Tag: Breaking News

Lyoto Machida Says He "Felt More Aggressive" Against Randy Couture at UFC 129

Lyoto Machida silenced his detractors and reentered himself into the title picture following his knockout of Randy Couture at UFC 129. Machida, who was on a two-fight losing streak, attempted a flying crane kick that landed precisely on his oppone…

Lyoto Machida silenced his detractors and reentered himself into the title picture following his knockout of Randy Couture at UFC 129. 

Machida, who was on a two-fight losing streak, attempted a flying crane kick that landed precisely on his opponent’s chin, dropping him in the process. It’s a win he desperately needed and a win he credited to his training regiment. 

“I increased my training, demanding more from my sparrings, and I felt comfortable in every single situation,” Machida explained to TATAME.com following his victory. 

Machida continued saying he focused more on his karate and implemented different training techniques and a nutrition plan in order to prepare for the light heavyweight bout. And while he did change a few things during his training camp, “The Dragon” said he stuck to his roots that helped him become UFC light heavyweight champion not too long ago. 

“I felt myself more aggressive… I kept my style, but with an upgrade,” Machida said. 

He credits the upgrade to his father, Yoshizo Machida and actor / martial artist, Steven Seagal, who helped Machida perfect his flying crane kick, ultimately earning “Knockout of the Night” honours.

“When I started my preparation, after I did a hernia surgery, I couldn’t do everything in training, so my father told me to train three or four types of kicks and use them in sparring, but very carefully, because they hurt a lot, it’s like the elbow. When I came to Canada I met Steven Seagal, and he told “Lyoto, this kick will hit”. But I wasn’t worried to use it or not, I’d do it if the opportunity came. I came more relaxed to the second round and hit that.”

The highlight reel knockout has drawn comparisons to friend and teammate, Anderson Silva, who also landed a front kick that knocked out his opponent, Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. 

And now that Machida has regained his form after picking up the win, there have been fans demanding Machida take on newly crowned champion, Jon Jones as there are some who believe Machida’s style could potentially pose problems for the 23 year old. 

But for now, Machida is content to wait and see the division work itself out and look to inch closer to title bout one fight at a time. 

“I don’t think too much far away, I take step by step. I know every fight is important to become better. I don’t have that pressure to become the champion again. I’ll get that chance,” Machida said.

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MMA News: Jason “Mayhem” Miller Talks About Beef with Strikeforce & UFC 132

Notorious MMA fighter and host of MTV’s Bully Beatdown, Jason “Mayhem” Miller has a bone to pick with Strikeforce over his contract or lack thereof. Miller was involved in the infamous “Strikeforce: Nashville Brawl” which …

Notorious MMA fighter and host of MTV’s Bully Beatdown, Jason “Mayhem” Miller has a bone to pick with Strikeforce over his contract or lack thereof.

Miller was involved in the infamous “Strikeforce: Nashville Brawl” which aired live on CBS in April of 2010.

For his participation in the scrap, Miller received a three month suspension, a $5,000-$7,500 fine and was pulled from the card of his scheduled bout with Robbie Lawler, but that’s not specifically what Miller’s beef is about.

Once the fines were paid and suspension was up, Miller still had heard no word from Strikeforce as to when, where or who his next fight would be.

According to Ben Fowlkes of MMAFighting.com Miller stated, “All I knew is that I sat on the bench for a year…that’s all I knew.”

Even though Miller was still under contract with Strikeforce, the promotion apparently “refused to offer him a chance to fight and without ever explaining why”, said Fowlkes.

When Miller’s contract with Strikeforce was up, he signed with the UFC and it wasn’t until then, that he learned the reason he was never given another fight with Strikeforce.

Fowlkes said, Dana White explained that Miller had been banned from Showtime and CBS for the Nashville incident; news that neither Strikeforce management nor CEO, Scott Coker thought was important enough to tell Miller.

“I asked, and guess what? Nobody would tell me. This is a political environment. Nobody’s going to tell you. They’re just going to be cowards about it. That’s the way of the world. Nobody’s going to tell the crazy ultimate fighter guy to his face, ‘Hey, screw you.’ They’re not going to do that,” Miller told MMA Fighting.

Miller has had one fight since his suspension against MMA legend, Kazushi Sakuraba in Japan with the DREAM promotion, which he won by submission.

Since Zuffa LLC’s acquisition of Strikeforce and now that Miller’s contract has expired, he will face Aaron Simpson at UFC 132 in his first UFC middleweight bout and first fight back in the UFC since losing a welterweight matchup against Georges St-Pierre in April of 2005.

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Cesar Gracie Says Nick Diaz Wants Revenge for Shields Loss

A week ago, the world was buzzing about Nick Diaz’s possible professional boxing debut, but after watching his teammate and close friend Jake Shields drop a unanimous decision to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129, the Stockton native i…

A week ago, the world was buzzing about Nick Diaz‘s possible professional boxing debut, but after watching his teammate and close friend Jake Shields drop a unanimous decision to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129, the Stockton native is eager to slip back into a pair of four ounce gloves.

“Obviously, there’s a storyline behind it,” Diaz’s trainer Cesar Gracie said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com.

“Shields just lost a decision, and Nick wants some revenge for that. Nick is very confident that he can defeat St-Pierre.”

As Strikeforce welterweight champion, Diaz has amassed a 10 fight win streak and three consecutive title defenses. He has made multiple comments in the past about his dissatisfaction with the lack of competition and big payday.

Recently, he has turned his interest to the world of boxing and a plethora of possible debut opponents have already been rumored, including Fernando Vargas and IBF champion Jeff Lacy.

What would it take to keep Diaz under the MMA umbrella and set up a superfight with St-Pierre?

“Look, [UFC executive] Lorenzo [Fertitta] can do whatever he wants at this point. The guy signing the checks is the guy making the decisions,” said Gracie.

“There’s a couple of roadblocks, and I think the least of which is Nick’s contract with Strikeforce. That would be a roadblock if we chose not to take the fight against Georges St-Pierre.

“But obviously, that wouldn’t happen. The biggest thing is that Nick’s Strikeforce contract dictates that he can box in 2011, and we’ve gone pretty far into that process. It’s still a work in progress, but we’re just about there.”

A bout between St-Pierre and Diaz could instantly become a blockbuster. Diaz’s aggressive style could force the UFC champion into some interesting positions, but does he have what it takes to succeed where Shields failed?

Skeptics would point out Diaz’s previous struggles with strong wrestlers. Towards the end of his UFC tenure, he lost three consecutive bouts to Diego Sanchez, Sean Sherk and Joe Riggs.

St-Pierre is often considered the best wrestler in all of MMA.

It could be a tough style match-up for Diaz, who hasn’t faced a high caliber wrestler since leaving the UFC, but Gracie isn’t worried about skeptics. He believes that Diaz matches up well with St-Pierre, and a bout between the two could present fans with the intriguing welterweight title fight they’ve all been waiting for.

“[Nick’s] a guy that could press the action against GSP and not let GSP dictate the pace. GSP has been a great champ, and hats off to him, but there has been criticism that he’s not really taking risks,” stated Gracie.

“With Nick, you have the ultimate risk-taker. He will fight you at your game. He throws caution to the wind, really, because he’s more interested in beating you up than winning on points. I think that makes for an intriguing match-up between the two.”

At the UFC 129 post-fight presser, UFC President Dana White seemed open to the possibility of a bout between St-Pierre and Diaz, but a few hurdles would have to be cleared for the fight to actually become a reality.

Diaz will likely continue in his pursuit of a professional boxing bout, unless he gets the lucrative MMA bout he’s been waiting for.

“It would take Lorenzo and Dana to really come into this and show us how it could happen,” said Gracie.

“It would have to make financial sense for everybody. So, we’re waiting just like everybody else to see what they have in mind, and I’m more than happy to listen to their suggestions.”

 

(SportsHaze.com)

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Lyoto Machida Demonstrates Front Kick Two Years Before Using It at UFC 129

Another Black House fighter, another front-kick knockout victory and another claim by Steven Seagal that he trained that fighter on that particular kick.At UFC 129, Lyoto Machida used a front kick to knockout out Randy Couture that was very reminiscent…

Another Black House fighter, another front-kick knockout victory and another claim by Steven Seagal that he trained that fighter on that particular kick.

At UFC 129, Lyoto Machida used a front kick to knockout out Randy Couture that was very reminiscent of the kick that Anderson Silva used to put away Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.

If you recall, in postfight interviews, Steven Seagal was more than happy to take credit for showing Silva that kick.

After Machida’s victory on Saturday, Seagal spoke to Inside MMA, again taking credit for the knockout kick.

“It’s a little variation (on the Silva kick), I’ve been working with Lyoto very, very hard on a lot of different stuff. He did exactly what we’ve been working on and he did it well,” Seagal said.

The good folks over at MiddleEasy.com have uncovered a video that was uploaded to YouTube back in November of 2009 that shows Machida in a training video demonstrating the kick that he used to KO Couture.

Interesting stuff.

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Bellator Announces Network Deal With MTV2….Wait, What?? *Updated*

"…and Ben, I have you down to guest host on ‘Saturday Drop a Deuce’.  That’s cool, right?"A press release today announces that Bellator Fighting Championships has reached an agreement with MTV Networks to air live events on MTV2.&nbsp…

"…and Ben, I have you down to guest host on ‘Saturday Drop a Deuce’.  That’s cool, right?"

A press release today announces that Bellator Fighting Championships has reached an agreement with MTV Networks to air live events on MTV2.  The three-year deal, which begins in March of 2011, provides for broadcast of two live tournaments a year, "plus a collection of special feature events."  Eric Conte, Senior VP in charge of Programming and Production for MTV2, is quoted as saying that "MMA is at the top of our audience’s wish list" and that a partnership with the surging promotion "made complete sense".  (We haven’t received word yet on whether Conte was the guy that green-lit Wrestling Society X.)

The news comes as a surprise, as Bellator had been expected to announce an extension of its partnership with Fox Entertainment Group, parent of Fox Sports Net and FX.

Obviously, this is big news for Bellator, which has been hampered by lack of a stable time slot on FSN and plagued by last minute preemptions.  MTV2 is a step up on the distribution ladder, and more people will have access to the weekly shows than ever before.  As the press release noted, there is a nice dovetail in the demographics for the network and the Bellator fanbase.

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