Issue 025
May 2007
Lightweights light up The Ultimate Fighter 5
The new season of the UFC reality TV show, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) features 16 up-and-coming lightweights, coached by rivals BJ Penn and Jens Pulver.
Former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver and former UFC welterweight champion BJ Penn will act as coaches for the fifth series of the show, which has produced some of the UFC’s most memorable moments.
Whereas former TUF coaches Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock met at the end of the series but on a UFC PPV event, coaches Penn and Pulver will fight each other in the show’s live finale in late June.
The two fought previously in January 2002 at UFC 35, where Pulver won by majority decision in a five-round title fight. The series was filmed in Las Vegas earlier this year.
In another first for TUF, the cast for the fifth season features 16 lightweights, the first time the show has focussed entirely on one weight class.
The fighters are:
Allen Berube, Nathan Diaz, Robert Emerson, Manuel Gamburyan, Brian Geraghty, Corey Hill, Joe Lauzon, Gray Maynard, Brandon Melendez, Cole Miller, Gabe Ruediger, Marlon Simms, Noah Thomas, Andy Wang, Wayne Weems, and Matt Wiman.
Already rumors abound that the show will be one of the best so far, with advance copies promising fireworks in the first half-hour of the first episode!
Penn is said to have hijacked the initial team selection process by asking the lightweight fighters outright to state who they would prefer to train with, either Penn or Pulver. Ten of the 16 fighters vote for Penn, which heightens considerable tension between him and Pulver.
It also appears that the show has had an overhaul as the fighters have moved into a new house.
Plenty of drama is on offer as BJ Penn goes out of his way to make Dana White’s life difficult, and the occupants of the house praying that Nate Diaz (the younger brother of Nick, who recently tested positive for marijuana) didn’t smuggle weed into the house.
The show airs in the USA from April 5th.
Liddell vs. Rampage confirmed!
Chuck Liddell will get his chance at revenge on Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson on May 26, Jackson's manager Juanito Ibarra has said.
Jackson is the only person to have defeated Liddell that has not subsequently lost to him in a rematch. Jackson (26-6-0) had mentioned in interviews that he would have preferred another tune-up fight before facing the UFC light heavyweight champion,
Their first encounter in November 2003 saw Liddell stopped by Jackson in just over 13 minutes. Liddell (20-3-0) has not lost since, winning seven fights in a row with wins over Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Babalu Sobral, Jeremy Horn and more.
Jackson has a more patch record since defeating Liddell. He has fought ten times, losing three of those fights by either KO or TKO. Rampage made his UFC debut in February against Marvin Eastman, knocking out the Las Vegas-based kickboxer in two rounds.
Ortiz to face Rashad Evans
Former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz will return to the Octagon to face undefeated light heavyweight Rashad Evans.
The bout, which will feature on the undercard of Anderson Silva / Nathan Marquardt in July, will be Ortiz’s first since losing to Chuck Liddell on December 30th.
Posting on his MySpace page, Ortiz said “Well I just found out I will be fighting Rashad Evans on July 7th. I will have to beat down a few contenders to get another title shot. Rashad is a good fighter and I respect him (a little) but he stands in front of me to walk though.”
Sanchez and Diaz test positive for marijuana
American fighters Nick Diaz and Diego Sanchez have both returned positive post-fight tests for marijuana.
Diaz, who has left the UFC and recently fought on the Las Vegas PRIDE card against Takinori Gomi, tested positive for marijuana following his stunning submission win over the Japanese star on February 24th. According to the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Keith Kizer, Nick Diaz was the only person on the PRIDE 33 card to return a positive test for a banned substance.
UFC welterweight star Diego Sanchez was levied a fine $500 and suspended for three months following his December win over Joe Riggs for a similar test. The California State Athletic Commission, which officiated the Sanchez / Riggs bout, said that Sanchez has paid the fine and served his suspension, and will be able to fight Josh Koscheck on April 7 in Houston, Texas.
Sanchez and Diaz are two in a growing number of young MMA fighters who have tested positive for marijuana following a fight. WEC fighter Joe Pearson tested positive for the drug following his loss to Urijah Faber in January.
Gomi goes back to his roots
Following his loss to Nick Diaz, PRIDE lightweight Takanori Gomi returned to Japan to compete in the 13th Annual All Japan Combat Wrestling Championship.
Gomi famously ‘grew up’ under Combat Wrestling founder Noriaki Kiguchi as his protégé, and he has taken first place three years in a row, winning titles in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
The PRIDE lightweight champion won this years competition sporting a shaved head, a sign that he has taken his training seriously once again after heavy criticism that he has not prepared for his recent PRIDE contests.
PRIDE’s biggest match to date!
Wagner ‘Zuluzinho’ Martins is to tussle with Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch in quite literally the biggest fight PRIDE has ever seen!
With a combined weight of 740 lbs, Zuluzinho and Butterbean take to the ring in a heavyweight bout on PRIDE 34 in Japan.
Butterbean has a 9-3-1 record in MMA and holds a recent KO victory over James Thompson. The Brazilian, ten years junior to the former boxer, will return to PRIDE for the first time since losing in the first round to former heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira.
Gary Turner to enter MMA
K-1 fighter Gary ‘Smiler’ Turner will make his MMA return in 2007.
The heavyweight K-1 fighter and kickboxing champion holds titles and qualifications in various disciplines and was a judo and jiu-jitsu champion before entering the world of kickboxing.
Having been the UK’s K-1 heavyweight fighter for the last couple of years, he is to spread his wings by taking on a massive challenge on April 21st, that of Bob ‘The Beast’ Sapp.
Replacing the retired Buzz Berry, Turner will enter the cage after a layoff from MMA of eight years. He has a draw and a win in MMA, with both dating back to 1999.
Looking to stay busy in 2007, he will enter the cage one month later to face Tom Blackledge on Ultimate Force, to be held on May 19th in Doncaster.
Also featured on Ultimate Force will be a heavyweight match between Tengiz Tedoradze and Northern Irish fighter Colin Robinson.
Buzz to retire
Robert ‘Buzz’ Berry is retiring at the age of 36.
The former Cage Rage fighter, who had a record of 11-6-0, retired from the sport due to growing work and family commitments. Originally due to fight Bob ‘The Beast’ Sapp on Cage Rage 21, Buzz leaves the sport as he “does not have the time to train properly as a fighter”.
Berry began fighting in 2001 and first appeared in Cage Rage in 2004. A fan favourite, he sported the words ‘cage’ and ‘rage’ tattooed on the inside of his right and left biceps.
Lee Murray update
Lee Lamrani Ibrahim Murray, the half-Moroccan MMA fighter in jail for various offences, has been convicted of possession of drugs, drug use and of assaulting a police officer.
Wanted by police for a suspected role in Britain’s largest cash robbery, Murray was sentenced to eight months in a Moroccan prison for unrelated crimes. He was found guilty along with three other Britons by the Sale criminal court near Rabat.
The ruling came on the same day as a hearing on Britain's extradition request for Murray. “I prefer to stay in Morocco,” Murray told the court when asked if he wanted to be extradited.
Cage Rage secure TV deal
Cage Rage Championships have a new TV partner in Sky Sports, with their April 21st event will be aired live on the channel free of charge.
After weeks of negotiations, contracts were signed that will showcase the event to millions of fans across Europe. “We have worked with Sky Sports for about three years now,” says promoter Andy Geer. “But this deal is something else. On April 21st, we will be beamed live across Europe to a potential 15 million people.”
Co-promoter Dave O’Donnell adds: “We have a rock solid card, it features the best British and European fighters plus huge stars from America and Japan. As we stand right now sales have never been as fast. I think we will sell out well in advance this time.”
Jerome Le Banner injured
French kickboxer and MMA heavyweight Jerome Le Banner will be out for four to six months after suffering a knee injury.
Le Banner, a K-1 fighter who has recently fought an increasing number of MMA matches sustained the injury in training prior to his latest appearance in the K-1 ring.
He is due to undergo an operation on the knee and is expected to be out of competition for between four and six months.
TSUNAMI Fighting Championships
Peter Angerer of the German Top Team is to host a two-day event that will feature submission wrestling, amateur MMA and knockdown karate.
To be held on June 30th and July 1st in Stuttgart in Germany there will be C-Class MMA (no headshots during groundfighting), titles being contested in submission wrestling with newcomer, beginner and advanced categories as well as Shidokan-style full-contact karate that allows fast paced action with throws, chokes, locks and holds.
The finals of the amateur C-class MMA will be held during the show 'Fists of Fury 4: Rebirth’, a professional MMA show with fighters from Brazil, Germany and around Europe.
The advanced division of the submission wrestling competition will be fought without any time limits or points – the only way to win a match is by submission. The 5th German Shidokan Open will see fighters compete in bare-knuckle full contact karate, and fighters from around the world are scheduled to appear.
Big Bad Boyz
We like to think we’ve got a pretty good sense of humour here at Fighters Only, and we’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with the inevitable gay jokes that MMA seems to attract from ignorant beer bellied guys down the pub.
But there is a group of people in Germany who aren’t exactly helping the cause. The title of their next event, to be held in Leipzig on April 29th? ‘Big Bad Boyz!’
In what has to be the most homo name for a MMA event ever, even we are resigned to admit that the jokers may have a point!
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