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


Dan Christiansen defeats Andre 'The Chief' Roberts by armbar at 3:26, RD 1.
Richard Montoya defeats Jason Lambert by submission at 2:45, RD 1.
Brad Imes defeats Lace Pele by submission at 2:04, RD 1.
Jorge Oliveira defeats Shonie Carter by unanimous decision.
Olaf Alfonso defeats Chin Seng by KO at 1:13, RD 1.
Allan Weickert defeats Jeremy Freitag by TKO at 4:25, RD 1.
Jody Poff defeats Houssain Oushani by choke at 1:51, RD 1.
Van Palacio defeats Fred Diaz by split decision.

WEC heavyweight tournament:
Semifinals:
Brandon Vera defeats Andre Mussi by KO at 0:51, RD 1.
Mike Whitehead defeats Terrell Dees by neck crank at 3:43, RD 1.

Final:
Brandon Vera defeats Mike Whitehead by TKO at 1:12, RD 2.

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SHOOTO
February 6th, 2005
Kitazawa Town Hall
Tokyo, Japan


B-class bouts:
Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Akihiro Yamazaki
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Satoshi Yamashita
Hiroshi Nakamura vs. Yutaka Nishioka
Masaaki Yamamori vs. Mizuto Hirota
K-Taro Nakamura vs. Kentaro Maeda
Wataru Miki vs. Takahiro Kajita
So Tazawa vs. Seiji Otsuka
Komei Okada vs. Yusuke Endo

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Rumina Sato

SHOOTO announced the matchup of Rumina Sato vs. Makoto Ishikawa for their card on March 11th.

The matchup will decide the champion of the Pacific Rim lightweight championship.

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The following was sent to us by Brazilian NHB/MMA insider Ricardo Alonso:


"The big break up at BTT already ocurred. Murilo Bustamante and Mario Sperry are breaking up, at least where the training of fighters is concerned.

BTT fighter purses are no longer divided equally among BTT owners. The pro fighters must pay for using the BTT gym, plus 10% of the purse value to one of the BTT owners picked to be his trainer. Remarkably, this was a strategy of Mario Sperry to prevent Bebeo Duarte from receiving a huge part of the money generated by the team.

So the agreement came about that a fighter would pay the required percentage of their purses to the trainer they chose to train them for an upcoming fight, which would either be to Mario Sperry, or to Murilo Bustamante.

Everything was going fine with this arrangement until Mario Sperry decided to break the "gentlemen's agreement" by excluding from his MMA training sessions to those who were under Bustamante's purse "contract" (or to beset Bustamante's fighters to switch over to him).

The result is that today at BTT there exists two different teams, the Sperrys and the Bustamantes. To his credit, Bustamante has been a very ethical player since the beginning, never denying any training to Sperry's fighters. As a result of Sperry's tatics, the bulk of the BTT pro fighters sided with Bustamante. Both groups will now have their own training schedule, where any interchange between the teams of the two trainers is forbidden.

The only top fighter that will remain with Sperry is Luis 'Buscape' Firminho. The others (including Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira, Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, Vitor Belfort, and Paulo Filho) will go with Bustamante.

The relationship between Minotauro and Sperry is supposedly strained as well, due to the fact that Sperry supposedly sent a lot of the BTT fighters on vacation during the very month Minotauro was preparing for his December 31st fight against Fedor Emelianenko. yet Sperry is supposed to be Mintauro's manager, and still charges him a percentage of his purse and for the use of BTT facilities.

The truth is that Sperry has not trained Minotauro for a long time now. It was Amaury Bitetti who helped prepare Minotauro in Florida. In addition, Minotauro has been primarily training at the gym he's made in his own house when in Brazil, and pays for all his outside coaches from of his own pocket, on top of his BTT fees.

Furthermore, there are rumblings that Ricardo Arona and Paulo Filho might leave the team outright, and start their own gym in Niteroi, a suburb of Rio, with a local businessman as their partner.

There is also great dissent among BTT fighters that Sperry, who is the main negotiator with PRIDE, is choosing to put in his own guys at the expense of other BTT fighters not trained by him.

For many years I have had the opportunity to witness live what goes on within BTT walls, and I can say it had become a bomb about to explode. The mood is a mix of jealousy and fight for power amongst the managers, and strong dissatisfaction among the pro fighters.

Bustamante and Bebeo cant stand the idea of Sperry making four times more money than them. Actually, Sperry pockets some more money from the Japanese Manager Motoko, whom Sperry has a lot of influence over according to other BTT members.

Bustamante and Bebeo already tried a "Carlson-like" plan to kick Sperry from BTT, but they changed their minds when they realized that they needed him to get PRIDE contracts through Motoko.

The next victim would be Bebeo (who in my opinion brings more problems than benefits, since is hated by 99% of the fighting community, and not respected by the remaining 1%). Bustamante and Sperry almost fired Bebeo few months ago, but he supposedly cried hard for a place and was allowed to continue.

It is said that BTT fighters are usually puppets of those three. According to Carlson Gracie Sr., when Minotauro was about to travel to Japan for one of his PRIDE fights, Bebeo, who at the time responsible for buying the plane tickets, decided to cheat Minotauro, pocketing for himself the USD$5,000 sent by DSE/PRIDE for Minotauro's Executive Class tickets.

Instead, Bebeo bought Minotauro's ticket with Minotauro's own earned Mileage accrued through many flights to Japan. Can you imagine Minotauro's surprise when, during the check-in, being told it wasn't possible to credit the miles because the ticket was issued with miles! Minotauro was supposedly never paid back by BTT for the ticket or the miles.

Minotauro was supposedly even forced to share his earnings from a private Japanese sponsor with the three BTT "leaders", in addition to the manager who got the contract. It is said that Minotauro's resentment with this treatment is very high right now.

According to insiders in and around the BTT circle, Sperry is double-faced, Busta has a huge ego and behaves like a greedy dictator, and Bebeo is a loser, always thinking about obscure deals. In short, the situation within BTT appears to be deteriorating, and there is no telling whther the they will be broken up by this time next year."

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Assuerio Silva

Brazilian magazine 'tatame' rcently interviewed Assuerio Silva. Here's what Silva had to say (interview by Marcelo Alonso):


Tatame: What happened to the Muay Thai Dream Team?

Assuerio: In reality, the Muay Thai Dream Team never existed. We tried to build it, but there were too many people who were looking out for their personal interests instead of looking out for the team. Many times there wasn't even training there. I was looking for a master, someone who could help me with my training. That's when I met Ademir while I was in Japan, and he invited me to watch a Karate tournament that was being produced by him. It was there that I had the opportunity to see how good of an experience working with Ademir would be for me.

Tatame: And how is the relationship between you and Ademir?

Eu o respeito por tudo o que ele fez pelas Artes Marciais e tenho certeza que evoluirei muito com ele como lutador.

Assuerio: Besides that fact that he's a Karate legend, Ademir is a great person. I always admired him as a fighter, and after getting to know him in Sao Paulo, I discovered he's a great person with an excellent character. Master Ademir has a lot of experience in life and in the ring. I respect him for all he's done in the Martial Arts, and I'm certain that I'll evolve a lot as a fighter while I'm with him.

Tatame: What were your impressions about the Karate tournament? Would you like to compete in a tournament like that?

Assuerio: No, I'm a Professional vale tudo fighter, and I don't intend to compete in a Karate tournament. But I could see in that tournament that Karate will be very important for me in many ways. The style of Karate style taught by Ademir is very violent.

Tatame: In which way do you think Karate will help you for vale tudo?

Assuerio: It will help me a lot with my training routine, with kicking, toughening up the body, discipline, and heart. Most of Ademir's students are excellent kick-boxers.

Tatame: In what area is Karate better then Muay Thai?

Assuerio: Muay Thai is a very efficient Martial Art, which can be completed by Karate in many ways. Such as side kicks, which Karate has many techniques for, whereas Muay Thai has only one. I was left really impressed with the way they train to toughen there bodies up. Karate transforms some parts of the body, such as hands and chins, into weapons.

Tatame: Do you feel you've improved since you've been with Ademir?

Assuerio: I've learned many kicking techniques. I feel I've improved my technique with Ademir. My objective is to be the heavyweight champion of PRIDE.

Tatame: Are the sparring sessions good?

Eu fiquei realmente impressionado com o Luciano Basile. Dentro em breve ele será um dos tops da categoria até 93kg. Será um problema para muita gente.

Assuerio: For sure. Ademir's students are excellent strikers. They're warriors. They have strength, and I believe that within one year our team will produce some vale tudo champions. Master Ademir has some tough fighters in the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions. They only need to adapt themselves for vale tudo. I was left really impressed by Luciano Basile. In the near future, he will become a top fighter in the light heavyweight division. He'll be a problem for a lot of people.

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Fabricio Werdum (right)

The Brazilian media is reporting that Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Fabricio Werdum will make his PRIDE debut on the PRIDE 29 card.

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Hidehiko Yoshida

The Japanese media reports that Hidehiko Yoshida sustained a fracture in his left foot during his fight against Rulon Gardner on December 31st.

He is expected to return to training in February.

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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
Shonie Carter vs. Jorge Van Damme
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) 676-3666
TKOZone.tv

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Pancrase: 'Spiral Tour 2005'
February 4th, 2004
Tokyo, Japan


Heath Sims vs. Katsuya Inoue
Kengo vs. Sakuragi Yuji
Kestutis Arbocius vs. Mitsuyoshi Sato
Izuru Takeuchi vs. Yuji Hisamatsu
Koji Oishi vs. Daizo Ishige
Takafumi Ito vs. Masakazu Kuramochi
Hikaru Sato vs. Alex Roberts
Takumi Yano vs. Takita J Taro

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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. Pete Sell
David Loiseau vs. Joe Riggs
Mike Kyle vs. James Irvin
Nick Diaz vs. Drew Fickett
Karo Parisyan vs. Chris Lytle

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DEEP
February 12th, 2005
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Ryo Chonan vs. Roan 'Jucao' Carneiro
D. Mishima vs. Taisho
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Masakazu Imanari
Satoko Shinashi vs. Mari Kaneko
Atsushi Ishii vs. Tashiro
Ryuhei Sato vs. Yuya Shirai
Tetsuya Onose vs. Sato
Yutaro Miyamoto vs. Nobuhiro Obitani

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Zuffa has banned any sportsbook, oddsmaker,or anyone associated with gambling to be mentioned or worn by a UFC fighter. They cannot mention a website, or a person,such as Danny Sheridan or Joey Oddessa.

Fighters effected by this include:

Randy Couture
Tito Ortiz
Evan Tanner
Matt Lindland
Nick Diaz
David the crow Lousieau
Paul Buentello

Other insiders I talk to have the opinion that with Zuffa banning more and more sponsors, more fighters will be more desperate for money. In the opinion of many insiders, this will enable Zuffa can sign them for less then the pitance they recieve now.

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By Coffee Guy

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

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

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


Well it looks like Lee Murray isn't the only "Lee" that Tito Ortiz has had problems with on the street. This time however Tito's opponent was a much smaller fighter by the name of Tommy Lee, in an incident that happened in Juarez, Mexico.

The promoter of the event supplied transportation from the hotel to the venue via small cars that fit three to four people with the thinking that everything would run smoothly. That is until the 'Huntington Beach Bad Boy' entered into the situation.

Tito Ortiz was there cornering Ricco Rodriguez who was fighting Mike Seal in the main event.

Before the event the very mild-mannered Tommy Lee was minding his own business waiting in the car in order to go to his fight when Tito Ortiz approached the car opened the door on Lee's side peaked inside to only to find out it was full. The former LHW champ then demanded that someone in the car get out because in his words, 'I am riding in this one'.

Tommy Lee, although stunned that someone would make such a demand let alone a public figure like Tito Ortiz, then proceeded to grab the door that Tito was holding open and slammed it shut telling Tito to find a different car to get into.

Tito's response was that of getting in the window telling Tommy that he was going to kick his ass and acting like a retarded ape with Tommy responding that he wasn't afraid of him.

From what I was told everyone there was stunned by the incident and laughing because of the ass that Tito made himself look like. When people questioned Lee about the incident, his response was that he weighed 145 pounds and that Tito wouldn't have the balls to touch him and if he did he wouldn't back down.

Poor Tito was humiliated in front of everyone, as usual, and meekly went off to find another form of transportation.

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As I first reported in an exclusive report last year on this website, the Brazilian NHB television show entitled 'Passing The Guard', began airing on a Los Angeles television station. The television show featured real vale tudo clips from past fights in Brazil, as well well as PRIDE matchups, edited to show the exciting aspects of NHB to those unfamiliar with the sport.

Given a late time slot on a smaller station in what was essentially an infomercial, expectations for the show were not great. However, I have been informed that various network executives in the television industry were thrilled with the results under the circumstances.

As I mentioned in my initial story, the possibility existed for the TV show to go national. Not only is this now becoming more likely, but my sources have informed me that three seperate companies have expressed strong desire in taking 'Passing The Guard' on a national basis. As it currently stands, if one of the offers is accepted, the time frame for the national debut will be late this year.

In addition, longterm and reliable sources to the Jake R Report have informed me that 'Passing The Guard' has already received verbal agreements from PRIDE, the UFC, and various other NHB/MMA organizations to air fight footage if the show does indeed go national.

Keep reading the Jake R Report, where I always go where the scoop is.



This exclusive Jake R Report was filed on January 20th, 2005, at 1 pm.

***Jake R Internet Exclusive: Must credit the Jake R Report when discussing this article***

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Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira

Brazilian magazine 'tatame' reports that SHOOTO wants to sign the matchup of Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira vs. Joao Roque for their card in March.

All that remains is for both fighters to agree.

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Pedro Rizzo (right)

Hello my friends, my postal connections in the DSE/PRIDE organization are telling me that DSE/PRIDE have made a very good offer to Pedro Rizzo.

If Rizzo accepts, he would be included on the upcoming PRIDE 29 card on February 20th.

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Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem announced on a Dutch internet forum that he is signed to face Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira on the PRIDE 29 card on February 20th.

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Ryushi Yanagisawa

Ryushi Yanagisawa spoke with the Japanese media and stated that he would like to fight in DSE/PRIDE.

Yanagisawa is a veteran of Pancrase and RINGS. Yanagisawa's last fight in RINGS was a unanimous decision loss to Fedor Emelianenko back in 2001.

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Pancrase: 'Spiral Tour 2005'
February 4th, 2004
Tokyo, Japan


Heath Sims vs. Katsuya Inoue
Kengo vs. Sakuragi Yuji
Kestutis Arbocius vs. Mitsuyoshi Sato
Izuru Takeuchi vs. Yuji Hisamatsu
Koji Oishi vs. Daizo Ishige
Takafumi Ito vs. Masakazu Kuramochi
Hikaru Sato vs. Alex Roberts
Takumi Yano vs. Takita J Taro

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By Coffee Guy


Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

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


Zuffa has sent around an email to all UFC fighters that any clothing or gear that bears anything from the company called 'KTFO' is expressly prohibited.

KTFO has signed sponsorships with several UFC fighters, including Randy Couture, Phil Baroni, and David Terrell. This sponsorship calls for the fighters to wear a KTFO.tv shirt and hat or skullcap either to the cage for their fights or immediately after. Each fighter has signed for a year-long contract that pays out monthly, and they have already started receiving payments.

I don't know what the full story is here, but they seem to be mad at KTFO. They aren't going to forbid any other gear site.

It is not known why the UFC has fallen out with KTFO to the point that they won't allow any mention of the site on their show, but it's definitely something worth following. These fighters are contractually obligated to wear the gear.

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Randy Couture

Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are scheduled to be on the 'Last Call with Carson Daly' show this Thursday on NBC.

They will be promoting the UFC reality show , entitled 'The Ultimate Fighter' , which just debuted on Spike TV .

'The Ultimate Fighter' has been controversial amongst most NHB/MMA fans on the internet due to the huge homosexual following that they feel the show has.

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Forrest Griffin

American MMA fighter Forrest Griffin made the following statement on the UG forum regarding his participation on the UFC reality show, and its wide appeal to the homosexual demographic:


"The UFC show is very popular with the gay community. I hope they show less me in whitey-tighteys, and I hope people start wearing shirts." -Forrest Griffin

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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.

Reports have come out that the UFC reality show on Spike TV, entitled 'The Ultimate Fighter', drew a measely 31,000 viewers in the city of Los Angeles. Just to give you an idea, the city of Los Angeles has a population that is just over 10 million people.

It's not known yet what the surrounding areas in California did, but the preliminary figures are not a good sign.

Almost all of the NHB/MMA fanbase complained vehemontly that the show catered to much to the homosexual demographic. In fact, many marketing experts have claimed that the show seems to be aimed to the homosexual demographic as well.

Regardless of pitifully low ratings or whether the show seems to aim to the homosexual demographic or not, UFC president (and former boxercize aerobics instructor) Dana White believes the show will still be a success. White told the following to the media:

"It's a real good TV show. I really like it. I'm happy with the way it came out. Going into it, we knew it was the right concept...." -Dana White

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Anderson Silva

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' reports that former long-time Chute Boxe trainer and athlete Sergio Cunha will be helping to train former teammates Jose 'Pele' Landi-Jons and Anderson Silva.

Cunha recently left Chute Boxe to start his own team and concentrate on the SHOOTO Brazil promotion which he helps to co-promote. Cunha's team will be known as 'SHOOTO Brazil Dojo'.

Cunha told Tatame that he, Pele, and Anderson Silva all have their own teams, and he is only training them with their Muay Thai.

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Mark Coleman (pictured) is a likely opponent for Cro Cop.

Below are three matchups and some fighters that DSE/PRIDE will most likely announce for their PRIDE 29 card on February 22nd:


Unofficial matchups:
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Mark Coleman or Mark Hunt
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson vs. Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira
Ryan Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

Possible participants (both official and unofficial):
Ricardo Arona
Mario Sperry
Paulo Filho
Sergei Kharitonov
Alistair Overeem
Hirotaka Yokoi
Akira Shoji

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Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

The Japanese media is reporting that Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic will go ahead and fight prior to the June show.

the two rumored opponents for him are Mark Coleman or Mark Hunt.

Cro Cop has already turned down a possible third match against Kevin Randleman.

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DSE/PRIDE announced that a 60-minute program covering the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix will now be available for viewing by passengers of Japan Airlines (JAL).

The program will be available on all JAL flights on the JAL Entertainment Network, on channels 11, 26, or 27.

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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.


Review by Ed Doty

I'm an editor for a lot of your (least) favorite reality shows, so I was just as curious to the production value and cutting style of the show as much as the content. I just got done watching the Ultimate Fighter show and here are my thoughts:


INTRO: It started bad in my mind with just six little words, "This season on the Ultimate Fighter...". Starting the show with the Supertease (that's what we call those long promo's that feature footage from the entire season) is a BAD idea. That sort of thing is not really up to the editor, but a Producer's decision, and in my opinion, a bad one. Superteases almost always go at the end of the show. For many, this is their first exposure to the UFC brand but also to the sport of MMA. I'm not going to get into a game of "Well I woulda done THIS.." but I do think something better should have gone for the pre-credit sequence.

Additionally, the first scene was horribly executed. 16 random guys walking into a gym? Who are they? What are their names? Where do they come from? Why do they want to fight? Relying on soundbites on how they were all impressed with the gym to loosely convey this didn't work.

MUSIC: I fully get that this show is geared to the 18-34 male demographic. That being said, not everyone in the 18-34 male demographic ONLY listens to generic nu-metal. I'm not saying bring in the Enya and Portishead, but every song sounded the same. Also, the mix was off, and they let a "Shit" fly by. Hey if standards and practices doesn't care, I guess I shouldn't.

CASTING: Not bad. They've got a good heel in Chris Leben, and they're obviously building towards a showdown with Diego Sanchez. Also, Jason Thacker was an interesting choice. Granted, its hard to give voice to 16 characters at once, but I would have liked more interviews from some of the other guys. Which leads me to...

INTERVIEWS: God damn, I hope they change the backplate for those interviews. After 20 minutes of seeing everyone interviewed against that cage background I wanted to scream. Change it up a little, guys.

COACHES: Way too much Dana White. Way too much Willa Ford. Not enough Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, not enough of the other three coaches. Ganyo, Laimon, and the boxer guy need to talk about more than just how awesome it is to be there. I know, its only the first episode, but still, these things need to be hammered home early. Dana, nothing against you man, I'm not a hater, but you had WAAAYYYY too much screen time compared to everyone else.

TRAINING: Looks good, but I hope in future episodes the focus more intently on specific training issues. I sincerely hope that the Grappling doesn't get lost in the shuffle. It was past the half hour mark before anyone explained what a submission was. That's not good.

EDITING: Not bad, but there are some pacing issues and transitioning from training to house reality stuff still needs to be ironed out. Also, I'm getting REAL sick of the "normal speed-ramp up to 400%-back to normal speed" technique. It was cute in 2000, its getting old now. Also, and this may be nitpicking, but the opening Las Vegas exterior BRoll shot montage was a bit too long. I'd rather have seen one of the fighters arriving at the airport and here his thoughts in interview than 4 shots of the Strasphere and Hard Rock.


All in all, I think its a rocky start, but I have hope that the show can hit its stride. Many shows have a tough time nailing their first episode, so I won't hold it too much against it.

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Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (top)

The Brazilian media reports that Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos will not be able to participate on the upcoming WEC card due to visa problems.

Cyborg was scheduled to face Shonie Carter. The WEC announced that the Cyborg vs. Carter matchup will still take place on their next card in March.

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Duane Ludwig

Duane Ludwig announced that he will be competing as a welterweight when it comes to MMA from now on.

Ludwig added that his K-1 contract allows him to fight in the UFC, and that he would like to fight again for the UFC if the situation allows.

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Chris Brennan (bottom)

MMA journeyman Chris Brennan posted a message on his internet message board, in which he seems to almost brag about recently breaking his student's leg by accident.

Here is what Brennan had to say:


"It is Ely's foot and I did it wrestling with him. His foot stuck to the mat and SNAP! :) He got surgery over night so everyone please pray he can train again soon. There were a lot of broken bones inside and a hugely dislocated foot or leg. I like to break things but I wish it was someone other than Ely. :)" -Chris Brennan

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DEEP
February 12th, 2005
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Ryo Chonan vs. Roan 'Jucao' Carneiro
D. Mishima vs. Taisho
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Masakazu Imanari
Satoko Shinashi vs. Mari Kaneko
Atsushi Ishii vs. Tashiro
Ryuhei Sato vs. Yuya Shirai
Tetsuya Onose vs. Sato
Yutaro Miyamoto vs. Nobuhiro Obitani

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Ryo Chonan

Ryo Chonan recently made the following statement, when asked if he'd one day like to compete in the UFC:


"I hope to fight in UFC. The rule that allows elbows is very atractive for me. It is said that PRIDE fighter has a weak point when an opponent pushes him to the cage, but I found out how to escape from it. This is my original technique.

If I diet down to the welterweight class, I can be on top of the UFC. Come on everybody!!"

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Akira Shoji

The Japanese media is saying that Akira Shoji will be on the next PRIDE card in February.

Sources in the Japanese media are saying that DSE/PRIDE has put pressureon Shoji to win his upcoming fight or risked being dropped from the promotion.

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Genki Sudo

K-1 announced that Genki Sudo will participate on their 'K-1 Max' card on February 23rd.

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A fan's humorous parody of the UFC reality show and what appears to be its percieved strategy of appealing to the upper class homosexual demographic.

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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Eddie Bravo and Chuck Liddell

Eddie Bravo has been training Chuck Liddell in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in preparation for Liddell's rematch against Randy Couture in April.

According to Bravo, he is training Liddell to fight off his back and in the use of the guard.

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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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Commentary by the Predator

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

Speaking as a professional cagefighter, I have to wonder exactly what the hell Dana White and the morons at Zuffa are doing now. They have spent millions on advertising the fact that under Zuffa's new ownership, the UFC is a 'new, safe, legit sport'. Zuffa constantly pushes their fighters and spokesmen during media events to mention how much safer and more legit their sport is, as opposed to the early 1990s SEG days, when violent Bloodsport style beatdowns were the norm. Dana White and others have made it clear over and over that they want the UFC to be a sport, not a spectacle.

However, what has that balding former Boxercise instructor done now? Dana White has gone and signed Sean 'The Cannon' Gannon, a portly policemen who recently engaged in an illegal streetfight for money with an ex-con representative of a pornographic website.

As I pointed out in previous editions of the Cagefighter's Corner, what Gannon did could very well have destroyed the sport of cagefighting and made it illegal once again. I was even so enraged that I issued a challenge to Gannon to meet me in the cage, which he promptly refused.

What sort of message does Zuffa's actions send? Apparently, no matter how much of a real sport the UFC supposedly is now, taping an illegal streetfight, betting thousands of dollars on it, and posting it on the internet for profit is enough to get an invite from the self proclaimed "Superbowl of MMA." In a way, Zuffa's latest actions may be even more dangerous to the sport than what Gannon did. After all, Gannon's actions were one incident, while the UFC's actions offer incentive for an endless amount of copycats to do the same.

Think of all the D-level wannabes in this sport who dream about being a UFC fighter and are willing to do anything to live out their dream. Does anyone really think that low level idiots like Jason 'Piggle' Turnage -- who was willing to break the Cagefighter's Code to further his career -- and numerous other pathetic green namers on mma.tv like Dan 'The Wolfman', Chris 'Red Dog24' Champagne, wreckker, Dhira 'CECM' Yesufu, etc. won't try and do the same?

Ironically, Zuffa's decision to sign the fat sideshow may be the end of legal cagefighting in America. As a result, I would like to take this opportunity to officially challenge Dana 'Boxercise' White to meet me in the cage. Dana and his fans brag about him being a boxer, Boxercise instructor, and BJJ man. Well now it is time to see those skills in action. Just as Gannon gambled in his fight with Kimbo Slice, my proposal for the terms of the fight is this: if I win, Gannon does not get signed, and vice versa.

Dana White, do you accept? As an internet representative of Arizona cagefighting, I normally shy away from issuing internet challenges. But when the sport I compete in and love is at sake, I am willing to do anything to save it.

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Jeremy Horn

Jeremy Horn announced that he has opened his own gym in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Horn now lives in Salt Lake City, but is still very much a part of Team Miletich.

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Fedor Emelianenko (center)

Below is an interview Fedor Emelianenko recently did that appeared on his website. Here's what Fedor had to say (translation by Igor S.):


Interviewer: How many fights are you planning to do in 2005 ?

Fedor: I am planning to have 3 fights in 2005, but I do not know who my opponents will be. I may possibly take part in combat sambo competions too.

Interviewer: Not counting you and your brother, who do you think are the actual best MMA fighters?

Fedor: Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, Vanderlei Silva, Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic in PRIDE, and Randy Couture.

Interviewer: You were able to take Nogueira down very easily in your December 31st fight against him. These were clean takedowns and did not fall on his own, correct? It looked like aikido throws, which looked pretty unrealistic.

Fedor: I spent a long time on Russian teams for sambo, judo, and combat sambo... where takedowns are the main thing.

Interviewer: We know you have a third brother. Tell us some things about him. Is it possible that someday he will take part in PRIDE or other competitions?

Fedor: Ivan is doing boxing, and also does wrestling. He really wants to fight in some big MMA organisation in the future.

Interviewer: Is there a fighter that is stronger than you?

Fedor: My brother Alexander is not weaker than me, that's for sure. Just follow his fights in 2005 and you will find out.

Interviewer: Is it true that Volk Han was sick in his fight against Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira?

Fedor: Yes, he was in the hospital right before this fight. He should not have taken that fight. He made many mistakes in training for that fight, and was also sick.

Interviewer: What are your hobbies?

Fedor: I like to read and I like doing some pictures.

Interviewer: Are you interested in becoming the UFC heavyweight champion?

Fedor: Yes, I am pretty interested.

Interviewer: Do you do any running when you are in training?

Fedor: Yes, I am running around 8 km in 34 minutes.

Interviewer: What do you think about Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic?

Fedor: Indeed one of the best fighters in the world.

Interviewer: If there is a fight between the both of you, what tactics will you use?

Fedor: Secret.

Interviewer: Do you think Mirko is dangerous for you?

Fedor: If I said he is one of the best fighters in the world then I guess so.

Interviewer: Did K-1 contact you?

Fedor: Yes, they did and it is still in progress.

Interviewer: You did some training with Jerome Le Banner. Will you train with him again, with him showing you some kickboxing techniques and you teaching him some techniques on the ground?

Fedor: Yes, we do plan to train together more. Of course I will help him with techniques on the ground. For a standup fighter he is pretty good on the ground.

Interviewer: Many people say that you hate Mirko after your brother lost to him. Is it true?

Fedor: No, it is really not true. I respect Mirko as fighter.

Interviewer: Did you ever fight with your brother, and what was the outcome?

Fedor: Yes, we did when we were young, but now it's dangerous for my health trying to do it.

Interviewer: What are you planning to do when your career is over?

Fedor: I thought about teaching young guys.

Interviewer: Do you speak any other language?

Fedor: I am learning English.

Interviewer: There are rumors that you want to fight against Bob Sapp. Is it true?

Fedor: No, it is not.

Interviewer: Are you looking forward to a rematch against Kohsaka?

Fedor: Yes, very much. Even though this loss should really be a no-contest. It was not right.

Interviewer: You say you study. Where and what are you studying?

Fedor: Yes, I study sport.

Interviewer: Do people recognize you on the street?

Fedor: Yes, especially in my city and in Japan.

Interviewer: If you will be offered more money than PRIDE pays you, will you leave PRIDE?

Fedor: My managers decide this.

Interviewer: What are you doing in your free time?

Fedor: I spend time with my family and my relatives.

Interviewer: What music do you listen to?

Fedor: I listen to Russian pop music.

Interviewer: Many people want to buy instructional books, CDs, and DVDs with your techniques. Many people do this. Do you have any plans to do this?

Fedor: I will try to do it when I have more free time.

Interviewer: Will you fight in February?

Fedor: I broke my finger in my last fight with Nogueira, so I will probably not fight.

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Stephane Patry

TKO president Stephane Patry was sued over a $4,555 loan that they never paid back.

Patry did not show up for his court date and therefore lost the case.

To view the court document, click here



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

Stephane Patry, President/CEO
TKO Communications Inc.
Tel: (450) 676-3666
TKOZone.tv

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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) 676-3666
TKOZone.tv

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