Issue 026
June 2007
Brad Pickett and Rosi Sexton in BodogFIGHT
Brad ‘One Punch’ Pickett and Rosi Sdexton, the top female fighter in the UK, are to feature on the 3rd BodogFIGHT series, filmed in Coasta Rica.
Brad Pickett faces off against American wrestler JR Sims, while Sexton met Japanese kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter Windy Tomomi.
Other UK representatives to fight included the American Pierre Guillet, who met South African Trevor Prangley. Guillet is based in Cambridge and is a teammate of Robbie Olivier.
Results cannot be disclosed as the episodes featuring the above fighters have not yet aired. All episodes can be seen on BodogFIGHT.com, with the first of the new series available at time of going to press. Rosi Sexton’s fight will air on May 8th, while Brad Pickett’s will be available from April 24th.
Cage Rage 22 'HARD AS HELL'
The UK’s biggest native promotion will return to Wembley Arena on 14th July for another huge show.
Headlining the evening will be American boxer ‘Butterbean’ versus one of the UK’s top heavyweights, Tengiz Tedoradze.
As if that wasn’t enough, Cage Rage have booked a series of heavyweight fights with Brazilian Top Team leader Mario Sperry facing one of the UK’s pioneering MMA fighters, Lee Hasdell, who is making his return to MMA for the first time since 2004.
Supporting fights include Rob Broughton vs. Gary ‘Smiler’ Turner, Vitor Belfort vs. James Zikic (his injured leg permitting), Dave Legeno vs. UFC referee and heavyweight MMA fighter Herb Dean.
A light heavyweight clash featuring Mark Epstein and the infamous brawler Paul Cahoon should be one to set the crowd alight, as will the contest between Marius Zaromskis and Ross Mason.
Also featured will be K-1 fighter James McSweeney fighting MMA against Marc Buchanon, and Robbie Olivier vs. Ronnie Mann.
UFC at SENI07
Hot off the heels of their explosive event in Manchester in April, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced its sponsorship of Seni07, Europe's biggest combat sports show.
Seni07 takes place at the ExCel Centre in London on 19th and 20th May, and offers more than ever for UFC fans. Mixed martial artists will be given the chance to prove to UFC officials why they are the next Michael Bisping in tryouts for a future series of The Ultimate Fighter or a future UFC card. Seni07 will also be the location of the UFC's first official UK Octagon Girl search. The tryouts and the Octagon girl search will take place on the 19th of May only.
Although names are yet to be confirmed, Fight DVD and UFC will have some top UFC stars appearing exclusively on their Seni stand for meet and greets, signings and Q&A sessions, with some even stopping by the Fighters Only stand.
The UFC will share a stand with FightDVD. FightDVD Chairman Ian Allan and UK President of UFC Marshall Zelaznik have confirmed that the two companies will share a stand at Seni07 on 19th and 20th May, which will be a UFC experience.
“We have a very strong relationship with the UFC,” said Ian Allan of FightDVD. “With our knowledge of the British market we’re hoping to help push the UFC into the mainstream.”
For information on how to enter the tryouts or Octagon Girl search and for the latest news about UFC at Seni log onto uk.ufc.com.
Fists of Fury: Germany vs Brazil
Shidokan Germany will host the fourth edition of the hottest and toughest MMA competition in Germany on June 30th in Stuttgart.
‘Fists of Fury’ will bring some of the best MMA fighters from around Europe and Brazil into the ring. The fight-card of the event will feature Germany's when almost the entire German Top Team enter the ring to battle against opponents from Europe and Brazil.
The 1,400 seater arena will have modestly priced tickets at only 19 euros for standard admission. Tickets are available through online ticket seller MMAUniverse.com.
The main card will consist of A-Class bouts and will be a Germany vs. Brazil theme.
At 70 kg Daniel "Rednose" Ackerman will take on Willamy Freire of Brazil, while welterweight Mario "Spiderman" Stapel meets Josenildo de Oliveira. Peter ‘Yamatodamashii’ Angerer, the had of the German Top Team and Shidokan Germany, takes on Andre de Oliveira, while the 120 kg giant Thorsten "German Oak" Kronz is to fight an as yet-unannounced opponent. In a lightweight title match Franco DeLeonardis will fight Rivano Regiz.
The Baltic States hot up
Northern Europe has been seeing a rash of MMA events recently. The Scandinavian countries have long been known to be a hotbed of activity, but now countries such as Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are getting in on the action.
April 14th saw a large-scale MMA event in Tallinn, the capital city in Estonia. A fourteen-fight card of mixed martial arts action saw Estonians, Belorussians, Lithuanians, Finns and Latvians meet, and there were even appearances from fighters from as far away as Germany, Kazakhstan and Japan!
Guillard tests positive for cocaine
UFC fighter Melvin Guillard has tested positive for cocaine in a post-fight drug test.
The TUF series 2 contestant fought fellow lightweight Joe Stevenson in the main event of UFC Ultimate Fight Night 9, held on April 5th.
Guillard, who is 20-6-2 in MMA, was submitted with a guillotine choke in only 27 seconds.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission released the information that he tested positive for cocaine metabolite.
Guillard is the latest in a growing list of fighters who have tested positive for banned substances. The Louisiana resident could be subjected to a suspension and or a fine.
NSAC statement on Diaz drug ban
The Nevada State Athletic Commission's controversial explanation for overturning Nick Diaz’s win over Takanori Gomi has been met with criticism.
Dr. Tony Alamo, a medical doctor working with the NSAC, stated at a hearing that Diaz “only won because he was so intoxicated by the effects of marijuana that he became numb and thus didn't tap out to Gomi's punches.”
Dr. Alamo went on to say that had he not been under the influence Diaz would have lost the bout. Alamo addressed Diaz at the hearing and said “I was at that fight and you came in glossy-eyed.”
Diaz has admitted to having smoked marijuana but not on the day of the fight. “I was the co-main event and was there for four hours before my fight. The room I was in was full of people and officials, how could they think I came in stoned?”
Cesar Gracie, Diaz’s manager, was furious with the decision and hit out at the NSAC. “They railroaded Nick on this one. He did something stupid as far as I'm concerned when he failed the test and I told him he would be fined and suspended. However it was clear that they were looking for a reason to overturn Nick's win. They had absolute no reason to believe he was on anything in the fight and their far-fetched speculation was the only way that they could overturn his win. I wonder how people like that can sleep at night.”
IFL moves from Reno to Vegas
The Las Vegas Hilton will host it’s first ever MMA event as the International Fight League announced that it will move its June 16th event from Reno to Las Vegas.
“We were presented an opportunity for this breakthrough event in Las Vegas, and we felt it is an opportunity we could not pass up,” said IFL CEO and co-founder Gareb Shamus. “Our steady progress throughout our first year of existence [the first IFL event was only held April 29, 2006] has resulted in some great opportunities that we could not have predicted, and this move to work with the Las Vegas Hilton for this event is the latest one. It is a very exciting day for us, our athletes and for all the MMA fans in Nevada.”
Shamrock vs. Baroni confirmed!
Frank Shamrock will engage in another grudge match come June 22nd, as the former UFC middleweight champion battles knockout artist and loudmouthed showman “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni.
The pair will fight for the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title. The fight will be the main event of “Judgment Day,” a live, Pay Per View televised Strikeforce-EliteXC promotion, to take place in Shamrock’s hometown of San Jose, California.
Minotauro signs with the UFC
Former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
The 6’3” Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert has not fought since New Year's Eve 2006, where he defeated former UFC heavyweight champion by decision.
The signing was originally thought to be part of the recent Zuffa / PRIDE dealings, but was in fact due to Nogueira becoming a free agent. He was not under contract with PRIDE when signed by the UFC and will not represent the Japanese organization in any way.
Nogueira had been sat ringside with UFC president Dana White at Ultimate Fight Night 9 on April 5th, but the deal was not confirmed until literally hours before his appearance at UFC 69 on April 7th.
29-4-1 in mixed martial arts competition, the 31-year-old fighter has fought in Japan since 2000, but has previously fought in a cage, competing in the now-defunct WEF in 1999.
Anderson Silva honored in Brazil
On the 21st of April Predator FC paid tribute to Anderson Silva, who they describe as “the super-hero of the American Octagon”. The Muay Thai stylist and BJJ black belt received a present from the promoter of the event, Ana Hickmann.
Wishing to honor Silva’s success in the USA, he was quoted as saying "the minimum that we can do is to pay homage here".
