FIGHTSPORT 24-7

Dennis Hallman

The American Top Team announced that MMA veteran Dennis Hallman has joined their team.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Tape Lord

Royce Gracie

Hello my friends,

My postal connections in the DSE/PRIDE organization are telling me that DSE/PRIDE has made a big money offer to Royce Gracie to secure his participation in the upcoming PRIDE Middleweight GP.

According to these sources, Royce has been offered between USD$450-475,000 per fight, plus a win bonus.

It is said that Royce is still considering the offer, and will give a final word in a few weeks.


This Postal Connections scoop was filed at 3 pm, 1-28-05.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Jake R

Tito Ortiz

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.


Tito Ortiz recently issued a statement on his website accepting Ken Shamrock's challenge, stating that it was now up to Zuffa to make the fight happen. However, as reliable sources in both Iowa and Southern California have informed me, Tito Ortiz has in fact turned down the fight with Shamrock.

In reality, I have been informed that Ken Shamrock has agreed to the rematch, but Tito Ortiz has in effect turned the fight down. Despite what Ortiz has said in public, I have learned that Tito has priced himself out of rematching Shamrock. Tito's contract request for the second Shamrock fight far exceeds what Tito Ortiz, already one of the highest paid UFC fighters, normally makes.

As my sources explained, Tito knows this is the only face-saving option to turn down a rematch with Ken. Realizing Zuffa will never agree to a pay raise given his recent performances, and the hard feelings still existing over Tito's refusal to fight Chuck Liddell - and subsequent contract renegotiations - Ortiz believes he can still technically blame Zuffa for a rematch not happening and win the PR war on the internet.

As usual, stick to Fightsport.com and the Jake R Report for hard-hitting exclusives days, weeks, and even months ahead of the other news sites.

*Exclusive Jake R Report, must credit the Jake R Report when discussing this article.*



This Jake R Report was filed at 4 pm, 1-29-05.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

John Herzfeld (left) films Pat Miletich (center) and Matt Hughes at MFS headquarters in Iowa.

According to QCTimes.com, the filmmaker of the upcoming UFC movie, John Herzfeld, will be using the Miletich Fighting Team as a main source of inspiration for the movie.

It is interesting to note that many fans of NHB/MMA consider the Miletich team as one of the most boring fight teams in all of NHB/MMA. However, this does not seem to concern Zuffa and the producers of the film one bit.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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

Review by Scoop McTroll:


Tito Ortiz made his most recent appearance on 'Best Damn Sports Show Period' to promote his upcoming fight against Vitor Belfort, but this time he seemed more uptight then ever, as basically got punked by the show hosts, Tom Arnold and John Salley.

Arnold made constant references to the 'gay porn' feel of the Zuffa-regime UFC and its 'Ultimate Fighter' reality show, to which Tito did not know how to respond.

Salley even told Tito, "You say you're gonna win... but you said that the last two times and you lost!". After Ortiz and tells him to purchase the PPV to see what happens, Salley replies with "Yeah, I bought a PPV... I didn't like it."

Tito also got visibly pissed off that they forgot about his win over Patrick Cote. He accused Salley of not paying attention, and basically made himself look like a jerk. Why should Salley pay attention to the career of a third rate chump after seeing him get destroyed in his last two big fights?

I can't believe they showed a clip from Dan Severn vs. Ken Shamrock! It's 2005 and they are using a clip from 1996 to hype interest in the latest show?

At first I thought Zuffa had bought air time on the show like they usually do, but then I noticed it was a promo for the UFC show on FoxSports. Screening it at midnight on a Sunday doesnt exactly seem like Fox care too much about it.

As for the gay porn references and lack of interest in the PPVs, I really don't see a problem with those statements. Tom Arnold and John Salley are only expressing what the rest of America thinks of the 'new' UFC.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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

According to on of the MMA trainers at the Freestyle Fighting Academy, Kimbo Slice claims that Sean Gannon pressed his thumbs into his adams apple while applying the infamous guillotine choke during their underground bare-knuckle fight.

Kimbo also stated that he temporarily lost consciousness due to the choke.

Slice has been training in MMA at the Freestyle Fighting Academy.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Tim Catalfo

The following is a report on the police arrest of MMA veteran Tim 'Obake' Catalfo:


"On 1/1/05 at approximately 0150 hrs, a bus owned by Duna's Limousine, was parked at Wachovia Bank, while awaiting passengers to board after a New Years Eve celebration in Jacksonville Beach. While the driver was outside and at the rear of the bus, the vehicle was stolen by an occupant later identified as Timothy Lance Catalfo.

The bus containing five passengers, traveled out of the parking lot then north on to 3rd Street where the bus struck a parked vehicle and continued north for three additional blocks. After stopping the bus, Timothy Lance Catalfo and his male companion fled at area on foot.

The five passengers remaining on the bus, claimed they were scared and yelling at the suspect and companion (both unknown to the passengers) to stop the bus. The passengers claimed "they only laughed" as the passengers were thrown from side to side within the bus as the defendant weaved from one lane to another, striking a parked car, median and curb, causing 1, 500.00 in damage.

One of the passengers had taken a photo of the suspect and his companion just prior to the theft, because they had claimed to be "Ultimate Fighting Champions". The suspect (driver) was later identified as Timothy Lance Catalfo.

While attempting to contact Timothy Lance Catalfo, I made contact with his son, who also identified the suspect in the photo as his father Timothy Lance Catalfo."

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Fedor Emelianenko

The following is from an internet chat Fedor Emelianenko did with with his fans on a Russian website (translation by Igor S.):


Question: Greeting to the greatest MMA fighter! My name is Alexander and I have the following question. In the city of Harkov, in February, there will be a MMA tournament. There is talk by the promoters that you might be an honorary guest. Is there any truth to this? It is a pity that I did not get to meet you at the tournament where Alexander (brother of Fedor) made his debut in 2003. Perhaps this time I will have a little more luck?

Fedor: Hello and thank you for the question. Me and Igor Vovchancheon often talk on the phone and are friends. I will be happy to be at the tournament if I myself do not have a contest to prepare for.

Question: What kind of a personality does your brother, Alexander have?

Fedor: He is a very strong (mentally) individual who can greatly influence those around him. However he is also a kind, giving, and happy person.

Question: Are there athletes from the Red Devil team that will compete in Pride? What are the toughest athletes in Red Devil?

Fedor: They will compete. Roman Zentsov and Andrey Semenov are being evaluated as potential candidates.

Question: Who, of the athletes that compete in Pride, attracts your attention?

Fedor: My brother, Igor Vovchanchin, Mirco Cro Cop, Vanderlei Silva, Kevin Randelman, Jackson.

Question: If RINGS becomes active again, will you compete? There are many fans of RINGS in Japan who are hopeful of its rebirth.

Fedor: Maybe, why not.

Question: Do you still plan to train with the Holland team Golden Glory? They have awesome striking and that should help you in your next title defense.

Fedor: Yes, probably. I would like to train with Ernesto Hoost. I will teach him grappling while he teaches me striking.

Question: Who do you think is the toughest Japanese fighter?

Fedor: Probably Fujita.

Question: What is your optimum weight?

Fedor: 105 – 106 kg

Question: Are you usually the one who admits love to or are you the one to whom love is usually admitted.

Fedor: I think I am both.

Question: Will you form your own team in the future?

Fedor: Possibly, but for now I am concentrating on training myself for my competitions.

Question: I congratulate you with your PRIDE GP win. 1. Did you receive an invitation to participate in MMA tournaments in other countries? You currently competed in Latvia (1 fight), in Russia (2 fights), and Japan (the rest) 2. Do you still keep in touch with fighters from the Russian Top Team, namely Ahmed Lobazenov, Bezigit Ataev, Sergei Kharitonov? Thank you for your answers and I wish you luck.

Fedor: Thank you for your congratulations. I get many invitations to compete in different countries. I do not communicate with the fighters listed above. Ahmen Lobazenov is currently in Mahachkal, Bezigit Ataev almost never competes, and Segei Kharitanov refused to communicate with me himself.

Question: What do you think of Gracie jui-juitsu? Do you like anything about it?

Fedor: It is a very effective martial art. However I prefer SAMBO and Judo.

Question: What is your favorite movie?

Fedor: I have many favorite movies. It is hard to single out just one. “My sensitive beast”, “12 chairs”, “Brother” (previous three are Russian movies), “Fifth Element”, “Troy”, “Brave heart”, and many others.

Question: I believe that you would defeat Alexander Karelin and Marat Hasanov in MMA. What do you think about this?

Fedor: I do not think it is proper to answer this question.

Question: During your carrier in PRIDE, where there moments where you saw your own mistakes and worked to correct them?

Fedor: There where such times, in the fight with Fujita for example. I always continue to work on my mistakes.

Question: Are there any super moves or super techniques which you know of but did not use in PRIDE yet?

Fedor: I still have many techniques which I have not shown in PRIDE.

Question: what is you current goal?

Fedor: Correct all of my mistakes, to keep improving myself.

Question: nice to meet you Fedor!!! I am not good at English lol. I live in Japan Osaka. Now a days, you are the most popular MMA-fighter in Japan (except Naoya Ogawa). Many people think you as “real great fighter”, just good athlete and good spirit. So, I have some questions for you 1. what kind of training now a days?? i know you take vacation. but, if you have training after vacation, what do you think some part?? kicking?? sambo?? submission?? I heard some training yours, with Lucien carbin. I can see your awesome kicking next pride?? just like Gibert Yvel, or Remy bonjasky

Fedor: Currently I do the cross, and work with medium intensity to maintain my form. In the near future I am planning to improve in all directions. I work a great deal on my striking. I am slowly applying my new knowledge in practice. I hope that in the future these new techniques will be in my arsenal.

Question: sergei dont change team yet? i wish he change team to Red-devils how do you think about that?

Fedor: If you mean Sergei Kharitanov, before he had an opportunity to switch managers and receive better conditions for training. However, right now, I think that it is unlikely that anything will change.

Question: your punch style is very impact and charicteristic how do you training punching? many fans of you said "it`s magnetic punch" so i wonder how do you training your punching stryle

Fedor: My stand up comes from Alexander Vasilivitsch Muchkov. I keep working with my brother and Roman Zenchovim. Training striking while lying down – that is my secret.

Question: your takedown sense is good !!! it`s very awosome is it style from sambo?? or judo?? i think in japan, there is so little sambo gym...how pity i wish sambo comes to jap plz,if you have some power, make some gym in jap i wanna do real russian sambo 5. last question there is NO fan meeting as OFF-LINE in japan. many fans of you wish meet with you. do you have plans for fan meeting in jap yet?

Fedor: In part questions from Japan came to my Russian web site. At the same time my Japanese web site was functioning where the questions were reseived by Dmitri.

Question: love your mind and your fighting. i do BOXING and Judo. if you have plans for meeting in Jap, i would go there!!!! see you later, arena or some other place peace guys

Fedor: Thank you very much. I think that I will be in Japan very soon.

Question: What kind of training do you do to build your muscles?

Fedor: I do not concentrate on building muscles just for the sake of building them.

Question: Which muscles you give special attention to?

Fedor: I do a lot of grappling, box, do exercises designed to increase speed, physical strength, and endurance.

Question: After your latest fight, Noguera raised his hands as if he thought himself to be the winner and you on the opposite hand, looked as if you were upset by something. Why? Even an amateur could tell that you won that fight.

Fedor: I understood that I won the fight, its just that that guesture by Noguera unpleasantly surprised me.

Question: Are PRIDE gloves comfortable?

Fedor: They are for me. I always work out with them.

Question: What is your favorite color?

Fedor: I do not have one.

Question: What do you do to take away stress?

Fedor: I try to distract myself with some chores, or I listen to music.

Question: Right now you have a very cute baby girl. If in the future you have a boy, would you like him to compete in MMA?

Fedor: Of course not.

Question: Have you ever trained with Igor Vovchancheon?

Fedor: Not yet but I hope to someday.

Question: Did you choose your entrance theme?

Fedor: Yes, it is a group called Era.

Question: How heavy are the kettle bells that you train with are?

Fedor: I do not train with kettle bells.

Question: I heard that you have been training with a K-1 fighter to prepare for Mirko. Who is it?

Fedor: I plan to train with Ernesto Hoost.

Question: Vanderlai Silva stated that he wanted to fight you, would you like to fight him?

Fedor: Sure, Silva is one of the best fighters in the world.

Question: What is your favorite phrase?

Fedor: --

Question: What did you buy this time in Akhihabar?

Fedor: Souvenirs, I was also looking at a massaging chair.

Question: Have you seen any Rickson Gracie fight? What do you think about him?

Fedor: The entire Gracie clan is outstanding. I cannot say anything specific about Rickson.

Question: I heard that you use some special devise to make your punches faster, what is it?

Fedor: I use light dumbbells to train my punches.

Question: The president of DSE stated that Fedor is more worried about Mirko than Noguerra and that he will need an extended period of time to prepare. Is this true?

Fedor: No, even though I prepare for each fighter taking into account their own technical specialties.

Question: What is your body fat percentage?

Fedor: I do not measure my body fat.

Question: Would you like PRIDE to change any of their rules?

Fedor: No, I like the rules in PRIDE

Question: What techniques in a fight lead you to become most tired. You are great at using striking, grappling, throws, ground and pound, but which of these tires you out the most?

Fedor: A long fight tends to tire you out just by its nature, especially is you are the one that is doing most of the attacking. I try to pace myself to last the entire fight. I train endurance very seriously.

Question: If you did not become an athlete, what would you work as?

Fedor: I have no idea. I have prepared for my profession ever since I was a little kid.

Question: What did you dream about when you were a little kid?

Fedor: I wanted a bicycle, and other toys.

Question: Do you have a favorite quote?

Fedor: What does not break us makes us stronger.

Question: How is your brother Ivan doing in boxing?

Fedor: Ivan is growing very fast and is still not physically mature. This is why there are no great victories (I did not have them at his age too), but in his matches he defeats his opponents.

Question: Before you used to say that you do not have a good striking coach, did you find one now?

Fedor: I found him a long time ago, he is Alexander Vasilivitsch Michkov.

Question: In the fight with Fujita and the last fight with Noguera, there was a moment where you made circles with your hand. Does this mean anything?

Fedor: It is called a faint. It is a false or a distracting move.

Question: Is it true that there are still many tough fighters in Russia, tougher than Kharitanov for example?

Fedor: I think so.

Question: What were your favorite subjects in school?

Fedor: Chemistry and astronomy.

Question: How do you strike in such a fashion?

Fedor: Special types of training which are a secret.

Question: What kind of training can you recommend?

Fedor: If you want to achieve great results within a sport, you have to give 100 present. In a fight, ahead of everything else, you must use your head, you must think. Training should be goal oriented so as to not work blindly. Goal oriented training, strength training, endurance, speed.

Question: How would you like to raise your child?

Fedor: Kind, well mannered, honest, and giving.

Question: What are your hobbies?

Fedor: I love to listen to music, I draw a little bit, and I love to read.

Question: Do you eat mostly Russian foods at home?

Fedor: For the most part yes.

Question: Resently it was discussed to hold PRIDE not only in Japan but in other different countries. Would you like to see PRIDE in Russia and would you participate?

Fedor: Yes, of course.

Question: What are your favorite writers?

Fedor: Tolstoy, Dostayevsky, Bulgakov.

Question: Did you hear that PITT opened a large new sports center? Will you train there?

Fedor: As far as I know, its not PITT but Nikolai Zyiev, who opened a large sports center in Ekaterenburg. PITT does not have their own center.

Question: Do you know a Japanese game called pachiko

Fedor: No.

Question: Do you know any Janapese magazines?

Fedor: I even gave an interview in one of those kinds of magazines. However, regrettably, I do not remember its name.

Question: What are the benefits of training with a large hammer?

Fedor: Training with a heavy hammer is useful for training the strength of a punch.

Question: How can you avoid techniques of Noguera so easily? Is due to SAMBO?

Fedor: SAMBO and Judo. Although it is not enough to know SAMBO and Judo to avoid techiniqes of fighters like Noguera. You must have a lot of experience in grappling, and you have a feel for grappling, a feel for a technique, and a feel for an opponent.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

A fan's parody symbolizing Sean Sherk with mock height indicator.

The following commentary is courtesy of LukeBeston.net:


Lilliputian fighter and wrestling enthusiast Sean Sherk, 31, recently brought every major news agency, world government and MMA promotion to a grinding halt after he threatened not to fight quite as often or - gasp - at all!

Sherk's threats were made in a poorly-constructed Sherdog.com feature article by hack columnist Josh Gross. Gross attempted to communicate Sherk's frustration and anguish by fitting as many punctuation dashes as possible into the piece, managing to insert more than twenty by one count. Sherk, meanwhile, was on a crusade to do more than just pretend to be a professional writer - like a host of no-good poor and/or lazy people before him, he was demanding respect in the form of a greatly increased wage!

Showing his dwarven heritage with his curmudgeonly, cantankerous attitude, Sherk complained about not fighting in the UFC despite boring performances and the fact that his manager's negotiating tactics irritated the organization. Sherk made it clear that he would no longer accept fights in "smaller shows" and would henceforth be demanding twenty thousand dollars or more to take other fighters down and throw punches from inside the guard. Moreover, Mr. Gross reportedly overheard the tiny athlete mumbling something about retiring to mine precious gems and hunt orcs while sharpening his battleaxe.

This devastating news brought about fast action from Sherdog.com posters, known as the most easily amused and least interesting MMA fans in the world, who immediately started a fiendishly creative grassroots campaign to try and get Sherk back in the UFC. Immediately playing their trump card, the Sherdog faithful did what any corporate entity or professional sports league fears more than anything else: they started an online petition.

Ignoring the fact that online petitions are roughly as effective as improving your sexual satisfaction by inserting your penis into various pieces of mechanical farming equipment, over one thousand (1000!) Sherdog members leapt into action and added their meaningless names and/or stupid internet aliases to a list which had been hilariously dubbed "Save Sean Sherk's Career".

No reaction to the self-important demands of the deluded Sherdog collective has been given by the UFC so far. In addition, nobody has seen fit to point out that even if everyone who signed the "Save Sean Sherk's Career" petition were to buy a UFC PPV event based exclusively on his participation, his $20,000+ asking price would still lead to a significant loss of revenue for Zuffa, LLC.

We here at LukeBeston.net would like to wish Sean Sherk the best of luck with his retirement, as well as remind him that allowing himself to be completely inserted into the orifices of his much larger, normal-sized human counterparts for the purpose of sexual stimulation could be a lucrative source of alternative income.

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) 676-3666
TKOZone.tv

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Vanderlei Silva

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


Tatame: After a busy new year, did you find the time for rest?

Vanderlei: I spent two weeks in the northeast. I was catching some sun on the beaches of Maceio. It was much different from the busy pace of Japan... I stayed on a deserted beach with my wife and son. I was able to rest.

Tatame: About PRIDE... you practically dominated the ground game against Hunt. What was missing?

Vanderlei: I should have trained more jiu-jitsu. In all honesty, I use my ground game to defend. I have to train more in finishing with submissions. But what happened was that my hand was still very injured, so much so that I had to interrupt my training every time it got accidentally rolled on by one of my sparring partners. But from here on in I will dedicate myself more to jiu-jitsu and improve my ground game.

Tatame: How this loss affect your career?

Vanderlei: To be honest, this loss did not affect my career. Of course I felt down about it. I've seen the tape several times and I always thought that when a fight was even, that the victory was always awarded to the lighter fighter, but this did not happen in my fight against Hunt. I feel that I won the fight. Four years of invincibility is a long time, and it will take a long time to conquer that again. That invincibility was taken away from me.

Tatame: Are there any bad feelings with PRIDE?

Vanderlei: Not one bit. I felt down about it, but there are no bad feelings towards PRIDE. In the end, it is PRIDE that made possible my chance to grow, and to become who I am today. For me, PRIDE continues to be the biggest event for vale tudo today.

Tatame: How are your negotiations with PRIDE going, knowing that other organizations also have an eye out for you?

Vanderlei: People from PRIDE informed me that they are on their way to Brazil to define my situation and the situation of all the Brazilian athletes. Regarding the interest of other organizations, it just makes me happy because it proves that I am doing my job very well. This is what occurs when a champion is valued.

Tatame: Are you interested in a rematch against Hunt?

Vanderlei: For sure! I estimate that I will still have about three more fights with him, and I'd like to win all three. I'll go straight at him the same way I'd go straight at any other opponent. I'm not saying I'll win, because a fight is a fight, but I guarantee you I will go right at him.

Tatame: What would you do different in a rematch?

Vanderlei: I would be much more prepared, starting with my weight. I would come into the fight much heavier then the first time, at a minimum weight of about 103kg to 105kg (227 pounds to 231 pounds).

Tatame: Have you decided if you will particpate in the upcoming PRIDE Middleweight GP?

Vanderlei: I haven't decided yet. But if I don't, I want Murilo Ninja or Mauricio Shogun to fight in my place.

Tatame: You commented that you would like to gain weight, and a short while back you said you might fight as a heavyweight. Do you have the intention of moving up to the heavyweight division?

Vanderlei: Yes I do, to face Mirko Cro Cop and Fedor Emelianenko. Because they are the best...

Tatame: What about Rodrigo Minotauro? He is also one of the best.

Vanderlei: For sure that Rodrigo is one of the best, but I do not want to fight with him. Minotauro is a very fine person, and to be honest, I'd like to see Minotauro on my team. In fact, I want to take this opportunity to invite him... if he is not satsified with his current situation, then come to Chute Boxe!

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

2003 Middleweight GP winner Vanderlei Silva

The word amongst insiders in the Japanese media is that the PRIDE Middleweight GP will consist of a 16-man field. Two fighters from each team will be allowed.

DSE/PRIDE will also host part of the GP in the United States, in the state of California.


Fighters who are unofficially confirmed for the GP:
Vanderlei Silva*
Ricardo Arona
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson
Dan Henderson
Igor Vovchanchyn
Murilo 'Ninja' Rua
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua
Yuki Kondo
Sergei Kharitonov
Hirotaka Yokoi
Kazuhiro Nakamura

Fighters who are probable for the GP:
Alistair Overeem
Ryan Gracie
Yoshiki Takahashi
Sanae Kikuta
Makoto Takimoto

Fighters who are currently injured, but will be in the GP if they recover in time:
Hidehiko Yoshida
Kazushi Sakuraba

Fighters who DSE/PRIDE may try to sign for the GP:
Randy Couture
Tito Ortiz
Vitor Belfort
Enson Inoue



* If Vanderlei Silva is signed, one of the Rua brothers will be out.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Tetsuya Kawajiri

The word amongst insiders in the Japanese media is that PRIDE and SHOOTO will work together for the upcoming PRIDE Lightweight GP.

SHOOTO will release a few of their top fighters to compete in the GP. The word is that SHOOTO welterweight champ Tetsuya Kawajiri will definitely be participating. Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira, Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro, and Rumina Sato might also be scheduled to participate as well.

Fighters who are unofficially confirmed for the GP:
Takanori Gomi
Jens Pulver
Tetsuya Kawajiri
D. Mishima
Luis 'Buscape' Firminho
Marcus Aurelio

Fighters who are probable for the GP:
Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro
Hermes Franca
Ralph Gracie
Joachim Hansen
Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira
Rumina Sato

Fighters who DSE/PRIDE may try to sign for the GP:
B.J. Penn
Yves Edwards
Matt Serra
Kaoru Uno
Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto
Naoyuki Kotani
Yoshiro Maeda

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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
Sergei Kharinotov vs. Choi Mu Bae
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson vs. Murilo 'Ninja' Rua
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira vs. Alistair Overeem
Igor Vovchanchin vs. Yoshiki Takahashi
Ryan Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Fabricio Werdum vs. Mark Hunt or Hirotaka Yokoi
Mario Sperry vs. Mark Hunt or Hirotaka Yokoi

Additional participants possibly on the card:
Ricardo Arona
Pedro Rizzo
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua
Paulo Filho
Akira Shoji

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

One of PRIDE's main obejectives is to re-sign Vanderlei Silva (pictured).

Sportsnavi reports that the DSE/PRIDE president Sakakibara will be traveling to Brazil to finalize contracts with some fighters.

Japanese media insiders are saying that Sakakibara will most likely meet with Vanderlei Silva and make a big money offer to re-sign him.

On the way back home, Sakakibara is also scheduled to stop in Las Vegas to see UFC 51, and to to negotiate with some UFC fighters about competing in the upcoming PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently interviewed Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira. Here's what Minotoro had to say (interview by Eduardo Ferreira):


Tatame: How is your preparation for PRIDE going?

Minotoro: I'm training very hard every day, only resting on Sundays. I train the ground game on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I train wrestling on Tuesday and Thursday. Each night I train boxing and Muay Thai.

Tatame: Why did you choose to compete on the PRIDE 29 card before the GP?

Minotoro: It's to get into the rythym of top-level competition and arrive in good form for the GP. I didn't fight for six months due to a burn on my arm. The accident occured when I used a soundwave physiotherapy machine, and I didn't realize it was burning me.

Tatame: What are your objectives for this year?

Minotoro: I want to face all the tough fighters in my weight category, such as Vanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, Quinton Jackson... they are the best and I want get to that level.

Tatame: So this upcoming GP will be your big opportunity?

Minotoro: This year will be good for me. I'm almost there and I have to win my fights to get to the top. We are all very confident in my participation in this upcoming PRIDE GP.

Tatame: After your brother's defeat, the team is now training their wrestling more. Are you also training your wrestling more?

Minotoro: That is an aspect we are training much more. The takedown is very important in a fight, because our adversaries are now well versed on our ground game. But not everyone at BTT has this wrestling deficiency, such as Ricardo Arona, Paulo Filho, Alexandre Cacareco and Ze Mario (Sperry), who are all very good at takedowns. In my brother's cae, Fedor's strategy gave him problems. I feel certain that is he had had three more minutes in that fight, that he would've won. Fedor is also very good and he knows how to fight. He'd get the takedown and then return right back up to his feet, without falling into Rodrigo's guard.

Tatame: When you are you leaving for PRIDE?

Minotoro: On february 12th. I will have to be training during Carnaval, but that won;t be a problem for me. I've already passed many past Carnavals in training, and this time won;t be any different. I will be 100%.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Pedro Rizzo (right)

Marco Rua confirmed what Fightsport.com first reported on January 20th, that DSE/PRIDE has made a very good multi-fight offer to Pedro Rizzo.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Vanderlei Silva and Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira.

Vanderlei Silva recently spoke with Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' and stated that he would like to fight at a heavier weight and face Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic and Fedor Emelianenko.

When asked about ever facing Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira, Silva replied:

"Minotauro is a very fine person and I have no interest in facing him. To be honest, I'd like to see Minotauro on my team. In fact, I want to take this opportunity to invite him... if he is not satsified with his current situation, then come to Chute Boxe!"

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Bob Sapp (bottom left) in "Elektra"

Bob Sapp made his Hollywood debut with the January 14th release of the movie 'Elektra' in the US.

Elektra is a spinoff of the 2003 motion picture adaptation of legendary comic book, 'Daredevil'. In the movie, Sapp plays an evil assassin, named 'Stone', alongside the movie's title character and heroine, portrayed by actress Jennifer Garner.

In other related news, Sapp jumped back in front of the cameras to film a remake of the 1974 hit film 'The Longest Yard', where he was cast alongside hit comics Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, as well as award-winning actors Burt Reynolds and Gary Oldman.

The Longest Yard is scheduled for release on Memorial Day of next year.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Shannon Briggs (left)

Former Boxing champion Shannon Briggs has been ordered by a court to pay USD$2 million to a former University of Miami football player he punched out during a barroom incident.

Here is the story that was reported by the Associated Press:


MIAMI - Former heavyweight boxer Shannon Briggs was ordered to pay $2 million to former University of Miami lineman Brian Stinson for breaking his eye socket during a nightclub fight in 2001.

Jurors on Friday sided with Stinson, who said his football career was cut short because of the injuries.

"This was not a fight," said Stinson's lawyer, Ken Padowitz. "This was a brutal beating."

A doctor testified that Stinson has limited vision in his left eye. The player was forced to miss scouting camps and now works as a counselor at a university in Washington.

Briggs said he would appeal.

"I am a big target and people think I have big pockets," he said. "It was a football party and I was a boxer. I shouldn't have been there."

Stinson, 27, testified that he began chatting with an unidentified woman at the bar after he arrived with a group of Hurricane players. He said Briggs berated her and then cursed him, shoving him through a door into an alley. Stinson said when he tried to return, Briggs punched him.

"All I could see were fists, and it was awful," he testified.

The 33-year-old Briggs countered that he was leaving the club when a woman called his name. He tried talking to her but was rebuffed by Stinson and Miami defensive end Quincy Hipps. After some shoving, bouncers tossed Stinson into the alley. Briggs said Stinson returned and tried to tackle him.

Briggs has 25 first-round knockouts during a 12-year boxing career. He earned a 12-round majority decision over two-time heavyweight champ George Foreman in 1997, causing Foreman to retire at the time. The next year, Briggs was stopped in the fifth round by Lennox Lewis.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Kimbo Slice (center)

The Freestyle Fighting Academy announced that the Florida steetfighting legend known as Kimbo Slice has been training for MMA recently at their academy.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Josh Grossman

A scene from the UFC's supposedly homo-erotic reality show.

Spike TV insiders e-mailed me with the following information:

The second telecast of 'The Ultimate Fighter' kept its momentum, beating projections across the board.

The telecast showed significant growth among the male viewers aged 18-34, male viewers aged 18-49, and male viewers aged 25-54. Highest gains versus projections were male viewers aged 18-24 (+30%), male viewers aged 21-34 (+32%), people aged 18-49 (+30%), and people aged 21-34 (+44%).

The second telecast delivered 1,201(000s) among households, garnered a 1.36 HH rating, and had an average audience of 1,688.000 viewers. In Spike's main demos, Ultimate Fighter delivered a 468(000s) among male viewers aged 18-34, a 802 among male viewers aged 18-49, a 706 among people aged 18-34, and a 1,193 among people aged 18-49.

The 21an-up audience composition remained at 81% and had a Male/Female skew of 68/32.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Ricardo Alonso

Vitor Belfort

Hello my friends, here is the inside news from Brazil:


I have heard from a very reliable source that Vitor Belfort has been running through all his sparring partners (including Ricardo Arona, Mario Sperry, Murilo Bustamante, and even Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira) in the BTT sparring sessions in preparation for his upcoming fight against Tito Ortiz.

He is more focused then he's ever been and he's very angry at Tito right now for all the shit talk and a comment he supposedly made about Vitor's family problems just last month.

A famous sports psychologist/anger specialist, Dr. Jacob Pinheiro (who used to work with Brazilian car racing legend Ayrton Senna), has been helping Belfort to focus all the anger and rage he has regarding his sister's tragedy and Tito's comments into his performance against Tito.

This source says that Vitor is coming to destroy Tito without mercy and will look to knock him out or submit him at every opportunity.

According to this source, the last time Vitor really disliked an opponent was against 'Tank' Abbott, Vanderleli Silva, Gilbert Yvel, and Marvin Eastman. But they have never seen him dislike an opponent as much as Tito Ortiz. In my opinion, this is very bad news for Ortiz.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

B.J. Penn (top) vs. Rodrigo Gracie

The ROTR 6 card will debut on pay-per-view on February 19th at 9 P.M. Eastern Standard Time on iNDemand and TVN.

the card originally took place on November 20th, 2004, with the main event featuring B.J. Penn defeating Rodrigo Gracie by unanimous decision.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

A scene from the UFC's supposedly homo-erotic reality show.

Courtesy of Tvtome.com:


'The Ultimate Fighter' demographics breakdown for January 22, 2005

1.7 million viewers (1.4 household rating) tuned into the show's debut on Monday, including 768,000 men aged 18-49 (1.5 rating) and 385,000 men aged 18-35 (1.5 rating).

Both numbers were up 36% and 12% respectively from the Monday, 11:00/10:00c time period average from 2004.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Buakaw "Por Pramuk"

K-1 World MAX 2005: 'Japan Tournament'
February 23rd 2005
Ariake Colosseum
Tokyo, Japan


Single fights:
Albert Kraus vs. Buakaw 'Por Pramuk'
Jadamba Narantungalag vs. TBA

Tournament:
Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Kozo Takeda
Takehiro Murahama vs. Hayato
Tomo vs. Kojiro
Takayuki Kohiruimaki vs. Kazuya Yasuhiro

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

http://news.adcombat.com/images/articles/8504/largesittingup.gif

The producers of the wildly popular NHB/MMA television show called 'Passing The Guard', now have their ow brand of NHB/MMA products called 'SinisterBrand'.

To check out their site, click here

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

SHOOTO Brazil announced that its next two cards will be on February 26th in Curitiba, and March 19th in Teresopolis.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Tony De Souza

MMA veteran and Peruvian native Tony De Souza announced that he will be fighting Angelo Dias in the upcoming South American Open Championship in Lima, Peru.

De Souza also added that he will be returning to Brazil in early February to train with his team, Nova Uniao.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

A scene from the UFC's supposedly homo-erotic reality show.

The following info is provided my the NHB/MMA insider known as walterwang:


"My inside source, Evad Mesktler, has informed me that WWE 'Raw' last night did a 3.8 rating, and the The Ultimate Fighter show that immediately followed did a terrible 1.4 rating for the second week in a row."

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

AN EDITORIAL BY SCOOP MCTROLL


A disillusioned MMA fan's parody symbolizing Dana White's new direction for the UFC.

I'm sure you have noticed that for the past four years, UFC President Dana White(LOL) has been 'working' on a big TV deal. Whenever he is asked about it in interviews he has said that he is constantly being offered TV shows but he didnt want to go with the wrong deal because you only get one chance on TV.

So what does he do? He accepts two "TV Deals" that he obviously felt were the perfect vehicles on which to launch the UFC upon the unsuspecting masses.

The first show is on Fox Sports and it was a limited 4 show deal. In order to get Fox to go with it, ZUFFA agreed to show only fights that featured stand up fighting, no ground fighting. This criteria meant that hardly any old UFC matches would qualify to be shown from beginning to end and so they ended up with a few fights that totally misrepresented the sport to the Fox viewers. How could the viewers interpret the UFC as anything but a cross between sloppy kickboxing and toughman? They couldnt, that's how. The Fox show was dead before it began because Dana White(LOL) stupidly compromised and went with a show that was far from a true representation of, or flagship for the UFC PPV's.


The second TV show he felt was perfect for the brand image is 'The Ultimate Fighter' on the obscure Spike TV network. I find that if I connect my toaster to my microwave and sit my TV upsidedown on top of the fridge, I receive it just fine, albeit a little snowy. The show comes on at 11.pm on a Monday night and appears to be a reality TV show about a boy band all living in a house together under intimate conditions. The show has been described by marketing academics as "targeting the closet gay demographic" and in that respect, im sure that it doesnt disappoint.


My question to Dana White(LOL) is, what does this have to do with the UFC brand and how is it helping to build it's profile in a way that sells PPV's?


Even if TUF were a success (which early ratings would indicate it is not), it would mainly appeal to closet gays, metrosexuals who dont even know they are gay yet, and 12 year old school girls at best.


What is the rationale for painting the UFC in ways other than it really is? The Fox show fails to stress the "chess game" element of the sport and if someone did buy a PPV after seeing a couple of stand up fights that end in KO, then they will be extremely disappointed if the first fight is something like Penn-Uno II or Ortiz-Cote, Ortiz-Vladdy, Ortiz-Silva etc, etc.


If viewers of TUF buy the PPV they will probably be expecting the fighters to be fighting in thongs and the Octagon filled with jelly. They too will be very disappointed.


What about the hard core, old school UFC fans? I hear you asking.


Well my friends, all I can say is, thank goodness for Pride, K-1 and the small hard core Vale Tudo events coming out of South America.

The UFC as we knew and loved it, is dead.


Discuss this at Fightsport

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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) 676-3666
TKOZone.tv

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Tape Lord

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


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

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...


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW YEAR SHOWS
Tape Lord, what did you think of the Silva/hunt decision?
- Phil
Bayside, NY

Tape Lord's reply: Phil, I thought that the fight could have been ruled a draw. Hunt did do more in the standup but Silva held his own there, and also dominated the ground action. Also, PRIDE is supposed to have the rule that favors a fighter who is at least 25 pounds lighter then his opponent. All those things being said, I thought the decision could have been a draw.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

WILL VANDERLEI GO TO K-1?
I thought that matchup was very exciting, and it was great to see Royce back in action. What were your thoughts on this fight?
- Tony
Vancouver, Canada

Tape Lord's reply: K-1 has made a multi-million dollar offer to Vanderlei Silva, and now the ball is in PRIDE's court to match or beat the offer. My postal connections tell me that PRIDE will indeed make a better offer, and that Silva will most likely stay with PRIDE.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

AKEBONO VS. CABBAGE WAS OFF THE HOOK!
I thought that matchup was very exciting, and it was great to see Royce back in action. What were your thoughts on this fight?
- BJandCabbagefan
Hawaii

Tape Lord's reply: I loved this matchup due to the fact it brought back that old UFC feel. I was genuinely excited to see this matchup, and wanted to see how the 180-pound Royce was going to beat this 450-pound former Sumo champion. It made me feel like I was watching the final of UFC 1 again, and that's what NHB/MMA should be all about IMO.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

GANNON IS NO SHANNON 'THE CANNON' RITCH, AND HE WILL GET DESTROYED IN THE UFC!
It looks like the real loser in the Gannon/Kimbo fight was Gannon once again! Not only did that unsanctioned-fighting-on-the tax-payers-money-policeman make a mockery of modern MMA with his potentially scandalous unsanctioned fight against Kimbo, but now that LOSER has been signed to the UFC!!

This is an outrage!! I swear that Sean "The Cannon" Gannon will get destroyed by any good wrestler in the UFC. I even think Matt Hughes or Tito Ortiz would hand him his ass.

If the UFC wants to sign a real warrior, then they need look no further then the "real Cannon", and I'm talking about the Arizona legend who's currently doing mercenary work in Iraq... Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch!
-Andrew Bryant
Pheonix, Arizona

Tape Lord's reply: Andrew, I think that Gannon will be a good replacement for Wesley "Cabbage" Correira in the UFC. I also don't think for one second that Hughes or Tito could beat him.

As for Shannon Ritch, he is supposedly back from Iraq and available, but I don't believe anyone is calling for this supposed "Arizona legend".


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE UFC REALITY SHOW KICKED ASS!
The UFC's "Ultimate Fighter" show on Spike TV was everything I expected it to be and then some!! Kudos to Dana White for portraying MMA the way it's real fans see it, and the way the rest of America should see it as well. What did you think of it?
- Beau Taylor
Tulsa, OK

Tape Lord's reply: Most marketing experts believe that the UFC reality show is being marketed, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to the homosexual market. Most real NHB/MMA fans, including myselfm, feel that the show is a huge disappointment, embarrassment, and failure.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Nilson de Castro

Pancrase 2005 Spiral Tour
March 6th, 2005
Tokyo, Japan

Below are the matchups that have been announced so far for the Pancrase card on March 6th:


Nilson de Castro vs. Kei'Ichiro Yamamiya
Gustavo 'Ximu' Machado vs. Yuki Sasaki
Hidehiko Hasegawa vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Takuya Wada　vs. Hiroki Nagaoka
Ken Orihashi　vs. Masahiro Yamagishi　

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Pedro Rizzo (right)

The manager of Pedro Rizzo the following exclusively to Fightsport.com:


"No More Mr. Nice Guy

Pedro Rizzo is taking action by training boxing and muay thai really hard. He is also wrestling with Pan-American silver medalist Antoine Jaoude along with other heavyweights including Rodrigo Artilheiro, a South American Greco-Roman champion, all supervised by Beto Leitao.

Getting him down, definitely won't be an easy task, but if he does go down, his submissions and jiu jitsu skills have improved a great deal, due to his intensive training at Nova União with master Andre Pederneiras and other great names like Vitor Shaolin, Leo Santos, Danilo Sherman, Robson Moura, João Roque, Thales, Marcos Louro, etc..

Rumors have been going around about a fusion of the teams of Marco Ruas and Andre Pederneiras.

Pedro Rizzo will be returning to the ring and he guarantees a great performance filled with knockouts, and excitment. He also said "I've never felt comfortable fighting in a cage, especially with the UFC rules. From now on, there's not going to be anymore waiting around. I'm going for the kill, you can count on that....NO MORE MR. NICE GUY."

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira vs. Alistair Overeem
Ryan Gracie vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

Possible participants (both official and unofficial):
Ricardo Arona
Murilo 'Ninja' Rua
Mario Sperry
Pedro Rizzo
Paulo Filho
Sergei Kharitonov
Hirotaka Yokoi
Akira Shoji

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Igor Vovchanchyn

DSE/PRIDE confirmed what Fightsport.com first reported on October 14th, 2004, that Igor Vovchanchyn will participate in the upcoming PRIDE middleweight GP.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Denis Kang

The American Top Team announced that Canadian MMA veteran Denis Kang has joined their team.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Remigijus Morkevicius

ZST: 'Grand Prix 2 Final Round'
January 23, 2005
Tokyo, Japan


single fights:
Naoyuki Kotani drew with Darius Skliaudys.
Yujiro Kushida drew with Shinya Sato.

ZST lightweight GP 2 semifinals:
Remigijus Morkevicius defeats Hirotaka Miyakawa by KO at 0:48, RD 1.
Masahiro Oishi defeats Hideo Tokoro by split decision.

Final:
Remigijus Morkevicius defeats Masahiro Oishi by KO at 3:13, RD 1.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Shoot Boxing: 'Ground Zero Fukuoka'
January 23, 2005
Fukuoka Kokusai Center
Fukuoka, Japan


Yamaguchi defeats Kitamura by decision.
Tsuyoshi Ishikawa defeats Y. Hiramatsu by rear naked choke at 0:56, RD 1.
Kawasaki defeats M. Takeuchi by TKO at 2:09, RD 1.
Pete Spratt defeats Wataru Takahashi by KO at 2:56, RD 1.
Osamu Hiroshi Iga defeats Toru Oishi by unanimous decision.
Choi Jeong-Kyu defeats Nakano Tatsuaki by rear naked choke at 4:17, RD 1.
Brian Foster defeats Daijiro Matsui by KO at 2:28, RD 1.
Ben Rothwell defeats Nabu Hayashi by decision.
KoichiKikuchi defeats Christian Allen by TKO at 2:32, RD 4.
Hiroki Shishido defeats Ole Laursen by KO at 0:22, RD 3.
Hiroyuki Doi drew with Pajunsuk.
Kenichi Ogata defeats Serkan Yilmaz by decision.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

KTFO.com is back in the good graces of Zuffa. After Fightsport.com reported that Zuffa had banned any fighters from entering the octagon with KTFO gear, the owner of KTFO, Craig Fields, changed their sloqan from 'KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT' to 'KNOCK THAT FOOL OUT'.

Due to the change in slogan, they are now on good terms with Zuffa. According to Zuffa, they didn't want any of their fighters showing support for a product that urges a person to 'knock the fuck out' an opponent. According to Zuffa, 'its not what they're about' (insert laughter).

How they figure that's inappropriate, considering that the UFC is supposedly one of the most violent forms of prizefighting existing today, is completely beyond me.

On a side note, the opinion around the office is that the KTFO gear is really cheesy. People are actually laughing whenever it's brought up.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Zuffa and Joey Oddessa from Betoddessa.com reached an agreement right after Fightsport.com reported that Zuffa had banned many internet betting sites and oddsmakers, including Oddessa.

Under the new agreement, all is well so long as as '.com' is not used when referring to the site.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com