UFC on FOX 6 Recap
UFC on FOX 6 Recap:
By Dustin Perie.
Odd start to the show, first with the panel not realizing the camera was on, then slight audio issues, commentary was in and out, and when it did come back it was Goldberg speaking to presumably his producers, asking if he needs to apologize for the audio issues, great stuff that boarder lined awkward. But enough about technical issues, let’s get to the violence.
Featherweight Division:
Ricardo Lamas 12-2 (+160) vs. Erik Koch 13-1 (-175)
Hats off to Koch for the bad ass entrance music: Scooter – Fire, it’s very dated, but if you are interested in a trip back to the mid 90s, it’s a funky way to do it.
Round 1:
First round started off slow, both men showing off their great head kicks with not much being landed clean. Lamas went for a single leg mid-way through the round, but somehow Koch found a way to stay vertical. Lamas received a warning from John McCarthy about open hand strikes to the face. Right near the end of the round Lamas scored a sloppy takedown which will likely score him the round.
According to me: 10-9 Lamas.
Royler Gracie
We recently had the opportunity to interview Royler Gracie while he was in Ontario teaching seminars. We caught up with Royler at Robinson’s Karate School located in Bolton, Ontario Canada. Royler reflects on his thoughts about whether his father should be in the UFC Hall Of Fame for his contributions to the sport, the importance of being skilled in more then one of the martial arts and why he chose to make the move to America from Brazil.
UFC 153 Predictions
Predictions by MMAxposed’s Farrell Tremblay
After losing UFC 151 and Strikeforce: Melendez vs Healy, we almost lost UFC 153 as well. Although the card doesn’t have the same relevant fights as it did a month ago, we now have some very exciting matchups that can really be best described as “fun”, even if they have no impact on any division. Let’s break down the insanity of an already broken down card.
Anderson Silva vs Stephan Bonnar
This fight has a lot of people really excited. Rightfully so, these two fighters have a history of exciting fights with spectacular outcomes, but before I cloud the matter with such misleading facts, let’s be clear about something: People aren’t excited about this fight in the same way they were excited for GSP vs Nick Diaz. The excitement people feel for this fight is really more akin to giddy sadism or the strange fascination we have watching wildebeest cross crocodile infested rivers on the Discovery Channel. Stephan Bonnar is one tough S.O.B. but is he ever out of his league. I believe his ability to absorb unnatural amounts of punishment will take this fight into later rounds but I will be shocked if Anderson Silva finds himself in any sort of danger at any point in this fight. Yes, this is MMA and anything can happen (just ask Matt Serra) but this is also the greatest man to ever fight in the sport and he will deliver that greatness by the fistful
Prediction: Silva by TKO
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Dave Herman
You have to respect a guy like Nogueira. He is a legend of the sport, and if he retired tomorrow would have nothing but fond farewells from the MMA community. He’s a former champion in the two most prestigious promotions this sport has produced. Coming off a devastating loss to Frank Mir and nearly a year of inactivity, the last thing Big Nog needed to do was take a fight on short notice against a lower tier heavyweight on a two-fight losing streak but he stepped up when the UFC needed him the most. Dave Herman probably isn’t the caliber of fighter we would have seen Nogueira fight had he been matched up on more organic terms, but he is still a tough, durable fighter with heavy hands who may have the spryness of a young fighter to put them on the aging Brazilian. The more likely scenario is that Nogueira boxes his way inside Herman’s sloppy standup, takes him down and takes home a limb.
Prediction: Nogueira by submission
Elias Theodorou “The Spartan”
This Saturday August 25th Elias Theodorou will face Simon Marini at The Score Fighting Series at Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario. MMAxposed gives you a peek into Elias’s day getting ready for his fight. This fight will be broadcasted on TheScore.com and televised LIVE on The Score at 9pm!
SFS: Jason Saggo Vs Eric Attard READY FOR WAR!!
Written by Randi Lotsberg
Ontario pro fighters Jason Saggo and Eric Attard will be stepping into the cage this Saturday, August 25th at the Score Fighting Series to test their minds, strength and skills. MMAxposed could see this bout being the fight of the night between these two skilled lightweights. Saggo is a brown belt training under Paul Abel out of P.E.I. and Attard trains out of Modern Vision MMA in Welland, Ontario under coach Chris Bonfoco. Both of these guys bring a different element into the cage; Saggo being known for his strong ground game and Attard for his Muay Thai background and powerful leg kicks. They are both at a comparable level when it comes to fitness and strength. This fight could go either way but it is bound to be the epitome of what a MMA fight should be!
Have a look behind the scenes in their training leading up to this event. Hear what they have to say about each other and how they think this fight will end.
Get your tickets at www.ticketmaster.ca for this event The Score Fighting Series: Hill Vs. Fraser Saturday August 25 2012
READY FOR WAR!!
UFC on Fox 4 Recap: Shogun wins but Machida impresses
By: Matt Marcone
The UFC finally delivered to the network audience by putting on four excellent fights and an all around great show. The judges were not needed on the main card and a future light heavyweight title shot was awarded.
UFC President Dana White said that whoever put on the most impressive performance in the two main event fights would earn a shot at the light heavyweight championship.
Both Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Lyoto Machida were victorious, earning fourth and second round finishes respectively.
“The answer is I think Lyoto Machida was the most impressive tonight,” says White. The boss has spoken, enough said.
Machida proved once again that he only needs his opponent to make one mistake to finish a fight. After frustrating Ryan Bader on the feet in the first round, he waited for him to charge in and landed a straight right hand. That was all it took at 1:32 of round two.
The main event saw Brandon Vera nearly pull off a huge upset with a tight guillotine in the opening round, but Shogun defended it perfectly.
How many more UFC-Strikeforce bouts will we see in the future?
Written By Jordan Maskell
Frank Mir photo from UFC.com
With the news that Frank Mir will enter the Strikeforce cage to face David Cormier, the question is how many more UFC-Strikeforce bouts will we see in the future? The most recent cross promotion bout announced looks to be the first within Strikeforce. However, this is following a string of Strikeforce crossovers with former champions including Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, Dan Henderson, and Allistar Overeem making the transition to the Octagon.
It has been revealed that the Strikeforce Heavyweight division will eventually be dissolved, as after this fight both Mir and Cormier will compete solely in the UFC. This will be done to focus on developing the depth of other weight classes, including a women’s division within the company. Many former Strikeforce Heavyweights have already entered the UFC including Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Shane del Rosario, Shawn Jordan, and of course Overeem.
Until now, both rosters have been considered exclusive to its respected promotion, although there have been exceptions to this rule. UFC President Dana White has said in the past that fighters from Strikeforce will not crossover to the UFC while there is a deal between Showtime and Strikeforce. The company was bought by the UFC’s parent company Zuffa in March 2011. He has said before he would not sign Strikeforce fighters while they were contracted with Strikeforce due to the deal with Showtime.
Dan Hardy talks comics and his career
MMAxposed reporter Matt Marcone caught up with Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy at the “Heroes” comic book store in Woodbridge, Ontario. It was an awesome event that had everything from real transformers cars to memorabilia to exotic animals in the petting zoo. Not too often do an MMA fighter, batman, iron man, bumblebee, two camels and a lemur all get to hang out in one place!
He was one of the nicest guys we’ve had the pleasure of interviewing and bluntly spoke about having to rediscover his passion for mixed martial arts.
Hardy stormed onto the UFC welterweight scene in 2008, winning four in a row and earning a title shot against Georges St. Pierre. After losing a decision to the reigning champ, Hardy consecutively dropped three more fights to Carlos Condit, Anthony Johnson and Chris Lytle.
Due to his fast paced style and willingness to push the action, the UFC opted not to cut him and gave him another fight against Duane Ludwig. Their decision proved to be justified as he knocked him out with a devastating hook in the first round.
In the interview, Hardy opens up about star wars, his upcoming fight with TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah, and finding his spirituality. He also gives his prediction for the upcoming title fight between St. Pierre and Condit, two guys he’s very familiar with.
Hardy’s bout with Sadollah is scheduled for September 29, 2012 in his hometown of Nottingham, England at the UFC on FUEL TV 5.
UFC’s Chris Clements welcomes you to his home
Pro Fighter Chris Clements gives us a behind the scenes look into his home. Stay tuned for our upcoming video “Chris Clements on Cloud 9″ which will take you further in depth into his life getting married, becoming a dad and making his UFC debut.
Chris Clements will be fighting Matt Riddle at UFC 149 on Saturday July 21, 2012 in Calgary, Alberta.
Follow Chris on Twitter @menaceclements
The Pride of El Salvador is all about having fun at UFC 148
This veteran fighter doesn’t necessarily need a Bruce Buffer introduction, but ‘The Pride of El Salvador’ Ivan Menjivar (24-8) will get it this weekend at UFC 148. Ivan will be going for his fourth straight victory in the UFC. His opponent will be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt Mike Easton (12-1) from Alliance MMA under Lloyd Irvin. Mike is currently on a seven fight win streak. Ivan believes that Mike has great hands to go along with his prolific ground skills and has been forced to train smart for this match up. His fight camp has once again been under the tutelage of one of the best in the business Firas Zahabi from Tri Star Gym in Montreal, Canada. These Bantamweights will square off this Saturday, in the under card, of the highly anticipated re match between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. Menjivar rarely disappoints when it comes to putting on crowd pleasing performances. The Menjivar/Easton combination lends itself to have all the makings of a fight of the night honour. Menjivar already holds a submission of the night honour in the UFC. Ivan says he just appreciates the opportunity that the UFC is giving him and he just wants to face-off Saturday night and put on a great show for the fans!
How to clean and jerk
In our latest strength and conditioning video Kelly Parke and Michael Steenson show you proper technique when doing Olympic Lifting
Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig says Dana White is a man of his word
Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig was in Ontario recently for a seminar at Blue Dragon Muay Thai and Warrior Fight Store in Whitby it was a great turnout with participants of all ages. UFC’s Antonio Carvalho also came out for the seminar.
Watch our interview with Duane below:
WARNING: May contain inappropriate language
A Minute with Travis Marx
Travis Marx (19-3) made his Bellator debut this past Friday night at Caesars Casino in Windsor, Ontario for Bellator 64. Travis trains out of Jacksons MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico with world renowned MMA trainer Greg Jackson. Travis went up against Masakatsu Ueda (15-2) and dominated his way to victory by decision.
We asked Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney what his personal highlight of the night was and he said…
” Travis’ win was gratifying, kinda speaks to who we are. You give a guy a chance who’s not ranked in the top 30 in the world and you put him against the #6th ranked guy in the world and Travis wins the fight and dominates the fight. To see a guy who really was not picked to win, take advantage of an opportunity like this…. you give a guy a shot and he steps up and takes advantage of it and he just grabs it by the throat. That’s kinda gratifying. You look at it and say That’s what it’s all about.”
Travis’ accomplishment Friday night is just one of many in the future for this fighter.
Check out Travis’s website HERE
“Always Believe!” ~ Travis Marx
Taylor Solomon returns to Bellator
Taylor Solomon is a small town guy trying to make his way to the top like any MMA fighter on the scene, but what makes Taylor stand out is his willingness and drive to take on any challenge. Taylor was on a 3 loss streak but still managed to find his way to Bellator 57 last Novemeber, after coming off a loss against World Muay Thai Champion Shane ‘Shaolin’ Campbell. That fight went to decision and Taylor took his third loss as an achievement and I think others would agree, these two guys went at it and put on an amazing show. It’s now April 2012 and Taylor is off to fight Jason Ficsher for his 2nd Bellator bout and this guy is ready for war. He was given an opportunity to come back and to shine, and Taylor is taking that opportunity and running with it. You can catch tonights fights on www.spike.com @ 7pmET/6pmCT TV fights will be aired on MTV2 &EpixHD @ 8pmET/7pmCT
Written & Photography By Randi Lotsberg
Catching up with Jake Shields
MMAxposed had the chance to catch up with Jake Shields this past weekend while he was in the GTA. We got to check him out in action during his seminar hosted by Haymaker Fightwear at BAMA BJJ in Burlington, Ontario Canada. We also got to attend an evening event with Jake and the guys at EventbanksMMA and The Warrior Fight Store. It was a great weekend with many successful events throughout the GTA.
Adam ‘MAVERICK’ Assenza talks about his first pro win at SFS4
MMAxposed’s Dan Sammit catches up with Pro Fighter Adam’MAVERICK’ Assenza the day after his win against John Roche, with is his first win as a pro MMA career. Adam is currently (1-1) and trains at Bama BJJ located in Burlington Ontario.
ALESSIO, HILL, RICCI, CAMPBELL, AND WHITLOCK ALL WIN AT THE SCORE FIGHTING SERIES 4
By Andy Cotterill (andy@mm-eh.ca)
John ‘ The Natural’ Alessio has been on a mission to get a return call to the Ultimate Fighting Championship for some time now.
In an interview with MM-eh a year ago, the Duncan, British Columbia native expressed his frustration with seeing fighters who he has beaten in the cage get the coveted UFC call, while he remains in the cold.
Last night at the Score Fighting Series 4 in Hamilton, Ontario, Alessio gritted out a unanimous decision win over Ryan Healy that must surely get him a big step closer to realizing that goal.
Alessio looked good in the early going, and clearly winning the first round, wobbling the apparently larger Healy with a stiff jab, and using his strong top game and control to help set up several guillotine choke attempts.
Healy made it an even fight by coming on strong in the second, where he connected with some hard punches then used his length to pin the shorter Alessio against the cage. The third and deciding round looked to be even, until Alessio turned on the jets and was able to attain two takedowns, and finished the fight once again on top, grinding Healy into the cage.
In the end, all three judges saw it two rounds to one for Alessio, awarding him a 29-28 x 3 unanimous decision.
The anticipated bantamweight clash between hometown fighter Josh Hill and Saskatoon’s Eric Wilson also went the distance with Hill as the victor, but this was more of a one-sided affair.
Score Fighting Series Weigh-Ins Results
Check out the pics and results from today’s weigh ins at The Score Fighting Series. These pics will also appear on www.mm-eh.ca
Duncan, British Columbia’s John ‘The Natural’ Alessio (33-14) will continue his return push to the Ultimate Fighting Championship when he takes on tough Oregonian ‘Diamond’ Ryan Healy (19-9) in a lightweight main event.
The semi main-event features a match-up between a pair of top Canadian prospects. Hamilton’s ‘Gentleman’ Josh Hill (7-0) and Saskatoon’s Eric Wilson (5-1) will compete to see who is the top bantamweight in the Score stable of fighters.
265 – Craig Hudson (260.0) vs. John MacPhearson (260.4)
155 – Adam Assenza (155.6) vs. John Roche (153.6)
185 – Elias Theodorou (185) vs. Erik Herbert (185.6)
155 – Jason Meisel (156.8) vs. Mike Sledzion (156) ”
170 - Ryan Dickson vs. Brandon Johnson Fight cancelled after Johnson did not pass MRI
145 - Lyndon Whitlock (145.4) vs. Cory Houston (145.2)
155 - Shane Campbell (155.4) vs. Derek Boyle (155.4)
155 - Alex Ricci (155.4) vs. Iraj Hadin (155.6)
170 – Forrest Petz (169) vs. Sergej Juskevic (168.8)
135 – Josh Hill (134.8) vs. Eric Wilson (134.8)
155 - John Alessio (155.6) vs. Ryan Healy (155)
* Jason Meisel was given one hour to cut 0.8 pounds but was unable to do so. He will forfeit 20% or his purse to Mike Sledzion.
A few words from one training partner about another – Lyndon Whitlock
I have known Lyndon since 2001. We used to train together and when he first started training, I spent alot of time helping him out. The one thing I noticed right away was how fast he picked up grappling. Within a couple of months training he went to compete and do an amazing job at a very tough local competition. Since that time, he took many years off of training focusing on work and other things.
We recently began training together about a year ago and the exact same thing is happening. He is picking up and absorbing technique so well and keeps getting better each and every time we roll. It is an honor to know him as a student, friend and representative of my store. Not just because of his abilities, but for his hardworking, honest and humble attitude on and off the mats. Just dont tick him off in the cage…or he will break something of yours….literally!
Written By Riccardo Ammendolia
