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FIGHTER'S WEIGH-IN FOR TWC "IMPACT"
Eagle Mountain Casino presents The Warriors Cage"Impact' ,kicks off 2012
with 10 mixed martial arts fights, that promise to bring non stop action. In the main event Porterville Ca's own and Former Bellator Fighting Champion Joe Soto returns to one of the places where it all started. To taken on the Always tough Chris David.
Joe Soto 141 VS Chris David 141
Owen Rubio 213 VS Mike Cook 214
Rodney Rhoden 145 VS Joe Murphy 145
Jose Sanchez 144 vs Jimmy Grant 147
Brandon Cohea 164.5 VS J.T Constratano 170
Ryan Reneau 154 VS Alex Barajas 153
Shelby Charley 222 VS Pedro Mercado 216
Cain Carrizosa 153 VS John Wadkins 154
Marion Reneau 143.5 VS Julia Avila 143
Jake Hunter 150 VS Jared Williams 154
Chael Sonnen Resisting The MMA Media’s Attempt To Hype The Fight
UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen says he is resisting all of the media’s pressure to hype the fight with “trash talk” because he actually respects Michael Bisping as a fighter. Even when reporter Ariel Helwani brings up a recent putdown from Bisping from this past Monday’s “Inside MMA” program, Sonnen goes off on the program and HDNet owner Mark Cuban
Michael Bisping Wants A Title Shot More Than Chael Sonnen
Professional “Arm Snapper” Ronda Rousey Talks About Fighting Four Guys In A Movie Theater
Strikeforce women’s bantamweight title challenger Ronda ‘Rowdy’ Rousey was a guest on G4 Tech TV’s “Attack of the Show” on Monday to discuss her upcoming title fight with Miesha Tate on March 3rd. During the interview, Rousey recounted an incident which saw her confront a young lady in a movie theater for resting her feet on on the back of her chair. The girls four male friends got into a verbal confrontation with Rousey which quickly turned into a fight.
Miguel Torres Not Willing To Take “Unnecessary Damage” Anymore
UFC bantamweight, and former WEC champion, Miguel Torres (39-4) is set to face Michael McDonald at the upcoming April’s UFC 145 event in Atlanta, Georgia.
Torres grew his fan base as an exciting fighter who always looked to finish his opponents no matter how much damage he sustained.
Since losing his WEC title, Torres has taken a different approach to fighting moving part of his camp to the Tristar gym under coach Firas Zahabi. This has helped develop Torres into a more conservative fighter who has gone 2-1 fighting to decision results in all three matches.
In a recent interview, Torres explained his reasons for changing his style of fighting.
“Even after the losses, I had to Bowles and Benavidez, I wasn’t training properly or game planning,” Torres said. “I was going out there with the mindset that whatever happens happens. It’s a different world we live in now, and every dominant team has a school of fighters who only train for the fight. They are well-rounded in every aspect, so you can’t go out there looking to get into a fight and hoping you are going to get a guy. Your opponent knows what you are going to do if you are doing the same thing every time. You have to rise above your last performance every time out. You have to modify your style where it is going to create the most problems for your opponent.”
“I totally understand where the fans are coming from,” Torres said. “I watch my old fights, when I had the title, and I would go out there with my hands down, charging forward. It’s exciting for the fans and is going to make it a great fight, but from my standpoint it wasn’t smart because I was taking unnecessary damage. Win or lose, I was going to take damage. It showed heart, dedication and that I was going to war because I’m a fighter, but for the cerebral aspect of my health it wasn’t smart. I have a family, a future to look forward to, and I couldn’t continue to fight that way if I hoped to keep my mental faculties together for the rest of my life…”
“I’ll be training in Florida for three to four weeks, then I’ll go up to Montreal to train with Firas,” said Torres, who Friday booked his next fight for UFC 145 against Michael McDonald. “I start every camp in my own gym, and now that I’m training with Firas and not getting hurt like I used to, I stay training. Before, I would get a cut on my face or a serious injury to one of my hands or feet and I would be forced to take a month off. Being out for a month puts your body out of shape and you spend the first part of camp just trying to get back to where you were. Now when I train for a fight, it’s steady. I win my fight and I’m back in the gym immediately working on the things I need to improve on.”
Three champions crowned at Up & Comers 8 in Tulare
By Fighting Unlimited News Staff
TULARE – Up & Comers president Jason Weiner did his best Dana White impression Saturday night at the Tulare Veteran’s Memorial Building.
At Up & Comers 8, Weiner put championship belts around the waists of three different fighters for the very first time.
In the co-main event, Visalia fighter Sandor Escobar stole the show with his submission victory against Dinuba’s Gilbert Quezada.
The two fighters battled back and forth for the majority of three rounds. Escobar, who trains with Team KO out of Farmersville, wasn’t shy about trying to lock in submissions and finally, with just 44 seconds remaining in the fight, locked in a rear-naked choke forcing Quezada to tap out.
Escobar, who was crowned the Up & Comers lightweight champion, improved to 3-1 and even celebrated with a victory lap around the cage and the building.
Hometown kid Galen Williams pleased his fans with a unanimous decision victory over Benjamin Castaneda to capture the promotions 135-pound championship.
Williams, a member of the King’s Knights fight team out of Tulare, sealed the victory with a monster slam in the third round. He finished the fight with a guillotine submission attempt.
Williams, who improved to 3-0, hopes to fight one more time before joining the Air Force in April.
And the third champion crowned was Clovis’ Tim Eastom. The Team Livewire fighter captured the welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Matt Blake.
Eastom improved to 5-1 in his amateur MMA career.
In other action:
In a one-sided match, Bakersfield’s Tyler Grady dominated Dinuba’s Leopoldo Quezada for a unanimous decision-victory. Grady improved to 1-0 in his amateur career, while Quezada fell to 0-2.
In a bit of an upset, Joe Casas of Team Livewire, defeated Hanford’s Aaron Mathis via unanimous decision. Casas entered the bout with a 0-2 amateur record while Mathis’ record was announced as 10-1. In each of the first two rounds, Mathis went for a submission but failed which led to Casas taking dominant position in both rounds. The third round was an all-out battle with both fighters not pulling any punches.
Selma’s Nic Contreras held off a third-round rally by Joe Amies to pick up a unanimous-decision victory in their catch-weight bout. Contreras dominated the first two rounds with his takedowns and wrestling, but Amies had Contreras on the ropes with some submission attempts. Contreras improved to 2-0 in his amateur career.
Oakdale’s Jordan Keckler wasted very little time in getting the show going with a bang. It took him just 54 seconds to lock in a rear-naked choke and force Andrew Skyers to tap out in the first bout of the night. Keckler landed a thunderous kick to Skyers’ head and after a brief scramble, took the fight to the ground where he easily locked in the submission for the 135-pound victory.
FILICHKIN STOPS ALATORRE
Welterweight Alexander Filichkin stopped Hector Alatorre after the fourth round of a scheduled six round bout. Alatorre was busier in the first round, but after that it was all Filichkin (10-0, 3 KOs) Fighting for the first time in the United States, the Russian-born fighter was busier, landing at will over a tiring Alatorre. After the end of the fourth round, Alatorre’s corner told referee Eddie Hernandez to stop the fight. After Filichkin was declared the winner, Alatorre, (16-18, 5 KOs) from Tulare, CA, announced his retirement from boxing
UFC on FX 1: Results: The first for the Ultimate Fighting Championship as it embarks on a seven-year journey with the Fox family of networks. Friday marked its maiden voyage with its first live event on the FX network, UFC on FX 1: Guillard vs. Miller at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The main event had two lightweights trying to fight their ways back into title contention, as Melvin Guillard squares off with Jim Miller.
Duane “Bang” Ludwig, who was recently etched into the UFC history books for being recognized for the fastest knockout in the promotion’s history, threw down in the co-main event against tough Midwestern product Josh Neer.
Main Card (FX)
Lightweight bout: Jim Miller def. Melvin Guillard via Submission (Rear-Naked choke) – R1 @ 2:04
Welterweight bout: Josh Neer def. Duane Ludwig via Submission (Guillotine choke) – R1 @ 3:04
Bantamweight bout: Mike Easton def. Jared Papazian via Majority Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-29)
Heavyweight bout: Pat Barry def. Christian Morecraft via KO (Punches) – R1 @ 3:38
Prelim Card (Fuel TV)
Middleweight bout: Jorge Rivera def. Eric Schafer via TKO (Punches) – R2 @ 1:31
Lightweight bout: Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Kamal Shalorus via Submission (Rear-Naked choke) – R3 @ 2:08
Welterweight bout: Charlie Brenneman def. Daniel Roberts via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Featherweight bout: Fabricio Camoes def. Tom Hayden via Submission (Rear-Naked choke) – R1 @ 4:03
Featherweight bout: Daniel Pineda def. Pat Schilling via Submission (Rear-Naked choke) – R1 @ 1:37
Bantamweight bout: Nick Denis def. Joseph Sandoval via KO (Elbows) – R1 @ 0:22
“If I Don’t Beat (Chael Sonnen), I Didn’t Deserve A Title Shot Against Anderson Silva,” Michael Bisping
British fighter Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping didn’t hesitate to say yes when UFC president Dana White offered him a No. 1 contender bout versus Chael Sonnen, after Sonnen’s first opponent Mark Munoz pulled out due to injury.
Bisping posted his comments in a UFC on FOX 2 blog at FoxSports.com late Tuesday night discussing his original opponent Demian Maia and then receiving the call from Dana White to fight Sonnen.
Dana hadn’t even finished saying Munoz was out before I was planning how to beat Sonnen in my head. I’ve accepted fights on short notice for the UFC throughout my career, but this one is a massive, massive chance for me, and I am very grateful to Dana, (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and the UFC. I was already hugely grateful to be asked to fight on FOX, but to fight Chael on FOX … well, there are hundreds of fighters who would kill for this opportunity, and I would have had to be a fool to turn it down.
I’m sure I’ll get blasted for this on the forums, but I feel I could have been the one fighting Chael anyway. We were due to be “The Ultimate Fighter” coaches against each other, but because of things outside our control it didn’t happen, and I’ve won a fight since. I don’t understand how Mark Munoz, as great as he’s been doing lately, was getting Chael instead of me. I feel bad for Mark, but I know he’ll come again and no doubt he will be right back in the mix in this very interesting 185-pound weight class…
Next week, I’m ready to go all guns blazing. A fight is a fight, and at this level anything can happen, but all things being equal, Chael Sonnen cannot knock me out. He can’t submit me, either. The worst that is going to happen is that he will outpoint me and, if I don’t beat him, I didn’t deserve a title shot against Anderson Silva anyway.
Sonnen and Bisping will meet in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 2 on January 28, 2012 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Mark Munoz Injured; Chael Sonnen vs. Michael Bisping New UFC on Fox 2 Co-Main Event
UFC president Dana White announced the change Tuesday afternoon.
“Munoz is injured and out of the FOX fight!” White tweeted. “Now it’s Chael Sonnen vs Mike Bisping jan 28th and the winner will fight Anderson for the title.”
Dana White Responds to ESPN
UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit Preview
Two bad boys of MMA wanted a shot at the welterweight division’s golden child – but instead they’ll fight each other tooth and nail for the UFC title.
UFC 143 is scheduled to take place on February 4, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The current card appears as follows and is subject to change at any time:
Main card (Pay-Per-View)
Interim Welterweight Championship bout: Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit
Heavyweight bout: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum
Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce
Bantamweight bout: Renan Barão vs. Scott Jorgensen
Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. Clifford Starks
Prelim card (FX)
Featherweight bout: Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway
Welterweight bout: Matthew Riddle vs. Jorge Lopez
Bantamweight bout: Alex Caceres vs. Edwin Figueroa
Welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs. Chris Cope
Middleweight bout: Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper
Welterweight bout: Justin Edwards vs. Stephen Thompson
Joe Rogan Explains Why He Put Mario Yamasaki On The Spot At UFC 142
During the main card of UFC 142, referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in to end the welterweight bout between Erick Silva and Carlo Prater at 29-seconds of the first round. Despite Silva appearing to have won his second fight in the UFC by KO, Yamasaki had actually stepped in to stop the fight over illegal blows to the back of the head.
The replays showed that for the most part, Silva’s punches were to the side of Prater’s head instead of to the back.
Commentator Joe Rogan put Yamasaki on the spot to ask him why he stopped the fight to which Yamasaki replied that he had to “Decide right there and then (to stop the fight), there’s nothing I can do.”
Certainly it was a mistake by Yamasaki, who was simply looking out for Prater’s safety, but it will be something that he’ll take heavy criticism for some time.
After the event Rogan took to the internet to write a “I love Mario Yamasaki” post on the Underground Forums, praising Yamasaki for his work and offering “no disrespect” for putting him on the spot like that.
Here is what Rogan had to say:
He’s a great guy, and I’m always happy to see him. When I step into the octagon however, I represent the people watching at home that might have obvious questions, and when something is controversial I’m forced to confront it honestly because that’s what I would want to hear from a person in my position if I was a fan watching it at home.
It was obviously a controversial call, and I’m sure some of you agree with it, but I certainly think it’s also possible to argue that it was a bad call. That was my perspective, so I had to express it. I’m not a perfect person, and I fuck up all the time. It’s a part of life.
Great referees have made awful mistakes. Even the consensus nominee for the greatest referee of all time, my personal friend the great Big John McCarthy has made mistakes.
Remember when Bustamante had to tap out Matt Linland twice?
Calling fight as a referee is hard as FUCK. If I was a referee Dana would probably hate me more than he hates Mazagatti. I wouldn’t want that job! That’s a shit load of pressure.
I think Mario Yamasaki is one of the best in the world at refereeing MMA. No doubt about it.
He’s got great insight to the sport, he’s a life long martial artist, and he’s a really smart guy.
What I was acting from, is that I saw an incredible young talent get denied a KO victory for a questionable call. When I entered into the Octagon and was told of the official ruling that Silva was going to be disqualified for illegal blows to the back of the head everyone that I was around who heard the news opened their mouths in shock. Everyone said, “what?”
The people in the truck couldn’t believe it. I had to read it back to them because I thought it was a mistake, and when I leaned over to explain it to Goldie he couldn’t believe it either.
I had to ask Mario about it. I didn’t know how he was going to respond, but I had to ask him.
Erick Silva is a very promising fighter and I felt like I had a responsibility to adress the issue.
No disrespect intended.
UFC 142 RIO RESULTS
Jose Aldo left the building. Well, at least he left the Octagon at the HSBC Arena seconds after he defended his UFC featherweight title Saturday night with a stirring first round knockout of Chad Mendes, celebrating with his fans and putting a cap on a triumphant night for the Brazilians at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro.
The defense was Aldo’s third successful one since debuting in the UFC in 2011, and his first finish in the Octagon
Fighting in front of his hometown crowd, Vitor Belfort submitted Anthony Johnson in the first round at UFC 142 in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
Johnson wanted to use his wrestling skills caught a kick for a takedown early in the first round. Belfort looked for submissions from his back, but couldn't find any, and they were stood up by referee Dan Miragliotta. Belfort landed a knee and stuffed Johnson's takedowns, while Johnson was still able to land several big strikes.
As the crowd chanted, "Ole Ole Ole! Vitor, Vitor!" Belfort took Johnson's back and cinched it with a body triangle. Belfort methodically worked his arms under Johnson's chin, and secured the rear naked choke for the submission at 4:49 in the first round.
Don't let Rousimar Palhares get near you. If he does you're probably going to walk away from the fight with a limp
Palhares flashed brilliance in taking down Mike Massenzio, quickly getting a hold of his leg and finishing things with a heel hook just 63 second into pay-per-view fight No. 3 of night at UFC 142
Erick Silva got his first UFC win in just 40 seconds. It looked like he had another quick win, but controversy erupted as soon as the 29-second bout was over.
From the opening touch of the gloves, Silva threw a knee, which caused Prater to fall to his knees. Silva followed up with several hits to the side of Prater's head. The bout was stopped by referee Mario Yamasaki, and it seemed like Silva was on the way to his second straight win.
But the official decision took longer than normal to announced, and Yamasaki explained to Silva that he was disqualified because Yamasaki said the blows were to the back of Prater's head.
Dana White Says If Gina Carano Came Back She’d Be At The Top Of The Women’s 145-Pound Division
Women’s mixed martial arts fighter, and now turned movie star, Gina ‘Conviction’ Carano (7-1) has not seen the inside of a cage for over two years since her loss to Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos in August 2009 for the Strikeforce women’s featherweight title.
Carano is currently promoting her upcoming movie “Haywire” in which she plays the leading role in the spy thriller.
With the recent suspension of ‘Cyborg’ over a positive test for steroids, the women’s 145-lbs division is without a star.
During a recent interview with ESPN Radio 1100, UFC president Dana White was asked where Carano would rank if she came back to the sport of mma.
“Absolutely, absolutely. She has this big movie coming out. I’m getting behind this movie and supporting it big time, I heard it’s great. I’m happy for her, but if she wanted to come back and fight that could be worked out.”
“I don’t disagree with you at all….Still no matter how long her layoff has been it would be hard to deny that she is one of the best fighters in the world, even in that weight class. That happens all the time in boxing, guys that are on top of the world take a couple of years and come back. Unless there has been a lot of activity in that division, they usually hold their standing.”
C.J. Keith Signs With UFC Jan 6, 2012 - Unbeaten lightweight C.J. Keith is the latest prospect to ink a deal with the UFC, according to reports. Terms of the contract were not disclosed, though Keith's representatives at Iridium Sports Agency confirmed the signing earlier this week.
An up-and-coming striker out of California's Pro Buhawe fight camp, Keith (8-0) has ripped through eight straight opponents since making his professional debut in 2007. The 25-year-old is a veteran of the West Coast fight scene and at 6'0", possesses a slight height advantage over a majority of the 155-pound division.
Keith seems to have turned a corner of late, storming through three straight knockout victories, two of which ended in the first round, to catch the eye of UFC talent scouts. He last fought in October, where he needed just two minutes to end John Reedy's night via TKO.
UFC officials have yet to announce a debut date or opponent for Keith
