FIGHTSPORT 24-7

HEAVYWEIGHT


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


LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT


1.) Vanderlei Silva Brazil
2.) Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua Brazil
3.) Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson USA
4.) Chuck Liddell USA
5.) Ricardo Arona Brazil
6.) Randy Couture USA
7.) Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira Brazil
8.) Renato 'Babalu' Sobral Brazil
9.) Alistair Overeem Holland
10.) Vitor Belfort Brazil


MIDDLEWEIGHT


1.) Dan Henderson USA
2.) Kazushi Sakuraba Japan
3.) Murilo Bustamante Brazil
4.) Evan Tanner USA
5.) Paulo Filho Brazil
6.) Yuki Kondo Japan
7.) Ryo Chonan Japan
8.) Anderson Silva Brazil
9.) Jeremy Horn USA
10.) David Terrell 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.) Daniel Acacio Brazil
8.) Crosley Gracie Brazil
9.) Carlos Newton Canada
10.) Georges St-Pierre Canada


LIGHTWEIGHT

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


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

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PRIDE middleweight GP
April 23rd, 2005
Osaka Dome
Osaka, Japan


Vanderlei Silva defeats Hidehiko Yoshida by split decision.
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua defeats Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson by KO, RD 1.
Kazushi Sakuraba defeats Youn Dong Sik by TKO, RD 1.
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira defeats Dan Henderson by armbar, RD 1.
Alistair Overeem defeats Vitor Belfort by guillotine choke, RD 1.
Igor Vovchanchyn defeats Yuki Kondo by unanimous decision.
Ricardo Arona defeats Dean Lister by unanimous decision.
Kazuhiro Nakamura defeats Kevin Randleman by unanimous decision.

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Jefferson "Tank" Silva

The Brazilian media reports that the matchup of Jefferson 'Tank' Silva vs. Alex Stiebling will be taking place on the Gladiators FC card, scheduled to take place on June 4th.

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2003 Middleweight GP winner Vanderlei Silva

Below are the results of surveys conducted by Fightsport.com and various Japanese websites on who the fans in the regions of North America, Japan, and the international fans around the world:


North America survey results:
Vanderlei Silva: 26.1%
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 16.4%
Ricardo Arona: 11.3%
Dan Henderson: 11.1%
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua: 9.5%
Vitor Belfort: 6.8%
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira: 5.9%
Igor Vovchanchyn: 5.1%
Hidehiko Yoshida: 1.9%
Kazushi Sakuraba: 1.7%
Kevin Randleman: 1.5%
Dean Lister: 1.2%
Yuki Kondo: 1.0%
Alistair Overeem: 0.5%
Kazuhiro Nakamura: 0.0%
Yoon Dong Sik: 0.0%

Japan survey results:
Vanderlei Silva: 21.5%
Igor Vovchanchyn: 16.8%
Ricardo Arona: 14.5%
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira: 7.9%
Kazushi Sakuraba: 7.7%
Mauricio Shogun: 6.3%
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 4.3%
Vitor Belfort: 3.9%
Hidehiko Yoshida: 3.9%
Yuki Kondo: 3.4%
Dan Henderson: 2.4%
Kazuhiro Nakamura: 2.4%
Alistair Overeem: 1.9%
Dean Lister: 1.9%
Kevin Randleman: 1.0%
Yoon Dong Sik: 0.5%

International (outside of North America and Japan) results:
Vanderlei Silva: 31.1%
Ricardo Arona: 15.7%
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua: 14.4%
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 7.1%
Vitor Belfort: 7.0%
Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira: 6.7%
Hidehiko Yoshida: 5.4%
Dan Henderson: 5.1%
Igor Vovchanchyn: 2.1%
Kazushi Sakuraba: 1.9%
Dean Lister: 1.0%
Alistair Overeem: 0.9%
Kazuhiro Nakamura: 0.7%
Kevin Randleman: 0.5%
Yuki Kondo: 0.5%
Yoon Dong Sik: 0.5%

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Tetsuya Kawajiri

DSE/PRIDE confirmed what Fightsport.com first reported on January 3rd, that Tesuya Kawajiri would soon be competing in PRIDE.

Kawajiri will participate on the PRIDE card that is scheduled for May 22nd. His opponent will be Luis 'Buscape' Firminho.

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Liddell eye gouge victim number 3: Randy Couture (pictured) after getting gouged in the eye by Chuck Liddell.


Liddell eye gouge victim number 1: Tito Ortiz (pictured) after getting eye gouged by Chuck Liddell.


Liddell eye gouge victim number 2: Vernon "Tiger" White (pictured) getting eye gouged by Chuck Liddell.

Commentary by 'The Predator'


Enough is enough! While fans all across the world have finally woken up about Chuck Liddell's cheating, I have to remind the cagefighting community just how far ahead of the curve I was. After UFC 47, I stated that Tito Ortiz was dominating until a desperate Liddell resorted to eye gouging, and then pounced on a helpless Ortiz for a cheap victory.

I was ridiculed and blasted for my comments, but now a general consensus and revision of history has been formed, and everyone else is finally coming around to my views. I don't hold it against the MMA internet fans though, as very few of them actually train, and even fewer have stepped into the cage. The outlook of a professional cagefighter such as myself is always going to have more insight than the opinions of a bunch of fat internet nerds...LOL

Anyway, on to the latest matter. I believe it is finally time for the trailer trash Oakie with an obvious HGH-induced bloated gut to have his championship belt revoked. Video evidence is clear that a desperate Chuck Liddell, once again having his sloppy karate technique failing him standing against a wrestler, resorted to multiple eye gouge attempts until he was able to capitalize on a hurt Randy Couture and finish him off. Video evidence also supports what I have said in the past about Chuck 'Thumbdell' and his cheating in the Ortiz fight, not to mention the obvious eye gouging in the Vernon White fight.

Only his very overweight, cowardly failure of a Karate trainer John 'Haymakerman', best known for backing down from a fight challenge with Dave 'Ghost' Hojack and for training fighters to be quickly and brutally knocked out in cagefights, would deny this fact in public, except for maybe the equally fat failures in life represented by the chain-smoking internet groupies popular with D-level mma fighters and mma.tv social rejects Annabelle and 'Scooby'. These two wholesome young ladies are well known for wearing such classy t-shirts in public with "Fuck Em Up, Chuck" in large letters, along with in general putting out for every D-level slapfighter who pays them attention.

What did all three of those fights have in common? In each fight, 'Mohawk Mullet Liedell' was gassing out, getting the worse of the exchanges, and that tiny, Karate trained brain of his was freaking out. Liedell remembered the humiliating beatdown suffered at the hands of Quinton Jackson and Randy Couture, so in each fight, Chuck 'HGH' Liedell, unable to carry out his poor Kempo technique in a legal manner, resorted to breaking the rules and using well known Kempo eye gouge katas to defeat his opponent.

Whether or not his obese and reportedly mildy retarded Karate trainer John 'Haymakerman' ordered him to eye gouge is still up for debate, much as Haymakerman's sexuality still is.

Chuck 'Kempo Kata Eyegouge Master' Liddell suffered two humiliating losses in a row and only then began winning after he broke the rules and clearly eye gouged three opponents in a row. Speaking as a professional cagefighter, not only does this disgust me , but it also makes me worry about the future of the sport.

Suppose Liddell continues cheating and eye gouges an opponent, but this time causes severe long-term damage and takes his opponent's vision away. Imagine how bad this would be for the sport!

I personally do not think it would ever recover, and would possibly be the sort of thing crusading politicians could use to ban professional cagefighting from being legal once again. Liddell's cheating not only breaks the rules, endangers his opponent's health and safety, but more importantly, it puts the entire cagefighting industry in America at risk. For these reasons, Liddell must be stopped at all costs.

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Commentary by 'Theaxemurderer'

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

Let's get started...


PRIDE Middleweight GP preictions and match breakdowns:
Well I don't know about you folks, but I've been waiting for this GP for over a year now. I know 2003's middleweight GP is gonna be tough to top, but DSE has done an amazing job by not sacrificing at all in order to put together easily the best tournament ever assembled in this, the 2005 middleweight GP. The First round card reads like a "who's who" of the MW division, and now with the matches set, and only 2 days before the event itself the world is on it's feet to see who will pass thier first test and remain in the hunt to win the toughest tourney ever put together, and not to mention the most sought after title ever created.

Now ONE thing is for certain, and that is that there is bound to be at least one huge upset in a tournament of this caliber. This GP has all the makings of a present day 'kumite', and everyone that has a spot in it is there to win the entire thing, no matter what it takes. These are fighters that love to fight and really beleive they are the best in the world, and are not scared to step up and back up their belief in themselves (which explains why Tito Ortiz refused to accept his invite to the tournement).

So here is the AXE's view on who will remain active in the quest to be MW GP CHAMPION at the end of the night, after all is said and done, and the traditional "your winner from braHHssillll VANDERRRRRLEIIII SILVAAAAAAAAAA!!" is screamed out to mark the end of the PRIDE EVENT.... enjoy...


Kevin Randleman (USA) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan)
Randleman has better striking, and his wrestling at this lower weight is gonna be hard for anyone at 205 to contend with, even Arona, the real question is whether Randleman will be able to defend Nakamura's submissions.Nakamura's striking is nothing special and he doesn't have nearly the same amount of experience or size as Randleman.
In my opinion Randleman should dominate this fight and I would not be suprised if he KO's Nakamura, perhaps even with a slam.

Randleman WINS via KO (Slam)


Dean Lister (USA) vs. Ricardo Arona (Brazil)
Potentially the most boring match of the night, this one could turn into a real sleeper. However if both guys come out hungry and realize they only have 2 rounds in which to impose thier will, it could turn out to be better than it looks on paper.
The way I see it Arona has the better ground game and better striking IMO as well, Arona's kicks are very underestimated and his wrestling is superb. Lister in my eyes does not have the same sort of experience in MMA in terms of opponents. This and the fact that Arona is very hungry after being slammed by Rampage and sees this as his chance to get a shot at WAND leads me to beleive that he will do what it takes to get past this first round.

Arona via Rear Naked Choke
(2nd round?)


Igor Vovchanchyn (Ukraine) vs. Yuki Kondo (Japan)
I think this fight might end up being a shocker if KONDO plays his cards rite, kondo learned his lesson when he fought WAND and now will not bang with good strikers unless it is going his way, Kondo has shown he can be dominant on the ground at times. Also Kondo's striking is very good and although Igor's is as well it owuld not suprise me if Kondo was able to catch Igor with a high kick or knee or maybe even some punches. However all that said, I am still picking my man Igor to take it, just because the size difference will just be too much for KONDO to contend with

Igor WINS by KO(punches & knees)


Vitor Belfort (Brazil) vs. Alistair Overeem (Holland)
I personally think Vitor is gonna have his work cut out for him against Alistair especially if he trys to stand with Overheem...but I doubt Vitor will be that dumb (then again the past has shown otherwise)
---I see this going to the ground early and Vitor pulling off a submission mid-way through the first round, he will show his dominance on the ground even tho alistair is no slouch on the ground.
This will be the true test to see if VITOR competing in a MEDIOCRE MMA organization (the UFC) has made him get worse skill-wise

VITOR wins VIA ARMBAR


Dan Henderson (USA) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazil)
I have a SERIOUS feeling this one will be going to decision....and I think DAN is gonna be the person who gets kicked out earlier than people expected this year...Dan is a great fighter he just got a very bad match-up for the first round, however it isn't as bad as him getting Rampage like what was rumored months ago, but it's the GP you take what you get. Lil' NOG has genetic advantage over Henderson and also Dan will just plain and simple be beat on the ground and likely submitted by NOG's slick ground game. If Dan is smart he will try to keep the fight standing and pray for the decision.

Lil' NOG wins via Submission(anaconda choke) or JD


Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan) vs. Yoon Dong Sik (Korea)
This one is easy to predict, GP is not a good place to make your 'real' Debut in MMA and Sakuraba is not a good first opponent for begginner MMA fighter

SAKU wins by KIMURA early in the first round


Quinton Jackson (USA) vs. Mauricio Rua (Brazil)
O- this fight will be great, look for SHOGUN RUA to be throwing alot of kicks and flying knees, and taking apart Rampages boxing with his Chute boxe striking.
If ninja's match with Ramapge was any indication Ninja should have no problem with ramapges wrestling and slams and have even less trouble clinching with him and delivering knees as well as outboxing Rampage with his quick punches.

If rampage takes this to the ground and manages to secure the top position he could stall to JD victory, but Rudimar has already broken down Rampages game and what he has to offer, and Shogun will have what it takes to finish Rampage and probably retire him for awhile.

---Rampage JACKSON will end up laying on his back eating kicks to the head, this is the only place I see this fight going, Shogun is very much like an elite level soccer player, and rampage's thick skull and big mouth represent to SHOGUN a perfect kicking target. Don't blink during this fight or you might just miss Rampages head being booted off, and landing in Mauro Ranallo's lap.

MAURICIO 'Shogun' RUA WINS via KO ('tard'-strength Soccer kicks)


Vanderlei Silva (Brazil) vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (Japan)
Yoshida says that he wants to stand and trade blows with WANDERLEI Silva but this wishful thinking will be thrown out the window once he feel's Wanderlei's improved power and accuracy, I honestly think this fight will be done in less than a minute if Yoshida is serious about his strategy, however if YOSHIDA clinches and plays to his strength he may be able to prolong the beating till MAYBE late in the first Round.

Anyway you cut it thoough Wanderlei is not gonna let Yoshida get in his way, the Title is his and whoever in the way is just another victim as usual.
If Yoshida wears his GI like in thier last fight Wanderlei will grab onto it with one hand and pummel him with the other hand and with kicks as well. If it goes to the ground don't be suprsied to see Wand take advantage of the GI as well and pull off some crazy BJJ (a clock choke perhaps?)
Wand has improved leaps and bounds isnce the last time these two have fought, after fighting hunt Yoshida should seem like a walk in the park, even tho yoshida beat hunt but I guess that's jsut MMA for ya!

Vanderlei Silva wins via KO (High Kick)



If I am right and the fights go how I predict them to go... then the second round should be like this IMHO

Vanderlei Silva Vs. Vitor Belfort
---Because it has to happen sooner or later!!!

Vitor will actually hafta FIGHT wand this time and not just get the UFC early stoppage


MAURICIO 'Shogun' RUA Vs.
Igor Vovchanynan
-----'Old' meets 'NEW'
what a matchup this would be!!!
The Winner would probably meet WAND in the finals

I think Shogun has all teh tools to give IGOR a memorable beating and pass the torch on to the new Generation of strikers.


Randleman Vs.
Arona

Interesting match-up, too big 205'ers, could turn out to be boring tho!
However iw ould give it the benefit of the doubt, I wouldn't be suprsied if randleman KO'ed Arona somehow either.


Lil' NOG Vs.
Sakuraba

this match-up makes sense for DSE, it's the easiest path to Final-FOUR for Sakuraba IMO, a rematch against randleman would not go his way and Arona would make him look old....

Lil' nog is great in his own right but I still think this would be the best match-up to have the chance of a potential saku vs wanderlei rematch in the Semi's

Lil' Nog still has a great chance to win it tho...


this path of predictions would lead to a final four of

Wanderlei
Shogun
Arona
Sakuraba

shogun vs arona

chute boxe vs BTT

the battle continues

sakuraba vs wanderlei 4

i don't think saku could last 3 rounds with Silva and walk out of the ring to tell the tale...so it is probably best that he fights him in the GP when he still has to conserve energy for another match afterwards... not to mention the lack of a third round would probably keep Saku alive a few years longer


final of COURSE would be

SHOGUN VS WANDERLEI

this would be teh best match in history of fighting .

wanderlei wins epic battle via KO (stomps)

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An MMA fan's parody of Tito's huge head. The pic is from when Tito lost to Randy Couture and began crying.

Tito Ortiz has decided to leave the UFC. Here the self-pitying announcement he released:


"I just want to come on and say Hi. I have been very busy on my future. It looks very bright. But being a UFC fighter will not be my future. I have never been so embarssed in my life. I got put in the bleachers, asked to leave the octagon when Ivan won, a was not aloud back stage to get my bags. But its business to the UFC. Iam pushed in to a corner and wont be pushed anymore. I have done good for the UFC in every interview, fights,and just trying to push the UFC to mainstream. Now that iam not there Champ they can careless. i will make it with or without them. I have to look out for my self. I do want to thank them for everything. But its time to go on with my future. What is next for Tito? You all will know soon!!!!

I want to thank my fans for the support. Couldnt have done it without YOU!!!!!!!
Tito Ortiz"


Editor's note: Welcome to the real world Tito you bitch.

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Randy Couture (pictured) right after getting poked in his eye by a Chuck Liddell strike, which eventually led to his KO defeat.

Below is the list of medical suspensions handed out by the NSAC to some of the fighters that participated on the UFC 52 card:

Joe Doerksen: Medically suspended until a doctor clears a CT scan of his head. Minimum suspension time is eight weeks.
Randy Couture: Medically suspended until a doctor clears a CT scan of his head. minimum suspension time is six weeks.
Mike Van Arsdale: Medically suspended for six weeks due to a left eyebrow laceration.
John Marsh: Medically suspended for six weeks due to a left eyebrow laceration.
Frank Trigg: Medically suspended for four weeks due to a left eyelid laceration.

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Randy Couture (pictured), gouged eye and all, was UFC 52's highest earner.

Below is the pay scale for UFC 51 as released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (all figures are in US dollars):


Randy Couture: $150,000 to show, win bonus would've been $75,000
Chuck Liddell: $70,000 to show, $70,000 to win
Matt Hughes: $55,000 to show, $55,000 to win
Matt Lindland: $10,000 to show, $10,000 to win
Renato 'Babalu' Sobral: $10,000 to show, $10,000 to win
Georges St. Pierre: USD$9,000 to show, USD$9,000 to win
Frank Trigg: $14,000 to show, win bonus would've been $14,000
Patrick Cote: $10,000 to show, win bonus would've been $10,000
Mike Van Arsdale: $5,000 to show, $5,000 to win
Ivan Salaverry: $4,000 to show, $4,000 to win
Joe Riggs: $4,000 to show, win bonus would've been $4,000
Travis Lutter: $4,000 to show, win bonus would've been $4,000
Joe Doerksen: $2,000 to show, $2,000 to win
Travis Wiuff: $3,000 to show, win bonus would've been $3,000
John Marsh: $2,500 to show, win bonus would've been $2,500
Jason Miller: $2,000 to show, win bonus would've been $2,000

Total Fighter Payroll: $519,500

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Forrest Griffin (left) with a fan.

Below is the list of medical suspensions handed out by the NSAC to some of the fighters that participated on 'The Ultimate Fighter' finale card:


Ken Shamrock: Medically suspended until a doctor clears his scratched cornea. Minimum suspension time is six weeks.
Alex Schoenauer: Medically suspended until a doctor clears a CT scan of his head. Minimum suspension time is six weeks.
Forrest Griffin: Medically suspended for six months, unless a doctor clears an injury to Griffin's right hand.
Kenny Florian: Medically suspended for six months, unless a doctor clears Florian's broken nose and a laceration on the bridge of his nose.
Alex Karalexis: Medically suspended for six months, unless a doctor clears an injury to Karalexis's right hand.
Stephan Bonnar: Medically suspended for eight weeks due to a left eyebrow laceration.
Chris Sanford: Medically suspended for eight weeks due to punishment taken in his TKO loss.
Lodune Sincaid: Medically suspended for six weeks due to a laceration on his nose.
Jason Thacker: Medically suspended for six weeks due to punishment taken in his TKO loss.
Josh Rafferty: Medically suspended for six weeks due to punishment taken in his TKO loss.

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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.

Below is the pay scale for UFC 51 as released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (all figures are in US dollars):


Ken Shamrock: $230,000 to show, $0 to win
Rich Franklin: $7,000 to show, $7,000 to win
Forrest Griffin: $5,000 to show, $5,000 to win
Diego Sanchez: $5,000 to show, $5,000 to win
Nate Quarry: $5,000 to show, $5,000 to win
Josh Koscheck: USD$6,000 to show, USD$5,000 to win
Chris Leben: $5,000 to show, $5,000 to win
Mike Swick: $5,000 to show, $5,000 to win
Sam Hoger: $5,000 to show, $5,000 to win
Alex Karalexis: $5,000 to show, $5,000 to win
Stephan Bonnar: $5,000 to show, win bonus would've been $5,000
Kenny Florian: $5,000 to show, win bonus would've been $5,000
Lodune Sincaid: $5,000 to show, win bonus would've been $5,000
Alex Schoenauer: $5,000 to show, win bonus would've been $5,000
Josh Rafferty: $5,000 to show, win bonus would've been $5,000
Bobby Southworth: $5,000 to show, win bonus would've been $5,000
Chris Sanford: $5,000 to show, win bonus would've been $5,000
Jason Thacker: $5,000 to show, win bonus would've been $5,000

Total Fighter Payroll: $364,000

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By Coffee Guy

Andrei Arlovski (right)

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 matchup of Andrei Arlovski vs. Chuck Liddell may now be a very real possibility for either UFC 53 of 54.

The matchup of Andrei Alovski vs. Justin Eilers has not been finalized as of yet."

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Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

The following was sent in by the MMA insider known as 'Shoot guy':


"Randy Erickson has been terminated from the Shooto Americas organization. According to people close to the situation, it was a long time coming, and SHOOT America's main guy, Rich Santoro, finally had enough and gave him the ax.

Those in the state of Illinois may best remember Randy Erickson as the driving force that tried to get MMA shut down and regulated by state officials. When Randy Erickson joined the SHOOTO organization, he came up with a plan, dictated by him, that would force organizations in certain states to either join SHOOT or be forced to cancel their shows.

They tried to get a sanctioning body in the State of Illinois, that would be controlled by them. State officials stopped their attempts at doing so soon after the campaign started.

Randy Erickson and his infinite wisdom will NOT be missed."

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2003 Middleweight GP winner Vanderlei Silva

Vanderlei Silva recently chatted on the internet with his fans and answered many questions. Here are some of the topics Silva discussed:


Vanderlei Silva on who he would most like to face in the upcoming PRIDE middleweight GP: "Hidehiko Yoshida, Vitor Belfort, and Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira.

Vanderlei Silva on whether he thinks Mark Hunt can be the PRIDE heavyweight champion: "Yes, Hunt can be the heavyweight champion. He is a good athlete, and if he improves his jiu-jistu skills, he might be able to get a title shot."

Vanderli Silva on friendship between fighters: "It is very difficult to develop a friendly relationship with other fighters when outside of the ring. Everything happens so fast, and because of that I can't name a friend, but Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira is a guy who I usually talk more to."

Vanderlei Silva on his plans after he retires from fighting one day: "I intend to open an academy and get focused on it. May be I will help to organize some big events, and try to help turn MMA into a mainstream sport in Brazil."

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Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira

Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira spoke with the Japanese media and said that he will try to choke out Dan Henderson with the same spinning choke.

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The Japanese media reports that Hidehiko Yoshida has been training his Muay Thai with an Australian Muay Thai coach who was once a Pacific Rim champion.

According to Yoshida, he will try to trade strikes with Silva more effectuively then in their first fight.

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Bob Sapp

K-1 World GP 2005
June 14th, 2005
Hiroshima Green Arena
Hiroshima, Japan

Japan GP tournament participants:
Bob Sapp
Hiromi Amada
Tsuyoshi Nakasako
Yusuke Fujimoto
Shingo Koyasu
Hiraku Hori
Nobu Hayashi
Tatsufumi Tomihira

Single matchup participants:
Lyoto Machida
Musashi
Choi Hong-Man
Nobuaki Kakuda

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Gilbert Yvel

'It's Showtime'
June 15th, 2005
Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam, Holland


MMA mathups:
Melvin Manhoef vs. Bob Schreiber
Gilbert Yvel vs. Valentijn Overeem
Dave Vader vs. Dave Dalgliesh
Perry Ubeda vs. Pislik
Martijn de Jong vs. Jordan Radev
Rodney Faverus vs. Sander Thonhauser

Muay Thai matchups:
Badr Hari vs. Stefan Leko
Gago Drago Aroetjunjan vs. Murat Direkci
Fikri Tijarti vs. Pajonsuk
Gokhan Saki vs. Ahkramenko Vitali
Joerie Mes vs. Rayen Simson
Bjôrn Bregy vs. Marc de Wit
Sahin Yakut vs. Ali Gunyar
Hutnik Spejbel vs. Sem Braan
Mutlu Karabulut vs. Sowa

Boxing matchups:
Regillo Aaron vs. Mohammed El Farouni

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KOTC: 'Edmonton'
April 16th, 2005
Edmonton, Canada


Ruben Villarreal defeats Jim Dobson by TKO at 1:41, RD 1.
Jason Brilz defeats Jason MacDonald by split decision.
Ivan Menjivar defeats Brandon Carlson by rear naked choke at 0:45, RD 1.
Chris Fontaine defeats Danny Ciollfito by TKO at 1:21, RD 1.
Chris Peak defeats Lance Cartwright by TKO, RD 1.
Jesse Bongfeldt defeats Paulo Albuquerque by KO, RD 1.
Greg Rogalsky defeats Brett Schank by TKO, RD 2.
Elmer Waterhen defeats Jeremiah Pocock by KO at 0:07, RD 1.
Jeff Legault defeats Chad Hamzeh by TKO, RD 1.
Mike Jarrace defeats Jesse Lessard by decision.
Nigel Zettergreen defeats Steve Durig by TKO, RD 2.

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King of the Cage: 'Natural Disaster'
April 15th, 2005
El Paso County Coliseum
El Paso, TX


Brendan Seguin defeats Jared Rollins by TKO at 2:19, RD 1.
Tim Persey defeats Tony Sylvester by TKO at 3:31, RD 3.
Hugo Sida defeats Tommy Gouge by armbar at 0:38, RD 1.
Del Hawkins defeats Leo Uriquez by TKO at 5:00, RD 1.
Jerome Beal defeats David Rivera by TKO at 3:34, RD 2.
Mario Stapel defeats John Cronk by TKO at 2:47, RD 1.
Mike Valdez defeats Theo McDonald by TKO at 2:06, RD 1.
Miguel Gutierrez defeats Brent Wooten by TKO at 0:14, RD 1.
Frank Marquez defeats Joe Vigil by triangle choke at 0:46, RD 1.
Brian Ryan defeats Andy Montana by KO at 3:17, RD 1.

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By Tape Lord

Liddell eye gouge victim number 3: Randy Couture (pictured) after getting gouged in the eye by Chuck Liddell.


Liddell eye gouge victim number 1: Tito Ortiz (pictured) after getting eye gouged by Chuck Liddell.


Liddell eye gouge victim number 2: Vernon "Tiger" White (pictured) getting eye gouged by Chuck Liddell.

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...


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LIDDELL WINS WITH THIRD EYE GOUGE IN A ROW!
Chuck Liddell has won his last three fight by eye gouging his opponents, which eventually led to his knockouts over them. He eye gouged Tito Ortiz, Vernon "Tiger" White, and now Randy Couture. And all three times he got the knockout right after! What gives with this guy?? Is he a cheater or just the clumsiest fighter on the planet?
- Phil
Bayside, NY

Tape Lord's reply: Phil, I can excuse the first time. The second time looked fishy. But to eye gouge your opponent three times in a row now, which all led to knockouts, seems to be more then just coincidence, in my humble opinion.

Let's look at the three fights... in the fight against Tito, it seemed Liddell did not care whether or not his thumbs gouged Tito's eyes when throwing a strike. Tito eventually got eye gouged, Liddell realized Ortiz was hurt and quickly followed up with a brutal combo of strikes to finish off Ortiz, which dropped Tito like a sack of shit.

The second fight against "Tiger" White... Tiger was giving Liddell a lot of trouble in the standup game. Liddell obviously did not want to lose to the rank underdog White, and seemed to resort to a combination of strikes, which seemed to focus on Tiger White's eyes. Liddell's thumb was able to gouge Tiger's eye, and actually fracture part of the eye socket as well. Liddell finished off the injured White right after.

The third fight against Couture... It seemed Liddell's strategy was to avoid getting clinched against the fence at all costs and try to keep the fight standing by circling in and around the middle of the ring. As respected journalist Todd Atkins pointed out on the Fightsport.com forum, Liddell seemed to throw a combination of strikes to the eye as Couture was moving in to clinch him to the fence. The first eye gouge attempt was slipped by Couture, but Liddell then followed up with a kind of half open hand eye gouge that succeeded in raking Couture's eye. The fight needed to be stopped for Couture to recover, but he was visibly hurt after that. Liddell was then able to land the knockout shot soon after.

So in conclusion, it seems that Liddell is throwing some sort of eye gouge and eye rake combinations in his last three fights, all of which have succeded in gouging his opponents's eyes, which all led to injury, which then led to a knockout victory for Liddell. And even though Liddell is a sloppy, and somewhat clumsy, sort of fighter, can the the eye gouges be just coincidence? It's hard to say, but it's like I said up above... in my humble opinion, it does seem to be more then just coincidence.


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LIDDELL IS A CHEATER!
What can b done about "Cheatin'" Chuck Liddell? How canhe kep gettin away with hes blatant eye gouges??
- Daren Roth
Huntington Station, NY

Tape Lord's reply: Daren, as I type this reply, there is a campaign being organized by the MMA media to send video and photographic evidence, as well as many eye witness testimonials, to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, regarding Chuck Liddell's three eye gouges in his last three fights. Where it goes from there is anyone's guess, but you can be sure that an effort is indeed being made to put an end to these type eye gouge strikes, which seem to be pushing past the limits of the rules.


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LIDDELL LOOKS LIKE A SLOPPY STRIKER
What's up with Liddell's striking? Not only is he a dirty fighter, but he's got to have some of the sloppiest boxing technique I've ever seen. Did he really say he could be a champion pro boxer?
Juan R.
Miami, FL

Tape Lord's reply: Juan, I don't believe Chuck Liddell ever said he could be a champion pro boxer. Even if he ever did say that, I'm sure he was just trolling, otherwise he would have already been a pro boxer and would have never hired a no-name manager such as Dana White(LOL).

As for Liddell's sloppy boxing, as a Fightsport.com member called "Bulldog" put it... Chuck Liddell is like one of those clumsy mutherfuckers who always step on your feet by accident when guarding you in a pickup basketball game and then thinks they played great "D" on you.

I'll take that a step further and say that he will also pull your shirt and trip you when you've got him beat on a drive to the basket, and still believe he's playing great "D" on you.


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DANA WHITE, VANILLA ICE, AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER?
Tape Lord, I've heard that UFC president Dana White is possibly an Aryan supremist, and that that's the reason he only has white champions in the UFC, and almost always has problems with the black fighters he's chased off from the UFC.

Not only that, but I've heard that the reason the UFC PPV's have been filming Vanilla Ice a lot at the recent UFCs is because Dana(LOL) is supposedly a huge fan of his, and supposedly wants Vanilla Ice (who is white) to take over the rap industry under the Zuffa(LOL) record label. Is this true? Is this all part of that New World Order conspiracy? Thanks TL, and you're a great troll bro lol
-Andrew Bryant
Pheonix, Arizona

Tape Lord's reply: Andy, the rumors of Dana White(LOL) being an Aryan supremist have never been proved. However, it does seem interesting that Dana White(LOL) has never promoted a title fight involving a black fighter, and that all of the UFC's champions are white. Even the few Latin fighters he's brought in are fairly light in complexion.

It also seems that Dana White(LOL) is a huge fan of the white rapper Vanilla Ice, as well as the various white grunge metal music artists he gets to play the intro music for the fighters. Of course it could just be that this is his musical preference.

One thing I do find to be suspicious is the fact that Dana White(LOL) seems to have had a falling out with almost all of the few black fighters he's had in the UFC. The latest example is the way he treated Bobby Southworth on national television.


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ZUFFA FILES KICK ASS, WHAT ELSE IS IN THE WORKS?
I love the Zuffa Files, and now I hear there is a Dana White(LOL) Files in the works too? Please say it's so.
- Beau Taylor
Tulsa, OK

Tape Lord's reply: It is true. The "D-FILES" will debut soon, and it will expose a lot of inaccuracies, misconceptions, and just flat-out lies regarding UFC president, Dana White(LOL). Keep an eye out for it.


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The moment right before Chuck Liddell (right) eye gouges Randy Couture.


Randy Couture (pictured) right after getting poked in his eye by a Chuck Liddell strike, which eventually led to his KO defeat.

The 'Las Vegas Review Journal' newspaper is the latest media outlet to agree that Chuck Liddell eye gouged Randy Couture, eventually leading to Liddell's knockout victory.

Here is that Las Vegas Review Journal's exact quote:


"Seconds before the knockout, Liddell's thumb raked Couture in the eye"

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Randy Couture (pictured) poked in his eye by a Chuck Liddell strike, which eventually led to his KO defeat.

Commentary by 'Theaxemurderer'

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

Let's get started...


Last Saturday's UFC produced some great fights, and some terrible ones at that. It proved that Canadian athletes are quickly making thier presence felt in the UFC... George St. Pierre was dominating, Joe Doerksen showed us that his Jui-Jitsu is the Real Deal, and 'Diesel' Riggs fell to the wrath of semi-Canadian Ivan Salaverry.

But the story of the night had to be Matt Hughes comeback from near humiliation at the hands of Frank 'The nutcracker' Trigg..

... FRANK Trigg's willingness to do whatever it takes to beat Hughes almost got him the win, but hughes refused to sleep!... and seemed ONLY to AWAKEN!

IF ONLY HE HAD DONE THE SAME THING AGAINST B.J. PENN!

Who knows, maybe a sign of things to come? Hughes vs. Penn 2 SHOULD happen, Dana White MUST realize that B.J. Penn has a right to make a good living since he trains very hard, and that what Zuffa pays him couldn't do that for him. The UFC constrains fighters from reaching thier true potential financially and athletically. However, in reality I could care less if Dana invites B.J. back because B.J. taking part in the PRIDE lightweight GP next year would be much more entertaining.

Chuck Liddell has done what few thought was possible and KO'ed Randy Couture without getting beaten down, like in their first fight. However, Randy's eye injury seemed to play a slight role in how the fight ended, but props to Randy for taking the loss like a man and not running out into the parking lot and crying like a beaten down prostitute, much like his protege had done on TUF.

Chuck uses his thumbs more than Ebert and Roper!

The FACT is that UFC lacks any real high quality fighter to headline their cards, except for Andrei Arlovski, and the problem with him is they can't find anyone willing to fight him, or anyone who IS willing that actually has a chance of going a full round with him. The UFC's path this year seems clear, they will probably opt to have Chuck vs. Randy 3 rubber match after chuck beats Ken Shamrock via KO(Thumb to the eye?) After that, Vitor vs. Chuck 2 will go down for the title, after Chuck beats Tito Ortiz in their rematch, then prolly Tito vs. Vitor 2, Tito vs. Ken 2, Randy vs. Tito 3

The list goes on... just goes to prove that UFC has the best matchmakers in the game... (add in laughter)

The FACT is all these rematches are totally pointless. Vitor has no brains, Tito has little heart but alot of mouth, and even less true confidence, refusing to join GP, and Chuck has already been shown to be in the mid to lower part of the overall TOP 10 light heavyweights, in my honest opinion.

After all is said and done, Chuck will be the champ at the end of the year. His takedown defence only gets better every year, and he has a weapon that no one can defend against... unless of course they find an already blind fighter to fight Chuck.

Speaking of Chuck, it seems he is hell bent on Fighting Vanderlei Silva, as usual!... and while many people say that Chuck is a bad match-up for Vanderlei, I tend to disagree

Randy chose to strike with Chuck for wayyyy tooo long, in my opinion, and the fact that Randy has no guard game at all is what made it so easy for Chuck to win. Given he did take a big shot from Chuck, but as he fell he was still conscious, but he just layed on his side alot like Kimo Leopoldo used to do, and was just fed shots.

It was only after Chuck's first shot to Randy on the ground, when Randy truly went flat out. If Vand got hit by Chuck, and rocked by it, he would pull guard quick, and Chuck would be unable to finish him. Whereas Vanderlei has all the tools to finish Chuck wherever the fight may go. Chuck's biggest problem when he faces Vanderlei will be that he will want to stand with him obviously, and if we have learnt one thing from the vicious beatdowns Rampage Jackson has taken from Vanderlei, it is that you DO NOT stand with Vanderlei unless you are a heavyweight with great boxing. Niether of which Chuck Liddel is.

However, I don't wanna come off as bashing Chuck. I am glad to see he came out with a much tighter boxing stance when he fought Randy, and I think that made a huge difference. Randy had his way with Chuck when he was holding his hands way out at his sides in the first fight.

Chuck wants to fight Vand because it is his last shot at being the best light heavyweight. This is why everyone wants to fight Vand, and why Vand wants to fight Fedor Emelianenko... to obtain a status even greater than that of a legend. The only difference between Vand's dream and Chuck's is that Chuck's quest/death wish will consume him in the end, whereas Vand's will only prove what all the real fans already know, that being that Vanderlei Silva he is a man among men.

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By Jake R

Chuck Liddell (right)

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.


In yet another in the long line of bombshell reports, this cyber-reporting stud has just learned of a huge exclusive. As long term and reliable sources in Iowa have informed me, Zuffa is planning on matching up Ken Shamrock with Chuck Liddell in a future event.

As it was explained to me, Ken was promised both a shot at the winner of Liddell/Couture II and a rematch with Tito Ortiz in exchange for his participation in the TUF season finale.

It was also explained to me that Ken is still viewed as the biggest ratings draw for Zuffa by far, and that Zuffa plans on having Liddell defeat Shamrock to help build his star status among mainstream fans, much as Zuffa did with Rich Franklin.

As it is currently planned, Ken and Chuck will face each other next and neither will fight another opponent first. Though as always, plans can be changed depending on future circumstances.

As usual, stick to the Jake R Report for exclusive reports that are days, weeks, and even months ahead of the other MMA Media sites.



*Exclusive Jake R Report. Must credit Fightsport.com the Jake R Report when discussing this article. This means you, MMAWeakly.

*This Jake R Report was filed at 8:15 pm on April 17th.

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UFC 52: 'Couture vs. Liddell 2'
April 16th, 2005
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, NV


Chuck Liddell defeats Randy Couture by KO at 2:06, RD 1.
Renato 'Babalu' Sobral defeats Travis Wiuff by armbar at 0:24, RD 2.
Matt Hughes defeats Frank Trigg by rear naked choke at 4:05, RD 1.
Matt Lindland defeats Travis Lutter by guillotine choke at 3:32, RD 2.
Georges St. Pierre defeats Jason Miller by unanimous decision.
Ivan Salaverry defeats Joe Riggs by triangle choke at 2:42, RD 1.
Joe Doerksen defeats Patrick Cote by rear naked choke at 2:35, RD 3.
Mike Van Arsdale defeats John Marsh by unanimous decision.

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Heat FC 3: 'Metamorphosis'
April 14th, 2005
Natal, Brazil


Jorge Rodrigues defeats Marcelo Dourado by KO , RD 2.
Vasily Krylov defeats Savio Maia by KO, RD 1.
Silmar Rodrigo defeats Daniel 'Animal' by TKO, RD 1.
Joao Paulo defeats 'Barao' by judges decision.
Rondinelli de Souza defeats Erivaldo Caico by judges decision.
Charles Andrade defeats Sergio Junior by judges decision.
Adriano Nasal defeats Rivanio 'Aranha' by rear naked choke, RD 1.

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