Fishing Intelligence Network Launches, Fish Not Thrilled

Trampas Parker Travis Pastrana Gautier Paulin David Philippaerts Mickael Pichon

The take off

Vic Eastwood Daryl Ecklund Erik Eggens Richard Eierstedt Jimmy Ellis

The MMA Hour With Urijah Faber, Dan Henderson, KJ Noons and 'Stitch' Duran

Filed under: UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, Videos

The MMA Hour returns on Thursday with another jam-packed 90-minute edition show.

* Former featherweight champion turned bantamweight Urijah Faber will stop by to preview Thursday night's WEC 51 event and his upcoming fight against Takeya Mizugaki.

* Dan Henderson will discuss his December rematch against Renato "Babalu" Sobral and what he's been up to since we last saw him compete in April.

* KJ Noons will talk about his showdown with Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce welterweight title, which is now less than two weeks away.

* And cutman extraordinaire, Jacob "Stitch" Duran will make his first appearance on the show to talk about his remarkable career and his new book, "From the Fields to the Garden: The Life of Stitch Duran."

And of course, we'll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.

Download this show and previous episodes of The MMA Hour on iTunes here.

The MMA Hour begins below beginning at 1 PM ET.

Jeremy Lusk Billy MacKenzie Corrado Maddii Andre Malherbe Paul Malin

Matt Mitrione Fires Agent After Win - UFC 119

Matt Mitrione Fires Agent After Win Video by UFC 119

Billy MacKenzie Corrado Maddii Andre Malherbe Paul Malin Jacky Martens

WEC 51 Predictions

by Michael David SmithThis month's best MMA card is finally upon us, with World Extreme Cagefighting making its return and the featherweight championship of the world on the line. We've got the full preview and predictions right here.

What: WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan

When: Thursday, the non-televised card begins at 7 PM ET and the televised card begins at 9 on Versus.

Where: 1stBank Center, Broomfield, Colorado

 

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George Holland Jeremy van Horebeek Kent Howerton Neil Hudson Ryan Hughes

Frenchmen in Mexico

Sugar Magazine has a lengthy video featuring a crew of Frenchmen in Mexico.

Roger De Coster Ken De Dycker Yves Demaria Gilbert De Roover Clement Desalle

AlaiKids Flow Team

Global Skateboarding has the Flow Team Montage from AlaiKids.

Ove Lundell Sten Lundin Jeremy Lusk Billy MacKenzie Corrado Maddii

Surf Trip Map

Check out this really cool illustrated world map of surfing spots called the Surf Trip Map. In their words: "A Surf Trip Poster to put on your wall with all Surf Spots, beautiful Art, and lots of Surf Information"…



www.surftripmap.com

Pedro Tragter Marty Tripes Vlastimil Valek Julien Vanni Pekka Vehkonen

Omatic Snowboards

www.omaticsnowboards.com

Anthony Boissiere Frederic Bolley Xavier Boog Damon Bradshaw Goat Breker

Matt Mitrione Fires Agent After Win - UFC 119

Matt Mitrione Fires Agent After Win Video by UFC 119

Donnie Hansen Torlief Hansen Marcus Hansson Doug Henry Broc Hepler

Belfort off UFC 122, booked to face Silva

There's no such thing as a 24-hour news cycle in mixed martial arts. MMA Weekly reported last night that Vitor Belfort had to dump out of the Yushin Okami fight at UFC 122. It turns out that it wasn't an injury.

Update: On Facebook, Belfort's trainer Shawn Tompkins indicated that Belfort is healthy. Maybe that means he was removed from the card and will be slotted in against Anderson Silva in February.

Update II: UFC president Dana White just announced that Belfort is injury free and has been booked to fight Silva next.

So there you have it, Belfort got moved out of a risky fight against Okami to ensure a matchup that White has wanted to see for a while.   

Nate Marquardt, who is now fighting Okami at UFC 122, also deserves the fight. He's been skipped over several times for his rematch against Silva. He was destroyed by the UFC middleweight champ back at UFC 73. Since then he's been a much more confident, aggressive fighter. His trail to another title shot was derailed by Sonnen back at UFC 109. Marquardt got himself back in the mix with an easy win over Rousimar Palhares at Ultimate Fight Night 22. If he gets the job dome against Okami, then he'll face the winner of Belfort-Silva.

More good news came across the MMA wire last night. The UFC discovered that its main event at UFC 119 this weekend won't turn into a circus. Because of an eye injury suffered late in his camp, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic was a possible late scratch for his fight against Frank Mir. No worries, Indiana did the right thing and had Cro Cop examined as soon as he arrived in the U.S.

"'Cro Cop' suffered a poke in the eye in the last round of his final sparring session for the bout last week, but after a few days of rest, he is in tip top shape for this pivotal battle of heavyweight contenders," the UFC.com statement read.

On Monday Andy Means, the director of the Indiana Gaming Commission's athletic division, (said Cro Cop) would undergo a pre-fight exam prior to Friday's weigh-ins. But apparently not wanting to risk a late surprise, officials arranged an exam as soon as Filipovic arrived in Indianapolis

Facebook tip via Bloody Elbow

Ron Lechien Jeff Leisk Victor Leloup Aigar Leok Tanel Leok

The Dark Side of The Lens

We highly recommend you check out a really beautiful and inspiring video by Astray Films and COTW featured surf photographer Mickey Smith titled "The Dark Side of The Lens". This is the first in a new series called "Short Stories" by Relentless Energy. Click on the video screenshot below to watch…



- Mickey's website
- Mickey's blog

Bobby Moore Blair Morgan Gaylon Mosier Marvin Musquin Brian Myerscough

Get off the Computer, get on the Trail

The constant stream of information we get through mobile and hand-held devices is changing the way we think. This�New York Times article explains how the use of digital technology is altering our brains, and how retreating into nature can reverse the effects: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129384107

Mike Kiedrowski Darryll King Shayne King Heinz Kinigadner Dusty Klatt

DREAM 16 results: Will UFC 119 top Japanese event?

UFC 119 shapes up to be a good one tonight. The card isn't filled with superstars but it appears to possess some nice matchmaking by Joe Silva. It'll have to deliver on a high level to match last night's MMA event in Japan. DREAM 16 had plenty of pomp and circumstance and some nasty finishes.

The card was highlighted by Jason Miller's easy win over Kazushi Sakuraba. The 41-year-old legend was overmatched from the get-go. Overpowered early in the striking game, Sakuraba (26-14-2) ended up on the mat when he attempted a takedown (5:12 mark). Sakuraba posed a short threat trying to work a submission on a Miller leg but the American flattened him out and eventually pushed him to his back. That's where Miller landed two of the cleanest punches to the face you'll ever see. The stunned Sakuraba was an easy mark for an arm-triangle choke. Miller slapped it on and Sakuraba tapped quickly at 2:09 of the first. Having beaten one of his idols, Miller was emotional in the ring. HDNet analyst Frank Trigg wasn't caught up by the moment. He suggested that Sakuraba had no business being in there with a 29-year-old who's in the top 15 at middleweight and that the veteran needs to think about walking away from the ring with his health intact.

Shinya Aoki wasn't spectacular but he did control Marcus Aurelio for 15 minutes on the ground. He couldn't finish the fight but the ease with which he locked up Aurelio, a good Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, was impressive. The 27-year-old Aoki got win No. 25 of his career via unanimous decision.

Before the fight card, there were rumors of a big Aoki announcement. Turns out it had nothing to with his work in the ring but everything to do with some work on the homefront. During the opening montage video, Aoki announced that his wife is pregnant. There are still persistent rumors that Aoki will face either Gilbert Melendez or Nick Diaz around New Year's in Japan. Aoki was wearing a "Diaz t-shirt" before and after his fight.  

Gegard Mousasi was impressive in the main event but his competition was less than stellar. Tatsuya Mizuno was thrown to the mat like a ragdoll and then got dominated badly. After getting beat upon for three minutes in the first, Mizuno finally gave his back and tapped on a choke that had only been on for about 1.5 seconds. With the win at 6:10 of the first, the 25-year-old Mousasi is now 30-3-1 and has to be looking for a rematch against Muhammed Lawal. Mousasi showed awful takedown defense in losing the first fight back in April.

Satoshi Ishii (2-1) got his second win but the fight was a mixed bag. He can grapple and certainly understands controlling an opponent on the ground but he didn't do a whole lot of damage while riding the much smaller Ikuhisa Minowa (46-31-8). He weighed 235 for this fight but after watching him do minimal damage it's hard to see Ishii surviving as a top level heavyweight down the road.  

The most impressive wins of the night came from Michihiro Omigawa, Joachim Hansen and Hiroyuki Takaya.

Omigawa ran roughshod over Cole Escovedo. The American came out with the some hard kicks but was taken down easily and then reversed. But Escovedo got sloppy on top and left his right arm exposed. Omigawa (12-8-1) pulled off a nifty inverted armbar and appeared to have damaged Escovedo's elbow before he submitted.

Hansen was in a must-win situation. Hideo Tokoro, just four wins above .500 in 49 fights was made to order. The Norwegian scored a takedown and fell into mount. He eventually stood above Tokoro and tried to rain down some shots. In a second mount situation Hansen was so far up Tokoro's body that he was able to easily latch on a top-side triangle. Seconds later, he dropped to his side. Tokoro lifted Hansen off the mat and tried to slam his way out of the hold but it only made it tighter (pictured above). The Japanese veteran had to tap at 2:48 of round 1. Hansen (20-10-1) gets his first win since July of 2008.   

Chase Beebe was once the WEC bantamweight champ but that was a different era. The world has caught and passed the Iowan. With a wrestling background, his stand-up game hasn't caught up, especially on the defensive side. Takaya (pictured on left punching) came straight forward and threw with reckless abandon. Beebe's night closed quickly when a left hook dropped him and Takaya got off six more punches on the ground to post the win at 1:45 of the first.

Including his WEC title fight loss to Miguel Torres, Beebe is just 2-6 in 2008-10. 

DREAM 16 results:
Gegard Mousasi def. Tatsuya Mizuno via submission (rear naked choke) at 6:10 of Round 1.
Jason Miller def. Kazushi Sakuraba via submission (arm triangle choke) at 2:09 of Round 1.
Shinya Aoki def. Marcus Aurelio via unanimous decision.
Satoshi Ishii def. Ikuhisa Minowa via unanimous decision.
Hiroyuki Takaya def. Chase Beebe via knockout (punches) at 1:45 of Round 1.
Michihiro Omigawa def. Cole Escovedo via submission (inverted armbar) at 2:30 of Round 1.
Joachim Hansen def. Hideo Tokoro via submission (triangle choke) at 2:48 of Round 1.
Kazuyuki Miyata def. Takeshi Inoue via unanimous decision.
Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Akiyo Nishiura via split decision.
Yusuke Kawaguchi def. James Thompson via split decision.

There was also "controversy" before the fight card. The HDNet announce team of Trigg and Michael Schiavello got a little physical while donning Lucha Libre-style masks. "The Voice" grabbed Trigg's hanky and all hell broke loose (video)

Michele Rinaldi Joël Robert Ken Roczen Stephane Roncada Gerard Rond

Push

The Ashville, NC video, Push is premiering September 16th. Check the trailer. Get the Quicktime here if you need it.

Paul Malin Jacky Martens Christophe Martin Mickael Maschio Connor McGechan

Zhang Tie Quan Ready to Show How a Chinese Athlete Can Fight

by Michael David Smith

One of the biggest fights of the year in mixed martial arts takes place on Thursday night when Jose Aldo fights Manny Gamburyan for the featherweight champion of the world. But the fight that could be the most significant bout of the year will happen a few hours earlier on the same World Extreme Cagefighting card, and it will be largely overlooked and maybe not even shown on the television broadcast.

That fight features China's Zhang Tie Quan stepping into the cage to take on an American named Pablo Garza, and it represents a major opportunity for American MMA to break into the Chinese market.

Every American company is intrigued by the possibilities of expanding into China, and Zuffa (parent company of the WEC and UFC) is no different. And while it's not realistic to think Zhang could do for MMA what Yao Ming did for basketball, Zhang knows that if he succeeds on the American stage, he could have a huge impact on the growth of the sport in the world's most populous nation.

 

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Alex Salvini Donny Schmit Fritz Schneider Darrell Schultz Tommy Searle

Butterbean "In Two Years, Pudzianowski Will Be Unbeatable" - Butterbean

Butterbean: "In Two Years, Pudzianowski Will Be Unbeatable"

Victor Leloup Aigar Leok Tanel Leok Billy Liles Ove Lundell

Butterbean "In Two Years, Pudzianowski Will Be Unbeatable" - Butterbean

Butterbean: "In Two Years, Pudzianowski Will Be Unbeatable"

Sven Breugelmans Larry Brooks Mike Brown Rick Burgett Jimmy Button

UFC 119 Post Fight Press Conference Highlights - UFC 119

UFC 119 Post Fight Press Conference Highlights Video by UFC 119

Larry Brooks Mike Brown Rick Burgett Jimmy Button Michael Byrne

Bellator 30: Cancer survivor Baker wins; Makovsky and West make 135-title fight

Bryan Baker looked like he was dealt a possible death sentence back in April when he was diagnosed with chronic leukemia. The middleweight mixed martial artist kept the news a secret to almost everyone outside his inner circle. He's fought the disease galantly and showed similar moxie in taking out veteran fighter Jeremy Horn as part of Bellator 30 in Louisville, Ky. The leukemia is now in remission.

The Baker-Horn fight was part of a Bellator card televised on FoxSports Net and held in an interesting setting, 4th Street Live, an outdoor entertainment district in the same town as the Kentucky Derby. Baker (pictured on left) showed he was a thoroughbred in spite of the terrible disease he's fighting. The 24-year-old had a tough time dealing with Horn's grappling in the first round but was able to keep the fight standing for most of the final two rounds and bust up Horn's face. Baker got a unanimous decision victory, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Bellator also has its bantamweight tournament final set after Ed West and Zach Makovsky cruised to victories. The 5-foot-9 West was simply too long for Jose Vega. Vega, a good wrestler, got the fight to the ground in the first and second, but was in defensive mode the entire time that he had top control. West worked for triangle chokes, multiple armbars, a rear-naked choke and an even a kimura. He never got the finish but he did land a nasty shot to start the second that split open Vega's left eyebrow. West got a split decision win, 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29.

Makovsky was the shorter fighter in his battle against Bryan Goldsby but he had no such problems on the ground. He was active moving from position to position maintaining top control the majority of the time after landing one his nine takedowns. He rolled in the first two rounds and cruised to a unanimous decision win, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Makovsky (11-2) and West (15-4) will meet on Oct. 14 for the Bellator Season 3 Bantamweight tournament title fight in Kansas City at Bellator 32. Brit Jimmy Wallhead is scheduled to fight Ryan Thomas on that card.

Mickael Maschio Connor McGechan Jeremy McGrath Andrew McFarlane Brett Metcalfe

UFC 119 Weigh-In Video Highlights - UFC 119

UFC 119 Weigh-In Video Highlights Video by UFC 119

Velky Zdenek Bengt Åberg Greg Albertyn Jeff Alessi Mike Alessi

Seriously: Last chance for Tuolumne and Cherry Creek

Time to line up and start singing: “Goodnight, farewell, aufiederzein, goodbye!!!� Adieu! Adieu….”� Ok, ok, you get the picture.� This is the last weekend for rafting trips on the Tuolumne and Cherry Creek.� So for all you procrastinators out there, this is your final warning!� The ship is about to set sail on the Tuolumne [...]

Brian Myerscough Maximilian Nagl Kurt Nicoll Bill Nilsson Jorgen Nilsson

Bicycle Thursday

Mark Barnett Jonathan Barragan Andrea Bartolini Willy Bauer Jean Michel Bayle

Seriously: Last chance for Tuolumne and Cherry Creek

Time to line up and start singing: “Goodnight, farewell, aufiederzein, goodbye!!!� Adieu! Adieu….”� Ok, ok, you get the picture.� This is the last weekend for rafting trips on the Tuolumne and Cherry Creek.� So for all you procrastinators out there, this is your final warning!� The ship is about to set sail on the Tuolumne [...]

David Thorpe Rich Thorwaldson Rolf Tibblin Sebastien Tortelli Ben Townley

Last Week

Christophe Martin Mickael Maschio Connor McGechan Jeremy McGrath Andrew McFarlane

The view from below - Big Hill Beach - January 2010

James Stewart Jr Brian Stonebridge David Strijbos Kevin Strijbos Chuck Sun

Re-Rigged

Ron Lechien Jeff Leisk Victor Leloup Aigar Leok Tanel Leok

20kms of coast - 17 September 2010

Kurt Nicoll Bill Nilsson Jorgen Nilsson Graham Noyce Carl Nunn

TUF 12 recap: 'Bruce Leroy' and GSP show smarts in Episode 2

On the second episode of "The Ultimate Fighter 12", we may have a gotten a preview of a recurring theme with Georges St. Pierre duping Josh Koscheck, and the always smiling Alex Cacares lulling an opponent to sleep.

The show returned for the second episode with 14 fighters having fought their way into the house. Now it was time to choose teams. Both coaches made out their draft big board but GSP decided to draw up a dummy sheet and try to sucker Koscheck into thinking he was going to pick Marc Stevens. Stevens was coached by Koscheck at the University of Buffalo. Kos thought he'd sneak a peek, saw GSP's fake list and fell for the bait. Both coaches had Michael Johnson rated No. 1 but Koscheck took Stevens with the top pick and Johnson fell right into GSP's hands.

It also meant St. Pierre had control of the fight selection and he took an approach no other coach has in the recent history of TUF. He let the most enthusiastic fighter choose his own fight. According to GSP, a motivated fighter is one who'll probably win. There's no one on the show with more vim and vigor than Cacares aka "Bruce Leroy" out of Miami. Cacares, 21, calls out Jeff Lentz, a banger with good wrestling. Koscheck is smiling ear-to-ear thinking that GSP just made a big mistake. We're not sure why since Bruce Leroy was a No. 4 pick and Lentz was a No. 7 pick.

A huge fan of martial arts' legend Bruce Lee and named after a character in the 1985 film "The Last Dragon", Cacares is seen meditating, doing breathing exercises and showing off wacky kicks in the backyard. Lentz even comments that it may look cool but the technique is terrible.

At the same time, the producers of TUF make sure to highlight the fact that Lentz appears to have a two-pack-a-day smoking habit. In reality, he probably puffed on three or four cigs in a 24-hour period but it looks like he's constantly smoking. It sets up the question about his cardio.

By the looks of the fight, the smoking may have played a role. Lentz talked about throwing hands and beating Cacares so badly that he'd want to go home but that wasn't the approach he took. Lentz worked the clinch against the cage for almost the entirety of the fight round. He looked for trips and judo throw takedowns. He got a couple but Cacares got to his feet quickly. Lentz did put an exclamation point on the first with a big judo throw but he worked so hard that he returned to the corner with his mouth open.

Lentz came out for the second looking winded and Cacares was able to take advantage. Bruce Leroy scored a takedown, had Lentz's back and then got reversed. Lentz was in Cacares' half guard but allowed the fighter on the bottom to easily get it back to full with 3:38 left in the round. From there, Cacares freed his left leg and threw it up on Lentz's shoulder that was the beginning of the end. The wilting Lentz tried to slam off the triangle attempt by Cacares, but didn't put up much of a fight after that. Bruce Leroy moves on with a submission win and leaves Lentz behind to smoke and drink all he wants.

Bruce Leroy is cocky. Next week's tease includes a mention that he may have crossed the line in rubbing the victory in Lentz's face a little too much. He's certainly confident and afraid of no one. The kid is built like a beanpole but apparently he's been in his share of scraps. Before getting into legitimate mixed martial arts training, he was a street fighter cashing around $600 a fight. Lentz should've watched the "Bruce versus Chocolate" fight on YouTube. You can't slam your way out of a Bruce triangle. 

Sebastien Tortelli Ben Townley Pedro Tragter Marty Tripes Vlastimil Valek

Fight stats don't back up Sherk's win over Dunham

It's not easy being a judge. The action in the Octagon is fast and furious, clear views of the action are sometimes blocked and there are plenty elements to block out, like the roar of 15,000-plus fans. So not every close decision is a controversial one but the split victory given to Sean Sherk over Evan Dunham appears to be a little shaky.

At first glance, it looked like Sherk took the first on the benefit of several takedown and busting open a big cut over Dunham's eye. In rounds two and three, Sherk couldn't score his takedowns and got busted up on the feet by Dunham. Yet Glenn Trowbridge and Cecil Peoples helped Sherk to a split decision win by each giving him the nod 29-28. The fans didn't like the call and UFC president Dana White was livid with the decision.

The judges also don't have the benefit of statistics during the fight. The postfight report released by FightMetric paints a pretty one-sided picture. Sherk, a wrestler by nature, only made good on 5-of-18 takedown attempts. He also improved position, to half-guard, just once. While attempting the takedowns or trying to improve position he also got caught in seven submission attempts. The stats were even worse when the fight was standing. Dunham was incredibly active attempting nearly 200 strikes. He landed an amazing 62 percent of his jabs, 93-of-148 in all.

Mike Alessi Thomas Allier Håkan Andersson Victor Arbekov Les Archer

Oscar Candon in Behind The Lens

Oscar Candon has a pretty sick part in the French video, Behind The Lens.

Adolf Weil Jake Weimer Jimmy Weinert Nick Wey Blake Wharton

20kms of coast - 17 September 2010

Michele Rinaldi Joël Robert Ken Roczen Stephane Roncada Gerard Rond

Ride Snowboards

www.ridesnowboards.com

Xavier Boog Damon Bradshaw Goat Breker Sven Breugelmans Larry Brooks

Banff Park Radio

Kathy and I were recently interviewed by Allan Buckingham, for his “Alpine Authors” program on Banff Park Radio. You can listen to the podcast on the Authors page of our website: http://www.hikingcamping.com/authors.php

Doug Henry Broc Hepler Rob Herring George Holland Jeremy van Horebeek

UFC 119: The Rock is in the building

INDIANAPOLIS -- Dwayne Johnson -- also known as "The Rock" -- enjoyed the fights at UFC 119 from cageside. He showed up early to see the preliminary fights, and stopped in to chat with UFC commentator Mike Goldberg. He took time out from filming a movie with Vin Diesel to see the bouts.

Michael Byrne Antonio Cairoli Trey Canard Håkan Carlquist Ricky Carmichael

Marketing 101 by McKee: Lightweight's chops have him on the verge of UFC deal

Antonio McKee has developed a reputation as a boring fighter, but he's far from it outside the ring and cage. Sometimes that's as important as what you do in your fights. McKee talked the talk, then walked the walk two weeks ago at MFC 26. He guaranteed a dominant performance, then delivered one against Luciano Azevedo and is now mulling over a contract that'll give him his first shot at the UFC. On Friday, McKee said he's verbally agreed to a deal and is going over the final details of the contract. All this at the age of 40.

McKee told Marcos Villegas that he's still looking over the contact and that's he's loyal to the MFC but he sure sounds like going to be with the big boys of MMA soon.

"I've worked on a lot of stuff. I've got a lot of surprises. So if people are studying those old tapes, you're going to be in for a rude awakening," said McKee (4:17 mark). "And if you do, I'm sorry you may leave the ring like Azevedo did. I don't want to hurt people. I just want to show people that I'm the best in the world."

McKee (25-3-2) is a wrestler by heart. His takedowns have helped him maintain an unbeaten streak that dates to 2003.

"If I'm on top. I've got many weapons there," said McKee (5:34 mark). "As you can see, I exposed one of them last week and that was that vicious elbow. See, I went to Thailand and had a metal plate put in my elbow. So when I hit people it's just going to cut everyone open and you're not going to be able to stop that."

Just what MMA needs! The real life Dusty Rhodes and his bionic elbow. Let's hope McKee brings the loaded boots as well. McKee also had a fight against Drew Fickett on the horizon. That's probably on hold for now. McKee suggests that's a break for Fickett, whom he says he'll smash too.

Jaromir Cizek Guy Cooper Paul Cooper Josh Coppins Cody Copper

Our Tribe

Last night we had a wonderful experience in Canmore, at the Alpine Club of Canada, where we talked with a group of enthusiastic hikers. Meeting so many fellow hikers at once was a rare and touching opportunity for us. Though their backgrounds were diverse, all openly expressed their passion for the outdoors, and?what most impressed [...]

Marcus Hansson Doug Henry Broc Hepler Rob Herring George Holland

Indianapolis welcomes the UFC with open arms (and dolls)

INDIANAPOLIS -- The UFC hit Indianapolis for the first time this week, taking over the city's sports scene. UFC president Dana White said that the promotion's first foray into the Hoosier State has already been going well.

"We like to go to all these new markets and introduce the live event. I think it's been one of the reasons we've grown so fast and been so successful. At the live show, we infect 18-20,000 people, and when they leave, they go and infect three people. The live event is exciting. There's this buzz and this energy. We want to go into all these new markets," White said at Thursday's press conference.

"We're excited to be here. This place is known as a traditional sports town. I'm proud and happy to have the UFC here now."

White did not have an exact figure on ticket sales, but said that they have been "fantastic since day one."

Sports bars in the downtown Wholesale District have signs up reading, "Welcome UFC Fans." On Wednesday night, Buffalo Wild Wings hosted an autograph session with local fighter Matt Mitrione, and all the waitresses wore Tapout shirts. Thursday evening, Kilroy's filled their TV screens with the UFC's "Countdown to 119" and a rerun of WEC 50.

A group of around 75 fans crowded into the Old National Center -- where the Broadway show "Mary Poppins" is playing -- for the press conference on Thursday. Fans, including a young girl who carried a Brock Lesnar and Chuck Liddell doll instead of Barbies, clamored for the chance to take pictures and get autographs from the fighters on the main card.

The city's main newspaper, the Indianapolis Star, has devoted column inches to the UFC, educating MMA newbies and spotlighting the locals on the card.  With the city's beloved Colts out of town, it's easier for MMA to get front page coverage.

Outside of the sports scene, it's a bit harder to to tell that a major MMA event is taking over the town. There is a bigger presence reminding the city about the upcoming International Violin Competition and "Mary Poppins."

But it's too early to judge if the UFC is a success in Indiana, or if it has made the often-touted financial impact on the compact Indianapolis downtown. What will tell the story is how many fans crowd into the Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday night.

Erik Eggens Richard Eierstedt Jimmy Ellis Jeff Emig Harry Everts

Better weekend suplex: 'Sexyata' or Barnett?

One was real. One was fake. But they both looked pretty cool. Josh Barnett took on Tim Sylvia in a pro wrestling match in Japan. "The Baby-Faced Assassin" tossed Sylvia on his noggin. It probably came with a little assistance from Sylvia. Kazuyuki Miyata did it for real.  "Sexyata" took "Lion" Takeshi for two rides during their fight at DREAM 16. One more time and it would've brought back memories of wrestler Chris Benoit, who once did it 10 times to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Any Benoit memories beyond that are pretty lousy.

Mickael Pichon Jim Pomeroy Christophe Pourcel Sebastien Pourcel Wyman Priddy

UFC 119 Weigh-In Video Highlights - UFC 119

UFC 119 Weigh-In Video Highlights Video by UFC 119

Jaromir Cizek Guy Cooper Paul Cooper Josh Coppins Cody Copper

Five Womens 2011 Snowboards you shouldn?t miss

2011 looks like it’s going to be a really great year for womens snowboards. Check out the Ride Promise, pictured above, for starters – these roll out of the stores for �289.95 which is pretty darn good for a board that rides so well. Here’s our Top Five Womens Snowboards for 2011 (in no particular [...]

Brian Myerscough Maximilian Nagl Kurt Nicoll Bill Nilsson Jorgen Nilsson

Ian Smith

Ian Smith does some very gnarly shit.

Heinz Kinigadner Dusty Klatt Arne Kring Brad Lackey Arthur Lampkin

Painting tutorial by Damian Fulton

We're proud to introduce a new tutorial exclusively for COTW by former Disney and Marvel artist Damian Fulton, which shows the progression of one of his paintings: "An Eye for an Eye". We love Damian's imaginative world of characters and narratives, with urban and surf/beach culture clashes in Los Angeles, California central to his work, and of course in his words, "If you're the type that likes monsters, trucks, beaches and babes, you've come to the right place!".
We hope you like it…

www.clubofthewaves.com/surf-art/tutorial-damian-fulton.php

Michele Rinaldi Joël Robert Ken Roczen Stephane Roncada Gerard Rond

Dollaway, Sherk, Dunham, Mitrione, Beltran Win $70K Bonuses; Mir Bypassed

Filed under: UFC, News

INDIANAPOLIS -- The firepower some expected to see at UFC 119 didn't materialize until the last minute of the last round of the last fight on the card.

And ironically, even Frank Mir, the only man who managed a knockout on the night, was not awarded a post-fight Knockout of the Night bonus for his third-round finish of Mirko Cro Cop in the main event.

Instead, in a rarity, UFC president Dana White bypassed Mir's KO finish and instead gave two Fight of the Night bonuses, awarding $70,000 each to the participants in the Sean Sherk-Evan Dunham and Matt Mitrione-Joey Beltran matches.

David Strijbos Kevin Strijbos Chuck Sun Torao Suzuki Gareth Swanepoel

Bellator 29 Fight Highlights & Recap - Bellator 29

A recap from Bellator 29 featuring Cole Konrad vs. Damian Grabowski and Neil Grove vs. Alexey Oleinik in heavyweight semifinal action.

David Philippaerts Mickael Pichon Jim Pomeroy Christophe Pourcel Sebastien Pourcel

Sunday 30 May 2010

Warren Reid Pierre Renet Marc de Reuver Michele Rinaldi Joël Robert

Dream 16: Omigawa, Takaya, Hansen Impress in Featherweight Bouts

by Michael David Smith
The best featherweights fighting in Japanese MMA these days are Dream champion Bibiano Fernandes and Sengoku champion Marlon Sandro. But many of the best of the rest were in the ring Saturday at Dream 16, a fight card that featured five featherweight bouts.

Of the 10 featherweight fighters in action, the best of the bunch was Michihiro Omigawa, who beat the American Cole Escovedo with a straight arm bar two and a half minutes into the first round. The submission appeared to break Escovedo's arm and showed once again that Omigawa is one of the truly elite fighters in the 145-pound and under class. Omigawa has been one of the sport's most active fighters over the last couple of years, fighting seven times in 2009 and three so far this year. He's also been one of the best, climbing up the featherweight rankings by going 8-1-1 since the start of 2009.

 

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Marty Tripes Vlastimil Valek Julien Vanni Pekka Vehkonen Marc Velkeneers

Matt Serra looking forward to a great fight, then ravioli

INDIANAPOLIS -- Matt Serra isn't dumb. He knows that when he walks into Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday night at UFC 119, he will likely be welcomed by boos, or at least silence. Since he is facing Indianapolis's native son, Chris Lytle, he does not expect anyone a big cheerin section.

"Am I prepared for the boos? Yeah. Did you see my fight in Montreal?" Serra said with a laugh at the UFC 119 press conference. "You've gotta be a good sport. This is Chris's hometown. We're both professionals. It may not resemble that, because it is a combat sport, but I'm sure, no matter what goes down, we'll be buddies afterward."

"If we fought in New York, he's such a nice guy, they'd probably boo me there, too. It's a funny thing. It's all part of the game. He's the hometown guy. I'm prepared for it. I'll still be smiling."

Serra will face Chris Lytle, a good friend of his since the two of them were on "The Ultimate Fighter." He was excited to take on the rematch because of the potential for the fight.

"What really got me excited about this fight is, since we had that fight, Chris has been insane. He has the most bonuses. I think he's got the record for that. The guy went on a tear. You're not going to find a bigger Chis Lytle fan than this guy right here. You want an exciting fighter. I don't even look at it as fighting him again. It's like fighting him the first time."

Though Serra hasn't talked any trash going into the bout, that doesn't mean he will be any less tenacious on Saturday.

"We're both going to look to take each other out. It's funny. My last two [opponents], I wasn't really crazy about. Me and Chris get along great. We were buddies on the show. I don't think you're going to see that in the cage. We'll try to take each other's heads off. But afterwards, I'm sure we'll have a Bud Light."

Serra was awarded with the Tequila Cazadores Spirit Award for UFC 119 for his work with the Ronald McDonald House, and $1,000 was donated to RMCH in his name. He said he has visited the RMCH on Long Island and was impressed by one of their patients.

"This kid Anthony was really in bad shape, I visited him in Long Island and now he's on the up. I still keep in touch with him. I like what they do. They're all about the children. That's an awesome thing."

Serra's wife's Italian cooking has been his Achilles heel. He cuts down on the Italian food before fights, but says that there's a feast waiting for him when he gets back to his home and gym. 

"Eggplant rolitini, homemade pizza on the BBQ, raviolis. It's going to be bad. The only bad thing about it is that my stomach shrinks. Because of dieting, I get sick, but I'm looking forward to it."

But before the big meal, he will and Lytle have work to do.

"Good thing he's a fireman -- this is going to be cheesy -- because we're going to light this place on fire," Serra said with a thumbs up.

Thomas Hahn Torsten Hallman Bob Hannah Donnie Hansen Torlief Hansen

Jim Miller deals much bigger Gleison Tibau a loss at UFN 22

Jim Miller's been called midget by a previous opponent and he was facing a giant of the lightweight division in Gleison Tibau, but challengers are quickly learning that the little guy has plenty of fight in him. Miller consistently found a home for his straight left and avoided staying on the ground against Tibau, an excellent ground and pounder. In a good back-and-forth fight, Miller picked up another UFC win via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, at Ultimate Fight Night 22 in Austin, Texas. It was the fifth straight win with the promotion for the mighty mite.

Tibau (31-7, 7-5 UFC) is simply massive for the 155-pound division. After re-hydrating, he walks to the Octagon at well over 170 pounds while Miller is a small lightweight at just 5-foot-6. But Miller never had an issue from a power standpoint in Wednesday night's fight. Tibau scored several solid double-leg takedowns throughout the fight but could never maintain the position to do any real damage. Meanwhile, when they were standing and striking, Miller was the faster and more accurate fighter. He landed a few good leg kicks and his left hand was the difference in the fight. Give credit to Tibau, he's got a chin. He got blasted several times and stayed on his feet. The closest he came to going down was in the second round.

Miller (17-2, 7-1 UFC) crushed him with a left and Tibau's knees buckled. The Brazilian got on his horse, literally running to his left. Once Miller caught him, he was able to score a quick takedown. But Tibau recovered quickly and rose to his feet in seconds. That scenario and a better land rate for Miller was more than enough to impress the judges.

Chuck Sun Torao Suzuki Gareth Swanepoel Ivan Tedesco David Thorpe

Jim Miller deals much bigger Gleison Tibau a loss at UFN 22

Jim Miller's been called midget by a previous opponent and he was facing a giant of the lightweight division in Gleison Tibau, but challengers are quickly learning that the little guy has plenty of fight in him. Miller consistently found a home for his straight left and avoided staying on the ground against Tibau, an excellent ground and pounder. In a good back-and-forth fight, Miller picked up another UFC win via unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, at Ultimate Fight Night 22 in Austin, Texas. It was the fifth straight win with the promotion for the mighty mite.

Tibau (31-7, 7-5 UFC) is simply massive for the 155-pound division. After re-hydrating, he walks to the Octagon at well over 170 pounds while Miller is a small lightweight at just 5-foot-6. But Miller never had an issue from a power standpoint in Wednesday night's fight. Tibau scored several solid double-leg takedowns throughout the fight but could never maintain the position to do any real damage. Meanwhile, when they were standing and striking, Miller was the faster and more accurate fighter. He landed a few good leg kicks and his left hand was the difference in the fight. Give credit to Tibau, he's got a chin. He got blasted several times and stayed on his feet. The closest he came to going down was in the second round.

Miller (17-2, 7-1 UFC) crushed him with a left and Tibau's knees buckled. The Brazilian got on his horse, literally running to his left. Once Miller caught him, he was able to score a quick takedown. But Tibau recovered quickly and rose to his feet in seconds. That scenario and a better land rate for Miller was more than enough to impress the judges.

Marty Moates Guennady Moisseev Bobby Moore Blair Morgan Gaylon Mosier