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Sylvester Terkay

Todd Atkins reports the following from Japan:

It is looking like Sylvester Terkay, Zero One pro-wrestler and 1993 NCAA Division 1 wrestling champ (heavyweight) for North Carolina State, will be fighting in the Antonio Inoki show on December 31st.

This guy is HUGE! He is 6'6 and 330 pounds. As well as being an NCAA Division 1 champ, he was also a 3-time NCAA All-American. He is currently training at Inoki's gym in Los Angeles, and is one of his top prospects. He beat Kurt Angle during his 1993 title run.

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Sakuraba gets hurt during Randleman fight.

Puroresu Power reports the following:

Kazushi Sakuraba admitted to the press on Friday that he did get injured in his fight on 11/9 at the Tokyo Dome against Kevin Randleman. It was known that Sakuraba went to the hospital for a medical check after his fight, but it was unknown as to what injuries he suffered. Sakuraba didn't disclose much information, but joked that he would ready for January 3rd and not 12/31.

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Jefferson "Tank" Silva (left)

The Japanese media report that K-1 has claimed that their K-1 MMA show in Brazil did 3,000 paid (full capacity was 6,000).

It's also been announced that Jefferson 'Tank' Silva, who beat Antoine Jaoude in the K-1 MMA event, will participate on K-1's December 31st show at the Nagoya Dome.

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Antoine Jaoude vs. Jefferson 'Tank' Silva

Brazilian magazine Tatame have pictures of the November 27th K-1 MMA event up on their website.

To view the entire gallery, click here

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Adam 'Barnone' Guerra (second from left)

Internationally famous Australian MMA journalist, fighter, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Luke Beston recently interviewed Adam 'Barnone' Guerra. Here's What "Barnone" had to say:


Luke: Firstly, you've just told me about your recent weight loss - can you give us an update on your training progress since my last exclusive interview with you?

Barnone: Mark Coleman and Wes Sims have gotten on my ass about training more seriously. Mark mentioned to me one day we are few and proud. I had a problem with my thyroid and got it fixed I have tons of energy now. I now walk around at 254 and weighed in at 247 my last match

Luke: I read recently a thread criticizing the legitimacy of your devastating victory in the take-no-prisoners Mexican MMA scene. Can you please address these internet rumors?

Barnone: Ok well first off I'm doing what I love. People can criticize all they want. I'm the one traveling and doing my thing. I love MMA and these guys who talk smack must be 15? Oh well what can I say at least I get permission to come out and play! My opponent has faced tough people and has lost what can the other people say? Dan has fought Fujita, Ron Waterman, Larry Parker, myself now 2 times. Dan and I fought in 1999 and I have improved a lot since 99

Luke: So tell me how the match went?

Barnone: Well we started out he kicked me hard gave me a bruise and it hurt. I cornered him with some straight punches and got him into the ropes and high crotched him and slammed him hard knocked the wind out of him. He got guard I backed out and caught a knee bar in the transition. It was a good win for me after all I'm not supposed to be any good remember?

Luke: Is this your first win by submission? It sounds like your sub skills are coming up to par with your striking and takedown skills. Are you more comfortable these days on the mat, or do you still prefer to bang?

Barnone: I love to bang but have to be more cautious. Mark & Wes have told me to start going more for the win and not to worry about anything else. I feel a lot better on the mat for sure. I credit you a lot for more support.

Luke: You've mentioned the names of your Hammer House team mates a few times already in this interview - can you talk about what it is like to part of such a legendary unit, and where you fit into the organization?

Barnone: Well Mark is a huge mentor to me he motivates me to become a better fighter a better person. Wes Sims is like a brother to me he and I are real close as far as friends go. He is there for me whenever I need him. Branden Lee Hinkle is awesome as well he is like a brother too. Kevin Randleman is like a voice on my shoulder he gets on me like my dad. Kevin is a great person and one to respect he has been through a lot and he shares his life experiences with me and doesn't want to see me fail. I give Kevin a lot of respect he is very smart.

Luke: What's next for Ze Barnone, both in and out of the cage?

Barnone: Well I have some new guys in my gym I want to pay attention to. Phillip Cox is a name you will all get to know soon. The kid is a natural animal and he will be a sensation. As for me I have some things lined up for Japan as soon as my boy gives me the word ill be back at work.

Luke: Anything else you'd like to say?

Barnone: Yes I would like to address anyone and everyone who (truly supports MMA) Thank you for taking the time to notice all of us fighters and giving us support through wining and losing. And to all those people who have hate on me continue it cause it drives me to become better. I have mad respect for those who sit behind a computer and can type all kinds of things.

Luke: International Professional Mixed Martial Arts Fighter Adam "Barnone" Guerra thanks for your time.

Barnone: Luke thank you for the time you have given me to speak my mind. Your one of the best MMA journalists out there along with Loretta Hunt& Joseph Cunlife

Luke: Thankyou Adam that means a lot.

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TKO 14: Road Warriors
November 29th, 2003
Colisee Des Boisfrancs
Victoriaville, Quebec


George St. Pierre vs. Pete Spratt
Steve Vigneault vs. Patrick Cote
David Goulet vs. Shawn Davidson
Ryan Diaz vs. Steve Claveau
'Pain' Peters vs. Stephan Laliberte
Cameron Brown vs. Yan Pellerin
Jeff Joslin vs. Jonathan Goulet
Kajan Johnson vs. Thierry Quenneville
Kyle Sandford vs. Michael Lachance
Stephane Vigneault vs. John Fraser

Any fighters still owed money by TKO president Stephane Patry, can contact him at:

Stephane Patry, President/CEO
TKO Communications Inc.
Tel: (450) 445-8886
TKOZone.tv

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PANCRASE 2003 HYBRID TOUR
Sunday, November 30st, 2003
Ryogoku Kokugikan
Tokyo, Japan

Open: 15:00
Start: 16:00


Sanae Kikuta vs. Yuki Kondo (light heavyweight KOP title)
Nathan Marquardt vs. Ricardo Almeida (middleweight KOP title)
Kiuma Kunioku vs. Ken'ichi Serizawa (welterweight KOP title)

Nilson Castro vs. Akihiro Gono
Ron Waterman vs. Jimmy Ambriz
Jake Shields vs. Kazuo Misaki
Barrett Yoshida vs. Yoshiro Maeda

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K-1 MMA: 'New Stars'
November 27th, 2003
Circulo Militar Gymnasium
Curitiba, Brazil


Claudinei Kozan 'Gladiador' defeats Eduardo 'Morpheus' Maiorino by guillotine at 0:55, RD 1.
Jeferson 'Tank' Silva defeats Antoine Jaoude by judges decision.
Christopher Led defeats Daniel Paula by armlock at 1:42, RD 1.
Pedro Sanots defeats Emerson Graxaim by footlock at 1:32, RD 1.
Vitor Vitinho defeats Rivanildo Riva by judges decision.
Carlso Santos defeats Magno Penha by TKO at 3:12, RD 2.
Marcelo Dalke defeats Everton 'Gigante' by TKO at 2:05, RD 1.
Jose Ricardo 'Dragao' defeats Geferson Jeje by keylock at 2:09, RD 1.

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Vanderlei Silva (top)

Reports from Brazil are that PRIDE champion Vanderlei Silva just underwent a minor surgical procedure on his left elbow.

Silva's elbow had been damaged due to months of training, which did not allow enough time to heal naturally due to Silva's busy schedule. The simple 40-minute procedure was performed at Hospital Vita in Curitiba, by Orthopedist Mario Namaba, who also operated on Silva's knee several months ago.

Dr. Namba has been highly regarded for his past success with both Silva, as well as Brazilian Olympic Gold Medallist Daiane dos Santos. Silva will only miss about 10 days of training.

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Bob Sapp

Below are some of the possible matchups that the Japanese media are talking about for the three competing shows (PRIDE, K-1, Inoki) scheduled for December 31st:

PRIDE 'SP':
Vanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Royce Gracie vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Kiyoshi Tamura


K-1 'Premium 2003 Dynamite':
Bob Sapp vs. Akebono
Masato vs. TBA
Yoshihiro Nakao vs. TBA
Ray Sefo vs. TBA

Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye:
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
Josh Barnett vs. Semmy Schilt
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
Stefan Leko vs. TBA
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. TBA
Tadao Yasuda vs. TBA
Yuji Nagata vs. TBA
Naoya Ogawa vs. TBA

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Minotauro (left) in his victory over Cro Cop (right).

A report from Shimura Funaki in Tokyo

The Japanese media has been focusing on the three-way battle for New Year's Eve ratings supremacy between PRIDE, K-1, and Inoki. The latest news to come out is that both PRIDE and Inoki are battling to obtain the services of Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira for their New Year's show.

Under Minotauro's PRIDE contract, he is not exclusive and is free to fight for any organization outside of PRIDE. Minotauro is now in the driver's seat to make a incredibly large payday after having beaten Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic and also having appeared on the cover of Sports Graphic Number, which is Japan's version of Sports Illustrated as well as being the highest selling sports magazine.

Also factor in that both Fuji TV and Nippon TV are pouring big money respectively to both PRIDE and Inoki for their New Year's Eve shows. This has put the pressure on the organizations to stack their card with big names, which means they will be overpaying fighters to participate. Antonio Inoki is particularly known for overpaying for a fighter he desperately wants on a card. All these factors have led the Japanese media to speculate that the bidding war for Minotauro's services will see him make a payday that is close to or just above USD$1 million.

It is said that PRIDE wants to match Minotauro against Kiyoshi Tamura.

Inoki wants to match Minotauro against Kazuyuki Fujita.

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Akebono in training.

Puroresu Power reports the following:

Former Yokozuna Akebono had a very rough day on Thursday, during a sparring session with 35-year old former IBF champion Frans Botha. He absolutely was hammered by Botha with relative ease and Akebono was bleeding. Akebono's eyes were tearing up and Botha said that even though the sparring session only went 3 minutes, he saw some things that he could give immediate direction to Akebono to improve on.

Sankei Sports reported that Akebono was having troubles controlling his temper during sparring and that while he showed great strength offensively, he had terrible defensive skills. In short, the scouting report is - great strength (equivalent to a heavyweight boxer) on offense, zero defense and can't last long. The long-term training plan is for Akebono to do full-time training starting on 12/7 and K-1 will give him as many fighters to work with as possible (Great Kusatsu, Takeru, etc.).

As far as diet is concerned, Sankei Sports says that Akebono will abstain from drinking alcohol and will be eating a diet of chicken and vegetable salads. The hope is that he can lose at least 65 pounds.

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By Scoop McTroll

In an effort to help the sport, Fightsport are collecting market research data and will be forwarding the results to ZUFFA on a regular basis. Help Fightsport to make the UFC a better show by completing this short 10 question poll. If you do you will be supporting the sport.








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Phil Baroni (far right) after having his fight stopped in controversial fashion.

Unless an appeal by Phil Baroni is upheld, the Nevada State Athletic Commission will honor the one-year suspension levied by the Department of Athletic Regulations for the Mohegan Sun for punching referee Larry Landless.

If the suspension is upheld, Baroni will not be eligible to get a license to fight in any NSAC sanctioned event in the state of Nevada until November of 2004. The UFC is expected to fully cooperate with any final rulings made by either governing body.

In another development, Larry Landless has issued a formal apology to Baroni for making the mistake of misunderstanding what he was saying and stopping the fight, even though Baroni was telling him that he was fine. It is not certain whether Baroni will appeal at this time, or whether Landless's official apology will help him in his appeal.

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Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Royce Gracie

PRIDE 'SP'
December 31st, 2003
Saitama Super Arena
Omiya, Japan

Below are three of the matchups that the Japanese media are reporting as most likely for the December 31st PRIDE show. Silva vs. Sakuraba and Yoshida vs. Gracie would be co-main events. 'Minotauro' Nogueira has still not decided on whether he will participate on this show or on the Inoki show.

The complete card will feature eight matchups:

Vanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Royce Gracie vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Kiyoshi Tamura

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K-1 MMA: 'New Stars'
November 27th, 2003
Circulo Militar Gymnasium
Curitiba, Brazil

K-1 MMA director Sergio Batarelli announced the following line-up for the first K-1 MMA-only show, which will take place in Curitiba, Brazil.

The rules of the event are the same as in Japan. A fight will be stood up by the ref if there is no action on the ground the same as in Japan, but fighters on the ground that get too near too the ropes will also be stood back up instead of being brought back to the same position in the middle of the ring by the ref.

COMPLETE CARD (subject to change):

Eduardo 'Morpheus' Maiorino vs. Claudinei Kozan 'Gladiador'
Antoine Jaoude vs. Jeferson 'Tank' Silva
Christopher Led vs. Daniel Paula
Emerson Graxaim vs. Andre Cruz
Rivanildo Riva vs. Vitor Vitinho
Carlso Santos vs. Magno Penha
Marcelo Dalke vs. Julio Cesar
Geferson Jeje vs. Jose Ricardo 'Dragao'

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Sources in Canada report that Joe Ferraro (owner of Showdown Fight Gear) is parting ways with the Canadian MMA promotion known as TKO.


Any fighters still owed money by TKO president Stephane Patry, can contact him at:

Stephane Patry, President/CEO
TKO Communications Inc.
Tel: (450) 445-8886
TKOZone.tv

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Vanderlei Silva (top) KOs Quinton Jackson (bottom).

Ron Merrill of InsideFighting.com recently interviewed PRIDE champion Vanderlei Silva. Here's what Vanderlei had to say:


IF: First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. I'm sure you must be very busy. Congratulations on your victory in Pride FC.

Vanderlei: We are never too busy to talk with our friends and fans.

IF: I have seen you preparing in the moments before a fight by kicking and punching the Thai pads with your trainers. Is there anything else that you do in order to achieve the proper mind set for fighting?

Vanderlei: Concentration, focus and motivation.

IF: Do you ever listen to music before a fight in order to prepare mentally? If so, what kind of music do you like?

Vanderlei: Before the fight I like to pray, I'm Catholic and I ask for God to protect me and support me to achieve my goal in the ring. Music is for training and to celebrate the victories.

IF: Vanderlei, you appear very confident before fights. Do you ever become nervous before entering the ring?

Vanderlei: Yes, I think that every fight is a new experience, with pressure and expectations. When I get into the ring everything disappear and I just think in the fight.

IF: What did you do after the fight with Yoshida in order to prepare for Quinton Jackson? How did you re-focus, relax or re-energize yourself?

Vanderlei: I had a good massage, food and some minutes sleeping.

IF: Would you like to avenge your losses to Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort?

Vanderlei: Yes, but first they must have a belt to challenge me. Until then, stay on the line...

IF: Which UFC fighters would give you the most trouble in a fight?

Vanderlei: I'm well-trained now, living a wonderful moment, probably the best in my life, having the respect of the MMA community and fans. I don't care which UFC fighters I will face in the ring.

IF: I heard you say that you are going to return to training after resting for a week. Do you expect to face Quinton in December or has there been discussion of facing a different opponent?

Vanderlei: I don't know, just rumors but I would like to kick his ass again, why not!!!

IF: You told the Japanese media that you would fight at heavyweight after the middleweight Grand Prix was finished. Do you still intend to switch to heavyweight?

Vanderlei: I don't know either. Right know I'm with 100 kg. I can guarantee that if I move to the heavyweight I will make my best there too.

IF: If you switch to heavyweight, are you concerned about fighters like Cro Cop, Fedor and Nogueira in the heavyweight class?

Vanderlei: No. Well-trained, I can face anyone.

IF: How would you defeat each of the 3 fighters I just mentioned if you faced them?

Vanderlei: Playing my game, using my techniques and being aggressive.

IF: How do you feel about certain members of Chute Boxe leaving the team? (Anderson, Assuerio)

Vanderlei: We live in a Democracy in Brazil. I think that everyone must have the opportunity to choose the best way to their lives. Good luck and God bless you guys!!!

IF: Your son Thor is a good-looking little guy. Who does he get his good looks from?

Vanderlei: From his mother. From his father I expect that he take an example of discipline, good behavior and knowledge.

IF: Will Thor be the next 'Axe Murderer'?

Vanderlei: Yes, for sure! Better than his father!!

IF: Final Thoughts?

Vanderlei: Vale Tudo is getting more famous in the U.S. now. We hope to go there to fight for my fans as soon as possible. We don't know when yet but it is our dream. We want to show Americans our techniques and good fights, soon we will have news!

IF: On behalf of InsideFighting.com, I wish to thank you for your time!

Vanderlei: You're welcome.

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PANCRASE 2003 HYBRID TOUR
Sunday, November 30st, 2003
Ryogoku Kokugikan
Tokyo, Japan

Open: 15:00
Start: 16:00


Sanae Kikuta vs. Yuki Kondo (light heavyweight KOP title)
Nathan Marquardt vs. Ricardo Almeida (middleweight KOP title)
Kiuma Kunioku vs. Ken'ichi Serizawa (welterweight KOP title)

Nilson Castro vs. Akihiro Gono
Ron Waterman vs. Jimmy Ambriz
Jake Shields vs. Kazuo Misaki
Barrett Yoshida vs. Yoshiro Maeda

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Kevin Randleman's rooftop fight was legit.

MMA documentary producer Bobby Razak, best known for directing the 'Rites of Passage' documentary, confirmed today that yesterday's Jake R report, which stated that regarding the rooftop fights of Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman were real and not fake, was indeed true.

Jake R had also reported that Mark Coleman had turned down his original rooftop fight with John Marsh, citing that he did not have enough time to train for such a physically strong Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter. Razak had originally asked Marsh to throw the fight if he started to beat Coleman.

Razak denied this story at first, but later admitted that it was true. Here is a quote from an obviously irrate Razak, (which he posted on an internet forum he frequents) in which he admits the truth to one of Marsh's training partners:

'Actually the last thing I will say to you, AND John wanted our conversation not plastered over the internet, but yes I did tell him that??? Is my balls big enough for you Mauricio. Bye, bye BR' -Bobby Razak

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SHOOTO
November 25th, 2003
Kitazawa Town Hall
Tokyo, Japan

Class-B Bouts:
Daniel Weichel defeats Taro Takita by unanimous decision.
Yutaka Teduka defeats Kenichi Sawada by unanimous decision.
Keisuke Yamada defeats Hayate Usui by majority decision.
Takashi Ouchi defeats Mario Stapel by DQ.
Akihiko Adachi drew with Katsuhiko 'g' Ochiai.
Yasuhiro Akagi defeats HIRO by unanimous decision.
Yoichi Fukumoto defeats Hiroaki Okada by TKO at 3:18, RD 2.
Akitoshi Hokazono defeats Yohei Mikami by unanimous decision.

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Dan Henderson

John Merrill of InsideFighting.com recently interviewed PRIDE veteran Dan Henderson. Here's what Henderson had to say:

IF: How have things been going for you since Final Conflict?

Henderson: Uh, well it kind of blows like...I got home and then had to go out to the UFC for a week - or to Connecticut for the UFC - to help a couple teammates out.

IF: Okay. Well, actually our fans have asked us to thank you this time for not jumping-up on the ropes to celebrate your victory.

Henderson: [laugh] Yeah, I got up there nice and slowly - back down slowly.

IF: I'm sure you're aware of what Murilo Bustamante has been saying about your fight with him. What do you think about his complaints?

Henderson: Uh, what exactly are his complaints?

IF: He had mentioned that he wanted to review the fight because he said the headbutt wasn't valid, and he said that he knew you didn't mean to do it.

Henderson: Well, I don't know, I just think that...it was a little bit of a head bang there, but I don't think it affected anything in the outcome of the fight.

IF: So you don't think that his headbutt complaint is legitimate?

Henderson: No, I mean, people bang heads all the time in fights and I've been wrestling for so long that I've seen so many people bang heads and, you know, nobody ever gets knocked-out from that. And you know, even if two people are shooting-in and bang heads the only thing that ever happens is that you might get split-open a little bit, but nobody ever gets knocked-out. And if that's what he's saying how he got knocked out, he's...you know, he's a little bit off on that.

IF: Do you have any desire then for a rematch with Murilo in the future?

Henderson: Uh, well I would like to get a title fight for PRIDE's belt against Vanderlei Silva and that's kind of what I'd be focusing on.

IF: What would you do differently in a rematch with Vanderlei?

Henderson: Uh, I'd come in in-shape instead of out of shape. That'd be my biggest step [laugh].

IF: So you felt that the last time you were out of shape against him?

Henderson: Yeah, I was real out of shape. It wasn't that I felt that...I knew I was and that I...it's just one of those things that...it was the worst condition that I've ever come into a fight, you know? Or, that is was against him, who is a tough opponent which wasn't very smart, but you know. It's just the way the circumstance was at that time.

IF: I know that the last time we talked you said wanted to maybe fight Sakuraba next. Do you still feel the same?

Henderson: Uh, yeah, Sakuraba or Vanderlei. I think I'd rather fight Vanderlei 'cause he has the belt.

IF: In your opinion, who are the top four middleweight fighters in the world right now?

Henderson: Middleweight meaning 205 or middleweight being 185?

IF: Maybe with the 205.

Henderson: Uh, top four...I would say Randy Couture has gotta be on top. Then Vanderlei probably, and then...I don't know, I'd like to put myself in there in the top four.

IF: So where would you rank yourself in that list?

Henderson: Uh, I don't know - third or fourth. I haven't fought Quinton, I haven't fought Chuck Liddell or Tito you know, but, the only guy I've fought is Vanderlei out of those and I've lost to him. So I don't know. I think that...I'd probably put myself in the top four or five, until I fight Vanderlei again. Then I'd be top two. Me and Randy being on top.

IF: Do you think there's a chance that you may someday return to the UFC in the future?

Henderson: Ah, not in the near future. I don't know. They haven't expressed...you know...they've never made me an offer. So I've never...I don't know what they're thinking or what's going on with them, but all I know is they haven't made me an offer so, doesn't look like it'll happen in the near future.

IF: Is there any bitterness between the UFC and you?

Henderson: No not at all. I get along real well with them.

IF: I knew that you mentioned before that you felt that they weren't offering you enough money in the past.

Henderson: Ah, no, I just think that that's what it comes down to. They haven't made me an offer. It's not that they haven't offered me enough, it's just that they haven't made me an offer. And I think it's due to the fact that...you know, they need to kind of get their ball rolling and start making a little money before they can start making bigger offers.

IF: How about a return to wrestling? Do you have any aspirations to ever begin training again for the Olympics?

Henderson: No, none whatsoever. You know, I've already put my time in there and gave it my best shot. Came-up a little bit short on winning an Olympic medal, but...you know I have different goals now, and I'd like to be the best in the world at fighting.

IF: When I talked to you last time, you said that you might only be good for a year or two more in competition. Why such a short time?

Henderson: Ah, a couple years. Just gonna take it year by year and see how my body feels. You know, I've been training for a long time now. I've been wrestling since I was five, and...I don't know, just gonna take it year by year and see how it goes with my body and with my training and keep motivated to stay in-shape and keep training hard, and then I'd be more inclined to fight for longer. But I don't want to go into fights out of shape if I'm not motivated to train then its...there's no point in fighting that way.

IF: Well what plans do you have in mind for after retirement?

Henderson: Uh, we're managing some up and coming fighters. You know, and open a gym. I'd like to stay in the...involved in the sport. So, that's pretty much where we're at.

IF: Are there any up and coming fighters that we should watch out for from where you're at?

Henderson: Yeah, we have two or three guys that could possibly make a good breakthrough in this next year. So...I don't know. We've got two or three good ones.

IF: Any names?

Henderson: Uh, we got a guy named Jeff Newton, a guy named Chale Sonnen (sp?), and a guy named Nathan Corey.

IF: Next we're going to do a little name association, and what we'll do is I'll give you the name of a fighter and you tell me the first thing that comes to mind.

Henderson: Okay.

IF: Tito Ortiz.

Henderson: Tito Ortiz...Uh, the first thing that comes to mind. I don't know, I guess overrated.

IF: Heath Herring.

Henderson: Needs to get out of Holland. Probably the lifestyle hasn't done him well.

IF: Murilo Bustamante

Henderson: Uh, just a fighter - that's the first thing that comes to my mind is just a good, tough, well-rounded fighter.

IF: Kazushi Sakuraba

Henderson: Uh...Sakuraba, I guess he's just more like a...I don't know, a joker or a funny guy quite a bit. Likes to entertain.

IF: Ricardo Arona

Henderson: Uh...[laughs] I think...I don't know, he likes to stall and not try to finish any fights. Kind of a boring fighter.

IF: Bob Sapp

Henderson: Big dude.

IF: And finally, Quinton Jackson

Henderson: Quinton Jackson. Ah, I don't know. I guess he's a funny guy. He's a...he never shuts-up, he talks all the time. But I like him. He's a nice guy.

IF: Okay, thank you very much. Let's change gears a little bit. What do you think about the popularity of MMA in America?

Henderson: I think it needs a little boost, it needs to get on the mainstream TV.

IF: What else do you think needs to happen for its popularity to grow?

Henderson: Well, they need to market at least two or three American fighters that do this to help market the sport. I think there's some things that are probably going to happen in this next year or two on TV that they could do that. It just needs to be mainstream. I think the sport will get popular all by itself. I mean, it's exciting – there's a lot of aspects to it rather than...you know, something like boxing. They just box on their feet. Instead of...you know, learning submissions or kickboxing or anything like that they're just striking on their feet. I think it's just more dynamic than a lot of sports, and so it'll sell itself, but it's a matter of getting the advertisement...on free advertisement on regular TV.

IF: Well, you're a Californian, and your nickname happens to be 'Hollywood'. How do you feel about having Arnie as your governor?

Henderson: Uh, I haven't been around that much this last month to see how things are. I think it's pretty cool that he is the governor, but I don't know what he's been doing as far as now that he's governor. So I'd like to...you know, follow that a little bit. But I think it's pretty cool that he's governor now.

IF: Arnold is apparently a fan of MMA. Do you think that he could be good for the future of the sport in your state?

Henderson: Yeah, I mean that's one thing that he's been really working on is setting-up an athletic commission for MMA in California. I think if he is behind it that could definitely help. I mean, it's pretty much who you know in politics – not anything else. Just who you know, and who can get things done for you.

IF: Awhile back I seem to recall that one of your sponsors in PRIDE was a California-based sake company [Gekkeikan].

Henderson: Ah, yeah. Well, it's actually based in Japan – in Kyoto – but they also have a big plant in California.

IF: Well my next question is of the utmost importance to those of us living out here in Japan. In your expert opinion, what is the mark of a good Sake?

Henderson: The mark of good Sake? Uh, the amount of...I guess how clean the rice is that they use? The amount of polish, I guess. Or how polished the rice is makes it a better Sake. The Horin is my favorite.

IF: Okay! Finally, have you heard anything solid about who and when you will fight next?

Henderson: Haven't heard anything at all. Have you heard anything? [both laugh]

IF: No, I can't say that I have [laugh]. I was hoping that maybe you'd heard something there.

Henderson: No, I haven't heard a word.

IF: Well, any final words that you'd like to throw-out to all of your fans?

Henderson: Uh, no, pretty much everything that I usually say. I just love to fight in Japan – I love the Japanese fans. They're very respectful, and...you know, win or lose they treat you well. And they're very supportive. So, I definitely appreciate fighting in Japan in front of the Japanese fans.

IF: Dan, on behalf of InsideFighting.com I'd like to thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us. Best of luck to you in the future!

Henderson: Thank you! Thank you, I appreciate it.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Hughes vs. Trigg

World famous MMA photographer Susumu Nagao now has pictures up of the UFC 45 event that just took place on November 21st. To check out the pictures on Susumu's site, click here

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By Todd Atkins

The UFC wants Tank back, but at a lower price.

A few things here from the fallout of UFC 45 10th Anniversay.

Frank Trigg will get fined for wearing the Vince Vouyer hat in his prefight interview. The fine has not been determined but will likely be around 2000$. UFC specifies in the bout agreements that all sponsors have to be approved by ZUFFA. Trigg knew this and he did remove the shirt and shorts with the logos and wore something else to the Octagon. He was not told to remove his hat during the prefight interview and if ZUFFA was really concerened about it they could have blacked it out. The interview in question took place 2 hours before the show. Bottom line is ZUFFA wants to make an example out of someone. Trigg is upset because others have been able to wear similar logos without fines (Tito Ortiz and Ricco Rodriguez).

Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn is all but a done deal. Zuffa thinks this fight will sell and go over really well. But my inside sources doubt this due to the complete lack of buildup for the match. Hughes is on another level right now. Trigg had the best shot of any current 170 pounder, and he couldn't get the job done. Although if he would fight more regularly I think he still has the skills to beat Hughes down the road. Speculation is that we will see a Carlos Newton vs Matt Hughes III by summer. Pete Spratt, Karo Parisyan, and Frank Trigg fighting amongst themselves to be a contender.

Contrary to earlier reports Tito Ortiz has NOT signed a bout agreement to fight Chuck Liddell. Privately Liddell thinks he will NEVER sign it. My sources tell me that he will. I predict he will also beat Chuck rather easily. Having seen him fight in the PRIDE GP left me unimpressed.

Tank wants to keep fighting, and Zuffa wants to keep putting him on cards as he sells PPV's. But he won't get paid the type of money he made for his first few fights.

I am hearing there is a STRONG possibility that Ken Shamrock will fight in UFC 47. This would actually be a good move by ZUFFA due to his recent induction into the Hall of Fame.

Dana White is beside himself with the problems of this last show. As close as he is to a TV deal, shows like this set the whole schedule back. My sources are telling me that Phil Baroni will fight Evan Tanner again. And that Baroni will be able to fight in UFC again. It is just a question of what show at the moment.

Larry Landless and Joe Silva are the current guys on the hot seat. Landless because of his constant blunders, and Silva because many managers realize he is a middleman of sorts and they will now only deal with Dana. His matchmaking has been very up and down lately.

A possible opponent for Cabbage in UFC that is being talked about is none other than PRIDE gatekeeper Gary 'Big Daddy' Goodridge. Dana White is really high on this matchup. And thinks UFC could pull off a win over PRIDE in this fight.

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Phil Baroni

Below is a very interesting interview that freelance MMA journalist 'Joe C' conducted with Phil Baroni. As you will see, the interview got a little out of hand. To add to the matter, Joe C states, "Despite being threatened, I have a journalistic duty to the readers of my columns to provide them with the truth. The people have a right to know!"

Without any further delay, here is the highly entertaining interview:

Joe C: PHIL!

Baroni: Yo.

Joe C: This is Joe by the way.

Baroni: Yeah I know.

Joe C: The important people of the UG are badmouthing me! Like they did you! And why is Danthewolfman wanting to fight you? He said if he can make 185 then strength wont be a factor because you are the strongest and he felt like you couldn't muscle him around. Kinda disrespectful talking about...

Baroni: Yeah he is a nobody, never will be. I took it easy on him.

Joe C: Cool, cool, it's my fav fight on the card.

Baroni: ?

Joe C: I like watching the both of you, true athletes with good bodies is good for the sport. Tanner should be really ripped up for this and I know you will come in lookng good.

Baroni: Nah.

Joe C: Ok. I don't blame you, I'd still be sore from the last incident. Well thanks for the interview. It was short, but should be up in a couple days.

Baroni: What interview?

Joe C: The questions I asked.

Baroni: You gotta ask to do an interview. That was plain shady.

Joe C: But I didn't ask anything personal.

Baroni: You better not post anything dude. If I were you I wouldn't post that. It wasn't an interview, and that was shady and creepy, so stop emailng me all that MMA junk. And now don't I.M. me, I'm gonna block you.

Joe C: If it is the Wolfman thing I will take it off. I didn't know you didn't want him to see that.

Baroni: I don't give a fuck. It's you and your way of doing that dude. If I were you I'd quit while I was ahead.

Joe C: Ahead of what? You will not lay a hand on me.

Baroni: I'm not threatening you, just don't post anything. This is not an interview.

Joe C: It seems to me the Wolfman must have really did well against you. Care to talk about it?

Baroni: Keep some integrity to your craft.

Joe C: I can't believe you of all people are telling me this. Phil, let me tell you a little something about journalism. When the going is slow, you take what you can get.

Baroni: Listen I know your gay. The last thing I want to do is touch you, so don't go there. Second don't ever I.M. me again, end of story. All I gotta do is show people the other thing you tried to pull "thanks for the interview", and you are really finished. And my manager is FCF, if you wanna still write for them you will cease and desist. You will be real slow if I expose the scum bag move you made. You and the Wolfman can blow each other if all you got to do is talk about me. I'm out. That's it, you were out of line and wrong. All you had to do was ask, maybe I say no, maybe yes, but that's it. Leave me alone now.

Joe C: Sorry you took it that way, but thanks. Bye. Me and Joel got along WAY before you 2 did anyways so don't threaten me for my job.

Baroni: Ok dick, you are done now. I'm e-mailing Joel all this shit. I've known joel 8 years, he's been my manager so now your done. We will see. I'm gonna beat your ass when I see you. Your ass is mine.

Joe C: Well I will e-mail the proper authorites that.

Baroni: Ok that was never typed. Go ahead, do that. Keep digging yourself a bigger grave.

Joe C: Yeah don't try to deny it now Phil, it's too late.

Baroni: You are ok. We will see now you are threatening me with slander. Ok keep going.

Joe C: Maybe you should worry about Evan Tanner instead of a meanlingless interview. There was NOTHING in it.

Baroni: please leave me alone. Please don't harass me anymore. I asked many times.

Joe C: No you didn't, but ok I will since you asked nicely.

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By Scoop McTroll

Dana White scolding Phil Baroni.

Scoop McTroll attended the UFC 45 live and had the following news to report:

DANA WHITE'S TEMPER TANTRUM AT BARONI
I was sitting ringside with a good friend of mine when Baroni's fight got stopped. When Baroni flipped out, Dana White shouted, irately, 'that stupid son of a bitch will never fight for us again!'

ATTENDANCE
Attendances for this show were way down with most of the upper sections of the arena virtually empty. Many fans arrived late (in time to see the Tank-Cabbage fight) and left early (before the Hughes-Trigg fight). Word around the Mohegan is that there were a lot of free tickets up for grabs if you had some contacts. Apparently a lot of friends and family of casino staff were amongst the people who scored free tickets.

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By Joshua Grossman

According to Grossman, Buffer must go.

You don't really realize how good you have something until it's gone. That was one of many thoughts swirling through my head while sitting on a couch at my buddy Jake's place, watching Friday night's mediocre UFC 45: 'Revolution' on pay-per-view.

Sure, there were a few positive aspects of the Connecticut-based fight card (the Phil Baroni-Evan Tanner match while it lasted, and Tank Abbott come to mind), but much of the action in the Octagon, nonsense outside of it, and a pretty depressing effort on the pay-per-view broadcast side left me wondering afterwards if those fans who regularly drop $29.99 were left with the same impression I had.

The last time I watched a UFC on live television rather than witness it in person was the Matt Lindland-Murilo Bustamante headlined card in Louisiana -- I've been fortunate enough to be ringside for every UFC (save 37) since the Tito Ortiz-Elvis Sinosic main event in New Jersey.

While UFC 37 provided average bouts at best, the broadcast, from what I remember, seemed a less haggard version of the one Jake, my boy Lamar, and I witnessed Friday.

But why?

Is the UFC broadcast PRIDE quality? No, of course not. But then, Fightsport.com columnist Eddie Goldstein pointed out after the event that neither is anyone else. Which led me to this question: What is preventing the live television presentation of the UFC from reaching a level that would makes viewers feel good about watching it?

Since taking over the UFC, ZUFFA has tried several broadcasting formulas, hoping to make their pay-per-views an interesting, entertaining and informative component in the growth of the UFC brand.

So far, not so good.

In the past I've complained to anyone within earshot that the UFC broadcast is filled with fans and ego-driven wannabes, instead of true professionals.

Of course, if you decided turn up the volume, close your eyes and pay attention to what Bruce Buffer had to say, you would have thought that his 'It's time, to begin' catch phrase was being announced with a wad of marbles in his mouth.

In reality, there were no marbles in Buffer's mouth. He is just that bad of an announcer. I like Bruce. I know he tries his best behind the scenes to further the MMA cause. So my criticism comes from a good place. But, for the most part his ring announcing is tough to stomach.

By his own admission, he considers himself a celebrity. The guy enjoys being in front of the camera, loves mixed martial arts, and in my opinion he lives off his more famous brother's name. His passion, however, can come off as amateurish, which it did on Friday. Bruce, though, isn't the problem. He's just a symptom of it.

Bruce's place as the ring announcer is a direct reflection of ZUFFA. While his heart is in the right place, using a layman in such an important spot makes for bad television -- and journalism. Say what you will about PRIDE's ring announcer, but that lady can really announce a fighter entrance that gets the crowd going.

Then the actual broadcast starts with the tag team of Joe Rogan and Eddie Bravo. Two fans with zero broadcasting ability, journalistic integrity, or savvy between them. Poor Mike Goldberg has to try and superglue the broadcast during each event.

Mike is good at what he does. But even then, his role in the booth should not have to be hindered by having to carry Joe Rogan.

Friday night, Rogan displayed once again why he doesn't belong on the UFC telecast -- and he should be called out for it. Following the unfortunate turn of events that was the Tank Abbott-Cabbage Correira bout, Rogan clearly voiced his displeasure -- a sentiment felt by few, including myself -- during the moments in which Abbott's corner mixed it up with Corriera's supporters.

In my opinion, Rogan called it like he thinks his bosses at Zuffa would see it, coming off as completely assinine -- which is not to say he isn't when circumstances are different. Joe is the UFC 'Yes man'. In a perfect world, he would be free to speak his mind -- positively and negatively -- during the broadcast, but like many fans already suspect of him, legit and unbiased criticism isn't the first thing waiting to pour from his lips.

All too often the UFC broadcast watches like a second-rate version of a Richard Simmons infomercial. What ZUFFA needs to realize is that it loses credibility with the shilling and pandering of its event to the basest group in its pay-per-view audience.

Perhaps it's simply a situation in which those involved aren't of the capacity to pull it off. Television is a tricky beast, one, that done poorly, can leave a gaping hole in a tire of any entertainment vehicle.

What the UFC needs is consistency and continuity. Something that fans can count on each an every time they tune in.

If someone at ZUFFA came to me today and asked for a realistic, entertaining, informative and journalistically accountable group of people to man their broadcast booth I'm fairly certain I'd have the answer.

In fact, here it is:

Goldberg stays. He's the voice of the UFC, and as badly as Don 'The Dragon' Wilson diehards wish for his return, that doesn't seem likely or necessary. As much as I think Rogan needs to be booted from the broadcast booth, I say he stays for now. His on-camera personality, which some have called homo-erotic or flamboyant needs to come down a many notches. But Rogan has something to offer, in that he brings the voice of the uneducated and biased fan to the telecast, as well as adding some sort of name recognition as a low-level media figure. And if you're going to have one talentless hanger-on to carry, then he should at least help bring in some cross-over viewers, which Rogan can maybe help to do since he hosts two popular mainstream shows.

For Buffer, his inability to perform simple ring announcing duties without sounding like he has a wad of marbles in his mouth needs to be trumped. Buffer did help out a lot behind the scenes of UFC 44 when he was able to get Tito Ortiz on the Jay Leno show. Buffer performed fairly well in this role, and his media connections are such that he'd be suited for this role on a permanent basis.

Now to mix things up a bit.

For some reason, despite its importance, the ring announcing has been the most neglected portion of the UFC broadcast. My suggestion would be to bring in Micheal Buffer, who of course is Bruce's more famous, more successful, and much, much, much more talented brother.

Eddie Bravo was definitely an improvement over the goofy Ryan Bennett, but it's also time for Bravo to go. I think they should bring former radio voice Eddie Goldman as the "sideline" reporter, performing pre- and post-fight interviews. Goldman has the most experience out of anybody in the MMA business in having done fantastic interviews with MMA fighters. He would be perfect for this role on the broadcast...kind of like an MMA version of Larry Merchant.

And for the viewers' sake, interview the winners and losers.

I, for one, want to hear Tank Abbott's excuse as to why he quit because of a little blood in his eye. Did he regret all the trash talk? What does he have to say about Cabbage now? These questions matter. The fighters are professionals and should be treated -- not coddled -- as such.

And now, the big one: Put Frank Shamrock back in the broadcast booth. He was excellent in his commentary at UFC 32. He is as well known with the core audience as any fighter in mixed martial arts history. He is wonderful on the microphone. His credentials cannot be argued with. He is not scared to give his opinion. He is, quite simply, a perfect fit with Goldberg and Rogan.

And perhaps the most important reason for ZUFFA to give him a permanent place on its broadcast team: Shamrock (like a Larry Merchant or George Foreman) is the type of figure that could entice buyers to fork over the cost of the pay-per-view just so they can hear if he'll say anything controversial -- though none of it should ever be contrived.

Frank should simply be Frank.

Friday night's effort was painful. It shouldn't be.

I've made it a practice to watch fights on tape as soon as possible after a live event. But I always do it with the volume turned off, as to not be influenced by broadcasters, crowd noise or anything else.

After the Ricco Rodriguez-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira PRIDE bout, I made a recommendation to an E-mailer that he watch the contest again, this time with no sound. He did and replied that it made a tremendous difference in the way he scored the fight. I don't want to be forced to do the same during a live event. But more events like UFC 45 and I may have to.

Thankfully, I've decided to watch UFC 46 from a sports bar and not pay for such a rip-off.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Francois Botha

K-1 announced today that former heavyweight boxing contender Francois Botha has replaced Stefan Leko in the K-1 2003 World Grand Prix Final, scheduled for December 6th.

K-1 stated that they could not come to terms on a contract with the agent for Stefan Leko. Botha will face French kickboxer Cyril Abidi in the first round of the GP Finals.

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Bob Sapp

Below are the main events planned for the three competing shows (PRIDE, K-1, Inoki) scheduled for December 31st:

PRIDE 'SP':
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Vanderlei Silva vs. TBA

K-1 'Premium 2003 Dynamite':
Bob Sapp vs. Akebono
Masato vs. TBA

Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye:
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
Josh Barnett vs. Semmy Schilt
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. TBA

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Pedro Rizzo (top) in his victory over Ricco Rodriguez (bottom).

The UFC exodus continues as sources in Japan and inside the Ruas Vale Tudo camp report to Fightsport.com that Pedro Rizzo is very close to signing a long-term deal with the K-1 organization. The deal would be similar to Kimo Leopoldo's deal with K-1, in that he would do both K-1 rules and MMA rules fights.

PRIDE is also very interested in signing Rizzo as well, but it is not certain at this point whether the K-1 deal will be exclusive or not. More news to come on this in the next few days.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

A report from Shimura Funaki in Tokyo

News that Tank Abbott is once again a free agent has reached the land of the rising sun. Industry sources here in Japan have told us that both Pride and K-1 are eager to talk to Abbott in an effort to secure his services before the other one. Pride feel that Abbott would compliment their plans to crack the American market and are already talking of matching him against long time Pride gatekeeper Gary 'Big Daddy' Goodridge, a fight that was scheduled for UFC18 but never eventuated. Other names bandied around as an opponent for Abbott have been Igor Vovchanchin, Kazushi Sakuraba and Vanderlei Silva.

Tank Abbott getting the better of Cabbage in an exchange at UFC45

In line with their policy of signing well known and controversial fighters from various combat sports, K-1 have expressed great interest in signing Abbott. Potential match ups include a rematch with Kimo under K-1 rules and a K-1 match against Bob Sapp.

The possibility of a Tank vs Tyson match is not off the cards either, Tank has often said he would destroy Mike Tyson in an MMA fight. K-1 might well give him the chance to prove this.

K-1 have publicly expressed their intention to incorporate MMA fights into their shows and are currently looking to build a stable of fighters. In fact the real reason that former Sumo champion Akebono has been signed is because K-1 plan on having him participate in some MMA fights.

When Fightsport.com telephoned Tank Abbott today he was not available. The gentleman we did speak to said that Tank was having a couple of weeks off from training. He could not confirm whether or not Tank has been contacted by either Pride or K-1 yet.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Jake R

John Marsh (bottom)

In a Fightsport.com exclusive, two well connected sources inside the Hammer House fight team have informed me of recent events surrounding Bobby Razak's 'rooftoop fights' after Friday night's post-fight debacle with 'Tank' and 'Cabbage', as John Marsh played a key role in both events.

For starters, both the Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman "rooftop fights" were real. Randleman lied afterwords in order to avoid getting into trouble with DSE, but the fight was indeed legit. Coleman's fight was legit as well.

Originally Bobby Razak wanted John Marsh as an opponent for Coleman. Bobby really likes Coleman and Randleman and the point of the rooftop fights were to have Coleman and Randleman win their fights easily and look impressive in doing so. Bobby thought Coleman defeating Marsh would look great as a real fight for an action scene in a movie he was working on, as Marsh is a large and intimidating looking heavyweight.

Coleman originally accepted the fight, remembering some of Marsh's prior defeats. Bobby knew about Marsh though, and told Marsh the fight would be held with no heelhooks allowed. John Marsh agreed anyway, despite competing against Coleman in an obviously biased and skewed event towards the Hammer House fighters.

However, Coleman asked around and discovered how greatly improved Marsh has become. In fact, Coleman was told that Marsh has regularly been tapping out BJJ blackbelts. Despite a proposed two round fight with no gloves and only two and a half minute rounds with a thirty second break inbetween, Coleman refused to fight Marsh, stating that he was too big and skilled on the ground to fight on short notice.

Bobby Razak then decided to put in a surefire bet for Coleman to score an easy victory, which Coleman did.

In other Hammer House news, I was informed by sources inside the Hammer House fight team that self-proclaimed submissions coach for the Hammer House Adam 'Barnone' Guerra recently competed in a Mexican Vale Tudo event. This match was a predetermined work and resembled a badly choreographed pro wrestling match, and was in no way close to resembling a real fight which resulted in a twenty second kneebar victory for Adam.

As usual, keep reading fightsport and my columns to read what won't be reported elsewhere.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic was elected into government by his countrymen in Croatia.

Filipovic ranked third on the proportional representation list in the first electoral district of Zagreb, in Sunday's general election, according to official returns on Monday. Filipovic won his seat after his Social Democratic Party of Croatia won nearly 30% of votes cast in the district, winning more than four seats.

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Rich Franklin

UFC light heavyweight contender Rich Franklin announced that he has signed a 3-fight deal with K-1. He will still continue to compete in the UFC while also fighting in K-1.

Franklin wanted to stay busy while the UFC sorts out its light heavyweight title picture, and the UFC have supposedly given him their blessing to compete in K-1.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Randy Couture (pictured) to defend his belt at UFC 46.

UFC 46: Super Natural
January 31st, 2004
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Las Vegas, NV


Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort (UFC light heavyweight title)
Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn (UFC welterweight title)

Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims
Carlos Newton vs. Renato Verissimo
Lee Murray vs. Jorge Rivera
Javier Vazquez vs. Matt Serra
Josh Thomson vs. Hermes Franca
Karo Parisian vs. Pete Spratt

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Tape Lord


Ricco Rodriguez in his loss to Pedro Rizzo.

Hello my friends! Welcome to Tape Lord's "Monday Morning Mailbag'. Below are some of the more interesting e-mails I recieved as one of the editors of this newspage. Enjoy...

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Ricco's Future?
Ricco Rodriguez finished his contract with the UFC on a 3-fight losing streak. It looks like the UFC isn't going to re-sign him. Where does he go from here?
-Tony
Schenectady, New York

Tape Lord's reply: It's no secret that Ricco has already burned his bridges with both PRIDE and KOTC. It appears that he has somewhat burned some bridges in the UFC as well. As far as continuing his career as a professional fighter, outside of PRIDE and the UFC, the only hope Ricco has to make good money is if K-1 signs him to their new MMA promotion. If not, then he will have to find work where he can get it. There's always the Inoki show, which pays well but only comes once a year, or TKO up in Canada.

I have heard some rumblings that PRIDE may have him back, but don't expect it to be a happy homecoming if he does. PRIDE will throw him to the wolves with the hopes of having him serve as a high-paid jobber. Expect Ricco's opponents in a new PRIDE contract to look something like this if it does happen: Cro Cop, Fedor, Bob Sapp, Le Banner under K-1 rules, etc.


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5 fights not enouff
5 fights is weak.Im soo tired of support the sport ahh like the sport has once given us soomething for free.Also the Tyson fights have hours of undercard fights Fans like us have been here since the bginning and its always about lets pussify the sport to ghet new fans Welll what about the loyal fans who been here through thick and thin.Not shoing the prelims with over 30 minutes left was inexcusable and piss
-Daren Roth
Huntington, New York

Tape Lord's reply: I understand your frustrations Daren, this UFC tenth anniversary show was a complete flop. They had a 3-hour time slot, but decided to cut the show after 2 hours and 20-something minutes, instead of showing the three dark matches. The thing that is most annoying is that the paying customer could have seen those three matches (as they fit into the time they had left), but Zuffa chose to save it for the DVD instead.


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UFC's New Target Market
Do you think the UFC is moving to a more bisexual image? I mean we all know that Dana White is a former male aerobics instructor and we've all heard the rumors about Joe Rogan's L.A. "lifestyle". Do you think these things will affect the UFC from a pr standpoint?
-Fred

Tape Lord's reply: Fred, while this is a very real possibility, my opinion is that I don't think UFC president Dana White (LOL) has the business sense to purposely plan out such a move. But he does have the bad decision-making skills and overall ineptness to accidentally make it seem like that's the direction they're going in.


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UFC 45 SUCKED!!
The UFC 45 "anniversary" show completely sucked ass!! The only two fights that were any good got stopped early (Tank/Cabbage, Baroni/Tanner). Then they stop the PPV half hour early instead of showing the undercard fights. Someone with money needs to buy the UFC soon and do it right cause it ain't happening under Zuffa.
- UFC SUCKS
Boston, MA

Tape Lord's reply: I've said it before, and I'll say it again...Zuffa has taken the UFC as far as they can take it. The time is right for someone with the know-how and the money to come in and take it to the next level. The Zuffa regime peaked with UFC 40, and it's been downhill ever since due to Dana White's habitual blunders and the Fertittas' cheapness. Every UFC show Zuffa does from here on in will only get worse in my humble opinion.


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WHO WEARS THE PANTS, DANA OR LORENZO?
It seems to me like Lorenzo Fertitta could put his foot down, but instead he let's Dana White keep fucking up. Dana still let's his personal feelings get in the way, yet noone corrects him. WTF, does Lorenzo have control of that ship or what? I mean he's only the fucking OWNER for Pete's sake!
- Rick

Tape Lord's reply: Rick, I honestly don't know what's up with that. It does seem like Lorenzo is kind of like Dana's bitch. In all honesty, I think it's a combination of Lorenzo Fertitta just not knowing too much about MMA, while believing that Dana White does. From what I have heard, it is Lorenzo's older brother Frank who runs things. Lorenzo and Dana are basically like 2 young kids with a very expensive toy. They both listen when older brother Frank lays down the law, but the thing is that Frank is usually too busy running the family business.


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Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Eddie Goldstein

Zuffa management always lacking the "midas touch".

The UFC 45 tenth anniversary show is finally in the books, and the only thing I could think of is that the show couldn't have been a more perfect example of the blunderous Zuffa regime. How fitting that the company run by a former Boxercize instructor failed to deliver on its supposedly significant tenth anniversary.

After MMA fans witnessed the incredible PRIDE GP Finals only two weeks before, MMA fans were then treated to a UFC 45 show which cut off over 30 minutes early instead of showing the pre-lim fights. They also witnessed referee blunders leading to early stoppages on the night's two most exciting fights. The only thing to help this show out was the Hughes/Trigg fight, which in all honesty looked more like a submission match that got out of hand, more then it did an "ultimate Fighting" match.

But the UFC 45 flop itself poses a bigger question...has the countdown to the end of the Zuffa regime started?

I would have to think that it has indeed. It used to be that the state of MMA in America was dependant upon the state of the UFC. I believe that this is no longer the case. Organizations such as PRIDE and K-1 are making inroads into the American market, and they seem to know just what needs to be done to put on good fights and win over fans. For the many people who watched the PRIDE GP on DirectTV or PPV, they have already witnessed the PRIDE 'brand', and that brand is that you know you will see exciting fights that are allowed to be settled by the fighters. That's really all the fan wants, yet it is something that the UFC just cannot overcome due to various factors, including the athletic commissions and the ineptitude of their management.


K-1 already has a deal with ESPN, and they are going to start an MMA promotion. They have the cash to sign many big-name fighters, including having already signed Mike Tyson. Also take into account that PRIDE will spend money, are now on PPV, will be in Vegas, and are very close to signing a TV deal too.

Then look at the UFC. Just what sort of state are they in? Well for starters they still have no TV deal, even though they could have had one almost two years ago. Why don't they have it now? The answer is simple: Dana White thought they can do better.

It is laughable to believe that a company with consistently low Pay-Per-View buys, a public image problem, and no TV deal 'can do better'. Yet while Dana White believes they can 'do better', the UFC continues to flounder, and the money supply to their shows is apparently running dry, as witnessed by the the low quality of their recent cards.

The Zuffa regime has reached an impasse. Dana White has been given the order to start producing UFC 40-like numbers, or else his money supply will get down to a bare minimum. As it stands now, the paying fan better get used to only seeing one or two high-profile fights on a UFC card, with the rest of the card filled with what basically amounts to underpaid first-timers. The thinking is that they will just get by until they get that elusive TV deal. But in reality, the shows will get worse, and if no TV deal is reached, then Zuffa would probably have to sell the UFC eventually.

So what are the solutions? It's simple really, get rid of the current inept management, or change owners. Dana White has proven that he is in way over his head as the president of the UFC. His constant catch phrase that 'they (which means 'him') are learning as they go along' just doesn't cut it. When an owner has invested over 20 million dollars in a venture of this type, you CANNOT have it run by a guy who claims 'they (which means 'him') are learning as they go along'.

As for the Fertittas...they are notoriously cheap in their business practices, never spending the money where it needs to be spent. Instead, they prefer to spend it on things that the UFC clearly doesn't need, such as Carmen Elektra for example. But we shouldn't really be surprised, as the Fertittas have a track record for never coming in first place at anything they've done before, whether it be casinos or their failed attempt at Boxing promotion. Their Station Casinos brand is not known as the K-Mart of casinos for nothing my friends.

Like I stated, the state of the UFC is now offically in a bad state, but it isn't a barometer for the state of American MMA in general anymore. No, in fact, the American MMA scene has never looked brighter. Aside from PRIDE and K-1, WWE supremo Vince McMahon has given the green light for the UFC to possibly be shown on the Spike TV network. Why would McMahon do this if it doesn't benefit him? Well according to pro-wrestling insiders, if the UFC gets on Spike TV, McMahon will let the UFC make stars on Spike TV, and then he will poach them onto the WWE. After the UFC is then in stripped of its stars, he will make his bid for it and have it run alongside his WWE programming. There is also Don King wanting to get involved as well.

Whether you agree with these people getting involved or not, the big players with the know-how are definitely looking to get into the American MMA scene. Zuffa doesn't have the capabilities or know-how to compete with them, but they do have the UFC franchise to sell off to them. Combined with the fact that the UFC has reached a self-inflicted stagnant plateau of mediocrity under the Zuffa regime, this effectively makes the Zuffsters the caretakers for the UFC, until a real owner comes along to take it to the next level. And that my friends, is the state of the Zuffa-owned UFC right now.






Eddie Goldstein is a legendary underground journalist of boxing, pro-wrestling, and now MMA. His contributions to MMA can be found here exclusively at Fightsport.com from now on.

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By Scoop McTroll

In an effort to help the sport, Fightsport are collecting market research data and will be forwarding the results to ZUFFA on a regular basis. Help Fightsport to make the UFC a better show by completing this short 10 question poll. If you do you will be supporting the sport.








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Phil Baroni

The Mohegan Athletic Commission have suspended Phil Baroni from fighting in their jurisdiction for one year and fined him USD$5,000, due to his actions at UFC 45 when he punched referee Larry Landless three times for stopping his fight early.

The comission has also banned Baroni from ever fighting against at the Mohegan Sun Casino. Baroni can appeal the suspension if he chooses to. Baroni has not commented on whether he will appeal the decision, but UFC president Dana White will have an official comment on the situation today.

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Rodriguez vs. Rizzo

The following pictures of the November 21st UFC 45 event are brought yo you courtesy of Ed Mulholland, Boxing-Pics.com, and UFCFightnews.com.

To view the entire gallery, click here

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Uematsu vs. Toida

World famous MMA photographer Susumu Nagao now has pictures up of the SHOOTO event that just took place on November 3rd. To check out the pictures on Susumu's site, click here

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SHOOTO Brazil 3
November 23rd, 2003
Tio Sam
Niteroi, Brazil

Class-B Bouts:
Walter 'Aba' Farias defeats Rodrigo 'Riscado' Gripp by TKO, RD 1.
Fabio Mello defeats Luciano Azevedo by decision.
Hudson Rocha defeats Aritano Barbosa by guillotine choke, RD 1.
Thalles Leite defeats Felipe Mongo by triangle choke, RD 2.
Danilo Sherman defeats Ricardo Nogueira by triangle choke, RD 2.
Andre 'Marola' Candido defeats Tiago 'Marreta' by decision.
Luis 'Besouro' Jr. defeats Iran Mascarenhas by decision.
Gustavo 'Careca' defeats Paulo Boiko by decision.
'Xandinho' defeats Roberto 'Robocop' by decision.

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Ironheart Crown 6: 'Inferno'
November 22nd, 2003
Hammond Civic Center
Indiana, USA

Class-A Bouts:
Ryan Ackerman defeats Miguel Torres by unanimous decision.
Derrick Noble defeats Joey Gilbert by KO at 0:48, RD 2.
Stephan Bonnar defeats Brad Lynde by rear naked choke at 4:10, RD 1.

Class-B Bouts:
Jamil Willis defeats Charles Barron by guillotine choke at 3:18, RD 1.
Steve Dau defeats Roberto Ramirez by TKO.
Bill Hill defeats Joe Billups by rear naked choke at 4:50, RD 1.
Jay Estrada defeats Antoine Skinner by unanimous decision.
Bart Palaszewski defeats Jason Bender by unanimous decision.
Jason Veach defeats Jason Guida by TKO, RD 1.
Tommy Lee defeats Matt Horning by rear naked choke at 2:33, RD 1.

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Hidehiko Yoshida

Japanese periodical Yomiuri Sports is reporting in their Monday edition that Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kazushi Sakuraba is most likely to be the main event for PRIDE's December 3st show at the Saitama Super Arena.

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SHOOTO
November 25th, 2003
Kitazawa Town Hall
Tokyo, Japan

Class-B Bouts:
Daniel Weichel vs. J-Taro Takita
Kenichi Sawada vs. Yutaka Teduka
Hayate Usui vs. Keisuke Yamada
Takashi Ouchi vs. Mario Stapel
Akihiko Adachi vs. Katsuhiko 'g' Ochiai
Yasuhiro Akagi vs. HIRO
Yoichi Fukumoto vs. Hiroaki Okada
Yohei Mikami vs. Akitoshi Hokazono

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Alexa.com just updated their internet ratings for this week. Below are the Alexa.com rankings for the top 10 MMA websites as of November 22nd, 2003.

Fightsport.com has been the fastest-growing MMA website the last few months and have taken over the number 3 spot this past month, pushing Sherdog.net down to number 4. MMA.tv moved into the number one spot almost two months ago, knocking Sherdog.com down to number 2. MMAWeekly.com remains steady at number 5, while Subfighter.com has moved up to the number 6 spot.

The official site of the UFC fell down to number 7. The official site of PRIDE moved back into number 8, dropping Adcombat.com to number 9. MaxFighting.com dropped some ratings points, but survived by a thread to hang on to the number 10 spot.



MMA RANKINGS:

1.) MMA.tv - Traffic Rank for mma.tv: 3,965

2.) Sherdog.com - Traffic Rank for sherdog.com: 6,987

3.) Fightsport.com - Traffic Rank for fightsport.com: 8,091

4.) Sherdog.net - Traffic Rank for sherdog.net: 9,772

5.) MMAWeekly.com - Traffic Rank for mmaweekly.com: 11,869

6.) Subfighter.com - Traffic Rank for subfighter.com: 16,884

7.) UFC.tv - Traffic Rank for ufc.tv: 21,188

8.) Pridefc.com - Traffic Rank for pridefc.com: 28,218

9.) Adcombat.com - Traffic Rank for adcombat.com: 28,630

10.) Maxfighting.com - Traffic Rank for maxfighting.com: 50,628






Alexa.com tracks the internet ratings with the use of the Alexa toolbar, which is used by no less then 10 million people. Almost all of the Alexa toolbar users also use Amazon.com and Google, making the Alexa.com rankings very important with advertisers. Alexa.com is arguably the most respected internet ratings system in the business.

How to read the Alexa.com rankings: The traffic rank indicates the website's ranking amongst english-language websites. As the number goes lower, it indicates that the website is ranked higher.

For example:

a website with a traffic rank of '1', means that it is the number one visited english-language website on the internet, according to Alexa.com's 10 million users.

a website with a traffic rank of '10,221', means that it is the 10,221st most visited english-language website on the internet, according to Alexa.com's 10 million users.

a website with a traffic rank or '90,594', means that it is the 90,594th most visited english-language website on the internet, according to Alexa.com's 10 million users.

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Takumi Yano (laying on floor)

The following pictures of the November 23rd ZST Lightweight GP event are brought yo you courtesy of Sportsnavi.

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Morkevicius vs. Dijkstra

ZST Lightweight GP
November 23rd, 2003
Tokyo, Japan


Below are the results of the opening round of ZST 16-man lightweight GP, which took place on November 23rd, 2003. The semifinals and finals will take place on January 11th 2004:

Remigijus Morkevicius defeats Menno Dijkstra by KO at 0:20, RD 1.
Rich Clementi defeats Aloisio Barros by decision.
Takumi Yano defeats Igor Isaikin by decision.
Marcus Aurelio defeats Takumi by armbar at 3:05, RD 1.
Taisho defeats Jason Maxwell by armbar at 2:14, RD 1.
Masakazu Imanari defeats Jorge Gurgel by heel hook at 0:39, RD 1.
Hideo Tokoro defeats Masahiro Oishi by armbar at 3:13, RD 1.
Naoyuki Kotani defeats Mindaugas Smirnovas by armbar at 0:41, RD 1.



Below are the results for the newcomer tournament called the Genesis Lightweight Tournament. In the event that the ZST Lightweight GP needs alternate fighters, they will be chosen from this tournament:

Tomoya Arakawa defeats Masayuki Okude by unanimous decision.
Norisato Isozaki defeats Daigo Ishijima by KO at 1:14.
Shou Kazama defeats Tomohiko Hori by KO at 0:42.
'Le Gaylord' Fabre defeats Yusuke Shimizu by triangle at 1:21.
Yujiro Kushida defeats Chikara Uehara by unanimous decision.
Kenzi Daikanyama defeats Takemi Yoshizumi by TKO at 2:08.
Takahiro Uchiyama defeats Ryusuke Uemura by split decision.
Tohisaki Komatsu defeats Hirotaka Miyakawa by leg lock at 1:19.

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SHOOTO Brazil 3
November 23rd, 2003
Tio Sam
Niteroi, Brazil


Class-B Bouts:
Rodrigo 'Riscado' Gripp vs. Walter 'Aba' Farias
Fabio Mello vs. Luciano Azevedo
Hudson Rocha vs. Aritano Barbosa
Leonardo Lucio 'Chocolate' Nascimento vs. Thalles Leite
Danilo Sherman vs. Ricardo Nogueira
Tiago 'Marreta' vs. Andre 'Marola' Candido
Luis 'Besouro' Jr. vs. Luis Fernando Silva
Maicon Alarcao vs. Marlon Olegario
Gustavo 'Careca' vs. Paulo Boiko
'Xandinho' vs. Roberto 'Robocop'

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By Scoop McTroll

In an effort to help the sport, Fightsport are collecting market research data and will be forwarding the results to ZUFFA on a regular basis. Help Fightsport to make the UFC a better show by completing this short 10 question poll. If you do you will be supporting the sport.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com
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