Archive for October, 2009

Pictured: Five time World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Saulo Ribeiro enjoys a break during his Fife, WA seminar on 18 October 2009

Part One: Saulo Ribeiro on his love for the art of jiu-jitsu — and preparations for his student Diego Sanchez’s bout against BJ Penn next month

If a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Hall of Fame were to be created, there is no doubt that one of the first honored would be Royler Gracie’s most decorated disciple, Saulo Ribeiro.

The native of Manua, Brazil has recorded a staggering record five first place finishes at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships, two at the Abu Dhabi World Submission Championships, and a gold medal at the world no-gi jiu-jitsu championships. Having retired after the World Submission Championships in Barcelona last month, Ribeiro continues to attract attention as a top-flight trainer whose MMA standouts include Diego Sanchez — who contends for the UFC lightweight title next month against Ribeiro’s fellow world jiu-jitsu champion BJ Penn. Ribeiro’s instructional book, Jiu-Jitsu University, is also hailed as the best of its genre.

It’s been a diverse career by any measure. But after conducting a seminar in the Seattle area, when Ribeiro is asked about his life — from his early days training in the Amazon, to his stellar competition days, to his current role as trainer — the same words flow over and again, in a strong Brazilian accent:

“For me it’s a blessing.”

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Tonight, MMA fans will be treated to UFC 104, or day 154 of the Machida era if you prefer, emenating from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California at 10 pm EST.

It’s always a pleasure to watch “The Dragon” at work, but tonight’s undercard is weak, and it has been made even less relevant as several fighters missed weight yesterday. On the plus side, the co-main features two of our only hopes for elite American MMA heavyweights who pass drug tests.

It’s not the best of the year, but… it ain’t bad either.

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All the fighters, pundits and fans have weighed in on this Saturday’s title fight in Los Angeles pitting champ Lyoto Machida against Mauricio Rua, and the verdict is that Machida will have his hand raised. Whether it’s a case of the masses simply overrating the unorthodox “Dragon”, or being oblivious to the dangerous skills Rua possesses I don’t know, but what I do know is that on Saturday night Mauricio Rua will re-claim his spot as the best light heavyweight on the planet. Read the rest of this entry »

Finally, Bellator has not only an English language home, but one that is willing to air their shows live on prime time. Fox Sports Net has stepped up to the plate to air live Bellator action, with NBC airing taped highlights early Sunday mornings. If you saw last season, you know that this is awesome, if you missed last season, you missed out.

The upstart MMA promotion Bellator Fighting Championships has announced that it will be back in 2010, with shows airing live on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net. Taped highlight packages will air in the wee hours of Sunday mornings on NBC, and Bellator has also reached an agreement with Telemundo for Spanish-language distribution.

“Since our launch earlier this year, there has been an overwhelming demand from MMA fans nationwide for us to broadcast our events live and through a widely available platform,” Bellator founder Bjorn Rebney said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have signed this groundbreaking agreement with FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo, which will bring our unique and exciting brand of tournament-based MMA events to a dramatically expanded audience of both English- and Spanish-speaking fans.”

Bellator will continue its tournament format, so at the end of each season it will crown new tournament champions, just as it did in its first season with Joe Soto, Eddie Alvarez, Hector Lombard and Lyman Good. The first event of Bellator’s second season will air live in prime time on Thursday, April 8, 2010 on Fox Sports Net. The second season will run for 12 straight weeks, and then Season 3 is scheduled to begin on August 12, also running for 12 straight weeks.

October 16, 2009: The October 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings have been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple web sites.

In addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time by going to www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.

Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Freelance), Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Jim Murphy (The Savage Science); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion), Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Total MMA).

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Repost from K-1 LEGEND

Vadim Finkelstein is a name that many MMA fans have learned over the past few years, especially within the last few months and Fedor’s epic contract negotiations with the UFC then the signing with Strikeforce. M-1 Global has shot into the minds of MMA and combat sports fans with all of this, never mind the M-1 vs The World series that airs on HDNet. M-1 Global has a big co-promotion coming up with Strikeforce, with M-1 fighter Fedor Emelianenko taking on Brett “Grim” Rogers on CBS.

Our passion may be kickboxing, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get excited over stuff like this, so we had to get to the root of matters and talk to the man himself, Vadim Finkelstein.

K-1 LEGEND: Has M-1 Global lived up to your expectations so far?

Vadim Finkelstein: Basically, I’m satisfied with the evolution of M-1 Global. The organization, in the format you can see today, has been functioning less than 2 years. The last year we had many experiments. A new system for the fighters moving up the ladder will be introduced starting from the next year’s season. It will be a more robust Olympic-like system.

K-1 LEGEND: What are your plans for M-1 Global and who do you see as the top prospects to reach possible Fedor levels?

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Nick Diaz is a polarizing character; you either hate him or you love him. When it comes to him there really isn’t much of a grey area. Nick Diaz is one thing that you cannot argue; Nick Diaz is a fighter. In a world that is full of fighters who were trained in the rigid world of “Mixed Martial Arts” Nick Diaz is different, Nick Diaz is a martial artist. Diaz might not fit into the traditional view of a Martial Artist, Nick doesn’t go off on long tales of honor, he doesn’t practice any mystical arts. In fact, he is rather straightforward and has an attitude that upsets many.

Nick talked to Black Belt magazine recently, where he talked about being a Martial Artist and how MMA really isn’t his thing. Nick likes to be a martial artist, but feels the world of MMA to be rather cumbersome; full of steroid abuse and cocky attitudes with nothing to back them up. What is interesting is Nick’s view on Frank Shamrock, who has become quite a proponent to the Martial Arts way, as he sees Frank as one of the guys who showed the MMA world that athleticism and training in a few different styles can put you on top of the heap. He also sees Frank as one of the guys that introduced MMA into the bodybuilder look and helped push steroid abuse. As with everything Diaz, this is quite an interview.

Your brother Nate fights for the UFC and you used to fight for them. Do you give him advice about how to handle things?
Yeah, I do. I give him the heads-up about what they do. He understands that they’re not completely all for you over there. You have to watch out and be ready for what you’re doing. It’s geared to that sportier athlete.

I’m at war. As far as I’m concerned, this is warfare and I’m a ninja warrior and I’m taught to kill in the most efficient way possible. That’s the sort of mentality I’m going in there with.

I don’t want to sit next to you and have a conversation and lunch and have an interview together and talk and shake hands. I’m like, Fine, if the media wants to talk to me or see me or ask me questions, they can hear about whatever.

The UFC thinks [marketing] is good for the sport, but we don’t need to worry about that anymore. I’m sorry—I just don’t believe that we do. It’s not like we’re marketing Crystal Pepsi—this thing’s here to stay now.

I’m sorry that it scares people and that they’re not mature enough to understand that violence is a part of life. It’s just the way it is and it’s not my problem. That’s just the way I feel.

I don’t mean to be bad for the sport. I’m sorry if I’m bad for the sport. I don’t necessarily love this sport, either. I love jiu-jitsu and martial arts and competition, but mixed martial arts and what it is today, I don’t necessarily love it. It’s just not an easy job. And people like to point their fingers a lot and think it’s a ballgame and they think it’s an easy job, and it’s not that easy. I need to look like this killer to my adversary. I need to have that mental edge and I will have it. It’s the most important thing if I’m going to be fighting.

Anyone excited about next month’s fight between Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao got a treat yesterday as Pacquiao vs. Cotto: Face Off, a fantastic interview segment between the two conducted by Max Kellerman, popped up online. In fact, it’s a treat for anyone who just enjoys a bit of class and respect being shared between two proud sons of their native countries. (Yes, Puerto Rico is really a commonwealth of the US, but you know what I mean.)

If you’re anything like me and find yourself forgotting what sportsmanship looks like sometimes, please enjoy…

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Tomorrow night, Kazushi Sakuraba makes his return to the ring for DREAM in Japan.  It’s a return to action that literally no one has been awaiting with baited breath.  As I point out at Heavy.com, Sakuraba is a tragedy waiting to happen.

Now the hall of famer is firmly in the Ali-Holmes stage of his career. He’s clearly no longer the man he once was, and just as clearly needs to stop fighting to protect his long term health. Yet, promoters keep dragging him back to the ring. And he goes willingly. And audiences still want to watch him fight and in an ugly business that trumps all. Everyone is responsible for the tragedies, yet no one is.

I run down Sakuraba’s back story in the piece.  He’s clearly one of the most important figures in MMA history.  It’s a shame to see him come to this.  Remember this up and coming fighters:  save your money so you can save your brain. 

Recently I spoke with Bas Boon of European fight powerhouse Golden Glory. Golden Glory, if you aren’t familiar, is a camp that is home to the likes of Alistair Overeem, Semmy Schilt, Ruslan Karaev, Gokhan Saki, Errol Zimmerman and, well, you get the picture. Bas Boon is one of the G.G. managers, and has in the past dealt with the likes of Fedor and Aleks Emelianenko, helping Vadim Finkelstein and Apy Echteld of M-1 with contract negotiations, training and general booking throughout Europe.

It was a simple question about some recent comments he had made about Appy and Vadim being “mobsters” that has sort of sparked some interest in the past few months about Fedor’s management. Fedor, a man who left his previous management after he felt he was being mismanaged, does not seem like the type of guy who would move from one corrupt camp to another. But from everybody I’ve spoken to about Bas Boon and M-1, Bas might exaggerate some things, but has been noted as a stand-up guy who takes nothing from anybody and will tell it how it is. Here are some of the juicy bits.

I posted an article on a Dutch forum, people were making excuses why Alistair was not fighting in the USA, believe me we really wanted this fight it would have been perfect in our schedule like we planned it for 2009, NYE Japan , March Japan, April/May or August Strikeforce and then back to Japan. Then the 50 ct incident came, some people were saying on the Dutch forum all kinds of excuses why Alistair would not come to the US. The reality was that Alistair ended up in the hospital after his brawl and in detention and had a very serious infection in his hand. On the forum in Holland people from M-1 were thrashing Alistair and telling how good M-1 was doing their business.

Then I made a comment on this saying that every organisation Fedor fought in went bad and  that Fedor was not fighting much and that Appy and Vadim still have unfinished business with the management of G.G., because they got Fedor through Golden Glory and we made a legal deal about this.

Then some clown (I imagine that it was somebody from the camp of Simon Rutz as Appy was caught on tape, hiring killers from Russia to blow away the whole European Fighting Network Office from Simon Rutz, which there is an official police report!) [I can't find this anywhere, sadly] translated the part what I said on his forum (out of context – why I said it, the thread on the forum says I made excuses for Alistair not fighting in the States) and then the person who made the translation made it look like I made an official statement. The translated piece went also to a forum called www.valetudo.ru

Then a chain reaction came, which caused Appy [Apy Echteld, member of M-1 management] to call me, he told me call Vadim becuase the Russians this and that!) you have to because big problems blah blah. I called Vadim and told him what happened, I told him, I would write him by mail: my version of the story and what still was bothering me. I did this, but then Vadim just translated a small part on his M-1 forum and the title on his article said Bas Boon made excuses to Vadim?