Issue 142
June 2016
Star Sighting
Wallabies on tour
International Australian sports stars Saia and Anthony Fainga’a were certainly two of the biggest fans cageside at the UFC’s Fight Night in Brisbane. The rugby union twins circled the cage to get snaps with the night’s biggest winners, along with local middleweight standout Robert Whittaker and women’s 135lb champion Miesha Tate.
Celebrity Dojos
The joke’s on you
Katt Williams found out the hard way that he should probably try training at his local BJJ academy after he was dominated on the ground when some trash talk during a friendly game of soccer escalated quickly and got physical. The controversial comedian threw the first punch at his 12th-grade rival, but he was instantly taken down and put into a rear naked choke.
As seen on screen
Devil may dare
Every episode of Netflix’s Daredevil features gritty MMA-inspired fight scenes, but episode three’s hallway battle hits new heights of martial arts madness. Rumored to have been filmed in one take, the hero (Charlie Cox) uses his Muay Thai training to run through a pack of bad guys with more off-the-wall strikes than Anderson Silva.
Devon Sawa
The Final Destination star on MMA and bringing it to the screen
On his favorite fighters
“I love watching the Diaz brothers and I was a big fan of Fedor (Emelianenko). The only piece of fan merchandise I own right now is a BJ Penn sweatshirt, so that says a lot about him. Georges St Pierre, being from Canada, was also my guy. Plus, I also like Conor McGregor.”
On MMA addiction
“I am a hard-core fan. I follow a bunch of the podcasts and radio shows. I’m pretty addicted. I got the bug, that’s for sure.”
On live events
“The UFC has spoiled me on a few occasions. I was at the Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson fight, sat right behind Dana (White). That was amazing, but the one that was really crazy was the Georges St Pierre vs. Carlos Condit fight in Montreal. It felt like the building was going to come down. You get this electric buzz and it’s like a European soccer match.”
On great leaders
“Greg Jackson reminds me of Steven Spielberg. That quiet kind of aura, with the wheels turning and always progressing and moving forward.”
On training
“Around 12 years ago I booked a trip to Southeast Asia and I tried Muay Thai. It was just one of the places on the side of the road. So when came back to LA I just kept it up. I ended up at Legends MMA, which was cool. I still do jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai.”
On big-screen fights
“Rich Clementi did the choreographing for The Philly Kid and it was just a bunch of dudes on set having a good time. In Louisiana we had a bunch of legit fighters coming through and it was really cool. We kept the story really basic and kept the fights as legit as possible. It’s a good little MMA film.”
On playing ‘Stan’
“Dr Dre was a big fan of Final Destination. He brought me in on that project. He co-directed it. Working with Dre, who I grew up listening to, and then Eminem was a great experience. Still looking back to this day, I had a lot of fun filming it.”
Cali Dreaming
Who better to carry cards on the West Coast?
From partying with Tom Hanks and Sarah Jessica Parker to hanging out with Paul McCartney, the world has changed for British ringcard girl Francoise Boufhal, who ditched the UK three years ago and, after two years in the Big Apple, is now enjoying the SoCal lifestyle. She’s still kicking shields to stay fit, carries cards on a couple of local MMA promotions and is aiming for an opportunity with one of the planet’s leading organizations this year. After seeing these pics, surely the UFC, Bellator and the rest will be falling over themselves to sign her up.
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