Oftentimes the best artists are self-taught ones who become masters of their respective crafts because of their love of their art and a constant desire to be better at it.
Genghis Con (AKA Isaac Kesington) is the epitome of such an artist.
Genghis polished his filmmaking chops by making incredible MMA highlight reels and eventually after doing work for MMA promotions like the MFC, branched out into the web-documentary genre.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/GenghisConFilms)
Oftentimes the best artists are self-taught ones who become masters of their respective crafts because of their love of their art and a constant desire to be better at it.
Genghis Con (AKA Isaac Kesington) is the epitome of such an artist.
Genghis polished his filmmaking chops by making incredible MMA highlight reels and eventually after doing work for MMA promotions like the MFC, branched out into the web-documentary genre.
His latest project is the “Miami Hustle” series, which follows Jorge Masvidal, Alexis Vila, Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, Jorge Santiago and Juan Carlos Faraldo through both their professional and personal lives. The segments are raw, gritty and washed out by design, but the story lines and backgrounds of the fighters make the series a powerful one.
Check out the first episode of season 2 and go to GC’s YouTube channel to watch last season and to check out the rest of his work if you haven’t already. It’s well worth your time.
It’s perhaps the most common refrain in sports: “I’m not looking past (insert opponent here).”
But KJ Noons has a slightly different take on the adage that nearly all title contenders wind up saying at one point or another. And it just might make sense.
Noons fights Masvidal on Saturday in what Strikeforce has deemed a No. 1 contenders fight for the lightweight belt held by Gilbert Melendez. It will be Noons’ first fight since a welterweight title fight loss to Nick Diaz last October.
Noons (10-3, 2-1 Strikeforce) and Masvidal (21-6, 3-0 Strikeforce) were slated for the preliminary card of Strikeforce’s show at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, which features the next two quarterfinal fights in the promotion’s heavyweight tournament on the main card. But when Gina Carano had to pull out of her return last week, Noons-Masvidal was bumped up for the Showtime audience instead of a prelim card that will air live on HDNet.
And Noons told Helwani he’s put in more work for this fight than he did for his title shot with Diaz, which saw him go up a weight class on relatively short notice.
“He’s definitely top notch, and I think he makes for an exciting fight,” Noons said. “This has been probably the hardest camp I’ve ever had to train for, this fight. This is actually harder than the Diaz fight. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, or we’re trying to get things more fine tuned.”
With a wedding to his longtime girlfriend looming in the fall, Noons said he would love to make quick work of Masvidal to get his shot at Melendez, then get right back in there with the champion.
“I heard there’s rumors Gilbert wants to fight in August,” Noons said. “I’ve never trained so hard. Once I get my hand raised, I would love to get one more fight before I tie the knot.”
With a layoff of more than eight months, Noons told MMA Fighting earlier this month in Las Vegas that he was itching to get back in the cage. Noons fought four times in 2010 going 3-1, but the Masvidal fight will be his first in 2011 – making this his longest layoff in four years.
And even though he said he’s willing to go back to 170 pounds if the right fight is there, saying he just wants to put on exciting fights, Noons believes 155 is where he’s supposed to be.
“This is definitely my weight class,” Noons told MMA Fighting in Las Vegas. “I was supposed to fight for a title at 155 before the Nick Diaz fight, but they asked me if I wanted to fight Nick Diaz in six weeks at 170. I said, ‘Yeah, I don’t care.’ I fought him in his hometown, on his turf, in his weight class. And you know the outcome. You can’t leave it to the judges, right?
“I’m just ready. It kind of sucks being on the sidelines – but it’s kind of fun, being on vacation. But I’ve still got to pay the bills and fight.”
Noons said the sting of his loss to Diaz will hopefully make him a better fight. Especially since it was to a heated rival whom he had beaten to win the EliteXC lightweight title in November 2007, when Diaz’s cuts were too bad to continue into the second round.
“It always hurts when you lose,” Noons said. “You put in all that time, all that effort with your team. It’s always tough to take a loss. But that’s what makes really good fighters – everybody wants to see somebody rise from the bottom back up top. If you can do that, that’s pretty good. I’ve gotta dust myself off and try to get better, win some more fights and try to get up there again.”
Noons’ loss to Diaz snapped a six-fight winning streak. Masvidal beat Billy Evangelista at Strikeforce’s March show in Columbus, Ohio, but has not won two straight since 2009.
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum takes place Saturday in Dallas. The main card, featuring heavyweight tournament bouts between champion Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, airs live on Showtime at 10 p.m. Eastern. The prelims air live on HDNet at 8 p.m. Eastern.
It’s perhaps the most common refrain in sports: “I’m not looking past (insert opponent here).”
But KJ Noons has a slightly different take on the adage that nearly all title contenders wind up saying at one point or another. And it just might make sense.
Noons fights Masvidal on Saturday in what Strikeforce has deemed a No. 1 contenders fight for the lightweight belt held by Gilbert Melendez. It will be Noons’ first fight since a welterweight title fight loss to Nick Diaz last October.
Noons (10-3, 2-1 Strikeforce) and Masvidal (21-6, 3-0 Strikeforce) were slated for the preliminary card of Strikeforce’s show at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, which features the next two quarterfinal fights in the promotion’s heavyweight tournament on the main card. But when Gina Carano had to pull out of her return last week, Noons-Masvidal was bumped up for the Showtime audience instead of a prelim card that will air live on HDNet.
And Noons told Helwani he’s put in more work for this fight than he did for his title shot with Diaz, which saw him go up a weight class on relatively short notice.
“He’s definitely top notch, and I think he makes for an exciting fight,” Noons said. “This has been probably the hardest camp I’ve ever had to train for, this fight. This is actually harder than the Diaz fight. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older, or we’re trying to get things more fine tuned.”
With a wedding to his longtime girlfriend looming in the fall, Noons said he would love to make quick work of Masvidal to get his shot at Melendez, then get right back in there with the champion.
“I heard there’s rumors Gilbert wants to fight in August,” Noons said. “I’ve never trained so hard. Once I get my hand raised, I would love to get one more fight before I tie the knot.”
With a layoff of more than eight months, Noons told MMA Fighting earlier this month in Las Vegas that he was itching to get back in the cage. Noons fought four times in 2010 going 3-1, but the Masvidal fight will be his first in 2011 – making this his longest layoff in four years.
And even though he said he’s willing to go back to 170 pounds if the right fight is there, saying he just wants to put on exciting fights, Noons believes 155 is where he’s supposed to be.
“This is definitely my weight class,” Noons told MMA Fighting in Las Vegas. “I was supposed to fight for a title at 155 before the Nick Diaz fight, but they asked me if I wanted to fight Nick Diaz in six weeks at 170. I said, ‘Yeah, I don’t care.’ I fought him in his hometown, on his turf, in his weight class. And you know the outcome. You can’t leave it to the judges, right?
“I’m just ready. It kind of sucks being on the sidelines – but it’s kind of fun, being on vacation. But I’ve still got to pay the bills and fight.”
Noons said the sting of his loss to Diaz will hopefully make him a better fight. Especially since it was to a heated rival whom he had beaten to win the EliteXC lightweight title in November 2007, when Diaz’s cuts were too bad to continue into the second round.
“It always hurts when you lose,” Noons said. “You put in all that time, all that effort with your team. It’s always tough to take a loss. But that’s what makes really good fighters – everybody wants to see somebody rise from the bottom back up top. If you can do that, that’s pretty good. I’ve gotta dust myself off and try to get better, win some more fights and try to get up there again.”
Noons’ loss to Diaz snapped a six-fight winning streak. Masvidal beat Billy Evangelista at Strikeforce’s March show in Columbus, Ohio, but has not won two straight since 2009.
Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum takes place Saturday in Dallas. The main card, featuring heavyweight tournament bouts between champion Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, airs live on Showtime at 10 p.m. Eastern. The prelims air live on HDNet at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Without further comment, Scott Coker announced in the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum press conference today that Gina Carano was not medically cleared to participate in her scheduled June 18th bout and her fight against Sarah.
Without further comment, Scott Coker announced in the Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum press conference today that Gina Carano was not medically cleared to participate in her scheduled June 18th bout and her fight against Sarah D’Alelio would be replaced by KJ Noons vs. Masvidal. At the press conference today, Coker said he hadn’t spoken directly with Carano but that her representative released the statement:
“I’m seriously disappointed not to be fighting on June 18. I’d like to thank Greg Jackson and Team Jackson for such an amazing camp. I hope this is only a brief setback.”
A replacement for Carano has not been announced and no further information has been released regarding her medical condition. Thus, rumors are born and bred and one in particular is that Gina Carano is pregnant. We will have to wait for further announcements or maybe we can pay off a close friend of Carano’s to get the scoop. In the meantime, D’Alelio tweeted: “DAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMIT!!!”
Well, with a reaction like that, we don’t expect to see D’Alelio invited to the baby shower.
Chael Sonnen‘s indefinite suspension sticks; says he will retire. Jorge Masvidal vs. KJ Noons set for Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum Frankie Edgar pushing off surgery for bulging discs; opts for epidural injections for pain. Shinya.
After a busy week of MMA that culminated in two Strikeforce title fights on Showtime on Saturday night, it’s time to load up on just enough coffee to push us through one final post-mortem analysis.
From knockouts to comebacks to a fighter who turned o…
After a busy week of MMA that culminated in two Strikeforce title fights on Showtime on Saturday night, it’s time to load up on just enough coffee to push us through one final post-mortem analysis.
From knockouts to comebacks to a fighter who turned out to be exactly who we thought he was, there’s plenty to dissect after Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson.
Join me below as I sort through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.
Filed under: StrikeforceBilly Evangelista is undefeated no more, as one of Strikeforce’s best prospects lost in disappointing fashion in his first appearance on a major Strikeforce card on Saturday night.
Billy Evangelista is undefeated no more, as one of Strikeforce’s best prospects lost in disappointing fashion in his first appearance on a major Strikeforce card on Saturday night.
Fighting the much more experienced Jorge Masvidal, Evangelista turned in an unimpressive performance, losing a unanimous decision. All three judges scored it 30-27 for Masvidal, who improved his professional mixed martial arts record to 21-6. Evangelista falls to 11-1.
It’s perhaps the most common refrain in sports: “I’m not looking past (insert opponent here).”
After a busy week of MMA that culminated in two Strikeforce title fights on Showtime on Saturday night, it’s time to load up on just enough coffee to push us through one final post-mortem analysis.