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SportFight 8: 'Justice'
January 8, 2005
Mt. Hood Community College
Gresham, Oregon


Matt Lindland defeats Landon Showalter by armbar at 2:43, RD 1.
Keith Wilson defeats Ryan Schultz by unanimous decision.
Jeff Monson defeats Brian Stromberg by rear naked choke, RD 1.
Brandon Melendez defeats Brad Blackburn by decision.
Kyacey Uscola defeats Joey Guel by TKO at 1:18, RD 1.
Cam Ward defeats Chad Nelson by KO at 3:22, RD 2.

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By Josh Grossman



SuperBrawl veteran Riki Fukuda has signed with SHOOTO and will make his professional debut with them soon.

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World Extreme Cagefighting: 'Heavyweight Explosion'
January 22th, 2005
The Palace Indian Gaming Center
Lemoore, CA


Dan Christianson vs. Andre 'The Chief' Roberts
Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos vs. Shonie Carter
Richard Montoya vs. Jason Lambert
Olaf Alfonso vs. Jeff Hougland
Keith Jardine vs. Jeremy Freitag
Rafael Del Real vs. Troy Miller
Rick Collup vs. Brad Imes
Steve Ramirez vs. Jason Biswell
Van Palacio vs. Fred Diaz
Jason Jhadagua vs. Brandon Verra

WEC heavyweight tournament:
Andre Mussi vs Houssain Oushani
Mike Whitehead vs Terrell Dees

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SHOOTO
January 29th Tokyo
Kourakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Class-A bouts:
Ryan Bow vs. Koutetsu Boku
Mamoru vs. Junji Ikoma
Masanori Suda vs. TBA
Takumi vs. Ganjo Tentsuku

Class-B bouts:
Keith Wisniewski vs. Shinya Aoki
Daiji Takahashi vs. B.J.
Masaya Inoue vs. Riki Fukuda
Kyotaro Nakao vs. Sakae Kasuya

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TKO 19: 'Rage'
January 29th, 2005
Pierre-Charbonneau Center
Montreal, Canada


Georges St-Pierre vs. Dave Strasser
Patrick Cote vs. Ricardeau Francois
Mark Hominick vs. Shane Rice
Jacob Conliffe vs. Icho Larenas
Sam Stout vs. Joey Brown
David Goulet vs. TBA
Thierry Quenneville vs. TBA
Alex Gasson vs. TBA
John Fraser 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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The Japanese media reports that DSE/PRIDE and FILA, the world governing body for amateur wrestling, have signed a licensing agreement in which amateur wrestlers can do professional MMA fights in DSE/PRIDE without risking their eligibility for amateur wrestling world championships and the Olympics.

Furthermore, if an amateur wrestler works for any other group outside of DSE/PRIDE, such as K-1 for example, then the wrestler would lose his FILA eligibility.

However, law experts are pointing out that such a condition will not hold up in any court of law. It also remains to be seen now whether Olympic gold medalist Karam Ibrahim will now lose his eligibility for the next Olympics, since he worked in the K-1 show on December 31st.

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Fabricio Werdum and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.

Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic gave credit to his BJJ trainer Fabricio Werdum for his last two victories by submission over Josh Barnett and Kevin Randleman.

"I have been training Brazilian jiu-jitsu with one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters today... Fabricio Werdum. Now I feel I have chances on the ground, and every time I feel comfortable with it I will look for a submission", said Cro Cop.

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Mario Sperry

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently interviewed Mario Sperry. Here's what Sperry had to say (interview by Eduardo Ferreira and Alexandre Lobo):


Tatame: What was the strategy that you guys put together to beat Fedor?

Sperry: The strategy was to box as much as possible. When the first round ended, Minotauro came back to his corner feeling unsatisfied. He didn't like his performance in the first round, but in the second round he let loose his boxing much more. In the third round Fedor got tired and dropped into Minotauro's guard. That's when Minotauro got a major advantage in the fight. If he had done the strategy we had planned since the beginning, the result might have turned out differently.

Tatame: In your opinion, what went wrong?

Sperry: The truth is that credit goes out to Fedor, who applied a different strategy and surprised us. This time he did not want to fight from inside Minotauro's guard. He evaded the guard game, and that threw off our strategy a little. The Russian would punch, get the take down, and would return to fight in the standup.

Tatame: Did something go wrong in Minotauro's training?

Sperry: There can be no blame. Fedor did the right strategy. I think we need to improve Minotauro's wrestling. We used to have Darrel Gholar as our wrestling trainer, and today we have Jefferson Teixera to take care of that. We need to make Minotauro much stronger.

Tatame: Minotauro must be frustrated with Fedor. Is he interested in facing Fedor again?

Sperry: It's only logical that Minotauro would like to face him again. Fedor continues to be the man everyone wants to beat.

Tatame: How are the contract negotiations going with PRIDE?

Sperry: We haven't finalized anything, but I am certain that Minotauro will continue fighting in PRIDE.

Tatame: You guys are being compared in Brazil to the Spanish soccer team Real Madrid, who also have a list of stars on their team but who haven't won many titles lately...

Sperry: Whomever is at the forefront is always being judged. This can be a good thing, as it motivates us to stay at the forefront. We can be compared to Real Madrid in this way. Analyzing it more closely, we have a very complete and complex team. Just like any team, some results are negative and some are positive. We have many similarities to Real Madrid. They have Ronaldo who is no longer the best player in the world, but he is still in the top 5. Does that mean he isn't good anymore? Minotauro lost to Fedor, but he beat a lot of people to get to the top. Does that mean that he and the team should not be considered good anymore?

Tatame: What work needs to be done now after Minotauro's loss?

Sperry: The training of the team will continue to remain the same, nothing will change. We are well equipped and the titles will come. We are now working very hard to prepare Vitor Belfort, who will face Tito Ortiz in the UFC. We are also preparing various other athletes who may appear in PRIDE and the upcoming PRIDE middleweight GP.

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The Brazilian Top Team has announced new affiliate schools in the US and Europe.

BTT America will be located in Mission Viejo, California, and will be run by Jeremy Williams. Williams is a student under Brazilian jiu-jitsi black belt Marcelo Perdomo.

BTT France will be run by Roan 'Jucao'.

BTT Switzerland will be run by Augusto Frota, who is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira. Frota is also the organizer of SHOOTO Switzerland.

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Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (center)

Brazilian magazine Tatame reports that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua recieved his Chute Boxe Muay Thai black belt last month from Rafael Cordeiro.

Shogun and his brother Murilo 'Ninja' Rua are getting ready to start a seminar tour in the United States. For more information, contact Eduardo Alonso at edualonsomm@gmail.com.

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Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' reports that long-time Chute Boxe athlete and trainer Sergio Cunha has left the team to pursue other goals.

According to both sides, the split was amicable. The 32-year old Cunha told Tatame that he's at a point in his life where he wants to train his own stable of fighters.

Cunha also added that he wants to concentrate on the SHOOTO Brazil shows that he helps to co-promote.

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Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva told Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' that he would like to participate in the upcoming PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix.

Silva stated that he is disappointed with his loss to Ryo Chonan, but feels he put on an exciting fight and was winning the fight until he got caught in the heel hook.

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Jungle Fight promoters Wallid Ismael and Antonio Inoki.

Wallid Ismail announced that the 'Jungle Fight' promotion plans to stage five shows in 2005.

According to Wallid, three of the shows will be in Manaus, Brazil. They then plan to take the show to Las Vegas and then to Japan.

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Once a Boxercise instructor, Dana White is now UFC president.


The UFC's supposedly homo-erotic promo for their reality show.

Commentary by aLittleBird


Yesterday I watched the promo video for the UFC show on SPIKE TV. It seems that Zuffa really did their research, carefully focusing on certain demographic groups that are most likely to watch the program. These groups apparently have a huge amount of disposable income, as we can see from the frequent donations and 'special offers' they take advantage of on grappling enthusiast sites like sherdog, matbattle.com, mma.tv, etc.

I asked a marketing specialist I know to analyze Zuffa's strategy. She gave the strategy an 'A' overall, and provided the following analysis:



"Having looked briefly at the spot you sent me, it seems clear that the target group being marketed to is what we in the marketing world call the 'newly gay and in-denial gay' market, a subset of the larger homosexual market that is still uncomforatble with outright displays of homosexuality, and is still prone to latent self-loathing stemming from their inability to com to terms with the reality of their sexual responses. This self-loathing often manifests in loud and excessive accusations of homosexuality aimed at other men.

Because of this, Zuffa's 'soft-sell' approach will appeal to these fans. In particular, the idea of having the fighters on the show barechested at all times, whether fighting or relaxing at home, is a master stroke, as is the idea of having them participate in scantily clad 'competitions' rather than actual fighting (which in latent homosexuals is not yet sexually arousing). The use of partial nudity and playful roughousing is an old technique that has traditionally been used to market to the 'early-teen girl' market (see Abercrombie/Fitch campaigns for examples).

It is only very recently, however, that the some of the very best marketers have realised that this same approach works just as well on the 'new and latent homosexual' market. I am surprised to see this kind of target market understanding from anyone outside the upper echelons of the advertising industry. This a is well concieved and expertly executed campaign. I am very impressed!

Professor Heather ********"



I was surprised to see such a favourable analysis, especially since we've seen how Dana White (LOL) has mismanaged the marketing of the UFC brand in the past. I told my friend as much, and she too was somewhat confused. Something just didn't fit. Finally she asked me about Dana's background. Now, knowing the extent of Dana's business background (LOL), I told her there was nothing of note there. She was insistent though, so I explained everything; the lack of formal education or training, the short lived stint as a boxercise instructor that was so disapointing for everyone involved, the days spent sleeping in a car, subsisting on dog food and discarded cooking oil, and finally the almost miraculous lifting up out of poverty by childhood chums who had come into a large fortune.

By the time I finished, my colleague could hardly contain herself, it had come to her in a flash. She exlpained, "Sometimes... someone who is completely raw, has no marketing training, and is down on their luck, can see things more clearly than a Harvard MBA."

I thought about this for a second and told her that while it may be true, Dana White (LOL) was not such a person, that Dana White (LOL) had fumbled his way through several failed marketging campaigns for the UFC, wasted millions of dollars to no end, and caused irreperable damage to the integrity of the organization with inexplicable changes to the broadcasting team.

Furrowing her brow, she considered this, and after a moment, told me, "We have a saying in marketing: When all else fails, market to yourself".

I must have looked quite confused at this, so she continued, "Its very much like the old 'write what you know' thing you tell writers. The idea is to design your campaign as if you were trying to attract *yourself* to the product. Inevitably, this will attract those just like you to it as well".

It was then that comprehension washed over me like warm stream, and I had an "a-HA" moment.

With the company he has nearly destroyed so many times before finally poised on the edge of financial success and mainstream acceptance, it seems Dana White has finally found his niche, and with it, the future of the UFC brand name.

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Phil Baroni

Phil Baroni issued out a challenge match to bodybuilder Craig Titus in the latest issue of the bodybuilding magazine called 'Flex'.

Both Baroni and Titus now live in Las Vegas, and have supposedly crossed paths before.

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Mark Hunt

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 my contacts at Mark Hunt's Sydney based gym are telling me that Hunt is loving MMA. He says the ground fighting is fun because it's more like his old street fighting days in New Zealand.

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Vanderlei Silva (right) at yesterday's All Japan Kickboxing event.

Vanderlei Silva made an appearance at yesterday's All Japan kickboxing event in Tokyo, Japan.

When asked by the Japanese media about his contract negotiations with DSE/PRIDE, Silva commented that his future participation in PRIDE will be reviewed.

Since Silva is now a free agent, many insiders are saying that Chute Boxe and Silva are positioning themselves to get a big money contract from either DSE/PRIDE or K-1.

Inside sources are saying that they expect Silva to re-sign with DSE/PRIDE for a similar contract to the one Rulon Gardner and Hidehiko Yoshida recieved, which is in the area of just over USD$350,000 per fight.

When asked about Mark Hunt, Silva had only positive things to say, adding that Hunt's punches were very strong.

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World Extreme Cagefighting: 'Heavyweight Explosion'
January 22th, 2005
The Palace Indian Gaming Center
Lemoore, CA


Dan Christianson vs. Andre 'The Chief' Roberts
Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos vs. Shonie Carter
Richard Montoya vs. Jason Lambert
Olaf Alfonso vs. Jeff Hougland
Keith Jardine vs. Jeremy Freitag
Rafael Del Real vs. Troy Miller
Rick Collup vs. Brad Imes
Steve Ramirez vs. Jason Biswell
Van Palacio vs. Fred Diaz
Jason Jhadagua vs. Brandon Verra

WEC heavyweight tournament:
Andre Mussi vs Houssain Oushani
Mike Whitehead vs Terrell Dees

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

SHOOTO
January 29th Tokyo
Kourakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Class-A bouts:
Ryan Bow vs. Koutetsu Boku
Mamoru vs. Junji Ikoma
Masanori Suda vs. TBA
Takumi vs. Ganjo Tentsuku

Class-B bouts:
Keith Wisniewski vs. Shinya Aoki
Daiji Takahashi vs. B.J.
Masaya Inoue vs. Riki Fukuda
Kyotaro Nakao vs. Sakae Kasuya

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

TKO 19: 'Rage'
January 29th, 2005
Pierre-Charbonneau Center
Montreal, Canada


Georges St-Pierre vs. Dave Strasser
Patrick Cote vs. Ricardeau Francois
Mark Hominick vs. Shane Rice
Jacob Conliffe vs. Icho Larenas
Sam Stout vs. Joey Brown
David Goulet vs. TBA
Thierry Quenneville vs. TBA
Alex Gasson vs. TBA
John Fraser 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 will hold their first show on the year on February 4th, entitled the Pancrase: 'Spiral Tour 2005'.

No matchups have been announced as of yet.

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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


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
Nick Diaz vs. Drew Fickett
Karo Parisyan vs. Chris Lytle

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Randy Couture

Randy Couture has signed a new 3-fight contract with the UFC.

Sources close to Couture are saying that he will retire at the end of this new contract, which will most likely be completed by next year.

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Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (top)

The UK-based MMA promotion known as 'Cage Rage' announced that the following fighters are scheduled to participate on their Cage Rage 10: 'Deliverance' card on February 26th at the Wembley Conference Center in Wembley, England:


Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos
Renato 'Babalu' Sobral
Jorge Rivera
Curtis Stout
Chris Brennan
Jean Silva
Gabriel 'Gladiador' Santos
Pierre Guillet
Alex Reid
Leigh Remedios
Matt Ewin

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SportFight announced that the matchup of Sean Sherk vs. Heath Sims has been signed for their SportFight 9: 'Respect' card on March 26th.

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By Josh Grossman

Jeremy Horn

DSE/PRIDE has given a verbal agreement to use Jeremy Horn in their promotion in 2005.

Horn will most likely participate in the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix that is scheduled for this year.

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Tape Lord is away on official business and will not be doing the mailbag this week.

'Tape Lord's Monday Morning Mailbag' will be back next week.

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Brock Lesnar

Former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar announced to the Japanese media that he is interested in negotiations with K-1 and DSE/PRIDE.

Lesnar is currently in Japan to watch the New Japan tomorrow night at the Tokyo Dome.

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By Josh Grossman

Tetsuya Kawajiri

SHOOTO welterweight champ Tetsuya Kawajiri is going to jump to PRIDE to participate in the upcoming PRIDE Lightweight Grand Prix that is being planned for this year.

Other fighters that will also appear in the lightweight GP are Takanori Gomi, Jens Pulver, D. Mishima, Luis 'Buscape' Firminho, and Marcus Aurelio.

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Royce Gracie

Sources within the Japanese media are saying that a matchup between a Gracie and Bob Sapp is possible for 2005, possibly even on the next K-1 New Year show at the end of the year.

The Gracie that may face Sapp would be either Royce or Rickson.

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