UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE AND CANADIAN FIGHTERS PATRICK AND STOUT TEAM UP FOR FAN EVENT AT MAPLE LEAF SQUARE IN TORONTO
TORONTO – UFC® President Dana White along with London, Ontario native and UFC lightweight fighter Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout and Toronto-resident and UFC welterweight fighter Claude “The Prince” Patrick are hitting Toronto on Tuesday, Dec. 7 for a public Q&A session and autograph signing to get fans geared up for UFC 124®: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck, taking place in Montreal on Dec. 11.
UFC fans are invited to attend this FREE event at Real Sports Bar & Grill within Maple Leaf Square, located at 15 York Street. Dana White will take questions from fans from 3-4 p.m., while Canadian fighters Stout and Patrick will sign autographs from 4-6 p.m. at Real Sports Apparel.
WHEN (*all times EST)
3 to 4 p.m. – Q&A session with Dana White, Tom Wright and fans at Real Sports Bar & Grill
4 to 6 p.m. – Autograph signing session with Sam Stout and Claude Patrick at Real Sports Apparel
WHERE:
Real Sports Bar & Grill and Real Sports Apparel Maple Leaf Square
15 York Street, Unit A
Toronto, Ont.
WHO:
UFC talent and representatives in attendance include:
• DANA WHITE – UFC President
• TOM WRIGHT – UFC Director of Canadian Operations
• SAM STOUT – UFC Fighter
• CLAUDE PATRICK – UFC Fighter
BACKGROUND:
UFC 124: ST-PIERRE VS. KOSCHECK takes place Saturday, Dec. 11 live from Montreal as two-time UFC® welterweight champion and Montreal native Georges St-Pierre goes home to once again face his most heated rival and No. 1 contender Josh Koscheck. UFC 124 will be available live on Pay-Per-View on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $49.99 CAN for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).
Thursday’s California Circus with Chael Sonnen & Josh Barnett
By Zach Arnold FightOpinion | November 30, 2010
All of the hearing details can be found here. 157 pages (with about two being relevant). The meeting will take place on Thursday at 9:30 AM at 2005 Evergreen Street (Hearing Room) in Sacramento.
Who knows how the political winds have changed in California and whether or not this will be a forgiving appeals panel to one Chael Sonnen. What I do know is this — after Thursday’s hearing, we may find out some new angles to usage of [Performance Enhancing Drugs] PEDs in MMA. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned publicly that I thought it was curious that all of a sudden we are starting to hear reports about fighters allegedly using TRT (Testosterone Replacement Therapy). TRT is not exactly something that you associate with healthy guys in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Yes, I realize that 2010 became the year that lots of potions and infomercials for “Low T” (testosterone) got pitched to the public to buy the latest and greatest invention to give your sex life a boost and make you more active again like you used to be. However, we’re talking about MMA fighters here who are viewed by many fans as tremendous athletes. (More on a TRT defense here.)
Hormonal replacement therapy and TRT can, in some instances, be credibly explained. In other cases, the usage of such methods should raise a lot of red flags. If guys are hurting their bodies allegedly through bad weight cutting procedures or through the usage of PEDs, then it’s hard to say with a straight face that this is somehow a safe sport. After all, what is the purpose of TRT? It’s used when someone has a damaged endocrine system and has to synthetically boost their testosterone levels in their bodies. For most sports fans, this is not a topic you think much about. For pro-wrestling fans who have witnessed many public scandals involving online pharmacies and mark doctors, TRT is not a new revelation.
Which reminds me of the back-and-forth debate that happened between Josh Gross and Larry Pepe (here, here, and here) in which Larry challenged the idea that so many fighters would be visiting endocrinologists to get drugs to beat tests. A couple of things: a) what if fighters were allowed by the athletic commissions to use TRT or similar treatments and get exempted for it? b) who’s to say that there aren’t plenty of mark doctors out there willing to help certain gyms out with what is needed? We’ve seen plenty of mark doctors across various sports get busted for HGH or steroids to help out certain athletes.
What I think will be most interesting about Thursday’s meeting is not what the outcome of Chael Sonnen’s suspension will be but rather if the current debate on PED usage in MMA somehow gets advanced (if there are new defenses being used or new techniques revealed publicly that were once kept in the shadows). I have low expectations about Thursday’s appeals hearing, but if the hearings are going to serve any purpose then I think we may hear some explanations that could progress the media debate as to what is happening in the business for PED usage.
UFC President Dana White's Clothing Sponsorship Deals Were Discussed Today By Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) Owner and President Mark Pavelich.
The following message was posted Today (word-for-word) by Pavelich
"A message from MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich:
I am disgusted by the way MMA clothing brands are buckling to “DW’s” handling of contracts regarding the sponsorship of specific fighters. It’s almost comical – not on his part but on the part of these clothing companies. They cave in and pay his organization a great deal of money just to have the opportunity to sponsor fighters, who they then pay an individual fee to as well. What these clothing brands fail to understand is that the entire organization that “DW” runs is sponsored by a competing clothing company. These other brands are paying to represent themselves, yet they will never get the brand recognition they are seeking since the company itself has what would be considered a title sponsorship with another clothing brand – probably the most-recognizable brand in the industry. You are competing in an uphill battle that you can never win. Now “DW” has instructed these other clothing brands that they have to stop sponsoring other MMA events or they will not be allowed to sponsor fighters in his event – even after fully paying him for the right to sponsor and paying the fighters individually. He is collecting money by the armored truck full from these companies, and yet he’s still able to tell them where to spend the rest of their money at the same time. Has he or anyone in his company ever heard of something called “restraint of trade?” In a million years, you would never get away with this is other sports. I would like to see Nike, Adidas, or Reebok be told how and where they can spend their sponsorship dollars. It would never happen. Maybe it’s time the Maximum Fighting Championship stopped helping MMA clothing brands build their business, and for these businesses to be bullied into these types of situations, caving in, and walking away from what helped them get launched in the first place.
These companies are compromising their long-term futures and don’t even realize it. Right now they are not even running their own companies. “DW” is running his show … and yours."
Questions by MMAMaxim.com
This sport is bigger than any one fight competition! The fighters, fans, and other stakeholders deserve this.
Which clothing business do you think he is Pavelich is referring to in this message? TapouT or Silver Star (both now owned by ABG)? Probably not TapouT as some fighters in Strikeforce still wear their clothing. Almost certainly not Affliction because of Zuffa's disputes in the past with Affliction's rival MMA competition's with Fedor (see pictures below).
Zuffa sells their own line of clothing but it does not state in their 2010 catalog who makes it. This will be an interesting battle.
It will be interesting to tabulate which media sources DO NOT discuss this story when it concerns how competition keeps GLOBAL MMA Strong! Consider that for any awards in the future for best media source which advances true freedom of the press.
Which MMA Clothing Businesses Are Missing From These Pictures Of Sponsored Strikeforce Fighters?
Spartacus Blood And Sand and the movie Gladiator by Ridley Scott remind us how the electric roar of the crowd strongly influences the livelihood of fighters in modern combat sports. As Russel Crowe's character Maximus stated in Gladiator "are you not entertained?"
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White stated "this is not the Ultimate Starring Competition" after releasing Gerald Harris. Harris was released after losing at UFC 123 in Michigan. However, he did not have a losing streak that usually results in a release from the UFC. See http://mmafightingwords.blogspot.com/2010/11/ufc-releases-gerald-harris-after-loss.html
We are taking pre-orders on our MMA inspired Gladiator at a discount price.
Here is a short preview of the action on the HBO TV Series Spartacus - Blood And Sand. The plot becomes complex over time involving alliances and betrayal in the Roman Empire including the gladiators, other slaves, citizens, the rich Patrician class, and other government officials.
The prequel, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena is premiers on January 21, 2011.
Yet they also erroneously provide some legislators the arguments to ban mixed martial arts (MMA) in their jurisdiction. In an earlier article we posted, New York Assemblyman Reilly was quoted as voting against MMA in NY because he thought fights were to the death and because it encourages kids to be violent. Reilly must think watching the news on real wars or violent movies makes viewers like Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi.
"For the most part, concerns about violence have been directed at the potential effects that the largely, but not exclusively, American-produced cartoons (e.g. Power Rangers), movies (e.g. Natural Born Killers, Pulp Fiction), dramas and real life programs (e.g. Cops) have on audiences, especially children."
See Jackson, Steven J., & Andrews, David. (2004). "Aggressive Marketing: Interrogating the Use of Violence in Sport-Related Advertising" in Sports Marketing and the Psychology of Marketing Communication. LEA Publishers, Mahwah, New Jersey. Studies done in Sienna, Italy have shown that the rate of violent crime falls drastically in the weeks after the famous horse race in which riders can knock each other off horses.
We welcome combat sports fans! MMAMaxim.com Fans get the latest news, discounts on Products, Seminars, Services, & Equipment used by pro-fighters like VitorBelfort at www.facebook.com/MMAMaxim?ref=mf
Randy Couture mentioned today he is well suited to challenge the fighters in the light heavyweight division like Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Lyoto "the Dragon" Machida. However, as he stated back in October to us he is not fighting for the title and is really busy with his Xtreme Couture gyms and acting career. What do you think? Will you miss his fights if he retires from MMA fight competitions? His son Ryan Couture who currently fights for STRIKEFORCE would help fill the void and brings Randy's sportsmanship to MMA.
American Kickboxing Academy AKA fighter Mike Kyle has replaced an injured Valentijn Overeem with former EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio "Big Foot" Silva at STRIKEFORCE: Henderson vs. Babalu 2. STRIKEFORCE CEO Scort Coker confirmed Overeem notified him of his injury 2 days ago and sent x-rays of his elbow injury. Valentijn is the older brother of STRIKEFORCE heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.
Mike "Mak'' Kyle (18-7) will replace the injured Valentijn Overeem and take on former heavyweight world champion Antonio "Big Foot'' Silva (14-2) of Coconut Creek, Fla., by way of Brazil, in one of the featured televised fights on STRIKEFORCE: Henderson vs. Babalu this Saturday, Dec. 4, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).
Coker confirmed that AKA Trainer Javier Mendez said Kyle is ready to fight Silva.
Kyle's biography on Strikeforce.com states: NAME - MIKE KYLE NICKNAME - MAK FIGHTING OUT OF - AMERICAN KICKBOXING ACADEMY - SAN JOSE, CA AGE - 29 WEIGHT - 219 LBS HEIGHT - 6 FT 3 IN MMA RECORD - 17-7-1
"Mike “Mak” Kyle of San Jose doesn’t mind admitting it. His consistent presence in church on Sunday mornings over the last four years coincides with the date Kyle would just as soon forget: May 5, 2006. That’s when the STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight (205 pounds) Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter was disqualified from his fight against Brian Olsen at WEC 20 for attacking Olsen following the bell. After an 18-month suspension from the sport, redemption has been sweet for the 30-year-old Kyle, who has won four fights in a row and eight out of nine and is the last fighter to defeat superstar Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante."
The 6-foot-3, 30-year-old Kyle, of San Jose, Calif., has gone 5-0 with one No Contest since losing to Fedor conqueror, Fabricio Werdum, on Aug. 15, 2009. In his last start, Kyle scored a first-round TKO (punches) over Stephen Oliver on Nov. 5.
Since April 2008, Kyle is 8-1 with one NC. One of the talented nine-year pro's most significant triumphs came on a second-round TKO (punches) over current STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Champion Rafael "Feijao'' Cavalcante in June 2009.
In his last appearance for STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME, Kyle submitted (rear-naked choke) Ron "Abongo'' Humphrey during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event last July 23.
NAME - ANTONIO SILVA NICKNAME - BIGFOOT FIGHTING OUT OF - AMERICAN TOP TEAM AGE - 30 WEIGHT - 265 LBS HEIGHT - 6 FT 4 IN MMA RECORD - 14-2
A black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The 6-foot-4, 31-year-old Silva has won seven of his last eight, including a decisive, lopsided decision over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski in his most recent outing last May 15.
Silva's lone loss since December 2006 came when he was narrowly outpointed in a tight fight by fellow Brazilian, Fabricio Werdum, on Nov.7, 2009. In 16 professional appearances, Silva has been finished only once.
Bruce Lee Quotes To Celebrate His Contribution To Martial Arts, Philosophy, and Improving Our Minds and Bodies. Which motivate you the most? Please add additional ones you like in the comments field as we will be adding them to our shirts. We chose our name Maxim because we want to focus on the proverbs (maxims) and wisdom of martial arts and combat sports. We will be reading his books and doing Jeet Kune Do (JKD) drills today in West Los Angeles to celebrate.
Defeat
"Defeat is a state of mind. No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality. To me, defeat in anything is merely temporary, and its punishment is but an urge for me to greater effort to achieve my goal. Defeat simply tells me that something is wrong in my doing; it is a path leading to success and truth."
"To express yourself In freedom, you must die to everything of yesterday"
Training
The real competitor is the one who gives all he has, all the time.
Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.
Strategies
Attack
An excellent moment to launch an attack is when the opponent is preparing an attack
“It is a correct maxim that a good offense is the best defense”
“Attack by deception, especially, is the attack of the master”
“Whenever, two fighters of equal speed, strength, and skill are matched, the one who is the master of the feint will be the winner.”
“It is the ability to outsmart an opponent and out-maneuver him that is the skill and science of the sport of boxing”
MMA SUPERSTAR DAN HENDERSON TO APPEAR ON MMA LIVE ON ESPN2
WHO: STRIKEFORCE Headliner & MMA Superstar Dan Henderson
WHERE: ESPN2
WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 25 (late night) at 1:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 p.m. PT
WHAT: Interview on MMA LIVE tomorrow/Thursday on ESPN2
Henderson will appear on MMA Live to discuss next Saturday’s STRIKEFORCE: Henderson vs. Babalu event on Saturday, Dec. 4 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO., live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).
In the main event of the stacked card on STRIKEFORCE’s return to Scottrade Center, Henderson (25-8) of Temecula, Calif., will face former STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight world champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8) of Brazil in a rematch between world-class 205-pounders.
A two-time U.S. Olympic wrestling team member (‘92, ‘96), Henderson is the only fighter in the sport's history to simultaneously hold two different titles in two different weight classes (welterweight and heavyweight) for a major fight promotion (PRIDE Fighting Championships). A former UFC star and coach on The Ultimate Fighter reality series, Henderson is also one of the most decorated fighters in MMA history.
Sobral is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over knockout artist Robbie Lawler on June 16 at STRIKEFORCE: LIVE in Los Angeles, his first fight since losing the STRIKEFORCE title to Gegard Mousasi on Aug. 15, 2009. Prior to the defeat, Sobral had reeled off five consecutive victories.
See http://www.mma-core.com/gifs/_Gegard_Mousasi_KTFO_Renato_Babalu_Sobral_Strikefor?gid=10000819&tid=100
It should be noted that Sobral's victories include a win against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua by a guillotine choke at IFC - Global Domination on Sept. 6, 2003 in round 3.
In other televised fights, former world champ “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler will face 2000 Olympic Games silver medalist Matt “The Law” Lindland in a matchup of 185-pound contenders; former world heavyweight champion Antonio “Big Foot’’ Silva faces Valentijn “The Python’’ Overeem, the older brother of STRIKEFORCE heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem; and Paul “Semtex’’ Daley faces Scott “Hands Of Steel’ Smith in a battle of explosive welterweights.
HERSCHEL WALKER INJURED, OFF DEC. 4 STRIKEFORCE CARD IN ST. LOUIS
NEW YORK (Nov. 24, 2010) – Herschel Walker sustained a deep cut under his left eye that required multiple stitches while training Monday at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., and will not be able to fight on Saturday, Dec. 4, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
“I feel terrible about this,’’ said Walker, who was cut from a knee strike while training with AKA teammate and two-time United States Olympic wrestling team member Daniel Cormier. “I know things like this happen in all sports, but I had trained very hard and was excited to be returning to the cage again. I hope to fight again as soon as the cut heals.’’
The four televised fights on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast): MMA superstar Dan Henderson (25-8) of Temecula, Calif., faces former STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight world champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8) of Brazil; Antonio “Big Foot’’ Silva (14-2), of Coconut Creek, Fla., meets Valentijn “The Python’’ Overeem (28-23), of The Netherlands in a heavyweight encounter, Paul “Semtex’’ Daley (25-9-2) of England battles Scott “Hands Of Steel” Smith (17-7, 1 NC), of Elk Grove, Calif., at welterweight and ex-world champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (17-6, 1 NC), of Granite City, Ill., goes up against 2000 Olympic Games silver medalist Matt “The Law” Lindland (22-7) of Oregon City, Ore., in a middleweight (185 pounds) scrap.
An announcement about a possible replacement fight for the telecast will be made in the coming days, STRIKEFORCE said.
Tickets are on sale at Scottrade Center, online at Ticketmaster.com and Strikeforce.com or by phone (800) 745-3000. Doors at Scottrade Center will open for the event at 6 p.m. CT. The first preliminary bout will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the first televised main card fight will begin at 9 p.m.
About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose's HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with "Shamrock vs. Gracie." In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.
