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Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

IFL show in The Quad Cities?

By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2006

By Zach Arnold

The Quad-City Times newspaper reports that Monte Cox has approached Scott Mullen, the executive director of The Mark of the Quad Cities in Moline (Illinois), for booking an IFL event at that building on September 23rd. That event would feature Pat Miletich vs. Renzo Gracie, with the fight taking place on Miletich’s home turf in a 9,000-seat building.

Topics: All Topics, IFL, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Bushido 6/4 Saitama results

By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2006

Click on the permalink to access them. Claimed attendance of 13,371.

Continue reading this article here…

Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

K-1 6/3 Seoul results

By Zach Arnold | June 3, 2006

At today’s show at the Olympic Gym in Seoul, South Korea, journeyman K-1 fighter Yusuke Fujimoto won the Seoul GP tournament. Choi Hong-Man defeated Semmy Schilt by decision. Ray Sefo quickly beat Ruslan Karaev. Full results here.

Topics: All Topics, K-1, Zach Arnold | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |

The IFL has new coaches

By Zach Arnold | June 2, 2006

By Zach Arnold

Sherdog reports that the IFL has booked Pat Miletich vs. Renzo Gracie in a fight to happen at a future IFL event. Plus, the promotion announced Matt Lindland, Carlos Newton, and Mark Coleman as new team coaches. Bas Rutten, Pat Miletich, Renzo Gracie, Maurice Smith, and Antonio Inoki will also be coaches.

Topics: All Topics, IFL, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Fight Opinion Radio: Episode 20 (UFC 60 review)

By Zach Arnold | June 2, 2006

This week’s 40-minute show is presented by MMACalifornia.net and MonsterWrestlingRings.com. This week, we review the UFC 60 show that took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Is Matt Hughes really a true “ace” that the UFC can draw big business with? We know what kind of fighter he is skill-wise, but what about the intangibles that go along with being a superstar? We answer some of those questions.

The 20th edition of Fight Opinion Radio is now online and available to download. Here are your options for listening to the show:

Broadband (MP3) | Dial-up/Streaming

Continue reading this article here…

Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, Fight Opinion Radio, Media, podcasts, Rob Sayers, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

PRIDE opens Tokyo gym to the public

By Zach Arnold | June 1, 2006

By Zach Arnold

Nikkan Sports reports that DSE will be opening up their gym in Tokyo up to the public, as they hope to use it as tool to develop new talent and also to bring in some of their fighters & managers for lectures.

It’s interesting, because the spotlight is now away from the Takada Dojo and now onto this facility.

Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Ryan Bennett dead

By Zach Arnold | June 1, 2006

By Zach Arnold

Ryan Bennett, the creator of the MMA Weekly news site, has died after being killed in a car accident. Please donate to the Ryan Bennett Family Fund.

Whaledog comments | Sherdog statement | KSBY article | Greg Savage article | San Luis Obispo Tribune article | UFC official statement

Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

PRIDE Bushido 11 ‘Survival’ – Preview and Analysis

By Al Yu | June 1, 2006

By Al Yu

Survival

Event Date: 06.04.06
Fight Card:

* Welterweight Tournament Match

Continue reading this article here…

Topics: Al Yu, All Topics, MMA, PRIDE | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |

“K-1 & UFC Strong Tag Alliance”

By Zach Arnold | May 31, 2006

By Zach Arnold

Today’s Nikkan Sports newspaper has a bombastic article talking about an “aggressive” tag team between K-1 & UFC, with both sides starting heavy co-promotional deals. The article talks about Chuck Liddell maybe working the HERO’s 8/5 Ariake Colosseum show in Tokyo (or the August K-1 Las Vegas show), with Kazushi Sakuraba and Norifumi “KID” Yamamoto working in America. Dana White is quoted in the article as saying that Sakuraba and Yamamoto are great fighters and that he would like to see them in UFC.

The article goes on to claim that the UFC 60 show (Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie) drew 20,000 fans at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (the real attendance is lower) and a claim of 800,000 PPV buys (don’t ask me where they get these numbers). K-1 views their tie-up with UFC as the best way to expand into the American marketplace.

Topics: All Topics, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Bob Sapp’s side of the story

By Zach Arnold | May 31, 2006

By Zach Arnold

The pressure on K-1 has just picked up. Bob Sapp’s side of the story about the K-1 Amsterdam fiasco has been relayed on the MMA Ring Report web site. Compare this report to what the Japanese have been claiming and what Simon Rutz is claiming.

Topics: All Topics, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

CBC Newsworld – MMA Feature Story

By Luke | May 29, 2006

By: Luke Nicholson

CBCNews Sunday with Evan Solomon, had a feature story on Mixed Martial Arts, or as they called it, Extreme Fighting. Throughout the piece they used both terms. It was discerning because “Extreme Fighting” gives it a more rogue sound than Mixed Martial Arts. MMA sounds much more professional. Evan talked about how controversial the sport is, and how its banned in Ontario, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. He also reminded the viewer that this story may seem inappropriate to some, but the network is showing it anyway. That was a good way to make the CBC seem like it was taking a risk.

The story had a little bit of history, but it had a local focus, following David Loiseau leading up to his fight with Rich Franklin at UFC 58 (wow, this was taped a while ago). It tried to parrallel Loiseau’s life story, with the story of MMA’s rise in popularity. While it worked in some respects, it failed in others. It talked about the car accident that David Loiseau was in when he was seventeen, and tried to compare that with UFC following the cable ban. If David Loiseau’s life had been saved with some sort of miracle surgery, then I would agree with this comparison, but I don’t think it did. Zuffa literally took UFC off its death bed, without Zuffa UFC doesn’t exist today. They spoke to David Loiseau about how he feels before a fight, his family, religion, and all that good stuff. According to this piece, David’s mom doesn’t watch his fights. David admitted to being scared before each fight, but he pointed out that he channels that fear positively. Interesting.

It went all the way back to the days of Greek Pankration when they talked about the roots of MMA, and then fastforwarded to 1993 with the inception of UFC. Evan spoke with Dana White about how UFC was originally marketed. Of course Dana talked about how it was marketed as a blood sport – “Two men walk in, one walks out” fight to the finish. It had the common factual errors about who introduced time limits, weight divisions, ringside judges, etc. Funny, how all these documentaries always seem to feature Dana White, and those factual errors. Hmmm?

They even had footage of the only death to ever take place in MMA, even though it was an unsanctioned event in the Ukraine where it took place, and boxing and high school football probably have higher death rates. There was a long discussion over the safety of MMA. With it being argued that there should be longterm safety studies done, etc. before its legalized across Canada. Proponents of MMA then argued that other sports have experienced more deaths, and they’re still operating. This is true. Boxing, Football, and other sports have experienced far more deaths than MMA, and their legality isn’t being debated, is it?
They spoke with a beat writer for the Nova Scotia Chronicle Herald about MMA. He’s opposed to it. He said “anytime someone grabs another person by the throat, it scares him”. And, apparently if you have to be told to stop punching someone in the face, then there is obviously something wrong with it. Well, then maybe MMA just isn’t the sport for you, is it. He was honest enough to admit his love of boxing though. In contrast, the head of the Nova Scotia Boxing Authority was in favor of legalizing MMA in their province, so CBC at least tried to present both sides of the argument. Even though it was a little slanted toward the anti-MMA contingent.

Dana White and Joe Rogan were also part of the feature. Dana White claimed that given one hour with the Ontario Boxing Commission, he could have MMA legalized there. Maybe, but I think thats a little bit of hot air. He also predicted, or stated I should say, that MMA would be the most popular combat sport in the world within five years. Also, a stench of hot air comes with that remark. Joe Rogan gave a beautiful soliloquy about death, which will surely be played back by every opponent this sport has. “Death happens, its part of life. People die all the time. I think its more honourable to die in an octagon, than to die in a bed, while peeing yourself”. Those were the words of Joe Rogan. I guess there are things money can’t buy – good spokespeople.

At the end, Evan came off very well when he spoke about the backgrounds of the fighters, and talked about Rich Franklin being a former math teacher, and other fighters being former policeman with families, etc. As opposed to some boxers who often say “If I wasn’t boxing, I would be in jail, or dead”. But, hey, according to Joe Rogan, being dead aint so bad.

Overall, MMA came off as a budding sport, still trying to make its way out of the darkness, which is semi-accurate, but to be truthful, I think you’re completely out of the dark when you have a tv deal with SpikeTV, that includes a weekly one hour reality series, six live fight specials per year, and twenty six one hour episodes of “Unleashed” a program which airs previously aired UFC fights on each episode.

Topics: All Topics, Canada, Luke Nicholson, Media, MMA, UFC | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Nevada state athletic commission in crosshairs

By Zach Arnold | May 29, 2006

By Zach Arnold

Update: Reid statement on free tickets.

Keep your eyes on Technorati (or try this search) to read reaction to this story.

The Associated Press reports that the Nevada State Athletic Commission gave Democratic senate leader Harry Reid free ringside boxing tickets in exchange for influencing legislation on federal regulation of boxing. Picture here.

Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission when Reid took the free tickets, said one of his desires was to convince Reid and McCain that there was no need for the federal government to usurp the state commission’s authority. At the time, McCain and Reid were pushing legislation to create a federal boxing commission.

Somehow, I think this may be a minor scandal compared to what could happen in the future… How will UFC respond to this, given that Ratner is now a VP with them?

Continue reading this article here…

Topics: All Topics, Media, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Royce Gracie for Japanese new MMA fan

By T2y-Sano | May 29, 2006

By Tetsuya Sano

今更僕が言うまでもなくホイス・グレイシーはマット・ヒューズに敗れた。 完敗、文字通りの完敗。 伝説は現実に全くといっていいほど敵わなかった。

Royce Gracie lost to Matt Hughes, and that was a totally complete defeat. The legend was no match for reality.

ブロック・レズナーに血を吐かされたハルク・ホーガンのように敗れたホイスは力無かった。

Like Hulk Hogan spitting blood by Brock Lesnar.

だからと言って柔術、そして総合格闘技のパイオニアであるホイスの功績はホーガンのそれ同様全く色あせることはない。

The distinguished service of Royce as the pioneer of kakutougi (MMA) and jiu-jitsu does not fade (similar to Hogan in wrestling).

しかし、90年代初頭のＵＦＣでの活躍をリアルタイムで体験していない僕のような比較的新しい世代の日本人総合格闘技ファンにとって“伝説”ホイス・グレイシーを初体験したのはPRIDEＧＰ2000での高田延彦戦。

In the 90s the legend of Royce in real time in UFC is similar to what Japanese kakutougi (MMA) fans experienced with Nobuhiko Takada.

当時の僕は寝技がよく分からなかったが総合格闘技の練習を始めて少しはそれも分かるようになった。しかし、あの試合に対する意見は全く変わらない。

『つまらない』, この一言に尽きる。

“boring,” that’s all.

伝説となった桜庭戦でもホイスは90分間一方的に打ちのめされ桜庭の引き立て役の“ズル賢いグレイシー一族最強の男”これが僕達に与えられたホイス・グレイシーの印象。

An impression of Royce Gracie is that Royce was knocked down by Sakuraba who became a legend for the 90-minute fight.

このホイスvs桜庭以前から新しいファンにとってグレイシーはヒールだった。

When Royce vs. Sakuraba happened, the Gracies were the heels.

ホイラー・グレイシーは桜庭戦で完璧なチキンウィングアームロックに取られた上でのレフェリーストップ負けの結果に徹底的に抗議したしホイス・グレイシーはPRIDEトーナメントルールに不服を申し立て桜庭戦を判定なしの無制限ラウンド戦とした。

This started after Royler Gracie wouldn’t give up on the arm-lock Sakuraba applied and the referee stopped the match. Also, Royce wanted his own special rules instead of PRIDE tournament rules (such as the unlimited rounds versus Sakuraba).

(それもあって桜庭はボブチャンチンからジャーマンスープレックスを二度も食らうことになる)

Sakuraba got the German Suplex by Vovchanchyn twice.

正直、当時の“新しい日本人ファン”にとってのヘンゾ以外のグレイシー一族の心象は最悪だった。 いや、ひょっとすると今でもかなり悪いものかもしれない。

Newer Japanese MMA fans thought the worst of the Gracie family. Except for Renzo, the image of the Gracie family was heels.

ホイスは間違いなく伝説の格闘家だ。伝説は色あせないが現在進行形の現実はそれを塗り替える。そして僕＝新しいファンはそれを歓迎してしまう。
またイマの現実はいつしか伝説となり未来の現実に同じように塗り替えられる。 そうしてプロ格闘技の世界は続いていく、僕はそれを望んでやまない。

Royce is certainly a legendary martial artist, and his legend does not fade. However, the reality of the present situation establishes a new standard. I welcome it.

ついでに付け加えるなら僕はホイラーのサブミッションレスリングの解説書を参考にしアーネスト・ホースト同様自分のブログでは勝手に“師匠”と呼び尊敬しているｗ

I refer to the commentary book of submission wrestling of Royler (Gracie) and also “a master” like Ernesto Hoost.

ｂｅｓｔであることと同様に１ｓｔであることも重要なんだろうね

Is it important that 1st means you are the best?

Topics: All Topics, Japan, MMA, PRIDE, Tetsuya Sano, UFC | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

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