Strikeforce Community - All MMA

No Holds Barred: MFC Lightweight Champ Antonio McKee

nhbnews — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:30:38 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight champion, the always-outspoken Antonio McKee.

He will be defending his title against Brazilian submission expert Luciano Azevedo on Friday, September 10, in the co-main event of the MFC 26: Retribution card at the River Cree Resort and Casino, just outside Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This mixed martial arts card will be televised live on HDNet Fights throughout North America.

The 40-year-old Antonio McKee, who has an extensive background in wrestling, has not lost a fight in over seven years. However, he has won most of those fights by decision, by taking his opponents down, outwrestling them, outstriking them both standing and on the ground, but not finishing them. Some people have criticized this effective and technical style as not exciting, so he has vowed to retire after this fight if it is perceived as being a "boring" decision, even if he wins the fight.

We thus spoke with Antonio McKee Saturday about this fight and what to expect. He critiqued the prevailing culture in mixed martial arts, especially in North America, which has labeled his winning style as "boring". He also explained why he believes that he has to retire if his September 10 fight is once again criticized as such, and what his plans are for coaching and training athletes. He ripped into what he believes to be a very prevalent double standard for Black athletes in mixed martial arts, both in terms of compensation, perception, and opportunities. He also recounted his experiences with the now-defunct International Fight League, and much more in a very candid interview.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2...11_12_27-07_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?71a1r6pu28jcyjl.

If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com).

Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum, at http://groups.myspace.com/boxing.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

MMA WORLD EXPO (http://www.mmaworldexpo.com). The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City, featuring the Renzo Gracie Open No-Gi 2010 tournament, a Muay Thai tournament, MMA fighters from the Bellator Fighting Championships, training seminars, vendors, panel discussions, and more to come. The second annual MMA WORLD EXPO (http://www.mmaworldexpo.com), in association with Madison Square Garden Sports, takes place Friday, November 12, and Saturday, November 13, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com), your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

American Top Team (http://americantopteam.com). Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com.

FightBeat.com (http://fightbeat.com), for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
http://eddiegoldman.com

Road Fighting Championship! Big MMA Promotion is Born

BigKahuna — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:46:17 GMT

There hasn’t been a single big Korean MMA promotion since Spirit MC died but late August a press conference was held to announce the birth of Road Fighting Championship.

The front man (Mun Hong Chong) of this new promotions is a representative of the Korean “Team Force” MMA team as well.

The connections of this new promotion:

M-1 Global Asia

Front man Mun Hong Chong sent some fighters to the July M-1 Challenge Asia Edition 2010 event so he has some connections there.

Japanese MMA Gym CAVE

The gym that former SRC Lightweight champion Mizuto Hirota and SRC Welterweight GP semifinalist Taisuke “Gouten” Okuno started earlier this year has a Korean trainer (the guy who cornered Okuno at the last SRC event) that Chong has a connection with. The Korean trainer (who knows both Korean and Japanese) has been entrusted to work as an agent for Korean fighters during their time in Japan for fights from now on.

PRO Fighting

A Taiwanese MMA promotion that started in June of last year. Team Force fighters have participated in their events in the past. Authorized people of PRO Fighting have visited Korea for discussions with Cheong and Road FC.

Their first event will take place on October 23rd and former DEEP Lightweight champion Bang Seung Hwan, Neo Fight 12 Tournament winner Doo Won “The Korean Pitbull” Seo, and a Korean comedian will participate.

http://nightmareofbattle.com/?p=3521

http://nightmareofbattle.com/?p=3526

Unbiased Rankings

Fragglerock — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:28:07 GMT

This sites promotes unbiased rankings. Tell me what ya think.
http://www.mma-elo.com/ranks.php

Quote:

1) Why Rank MMA Fighters?

One of the primary reasons to rank MMA fighters is to further understand MMA as a *SPORT*. Due to the nature of MMA many fighters will never directly fight each other. By ranking fighters we are able to get a better view of where they stand overall. The MMA ranking system used on this site can help us understand where fighters across different organizations and different weight classes stand.
2) Why these MMA Rankings?

The MMA ranking system used on this site is unbiased, consistent, and fair. All of those things are very important when talking about a legitimate sport. Sadly, most other MMA rankings fall short on at least one of those three. Additionally, the MMA ranking system used on this site is robust enough to support all MMA fighters (not just the top 10 or so from each weight class).

2010 FILA World Wrestling Championships! SRC Training Player Enters

BigKahuna — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:37:01 GMT

The 2010 FILA World Wrestling Championships will take place from September 6th to 8th in Moscow, Russia.

Participating in the 96kg Greco-Roman class will be SRC training player Katsuya Kitamura, who has won the All-Japan twice.

He is aiming for London 2012 but after that he will start MMA seriously.

Pancrase 2010 Passion Tour 8! Pancrase Demolishes Shooto

BigKahuna — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 20:28:28 GMT

Pancrase 2010 Passion Tour 8! Pancrase Demolishes Shooto
By N.O.B.� September 5, 2010
Posted in: Pancrase, SRC
The first time Pancrase and Shooto faced off Shooto won by 2 to 1. Today was the second encounter, in the Pancrase ring, and the Shooto fighters ended up unconscious as the awesome Mitsuhisa Sunabe and SRC Asia vol.1 winner Masahiro Toryu crushed their opponents.

I recommend the Sherdog play by play live chat for a report of the event.

Manabu Inoue successfully defended his Bantamweight King Of Pancrase title and said after the fight that he hurt his ribs before the fight (he had a tough time in the third round). It looks like he�ll be OK for the SRC Asia Bantamweight Tournament quarterfinal at SRC15 though.

With Sunabe�s victory he�ll get a shot to take back the Flyweight King Of Pancrase title against the man who took it from him, Kiyotaka Shimizu.

Daisuke Hanazawa comfortably defeated Eriya in a Lightweight single fight. Hanazawa has really done good in this later part of his career going 11-4-1 in his last 16.

Masahiro Toryu�s brutal left high kick KO
Sunabe finishing up business seconds after his brutal slam
Sakuragi after laying out Light Heavyweight King Of Pancrase Ryo Kawamura
Inoue showing what often gets him the victory

Pancrase 2010 Passion Tour 8! Pancrase Demolishes Shooto

http://nightmareofbattle.com/?p=3517

Shine Still Under Fire From Failed �Worlds Collide� Event

sandywh — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 04:51:35 GMT

http://www.mmaspot.net/index.php/red...collide_event/

Quote:

May 15, 2010 held the promise of being one of the bigger nights for mixed martial arts in North Carolina. Shine Fight Promotions, LLC planned to put on �Worlds Collide� in Fayetteville, N.C. with a headlining bout that finally pitted a true boxer against a veteran MMA fighter. This made the event a true draw not only at the gate, but on pay-per-view as well. Ricardo Mayorga, a former World Boxing Association welterweight champion, was set to face UFC veteran and MMA ambassador, Din Thomas.

The event was backed up by a variety of accomplished fighters from all over the world, including: Murilo �Ninja� Rua, Luiz Azeredo, David Heath, Derrick Noble, Braulio Estima, Rick Hawn, Charles �Kid Khaos� Bennett, Zac George, Jamal Patterson, Alexandre �Cacareco� Ferreira, Eduardo Pamplona, and Mario Stapel.

But the event never happened. Since then, the promotion has left a wake of unpaid debts across the state. Ranging from a venue left at the altar, a fill-in doctor who scrambled to arrive in time for the event, and a bevy of fighters not paid by the promotion. The event, or lack thereof, has shown the murkier side of fight promotions.

Quote:

Price said all the right things on the call, telling the room that �Everyone will be taken care of; Shine plans to make sure everyone will be paid.�

Although the call was full of assurances, it did little to settle the nerves of those charged with getting their fighters paid for the training and preparation endured leading up to the event.

Quote:

According to Terrance Merriweather, supervisor with the North Carolina Boxing Authority, contact was made with Price on June 6 requesting a total of $3,878.05. Of that amount, $1,200 constituted N.C. fighter Roger Carroll�s purse, while the remaining $2,678.05 was earmarked for the authority�s officials, such as referees and judges. Eventually, because of Shine�s lack of response, the state, and Carroll, were forced to file a claim against the insurance bond required to obtain a promoter�s license in North Carolina.

�We gave them every opportunity possible to make this right to the boxing authority and to the fighters. And, from our understanding, they were going to make it right, according to Mr. Price,� stated Merriweather. �After he called here, he said he was going to make everything right. And He did not respond on the tenth, then we gave him an additional seven days. Because once you file against a person�s bond, we automatically suspend their promoter�s license.�

There's a lot more in the original article.
http://www.mmaspot.net/index.php/red...collide_event/

It's a long read, but full of craziness. Shine certainly screwed over a lot of people and seem to have no intention of settling their debts.

Now, in the wake of the report, it looks like the Grand Prix in Virginia is being scrubbed and Shine is looking to move it elsewhere.

M-1 Challenge Returns with 3 Title Bouts

BigKahuna — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:13:19 GMT

A trio of championship bouts will anchor M-1 Global�s next season of �M-1 Global Challenge,� which debuts on Oct. 28 at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, the promotion announced this week.

The three title bouts will pair M-1 Global�s 2010 �Selection� regional champions, who topped a worldwide tournament that began in January.

In a lightweight title bout, Artiom Damkovsky will face 22-year-old Chechnyan Mairbek Taisumov. Damkosky cinched the Eastern Europe championship for M-1 Selection�s regional tournament. Taisumov, the M-1 Selection Western Europe 2010 champion, has finished five of his last seven victories within the first round.

Eastern Europe winner Magomed Sultanakhmedov meets his Western Europe counterpart Rafał Moks in the promotion�s middleweight championship bout.

The 26-year-old Sultanakhmedov, who dropped a first-round loss to Zelg Galesic in the middleweight grand prix�s opening round at Dream 2, has strung together a seven-fight win streak since July 2009. Polish fighter Moks has earned three of his five career wins by submission.

Finally, in the heavyweight championship bout, Eastern Europe champion Maxim Grishin will take on undefeated Guram Gugenishvili, who was crowned the 2010 Western Europe champion.

Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.

No Holds Barred: Jorge Santiago on his MMA Fight of the Year Candidate

nhbnews — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:35:09 GMT

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with American Top Team mixed martial arts fighter and Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000652002748).

In a fight being hailed as epic, historic, and a certainty for the 2010 MMA fight of the year, Jorge Santiago successfully defended his title by stopping Kazuo Misaki in the fifth and last round of the main event of Sengoku 14 on Sunday, August 22, 2010, in Tokyo, Japan.

After being down on the scorecards, Jorge Santiago came back with a furious attack at the very end of the fourth round and all throughout the fifth round, forcing the corner of Misaki to throw in the towel with only about 30 seconds remaining in the fight. This fight was originally broadcast live in the U.S. on HDNet, and has also been posted on YouTube. This see-saw, non-stop battle was a rematch of their first fight from January 2009, which was also won by Jorge Santiago with a come-from-behind performance in the fifth round.

We spoke Friday afternoon about this great fight, and analyzed its many highlights and ups and downs. While he has long been a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, we discussed his development as a standup fighter and the notable improvements in his striking. We also discussed the differences between fighting in the U.S. and Japan, and how fighters are allowed to "do more" in terms of utilizing various grappling and striking techniques in Japan than in the U.S. He reviewed his growth as a fighter since fighting in UFC in 2006 and Strikeforce in 2007, and stated that he once again wants to fight in the U.S., where he has lived for many years, while still fighting in Japan. And we discussed when he wants to return to action, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at http://nhbnews.podomatic.com/entry/2010-09-04T10_14_10-07_00 .

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?2ww1m26wcf0oywp.

If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com).

Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum, at http://groups.myspace.com/boxing.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

MMA WORLD EXPO (http://www.mmaworldexpo.com). The mixed martial arts community comes to New York City, featuring the Renzo Gracie Open No-Gi 2010 tournament, a Muay Thai tournament, MMA fighters from the Bellator Fighting Championships, training seminars, vendors, panel discussions, and more to come. The second annual MMA WORLD EXPO (http://www.mmaworldexpo.com), in association with Madison Square Garden Sports, takes place Friday, November 12, and Saturday, November 13, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.

BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com), your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

American Top Team (http://americantopteam.com). Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com.

FightBeat.com (http://fightbeat.com), for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
http://eddiegoldman.com

Bellator 28 main card official, includes Horwich vs. Schambari, Andrusia vs. Larkin

BigKahuna — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:45:24 GMT

One day after holding a thrilling featherweight title fight in San Antonio, Texas, Bellator Fighting Championships officials are now turning their attention to "The Big Easy."

Bellator today announced the four main-card fights for next week's Bellator 28 event, which takes place Sept. 9 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in New Orleans.

The contests include Rich Clementi vs. Carey Vanier and Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Anthony Leone, a pair of "tournament qualifier" which were previously reported by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), as well as two new bouts in Matt Horwich vs. Eric Schambari and Marcus Andrusia vs. Eric Larkin.

As with all Bellator events, the main card for Bellator 28 airs on FOX Sports Net.

New Orleans native Clementi (36-16-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) is 5-2 since his third and most recent stint in the UFC, which included an appearance on "The Ultimate Fighter 4." The fighter, promoter and agent submitted all five of the opponents, including former WEC fighter and X Games gold medalist Mike Budnik at a January 5150 Combat League event.

His opponent, Varnier (9-3 MMA, 1-1 BFC), competed in Bellator's season-two lightweight tournament, in which he knocked out Joe Duarte but lost to eventual tourney runner-up Toby Imada in the semifinals. The loss marked the collegiate wrestler's first defeat in an eight-fight span.

A two-time UFC veteran and former International Fight League star, Horwich (25-15-1 MMA, 0-1 BFC) returns to Bellator after dropping a June 2009 decision to Bryan Baker in the promotion's first season. Horwich pieced together a 2-2 record outside of the promotion � a run that includes a fourth-round submission win over Thales Leites in August to claim the Powerhouse World Promotions first-ever middleweight title.

Schambari (12-2 MMA, 1-1 BFC) can sympathize with his opponent's loss to Baker. In fact, not only did Schambari fall to Baker in May during the semifinal of Bellator's season-two tournament, he was also defeated by him in December 2007 under the WEC banner. Schambari is undefeated against opponents not named Bryan Baker and has earned 11 of his 12 wins via stoppage.

Karakhanyan (13-2-1 MMA, 1-1 BFC), a former pro soccer player, went 1-1 in Bellator's season-two featherweight tournament with a KO win over Bao Quach and a decision loss to eventual tourney champ Joe Warren. Eleven of his 13 wins came by way of stoppage, and no opponent has ever stopped him.

His opponent, Skelly (7-0 MMA, 1-0 BFC), is a veteran of the Texas fight circuit who's submitted five of his seven opponents. In his May Bellator debut, he secured a second-round submission victory over Daniel Pineda with a kneebar.

Andrusia (1-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC) makes his Bellator debut. The Louisiana native has a unique opportunity to impress with a national TV slot early in his career.

He faces fellow prospect Larkin (2-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC), who is also fighting under the Bellator banner for the first time. Larkin brings an outstanding wrestling pedigree to the cage as a four-time All-American and 2003 Division I national champion.

For the latest on Bellator 28, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

HDNet To Broadcast Live Coverage Of �King Of The Cage: No Mercy�

BigKahuna — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 06:41:02 GMT

Network to provide LIVE coverage from the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Friday, September 17 at 9:00 p.m. ET

DALLAS (September 2, 2010) HDNet will feature exclusive coverage of the "King of the Cage - No Mercy," LIVE from the MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, CT, Friday, September 17 at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The main event of the evening features reigning KOTC Champion Abel "The Silent Assassin" Cullum (21-3) taking on Jimmie Rivera (6-1) for the Flyweight Title.

The co-main event is a Super Heavyweight match-up between boxing legend, "Merciless" Ray Mercer (36-7-1 Boxing and 2-1 MMA) as he attempts to leverage his boxing skills against Ron Sparks (5-0).

"Can Merciless do it again? No one thought he would beat former UFC Champion, Tim Sylvia... now people don't know what to think as he fights undefeated Ron Sparks!" said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights.

The event also features a battle between two undefeated submission experts when Sam Oropeza (4-0) faces Myles Jury (8-0).

Also on the KOTC card, Champion Donald Sanchez (21-10) attempts to defend his Bantamweight Title against Pat McGreal (6-0) and Welterweights square off when Jesus Martinez (4-0) takes on Chip Moraza Pollard (4-0).

155lb Noah Wiseman (4-1) also will go head to head with Sean Wilmont (7-4) in the swing bout.

HDNet's live exclusive coverage starts at 9:00 p.m. ET on Friday, September 17.
http://www.mmaspot.net/index.php/red...cage_no_mercy/

Pat "HD" Barry High Kicking the Punch Machine

MMA4ever — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:44:40 GMT

____________

UFC to get into the tournament business

Captain Organic — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:38:03 GMT

As an extension of Tuf. Int'l style.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/20528/no-o...tournament.mma
"What we're starting to do now is we're working on ways to get 'The Ultimate Fighter' in other countries," White said. "We're going to start getting 'The Ultimate Fighter' in each of these different countries and try to figure out how when we do the finales, the finale would be all the countries come together and everybody fights."

White has long discussed the plan for international versions of the long-running Spike TV series "The Ultimate Fighter." Canada and the Middle East have been tagged as frontrunners, though the UFC's recent expansion into China has also opened up another potential market.

White said he envisions a system in which the multiple versions of the show can run simultaneously and culminate in a massive international finale. And while there was some initial concern that fans would fans it difficult to track the results of the international versions of "The Ultimate Fighter," White said as the promotion expands, company officials are actively seeking out ways to broadcast the fights around the globe.

"Technology is our friend," White said. "There's more ways to watch this stuff. People will be able to watch the 'The Ultimate Fighter' from other countries online or however. That's our long-term goal and what we're working on and trying to figure out how to do it."
"As we continue to do more fights and continue to travel around, we need more weight divisions," White said. "So we're going to be adding weight divisions and getting those lighter weights in there."

With the UFC already operating at a breakneck speed, it's hard to imagine the promotion's activities multiplied exponentially on a global scale, but White seems to think it's possible.

And while some fans are concerned the quality of the sport may be diluted over time, White has no such fears.

"It's scary how many fights (we're going to do)," White said. We just did four fights last month. As this thing continues to open up to different places, and as long as we can keep putting on great cards, we're just going to keep popping out fights left and right.

"People always ask, 'Are you over-saturating?' Are there too many football games on? Are there too many baseball games on? As long as we're putting on great fights, we're going to keep doing it."

Mikey Burnett Lawsuit update

Megapunk — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:33:26 GMT

http://www.fightlawyerblog.com/2010/...eading-to.html

I hope this man get's some sort of relief.

Boxing vs ultimate fightin' PPV numbers

Audie Murphy — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:30:24 GMT

In estimates we have at press time, trending figures indicated about 570,000. In looking at certain systems that we have contacts with, the numbers were a little above Liddell vs. Franklin (which did 520,000), which would indicate 550,000 to 600,000. But keep in mind both of those indicators pointed to far larger numbers for Silva vs. Sonnen then ended up materializing, but have been accurate predictors in the past.

DirecTV numbers, which are the first real figures to come out, indicated a final figure around 600,000, but those numbers indicated a much bigger number than materialized last time. But as we say every time, any figures in the first two weeks are at best estimates.

Based on the reaction we got, the show didn't do all that well at the movie theaters. ...

Bar reports we had were that places were packed for the most part. About half were strong, one-quarter were way down and one-quarter were usual for a non-major show.

I had originally predicted 750,000 buys when the show was announced, but I was counting on the boxer vs. MMA gimmick catching on bigger than it did. Unlike the 8/7 show, where the buildup made me rethink upwards, I was down to thinking 550,000 by fight time, thinking the only boost would be that ESPN Sports Center was playing up the boxer vs. MMA fighter angle, and that could lead to late curiosity buys.

But when Toney showed up looking out of shape, I could sense people thinking back to all the bad boxing heavyweight matches with older guys that were such a turnoff. Plus, when Toney took off his pants and his underwear rode down, it made him a comedy figure instead of a really hated guy people wanted to pay to see get shut up by the beloved veteran who did show up in shape.

The dynamic I expected to be there wasn't. Plus, even though B.J. Penn has been a big draw the past two years and is one of the company's most popular fighters, and his losing his title and trying to regain it is on paper a strong drawing dynamic, people didn't care about Edgar.

Edgar comes from the amateur wrestling mentality when it comes to promoting a fight and himself, and it makes him a tough sell as a headliner. Plus, their first fight was exciting in the sense it was a close fight and you didn't know who was going to win, it was not the kind of fight most fans want to see.

Alistair Overeem vs Ben Edwards In K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16

uedamasa — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:53:00 GMT

http://steverattlesnake.cliquezone.c...-prix-final-16

Ben Edwards on October 2nd steps into his first K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16 and according to Edwards, his first challenge on the world stage is a huge one; Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem.

Overeem made the tough decision to continue on with his K-1 career while Strikeforce�s next challenger, Fabricio Werdum is still on the shelf after having surgery on his elbow. Overeem put his foot down on defending his championship against another fighter coming off of a loss, Fedor Emelianenko, much like his last fight of Brett Rogers. The speculation as to who Overeem would face was running wild as always, and with Edwards announcing this fight the rumors can (once again) be put to rest.