FIGHTSPORT 24-7

Ian Freeman's DVD.

The following is courtesy of LukeBeston.net:


"Ian 'The Machine' Freeman

as you have never seen him before. Now on DVD.

Watch Ian sing, tell funny stories for over an hour and dress as Elvis Presley.......

with a difference.

If easily offended, please do not buy.


In support of CANCER RESEARCH

DVD only £10 + £2 p&p

cheque payable to :
Ian Freeman
PO Box 94
Stanley
County Durham
DH9 9YW"

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Ian Freeman getting brutally knocked out aginst Andrei Arlovsky.

The following commentary is courtesy of LukeBeston.net:


"egional-level English MMA fighter and self-styled author Ian Freeman continued to showcase the dangers of being an uneducated steroid abuser with low self-esteem and eerily realistic naturally-simulated woman's breasts yesterday, with a post on the infamous "Underground" forum.

Prefacing his inevitable humiliation by butchering a commonly-used phrase about laundry, an area he is clearly not familiar with, "The Machine" began a diatribe against an entity he had rightly come to see as a diametrically opposed nemesis: popular and professional MMA clothing company "Sprawl".

After translating his post using AltaVista.com's helpful "working class to English" filter, even forum members conditioned to applaud any behavior by those with a certain color of username reacted with disdain and disbelief over Freeman's claims; it was as if he had just ruined a particularly successful dinner party by urinating on the carpet while singing a childishly rude song of the sort only miners and other menial laborers find amusing.

"The Machine" appeared to base his complaint around the fact that the owner of Sprawl refused to pay him retroactively for wearing a pair of his company's shorts, having concluded that being sent an item of clothing was some form of legally binding agreement which entitled him to financial compensation.

Freeman has yet to reply to the numerous and varied messages of ridicule and disbelief left by forum members and professional fighters alike, although he has admitted that his decision to become a fighter was motivated by a similar sort of bullying. We here at LukeBeston.net call upon the MMA fans of the entire world (and ghosts who like MMA) to do their best to further embarrass and torment Ian "The Machine" Freeman, hoping that doing so will somehow reverse or undo his decision to fight and consequently force him into retirement."

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

B.J. Penn

The Japanese media is reporting that a B.J. Penn vs. 'Lyoto' Machida matchup is scheduled for the next K-1 'Romanex' show on March 26th.

Penn will be giving up around 40 pounds to Machida.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

The following is from an internet chat Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic did with with his fans on a Croatian website (translation by Igor S.):


Question: What is the measurement of your quadriceps?

Cro Cop: Hell, I don't know. I've never measured that, but it is sufficient.

Question: Mirko, how often do you visit Privlaka?

Cro Cop: Every time I can. I am going tomorrow.

Question: Mirko, I read in a newspaper interview, where you said that you are equal with Fedor on the ground. Do you think that you have progressed enough to fight with a Sambo champion on the ground? Actually, he beat Minotauro on the ground, and you lost to the Brazilian. Salute.

Cro Cop: I lost to the Brazilian one and a half years ago. In that period I have progressed sufficiently to fight everyone, including Minotauro, on the ground. Trust me or not.

Question: Is there a possibility to arrange this fight in Zagreb?

Cro Cop: Well, I am planning to organize a tournament this year, in which I will participate also.

Question: Mirko, when will you get a title shot?

Cro Cop: As soon as Fedor signs the contract. Japanese representatives will go this weekend to Russia to try and sign the fight.

Question: Mirko, are things going in Cibalia (soccer club in which Cro Cop plays)?

Cro Cop: So, so. I don't train enough beacuse of my busy schedule.

Question: Why do they call you Zeljko Filipovic?

Cro Cop: Well, I don't know if anybody calls me that, except for the time they mistakenly called me by that name on the Vlahov show.

Question: How much weight can you lift on the bench?

Cro Cop: I have never gone for maximum because I don't need to. But, I can lift 150 kg (330 pounds) for three repetitions.

Question: Do you think that Fedor is scared of a possible fight for the title against you?

Cro Cop: I think he is not afraid. He is too great of a fighter to be afraid of the fight.

Question: Someone said you deceived Mike Bencic (Cro Cop's previus jiu-jitsu trainer)?

Cro Cop: People usually talk nonsense. I don't know in what way he was deceived by me.

Question: That you have not paid the full amount he deserved...

Cro Cop: I don't know what to say about that. Bencic was paid every last cent, and I don't know what he is trying to do by making those comments in the newspapers. Maybe he wants to "thank" me for getting him a chance, through my name and my blood, to fight in PRIDE and to make money. So he tries to return a favor like that. But, by talking like that, he talks about himself, not about me. And I don't want to talk anymore about Mike Bencic. I just want say that if he would like to promote himself in the future, let him do it through his own eventual success.

Question: Do you drink coffee, and have you special nutrition?

Cro Cop: I don't drink coffee, and yes, I have special nutrition.

Question: Dinamo or Hajduk? (Croatia's two most popular soccer clubs)

Cro Cop: Cibalia.

Question: Mirko, what do you think, will you win the fight against Fedor?

Cro Cop: I will.

Question: How many hours a day does your training consist of?

Cro Cop: Depends on the training phase. But I always train two times per day. On an average, at least one and a half hours per training session.

Question: Of all the PRIDE fighters, with who do you have good relations? Do you go to lunch or coffee together?

Cro Cop: We don't have lunch or coffee together. My best pal from PRIDE is (Quinton) Jackson, but With Fedor I always have warm grettings.

Question: Do you watch handball? What did you think of the finals?

Cro Cop: I watched our handball team with pleasure.

Question: Do you know to swin?

Cro Cop: Swimming, yes I do, but swinning I don't.

Question: Who is your favorite Croatian sportsman?

Cro Cop: Goran Ivanisevic and Stipe Drvis.

Question: For how long have you been a member of the anti-terrorism unit in Lucko?

Cro Cop: One and a half years.

Question: Why didn't the Croatian police use your name for promotion, when they could? Why did they fire you from the job?

Cro Cop: I don't know. They didn't fire me, I left by my own accord.

Question: How much will you earn if you beat Fedor?

Cro Cop: Go to the ring, beat him, and you will find out.

Question: Who is your idol?

Cro Cop: I don't have one, but I respect sportsmen.

Question: Do you listen to Hip-Hop music?

Cro Cop: Sometimes, but I prefer 80's music.

Question: It would be very nice and original if one of your fights can take place in the arena in Pula. What do you think about that?

Cro Cop: It is high unlikely.

Question: Just to say, to all of those people who are surprised by your striking ability, that you were an amateur boxing champ and K-1 fighter. Now in PRIDE they are surprised when you finish your fight with boxing. You are the best boxer In PRIDE, that's for sure.

Cro Cop: Well I am mistaken by them just because I am alive.

Question: When you said about the possibility of fighting Minotauro in Zagreb, where would that fight take place?

Cro Cop: Maybe Dom sportova hall, or Maksimir stadium.

Question: In which part of the fight is Fedor better than you?

Cro Cop: Fedor has the best ground and pound on earth. It is incredible how powerful his strikes are on the ground. But unlike Fedor, I am not planning to be in that postiton too long.

Question: Are you bothered by your so called, popularity?

Cro Cop: I am not bothered by my so called popularity.

Question: Would you be able to live in Japan?

Cro Cop: Well, some people live in jails, so I could live anywhere. Japan is a very beautiful country, but Croatia is the only place I want to live in.

Question: Did you fight a lot in school as a young boy?

Cro Cop: Actually, I didn't.

Question: Which team will be the Croatian soccer league champion?

Cro Cop: If I was a visionary, I wouldn't be fighting now. Instead, I would be making money by betting.

Question: Did someone ever offer you a bribe?

Cro Cop: Never.

Question: Who is stronger, Superman or Batman?

Cro Cop: You probably wanted to be funny. To tell you the truth, you are not.

Question: Would you pose naked for the appropriate money?

Cro Cop: Depends on the money.

Question: Or make some tatoo on your body?

Cro Cop: Depends on the money, too.

Question: What do you think about cheating (women)?

Cro Cop: I don't have an opinion.

Question: What was thr problem between you and Branko Cikatic? He allegedly threatened to kill you?

Cro Cop: That is finished story, and I don't want to talk about that.

Question: If you saw a general, what would you do?

Cro Cop: I would salute him.

Question: Do people flatter you because of your size and strength?

Cro Cop: I am not so big.

Question: Are you a pizza master?

Cro Cop: Hey boy, I think you missed the real guest? Naked chef acts are on the weekend.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Ken Shamrock

The UFC confirmed what Fightsport.com first reported on February 23rd, that the matchup of Ken Shamrock vs. Rich Franklin will take place on the finale of 'The Ultimate Fighter' reality show
on April 9th.

The Shamrock/Franklin matchup, along with the finals for the reality show's light heavyweight and middleweight tournaments, will take place at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

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.

Review posted by the MMA insider known as 'Better Mouse Trap':


"There was a lot of lackluster male bonding in this TUF episode.

I almost wanted to play solitaire on my PC instead of watching this snail paced pile of shit.

Most of the episode revolved around the non-athletic Ultimate fighters doing meaningless activities like throwing bricks against the basketball backboard, burning steaks in the backyard and chilling on the sofa.

WOW

Dana, once again reinvents the rules and forces Chuck to trade a fighter from his team, so Liddell picks some motha fucker named Josh, who refuses to wear the Team Couture tee shirt and later refuses to partake in a card game with Randy’s team

I was on the edge of my seat...

Later, the teams engage in another challenge. The challenge reeked of pure un-cut gayness.

It was some sort of weird ass Tug-a-War with Team Couture finally winning.

With the ball in Randy’s court, they chose Bonnar and Southworth to rumble in the Octagon.

It’s on!

The Ultimate “flailing” Championship was in full effect for a few minutes until they both showcased two 5 minute rounds of sprawling, striking, reversals, sub attempts, etc…

Actually the fight was entertaining and very close.

The judges had it split with Stephan Bonnar wining a very controversial decision."

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

HEAVYWEIGHT


1.) Fedor Emelianenko Russia
2.) Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira Brazil
3.) Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic Croatia
4.) Frank Mir USA
5.) Andrei Arlovski Belarus
6.) Fabricio Werdum Brazil
7.) Heath Herring USA
8.) Josh Barnett USA
9.) Tim Sylvia USA
10.) Pedro Rizzo Brazil


LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT


1.) Vanderlei Silva Brazil
2.) Randy Couture USA
3.) Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson USA
4.) Ricardo Arona Brazil
5.) Chuck Liddell USA
6.) Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira Brazil
7.) Tito Ortiz USA
8.) Vitor Belfort Brazil
9.) Renato "Babalu" Sobral Brazil
10.) Murilo 'Ninja' Rua Brazil


MIDDLEWEIGHT


1.) Dan Henderson USA
2.) Kazushi Sakuraba Japan
3.) Murilo Bustamante Brazil
4.) Evan Tanner USA
5.) Ryo Chonan Japan
6.) Anderson Silva Brazil
7.) Jeremy Horn USA
8.) Paulo Filho Brazil
9.) David Terrell USA
10.) Matt Lindland USA


WELTERWEIGHT


1.) B.J. Penn USA
2.) Matt Hughes USA
3.) Frank Trigg USA
4.) Renato 'Charuto' Verissimo Brazil
5.) Sean Sherk USA
6.) Antonio Schembri Brazil
7.) Daiju Takase Japan
8.) Crosley Gracie Brazil
9.) Carlos Newton USA
10.) Akira Kikuchi Japan


LIGHTWEIGHT

1.) Tatsuya Kawajiri Japan
2.) Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro Brazil
3.) Joachim Hansen Norway
4.) Takanori Gomi Japan
5.) Yves Edwards USA
6.) Hermes Franca Brazil
7.) Kaoru Uno Japan
8.) Din Thomas USA
9.) Genki Sudo Japan
10.) Ralph Gracie Brazil


FEATHERWEIGHT


1.) Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira Brazil
2.) Jens Pulver USA
3.) Joao Roque Brazil
4.) Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto Japan
5.) Rumina Sato Japan
6.) Gilbert Melendez USA
7.) Ivan Menjivar El Salvador
8.) Hiroyuki Takaya Japan
9.) Jeff Curran USA
10.) Yoshiro Maeda Japan


AFP fighter rankings can be viewed at AFP TOP 10

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Darrell Gholar

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' reports that Darrell Gholar has returned to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and claims he is recovered from the bleeding he experienced in his brain a few months back, which required him to be hospitalized for many weeks.

Gholar can be found teaching classes at the 'Champions Factory Team' in Copacabana Beach, and at Royler Gracie's academy in in Tijuca.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

B.J. Penn

According to the Japanese media, K-1 will be heavily involved again in the next 'Rumble on the Rock' card.

B.J. Penn will once again be in the main event fight, possibly against another Gracie.

Renato 'Charuto' Verissimo, Gilbert Melendez, and Jake Shields are also scheduled to participate on the card.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Pancrase 2005 Spiral Tour
Neo Blood Tournament 2005
February 27, 2005
Gold's Gym South Tokyo Annex
Tokyo, Japan


Lightweight 8-man tournament quarterfinals:
Toshiaki Kitada defeats Hiroyuki Ota by majority decision.
Akira Teraoka defeats Tetsuya Fukunaga by armbar at 1:35.
Junichi Ota defeats Hiroyuki Nohara by majority decision.
Minoru Chujo defeats Taku Aramaki by triangle choke at 3:02.

Semifinals:
Toshiaki Kitada defeats Akira Teraoka by majority decision.
Minoru Chujo defeats Junichi Ota by choke at 4:59.

*Final to be contested on June 5th.



Lightweight 4-man tournament semifinals:
Naoki Yoshimura defeats Kenji Takeshige by triangle choke at 4:29, RD 2.
Sotaro Yamada defeats Mitsuo Matsumoto by choke at 2:10, RD 2.

*Final to be contested on June 5th.



Featherweight 8-man tournament quarterfinals:
Manabu Inoue defeats Yuichi Miyagi by unanimous decision.
Takashi Hasegawa defeats Hirokazu Nishimura by unanimous decision.
Masaki Yanagisawa defeats Masaki Yokoyama by unanimous decision.
Kenji Shimada defeats Ranki Kawana by majority decision.

Semifinals:
Takashi Hasegawa defeats Manabu Inoue by DQ.
Masaki Yanagisawa defeats Kenji Shimada by majority decision.

*Final to be contested on June 5th.



Featherweight 4-man tournament semifinals:
Takafumi Shiroma defeats Takumi Murata by triangle choke at 4:11, RD 2.
Naoji Fujimoto defeats Taiki by unanimous decision.

*Final to be contested on June 5th.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Tape Lord

Former NFL players Jarrod Bunch (center) and Micheal Westbrook going at it at the recent KOTC event. Westbrook eventually won by rear naked choke.

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...


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

KOTC BEATS UFC TO THE PUNCH
Tape Lord, do you think anyone at Zuffa realizes that King of the Cage, a ghetto promotion at best, has just outdone them? It seems to me that bringing in the two ex-NFL players along with Butterbean is marketing common sense. When you look at what Zuffa is doing with its free tv show and matching Ken Shamrock up against Rich Franklin, it seems to me that they are several notches below the ghetto promoters at KOTC. Do you agree? What are your observations on these points?
-sexybeast
Silverton, CO

Tape Lord's reply: sexybeast, while the KOTC does indeed seem to be "ghetto", they do have one big advantage over Dana White and the rest of Zuffa, and that is that they've been around since the beginning of American NHB/MMA and really understand the art of NHB/MMA promotion.

You could say that in this instance KOTC did the most with the least, and the Zuffa-regime UFC did the least with the most. Not a good sign for UFC fans in my humble opinion.


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

KOTC TO BENEFIT UFC?
Tape Lord, will the efforts of the ghetto promoters of KOTC benefit the UFC indirectly?
- Ted Johnson

Tape Lord's reply: Ted, this seems to be a very real possibility. Most fans agree that UFC president Dana White doesn't know his head from his ass when it comes to leading the UFC, but despite this, most of the general public still associates the cage and "ultimate fighting" with the UFC. In my humble opinion, seeing ex-NFL players, as well as "Butterbean", fighting in KOTC and getting mainstream press, can only benefit the UFC in the long run due to what I said above about the general public most likely associating it with the UFC.

It might be a different story if KOTC were to build up their own brand name with the general public, but I don't see that happening because it seems unlikely that KOTC will pour in the resources to accomplish this.


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

'THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER' GOOD OR BAD FOR MMA?
Do you feel that the recent fag fest between Josh Kosheck and Chris Leben has set MMA back due to the hype the show created for it? I'll agree that the preceeding show was a good episode, but it was completely wasted after seeing the gayness that ensued between those two queens.
-Tank Power

Tape Lord's reply: "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show seems to have succeeded in crossing over to the homosexual viewing market. In my humble opinion, however, the show has done nothing to recruit new heterosexual fans to NHB/MMA. Whether the homosexual market is good for NHB/MMA is a matter of opinion I guess, but in my opinion it is not a very good direction to take. I say this because while the returns might be good at first, you potentially risk stigmatizing your sport as "gay", and thus risk alienating the much bigger heterosexual market. Not to mention that you risk alienating your established fanbase as well, and what does this message send to them?


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

LOVE THOSE UFC FIGHTERS
Tape Lord, do you think any of the fighters on the UFC roster would let me suck their dicks?
- Andy Bryant
Phoenix, AZ

Tape Lord's reply: Andy, I understand that "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show has begun to attract many fans from the homosexual community, as you seem to be, but this question would be better asked at a forum such as the OG.

I will say this, however... after having seen what has been transpiring on the "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show, I do believe there are probably some fighters and fight promoters willing to take you up on your offer, as repulsive as that is.


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

DANA WHITE CRUISING AS 'KNIGHT RIDER'?
What is your opinion of a man of Dana White's age and position driving a vehicle with spinning rims on it?
- Ted Johnson

Tape Lord's reply: In my humble opinion, it explains a lot when trying to figure out why Zuffa drops the ball as many times as it does.


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

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Coffee Guy

Joe Riggs

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

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


The word going around the office is that Trevor Prangley might get yanked off the UFC 52 card, due to losing a fight in South Africa last weekend.

Joe Riggs is rumored to be his replacement.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

The UFC has raised its pay-per-view price to USD34.95.

It is not certain whether the UFC will continue to show less fights on its PPV cards, even though the price of the PPV has gone up.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Fedor Emelianenko

According to people close to the camp of Fedor Emelianenko, the negotiations between Fedor's manager and DSE/PRIDE have not been going too well, especially now that DSE/PRIDE are trying to strong-arm Fedor into signing a new contract by pushing the angle in the media, to their fans, that Fedor does not want to fight Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic.

Fedor's management is upset that the offer they are recieving to re-sign with DSE/PRIDE is supposedly not even half the amount of what they signed their light heavyweight champion, Vanderlei Silva, for.

According to these same sources, if no deal is reached with DSE/PRIDE, Fedor will challenge Cro Cop to face him in either the M-1 promotion or the 'Too Hot To Handle' promotion.

Too Hot To Handle, or '2H2H', recently signed two big television deals, and is negotiating with some name sponsors for their next show. According to these sources, 2H2H would offer Cro Cop the same amount of money he is currently making with DSE/PRIDE, in order to sign him to face Fedor.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (right) beating down Hiromitsu Kanehara.

Commentary by 'Theaxemurderer'


Welcome to 'The Chopping Block', a place where I will air out all my thoughts about MMA.

Let's get started...

- My first thought of the day is that Stephan Leko needs to either gain some more experience before fighting world class talent in PRIDE, or go back to K-1 where he can be more competitive. It seems fairly obvious that Leko is not "a natural" or even a quick learner at MMA, since he failed to show basic defense on the ground against Kazuhiro Nakamura... If Leko is passionate about MMA, like Mark Hunt has been about his MMA career move, then he should take some time off and seek some serious MMA training.

- Next up, another dissappointment that resulted as part of PRIDE 29 was the fact that Fabricio Werdum was unable to use his Jiu-jitsu to submit, or even effectivly endanger, his opponent, Tom Erikson... However I was very impressed with Werdum's striking ability and his strategy throughout the fight, aiming all his effort on wearing his opponent down... Werdum will be headed for trouble unless he can adapt his ground game to submit guys while taking strikes at the same time, because he ain't gonna outstrike serious strikers IMHO.

- Another thing I was amazed at when I watched PRIDE 29 was Mark Coleman's ability to neutralize Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic's strikes for a brief time, while he was dazed, by simply faking a shot attempt... this prolonged the beating for an extra thirty seconds. The reason I bring this up is because Cro Cop's fear of takedowns will ultimatley be his undoing, especially fighting someone like Fedor Emelianenko, who will finish you quickly on the ground. Cro Cop would be defending the takedown like his life depended on it... but Fedor is very smart and will use his knees and strikes to make Cro Cop weary of sprawling so much. I predict a very long night for Cro Cop when he fights Fedor. The G'n'P in that fight will be a thing of beauty.

- Also, Vanderlei's Silva's decision to call out Hidehiko Yoshida, to dismember at the next PRIDE show in April, suggests to me that he will look to tap out 'Yoshida' in a brutal fashion, in order to regain faith in his Jiu-jitsu-skills, and curb all the growing controversy surrounding the fact that people are calling him an unwarranted blackbelt. People like Ricardo 'The Pirate' Arona for example, who himself was laughed at for being slammed by Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, because he did not have the forsight to see the OBVIOUS slam coming...

In my opinion, Vanderlei's JJ skills have come a long way, and he will showcase that after he destroys yoshida standing up... when Yoshida tries to grab on for dear life, Silva's ground skills will become legendary.

Furthermore, Vanderlei must have felt that he could have done better in thier last fight, given he had to conserve fuel for Rampage's beating... also the fact that Yoshida is a fellow warrior who went toe-to-toe with Rulon Gardner, who is an immense competitor. It is good to see that Vanderlei will finsih off everyone at light heavyweight this year... Tito Ortiz's time of agony seems to be approaching steadily.

- Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua is definatly earning his name as far as the Japanese seem to be concerned. His use of kicking and stomping techniques are quickly making him one of the most avoided MMA fighters next to the likes Cro Cop. Chute Boxe has brought their brutal brand of strike-focused MMA to the top of the MMA game, and just seem to win over more fans with every fight. Shogun's lust for blood and savage visciousness is quickly making him become the man at the top. Not to mention that the Rua brothers have shown time and time again that their ground game is perfect at doing what they need it to do.

The thing I love about Shogun is how he doesn't waste any time at all. He is always attacking and always trying to finish using strikes, whereas his brother seemed very apt to use his ground game. I think Shogun would KO Rampage with little effort, and stomp him like an ant on the ground.

Shogun vs. Rampage will happen soon, and Rampage will fufill his destiny of becoming the man of many faces, 'Micheal' Rampage Jackson.

- Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson was outwrestled by the smaller man, Murilo 'Ninja' Rua, over and over again. His slam, which landed nowhere, gave him enough edge to persuade the easily impressed judges.

Rampage was controlled from his back by Ninja's bodylock for most of the time they fought. Ninja made several takedown attempts, and seemed only to be limited by his smaller size, compared to the huge frame of Rampage's.

The fact remains that either Rampage's wrestling is overrated, or Ninja's wrestling skills are grossly underrated... I beleive the later reasoning to be correct. Rampage himself even knew he lost the fight, and if he thought he had dominated the wrestling aspect of it I doubt he would hold that opinion.

Ninja was simply one step ahead of Rampage throughout the fight, and imposed his gameplan on Rampage, who seemed to be taken by surprise by Ninja's willingness to tie up with him and take the match to the ground.

- Igor Vovchanchyn is fierce, and doesn't waste any time. He gets right down to business. His opponent, Yoshiki Takahashi, was a kamikaze that missed his mark altogether, and just went down in a blaze of glory. His kondo-esque attempt to trade standing with Igor was very crazy, let alone to little more than box. Igor broke down Takahashi's "striking system" within a minute and knew exactly where he was gonna be after he jabbed, and nailed him with a hard straight right hand. The Japanese was just no match... I still think Igor will have a hard time getting through Quinton Jackson, due to Jackson's size. Everyone talks about Tito being a massive light heavyweight, but Quinton is fucking huge.


Stay tuned for more things added to 'The Chopping Block'.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Leigh Remedios

MMA journalist Ted Johnson was live ringside at the Cage Rage 10 show and gave the following first-hand account of the Jean Silva vs. Leigh Remedios matchup:


"The first round was pretty even, opening with Silva charging across the cage and throwing a flying knee. Remedios was trying to attack from whatever position he was put in, whereas Silva was trying to control Remedios in order to tee off. Both were scoring, with Remedios looking strong and aggressive, and Silva repeatedly trapping Remedios against the fence before detaching with a flurry of punches and elbows.

The closest anyone came to finishing it was when Remedios tried an armbar from his guard. He looked to have it sunk, but Silva did an excellent job of spinning and working his way out. As the round finished Silva, always the consummate entertainer, tried to pull off a cartwheel guard pass. The bell rang before he could take advantage.

Most of the fight was spent in a clinch against the cage, with Silva in control but Remedios doing more damage. Silva's tactic was still to control Remedios against the cage and then score with punches as he detached. This was working, but the Remedios was also able to take control as he twice took Silva down, and knocked him down with a kick.

On the ground, both fighters demonstrated good skills and remained always active, to the applause and appreciation of the crowd. One particularly spectacular moment came as Silva threw a high kick that Remedios intercepted. Silva cart wheeled back to regain his balance as Remedios followed up with the punches.

Silva opened the third round well with a flurry, but the stronger Remedios was gradually able to impose his will on the match, forcing Silva back against the fence. The majority of the round was spent with Remedios in control, with Silva moving well and looking for the submission from the bottom. Both fighters were tiring, and as the battle wound to a close, both teams celebrated.

The result was announced as a draw, but I feel Remedios should have definitely won this fight. The first round could have been judged a draw, but Remedios easily won the last two rounds in my opinion. Ifv this was an NSAC sanctioned fight, the fight could've been scored 29-27 in favor of Remedios.

This decision drew heavy boos and that over 95% of the people who saw the fight felt that Remedios won clearly. LOL, bear in mind that this Jean Silva guy was ducked by Chris Brennan."

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Remy Bonjasky

K-1 World GP 2005
March 19 2005
Olympic Gymnasium-1
Seoul, Korea


Sungle fights:
Remy Bonjasky vs. Ray Mercer
Peter Aerts vs. Carter Williams

Asia GP tournament:
Akebono vs. Nobuaki Kakuda
Wakashoyo vs. Hong-Mam Choi
Hiraku Hori vs. Lee Myeon Ju
Kaoklai Kaennorsing vs. Zhang Qing Jun

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Storm Samurai
March 19th, 2005
Circulo Militar de Curitiba
Curitiba, Brazil


Gildo Lima vs. Aritano Barbosa
Michael Costa vs. Junior Besouro
Andre Dida vs. Luciano Azevedo
Alessandro Stefano vs. Rodrigo Riscado
Mauricio 'Veio' vs. Ricardo Bastos
Nelson Jaca vs. Geraldo Mangela
Claudio 'Popeye' vs. Franklin Jenssen
Wagner Tiburcio vs. Jair Sorriso
Marlon Mathias vs. Pablo Guermandi
Jorge Britto vs. Gustavo Treta
Edival Pedroso vs. Aloisio 'Baiano'

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

SportFight 9: 'Respect'
March 26, 2005
Mt Hood Community College
Oregon

Heath Sims vs. Steve Berger
Ed Herman vs. Glover Texeira
Matt Horwich vs. Rich Gueren
Dennis Davis vs. Trevor Burnell
Dominic Rivera vs. Damion Hatch
Enouch Wilson vs. John Gunderson
Ken Barringer vs. TBA
Joel Surprant vs. Bristoi Murunda
David Brown vs. Austin Ward
J.D. Stanely vs. Ben Baxter
John Carbajal vs. Wyatt Basham

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Falaniko Vitale (center)

The matchup of Falaniko Vitale vs. Masanori Suda has been announced for the SuperBrawl 39: 'Destiny' card, scheduled for April 4th.

The matchup will be for the SuperBrawl middleweight title.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com