It’s still unclear whether Bravo are airing the fight card on delay for us in the UK, but need wait no longer, see the main event right here. Thank you youtube.
What a shocker!
UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr
duane@bluraymma.com
UFC hall of famer - Royce Gracie
This past weekend (May 29 & 30) the UK’s premier martial arts expo returned to Excel, London, just down stream from the 02 arena.
Have you been to Disney Land? Did you see everything? Probably not. Seni 2010 was like that, more than enough to see and do in one day.
Travelling up from Bournemouth, reaching the Excel on the Saturday afternoon, I chose to fit in as much as possible to soak up the experience. Upon arrival I had to question if I had in fact arrived at the correct location, greeted by the sight of costumed cartoon heroes, rather than dudes in martial arts attire. It so happened Seni this year coincided with Expo – a special event for sci-fi and anime fanatics.
After checking in at the press desk I journeyed through the expo towards the area for Wu Shu Open, in order to give my Tai Chi instructor Brendan Burnett some moral support, as he entered the Chen style part of the competition. Amidst the many trade stands, I caught site of living legend Royce Gracie, meeting fans and signing copies of his book. Unsuprisingly the queue to meet the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master was massive.
Another master present – Samuel Kwok, a Wing Chun expert demonstrated close combat defence blindfolded! Amazing stuff! Seeing was believing, believe me!
Traditional Tai Chi winners on the podium.
Inside the classical martial arts arena, the Wu Shu was located between Kali stick fighting and the Jiu Jitsu grapplers. There appeared to be less space allocated for this section of the fighting arts since I last attended back in 2007, still great to see it represented. Fortunately I made it just in time, witnessed Brendan’s Chen Sword Form and Cannon Fist Form. Celebrating his 33rd birthday, the Somerset Sifu earned 2 third place trophies. Well done mate.
As previously stated the plan was to experience at much as possible. Next: time for a 10 minute back, shoulder and neck massage, courtesy of one of the lovely ladies at the UCMMA stand. The Ultimate Challenge crew were there promoting their best of DVD, plus the forthcoming Feel The Pain fight card – June 19, Troxy, London.
Your roving reporter and the gorgeous girls from Nuts Magazine.
Visitors also had the opportunity to meet ring girls and the gorgeous girls from Nuts lads magazine, who were more than happy to pose for photos.
Andre Winner - UFC fighter.
Throughout the day top cage fighters were on hand meeting fans. Some of the many mixed martial artists in attendance were Andre Winner (TUF 9), Dan Henderson (UFC & Pride FC), Jamaine Facey and Jimmy Manuwa.
Towards the end of the afternoon 3 very special surprise guests attended the show, non other than Celebrity Big Brother 7 winner Alex Reid, joined by glamour girl wife Katie Price and her son Harvey. Katie tried on a special training vest for size, whilst Alex appeared to be having a brilliant time stopping off at the many trade stands, greeting friends and fans alike.
To sum it up, a fantastic day out, Seni’s got something for everyone. Will I be visiting Seni next time? Damn right I am!
A special thanks to Joe Long – Fighters Inc.
UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr
duane@bluraymma.com
MMA legend Royce Gracie - see him at SENI 2010.
Seni 2010 – the awesome event martial arts enthusiasts are talking about. Yes, there sure is a buzz in the air. Seni takes place at Excel, London in the heart of the docklands, this coming bank holiday weekend (29 & 30 May). Here is a taster of what MMA and combat sports fans can expect to experience over the 2 day event:
The mammoth martial arts event ecompasses all from the world of the fighting arts, ranging from street defence demonstrations, Chinese Wu-Shu open competition, kick boxing and Jiu Jitsu tournaments, trade stands for all your martial arts needs, plus seminars and appearances from legendary fighters.
The masterful Jiu Jitsu legend Royce Gracie makes a welcome return to Seni, teaching his seminar, not surprisingly the seminar is now fully booked. Seni 2010 visitors will find Royce at his very own Royce Gracie Impact fightwear stand all weekend.
UFC fans will have the opportunity to meet some of their octagon heroes. Home grown fighters scheduled to appear are cage veterans Terry Etim, Paul ‘Tellys’ Kelly and ‘Relentless’ Paul Taylor. The Ultimate Fighter: Season 9 standouts from team UK, Andre Winner and ‘Slick’ Nick Osipczak join the trio. The British UFC competitors will be available to chat about forthcoming bouts and sign autographs.
Look out for Dan Henderson, another former UFC and Pride FC legend making an appearance over the weekend. Like Gracie his seminar is also sold out.
M1 Global are set to exhibit at Seni for the first time, rising star Gegard Mousasi is coming along. Mousasi recently fought King Mo, competing for the Strikeforce light-heavyweight championship in Nashville. Check out M1 Global currently showing on Extreme Sports Channel on Sky.
Whilst Mike ‘The Count’ Bisping and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson represent The Wolfslair camp in their respective match-ups in Vegas at UFC 114, representing their team at the expo are new UFC signings: Tom Blackledge, Rob Broughton and Kurt Warburton. You will find them at MMA Bay / MMA Apparrel stand.
Teaming up with Nuts Magazine for the expo is premier UK cage fight promotion brand Ultimate Challenge MMA. The UCMMA crew will be promoting their next fight card, plus the brand new DVD “The Best of UCMMA”, available now.
Seni 2010, Excel,London – The International Combat Sports Show. 29th & 30th May Bank Holiday weekend – 10am-6pm daily.
Tickets available in advance or on the door.
Check out the official Seni website:
UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr
duane@bluraymma.com
The MMA legend Royce Gracie will be at SENI 2010, next weekend, just one of the many reasons to reach this spectacular fighting arts expo.
UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr
Rich "No Love" Clementi.
This month BluRayMMA.com is proud to introduce a new member to the team, welcome on board Gareth Doherty, debuting via an interview with TUF 4 veteran Rich Clementi.
On a cold winters night in Belfast, Northern Ireland “Cage Wars – Nightmare” raged with a clearly partisan crowd, having witnessed two local fighters crowned victorious with Colin “The Gift” McKee (7-2) beating BJJ Brown Belt Neydson Santos Ferreira (0-1) via TKO taking “The Gift” on a seven fight winning streak. Also victorious was Lee “The Dragon” McKibbin (3-5) defeating UFC veteran John ‘”The Machine” Lober (5-9-4) via standing guillotine choke in only 45 seconds, then it was time for the main event.
The home crowd hoped that the top three fights could be rounded out with victories from the home fighters. The main event featured another UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi (34-15-1) vs Chris “Menace 2 Society” Stringer (5-10-1) with Stringer taking the fight on a months notice after Peter “Slam” Duncan (4-5) got injured. The first stanza begins with both fighters exchanging on their feet until Stringer catches a kick and takes Clementi to the ground. The crowd erupts in what seems to be the local fighter gaining control, however Clementi remains calm and we soon see why, with Stringer being reversed and put on his back with “No Love” living up to his moniker by seeing out the round with strong elbows from the top.
The second round shows a determined Clementi taking to the cage and employing superior wrestling skills to take the fight to the ground where the barrage of elbows start anew until Stringer is caught in a triangle choke and forced to tap 3:11 into the second round. Within ten minutes of the fight ending the hall was empty. Five minutes later I was conducting this interview in Clementi’s changing room among the well wishers after his victory. Sporting no signs of injury apart from a cut on his left foot received from landing a kick on Stringers elbow.
Clementi was relaxed saying training went well for the fight and was happy to be back in Northern Ireland again having previously seen his student JC Pennington (19-9-1) victorious at Cage Wars Decade. Among his trips included an opportunity to come over for UFC 72 also in Belfast, where he had accepted a fight with Dustin “McLovin” Hazelett (12-4) on two days notice however Hazelett’s opponent was passed fit, so his time was spent drinking instead.
Clementi known for his time on season 4 of the Ultimate Fighter had mixed views on his association with the UFC saying, as others had, that the TUF house was not an enjoyable place but was thankful his season was full of seasoned professionals. The show helped rejuvenate his career with notable victories coming inside the octagon over Anthony Johnson, Melvin Guillard and Terry Etim. “No Love”’s girlfriend, shortly after standing on his injured foot, stated she feared for him whenever she saw Anthony Johnson (a man who weighs as much as 200 pounds between fights) at the weigh in. Her fears were not helped when Johnson weighed in at 177.5 lbs for the welterweight bout, Clementi submitted the then unbeaten Johnson in the second.
Although believing the UFC gave him the chance “I earned what I got, I fought for them on short notice and helped them out. It was disappointing being cut, one month after I had been re-signed to another contract and to find out online that I’m not needed I feel like they could have treated me better.” Clementi was open to a return , “I’m willing to fight for anyone, anywhere or for any promotion I just want to stay active and fight as much as possible. I doubt the reason behind why any fighter wouldn’t want to be in the UFC.” Probed on Fedor’s move to Strikeforce rather than UFC, Clementi admitted “well whenever your the number 1 fighter in the world, things are different.”
Clementi was complimentary on emerging UK talent, when asked who was his toughest fight, “Terry Etim” declaring “he was quick, long and knew how to use his reach to his advantage. He needs to be watched out for and nurtured to let his skills develop, the UFC tries to make stars out of everyone and he just needs to be given the chance to fulfill his potential.” Lofty praise for Liverpool’s Etim (14-2) who has a four fight winning streak since his decision loss to Clementi at UFC 84.
Clementi’s next opponent is Derek Krantz (9-1-1) on a December 12th Louisiana show, but when asked about his dream opponent he declares “that fucking wrecking machine, you know him the Lithuanian guy, Zaromskis”. Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis (13-3) recently signed to Strikeforce and fighting out of London Shootfighters impressed with his underdog victory in the Dream Welterweight Grand Prix with two Head Kick K.O.’s bringing victory. Apparently the fact that Zaromskis is heavier and a “fucking wrecking machine” only excites Clementi who would love the chance to fight the Lithuanian.
When asked about his MMA career Clementi disputes his official 50 fight record “you know not even every fight is on my record. I knocked out Krazy Horse in Floridia in an underground show, which isnt there.” “No Love” prefers limited rules MMA, stating “ I like knees to the head on the ground, its true to the sport, I prefer the Vale Tudo style, I fought 16 men tournaments where I have had to fight three times in one night, ” Concerning the 16 man tournaments for ZST, Clementi talks of his discontent with the Kotani brothers because of the disrespect shown. He illustrates that “whenever your training for someone you hate its easier. The worst thing is if a guy disrespects you, I would wake up fantasying about the guys and what I would do to them, putting pictures of their face everywhere to keep me motivated” a sentiment also expressed regarding the Melvin Guillard fight.
The final point of discussion between Clementi and I centered upon the scoring system, with the boy from the Bayou believing “the ten point must system isn’t accurate in MMA”. He explains, “You can have a guy beat the shit out of the other guy for one round and doesn’t finish him whereas the other guy could use his jab and work around him for two rounds and will get a decision”. And with regards to a remedy to the current ailing system Clementi suggests that “increments could be used to make the difference and reflect the fight itself better”and expresses a personal preference for the Japanese style of scoring as “the fight as a whole is scored rather than the rounds.”
Clementi’s next opponent is Derek Krantz (9-1-1) at “Team 3:16 – Seasons Beatings” at Shreveport, Louisiana.
Extreme Fighting DVD Volumes 1-4
In November 1995, while the Ultimate Fighting Championship was still in it’s infancy, a new mixed martial arts promotion held their first show. The company, known as Extreme Fighting, only held four events. With the popularity of MMA growing in the last few years, the four volumes that were previously released on VHS were later released in a one disc DVD set, at a very reasonable price. So, having had this for quite a while now, and having recently looked back at a couple of old UFC shows, I thought it would be a good idea to finally give this a look-see.
EXTREME FIGHTING VOLUME 1
The show begins with one of the many Gracie brothers, Ralph, taking on Makoto Muraoko (although there’s actually no introduction for him). This was a quick one. It quickly went to the ground, where Gracie quickly took control, taking Muraoko’s back, and synching in a rear naked choke. The Japanese fighter didn’t tap, and the referee stopped the fight when he saw that Muraoko was unconscious. Well, it’s the sort of thing you expect from the Gracies, isn’t it?
Next up was Igor Zinoviev against Harold German. Another quick fight saw Zinoviev knock German down early, going in for the kill first with a knee bar attempt, which German managed to escape from, and then with a relentless ground and pound, which German soon tapped out to. So far there’s been just eighty-six seconds of fight action.
Then it was on to Gary Myers against Tom Glanville. This one lasted longer than the first two fights combined, and saw a dominating performance from Myers. After escaping from a triangle attempt early on, Myers quickly got back on top, putting his elbow on the side of Glanville’s head. That particular move almost won him the match, but it was only when Myers rained in a few head butts that Glanville tapped out. A very good performance from Myers.
Gracie student Mario Sperry was next, facing Rudyard Moncayo. You could see that Sperry was a Gracie student from the opening bell, as he quickly used a leg trip to take Moncayo down to the mat. He immediately went for an arm lock, but it wasn’t long before Moncayo reversed positions and took Sperry’s guard – for about three seconds. Sperry was soon back on top, and after a brief flurry of punches Moncayo was tapping. Nice stuff by Perry, but I had the feeling that as soon as they said he was a Gracie student that he was going to win.
The next fight saw Conan Silveira facing Russian fighter Victor Tatarkin, also in this unknown tournament. More Brazilian domination saw Silveira take Tatarkin down early on, and from there he transitioned at will, almost getting a rear naked choke, before taking the back again and unleashing with the ground and pound, with the Russian’s corner throwing the towel in to end the onslaught. This one looked absolutely brutal.
Silveira then made a quick return, facing Gary Myers, making me think that this was actually a part of a tournament, which wasn’t actually announced on this DVD. This was the most even fight on the show so far. It soon went to the ground, and for the first time a Brazilian was on the defensive with Myers taking the guard and going to work. The fight was stopped briefly so the doctors could check on the cuts that the fighters had sustained. This gave Conan the chance he needed to recover, as he soon locked in a standing guillotine choke, with Myers quickly tapping out. We then saw an official give Silveira a title belt, so I guess this was a tournament after all.
And as it turns out, there were actually two tournaments in this show, with Igor Zinoviev and Mario Sperry returning to action in a middleweight final. The Brazilian dominance of the show ended with this fight. Sperry did well again here, and looked great in the mount, but Zinoviev did what nobody expected he would do, and escaped Sperry’s mount. The Russian was soon back on his back, but this time he went for a guillotine choke, which ultimately was unsuccessful. Sperry regained control, and once again looked like he was going to dominate again, until Zinoviev reversed the positions again. Both fighters then got to their feet, with Zinoviev holding on to the cage while Sperry tried to work. After a few moments of this, the fight went back to the ground, and a Zinoviev knee opened up a nasty cut above Sperry’s left eye. The doctor had no choice but to stop the fight, giving the fight and title to the Russian. Definitely the best fight of the first show.
EXTREME FIGHTING VOLUME 2
This one began with Jean Riviere facing future UFC star Carlos Newton. Newton was giving away a massive seventy five pound weight advantage, fighting at 205, a lot more than his title winning weight in the UFC. Newton actually did very well here, but in the end Riviere’s weight advantage was too much. While Newton showed some good jiu-jitsu moves, Riviere spent much of the time on top of Newton’s back, firing in the occasional knee. Then, about seven minutes in, Newton had had enough. Fatigue set in, and he tapped out. Good stuff here, very interesting.
Then it was on to the Heavyweight title fight, with Conan Silveira taking on Carl Franks. This one exploded into life after a minute or so, when Conan unleashed with a torrent of blows that rocked Franks, with the referee quickly stepping in and stopping the bout, much to the annoyance of Franks, although I could see why the referee stepped in. Quick stuff, and another example of how the jiu-jitsu guys were kind of dominant back then.
Next up, we skip forward to Extreme Fighting’s third show, with Eric Paulson against Matt Hume. By this time all fights were contested over three five minute rounds, or “phases” as they were called, instead of a straight fifteen minute fight. A very good and enjoyable fight. The first phase was fought mainly on the ground, with both men having opportunities to finish it via submission. The second phase saw both fighters using the stand up game, with both fighters getting in some good shots. The third phase lasted just over a minute. Paulson quickly sustained a deep cut right in the middle of his forehead, with the doctor stopping the fight. A very good fight, but a shame it had to stop in the way it did.
The next fight saw Ali Mihoubi challenging Lightweight Champion Ralph Gracie. As is the Gracie custom, this one went to the ground early. Gracie quickly went for the ground and pound, before locking in the ground and pound. Another dominating performance, and I couldn’t help but feel that Mihoubi didn’t really stand a chance.
After that quick fight, it was on to Anthony Macias against Allan Goes. Goes was unable to keep up the Brazilian tradition of instant take downs, although he was able to get past Macias’ defence soon afterwards. Goes then went for the ground and pound, and he would have probably got the win had he not gone for a head butt or a fish hook, both of which had been outlawed after the first show. Goes soon reasserted his control, taking Macias down again, but then we got a somewhat confusing ending. After Goes used another head butt, Macias verbally submitted just as the referee was about to warn Goes again. Macias thought the referee had disqualified Goes, and those in attendance weren’t exactly too happy with Goes’ conduct, and I can see why, especially as Goes and his entourage celebrated like he’d won a world title.
EXTREME FIGHTING VOLUME 3
Only three fights on this particular volume, all from their third show, beginning with John Lober challenging Igor Zinoviev for the Middleweight Championship. The first fight on the collection to go the distance saw a very good first two rounds, with both guys looking good, but as the fight went on Zinoviev showed his superior ground game, simply smothering Lober, using a tactic that would have seen the referee stand the fighters up a few years later. By the time the third round started both fighters looked exhausted, and they spent the last five minutes exchanging combinations, although they spent a great deal of time just squaring up to each other. So with no judges, the fight was declared a draw, which meant that Zinoviev retained his title. A very solid technical fight, and very enjoyable as well.
Next up, Murakami Kazunari against Bart Vale. Vale had a near thirty pound weight advantage in this one, but it didn’t count for much as Kazunari dominated for the most part. Vale’s only real offence was a straight armbar attempt, countering Kazunari’s standing rear waist lock. The Japanese fighter soon took the fight to the ground, taking Vale’s back, going for a rear naked choke, as well as getting off a few strikes. Vale was soon able to stand up though, and got off a couple of blows before Kazunari exploded with some shots of his own, knocking Vale down with a big left, and following him down for the ground and pound, and with Vale unable to defend himself, the referee stepped in. A very impressive performance from Kazunari here.
Then it was on to Maurice Smith challenging Conan Silviera for the Heavyweight Championship. Conan had had it pretty much his own way in his previous two fights, but came up against a very strong opponent in Smith here. The first round saw Conan on top on the ground, but Smith was soon able to reverse things, taking the mount and putting in some good work, although he received a warning from the referee for head butting. Smith’s kick boxing pedigree came out in the second as he out punched and out kicked Conan, although the Brazilian did manage to tie him up in a clinch against the cage a couple of times. Round three didn’t last that long. After another brief clinch against the cage, Smith rolled off a couple of leg kicks, but a high right kick hit Conan hard on the side of his head. The Brazilian staggered, and the referee quickly stepped in and stopped the fight, revealing a few seconds later that Conan was virtually unconscious. Smith was awarded the knockout win, and the Heavyweight title in a very good fight.
EXTREME FIGHTING VOLUME 4
As with Volume 3, this features just three fights, beginning with Todd Bjornthun going up against Allan Goes. The proverbial blink and you’ll miss it affair. Bjornthun went for a left jab, the fight went down to the mat, and Goes quickly locked in a triangle choke for the submission win. Definitely a lot better than Goes’ last performance, and he certainly got a better reception from the crowd here.
Next up, Paul Jones versus Erik Paulson. A very good fight between two evenly matched men, a back and forth affair. Jones began the fight strongly, using a suplex to take Paulson down, and spending the remainder of the first round in the guard. The second round was a little more even. Jones again showed some good grappling while controlling the fight on the ground, although Paulson went for a couple of submissions, and looked like he was going to succeed a couple of times as well. It was the same in the third round as it was in the second, only with the roles reversed as Paulson seemed to have the edge as far as submission attempts were concerned. But with the fight going the distance, and no judges, the fight was declared a draw. If it had been held today, then Jones may have just edged it.
The final fight of the collection saw John Lober taking on Kevin Jackson. They definitely saved the best for last here. Jackson, the former Olympic wrestler making his MMA debut, took Lober down early and dominated him throughout the round. In fact he punched Lober so hard that he damaged his right glove, so there was an even longer gap between the rounds while his corner men went back to the dressing room to get a replacement. The extra rest didn’t do Lober any good. Jackson began the second round in the way that he’d begun the first, taking Lober down to the ground, and locking in an arm choke for the submission win a minute or so later. An outstanding performance from Jackson here, and as I said this was definitely the best fight on the DVD.
In conclusion – this certainly is a very interesting release. Fight wise it really can’t be faulted. There’s some good action on this DVD, and it’s also a good way to see just how much the sport has changed in the fourteen years since Extreme Fighting had their short run.
Production wise, it’s more polished than the old UFC shows I reviewed recently. From the beginning the announcers knew what they were talking about, unlike their counterparts in UFC 1. However, some of the editing was awful. For instance, in Volume 1 there were a couple of fights where the introductions were cut completely. I actually had to look in the results section of Clyde Gentry’s No Holds Barred book to find out who some of these guys were. I also found out from his book that there actually was a four man tournament to crown the first heavyweight champion, but it was difficult to tell this, given the way that Volume 1 was edited. Also, in Volume 2, there’s an interview with a fighter whose fight isn’t even shown. Thankfully, the editing gets a lot better with Volumes 3 and 4.
So in all, if you’re willing to put up with these problems, then you may want to get a copy of this release. It’s available from most of the online stores such as Amazon and Play, and for a very reasonable price. It’s a valuable piece of MMA history from an all but forgotten promotion, and who knows, perhaps one day they’ll eventually release these shows unedited. I’d definitely be interested in getting them!
Review written by Twosheds.
UFC 100 will air on UK TV but we've still got to wait a bit longer.
UFC 100 – July 11th, Mandalay Bay Centre, Las Vegas
The mammoth fight card UFC 100 is fast approaching, as I type there are under
4 days to go until the big one. UFC 100 is a monumental milestone for the
Zuffa owned Ultimate Fighting Championship organisation. This Saturday’s
pay per view event is more than just hype, once again matchmakers Dana White and Joe Silva have put together a stacked bill of highly anticipated clashes in the cage.
First of all let’s take a look at the triple threat lined up at the top of the
event for all you mixed martial arts junkies out there.
Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar – Heavyweight Title unification
You can easily label this one UFC the next generation as when you look back at what established the UFC originally was Royce Gracie vs Ken Shamrock,
a pro wrestler taking on a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert in a fight to see which
style was supreme. Now reaching the century history repeats itself as
once again a former pro wrestler battles it out with a BJJ expert.
Lesnar going in as defending champion has everything to prove. There are still many who do not feel he had earned his spot as top dog. As a former WWE wrestler The vanila Gorila has got to work harder to prove he is the real deal but ultimately getting the win is all that counts despite the opinions of others. Both fighters looked impressive in their last outings inside the octagon, but despite beating the best of the old guard – Randy Couture and Antonio Minotauro Nogueira it can be said that they were both past their best. It was clear Nog wasn’t in his best condition for their fight but Couture looked good but just did not have what was needed to beat the almost not human Brock Lesnar.
So going back to their first outing what has changed? Has Lesnar now got what it takes to avenge his loss to the interim champion? I am going to answer yes being slightly biassed as a fan of pro wrestling before getting hooked on MMA. I feel Lesnar since losing to Mir having fought and beaten both Heath Herring and the legend that is Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture now has the experience under his belt not to make the same rookie mistake getting caught in a heel hook. However there is still the possibility it could happen again. The clash of their opposing styles is the Yin and Yang principle used in traditional martial arts. You use your opponents
strengths to your advantage. That is what the power of Lesnar’s wrestling
versus Mir’s BJJ is – Yang versus Yin.
My prediction is a TKO win within the first 2 rounds for Lesnar.
Georges ‘Rush’ St Pierre vs Thiago Alves – Welterweight Title bout
GSP the welterweight champion and arguably the best pound for pound mixed martial artist in the world will face his tougest test yet in the form of
Muay Thai kickboxing specialist Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves. We all know St Pierre
is a well rounded fighter but he usaully enters the cage with the size
advantage, this time it is not the case. Alves a man naturally of 200lbs cuts
weight to 170lbs but come fight time he is back up there with an added 30 pounds. Both combatants are at the top of their game but the question is wether they will both be issue free. In the past GSP has lost mentally where as Alves’ had drug issues.
My prediction is GSP to win, the dude just keeps on improving and I would love to see him clash with Anderson Silva next year for a dream match.
Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping vs Dan Henderson – TUF 9 Coaches Collide
A non title fight but like Lesnar versus Mir it’s another highly anticipated
showdown. Having built up via the recent Ultimate Fighter 9 which saw
Bisping’s Team UK beat Henderson’s Team USA by snatching both the lightweight and welterweight prizes in the Ultimate Finale. Bisping seen as the cocky Englishman by the Americans is the dynamic opposite of mild mannered Olympian Dan Henderson. Henderson a former PRIDE FC star in Japan and title holder does not have father time on his side. Bisping is younger and an ever improving fighter of the TUF generation of UFC star names.
I am hoping Bisping impresses with a TKO win elevating the Brit fighter to
title challenger status.
Time for all the talk to cease as all the questions will be answered in the
octagon on Saturday July 11th.
The rest of the card.
Jon Fitch vs Paulo Thiago
Yoshiro Akiyama vs Alan Belcher
Mark Coleman vs Stephen Bonnar
Mac Danzig vs Jim Miller
Jon Jones vs Jake O’Brien
Dong Hyun Kim vs Jonathan Goulet
CB Dollaway vs Tom Lawlor
Matt Grice vs Shannon Gugerty
Limp Bizkit will be performing on the weekend plus there is a grappling
competiton, fanfest, UFC Hall of Fame inductions including Mask the
recently passed away founder of Tapout Clothing plus much more happening.
You can read an interview with Mike Bisping on the Henderson trash talk at Mirror.co.uk
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/more-sport/mma-and-wrestling/2009/07/02/ufc-100-interview-exclusive-michael-bisping-s-fury-at-dan-henderson-s-trash-talk-115875-21489783/
Keep an eye the official UFC 100 website for videos and news build up.
It appears to still be up in the air what channel will be airing UFC 100
in the UK but having just seen the Sky EPG fans in Ireland needn’t worry
since Setanta Ireland seems to be still on air scheduled to show the event
live at 3am despite the demise of the subscription channel back in the UK. Well I have my new Sky + installation booked ready for Saturday
with our package including Sky Sports free for a month so all being well
I won’t have to wait to see this one.
Don’t forget if you want to take advantage of the latest offers from Sky
or Virgin Media join http://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/DuaneDaStinge via the link in my signature and you will earn yourself upto £65 cashback in the process plus you’ll be supporting BluRayMMA.com as I’ll receive £2.50 as a referral.
UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr
UFC 98 Evans versus Machida and Hughes against Serra.
UFC 98 is fast approaching with just a week to go until May 23rd when the UFC return to Las Vegas and live PPV cage fighting action. The original plan for the main event was all set to decide the UFC Heavyweight championship between Interim champ Frank Mir and defending champion Brock Lesnar in his first title defence but as we all now know that fight is rescheduled for UFC 100 in July. So we have a little longer to wait but the double main event heading UFC 98 looks wicked.
First off in the top slot Rashad Evans defends the Light Heavyweight crown against challenger Lyoto Machida. For Rashad this will be his first defence of the title against Machida, a very worthy contender. Machida is undeated in the octagon boasting a unique style of countering his opponents attack coupled with a fantastic ability to avoid taking punishment from his attacker. Evans versus Machida the Karate master will be interesting seeing as they are stylistic so different where Evans is a superb wrestler and excellent striker. Can Evans overcome Machida’s strategy or will Lyoto continuing his winning streak and add the UFC Light Heavyweight belt to his trophy cabinet?
Check out this highlight preview video at youtube.com to wet your appetite for their light heavyweight championship showdown next weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBzYdPq59kw
The co-headliner for UFC 98 will be the long-delayed welterweight
bout between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. This one is a grudge match dating back to season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter where Serra and Hughes were the opposing coaches of the welterweight fighters. These guys just do not like each other, it’s as simple as that. Each fighter are two totally opposite characters. Hughes is the Mid-Western famer’s boy with Christian values, then we have Serra a loud mouthed Italian American hailing from New York. It’s fair to say both fighters need to prove themselves in this fight to climb back up to the challengers position for another shot at Georges St Pierre’s Welterweight belt. As with Machida and Evans here again Joe Silva and Dana White have booked another clash of styles which is what makes an exciting fight when you have wrestler against a BJJ submission specialist. Personally I would love to see Serra take the victory due to how Serra comes across as a nice guy and Hughes is the villain you love to hate.
Follow the build up to Matt Serra versus Matt Hughes at UFC98.
If you enjoyed watching Serra on TUF 6 you will love this, he’s a great little character. Serra is a down to earth engaging guy you would want to go for a beer with.
Matt Serra UFC 98 Video Blog – Day 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb4bK8K2sUQ
Matt Serra UFC 98 Video Blog – Day 2, taped on 5/6/09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvrkaRUTcCM
Matt Serra UFC 98 Video Blog – Day 3 Matt Serra UFC 98 Video Blog – Day 3 (Last Day, taped on 5/8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhuCp5BUDo4
See Serra and his trainer make media appearances on TV and radio,
including a phone in to Setanta Sports Ultimate Talk from the gym.
Here is the finalised event card in full.
Main Card Bouts:
-Rashad Evans (16-0-1) vs. Lyoto Machida (14-0)
-Matt Hughes (42-7) vs. Matt Serra (11-5)
-Dan Miller (11-1) vs. Chael Sonnen (21-10-1)
-Sean Sherk (33-3-1) vs. Frankie Edgar (9-1)
-Drew McFedries (7-5) vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam (20-10)
Preliminary Card Bouts:
-Brock Larson (25-2) vs. Chris Wilson (14-5)
-Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-3) vs. Brandon Wolff (7-3)
-Tim Hague (9-1) vs. Patrick Barry (4-0)
-Phillipe Nover (7-1) vs. Kyle Bradley (13-6)
-Andre Gusmao (5-1) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (17-8-1)
-George Roop (10-5) vs. David Kaplan (3-3)
You can watch UFC 98 live on Setanta Sports in the UK or on pay per view in the USA.
MMA blog by Dynamite Duane
The Ultimate Fighter - Team UK versus Team USA
Tonight’s first fight is announced between Martin Stapleton from Rochdale
taking on American Cameron Dollar in the Light weight bracket.
Royal Marine Stapleton is very confident where as Dollar
confesses to being nervous.
Following last episodes no showing by Mike Bisping we see him wholeheartedly apologise to Dean Amarasinghe for his absence at cage side. Bisping explains he overslept due to not sleeping sleeping well since landing in the US.
Stapes is the sort of bloke you would respect but not want to get on the wrong side of down your local boozer carries himself with the confidence you would expect from a tough as a nails military man. Dollar looks scared of the northener when he comes near him.
Dollar’s strengths lay in wrestling so in training he concentrates on improving his stand up game. But will it pay off for him inside the octagon?
Stapes the very confident 8 year army veteran confesses to missing his daughter.
All preparation is over – it’s fight time!
Round 1)
It transpired that coach Dan Henderson did a fantastic job training and inspiring Cameron Dollar who demolished the British fighter Martin Stapleton. Stapes following a powerful blow to the head tapped out to the American’s Rear Naked Choke submission. Now that is what I call a surprise result, that is why the UFC and the sport of MMA is so damn exciting for us spectators.
At 2 a piece it made the scores even between Team UK and Team USA but don’t forget there was one more fight to be shown on episode 6.
The next bout was chosen between 2 welters this time, Frank Lester of San Diego taking on James Wilks originally from the Midlands. Wilks a resident in the States moved to the US having trained in Orange County, California. Lester labels Wilks a traitor to his country having left the UK to train MMA stateside, also saying he is spoilt.
Frank Lester in training is an intense dude. Dan Henderson sits down and has a chat with him encouraging the guy to loosen up and relax more as he needs a clear mind pre-fight.
Round 1)
Worthy of note here Steve Mazzagatti as the asigned referee. Lester looks the better striker but Wilks takes a leg of Lester’s attempting a heel hook submission showing he isn’t a one dimensional Brit striker but a skilled BJJ grappler. A tough fought round going mostly Wilks’ way, ending with Lester being saved by the bell caught in Wilks’ choke hold. There is a delay in starting the second round due to Lester have teeth knocked out by the Brit fighter stuck in his gum-shield. Mazzagatti instructs the cornermen to remove the teeth and continue the contest. Bisping expresses disapproval that if he is unable to start then his man Wilks has won the fight by default.
Round 2)
The 2nd round under way and Wilks is mauling his American counterpart. It’s not long before James Wilks takes a tap out win via Arm-bar. Awesome fight. Frank Lester showed a lot of heart continuing despite having teeth knocked out but the battling Brit fighter was the better man on the day.
UK 3-2 USA, yes Team UK is back in the lead. Two more scraps next week where it could all change.
Make sure you tune into Virgin 1 every Sunday at 11pm in the UK on Freeview TV, Sky or Virgin Media. Setanta Sports subscribers can catch The Ultimate Fighter second showing every Wednesday. Over in the States the programme is aired on Spike TV a few days earlier.
MMA blog by Dynamite Duane
duane@bluraymma.com
TUF 9 - national pride.
Following Nick Osipczak’s knockout win for Team UK the American TUF hopefuls came to realise the Brits mean business. Where the Yanks went wrong is believing the British fighters are one-dimensional strikers. Osipczak showed himself to be a canny well-rounded fighter.
Next we get to see Team USA training but mostly not getting on and picking fights we each other. Generally it seems they are all out for themselves, not willing to help each other. Henderson attempts to pull them together as a unit boosting morale in the American camp.
Time to choose the next preliminary bout it’s Bisping’s turn he picks Andre Winner representing the UK against former IFL fighter Santino Defranco in the lightweight bracket.
Dre looks impressive in training taking down Mike Bisping having just learnt the skill from him.
Defranco has got a lot of heart since returning to MMA following brain surgery after attempting to be on an earlier season of The Ultimate Fighter. That really shows strength of character.
Fight time.
Round 1)
Dre looks good defending and attacking in the stand up battle. On the mat Dre gets snared in Defranco’s guard, it doesn’t look good for the Brit but he takes Bispings advice breaking free to drop some bombs on his grounded opponent grabbing the TKO win. Team UK 2-0!
Defranco’s loss was the second consecutive loss for Dan Henderon’s team. Hendo doesn’t seem great at inspiring his fighters plus Team USA are not gelling well as a unit. The difference with the two factions is Team UK have no egos and happily learn from each other and have fun along the way but the American TUF contestants are a different kettle of fish.
This week we are treated to a second battle inside the cage as the competition continues Henderson gets the pick. For the third preliminary bout it is the turn of the welterweights. DaMarques Johnson is chosen versus Dean Amarasinghe of Nottingham. Both fighters are hot prospects, Dean beat veteran Brit mixed martial artist Alex Reid and DaMarques is the more experienced taller fighter. Pre fight the Utah native Johnson prays inside the octagon grateful for the opportunity.
It is fight time but someone is missing, Mike Bisping is AWOL, which does not bode well for Amarasinghe. Dean is not without a corner-man as Bispng’s own coaches Mario Sukata and Dave Jackson are on hand.
Round 1)
Johnson swiftly shoots in taking down Amarasinghe to the canvas. Johnson outclasses the Brit utilising his BJJ skills taking the first win for via Triangle submission tapping him out.
The win appears to be a huge morale booster for the American lads but the UK loss reflects badly on the absent Michael Bisping, ultimately Johnson was the better man on the day getting the result that counted.
Next week:
Where was Bisping? Will Team USA work together? Two more fights inside the UFC octagon.
Make sure you tune into Virgin 1 every Sunday at 11pm in the UK on
Freeview TV, Sky or Virgin Media. Setanta Sports subscribers can catch The Ultimate Fighter the second showing every Wednesday. Over in the States the programme is aired on Spike TV.
MMA blog by Dynamite Duane
duane@bluraymma.com
www.myspace.com/dynamite_duane