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Check out this video, Dana White talking Toney vs Couture with legendary boxer ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

UFC 116: Lesnar vs Carwin

Huge heavyweight money match – Lesnar Vs Carwin has got everyone talking, making predictions for the highly anticipated title unification bout. Who is going walk out the octagon carrying the gold? Who are you betting to win it all?

There is no doubt it’s a tough one to call. ‘Vanilla Gorilla’ – Brock Lesnar is monstrous individual to tangle with, boasting overwhelming size and strength battling the likes of Randy Couture. Comparing Shane Carwin physically, he’s the nearest match in size to the former WWE superstar, not only that he’s got the wrestling to back it up.

It’s worthy of note Brock was an NCAA Division 1 heavyweight champion, whereas Carwin was a Division 2 Heavyweight champion. This could be difference maker for Brock. A difference maker for unbeaten Carwin is the heavyweight’s knock-out power.

Common opponent Frank Mir knows too well what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a Carwin uppercut. It’s fair to say as of yet Brock’s chin hasn’t been tested inside the cage, Carwin will be out to test it. If Lesnar can withstand Carwin’s punching power there is good chance he’ll win and a possibility the huge dude is superhuman!

Something I feel needs to be thrown in the equation is that Brock is still learning MMA. Despite being defending champ he’s had few mixed martial arts fights. Whilst training with the likes of UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture has Lesnar added anything new to his arsenal yet to be seen?

Hit me back, commenting with your thoughts on Lesnar versus Carwin. If you like get involved on the BluRayMMA.com Facebook group or Twitter @Duane_BluRayMMA.

Complete advertised card:

Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin (Heavyweight title fight)

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Wanderlei Silva – out replaced by Chris Leben

Matt Brown vs Chris Lytle

Stephan Bonnar vs Krzysztof Soszynski

Kurt Pellegrino vs George Sotiropoulos

Brendan Schaub vs Chris Tuchscherer+

Kendall Grove vs Goran Reljic+

Dave Branch vs. Gerald Harris*

Seth Petruzelli vs Ricardo Romero*

Julio Paulino vs Daniel Roberts*

Jon Madsen vs Karlos Vemola*

+SpikeTV Prelim

See the UFC 116 live this Saturday July 3, ESPN or pay per view in USA.

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:

www.senishow.com

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

This is the first episode, can’t wait to see more.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Coaches clash: Rashad and Rampage

FIVE USA are showing episodes 11 + 12 back to back in the usual Saturday night time slot, giving us a double of whammy of The Ultimate Fighter. The finale show is being aired the following Thursday or ESPN subscribers can see the finale live at 2am in the early hours of Sunday morning. Before then let’s take a look back at episode 10 recapping on what took place.

Is Mitrione in or not? Matt Mitrione informs his coach Rashad Evans that he has swelling of the brain but should be OK to fight. Mean while Brit James McSweeney does not trust Matt’s motives.  Street brawler turned mixed martial arts competitor Kimbo Slice prepares for kick boxer McSweeney eager to replace Mitrione.

The confirmed match-up for this episode was Brendan Schaub battling it out with John Madsen. McSweeney does a fantastic job preparing Schaub, while Rashad leaves them to it, remaining impartial.

This episode was the week of the coaches challenge, the challenge was 2 on 2 volley ball – Rashad and Mike vs Rampage and Tiki. Amazingly these sets of tough dudes did well. The win went to Rashad, gaining $10,000 for Team Rashad. As you can imagine Evans was quick to rub it in Quinton’s face.

To the amusement of the rest of the house Kimbo endures an ice bath, to help work through knee pain. There is no doubt Slice is serious about being an Ultimate Fighter.

John Madsen is fortunate to train with fellow wrestler and former UFC light-heavyweight champion Rashad. So he changed his mind about being impartial after all.

Coaches Rashad and Mike have it out with Mitrione about whether he will continue to compete or not. Following this chat Dana White addresses the remaining TUF 10 entrants about the Mitrione situation, explaining how huge an opportunity the ultimate fighter is.

Comparing Madsen and Schaub it’s NFL veteran Schaub going into the fight having more experience but Madsen comes from Matt Hughes’ camp and is a serious threat in the octagon with pure wrestling strength.

Fight time. McSweeney hypes up Brendan by slapping his face.

Round 1)

Madsen utilises his strength advantage slamming down Schaub to the deck. Madsen however doesn’t do enough on top, the referee calls for a restart back upright. Madsen wastes no time once again slamming NFL veteran Brendan but again he lays and prays, simply not doing enough despite his dominant position.

Round 2)

Corner-man McSweeney encourages Schaub at the end of round interval. Brendan defends much better come round 2. The pace of action slows down due to the energy exerted in the previous round. Out of nowhere Brendan knocks out Madsen smashing the wrestler with 2 punches. Schaub is one to look out for, he has heavy hands.

Winner Brendan Schaub advances to the semi finals. McSweeney’s seconding was of a great help in keeping the ex American football player focussed.

That leaves us with Marcus Jones vs. Darrill Schoonover and Matt Mitrione vs. James McSweeney followed by the semi finals.

The Finale show will feature Matt Hamill vs Jon Jones and 2 heavy hitters - Kimbo Slice vs Houston Alexander. Plus of course TUF 10 winner will be crowned.

Don’t forget you can watch all the Aftemath videos at UFC.com

Watch The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Saturdays 11pm on FIVE USA,

in the UK on Freeview 31, Sky 174, Virgin Media 150 and Tiscali 30. Also shown on subscription channel ESPN and ESPN HD.

Wednesdays on Spike TV in the US.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

The Mixed Martial Arts Handbook

This book written by John Ritschel is The Insider’s Guide to Fighting Techniques. Wether you are a spectator of the sport of mixed martial arts AKA cage fighting or a keen martial artist intending to make your octagon debut sometime in the future, this is your first stop in gaining the required knowledge on the fastest growing sport in the world today.

John Ritschel is more than qualified on the subject having an early start at age 12 in martial arts. He went on to study the styles of Karate, Taekwondo, HapKiDo, Western Boxing, KungFu, Kickboxing and Wrestling. John is a senior instructor holding various black belts and a 2nd Dan in the All Range Combat Systems, a Mixed Martial Arts style. Not only that he’s earnt a silver medal in the Open World Championship and the accolade of the ‘Fighter of the Year’ award from the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

In the past a book on combat sport fighting techniques would be written from the perspective of the instructor teaching one style that he believes to be the best style. That was a whole different era that MMA evolved out of, when the ultimate fighting contest was purely concerned with testing which martial art be it boxing, olympic wrestling, kickboxing or jiu jitsu would reign supreme. Now in the modern era of mixed fighting it is essential to be a well rounded fighter, not relying on one style to win the fight.

John Ritschel’s book perfectly illustrates how to be an all rounder, demonstrating how to defend and attack in many variable positions a fighter will face in MMA competition. Included are all the basic kicks, throws, punches along with how to avoid takedowns and defending off your back. It amazes me as spectator how these guys from these many uncomprimising positions are able to turn a disadvantage around to gain the upper hand.

Not only does the book cover the moves and tactics utilised within the sport, it covers the rules of the game along with a brief history of how it all began with Brazilian Vale Tudo bouts along with Japanese shoot wrestling, which led to the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship event held in 1993.

If you haven’t got your copy yet make sure it’s on your Christmas list. The Mixed Martial Arts handbook published by A&C Black is out now in all good book shops or from online book sellers, priced £24.99.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

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.