Newsday interviews Royce
By Zach Arnold | May 24, 2006
By Zach Arnold
Joe Fernandez of New York’s Newsday did an interview with Royce Gracie for their Thursday newspaper edition. Two interesting notes from the interview:
Joe Fernandez: How did you get signed for this match?
Royce Gracie: It’s an agreement between UFC and K-1 because I’m under contract with K-1. K-1 called me up and asked me if I wanted to fight and I said ‘sure’.
(Ed. note — This situation of booking a fighter through K-1 happened in March with BJ Penn as well.)
JF: Do you think the long layoff from UFC has hurt you?
RG: I don’t think it will hurt me, I’m still active in Japan. Just because I haven’t fought in the cage, I’ve been in the ring, I’m still fighting in front of crowds of 95,000 people. Just because I’ve been away from the UFC doesn’t mean I’ve been away from fighting. I fought a guy a couple of years ago who was 6-8, 490 pounds.
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“The biochemists”
By Zach Arnold | May 24, 2006
By Zach Arnold
In recent interviews that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has done with various media outlets (transcript here), Jackson has talked about having to deal with DSE’s “US office,” which is really just an office space in Los Angeles with Turi Altavilla (who used to work for King of the Cage, and is a hard worker) and the two DSE US bosses. Rampage doesn’t mention the two bosses by name (they would be Yukino Kanda and her husband, Hideki Yamamoto, who was the one who applied for a license with the Nevada State Athletic Commission), but eagerly points out that they have no experience in the fight game and are “biochemists.”
For the sake of clarification, Kanda and Yamamoto own Double Helix Intl. Inc., a California-based drug company out of Santa Monica. (
If you click on the Google link, the phone number listed for Double Helix Intl. Inc. is the same one that I remember used in the past to call the DSE US staff.) In the older PRIDE US PPVs, Double Helix Intl. Inc. was listed in the credits when Michael Braverman (of the famous Bloom & Braverman agency in Hollywood) was producing the shows.
One interesting item (something that insiders have known for a long time) is that Kanda & Yamamoto often “act” independent of DSE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, often cutting their own deals and making decisions (that’s the impression gaijin fighters have received, even though Sherdog articles in the past have talked about Sakakibara’s various visits to Los Angeles to talk over business deal). The question obviously raised is why would they have such power? While Jackson doesn’t touch on it directly, two questions immediately come to mind:
- Who is the ultimate boss in DSE if Kanda & Yamamoto act independently (which is questionable) of Sakakibara in terms of operations?
- How did Kanda & Yamamoto end up knowing the top DSE boss if they were not originally in the fight game in the first place?
There is an interesting audio interview with Rampage and Bryan Alvarez at F4WOnline.com.
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American money in China’s MMA scene
By Zach Arnold | May 22, 2006
The Voice of San Diego has an article about former American football player Rashaan Salaam being the force (money and investors) behind the Art of War promotion in Beijing, China.
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K-1 7/30 Sapporo event
By Zach Arnold | May 22, 2006
As noted earlier today on the Puroresu Power page, K-1 announced a World GP show booking for July 30th in Sapporo at Makomanai Ice Arena. Musashi vs. Ernesto Hoost is likely to take place on the show. The more interesting story comes from Nikkan Sports, which notes that Bob Sapp may end up working that show.
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Taking notice
By Zach Arnold | May 22, 2006
By Zach Arnold
The Houston Chronicle has a good article in their Monday edition of the newspaper, talking about MMA being hot property on US TV right now. It’s basically a UFC-oriented article with the usual pro-UFC spin about how they changed the rules (the same true/false mixed story), but one interesting twist is the commentary about how MMA is starting to fill a void with pro-wrestling fans who are growing tired of WWE-style wrestling.
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IFL debut TV show on Fox Sport Net
By Zach Arnold | May 21, 2006
By Zach Arnold
Sunday, May 21st was the date of the IFL’s TV debut on Fox Sports Net. If the purpose of the show was to look like a serious, legitimate contender to UFC — then they accomplished the task at hand.
Site Poll: Rate the IFL’s TV debut on FSN
MMA Snark review of the show. Stephan at MMA Toronto has his first reactions to the TV show.
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PR: EXTREME WARS X2 on June 3rd in Oakland
By Zach Arnold | May 20, 2006
Update: Vladimir Matyushenko has been added to the show, and he will be fighting Bristol Marunde.
Extreme Wars X2 promoters of MMA at the Oakland McAfee Arena, Oakland California are in the planning stage of presenting a Live-Streaming online PPV of the June 3rd MMA Show. This will provide the MMA Fans with an alternative to television based PPV that cost upward of $30.00 and require cable or sat. subscription service.
Recording in High Definition and Live Streaming will allow the fans with broadband service a real time experience at a fraction of the cost usually required by television based PPV. The team of Jeff Blatnick and Frank Shamrock will provide the viewers with commentary and insights from cage side.
The Hooters Bikini Contest winners will be providing between rounds ring card announcements.
Oakland is a sports destination worthy of the NFL and Major League Baseball and Extreme Wars believes MMA is ready to join these world famous sports as an equal. Please join us in person June 3rd in Oakland or go online to enjoy this card of professional fights. Check with us at www.mmahawaii.com for details for ordering this ground-breaking event.
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ACF Press Release (5/19)
By Zach Arnold | May 19, 2006
VECC CONTINUES AS AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHTING CEO
DENVER, COLORADO – American Championship Fighting(sm) Chief Executive Officer Rico Vecc appeared before Denver District Court Friday, to face sentencing for conduct stemming from a previous real estate venture. Vecc assumed responsibility for one count of securities fraud he incurred while engaging in a joint venture with business partner Sean Zweifel more than a year ago. The District Court judge decided that, with full restitution, Vecc would receive a 4-year sentence with immediate eligibility for a work-release program.
“I made some mistakes that resulted in legal charges. I accept personal responsibility for this and now I have to deal with the consequences. ACF had nothing to do with this; it is a completely separate matter,†stated Vecc.
Vecc remains committed to ACF(sm) and will continue to support the company as its CEO. “I want to reassure MMA fans that this in no way affects the operations of the ACF. American Championship Fighting was built from the ground up as a team effort from day one. It is not all about Rico Vecc. There are a lot of great people at the ACF that will ensure that the company will continue to thrive.â€
The ACF(sm) is a completely separate entity from Vecc’s previous real estate venture that resulted in the current legal situation. Apart from his involvement with both companies, neither business has anything to do with the other.
ACF(sm) President Josh Sylva will continue to manage ACF(sm) operations especially as the company works to finalize details for its July 15 show to be held at a venue to be determined. The July card is already slated to feature a title bout between current ACF(sm) welterweight champion John Cronk and top contender Donnie Liles, the debut of Wes Sims in the Ocho(sm), lightweight contender Dennis Davis’ return against Omaha’s Justin James, highly regarded middleweight Chilo Gonzalez, and more.
“We know that this situation does not come across well with MMA fans,†remarked Sylva, “but there are a lot of people involved in this company that have worked long and hard towards making the ACF a success. That is not about to change, in fact, we are ready to redouble our efforts to take the ACF to the top of the MMA world.â€
ACF reserves the right to modify the fight card.
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UFC 60 ‘Hughes vs Gracie’ – Preview and Analysis
By Al Yu | May 19, 2006
By Al Yu
Event Date: 05.27.06
Location: Staples Center (Los Angeles, California)
Fight Card (In No Particular Order):
- Jeremy Horn vs Chael Sonnen
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs Fabiano Scherner
- Alessio Sakara vs Dean Lister
- Spencer Fisher vs Matt Wiman
- Melvin Guillard vs Rick Davis
- Diego Sanchez vs John Alessio
- Mike Swick vs Joe Riggs
- Brandon Vera vs Assuerio Silva
- Matt Hughes vs Royce Gracie
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Fight Opinion Radio: Episode 19 (Rampage vs. Lindland)
By Zach Arnold | May 19, 2006
This week’s 80-minute show is presented by MMACalifornia.net and MonsterWrestlingRings.com. Our special guest is Todd Martin of http://www.wrestlingobserver.com, who was in attendance at the WFA press conference earlier this week. The WFA announced Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Matt Lindland for their July 22nd event. Todd gives us the inside story about the press conference and what plans are in the works. Plus, Todd gives us his perspective on what kind of threat the WFA poses to both the IFL & UFC.
Fight Opinion Radio lead host Rob Sayers celebrates his 25th birthday with an excellent show, including a preview of the UFC 60 show (Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie). Rob plays devil’s advocate and gives his reasons as to why he is not looking forward to that match. How does he see the match playing out? What kind of buyrate will it draw? Rob & Erin address these questions (and more).
We have three more segments on this week’s segment, each filled with news about upcoming events in America & Japan (including more information about Rob’s debut fight in Tupelo, MS. on June 3rd). You can send your birthday wishes to Rob Sayers by e-mailing him at [email protected].
The 19th 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
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Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, Fight Opinion Radio, Media, MMA, podcasts, Rob Sayers, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
M-1 & Red Devil coming to South Korea
By Zach Arnold | May 19, 2006
By Zach Arnold
The Dong-A Ilbo is reporting that Emelianenko Fedor, who’s visit to South Korea a few months ago made him very popular (especially his love of eating dog meat), may be influencing a prominent South Korean official to promote M-1 shows in September or October. South Korea has been a desirable market for both K-1 & PRIDE, but security issues are an even bigger problem there than they have been in Japan (as far as protecting business is concerned).
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Gomi on Fox Sports Net
By Zach Arnold | May 18, 2006
Source of YouTube video link: Sherdog
By Zach Arnold
Takanori Gomi made an appearance tonight on The Best Damn Sports Show Period on Fox Sports Net in Los Angeles. It was a surreal appearance, because the hosts (Chris Rose & Rob Dibble) were asking some interesting questions, with most of them sounding like what a hardcore fight fan would ask (what would happen in the ring if you faced Oscar De La Hoya? How will you make sure not to lose to Marcus Aurelio again? Who would you fight in an open-weight fight? Gomi’s answer: Vanderlei Silva.) Gomi spoke in Japanese and had a translator (named Yoji). Each man had a title belt with them during the interview.
Hideki Yamamoto, the husband of Yukino Kanda (of the PRIDE US office), appeared in the second-half of the TV appearance (along with Gomi’s translator, and his training partner Yuki). Basically, it was a “techniques of PRIDE fighting” segment, a demonstration sparring segment. Clips of Gomi’s appearance are available here.
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Masato vs. Kohiruimaki
By Zach Arnold | May 18, 2006
By Zach Arnold
K-1 announced the main card line-up for their World MAX 2006 show on 6/30 at Yokohama Arena. Card line-up:
- Yodsanklai Fairtex (Thailand) vs. Kamal El Amrani (Germany)
- TATSUJI vs. Yasuhito Shirasu
- Reserve fight: Rayen Simson (Holland) vs. Artur Kyshenko (Ukraine)
- Kozo Takeda vs. TBA
- Tournament: Buakaw Por Pramuk vs. Yoshihiro Sato
- Tournament: Albert Kraus vs. Drago (Armenia/IT’S SHOW TIME)
- Tournament: Andy Souwer vs. Virgil Kalakoda (South Africa)
- Tournament: Masato vs. Takayuki Kohiruimaki
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