Last week, I asked myself who exactly is excited about tomorrow’s UFC 109 card. I got my answer yesterday, as one of our new writers, Jacob Lawton, sent along his predictions for it. According to Jacob, it’s PPV-worthy “just for the value of seeing two UFC legends going head to head.” Me, I’m not so sure. To be fair, I wouldn’t pay for Dan Severn vs. Royce Gracie 2 in 2010, either.
But, I might catch it at a bar. How’s that for a ringing endorsement? Ugh… Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a shame that Billy Robinson is a name that most MMA fans don’t even know.
In fact, Pro wrestling fans are more likely to have heard of the British-born grappler, probably best known for his great success in Japanese pro wrestling circuits of the 1970’s and his role in creating “shoot-style” and “shoot” organizations in the 1990’s. Those very acomplishments are probably enough to get many of us in MMA and jiu-jitsu to close our minds to this man. It’s our loss. He now resides in Arkansas — toiling in relative obscurity for the last several years as he instructing pupils in Catch-as-Catch-Can wrestling, a wrestling style hundreds of years old, with takedowns and submissions to boot.
Credited with helping train MMA legends Kazushi Sakuraba and Josh Barnett, Robinson is one of the world’s last living links to a long and rich wrestling history. While he became famous in typical scripted pro wrestling matches (some a bit more realistic than others), his Catch-As-Catch-Can wrestling is a legitimate style which developed long before Maeda crossed the Pacific Ocean to teach Carlos Gracie in Brazil, or Jigoro Kano founded the Kodokan Dojo in Tokyo. CACC has a heritage which several of our best fighters in the MMA world are looking to rediscover today.
In fact, earlier this month, Josh Barnett dedicated his win at a grappling tournament (somewhat ironically, a no-gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament) to Robinson. But it was a couple of videos that surfaced recently that got really caught my attention and offer that the movement to incorporate CACC into MMA may be finally getting a little momentum.
We all know the horrible tragedy that struck Haiti on Tuesday has claimed thousands of lives and left many more in a state of emergency.
It’s good to also know that at least one member of the MMA community is “coming out swinging” in support of the survivors.
MMAWarehouse.com is one online retailer among many which has popped up in recent years. (In fact, I’ve never purchased from them, but have only heard good reviews of their service.) But they have released a statement which really sets them apart, as they team with Mercy Corp to send aid to Haiti:
A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince Tuesday afternoon, collapsing buildings, including at least one hospital. The quake affected roughly one in three Haitians: about 3 million people. Anywhere between 30,000 and 100,000 are feared dead and even more are injured in the largest quake to strike the impoverished Caribbean nation in 200 years. Power is out, telecommunications are spotty and food and water are reportedly growing scarce.
MMAWarehouse.com is pledging a dollar for dollar match up to the first $5,000 donated here and additionally will donate a portion of our sales now through Thursday, January 21st.
I can’t imagine what it must be like to suddenly lose your home and all your possessions, or worse yet, your friends and family members. I know that everyone’s economic situation these days is far from perfect, but I encourage you to count your blessings in life and give what you can to your fellow brothers and sisters across the globe who are truly in dire need.
You can click here to read the Better Business Bureau’s review of Mercy Corp. There are other great organizations out there, too. Catholic Relief Services and Americares are both noted for having more than 92% of their donations go directly to those in need and keeping minimal administrative costs. WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, who represented Haiti in the 2004 Olympic games, gave an emotional interview to ESPN this week, where he mentioned that he would be offering information about how to help on his website soon, as well.
What more needs to be said? Dig deep, and please give what you can.
Pictured: Manny Pacquiao carries the flag of the Philippines at the 2008 Olympic Games.
It’s tough to look at the above picture: Manny Pacquiao leading a group of athletes, who unlike himself, were willing to submit to Olympic-style drug testing.
Last week, talks finally appeared to break down for good for Manny Pacquiao’s proposed bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., with the “sticking point” of Olympic-style blood testing finally leaving the two parties unable to reach an agreement. It’s a bad blow for the sport, which seemed to finally accumulating momentum for the first time in ages, to lose the climactic bout which we had been leading up towards.
It’s particularly a blow to a guy like me.
I’m really gutted — because as much as I’m not fan of Floyd Jr, his classless interviews and unprofessional antics — I have to sadly place blame at the feet of Manny Pacquiao for this “bloody mess.” Read the rest of this entry »
Please forgive the recent lack of activity here. Total-MMA is going through a bit of a transition right now, so you can expect a new and improved look in the new year. Thanks for being patient.
Today, MMA legend Enson Inoue’s long battle with immigration will finally come to an end. Recently he left the following message on his blog:
I just got called by the Immigration office and it seems that they have finally made a decision. In fact I’ll get the results on Christmas day Dec.25th. If the Immigration hands me a favorable decision that would be a great Christmas present. Whatever the decision is I’ll consider it a present from God. I’m either going to be able to continue my life here in Japan or I may need to start my new life abroad. Whatever the decision is, I’ll will be okay. But I’m very nervous. While everyone is celebrating Christmas I’ll be in a battle with the Immigration. One of the biggest decisions in my life will be handed to me on the day Jesus was born. Everyone please help me with the power of prayer.
So, I’d ask everyone to keep the man they call “Yamato Damashii,” who may ironically be forced to leave the Land of the Rising Sun, in your prayers — or, just keep a good thought.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed or enjoyed our content in the last year. Merry Christmas, and all the best to you and yours.
It’s another big fight night tonight, as Memphis, TN hosts the UFC lightweight title bout between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez, so it’s time for another round of predictions from yours truly. In my last effort, I predicted the correct winner for all four headlining bouts of UFC 105, although nothing really seemed to happen the way I expected. You’ve got to love that — these big MMA shows always offers something new to learn. As BJ remarked after his historic victory over Coul Uno (the bout which led to his first title shot in 2002), “I love this game!”
I think it’s safe to say the last part of this year has been a weak one for MMA’s big-name shows. So lately, I’ve turned most of my attention (and writing) to boxing and jiu-jitsu. Watching recent shows, it just kind of feels like we’re in a bit of a rut. Everyone’s going through the motions, but we’re missing a little passion.
I watched the Renzo Gracie: Legacy DVD again recently, looking for inspiration. (I gave it kind of an uncharitable review here. It’s actually better than I gave it credit for, but that’s for another time.) Maybe Dana White was watching too, because it looks like Renzo will be making his UFC debut in 2010.
Gracie’s return to the limelight kicked off with a spirited interview at FightWorks Podcast last Sunday, where he goes into some detail about his return to MMA, but mostly, and more interestingly, uses his time to respond to an earlier interview from FWP with his uncle Relson.
You have to hear this.
Total-MMA readers will remember Saulo Ribeiro in the second of our two part interview last month, describing how so many different voices are trying to control jiu-jitsu, all to no avail. Ribeiro even recalled Hélio Gracie himself saying, “Son, no one control this s–t!” Here Renzo proves it’s just as true now as when Helio was fighting in the 1950’s; as he offers to pay his uncle Rorian’s Gracie Academy in Torrence an old fashioned “dojo storm” to prove the merits of his own instruction.
But there’s no point in trying to summarize — this speaks for itself. Renzo’s is easily the best (audio) interview I’ve heard in 2009… and it was worth the wait. I expect Renzo to bring the same passion to his UFC appearances. Maybe not a contender at his advanced age but with his spark back, I think it’ll be a ton of fun.
Pictured: Saulo Ribeiro (right) demonstrates an escape during his Fife, WA seminar last month.
As his seminar comes to a close, three time world champion Saulo Ribeiro takes a few minutes to drive home a message.
“Nowadays, everybody tries to own the identity of jiu-jitsu,” he begins. “But it’s bigger than all of us. Nobody can be the face of jiu-jitsu. We’re all the face of jiu-jitsu. You look in the mirror, you see what’s wrong, and you change. You’re using jiu-jitsu. When things get tough, you look inside yourself, and see who you really are. You face the fears.
“Jiu-jitsu is a humbling journey. Every time you think you’re there, you’re not. You open yourself. But you have to make the decisions, and jiu-jitsu helps with this. I’m so blessed this is my work.”
Ribeiro’s own humbling journey includes a visit to Rio to make a pitch to include jiu-jitsu in the 2016 Olympics to the president of Brazil, a cup of tea in Abu Dhabi with a sheik, and a few rounds with a Thai boxing champion off the Las Vegas strip…
Congratulations to Manny Pacquiao and his supporters for another dominant win last night. As predicted, within a few rounds we learned whether or not Miguel Cotto could counter Pacquiao’s vaunted speed advantage. Unfortunately, I didn’t predict the correct answer. That advantage would prove key, and eventually lead to a 12th round T/KO stoppage.
So I was wrong, but I’m not interested in finding a Filipino preparation for crow right now (crow adobo?). Call it damage control if you want, but in attempting to handicap the bout, I maintained that no outcome would surprise me much — as it was a pairing of two guys who had never seen anything like the other. It won’t surprise anyone that I still feel that way. But here’s something Total-MMA readers may find surprising:
Right now, I couldn’t be prouder of Miguel Cotto.
(Well, other than the use of Kanye West for his ringwalk…)
Miguel Angel Cotto is hours away from entering a Las Vegas ring an almost three-to-one underdog against Manny Pacquiao in their catch-weight bout at 145 lbs. To the Puerto Rican’s chagrin, it seems many find it a foregone conclusion that the night will end with Pacquiao earning a knockout victory at his expense. In fact, Pacquiao himself is reportedly so confident that he has scheduled a concert performance directly after the bout, where he will sing material from his own two record albums at Mandalay Bay.
Unfortunately for the Filipino’s supporters, I think Pacquaio will be singing the blues instead of his beloved ballads, as heard here (painfully) on Jimmy Kimmell Live…
