Rumble at the Big Dome - Philippines

MANILA, Philippines -- Is there a place for a no-holds-barred sport like mixed martial arts in a country where people take things personally?

Apparently there is, according to Fearless Fighting Productions USA chief Benny Tuazon Jr., who said that the fight sport has been enjoyed by enthusiasts here for years.

“I tell you one thing, it has been here for a long time,” said Tuazon, who is born to Filipino parents in the United States. “We are just taking it to the next level by bringing all the best fighters in the world, especially those from the United States and Europe.”

The roots of the sport here prompted Tuazon to make the Philippines the first Asian country to witness mixed world-caliber martial arts action through the “Ring of Fire: World Team Challenge,” on Dec. 9 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

“The sport raised eyebrows in the 1990s,” said Tuazon, “but so many guidelines have been implemented since then.”

Tuazon said that action in the Ring of Fire fight program will be for real.

“Our reputation is important to us,” said Hawaiian Kino Leopoldo, who will coach the alternate team. “There are two ways to go outside the ring. One is to get carried out like this (clutching somebody by the neck) and on a stretcher. Horizontally.”

Sporting tattoos that covered his massive 6-foot-3 frame, Leopoldo added: “You will see every single guy fighting top-notch, high-caliber action. We have to protect our reputation.”

There will be four teams clashing in the explosive one-day event -- Team Gokor, Team Shamrock, Team Gracie and Team Barnett.

Big-name mixed martial artists Jeff Monzon, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Rico Rodriguez, John Marsh, Yuki Kondo and Jorge “Macaco” Patino arrived over the weekend to help promote the event. They will visit malls and schools prior to the Dec. 9 action, according to Tuazon.

UFC 74: Respect

UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture called it. Well, sort of.

“I don’t think anybody expected that” says Couture speaking of Gabriel Gonzaga’s stunning knockout of Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic April 21st at UFC 70.

But Couture, who was ringside doing television commentary for the number one contender’s match in Manchester England that night, did have Gonzaga picked to win. And for a while the fight was panning out just the way “The Natural” had said it would in his pre-fight predictions.

“I did expect him [Gonzaga] to win. I did expect him to take ‘CroCop’ down and pound him which is what he was doing before the head kick” says Couture.

Early in the first round, Gonzaga caught a kick from his dangerous Croatian opponent and took him down to the mat. From there Gonzaga used punches and elbows to pound Filipovic like few had ever done before.

But the biggest surprise was still to come. Moments after Gonzaga’s “ground and pound” was artificially and inexplicably interrupted by referee Herb Dean, and the two fighters were stood up in the center of the Octagon, Gonzaga unleashed a thundering kick to the head of “CroCop”, sending him slumping to the floor unconscious.

Suddenly Gonzaga became the next in line to challenge Couture. And though he did not expect the submission grappling expert’s win to come via head kick, Couture says he felt he would win and that he considered Gonzaga to be the better fighter from the start.

“I just felt that he was the more well-rounded fighter” says Couture of the man he will defend his heavyweight title against in August.

“He’s an aggressive guy. He’s dangerous from a whole lot of positions where as ‘Cro Cop’ is dangerous really from only one position.”

Couture figured that Gonzaga would be able to take “CroCop” down, but how does he feel “Napao’s” take downs compare to his own legendary Greco-Roman style takedowns?

“I only saw one takedown in that fight [from Gonzaga], and it was when he caught a kick. So I didn’t get to see a whole lot from that fight in terms of his takedowns. I’ll have to study a lot of tape of him. I know he’s good on the ground” Couture explains.

Despite his respect for Gonzaga’s abilities, it’s clear that Couture is confident in his own chances come fight time. Fighting since 2003, Gonzaga is much newer to the MMA game than Couture, who has competed in countless title fights in his 10 year career.

Couture cites his own experience and the fact that Gonzaga has never before fought in a five round title fight as advantages in his favor. And Couture does not plan on being the one thrown around in August.

“My experience and the fact that it will be a five round fight are important. I’m confident that I can put him on the ground. So we will see how he likes being on the bottom.”

Liddell-Silva Scrapped...Again

It’s one of those fights that seem destined for a lifetime of debate on message boards and in the minds of mixed martial arts fans, but never to come to fruition in the Octagon – the showdown between two of the most dominant light heavyweights ever to put the gloves on: Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva.

There was a glimmer of hope in the last couple of weeks, when terms were reportedly reached for the two future Hall of Famers to meet at UFC 76 in Anaheim, California, but Wednesday afternoon, a Silva representative informed UFC President Dana White that ‘The Axe Murderer’ did not want the fight.

“I really wasn’t holding my breath,” Liddell told UFC.com of the latest implosion of a match against Silva. “I was hoping it happened, but if the guy wanted to fight me, he’d fight me.”

For years, fans and media speculated about what would happen if the former UFC light heavyweight champion squared off against his PRIDE counterpart in a battle for the ages, and White did his best to make the fight happen, first by sending Liddell over to the 2003 PRIDE Grand Prix tournament (Liddell wound up losing a semifinal match to Quinton Jackson, with Jackson eventually facing Silva), and then by bringing the Brazilian and Liddell into the Octagon at UFC 61 in July of 2006 to square off and announce an eventual bout.

Inter-organizational negotiations eventually broke down, but with the purchase of PRIDE earlier this year by Zuffa, all obstacles were apparently removed from making the bout a reality, which was still highly anticipated by the fight world despite recent losses by Liddell and Silva to Jackson and Dan Henderson, respectively. But after this latest episode, it may be safe to say that Liddell-Silva dream match is going to have to remain just that – a dream.

“You never say it’s never gonna happen, but until you have something signed, you never say it’s gonna happen in this sport,” said Liddell. “It’s just one of those things. Before he had excuses, now he doesn’t. There’s nothing in his way now.”

Ken "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Shamrock

The Lion’s Den:

The Lion's Den started when Ken was fighting for the Pancrase organization in Japan. The organization wanted him to train fighters in the US so they could bring in more fighters from the states. In trying to come up with a name for it, he recalled a documentary he saw about lions. It showed how a group of lions hunt and worked together. He felt his group of fighters should work the same way and be like a family, so he chose to name his gym the Lion's Den. "And I'm still the King Lion," says Shamrock.

Ken was a pro-wrestler in the WWF from 1997 to 2000.
"I just wanted to do something else. It wasn't because of the money, I just wanted a change. It definitely helped me build a bigger fan base. But, I got tired of going on the road all the time."

Ken was the first ever King of Pancrase. Pancrase is an organization in Japan that was similar to the UFC but with more rules. Shamrock’s record in Pancrase from 1993 to 1996 was 17-4-0.

As a teenager in wrestling, Ken once broke his neck when he slipped on the mat attempting a throw.
Doctors told him he would never play sports again, but he proved them wrong.

Dana White on ESPN

You wouldn't expect a wallflower to be in charge of the largest sanctioning body in mixed martial arts. And because Dana White, 36, has been UFC president since Jan. 15, 2001, you get the feeling he knows how to get things done. The former boxer and manager of UFC fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell sat down for an interview with ESPN.com and -- surprise, surprise -- he didn't pull any punches.
Full Story: http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/mma/news/story?id=2928261

Ortiz - Evans Rematch?

UFC 73 was hardly over when "the Huntington Beach Bad Boy" and his opponent Rashad Evans managed to fight a fourth round in the post-fight press conference. Though this one was strictly of the verbal variety, Ortiz and Evans left no doubt that there should and will be a rematch following their three-round draw at Arco Arena.

After Ortiz and Evans traded pointed comments on the stage, a reporter asked UFC President Dana White if indeed, there would be a rematch.

"Hopefully not in the next three minutes," White said to laughter before confirming the two would fight again.

Carlos Arias, Orange County Register - Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz came within a finger of beating Rashad Evans, but he had to settle for a three-round draw in one of the featured fights at UFC 73 on Saturday night at ARCO Arena.