Weekly Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing News – 04/26/2013
By PDG Staff
UFC on FOX 8 – Fight Card Update
The stacked UFC on FOX 8 card finally has its main event, with UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson defending his title against hard-hitting wrestler John Moraga. The bout was originally scheduled to be contested at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, but a Johnson injury forced the fight to be postponed. Also added to the card, Washington native Miesha Tate will take on former UFC women’s bantamweight title challenger Liz Carmouche in a battle between two of the toughest fighters in their division. Plus, heavyweight knockout artists Matt Mitrione and Brendan Schaub will meet in a battle of TUF 10 alumni.
UFC on Fox 8: Johnson vs. Moraga
July 27, 2013
KeyArena
Seattle, Washington
Demetrious Johnson (17-2-1) vs. John Moraga (13-1) – UFC flyweight title bout
Liz Carmouche (8-3) vs. Miesha Tate (12-3)
Brendan Schaub (9-3) vs. Matt Mitrione (6-2)
Melvin Guillard (30-12-2) vs. Mac Danzig (21-10-1)
Rory MacDonald (14-1) vs. Jake Ellenberger (29-6)
Tarec Saffiedine (14-3) vs. Robbie Lawler (20-9-1)
Danny Castillo (15-5) vs. Bobby Green (20-5)
Trevor Smith (10-3) vs. Ed Herman (20-9)
Julie Kedzie (16-11) vs. Germain de Randamie (3-2)
Spencer Fisher (24-9) vs. Yves Edwards (42-19-1)
Michael Chiesa (9-0) vs. Reza Madadi (13-3)
GLORY 9 New York Announced with Superfights and LHW Tournament
GLORY, the world’s premier kickboxing league that is home to the greatest martial arts stand-up fighters on the planet, announced this week that it will bring its championship fight series to The United States for the first time ever with a one-night, eight-man, light heavyweight (209 pounds/95 kilograms) tournament at Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center in New York City on Saturday, June 22.
In one of several Superfights also scheduled for the event, heavyweight superstar and former secret service agent Daniel “The Savage Samurai” Ghita (46-9, 35 KOs) of Romania will collide with Muay Thai champion Brice Guidon (28-8, 13 KOs) of France.
Slated for battle in the single-elimination tournament, thus far, are hard-hitting KO artist Brian Collette (19-1, 16 KOs) of Norfolk, Va.; four-time world champion Danyo Ilunga (51-4, 41 KOs) of Germany; Muay Thai sensation Filip Verlinden (40-9-1, 16 KOs) of Belgium; Peter Aerts-protégé Mourad “The Silent Power” Bouzidi (75-20-2, 34 KOs) of Tunisia; world Muay Thai and Karate champion Steve McKinnon (42-5, 29 KOs) of Australia and granite chinned Koichi (26-8-1, 15 KOs) of Japan The remaining two tournament competitors will be announced soon.
In other Superfight action, hard-hitting “Bazooka” Joseph Valtellini (8-1, 7 KOs) of Toronto, Ontario Canada will square off with fellow rising star Francois Ambang (9-2, 4 KOs) of Mechanicsville, Va. in a welterweight (170 pounds/77 kilograms) matchup and Phil Nurse protégé Brett Hlavacek (8-1, 3 KOs) of New York, N.Y. will face three-time Muay Thi titlist Paul Marfort (10-5, 4 KOs) of Orlando, Fla. at welterweight.
The 27-year-old Valtellini, a high school teacher by day, has become a familiar face in New York, winning six of his pro Muay Thai bouts in The Big Apple, all by way of (T)KO. Valtellini, who also holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, made a splash, first start in the GLORY ring in Istanbul, Turkey on April 6, stopping Murat Direkci, a veteran with more than 10 times as many fights under his belt than Valtellini, in the third round of their matchup.
Ambang, a 26-year-old native of Cameroon, made a mark in New York City for the first time on March 22, winning the one-night, eight-man development Road To GLORY USA welterweight tournament at Capitale to earn a multi-fight contract with GLORY. Using heavy body attacks, Ambang defeated three consecutive opponents – two by way of TKO – including a first round stoppage of Hlavacek in the tournament’s championship round.
The 29-year-old Hlavacek reached the championship round of the tournament after scoring a stunning, 41-second TKO on Ryan Parker in the quarterfinal stage of the eight-man affair and earning a unanimous decision over Eric Utsch in the semifinal stage. A draw to determine the GLORY 9 New York light heavyweight tournament’s quarterfinal stage matchups will be held on a date to be announced soon. Doors at Hammerstein Ballroom will open at 5 p.m. EST and the first preliminary bout will begin at 6 p.m.
Invicta FC 6: Santos vs. Coenen II – Fight Card Announced
Earlier this week, the all-women’s professional mixed martial arts promotion Invicta Fighting Championships announced Invicta FC 6 would be held on Saturday, July 13, at Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kansas City, Mo. The card is headlined with a rematch between Marloes Coenen (21-5) and Cris Cyborg (11-1) for the inaugural Invicta FC featherweight title.
Invicta FC 6: Santos vs. Coenen
July 13, 2013
Ameristar Casino Hotel
Kansas City, Missouri
Main Card (Online PPV):
Marloes Coenen vs. Cristiane Santos – Inaugural Invicta FC featherweight title bout
Carla Esparza vs. Ayaka Hamasaki – Invicta FC strawweight title bout
Sarah D’Alelio vs. Lauren Taylor
Leslie Smith vs. TBA
Jessica Penne vs. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc
Joanne Calderwood vs. Claudia Gadelha
Julia Budd vs. Ediane Gomes
Bec Hyatt vs. Mizuki Inoue
Miriam Nakamoto vs. Duda Yankovich
Preliminary Card:
Rose Namajunas vs. Tecia Torres
Ashley Cummins vs. Emily Kagan
Mollie Estes vs. Veronica Rothenhausler
Laura Sanko vs. Livia Von Plettenberg
ONE FC Announces Final Two Main Card Bouts for ONE FC: Rise to Power
ONE FC has announced the final two main card bouts for ONE FC: Rise to Power. Rey Docyogen will battle Yasuhiro Urushitani and Geje Eustaquio will take on Andrew Leone. All the action takes place live on 31 May from the 20,000-seat MOA Arena in Manila, Philippines.
Rey Docyogen is one of the most exciting prospects to have ever emerged from the Philippines and has smashed his way through the flyweight and pinweight divisions in his home country. What Docyogen lacks in stature, he more than makes up for in strength and determination and he is renowned for his devastating ground and pound. He has four wins by stoppage due to strikes and four wins by submission, which is testament to how well-rounded he is. On 31 May, he will be making his second appearance inside the famed ONE FC cage against Japan’s Yasuhiro Urushitani.
Urushitani is the latest top Japanese fighter to sign with ONE FC and is one of the most experienced fighters in the featherweight division. He is a Shooto practitioner who made his MMA debut over a decade ago and has 31 fights to his name. He is a tenacious competitor who is no stranger to a tough fight. A stand up specialist, Urushitani is firmly established as one of the most dangerous fighters Japan has ever produced.
Geje Eustaquio was last seen in the ONE FC cage at ONE FC: Battle of Heroes in Jakarta, Indonesia. Eustaquio shocked the MMA world by defeating Alex Silva by decision in his first ONE FC outing. He trains alongside ONE FC Featherweight Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario at Team Lakay in Baguio, Philippines. Eustaquio will be looking to do his nation proud when he battles American Andrew Leone at ONE FC: Rise to Power.
Leone is an accomplished wrestler who has been working tirelessly on his Muay Thai and BJJ since joining the renowned Phuket Top Team. As a young MMA fighter, Leone has already made a big impression by winning fights against Soo Chul Kim and Min Jung Song. He is in the best fighting form of his life and is determined to make an impression in his highly-anticipated ONE FC debut come 31 May.
ONE FC: Rise to Power is headlined by the ONE FC Featherweight World Championship bout between reigning champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario and the number one contender Koji Oishi, plus the ONE FC Bantamweight Interim Title bout between pound-for-pound king Bibiano Fernandes and Koetsu Okazaki. All the action takes place live from the MOA Arena in Manila, Philippines.
UFC on FUEL TV 10/TUF Brasil 2 Finale – Fight Card Update
Northeast Brazil will host its first UFC event on June 8, as UFC on FUEL TV 10 will take place at the Ginásio Paulo Sarasate in Fortaleza, Ceara. In addition to the headlining bout between TUF Brasil 2 coaches Fabricio Werdum and Minotauro Nogueira, the event will feature a welterweight bout between the two TUF Brasil 2 finalists to determine the season winner.
Main Card (Fuel TV):
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (34-7-1) vs. Fabricio Werdum (16-5-1)
TUF 2 Brazil Final
Thiago Silva (14-3) vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (11-3)
Erick Silva (14-3) vs. Jason High (16-3)
Daniel Sarafian (7-3) vs. Eddie Mendez (7-0-1)
Rony Jason (12-3) vs. Mike Wilkinson (8-0)
Preliminary Card:
Raphael Assuncao (18-4) vs. Vaughan Lee (13-8-1)
Ronny Markes (14-1) vs. Derek Brunson (10-2)
Godofredo “Pepey” Castro (9-1) vs. Felipe Arantes (14-4-1)
Ildemar Alcantara (18-5) vs. Jason High (16-3)
Rodrigo Damm (10-6) vs. Mizuto Hirota (14-6-1)
Caio Magalhaes (5-1) vs. Karlos Vemola (9-3)
Antonio Braga Neto (8-1) vs. Anthony Smith (17-9)
Gökhan Saki – FAST AND FURIOUS by Roycoproductions
Thom Harinck Retires from Kickboxing
Legendary kickboxing trainer and founder of the Chakuriki Gym in Amsterdam, has retired at the young age of 69. At the age of seventeen while working as a steward on a cruise ship, he acquainted a wide knowledge of different martial arts all over the world. Due to his excellent physical condition and mental abilities he was selected to drive an AMX tank during his military service. It was in that same period that he started boxing. After his military service he had several jobs, but his heart was always with the martial arts and eventually he got involved professionally.
With 5 other friends he founded “Stunt Team Six” which team was very competent in many stunts with ear and motor vehicles, but also in horse riding, diving and fighting arts. For a short while he practiced Mas Oyama’s Kyokushinkai karate, but it was in 1972 that he founded his own “Chakuriki” style. This was a combination of karate, English boxing and the grappling techniques of judo and wrestling. Handling the traditional weapons bo, manrikigusari, nunchaku and sai was also an integral part of the Chakuriki style. Characteristic for the Chakuriki style became the training with weights and the extremely hard outdoor trainings during which they drew the attention of each and everyone because they were all dressed in red karate-gi (in those days the gi were all white). Harinck leaves the sport as one of the most famous trainers in the sport having trained numerous world champions including Peter Aerts, Branko Cikatić and Jérôme Le Banner and Melvin Manhoef.
K-1 World Max 2013 – Seletiva, Brasil Announced
This week a press conference was held to announce the return of K-1 World Max for 2013. Other then the country, no other details including the exact date or any of the fighters that will be participating were announced. With K-1’s recent financial issues, fans will just have to wait to see if this event actually takes place.
UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman – Fight Card Update
After being pulled from UFC on FOX 7 due to an injury to his opponent, “Stormin'” Norman Parke has a new bout scheduled. The TUF Smashes winner will face Kazuki Tokudome, who made a successful Octagon debut earlier this year when he outpointed Cristiano Marcello at UFC on FUEL TV 8.
UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman
July 6, 2013
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada
Anderson Silva (33-4) vs. Chris Weidman (9-0) – UFC middleweight title bout
Ricardo Lamas (9-2) vs. Chan Sung Jung (13-3)
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (11-3) vs. Thiago Silva (14-3)
Mark Munoz (12-3) vs. Tim Boetsch (16-5)
Tim Kennedy (15-4) vs. Roger Gracie (6-1)
Chris Leben (22-9) vs. Andrew Craig (8-1)
Frankie Edgar (15-4-1) vs. Charles Oliveira (16-3)
Cub Swanson (19-5) vs. Dennis Siver (21-8)
Dave Herman (21-5) vs. Shane Del Rosario (11-2)
Norman Parke (17-2) vs. Kazuki Tokudome (12-3-1)
Edson Barboza (11-1) vs. John Makdessi (11-2)
David Mitchell (12-2) vs. Mike Pierce (16-5)
Full Card Set for Legend FC 11 on April 27th in Malaysia
Undefeated for almost seven years, Legend Lightweight Champion Jadamba Narantungalag has cemented his status as one of Asia’s top pound-for-pound fighters by defeating elite lightweights such as Akihiro Gono, Adrian Pang, and Nam Yui Chul. But he faces his toughest challenge to date in Japan’s Koji Ando, a ground-and-pound specialist who will be looking to take the Legend Lightweight Title back to Tokyo.
With former Legend Welterweight Champion Bae Myung Ho recently conscripted for South Korean military service, top contenders Luke Jumeau and Li Jingliang will now battle for the belt. Legend fans will remember Jumeau from his Fight Of The Night bout against Alex Niu at Legend 10 – the sort of performance he will be looking to repeat. And having narrowly lost a decision to Bae in his first attempt at the Legend Title, Li is determined not to let the belt slip through his grasp again.
The contest for the Legend Bantamweight Title will see a classic striker vs. grappler battle, as Filipino knockout artist Agustin Delarmino, Jr. squares off against Chinese submission specialist Ji Xian. Delarmino aims to become Legend’s first ever Filipino champion, avenging his brother Leonard’s loss to Ji in the process. But the China Top Team product plans to finish the fight in the same method as nine of his ten victories: by tapping Delarmino out in the first round.
Preliminary Card:
Yang Hae Jun vs. Sam Brown
Yusuke Kasuya vs. Damien Brown
Hideto Tatsumi vs. Gareth Ealey
Choi Yeong Gwang vs. Ev Ting
Gugun Gusman vs. Sam Chan
Kai Kara-France vs. Danaa Batgerel
Ruel Catalan vs. Jo Nam Jin
Tenglige vs. Baasankhuu Damlanpurev
Rocky Lee vs. Muhammad Hanif Bin Zainal
ONE FC Presents Asia MMA Summit 2013 from May 2-4
Singapore: ONE Fighting Championship, the Eastern giant of the Mixed Martial Arts world, will again host the exclusive, invitation-only ONE Asia MMA Summit 2013, on May 2 to 4 at the prestigious Marina Bay Sands Resort & Casino. The Summit is a high-profile, premier platform for leaders of Asian MMA to network and discuss the explosive growth of the sport. Over 500 delegates are expected to be in attendance at this game-changing event.
This year’s edition will feature special guest speakers Phoebe and Robert Lee, the sister and brother of late martial arts legend Bruce Lee. The elusive siblings have made few public appearances and will be in Singapore exclusively to speak at the Summit. They will be giving a speech on the life and legacy of the greatest martial artist to have ever lived.
There will also be keynote speeches by ONE FC CEO Victor Cui, ONE FC Vice President of Matchmaking and Competition Matt Hume and Razian Razali, CEO of Sepang F1 International Circuit, and many more. Companies that will be attending include FOX, Youtube, Google, Motortrader, Tune Talk, New York Post, Yahoo!, MSN and FHM.
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From the PunchDrunkGamer Forums:
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* The Ultimate Fighter Brasil 2 – Discussion, Rumors & Results
Bonus Video – Invicta FC 5: All Angles with Michelle Waterson
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