The MMA Annotation

Miku Matsumoto new DEEP Female champion, DEEP 31 results

2007-08-05T13:44:00.000+02:00

Hidehiko Hasegawa (SK Absolute) / Dong-Hyun Kim (CMA Korea) (TKO, 3R 4:57)
Hisae Watanabe (Freelance) / Miku Matsumoto (Club Barbarian) (Judges decision, 0-2) [DEEP Female Lightweight Title match, Miku Matsumoto is the new champion]
Masakazu Imanari (Team-ROKEN) / Jong-Man Kim (CMA Korea) (Armbar, 1R 3:28)
Kazunori Yokota (Team Grabaka) / Minoru Tavares Tuchiya (Hard Combat) (Armbar, 1R 3:53) [Anthony McDavitt didn't make weight and was replaced by Minoru Tavares Tuchiya]
Yoshihiro "Barbaro44" Tomioka (Club Barbarian) / Makoto Ishikawa (PUREBRED Omiya) (TKO, 2R 3:12)
Ryuichi Murata (Yoshida Dojo) / Sojiro Orui (SK Absolute) (Unanimous draw, 1-0)
Yuya Shirai (Team M.A.D.) / Kozo Urita (Seiken Kaikan) (Armbar, 1R 2:42)
Keigo Takamori (Samurai Sword) / Dong-Yi Yang (CMA Korea) (TKO, 1R 1:57)
Takeshi Yamazaki (Team Grabaka) / Yoshisuke Kitada (Paraestra Chiba) (Judges decision, 2-0)
Yusuke Kawaguchi (Blue Dog Gym) / Iro Zeki (Freelance) (TKO, 1R 1:06)

Future Fights:

Takafumi Otsuka (AACC) / Seiji Ozuka (Combat Sports Circle OZ) (Draw)
Tarou Shimazaki (U-File Camp) / Takao Nakajima (Team Barbosa Japan) (Submission, 1R 1:16)

HERO's looking to add 143 lbs weight-class in 2008

2007-08-03T10:51:00.002+02:00

In the wake of the HERO's 154 lbs tournaments first round, FEG is examining the possibility to add a 143 lbs (65 kg) weight-class next year. This comes after both Hideo Tokoro and Kazuyuki Miyata where eliminated in tournaments first round, both smaller fighters who would fit better in the 143 lbs weight-class. This would of course also cater better to the organizations big star Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto, a natural 143 pounder.

Also noteworthy is their plan to raise the weight limit for the 154 lbs (70 kg) division to a more PRIDE styled limit of 160 lbs (73 kg), again leaving questions if Gomi is going to fight for HERO's in the future.

The Road to the Title: Hisae Watanabe vs Miku

2007-08-01T15:59:00.000+02:00

For the second time ever the DEEP female lightweight belt (110 lbs) is on the line at DEEP 31 this Sunday. The first time saw Hisae Watanabe become the first female champion in DEEP history after, at DEEP she KO'ed Satoko Shinashi in the first round for the vacant belt. This time Hisae Watanabe is defending the belt against Miku Matsumoto, a classic striker versus grappler matchup. Miku has been on a three fight winning streak in Club DEEP, while Hisae has one loss and one win in non-title matches.

Here's a collection of bouts, chronicling the two fighters journeys leading up to this title fight.

Hisae Watanabe

Miku Matsumoto

DEEP 31 card on August 5th finalized

2007-07-31T11:31:00.000+02:00

With the addition of the Hidehiko Hasegawa / Dong-Hyun Kim bout, the DEEP 31 IMPACT card on August 5th in now final.

DEEP 31 full card:

Masakazu Imanari (Team-ROKEN) / Jong-Man Kim (CMA Korea)
Yoshihiro "Barbaro44" Tomioka (Club Barbarian) / Makoto Ishikawa (PUREBRED Omiya)
Takeshi Yamazaki (Team Grabaka) / Yoshisuke Kitada (Paraestra Chiba)
Yusuke Kawaguchi (Blue Dog Gym) / Iro Zeki (Freelance)
Hisae Watanabe (Freelance) / Miku Matsumoto (Club Barbarian) (DEEP Female Lightweight Title match)
Hidehiko Hasegawa (SK Absolute) / Dong-Hyun Kim (CMA Korea)
Ryuichi Murata (Yoshida Dojo) / Sojiro Orui (SK Absolute)
Kazunori Yokota (Team Grabaka) / Anthony McDavitt
Yuya Shirai (Team M.A.D.) / Kozo Urita (Seiken Kaikan)
Keigo Takamori (Samurai Sword) / Dong-Yi Yang (CMA Korea)

Future Fights:

Takafumi Otsuka (AACC) / OZ (Combat Sports Circle OZ)
Minoru Tavares Tuchiya (Hard Combat) / Toshiaki Saiki (Paraestra Tokyo)
Tarou Shimazaki (U-File Camp) / Takao Nakajima (Team Barbosa Japan)

DEEP Welterweight champ Hasegawa takes on Dong-Hyun Kim at DEEP 31

2007-07-31T11:03:00.000+02:00

But not in a fight for the title, DEEP recently has become famous for matching up their champions with Koreans in non-title fights. This has backfired before though, Su-Hi Ham defeated Hisae Watanabe at DEEP 28, and this maybe another one of those times. Dong-Hyun Kim is coming of a 6 fight winning streak, most recently knocking out his opponent in 11 seconds at CMA Festival 2.

Saeki was quoted saying that a future title fight between the two was dependent on the result of this fight. Being Korean in DEEP you have to work twice as hard.

DEEP 31 IMPACT takes place on August 5th in Korakuen Hall, Tokyo.

Jean-Claude Van Damme portraying Mark Coleman in new movie?

2007-07-30T16:29:00.000+02:00

In a movie adaptation of the documentary The Smashing Machine, which followed Mark Kerr around, Jean-Claude Van Damme is supposedly starring in the role as Mark Coleman. I'd like to know what went through their heads when they came up with that idea...

Zuffa releases Shogun promo video, "forgets" about Rampage

2007-07-26T16:40:00.000+02:00

Zuffa released a Mauricio "Shogun" Rua highlight video to hype the upcoming Shogun / Forrest Griffin fight at UFC 76 (interestingly though it says PRIDE FC Worldwide in the intro text, I guess this is because technically PFCWW LLC owns the right to the footage and not Zuffa).

Noticeably missing are stomps and his dismantling of Rampage. Coincidence? This is Zuffa we're talking about so probably not.

New Takanori Gomi to HERO's talk

2007-07-26T10:08:00.000+02:00

You might remember the rumors about PRIDE lightweight champion Takanori Gomi signing with HERO's that floated around some weeks ago.

Now the rumor is back, and with a little more information to back it up. In an interview for the upcoming beach wrestling event on the 29th. Gomi spoke about his desire to fight for HERO's within the year, he confirmed that there is an offer from FEG, and if he was satisfied with it then he wants to fight for them.

I say good for him, UFC is most likely a dead end for most of the Japanese fighters anyway. Now lets hope others will follow him instead of just sitting idle and waiting.

Yoshida believes in PRIDE - sends his fighters to the UFC

2007-07-25T18:23:00.000+02:00

Yoshida's VIVA JUDO! camp was held yesterday in Kamisu, Ibaraki, with 120 kids participating. Yoshida trained with the kids for about one and a half hour. Yoshida said in an interview that he wouldn't fight for anyone else then PRIDE, even if there were offers from other organizations and he had to sit out for the rest of the year and wait.

And yet he's sending his fighters to the UFC, Michihiro Omigawa will face Matt Wiman at UFC 76, and it was rumored that Kazuhiro Nakamura was going to face Chuck Liddell before they booked Keith Jardine instead.

CMA Festival 2 results, Minowa victorious in return

2007-07-23T16:17:00.000+02:00

The second installment of the DEEP co-promoted CMA Festival 2 event took place today in Korakuen Hall, Tokyo. The event, headlined by Ikuhisa Minowa whom also celebrated his 10th year in MMA, saw Japanese fighters pitted against Koreans out of the CMA Korea camp.

Minowa, outweighed by over 20 pounds, defeated Min-Seok Heo in the main event when the Korean's corner threw in the towel after the first round. Other noteworthy results were PRIDE prospect Dong-Hyun Kim's eleven seconds knockout over Maejima from a left straight, and Su-Hi Ham's decision win over Megumi Yabushita, despite being outweighed by 15 pounds (fight was under kickboxing rules).

Full results, winners in bold:

Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa (Freelance) / Min-Seok Heo (CMA Korea) (TKO, corner threw in the towel, R1)
Kousei Kubota (Sakaguchi Dojo) / Do-Won Seo (CMA Korea) (Judges decision 3-0)
Megumi Yabushita (Tomoegumi) / Su-Hi Ham (CMA Korea) (kickboxing rules) (Judges decision 0-3)
Takayo Hashi (Wajyutsu Keisyukai Tokyo) / Hi-Jin Ei (CMA Korea) (Judges decision 3-0)
Kazue Matake (Wajyutsu Keisyukai Tokyo) / Yeon-Ju Ei (CMA Korea) (Submission, 4:07 R2)
Ken Hamamura (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / Dong-Ho Han (CMA Korea) (TKO, 3:37 R1)
Jyunpei Hamada (Makoto Gym) / Yang-Dong Lee (CMA Korea) (TKO, 3:14 R1)
Naoki Matsushita (MB3z) / Su-Han Han (CMA Korea) (Judges decision 0-3)
Yoshiyume Chodo (CMA Ikusa Gym) / Yoon Ho (CMA Korea) (Judges decision 2-1)
Takanori Onda / Ji-Hun Kim (CMA Korea) (TKO, 3:36 R1)
Yukiharu Maejima (CMA Ikusa Gym) / Dong-Hyun Kim (CMA Korea) (KO, 0:11 R1)
Hisashi Kudo / Yuhan Quoniam (CMA Korea) (Heel hook, 0:30 R1)

Takanori Gomi vs KID Yamamoto ...in beach wrestling?

2007-07-23T11:32:00.000+02:00

Sportsnavi is reporting that Takanori Gomi and Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto are both being supervisors in the annual beach wrestling event on July 29th in Odaiba, a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay.

Wikipedia describes beach wrestling this way:

Beach wrestling is standing wrestling done by wrestlers, male or female, inside a sand-filled circle measuring 6 meters in diameter. There are only two weight categories, heavy and light. The objective is to throw your opponent or take your opponent to his or her back. The wrestlers wear swimsuits rather than special wrestling uniforms. Wrestlers may also wear spandex or athletic shorts.

And if you want to organize a beach wrestling event of your own, eHow has you covered.

War of Words, Dana White shoots back from the hip

2007-07-21T11:49:00.000+02:00

It started with an editorial written on Sherdog by Josh Gross, calling out Dana White to do something about the rampant steroid use in MMA. Well now Dana has responded, in the most juvenile way he could.

He's hurling personal insults all around and commenting negatively on how people looks. Dana White, the public figure and leader of a multi-million company, spewing insults on a Internet message board.

But if you look at the bigger picture this is what the UFC core audience, the UFC marks, wants to see and agrees with. They're young males who reads this and goes "yeah he really told those fags!", thinking the UFC can do no wrong.

Dana White's post:

My response to idiot Gross:

Its funny how when bad things happen, you love to call me out and say that I need to jump in and fix it. All the positive things that Zuffa has done over the past 6 years and you write me an open letter telling me to fix the problem of fighters using steroids? You are the biggest idiot I have ever met in this industry. Josh "holier than now" Gross writes a letter full of insults and sarcasm about what my company and I have accomplished since buying the UFC- like it was some easy chore. This is the same scumbag who released the finalists of TUF season 4 before it even aired. Josh, before you start trying to fix my company, worry about the potential lying, corruptions and inaccuracies at your own shitty website.

To all the fighters out there that fight for me or another promotion: these fan boy websites come kissing your ass when they want to shoot video of you or get an interview so they can make money off you. But when you make a mistake, they will be right there to kick your teeth down your throat. One of the great things that has happened over the past 6 years is that real media covers us now. So when these fan boy self proclaimed MMA websites want to do video interviews or any other kind of interview to make themselves money tell them to stop calling you and leave you alone. They are not doing you any favors- they are making money off of you. I have not let Sherdog into a UFC event in years. And the UFC is doing just fine.

Anyway, back to steroids- every athlete on this planet knows what's going on with steroids right now and we make it very clear what the athletic commission will do to them if they are caught. In fact, to my knowledge, athletes competing in combative sports are the only ones in the world who get drug tested by the government, that's a pretty high standard to meet. Imagine if every NBA, MLB or NFL athlete was drug tested by the government every time they competed? That's a very high standard yet UFC fighters face government drug testing every time they enter the Octagon.

Everyone knows that it hurts me and my company badly when one of my fighters tests positive for steroids. Listen Josh "save the whales" Gross- I can't save the world by myself. So roll your boss back into the ocean and write a letter "Attention all promoters." When your product is human beings, there are always going to be problems and nothing is ever going to be perfect.

Gross, you have no clue the stuff I deal with on a daily basis with fighters. Myself and the UFC are adamantly opposed to the use of steroids or any other kind of drugs. Most of these guys that fight in the UFC are my friends and I care about them. My job isn't to smash them publicly and ruin their lives. Apparently, that's your job. My job is to help them through whatever problems they might have- professional or personal.

I don't know if anyone has ever seen Josh Gross but the guy has never done anything athletic in his entire life. And you only have to see Jeff Sherwood and his staff to know the same thing about them. These people don't know the first thing about the demands and challenges that professional athletes are faced with. I have my own opinion of Sherdog and Gross and how they run their business but I don't write open letters to the public about it. So for these goofy supposed fan boy clowns to sit around and write letters about what I need to do with my company and my athletes is fucking hilarious.

You guys just keep selling DVDs and chasing my guys around for video interviews so you can make more money and keep eating and I will handle the UFC and it's fighters.

Dana White

Battle of the Juicers. Both Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca test positive for steroids?!

2007-07-19T20:35:00.001+02:00

First Hermes Franca for Drostanolone, a couple of minutes later Sean Sherk for Nandrolone Metabolite.

I'm speechless and disgusted, stop ruining my favorite sport you fuckers. This is one bullet you can't dodge Dana.

Shinya Aoki vows continued commitment to PRIDE

2007-07-18T15:50:00.000+02:00

Shinya Aoki and Hayato "Mach" Sakurai were on Samurai TV today. Both said they didn't know when they're fighting next or when (the correct term should probably be "if" ...) the next PRIDE event will be held. Aoki however declared that he wasn't looking to join another promotion and was still committed to fight for PRIDE in the future.

I have to say Aoki has bigger faith in Zuffa then I do, but then again it is rumored that Joe Silva would love to see more exciting jiu-jitsu guys in the UFC...

A not so great night for HERO's

2007-07-16T17:37:00.000+02:00

Tanigawa had teased with a big announcement, believed to be the signing of former PRIDE lightweight Takanori Gomi. But the event came and went with no Gomi announcement at all. This should be promotion 101, don't say and hype things you can't deliver on, you'll only make fans angry and create unrealistic expectations. The only "surprise" that came out of this event was that apparently Pancrase veteran Masakatsu Funaki will return on New Years Eve, something I can't imagine anyone being really excited about.

All in all it was a bad night for HERO's and the Japanese fighters. Newly signed Kyoshi Tamura lost a pretty lackluster decision, Hideo Tokoro and Kazuyuki Miyata lost and where eliminated from the 154 lbs tournament, and Ralek Gracie armbarred Katsuyori Shibata in the first round (Ralek Grace vs Funaki anyone?).

Full results, winners in bold:

Alexandre "Pequeno" Franca Nogueira / Shuichiro Katsumura (KO, R2)
Andre Dida / Artur Oumakhanov (TKO, R1)
Ralek Gracie / Katsuyori Shibata (Armbar, R1)
Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro / Kazuyuki Miyata (Arm Triangle Choke, R2)
Kultar "Black Mamba" Gill / Hideo Tokoro (TKO, R1)
Caol Uno / Katsuhiko Nagata (Unanimous Decision)
Melvin Manhoef / Bernard Ackah (KO, R1)
Taiei Kin / Kiyoshi Tamura (Unanimous Decision)

Babalu fought the law and the law won

2007-07-15T20:11:00.001+02:00

No he didn't fight with Lindland, but apparently UFC and Rings veteran Renato "Babalu" Sobral spit on a bouncer in Tampa which was enough for him to temporarily land in the local slammer.

At least the cops didn't have trouble identifying him since he sported a t-shirt with his own nickname.

Charge report can be found here.

Yoon Dong Sik injured, Ackah vs Manhoef instead

2007-07-14T15:51:00.000+02:00

Looks like everyones favorite Korean, Yoon Dong Sik, is injured and won't fight Bernard Ackah on the HERO's show this Monday. Stepping up to take his place is explosive Dutch striker Melvin Manhoef. Both fighters are coming off huge knock-outs, Manhoef against Ruslan Karaev under K-1 rules at K-1 Amsterdam and Ackah against Johnnie Morton at the debacle know as K-1 Dynamite!! USA.

Watch both knock-outs after the jump.

Melvin Manhoef vs Ruslan Karaev, K-1 Amsterdam:

Bernard Ackah vs Johnnie Morton, K-1 Dynamite!! USA:

FEG expands their HERO's roster with Sokoudjou

2007-07-14T11:05:00.000+02:00

Sokoudjou was close to signing with EliteXC. A verbal agreement between the two parties was in place, but all of a sudden FEG (and not K-1 as Sherdog's article noted) stepped up with "significantly more money" and snatched Sokoudjou away. Now significantly more money in relation to the reported $200k that EliteXC supposedly was going to pay Sokoudjou is quite a lot.

This however leaves a lot of questions, does this mean that FEG is serious about the heavier divisions? HERO's has recently signed two former PRIDE light-heavyweights, Sokoudjou and Alistair Overeem, and is possibly pitting them against each other in September. But after that there are not many more fighters to choose from, and their heavyweight division is more laughable then UFC's was a year ago.

There are more FEG signings that make little sense. A couple of months ago grappling ace Marcelo Garcia joined the promotion, but he has firmly expressed that he only wishes to fight at 170 lbs, a non existent division in HERO's. All this looks like preemptive strikes from FEG to prevent other promotions from signing the big names.

The alliance is broken, the gloves are off.

E3 brings us UFC gaming goodness

2007-07-12T20:55:00.000+02:00

A new trailer for THQ's upcoming UFC game for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 has emerged out of the gaming trade show E3. No release date yet (but sometime in 2007 probably since it's called UFC 2007), but damn it looks good.

Check out the Chuck Liddell/Rampage action below, I can't wait to Rampage slam everyone.

Ultimate Fighting Championship 2007 E3 Trailer

Is Gomi to HERO's Tanigawa's big surprise?

2007-07-11T11:34:00.000+02:00

Sherdog reported yesterday about Tanigawa hoping to reveal a big surprise this Monday on their HERO's card. The rumors flying around is that the surprise is PRIDE lightweight champion Takanori Gomi signing with the promotion. This rumor is coming only a day after Tamura signed with HERO's, and leaves one questioning if the PRIDE fighters now finally are up for grabs by anyone, and not Zuffa exclusives. Another consequence from this is that any belt unification Zuffa is trying to accomplish becomes meaningless when you don't have all the title holders under contract.

With Gomi possibly taking the step to HERO's this also opens up the question if other PRIDE fighters will do the same. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai and Marcus Aurelio is destined for the UFC, but there are a ton of high caliber light weights that are ronins at this point, Joachim Hansen, Gilbert Melendez, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri, just to name a few.

Kiyoshi Tamura goes to HERO's, Sakuraba match-up finally within reach?

2007-07-10T18:06:00.000+02:00

It was revealed today that the man with red pants, Kiyoshi Tamura, will fight on the upcoming HERO's card on July 16th. Tamura's fighting Taiei Kin, Kin latest saw action on the New Years Eve Dynamite card where he defeated Tokimitsu Ishizawa with a high kick.

The Tamura signing again opens up questions about a possible match-up with Kazushi Sakuraba, surprisingly not in PRIDE as was teased at PRIDE 34 but now in HERO's.

DEEP 30 IMPACT Osaka results

2007-07-08T22:58:00.000+02:00

Results, winners in bold:

Jutaro Nakao (Freelance) / Kiuma Kunioku (Freelance) (Draw, 1-1)
Seichi Ikemoto (Freelance) / Han Su Fan (CMA Korea) (Judges decision, 3-0)
Tomoyuki Fukami (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / Henrik Kakiuchi (HARD COMBAT) (2R 2:21, Submission)
Takeshi Hamamura (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / YABU (Freelance) (2R 0:57, TKO)
Seigo Mizuguchi (Freelance) / Yusuke Sakashita (PUREBRED Kyoto) (Judges decision, 0-3)
Motoki Takinishi (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / Kenta Nakamura (Zendo Kai Hiroshima) (Judges decision, 3-0)
Isao Terada (ALLIANCE) / Kousuke Eda (PUREBRED Kyoto) (2R 2:40, KO)
Kitazaki Shizu (Zendo Kai Hiroshima) / Hiroshi "Goodman" Tanaka (KSW Hachijyo Pro Wrestling) (1R 3:19, Submission)
Atsuyuki Shimakawa (PUREBRED Kyoto) / Masahiro Toryu (PANCRASEism) (Draw, 0-0)
Yukinari Tamura (Freelance) / VS Animal (PUREBRED Osaka) (1R 4:36, TKO)
Miura Yasuaki (Zendo Kai Hiroshima) / Kazuhiko Wakita (Seidokaikan) (1R 1:37, Submission)
Takuya Sato（PUREBRED Kyoto) / Arai Hira (Zendo Kai) (Draw)
Taro Kusano (STG Osaka) / Rikiya Kawakami (Pancrase Inagakigumi) (Draw)
Makoto Kamaya (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / Nobuhiro Yoshitake (Pancrase Inagakigumi) (Draw)
Souyuu Tanabe (Renshi Juku) / Toru Harai (Mori Dojo) (2R 4:50)

Josh Barnett free from DSE contract, UFC or Bodog next?

2007-07-07T16:11:00.000+02:00

Josh Barnett wrote a blog post on his MySpace page declaring that he was finally free from his contract with DSE. It seems like it's down to either Bodog and UFC for him, though if he wants to be treated "like a valuable part of the organization" I'm not sure if UFC is the way to go.

Read the full post from Josh after he the jump.

The time has finally arrived to unleash the power of pro wrestling again on the MMA world. That's right, I am finally free from my former contract and open to hearing all offers. Great news for sure and coincidently just on the heels of my last blog explaining why I wasn't fighting. Somewhere I think I just heard a star imploding.

Of course the first thoughts are: will I or won't I fight in the UFC? Truthfully, I have spoken with Dana and Lorenzo recently and the UFC is well aware that I have no beef with them. There are no personal issues keeping me from signing with the UFC. I just have not received any offers from them yet.

Many have seen me on Bodog and may think I am automatically headed to or signed with them. While I have a good relationship with the promoters and have two fighters fighting next season, I have not signed any deals with Bodog.

I am looking to get back in the game and I want to be with a promotion that treats me as a valuable part of the organization. I hope I can find that kind of place this time around, not just for my sake but for all of my fans worldwide as well.

Now…who's ready to see somebody get buried into the canvas?

Source

Fights announced for DEEP 31 IMPACT and CMA Festival 2

2007-07-06T21:30:00.000+02:00

The busiest promotion at the moment in Japan, DEEP, is keeping a hectic schedule and announced fights for their CMA Festival 2 and DEEP 31 IMPACT cards.

DEEP 31 IMPACT
Returning to action is resident leglocker Mazukazu Imanari who faces Korean Kim Jon Man out of CMA Korea.

Also on the card, defending her lightweight title (which in this case is somewhere around 110 lbs), is Hisae Watanabe who puts her belt on the line against Miku Matsumoto. In Hisae's last DEEP appearance she was on the losing end against Su Hi Ham in a non-title bout, Miku later defeated Ham which is probably why she is getting the title shot and not Ham.

CMA Festival 2
Speaking of Su Hi Ham, Ham' fighting Yu Tsumiki at CMA Festival 2. The biggest attraction on that card is the return of Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa who is headlining the card with a fight against Ho Min Soo.

Check out all the announced fights for DEEP 31 IMPACT and CMA Festival 2 after the jump.

CMA Festival 2 full card:

Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa (Freelance) / Ho Min Soo (CMA Korea)
Kousei Kubota (Sakaguchi Dojo) / Su Do Won (CMA Korea)
Yu Tsumiki (CMA Center Japan) / Su Hi Ham (CMA Korea)
Takayo Hashi / I Heui-Jin (CMA Korea)
Matake Kazue / I Yeon-Ju (CMA Korea)
Naoki Matsushita (MB3z) / Kom Don Jon (CMA Korea)
Jyunpei Hamada / Yan Don (CMA Korea)
Tsuyoshi Onda Toku / Kim Ji-Hun (CMA Korea)
Ken Hamamura (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / Han Don Ho (CMA Korea)
Yoshiyume Chodo (CMA Ikusa Gym) / Ho Yun (CMA Korea)

DEEP 31 IMPACT announced fights:

Masakazu Imanari (Team-ROKEN) / Kim Jon Man (CMA Korea)
Yoshihiro "Barbaro44" Tomioka (Club Barbarian) / Makoto Ishikawa (PUREBRED Omiya)
Takeshi Yamazaki (Team Grabaka) / Yoshisuke Kitada (Paraestra Chiba)
Yusuke Kawaguchi (Blue Dog Gym) / Irozeki (Freelance)
Hisae Watanabe (Freelance) / Miku Matsumoto (Club Barbarian)

Also scheduled to participate:

Hidehiko Hasegawa (SK Absolute)
Kazunori Yokota (Team Grabaka)
Sojiro Orui (SK Absolute)
Keigo Takamori (Samurai Sword)

CMA Festival 2 is taking place on July 23rd in Kourakuen Hall, Tokyo, and DEEP 31 IMPACT on August 5th in Kourakuen Hall, Tokyo.

Streaming MMA on Joost

2007-07-05T20:05:00.000+02:00

I just got a hold of a invite to the video streaming service Joost. What's interesting is that The Fight Network has an MMA channel there with a bunch of on-demand fights. The fights are from the events TKO 14 and 15, MECA 1 and Rumble on the Rock 4, with bouts such as George St Pierre/Pete Spratt, Jeremy Horn/David Loiseau, Luiz Azeredo/Anderson Silva and BJ Penn/Takanori Gomi.

The quality is decent and pretty much what you'd expect from streaming video, but what sucks is that they interrupt the fights every 5-10 minutes or so for commercials, and the commercials are in much higher quality then the real content which leaves you wondering why not everything could look that good.

To check it out sign up for Joost beta here.

BJ Penn vs Diego Sanchez at UFC 74?

2007-07-04T12:26:00.000+02:00

Sherdog reports that BJ Penn will fight against Diego Sanchez at UFC 74. So this means two things: BJ will not stay at lightweight, Mach Sakurai will not fight Diego Sanchez in UFC as was previously rumoured.

I don't see this as a fight that favors Diego at all, the only area where he might have an advantage is in stamina. And I'm not sure you want to build a game-plan based on BJ gassing out.

Another one bites the dust, Baroni tested positive for steroids

2007-07-04T09:45:00.000+02:00

This is getting so tiresome, these days it's uncommon that an event goes by and no one gets caught for anything. So the latest name to the wall of shame is Phil Baroni.

Baroni tested positive for Boldenone and Stanozolol Metabolites steroids, which Phil's agent Ken Pavia claims might've been ingested unknowingly. This of course reeks of bullshit, what athletes doesn't have all their intake heavily screened before they put it in their body?

Rampage vs Henderson not a title fight?!

2007-07-03T10:59:00.000+02:00

[Dana White] On the possibility of the Quinton Jackson-Dan Henderson fight being a unification fight:

"No. What we’re doing with that thing is we’re respecting both (the UFC and PRIDE) titles. The UFC title is the UFC champion and we’re respecting Dan as the PRIDE champion. Quinton will walk out with his belt if Dan wins and vice versa."

Source

Wait what? What is this, two men enter the octagon and one man leaves as a paper champion? Not only did this fight not make sense to begin with and now this.

DEEP 30th Impact Osaka lineup

2007-07-02T20:49:00.000+02:00

The 30th installment of DEEP Impact takes place in Osaka this Sunday, July 8th.

The card:

Jutaro Nakao (Freelance) / Kiuma Kunioku (Freelance)
Seichi Ikemoto (Freelance) / Han Su Fan (CMA Korea)
Tomoyuki Fukami (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / Henrik Kakiuchi (HARD COMBAT)
Takeshi Hamamura (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / YABU (Freelance)
Seigo Mizuguchi (Freelance) / Yusuke Sakashita (PUREBRED Kyoto)
Motoki Takinishi (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / Kenta Nakamura (Zendo Kai Hiroshima)
Isao Terada (ALLIANCE) / Kousuke Eda (PUREBRED Kyoto)
Kitazaki Shizu (Zendo Kai Hiroshima) / Hiroshi "Goodman" Tanaka (KSW Hachijyo Pro Wrestling)
Atsuyuki Shimakawa (PUREBRED Kyoto) / Masahiro Toryu (PANCRASEism)
Yukinari Tamura (Freelance) / VS Animal (PUREBRED Osaka)
Miura Yasuaki (Zendo Kai Hiroshima) / Kazuhiko Wakita (Seidokaikan)
Takuya Sato（PUREBRED Kyoto) / Arai Hira (Zendo Kai)
Taro Kusano (STG Osaka) / Rikiya Kawakami (Pancrase Inagakigumi)
Makoto Kamaya (CMA Kyoto Seikeikan) / Nobuhiro Yoshitake (Pancrase Inagakigumi)
Souyuu Tanabe (Renshi Juku) / Toru Harai (Mori Dojo)

More match-ups announced for July 16th HERO's card

2007-07-02T11:07:00.000+02:00

Some more match-ups where announced for the HERO's card on July 16th in Yokohama Arena. It's worth to note that Pequeno / Katsumura is not a GP fight.

GP: Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti (American Top Team) / Andre Dida (Chutebox)
GP: Kazuyuki Miyata (Freelance) / Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (Nova Uniao)
GP: Hideo Tokoro (Reversal) / Kultar "Black Mamba" Gill (Revolution Fight Team)
Ralek Gracie / Katsuyori Shibata (ARMS)
Yoon Dong Sik (Freelance) / Bernard Ackah (Freelance)
Shuichiro Katsumura (Katsumura Dojo) / Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira (World Fight Center)
GP: Caol Uno (Wajyutsu Keisyukai Tokyo) / Katsuhiko Nagata (New Japan Pro Wrestling / New Japan Factory)

Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura forced to return SHOOTO Pacific Rim Middleweight title

2007-07-01T10:27:00.000+02:00

The first Shooto Pacific Rim Middleweight title holder, Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura, was forced to return his title to the SHOOTO commission without even having defended it once. The reason is K-Taro signed an exclusive contract with the UFC (probably a three fight deal, of which he has fought twice so far) which doesn't let him fight elsewhere.

As a SHOOTO title holder you have to defend the title at least once everyone 12 month, K-Taro won his title on July 21st in 2006 in Hawaii after defeating Ronald Jhun by submission.

TUF fighters worth more than Leonard Garcia

2007-06-29T13:39:00.000+02:00

The salaries from The Ultimate Fighter finale and the latest UFC Fight Night card was reported today.

What's interesting is that returning UFC fighter Leonard Garcia only got a fight purse of $4.000 ($2.000 to fight and $2.000 to win), while all the TUF fighters, most of them making their debuts, got a purse of $8.000 (plus $8.000 to win). This includes Garcia's opponent, "Monstah Can" Alan Berubie (or Allen Berube to some people), whose claim to faim is instigating a street fight on the show and getting kicked off because of it. How's that for a slap in the face.

Fair? Not really. I'm completely on board with paying the fighters well, but do it based on their skills and not on their antics outside the ring.

Carter Williams caught with coke in his blood

2007-06-28T10:36:00.000+02:00

Former K-1 fighter Carter Williams who fought against Paul Buentello on the Strikeforce card tested positive for Cocaine.

I compiled a small list of MMA fighters that got caught for steroids or drugs this year (there are probably more but this is just off the top of my head). Curiously enough 6 out of 8 lost their fights.

Carter Williams, Cocaine (recreational drug), lost
Jorge Ortiz, Nandrolone (steroid), lost
Melvin Guillard, Cocaine (recreational drug), lost
Royce Gracie, Nandrolone (steroid), won
Johnnie Morton, steroids, lost
Tim "Big Perm" Persey, Methamphetamine (recreational drug), lost
Nick Diaz, Marijuana (recreational drug), won (later overturned to NC)
Kit Cope, Boldenone (steroid), lost

The Beatdown radio show on Sherdog has a rather interesting interview with Joe Rogan on the topic of steroids and drug use (a topic Rogan is really familiar with and outspoken about).

Quote of the Day, courtesy of boxing trainer Tommy Gallagher

2007-06-27T12:20:00.000+02:00

Boxing trainer Tommy Gallagher (you know the guy from The Contender that looks like he could be a character on The Sopranos):

Now in the UFC fighting you can kick, you can bite and use your elbows. There may be a conspiracy to remove boxing and keep that Ultimate Bullshit out there!

That's funny, because apart from the obvious error in that statement the only biting I've ever seen in a fight was in a boxing match.

A closer look on Takada's PRIDE 10/11 revelation

2007-06-26T22:30:00.000+02:00

A small article went up today on PRIDE's official website about Takada's wrestling camp for kids, Diamond Kids College. What's interesting about this is that it was at the press conference for this event that Takada yesterday blurted out the 11th October date for the next PRIDE show, but this is curiously not mentioned at all in the article on PRIDE's website.

Gryphon also notes that Takada is nothing more than a public face for PRIDE (if even that these days), without any real power. When Sakakibara and DSE controlled the organization Takada at least had some insight into what was going on behind the scenes, but with a Zuffa owned organization Takada is most likely left in the dark.

So what's the truth about the October 11th date? No one but Zuffa knows for sure, but at this stage it looks like nothing more than wishful thinking by a Takada longing back to the glory days.

Who really controls PRIDE? Return in October?

2007-06-25T11:10:00.000+02:00

FightOpinion relays word today from Daily Sports that PRIDE will return on October 11th, ten years on the day after the first PRIDE show was held. The man behind the message? No other than Nobuhiko Takada. The question is who does Takada represent? You would think that a Zuffa controlled PRIDE wouldn't have someone like Takada convey their message in a PR event that's not even associated with them.

Takada said that he wanted to see Rickson Gracie at the event (I would guess to say a few words to the crowd and not to fight), together with an all-star assembly of fighters.

Watch the Rickson Gracie vs Takada main event from PRIDE 1, October 11th 1997, after the jump.

Rickson Gracie vs Nobuhiko Takada

DEEP in YAMAGATA results, Ryo Chonan victorious in hometown

2007-06-24T12:37:00.000+02:00

Winners in bold.

Ryo Chonan (Team MAD) / So Do Wong (CMA KOREA) (1R 2:58, TKO)
Eiji Ishikawa (GRABAKA) / Yuya Shirai (Team MAD) (Majority decision, 0-2)
Hiroki Nagaoka (MMA Dojo Dobuita) / Scott Anderson (Freelance) (Majority draw, 0-1)
Umeda Kosuke (R-BLOOD) / LUIZ (Zendo Kai) (1R 2:31, KO)
Andrei Watanabe (ALLIANCE) / Carlos Toyota (HARD COMBAT) (1R 3:49, TKO)
Sugiuchi Isami (Team-ROKEN) / Wataru Suyama (HARD COMBAT) (1R 1:39, Armbar)
Hiroki Saito (Freelance) / Ho Yun (CMA KOREA) (Majority draw, 1-0)

TUF 5 Finale results, BJ Penn chokes out Pulver

2007-06-24T11:28:00.000+02:00

Tonight BJ Penn proved that he still can win a fight that goes past the first round, securing a rear naked choke on Jens Pulver three minutes into the second round. This GIF was brought to you by Burger King, have it your way.

In The Ultimate Fighter 5 finale Nate Diaz won the contract after Manvel "Manny" Gamburyan injured his shoulder in the first round after a take down.

Weirdest moment of the night came when Gray Maynard slammed Robert Emerson early in the second round, spiking his own head on the mat which rendered him unconscious, at the same time Emerson tapped out from an injury. The fight was rightfully declared a no contest.

Full results, winners in bold:

Matt Wiman / Brian Geraghty (TKO, 2:09 round 1)
Leonard Garcia / Alan Berubie (Rear naked choke, 4:22 round 1)
Gray Maynard / Robert Emerson (NC, round 2)
Cole Miller / Andy Wang (TKO, 1:10 round 1)
Joe Lauzon / Brandon Melendez (Triangle choke, 2:09 round 2)
Roger Huerta / Douglas Evans (TKO, 3:30 round 2)
Thales Leites / Floyd Sword (Arm triangle, 3:50, round 1)
Nate Diaz / Manvel "Manny" Gamburyan (Shoulder injury, 0:20 round 2)
BJ Penn / Jens Pulver (Rear naked choke, 3:12 round 2)

Kimbo "The Submission Machine" Slice makes succesful debut in the cage

2007-06-24T09:52:00.000+02:00

Big D, Rasta, Dreads, Afro Puff, Big Mac, Adryan, The Bouncer, Chico, and now Ray Mercer. Street fighter Kimbo Slice, real name Kevin Ferguson (but I guess that doesn't sound cool when you fight on the streets), defeated almost senior citizen Ray Mercer yesterday in a mixed martial arts fight.

The fight took place in the faux organization CFFC and it took under two minutes for Kimbo to secure a guillotine choke against Mercer. Kimbo came in and bull rushed Mercer, taking him down in the process. Mercer managed to scramble to his feet only to be meet by a barrage of punches by Kimbo. Kimbo took Mercer down again, Mercer tried to scramble again only to get caught in the submission forcing a tap out.

EliteXC Strikeforce - Baroni vs Shamrock, notes and commentary

2007-06-23T12:51:00.000+02:00

Read all about it after the jump.

"Yo yo yo and away we go", sorry Mauro but that phrase has to go ...
Hasn't any of the higher ups at EliteXC comprehended yet that Bill Goldberg is really, really bad as a commentator?
Did they say Edson Berto's nickname was "little thai girl"?! Oh "little tiger", yeah that makes more sense.

Awesome heelhook by Berto. Joe Boxer tapped because he was a bitch according to Glazer.
Man they got some really skanky dancing ring girls.
Carter Williams looks like he's been training with Ricco Rodriguez and Frank Mir.
Oh no they didn't, CSAC needs to institute a ban on DJs/MCs/rappers at MMA shows.
... and down goes Williams. Don't fear Buentello, fear the consequences.
Impressive win by the Energizer bunny Ninja, plus he won some kind of Mickey Mouse belt. Villasenor fades really fast when things doesn't go his way.
Josh Thompson submits an outmatched Nick Gonzales with a rear naked choke.
"Special attraction"? If they call it that I want circus music.
Tony Fryklund has a real shitty gameplan, he sure can take a punch though.
Mauro claims Fryklund is a pioneer in the sport, sure so is Yatsu.
Target practice dummy Fryklund goes down from a combination by Cung Le that started of with a liiiiver kick.
It's time for the Strikeface-force main event, Shamrock vs Baroni. Amazing, they're actually standing in the same cage.
Shamrock knocks down Baroni!
Shamrock fouls Baroni and gets a point deducted.
Shamrock is dominating Baroni in the stand-up, Mo Smith thought him good.
Baroni takes down Shamrock pretty much at will, Shamrock needs to train more wrestling. He's trash-taling Baroni from the guard.
It looks like Cyborg vs Manhoef at this point.
Shamrock submits Baroni with a rear naked choke in the second round. Baroni looks completely out.
Nice, Shamrock had a excuse prepared in case he lost.
And now for some dark matches, Paul Daley vs Duane Ludwig is up.
Daley TKO in the second round.
Post fight interview with Baroni, he looks sad. Apparently he blew his groin out in the beginning of the fight, sounds painful. Baroni shows Goldberg his package. Goldberg gives Baroni a pep talk.

PRIDE: Where are they now?

2007-06-22T11:42:00.000+02:00

Since PRIDE went into hibernation a number of organizations have been trying to sign its talent.

Here’s a list of some of the former PRIDE fighters whereabouts.

In the UFC ...

... officially signed are:

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Mirko “Crocop” Filipovic
Dan Henderson
Fabricio Werdum
Marcus Aurelio

... rumoured to be signed are:

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
Wanderlei Silva. There are rumors about a possible match-up with Chuck Liddell in September.

In the WEC ...

Paulo Filho. Will face Joe Doerkson August 5th for the 185 lbs title.

In EliteXC ...

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Sherdog reported that the Team Quest fighter signed with the promotion.

In K-1 ...

Alistair Overeem. Is fighting for K-1 on their mixed card this weekend in Holland against Micheal Knaap (MMA fight).

Undecided ...

Fedor Emelianenko. The latest information is that Zuffa is close to securing a contract with the Russian, apparently the only hinderance is that Fedor still wants to compete in Sambo tournaments in Russia. Other players interested in acquiring his services include Bodog and FEG.
Josh Barnett. Is said to be participating in Antonio Inoki’s pro wrestling show IGF. Says he hasn’t even been contacted by Zuffa.
Denis Kang. His agent is out negotiating a deal for him, has been in talks with both Zuffa and Bodog. Reports say that a Bodog signing is close.
The Japanese fighters. Shinya Aoki grappled in DEEP X, and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai was rumoured to be fighting Diego Sanchez in the UFC, rumours that he denied. Ryo Chonan is fighting this weekend in DEEP. Other than that the status of the Japanese fighters are largely unknown.

Ryo Chonan returns to action in hometown

2007-06-21T10:39:00.000+02:00

Ryo Chonan will return to DEEP this weekend following his decision win over Ryuta Sakurai on DEEP 28 in February. The card takes place in Ryo Chonan's town of birth Yamagata and is appropriately named DEEP in YAMAGATA.

Chonan will take on South Korea's So Do Wong, fighting out of CMA KOREA.

DEEP in YAMAGATA, 24th of June 2007, card:

Ryo Chonan (Team MAD) / So Do Wong (CMA KOREA)
Eiji Ishikawa (GRABAKA) / Yuya Shirai (Team MAD)
Hiroki Nagaoka (MMA Dojo Dobuita) / Scott Anderson (Freelance)
Umeda Kosuke (R-BLOOD) / LUIZ (Zendo Kai)
Andrei Watanabe (ALLIANCE) / Carlos Toyota (HARD COMBAT)
Sugiuchi Isami (Team-ROKEN) / Wataru Suyama (HARD COMBAT)
Hiroki Saito (Freelance) / Ho Yun (CMA KOREA)

Pigs can fly? PRIDE returns in August?

2007-06-20T09:16:00.000+02:00

FightOpinion is quoting an article from Nikkan Sports that says that the new PRIDE run by Zuffa will make its debut in Japan on August 18th. The article says that the show will center around the Japanese stars (well they are the only ones left really so not much choice there). The only reported name is Hidehiko Yoshida, but it wouldn't be to far fetched to assume that other Japanese fighters like Takanori Gomi, Kazuhiro Nakamura and Kazuyuki Fujita would participate as well.

If this really is true then we should hear something official soon, they're supposedly having the show in Saitama Super Arena so ticket sales would have to start ASAP to sell a decent amount of tickets.

It should also be noted that this could be Zuffa's first and last PRIDE show. By holding one show they can at least say they ran a PRIDE show in Japan. It could also be a testbed for Zuffa to learn how they should run a real UFC show in Japan

Holy crap Royce, what did you inject?!

2007-06-19T10:51:00.001+02:00

A couple of days ago there was a story about Royce Gracie testing positive for steroids at FEG's HERO's show in LA. Royce has since that denied the allegations and maintained that he hasn't been taking anything except natural supplements.

Well here's the latest twist, CSAC released Royce's test values. The tests show Royce's Nandrolone value being 25 times (!!!) above the normal, clocking in at a whooping 50 ng/mL. Does the Gracie diet include bull testicles by any chance?

Both Renzo and Relson of the Gracie family commented on the story when it first broke, saying they haven't had much contact with Royce lately, but mostly voicing disappointment for Royce tarnishing the Gracie name.

Old man Shamrock vs Michael Bisping at UFC 75

2007-06-18T20:28:00.001+02:00

So reports are coming out that Ken Shamrock will square of against Michael Bisping at UFC 75 in London.

Joe Silva are you serious? What substances did you inhale when you came up with this fight? Or maybe you took out the dart board and threw arrows on a random list of names.

Shinya Aoki victorious in DEEP X, Imanari tastes defeat

2007-06-17T18:10:00.000+02:00

Results from DEEP's grappling show DEEP X:

Shinya Aoki submitted Pedro Akira with a rear naked choke, 38 seconds into the first round.
Bruno Frazzato defeated Masakazu Imanari on points (10-0).
Hidehiko Hasegawa submitted Max Fernandez with a heel hook, 1:10 minutes into the second round.
Aiko Usizuka defeated SACHI on points (14-2).
Antonio Carvalho drew with Takeshi Yamazaki (5-5).
Mauricio Souza submitted Hiroyuki Abe with a triangle choke, 3:54 minutes into the first round.
Takuya Kitade defeated RYOTA on points (6-4).
Sotaro Yamada defeated Marcos Souza on points (6-2).

Article: Dana White is playing favoritism

2007-06-17T12:45:00.000+02:00

Writer Nate Edwards has a good article up on Doghouse Boxing talking about how Dana White is clearly favoring certain fighters.

Link

Caol Uno vs Katsuhiko Nagata in HERO's 154 tournament

2007-06-16T10:47:00.000+02:00

The first match-up was announced for HERO's 154 lbs tournament. Last years finalist Caol Uno takes on Olympic wrestling silver medalist Katsuhiko Nagata. Nagata is going to train for the fight at the American Kickboxing Academy.

Rumored to participate besides previous announced fighters is Chute Boxe's Andre Dida.

Nate Diaz vs Manny Gamburyan in TUF finals

2007-06-15T22:36:00.000+02:00

The leaked finale fighters were accurate, on June 24th it's Nate Diaz vs Manny Gamburyan.

Full card:

Jens Pulver / BJ Penn
Nate Diaz / Manny Gamburyan
Roger Huerta / Doug Evans
Floyd Sword / Thales Leites
Brandon Melendez / Joe Lauzon
Andy Wang / Cole Miller
Rob Emerson / Gray Maynard
Allen Berube / Leonard Garcia
Brian Geraghty / Matt Wiman

Royce Gracie tested positive for steroids. Really? Him?

2007-06-15T10:44:00.000+02:00

First Morton and now Royce Gracie failed a drug test at the latest HERO's show. Really pathetic and so unnecessary when he was facing a beaten up Sakuraba his own age.

The question is will CSAC overturn the fight's result to a NC? The NSAC overturned Diaz win over Gomi at PRIDE 33 when Diaz tested positive for marijuana, and you would think steroids is a much bigger offence.

Sakuraba pimps Xbox 360 game

2007-06-14T17:29:00.000+02:00

Unlike of the rest of the Japanese population Kazushi Sakuraba seems to dig the Xbox 360. In the weigh-in against Yurij Kiseliov in HERO's Sakuraba had a Xbox 360 hidden in his shirt.

Game publisher Namco Bandai took note and hired Sakuraba to show up and promote the upcoming 360 game Eternal Sonata at the release party in Roppongi. Sakuraba was sporting a Eternal Sonata/Xbox 360 branded mask.

Source: Kotaku

Johnnie Morton: Officially worst - debut - ever

2007-06-14T11:33:00.000+02:00

Not only did Morton manage to get knocked out in 38 seconds by a Japanese comedian in his MMA debut, he didn't get payed for it since he refused a post fight urinalysis test.

Now it turns out he got caught with anabolic steroids in his system the pre-fight test shows. This must officially be the worst debut ever by a n MMA fighter, on the positive side at least it didn't rain at the event.

UFC Fight Night 10 ends up impressing

2007-06-13T13:46:00.000+02:00

In what turned out to be an evening of great fights the tenth installation of UFC Fight Night (formerly Ultimate Fight Night) ended up impressing me.

The two first matches ended up in under 1 minute knockouts, courtesy of Drew McFedries and Anthony Johnson. McFedries showed some real heavy, crisp striking and I’m looking forward to seeing him back.

First Brazilian to grace the cage tonight was Roan Carneiro whom almost secured an anaconda choke against Jon Fitch in the first round. Fitch turned it around in the second, landing some punches and eventually forcing a dizzy Carneiro to give up his neck to a rear naked choke.

Jason Black made his UFC debut against Thiago Tavares, a bout where Tavares dominated Black on the ground and ended up submitting him via a triangle choke in the second round.

The main event featured a rematch between Sam Stout and Spencer Fisher. Fisher outstruck the merited kickboxer Stout in all three rounds and took the unanimous decision.

All and all Spike TV should be happy tonight, all broadcasted fights where high paced and entertaining. The question is how many people tuned in to a card without any big names as drawing power?

Aoki to grapple in DEEP X

2007-06-13T10:55:00.000+02:00

Turns out Shinya Aoki's announcement wasn't what we where hoping for. Instead as speculated the Paraestra Tokyo fighter will participate in DEEP's grappling show DEEP X.

His opponent will be Brazilian Pedro Akira from BON-SAI Japan JIU-JITSU Team, a rematch from Campeonato Japones 2005 where Aoki quite easily choked Akira out.

Curiously enough this was announced on PRIDE's website and not on DEEP's own page.

Source: PRIDE Official Website

Shinya Aoki against Pedro Akira in Campeonato Japones 2005:

Minotauro and BTT parting ways?

2007-06-13T10:21:00.000+02:00

MMA Weekly is reporting that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, former PRIDE heavyweight champion, and recently UFC fighter, is on his way to leave the Brazilian Top Team.

The news is not all that surprising, Nogueira is living and training in Florida with ATT these days and have had very limited contact with the camp in Brazil over the last months. It came as a surprise to the team in Brazil when Nogueira showed up in the UFC cage and announced his signing with the American promotion.

There's no word if Rogerio is leaving as well.

Aoki promises big announcement tomorrow

2007-06-12T16:41:00.000+02:00

Japanese Shooto Middleweight champion and PRIDE fighter (not to mention a MMA Annotation favorite) Shinya Aoki wrote on his blog today that where will be a big announcement tomorrow, one where we should keep our attention on him.

The speculation is of course if this has anything to to with Zuffa's new PRIDE. Another possibility (which has been rumored before) is Aoki's participation on DEEP's grappling card DEEP X on the 17th of June.

Jon Stewart talks MMA on Daily Show

2007-06-12T11:47:00.000+02:00

Leave us alone Tommy

2007-06-12T10:07:00.000+02:00

Tommy Morrison, former boxer, toughman contestant, actor, and according to himself and some dubious blood tests - HIV positive. I didn't add mixed martial artist to the list, because what was supposed to be his MMA debut this weekend turned into nothing more then a toughman contest with 4 oz gloves.

The bout against the local Arizona fighter John Stover lasted a mere 2:08 minutes, which was to be expected when a former heavyweight boxer takes on a close to amateur opponent. And as that wasn't enough, kicks and elbows where deemed fouls only hours before the fight, taking away Stover's only real weapons. This was of course an unregulated event, I'm guessing no serious athletic commission would touch Tommy with a 10 feet pole.

Then there is the issue about Morrison's HIV. Here's a guy who makes his living as a pro boxer, all of a sudden finds out he is HIV positive and retires. 10 years later he's all of a sudden magically cured from a disease that according to Wikipedia:

There is currently no vaccine or cure for HIV or AIDS. The only known method of prevention is avoiding exposure to the virus.

I'm sure HIV researchers would love to get their hands on Morrison's blood work, and I'm sure he'd oblige, unless he has something to hide that is. Do you Tommy?

HERO's announces fighters for 154 tournament

2007-06-11T13:32:00.000+02:00

Sherdog reports that FEG released the first names for their upcoming 154 lbs tournament on the July 16th card at Yokohama Arena.

Gesias "JZ" Calvancanti
Caol Uno
Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
Hideo Tokoro
Katsuhiko Nagata
Kazuyuki Miyata
Kultar "Black Mamba" Gill
Shuichiro Katsumura
Alexandre Franca "Pequeno" Nogueira

I also hope we'll see Ivan Menjivar back in the tournament this year following his great fights against Uno and Tokoro in the HERO's 154 GP last year.

It's interesting to see that none of the PRIDE lightweights have jumped ship to HERO's so far, at least none that we are aware of yet. On the same note Shinya Aoki wrote on his blog today that PRIDE was fine and he was still training for the PRIDE lightweight GP, let's hope he's right.

This is the MMA Annotation

2007-06-11T11:57:00.000+02:00

So I decided to finally start an MMA blog. This blog will cover the world of MMA as I see it, with my personal commentary on stories.

Kampai!