THIS MONTH IN FIGHTERS
|
UFC 98 - Machida gives Evans a Grand exit! |
 UFC 98 came to us all live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 23, 2009. The main event between Lyoto Machida and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans was interestingly only the tip of the iceberg on the night. Beyond that, there was also the grudge match of all grudge matches between the Matts - Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.
SEAN SHERK vs FRANKIE EDGAR
Before his fight against Sean Sherk, Frankie Edgar said, "I feel a win over him will put me into possible title contention." True. But winning would be the hard part, no?
Early, on, both fighters were busy from a distance. However, Sherk landed the first nice shot, a left. Eventually, the two clinched, with Sherk pushing his opponent into the canvas for a moment before separation. A lot of strikes were thrown by both fighters, but few actually connected until the three minute mark when Edgar did hit home with a flurry. Then Edgar did the same with another flurry. Sherk answered with a nice left. From there, the two traded shots. Eventually, Edgar went for a single leg takedown that failed. In the clinch, Sherk connected with a knee and later hit home with a solid left hook. But then when he tried a leg kick, it led to a takedown by Edgar. From there, he held a strong headlock for a period of time before Sherk disposed of the move. Edgar is just moving in and out wih the better striking. Then the bell...
LYOTO MACHIDA vs RASHAD EVANS
"This fight's about one thing, me becoming UFC champion," said Lyoto Machida coming into his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship shot against Rashad Evans. On the other hand, Evans likely would've noted that this fight was about him keeping the belt. With that and one of the more interesting stylistic match ups you'll ever see, let's see how things turned out.
Early on, there wasn't a lot of action. But about two minutes in, Machida partially connected with a high kick. About a minute later, Machida landed a nice body kick and punch to the face. A momentary clinch saw Evans connect with a knee to the body. Then about another minute later, Machida landed a hard body kick and then a left hand that dropped Evans. He followed him to the ground with some more hard striking before Evans recovered and got up. Soon after, came the bell. Machida clearly won the round. His quick striking ability is amazing.
Early on, Machida landed a couple of decent kicks. Then came a hard body kick by Machida followed by a takedown attempt that nearly bore fruit (would've had the cage not been there). Moments later, the two traded a flurry of punches when Machida came forward aggressively. Machida's throwing a lot of kicks, connecting with many. Later, Evans landed a good body kick. Then came the big one...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
|
|
|
REMY BONJASKY - Profile of a Champion |
 On 6 December 2008 Remy Bonjasky joined a very elite group of fighters- He now stands with Semmy Schilt and Peter Aerts as a triple winner of the K-1 World Grand Prix. Only Ernesto Hoost has managed to win it four times. Few would bet against Bonjasky equalling or even surpassing that record before he calls time on his kickboxing career.
As is the norm with boxing or kickboxing legends, Bonjasky comes from humble beginnings. Born on 10 January 1976 in Suriname, South America, he and his family moved to The Netherlands in seek of a better life. Bonjasky was aged only five at the time but saw this as an exciting adventure. Indeed, events in Holland would set him on an adventure that would ultimately lead to the K-1 world championship.
A keen footballer as a child and teenager, it wasn't until Bonjasky was 18 that he turned to Muay Thai - he and his friends had been inspired by the Jean Claude Van Damme movie Bloodsport. They joined the local Mejiro Gym in Amsterdam and it would be here and under the guidance of trainer Andre Manaart, that Bonjasky would develop as a fighter and win his first two world championships.
After only a year of training and at the age of 19, Remy Bonjasky had his first professional Muay Thai contest. It was against future MMA star Valentijn Overeem, and ended with a TKO in round two and victory for Bonjasky. A great debut was followed by a respectable nine victories from his first 12 fights. This led to an opportunity in 2001 to fight at the prestigious K-1 Grand Prix event in Holland.
Unfortunately for Bonjasky, his opponent would be Jerrel Venetiaan - a fighter he had lost to the previous year. Venetiaan again proved to be too much for Bonjasky, and won on points for the second time.
Despite his K-1 career getting off to the worst possible start, things were about to take a turn for the better. Established star Ray Sefo would be Remy's 2nd opponent. This would be a daunting task for any K-1 fighter, all the more so considering the significant difference in experience between the two...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
|
|
|
THE 3 PILLARS OF RECOVERY - By Drew Price |
We all want a little bit more speed, more polished technique, greater strength and resilience. This is why we train, but the real magic happens between bouts of training, this 'recovery' phase is where the changes happen and the body adapts and improves. Improve your recovery and you improve every facet of your game.
The training process involves taking the body physically out of his comfort zone it also involves laying down motor patterns or skills and memorising different techniques. It also involves thinking about situations and conditioning reactions to do with these different situations but in order for these changes to occur you have to address the three pillars of recovery. The better you are in these areas then the faster your progress will be. Below we'll look at each in turn teasing out the factors that really matter.
TRAINING SMARTER
For many of us are martial arts training is a way of life, to a certain extent in it defines us and there's a temptation to spend every available minutes on the mat or in the gym, however this isn't the smartest way to progress. There's only so much training you can do before you breakdown or burnout and have to spend is significant amount of time out of training. By training smarter you progress faster than avoid injury. So what is training smarter? There are a few key elements
1. Keeping the total volume of training manageable
2. Structuring your training week allowing recovery between similar sessions
3. Choosing the right exercises and drills to suit your needs
4. Balance your nervous system
Above are the keys to recovery, the keys that will accelerate your training, decrease soreness, allow you to train harder and longer with less chance of illness or injury, now let's look at them in detail...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
|
|
|
UFC IS KILLING BOXING - By Luke Calvert |
 It's a headline that we've all read many times in recent months - there's no doubt that the ascent of MMA and the UFC brand has left boxing trailing in its wake and whilst I feel this headline is over stating the current position, there is no question that younger fans are being steered away from the cautiously matched boxing arena to the fast and furious action offered by the UFC.
So, the revelation that boxing legend, Roy Jones Jr. has offered to face the UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, in the UFC Octagon under MMA rules immediately provokes interest worldwide from fans of both combat sports. The fight has been talked about off and on for the past 12 months, with Anderson initially wanting to face Jones Jr. in a boxing match. Wisely for Anderson, an MMA contest between the pair now seems more likely.
On hearing of Jones Jr.'s latest offer to face Silva, UFC President Dana White, a man who is never shy to express his view on any topic, immediately moved to quash these talks, saying "You won't see a Silva versus Jones fight while Silva is under contract with me, I don't want to say anything bad about Roy Jones, I like Roy Jones and was a fan of his, but he mattered like fifteen years ago. He's not anywhere near the best boxer in the world. He must've spent all his money.
I could do it, make it huge, make money, but I could have done a fight like this when we were bleeding money (in the early 2000s), The fight would make some money, but it hurts MMA in the long term. We don't do that because we love the sport. That's a Pride or K-1 matchup. It's not what we do."
Being primarily a boxing fan, let me first move to defend Jones Jr. in the wake of White's damning comments. To say he has not mattered for fifteen years is absolute rubbish - whilst five years past his best, White should remember Jones Jr. went the distance with undefeated British boxing legend Joe Calzaghe as recently as six months ago, even flooring the Welshman in the process. Ok, Roy has seen better days but here is a man who stood alone as the star talent in boxing from for 10 straight years from 1994, becoming the first man to win both Middleweight and Heavyweight World Titles in over 100 years. Show a little respect please Mr. White - boxing fans don't call Roy Jones Jr. 'Superman' for nothing.
Whilst White's comments may be unfounded regarding Roy himself, I can see where he is coming from in terms of the fight potentially hurting the UFC. Bringing in a faded former boxing champion smacks of the kind of 'celebrity' fanfare seen all too often in every walk of life today...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
|
|
|
K-1 WORLD MAX FINAL 16 - Drago defeats Sato |
 FUKUOKA, Monday, April 21, 2009 - A late flurry of fists and feet earned Armenian muay thai fighter Drago, 24, an upset victory over two-time World Max Japan Champion Yoshihiro Sato in the Main Event at tonight's K-1 World Max 2009 World Championship Tournament Final-16.
Held at the Fukuoka Marine Messe arena, the talent-rich fightsport extravaganza featured the World Max Final-16 Tournament - a one-match elimination that halved the field fighting for this year's World Max Championship. The world's top 70kg/154kg fighters stepped in knowing that a win would set them on the road to glory, and a loss deposit them in the ditch of also-rans. For these warriors, it was do or die.
The heavy favorite, Sato brought a 10cm/4" height advantage to the ring against Drago. From the start the Japanese kickboxer used his reach and low kicks to keep his opponent at bay. But the Armenian got a right overhand through and closed with an uppercut, and the cards had it even after one. In the second Sato arched forward with fists, but Drago answered with front kicks and got a terrific high kick up and on target. Sato threw plenty of low kicks and made partial contact with a knee to keep the score tied. There was not a lot behind Sato's combinations in the third, but the Japanese fighter continued to advance and fire low kicks and knees. Drago landed a couple of solid hooks here, but could not drop Sato, and after three the judges prescribed a tiebreaker round.
The fourth and final saw Drago doggedly advancing, firing all manner of strikes - best of the bunch a right straight punch and a spinning back kick. Sato, who was tired, stumbling and bloodied, managed only a couple of anemic knees and low kicks, and at the final bell collapsed, painfully aware that the judges' decision would not go his way. An impressive performance by Drago, establishing him as a favorite for the World Max 2009 Championship.
"I am glad that I showed a good fight and won in front of my Japanese fans," said Drago afterward. "Sato was strong, he's had really good fights recently, and last year when he fought against Masato it went to an extra round. However, it seemed that he got tired in the middle of the fight. Now, I will do my best to become the champion - I will keep train training hard, and let's see what happens!"
"I have never in my life had so much regret," said a dejected Sato in his post-fight interview. "I lost my stamina, in the middle of the fight I suddenly felt as if my hands became lead, like a devil had descended on me..."
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
|
|
|
IT'S SHOWTIME 33 - The biggest kickboxing event in the world! |
 It's Showtime held their annual event at the Amsterdam Arena, which is now the biggest stand up fighting event in the world! Live via television on over 10 different channels and with a crowd of 18,000 present in the arena, the main event of the night was the It's Showtime World title between Badr Hari and Semmy Schilt. In total the show featured no less than 16 A class Showtime rules bouts!
BADR HARI (Morocco) vs SEMMY SCHILT (Holland) - Super Heavyweight World Title
The anticipation for the main event was simply huge and Badr Hari, instead of coming through the usual floor and catwalk route, got a standing ovation as he made his way through ringside tables at edge of the arena. Hari is pure excitement every time he fights, normally knocking his opponent out or getting knocked out himself. As a result many had Schilt, with his near unconquerable reach as the favourite for this match.
The staredown further hyped the atmosphere and as soon as the bell went, Hari went for Schilt at the speed of an express train! He had obviously decided his best chance of winning this fight was to knock Schilt out quickly before he had the chance to wear him down!
Hari blocked Schilts opening kicks and then went in with a flurry of punches narrowly missing Schilt's chin. A flailing right from Schilt caused Hari to stumble but he was relentless coming straight back with more punches, forcing Schilt back. A right from Hari connected and Schilt was in trouble! A left hook then followed and Schilt was down! He got straight to his feet but looked unstable as the referee have him an eight count.
Hari imediately continued to apply the pressure and a right cross, left hook, right cross combination saw Schilt counted out! Badr Hari was crowned the new, It's Showtime World Champion.
TYRONE SPONG (Holland) vs ATILLA KARACS (Hungary)
Due to the last minute withdrawal of Karaev, Spong ended up facing the top Hungarian fighter Atilla Karacs. Both fighters started kicking at range with Karacs looking very light on his feet for a heavyweight. A nice right knee from Karacs just missed Spong's chin early in the round. Karacs kept moving around not letting Spong close him down or land his hard hitting punches, Spong did land some low kicks nicely though, working Karacs' legs...
Read more in Fighters magazine available from WH Smith, Borders and all good newsagents and don't forget to look out for the Digital Edition
|
|
|
|