Tag: Pedro Rizzo

Report: UFC Returns to Brazil in November 2011

(Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil. Jesus, they’ve been talking about "the old Vitor" since 1998??)
According to a new report, the UFC will make a long-overdue return to Brazil in November 2011. GracieMag.com sources claim …

(Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil. Jesus, they’ve been talking about "the old Vitor" since 1998??)

According to a new report, the UFC will make a long-overdue return to Brazil in November 2011. GracieMag.com sources claim that the event will be held at the HSBC Arena in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, a 15,000-seat venue that will host the basketball and gymnastics events at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The rumored event would mark the first time the UFC has held a card in Brazil since "Ultimate Brazil" in October 1998, which featured Frank Shamrock defending his middleweight belt against John Lober, Pat Miletich becoming the UFC’s first welterweight champion after outpointing Mikey Burnett, Pedro Rizzo’s UFC debut against Tank Abbott, and Vitor Belfort‘s legendary knockout of Wanderlei Silva. With a renewed rivalry brewing between Belfort and Silva, we can’t think of a better occasion for a rematch.

Semi-related: Speaking of Pedro Rizzo…the three-time UFC heavyweight title challenger is currently preparing for a fight against former champ Tim Sylvia, which will take place in the War on the Mainland promotion sometime early next year. According to Rizzo, "Dana White mentioned that the winner should get another chance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship." Both fighters are currently riding three-fight win streaks.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of the Weekend That Was in MMA

I should have known it was going to be a rough night. Not more than a few minutes into the Impact FC broadcast, ring announcer James White made the first and most obvious of several noticeable blunders, drawing a blank in the middle of his opening addr…

I should have known it was going to be a rough night. Not more than a few minutes into the Impact FC broadcast, ring announcer James White made the first and most obvious of several noticeable blunders, drawing a blank in the middle of his opening address.

It got a laugh and few jeers from the Australian audience, but it was also a sign of things to come for the pay-per-view broadcast. White, like Impact FC itself, served as a useful reminder that this MMA promotion stuff is harder than it looks.

There are two ways of looking at this: 1) Impact FC is still pretty new at broadcasting MMA events, and whatever gives fans more fights to watch and fighters more chances to get paid is always a good thing, or 2) What makes these jokers think they deserve $30 for a show that looks like something you’d see on late-night public access TV?

Impact FC Aftermath: Yes, It Was Just as Bad as You Assumed It Would Be

(Never surrender, except to leg kicks. VidProps: YouTube/ZP840)
If you can imagine a fight card populated by has-beens and no-accounts, filmed by the blind and narrated by the guys from “Flight of the Conchords” (except without the genuin…

(Never surrender, except to leg kicks. VidProps: YouTube/ZP840)

If you can imagine a fight card populated by has-beens and no-accounts, filmed by the blind and narrated by the guys from “Flight of the Conchords” (except without the genuinely funny parts), then you have a pretty good idea what it was like to watch Impact FC’s first-ever pay-per-view on Saturday night. “The Uprising” was filled with plenty of the awkward pauses, even more awkward announcing, terrible camera work and retro graphics that we’ve come to expect from fledgling MMA promotions. As for the actual fighting? It played out about like you might have predicted, too.

Indeed when, just a few moments into the broadcast, nattily attired but totally incompetent ring announcer James White forgot his lines midway through his introductory remarks and had to stop cold to confess he’d drawn a blank, you knew it was going to be a long night. Despite how many times we were informed by the play-by-play team that the action in the cage was “thunderous” or “amazing” the show – filmed around noon local time in Sydney, Australia in a partially filled arena — felt so flat that the fighters themselves would’ve been hard-pressed to break the monotony. Luckily for them, it didn’t seem like they were trying too hard.

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Pedro Rizzo Leg Kicks His Way to Victory Over Ken Shamrock at Impact FC

Filed under: NewsIf Pedro Rizzo’s performance against Ken Shamrock at Impact FC proved anything, it’s that even when the other skills start to atrophy, leg kicks are the last to go.

The 36-year-old Brazilian spent the first few minutes feeling his opp…

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If Pedro Rizzo‘s performance against Ken Shamrock at Impact FC proved anything, it’s that even when the other skills start to atrophy, leg kicks are the last to go.

The 36-year-old Brazilian spent the first few minutes feeling his opponent out with his jab, then used his heavy right leg to batter Shamrock’s thigh in the opening round of their main event fight in Sydney, Australia.

While it usually takes time for the damage from leg kicks to accumulate, it only took a few of Rizzo’s slicing shots before Shamrock was left hobbled and helpless, forcing referee “Big” John McCarthy to stop the bout at 3:33 of the first round after the wounded Shamrock offered no response to a few perfunctory punches from a reluctant Rizzo.

Ken Shamrock Talks Pedro Rizzo, Frank’s Retirement, Steroids in MMA

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Ken Shamrock’s place in the history of MMA.

But with all the accolades, the UFC Hall of Famer’s name in recent years has instead been attached to controversy. There’s been quest…

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Love him or hate him, there’s no denying Ken Shamrock‘s place in the history of MMA.

But with all the accolades, the UFC Hall of Famer’s name in recent years has instead been attached to controversy. There’s been questions as to why Shamrock, now 46, continues to fight (he’s lost seven of his last nine), and in his lone recent win last year, tested positive for steroids.

In this exclusive interview below, Shamrock, who headlines this Saturday’s Impact FC 2 pay-per-view from Sydney, Australia, talks about his next fight against fellow UFC old schooler Pedro Rizzo, his brother Frank’s retirement, his recent confession of taking performance-enhancers and much more.

Impact FC 2: Shamrock vs. Rizzo Preview and Predictions

Last week’s inaugural Impact FC card was really a test drive for Saturday’s pay-per-view card which hosts even more familiar faces from the UFC and PRIDE past.

Preview and predictions for Impact FC 2 are below.

Last week’s inaugural Impact FC card was really a test drive for Saturday’s pay-per-view card which hosts even more familiar faces from the UFC and PRIDE past.

Preview and predictions for Impact FC 2 are below.