MMA Personalities News - Page 74

The age of the super camp is upon us in the world of MMA. From Team Jackson to American Kickboxing Academy to American Top Team, fighters from all over the world flock to bigger and bigger camps to get the training, coaching, and sparring necessary to take them to the next level, be it the UFC, Strikeforce, or beyond. The newest team forming in Arizona at the new Power MMA & Fitness gym is headed up by a group of top flight UFC fighters along with a Strikeforce title contender, and they hope to form the next great camp. Ryan Bader, Aaron Simpson, and C.B. Dollaway, along with Robbie Lawler and others have worked to open their new gym in Arizona. It’s starting to pay off already with fighters traveling from all over the country to work with the team.

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The fighter with the best record in mixed martial arts is heading to Bellator and ready to enter the promotion's Season 4 featherweight tournament. Nazareno Malegarie, who has built up a 19-0 record while fighting for Brazilian promotions, is now ready to fight in the United States, Bellator announced Monday. "I'm just very excited to finally have the chance to show fans in the United States what I'm capable of," Malegarie said in a statement. "Signing with Bellator was very important for me, and I'm ready to prove myself."

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Afghan-born fighter Siyar Bahadurzada may regret some of the language he used when lashing out at Strikeforce over the internet last week, but he stands by the sentiment, Bahadurzada told Ariel Helwani on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. Though Bahadurzada said he signed a contract to fight for Strikeforce in April of 2010, he has yet to be offered a fight with the organization, and said repeated attempts to contact Strikeforce about the situation have been ignored.

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LAS VEGAS -- After more than a year off due to injury, Forrest Griffin will return to the Octagon on Saturday for a light heavyweight fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 126. Afterward, win or lose, Griffin says he's planning something that could change his career. At 31, Griffin's best years as a fighter aren't behind him, but he admits he's peaked in a different way. For years, he's surrounded himself with some of the best coaches in every facet of the game. What he's lacked, however, is that one mastermind, the "head coach" who he trusts to build his game plans and bring every part of his training together.

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Paul Daley has other business on his fighting agenda before he can lock up a Strikeforce welterweight title shot against current champion Nick Diaz, but that doesn't mean the hard-hitting Brit isn't already looking forward to the possibility of facing Diaz. Daley needs to win a Feb. 26 match in the UK with Yuya Shirai, and if he does, a date with Diaz awaits him. While Diaz recently said he's "not impressed with Paul Daley as a mixed martial artist" aside from his standup, Daley indicated on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour that he'd have more than enough firepower to wrest the belt from him.

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Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz ($150,000) and fellow defending champion Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza ($85,000) were the top earners at this past weekend's "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg" event. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today requested and received the list of salaries from the California State Athletic Commission. The event took place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., and aired on Showtime. The total disclosed payroll for the event was $463,500. Diaz defeated Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos ($20,000) in the night's headliner, and middleweight champ Souza stopped Lawler ($65,000) in the co-headliner. Perhaps the most notable figure was the salary attached to former NFL great Herschel Walker. Despite his heavy promotion of the card and the interest he drew for his second pro fight, he earned a flat rate of $5,000. However, additional compensation likely came in other forms for the 48-year-old fighter. The full payouts include: Champ Nick Diaz: $150,000 (no win bonus) def. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos: $20,000 Champ Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza: $85,000 ($15,000 win bonus) def. Robbie Lawler : $65,000 Herschel Walker: $5,000 (no win bonus) def. Scott Carson: $5,000 Roger Gracie: $75,000 (no win bonus) def. Trevor Prangley: $30,000 Nate Moore: $4,000 ($2,000 win bonus) def. Nathan Coy: $3,000 Isaiah Hill: $3,000 ($1,500 win bonus) def. Bobby Stack: $1,500 Ron Keslar: $3,000 ($1,500 win bonus) def. Eric Lawson: $1,500 Germaine de Randamie: $3,000 ($1,000 win bonus) def. Stephanie Webber: $1,000 James Terry: $3,000 ($1,500 win bonus) def. Lucas Gamaza: $1,500 Jenna Castillo: $3,000 ($1,500 win bonus) def. Charlene Gellner: $1,000

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Here's what we know is true about Tyron Woodley: he's 28 years old; he made his MMA debut two years ago; he's 8-0; and he just signed a new four-fight deal with Strikeforce. Here's what Woodley would like you to know: he should be fighting for the Strikeforce welterweight title as soon as possible. "I think I'm the No. 1 contender at this point," the American Top Team member said on Monday's episode of The MMA Hour. "I think, realistically, from the communication I got from Strikeforce, me and Tarec [Saffiedine] wasn't just an irrelevant fight. It meant something. It meant that we were fighting for either the No. 1 contendership spot or to bang heads with [Paul] Daley, and I'm more than willing to go against Daley to solidify that I'm the No. 1 contender and I deserve a title shot.

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WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. – Trevor Wittman has a case of strep throat. Maybe. At least, there's a chance he does, and for a top MMA trainer, a chance is too much. In his line of work, which requires getting right in the faces of elite professional fighters who are anywhere from several months to several days away from important fights, he can't risk the possibility that he might accidentally infect them. They have enough to worry about, and he can practically feel the white spots popping up on the back of his throat every time he swallows. This explains his uniform for today. "I swear I don't normally dress like a ninja," the 35-year-old Wittman explains as he leads me into his little office inside the Grudge Training Center.

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Nothing is taking Nick Diaz's mind off the task at hand -- not the hoopla surrounding his refusal to move up in weight and face Jason "Mayhem" Miller nor the possibility of competing in a boxing match later this year. Strikeforce's welterweight champion is focused solely on successfully defending his title on Saturday night (on Showtime at 10 ET) in San Jose, Calif., against Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos. If Diaz loses focus for just a short period of time, his reign could end. Diaz (23-7-0, 1 no-contest) is aware that Santos has enough power and determination to end his night quickly.

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There's still some fight left in "Lil' Evil." Former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver (23-14-1) this past Saturday submitted Mike Lindquist with a first-round rear-naked choke at an XFO event in Woodstock, Ill., snapping a six-fight losing streak. It was Pulver's first win in over three years and would have retired had he fallen short against the unheralded fighter (6-20), Pulver said Monday on MMAFighting.com's The MMA Hour.

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Jens Pulver snapped a six-fight losing streak and picked up his first victory since 2007 with a win in the headliner of Saturday's XFO 38 event. Pulver (23-14-1) scored a quick, 49-second rear-naked choke victory over area fighter and one-time WEC competitor Mike Lindquist (6-20). The event took place at Woodstock Harley Davidson in Woodstock, Ill., and streamed online.

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Diaz recently signed an extension with Strikeforce. Though Gracie could not discuss the exact terms, he said reports the contract was for a three-year deal were inaccurate. He confirmed that the UFC was interested in Diaz but noted that the decision was ultimately made to stay with Strikeforce because Diaz's brother Nate and his main training partner Jake Shields also fight in the UFC's welterweight class. Diaz, however, is not closing the door on a return to the UFC (he fought 10 times for the promotion between 2003-2006, going 6-4).

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Something had been missing in the two years since Pat Barry gave up his K-1 dreams and decided to become a ninja. Or a mixed martial artist. One of the two. Maybe both. Barry was doing everything he needed to become a well-rounded fighter, which in his case was a near-daily regimen of wrestling and jiu jitsu with his stablemates at Roufusport Academy in Milwaukee. He toiled on the mats learning about the completely different application of leverage and balance. He learned about how to get out of bad situations and how to get back to his feet. He got tapped, a lot.

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The news that Mark Hominick is one win away from a UFC featherweight title shot against Jose Aldo has been questioned by some MMA fans who wonder whether Hominick has really done enough to merit fighting for a belt. But for his part, Hominick insists that he has exactly what it takes to beat Aldo, and that he's ready to throw things at Aldo in the cage that the champion has never seen before. "Aldo has faced everybody -- he's faced top grapplers, top jiu jitsu guys, wrestlers," Hominick said on HDNet's Inside MMA. "But he hasn't faced a top elite striker like myself. I'm going to be in his face."

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For as long as there has been judging in MMA, there has been complaining about judging in MMA. Now Nate Diaz is piling on with his critique of the scoring system currently in place. According to the "Kid from Stockton," all you have to do to win a fight is get on top of your opponent and hold him down. In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that Diaz was largely out-wrestled and controlled by Dong Hyun Kim en route to a decision loss at UFC 125 on Jan. 1.

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The sad tale of once great UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver will continue when he fights at XFO 38 on Jan. 22 against Mike Lindquist in Woodstock, Illinois. When looking at the current state of affairs for the longtime veteran, one can't help but wonder -- why continue? Why keep fighting after eight losses in his last nine fights and six in a row? Well, Pulver tells MMAFighting.com that he's not okay with ending his once proud career with that many consecutive losses.

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While Strikeforce was in the process of putting together its heavyweight tournament, some high-profile participants requested specific opponents. No one requested a fight with Josh Barnett. It wasn't that the higher-profile fighters -- including Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem -- sought to avoid him. In their minds, they simply had bigger fish to fry. Emelianenko will take on Antonio Silva on Feb. 12 in Newark, N.J. Overeem is slated to face Fabricio Werdum on a date that has yet to be determined. When the brackets were finalized, Barnett found himself in the less appealing group. That he isn't in the same group with Emelianenko, Overeem and Werdum reveals how much Barnett's star has dimmed.

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Heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko will leave it up to observers and pundits to determine who the No. 1 heavyweight in the world is following the conclusion of the 2010 Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. Should the winner of the tournament be ranked higher than the UFC heavyweights? "That's probably something the specialists and commentators should decide," Fedor said Thursday on a conference call promoting his upcoming quarterfinal bout against Antonio Silva.

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Former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver (22-14-1) will whet his appetite for an expected March fight with another booking later this month just outside of Chicago. Now-featherweight Pulver is set to headline XFO 38 opposite Mike Lindquist (6-19) on Jan. 22 at the Woodstock Harley Davidson in Woodstock, Ill. It's the former champ's second fight since being released from the now-defunct WEC following a stretch of five losses.

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UFC middleweight Nate Quarry is ready to take over the world. Well, maybe not literally, but he’s expanding his reach beyond the cage to explore new avenues in the television world, as well as clothing lines, comic books and even a film screenplay.

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