KOSCHECK HEADLINES UFC FIGHT FOR THE TROOPS

KOSCHECK HEADLINES UFC FIGHT FOR THE TROOPS
Thursday, October 09, 2008 - Press Release courtesy of UFC

 

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KOSCHECK HEADLINES UFC FIGHT FOR THE TROOPS

KOSCHECK HEADLINES UFC FIGHT FOR THE TROOPS
Thursday, October 09, 2008 - Press Release courtesy of UFC

 

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AKA Super Star Cain Velasquez is out of Dec 10th fight nite due to surgery

VELASQUEZ INJURED; DEC. 10 UFC DATE UNLIKELY
Monday, September 22, 2008 - by MMAWeekly.com Staff

 

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AKA Fighter go 2-1 Playboy Mansion

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..TR> ..TABLE>..TABLE> 5:10 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment   Sunday, September 21, 2008 by Jason Probst (jprobst@sherdog.com) (Photos by Dave Mandel)   BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Kazuo Misaki stopped Joe Riggs on second-round strikes in the Strikeforce "Strikeforce at the Mansion II" main event on Saturday at the Playboy Mansion. Scoring with a nice right hand after he was dropped by Riggs, Misaki finished the bout with a flurry of shots and forced the stoppage 2:29 into round two. Misaki (21-8-2) entered the fight -- his first in the cage and second in the U.S. -- hoping to make an impression on American fans. The two circled for the first minute and a half. With both men reluctant to engage, a restless crowd became vocal in its displeasure with the lack of action. Misaki scored with a nice right low kick, and the dance resumed once more. Another low kick put Misaki ahead in the first round, and Riggs seemed unable to let his strikes fly until he connected on a short left cross. "In the first round, I was just feeling him out," Misaki said through an interpreter. "Both of us were figuring out what to do." The second opened with more tentative offense from the two veterans, as Misaki landed a couple of body shots in the opening minute and Riggs stalked without firing; the American then ate a body shot before connecting on a straight left. Riggs drilled Misaki with a big left moments later. The UFC veteran pounced and landed a kick, but Misaki countered with a pinpoint right cross that drove Riggs halfway across the cage and onto his back. The Japanese middleweight seized the chance to finish the fight and rained down shots -- though many missed the covered-up Riggs -- until the match was stopped by referee Josh Rosenthal. "I'm happy with the win," Misaki said. "This is a famous place to fight." Riggs (28-11) was unhappy with the Rosenthal's decision to intervene and claimed he had never before complained about a stoppage. "I was hit with one punch the whole fight -- the one he knocked me down with," Riggs said. "I had my hands covering my head. But it is what it is." On the heels of his surprising decision victory over Gilbert Melendez, Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson was impressive against Ashe Bowman and secured a quick finish in a non-title tilt. Thomson (16-2) used low kicks early to set the offensive tone. He then delivered a quick right hand that sent Bowman falling against the cage. Thomson pounced and scored with a flurry of punches before the bout was stopped 1:14 into the first round. "When [referee] Herb [Dean] stepped in," Thomson said, "I wasn't sure if he was stopping it or checking to see if he was alright." .. -->PICTURE R--> Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Terry Martin (top) finishes Cory Devela with a follow-up right hand. .. -->/PICTURE R-->Meanwhile, UFC veteran Terry Martin scored a third-round TKO against Cory Devela in a closely contested middleweight match. Devela -- who landed a head kick in the second and a flying knee in the third -- drove home a low right kick in the final round, but Martin (18-5) answered. The heavy-handed Chicagoan dropped Devela (9-2) with a sweeping left hook and followed up with a right hand, forcing Dean's intervention 2:08 into round three. "You have to take your hat off to Cory Devela; he fought a smart fight," Martin said. "I'd been catching him, but I was just grazing him. I knew it was just a matter of time." Perhaps no one on the card impressed more than Mitsuhiro Ishida. One of the world's premiere lightweights and the first man to defeat Melendez, Ishida (17-4-1) needed little more than a minute to ditch Justin Wilcox. The Japanese standout secured a fight-ending armbar 1:21 into round one, as he won for the 11th time in 13 bouts. Wilcox (5-3), meanwhile, saw his four-fight winning streak grind to a halt. In other action, former Bodog Fight middleweight champion Trevor Prangley earned a workmanlike decision victory against a game but outmatched Anthony Ruiz. Judges scored the bout 30-27, 30-26 and 29-28 in Prangley's favor. "He's improved a lot since the first time I fought him," said Prangley, who submitted Ruiz at a Strikeforce event in October 2006. "I always like to finish fights. He's a good fighter and a tough guy." Ruiz (21-12) forced the South African against the cage early and attempted to work in some knees. Prangley landed a nice left knee in a subsequent exchange, but Ruiz battled back and landed a right hand that buzzed his opponent. A late injury replacement for Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Prangley took down Ruiz and mounted him in the first round, securing back control as Ruiz attempted to spin out. The pair battled for hand position for more than a minute, as Prangley was unable to sink in the choke. Ruiz escaped into Prangley's guard, only to have the South African spring up as the pair threw punches, most of them missing, to end the round. Prangley (18-5) continued to pressure and nearly cinched an armbar in the final 20 seconds of round two. Ruiz missed a big right to open the final stanza, as Prangley slipped the punch and shot in for another takedown. Bleeding from his left eye, Ruiz shielded himself as Prangley worked punches from the top. Ruiz stood, only to be taken down once more. Prangley landed a pair of hard knees to the body, as Ruiz was unable to improve position. .. -->PICTURE L--> Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Luke Stewart (top) submits Jesse Juarez in the first round Saturday at the Playboy Mansion. .. -->/PICTURE L-->One of the Strikeforce promotion's prized young prospects earned his way back into the winner's circle, as Luke Stewart submitted Jesse Juarez with an armbar 4:55 into the opening round. Juarez pinned Stewart (6-1) against the cage in the opening seconds, as the pair hit the mat in a scramble. Juarez wound up in top position. Stewart rolled for a kneebar, but Juarez (6-5) defended, and the fighters eventually locked themselves in chest-to-back stand-up clinch. Stewart then scored a takedown and secured mount, dropping a few shots before he transitioned to an armbar and coaxed the tapout. In a welterweight scrap, Brandon Magana scored a split decision win against the previously unbeaten Brandon Thatch. Magana (6-1) secured numerous takedowns and mounted Thatch (3-1) in the third. He also threatened with a choke late in the fight. All three judges scored the match 29-28, two of them in Magana's favor. Finally, Jesse Gillespie earned a split decision nod at Dave Martin's expense in a light heavyweight tilt. Two of the judges scored the bout 29-28 in Gillespie's favor; the third saw it 30-27 for the winless Martin (0-2). The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for Gillespie (2-2).

Monday, September 01, 2008 AKA Fighter go 3-1 in Santa Monica ..TR> Galvao Submits Metcalf in MMA Debut ..TR> ..TABLE>..TABLE> 4:17 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment   SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Seven-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Andre Galvao made a successful mixed martial arts debut on Saturday, as he submitted Jeremiah Metcalf (Pictures) with a second-round armbar at Fighting 4 Kidz at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. To no one's surprise, Galvao (1-0) pulled off a submission. To almost everyone's surprise, he used strikes to set it up. The fight was not without tense moments for the Brazilian phenom, as Metcalf (9-5) opened the match with a stick-and-move style that allowed him to keep his distance from Galvao. Metcalf twice knocked down his debuting foe, first with a straight right and then with a knee. Forced to fight on his feet, Galvao eventually landed a three-punch combination that had Metcalf on his heels. By round two, Galvao had grown more confident standing and continued to score. Eventually, his combinations set up the opportunity for a takedown. From there, it was like shooting fish in a barrel for Galvao, as the Brazilian snatched an arm and locked in the submission. The end came 2:05 into round two. In heavyweight action, the American Kickboxing Academy's Mike Kyle (Pictures) earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over Mychal Clark (Pictures). Kyle (11-6-1) spent the majority of round one trying to break down Clark's elusive style, though he eventually set up a stinging right hand with two body shots. Kyle immediately clinched and landed a pair of knees, the second as the bell sounded. Kyle picked up where he left off in the second, as he took down Clark and dominated the round with ground-and-pound. .. -->PICTURE R--> Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Andre Galvao puts Jeremiah Metcalf away with a second round armbar. .. -->/PICTURE R-->Clark avoided Kyle's takedown attempts in the third and landed a spinning back elbow that appeared to hurt the AKA product. Clark (6-4) attacked but delivered a knee to the UFC veteran's head while he was still down and allowed him time to recover. Though he seemed to get the best of the late stand-up exchanges, Clark saw his comeback chances end when the final bell sounded. Like Kyle, World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Bryan Baker (Pictures) also went the distance to attain victory, as he earned a unanimous decision over Gary Padilla (Pictures). Based out of Brandon Vera (Pictures)'s Alliance Training Center, Padilla tried to take the fight to the ground early, as he stole a page from Chael Sonnen (Pictures)'s playbook. Almost immediately, he shot in for the takedown and slammed Baker to the mat twice. Baker -- who was outclassed on the ground in a decision loss to Sonnen in March -- escaped both times and forced Padilla into a stand-up affair. Baker (7-1) had a distinct advantage standing and began to pick apart his opponent with punches and knees. He had Padilla badly hurt in the latter stages of the first round but was unable to put him away. Padilla (8-3) recovered by the start of round two and traded willingly with Baker, who continued to capitalize. The third round provided more of the same, as Baker got the best of most of the exchanges. Padilla, with the crowd's backing, proved resilient and fought back with combinations of his own, though they did little damage. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Baker. .. -->PICTURE L--> Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Justin Wilcox connects with a right hand on Gabe Ruediger. .. -->/PICTURE L-->Meanwhile, in his first action in nine months, Gabe Ruediger (Pictures) could not shake off the resulting ring rust and took a beating for three rounds at the hands of Kyle's AKA teammate, Justin Wilcox. Wilcox (5-2) staggered Ruediger with a right hand moments into the fight and secured an easy takedown. From top position, Wilcox dished out a serious ground-and-pound assault. Ruediger (11-5) fought his way back to his feet, only to be dropped again with a one-two combination. Wilcox finished the round with more ground-and-pound. The one-sided pounding continued in the second and third rounds. Ruediger repeatedly found himself on the wrong end of Wilcox's punches, standing and on the ground, as he lost for the third time in four fights. Davin Clark was also part of a successful night for AKA. In his professional debut, Clark (1-0) overwhelmed Andrew Lang (Pictures) with a crisp striking game. He dropped Lang (0-2) with a straight right in the third round and pounced on him with a flurry of punches and hammer fists. Referee Cecil Peoples intervened just 19 seconds into the third round. Elsewhere, Seth Dikum knocked AKA product Vanoscar Penvaroff (2-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten, as he submitted the featherweight with a rear naked choke in 61 seconds. Dikum (6-2) has won four straight. Finally, Dustin Rhodes evened his record at 2-2, as he coaxed a tapout from Vince Ortiz (Pictures) with a triangle choke 33 seconds into round two. Ortiz (0-2) remains winless as a professional. A charitable event organized by TKT and JG Promotions, Fighting 4 Kidz proceeds went to benefit the Shriner's Hospital of Los Angeles. Sunday, August 24, 2008 AKA Matt Majors Beats Mr International Shonie Carter ..TR>   ..TR> ..TABLE>..TABLE> 9:15 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment .. Sunday, August 24, 2008 by Joseph Zigler 14174 FRESNO, Calif. -- Experience only goes so far. Matt Major defeated UFC veteran Shonie Carter (Pictures) by unanimous decision in the main event at Cage Combat Fighting Championships 8 "Rumble in the Park," as he outclassed a man with 14 times as many professional fights on Saturday at the Woodward Park Amphitheatre. The contest was essentially a 15-minute kickboxing match with a lot of clinching. Major (4-1) landed repeated high kicks but did little visible damage to his durable opponent. Carter attempted the only takedowns of the fight, and Major thwarted them easily. Both men relied heavily on kicks, and for once, Carter's strikes were not as flashy as his foe's. Carter (44-18-7) fought southpaw and revealed after the match the he believed he had broken his wrist in the first round. He staggered Major with a straight right hand in the first but did not threaten the prospect again. "I didn't know where the hell I was," Major said. "He really had me in trouble." In the end, Major stayed busy enough to clinch the unanimous decision and pass one of the toughest tests of his young career. Judges scored it 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. In the co-main event, local hero Casey Olson (Pictures) dominated and outmatched Aaron Miller (Pictures), as he locked in an arm triangle for the tapout 4:30 into round one. Olson (9-2) has rattled off three consecutive victories, two of them by submission, since his knockout loss to World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Olaf Alfonso (Pictures) in February. Olson came out looking to strike, but when Miller (5-4) clinched, he grabbed a double leg and slammed his opponent to the canvas. Once the action went to the mat, Olson controlled Miller with superior wrestling. He cinched the fight-ending arm triangle so quickly that many in the capacity crowd did not even know why Miller tapped. Two titles were on the line at CCFC 8. Rolando Velasco (Pictures) retained his bantamweight crown, as he survived some harrowing moments early and fought David Espinosa (Pictures) to a draw. Espinosa almost put the champion away in the first round, as he dropped Velasco several times with hard shots to the side of the head. Velasco (5-0-1) -- who entered the match unbeaten and untied -- survived the onslaught, but it was an obvious 10-8 round for the challenger. Noticeably fatigued after beating the champion from one side of the cage to the other, Espinosa (5-2-1) mounted little offense in the final two rounds. Velasco controlled the rest of the fight from Espinosa's guard, as he peppered the fatigued challenger with punches. All three judges scored the bout 28-28. CCFC heavyweight kingpin Buddy Roberts (Pictures) had no such trouble defending his belt. A product of Ken Shamrock (Pictures)'s Lion's Den, Roberts needed only 27 seconds to defeat Rafael Real (Pictures), as he locked in a rear naked choke for the tapout. Roberts (6-1) wasted no time, dropping Real (5-10) with an early straight right. Roberts then secured back control, softened up Real with punches and ended the fight with the choke. Roberts has won four fights in a row, the last three by rear naked choke submission. Meanwhile, undefeated Ky Hollenbeck impressed again, as he submitted Bobby Cearly in the first round. Fending off Cearly's aggressive attack from his back, Hollenbeck (3-0) landed a picture-perfect upkick that wobbled his opponent enough to set up an armbar 2:04 into round one. In other action, Jesse Bowen (Pictures) -- who had fought and won eight days prior to the CCFC event -- notched his second win of the month, as he submitted Elvis Franco (Pictures) with a first-round triangle choke. Franco (1-2-1) refused to tap out and fought the triangle for some time, but Bowen (4-3) squeezed tighter and tighter and left his opponent with no other alternative. The end came 91 seconds into round one. The show's quickest finish belonged to Moses Lira, who knocked out the debuting Pete Sierra in just eight seconds. Lira (1-1) floored Sierra with a three-punch combination and then put him out with three devastating shots on the ground. Elsewhere, middleweight Ted Van Roll struck Jose Diaz (Pictures) into submission 2:07 into round one. Diaz was outmatched and tapped quickly after Van Roll (2-0) delivered a series of brutal body blows. Finally, Andy Miranda opened the show with a vicious nine-second knockout of Francisco Loredo (Pictures). Medical officials rushed in to the cage in the aftermath, immobilizing Loredo's neck and supplying him with oxygen. Loredo (2-5) -- who has lost three straight matches -- lifted his arms to the crowd as he was carried out of the cage on a stretcher. Miranda improved to 3-1.   Wednesday, August 20, 2008 AKA Fighter Mike Swick off UFC 90 Due to Surgery  SURGERY BLOCKS UFC 90, SWICK EYES DECEMBER Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com  Despite hopes that he would be able to fight on the Ultimate Fighting Championship's upcoming Chicago debut on Oct. 25, Mike Swick told MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday that he hasn't recovered enough from recent surgery on his right elbow to be ready for UFC 90. "I had a few bone fragments floating around in my elbow joint causing inflammation. There were also bone spurs that needed to be removed. It has been ongoing for a while… It reduced my flexibility in the right arm and if it was extended too much it would swell up and be useless for a few days until the inflammation went down," said the American Kickboxing Academy fighter. "So it was a priority to get it fixed as soon as this last fight was over, which is what we did. Dr. Sanders and Young operated on it in Las Vegas on July 10 and removed the bone fragments and bone spurs." He is already back training, but still not up to speed for an October return. With The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Finale in early December and the UFC's year-end event late in the month, his plans more likely are aimed at a December return. "As of right now it is still not 100%," he says, "mostly because I am training on it so much, but should be completely healed within the next few weeks. I have been doing cardio and some grappling, but haven't been able to spar for some time. I am trying to be ready by November, but it's a safer bet to say I will be fighting in December." It is obviously too premature for name an opponent, but considering an emotional exodus from the middleweight division following a disheartening loss to Yushin Okami and his recent success at welterweight, Swick isn't ready to take a step back. "I want to fight top contenders. I have already fought Burkman and Davis, so I want to move up from there and continue to test my abilities against the best." With his newly repaired elbow, his training should improve, the distractions of the debilitation will fade, and Swick believes we will see a return to the explosive fighter he once was. A newfound maturity, he hopes, leading him to an ascent of the division currently ruled by champion Georges St. Pierre. "I am extremely motivated and excited to get back in the Octagon… Mentally and physically I will be where I need to be to return to the aggressive, explosive fighter that I used to be," he told MMAWeekly.com. "After the Okami fight, I was immature professionally and let pressure and other issues cloud my mind… I know I could have fought better, but didn't and it handed me my greatest loss. "After this, instead of making up for it with a better fight against Burkman, I let issues effect that fight as well and again was disappointed in my performance. It was a tough lesson to have to swallow, but it matured me as a fighter." That is the voice of veteran fighter Mike Swick. That is the voice of the Mike Swick who worked his way up the ladder in World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), experienced the groundbreaking first season of The Ultimate Fighter, and amassed a 7-1 record in the famed UFC Octagon. "You hear of fighters going through a bad time in their career, but you never can understand what its like until you go through it yourself… It's like everything else in that you have to learn as you go, and most of the time, learn from your mistakes. I have definitely learned from mine and I feel have become a more mature complete fighter." 9:44 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Fitch discusses GSP Loss UFC 87: JON FITCH DISCUSSES LOSS TO ST. PIERRE Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com   .. content="" name=Title> .. content="" name=Keywords> .. content=Word.Document name=ProgId> .. content="Microsoft Word 2008" name=Generator> .. content="Microsoft Word 2008" name=Originator>.. href="UFC%2087%20Video%20Jon%20Fitch_files/filelist.xml" rel=File-List> As much as Anderson Silva has run roughshod over the UFC middleweight division, Canadian warrior Georges St. Pierre has done nearly as much at welterweight. That only goes to further embolden Jon Fitch's performance against St. Pierre at UFC 87 this past Saturday night.   He came up on the losing end of a unanimous decision, but Fitch, the No. 2 ranked welterweight in the world to St. Pierre's No. 1 ranking, proved his toughness. He also showed how he was able to rack up a record-tying 8-0 undefeated streak in the UFC prior to the loss to St. Pierre.   Asked if he felt he proved that he deserved to be considered among the best in the world, Fitch told MMAWeekly.com, "I hope so. You know, if I haven't proved enough to people in the last eight wins, they really don't know anything about this sport and aren't really fans of the sport."   He thought he had the strategy to beat St. Pierre. "The biggest strategy with Georges was to stay in his face and never really sit still and never really let him get off first.  I've seen a lot of fights where people sit and wait for him and with his speed you can't do that."   That strategy may have worked if not for the unexpected speed that the UFC welterweight champion possesses.   "It took all of the first round to adjust to how fast he is," said Fitch, "and by that time he had hit me so many times in the left eye that I couldn't really see him.  He's a great champ.   "I knew he was fast, but not that fast."   Despite his eye swelling shut early in the fight, Fitch laid his heart out in the Octagon and never backed down. In fact, as the fight wore on, Fitch opened a cut over St. Pierre's left eye, giving him hope that he could still pull out the win.   "I caught him with a nice knee at the end of the third or the beginning of the fourth… kept throwing right hands trying to hit that cut, see if I could open it up more."   But it wasn't to be and St. Pierre continued his dominance of the 170-pound division with a strong unanimous decision victory. Still, Fitch takes some positive reinforcement from the fight.   "The biggest thing is I didn't get tired," said the somber challenger to MMAWeekly.com. "I was in there for five rounds throwing down with the best guy in the world and I had more rounds left in me."   UFC 87 VIDEO: JON FITCH POST-FIGHT   UFC 87 VIDEO: GEORGE ST. PIERRE POST-FIGHT   UFC 87 VIDEO: ROGER HUERTA ADDRESSES CONTROVERSY   UFC 87 VIDEO: POST-FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE PART 1   UFC 87 VIDEO: POST-FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE PART 2   9:59 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment Sunday, August 10, 2008 Fitch loses hard fought five round decision for UFC Title ..TR> ..TR> ..TABLE>..TABLE> 4:14 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment .. language=JavaScript src="/absolutebmxe/abm.asp?z=1">..> - UFC 87 REVIEW: GSP STILL THE MAN Sunday, August 10, 2008 - by Al Yu (Photos by Ken Pishna) - MMAWeekly.com     .. content="" name=Title> .. content="" name=Keywords> .. content=Word.Document name=ProgId> .. content="Microsoft Word 2008" name=Generator> .. content="Microsoft Word 2008" name=Originator>.. href="UFC%2087%20VIDEOS_files/filelist.xml" rel=File-List> The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its debut at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. this Saturday in front of 15,082 fans. Georges "Rush" St-Pierre headlined the UFC 87 fight card defending his UFC welterweight title against Jon Fitch. Brock Lesnar returned to the Octagon taking on Pride and UFC veteran Heath Herring while Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian faced off in a lightweight match that could determine the next contender for BJ Penn's belt.   Jon Fitch brought his impressive 15-fight winning streak into the biggest match of his career when he faced UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Unfortunately for Fitch, his momentum was stopped when he ran into a brick wall that was the French Canadian.   There were countless times when St-Pierre had Fitch in trouble but the American Kickboxing fighter showed an incredible heart and somehow managed to persevere. Despite his will to survive, Fitch's championship dream was cut short as he would go on to lose a unanimous decision and give St-Pierre his first successful title defense.   After the fight, BJ Penn entered the Octagon to officially challenge St-Pierre. The champion later responded, "I will give a shot to everyone who deserves it. BJ Penn deserves it."   The crowd erupted as Brock Lesnar made his entrance into the Octagon. After losing his UFC debut to Frank Mir, Lesnar needed to make a statement. He did so with his first punch. One clean right landed from the former wrestler that sent Herring reeling back to the canvas and Lesnar dominated the rest of the round with his incredible strength and control. The remainder of the fight mimicked the first round as Lesnar's wrestling prowess proved too much for the "Texas Crazy Horse." The hometown favorite enjoyed his first UFC victory and showed the world his potential.   "Can you see me now? Can you see me now?" yelled Lesnar after the fight. "I fell off the horse when I fought Mir and I got back on that stallion and rode off on it. I've been trying to work on everything every day to be a complete fighter and a contender in the UFC."   In the big upset of the evening, Rob Emerson made quick work of the heavily favored Manny Gamburyan. Emerson dropped Gamburyan with a right hook at the start of the round and followed up with a fight ending left hook as Manny attempted to get up. It was an impressive 12-second performance for the underdog.   Ultimate Fighter season one runner-up Kenny Florian delivered a message in arguably the highest profile fight of his career. The cheers of the Minnesota fans were overwhelming as they listened to the introductions for the highly anticipated match-up between Florian and Roger Huerta. "El Matador" had the support of the crowd.   The first two rounds were close and could have gone either way on the judges scorecards. In the third, both fighters had great scrambles and entertained the crowd with subtle acknowledgments of landed shots. Florian landed the cleaner strikes in the final round and earned a unanimous decision by all three of the judges.   "I know how hard it was to fight Roger Huerta. I trained very hard for him and he's going to be a champion," said Florian after the fight. "I didn't want to get into a brawl with him; I wanted to be technical and I think I was able to do that.   "I was very surprised I wasn't able to submit him. He's very strong, very technical with his hips. He's tough as nails," added Florian. "I really wanted to have a dominant performance against Roger. It's up to the UFC (whether I get a title shot)."   Jason MacDonald showed great poise in avoiding and defending the submissions by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Demian Maia. When most fighters would have tapped, MacDonald endured and won the approval of the fans in an entertaining grappling match. Unfortunately for MacDonald, Maia showed why he is a jiu-jitsu world champion when he submitted his Canadian opponent with a rear naked choke in the third and final round. The win put the Brazilian into a list of potential contenders for the UFC middleweight title.   In a fight that Joe Rogan coined as the "battle of the nerds," Tamdan McCrory and Luke Cummo faced off in welterweight action. McCrory was the aggressor early on, leading in with strikes and landing uppercuts from the clinch. The fight went to the ground on many occasions and the "Barn Cat" displayed his jiu-jitsu skills as he controlled the fight from Cummo's back. McCrory had many slick transitions but was unable to submit the tough Cummo. In the end, all three judges awarded Tamdan McCrory the unanimous decision in what was easily considered the best preliminary fight of the night.   Cheick Kongo put himself back into the heavyweight title picture with a first round TKO over Dan Evensen. In a fight that many expected to be a stand-up war, the French kickboxer took the fight to the ground. After the fighters were stood up for a second time, Kongo landed a devastating straight right hand that dropped Evensen. Subsequence strikes on the ground forced the referee to halt the fight.   "Everyone knows I deserve a title fight," said Kongo. "I want to be the best fighter in the world and I will show more than I did tonight when I get a title shot."   In the battle of the newcomers, IFL veteran Andre Gusmao and Jon Jones put on an entertaining fight with a few spinning backfists and a couple of unfortunate low blows. Jones played the role of aggressor for the entire fight, using his reach to fatigue his opponent. The fight had a few memorable flurries but was highlighted by Jones' striking and athleticism. The judges saw it the same and awarded Jones the unanimous decision.   Team Quest fighter Chris Wilson earned his first Octagon victory with a dominating performance against Steve Bruno. Throughout the fight, Bruno attempted numerous takedown attempts only to have almost all of them defended against, allowing Wilson to control from a dominant position. The American Top Team from dropped on many occasions by Wilson but showed a lot of heart in enduring the subsequent punishment. After three rounds, Wilson earned a unanimous decision.   Former Ultimate Fighter contestant Ben Saunders submitted newcomer Ryan Thomas in the evening's opening bout. The two fighters exchanged early with Saunders landing left kicks to Thomas' side. After two rounds, the effects of the kicks took its toll and Thomas crumbled to the mat, allowing Saunders to finish with an armbar.   "I thank Ryan for taking the fight on short notice. He's a warrior," said Saunders.   -Georges St. Pierre def. Jon Fitch by unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, 50-44) -Brock Lesnar def. Heath Herring by unanimous decision (30-26 on all cards) -Rob Emerson def. Manny Gamburyan by KO at 0:12, R1 -Kenny Florian def. Roger Huerta by unanimous decision (30-27 on all cards) -Demian Maia def. Jason MacDonald by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:44, R3 -Tamdan McCrory def. Luke Cummo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) -Cheick Kongo def. Dan Evensen by TKO (strikes on the ground) at 4:55, R1 -Jon Jones def. Andre Gusmao by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) -Chris Wilson def. Steve Bruno by Unanimous Decision (30-27) on all cards -Ben Saunders def. Ryan Thomas by submission (armbar) at 2:28, R2   UFC 87 VIDEO: GEORGES ST. PIERRE POST-FIGHT   UFC 87 VIDEO: POST-FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE PT. 1   UFC 87 VIDEO: POST-FIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE PT. 2   UFC 87 VIDEO: ROGER HUERTA POST-FIGHT Thursday, August 07, 2008 GSP vs AKA Fighter Jon Fitch ..TR> Mythbuster Fitch Says GSP No 'God' .. language=javascript type=text/javascript> var agt=navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase(); var appVer = navigator.appVersion.toLowerCase(); var is_safari = ((agt.indexOf('safari')!=-1)&&(agt.indexOf('mac')!=-1))?true:false; if (is_safari) { var share_panel = document&183;getElementById('share_panel_holder'); share_panel.style.right = "-11px"; } function sendto(item) { var newpage; ShowContent('vir_email'); document&183;getElementById('vir_email')...="<[[iframe]] src=.."../sendto.php"+item+".."frameborder=.."0.." scrolling=.."no.." width=.."215.." height=.."60.."><../[[iframe]]>"; } function printer_friendly(theURL,winName,features) { window.open(theURL,winName,features); } ..>  Options: Email Article | Printer Friendly ..TR> ..TABLE>..TABLE> 10:02 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment .. Thursday, August 07, 2008 by Mike Harris (mharris@sherdog.com) 13942 As great as reigning UFC welterweight champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (Pictures) is -- and really, all but a smattering of the sport's most casual fans know that the MMA superstar is widely considered one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters on terra firma -- at the end of the day, he's merely a man, not some mythological god. And men, as opposed to gods, can be bested in battle. At least that's how Sherdog top-ranked welterweight challenger Jon Fitch (Pictures), who is facing St. Pierre Saturday in a five-round title bout at UFC 87 in Minneapolis, is mentally approaching the most important fight of his career. Fitch, 30, is a huge underdog, given all but no chance by oddsmakers and most fans. Such talk doesn't faze Fitch -- at least outwardly -- but does prompt him to suggest that those aforementioned fans need a serious reality-check when it comes to their lofty perceptions of St. Pierre (16-2-0). "Everybody has weaknesses," said Fitch (17-2-0, 1 NC) from his training camp at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif. "Nobody's perfect. Fans have this thing of building mythical gods out of men. So maybe they don't see a lot of the mistakes that are being made. I'm not going to say what those mistakes are. I'm just hoping to expose them." Fitch contended that none of the stress factors that might produce cracks in the mental foundations of other fighters -- his first-ever title shot, fighting the immensely popular, high-profile, top-ranked welterweight in the world, one considered one of the most naturally gifted athletes in the game, even keeping his 15-fight win streak (eight straight in the UFC) alive -- put any additional pressure on him. "I have a simple task ahead of me and that's all I'm focusing on and that's all I care about. All the other stuff just accumulates over time on its own. There's no need to worry about it or think about it or even have a conscious thought about it," Fitch said. To the contrary, he said, to be fighting an opponent as storied as St. Pierre -- once famously hailed by UFC President Dana White as "the future of MMA" -- is a great motivator. "He's not just another opponent, but there's no pressure," said Fitch, who, while a hugely talented, widely respected fighter who has more than earned his shot at the belt St. Pierre holds, simply goes about his business in a more low-key manner than the French Canadian MMA supernova does. "There's excitement. Because I thrive to fight the best guys out there. That's all I want to do. That's all I've ever wanted to do. So I don't see it as pressure. I see it as a great opportunity and I'm excited for it." One of Fitch's main men, coach "Crazy" Bob Cook, American Kickboxing Academy's head MMA trainer, agreed. "Well, you know, he's been the underdog throughout the beginning of his UFC career and kinda looks forward to that again," Cook said. "And is actually, probably a little hungrier than he's been in his last couple of fights. So it's actually a positive. He's looking forward to the opportunity to test himself." But AKA owner and head trainer Javier "Thunder" Mendez said that Fitch is absolutely feeling the pressure. "No, there's pressure," said Mendez, a former two-time world champion kickboxer. "Definitely. I mean, you know it's just natural to have that pressure. If I said no, then you'd know that he's not really ready for this fight. He's fighting GSP, who basically most people aren't giving him much of a chance to do anything (against). But you know, that's the fans speaking. Not the experts. The experts are prepared to make this fight a little closer than the fans are." Besides Cook, Fitch's other main trainer for the fight is, as usual, AKA mainstay Dave Camarillo, who just last month awarded Fitch his black belt in Guerilla jiu-jitsu, a system Camarillo founded that culls elements of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo and gears them toward mixed martial arts. Fitch also has a boxing coach who, for public consumption, only wants to be known as the mysterious Huitzilan ("He doesn't want his real name out there," Mendez said with a shrug). Also helping Fitch train are Mendez ("I'm the fourth guy down on the list," he said, downplaying his role. "I help him on the pads. I hold a couple times a week for him.") and AKA kickboxing instructor Derek Yuen, a former IKF national champion. Fitch said he's been training about five hours a day, Mondays through Fridays, with Saturdays a lighter day and Sundays off. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are sparring days highlighted by five, five-minute rounds, followed by several rounds of grappling, followed by, in the evenings, cardio work with Cook. Tuesdays and Thursdays are more technical days with muay Thai and boxing drills, followed by heavy grappling and more cardio work on his own. Mendez said all of Fitch's trainers are "very happy, very pleased" with Fitch's training ethic for the St. Pierre fight. "I would say Jon's training is going the best so far since he's been here," Mendez said. "For this one in particular, he's better prepared for this fight than for any other fight previous. "The more time invested in the game has improved him tremendously. And the fact that it's a five-round fight has also improved him mentally. He's a gamer. He's always up for the challenge. He knows exactly what he needs to do and he knows how to go about applying himself mentally and physically to get that job done. Every single one of us is very pleased with his progress. Very pleased." Fitch said the only aspect of his training that is different for this fight is preparing for his first-ever five-rounder, though he noted he fought in multi-fight tournaments earlier in his career. "So there's a lot of additional training that goes along with a five-round fight," Fitch said. "That's the only thing that's changed much. But yeah, your cardio training almost has to double in order to train for a five-round fight properly. So we've definitely picked up the pace there. It was a struggle the first couple weeks of camp, but like right now, yesterday, I sparred five rounds with four different guys and I'm the one wearing them out. "There's also a little bit more focus going back to wrestling again, because GSP is probably the best wrestler that I've faced in a while. But other than that, my training is pretty much the same. I have a good system that I train with that I've had a lot of success with." As for his fight night game plan, Fitch is understandably loath to say too much. "All I can say is that it's gonna be a fast-paced fight and try not to have any space and just be in his face," Fitch said. "Not let him dictate the fight with his athleticism." Cook noted with some intrigue, "You know, his (St. Pierre's) last several fights, he's only been looking to take the fight to the ground. It will be interesting to see whether he's looking to stand or take it to the ground again. "Jon's preparing to fight him everywhere. Jon's a good wrestler. He just got his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. And he's been working hard on his jiu-jitsu. So it really doesn't matter where the fight takes place. He's prepared to fight him everywhere." Mendez concurred, indicating Fitch really can't look at last year's St. Pierre/Matt Serra fight at UFC 69, one in which long-shot underdog Serra stopped St. Pierre to become the UFC welterweight champion, as a blueprint for his fight with the French Canadian. St. Pierre returned the favor in the April rematch at UFC 83, stopping Serra and reclaiming his belt. "Let's face it, GSP is good in every area," Mendez said, "so our game plan is to be able to match every area where we need to. You know, there's really no particular weakness that guy has. You can't say he's got a weak chin just cause Serra happened to catch him, right? Anybody on the right spot, they're going down. GSP is no joke. And if anybody thinks he's got a weak jaw, they've got something else coming, cause it's yet to be proved he's got a weak jaw. He just got caught by a guy who's a really powerful guy. So I don't buy into that. Forget it, dude. Lightning striking twice? No. "We have to fight this fight based on the fact that we're fighting a guy that has skills in every aspect of the game. And we have to be able to adjust to everything he does and let's see if he can adjust to us." While Fitch passed on a prediction, Mendez noted that Fitch wouldn't have taken the fight if he didn't think he could win it. "100 percent," Mendez said. "And you know what? Anybody who thinks we don't have a chance at winning this fight or gives any kind of a fair chance of winning, then they don't really understand Jon Fitch and they don't really understand MMA and they haven't been following Jon Fitch because Jon Fitch is 100 percent in this fight and definitely could turn this fight in his favor." And in the process, demonstrate to the MMA world that while without question a supremely talented fighter, in the final analysis, George St. Pierre is, like the rest of us, a mere mortal after all. 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