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END OF THE ROAD: ORTIZ PLANS FUTURE WITHOUT UFC
Friday, May 09, 2008 - by Damon Martin - MMAWeekly.com
The end of the journey for “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” Tito Ortiz, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship seems to be drawing near. The former light heavyweight champion has all but packed his bags to leave the company after his May 24 fight against Lyoto Machida.
“I really think it’s time for me to move on,” said Ortiz during an appearance on MMAWeekly Radio. “I’d love to finish my career with the UFC, but the way they treat me, it’s just… it’s really, really bad. It really hurts me. It’s really disrespectful towards me. I’ve given them 11 years of my life, blood, sweat and tears in that Octagon, putting my heart on the line, putting my life on the line, and they give me no respect for it because I’m outspoken.”
The outspoken nature of which Ortiz speaks is his tendency to try and fight for fighters to receive a higher salary from the various promotions, a battle he has been fighting for many years.
“I believe the fighters should get a fair cut of what they (UFC) make. They’ve made their money back time and time over, now it’s time I think for the fighters to start receiving revenue that they get because of us,” Ortiz stated. “I’ve been a person to be outspoken about that, and no one else has.
“I think Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell should be thanking me from three years ago when I spoke out and they started getting paid more money, and I started making more money. That’s what it’s really about, focusing on fighters of the future, not just being paid low sums like some of the undercard guys are getting.”
Obviously, Ortiz has been fighting a very public battle with UFC president Dana White. The California native can’t deny it’s a major reason for his departure.
“To me, it’s just with Dana White, he has such hard feelings against me, he’s been very disrespectful towards me, and I’m willing to move on,” he commented. “To not have to wake up every day and worry about what he’s going to say about me.”
While the former champion doesn’t deny the tough relationship with White, he also says that he’s ready to put all of that behind him and just go somewhere else.
“I really just want to focus on what’s going to happen after this. I’m willing to move on, I’m willing to think about the positive stuff that’s around me and diss all the negative stuff,” Ortiz said about his future. “I’m over all the negative stuff, I’m over talking about Dana… I’m very thankful for Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, for what they’ve done for me. I’m very thankful, and they don’t want to help me anymore, which is fine.”
Ortiz went on to say that he was negotiating for a new contract with the UFC, but ultimately the talks ended and the last fight on his current contract, the fight against Machida, will likely be his last UFC fight ever.
“At this point it’s pretty much stopped,” he said of the contract negotiations. “I gave them my first offer. They came back at me with some totally… I thought was ridiculous (offer). I held out, and I held out, and I held out until they gave me something else, which was a six-fight contract, and I don’t want to be held down for six fights with them.
“I want to go to a company that they’ve got respect, that’s the biggest thing. It’s not about the money, people got to understand, the money’s going to be there no matter what. It’s about a fair cut and being respected as a champ, as the fighter I am.”
After his May 24 fight against Lyoto Machida, Ortiz stated he has a 60-day waiting period before he can negotiate with another company. During that time he plans on attending some shows, checking out the production value and how the various organizations handle promoting their events.
He also talked about working behind the scenes of a promotion to help with marketing, while working to build young fighters and make new stars in the sport.
Specifically, Ortiz mentioned organizations such as EliteXC and Affliction as promotions he intends on checking out. And what kind of animal does Tito Ortiz hope to unleash when he works with a new promoter?
“I think it’s going to be huge for any company that does sign me,” said Ortiz about a positive relationship with a new company. “The marketability I’ll have where I want to put my heart and soul into it, as I did for the UFC.”
SHOOTO 20TH ANNIVERSARY RESULTS
Saturday, May 03, 2008 - By Al Yu - MMAWeekly.com
Professional Shooto returned with the start of its 20th anniversary series appropriately titled ‘Shooto Tradition”. A new champion was crowned while two top named fighters faltered.
In the main event, Shooto Welterweight Pac-Rim Champion Takashi Nakakura added the vacant Shooto World Welterweight title to his collection with a unanimous decision victory over the always tough Ganjo Tentsuku. The 154-pound belt was previously vacated by Tatsuya Kawajiri.
Nakakura started the match very relaxed, unafraid of Tentsuku’s proclivity for pressuring and brawling. The newly crowned champion kept his guard low as he countered his opponent with left jabs and low kicks. Nakakura utilized his jab well to keep Tentsuku at bay. The latter rounds mimicked the first with Nakakura landing stinging jabs. After three rounds, Takashi Nakakura was awarded a unanimous decision and the vacant title.
Former Pride standout Hayato “Mach” Sakurai tasted defeat for the first time since losing to Takanori Gomi back in 2005. Frenchman David Baron submitted Sakurai with a guillotine choke near the end of the opening round. A careless takedown attempt allowed Baron to pull off one of two big upsets of the evening.
Akitoshi Tamura rebounded after losing his 143-pound belt to Hideki Kadowaki back in March. Tamura defeated Rumina Sato in what was easily the fight of the night.
Tamura attempted to feel his opponent out early with leg kicks while Sato threw left and right hooks without hesitation. Tamura took Sato down about a minute into the first round, eventually controlling his back and dictating the action from there. Sato defended Tamura’s rear naked choke attempts well.
Round two saw a more aggressive Sato; unleashing a barrage of strikes and knees before taking his opponent down for some ground-n-pound. Sato stayed in Tamura’s guard, throwing punches while avoiding submission attempts. Doctors stopped the action midway to check on Tamura’s swelled right eye; the two tangled for a brief but exciting exchange after Tamura was cleared. The round finished with the former champion in Sato’s guard.
Sato landed a spinning side kick to begin the final round. After a brief scuffle, Tamura dropped the “Moon Wolf” with a right high kick. Sato was able to survive the barrage of punches that followed and countered with an inverse triangle choke. Tamura eventually escaped the hold and transitioned into the fight winning north-south choke.
In the other upset of the night, former Shooto 143-pound Champion “Lion” Takeshi Inoue lost a unanimous decision to Trenell “Savant” Young in class-B action. Young threw hard lead hooks to the head and body of his opponent while Inoue pushed the pace. “Lion” was able to take Young towards the end of the opening round.
Both fighters were more aggressive in the second and final round. With about two minutes remaining, “Savant” secured a really tight guillotine choke. As the effects of the hold began to take place, Inoue dove threw the ropes with Young still holding on. Young continued to hold the guillotine for more than ten seconds after going through the ropes; the refs broke the hold with Inoue momentarily, but clearly unconscious.
In a controversial move, the fighters were restarted in the middle of the ring. The two fighters finished the match with a few clinches and exchanges. In the end “Savant” Young was awarded the unanimous decision.
RESULTS:
Takashi Nakakura def. Ganjo Tentsuku by decision
David Baron def. Hayato Sakurai by submission (Guillontine Choke) R1
Akitoshi Tamura def. Rumin Sato by submission (North-South Choke) at 2:37, R3
Savant Young def. Takeshi Inoue by Decision
Ryuich Miki vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani ended in a Draw (30-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Yusuke Endo def. Vince Ortiz by submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at3:34, R1
Bendy Casimir def. Shinji Sasaki by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-29, 29-28)
Shinpei Tahara def. Katsuya Murofushi by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 0:46, R2
Hayate Usui def. Sakae Kasuya by Majority Decision (20-19, 19-19, 20-18)
Bendy Casimir def. Shinji Sasaki by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-29, 29-28)
-Kazushi Sakuraba def. Andrews Nakahara by Submission (Neck Crank) at 8:20, R1
-Gegard Mousasi def. Denis Kang by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:10, R1
-Kiyoshi Tamura def. Masakatsu Funaki by TKO (Strikes) at 0:57, R1
-Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza def. Ian Murphy by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:38, R1
-Zelg Galesic def. Magomed Sultanakhmedov by Submission (Armbar) at 1:40, R1
-Dong Sik Yoon def. Shungo Oyama by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Taiei Kin def. Ikuhisa Minowa by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Shinya Aoki def. Gesias “J.Z.” Calvancante by Unanimous Decision, R2
HUERTA TO FIGHT FLORIAN AT UFC 87
Monday, April 28, 2008 - by Tom Hamlin - MMAWeekly.com
Sources from both fighters’ camps have confirmed that Kenny Florian will face Roger Huerta at UFC 87 on Aug. 9 in Minneapolis, Minn. Both fighters have received and are expected to sign their bout agreements.
Florian is just weeks removed from an impressive win against Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 13 in Broomfield, Colo. The Boston lightweight has been rapidly climbing back to contender status since his loss to Sean Sherk for the lightweight title at UFC 64.
Florian knows his next shot at the lightweight belt is on the line.
"It's kind of rare when you get two guys who are positively number one and number two in the division that are actually going to fight to be the number one contender to fight for that belt later on," Florian told MMAWeekly.com. "I think it will be great for both of our careers, and it's the biggest fight you can put together in our division."
Huerta, who currently resides in Minnesota, exploded onto the scene in 2007 with five straight victories, most recently a come-from-behind win against Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 6 finale that was widely considered to be one of the best fights of 2007. The fight with Florian will be his first in nine months, part of a self-expressed desire to take time off following one of the busiest stretches in his career.
"He's a game opponent, and he's never going to quit," Florian said of Huerta's reputation. "It doesn't matter how tired he gets, he's gonna keep going, and those are the kind of guys that I want to fight. He's on a roll, he's very confident right now. And I like the kid. I know him personally. He's a good kid, and we get along great. He has a bright future, regardless of what happens in the fight with me."
The showdown will bolster a fight card that also touts another match-up with strong local interest between Minnesota native Brock Lesnar and former UFC heavyweight champion and Ohio State wrestler Mark Coleman.
Huerta was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (over 205 pounds)
#1 Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Fedor Emelianenko
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
3. Randy Couture
4. Josh Barnett
5. Tim Sylvia
6. Andrei Arlovski
7. Fabricio Werdum
8. Gabriel Gonzaga
9. Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic
10. Aleksander Emelianenko
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LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)
#1 Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Quinton Jackson
2. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
3. Chuck Liddell
4. Lyoto Machida
5. Keith Jardine
6. Forrest Griffin
7. Wanderlei Silva
8. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
9. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
10. Tito Ortiz
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MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION (185-pound limit)
#1 Middleweight Fighter in the World: Anderson Silva
2. Paulo Filho
3. Rich Franklin
4. Denis Kang
5. Robbie Lawler
6. Nathan Marquardt
7. Kazuo Misaki
8. Yushin Okami
9. Dan Henderson
10. Frank Trigg
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WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (170-pound limit)
#1 Welterweight Fighter in the World: Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Matt Hughes
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Matt Serra
6. Jake Shields
7. Diego Sanchez
8. Carlos Condit
9. Thiago Alves
10. Karo Parisyan
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LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION (160-pound limit)
#1 Lightweight Fighter in the World: Takanori Gomi
2. Tatsuya Kawajiri
3. Shinya Aoki
4. Gesias "JZ" Calvancante
5. Mitsuhiro Ishida
6. Gilbert Melendez
7. B.J. Penn
8. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
9. Joe Stevenson
10. Joachim Hansen
Georges St. Pierre def. Matt Serra by TKO at 4:45, R2
Rich Franklin def. Travis Lutter by TKO at 3:01, R2
Nate Quarry def. Kalib Starnes by unanimous decision at 5:00, R3
Michael Bisping def. Charles McCarthy by TKO at 5:00, R1
Mac Danzig def. Mark Bocek by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:48, R3
Jason MacDonald def. Joe Doerksen by TKO (strikes on the ground) at :56, R2
Jason Day def. Alan Belcher by TKO (punches) at 3:58, R1
Demian Maia def. Ed Herman by submission (triangle choke) at 2:27, R2
Rich Clementi def. Sam Stout by split decision (29-27, 29-28, 28-29) R3
Cain Velasquez def. Brad Morris by TKO (punches) at 2:10, R1
Jonathan Goulet def. Kuniyoshi Hironaka by TKO (punches) at 2:07, R1
Final Results:
-Lamont Lister def. Oleg Savitsky by TKO (strikes) at 0:34 of round 1
-Brian Vatell def. Antwan Britt by unanimous decision
-Olexey Oleinik def. Sherman Pendergarst by choke at 4:18 of round 1
-Chris Tuchscherer def. Tony Slyvester by unanimous decision
-Travis Wiuff def. Marcelo Pereria by unanimous decision
-Ricco Rodriguez def. George Bush by unanimous decision
-Oleg Taktarov def. Mark Kerr by submission (knee bar) at 1:50 in round 1
-Chris Tuchscherer def. Olexey Oleinik by unanimous decision
-Travis Wiuff def. Ricco Rodriguez by unanimous decision
-Pat Smith def. Eric “Butterbean” Esch by submission (strikes) at 3:17 in round 1
-Travis Wiuff def. Chris Tuchscherer by unanimous decision
-Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le
R1: After a quick exchange to open, Shamrock almost lands a takedown, but he backs out and the fighters begin to stand-up again. Cung looks sharp with his kicks keeping Shamrock away from him. Shamrock almost lands another takedown as presses Cung against the cage, but again he backs away to stand with Le. Close round.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 for Frank Shamrock
R2: Shamrock continues to throw right body kicks in the 2nd round, as Le counters with kicks of his own followed by better punching this round. Le starts to land a side kick and then hits a big punch that stuns Shamrock. The round closes with both fighters exchanging light punches and kicks
MMAWeekly scores R2 10-9 for Cung Le
R3: Le starts to become more precise with his strikes, landing good kicks, a spinning back fist and a while catching Shamrock's kick he takes out his opponent's other leg with a big kick getting the takedown. Back on their feet, Shamrock starts to close the distance and he lands a hard right hand that stuns Le. Le recovers and as the round comes to a close he unloads a nice head kick that almost puts Shamrock out but the session ends. Shamrock is unable to answer the bell for round 4 and the fight is over.
Cung Le def. Frank Shamrock by TKO
DREAM.1 QUICK RESULTS FROM JAPAN
Saturday, March 15, 2008 - by MMAWeekly.com
The first Dream event took place on Saturday at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Although much focus was on Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s return to fighting in Japan, it was the promotion’s Lightweight Grand Prix opening round that took center stage.
The main event – featuring two of the top lightweight fighters in the world – did not turn out as anyone had planned when Gesias “J.Z.” Calvancante landed an illegal elbow to the back of Shinya Aoki's head. The bout was stopped and ruled a no contest.
Three other lightweight fighters currently ranked in the Top Ten – Tatsuya Kawajiri, Mitsuhiro Ishida, and Joachim Hansen – all emerged victorious in their first round bouts.
In his first bout for Dream since being released from his Ultimate Fighting Championship commitment, Filipovic emerged victorious, finishing off Tatsuya Mizuno with strikes in less than a minute of the first round.
American fighter Eddie Alvarez, in a slight upset, finished off former Chute Boxe fighter Andre “Dida” Amade by TKO stoppage in the opening round of their bout, also part of the lightweight tournament.
Popular Japanese fighters Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and Ikuhisa Minowa both finished off their opponents inside of the first round as well.
-Shinya Aoki vs. Gesias “J.Z.” Calvancante rule a No Contest (Due to Illegal Elbow)
-Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Kultar Gill by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Eddie Alvarez def. Andre “Dida” Amade by TKO at 6:47, R1
-Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic def. Tatsuya Mizuno by TKO (Strikes) at 0:56, R1
-Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Jung Bu Kyung by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Katsuhiko Nagata def. Artur Oumakhanov by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Luiz “Buscape” Firmino def. Kazuyuki Miyata by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 7:37, R1
-Joachim Hansen def. Koutetsu Boku by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Hayato “Mach” Sakurai def. Hidetaka Monma by TKO (Strikes) at 4:12, R1
-Ikuhisa Minowa def. Lee Gwan by Submission (Kneebar) at 1:25, R1
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