Japanese MMA and Martial Arts Inspired Halloween! Happy Halloween from the Samurai Deli!

Happy Halloween!  Who is dressing up with a martial arts theme?  We will be wearing our Samurai Shirt and using our Kendo Sword to carve pumkins and to chop bad pumpkins mid-air like John Belushi
 (Rest In Peace, the Samurai Deli Master)
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M-1 Challenge XXI at the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia on Oct. 28, 2010

MMA in Russia: M-1 Challenge XXI MMA Fight Videos

 

Vusal Bayramov vs Joakhim Kaple

Phenomenal Night of Fights at M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Garner (Courtesy of m-1Global.com)

October 29, 2010

St. Petersburg, Russia (October 28, 2010) – Gauged as M-1 Global’s most successful event to date in 2010, M-1 Challenge XXI: Guram vs. Garner has crowned the first-ever Challenge champions in the Lightweight and Heavyweight divisions in front of a phenomenal crowd and to viewers worldwide via live, free streaming telecast on the official website: www.M-1Global.com.

“Tonight’s card lived up to the expectations placed upon us by the media and fans,” says Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan. “There were significant upsets alongside Sarnavsky’s incredible spinning back-fist KO and Guram’s suffocating guillotine choke. All things are now focussed towards December 10th in Moscow for M-1 Challenge XXII.”

Official Results:

Che Mills def. Magomed Shikshabekov – Unanimous Decision.

Mikhail Zayats def. Matias Baric – Rear Naked Choke. 3:12 of Round 3.

Daniel Weichel def. Yuri Ivlev – Doctor Stoppage. 2:24 of Round 3.

Alexei Belyaev def. Alexei Nazarov – Head & Arm Choke. :41 of Round 2.

Alexander Sarnavsky def. Victor Kuku – Knock Out. :14 of Round 1.

Rashid Magomedov def. Igor Araujo – Unanimous Decision.

Dmitry Samoilov def. Gadzhimurad Omarov – Doctor Stoppage. :28 round 3.

Vusal Bairamov def. Joakhim Apie – TKO. 2:13 of Round 1.

Denis Goltsov def. Marat Aliaskhabov – Submission (Armbar). 4:56 of Round 1.

Lightweight Title Fight:

Artiom Damkovsky def. Mairbek Taisumov – Doctor Stoppage. 2:52 of Round 3.

Heavyweight Title Fight:

Guram Gugenishvili def. Kenny Garner – Submission (Guillotine Choke). :54 of round 2

The Welterweight, Middleweight and Light Heavyweight championship bouts will be awarded at M-1 Challenge XXII: Gallicchio vs. Zavurov scheduled for December 10th in Moscow, Russia, establishing M-1 Challenge champions in all five weight classes. The contention system will continue to fuel events throughout 2011, driving M-1 Global’s growth as a leading brand in the US and international markets. Free broadcast coverage of M-1 Challenge XXII will be available at a later date or LIVE to viewers worldwide on www.M-1Global.com and selected affiliate partner sites.

2011 includes a full slate of M-1 Challenge events held in the United States and Europe. These are the mega-event spectaculars where Champions will be crowned, titles defended and contenders’ positions determined. Feeding the stable of fighters will be two Selection tournaments in 2011 with details being announced shortly.

Sengoku Raiden Championships 15 on October 30, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan at the Ryogoku Kokugikan!

World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku Raiden Championships 15 is scheduled to take place on October 30, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan at the Ryogoku Kokugikan. The event is scheduled to air live on HDnet.



The event is expected to feature the semifinal round of Sengoku's welterweight grand prix and the quarterfinal round of Sengoku's 20-man Asian bantamweight tournament.

Matchups:
Hiroshi Izumi vs. James Zikic
Masanori Kanehara vs. Doo Ho Choi
Kazunori Yokota vs. Brian Cobb
Keita Nakamura vs. Takuya Wada 1
Yasubey Enomoto vs. Taisuke Okuno 1
Kazuo Takahashi vs. Chang Seob Lee
Manabu Inoue vs. Jae Hyun So 2
Akitoshi Tamura vs. Shoko Sato 2
Shunichi Shimizu vs. Wataru Takahashi 2
Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Taiyo Nakahara 2
1 Welterweight Grand Prix Semifinal bouts
2 Asian Bantamweight Grand Prix bouts
* Leonardo Santos has been forced out of his bout with Maximo Blanco due to a neck injury sustained in training and replaced by Kiuma Kunioku. 

Maximo Blanco vs. Kiuma Kunioku SRC 15 

Brock Lesnar Is "A Product of UFC PR Rather Than A Serious Fighter..." Fedor's Manager at M-1 Global Exclaims!

Brock Lesnar vs Fedor Emelianenko: Views from Fedor's Manager at M-1 Global, Vadim Finkelstein

Interview Courtesy of AllBoxing.ru:





Have you watched the fight Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez? If yes, what are your impressions?

Vadim Finkelstein: I have long said that Lesnar is more of a product of UFC’s PR rather than a serious fighter and that fight clearly confirmed it.


And how do you assess Velasquez?

Vadim Finkelstein: In my opinion, he is a very good fighter and also in his abilities and strengths. UFC now presents him as the best in the world and it is certainly debatable, but he is a real fighter, not a product of PR.

And what about the rumors that you are still negotiating with the UFC?

Vadim Finkelstein: It’s stupidity. We are not conducting such negotiations. Now we are in active negotiations with Showtime on a contract extension, and perhaps we will renew it. But the UFC does not offer such opportunities and imposes its monopoly conditions. They believe that everyone should be in the UFC. We would love to fight with Lesnar, and Velasquez and all but why should we give up all these undertakings, all the years spent on Fedor’s development will go to them? Fedor did not grow in the UFC, right? So why should he go to the UFC? If Dana White wants to fight, he can easily hold it, because we do not mind. And while the contract with Showtime gives us more opportunities.

Fedor is now ready to fight. He is 34, he feels fine and is ready to work. He is ready to sign a contract for five or six fights, and do the job very well. He always says he’s ready to act. We need to protect our interests.


Should we expect Fedor to fight in Japan on New Year’s Eve?

Vadim Finkelstein: We discussed this possibility with the Japanese themselves were happy, but they had more difficulty and with an interesting opponent for Fedor, and many others. As a result, the negotiations did not even happen because there was no concrete proposal. Therefore, in the very near future have to wait for the completion of negotiations with Showtime, and even then it will become clear when and with whom Fedor will fight next.

[See our story from last week when we spoke with Fedor and his lawyer at the EA Sports MMA Launch Party for Press]

 Thanks to this Journalist reporting for Japanese MMA News Sources.Unfortunately we did not get his name but he clearly loves MMA.  MMAMaxim.com Advocates Settling these Fighting Words with Fights Between Competitions at an Annual World MMA Competition!  UFC, Strikeforce, Dream, Sengoku, MFC, W-1, Bellator Fighters, etc Battling It Out and Donating to Charity! 

UFC President Dana White Finally Announces WEC Merging into UFC

UFC President Dana White has finally announced that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) will finally merge early on in 2011.  White stated "the last fight for the WEC will be be in December [2010]."  The UFC President then elaborated that every fight in the 155 lb division will roll into the UFC and the UFC will add all those lower weight classes.


We at MMAMaxim.com think it did not make sense to have a confusion of brands (UFC vs WEC) unless the WEC fighters were amateurs (which they are not) and Zuffa was trying to distinguish the level of proficiency of the fighters by the WEC.

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UFC ALSO ANNOUNCES DEAL WITH VERSUS TO AIR FOUR FIGHTS IN 2011

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – In a media conference call today, Ultimate Fighting Championship® President Dana White announced the UFC is adding two new championship divisions at bantamweight (135lbs.) and featherweight (145lbs.), while also announcing a new television deal with the VERSUS Network to air four UFC fights in 2011.

“As the UFC continues to evolve and grow globally, we want to be able to give fans title fights in every weight division,” said White. “This is a big day for the sport and the athletes who will have the opportunity to fight on the biggest stage in the world.”

The two new divisions feature WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo who will now be recognized as the reigning UFC featherweight champion, and WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. White confirmed that the winner of the Dec. 16 lightweight title fight between WEC champion Ben Henderson and top contender Anthony Pettis live on VERSUS will take on the winner of the UFC 125 main event title bout between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. This upcoming fight will serve as a UFC lightweight title unification bout to be held next year.
White also stated the UFC is expanding its presence on the VERSUS Network in 2011, and will increase its number of UFC events from two to four per year. Versus is scheduled to air the two remaining live WEC events in 2010 on Nov. 11 and Dec. 16. The Nov. 11 event in Las Vegas will feature “The California Kid” Urijah Faber’s debut at bantamweight as he takes on Takeya Mizugaki, while the Dec. 16 event in Glendale, Ariz. will feature Henderson-Pettis and a bantamweight title clash between Dominick Cruz and challenger Scott Jorgensen with the winner becoming the new UFC bantamweight champion.

“We have a great relationship with the VERSUS network, and we look forward to working with them to give UFC fans even more free fights in 2011,” said White.

Shane Carwin On Cain Velasquez's win over Brock Lesnar at UFC 121

 Shane Carwin stated on his blog one day after UFC 121 the following and the pictures were added by us to illustrate his points: "I have received hundreds of texts, emails, DM's @shanecarwin by the thousands and I have seen and read your blog post here on shane-carwin.com. I get it and believe it was hard to watch someone use your game plan with better results, especially when the result is winning the biggest prize in the sport.

MMA Maxim.com

What Cain did is what great fighters do, they learn from what they can study. How would have my fight turned out if I had let Brock stand and knock him down again and again? It really doesn't matter about what happened last night or in July the only thing that matters is what is to be.

MMA Maxim.com

MMA Maxim.com

Those of you writing Brock off should consider this. The man walked into the UFC at the top level (who does that?) and won and defended the UFC HWT Belt. 

He took a beating from me and came back and found a way to win, he nearly lost his life and he came back and found a way to win, he is 4-2 in MMA [5-2-0 in all MMA and 4-2 in the UFC] and
some of the wins are UFC title DEFENSES. He is a real champion, a real warrior and as long as he keeps training and learning MMA he will continue to be a force. Every great champion will lose the great ones rise again and it would not surprise me to see Brock defending a title again one day. Win or lose he should be respected for being the warrior he is.

Cain had a great game plan for the fight and he executed it. If you did not think Cain would be a contender then you must have missed his previous fights and missed every website claiming him to be the future of the heavyweight division. Cain is a great fighter and he showed everyone that last night.

MMA Maxim.com

MMA Maxim.com

MMA Maxim.com

MMA Maxim.com

MMA Maxim.com

MMA Maxim.com

MMA Maxim.com

MMA Maxim.com

MMA Maxim.com

The UFC HWT division has an amazing crop of fighters right now with four worthy title holders (Cain, Brock, JDS and myself) and a lot of amazing talent knocking on door to get their name on the list for a title shot. I am honored to be where I am and I know what I need to do to climb back on top of that mountain. I am motivated by the opponents in front of me and pushed by those hot on our heals.

This is going to be the era of the UFC HWTS and I am here to make a impact....I hope to begin that climb on 1-1-11 against a very formidable opponent in Roy Nelson. I am giving him and that fight 100% of my attention. JDS is next up for a shot at the UFC belt, which should be another great fight."

UFC 121 Weigh-ins, Predictions, and Events

 

 

 

Thanks to the WEC's Razor Rob for his insights into why he picked Cain Velasquez to win earlier today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJaxqs2Iqr4

Congratulations to Cain Velasquez and his AKA sparring partner Strikeforce Fighter and former Olympic Wrestler Daniel Cormier who gave us insights into sparring with Cain yesterday.  Thank you also to Fred George from CSW (Combat Submission Wrestling and MMA Worldwide) for your insights into Brock's training.

Matt Mitrione at the HB Ultimate Training Center with Photographer Tracy Lee.

 

Georgeous George from MMAJunkie.com with the Fistacuff Radio Host.

 

UFC 121 Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez Parties with MMA Fighters, Fans and Media

UFC 121 Parties with MMA Fighters, Fans and Media in Anaheim and Orange County.

UFC 121 Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez stare down.  Copyright 2010 MMAMaxim.com.  All Rights Reserved.

We spoke with MMA Strikeforce Fighters who train with Cain Velasquez at American Kickboxing Academy® (www.AKAKickbox.com) to ask for their insights into Cain.  The American Kickboxing Academy® offers top-level public instruction in Mixed-Martial Arts (MMA), kickboxing and jiu-jitsu.  Their fighters include UFC Heavyweight Cain Velasquez, Strikeforce Heavyweight Daniel Cormier, UFC Welterweights Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck.

MMA Maxim.com & Daniel Cormier (Strikeforce Fighter, Olympic Wrestler, & Cain Velasquez training partner)

Strikeforce Fighter, Olympic wrestler, and Cain's sparring partner Daniel Cormier who fought three times in one month gave us his insights while discussing the fight.  Cormier said he can't spar with Cain before one of his own fights because he gets hurt too much by Cain.  They admantly believe Cain will be victorious as his mind is ready, he is relentless in training, and hits incredibly hard.

Cain's pre-fight ritual was watching Jackass with his fellow training partners and friends.

Fan Mike Patterson  & Court McGee & MMAMaxim.com for his insights into MMA.  2010 Copyright MMA Maxim.com.  All Rights Reserved.

Court McGee was very calm before his fight meeting with fans.  When we asked about his training coach Chuck "the Iceman" Liddell's future plans if the Zuffa executives do not allow him to fight again in the UFC.   McGee said "Chuck will not fight for any one else.  He is so busy flying around the world promoting the UFC and operating his own businesses to fight." 




Matt Hamill was relaxed and signing autographs for fans while Tito Ortiz showed up driving a white Rolls Royce.

Tito Ortiz & son the night before fighting former student Matt Hamill at UFC 121.  2010 Copyright MMA Maxim.com.  All Rights Reserved.

Tuff-N-Uff Returns to Las Vegas! Former Kickboxer and Playboy Model LaTasha Marzolla (2-0) Headlines

	Tuff-N-Uff "Future Stars of MMA!" (Las Vegas, NV) Friday, October 22 · 7:00pm - 10:30pm
	The Orleans Hotel and Casino 4500 West Tropicana Las Vegas, NV

	Former Playboy model LaTasha Marzolla headlines Tuff-N-Uff's returns to Las Vegas on Oct. 22 Former kickboxer and Playboy's 2004 Special Editions Model of the Year LaTasha Marzolla (2-0) headlines Tuff-N-Uff's return to Las Vegas. The 31-year-old Las Vegas native meets fellow 125-pounder Nikki Rae Lowe (1-1) in the co-main event of Tuff-N-Uff's recently announced Oct. 22 event, which takes place at the Orleans Hotel & Casino's Mardi Gras Ballroom in Las Vegas and airs live on GoFightLive.tv. Marzolla and Lowe head a talent-laden 16-bout fight card that also sees the organization crown a welterweight champion and welcome a U.S. Olympian to the ring. Tickets for Tuff-N-Uff's Oct. 22 event, which start at just $25, are available at the Orleans Hotel & Casino's box office or online at OrleansCasino.com and TuffNUff.net. Fans from around the globe can watch the fights live at GoFightLive.com or TuffNUff.net, while highlights of the action air in Las Vegas on Tuff-N-Uff's weekly highlights show on KTUD-TV Saturday nights at 10:30 pm. Marzolla fights for the third time under the Tuff-N-Uff banner, and the undefeated striking ace looks to keep her MMA record unblemished against the tough Texan Lowe, who makes her debut for Las Vegas' premier amateur fight promotion. Marzolla is perhaps best known for her lengthy stint as a Playboy employee, where she graced the cover of four separate special editions of the publication, but the potent striker now fights out of Wand Fight Team following previous stints with Xtreme Couture and Team Tompkins. Meanwhile, the co-feature sees recent U.S. Olympic Tae Kwon Do Team qualifier Jessica Martinez (1-1) face four-fight veteran Autumn Richardson (3-1). A striking specialist who will soon represent her country in 2011 at the U.S. I.T.F. Taekwondo Championships in North Korea, Martinez trains in Virginia at Henry's Tae Kwon Do and Combative Training Center. In Richardson, Martinez meets a Team Quest fighter and three-time Tuff-N-Uff veteran who is currently riding a two-fight win streak. In addition to the two female features, Tuff-N-Uff's vacant welterweight title will also be on the line when Legend MMA's Eddie Jackson (4-2) meets TapouT Las Vegas' Joey Angelo (3-2). Jackson had a shot at the belt once before when he qualified for the finals of Tuff-N-Uff's 2009 8-man welterweight tournament with wins over Joshua Morgan and Johnny Batres. But in the finals of the tourney with the championship on the line, Jackson was stunned by Kenny Marzola, who needed just six seconds to win the belt via head-kick knockout. Marzola recently vacated the belt to compete professionally, and Jackson will get a second shot at glory. Of course, Angelo has different plans. The 25-year-old suffered two consecutive losses to open his career but has since stormed back with three-straight wins via stoppage and now has his eyes focused on the title. In other notable contests, undefeated bantamweights clash as Xtreme Couture's Jesse Romero (3-0) meets Joseph Viola (1-0) of the fast-rising Fasi/Drysdale Team, while Viola's teammate, Greg Gifford (2-0) meets fellow lightweight prospect Steven Williams (3-1) of Wand Fight Team. Another undefeated Fasi/Drysdale disciple, Dustin Bredwick (2-0), meets Legends MMA's Tommy Gavin (2-1) earlier in the evening. In addition to the night's featured matchups, a full lineup of aspiring amateur fighters from some of the world's top academies – including 10th Planet Riverside, Fasi/Drysdale, Filipino MMA, Greg Jackson's MMA, Legends MMA, Striking Unlimited, Wand Fight Team, TapouT Las Vegas and Xtreme Couture – will compete at Tuff-N-Uff's Oct. 22 event. The full fight card is available for viewing at TuffNUff.net, and the entire event will stream live on GoFightLive.tv. Come see the future stars of mixed martial arts and tell them  MMAMaxim.com told you about this event.

Fight Videos From the Glory World Series in Amsterdam! Impressive 1st Round KO!

Fight Videos From the 2010 Ultimate Glory and Full Contact Martial Arts Show in Amsterdam.

This took place on Sat., Oct. 16 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dutch Strikeforce Champ Marloes Coenen fought as did Gokhan Saki, Erroll Zimmerman, Murthel Groenhart, Siyar Bahadurzada, and Mourad Bouzidi.






First round Full Tilt Poker Glory Kickboxing and MMA World Series 2010-2011 in Passenger Terminal Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Fight: David Bielkheden vs Tommy Depret (MMA).

EA Sports MMA Media Launch Party with Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, King Mo, & Renato Sobral

http://bit.ly/a23xmZEASportsMMAParty STRIKEFORCE & EA SPORTS MMA VIDEO GAME LAUNCH PARTY FOR PRESS.

Randy Couture fought Brock Lesnar at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 91's Main Card entitled "Couture vs Lesnar" on Nov. 15, 2008.  Couture lost by Technical Knock Out (TKO) with just over two minutes left in round 2.  When Couture was asked for his opinion on Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 he answered "you know it will be a great fight as both guys have great wrestling backgrounds!  I think Cain is a little smaller and more agile with more refined striking.  Brock is the bigger athlete and if Brock can get on him early he can take him out.  If Cain can take him in the deeper water in later rounds it could be his fight." Couture was also asked what he is working on these days and when he will fight again.  Couture stated "I don't feel the need to compete for the title again but I would like to fight again."  However, "no prospective fights have been offered by Dana [White of the UFC]".  Couture briefly mentioned his past strained relationship with Zuffa, LLC executives like UFC President Dana White.  Couture stated "It is water under the bridge...it is what it is....and I am sensitive to their side of the story."  It should be noted that during this strained period with the UFC, Couture signed the deal with EA Sports to be included in their video game.  This would put Couture in a video game along with other non-UFC fighters who fight for Strikeforce and/or other fight competitions like Fedor, Fabricio Werdum, King Mo Lawal, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, and Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante.

Couture also discussed his son Ryan's degree in Mathematics and his passion for MMA.  Randy further mentioned he will make a sequel to "The Expendables" and consider other acting roles.     

After beating Randy Couture at  the 2010 Launch of EA Sports MMA, Fedor stated with a smile, "In real life I have never missed so many shots like I did today in the game.  I cannot tell you...it's really hard to say [if in a real fight between me and Randy if it would go quicker]"

Fedor's lawyer also confirmed that he did consider running for political office in Russia in the future but at this time he will fight again for Strikeforce with one fight remaining at his contract.  Fedor further stated he would like to continue fighting.  We thanked Fedor and his lawyer for signing Fedor's book for us (which we highly recommend and is posted below) and spoke a few Russian phrases we learned to thank him.  In Russia you correctly pronouce Fedor's name Fyodor.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller's entrance was missing the Japanese School Girls at Dream.

King Mo Lawall & Jason "Mayhem" Miller.  King Mo mentioned his leg is better.

HOSTED BY MMA STAR RENATO "BABALU" SOBRAL

WHAT: STRIKEFORCE MMA star Renato "Babalu" Sobral hosts the official launch event for EA SPORTS MMA, with special guest appearances by Randy Couture & Fedor Emelianenko

...
EA SPORTS MMA, offering the most authentic, intense and broadest mixed martial arts experience to date, allows players to travel the world and learn a multitude of fighting techniques and skills. EA SPORTS MMA provides the definitive mixed martial arts experience, featuring multiple disciplines, rule sets, locations and fighters from all over the world.

Renato "Babalu" Sobral is a former STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Champion —who has also competed with UFC, and Pride. Babalu recently defeated Robbie Lawler in a 195 lbs Catchweight bout on June 16, 2010 at Strikeforce: Los Angeles. Babalu will return to the cage on December 4, 2010 as the main event at ST LOUIS: HENDERSON VS BABALU II, broadcasted live on Showtime Networks from the Scottstrade Center.

Legendary MMA stars Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko and many of the fighters featured in EA SPORTS MMA will be in attendance, taking part in the festivities.

EA SPORTS MMA sets the stage for a fun-filled night of hard hitting entertainment. The event is free and open to fans, giving them a opportunity meet some of the biggest stars in MMA and compete against them on SONY PlayStation 3 gaming consoles.