Other Combat Sports News - Page 1

Who have been the most influential men in 2008? Over the past 12 months, which guys have had the biggest impact on the way other men behave, buy and think? We at AM have a good enough idea to have assembled the shortlist of candidates youll find below. Now we need your help in determining the final 49. Follow the steps outlined below to build and submit your own Top 49 list. Your picks will be combined with those of other AM readers and our staff to produce the final list: the Top 49 Most Influential Men of 2008.

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The 2008 Summer Olympic Games and their vast commercial reach could serve as a launching pad for the next mixed martial arts superstar. With NBC, MSNBC, the USA Network and various Internet outlets providing more than 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage, a medal-winning athlete with a compelling story could be in perfect position to crossover to MMA. After all, it has happened before. Many Olympic wrestlers and judokas from various countries have gone on to give MMA a try. Some enjoyed more success than others.

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MMA star Andrei Arlovski, the former UFC heavyweight champion from Belarus, has been training for a boxing career under the tutelage of trainer Freddie Roach. Arlovski, who has an MMA bout July 19, likely will make his professional boxing debut Sept. 13 (HBO PPV) in the opening fight on the Casamayor-Marquez card in Las Vegas, according to Golden Boy.

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Daniel Herbertson was on location in Tokyo to witness the second day of K-1 Max and Dream's Akasaka Fight Festival, where Shinya Aoki (Pictures) and Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) took to the mat for a grappling exhibition. Also, Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) and Hidehiko Hasegawa (Pictures) displayed some excellent technique.

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With mixed martial arts continuing to gain mainstream popularity, local boxing promoter Keith Stoffer said he wouldn't mind if MMA disappeared. "It's no secret that this movement has, especially on television, taken away from boxing," Stoffer said. He may end up getting his wish, at least temporarily. On Tuesday, state Rep. Robert J. Valihura Jr., R-Beau Tree, introduced legislation that would ban "combative fighting" in Delaware. House Bill 501, which is being called the "Toughman Legislation," lumps MMA with Toughman competitions. The bill defines Toughman events as elimination tournaments between amateur participants without any boxing experience or training. The bill would ban both forms of fighting in Delaware. Promoters and fighters who violate the law would face class A misdemeanor charges.

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Two words ... **** THAT !! Women in mma just ain't right you guys ....

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The U.S. Olympic wrestling trials begin Thursday in Las Vegas. It's the perfect location because so much of the chatter surrounding the event is focused on pushing the ancient sport to sexy, combative extremes. "People aren't trying to pin each other anymore," said Jason Townsend, who is promoting a new style -- "Grappling" -- for USA Wrestling, the sport's national governing body. "They're trying to choke each other, arm-bar, leg-lock and get their opponent to say, 'Uncle.' How long can you hold out before you tap out?'" You "tap out" before turning blue, feeling your knee burst or your arm snap. Welcome to 21st-century international wrestling, and -- perhaps -- the future of Olympic wrestling. Buffeted by a perfect storm of marketing and cultural vectors striking Olympic sports, wrestling -- arguably the most traditional of all -- can be traced back thousands of years, when, Townsend said, "wherever people were, whether they were in a tree, they were wrestling. People have evolved with wrestling." Freestyle, which is similar to high school and college wrestling, and Greco-Roman, in which no holds or actions are permitted below the waist, remain the classic Olympic styles and are on the Beijing program. But that almost certainly won't be the case 20, 10 or perhaps even five years from now. "There is a school of thought among traditionalists that our sport will exist in its current form forever," USA Wrestling executive director Rich Bender said. "But even those within that traditionalist community would have to admit our sport has changed. We have to keep our eyes wide-open." The International Olympic Committee has made it known it seeks to modernize its sports to better attract young audiences. Consider the advent of BMX cycling in Beijing this summer, or snowboarding in the Winter Games. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) have exploded onto the sports scene recently, giving rise to the new wrestling style, Grappling, which was approved by FILA, the international wrestling federation, in 2006.

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There's a lot to like about Ronda Rousey. She's America's best hope for an Olympic medal in judo this summer, she's a passionate advocate for her sport, and she has a blog that shows she's smart and funny. Unfortunately, beyond those two weeks in August in Beijing, she's not going to have many opportunities to be in the public eye, or to make a living as a professional athlete. So that's why it makes sense that, as Beau Dure of USA Today reports, she's considering turning her attention to mixed martial arts: "I have quite a few people who have been trying to get me to do MMA," Rousey says. "A coach has been talking to me about teaching me striking (punches, kicks) after the Olympics.... "My mom's generally not a big fan of the idea, so we'll see if I can convince her,"

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Wrestlers have always had a special place in the world of mixed martial arts. One particular group of wrestlers from Arizona State University have made a mark lately, positioning themselves as the new breed of athletes competing in MMA. While Arizona State has always been a top school for collegiate wrestling, it has also produced many top MMA fighters including Dan Severn, Dan Henderson, and Don Frye. Now, a new group of grapplers from Arizona State has proven the team still knows how to produce great fighters. C.B. Dollaway, Ryan Bader, and Cain Velasquez were all a part of the Arizona State wrestling team. Recently, all three have made successful transitions into MMA. “Basically, when I came to Arizona State, it put me in a great position to be a great collegiate wrestler. I came in with Ryan Bader and Cain Velasquez, it was kind of like a 1-2-3 punch,” said Dollaway about his teammates. “So we all worked out together and my coach Aaron Simpson, who’s a two time All-American who was trying to make the Olympics. Just a bunch of great guys to workout with.” The work ethic displayed showed on the wrestling mat as all three were All-American wrestlers in their time at Arizona State and it’s that commitment that helped them transition to MMA as well.

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Video interview with RJJ where he calls dana white a little girl! i agree with him whole heartidly

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For now, at least, he's trying his hand at something new:

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.Martin, who's from Chicago, has given up his UFC dream for now and will step in the ring as a boxer for the first time Friday night as part of an ``8 Count Productions'' card. Martin will face Ricardo Upchurch at the Odeum Sports and Expo Center in Villa Park in a scheduled four-rounder. He'll fight at the 190-pound cruiserweight level, which should alleviate a problem he had making 185 pounds with the UFC.

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Let's start a barroom argument. Who are the toughest athletes in sports? Well, hang on a second. How do you define tough? The ability to take and deliver a shot or ten? To play hurt and still play well? The utter refusal to give in to pressure, circumstance, or more physically imposing foe? To dominate one's opponents or even one's sport? How about the ability to overcome serious personal setbacks, such as a dire injury or illness, and return to the highest level of performance? How about sheer longevity in a punishing, demanding game? We've considered all of those things while sorting through long lists of worthy candidates. Our Top 25 (in order, says us) contains some surprising choices. We've also put together a list of current notables in the four major pro sports and a photo gallery of the greatest old school toughs -- legends who are no longer active, surely to the relief of their beleaguered foes.

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UFC president Dana White has stated, in no uncertain terms, that is no way that there will be a boxing rules match up between Roy Jones Jr. and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The news comes courtesy of Dave Meltzer.

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Now that it’s clear both Silva and Jones want the fight, there’s just one question: What does the UFC think? Turns out, they’re not so crazy about it. Not yet, anyway. “We’ve spoken about it,” Soares said. “At first, I think there was a lot of resistance. They don’t seem too into it, to be honest with you. We’ve heard from certain people that there’s just no way that this can happen. But never say never, you know.” Recently the jokesters over at Bodog went ahead and handicapped the bout, despite the fact that it’s only talk at this point, and they pegged Jones as a heavy favorite with a -2800 line. Silva is going off at +1400, which is understandable since he’s never had a real pro boxing match and Jones, you know, has had a few. Soares, who may well be biased, warns us against underestimating Silva. “I think Anderson would be able to put up a good fight against Roy Jones. That’s my opinion. Maybe it’s unrealistic. When you talk to some people and read some of these threads, there’s people who swear up and down that it’s the stupidest thing to believe Anderson would do it, but I don’t know. Maybe I’m tainted. I’m not saying that Anderson’s going to go in there and knock him out, but I think Anderson is that skilled that he could make it a fight.”

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The Arnold Classic, taking place in Columbus, Ohio from Feb. 29 through March 2, celebrates many forms of fitness and martial arts. This year will mark the debut of mixed martial arts at the expo, as an amateur event will take place and champions in multiple weight classes will be crowned. Celebrating its 20th year anniversary, the Arnold Classic has always been a home to martial arts and with the growth of MMA throughout the world the amateur tournament this year is nothing short of historical. Legendary martial artist Terrance “Tokey” Hill, who organizes and leads the charge for the martial arts portion of the Arnold Classic, lobbied to have MMA included in this year’s event and now it is a reality. The event will run alongside many traditional martial arts programs at the Arnold Classic including Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, and San Shou. MMA will debut with an eight-man tournament represented by fighters and teams from across the world.

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You think Fighting Fedor is a bad idea? Ho, baby. From a new press release on Reuters.com: Rodrigo and Crosley Gracie have decided to co-produce a reality television show of mixed martial arts, combined with the Gracie Jiu Jitsu flavor, and a little drama. [Ed. note: Rodrigo and Crosley are cousins, and grandsons of Carlos Gracie.]

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The reality show is based on true life grudges. Imagine a famous face knocking on your door. He/she shows you a photo. “Do you know who this is?” You know exactly who it is. He/she is the person with whom you have a grudge to settle. Then, without a clue as to where you are going, you are whisked off to an undisclosed location where you will be trained by one of the world famous Gracie Jiu Jitsu family members. Did you know that the person in the photo is also receiving the same treatment? Did you know that now is the chance to “Settle Your Grudge?” “It gives me great pleasure to bring this show to you, despite any controversy that may arise. At the end of the day, we are all humans, we’ve all had grudges, and they all need to be settled to bring closure to real the life drama that leaves us perplexed every day” boasts [executive producer] Stacey “O”. Episodes in production include: Cop vs. Con; Bouncer vs. Bounced; Biker vs. Nerd; Husband vs. x-Boyfriend; Manager vs. Employee; Old Bully vs. the Bullied; Teacher vs. Student; and Old vs. Young.

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Today was the first day of the Russian Combat Sambo Championship and here are the results: As predicted, Fedor Emelianenko easily won all of his three fights. None of his opponents in this Russian championship forfeited as it has happened before in world and European championships, to the credit of our fighters. In his first fight, Fedor quickly attacked, after a combination of strikes he took his opponent down and submitted him. The fight was 35 seconds long. His second fight was even shorter - Fedor broke his opponent's nose on the 10th second. The final fight against Stanislav Shushko took a little bit longer. Stanislav tried to keep Fedor at a distance using his height advantage, but Fedor closed the distance with a combination, went for a throw and a holddown. Then the fighters ended up in standing position again and the situation happened again - a combination of strikes from the champion, a throw, but this time Fedor finished his attack with a submission and won at 1 minute and 1 seconds.

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http://mmamanjapan.blogspot.com/2008/02/mark-munt-signs-with.html this links link takes you to a foreign site that supposedly broke the story. I'm a little bummed,but oh well.

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Brock Lesnar’s notoriety as a World Wrestling Entertainment champion and headliner has created great interest in his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut on Saturday night against former UFC champion Frank Mir. But because his fame comes from scripted entertainment, many aren’t aware of his successes in legitimate athletic competition. Lesnar was 106-5 in four years of college wrestling, winning the junior college national championship in 1998 and the Division I championship for the University of Minnesota in 2000, both as a heavyweight. High-level amateur wrestling is a great asset in mixed martial arts, as many of UFC’s biggest stars all have a substantial wrestling background, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Diego Sanchez, Rashad Evans, Tito Ortiz, Clay Guida, Keith Jardine, Roger Huerta, Jake O’Brien, Frankie Edgar, Matt Hamill, Brandon Vera, Gray Maynard, Corey Hill, Matt Grice and others. But wrestling success is no guarantee of MMA success. For every Couture or Dan Severn, both of whom competed on the U.S. national team in international competition and are among only a few fighters in the UFC Hall of Fame, there are great wrestlers, including national champions and Olympians, who have gone nowhere in MMA.

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