<waves 'ello> Hi mookie and ceg! Even though I can't really post much while working, I am able to check the thread from my phone so you aren't completely alone in here (see mookie ... cell phones are not the devil! )
I actually caught part of the fight night when they aired it last night. I saw the Jon Fitch v. Roan Carneiro fight ... the one where Fitch looks like a crazed mountain man after he gets the submission. Any rumors on who he might get to fight next? I'm thinking probably Koscheck, but I'd like to see him get a shot at the title soon.
eeeevil, i tells ya, eeevil!
hope you are getting through your busy time ok, releash. it's cool, i'll hoard the posts in the thread for now. really though, i hope you are getting some relaxo time.
that fitch vs. carneiro fight was a good one. fitch came back strong and won with a great finish after being in some precarious positions in that one, and his reaction was great!
i doubt that he and koscheck will face each other as they are still training partners at AKA as far as i know. they've been together a long time, so i just can't see them fighting each other, but you never know.
with koscheck's step back and fitch's step up recently, i'd guess that fitch has one more fight before a title shot. if karo beats chonan in a couple of weeks i could see them being matched up for the title shot, even though both have really done enough work to deserve it already. it would be a great fight to see, though. there are so many good WW's in limbo right now with the title being held up because of the show. it's too bad for guys like jon that they have to wait in the wings for their chance.
...all just my opinion of course. i would say alves and marcus davis are on the cusp as well so a match with koscheck for either one of those guys would make sense provided they win their next bouts. koscheck was rumoured to be fighting on the new year's card, but i'm not sure what happened with that. perhaps they are waiting to see what happens with all the WW's at 78 to decide koscheck's next match.
wait...you're the matchmaker here...what am i talking about!?!?!
i was hoping someone would come back...there were tumbleweeds in here for a bit. yeah, it was actually just the two rounds as usual. the third round was the controversy. most people there thought the fight was going to a third because, like you said, they thought dan had the first and ben the second.
i've watched it quite a few times now and i'm still convinced ben won the first. it was a lot closer for me the more i watched it, but with dan missing so much and both guys having a knockdown i thought the first should have gone to ben. there wasn't much to debate about the second. i made a point of reading serra's blog this week because i wanted to read his thoughts on the fight after having watched it back on tv. during the show he also thought it would go to a third, but after watching it on tv he said that he was more convinced that ben won both rounds.
hey mookie! thanks for the recap! lol.... if i had remembered that there were only 2 rounds in these fights, it would have made a heck of a lot more sense, even on mute!
in that case, yes.... i guess hughes would have been suprised by the decision... i haven't seen the fight again yet, maybe i'll catch it later on today... i'm sure it will be able to analyse it a little better, you know, without all the 'surroundings' of the bar....
crap, now that i think about it, i don't think it'll be on before i have to start getting ready for a halloween party tonight.... i've got to somehow make my hair look like this: http://home.swipnet.se/~w-68238/ph-slash098.jpg
~~*~~ ...i surfaced and all of my being was enlightend... ~~*~~
i think you'll be suprised at the resemblance.... i'll be sure to send pics...
i can't wait! i'm sure it will be awesome!
man, i konked out there for a bit and missed the ko special, but that's ok. i'd rather see a submission special anyway. the strange part was that i woke up three times during the fight night replay...just prior to tavares slapping that beautiful triangle on jason black, just prior to fitch getting his rear naked choke on roan, and just as they were announcing the winner of the fisher / stout bout. weird.
oh well, up in time for the TUF replays...but i'm sure i'll doze off again only to wake up at the end of each episode.
an ad on the fight network site just reminded me that there's another eliteXC event coming up...and very soon. the last couple of shows have been very good, but this card is only half filled, with the event only two weeks away. it doesn't look very good so far. i guess they are hoping people will tune in just for jake sheilds, nick diaz and to see kimbo slice. there's a rumoured bout between robbie lawler and vitor belfort, but with only two weeks before the event i would guess that's not happening if they haven't announced it yet.
EliteXC, November 10, 2007 - Showtime / Fight Network
Jake Sheilds Vs. Mike Pyle
Nick Diaz Vs. KJ Noons
Antonio Silva Vs. Jonathan Wiezorek
Kevin Ferguson (Kimbo Slice) Vs. Bo Cantrell
Seth Kleinbeck Vs. Kyle Noke
hope you are getting through your busy time ok, releash. it's cool, i'll hoard the posts in the thread for now. really though, i hope you are getting some relaxo time.
that fitch vs. carneiro fight was a good one. fitch came back strong and won with a great finish after being in some precarious positions in that one, and his reaction was great!
i doubt that he and koscheck will face each other as they are still training partners at AKA as far as i know. they've been together a long time, so i just can't see them fighting each other, but you never know.
with koscheck's step back and fitch's step up recently, i'd guess that fitch has one more fight before a title shot. if karo beats chonan in a couple of weeks i could see them being matched up for the title shot, even though both have really done enough work to deserve it already. it would be a great fight to see, though. there are so many good WW's in limbo right now with the title being held up because of the show. it's too bad for guys like jon that they have to wait in the wings for their chance.
...all just my opinion of course. i would say alves and marcus davis are on the cusp as well so a match with koscheck for either one of those guys would make sense provided they win their next bouts. koscheck was rumoured to be fighting on the new year's card, but i'm not sure what happened with that. perhaps they are waiting to see what happens with all the WW's at 78 to decide koscheck's next match.
wait...you're the matchmaker here...what am i talking about!?!?!
Time to relax? hahahahaha ..... actually I have the day off today so I can do some studying in my PJ's with football on in the background. Thanks for the well wishes
ah, how could I have forgotten that Fitch and Koscheck were training partners!? Hopefully then they won't have to fight each other. The reason I thought about the two of them fighting is that Serra, Hughes and GSP are all tied up in this TUF/title fight business. Obviously, GSP has earned his shot at the winner of Serra v. Hughes. But the earliest that fight could happen is March .... that's a long layoff for GSP, but I don't think Joe Silva will put him in another fight before then. Otherwise, Fitch v. GSP would be the obvious matchup in my mind with the winner getting a title shot. While the WW division is VERY deep and talented, it seems the only people Fitch hasn't beaten are Koscheck and Karo. IMO, Karo seems like a bit of a step back for Fitch despite his 2 recents wins, though I am sure there are plenty who would disagree with me. So that left me with Koscheck as a potential match up for Fitch while he is waiting for his title shot. But a fight with Karo would get Fitch more into the spotlight since Karo a well known fighter. We'll have to see what happens.
You make a good point about Thiago Alves and Marcus Davis being on their way up the ranks. Marcus Davis v. Koscheck would be a great match up and would either get Koscheck back on track or continue Davis' march through the division. I could see that happening around the beginning of the year.
And your post about the EliteXC fights reminded me... what happened to Nick Diaz? Did his contract with the UFC run out? He won his last two fights in the UFC so I can't imagine he was dropped.
MOOK! GSP is going to make an appearance on the Geminis!! :eek: quick, turn on CBC!
he's sitting right behind Cory Haim!! lol....
LMAO! GSP - the guardian of the Gemini results.... :cool:
merde!
i'm sorry i missed it. there was foosball on today so i was engrossed in that, and then sleep of course, so i didn't catch the geminis. thanks for letting me know, though. it's good to see georges making appearances on some of these shows, and his interview on the hour. it bodes well for people recognizing mixed martial artists as legitimate athletes and for georges to become more well known outside the MMA community.
hey, releash, i guess the term "relax" sometimes doesn't have much meaning the field you're in, eh?
you're right that joe silve isn't putting georges in any more fights until the title fight against the winner of the hughes / serra match (it will be serra ). it's a long layoff, but i think this is good for georges really. this sport is so fickle sometimes, and with one loss you can go from having an aura of being undefeatable, which is ridiculous because everyone can be defeated on any given day, to being considered one of the best again after a good performance. with georges' performance against josh koscheck and with him answering the question definitively who was the better wrestler and fighter that night, i can only see georges getting hungrier, more confident and refining his gameplan more and more until the fight happens, as you said, probably in march.
this is why i think fitch will have another fight before he gets his title shot. the question is who will be his opponent? i doubt we'll ever see koscheck vs. fitch unless the title was on the line and even then it would be a tough decision for them to make. fitch would win, in my opinion, as his striking is light yers ahead of koscheck's, his submissions are far batter, and i'm probabaly one of the few who thinks he could out grapple him as well. fitch has to be the number two guy behind georges in terms of talent in the WW division. this is why i'm hoping that all goes to plan and fitch and georges meet up for a title fight this coming summer. it would be outstanding!
i'm going on the assumption that georges will get his title back, of course.
i'd agree with you that fitch would beat karo at this point in their respective careers. georges already has a definitive decision win over karo in georges' first fight in the ufc, so i would guess more people would like to see fitch vs. st-pierre. to be honest, i don't think karo is going to beat chonan, so it may all become a moot point. fitch will be the favourite no matter who his next opponent is and rightfully so.
as far as nick diaz is concerned, i seem to remember that it was a bit of an ugly mutual split. nick hates the ufc now, and because nick had lost those three close decisions i think the ufc kind of put him on the back burner. i really don't like the way they do that because as far as i'm concerned if you're going out there and giving it your all to put on a good fight and perform to the best of your ability you should still be there in the mix, despite close decision losses. nick had grievances about the judging, about guys like diego making more money than him (he definitely had a point there), and where he stood in the WW division. he did come back for two those fights, after one win outside the ufc, and finished them both so it was weird that suddenly he was gone.
he left either when his contract was done or with one fight left...i can't recall. then he signed with pride, but only had one fight due to their demise. he beat gomi with a gogoplata! :eek: ...then tested positive for marijuana and was stripped of his win over the pride "champ". once his suspension was up, he signed with elite xc and beat mike aina in a great fight at their most recent show in hawaii. it was really close and diaz's ring rust showed. (many thought aina won the fight) he should have a relatively easy time next show against kj noons, who is primarily a boxer with a ground game that isn't even close to nick's level.
i'd like to see him back in the ufc at some point, but unless the relationship starts fresh, i don't see it happening. who knows, though? maybe if nate has a good experience with them it might persuade nick to come back.
here's a sweet rumour for a match at ufc 80. fabrico werdum vs. gabriel gonzaga. fabricio didn't really get to show much of anything in his first fight against andrei arlovski, but i saw the first macth these two had on the fight network and it was a really good match. they were fighting outdoors, and the temperature was like a million degrees. (no hyperbole! ) the humidity was being mentioned by the guys calling the fight about every minute or two. gabriel eventually succumbed to the heat and exhaustion and ended up losing the fight, even though fabricio was obviously feeling the effects of the conditions as well. hope it pans out and the rumour is true. both guys have come a long way since the first fight, so this could be a good one.
Report: Fabricio Werdum vs. Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 80
October 30, 2007
After dropping a unanimous decision to Andrei Arlovski in his UFC debut back in April, Fabricio Werdum (9-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will return to the organization to take on Gabriel Gonzaga (8-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at UFC 80.
The news comes from GracieMag.com, citing the head of Gonzaga’s Team Link.
UFC 80 takes place in Newcastle, England — either on Jan. 12 or Jan. 19 — at Metro Radio Arena.
The heavyweight bout between the two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts will be a rematch from four years ago. At a Jungle Fight 1 event in Brazil, Werdum scored a third-round TKO of Gonzaga.
Gonzaga last competed at UFC 74 in August — in a title fight against UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture. In the weeks leading up to the main event, Gonzaga was considered a slight favorite. However, despite breaking Couture’s arm while throwing a head kick, Gonzaga would suffer a broken nose and eventual third-round TKO.
The loss snapped Gonzaga’s six-fight win streak, including a four-fight win streak in the UFC.
Werdum, a former PRIDE Fighting Championships fighter, signed with the UFC earlier this year. He was considered an instant heavyweight contender (fresh off a first-round submission victory over Aleksander Emelianenko), but after the lackluster loss to Arlovski at UFC 75, Werdum seemingly fell off the UFC’s radar.
His UFC 80 bout will be just his second fight in 14 months.
what the fudge?! din has always struck me as a pretty smart guy...maybe a little comically arrogant sometimes, but pretty level headed i thought. sounds like his intentions were good (to raise money for the fighters), but to have no medical staff on hand and knowing full well you can't hold unsanctioned events?!?!? how incredibly stupid. there are others ways to raise money.
if the report is correct, it sounds like he admitted to holding the event. if that's the case, we won't see him in the ufc again. :(
Din Thomas Arrested for Allegedly Running Un-Sanctioned MMA Fights
October 30, 2007
UFC veteran and “The Ultimate Fighter 4” cast member Din Thomas was arrested Tuesday on charges he was running un-sanctioned MMA bouts at his American Top Team-affiliated training center in St. Lucie West, Fla.
Thomas is now facing a felony prohibited competitions charge.
MMAjunkie.com was unable to reach Thomas this afternoon. His business manager, Dean Albrecht, said he’s yet to speak to Thomas and can’t comment until he does.
Albrecht didn’t know if Thomas, who needs to post $10,000 bail, had been released from jail.
According to an arrest warrant, officers were called to Thomas’ training center, American Top Team Port St. Lucie, on Tuesday. According to a warrant application filed by officer Brian Kenny:
“Once on scene I observed… a large caged octagon ring with two men inside fighting. There was a third male in the octagon acting as a referee. Around the octagon there were several people (approx. 150 men, women and minors) sitting and standing on make shift stands and chairs facing the octagon cheering while watching the two men fight. Both fighters wore gloves but did not have any protective headgear on. At the front door to the location there was a table with a small sign stating ‘$10.00 per person.’ Also located on the table was a roll of raffle tickets.“
According to the report, Thomas admitted that he was hosting the event for his students to gain experience and that the money raised from the raffle would help the fighters. Although Thomas claimed that the bouts were primarily sparring matches, Kenny stated that each fight had timed rounds, the referee determined a winner, and that he witnessed fighters using “punches and kicks to the body, face and head of their opponents.“
The officer witnessed five to seven fights taking place during the event and even stuck around for the awarding of raffle prizes — likely because he and his fellow officer were dressed in street clothes.
Thomas admitted that he had no medical personnel on hand but said all the fighters did sign waivers, Kenny stated.
The Florida Boxing Commission regulates professional MMA fights in the state of Florida. However, no amateur MMA fights are allowed in the state. Because of that, many training centers — in Florida and throughout the world — often put together events called “smokers,” in which amateur and lower-level fighters can get experience fighting in front of crowds (oftentimes comprised of family and friends). The events come in all shapes and sizes, and though they operate in a gray area of the law at best, they’re nonetheless a big part of MMA.
Thomas (20-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) had emerged as one of the UFC’s top lightweight contenders before a first-round submission loss to Kenny Florian at UFC Fight Night 11 on Sept. 19. The 31-year-old suffered suffered significant damage to his knee — a torn meniscus, stretched ACL, and a bruised femur and tibia — in the defeat.
at the very least you have the respect earned from picking the matches correctly after the first round last year, and those were some very good fights!
once the last two quarter finalists are decided we'll have to see what we think are the best matchups. we'll have to try to get inside serra's head...hmmm..."hamma fist, elbow...you're breathing....take your time...hamma fist elbow..."
once the last two quarter finalists are decided we'll have to see what we think are the best matchups. we'll have to try to get inside serra's head...hmmm..."hamma fist, elbow...you're breathing....take your time...hamma fist elbow..."
lol.. i think serra talks like that in his sleep!
i think this year's matches will come down to 'tattoo assessments'....
mook, i'm just waiting on those downloads right now so that i can complete my GSP lesson... although i read ahead and ruined the "1 second" suprise!
~~*~~ ...i surfaced and all of my being was enlightend... ~~*~~
well, there was the episode where paul had to fight and they mentioned that jared would fight george, so i was thinking the pick would probably stand. just a little cheating, eh?
yeah, i think hughes might be doing something wrong. i was reading that three of his team members from the show went to new york to train with matt serra after the show was over. it's really no wonder. mac had some good points about some of these guys being in the early stages of their careers and needing to learn, and not needing the discouraging words.
well, there was the episode where paul had to fight and they mentioned that jared would fight george, so i was thinking the pick would probably stand. just a little cheating, eh?
yeah, i think hughes might be doing something wrong. i was reading that three of his team members from the show went to new york to train with matt serra after the show was over. it's really no wonder. mac had some good points about some of these guys being in the early stages of their careers and needing to learn, and not needing the discouraging words.
three of Hughes' guys went to train with Serra?! Interesting. Nothing against Serra as a coach, but I think if I was a relatively new fighter I would probably try to train at Extreme Couture or with Greg Jackson.
I agree with Mac ... Hughes needed to give his guys discipline, technique and encouragement.
we're still good with the fight. funny exchange at breakfast there with jared and george.
yeah, i'm not sure who the three guys were, but i just read it in an article about the show. a couple of good camps you mentioned there. they don't get much better than that, and the amount of really good fighters training at extreme couture right now is ridiculous!
we're still good with the fight. funny exchange at breakfast there with jared and george.
yeah, i'm not sure who the three guys were, but i just read it in an article about the show. a couple of good camps you mentioned there. they don't get much better than that, and the amount of really good fighters training at extreme couture right now is ridiculous!
Extreme Couture is STACKED right now with good fighters . . . in several weight classes. Obviously I'm a little partial to a certain lightweight ... I think his name is Gray.
Greg Jackson did some great work with GSP for his fight with Josh Koscheck.
Good fight tonight once they got started. George was pretty impressive.
Comments
eeeevil, i tells ya, eeevil!
hope you are getting through your busy time ok, releash. it's cool, i'll hoard the posts in the thread for now.
that fitch vs. carneiro fight was a good one. fitch came back strong and won with a great finish after being in some precarious positions in that one, and his reaction was great!
i doubt that he and koscheck will face each other as they are still training partners at AKA as far as i know. they've been together a long time, so i just can't see them fighting each other, but you never know.
with koscheck's step back and fitch's step up recently, i'd guess that fitch has one more fight before a title shot. if karo beats chonan in a couple of weeks i could see them being matched up for the title shot, even though both have really done enough work to deserve it already. it would be a great fight to see, though. there are so many good WW's in limbo right now with the title being held up because of the show. it's too bad for guys like jon that they have to wait in the wings for their chance.
...all just my opinion of course. i would say alves and marcus davis are on the cusp as well so a match with koscheck for either one of those guys would make sense provided they win their next bouts. koscheck was rumoured to be fighting on the new year's card, but i'm not sure what happened with that. perhaps they are waiting to see what happens with all the WW's at 78 to decide koscheck's next match.
wait...you're the matchmaker here...what am i talking about!?!?!
hey mookie! thanks for the recap! lol.... if i had remembered that there were only 2 rounds in these fights, it would have made a heck of a lot more sense, even on mute!
in that case, yes.... i guess hughes would have been suprised by the decision... i haven't seen the fight again yet, maybe i'll catch it later on today... i'm sure it will be able to analyse it a little better, you know, without all the 'surroundings' of the bar....
crap, now that i think about it, i don't think it'll be on before i have to start getting ready for a halloween party tonight.... i've got to somehow make my hair look like this:
http://home.swipnet.se/~w-68238/ph-slash098.jpg
i'm coughing up a lung here laughing from picturing you trying to get it right!
in any case, have fun at the party.
i think you'll be suprised at the resemblance.... i'll be sure to send pics...
i can't wait!
man, i konked out there for a bit and missed the ko special, but that's ok. i'd rather see a submission special anyway. the strange part was that i woke up three times during the fight night replay...just prior to tavares slapping that beautiful triangle on jason black, just prior to fitch getting his rear naked choke on roan, and just as they were announcing the winner of the fisher / stout bout. weird.
oh well, up in time for the TUF replays...but i'm sure i'll doze off again only to wake up at the end of each episode.
have fun tonight, "slash"!
EliteXC, November 10, 2007 - Showtime / Fight Network
Jake Sheilds Vs. Mike Pyle
Nick Diaz Vs. KJ Noons
Antonio Silva Vs. Jonathan Wiezorek
Kevin Ferguson (Kimbo Slice) Vs. Bo Cantrell
Seth Kleinbeck Vs. Kyle Noke
Time to relax? hahahahaha ..... actually I have the day off today so I can do some studying in my PJ's with football on in the background.
ah, how could I have forgotten that Fitch and Koscheck were training partners!? Hopefully then they won't have to fight each other. The reason I thought about the two of them fighting is that Serra, Hughes and GSP are all tied up in this TUF/title fight business. Obviously, GSP has earned his shot at the winner of Serra v. Hughes. But the earliest that fight could happen is March .... that's a long layoff for GSP, but I don't think Joe Silva will put him in another fight before then. Otherwise, Fitch v. GSP would be the obvious matchup in my mind with the winner getting a title shot. While the WW division is VERY deep and talented, it seems the only people Fitch hasn't beaten are Koscheck and Karo. IMO, Karo seems like a bit of a step back for Fitch despite his 2 recents wins, though I am sure there are plenty who would disagree with me. So that left me with Koscheck as a potential match up for Fitch while he is waiting for his title shot. But a fight with Karo would get Fitch more into the spotlight since Karo a well known fighter. We'll have to see what happens.
You make a good point about Thiago Alves and Marcus Davis being on their way up the ranks. Marcus Davis v. Koscheck would be a great match up and would either get Koscheck back on track or continue Davis' march through the division. I could see that happening around the beginning of the year.
And your post about the EliteXC fights reminded me... what happened to Nick Diaz? Did his contract with the UFC run out? He won his last two fights in the UFC so I can't imagine he was dropped.
he's sitting right behind Cory Haim!!
LMAO! GSP - the guardian of the Gemini results.... :cool:
merde!
i'm sorry i missed it. there was foosball on today so i was engrossed in that, and then sleep of course, so i didn't catch the geminis. thanks for letting me know, though. it's good to see georges making appearances on some of these shows, and his interview on the hour. it bodes well for people recognizing mixed martial artists as legitimate athletes and for georges to become more well known outside the MMA community.
so he was doubling as guest and security, eh?
you're right that joe silve isn't putting georges in any more fights until the title fight against the winner of the hughes / serra match (it will be serra
this is why i think fitch will have another fight before he gets his title shot. the question is who will be his opponent? i doubt we'll ever see koscheck vs. fitch unless the title was on the line and even then it would be a tough decision for them to make. fitch would win, in my opinion, as his striking is light yers ahead of koscheck's, his submissions are far batter, and i'm probabaly one of the few who thinks he could out grapple him as well. fitch has to be the number two guy behind georges in terms of talent in the WW division. this is why i'm hoping that all goes to plan and fitch and georges meet up for a title fight this coming summer. it would be outstanding!
i'm going on the assumption that georges will get his title back, of course.
i'd agree with you that fitch would beat karo at this point in their respective careers. georges already has a definitive decision win over karo in georges' first fight in the ufc, so i would guess more people would like to see fitch vs. st-pierre. to be honest, i don't think karo is going to beat chonan, so it may all become a moot point. fitch will be the favourite no matter who his next opponent is and rightfully so.
as far as nick diaz is concerned, i seem to remember that it was a bit of an ugly mutual split. nick hates the ufc now, and because nick had lost those three close decisions i think the ufc kind of put him on the back burner. i really don't like the way they do that because as far as i'm concerned if you're going out there and giving it your all to put on a good fight and perform to the best of your ability you should still be there in the mix, despite close decision losses. nick had grievances about the judging, about guys like diego making more money than him (he definitely had a point there), and where he stood in the WW division. he did come back for two those fights, after one win outside the ufc, and finished them both so it was weird that suddenly he was gone.
he left either when his contract was done or with one fight left...i can't recall. then he signed with pride, but only had one fight due to their demise. he beat gomi with a gogoplata! :eek: ...then tested positive for marijuana and was stripped of his win over the pride "champ". once his suspension was up, he signed with elite xc and beat mike aina in a great fight at their most recent show in hawaii. it was really close and diaz's ring rust showed. (many thought aina won the fight) he should have a relatively easy time next show against kj noons, who is primarily a boxer with a ground game that isn't even close to nick's level.
i'd like to see him back in the ufc at some point, but unless the relationship starts fresh, i don't see it happening. who knows, though? maybe if nate has a good experience with them it might persuade nick to come back.
Report: Fabricio Werdum vs. Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 80
October 30, 2007
After dropping a unanimous decision to Andrei Arlovski in his UFC debut back in April, Fabricio Werdum (9-3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will return to the organization to take on Gabriel Gonzaga (8-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at UFC 80.
The news comes from GracieMag.com, citing the head of Gonzaga’s Team Link.
UFC 80 takes place in Newcastle, England — either on Jan. 12 or Jan. 19 — at Metro Radio Arena.
The heavyweight bout between the two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts will be a rematch from four years ago. At a Jungle Fight 1 event in Brazil, Werdum scored a third-round TKO of Gonzaga.
Gonzaga last competed at UFC 74 in August — in a title fight against UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture. In the weeks leading up to the main event, Gonzaga was considered a slight favorite. However, despite breaking Couture’s arm while throwing a head kick, Gonzaga would suffer a broken nose and eventual third-round TKO.
The loss snapped Gonzaga’s six-fight win streak, including a four-fight win streak in the UFC.
Werdum, a former PRIDE Fighting Championships fighter, signed with the UFC earlier this year. He was considered an instant heavyweight contender (fresh off a first-round submission victory over Aleksander Emelianenko), but after the lackluster loss to Arlovski at UFC 75, Werdum seemingly fell off the UFC’s radar.
His UFC 80 bout will be just his second fight in 14 months.
http://mmajunkie.com/2007/10/30/report-fabricio-werdum-vs-gabriel-gonzaga-at-ufc-80/
if the report is correct, it sounds like he admitted to holding the event. if that's the case, we won't see him in the ufc again. :(
Din Thomas Arrested for Allegedly Running Un-Sanctioned MMA Fights
October 30, 2007
UFC veteran and “The Ultimate Fighter 4” cast member Din Thomas was arrested Tuesday on charges he was running un-sanctioned MMA bouts at his American Top Team-affiliated training center in St. Lucie West, Fla.
Thomas is now facing a felony prohibited competitions charge.
MMAjunkie.com was unable to reach Thomas this afternoon. His business manager, Dean Albrecht, said he’s yet to speak to Thomas and can’t comment until he does.
Albrecht didn’t know if Thomas, who needs to post $10,000 bail, had been released from jail.
According to an arrest warrant, officers were called to Thomas’ training center, American Top Team Port St. Lucie, on Tuesday. According to a warrant application filed by officer Brian Kenny:
“Once on scene I observed… a large caged octagon ring with two men inside fighting. There was a third male in the octagon acting as a referee. Around the octagon there were several people (approx. 150 men, women and minors) sitting and standing on make shift stands and chairs facing the octagon cheering while watching the two men fight. Both fighters wore gloves but did not have any protective headgear on. At the front door to the location there was a table with a small sign stating ‘$10.00 per person.’ Also located on the table was a roll of raffle tickets.“
According to the report, Thomas admitted that he was hosting the event for his students to gain experience and that the money raised from the raffle would help the fighters. Although Thomas claimed that the bouts were primarily sparring matches, Kenny stated that each fight had timed rounds, the referee determined a winner, and that he witnessed fighters using “punches and kicks to the body, face and head of their opponents.“
The officer witnessed five to seven fights taking place during the event and even stuck around for the awarding of raffle prizes — likely because he and his fellow officer were dressed in street clothes.
Thomas admitted that he had no medical personnel on hand but said all the fighters did sign waivers, Kenny stated.
The Florida Boxing Commission regulates professional MMA fights in the state of Florida. However, no amateur MMA fights are allowed in the state. Because of that, many training centers — in Florida and throughout the world — often put together events called “smokers,” in which amateur and lower-level fighters can get experience fighting in front of crowds (oftentimes comprised of family and friends). The events come in all shapes and sizes, and though they operate in a gray area of the law at best, they’re nonetheless a big part of MMA.
Thomas (20-7 MMA, 5-3 UFC) had emerged as one of the UFC’s top lightweight contenders before a first-round submission loss to Kenny Florian at UFC Fight Night 11 on Sept. 19. The 31-year-old suffered suffered significant damage to his knee — a torn meniscus, stretched ACL, and a bruised femur and tibia — in the defeat.
http://mmajunkie.com/2007/10/30/din-thomas-arrested-for-allegedly-running-un-sanctioned-mma-fights/
hahahahaha . . .
hilarious!
Hopefully there will be two fights tonight now that Serra's team has locked up picking the quarterfinal matches.
I like your pick for jared vs. george ... look who's that matchmaker now!
hey, that would be sweet, i hadn't thought about that.
not trying to infringe on your territory, though...guesser only, no matchmaker! haha
aw mookie ... I don't have any "territory"! I'm strickly amateur status with the matchmaking.
once the last two quarter finalists are decided we'll have to see what we think are the best matchups. we'll have to try to get inside serra's head...hmmm..."hamma fist, elbow...you're breathing....take your time...hamma fist elbow..."
lol.. i think serra talks like that in his sleep!
i think this year's matches will come down to 'tattoo assessments'....
mook, i'm just waiting on those downloads right now so that i can complete my GSP lesson... although i read ahead and ruined the "1 second" suprise!
I like the way you think CEG!!
Luv the tattoos and muscles!
i wouldn't doubt it. it must be a new york thing. metsy could tell us better.
those won't take too long i hope. it was a bad surprise, anyway. :(
Good call mookie!
yeah, i think hughes might be doing something wrong.
three of Hughes' guys went to train with Serra?! Interesting. Nothing against Serra as a coach, but I think if I was a relatively new fighter I would probably try to train at Extreme Couture or with Greg Jackson.
I agree with Mac ... Hughes needed to give his guys discipline, technique and encouragement.
yeah, i'm not sure who the three guys were, but i just read it in an article about the show. a couple of good camps you mentioned there. they don't get much better than that, and the amount of really good fighters training at extreme couture right now is ridiculous!
Extreme Couture is STACKED right now with good fighters . . . in several weight classes. Obviously I'm a little partial to a certain lightweight ... I think his name is Gray.
Greg Jackson did some great work with GSP for his fight with Josh Koscheck.
Good fight tonight once they got started. George was pretty impressive.