Fight Camp / Team News - Page 1

Heading into his UFC 107 contest with Stefan Struve, much of the talk surrounding Paul Buentello's training camp – or rather, his lack of one. Forced out of his normal routine at California's American Kickboxing Academy, Buentello (27-11 MMA, 3-2 UFC) scrambled to find a suitable training home. But as his UFC on Versus 1 bout with Cheick Kongo (14-6-1 MMA, 7-4 UFC) approaches, little word has escaped about where "The Headhunter" was getting ready. Buentello recently said there's a reason for that.

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When you’ve won six fights in a row in the UFC lightweight division, it’s difficult not to be earmarked as the next title contender. Gray Maynard knows there are no guarantees, though. The former Michigan State wrestling champion faces Nate Diaz this Monday at UFC Fight Night 20 in Fairfax, Va., in a rematch of their early 2007 bout on “The Ultimate Fighter 5.” And the pragmatic lightweight said a win won’t necessarily translate into a title shot against B.J. Penn. “I don’t really know what (the promotion’s) talking about, but I got to get past Nate,” Maynard told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog” show on Monday. “There’s a lot of guys who are probably like, ‘Yeah, I’m close to a title shot,’ so I’m just one of those guys I guess.”

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Georges St-Pierre fights for a living and regularly goes up against some of his closest friends in sparring. But the Montreal mixed martial arts star draws the line at facing one of his training partners for real in the cage. That's because he knows if that were to happen, he'd have to hurt them. "You can say 'Oh I'm going to play football, I'm going to play hockey, I'm going to play baseball.' But you can't say I'm going to play fighting. It's not a game," the UFC welterweight champion told fans last month during a question-and-answer session prior to UFC 105 in Manchester, England. "It's a sport, yes, but it's a full-contact sport. And the way I fight, my so-called friend, if I fight him, it can affect his well-being.

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When Affliction went down in flames, Paul Buentello decided he might want to go to the UFC. Dana White's feelings on Zinkin Entertainment are well known, and Buentello decided to replace Bob Cook and get a new manager. As a result, Buentello was suspended from the American Kickboxing Academy, where he's trained since 2000: According to the fighter and his long-time trainer and friend, Dave Velasquez of Nor Cal Fight Factory, the dispute arose when Buentello replaced Cook with a new manager. "I’ve always came to this crossroads, if I ever go back to the UFC, I gotta have somebody on board that’s gonna sell me like I’m the best thing since sliced bread," said Buentello. The native Texan believes that someone is Elis Pacheco of New York-based Dedos Marketing Group, which has worked with Ice-T, Fat Joe and Beyonce Knowles. Cook, Buentello’s former manager and trainer, declined comment.

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CALDWELL -- A Nampa man accused of killing his stepson last Christmas will spend up to 15 years in prison. Back in September, a Canyon County jury convicted 48-year-old James Malec of voluntary manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Justin Eilers. Eilers was a pro mixed-martial arts fighter and former Nampa High School wrestler. Deputies say Malec shot Eilers in a disturbance that escalated during a family gathering on Christmas night 2008. ...

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A heavyweight showdown between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez has been confirmed for UFC 108 in Las Vegas. The possibility of the bout arose last week when Nogueira’s manager talked about the fight to SportTV. MMAWeekly.com has since been able to confirm the bout with multiple sources, who say it will happen on Jan. 2. ...

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Andrei Arlovski is set to visit Greg Jackson’s MMA Academy in Albuquerque, N.M., for a 10-day training camp in the coming weeks. The former UFC heavyweight champion will be joined by his jiu-jitsu instructor Dino Costeas and will continue his primary training under the Team Pitbull moniker out of Chicago. However, the former sambo champion is hoping to pick up some new skills from Jackson, his staff and his formidable stable of athletes to rebound from back-to-back knockout losses.

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by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Aug 12, 2009 at 5:30 am ET Yet another high-profile amateur wrestler is heading to the world of mixed martial arts. Daniel Cormier, a two-time Olympian and the U.S. squad's 2008 Olympic team captain, was a two-time JUCO national champion and NCAA Division I runner-up at Oklahoma State University in 2001. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the move from Zinkin Entertainment & Sports Management, a high-profile agency that now represents Cormier. Cormier, who will train with other collegiate-wrestling champions such as Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck at American Kickboxing Academy, is expected to compete in the light-heavyweight division upon his MMA debut. Cormier's wrestling accomplishments are in no short supply. Among the feats are three high-school state championships in his native Louisiana, a 117-6 collegiate record that included three-time All-American honors, six U.S. senior national championships and a fourth-place finish at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. While many fighters compete in relative obscurity early in their careers, Cormier is likely to follow in the footsteps of former amateur wrestling champions such as Ben Askren and "King" Mo Lawal and garner immediate attention.

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Vadim Finkelstein discusses negotiations with the UFC and the terms it will take to lock up Fedor Emelianenko in this exclusive video interview conducted after Wednesday's M-1 Global press conference. Finkelstein also talks about future options for the world’s top heavyweight mixed martial artist. Doesn't sound good... and what is with not letting Fedor have the contract with Affliction, but have M-1 have the contract with Affliction?

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When Pride Fighting Championships met its end, the value of mixed martial arts teams seemed to diminish, too, as athletes were emphasized more for their own value, independent of the team they represented. This trend has increased even more in Brazil, as Brazilian Top Team and the Chute Boxe Academy suffered several cuts and stars such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Paulo Filho, Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua left their respective training camps. The only team not to suffer any major losses during this period was Nova Uniao. Names like Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, Thales Leites, Wagnney Fabiano and Jose Aldo -- born and raised on a team led by Andre Pederneiras -- continue to shine in international events. According to Pederneiras, Nova Uniao has about 50 professional athletes on its roster, including Ribeiro and the young Eduardo Dantas, who fought Masakatsu Ueda for the Shooto 132-pound championship last weekend. Made famous in the 1990s by the brilliant showings of its lighter weight athletes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitions, the team made a seamless transition to MMA, winning titles in major events like Shooto (Ribeiro), Cage Rage (Ribeiro), the International Fight League (Fabiano) and Pancrase (Marlon Sandro). “Our team went from BJJ to MMA,” Pederneiras said. “As we already had a very strong team in the lighter weights, basically my BJJ team migrated with the same success to MMA, so we just continued the work. But we’ve also proven that we can do it with heavier guys. Thales Leites is an example. The more that come here, the more we’ll do it.” Although the recognition has come only in recent years, the team began to take its first steps more than a decade ago, with Pederneiras himself fighting in international events and Rafael Carino emerging victorious at UFC 9 in 1996. “Rafael Carino was my first athlete who fought in MMA, then Joao Roque and some others,” Pederneiras said. “Even when I fought, I did not have an MMA team. I called some people for training, but most of them had never fought MMA before. Only when Shaolin began fighting MMA could I bring in more people. Then we really had a team.”

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The original bout was called off on the day of weigh-ins "due to a medical approval issue regarding (Ryan) Jensen," stated UFC officials at the time. Independent sources confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the alleged medical issue stemmed from Jensen's use of Adderall, which is not allowed under standard athletic commission rules. According to drugs.com, “Adderall is a central nervous system stimulant. It affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control. ... ...

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If you saw the first episode of Serra's video blog, you know how entertaining it is. In this episode Matt gets a haircut, takes a drug test for the UFC, among other things. Check it out!

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USA Wrestling is excited to announce a new alliance to provide leadership for USA Grappling, its national program in the sport of Grappling. International respected coach Ricardo Liborio of Coconut Creek, Fla. has been named the National Coach for USA Grappling. “Ricardo Liborio brings credibility to our Grappling program,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. “We are confident that we will not only sustain our competitive excellence but will take it to a new level with Ricardo on our team. USA Wrestling is committed to maintaining our dominant position in international Grappling.”

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After more than 20 years of work at Chute Boxe, one of the most recognized MMA coaches from Brazil, Rafael Cordeiro, announced that he is no longer part of Chute Boxe gym. The Chute Boxe style remains, but the separation from Chute Boxe is clearly in place. Cordeiro wasn't overly specific as to the why. The end result, however, was a new opportunity for the vaunted MMA pioneer.

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Managers and agents are fast becoming an endangered species backstage at UFC and WEC events. Zuffa, the company that owns and operates both promotions, has notified select fighter representatives that they will no longer receive credentials from the promotion to sit with their clients backstage on fight night. The reasoning behind the UFC’s decision varies according to the source. Some say the move is yet another strike in a campaign to separate fighters from their business representatives. Others say Zuffa is making a reasonable attempt to control unnecessary backstage traffic and lighten overcrowded dressing rooms of freeloaders. The latter explanation loses traction, however, when the promotion has not enacted a blanket policy across the board, which brings into question if the move is more personal than procedural. Of five separate fighter representatives and their firms that spoke to Sherdog.com, two said they were told that credentials would no longer be doled out to them shortly after UFC 94 on Jan. 31. These firms were also denied backstage access in person at UFC Fight Night 17, UFC 95 and UFC 96, as well as WEC 39, which took place March 1 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Both reps said Zuffa would give no reason for the change in policy when asked over the phone and in person. “You don’t ask questions of them. You know how that goes,” said one manager, who, like multiple fighter representatives interviewed, would only speak on the condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions. Zuffa’s public relations department did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment on the promotion’s sudden shift in policy after eight years. Outraged managers and agents said the silent treatment speaks to a greater issue that Zuffa is trying to keep hidden behind closed locker room doors. “They’re divisively trying to split management and fighters,” said one representative. “They’re trying to de-power the managers and agents to create a wedge between them. They give locker room bonuses and say, ‘This is from Dana [White] and the UFC -- nobody else.’ They’re telling fighters they can go directly to them. They’re telling fighters they’ll be doing sponsorships themselves in the near future that will put the managers and agents out of business. They’re trying to minimize the managers’ and agents’ role in the fighter’s life so they can better control salaries.”

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Interesting video showing Nogueira's new gym in Brazil, as documented by undefeated heavyweight contender Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal. Video features Junior Dos Santos, Vitor Belfort, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, among others.

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The sweat had not yet dried when accusations began to fly against welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre after his lopsided victory against B.J. Penn in the UFC 94 main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Not long after his win, St. Pierre and his corner, including trainer Greg Jackson, came under fire for allegedly using a “greasing” agent between rounds. Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer on Monday confirmed improprieties had occurred in the champion’s corner after the first and second rounds. “After the first round, one of my inspectors came to me and told me he thought he saw one of the cornermen -- I believe it was Phil Nurse … after putting Vaseline on [St. Pierre’s] face, he saw him rub his shoulders, and it appeared as though he might not have wiped off his hands,” Kizer said. “After the second round, we observed Mr. Jackson putting Vaseline on Mr. St. Pierre’s face and then putting his hand on his back.” At that point, Kizer attempted to get Jackson’s attention from outside the cage. “I don’t think he heard me because of all the noise in the arena, so I immediately walked into the Octagon myself -- I’ve probably done that two other times in my career -- and told him to take his hand off Mr. St. Pierre’s back,” he said. “We took a towel and wiped off his back. After the third round, we went in again and made sure his back and shoulders were wiped off to ensure a level playing field.” Kizer informed Penn’s camp of the situation after the bout ended. Penn’s manager and brother, J.D., told Sherdog.com on Sunday that the Hawaiian’s camp planned to file a complaint with the NSAC, but, as of Monday afternoon, Kizer had not heard from Penn’s representatives. Penn has 10 days to file...

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Here is a Gif to judge for yourselves... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B.J. Penn's Camp Files Formal Complaint Over Vaseline on St. Pierre's Back Between Rounds B.J. Penn's camp has filed a formal complaint with the Nevada State Athletic Commission over Vaseline that was allegedly rubbed on Georges St. Pierre's back between rounds one and two. UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference that he was aware of the complaint, and said he personally witnessed members of the commission take the Vaseline away from GSP's camp and rebuke them in the Octagon between rounds. "I saw the commission jump up there and flipping out," said Dana White. They said one of the guys was rubbing Vaseline on Georges' back in between rounds. It was one and two, I think." "The guys from the athletic commission went up there and started screaming at them. Knocked the Vaseline and kicked the Vaseline out of the Octagon." White added that "some Vaseline on a guy's back didn't change the outcome of that fight, but you don't do it," and said the blame should fall on the cornerman responsible and not GSP. "If a guy was intentionally putting Vaseline on a guy's back, he should never corner a mixed martial arts fight again." As for what becomes of the complaint now, White said it's out of his hands. "Who knows. That's up to the commission." Source: http://www.cagepotato.com/bj-penns-camp-files-formal-complaint-over-vaseline-st-pierres-back-between-rounds

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The episode featured some of BJ's unusual training methods, as well as the all star cast that GSP brought in for his training camp.

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BJ Penn is angry about how he was portrayed in the first episode, GSP brings in some all star training partners, among other things. Give it a look!

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