Issue 100

April 2013

Australia has suddenly contributed something more to global MMA than Elvis Sinosic, Kyle Noke and George Sotiropoulos. It’s called Footbrawl, and it’s crazy. Although the MMA-meets-football-meets-Gladiators concept was apparently created in the ‘80s to help martial artists train in a more realistic environment, it’s only recently been brought to the attention of the wider world.

A team game where two squads of five wearing protective equipment attempt to put an oval ball in their opponent’s net by any means possible. There are three referees, two goaltenders with pugil sticks, and fighting amongst participants encouraged. But unlike the previous team-based MMA creations Fighters Only has brought to your attention (Ultimate Ball, Fight Football League and Hip Show), Footbrawl has both female, and children’s teams across the country. Whatever next?

1:50

The UFC on FX 7 main event between Vitor Belfort and Michael Bisping in Sao Paulo, Brazil, finished at about 1.50am local time.

M-1 Global sets heavyweight Grand Prix for April

Russian promotion M-1 Global has announced it will hold a heavyweight grand prix on April 9th. Booked for St Petersburg at M-1 Challenge 38, former UFC heavyweight contender Jeff Monson will participate, as will M-1 Global heavyweight champion Kenny Garner and Magomed Malikov, who knocked out Aleksander Emelianenko in 23 seconds in 2011. The rest of the field was yet to be announced at the time of going to press.

17

Less than a year after its founding, the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation has announced governing bodies in 17 countries as members.

Tokyo, Japan: Akiyama takes his sexiness to Japanese fashion magazines

UFC welterweight Yoshihiro Akiyama has transposed his world-renowned sexiness from the Octagon to Japanese fashion periodicals. Known fashion icon ‘Sexyama,’ as he is known in the West on account of his pleasing physical appearance, posted shots on his Japanese-language blog of Nippon men’s style magazine Bitter, which featured him modeling a selection of slick outfits. Such as an olive green pilot jacket matched with hot pink jeans and boat shoes.

Both men and women have reportedly been feinting at newsstands across Japan when observing the images, due to the radiating of Akiyama’s overpowering Fonze-like cool. Potentially fictitious Japanese fashionista Tino told FO: “Akiyama’s sexiness blended with that level of debonair-punk style is a revelation, and scientists are predicting increases in male virility and bumper harvests across the country.” You heard it here first.