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“I Was Hoping For An Open Fracture,” Shinya Aoki On Submitting Tatsuya Kawajiri

DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki faced Tatsuya Kawajiri this past weekend in the main event of DREAM.15 in Japan. Aoki submitted Kawajiri with an achilles lock in the first round, and felt that he’d have to break his opponents leg to get the win.
In a post-fight interview with SportsNavi, Aoki talked about his win […]

DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki faced Tatsuya Kawajiri this past weekend in the main event of DREAM.15 in Japan. Aoki submitted Kawajiri with an achilles lock in the first round, and felt that he’d have to break his opponents leg to get the win.

In a post-fight interview with SportsNavi, Aoki talked about his win showing a lot more respect and poise than he did against Mizuto Hirota at the NYE Dynamite!!! 2009 event. He broke Hirota’s arm in the fight and then promptly gave the middle finger to his injured opponent as well as the crowd before leaving the ring.

At some moments in the fight, it seemed like you tried to re-grip Kawajiri
When I caught him and tried to submit him, I heard a loud crackle sound. He did not tap so I thought ‘Ok, this match just became a death-fight’ and I was going to destroy his leg.

Did you believe you would win when you first grabbed his leg?
I knew Kawajiri never taps so I could not win without breaking his bone. I was hoping for an open-fracture.

Could you feel Kawajiri’s ‘lionheart’ in this fight?
Yes, yes. No one could have endured [that submission] like Kawajiri. His heart is iron.

You did not wear your famous long spats. What was the reasoning behind your decision?
There was no reason and there’s no reason to wear long spats in every fight.

You said something to Kawajiri after the fight, what was it?
“I could show you 100% [meaning either he could have fully destroyed his leg or he didn’t give the fight his full potential] but I chose not to because I respect you. Thank you for this fight.”

The original interview was conducted in Japanese, translated by GryphonJapan, and cleaned up by MiddleEasy.com.

Tito Ortiz Hoping To Return In November, Would Like To Face Forrest Griffin

Tito Ortiz talked with MMABay recently about his surgery, his canceled bout against Chuck Liddell as well as the talk surrounding the “Iceman’s” future, his home situation, and when he’s hoping to return to the octagon.
Here’s a bit of that interview transcribed by MMABay.
“I was really shocked (by the loss to Rich Franklin fight), […]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a bit of that interview transcribed by MMABay.

“I was really shocked (by the loss to Rich Franklin fight), I saw all my money go out the window. It is what it is, everything in this world happens for a reason and I’ll be back at the end of November. I’d like to [fight] Forrest. If Forrest would like to do a trilogy it’d be awesome. We gave two great fights both times we fought and we’ll get a triple fight more exciting than the last two.”

Round 5 Releases Images Of Upcoming “Two-Packs Spotlighting Historic UFC Bouts”

Round 5, one of the leaders in mixed martial arts collectible figurines, has released some pictures of it’s latest prototypes featuring fighters from some of the greatest UFC battles of the past. They include bouts featuring Chuck Liddel vs. Tito Ortiz (UFC 66), Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir (UFC 100), Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. […]

Check out the other images after the jump

Shane Carwin Updates Fans One Week After Loss

One week after his loss to UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, just the first loss of his career, former top contender Shane Carwin spoke out on the Underground Forums, offering fans an update on his life.
He isn’t sure what will be next for him inside the octagon but he is positive that he wants another […]

He isn’t sure what will be next for him inside the octagon but he is positive that he wants another shot at Lesnar. Carwin realizes though, that at age 35 climbing back up the mountain to get to Lesnar can be an even more daunting task.

Well it is one week later and I can’t wait to get back in the gym. I have a camping trip I am taking but after that I will be back in the gym helping the guys with up coming fights get ready. I was actually going to go in Monday but I was diagnosed with bronchitis and did not feel well enough to do much of anything.

I went back to work on Thursday and tried to settle back in. It had been awhile. Between all of the cancelations I had been in camp for over a year so I was no longer ahead of the curve on what needed to get done. I am really lucky my boss allows me to work at my own pace but that pace has been lagging lately. I am the designer of the system we use and pretty critical to making sure it work right. I really do love what I do and I am lucky they afford me the time to chase my dreams.

At 35 who knows how much longer my body will allow me to compete at the highest level. I love to compete and I want to be the best at what I do. We have a lot to work on but standing at the base of the mountain you already climbed is a lot less daunting then climbing it for the first time.

I have no idea what the UFC has planned for me yet. I am going to get back to work and try to solve some of my shortcomings, My goal is to face Brock again as soon as possible. I would like another chance and I am willing to work my butt off to get one. Part of the quest will be to win the UFC belt from whoever has it. I want to face the best fighter in MMA and make sure I leave a legacy behind.

I love the sport of MMA, losing has added fuel to the fire. I want to be known for being a complete fighter. I look forward to what ever this sport has in store for me and I am thankful to my Coaches, Training Partners and Sponsors who make this dream of mine possible. Without you I would be at home telling my son and his friends about my glory days as he tries to use my head gear as antennas for TV.

I will be on the road a lot starting August 7th in Bakersfield. While I am out in Bakersfield I am going to try help bring some awareness to the Cal State Bakersfield Wrestling program that is slated to be cut. The sport of wrestling, which is one of the foundations of MMA is under attack and at risk of disappearing because of Title 9. This is all happening as the sport is beginning to have its own version of the NFL with MMA. Imagine the Olympics featuring MMA fighter Ben Askren. We need to do what we can to support our local Wresters and I am doing what I can to help Wrestling as a whole.

-Carwin

James McSweeney Drops To Light-Heavyweight For Next Bout

Former season 10 “The Ultimate Fighter” participant James McSweeney (4-5) will be dropping to the light-heavyweight division for his next fight in the UFC. His opponent for that next fight will be fellow Brit Tom Blackledge (10-6), with both men meeting at UFC 120 in England.
McSweeney weighed in at 231 in his last fight […]

Former season 10 “The Ultimate Fighter” participant James McSweeney (4-5) will be dropping to the light-heavyweight division for his next fight in the UFC. His opponent for that next fight will be fellow Brit Tom Blackledge (10-6), with both men meeting at UFC 120 in England.

McSweeney weighed in at 231 in his last fight as part of the preliminary card for the “TUF 11″ Finale, a fight in which he lost via TKO in the first round to Travis Browne. Dropping to 205 won’t be that hard of a stretch and will hopefully prove better for the former kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. He made the announcement on Sunday via his Twitter page.

The former “TUF 10″ fighter will feel the pressure of performing in his fight with Blackledge with a 1-1 record under the UFC banner. McSweeney defeated fellow housemate Darrill Schoonover at the shows Finale to win his UFC debut.

Blackledge trains at the Wolfslair MMA Academy in Liverpool, England and will be making his UFC debut against McSweeney. He’s taken his last two fights under the M-1 Global banner, defeating both opponents in the first round. Both fights took place last year and his UFC debut will mark his first bout of 2010.

UFC 120 is set to take place on Oct. 16 at the O2 arena in England and Spike TV will broadcast the main card in North America for free via tape delay.

UFN 22 Adds Efrain Escudero vs. John Gunderson

A lightweight matchup between Efrain Escudero (13-1) and John Gunderson (23-7-1) has been added to the UFC Fight Night 22 card, according to sources close to the bout who spoke to MMAjunkie.com.
Escudero is coming off a unanimous decision win over Dan Lauzon last May at UFC 114, bouncing back from the first professional loss of […]

A lightweight matchup between Efrain Escudero (13-1) and John Gunderson (23-7-1) has been added to the UFC Fight Night 22 card, according to sources close to the bout who spoke to MMAjunkie.com.

Escudero is coming off a unanimous decision win over Dan Lauzon last May at UFC 114, bouncing back from the first professional loss of his career. Evan Dunham used an armbar to submit Escudero at UFN 20 in January of this year, ending a 12 fight undefeated streak which included victories over Cole Miller at UFC 103 and Phillipe Nover at the TUF 8 Finale to win that seasons lightweight contract.

Gunderson also bounced back from a loss in his last bout, winning a unanimous decision over Canadian Mark Holst at the TUF 11 Finale. So far he’s just 1-1 under the UFC banner having lost to Rafaello Oliveira by unanimous decision at UFC 108.

The Spike TV broadcasted UFN 22 event, will take place on Sept. 15 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

The current rumored fight card for UFN 22 is as follows:

Middleweight bout: Alan Belcher vs. Demian Maia*
Lightweight bout: Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau*
Lightweight bout: Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman*
Lightweight bout: Cole Miller vs. Ross Pearson*
Lightweight bout: Efrain Escudero vs. John Gunderson*
Middleweight bout: Nick Catone vs. Tomsz Drwal*
Light-heavyweight bout: Jared Hamman vs. Kyle Kingsbury*

* – Not officially announced