Tag: Andrei Arlovski

Unnamed ‘UFC Champ’ Thwarts Robbery in Chicago; Mugger Gets Shot in Leg and Face Pounded


(You dun goofed, son.)

A story of street justice out of Chicago today that makes Jon Jones’ bout of heroism seem like a boyscout helping an old lady across the street, claims that a “UFC champion” fended off an armed mugger and would-be carjacker on Friday.

According to various reports that originated from a police report of the incident that was released today, a 24-year-old career criminal got his just desserts when he pulled a gun on a seasoned MMA fighter and ordered him out of his vehicle after lightening his wallet.


(You dun goofed, son.)

A story of street justice out of Chicago today that makes Jon Jones’ bout of heroism seem like a boyscout helping an old lady across the street, claims that a “UFC champion” fended off an armed mugger and would-be carjacker on Friday.

According to various reports that originated from a police report of the incident that was released today, a 24-year-old career criminal got his just desserts when he pulled a gun on a seasoned MMA fighter and ordered him out of his vehicle after lightening his wallet.

Here’s the breakdown courtesy of MyFoxChicago:

Police say 24-year-old Anthony Miranda walked up to a car which was parked near 55th and Kenneth about 11:30 p.m. and asked the driver for a lighter.

When the driver said he didn’t have one, Miranda allegedly pulled a handgun, pointed it at the driver and demanded money. And even after getting some money, he ordered the driver out of the car, police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said.

At some point, Miranda’s attention was diverted and the victim was able to grab control of the gun and the two wrestled.

During the fight, Miranda accidentally discharged his gun, shooting himself in the ankle, Mirabelli said.

The victim — who told police he’s a martial arts expert and ultimate fighting champion — was able to pin Miranda down until police arrived. Police arrived to find Miranda with a face full of lacerations and two black eyes. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital for treatment, police said.

Miranda, a convicted felon, is charged with armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class X felony.

He was ordered held on $350,000 bond Sunday, according to the CooK County Sheriff’s office.

Records show he has several convictions, including at least one for a residential burglary. 

There’s a pretty good chance that the cops who wrote up the report may be confusing “MMA” with “Ultimate Fighting,” but just to be sure we contacted the management of the city’s only fighter who has worn UFC gold, Andrei Arlovski to ask if “The Pitbull” was the intended victim. As of the time of writing, we have not heard back from his agent.

Some other Chicago-based UFC veterans who could fit the bill include Stephan Bonnar, Miguel Torres, Shonie Carter, Danny Downes, Bart Palaszewski and Jeff Curran.

Unnamed ‘UFC Champ’ Thwarts Robbery in Chicago; Mugger Gets Shot in Leg and Face Pounded


(You dun goofed, son.)

A story of street justice out of Chicago today that makes Jon Jones’ bout of heroism seem like a boyscout helping an old lady across the street, claims that a “UFC champion” fended off an armed mugger and would-be carjacker on Friday.

According to various reports that originated from a police report of the incident that was released today, a 24-year-old career criminal got his just desserts when he pulled a gun on a seasoned MMA fighter and ordered him out of his vehicle after lightening his wallet.


(You dun goofed, son.)

A story of street justice out of Chicago today that makes Jon Jones’ bout of heroism seem like a boyscout helping an old lady across the street, claims that a “UFC champion” fended off an armed mugger and would-be carjacker on Friday.

According to various reports that originated from a police report of the incident that was released today, a 24-year-old career criminal got his just desserts when he pulled a gun on a seasoned MMA fighter and ordered him out of his vehicle after lightening his wallet.

Here’s the breakdown courtesy of MyFoxChicago:

Police say 24-year-old Anthony Miranda walked up to a car which was parked near 55th and Kenneth about 11:30 p.m. and asked the driver for a lighter.

When the driver said he didn’t have one, Miranda allegedly pulled a handgun, pointed it at the driver and demanded money. And even after getting some money, he ordered the driver out of the car, police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said.

At some point, Miranda’s attention was diverted and the victim was able to grab control of the gun and the two wrestled.

During the fight, Miranda accidentally discharged his gun, shooting himself in the ankle, Mirabelli said.

The victim — who told police he’s a martial arts expert and ultimate fighting champion — was able to pin Miranda down until police arrived. Police arrived to find Miranda with a face full of lacerations and two black eyes. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital for treatment, police said.

Miranda, a convicted felon, is charged with armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class X felony.

He was ordered held on $350,000 bond Sunday, according to the CooK County Sheriff’s office.

Records show he has several convictions, including at least one for a residential burglary. 

There’s a pretty good chance that the cops who wrote up the report may be confusing “MMA” with “Ultimate Fighting,” but just to be sure we contacted the management of the city’s only fighter who has worn UFC gold, Andrei Arlovski to ask if “The Pitbull” was the intended victim. As of the time of writing, we have not heard back from his agent.

Some other Chicago-based UFC veterans who could fit the bill include Stephan Bonnar, Miguel Torres, Shonie Carter, Danny Downes, Bart Palaszewski and Jeff Curran.

“ProElite II- Big Guns”: Simply Put, It Sucked

Fans slept through the first 899 seconds of the bout, and Fulton through the last one.

MMA fans are quick to dismiss a card that lacks a lot of star power, but sometimes those events come through with exciting fights and lightning quick stoppages. This is not one of those times. It’s one thing when a surly blogger talks a little trash about an event, but when the organization’s announcer tweets that he’s falling asleep mid-bout and the promoter jokingly agrees you know that the card didn’t even live up to whatever low expectations you may have had for it.

While their first show back from exile was largely a success, ProElite took a gamble last night and lost by focusing their attention on heavyweights. When a mere pair of heavyweight fights can mar an otherwise enjoyable UFC card, the odds of twelve second-and-third-tier big boys delivering a memorable night of fights for ProElite seemed unlikely.

Fans slept through the first 899 seconds of the bout, and Fulton through the last one.

MMA fans are quick to dismiss a card that lacks a lot of star power, but sometimes those events come through with exciting fights and lightning quick stoppages. This is not one of those times. It’s one thing when a surly blogger talks a little trash about an event, but when the organization’s announcer tweets that he’s falling asleep mid-bout and the promoter jokingly agrees you know that the card didn’t even live up to whatever low expectations you may have had for it.

While their first show back from exile was largely a success, ProElite took a gamble last night and lost by focusing their attention on heavyweights. When a mere pair of heavyweight fights can mar an otherwise enjoyable UFC card, the odds of twelve second-and-third-tier big boys delivering a memorable night of fights for ProElite seemed unlikely.

In the evening’s main event, Tim Sylvia took home his second consecutive win in a plodding unanimous decision over Andreas Kraniotakes. The former UFC champion employed a strict gameplan of wall & stall to keep his smaller opponent pinned to the cage while periodically dispensing knees and punches. It was a win, and that’s about all you can say for it.

In his second fight under the ProElite banner, Andrei Arlovski returned to action against the Cal Ripken of MMA, Travis Fulton. Though the two showed a slight interest in exchanging strikes in the first round, that desire had waned by the second. The judges were spared the embarrassment of admitting that they’d stopped watching the fight at quite literally the last second, when “The Pit Bull” connected with a powerful left high kick that dropped Fulton cold at 4:59 of the final round.

In his pro debut last August, Reagan Penn displayed the same adept submission game and killer instinct as his older brother BJ. Last night he revealed that they share the same cardio training regimen as well. The first round was an active back-and-forth grappling battle, but Reagan was noticeably slower with nearly two minutes left in the frame. He started the second round with his hands hanging low, which allowed Evan Cutts to unload solid punches and kicks before taking the fight to the ground. Cutts spent the rest of the round grinding down Penn and working for submissions while taking his back and gaining full mount. Round three was rinse and repeat. Cutts picked up his third pro victory with the unanimous decision.

Heavyweight Tournament cliffs notes:

– Jake Heun picked up his second pro win with a first round TKO over Ed Carpenter. After spending much of the round pinned beneath Ed Carpenter, Heun worked his way back up and landed a body kick and big right hand that sent his opponent falling backward. Heavy ground and pound forced the ref to stop the fight.
– Justyn Riley spent most of round one brutalizing Cody Griffin’s body with knees while holding him down on all fours. In round two he secured the same position, but opted for punches and elbows to Griffin’s flanks instead. Griffin survived being back mounted at the end of the round and opened the third stanza throwing bombs. He dropped Riley and stood over him raining down blows until waived off by the official just 32 seconds into round three.
– Richard Odoms was simply too big and strong for Rodney Housley. Odoms was able to successfully control Housley against the cage and on the mat en route to a unanimous decision.
– Former NCAA champ Mark Ellis failed to parlay his considerable wrestling talent into a successful offense against Ryan Martinez. Martinez easily sprawled out of Ellis’ attempts to get the fight to the mat and made him pay with punches, hammerfists and knees (both legal and not). Martinez advances with the UD.

I sacrificed my Sunday to watch these fights so you don’t have to, but if you’re feeling full of self-hate you can catch them over at IronForgesIron.com.

Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski Earn ProElite Victories

Filed under: ProEliteA pair of former UFC heavyweight champions were in action on Saturday night in Moline, Illinois, and both of them won. But neither looked particularly impressive in the process.

Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski were both victorious …

Filed under:

A pair of former UFC heavyweight champions were in action on Saturday night in Moline, Illinois, and both of them won. But neither looked particularly impressive in the process.

Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski were both victorious at Saturday night’s ProElite event, yet save for one high kick from Arlovski at the very end of his fight, it was a dreadful affair all around.

Sylvia took a unanimous decision over Andreas Kraniotakes, 30-27 on all three judges’ cards. The fight consisted of a lot of clinching from Sylvia, and the crowd loudly booed at the end of the fight and again as Sylvia got his hand raised in the cage afterward.

Arlovski knocked out Travis Fulton with a shocking head kick with one second remaining in the third round of a fight that had been, up to that point, a dud. HDNet announcer Michael Schiavello accurately described the fight as “a cure for insomnia” heading into the third round, but Arlovski finally got busy in the third, and when the opportunity arose just as the fight was coming to an end, he threw a left high kick and landed his shin perfectly against Fulton’s jawline, knocking him cold.

Reagan Penn, the brother of B.J. Penn, looked even worse than Sylvia and Arlovski in losing a unanimous decision to Evan Cutts, 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 on the judges’ scorecards. It was the second pro fight of Penn’s MMA career, and it’s hard to see any reason he’ll have a third fight.

And in the first round of ProElite’s eight-man heavyweight tournament, four men advanced to the semifinals:
— Ryan Martinez handed Mark Ellis the first loss of his career, winning by unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three judges’ cards. It was an extremely disappointing showing from Ellis, who entered the cage as a heavy favorite but left with the crowd loudly booing his lackluster performance.
— Jake Heun brutalized Ed Carpenter, knocking him down with a kick-punch combination and then finishing him off with ground and pound for a first-round TKO.
— Cody Griffin was losing the fight after two rounds but came back on fire at the start of the third, battering Justyn Riley, knocking him down and finishing him with punches on the ground to win a third-round TKO.
— Richard Odoms beat Rodney Housley by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 30-27. The fight wasn’t particularly competitive or particularly compelling — which meant it fit in well with this disappointing fight card.

 

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There’s a Pretty Good Chance You’ll Have to Google the Names From the Second Bracket of ProElite’s HWGP

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ProElite)

ProElite today named the participants of the second bracket of its planned heavyweight grand prix and there’s a pretty good chance you won’t recognize the names on the list.

Contrary to popular belief and ads that inferred as much, the tournament will not include former UFC heavyweight champions Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia. According to the press release sent out by Stratus Media Group, the tournament will be structured similarly to Strikeforce’s Challenger Series in that the “up-and-coming’ winner will earn a shot at an upper-main card slot on a future event.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/ProElite)

ProElite today named the participants of the second bracket of its planned heavyweight grand prix and there’s a pretty good chance you won’t recognize the names on the list.

Contrary to popular belief and ads that inferred as much, the tournament will not include former UFC heavyweight champions Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia. According to the press release sent out by Stratus Media Group, the tournament will be structured similarly to Strikeforce’s Challenger Series in that the “up-and-coming’ winner will earn a shot at an upper-main card slot on a future event.

The promotion announced that Jake Heun (1-1) will take on Ed Carpenter (5-1) and Richard “The Black Eagle” Odoms (5-0) will square off with Rodney Housley (4-1) on the November 5, 2011  Proelite 2: Big Guns event we revealed earlier this month that will be televised live on HD NET from in Moline, Il at at 8:00 pm CST.

The main event for the show sees Arlovski (16-9) take on Travis Fulton (247-48-10 1 NC) while the co-main event has Sylvia (29-7) locking horns with Andreas Kraniotakes (12-4).

Andreas Kraniotakes Out of ProElite 2 Main Event Against Tim Slyvia

Filed under: News, ProEliteProElite’s second fight card since returning to the major mixed martial arts landscape has hit another snag.

Just 10 days after main event heavyweight Pedro Rizzo had to pull out of his fight against former UFC heavyweight …

Filed under: ,

ProElite’s second fight card since returning to the major mixed martial arts landscape has hit another snag.

Just 10 days after main event heavyweight Pedro Rizzo had to pull out of his fight against former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia with an injury, Rizzo’s replacement, Andreas Kraniotakes, now also is off the card.

Sources close to ProElite on Wednesday told MMA Fighting that Kraniotakes’ fighter license was not approved by the Illinois State Professional Athletic Commission, which oversees MMA in the state. That leaves ProElite scrambling for a replacement to fight Sylvia on what will be less than 10 days notice for ProElite 2 at the iWireless Center in Moline, Ill., on Nov. 5.

According to sources close to the event, the reason behind the state commission’s refusal to approve Kraniotakes stems from a lack of sanctioned fights on his record. Though the German heavyweight is 12-4, the bulk of his 16 career fights have come in Europe, leaving him without any sanctioned fights in the United States for the commission to base its decision on.

ProElite is said to have a replacement fighter lined up to face Sylvia, and attempted to present that fighter to the Illinois commission on Wednesday – only to find the board had closed up shop for the business day. A decision on Sylvia’s new opponent is expected Thursday, which will give him nine days to prepare for the fight – and Slyvia nine days to prepare for what will be his third opponent since signing on for the event.

Early Thursday morning, Kraniotakes posted a video with his reaction to the cancelation on his official website.

“?Eventually, the commission wouldn’t give me a license for some reasons no one understands,” Kraniotakes said. “I think the people making those decisions probably don’t know anything about the sport. I did everything I could do, my management did everything it could do, ProElite did everything it could do to make the fight happen. But the commission just said no.”

Kraniotakes, who had come to the States to train in San Diego leading up to the fight, said he is unsure what his next move will be, but he’d like to get a fight in 2011.

“I thought this was the moment in my career where all the suffering and the hard stuff I’ve put into it, all the training and all the work, finally paid off,” Kraniotakes said. “And now I stand here and don’t really know what to think. It’s kind of tough for me. I don’t really know where to go from here, but I know this eon’t hold me down.”

ProElite has not yet announced its third event, though it is not likely to take place this calendar year. Its first event since folding up shop in late 2008 took place in August in Hawaii, and a return to the Aloha State would seem possible – and may prove to be an easier road to getting Kraniotakes a license than in Illinois, a state commission that has not been without trouble in the past.

In March, the Chicago Tribune reported that the commission’s No. 2 official was put on administrative leave so the state could investigate complaints he used his position to benefit, in part, political campaigns run by his wife and his brother’s work as a boxing judge.

Last month, MMA Fighting was first to report Sylvia in the main event of ProElite 2 against Rizzo on a card that was moved to the Quad Cities area of western Illinois from its original planned home in Atlantic City. Sylvia, a Maine native, has lived in the Quad Cities for years, training with the Pat Miletich team during his UFC run as heavyweight champion.

But just 10 days ago, Rizzo had to pull out of the fight with an injury and Kraniotakes was tapped as his replacement. Though Kraniotakes is largely unknown outside of Europe, he is ranked in the Top 100 of some MMA heavyweight lists.

Slyvia (29-7) has won five of his last six. In August, he beat Patrick Barrentine (9-6) on a show in Rockford, Ill., a fight which was approved by the Illinois commission.

ProElite 2 features a co-main event between former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and Travis Fulton, a veteran of more than 300 career fights. BJ Penn‘s brother Reagan meets Evan Cutts, and former UFC fighter Waylon Lowe fights Floyd Hodges. In addition, a ProElite heavyweight tournament gets underway with four quarterfinal bouts, including one featuring NCAA wrestling standout Mark Ellis (1-0).

 

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