Loiseau

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

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


Patrick Cote is now out of the UFC 51 card. His replacement will be David Loiseau, who will face Joe Riggs. In fact, the Loiseau vs. Riggs matchup has been signed.


This Coffee Guy exclusive was filed on November 30th, 2004.

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Commentary by Canadian Bacon

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

I am surprised (well, not really) that none of the other "MMA media" sites have asked this question or put two and two together on what is possiboy a pretty big story regarding Bruce Buffer and the 'Rumble on the Rock' promotion.

Most MMA fans already know how vindictive and petty UFC president Dana White really is, and how he constantly mixes up business with his personal emotions and feelings. Look at what he did to B.J. Penn and Wes 'Cabbge' Correira, who are both now fighting in ROTR.

Anyway, Buffer announcing for ROTR is something that could at the very least get him in a great deal of trouble with Dana, possibly even getting him fired if Dana has another tantrum.

Dana White has been very busy with the reality show filming, so he probably doesn't even realize this happened. Or even if he does, he probably has not had time to put things into perspective. But from what my sources tell me, a scenario where Dana is upset with Buffer could actually result, and with Buffer getting in a great deal of trouble with Zuffa.

Not to mention that Buffer recently posted on the internet that B.J. Penn is now the pound-for-pound best fighter in MMA, and I'm sure Dana would just love reading that!

Stay tuned to this possible MMA soap opera because it may be more real then we imagined.

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Sean "The Cannon" Gannon on the front page of The Boston Herald.

Below is an article that appeared on the front page of 'The Boston Herald' newspaper on December 3rd. The article is about Sean 'The Cannon' Gannon and his illegal bare knuckle fight against Kimbo Slice, and the negative repurcussions the fight may have on Gannon's career as a police officer:


COP ON THE BEAT: UPROAR OVER 'EXTREME FIGHTING' VIDEO
By Dave Wedge
Friday, December 3, 2004

A beefy Boston cop hailed as a rising "ultimate fighting" star has come under fire for appearing in a bloody, bare-knuckle basement brawl tape.

Seven-year Boston police Patrolman Sean "The Cannon" Gannon and Miami "pro streetfighter" Kimbo Slice beat each other to a bloody pulp in the vicious eight-minute video for sale on extreme fighting Web sites.

The brawl, billed as a "friendly sparring match," takes place in a gym with several onlookers, some filming.

Gannon, 34, and Slice, whose brother is a pro boxer, wear no gloves or other protective gear as they brutally punch, kick, elbow and knee each other. Gannon, a 270-pound, up-and-coming "mixed martial arts" heavyweight, is declared the winner after Slice is knocked down, apparently unconscious.

Gannon might have violated Boston police policy if he was paid for the video, Boston police spokeswoman Beverly Ford said. Boston police regulations bar outside employment without permission from the commissioner.

Gannon also could run into trouble because he is known to wear his official Boston police hat into the ring before fights - another possible violation.

"If there's any evidence that rules were violated, they will be investigated," Ford said.

Gannon, who was unavailable for comment, is a former Gold Gloves boxing champion and past Mass Destruction heavyweight champ, meaning he is recognized as the state's top mixed martial arts fighter in his weight class. He has fought regularly in Revere and is currently in negotiations to appear on a national stage in an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship event, according to his training partner, Mike Varner.

The controversial, but wildly popular, sport mixes boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and other martial arts and was banned in some states after being criticized by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the early 1990s. Matches are often held in Massachusetts and are sanctioned by the Boxing Commission, including upcoming fights in Taunton next month and one at Avalon on Dec. 11 featuring Varner.

Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Katie Ford said mixed martial arts fights are legal in Massachusetts but "no-holds barred" matches are banned. The only rules in "no-holds barred" are no biting, eye-gouging or breaking fingers.

Despite the sport's violent reputation, Varner called it "one of the oldest forms of sporting events."

"They think we go in there with the idea of pounding on one another with anger and violence. But it's a sport," Varner said. "We train in many different forms of martial arts. The strategy isn't to go in there and just pound your opponent. It's a live chess game."


To read the article on The Boston Herald website, click here

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Michael DiSanto

Supposed journalist and admitted MMA gambler Michael DiSanto has been accused of scamming an MMA fan out of USD$5,000.

According to insiders close to the situation, after the UFC 47 show, Michael DiSanto and Rob Estell (formerly of American Top Team) had a meeting at an afterparty to discuss what DiSanto claimed as a 'betting mutual fund'. DiSanto claimed he knows when UFC fights are worked, and claimed to know when boxing fights are worked too. He claimed that the Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler fight was fixed as well.

According to these same insiders, Di Santo then accepted USD$5,000 of Estell's money, and even claimed to Estell in various emails that his initial USD$5,000 investment had doubled. When Estell asked to cash out on his supposed earnings, Di Santo took two months to reply and claimed that the check was in the mail.

DiSanto was recently claiming that he got ripped off by the supposed 'Fight Guru' that he was supposedly getting his inside information from.

DiSanto previously asked people on Tito Ortiz's internet message board to buy into this 'betting mutual fund' as well.

Rob Estell has not asked for the money back, but wants DiSanto to admit his wrong doing and donate the USD$5000 to a cancer charity.


In interesting piece of unrelated news is that there is a Michael DiSanto who graduated in Colorado, but failed the bar exam to become a lawyer. Whether this is the same Micheal DiSanto who is a supposed journalist and admitted MMA gambler is not known at this time.

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SHOOTO
December 14th, 2004
Tokyo, Japan

Tatsuya Kawajiri defeats Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro by TKO, RD 3.
Akira Kikuchi defeats Jake Shields wins by decision.
Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira defeats Hideki Kadowaki by guillotine choke, RD 1.
Gilbert Melendez defeats Hiroyuki Takaya by decision.
Rumina Sato defeats Katsuya Toida by KO, RD 2.
Hiroyuki Abe vs. Makoto Ishikawa declared a no-contest.
Megumi Fujii defeats Nadia Van Der Wel by armbar, RD 1.

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Our sincere apologies for shutting down the Fightsport.com message boards for the last two weeks. Our servers were undergoing upgrades due to heavy traffic and constant attacks on our forums.

The forums are now back up and running.

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The Brazilian cable channel known as 'Premiere Combat' set up a meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, between MMA champion Vanderlei Silva and fellow Brazilian and former boxing champion Acelino 'Popo' Freitas.

Popo, a big MMA fan who started out in the same boxing gym as Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira, is said to be a fan of Silva and his style of fighting. Likewise, Silva also stated that he is a fan of Popo.

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Super Brawl 38
December 11th, 2004
Blaisdell Arena
Hawaii

Tim Sylvia defeats Wes Sims by TKO, RD 1.
Falaniko Vitale defeats Ron Fields by choke, RD 1.
Rich Franklin defeats Curtis Stout by TKO, RD 2.
Joe Jordan defeats Kolo Koka by judges decision.
Ruben Villarreal drew with Andre Roberts.
Ray Lizama defeats Kai Kamaka by KO, RD 1.
Chris Dawson defeats Bryson Kamaka by judges decision.
Ed Newalu defeats Kevin De Lima by judges decision.

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