2008-04-16 Armageddon Results Worldwide Fighting Championship presents Armageddon Written by J.R.Gordon Saturday night, April 12, 2008 the Denver Coliseum opened the arena doors for the return of the Worldwide Fighting Championship to Colorado. There was a stacked fight card with UFC, K-1, IFL, Kick Down, Ring of Fire and Gladiator Challenge veterans as well as debut fighters looking to make a name in the blossoming MMA market. Now to the fights. Bout one: Manuel Pachuch Vs Zac Chavez. Chavez got a quick takedown, and several reversals followed. After working their way back to standing Chavez got a second takedown into side control and from there he locked in the Kimura for the win at :45 of round one. Bout two: Nicco Garcia Vs Martin Montoya. Garcia came out with a punch flurry that knocked down Montoya. Garcia followed him to the mat, landed a few more strikes and the referee stopped the bout giving Garcia the TKO win at :25 round one. Bout three: EJ Howe Vs Gabe Marquez. Both fighters came out striking until Howe got a standing guillotine that Marquez escaped by way of a slam takedown. The fighters then scrambled to their feet and Howe got a takedown, took back control, opened up with GNP then set in the RNC for the tapout victory at 1:53 round one. Bout four: Shawn Flannagan Vs Jamie Addie. Addie flurried with an early barrage of strikes that dropped Flannagan. Flannagan however recovered quickly and Addie worked some GNP before both fighters stood. Off of a bodylock Addie got a takedown then he took back control and worked his GNP attack until the referee stopped the bout giving Addie tha TKO win at 2:38 of round one. Bout five. Alfredo Corona Vs Anthony Warner. Corona got a quick takedown, transitioned to back control and set in the RNC for the win at :54 of round one. Bout six: Tyler Brooks Vs Dan Wilson. Wilson set in a guillotine choke off of a takedown, but Brooks defended and worked his way free. Still on the ground Wilson was active with submission attempts off of his back , but Brooks worked to pass guard, take side control then back control and from the back he worked some GNP to set in the fight winning RNC at 2:08 of round one. Bout seven: Nick Buschman Vs George Roop. Both fighters came out with good strikes and Roop knocked down Buschman then worked a brief flurry of GNP until the referee stopped the bout giving the TKO win to Roop at :24 of round one. Bout eight: Rocky Johnson Vs Henry Martinez. This was a three round war of attrition. Most of the strikes throught the entirety of this fight occured with the fighters clinched. Each was able to land good punches and knees. Round one had Martinez controlling the ground action with positional dominance and GNP. Round two was a very even round and round three was mostly Martinez working GNP from the top while Johnson stayed very active with submission attempts off of his back. When asked for the scores the judges unanimously saw the fight in favor of Martinez. Bout nine: Steve Sharp Vs Mat Ver Halen for the WFC Lightheavyweight championship. Sharp controlled the action for all of round with positional dominance and GNP while Ver Halen was kept busy defending strikes. Round two saw Sharp again controlling the ground action. After several submission attempts and lots of good elbow strikes Sharp sunk in an armbar for the submission victory at 3:07 of round two. Sharp is still the WFC Lightweight champion. Bout 10: Dan Severn Vs Damon Clark. Clark came out early with strong leg kicks and good jabs, but after rushing Clark into the cage Severn got the takedown. On the mat Severn worked some GNP to get into side control and set up the fight ending Kimura lock at 2:30 of round two. Bout 11: Shonie Carter Vs John Cronk for the WFC Middleweight title. There was minimal standing striking throughout this bout. Against the cage the fighters exchanged knee strikes and Cronk scored the majority of takedowns while trying to set in either arm or shoulder submissions. Carter however avoided all the submission attempts and he controlled position for the majority of the time as well as landing more GNP. When the winner was announced it was Shonie Carter that took home the WFC Middleweight championship by unanimous decision. Bout 12: Jeff Ford Vs Wesley Correira for the WFC Heavyweight championship. Both fighters came out with strong strikes and each landed hard shots that rocked the other. Once the fight hit the ground Correira was on the bottom and Ford worked GNP from inside his guard. Correira was unable to escape the barrage of punches from Ford and the referee called a stop to the bout at 4:59 of round one giving Ford the win and the Heavyweight championship. With knockouts, submissions and fights going the distance this show had something to please everyone. Please be sure to check the site calendar for upcoming events. Best in Health and Training, J. R. Gordon 2008-04-06 UFC 86 Forrest vs Jackson SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2008 LIVE FROM MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER Tickets Go On Sale Saturday, April 12, 2008 Las Vegas, NV (USA) – After thirteen intense weeks of serving as opposing coaches for The Ultimate Fighter® Season 7, UFC® Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and the winner of the first-ever season of The Ultimate Fighter , Forrest Griffin, will continue their competition in the Octagon™ this summer in a battle for light heavyweight supremacy. The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization presents UFC 86: JACKSON vs. GRIFFIN live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday, July 5, 2008. "Forrest Griffin has come full circle; he started in the UFC as a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter and now he is a coach of the show. Rampage Jackson took the UFC by storm by defeating Chuck Liddell to become the UFC Light Heavyweight champion and then defeating Pride champion Dan Henderson to unify the belts," said Dana White, UFC President. "Both of these guys did great as coaches this season, and now they will face off for the undisputed UFC World Light Heavyweight Championship." Tickets for UFC 86: JACKSON vs. GRIFFIN will go on sale Saturday, April 12 at 10 a.m. PST and will be priced at $800, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50. Tickets will be sold at any Mandalay Bay box office and all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s West at the Fashion Show Mall and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call the Mandalay Bay box office at (702) 632-7580 or Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ufc.com, www.mandalaybay.com or www.ticketmaster.com. UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, April 9 at 10am PT via the website www.ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, April 11 starting at 10am PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.ufc.com. UFC 86: JACKSON vs. GRIFFIN is available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available). The pride of Memphis, Tennessee, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (28-6) recently made mixed martial arts history by unifying the PRIDE® and UFC belts and becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion when he defeated PRIDE 205-pound champion Dan Henderson at UFC 75. Jackson, who is respected for his raw strength, power slams and equally impressive striking ability, marched into the UFC in February of 2007 by taking out Marvin Eastman, and then capturing the light heavyweight belt from Chuck Liddell three months later via first round knockout. Now Rampage looks to defend his status as the top light heavyweight on the planet by taking out top 205-pound contender Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. "I think this fight with Forrest will be a great fight, we both like to please the crowd and we both have the same agenda, we both want to win this fight," said Jackson. "It's my job to stay the champion - I've come too far to back down now, so I'm going to have to drag Forrest through the woods." Griffin (15-4), fighting out of Las Vegas, is a well rounded fighter whose aggressive style and warrior’s heart propelled him to become the light heavyweight winner of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter in April 2005. Since then, he has never backed down from a challenge, facing the likes of Tito Ortiz, Stephan Bonnar, Elvis Sinosic, Keith Jardine and Hector Ramirez. Most recently, Griffin earned the respect of fight fans everywhere when he submitted one of MMA’s best, pound for pound, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, in the third round at UFC 76. Now Griffin looks to cap off his rise in the UFC by defeating Rampage Jackson and becoming the new UFC light heavyweight champion. "I'm really excited to be fighting for the title - if I win, I get to walk out to the Octagon second - I hate walking out first," said Griffin. "I think I'm ready for this fight, I've been watching Rocky a lot - he's really good at taking a beating. And Rampage always shows up ready for a fight, in his last fight he went 25 minutes with one of the toughest guys in the business, so I know he will be ready, too." The remaining bouts for UFC 86 will be announced in the near future. All bouts are live and subject to change. For further information on the UFC visit www.ufc.com or uk.ufc.com or www.ufcespanol.com 2008-04-06 ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT Results ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT Results Main Card Bouts: Kenny Florian defeated Joe Lauzon by TKO from strikes at 3:28 of rd 2 Gray Maynard defeated Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision Thiago Alves defeated Karo Parisyan by TKO from strikes at 0:34 of rd 2 Matt Hamill defeated Tim Boetsch by TKO from strikes at 1:25 of rd 2 Nate Diaz defeated Kurt Pellegrino by triangle choke at 3:06 of rd 2 James Irvin defeated Houston Alexander by KO at 0:08 of rd 1 Preliminary bouts: Josh Neer defeated Din Thomas by unanimous decision Marcus Aurelio defeated Ryan Roberts by armbar at 0:16 of rd 1 Manny Gamburyan defeated Jeff Cox by choke at 1:21 of rd 1 Clay Guida defeated Samy Schiavo by TKO from strikes at 4:15 of rd 1 George Sotiropoulos defeated Roman Mitichyan by TKO from strikes at 2:24 of rd 2 Anthony Johnson defeated Tommy Speer by KO at 0:51 of rd 1 2008-04-06 UFC WEIGH IN RESULTS Official Weigh-In Results - UFC Fight Night Official weigh-in results for Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night card at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado (Spike TV 7pm ET / PT). Joe Lauzon (156) VS Kenny Florian (155.5) Thiago Alves (171) VS Karo Parisyan (171) Tim Boetsch (206) VS Matt Hamill (204) Kurt Pellegrino (155) VS Nate Diaz (156) Gray Maynard (155) VS Frank Edgar (155.5) James Irvin (205) VS Houston Alexander (205) Roman Mitichyan (170.5) VS George Sotiropoulos (169.5) Samy Schiavo (155) VS Clay Guida (156) Jeff Cox (155) VS Manvel Gamburyan (155.5) Josh Neer (156) VS Din Thomas (155) Marcus Aurelio (154.5) VS Ryan Roberts (155.5) Anthony Johnson (169.5) VS Tommy Speer (170) 2008-04-06 IFL News NELSON, McGIVERN, SCHULTZ TO DEFEND TITLES AS INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE RETURNS TO CONNECTICUT ON MAY 16 Two New Camps Join Team Quest, World Class Fight Center In Bouts at Mohegan Sun Arena NEW YORK, March 31, 2008 – Two IFL stars, Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) and Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) will make their second respective title defenses and another, Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) will make his first when the International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI) returns to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with a minimum of nine bouts scheduled for Friday, May 16. HDNet will have live television coverage of the event. Tickets are on sale beginning today via www.ticketmaster.com, the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office, and by telephone at 860-886-0070. The night will also mark the IFL debuts for the Bomb Squad, a Northeast-based camp which will take on Mario Sperry’s World Class Fight Center from Las Vegas, and for Team Prodigy, an Ohio-based camp which will battle Matt Lindland’s Team Quest of Portland, Ore. In the title bouts, Nelson will defend his heavyweight belt against UFC veteran Branden Lee Hinkle (Weirton, W. Va.). Nelson won the title in December at Mohegan Sun with a knockout of Antoine Jaoude, then defended with a decisive first-round TKO over Fabiano Scherner in Las Vegas in February. Schultz will battle Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania) for the lightweight crown. Schultz also won his title in his last visit to Mohegan Sun in December, bouncing Chris Horodecki from the ranks of the unbeaten, then earned a decision win over John Gunderson in Las Vegas in February to defend. McGivern, one of the most improved fighters in the IFL, took the middleweight belt from Matt Horwich in February and has won three of his past four bouts. Other bouts of note include the Bomb Squad’s John Howard (Boston) against WCFC’s Marcello Salazar (Brazil) and Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Massenzio (Paterson, N.J.). Team Quest’s three competitors, who will take on three fighters from Team Prodigy to be announced, are all IFL veterans: Zac George (Norman, Okla.), Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.) and Aaron Stark (Portland, Ore.). IFL Mohegan Sun Friday, May 16, 2008 (order TBD) World Class Fight Center vs. Bomb Squad 170 lbs.: Marcello Salazar (Brazil) (1-0 IFL, 7-1-2 MMA overall) vs. John Howard (Boston) (0-0, 8-3) 185 lbs.: Danillo Villefort (0-0, 6-2) vs. Mike Massenzio (Paterson, N.J.) (0-0, 10-1) 155 lbs.: TBD Team Prodigy vs. Team Quest 155 lbs.: TBD vs. Zac George (Norman, Okla.) (1-1, 12-2) 185 lbs.: TBD vs. Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.) (6-4, 21-10-1) 205 lbs.: TBD vs. Aaron Stark (Portland, Ore.) (2-2, 5-4) Championship Bouts 265 lbs.: *Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) (5-1, 12-2) vs. Branden Lee Hinkle (Weirton, W. Va.) (0-0, 13-9) 185 lbs.: *Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) (6-4, 12-5) vs. Dan Miller (Sparta, N.J.) (1-0, 7-1) 155 lbs.: *Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb. (6-2, 19-9-1) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania) (3-0, 9-2) *Current Titleholder 2008-04-01 WEC featherweight Leonard Garc Thirteen members of an alleged drug trafficking organization are off Lubbock streets after a four-year investigation. Authorities say the cocaine ring spans from El Paso to the Hub City. NewsChannel 11 has learned one of those arrested is mixed martial arts fighter Leonard Garcia. He was arrested Tuesday in allege connection with the cocaine ring. Garica is currently ranked sixth in the featherweight class in MMA. He has fought in UFC and Ultimate Fighting championships. If convicted, three of those arrested could face up to 40 years in prison and up to a $2 million fine. The others could face up to life in prison and up to a $ 4 million fine. 2008-04-01 Shamrock vs Cung Lee Fight of For me, Saturday's main event between Frank Shamrock and Cung Le was somewhere between good and great. I will call it a very good fight. Round three was tremendous and while Shamrock vs. Le might be the fight of the year thus far, I think it will be a disappointing year for MMA if it is in the top five of top matches come year's end. I enjoyed the fight and the San Jose crowd really added to the atmosphere. But my biggest issue with Shamrock vs. Le was that while it was contested under MMA rules, it really wasn't an MMA fight. It was almost entirely a standup encounter, which I don't have a problem with if that's the an organic path for the fight to go down. But there were times when that fight could have and possibly should have gone to the ground and didn't. If someone gets swept off their feet and is lying on their back, a fighter should go in for the kill. A lesser issue I had with the fight was Shamrock's incessant hand gestures throughout the fight. The "nighty-night" gesture during the Phil Baroni fight last June was awesome. But he went to the well once too often during the fight with Le. I'm all for a little showmanship and gamesmanship but when there is too much banter between combatants during a fight, the level of intensity decreases and it begins to feel like a glorified sparring match. Having watched pro wrestling for so many years, I can recall several matches where you could see fighters calling their shots. Shamrock's gestures on Saturday kind of reminded me of that. If Shamrock hadn't broken his arm, then the fight not only could have been fight of the year, but possibly one of the greatest of all time. That third round was amazing and it seemed liked the fight was building to a crescendo until it ended suddenly and in anti-climatic fashion. Adam Morgan raised a good question, wondering what happened to Shamrock's wrestling game. Bill Goldberg made a good point off the air (and I think he might have said it on the air, but I'm not sure since I haven't seen the broadcast) which was that perhaps Shamrock can no longer change levels and shoot for takedowns like he used to because he has no ACL in one of his knees? Another thing I didn't like from Saturday were the quick and one-sided outcomes during the undercard. The same thing happened during the SHOWTIME portion of the Miami card. I like action and sometimes a fight just doesn't go as planned. But as I said in my CBS article this week, I prefer seeing Ali vs. Frazier as opposed to Tyson vs. Spinks. I want to see fights, not squash matches. I don't think you can blame EliteXC or Strikeforce for the outcome of the undercard bouts due to all of the things that happened that were out of their control. I'm simply saying that I hope the style of matches we saw in Miami and San Jose do not become a trend. One other thing I wanted to say was that I was really impressed by Tiki Ghosn's performance on the undercard. Ghosn recorded a unanimous decision over Luke Stewart, who was an undefeated welterweight prospect. It was a big win for Ghosn and his Muay Thai looked excellent. I hope Strikeforce brings him back soon and gives him a shot to fight for their still vacant welterweight title. -- Sam Caplan Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com SamCaplan.ProElite.com 2008-04-01 Top ten MMA Tantrums This past weekend MMA journalists were subjected to another lecture regarding rankings by a promoter grandstanding for his fighters. No, Dana White wasn't making the case for Anderson Silva as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world this past Saturday in San Jose, Calif. Instead, we had EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw stating that Jake Shields in the number one fighter in his weight class and that Cung Le is a top ten middleweight. Shaw is entitled to his opinion but so am I. And I beg to differ on both of his assertions. Normally I wouldn't make a big stink but I hate it when a promoter tries to guilt the media into giving his fighters more props. It's self-serving and insulting in the sense that it implies we aren't knowledgeable enough to form our own opinions and we should just take their word for it -- as if they are impartial in regards to the matter of world rankings. My issue when White made his campaign for Silva following UFC 82 wasn't the content of his message, but the context. It's hard to make a case against Silva as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Personally, I don't agree. That said, I realize I am in the minority in the belief that Georges St. Pierre is number one with Silva being ranked two. My issue was White pretty much saying that if you don't think Silva is number one that you're an idiot and or you're only withholding him as number one because you don't like Dana White. In regards to Shaw, I had issues with both the content and context. He pretty much came out and said those who aren't ranking more of his fighters are hurting the sport. That's hardly going to warm the MMA media up to his perspective. Condescension just isn't all that tactful. So context was an issue, but I had a bigger beef with the content. Shields number one at 170 pounds? Look, I hate having to take this position because it comes off as me denigrating Shields when that isn't the case. Save Gary Shaw, I don't know anyone who has him ranked higher than I do as the fourth best welterweight in the world. I think Shields is great and is one of the most underrated fighters in the sport. While he hasn't been presented with top fighter while with EliteXC, he was able to defeat some top guys before signing with EliteXC. But Shields as number one? C'mon now. I haven't seen a single website, blog, magazine, or television show that has Shields ranked as number one. White at least has a ground swell of public support out there supporting his claim about Silva. But what Shaw is basically saying is that everyone is wrong about Shields. I understand that it's the job of a promoter to sell their product and get people excited about their fighters, but I just think some of them need to improve their stumping methods. The old school style of a boxing promoter just talking a bunch of nonsense hasn't helped boxing in recent years and it's just not going to fly in MMA. If you are going to take a contrarian viewpoint, you at least have to interject some logic into your argument in order for anything you say to have any credibility. A promoter in MMA needs to hype his product but he needs to do it in a semi-realistic fashion. With the way Shaw expressed his viewpoint Saturday night, I feel like he might actually be doing Shields a disservice because some pundits might feel that moving him up in the rankings could be construed as them bowing to Shaw's wishes. And before a reader points the finger at me -- I'll rank a fighter the way I see it without concern of how a fan, fighter, or promoter will react. My thoughts are my thoughts. People can either take them or leave them. Shaw needs to give the people more substance when he stumps for his guys. Saying Shields is number one and everyone needs to just accept his word as gospel (not his exact words but pretty close in my opinion) just isn't going to cut it. Why not come out and say, "My personal opinion is that Shields is number one in his weight class and if the UFC gave him an opportunity to fight Georges St. Pierre or Matt Serra, he'd beat either of those fighters. I realize the UFC doesn't like the idea of co-promotions, so I'll go far as to offer to loan Shields to them without asking them to mention EliteXC. Not only that, but I will pay Shields' purse and the purse of his opponent. I just want Shields to have the opportunity to prove that he's the best." Okay, we all know the UFC would never accept such an offer and such a public proposal would be grandstanding. However, people can at least grab onto such a concept as opposed to completely dismissing Shaw's original statement. If promoters want to campaign for their fighters they need to give us something with some teeth. In regards to Le, Shaw made his case by saying that "Le isn't even one of my fighters." Well, that's partially true. Le is under contract to Strikeforce. However, he appeared on a SHOWTIME pay-per-view last June and his win over Tony Fryklund has been shown several times on SHOWTIME. Le's win against Frank Shamrock on Saturday was televised live on SHOWTIME. And since Shamrock's remaining fight with Strikeforce will be shown on SHOWTIME or SHOWTIME pay-per-view and a rematch with Le is likely at some point, Shaw has a financial interest in pundits helping lend credibility to Le. Once again, I'm put in a position as coming off negative about a fighter when I respond to Shaw's statement. I think Cung Le is a very exciting fighter with top ten ability. I'm just as big of a Le fan in MMA as anyone. Having a background in traditional standup martial arts, I think I know more about him than the typical MMA fan or writer because Le was promoted as a god in traditional styles. Le might come from San Shou, but San Shou is more than a sport in my eyes than an actual style. It's essentially full contact Karate/Kung Fu with takedowns. Le was embraced by the Kung Fu and Karate community and in fact first became exposed to him through Kung Fu Magazine. So I do believe Le will one day be a top ten middleweight. But today? No way. My belief has always been that in order to be top ten you need to beat fighters that are in the top ten. Either that or you need to pull a Ben Rothwell and fight 5-6 times a year and completely dominate everyone put in front of you. Le's win over Shamrock was huge but Shamrock isn't top ten. When he left the sport in '99, he was the pound-for-pound best. But since he's come back, Shamrock has selected his opponents based off box office potential and not world ranking. Considering Frank was short changed during the first act of his career, I have no problems with how he's guiding his own career. But a wins over Cesar Gracie and Phil Baroni and losses to Renzo Gracie (via DQ) and Cung Le aren't enough to get him back into the top ten. But regardless of content, it all comes down to context as to whether a promoter's stance is going to get the push from the press he seeks. When a promoter comes off as desperate such as Shaw and White have when they've issued their rhetoric, the natural reaction is skepticism. Shaw, White, and any other promoter can campaign all they want for their fighter but they need to realize that whining and trying to persecute the media for their beliefs isn't going to do any favors for their fighters. From a friend's perspective, I'd love to see these pointless debates end and just have the best of the best fight each other so we can end the inherent subjectiveness that comes with rankings. There's nothing more honest than one fighter beating another. -- Sam Caplan Lead Writer/Editor - ProElite.com SamCaplan.ProElite.com Tags: This entry has no tag Posted: 2 hours ago 2008-03-13 Frank Shamrock~Gladiator Frank Shamrock on the March 2008 Cover of Gladiator Magazine! Mixed martial arts and UFC fighting legend Frank Shamrock, called “the greatest fighter in the history of the Octagon” by UFC creator Art Davie, will appear on the March 2008 cover of Gladiator Magazine, the number one periodical for mixed martial arts, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling, and combat sports. This insightful and fascinating story, written by Gladiator publisher and editor-in-chief Todd Hester, explains how Frank Shamrock was able to transform himself up from a troubled youth to an international fighting star under the guidance of adoptive father Bob Shamrock and the influence of older brother Ken Shamrock. From his first-ever MMA victory in Japan against Bas Rutten, after training for less than a year, Shamrock talks about the trials and tribulations that led to him being signed to fight the greatest wrestler to ever enter the cage, Olympic champion Kevin Jackson, in UFC Japan. Widely expected to lose, Frank Shamrock shocked the world by armbarring Jackson in just 14 seconds, destroying the widely-held belief that mixed martial arts fighters were not elite athletes and changing the sport of MMA forever. Shamrock also talks about his upcoming March 27 fight in San Jose, CA against Cung Le in Strikeforce. The March issue of Gladiator also contains interviews with wrestling legend Dan Gable and Pride champion Fedor Emelianenko, now fighting for the new M-1 organization. There is also extensive MMA event coverage on UFC, KOTC, Gladiator Challenge, and Reality Fighting, grappling coverage with the BJJ No-Gi Worlds and NAGA 2007 Ranked final standings, instruction from Erik Paulson, Royce Gracie, Tom Supnet, and Royler Gracie, and special features on Dan Lambert’s American Top Team, MMA.tv founder Kirik Jenness, MMA promoter-turned-movie-producer Frederico Lapenda, UK coverage from Carl Fisher, and the hot new TV show from former KOTC producer Bud Brutsman starring FHM mega-babe Vida Guerra (complete with sizzling Vida photos!). If that’s not enough you’ll also get a huge dose of your favorite columnists and writers including Kid Peligro, Matt Furey, Kipp Kollar, Carl Fisher, Dr. Christian Harfouche, Lester Griffin, Bill Curry, Eugene S. Robinson and more! Make plans now to visit your nearest Barnes and Nobles or other newsstand or bookstore to pick up the March issue of Gladiator Magazine. Gladiator is also available in Canada, UK, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and throughout the world. It’s also available by subscription by visiting www.gladmag.com, www.jiujitsuprogear.com, or www.bjjmart.com. Make plans today to get the March 2008 Gladiator when it hits the stands! 2008-03-10 Herman vs Maia completes UFC 8 Herman vs Maia completes UFC 83 card Middleweight up and comer Ed Herman will look to follow up on the biggest win of his career on April 19th when he takes on unbeaten grappling wizard Demian Maia in a bout that completes UFC 83’s 11 bout card. A finalist from season three of The Ultimate Fighter, Ed “Short Fuse” Herman (16-4), was defeated by submission in his first post-TUF3 bout by Jason MacDonald in October of 2006, but since then the 27-year old Oregonian has been on an impressive tear, submitting Chris Price and Scott Smith in successive bouts before scoring the first knockout win of his career over Joe Doerksen at UFC 78 last November, a win that avenged an earlier loss to the Canadian. Unbeaten in seven pro MMA bouts, Sao Paulo, Brazil’s Demian Maia is a decorated grappler with a Pan American, an Abu Dhabi, two world, and three world cup championships to his name. He has continued his success in the MMA world, and last October he made a successful UFC debut when he submitted Ryan Jensen in the first round. Headlined by the highly-anticipated welterweight title rematch between Matt Serra and Georges St-Pierre, as well as middleweight bouts between Rich Franklin and Travis Lutter, and Michael Bisping and Charles McCarthy, UFC 83 is sold out. The only way to see the show will be on pay-per-view beginning at 10pm ET. 2008-03-10 Two Heavyweights to Debut at U Two Heavyweights to Debut at UFC 83 in Montreal On April 19th at Montreal’s sold out Bell Centre, the UFC heavyweight division gets an injection of new blood when newcomers Brad Morris and Cain Velasquez clash in a preliminary bout on the UFC 83: Serra vs St-Pierre 2 card. Headlined by the highly-anticipated welterweight title rematch between Matt Serra and Georges St-Pierre, as well as middleweight bouts between Rich Franklin and Travis Lutter, and Michael Bisping and Charles McCarthy, UFC 83 is sold out. The only way to see the show will be on pay-per-view beginning at 10pm ET. A native of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia, who now makes his home in Sydney, the 6 foot 1, 230 pound Brad Morris (10-2) comes to the UFC with a strong ground and pound attack, unorthodox striking, and a seemingly endless well of stamina. A five year veteran of the sport, Morris is currently on a three fight winning streak, with his last victory being a second round stoppage of UFC vet Kristof Midoux last August. Now he gets his shot in the Octagon. “Fighting in the UFC is the pinnacle of MMA, and thinking about some of the great fighters that have fought for the UFC is a humbling thought,” said the 29 year old Morris. “The offer to fight in the UFC is recognition of all the hard work and sacrifice that I have put myself through, and it’s great that it’s finally paid off.” A member of the world-renowned AKA camp that has produced such UFC standouts as Jon Fitch, Mike Swick, and Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez comes to the Octagon with only two pro fights, but the buzz around the Arizona native has been deafening. After earning All-American honors in wrestling twice, the Arizona State product turned to mixed martial arts in 2006 and he has since won both of his pro fights via first round TKO. Morris knows he’s in for a tough fight against the 25-year old on April 19th, but he’s ready for anything Velasquez throws at him. “I have seen his fights, he looks good standing and his ground control appears to be very solid,” said Morris of Velasquez. “Cain comes from a well respected team and is a big athletic guy. From what I have seen and heard his conditioning is great as well. Cain will be a big challenge, but one I am looking forward to.”