Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Wec 34 Fight Card Released


The lastest release from Zuffa regarding Upcomming WEC 34.

    The card is as follows...

    Main Card
  • Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver (WEC Featherweight Title)
  • Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda (WEC Bantamweight Title)
  • “Razor” Rob McCullough vs. Kenneth Alexander
  • Mark Munoz vs. Chuck Grisby
  • Undercard

  • Chase Beebe vs. Will Ribiero
  • Richard Crunkilton vs. Donald Cerrone
  • Jeff Curran vs. Mike Brown
  • Tim McKenzie vs. Eric Schambari
  • Alex Serdyukov vs. Luis Sapo
  • Alexandre Noguiera vs. Jose Aldo
  • Charlie Valencia vs. Dominick Cruz


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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Royce Gracie: Brazillian Ju Jitsu's Ambassador


The Day MMA Changed.
If you consider yourself a fan of MMA, but by some catastrophical mishap you don't know who Royce Gracie is...

We're just going to put you fanhood on pause for a moment. Til we get up to speed.

A quick trip, before memory lane.
Royce Gracie was the son of the famed Helio Gracie (the father/creator of today's Brazilian Ju Jitsu.) Born in Rio De Janeiro, Royce began practicing BJJ as a toddler. Yes, while most of us were busy mowing bubbles with our walker/big kid lawn mower, Royce was toying with an armbar. He began to participate in competitions by age 8, and at age 9 was asked to teach Jiu Jitsu in California to Americans despite his not knowing English. By 18 he was awarded his black belt. By now he had competed in the US and Brazil quite a bit, toting a record of 51-3.

Now that your know a little on where he came from let's take a look at what he did.

MMA Then and Now.

At this point MMA was still budding. It existed, but far from mainstream. Many of the fights consisted of brawlers, boxers, and strikers. The idea of fighting was still centered around a person's ability to effectively out strike the other. This took into account a person's pedigree, conditioning, skill level, and most importantly size.

Up until this point...

  • The bigger guy always won.
  • The bigger guy always won.
  • Fights rarely went to the ground.
  • The bigger guys always won.
  • Martial Arts as a sport were semi one-sided *similar to traditional boxing (but without the fanbase)
What Royce was able to effectively do was add another element. It's the equivalent of George Mikan and Dr. J did for basketball by adding the Slam Dunk. The sport before him was viewed one way, and after him has budded into an art form that must be mastered less you be 'tapped out'. His efforts made ground game a must, and here's where it starts.

Royce enters the Ultimate Fighter, which has no weight restrictions. Considering Royce weighs 160lbs at the moment, all of his contenders are easily bigger than he. They all look like deer in headlights after the first 2 minutes.

Here are clips from UFC 1 & 2

Cheers to you Royce.



[fanhood unpaused]

Welcome back.

Now that you're in the know. It's fun to watch those who just don't believe in the power of BJJ.

Learn him good Royce. Learn him good.
MMA: Royce Gracie vs. Jason DeLucia 1 (@ Gracie Academy)


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Monday, April 28, 2008

Monday Morning MMA Motivation

According to the calender, it's Monday again.
Most of us are in the need of a little motivation.

So we went looking for some great videos, to get the creative juices flowing.

The first piece of advice. Don't slack.
(There is always someone faster, hungrier, and younger than you.)


His Good - Awesome video clips here

Secondly, pretend you're a Shaolin Monk.
Don't underestimate yourself.
People in China are doing handstands on there fingertips...



And lastly.
Seek proper training, enough said.



This week, watch for those pesky double leg take downs...


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Friday, April 25, 2008

This Week in the Cage: No Chuck, No Love, and a Pair of Foreign Guys




Bad Luck Chuck.
It's been an interesting (to say in the least) year for , all out side the cage too. It seems that his career at the moment is destined to be riddled with circumstantial bruises. Hardcore MMA followers across the states scrambled for a pair of 'Depends' following the announcement of vs Chuck at . It was a fight that had fireworks all over it. Legend vs Prodigy. A match-up from heaven, only to live a week. Shogun out with knee injury. Now we were all glad we we're wearing diapers, I shit myself hearing the replacement for Shogun was who? None other than , who's unbeaten record looks impressive on paper, but with 7 of the last 11 victories coming from judges. Calling Evans a 'finisher' is a bit of a stretch. So the fight lost serious clout, now is more a stocking stuffer than headline. If that weren't it, latest word is now The Iceman, after suffering an extensive hamstring pull is forced to pull out as well. The Fighting Gods have been so unkind.

But, there is always a silver-lining.

-Chuck is already in a verbal pissing match with a potential dream fight, . Enough has been said to have both sides seeking proper steps to set up a possible bout. Providing Kimbo's Prime Time Slice with CBS does well in May, this could almost make up for not seeing Shogun and Liddell in the first place.

-, proven banger has stepped up to fill the spot for Chuck. Irvin has been known to dismantle people, ask Marcus Houston or Terry Martin. At least one person in this fight will be looking to end it.


"No Rest for No Love"

Following an impressive win at over K-1 Veteran Sam Stout at , Welterweight ops for no downtime. The three war in Montreal was taken after a decision, Clementi left one battle to prepare for the next. Scheduled for the upcoming UFC 84, Clementi is set to toe off with a UK star of Terry Etim in Las Vegas come this May 24th. With recent wins over Melvin Guillard, Anthony Johnson, and now Sam, Rich seems to have found a stride. Great on the ground, and hands to show we're secretly hoping Mac Danzig and Clementi cross paths in the center of the octagon.

Cro Cop Next Stop
Dream 4 has officially declared the next showing of Cro Cop. Today Dream announced that Mirko and Jerome LeBanner (an explosive striker) will be meeting each other June 16th in Tokyo. Lebanner is 3-1-1, hardly enough to strike fear in the Croatian.


Fighting with Fedor.

Yes we mean M-1, but not quite what you may think. Yes, the same M-1 that supposedly contracted , up until they realized he'd never signed any contracts. "Oh yeah, that formality." The same company has released a statement of a new reality show in the works for the Russian, titled: Fighting with Fedor. The (Ultimate Fighter Knock Off) show will feature 16 fighters who are all competing (twist) to fight Fedor.

Heavyweights will pummel each other, to in hopes of finding the one among them worthy enough to get KO'd by one of the most all-time winning MMA fighters to date.
(FYI, Fedor now sits at 28-1-1.)

Just makes it hard calling the winner of that show, a 'winner'.


Zuffa Companies Unite
And lastly UFC and announce future plans. UFC will push for the heavier weight classes, while the WEC will focus on the lower weight classes. @ MMAAnalyst with more clarification.

White says the UFC has no plans to introduce a 145-pound weight class. “That’s why we bought the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting).”

In fact, he said they are going to take steps to make the two circuits more distinct. “We’re going to make the WEC the smaller weights and the UFC will be the heavier weights. We’ll probably take some of the guys in the higher weights, the champions over there and bring them into UFC. We’re still trying to figure that out.”

WEC features 135-(bantamweight) and 145-pound (featherweight) weight classes as well as 155, 170, 185 and 205. The UFC has 155, 170, 185, 205 and heavyweight.


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Thursday, April 24, 2008

Bisping in, McCarthy Out...

A New Beginning?
This weekend marked a new day for Uk favorite at . Fight numero Uno after suffering his first loss on a 14 fight win streak to start off the career. Secondly, it was his debut performance into a well-deserving middleweight class. After this weeks statement, we're thinking we might have found a new contender at 185lbs. By contender we do mean exciting to watch until you dance with the devil, er um Anderson. Despite his heavy following around the globe, Bisping aura had yet to cast its magic this direction. Immediately following his entry to the ring, fans and those less impressed finally had identical thoughts.

"Wow. The Count looks preetty ripped."

On to the Show...
It's a muscle definition we've never seen from the likes of Michael. He appears focused, balanced, and surprisingly mildy intimidating. Neither or Bisping held their words prior to the fight, and the initial 1st minute the tension is visible. McCarthy easily the wilder puncher, showing how much he's putting into his swings. After, McCarthy secures the first take-down the fight begins to show true.


After attempting a few submissions from his back, The Count methodically works his way to his feet. Here where the diffrence in weight becomes evident. Bisping begins to put combinations together that flow seamlessly. He's fluid, he's accurate, and he's freaking quick. Transitions are excellent from strikes to clinch, knees, elbows all barrage and connect. This may be a beautiful find for Bisping, normally walking around at a 190lbs the extra weight is obviously not missed. Bisping has always been a cardio freak, the only question left is.

What a bout the power?
Yes, it was concluded in just A round.
Yes, McCarthy was unable to continue.
But, how long was he being brutalized? Even Matt Serra ended a fight in less time.

What's the take away?
Once he starts to connect Bisping's elegance lacks the sting to close the show. And while he looks good, efficient, and precise these are the things that separate the Men from the GODS. And at this point, when his road does cross the path of Zues. We're wondering if the end will be any different than anyone else "smart" enough to stay in the Middleweight Division.

On a lighter note, what better way to make a debut than to actually retire your competition. Following the performance, McCarthy released an official statement thanks to MMAweekly:
I would like to announce my formal retirement from Mixed Martial Arts competition,” said McCarthy in a prepared statement. “I have achieved many of the goals I set out to accomplish in this sport and found others just out of reach. It is now time for me to lay down my gloves and rededicate my attention towards my business, my fighters, my family and my team.
“The successes I have found in my career are due in large part to all the great people who have helped me along the way. Being involved with the true champions at American Top Team has guided me to become a better father, husband, teacher and friend. Without the great generosity of ATT my life would have had a void. I hope that everyone reading (this) can one day feel the love of a great family as I have.”
“My goal in my career was always to be the best, and you know it just didn’t work out this time. I’m okay with that. I kind of hit the whole glass ceiling in my career and I don’t feel like dwindling on past my usefulness.”
While he now retires from fighting, McCarthy will still be a major player in mixed martial arts, training and teaching new fighters at his BocaMMA facility (an American Top Team affiliate), along with friend and trainer Cole Miller. “I have a gym full of guys that need my attention, so I plan on giving them as much of that as they can possibly handle,” he stated. “I think out of everything that’s what I enjoy doing the most and I’d like to be able to focus my attention on that.”
“Thank you to all who have supported Mixed Martial Arts. You have helped me live out a childhood dream of being a professional athlete. I am proud to say that in some small way I helped to grow our great sport and entertain fans across the world. Some of the best friends I have made throughout my career I met on the other side of the cage. I would like to thank them for the opportunity to compete with them and entertain the fans.”

Cheers to you Chainsaw.

We hardly knew thee.
[fade to black]

Now.
Enjoy the new and improved Count Bisping.

[que ]

*be patient, there is a slight delay after clicking play...


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