Quick anti-virus program links
By Zach Arnold | April 1, 2009
If you aren’t already using a combination of anti-virus and malware/spyware removal tools on your system, make sure to get at least a commercial product plus some free-version solutions to protect your system.
Of course, if you use a Mac and not a Windows system, you feel a bit more secure in your computer usage as far as viruses go.
Some suggestions for Windows users:
- Go download the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. It’s a 10MB file. Easy download and fast tool to use.
- Check out this Symantec update on getting rid of the new April Fool’s worm making its way onto all sorts of machines.
- AVG has their famous free-edition anti-virus program for download.
- Avast is a good program to use (I like it based on my personal experience of using it) and try out.
- Spybot S & D is a must-have, but definitely requires daily updating.
- Ad-Aware is a fast tool that now offers online protection as well as basic virus scanning.
Topics: Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Final heat-up for tonight’s Ultimate Fight Night event in Nashville
By Zach Arnold | March 31, 2009
Michael David Smith has a tale-of-the-tape on tonight’s UFC fight between Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann. Josh Stein has a full show preview here. Here is the card line-up. There will be plenty of attention on the fact that Carlos Condit now trains in Arizona instead of New Mexico:
“I really had to take a step back and look where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do with my career,” Condit said. “I felt like I wasn’t improving anymore training there, and I really needed guys who were on my level to train with. So that was the bottom line for me.”
Vaughn sees it differently. “Do I think Carlos went out there and got into a better program at Arizona Combat Sports? Absolutely not. Does he have better training partners? Yeah, probably. But he had some good ones here too.”
While Vaughn can’t help but feel as if Condit’s new crew will reap the fruits of his efforts, he said the way in which Condit ended the relationship by e-mail instead of in person sent him into a “bit of a tailspin.”
The Arizona Republic has an article talking about the Arizona MMA contigent fighting on tonight’s Spike TV event. Ryan Bader, like Carlos Condit, says he is happy to be fighting from the bottom of the UFC ranks in hopes of climbing to the mountain top.
Tonight’s Nashville event is a lead-in to the new season of The Ultimate Fighter, with the USA vs. UK theme. However, don’t expect much heat between the two coaches (Michael Bisping & Dan Henderson):
As for the relationship between the two coaches, Bisping said he tried having a go at the laid-back Henderson but without too much success. Bisping, 30, and Henderson, 38, are slated to fight at UFC 100 this summer.
“I’ve got to fight the guy in July so a little bit of bad blood along the way doesn’t do any damage for me, when I’m training to fight somebody,” said Bisping. “But as I said, Dan’s a gentleman. I tried to push his buttons a few times. Maybe I’m the younger and slightly less mature out of the two. As I said, I tried but he didn’t really bite too much.”
Here is a profile article on one of the fighters on this season’s show, DaMarques Johnson from Utah.
Kelvin Hunt tries to look at the big picture in regards to The Ultimate Fighter. Dave Meltzer has a new article talking about the Junie Browning conundrum and how the expectations for TUF differs between Spike TV (more Junie Brownings & Monster Lobsters) and UFC (Forrest Griffin & Rashad Evans).
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The attempted heat-up for UFC’s big Wednesday night on Spike TV
By Zach Arnold | March 31, 2009
The Canadian Press sums up this season of The Ultimate Fighter and, well, practically every other season:
Co-executive producer Andrea Richter serves as the show’s behind-the-scenes ringmaster. A veteran from Day 1, Richter marshalls the small army on hand to document every moment of the fighters’ lives.
“There’s no place in their world they can escape us,” Richter explained during a visit to the house during shooting of Season 9.
There are surveillance cameras located throughout the house and training centre to alert producers what’s happening 24-7. Producers call camera crews into action when something promising is developing – or just have them roam around the fighters.
Inside the training centre, there’s even a surveillance camera in the washroom.
The fighters are even filmed in transit. Cameramen accompany them in the vans used to take them from the house to the gym and back. “We get some of the best conversations in the van ride,” according to Richter.
The Las Vegas Sun has an article on Junie Browning and his ‘bad boy’ image:
“I acted like a fool on TV, so of course I have more to prove,” Browning said. “I think a lot of people think that I made it up when I said that I was out of shape on the show, but I really was.
“I think when they see these next few fights and the conditioning I have now they’ll realize that it was just a show for me.”
Browning will fight on this Wednesday’s UFC event in Nashville at the Sommet Center, where a crowd of 9,000+ is expected in attendance to watch Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann fight in the main event. Condit says that he’s just another fighter in UFC instead of having the pressure of being a headliner in WEC:
“I’m not the guy with the target on my back anymore. I’m a guy who’s just trying to make a name for himself again.”
Ricardo Almeida, who is fighting on the Nashville undercard, recently was involved in a Q & A session with New York’s Newsday publication.
On an additional UFC sidenote, UFC 101 will take place this August in Philadelphia… at the big Wachovia Center. Zuffa will have to make sure to give these kids front-row passes.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 14 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC 4/1 Nashville card line-up
By Zach Arnold | March 30, 2009
TV: Spike TV, 8 PM EST
Venue: Sommet Center, Nashville (Tennessee)
Lead-in for new season of The Ultimate Fighter (US vs. UK)
Dark matches
- Middleweights (185 pounds): Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen
- Middleweights (185 pounds): Tim McKenzie vs. Aaron Simpson
- Middleweights (185 pounds): Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo
- Middleweights (185 pounds): Jorge Rivera vs. Nissen Osterneck
- Welterweights (170 pounds): Brock Larson vs. Jesse Sanders
- Middleweights (185 pounds): Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich
- Lightweights (155 pounds): Gleison Tibau vs. Jeremy Stephens
Main card
- Lightweights (155 pounds): Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller
- Lightweights (155 pounds): Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos
- Light Heavyweights (205 pounds): Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero
- Welterweights (170 pounds): Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 20 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Magical Mayhem on MTV with Bully Beatdown
By Zach Arnold | March 29, 2009
I had heard the buzz about Mayhem Miller’s new MTV show Bully Beatdown and figured that since it drew such a strong initial cable rating that there must be something to the show.
Never did I expect to watch a fight-related show that could end up being as potentially successful as Punk’d or Pimp my Ride. However, Bully Beatdown has all the ingredients to become a big smash on MTV.
Continue reading this article here…
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Updated K-1 3/28 Yokohama Arena WGP card
By Zach Arnold | March 28, 2009
Event results here. More show thoughts here. The claimed attendance was 10,328. The main headline in all the major Japanese newspapers covering the event was Maeda winning the K-1 heavyweight belt and becoming a native star.
- K-1 Heavyweight Title tournament match: Keijiro Maeda vs. Melvin Manhoef
- K-1 Heavyweight Title tournament match: Gokhan Saki vs. Tyrone Spong (Suriname)
- K-1 Heavyweight Title tournament finals
- Remy Bonjasky vs. Alistair Overeem
- Peter Aerts vs. Errol Zimmerman
- Jerome Le Banner vs. Ewerton Teixeira
- Jun’ichi Sawayashiki vs. Glaube Feitosa
- Takumi Sato vs. Hiraku Hori
- Plus undercard fights featuring Mitsugu Noda and Takashi Tachikawa
The reason given for Chalid “Die Faust” Arrab’s absence is influenza.
Next event: World MAX 2009 World Championship Tournament – Final 16 at Fukuoka’s Marine Messe
Topics: Japan, K-1, Media, Zach Arnold | 31 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The second anniversary of PRIDE’s death
By Zach Arnold | March 27, 2009
I will have an article coming up this weekend about this topic, since it’s a story I invested many years in covering on a daily basis. However, let me point you to this Total MMA article to get you started on what I will be focusing on in my upcoming article. Read it. There are some points that need to be addressed that haven’t yet, but will be in due time.
A quote from the Total MMA article:
The events that transpired following the death of PRIDE and its subsequent purchase by Zuffa are then glossed over. We are reminded that the UFC does own the tape library of PRIDE and sells their DVDs, as well as uses the video to promote their fights, all the while able to keep that video from being promotionally tied to other organizations (such as Affliction). Along with that, two of PRIDE’s belts were able to be “unified” with their UFC counterparts, forever linking the current lineage of the 205 lb and 185 lb titles to the “true” championship of the sport. As with the UFC welterweight title before it, the owner of the belt is the undisputed and true champion of the sport. Those were all successes. To list the failures, however, is a far longer list.
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 13 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Boxing: Eddie Chambers vs. Samuel Peter
By Zach Arnold | March 27, 2009
What a painfully frustrating fight this was to watch. (Watched this tonight on ESPN2 from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.) “Slow” Eddie looked like he was in mediocre shape and Samuel Peter looked like he could barely move.
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Video interview: Rafael dos Anjos
By Zach Arnold | March 27, 2009
Rafael is set to face Tyson Griffin in Nashville on April 1st for UFC.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
CA DOJ: Tests find calcium and sulfur (plaster) in Margarito hand-wraps
By Zach Arnold | March 27, 2009
So sayeth The LA Times. This will be the lead story on tonight’s ESPN telecast of Eddie Chambers vs. Samuel Peter.
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 15 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
K-1 March 2009 event notes
By Zach Arnold | March 25, 2009
Some fights announced for K-1’s World GP event in Yokohama (3/28 Yokohama Arena):
- Remy Bonjasky vs. Alistair Overeem
- Badr Hari vs. Errol Zimmerman
- Jerome Le Banner vs. Ewerton Teixeira
- Glaube Feitosa vs. Jun’ichi Sawayashiki
- K-1 Heavyweight Tournament match: Melvin Manhoef vs. Chalid “Die Faust” Arrab
- K-1 Heavyweight Tournament match: Ruslan Karaev vs. Gokhan Saki
- Tournament winners face each other later in the night
Topics: Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 35 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
CSAC puts a stop to Pankration Tournaments
By Zach Arnold | March 24, 2009
Got this note from Grappling X:
The California State athletic Commission just called us and said that no one can do Pankration Tournaments anymore. We will be switching the San Bernardino event on April 18th to a Gi and No-Gi tournament.
We will keep everyone updated as we get more info.Thank you for you support.
GX
Update (3/25): Grappling X sent out this mailer:
Email from William Douglas Asst Exec Director of the CSAC
All,Your concerns are being addressed on the issue of Pankration. Let me update you on where we are at this point in time.
- A legal opinion has apparently been drafted in regard to Pankration as a sport in the State of California
- I, on behalf of the CSAC, have requested a copy of that legal opinion for immediate review
- Interested parties in this matter as well as interested parties related to amateur mma will be invited to the first Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Committee meeting – date and location TBD
- Pankration, as a sport in California, is going to be placed on the agenda for the June meeting of the California State Athletic Commission
- Stakeholders and interested parties will have the opportunity to speak to the Commission at the June meeting during the public comment period on the subject matter
- Pankration competitions will continue in California at this time as long as the rules of Pankration are adhered to and do not use the term “Pankration” as a mask to hide behind the fact that the event is really “unregulated mixed martial arts”
- California State Athletic Commission Inspectors will now be attending Pankration events in the State of California to observe the event and ensure that the rules are being adhered to
- CSAC Inspectors will have the ability to issue a cease and desist letter on the spot during an event if at any time the event begins to turn into mixed martial arts
- Event coordinators for the Pankration events will now be required between now and the June Commission meeting to contact CSAC about the event so that CSAC staff may attend the event to “observe”
- Information relayed via telephone by CSAC staff is consistent with the message that Pankration is being observed at this point for a decision in the future on whether the sport remains as it is or shall fall under the jurisdiction of the California State Athletic Commission as a regulated sport
- Qualified data needs to be gathered before a blanket decision to “wipe out” a sport is levied
- CSAC may issue a cease and desist letter to any “Pankration” event that is not forwarded to CSAC so that Inspectors may attend the event to “observe” the rules being implemented during the competition
I hope this communication clarifies the issue moving forward.
It is not the intention of the Commission to senselessly bring an end to grappling sports in the State of California. However, we will shut down events that are hiding behind the mask of Pankration when in reality the event itself is unregulated mixed martial arts.
Thank you.
Bill Douglas
Assistant Executive Officer
California State Athletic Commission
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 2010
Sacramento, CA 95815
Topics: Media, Zach Arnold | 11 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Misc. site notes
By Zach Arnold | March 23, 2009
First, I wanted to give an update to proposed legislation in New Mexico that would have banned MMA. According to New Mexico Combat Sports, the bill is now dead.
Second, wanted to address the issue of some feeds going down on the left sidebar. In the case of Fightlinker, there’s a problem on their end (SQL-related) in terms of an RSS or ATOM feed output. (Try loading their feed and you’ll see all the coding errors.) As far as the Yahoo columnist feeds go, the program we use to cull the feeds for some reason adds extra coding (a *) to the URL and it breaks the link down. Unless I can find a fix to the program that culls the feed and stops adding that symbol, the links for the individual columnists will be a problem. I will try to get this fixed soon (I hope).
Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |