Issue 023
March 2007
Couture the comeback kid
Randy announces return to the Octagon.
Some shocking news came from the UFC on the 11th of January. After much speculation and hinting, Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture has confirmed he is to return to mixed martial arts competition.
The former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion will return to face current heavyweight titleholder Tim Sylvia in an intriguing match up. They will meet at UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday, March 3rd.
Appearing on Spike TV’s “Inside the UFC”, Couture announced to show host Joe Rogan that he will not only make a return to the Octagon, but he will jump back into the division he began his career and take on “The Maine-iac” in a quest for the UFC world heavyweight crown.
Couture hung up his gloves after UFC 57 after suffering back to back knock out losses to Chuck Liddell. In an illustrious career Couture has captured the UFC heavyweight title no less than twice, as well as being the first man to hold titles in separate weight classes.
Speaking on the show Couture said “It’s hard to be around fighters and around this sport as much as I am and not want to compete. I just think that while I’m still physically capable of beating these guys and competing, it seems like the right time. I felt like it was time to get back into competition, starting with the grappling tournament [in November] in the Professional Submission League. It went well and I felt good in that, and I was thinking about fighting again for quite a while, and I was just waiting for the right opportunity. This opportunity came up, and I jumped on it.”
“I’m very excited about this fight, and I’m honoured to fight Randy Couture,” said his opponent Sylvia. “I wish him the best in training camp – when everyone counts Randy out, that’s when he pulls a win. But I definitely see myself winning, everyone knows I always go for the knockout, and I plan to go out there and knock Randy out. I will be at my best when I fight him, and I’m going put on the best fight anyone has ever seen out of me.”
Tim Sylvia (25-2-0), fighting out of Pat Miletich’s camp in Davenport, Iowa, is a two-time UFC heavyweight champion. First capturing the title by defeating Ricco Rodriguez at UFC 39 he lost the title to Andrei Arlovski at UFC 51, but regained it by knocking Arlovski out in the first round at UFC 59.
Former UFC champions Rich Franklin and Matt Hughes will also appear on UFC 68, with both men looking to redeem themselves after tough losses. Fighting out of Cincinnati, Ohio, Franklin (22-2-0) is the former UFC middleweight champion, but lost his title when he faced Anderson Silva in his third title defence. KO’d by the Brazilian in the first round, Franklin will be eager to get back into the Octagon and in front of a home state crowd for the first time in his UFC career.
Matt Hughes is the former two-time welterweight champion who held the title from November 2001 to January 2004. He recaptured the vacant welterweight crown again at UFC 50 (October 2004) but lost to Georges St.Pierre at UFC 65 by a second round TKO. Rumours that Hughes would retire were prevalent in late 2006 but with his loss to GSP it is now thought he has the fire to compete again.
International Fight League announces alliance with Fox Sports
The IFL has secured a long term free-TV deal with the channels FSN and MyNetworkTV.
FSN and MyNetworkTV have reached a strategic, three-tier television and new media programming alliance with the International Fight League (IFL).
“Mixed martial arts, which has evolved tremendously in recent years, is one of the fastest growing sports in the world,” said FSN’s President Bob Thompson. “In addition to FSN committing a regular weekly window to the IFL to help establish the league, News Corp’s broad array of digital platforms positions us perfectly to unlock and maximize the tremendous value of the league’s new media potential.”
Under terms of the alliance, FSN has multi-year rights to televise 22 one-hour late night event programs, produced by the IFL, beginning in the second quarter of 2007. The agreement also calls for FSN and the IFL to establish a joint venture to manage, maximize and distribute IFL-related digital media rights including online/Internet, broadband video and mobile.
In addition to FSN’s weekly program MyNetworkTV is planning to broadcast 22 two-hour programs. The IFL-produced programs for MyNetworkTV will be an exciting combination of event action, highlights, features, vignettes and the league’s latest news.
“We are thrilled to be working with the IFL and we look forward to developing action-filled programming based on their events for our viewers,” said Twentieth Television President Bob Cook. “The dynamic nature of IFL’s teamwork and competition also provides a colourful backdrop to go beyond the athletes’ lives outside of the ring.”
“This is a historic day for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, and we want to thank everyone at FOX for seeing this great opportunity and making it a reality,” said Gareb Shamus, IFL co-founder and CEO. “This partnership will give MMA in general and the IFL in particular a chance to showcase the personalities, training regimen and great skill and discipline that these athletes and their coaches have to a much wider audience both in the United States and eventually around the world.”
Cro Cop to debut with UFC in February
The Ultimate Fighting Championship have agreed terms with and signed kickboxer Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic. After much speculation, the announcement came during their December 30th show, putting months of rumours to rest. He will fight on UFC 67 alongside fellow PRIDE veteran Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson.
Filipovic, widely seen as the number two heavyweight in the world, has until now fought his MMA career exclusively in Japan. This will be his first MMA fight in a cage.
His opponent is scheduled to be Eddie Sanchez, a 6-0-0 230lb fighter from California. Sanchez has had one fight in the UFC, which he won by second round KO.
Filipovic is named Cro Cop due to his ‘day job’, which is that of a policeman in a SWAT-style elite unit in his home country of Croatia.
An extremely efficient kickboxer with a killer left high kick, the southpaw has a MMA record of 21-4-2. He was the winner of the PRIDE open weight tournament last September, which saw him defeat Wanderlei Silva by KO and Josh Barnett by TKO in the same night, both in the first round.
Jackson to face off with old adversary Eastman, Machida makes quiet debut against Hoger
WFA acquisitions Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida have been confirmed as also on UFC 67, with Jackson facing Marvin ‘the Beastman’ Eastman and Machida against ‘The Alaskan Assassin’ Sam Hoger.
The light heavyweight clash between Jackson and Eastman will be a rematch of when they met in 2000, in what was Jackson’s first professional fight. Eastman won by decision. Jackson, 25-6-0, is keen to redeem his loss to the Las Vegas-based kickboxer, and has stated he really wants to show the UFC fans what he is about.
Machida is an undefeated Brazilian fighter who holds a KO victory over Rich Franklin and has TKO’d Stephan Bonnar. 8-0-0, he has fought on promotions such as JungleFight and K-1 HERO’s. Hogar appeared on series one of The Ultimate Fighter and is 2-2 in the UFC with a 6-2-0 record overall.
Akiyama suspended by K-1 for cheating
Yoshihiro Akiyama, the judo Olympian and darling of K-1, has been indefinitely suspended for cheating in his fight with Kazushi Sakuraba.
K-1 matchmaker Sadaharu Tanigawa spoke with the media at a press conference in Tokyo and explained that Akiyama has been found to have used an oil on his legs which prevented Sakuraba for gripping him.
Sakuraba could be clearly heard to protest to the referee during the fight, but the result was declared a TKO stoppage in Akiyama’s favour. Later changed to a no contest, Sakuraba has said he is please that the result was overturned.
Akiyama entered the ring in his judo gi but removed it after the referee had inspected him. The fight saw Sakuraba dive for his trademark leg takedowns, and upon several of these failing, he was heard shouting to the referee. His protestations were ignored, and he stormed out of the ring after the fight was over in an unusual display of character. Claims that Akiyama had also used a loaded right glove were found to be unfounded.
Akiyama released a statement saying that he would accept whatever length the suspension would be, and claimed that the lubricant on his legs was a form of moisturiser for dry skin. This is not the first time he has been convicted of cheating in combat sports. Akiyama was embroiled in a scandal during his judo career that had him penalised for using slippery substances on his gi.
IFL to make its Nevada debut on June 16th, California opens its doors
The International Fight League has been granted a Nevada promoter’s license and has announced that its inaugural event in Nevada will take place on Saturday, June 16.
“The state of Nevada is the centrepiece of some of the greatest events not just in Mixed Martial Arts, but in all of fight sports, and we are very pleased to now join that group by hosting our first Nevada event,” said IFL Co-founder and Commissioner Kurt Otto. “We think the fans who will see the IFL for the first time in Nevada, in the hometown for Ken Shamrock’s Lions, will discover what fans in cities like Portland, Atlantic City, Chicago and the Quad Cities already know…that this event will compare well with any sports and entertainment event in terms of packed action and excitement.”
In a move which is very promising for the IFL, the state of California has approved the use of a ring for MMA competition. Until now all MMA bouts overseen by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) were required to take place in a cage.
The news was just in time for the IFL, whose first Californian event took place on January 19th in Oakland, California.
UFC 70 to be held in the UK
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming to England in April and will see Ultimate Fighter star Michael Bisping in action.
UFC President Dana White has announced that the newly created UFC UK division (which is headed up by UK and European director Marshall Zelaznik) will host their first event in Manchester. At the time of going to confusion abounded as to the exact date, but it is expected to be either the 20th or 28th or the month.
One of the fighters to be showcased will be undefeated light heavyweight contender Michael Bisping from Manchester. UFC is working with HBO to broadcast the event from England in the U.S. Other rumours include an Ortiz/Griffin rematch as a co-main event.
Domestic talent from the UK and opponents from mainland Europe are expected to round off the main card.
Cage Warriors: Showdown 3
Warrior Promotions has announced a March 4th show, to take place at Wolverhampton Civic Hall. Head lining the event will be 6-time UFC veteran Jeff "The Snowman" Monson, who returns to CWFC to defend his world heavyweight title.
The event will feature a mix of amateur, B-class and full professional MMA bouts as well as several Cage Kickboxing bouts. The show will contain the usual mix of local talent, new and up-and-coming prospects and a stellar upper card featuring some established UK and European based veterans. Tickets are available from the Wolverhampton Civic Hall Box Office, www.MMAuniverse.com and www.clubtickets.co.uk.
Daley vs Weichel for FX3 title
Welterweight star Paul Daley will take on German fighter Daniel Weichel for the FX3 World U77K Title in March.
Original opponent Danilo Cherman has had to withdraw from the fight against Daley due to injury. Daley will now put his FX3 welterweight championship belt on the line against Weichel, who is 12-2-0.
Weichel is regarded as one of the top Europeans in his weight class and is a King of the Cage, European Vale Tudo and CageWarriors veteran. He will make his FX3 debut on March 10th.
Christian Smith in Dallas, USA
Pain and Glory and Cage Warriors veteran Christian Smith (3-2-0) will be part of a Shooters MMA team to travel to "Art of War", an event that features Pedro Rizzo in his return to MMA. Rizzo will face Justin Eilers at the American Airlines Centre in Dallas, Texas.
Smith will face the unbeaten Las Vegas based fighter Eric Schambari (4-0-0) in a 20000-seater arena. Smith is coming off a TKO win at CW: Enter the Rough House against Michael Turner in December last year, while Schambari has some noticeable scalps in the form of Ricardeau Francois and UFC vet Sherman Pendergarst
Other European fighters to take part in this show are Kenneth Rosfort, Sonny Nielsen and Klas Åkesson. The full fight card can be found at www.artofwarlive.com.
Nick Diaz signs with PRIDE FC and EliteXC
UFC welterweight fighter Nick Diaz has left the organisation and signed a two-fight contract with PRIDE. He will make his debut with the Japanese promotion on February 24th in Las Vegas.
Cutting to lightweight for his fight at PRIDE 33 it is expected he will meet a top-level opponent with rumours pointing to either Takanori Gomi or Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, two of the top lightweights in the world.
Days prior to this news breaking, Diaz had also signed a non-exclusive deal with Elite Xtreme Combat, which has it’s first event in February. It is thought Diaz will appear on their tentatively scheduled May event.
It is expected Diaz will fight at the lightweight limit of 160lbs in PRIDE and the welterweight limit of 170lbs in Elite XC.
New UFC videogame to be produced by THQ
THQ Inc. has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Zuffa, LLC to begin work on a new Ultimate Fighting Championship video game.
“Ultimate Fighting Championship and THQ represent the perfect marriage of rich content and proven development capabilities,” said Kelly Flock, executive vice president of worldwide publishing, THQ. The UFC has experienced massive growth in the US of late with the key game playing demographic of the 18-34 year old.
Under the terms of the agreement THQ will create videogames for all current and next-generation consoles and PC and handheld platforms. Online, downloadable and multi-player capabilities as well as wireless rights have also been obtained, meaning the possibility to fighting someone in another part of the world with rival UFC computer game characters.
“Interactive is a critical opportunity for us to expand the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand,” said Dana White. “Our goal for the UFC games is to give our growing, global fan base the opportunity to experience the most exciting live sporting event in the world.”
The new line of THQ-produced games are expected to feature current and former stars as well as multiple modes of play and graphics superior to that of past UFC game titles.
Debi Purcell becomes assistant IFL coach
Female MMA fighter Debi Purcell has become the first woman MMA IFL coach.
Southern California Condors coach Marco Ruas appointed her assistant coach before the team’s clash with the Seattle Tigersharks.
Purcell, who has a professional record of 4-1-0 and has fought in the USA and Japan, has long been a student of Ruas and is the only woman to have achieved a black belt in his style of fighting. She also runs popular website FighterGirls.com, a point of call for all female MMA althetes and fans.
Purcell also recently featured on American TV channel MSNBC’s “Warrior Nation” program, a feature about MMA in America. As a result she has been invited to the Abu Dhabi Grappling Championships in 2007, which she plans to attend.
Lindland to fight Fedor?
2000 Olympic Games Greco-Roman silver medallist, IFL coach and UFC veteran Matt Lindland has been strongly linked with fighting Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko on the BodogFight event.
Lindland and BodogFight have confirmed to various news sources that he had agreed in principle to face the Emelianenko in April in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Known for fighting in the middle or light heavyweight divisions, Lindland has expressed an interest in the past in fighting at heavyweight “if the offer was right”.
Fedor was originally scheduled to face Jeff Monson in March on a BodogFight pay per view but it is thought that the Russian saw Monson’s loss to Tim Sylvia and deemed him unworthy as an opponent. According to sources though it could be that Monson fights on the St. Petersburg card against Fedor's younger brother, Aleksander.
Lindland has said he thinks he can get up to around 210lbs, whereas Fedor usually weighs around 230lbs for his fights. Before fighting any heavyweights Lindland must face Carlos Newton in an International Fight League middleweight super-fight on February the 2nd.
Hansen considers going to the USA
After losing to Shinya Aoki at PRIDE’s New Year's Eve event Norwegian lightweight Joachim Hansen has been linked with making a move to the USA.
“PRIDE is interested in renewing our contract,” said Hansen’s manager Marcus Jacubsen. “Things did not go the way we wanted them to, that wasn’t the Joachim I know in there [against Aoki], so the fighting business is a bit difficult now. We love Japan and will continue negotiating with Japanese promotions until early March or so, after that we’ll speak to others,” says Jacubsen.
Hansen fights at 160lbs but naturally walks around at 145 pounds. Having been Shooto 145lb champion, it is said he has been considering returning to the featherweight class.
“There is some opportunity for fighters of his weight in America,” says Jacubsen, “but it is hard to know how much a fighter like Joachim can get at that weight.”
The World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, recently purchased by the owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, regularly holds featherweight bouts (under 145 lbs) bouts which the UFC do not.
Dennis Siver signs with UFC
Dennis Siver of the OC Fight Team and one of the best German welterweights has signed to fight in the UFC.
His debut will come towards the end of April and is widely thought to be the UFC UK show. As yet no opponent has been named.
Siver was born in 1979 and is very experienced in judo, BJJ, and kickboxing. With a record of 10-3-0 Siver has fought on EVT in Sandinavia, WFC in Slovenia and Cage Warriors in England. He brings an exciting blend of sharp striking, big throws and slick ground work to the cage and will fight in the 170lb division.
Dan Henderson vs. Wanderlei Silva rematch!
PRIDE FC are putting on a rematch of one of the most entertaining, exciting and brutal fights of recent years as Dan Henderson meets Wanderlei Silva on February 24th in Las Vegas.
Silva, who has not fought since losing to Cro Cop last September, has a win over Henderson dating back to 2000. The two fought to a decision in a fight that saw Silva’s eye completely closed and Henderson take some brutal stomps to the face.
Fighting in Las Vegas under modified PRIDE rules, there is sure to be no love lost between these two. Henderson is the PRIDE welterweight champion (83kgs/185lbs) while Silva is the middleweight champion (93kgs/205lbs). It is not yet known what weight the fight will be made at.
Pedro Rizzo returns to the ring
After one year out of the ring Pedro Rizzo is back in action. On March 9 the Brazilian will face American fighter Justin Eilers on new promotion Art of War, based in Texas. It is said Rizzo is training hard to try to erase bad impressions left by recent losses.
A former UFC heavyweight contender, Rizzo is particularly remembered for his encounters with Randy Couture and he holds wins over fighters such as Josh Barnett, Ricco Rodriguez and Andrei Arlovski.
The Brazilian will face Justin “The Hammer” Eilers in the main event of the inaugural promotion, to be held at Dallas’ American Airlines Centre on Friday, March 9th.
Eilers (15-5-1 fighting out of Boise, Idaho) is undefeated in his last six fights. He was active in the UFC until suffering three back-to-back tough KO losses. Since then he has carved himself a path through mid-level shows, going 6-0 in the process.
Thiago Tavares coming to the UK?
The UFC have signed another European-based fighter in the form of the 14-0 Thiago Tavares. UK fans should know Thiago Tavares as he fought on Cage Warriors last March, defeating Daniel Weichel by decision. Tavares hopes to fight in the UFC in April in the lightweight division, possibly hinting at an appearance on the UK event.
