Greetings all,

Since restarting MMABuzz.com we have off and on encountered problems having the site perform up to our expectations.  Partly this is due to the popularity/use of the site being more than we expected.  For that you all have our thanks.

As a means of getting the site to perform significantly better we have purchased a dedicated server which will be quite a bit faster, have upgraded memory and increased file system space.

We don't know how long it will take to transfer all of the content to the new server but we look forward to soon having the improved performance.

With appreciation,

Dr. Alex Constantinedes.

Lindy Mathews.

J.R. Gordon.

Comment (6)

Hi everybody!

Sorry its taken so long to get my blog out, I initially overestimated how much free time I would have- I have been *insanely* active over here!
To give you a better understanding of one of my days here, please check out Roxanne Modaferri's blog here:
http://www.myspace.com/roxyfighter/blog
She is a far better blogger than I could ever hope to be!!

In short, fight camp couldn't be better right now!
I knew that coming here to get acclimated to the time change and learn the rule system better would be beneficial, but I am reaping benefits that I had *no clue* were to be had. I'll break these down.

#1 unexpected benefit: Diet. Adam and I joked that making the weight for this tournament would be my biggest opponent, and its not far from the truth. This particular tournament is being held at 112 lbs. At first glance only 3 more lbs than my usual weight doesn't seem like much, but at this low- IT IS. Being here makes staying at the necessary walk around weight SO EASY. The availability of fresh, lean protein, and good clean carbohydrates takes all of the work out of maintaining. It is not to say though, that this doesn't still take discipline. If I have one vice in life- its good Japanese food. Some women like to buy shoes, or get their hair did, but my splurging is done sitting down at a great Japanese resturant. So when I say I love it, I mean- I LOVE IT. Granted, a lot of it is healthy, but much of it is still off limits to the fighter diet... so being here, is both my own personal hell and heaven- all in one. Sometimes when I am walking down the street looking at the vendors selling their array of deeply fried, or starchy carb nomtastic noms I feel like a recovering alcoholic in the worlds coolest bar. ITS HARD. I am taking physical notes on where to revisit after the fights, but for the time being, I am also incredibly happy enjoying the most amazing sashimi several times a day!

Yummy assorted clam sushi (didnt eat the rice :( )

Yummy roast sweet potato, sashimi, and daikon/seaweed salad

#2 unexpected benefit: Weather acclimation. When we first got into the planning of this fight, we were warned that Japan was "hot and humid as hell this time of year". Initially when I heard that I thought, ah well, I lived in the Rio Grande Valley before... I can take heat and humidity, no problem. YES PROBLEM. Its NOT like the RGV, its like the effing Amazon. Its like working out in a sauna. It is so hot, and so humid you could cut it with a knife. You can *feel* the thick air in your lungs. I thought coming down in altitude so much I was going to be superwoman- wrong. This kind of air takes getting used to- and I am SO GLAD I am here early to undergo that process!

#3 unexpected benefit: Training. Visiting other gyms can sometimes be scary! My experiences have ranged from being welcomed with open arms, to getting the "fresh meat" role. I was unsure of what to expect for treatment here in Japan, but as luck would have it I jumped into the *absolutly perfect* place to prepare. I have been training at the AACC in Tokyo- home to Megumi Fugii, Roxy, and an enormous stable of incredibly talented 115lb female fighters. Like so many other ladies out there, I don't have other female fighters to train with on a regular basis, I train with the guys and I go along with the understanding of how different it is to fight someone of my own sex. The experience of training here with these women has been so increadible, that if for some craaazy reason the fight was cancelled I would still leave with an enriched, deeply satisfying experience of making myself a better fighter.

#4 unexpected benefit: Focus. Normally, I consider myself a very focused person- especially when it comes to competition. While removing myself from the comfort of my home and IMMAA was a very scary thing, it has turned out to be very useful in increasing my focus! Being removed from the distractions of my duties and placed in a city of discipline amongst a stable of increadible women all with a common goal has put me in a place mentally that I have never in my life experienced. THIS- is focus.

One of the beautiful Shinto shrines I pass on my new daily run path!

I miss IMMAA a lot, and bigger than that I miss my family very, very badly!! This is without a doubt an awesome experience- but missing so much has made it a very bitter sweet one thus far...

-BUT- right now I am in the best shape of my life, at one of the best gyms in the world, getting ready for the opportunity of a lifetime. I have lazer focus, and I am ready to take this S-Cup by storm. I feel with every fiber of my being that this tournament and this style of fighting was tailor made for me- and I am ready to bring this belt home!!!

More updates and photos to come later- for now, time to get back to work! :D

Comment (8)

What is up people, here I go again with my heart….like a drifter I walk alone in the dark….wait I meant to say “What’s up people, here we go again with another edition of the worlds least famous MMA blog, The Zacher Factor”. Excuse me if I am all caught up in some kick ass hair metal, but you see I have been celebrating a glorious occasion that has happened in my life, thus the reason why I didn’t post an edition last week. The occasion I speak of is a reply that the BAMF that we all have come to either love or hate responded to a tweet of mine, the BAMF being UFC president Dana White, and the response “LMFAO”. I am still hung over from the celebration I have had the last two weeks, and I vaguely remember watching some MMA during my drug induced celebration, so here we go. If I start typing out some hair metal lyrics don’t blame me, blame the cocaine.

 (White Snake and I have two things in common, we both kick ass and we both have 3 fans.)

UFC on Versus 2

-          Charles Oliveira lived up to the hype that was his 12-0 record coming into his first UFC fight.  He scored a sick arm bar on Darren Elkins from a transition when originally going for a triangle choke. I will like to keep my eye open for this guy in future fights.

-          James Irvin lost his first fight back at 205, and honestly I just think it’s time for him to go and get signed by Strike Force.

-          Matt Riddle looked strong in his win again DeMarques Johnson, but was almost out by a flying knee the Johnson threw.

-          Jacob Volkmann won his second fight at 155lbs and dominated Paul Kelly, who of course had zero ground game and said before the fight he disliked Volkmann more than any other opponent he has fought, because he is a wrestler. What’s with the English and their hatred of wrestlers, oh well.

-        
(STUPID BLOODY WRESTLERS, WHO NEEDS WREATLING!?!)

-          Brian Stann won his fight, and even received the Fight of the Night bonus, but in my opinion it wasn’t an impressive showing, and frankly I am just not a fan of his, and I really don’t think he will ever be top ten materials.

-          Anyone ever notice how Gomi looks like the Lout Ferrugno version of the Hulk? With the hair and slit shorts he reminded me of him, too bad steroids doesn’t cause green skin or he would really look like the Hulk…wait I mean…never mind. Sweet knockout by Gomi, but I am still not convinced he will be a top ten guy again. Yeah he has power, but as we saw with other fighters, if you have better ground technique, or standing, he can look helpless. He has stated now that he wants to train in the states, so who knows maybe his game might improve.

-        (GAMMA ROIDS, ONLY FOUND IN THE LAND OF GIANT LIZARDS.)

-          I still don’t get how John Howard got on a main card, I seriously think this guy just doesn’t have the ground skills it takes to deal with C or B level UFC welter weights. Honestly I think we all know why he was put on the main card, in hopes he came across a comeback KO again. Hopefully fans now know that a crazy hair cut, a comeback from behind KO doesn’t make you main card material, I mean crap, and this is a guy who turned down a fight with Anthony Johnson because he wasn’t “ready”. Well then he isn’t ready to be a main card fighter.

-          Okami got a solid win, but honestly Munoz didn’t show anything special in the fight. What to do with Okami next? Maybe match him against Belfort, or a rematch with Sonnen?

-          Jon Jones, man oh man, I don’t even know what to type. This dude goes into fights that we all think will test him, and makes it look so easy. The guy reminds me of Michael Jordon, just simply because he is so great at it, and is humble at the same time. It’s definitely time to step up his level of opponents to the UFCs “A Level” 205 lbers and a great opponent would be Forrest Griffin in my opinion. It was rumored, but quickly smacked down by Luke Thomas of MMANation and BloodyElbow.com by tweeting that a creditable source has said the rumors are true. Well then I say maybe the winner of Little Nog vs. Badder. I can see it now, Jones leaps in the air, with his tongue sticking out, lands an elbow on the top of whoever’s head, and wins the fight and comes out with his own line of shows…wait I am mixing up him with someone…

-         

 (If you tthink about it Jones has the potential to reach this greatness.)

UFC 117

-          Dennis Hallman looked great cardio wise in his fight for the most part, and came up with a win against TUF alumni Ben Saunders. Weird moment was after the fight Hallman apologized for his comments on HDNets show “Inside MMA”. In case you didn’t see his Inside MMA appearance he basically said 50% of MMA fighters use steroids. Foot meet mouth, ass meet chewing from a one Mister Dana White. Either way, who to match him up against? A rematch with Hughes would be sellable, and for you that do not know Hallman tapped out Matt Hughes twice back in the day.

-           

(No caption needed, .......well I guess one was.)
-          What the hell was up with Struve’s lip? Holly crap I would have been freaking out, but instead this lanky homeboy brought the pain to Morecraft. Kind of sad to see Morecraft knocked out, dude was rocking one killer Guns N Roses tattoo, and if you like GnR you are one cool hombre in my book.

-         
(SHANNA SHANNNA KNEES .,...KNEES...SORRY SIDE EFFECT FROM MY COKE BINGE.)

-          Hendricks is the real deal, enough said. I am a fan of this dude, and he has crazy potential. Who should he match up against next? Jeez who knows, the division has so much depth when it comes to contenders, it is hard to say. I didn’t realize till I read an article( http://www.themat.com/section.php?section_id=3&page=showarticle&ArticleID=15797) that Hendricks has played the “bad guy” in his wrestling days. This can easily transfer to MMA, and he could very well be a Koscheck 2.0.

-          Phil Davis is the real deal, pink shorts and all. While he is definitely a contender, I just don’t think he is a Jon Jones level contender. Who to match him up against next? Why not a Stephen Bonnar, see how he handles him.

-          Rick Story, man this dude looked like Hazelett humped him mom, ate his food, and gave his X Box 360 the red ring of death. I have to call bullSh!t on the whole tap and rush thing by Story, which is legal, but in my opinion some sh!tty MMA manners. Either way Story looked strong, and pumped and destroyed Hazelett. Hazelett is now saying he will fight at 155, which should be nice, and hopefully he will get back to his winning ways.

-          Roy Nelson proved that a huge friggin gut and having heart has something to do with each other. Dude was getting pounded more than *insert random sex joke here* and kept coming. Props to Dos Santos for keeping his cool, and not blowing his wad *insert random “that’s what she said” here* One thing I would have loved to seen in the fight, and everyone else at my house watching it, is leg kicks from Dos Santos. Now Dos Santos waits to see who comes up the victor of the Cain vs. Lesner fight. Also rumor is now Big Country may face Shane Carwin, we shall see because it all depends if Carwin can put his all out war with MMA news sites on twitter to rest before hand, or not suffer “lactic acid issues” from twittering so much.

-          I have been a Matt Hughes fan for years now, while a lot of people have called him a hick, douche, assh0le and other things, but I have always respected his heart and skills. I honestly though Almeida was going to win, but I was overcome with joy (did I seriously type that? Sounds like a TLC movie moment) when he won. No idea what he should do next for a fight, but I think the UFC could sell a Hallman rematch.

-          Clay Guida rocks, and I love to watch him fight, but I have to say my wife has total disdain for the guy because he looks creepy and gross. I wish I could get a picture of the look on her face whenever she realizes he is about to fight, looks like the look she has on her face when she looks and me in bed and thinks I am asleep.

-          ( I MEAN HOW COULD A WOMAN NOT LOVE THIS?)

-          John Fitch fought, really? Wow

-          Man, watching Silva vs. Sonnen was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. Rooting for someone who “Embraces the Grind” (wait I acted like I didn’t watch the Fitch fight, damn) it seems as if time slows down.  Minuet takes 10, a round takes 30, it is so hard to do, especially when your heart rate is sky rocketing. That fight was epic, that’s simply all I can say, epic on a Guns N Roses level, epic. Oh and one more thing, all these people who “hate” Sonnen for trash talking need to realize something, FIGHTERS SELL FIGHTS IDIOTS! Seriously, we can live in Disney Land and pretend that fighters should all be Kind Authors, but in reality they have to feed themselves, and guess what, because of Sonnen’s trash  talking UFC 117 shows signs of having the most buys ever for a card headlined by Anderson Silva. It just gets annoying when you start realizing a good percent of MMA fans are almost emoish in the nature when it comes to MMA.

UPCOMING MMA

-          Just going to throw a quick comment here (writing about two UFCs is tiring), you all should watch the opening of Bellator which will start their female 115lb tourney, and on Friday night watch Strike Force challengers one night 135lb female tourney that will decide a contender for Sara Koffman.

Comment (5)

Local fighter Kate Martinez has been chosen to compete in the S-cup, an eight woman tournament in Japan.  The tournament follows kickboxing rules with throws allowed (no follow-up ground techniques) as well as allowing standing submissions.  She will leave for Japan August 13, 2010 to acclimate, train and familiarize herself with the rules of the competition which will take place August 29, 2010.

With our thanks Kate has agreed to do a blog for MMABuzz encompassing her training, cultural immersion and competition. 

Kate: You fight with the full support of MMABuzz and the Colorado Martial Arts community. Fight with honor, fight with integrity and fight knowing that all of us at MMABuzz are cheering for you in this great career opportunity.

Best wishes for a fantastic tournament,

MMABuzz and Team Unicorn.

Comment (5)

Here we go yo..here we go yo..so what’s what’s the ….ah never mind, if you are a Tribe Called Quest fan then you know where I am going with this. Either way, it’s been a little bit sense I have brought a Zacher Factor to all of the 4 people who read it (a shout out to my wife who does, after I pay her 20 bucks to), but there is actually some pretty cool scenarios I want to talk about, so here we go…….yo

(It's The Tribe 'yall, look alive 'yall) 

Strike Force Challengers 9

-          So first thing is first, I really kind of just didn’t get into the show. I usually love the Challengers cards, but this one just didn’t get me excited, except for the co main event that featured perhaps one of the handful of fighters I am actually a “fan” of.

-          Mike Kyle won his third fight in a row with our punching your mom, kicking my dog, and taking a dump in the middle of the ring.  Do I really care? No, not really, but knowing Strike Force they will probably throw him in a 205lb title fight after King Mo’s first title fight.
(Just a public warning, that could be your puppy.)

-          So OK, here comes my Zacher “Holier Than Thou” rant about MMA. WTF is Scott Coker thinking now? Has he just lost all the skill of a promoter that I respected, and even thought would be good for MMA, I mean damn, dude just straight up got more tools for his trade, and is now messing up more than the first time I tried “romanticizing” a woman.
(She just did what a lot of the blogs reader wish they could.)
 What the hell is Coker thinking making one of his champs fight as a co headliner , while a HW prospect that hasn’t really proven himself is put as the main event. It’s like he is losing it, that he can’t handle the pressure, and has zero control over his promotion. Let’s looks at some brilliant things he has done so far with his show….

-          He had Jake Shields fight Dan Henderson on his final fight on the contract, where Shields man handled Henderson and took the money and ran, which left Coker with a massive failure.

-          He said pretty much that some other WWF wrestler with zero experience in any combat sport, should be given respect like Brock, even though Brock was a division 1 champ, and all around freak of nature.

-          Gave someone who lost his last fight a shot for the HW title, while not having his #1 HW fight for the belt, and instead lost to an underdog.

-          Had a woman who scares me very much, who thought about posing in playboy which scares me even more, fight a chick who had a .500 record, while having an undefeated dominant female 135lb champ fight a legit contender on a challengers card.

-          Now don’t get me wrong, I know promoting is probably one of the hardest things in the sport to do next to getting punched in the face, but the performance of Coker himself has failed sense he stepped up to be competition to the UFC. In the end, he is failing , almost like said first Al Green treatment I gave to a lady.

(Smoooooooth, just like me)

-          In the end, Kaufman proved everyone wrong, and I won’t repeat what’s been on every MMA site out there, but PUT HER ON THE MAIN CARDS! That  is all, carry on, warp factor six….ENGAGE.
( A friendly message from Captain Picard and I)

UPCOMING CARDS

UFC on Versus 2

-          This card’s undercard features some up and comers, and some guys who haven’t been performing up to par lately, and nothing really has me excited on it.

-          Originally Joe Stevenson was supposed to fight Gomi, which was a great fight, then to find out Tyson Griffin is fighting him? That is …..jizz in my pants……..material
. 
("and I Jizzed....in...my pants" if you haven't seen this video, look for it on Youtube, hillarious.)

-          Okami vs. Munoz can answer a lot of questions about each fighter, but in the end I seriously see Okami taking it with a brutal TKO, after seeing Okami just destroy Linhares on the feet, and seeing Munoz almost get finished by Grove on the feet, well it doesn’t look to good for Munoz. Unlike Grove, Okami has good skills to keep it on his feet, to avoid where Munoz will try to take it probably after getting rocked.

-          The main event is again a testament to what I have said in a gabillion blogs, and said a gabillion times while running my mouth to my friends, that the UFC is finally learning how to build contenders, and avoid a train wreck like Franklin vs. Quarry. Each fight we see Jones in, we are seeing more questions answered about him, also with the coach of Greg Jackson, I really see bright things in Jones future.

Comment (3)

My entry into management and matchmaking was not pretty. It began trying to get my son his first fight. I screwed the pooch righteously putting him in the cage with Brandon Thatch for his first fight. Although it was a good reality check and a bit educational for me and I am sure painful for him. Brandon was obviously well trained and ready vs. a couple of month of training for Josh. A friend of mine said to me only a wrestler would have taken that fight. Go figure!  

My naivety was quickly washed away as I realized everyone is looking for something different in a matchup. Camps are all looking for a winnable fight, Promoters are looking for the right fight for the crowd and possibly for the fighters they are managing, and Fighters are looking for something altogether different, some chasing the best, some looking to add to the win column on a safe bet.  

As someone who works in many capacities coach, manager and matchmaker, I have some understanding of the different paradigms even if I do not agree with them all.

Coaches and Managers:

I believe it is the responsibility of the coach as well as the manager to use whatever resources are available to them to research and gather as much data as possible about an opponent prior to putting your fighter in the cage to be chewed up and spit out so some promoter can fill a card. With rare exception the promoter isn’t going to watch out for your fighter, and quite frankly I don’t think it is their responsibility, although they should have enough integrity to try and present a balanced card with sensible matchups.  Often promoters and or matchmakers have a mixed agenda. They manage fighters, own their own gyms, coach fighters, all of which can create a conflict of interest.  The hope is that most can discipline the conflict of interest and present a fair opportunity at success for their fighter. While maintain the integrity of the matchup.

That being said I know there are some good promoters out there and they try hard to avoid mismatches and go far beyond their responsibilities and in the interest of card integrity as well as fighter safety go beyond their own responsibilities and refuse certain mismatches. Kudos to those guys

For those of us who have been around MMA for more than a week, how many times have we seen a fighter thrown to the wolves?  Mostly because of the lack of management,  a coach who wants to get a lot of fighters out there to increase visibility for their gym, or a promoter trying to keep 12 fights on their card.  Stopping that would appear to be an easy feat. Coaches do homework and protect your fighters while continuing to present progressive challenges for them.

 When I am searching for a fight for a fighter from my gym (Rough House) Keith puts me through the ringer with relevant questions while researching the fighter and promoter himself.  Those who know him know he isn’t looking for a walk over for his fighter. He is however not going to put his fighter is a situation where he or she has little to no chance of winning. While it can be frustrating I appreciate his diligence as I feel as coaches we should all be asking those tough questions.  It would be bad mojo for me to tell what specifically those questions are. But I would hope coaches would know the relevant questions to ask. If not maybe they should not be bringing fighters to the cage.

Promoters and Matchmakers:

In my humble opinion it is the promoters’ job to create a show. To create an experience for the fans, lighting, sound, fire and smoke, Hot ring girls, all that is included to create a phenomenal experience for the fans. This includes outstanding matchups. Some promotions utilize the services of a matchmaker and some do it on their own. As a matchmaker I love when they utilize someone who is an experienced matchmaker .

A matchmaker isn’t concerned as much with all the things that enhance the customer experience. They are concerned with making matchups that fight fans are talking about long after the fight takes place. They have to separate themselves from all the other aspects of the show and match fighters up. This means research, research, and a little more research. If you hate doing homework then matchmaking may not be for you unless you have someone doing your research for you. Also they have to know what happens when you match certain styles and abilities up. This for some is like a green thumb for a gardener. Comes down to a gut feeling. So knowledge of the game is essential. I see people matching up people and it is acutely obvious they have no business  matching fighters up. But they will match have a show and disappear as the more skilled and savvy folks have ongoing success.

Just sharing thoughts hope it sparks some discussion.

Neil

Comment (15)

Old school MMA- Rigan Machado

I’m doing this blog for a couple of reasons- first Rigan Machado is doing a BJJ seminar at Rough House where I train- their my friends and considered family. Second I really don’t know much about Rigan and the Machado’s. Since I first began training BJJ over 5 years ago (sad that I still suck…) there have always been certain names that are always said with respect and a certain amount of reverence. Gracie is by far the most known and I’ve done research and reading into the family and their history and blogged about them on here before. I’d have to say the second most respected name, to me at least, would be Machado. Then there are the lesser known or more regional names like Walt Bayless, Marc Laimon, Pedro Sauer etc.

Well, there seems to be some conflicting info out there but that’s no big surprise. Most of what I can find says Rigan is an 8^th degree red and black belt in BJJ earned from Carlos Gracie Jr. (the rough house flier says 9^th degree, maybe just more up to date?) He has 365 BJJ wins and only 2 losses (both to Rickson Gracie) but Rigan does hold a victory over Ron Tripp, the only person credited with a victory over Rickson Gracie. Machado currently teaches out of his Redondo Beach California Academy. Their website:   http://www.riganmachadoacademy.com/index.html

The Machado style of BBJ is called RCJ Machado Brazilian Jui-Jitsu. Rigan is ranked first in the world(off flier) and has won two gold medals at the Pan American games. He started training very young under Carlos Gracie Jr. and other Gracie’s and from the age of 14 through 21, Rigan won World Championships every year and in every belt division. He also holds a record by having 19 matches in one day and finishing all of them by submission (not sure at what level or where?). In 1994 he also place second in the world Sambo championships.

The Machado’s are related to the Gracie’s by marriage. Rigan is the nephew of the Legendary Grandmaster Carlos Gracie since Rigan’s mother’s sister married Carlos Gracie. There are several Machado’s out there,  Rigan Machado , Roger Machado, Carlos Machado who currently holds the highest rank of this style in the Southwest, 8th Degree Black Belt, Jean Jacques Machado who held the Rio De Janeiro Jiu-Jitsu State Championships Cruiser Weight Champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu National Championships Cruiser Weight Champion from 1982 to 1992 and John Machado a Fourth Degree Black Belt and 1993-1994 Pan American Games Sambo champion.

(sorry it kind of looks like a chip n dales poster....)
Well that’s the quick and dirty look into the Machado’s. As always if I have any errors please feel free to set me straight. This is another short blog but again I didn’t have much personal info to add since I’m just learning about the history and BJJ significance of the Machado’s. It looks like their philosophy has been to stay out of MMA and stick to grappling personally but they train many MMA fighters and have had a pronounced effect of BJJ and grappling as we know it today. Lee Douglas (lone star BJJ) is a black belt under Carlos Machado, he trained under his instruction in Dallas, Texas. I’d encourage anyone who trains to check out the seminar at rough house if you get the chance!

nasTY

Comment (9)

Old School MMA Norifum “Kid” Yamamoto 18-3-0 with 13 KO’s

I was kind of excited to write a blog on Kid, more because I really don’t know that much about him other than he’s a big name in Japan and is known for having knock out power. Looking at a few different sights and here are some highlights just in case you didn’t know much about him either.

Kid come from a wrestling family, his father competed in the 1972 Olympics and he has two sisters that have won world champion ships in freestyle wrestling. (Our own Clarissa Chun has trained with them at the Crazy be dojo in Japan.)Kid was educated in Arizona and became a three time state champ in wrestling (he took third as a freshman! Overall high school record of 112-4). Interesting side note- one of kid’s sisters was married to Enson Inoue (tough fighter from Japan) and it is said that Kid once had problems with a Yakuza family (Wikipedia) and that Enson was able to help him sort it out. I guess the Japanese Wrestling association supposedly has ties to the Yakuza and the problems stopped him from training wrestling so he turned to Enson and began training MMA. This lead him to Shooto.

Kid won his first three fights in a row in Shooto, the had a NC to Josh Thompon and then lost on a cut to Stephen Palling. Next he rattled off 14 straight wins in a row, most by KO and most in the first round. He beat the likes of Jeff Curran, Royler Graice, Caol Uno, Genki Sudo, Bibiano Fernandes and Rani Yahya. He then suffered to consecutive defeats to Joe Warren and Masonori Kanehara but won his last fight against Fredrico Lopez.  He’s fought in Shooto, K-1 and Dream and was supposed to make a strikeforce debut a few months ago but that was scrapped to get him back into dream. He began training at Enson's Purebred gym in tokoyo but how he trains at the Krazy Bee gym in Japan formerly known as the Killer Bee gym. I’ve heard the name was changed in 2007 when Kid wanted to get back into wrestling and wanted a more fan friendly image. His hopes of competing in the Olympics ended with a dislocated elbow in competition after what looked like a very promising start but that directed him back to his MMA career.  Kid is a very exciting fighter who walks around at 140-145lb range but who has competed from 135 to 155. I hope to see him back in action soon and hope he make a US debut in the near future- the more I learn about him the more I can see what Japanese fans adore him.

As always if anyone notices any errors here I apologize and feel free to correct me, and Alex- I hear the shirt is still in the mail… (you can’t buy krazy bee stuff in the US…)

Comment (5)

UFC 116

Originally I was going to post this earlier this week, but I didn’t want to bump any of the new blogs down. So originally when I wrote this it was going to cover UFC 116 and talk about Dream 15 coming up, but now I will post the results.

-          First I will like to say this card kicked butt, not only with the fights, but with the tickets sales. Early estimates are said to be over a million PPV buys and also more than one “of the night” bonus handed out. After the slump from the beginning of the year, looks like the UFC has shot back up. This is the first time in a while where I have excited during the whole card.

-          The Gerald Harris fight was ok, until the end which was explosive. I guess Gerald Harris has been show on Sport’s Center over and over again.

-          I remember when people were calling Gorin Reljic the next Cro Cop, with his being from Croatia and all, and supposedly be a kick butt striker, but turns out people were right, when you talk about becoming indecisive and over rated in MMA once they get in the UFC.

-          Petruzelli’s fight was great, if anything in the fight the one thing we learned from the victor, Richard Romero, is that he can definitely take a punch. I will be honest when I say I am happy to see MMA’s version of Big Gay Al lose. I’m not a homophobe or anything, but when you purposely go out of your way to make people feel weird by acting gay to make up for a lack of talent, is ga…..er I mean, lame. It reminds me of my son dresses up as a Jedi to get attention, except my son is cool….and six, you see getting attention by doing stuff like that is something a kid does.

-           Petruzelli and Richard Simmon,both have bad hair and are attention whores

-          I know that people are going to get upset by what I am going to say now, but here goes. Schaub reaffirmed my opinion of him, by ruining an impressive win, by acting like a complete douche with what he did after the fight. You would think he would be more humble after getting knocked out cold two fights ago.

-          http://urdirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Roy-Nelson.jpg

-          I am a Sotiropoulos fan now, after two wins against impressive opponents, and looking to p tier, I am now excited to watch him fight. Dude has a great attacking guard, and some wicked clean stand up. Also anyone put together the connection with him walking out to Iron Man by Black Sabbath. He’s an Aussie, and Ozzy sings for Sabbath….oh yeah.

-           I'm smart and stuff

-          The Bonnar vs. Soszynski fight was great, I loved it. Great stuff, back and forth, I can’t even write any notes about it. Just loved it, had brawling, and great technical inside Thai fighting by Bonnar. Too bad Wandy doesn’t fight at 205 anymore, or him vs. Bonnar would be a great fight. Bonnar vs. Diabite would be a great fight also.

-          Man I was telling MMA Buzz user Kpeazy during the Lytle fight how sad I think it is he fights brawling now just to make a FOTN bonus, but in the last two fights it has been some sick ground work that has one him his fight. BTW for a second I though Lytle was going to die there, thinking that he was out from the darce choke, but the whole time he was A-ok, good technique to be able to avoid going out on that choke. I think sometime Lytle’s whole “I like to brawl and stuff” thing is an act. Also Lytle vs. Serra II will be happening at UFC 119. I think this fight will be the completely opposite of the first one, meaning it is going to be a fun fight to watch.

-          I am a Leben fan, enough said. Leben vs. Wandy needs to happen. BTW I love Joe Rogan also sees Leben like a Zombie, but he thinks 28 Days later zombies, while I feel Romero. Too bad I don’t get his funny joke also because my friends would love to hear something funny rather than my retarded one liners. Also now Akiyama vs. Bisping will be the main even for UFC 120, which in my opinion makes no sense, but I hope it is one of those free taped delay Spike TV cards.

-          The main event lived up to the hype, Carwin looked great, Lesner looked great, the ref did great. Good stuff, hopefully now Lesner will get respect. Props to everyone in that fight.

-          Dream 15

-          UFC and PrideFC vet Nakamura won a not so entertaining fight in his Dream debut.

-          Ishida looked good at his 145 lb. controlling his opponent with his wrestling. Hopefully we will see him in the WEC, but he will probably stick around in Japan because they have some legit fighters at 145.

-          Manhoef lost a fight I thought was made for him to win, but in the end he lost, and looked disappointing…..which he does a lot. What surprises me is still how many people are in love with this guy.

-          Mousasi beat UFC vet Jake Obrien who came in overweight and honestly looked like he didn’t even train a day.

-          JZ Calavcante won his warm up fight after coming off of injury, and hopefully we will see him competing at Strike Force.

-          No matter Aoki bother me as a person, I have made respect for his ground game by submitting Kawajiri with an Achilles lock.

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You don't have to reach far to find someone who has been affected by cancer. Over the last year her locally it has hit even closer to the buzz site, when our friend and peer Neil Kirby was diagnosed with the beginning stage which they have caught early (thank the lord). I lost my grandmother to cancer and over the last two years have had the pleasure of befriending the following wonderful woman below.  please read it is long but well worth it.  This is excerpted from an article that I believe was published by a Cancer center who was amazed by the power of the sport that we all love to do so much more than most give it credit for. 

Put em Up a Fighters Story By Patty Esquibel


 I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in the Summer of 2008, which as you can imagine turned my world upside down. During that time Steve and I were given a set of tickets for the mixed martial arts (MMA) fights taking place at the local convention center. We hesitated to go , didn't feel up to it at the time but decided to go anyway since the tickets were a gift. Once we were there we started enjoying ourselves and decided that Steve would take pictures with the ring girls and I would take pictures with the fighters.        So we went out to the lobby and saw the ring girls and asked them for a picture with Steve, which they were happy to do. We then saw a few fighters taking their pictures with people and asked them if I could take a picture with them, which they were also happy to do. I was drawn to one fighter in particular, didn't know who he was at the time but really liked his Mohawk. Steve asked him if he would take a picture with me and he said yes and soIBy stood next to him . I told him my name and that I was also a fighter, which he looked at me kinda puzzled , I then told him that I was fighting breast cancer.  He then smiled and said, "Well put em up ! " he then put up his right arm making a fist and I did the same with my left arm and we posed for our picture. This was so cool of him especially because he was the only fighter who told me to "put em up." It was then that I decided that he was "my fighter" .       I couldn't hear his name to well when it was his turn to fight , I just remember the crowd was really loud and cheering him on.  I just referred to him as my fighter with the Mohawk. It was now getting late and we were getting tired so we decided to leave and call it a night.
     I continued on with my treatment having 6 rounds of chemotherapy , a lumpectomy to remove the tumor from my left breast along with twenty-six lymph nodes,  then had radiation which were five days a week for two months. It was rough and I went through a lot , at one point I had to be admitted to the Hospital for a week because I became septic which affected my kidneys really bad.  I eventually got better and was able to regain my strength and continued to fight.      It was now October 2009 and I had my first three month follow-up appointment with my oncologist, and was told that I had no more signs of cancer . I was very excited as you can imagine , and thought to myself that I was going to beat this cancer and that it was never coming back. I had plans to go back to work and was actively looking for a job, however, I started feeling pain to my left breast where the scar was from the surgery . I wasn't to concerned because it had only been one month since my check up which the tests showed no more cancer , but my family insisted that I get checked anyway, so I did.  To my surprise and disappointment the cancer was back , same breast.  At this point I was told that I would have to have a full mastectomy and that the tests showed a twelve millimeter nodule on my left lung. I honestly didn't know what to think, I was trying so hard to keep strong and kept telling myself that no matter what , I couldn't give up and that I had to keep fighting.     I was told that this now changes my prognosis since I didn't remain cancer free for five years, there is no curing me at this point. I was recommended to a breast cancer specialist in Denver at Sky Ridge Cancer Center to see if I could get in a clinical trial for my triple negative metastatic breast cancer. Unfortunately my surgery wound was not yet healed and the door closed on the clinical trial . I was terrified at this point and the biopsy results showed that the nodule on my left lung was cancerous. I thought to myself, there has to be someone out there who could help me. I called the Cancer Treatment Center of America who recommended me to the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Co. which is a National Cancer Institute. I called that same day and luckily there was a cancellation for that Monday, however they would need my records by then.  We immediately faxed all my records to them and was able to be seen that Monday.  The appointment went well and we were told that there was treatment for me , we then cried with overwhelming joy.    Steve then had this idea to surprise me with a visit from "my fighter" so he found him on Facebook and sent him a message reminding him of who we were and how we met him. He eventually got the message and responded back to Steve, though it was no surprise because I walked in the room when Steve got the e-mail from "my fighter."  The plan was to have him and his family over for dinner, which I could hardly wait for , I was like a kid waiting for Santa. I don't remember what I said to him , all I remember was hugging him and thanking him for coming over, I was so excited to tell him that he was "my fighter" since the first time we met . He remembered me telling him that I was fighting cancer and that he told me to "put em up" .   I continue with chemotherapy to this day at the Aurora Cancer Center, and continue to talk and text "my fighter", Kreg Hartle as he continues to tell me to "put em up" . He is part of Pueblo's MMA team also called PWIA who put together a huge Mohawk party for me this past March, as I was losing my hair due to chemotherapy.  Team Pueblo MMA coaches and fighters who do so much in our community for others were there and all got Mohawks to show their support for me and continue supporting me to this day, as we have become a warrior family.   He also has given me one of his title belts, which this belt holds special meaning to him because he blew out his knee during this fight and fought through the pain to win this title. He knows that the chemotherapy causes me pain and takes a lot out of me.  I cherish this belt and the meaning behind it , it's definitely going with me to Heaven.                                                                                                                            Patty Esquibel, "A warrior for life".

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