Lateral movement—not running—did it for Condit, er, I mean Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson in winning the unanimous decision over Thiago Silva in the main event of UFC on Fuel 2 in Stockholm, Sweden last night. That and m…
Lateral movement—not running—did it for Condit, er, I mean Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson in winning the unanimous decision over Thiago Silva in the main event of UFC on Fuel 2 in Stockholm, Sweden last night.
That and more activity in the standup striking won it for Gustafsson right in his home country, making his compatriots loud and proud.
They both tried to go for the finish and not towards the 15-minute finish line, but they were too good to collapse along the track.
They proved that they were sturdier than the vast majority of their previous opponents who ended flaccid, like clocks in a Salvador Dali painting, before a round timed out.
It was only Gustafsson’s second decision win in his 14-1 record, with 12 all coming by the shorter route. This proves that Silva is made of stronger stuff than Vladimir Matyushenko and Matt Hamill, the Swede’s previous victims inside the Octagon.
Likewise, Silva is a known finisher with 13 abbreviated fights in his 14-3 and 1 no contest MMA career. Well, Gustafsson drinks more coffee than Keith Jardine or Houston Alexander.
Anyway, it’s really an insult to both fighters to assume that they’d get knocked out cold by the other, in spite of their feared KO power.
Silva was resilient enough to get only knocked down and not out by the Swede. And Gustafsson could only be shaken but not fallen by a couple of hard overhand rights by the Brazilian.
Gustafsson’s masterful use of the lateral movement in circling Silva, in landing more strikes and getting out of harm’s way, was undoubtedly instrumental in The Mauler’s win.
Only those afflicted with Alypius’ addiction to blood in the Roman gladiatorial arenas could complain on the Swede’s success last night.
Alypius, who according to his friend Saint Augustine’s Confessions, “was wounded more deeply in his soul than the man whom he desired to look at was wounded in his body.”
Nitpicking on the Swede’s height and mere 1.5-inch reach advantage? Blame God or Mother Nature anytime.
On the rebound with a two-fight winning streak and with little left to prove, Fedor Emelianenko’s unassailable legacy as one of the greatest MMA fighters ever received another boost. No, it’s not another win inside the ring, as The Last Emp…
On the rebound with a two-fight winning streak and with little left to prove, Fedor Emelianenko’s unassailable legacy as one of the greatest MMA fighters ever received another boost.
No, it’s not another win inside the ring, as The Last Emperor’s next fight against a still-unnamed opponent is still two months away. Rather, it comes from Alistair Overeem’s failure of his drug test.
Just to refresh our memory on Overeem’s debacle, here are excerpts of Mike Whitman’s April 5, 2012 report on Sherdog.com:
Keith Kizer, Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) executive director, told Sherdog.com on Thursday that Overeem’s testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E) ratio was 14-to-1, more than double the allowable 6-to-1 ratio. […]
The former Strikeforce heavyweight champion may request that his B-sample be tested, but Kizer told Sherdog that Overeem has not contacted the commission as of yet. […]
The Dutchman ran through Lesnar in that [UFC 141] bout…It is currently unknown if that result will be affected by Overeem’s recent positive test.
Last April 9, Overeem was reported to have applied for his fighting license in the State of Nevada, but he has still not requested the NAC to test his B-sample.
Mark Hunt, who is fast becoming a hot replacement prospect in place of Overeem in the fight versus Junior Dos Santos, has already stated that, “Everything that Alistair has done is meaningless now.”
And Hunt is definitely not alone aboard this punitive train of thought. But, allow me to humbly contribute in dousing, in my own little way, the fiery words and thoughts cast at Overeem.
Let us not forget that he may and can still request for the testing of his B-sample. And in case the results turn out clean when he does comply, he may still be absolved and allowed to fight Dos Santos.
Still, the court of public opinion is already irrevocably divided on the honesty and integrity of Overeem, and on all his accomplishments inside the ring.
Conversely, this same court should unanimously judge Emelianenko—with no evidence supporting the contrary—as a fighter who has achieved his greatness by dint of talent and honest hard work like any true sportsman concerned over his influence on the future generation of athletes should.
MMA fighter Ale “The Young Gun” Cali (4-1) made Philippine fight history by becoming the first homegrown Pinoy to reign as Pacific X-treme Combat international flyweight champion when he TKO’d (via punches) Fil-Guamanian Jesse “…
MMA fighter Ale “The Young Gun” Cali (4-1) made Philippine fight history by becoming the first homegrown Pinoy to reign as Pacific X-treme Combat international flyweight champion when he TKO’d (via punches) Fil-Guamanian Jesse “The Spiderman” Taitano (7-9-2) in the main event of PXC 29 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City, Philippines February 18, 2012.
The never-say-die fighter from Davao City finally clinched the title—after getting taken down repeatedly and barely escaping a couple of near-submissions in the previous rounds—with a barrage of fists which finally compelled the referee to mercifully halt the contest.
In the same way that he impressed the hometown fans with his relentless lightning-fast punches, Cali also did not hold back his Pinoy humor during his recent exclusive interview with this writer, while he awaits the still-unnamed first challenger to his title. (Note: I translated this interview from Filipino.)
Karlo Silverio III Sevilla: How old are you now and at what age did you begin training in martial arts or any combat sport? What’s your base art?
Ale Cali: I’m 21 years old, born on Nov 21, 1990. I started practicing boxing when I was 10 years old. I became an amateur boxer at 15 then I turned pro at 17 years of age.
Indeed, boxing was really my first combat sport as it was the in-sport in our city (Davao City). There was no MMA yet, only MMK (which stands for “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” the longest-running Philippine TV drama anthology).
And the truth is, even before I was born, it was already my dream to be a fighter, haha!
KS: Can you share with us your thoughts on your boxing experience?
AC: I had so many boxing matches that I no longer remember the exact count. More than a hundred, I think. You see, when you’re an amateur boxer, there are times when you fight one week straight, tournament style. And in the countless fiestas where I fought, it’s always been eating and boxing!
KS: When and where did you start training in MMA?
AC: I started in MMA in 2009 at Holiday Gym in Davao City. I was only trying it out, getting the feel of it. I started with Muay Thai and a little karate, judo and cha-cha.
AC: What I can say about my team is, it’s very happy. There’s a lot of laughter and humor, we’re always making fun and ribbing each other. That’s why we don’t notice time passing by that we’ve been practicing for three straight hours already. Sometimes we are called “Team Relax.” I have an excellent coach and teammates. I owe a big gratitude to Team Beefit Python’s Pit.
About Dr. Angelito Manguray, he is a great trainer. We train together and are sparmates. You won’t notice his age [45] when it comes to MMA. He is fast, strong, active, irrepressible and very good in…dancing.
KS: What is your training schedule? And who are your coaches and training partners in striking and grappling?
AC: We train offseason three times a week; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays when there’s no fight. When preparing for one, it’s five to six days a week. Mornings, afternoons and evenings. It’s bloody, hard, challenging…but it’s always joyful.
Almost all of my teammates are my grappling and striking partners. It’s Dr. Angelito [the karateka] who’s our specialist in kicking and cardio. Coach Bam Posadas teaches us judo and ground techniques. My managers Otek Durante and Hazel Ogalesco also hire special trainers for me, depending on my scheduled opponent.
KS: What are your thoughts on becoming the first homegrown Pinoy champion of PXC?
AC: I’m very happy to make history. I never expected to be the very first homegrown Pinoy champion of PXC. It feels great to be a champion but it’s also tiring going through interviews, guestings, courtesy calls and parties. I’m not used to those as I’m shy.
KS: UFC fighter Mark Muñoz, during his Philippine press conference, stated that he was impressed with you that you are “an amazing striker” and would like to teach you “wrestling and grappling for a month and a half.” What’s your reaction to that?
AC: Mark Muñoz?! He’ll train me in wrestling?! Wow! I hope it really happens! Could you please remind him of his offer and ask him to make good of it? Haha. I have no money to pay him even if I’ll win three MMA belts; we can’t even afford a plane ticket. Well, unless he or anybody else sponsors me. Our team can only afford to treat him to a snack of lumpia (a stuffed pastry prepared like a spring roll), haha.
KS: What’s your opinion on your counterpart Kevin Belingon of Team Lakay, the flyweight champion of URCC? If given the chance, are you ready to fight him?
AC: Sir Kevin is very good. He has beaten one of my teammates. If he’ll be the one I’ll fight next, it’s no problem with me. I’ll train for and fight anybody whom they’ll sign for my next match, even Brock Lesnar, haha.
KS: In parting, would you like to thank anyone for your young yet successful MMA career? Do you have any messages for your fans?
AC: Thanks a lot to all those who screamed, shouted and prayed for me in my last fight. Thanks to the following: Engage Hybrid Athletic Gear; Mr. Jimmy Javier, who owns Beefit Gym; my coach Bam Posadas; trainer Dr. Angelito Manguray; managers Otek Durante and Hazel Ogalesco; my teammates even when they gang up on me in the gym; Ma’am Kandice Mallonga, Dr. Vince Vicente; Mike Soledad; my family who always supports me especially to my kuya (older brother); and to you, too, Sir Karlo Sevilla. Thank you very much!
KS: Thank you very much, too, champion. It’s been a fun exclusive interview for Bleacher Report MMA.
Karlo Silverio Sevilla is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.
Here we go again, with another reminder of what MMA is all about. This time it’s courtesy of still Bellator Fighting Championships welterweight champion Ben Askren (10-0, 7-0 BFC). After getting heartily booed by the misplaced among the audience i…
Here we go again, with another reminder of what MMA is all about. This time it’s courtesy of still Bellator Fighting Championships welterweight champion Ben Askren (10-0, 7-0 BFC).
After getting heartily booed by the misplaced among the audience in his unanimous decision win over challenger Brazilian Douglas Lima (21-5, 3-1 BFC) in the Bellator 64 main event Friday at Caesars in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, the American Olympic wrestler said after the fight that, “If you don’t like the groundwork, there’s a sport they call boxing…it’s not as fun, though. I suggest you keep on coming here and watching my ass whoopin’s.”
The fans obviously preferred more standup action from the champion and for the challenger who’s coming fresh off two consecutive KO wins, with a total of seven victories by KO. But, as the rules allow it (ahem), defending champion Askren chose to take down his opponent at will and punish him from on top for five full rounds.
And, as the rules also allow, Askren rained punches, elbows and hammerfists from inside Lima’s guard after taking him down again and again. The defending champion even tried to submit his opponent with a third-round brabo choke—another legal MMA move—albeit unsuccessful.
Lima, for his part, landed a few right hands, some punches and submission attempts from the bottom, a nifty first-round sweep and not much else.
At the end of the second round, the Brazilian representing American Top Team Atlanta already appeared vanquished by the American carrying the colors of Roufusport from Milwaukee, Wis.
No one should really be surprised by the Olympic wrestler’s mode of fighting. Askren has already revealed this beforehand in his Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show” interview, stating that, “I really think [that whether an opponent is] dangerous or not dangerous, the best thing I can do is put somebody on his back and beat him up.”
I guess the fans who booed him last night wouldn’t want to see him fight Georges St-Pierre, his counterpart champion in the UFC, for the forecasted stylistic similarities.
Well, no rule prohibits fans from not watching—or booing.
Kevin Belingon and Eduard Folayang (along with Eric Kelly) remain the Philippines’ brightest prospects for breaking into international MMA stardom—beyond Southeast Asia, then the whole continent of Asia and ultimately among the world’…
Kevin Belingon and Eduard Folayang (along with Eric Kelly) remain the Philippines’ brightest prospects for breaking into international MMA stardom—beyond Southeast Asia, then the whole continent of Asia and ultimately among the world’s elite fighters. It must be a good thing that they learn early, from their recent respective losses, what among their arsenal of fighting skills need upgrading.
The following is a round-by-round recap of the Pinoy fighters’ saga in last Saturday’s ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) “War of the Lions” event staged in Singapore, starting with Kevin Belingon vs. Japan’s Masakazu Imanari in their bantamweight match.
Round 1
Imanari launches a head kick on Belingon and misses, making the Japanese slip and land on his back. URCC champion Belingon instinctively inches closer to jump on the chance to ground-and-pound his opponent who’s lain supine on the ground. The former DEEP bantamweight title holder grabs a hold of the Pinoy’s right foot and attempts to lock in a heel hook.
Belingon tries to pound but in vain, as the hold already got him losing his leverage and effective striking distance to rain blows with his upper limbs. His lower limbs are already neutralized, with one foot trying to escape the heel hook hold and the other trying to push the other out of it. The Japanese fighter coolly and tenaciously latches on the foot, eventually transitioning to a toe hold and ultimately a reverse heel hook.
Soon, the reverse heel hook submission forces Belingon to tap at 1:18 of the first round, proving that Imanari is rightly nicknamed “10th Dan of Leglocks.”
Lesson for Belingon
Losing for the first time in 10 fights, Belingon must improve on his submission defense, and be extra-vigilant on the submission holds one’s opponent is renowned for.
Let’s now move on to lightweight Eduard Folayang versus his compatriot Filipino-Danish Ole Laursen, in a battle between the URCC and Martial Combat champions, respectively, which earned for both the Fight of the Night Bonus.
Round 1
Eduard Folayang lands an inside leg kick to start the first round, and follows it up with another but Ole Laursen simultaneously fires a combination of punches. Folayang strikes with a spinning body kick, and Laursen answers with a takedown.
From the top Laursen attempts a kimura hold, but Folayang manages to pull free his caught arm and stands up again. Laursen maneuvers to get behind Folayang and leaps to hook his legs in for a standing rear-naked choke. The Baguio City fighter shakes him off and the Boracay Island warrior lands on the canvas.
Folayang follows him to the ground and soon locks up a full back mount but fails in securing a finishing hold. Laursen manages to get on his feet again and then controls Folayang from behind, with his arms locked around the waist of the Sanshou stylist. Folayang throws elbows at the opponent clinging behind him.
Laursen scores another takedown, this time via leg trip and transitions to side mount. Folayang struggles and, again, successfully gets the fight back to standing. Folayang scores with another spinning body kick and lands a left hook on the apparently tiring Laursen before the bell rings, ending the first round.
Round 2
Laursen may appear to be the more weary party, but the Muay Thai fighter is still game enough to exchange strikes with Folayang. Folayang appears to land the heavier strikes, especially punches, but two of the round’s highlights come from Laursen.
First was the well-timed left jab on Folayang’s head that knocks him down. Folayang immediately springs back to his feet and backs off from Laursen, who, smelling blood, gives off a chase with a barrage of punches.
With his back against the cage and the re-energized Laursen frenetically firing punches at him, Folayang successfully shoots for a double-leg and takes his adversary on the ground. He tries to pound from inside Laursen’s guard.
Then Laursen turns on his hands and feet, and Folayang reacts by trying to get back mount but was thwarted and they’re both back standing. Folayang lets go of another spinning body kick, and Laursen delivers another highlight: a double-leg shoot, taking down Folayang and positioning to side mount.
And, as what has become the pattern in the fight, the downed party frustrates the top man and eventually regains the standing position. The second round expires but not before Folayang lands another left hook on Laursen, who is already developing shiners around both eyes.
Round 3
The last round shows both fighters engaging in their mutual and traditional weapon of choice: striking, with Folayang representing Sanshou against Laursen’s Muay Thai.
Folayang, who’s always been respected for his superb physical condition, had more spring in his legs. Laursen, on the other hand, looks like one valiantly fighting off fatigue.
Arguably, the third and last round is all Folayang, who lands the more strikes—in quantity and quality. However, in the dying last minute of the round, the never-say-die Laursen shoots again for a double-leg and again takes down his compatriot.
On the ground and on top of the prone Folayang, Laursen sparks another fisticuffs firework, finishing the round with a last-minute blaze. The takedowns from the first round to the third and, most significantly, the last, which made way for the last minute flurry, must have given Laursen two of the judges’ nod for the split decision win.
Lesson for Folayang
In the aftermath of only his second loss in 13 fights, Folayang has to further sharpen his already respectable wrestling skills. It’s true that his base martial art of Sanshou is, without getting into technical details, part wrestling. Still, it is undeniable that the Filipino MMA champion will greatly benefit in learning more from freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.
If Folayang seriously aspires to be one of the world’s—if not the world’s—best, he must be able to effectively execute wrestling defensive and offensive techniques against not only the likes of Laursen. He must have, as early as now, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard in mind.
Lesson from Belingon and Folayang for All of Us
They will learn and return as much better fighters to begin another winning streak.
Kimbo Slice and Bobb Sapp are still very much in the fight game, and are taking combat sports to an unworldly place. They still climb up rings and get paid accordingly as true professionals for their…paranormal services. Sapp’s nth loss in his …
Kimbo Slice and Bobb Sapp are still very much in the fight game, and are taking combat sports to an unworldly place. They still climb up rings and get paid accordingly as true professionals for their…paranormal services.
Sapp’s nth loss in his last fight was, for the nth time, a puzzling phenomenon; tapping out after getting taken down by an oh-so-ordinary double-leg attack from James Thompson. The persistent veteran Sapp is on a roll—downward—in proving his dogged loyalty to MMA, unceasingly struggling on despite a 1-9 record in his last 10 fights.
Green had taken far bigger punches from Slice in the fourth round alone. The punch that “knocked him out” was a glancing uppercut that, and I mean this quite literally, wouldn’t really hurt anyone, much less knock them completely unconscious in such a comical way.
In fairness, Slice’s KO punch could be legit, reminiscent of Mike Tyson’s phantom slug that finished Bruce Seldon in the very first round of their heavyweight title fight in 1996.
With his recent KO of Green, MMA dumpee Slice has apparently moved on to greener pastures by pursuing a professional boxing career. The former street fighter now boasts of four straight wins highlighted by three KOs.
If ever the twain shall meet, in an MMA or boxing match, it’s a safe bet that Slice will KO Sapp. And what could make it a historical precedent is that Slice may not even have to throw a punch to do it.
Besides, Slice happens to own an MMA TKO win over Thompson, Sapp’s latest conqueror.
Lateral movement—not running—did it for Condit, er, I mean Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson in winning the unanimous decision over Thiago Silva in the main event of UFC on Fuel 2 in Stockholm, Sweden last night.