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TKO 15: 'Unstoppable'
February 28th, 2003
Pierre Charbonneau Center
Montreal, Canada


David Loiseau vs. Jeremy Horn
Steve Vigneault vs. Chris Fontaine
Mark Hominick vs. David Guigui
Yan Pellerin vs. Bill Mahood
Stephan Potvin vs. Kyle Sanford
Mark Cambier vs. Todd Gouwenberg
Stephane Vigneault vs. Troy Quesnelle
Mark Colangelo vs. Mark Bocek
Kajan Johnson vs. Stephane Dube
Thierry Quenneville vs. Phillipe Lagace
Jonathan Goulet vs. Alex Gasson

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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KOTC
February 28th, 2003
Canton Civic Center,
Canton, Ohio


Kerry Schall vs. Jimmy Westfall
Jason Keaton vs. Aitor Canup
Tony Sylvester vs. Brain Peoples
Angelo Popofski vs. Jon Torrh
Josh Souder vs. Brad Mohler
Jeremiah Pocock vs. Eddie Sanchez
Jason Dent vs. Matt Brady
Forrest Petz vs. Mike O'Donnell
Drew Longshore vs. Dorian Price
Josh Hendricks vs. Jonathan Westfall
Jeff Cox vs. Mike Russo
Jamie Tony vs. Fred Parrish

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Yuki Kondo

GracieFighter.com confirmed that their fighter Steve Heath will face light heavyweight KOP Yuki Kondo in the main event of the Pancrase 2004 Brave Tour show, scheduled for March 29th.

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Stefan Leko

Fightsport.com first reported three weeks ago that Stefan Leko signed a 6-fight deal with PRIDE, and that there was a chance he might participate in the PRIDE Heavyweight GP.

Leko has now confirmed to the media that he has indeed signed a 6-fight deal that will run for two years. Leko also added that he will be participating in the PRIDE Heavyweight GP, scheduled for this April.

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Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic

The Japanese media is reporting that DSE/PRIDE is trying to set up a boxing match between Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic and Lennox Lewis.

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Vanderlei Silva doing a fight scene.

DSE Pictures, which is owned by DSE/PRIDE, has released the first pictures of its movie entitled 'Nagurimono', which is scheduled to be released this September.

PRIDE veterans Vanderlei Silva, Kazushi Sakuraba, Don Frye, Quinton Jackson, Alexander Otsuka, and Yoshihiro Takayama all make bit appearances in the movie.

To view the entire gallery, click here

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Kurt Angle

Todd Atkins reports the following from Japan:


"A rumor making the rounds out here is that DSE is interested in bringing in Kurt Angle to make an appearance on one of the PRIDE Heavyweight GP shows, and possibly even as an entrant into the 16-man field.

This would be major land for DSE if they are able to pull it off."

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Minotauro and CroCop confirmed for the GP.

Listed below are the names of the fighters who are signed, and who are being considered for the opening round of the PRIDE Heavyweight Grand Prix.

The opening round will feature sixteen fighters, and is scheduled for April:


Officially confirmed:
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira
Mirko 'CroCop' Filipovic
Fedor Emelianenko
Igor Vovchanchyn
Sentoryu
Heath Herring
Sergei Karitonov
Igor Vovchanchyn
Yoshihisa Yamamoto

Unofficially confirmed, and very strong possibilty:
Don Frye
Mark Coleman
Murilo 'Ninja' Rua
Stefan Leko
Hidehiko Yoshida
Kazushi Sakuraba
Kazuhiro Nakamura
Hirotaka Yokoi
Yoshihiro Takayama

Possibility, but not likely:
Vanderlei Silva *
Yuki Kondo **

Names have been mentioned in the media, but do not expect them in the GP:
Royce Gracie
Dan Henderson
Hiromitsu Kanehara
Kiyoshi Tamura



* Silva will most likely defend his light heavyweight belt against Kondo, and only be in the GP in the event that Ninja cannot compete.
** Kondo only wants to face Silva in a single fight.

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Couture and Belfort to have a rematch.

Below are some of the matchups that Zuffa would like to sign for UFC 48, scheduled for July 3rd in Las Vegas:


Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort
Frank Mir vs. winner of Tim Sylvia/Andre Arlovski
'Tank' Abbott vs. Ken Shamrock
*Tito Ortiz vs. Lee Murray
Phil Baroni vs. Evan Tanner
Jason Miller vs. Shonie Carter


* This matchup will only take place in UFC 48 if Ortiz loses to Liddell in UFC 47.

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By Tape Lord


Lee Murray

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

Hello my friends, as some of you might have heard, Tito Ortiz announced that he plans to fight in both UFC 47 and UFC 48, against Chuck Liddell and Lee Murray respectively.

Our Zuffa informant 'Coffee guy' tells me the following regarding a possible Tito Ortiz vs. Lee Murray matchup in 48:


"Tito did announce that he wants to fight Lee Murray at UFC 48, but such a matchup is not definite yet. Dana White only wants an Ortiz/Murray matchup to happen at UFC 48 only if Tito loses to Chuck Liddell at UFC 47.

The thinking by both Dana and Tito is that if Tito loses to Liddell, he could build himself back up immediately by beating an inexperienced Murray.

If Tito beats Liddell, then the fight against Murray will not happen at UFC 47. Tito will then wait for the winner of the Couture/Belfort rematch, and fight Murray at a much later date, possibly early next year.

Another factor is that Murray has not agreed to fight Tito at UFC 48 yet. Murray is on record as saying that he wants a few more fights under his belt first, but the inside word is that the game Murray would indeed agree to fight Tito at UFC 48 if Tito weighs in at 205 on the day of the fight.

One more thing is that many people within the Zuffa offices feel that Liddell will win, and that Tito himself doesn't feel confident he can win his fight against Liddell." -Coffee guy

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Tito Ortiz

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

A fan at last Friday's KOTC event gives us this eyewitness account of what he supposedly saw from backstage:


"I was backstage at last Friday's KOTC event, and I saw Dan Henderson was talking to some guy. I could also see Tito Ortiz and one of his friends walking by from a distance. They saw Henderson, and then out of nowhere they gave Henderson the middle finger and then appeared to run away.

It was kind of funny, Tito was very far away when he flipped Henderson off, and him and his friend started skipping around the way Tito does before a fight, and then all of a sudden they ran off, as if they had something important to do.

Henderson barely noticed them and just smiled at how foolish they looked, and then continued talking to the guy he was talking to." -Phil from CA


For those wondering what reason Tito could possibly have to be upset at Henderson...our sources in Huntington Beach tell us that Tito may be upset that Henderson called Tito 'overrated', when asked about Tito in a recent interview.

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Phil Baroni

Phil Baroni announced that may be fighting Evan Tanner again in UFC 48, if Tanner signs to fight. UFC 48 is scheduled for July 3rd.

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Silva and Sakuraba to have bit parts in new movie.

LOS ANGELES, California – Dream Stage Entertainment, the parent company of the PRIDE FC, announces the formation of Dream Stage Pictures, an affiliate company for the creation of motion pictures.

Already in production is Dream Stage Picture's first film, a tale entitled Nagurimono (translated as 'one whose nature it is to fight'), which takes place in Edo (Tokyo) at the end of the Shogunate Rule during the 1860s. The story involves exclusive, private fights being held for the entertainment of feudal lords and shoguns. The film will be a combination of action and romance and will feature up and coming Japanese actor, Hiroshi Tamaki, as well as established film and television star, Takenori Jannai.

The goal of Dream Stage Pictures is to create quality films that do not necessarily focus around the presence of PRIDE FC fighters. Nonetheless, fighters may have bit roles in the films...among others, Nagurimono will include Kazushi Sakuraba, Don Frye, Vanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, Alexander Otsuka, and Yoshihiro Takayama. Dream Stage Entertainment takes great pride in maintaining a strong relationship with its fighters throughout their fight careers and, as such, it is the intention of Dream Stage Pictures to continue to maintain a strong relationship with fighters and to open the doors for them to explore a new career when their fighting days are over.


What the Fighters are Saying:

Kazushi Sakuraba: "I was so nervous that I asked the director to make my lines shorter, as few as possible. There was a scene where I had to have a stare down with Tamaki's character and that was the hardest thing for me because I don't even stare down my opponents in the ring when I really fight."

Yoshihiro Takayama: "I didn't get nervous at all. I felt ok because I'm always fighting in front of large audiences anyway. In the movie I fought against Don Frye! We actually punched and hit each other seriously and I really think the audience will feel that it’s real because it was. I think the audience can enjoy the fight scenes on their own."

Don Frye: "This is the third movie for me, but in the past I had just done cowboy roles in westerns. This movie is kind of like a Japanese version of a western and I thought it was really cool. I fought against Takayama again, just like in real life. We fought for real and we slugged it out. At one point he gave me a serious big boot (laughing)."

Vanderlei Silva: "I'm very happy and honored to be involved. This is like a totally new challenge for me and it gives me an opportunity to explore other possibilities instead of just being a fighter. "

Quinton Jackson: "The movie is really cool. I think I may have decided what my second career is! I fought Sakuraba in this movie and I'm telling you it's gonna look real. We really worked on it. I think it may be the best scene in the movie."

For action photos from the movie involving the above listed fighters, please email Turi Altavilla at t_altavilla@pridefc.com.

Nagurimono is expected to debut in September of 2004.

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Absolute Fighting Championships 7
Friday, February 27th, 2004
War Memorial
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Doors Open: 6:30 pm
Fight Start: 7:30 pm


Card Subject To Change:

Marcel Ferreira vs. Izuru Takeuchi
Jorge Santiago vs. Takuya Wada
Edson Diniz vs. Hiroki Kotani
Thiago 'Pitbull' Alves vs. Nuri Shakir
Charles McCarthy vs. David Bielkheden
Crafton Wallace vs. Antony Rea
Gesias Calvancanti vs. Justin Wisniewski
Efrain Ruiz vs. John Wood
Sauli Heilimo vs. Carlo Prater
Hugo Berto vs. TBA

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SHOOTO
February 27th, 2004
Zurich, Switzerland

Marcelo Alfaie vs. Pierre Guillet
Luiz Firmino Buscape vs. Rafles La Rose
Vitelmo 'Catel' Kubis vs. TBA
Augusto F. Guimaraes vs. Sergio Platzer
Ricardo Pezao vs. Paul Jenkins
Ivan Mussardo vs. Dennis Kelly
Bram van Koppen vs. Patrick Decaro
Omar Marron vs. TBA
Ken Groh vs. TBA

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Bob Sapp

K-1
March 14th, 2004
Bandaijima Messe Convention Center
Nigata, Japan

The following K-1 will consist of mostly MMA matchups, with a few K-1 rules fights on the undercard.


MMA PORTION OF THE CARD:

Main event:
Bob Sapp vs. Dolgosurem Sumbayazer
Peter Aerts vs. Steve Williams
Cliff Couser vs. TBA
'Lyoto' Machida vs. Yoshihiro Nakao

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Josh Barnett
Kazuyuki Fujita
T.K. Kohsaka
Yuji Nagata
Masayuki Naruse
Shinsuke Nakamura
Kensuke Sasaki

Fighters that may participate (either still negotiations, or may participate in next show):
Rickson Gracie
Kimo Leopoldo
Pedro Rizzo
Alexy Ignashov
Kosei Inoue
Enson Inoue
Genki Sudo
Sylvester Terkay
'Montanha' Silva



K-1 RULES PORTION OF THE CARD:

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Micheal McDonald
Eric 'Butterbean' Esch
Petr Vandrechek
Dewey Cooper
Tsuyoshi Nakasako
Tatsufumi Tomihira
Great Kusatsu
Toru Oishi
Masaaki Miyamoto
Hiromi Amada


Stay tuned for more news on the developing card.

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By Scoop McTroll


Tank Abbott

Sources close to 'Tank' Abboott' tell me that his negotiations with Zuffa/UFC are going well, and that he may have already signed a contract to fight Ken Shamrock at UFC 48.

Tank has not agreed to take a pay-cut for a new 3-fight deal like UFC president Dana White had hoped. But sources close to Tank say he has come to a verbal agreement on a 1-fight deal that would guarantee him close to the USD$150,000 per fight he makes now, and includes a winning bonus that would bring that total up to USD$225,000.

More to come on this in the next few days.

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UFC Referee 'Big' John McCarthy stated to the various media sources that he is confident the Nevada State Athletic Commission will begin to allow knees to the head of an opponent on the ground.

We contacted some sources within the NSAC and they told us that this rule change could be enacted in the near future, maybe as early as UFC 48.

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Royce Gracie

Las Vegas-based MMA insider 'Jack Johnson' reports the following:


My sources in Vegas are telling me that Zuffa has offered Royce Gracie a 2-fight contract guaranteed at USD$600,000. Zuffa has also sweetened the deal with win bonuses of 75k on each fight.

Coming off his stellar gi-less perfomance against Yoshida, Royce is seriously considering this UFC return against an opponent he feels can't overpower him.

So far all signs are good for a likely Fall return to the UFC for the most recognized MMA fighter on the planet.

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By Scoop McTroll

Tank Abbott

The following is an eye witness acount by Scoop McTroll of the supposed incident between Ken Shamrock and 'Tank' Abbott that took place last Friday night at the UPW 5th anniversary pro-wrestling show:

"Tank Abbott and some of his friends were sitting at their table, and it was obvious that they had had many drinks. Ken Shamrock then walked into the ring for his wrestling match. Before the match starts, Shamrock gets on the mic and tells everyone that and an old buddy of his is in the house.

Tank approaches the barricade at this point. Shamrock announces the proposed matchup between him and Tank that is trying to be signed for July 3rd, and then adds 'only if Tank gets off his ass and signs the contract'.

Tank tried to storm the ring at that point, but was held back by his friends and a few security guards. Shamrock's match starts while Tank is still trying to storm the ring. After a couple of minutes, Tank sits back down at this table and start cussing out Shamrock, saying things such as I'm gonna kill you Shamrock' and 'Shamrock's a bitch'.

Tank was then escorted out the emergency exit not too soon after. As Tank was leaving, the entire building was chanting 'Abbott'. Tank could then be heard punching the other emergency door, trying to get back in the building.



Bruce Buffer (affectionately called the 'Frank Stallone' of ring announcing by MMA fans) also commented the following regarding the incident:

"I announced the Shamrock/Predator bout last night at the UPW show and when Ken came in the ring he wanted the microphone to talk and surprised everyone, including Tank, with his challenge to Tank.

Tank just blew up and was lost control. Security definitely had to step in to keep Tank from getting into the ring. Had Tank stepped into the ring, Ken and Tank would have started throwing right then and there. I jumped out of the ring to help get Tank to calm down and told him 'don't fight for free here, if you're gonna go do it in the Octagon.' Tank was completely riled up and livid, he was more pissed than I think I've ever seen him in recent years. I went outside to talk to Tank in the parking lot and he was still beside himself. I think he wants this fight more now than ever to happen.

If this fight takes place, we may finally see the savage Tank we all remember. It will put an end to a long time rivalry of bad feelings. Plus it would be a huge marquee fight for UFC/MMA fans.

I'd love to see this fight happen. Two legendary warriors of the Octagon who are scared of no man and who don't like each other. Both of them would enter the Octagon on this future night with an intensity we all know they are both capable of and it would be a historic 'WAR' IMO. -Bruce Buffer

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Vitor Belfort (right)

The following comments by Vitor Belfort are from an interview that was conducted by Larry Goldberg for Boxing Insider:


Vitor on the status of his missing sister: "We don't have any news yet. We don't have a clue. We don't have anything concrete, so we are kind of blocked right now. We don't know what is going on."

Vitor on his fight with Randy Couture at UFC 46: "It wasn't anything. I punched...I threw a punch on him and it hit him by the eye. He had a cut and they thought it was better to stop the fight. It was the right decision. I feel I would like to have proven more of what I could do in the fight, but I didn't have a chance to prove how well I trained, to show everything that I did in training - so it's frustrating for everyone.

Vitor on his original gameplan for the fight against Randy Couture at UFC 46: "I was so prepared with my boxing skills. I knew I was so sharp. If God and Jesus could have stood up with me that night - I know God gave me the strength to go there and do my best. My main goal is to train, get very well prepared, step in the Octagon, and do the best I can do. That's my main goal.

Vitor on giving Randy Couture a rematch: "For sure. Right now they're talking with me about that...My goal was to fight Couture. If I win - even Couture...because Couture went to Japan and challenged Pride to fight for the belt - so he did all this promotion. So I think it would have been very good for the sport. I would like to get a chance to fight against PRIDE champion Vanderlei Silva, and also to give Randy a rematch. I think this would be awesome. I think all the fans would be very interested to see those fights."

Vitor on Couture's disparaging comments he made about him last week: "Yes, because Randy said he would have beaten me. I know for sure that Randy would have wanted Vanderlei. That's his main goal. Giving him a rematch would be very, very welcome, but I have to look out for my career, not for his career. He wants a rematch very badly because he came off from two good wins and then he lost to me. I think he's frustrated right now. He wants the belt again. He deserves it, but I think he needs to understand that I am looking for the best for me right now. The best for Vitor is the PRIDE title, because if I beat Vanderlei, I will hold the title. I am looking for my best interests and the best interests for MMA. For sure my fight against Vanderlei will be a much, much bigger job than me and Randy Couture again."

Vitor on the possibility of facing Vanderlei Silva in a UFC/PRIDE unification bout: "That's what Dana spoke to me about before I signed the fight. He said, "Vitor, if you beat Randy you will fight Vanderlei again. That's our goal in UFC". I don't know what's going on right now. I'm looking forward to see that fight happen. If not, I will do whatever UFC wants me to do. I mean I am under contract with them, but I would like to get a shot at Vanderlei. I'm looking out for my career and for all the fans. I know the fans would love to see me against Vanderlei. It would be the biggest draw in the whole world of mixed martial arts fighting."

Vitor on his new contract with the UFC: I have several more fights (with UFC). I cannot talk about the contract.

Vitor on the upcoming Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz matchup: "It is hard to pick, because both fighters have trained together in the past. They know the game. I think it can be a very interesting fight or a very boring fight. So I am cheering for a very good match, an exciting match, and the best man on the night to win. I am going to be here, just watching it and seeing what is going on."

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Bob Sapp

K-1
March 14th, 2004
Bandaijima Messe Convention Center
Nigata, Japan

Below are the matchups that have been announced for K-1 mixed MMA/K-1 rules card. Cliff Couser, who supposedly is the half brother of Mike Tyson, is expected to fight a Japanese opponent.


MMA matchups:
Bob Sapp vs. Dolgosuren Sumbayazer
Peter Aerts vs. Steve Williams
Cliff Couser vs. TBA

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Jerome LeBanner

K-1: 'Dynamite'
May 19th, 2004
Japan

Below are the following matchups that have been announced for the K-1 MMA card on May 19th:


MMA matchups:
Bob Sapp vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
Alexey Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Jerome LeBanner vs. Tadao Yasuda
Yuji Nagata vs. TBA
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. TBA
Genki Sudo vs. TBA

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HEAT FC 3
April 16th, 2004
Natal, Brazil

Heat FC announced the following matchups for their April 16th show:


Ebenezer Braga vs. Keith Jardine
Erick Tavares vs. Diego Sanches

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Cliff Couser

K-1 announced that Cliff Couser, who supposedly the half brother of Mike Tyson, will be participating on the K-1 mixed MMA/K-1 rules card that is scheduled for March 14th.

An opponent has not been named yet, but it is expected that Couser will face a Japanese opponent.

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Takayuki Kohiruimaki

K-1 World Max 2004
February 24, 2004
Yoyogi Stadium
Tokyo, Japan


Super fights:
Albert Kraus defeats Takashi Ono by KO at 2:31, RD 1.
Fuji Chalmsak defeats Arslan Magomedov by KO at 2:27, RD 1.

Reserve fight:
Tomo defeats Toshio Matsumoto by KO at 2:39, RD 3.



Tournament:
Quarterfinals:
Takayuki Kohiruimaki defeats Hayato by unanimous decision.
Kozo Takeda defeats Ken'ichi Ogata by TKO, RD 1.
Serkan Yilmaz defeats Kazuya Yasuhiro by KO at 1:33, RD 2.
Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto defeats Takehiro Murahama by KO at 2:38, RD 2.

Semifinals:
Takayuki Kohiruimaki defeats Kozo Takeda by KO at 1:05, RD 2.
Serkan Yilmaz defeats Tomo by KO at 2:13, RD 1.

Final:
Takayuki Kohiruimaki defeats Serkan Yilmaz by unanimous decision.

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By Scoop McTroll

Phil Baroni (far right) after striking referee Larry Landless.


I commented some time ago stating two things about the Baroni-Landless incident:


1.) That UFC president Dana White was privately furious with referee Larry Landless and his role at the UFC would be reduced.

2.) That ZUFFA would do a lot of back room negotiating with Mohegan Sun in order to pull some strings and reduce Barnoni's sentence to a total of no more than 6 months.


Today it was announced that Baroni's original 12-month sentence has been reduced to 4 months, LOL. The Fertittas connections with the NSAC and the revenue a UFC show brings to the Mohegan Sun were both points considered by the Athletic Commission, I think there were some under the table bribes made as well but I cannot confirm it at this stage. It has also been known to ZUFFA for several weeks that the sentence was going to be reduced. Lucky for Baroni that he is one of 'Dana's boys' these days, replacing the spot on Dana's shoulder that Tito Ortiz once perched on.

Remember, you heard it here first. Once again Fightsport.com scoops the others.

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Rudimar Fedrigo (left)

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently interviewed Chute Boxe manager Rudimar Fedrigo. Here's what Rudimar had to say:


Tatame: What is your evaluation of your team's performance in the Chute Boxe vs. Japan challenge?

Rudimar: It went very well, the team did very good. Shogun is a fighter who is very aggressive, and he is solidifying his place in PRIDE with each fight. Vanderlei confirmed his current great form and is showing a very aggressive ground game, landing two great shots from inside Minowa's guard. As for Jadyson, it was his first fight outside of Brazil and was a very good experience for him

Tatame: To what do you attribute Jadyson's loss to?

Rudimar: I think it was due to both inexperience and his debut. Jadyson wasn't able to do his game, but he will have another opportunity in PRIDE. He will continue to fight in Meca until then.

Tatame: Did you see Mario Sperry and Rodrigo Gracie's fights?

Rudimar: Of course. Ze Mario had a very quick fight. He threw a hard right cross which landed on the right spot, where it is suppose to land, and finished that fight without any injury to himself. I didn't get to see all of Rodrigo Gracie's fight, but from what I saw, and from what Rafael (Cordeiro) commented, he won the fight. He showed a good game a fought better.

Tatame: You brought (Jorge Patino) Macaco to Japan to introduce him to PRIDE. How did the Japanese recieve him? Do you have any good news?

Rudimar: He was brought to Japan to be introduced to the Japanese as Chute Boxe's newest fighter, and there is a possibility that he may be fighting in the next PRIDE. In fact, the promoters have already signed him. I want to try and have a Chute Boxe athlete on every PRIDE Bushido card.

Tatame: The Heavyweight GP takes place in April, and every GP should have a Chute Boxe athlete...

Rudimar: We have already chosen who our representative will be. It will be Murilo Ninja. He is training very hard and will take out everyone. We want him to be ready at a weight of 105 kg (231 pounds). Right now he is already weighing 100 kg (220 pounds). He'll be ready deliver some beatdowns.

Tatame: How do you see a possible macthup between Vanderlei and Vitor Belfort?

Rudimar: The promoters of PRIDE haven't talked to me yet about the possibility of this matchup. Vanderlei has signed a one-year contract with the Japanese, and he'll fight whoever they put in front of him. I think it's possible that this matchup can take place, but both fighters have to keep winning first. Vitor will most likely face Randy Couture again, and will probably get the winner of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. After all that takes place, this matchup might be possible after the middle of September, but not as a unification fight. It'll be a good rematch, Vanderlei should defeat Belfort easily. There is noone today that can beat Vanderlei in his weight category.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

By Tape Lord

Ken Shamrock

Hello my friends, Fightsport.com first reported the following matchups many weeks ago, but now our Zuffa informant 'Coffee guy' informs us once again that below are three of the main events that Zuffa would like to sign for UFC 48, scheduled for July 3rd in Las Vegas:


Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort
Frank Mir vs. winner of Tim Sylvia/Andre Arlovski
'Tank' Abbott vs. Ken Shamrock

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Randy Couture

Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock will be spending the next eighteen days in Hollywood, filming some scenes for an upcoming HBO movie.

The name of the movie is 'No Rules', and will feature Hollywood veterans Gary Busey and Pamela Anderson.

Couture is slated to be one of the main characters, playing the role of the bad guy. Shamrock's role in the fim is as Couture's number one student. Both of them will appear in many fight scenes.

Sources close to Couture say that both he and Shamrock will spend a few days training after their scenes in the movie are completed.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Vanderlei Silva (top)

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' reports that Vanderlei Silva will begin shooting his scene in the movie being produced by Dream Stage Pictures, which is owned by DSE/PRIDE.

Silva will be in a 5-minute scene in which he is fighting. According to Chute Boxe manager Rudimar Fedrigo, Silva's fight scene will show him fighting with the same ferocity that he displays in the PRIDE ring.

The movie is tentaively due to be released this September.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Jadyson Costa (right)

Brazilian magazine 'Tatame' recently interviewed Jadyson Costa. Here's what Costa had to say:


Tatame: How do you evaluate your international debut?

Costa: I thought Gomi was going to trade with me in the standup, he even came into the ring with Muay Thai shorts, which surprised me. Without taking anything away from him, what really happened was that I was close to the ropes in a position to stand back up, but they (the refs) moved the fight to the middle of ring with my back pressed to the ground.

Tatame: Did you agree with the referee stoppage?

Costa: It ended up helping him when the fight got moved to the middle of the ring. He got mount and started to strike, except that his strikes were nothing like what people were saying and didn't affect me. But he gave a look over to the ref that stopped the fight, as if to say that I was taking a beating. In reality, that's not what was happening. I didn't even bleed.

Tatame: Did the tension of debuting in PRIDE weigh heavily on you?

Costa: I was very nervous. I wasn;t accustomed to the atmosphere and magnitude of the event. It was a dream come true and I don't know how to explain what happened.

Tatame: Do you think that the "Little Vanderlei" nickname put too much pressure on you?

Costa: No, but I apologized to Vanderlei for not having been able to live up to the nickname that night. But Vanderlei gave me great advice and told me not to worry, it's the start of my career and these things are normal. He said the same things have happened to him, and that he already knows what I'm all about.

Tatame: What was the reaction of the Japanese after the fight?

Costa: I left the ring thinking I would never be asked to fight in PRIDE again. I even apologized to the promoters for not having been able to show what I worked on. Except that to my surprise, they said that everything was fine and that they would give me another chance, to train harder, and that they trust greatly in Rudimar and they know the potential of Chute Boxe. The fans over there are great, and they're very educated. They get really happy just by touching the fighters, even the unknown ones.

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Fedor (second from left) announcing his re-signing with DSE/PRIDE.

The Dutch media report that PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko has signed a new contract with DSE/PRIDE. Fedor was in Holland for last night's 2H2H show, and made the announcement in the ring.

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2 HOT 2 HANDLE
February 22nd, 2004
IMA
Rotterdam, Holland


MMA matchups:
Rodney Faverus defeats Cyrille Diabate by decision.
Michael Knaap defeats Roman Zentsov by KO at 2:24, RD 1.
Murad Chunkaev defeats Carlos Lopez by choke.

Muay Thai matchups:
Tyrone Spong defeats William Diender by decision.
Alviar Lima defeats Marco Pique by decision.



8-Man MMA Tournament:

Quarterfinals:
Ibrahim Magomedov defeats Sander MacKiljan by TKO at 1:31, RD 1.
Bobby Hoffmann defeats Ladislav Zak by decision.
Dave Dalgliesh defeats Pavel Dolgov by TKO at 3:19, RD 1.
Sander Thonhauser defeats Olaf Veld by KO at 0:09, RD 1.

Semifinals:
Ibrahim Magomedov defeats Dave Dalgliesh by unanimous decision.
Sander Thonhauser defeats Ladislav Zak by choke at 0:43, RD 1.

Final:
Ibrahim Magomedov defeats Sander Thonhauser by KO at 3:32, RD 1.

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K-1 World Max 2004
February 24, 2004
Yoyogi Stadium
Tokyo, Japan


Super fight:
Albert Kraus vs. Takashi Ono

Tournament:
Takayuki Kohiruimaki vs. Hayato
Kozo Takeda vs. Ken'ichi Ogata
Kazuya Yasuhiro vs. Serkan Yilmaz
Takehiro Murahama vs. Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto

Reserve fight:
Toshio Matsumoto vs. Tomo

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Absolute Fighting Championships 7
Friday, February 27th, 2004
War Memorial
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Doors Open: 6:30 pm
Fight Start: 7:30 pm


Card Subject To Change:

Marcel Ferreira vs. Izuru Takeuchi
Jorge Santiago vs. Takuya Wada
Edson Diniz vs. Hiroki Kotani
Thiago 'Pitbull' Alves vs. Nuri Shakir
Charles McCarthy vs. David Bielkheden
Crafton Wallace vs. Antony Rea
Gesias Calvancanti vs. Justin Wisniewski
Efrain Ruiz vs. John Wood
Sauli Heilimo vs. Carlo Prater
Hugo Berto vs. TBA

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SHOOTO
February 27th, 2004
Zurich, Switzerland

Marcelo Alfaie vs. Pierre Guillet
Luiz Firmino Buscape vs. Rafles La Rose
Vitelmo 'Catel' Kubis vs. TBA
Augusto F. Guimaraes vs. Sergio Platzer
Ricardo Pezao vs. Paul Jenkins
Ivan Mussardo vs. Dennis Kelly
Bram van Koppen vs. Patrick Decaro
Omar Marron vs. TBA
Ken Groh vs. TBA

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TKO 15: 'Unstoppable'
February 28th, 2003
Pierre Charbonneau Center
Montreal, Canada


David Loiseau vs. Jeremy Horn
Steve Vigneault vs. Chris Fontaine
Mark Hominick vs. David Guigui
Yan Pellerin vs. Bill Mahood
Stephan Potvin vs. Kyle Sanford
Mark Cambier vs. Todd Gouwenberg
Stephane Vigneault vs. Troy Quesnelle
Mark Colangelo vs. Mark Bocek
Kajan Johnson vs. Stephane Dube
Thierry Quenneville vs. Phillipe Lagace
Jonathan Goulet vs. Alex Gasson

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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KOTC
February 28th, 2003
Canton Civic Center,
Canton, Ohio


Kerry Schall vs. Jimmy Westfall
Jason Keaton vs. Aitor Canup
Tony Sylvester vs. Brain Peoples
Angelo Popofski vs. Jon Torrh
Josh Souder vs. Brad Mohler
Jeremiah Pocock vs. Eddie Sanchez
Jason Dent vs. Matt Brady
Forrest Petz vs. Mike O'Donnell
Drew Longshore vs. Dorian Price
Josh Hendricks vs. Jonathan Westfall
Jeff Cox vs. Mike Russo
Jamie Tony vs. Fred Parrish

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Naoyuki Kotani

ZST GT-F Update
March 7, 2004
Tokyo, Japan


ZST Grappling Tournament:
Jeff Curran vs. TBA
Hideo Tokoro vs. Masahiro Ohishi
Masakazu Imanari vs. Jiro Wakabayashi
Hidehiko Matsumoto vs. Noboru Asahi

Elimination Bout to get into Tournament
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Remigijus Morkevicius


Genesis tournament Line-Up :
Chikara Sato vs. Soichiro Kato
Kenzi Daikanyama vs. Hirotaka Miyakawa
Toshiaki Komatsu vs. Takatora Iwasa
Yusaku Hanakuma vs. Shinichiro Tsunagawa

Single Bouts:
Yuta Watanabe vs. Tsuneyuki Nozu
Takuya Fujisawa vs. Takeshi Sakamoto

You can check out ZST's english-language website by clicking here

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Naoya Uematsu

Ground Impact 3
March 7th
Differ Ariake
Tokyo, Japan

Professional BJJ matches:
Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa vs. Kazeka Muniz
Yuki Nakai vs. Alberto Crane
Toshiyuki Wado vs. TAISHO
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Daisuke 'Amazon' Sugie
Cristiano Kaminishi vs. Hiroshi Tsuruya
Mario Sergio Yokoyama vs. Koji Asakura
Cavalcante Junior vs. Naoyoshi Watanabe
Naoya Uematsu vs. Hiroyuki Abe

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Jeff Monson

Euphoria Entertainment presents: MMA 'RUSSIAN INVASION'
March 13th, 2004
Trump Taj Mahal
Atlantic City, NJ


Below is the complete card of the 'Russian Invasion' MMA show, which is being promoted by Euphoria Entertainment. The theme of the show is USA vs. Russia, with many up-and-coming American fighters facing off against fighters from the Russia's premier MMA team 'Red Devil'.

The fighters representing the USA will come from the following American MMA teams: American Top Team, Team AKA, Strasser's Freestyle Academy, Team Renzo Gracie, and Team Extreme.

Card Subject To Change:


Jeff Monson vs. Roman Zentsov
Moacyr 'Boca' De Oliveira vs. Andrei Semenov
Derrick Noble vs. Musail Alaudinov
Ben Rothwell vs. Ibragim Magomedov
Joe D'Arce vs. Denis Komkin
Trevor Prangley vs. Arman Gambaryan
Ron Faircloth vs. Sergei Kaznovski
Jason Maxwell vs. Serguei Goliaev
Justin Eilers vs. Mikhail Bogdanov
Tom Muller vs. Alexei Veselozorov


For more information call:
(609) 449-1000
(800) 825-8888

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Bob Sapp

K-1
March 14th, 2004
Bandaijima Messe Convention Center
Nigata, Japan

The following K-1 will consist of mostly MMA matchups, with a few K-1 rules fights on the undercard.


MMA PORTION OF THE CARD:

Main event:
Bob Sapp vs. Dolgosurem Sumbayazer
Peter Aerts vs. Steve Williams

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Josh Barnett
Kazuyuki Fujita
'Lyoto' Machida
T.K. Kohsaka
Yuji Nagata
Yoshihiro Nakao
Masayuki Naruse
Shinsuke Nakamura
Kensuke Sasaki

Fighters that may participate (either still negotiations, or may participate in next show):
Rickson Gracie
Kimo Leopoldo
Pedro Rizzo
Alexy Ignashov
Kosei Inoue
Enson Inoue
Genki Sudo
Sylvester Terkay
'Montanha' Silva



K-1 RULES PORTION OF THE CARD:

Fighters scheduled to compete:
Micheal McDonald
Eric 'Butterbean' Esch
Petr Vandrechek
Dewey Cooper
Tsuyoshi Nakasako
Tatsufumi Tomihira
Great Kusatsu
Toru Oishi
Masaaki Miyamoto
Hiromi Amada


Stay tuned for more news on the developing card.

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SHOOTO
March 22nd
Kourakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Class-A Bouts:
Jens Pulver vs. Naoya Uematsu
Kaoru Uno vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Class-B Bouts:
Akitoshi Tamura vs. Eiji Murayama
Heat Takeshi vs. BJ

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Ernesto Hoost

K-1 World GP 2004 Japan
March 27th, 2003
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan


K-1 announced the following matchups and fighters that will be participating on their March 27th show. The full line-up will be announced sometime next week:

Confirmed matchups:
Ernesto Hoost vs. Remy Bonjasky
Musashi vs. Akebono

Fighters confirmed to participate:
Shannon Briggs
Carter Williams
Alexey Ignashov
Jerrel Venetiaan
Cyril Abidi
Mike Bernardo
Jan Nortje

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SHOOTO GIG CENTRAL Vol.5
March 28th, 2003
Tsurumai Public Hall
Nagoya, Japan


Class-A Bouts:
Ryan Bow vs. Daisuke 'Amazon' Sugie

Class-B Bouts:
Naoki Matsushita vs. Ganjo Tentsuku
Hiroshi Umemura vs. TBA
Hatsu Hioki vs. Yohei Nanbu
Hiroyuki Tanaka vs. Akira Kibe
Takahiro Kajita vs. Toshikazu Iseno
Kenichi Hattori vs. Masaaki Yamamori
Atsushi Takeuchi vs. Takashi Yamamoto
Hayate Usui vs. Takeshi Matsushita

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Pancrase 2004 Brave Tour
March 29th, 2004
Korakuen Hall
Tokyo, Japan

Open: 17:30
Start: 18:30

Below are the matchups that have been announced so far for the Pancrase show on March 29th:


Yuki Kondo vs. Steve Heath
Keigo Takamori vs. Jun Ishii
David Terrell vs. Osami Shibuya
Eiji Ishikawa vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Yuichi Nakanishi vs. Hikaru Sato
Hidehiko Hasegawa vs. Seiki Ryo
Mitsuyoshi Sato vs. Yukiya Naito
Yuji Hisamatsu vs. Ichiro Kanai

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UFC 47: 'It's On!'
April 2nd, 2004
Mandalay Bay
Las Vegas, NV


Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell
Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski
Wes 'Cabbage' Correira vs. Mike Kyle
Jonathan Wiezorek vs. Wade Shipp
Robbie Lawler vs. Nick Diaz
Chris Lytle vs. Tiki Ghosn
Yves Edwards vs. Hermes Franca
Genki Sudo vs. Mike Brown

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European Vale-Tudo 2
April 4th, 2004
Stockholm, Sweden


Confirmed matchups;
Tor Olav Hauge vs. Jean Robert Monier
Mario Stapel vs. Hiro Kamikozono
Thomas Hytten vs. Dersu Lerma

Other fighters scheduled to participate:
Christian Dellevag
Aaron Blackwell
Diego Gonzales
Tchavdar Pavlov
John Oskar Hammer
Bobby Rehman
Joakim Engberg
Martin Kampmann

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K-1: 'Battle At The Bellagio II'
Friday, April 30th, 2004
Bellagio Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, NV


Fighters scheduled to compete:
Carter Williams
Michael McDonald
Dewey Cooper
Cung Le

Fighters that may participate:
Shannon Briggs
Francois Botha

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Jerome LeBanner

K-1: 'Dynamite'
May 19th, 2004
Japan

Below are the following matchups that have been announced for the K-1 MMA card on May 19th:


MMA matchups:
Bob Sapp vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
Alexey Ignashov vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Jerome LeBanner vs. Tadao Yasuda
Yuji Nagata vs. TBA
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. TBA
Genki Sudo vs. TBA

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Gilbert Yvel

'It's Showtime'
May 20th, 2004
Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam, Holland


MMA matchups:
Gilbert Yvel vs. Cheick Kongo
Joop Kasteel vs. Dave Vader
Rodney Faverus vs. Melvin Manhoef
Dave Dalgliesh vs. Barrington Patterson
Irma Verhoeff vs. Yoko Takahashi

Muay Thai/Kickboxing matchups:
Alexey Ignashov vs. Semmy Schilt
Rayen Simson vs. Sahin Yakut
Badr Hari vs. Aziz Khattou
Fikri Tijarti vs. Chris van Venrooy
Joerie Mes vs. Aschwin Balrak
Gago Drago vs. Stjepan Veselic

Boxing matchups:
Lucia Rijker vs. Lisa Holewyne
Regillo Aaron vs. Francisco Mora

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