MMA Knewz

Hello fight fans. Want to be apart of the fastest growing sport in the world? Stay updated with MMA Knewz from JMouth. MMA Knewz provides fans with information on local, national, and international upcoming and past events, fight polls, fighter interviews, and the “Moves of the Week”; Coverage from the UFC down to Xtreme Fight Night and every league in between. Be sure to check daily for news updates and weekly for new videos on submissions, escapes, takedowns, transitions, and effective striking. The Knewz is spreading. If you would like to promote your local gym or local event on JMouth contact Brandon: on.treys@gmail.com. Want to get started in mixed martial arts but have many questions? Need to find a gym? Feel free to post your questions and they will be answered as quickly as possible. Please Subscribe. Enjoy and Good Fighting!

Moves of the Week[click to visit]

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UFC 110 Fight Card

Main Card

• Heavyweight Bout: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez
• Middleweight Bout: Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping
• Lightweight Bout: Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropoulos
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Keith Jardine vs. Ryan Bader
• Heavyweight Bout: Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović vs. Ben Rothwell

Preliminary Card

• Light Heavyweight Bout: Elvis Sinosic vs. Chris Haseman
• Light Heavyweight Bout: Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
• Welterweight Bout: Chris Lytle vs. Brian Foster
• Middleweight Bout: C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic
• Light Heavyweight Bout: James Te-Huna vs. Igor Pokrajac

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Slices of Kimbo

Dana White on Kimbo Slice

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NFL Legend Brings the Pain

Herschel Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time NFL Pro Bowl selection, has signed a multi-fight contract with STRIKEFORCE. Walker, who turns 48 in March, holds a fifth-degree black belt in tae kwon do.

“I’ve been training for several years,” Walker said in the release. “I would play college football games on Saturday and then compete in martial arts tournaments on Sunday after church. I’m now looking forward to opening up another chapter in my life and to competing in MMA.”

One of college football’s greatest players, he led the University of Georgia to an undefeated season and national championship as a freshman in 1980 and won the Heisman Trophy two years later. He rushed for 5,259 yards and 49 touchdowns in 33 games as a collegian and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

“I will go in there and test myself against any 20-year-old,” Walker said. “I know there will be naysayers, and I’m fine with that. I want to prove to people who sit on a couch and don’t do anything but criticize other people that, if you’re a true athlete or martial artist, you’re not old until you can’t get up and walk around anymore. MMA fighters are said to be some of the best athletes in the world. My plan at the age of 47 is to show the world I am still one of the best athletes, as well.”

Walker will make his MMA debut with STRIKEFORCE on January 30th @ STRIKEFORCE:Miami.

[courtesy sherdog.com]

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I Pity the Rampage

According to UK newspaper The Sun, former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is set to play the role of B.A. Baracus, made famous by Laurence “Mr. T.” Tureaud, in the upcoming remake of The A-Team. Rampage was scheduled to face off with fellow Ultimate Fighter 10 coach Rashad Evans at UFC 107 in October, but the bout has allegedly been scrapped so Jackson can focus on filming. The original main event is said to have been replaced with lightweight champion B.J. Penn’s tilt with Diego Sanchez.

There were other rumored actors to play the part — Michael Clarke Duncan(too big), The Game(not sure why), Tyrese Gibson(wtf) and Ving Rhames, but Rampage is obviously a better fit… Not only in his physical stature but also his humorous attitude… They could even change Mr. T’s patented gold chains to Rampage’s patented chain. And you can’t say the Mohawk wouldn’t be fitting. Mr.T was a fighter , Rampage is a fighter — it’s perfect. And of course Rampage would do all of his own stunts making every scene he is in real.

Of course not everyone is onboard. Here’s what the UFC frontman Dana White had to say about Rampage skipping a planned UFC 107 main event bout against Rashad Evans — one that will have to be be postponed and rescheduled — for the flick.

““He wants to do this thing, and he’s like, ‘listen, man, this is really important to me…there’s some sentimental value here for me, me and my Dad grew up watching The A-Team together and we loved it,’” White told reporters at a pre-fight press conference for UFC 102. “Guess what Rashad Evans is thinking about right now,” White said. “He’s thinking about beating your f*cking ass. He’s not sitting around thinking about how him and his mom used to watch the f*cking Love Boat together and he wants to get the role of Isaac the bartender.’’

Jackson responds with,

“I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn’t respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best,” he wrote. “I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids and a family back in Memphis to provide for and that’s all that matters to me!”

The movie’s scheduled release date is June 11th 2010.

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UFC 109 Quick Predicts

MAIN CARD

Mark Coleman vs. Randy Couture [Couture TKO 2R]

Nate Marquardt vs. Chael Sonnen [Marquardt Sub 1R]
Mike Swick vs. Paulo Thiago [Thiago Unan. Decision]
Demian Maia vs. Dan Miller [Maia KO 1R]
Matt Serra vs. Frank Trigg [Serra Split Decision]

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)
Justin Buchholz vs. Mac Danzig [Danzig Sub 2R]
Melvin Guillard vs. Ronnys Torres [Guillard KO 1R]

PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-aired)
Rob Emerson vs. Phillipe Nover [Nover Unan. Decision]
Phil Davis vs. Brian Stann [Stann Unan. Decision]
Tim Hague vs. Chris Tuchscherer [Hague Split Decision]
Rolles Gracie vs. Mostapha Al Turk [Gracie TKO 1R]

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Welterweight Can’t Wait

Following his disappointing split-decision loss to Gray Maynard at Ultimate Fight Night 20, Nate Diaz issued a statement on Graciefighter.com revealing his thoughts on the fight and his intention to take the jump up in weight to 170 pounds for the future.

“I fought like garbage and I’m sorry to my fans for my performance. I was hesitant about throwing hard punches because I kept thinking he was going to go for a takedown. It looked like I was knocked down in the second but actually he stepped on my foot and when I tried to back out I slipped. I really don’t think I’m going to stay at 155lbs. I don’t make enough money to have to drop this much weight so I’d like to fight at 170 and only go to 55’s every once in awhile. You know if you look at his face compared to mine right now you’d think there was no way he beat me in a fight but I’ve never been too popular with the judges. -Nathan ”

There is definitely a question mark surrounding Diaz’s career in the UFC giving his sub-par track record.

[courtesy TheGarv]
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James Toney: “Let Me Fight” 1/11/2010

LAS VEGAS — Dana White didn’t have much time to celebrate Saturday night’s UFC 108 event because former boxing champion James Toney demanded to speak to him about fighting in the UFC in the near future. Toney has been talking about making the transition to MMA recently, and he finally tracked down White at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference.
MMA Fighting spoke to White about the possibility of Toney fighting in the UFC and his thoughts on Saturday night’s card.

In my humble opinion, boxers have the worst chance in MMA.

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Roger Gracie joins STRIKEFORCE 12/30/2009

Roger Gracie, descendant of the world famous jiu-jitsu Gracie’s, announced on December 19th that he will make his pro MMA debut on STRIKEFORCE. His most notable achievement to date is winning the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 2005, taking first place in the 88–98 kg and Open-weight categories by submitting all eight opponents—a feat that had not previously been achieved. He has also won the BJJ World Jiu-Jitsu Championship; a record 8 times including 6 times in his own weight class and twice at open weight.

This is the first time a Gracie has fought in STRIKEFORCE and he looks to show that the Gracie legacy is still strong in mixed martial arts. STRIKEFORCE has not yet released the date or opponent for Gracie’s debut match.
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Importance of Footwork 12/27/2009

The fighter with better footwork and movement skills has a definitive advantage in any fight; however, it is an aspect of fight training that is more often than not neglected taken for granted. Fighters who have taken the time to perfect their movement skills whether in boxing, mixed martial arts, Muay Thai or the street have a more complete and robust fight game. Some of the most impressive fighters we have seen in boxing, such as; Jack Dempsey, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Prince Nassim and the incomparable Mohammed Ali have all employed incredible foot work and movement skills to evade and attack their opponents.

One of the major frustrations that the early kickboxing scene was plagued with was that fighters came from the karate disciplines. Many early kickboxers, coming from karate backgrounds, complimented their karate kicks with the superior punching techniques taken from boxing but most were slow to take up the highly mobile boxing footwork. The classical karate disciplines focused on flat-footed “stand your ground tactics” with inadequate footwork and maneuverability. This often led to fighters from predominantly boxing backgrounds and with token kicking skills defeating high ranking karatekas that had taken up full contact kickboxing to demonstrate the power of karate.
Those fighters that came from a boxing background or who saw that maneuverable footwork and strategic positioning were an essential part of the boxers’ game plan demonstrated a notable advantage by incorporating it in their training. Muay Thai fighters, however, not tainted by the classical karate systems, have always demonstrated a very fine sense of footwork and position, such that that they move in and out just out of range, to make the opponent miss, and then back in to range to hit with power and precision.

The mixed martial arts fighters that mainly relied on their takedown game were now under the selective pressure of having to adapt their takedown methods to contend with the evasive maneuverability and adapted striking methods of the standup specialists.The main characteristics that set the successful mixed martial arts fighters apart from those that failed were their footwork and ring (cage) generalship that permitted them to neutralize the takedowns.

We now see mixed martial arts fighters who have adapted and developed there movement and positioning to the cage, such that the fights are more dynamic and evenly balanced between the grapplers and strikers. The latest exponent of excellent footwork and generalship, in mixed martial arts, is Lyoto Machida who demonstrates very powerful hit and move skills that are the key to the strikers’ game against a grappler. It is therefore essential that when we train we include fast and maneuverable foot work into our mixed martial arts training drills. Once a new standup striking or takedown setup technique is adopted, and has been adequately drilled for efficacy, we must combine it with effective footwork and movement so that we can move in to execute it, and out again, if it is countered or if on execution we need to move away because it did not finish the job and the opponent covers up; a hit and run strategy of fighting.

Here are some of the main points that must be considered in your footwork whether fighting mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, or boxing:

1) Learn to move on the balls of the feet with bent knees to facilitate rapid and precise weight transfer.

2) Keep the feet spacing about shoulder width apart, i.e. avoid wide stances.

3) When moving make the steps small; better to take a series of smaller steps, then one large one that upsets balance.

4) Practice quick changes in direction always ensuring to maintain good balance.

5) Practice constant movement.

6) Develop a keen sense of position in relation to your opponent; this must be acquired to the level of unconscious competence so that you can concentrate on the fight.

7) When you step in to strike train for speed, explosiveness and accuracy.

8) Train sprawling and angular changes for takedown avoidance.
In addition, footwork should be developed for both offensive and defensive tactics. The use of evasive angular stepping that is the basis of the “make ‘em miss, make ‘em pay” strategy, combined with fast bridging the gap techniques and good ring generalship must be developed to provide the complete fight game plan when learning how to fight in mixed martial arts.
[courtesy Dr.Geoff - Martial Arts Instructor]
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________UFC 109: Relentless 12/25/2009 *(updated 12/29/2009)

Even with UFC 108 quickly approaching, Dana White has already looked ahead for his next fight parade.

Five bouts have been confirmed for UFC 109 which will headline Hall of Famers Mark Coleman and Randy Couture; both past their prime but  still saluted in their perseverance.  Also featured Brandon “The Truth” Vera, coming of a controversial loss to Couture,  faces off against Minotauro Noguiera and rematch between welterweights Josh Koscheck and Paulo Thiago. In there previous bout Thiago T.K.Oed Koscheck three and a half minutes into the first round. Koscheck believes he is the number one contender in the welterweight division and with a win over Thiago he may be rightfully so.*Koscheck now off the fight card to due an “injury”. He will be replaced by Mike “Quick” Swick.  Top middleweights Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen  face off. Also in action Frank Trigg takes on former UFC Welterweight champion Matt Serra.  Serra’s return to the UFC has been long awaited and he doesn’t aim to disappoint.

Couture and Coleman is the first time two fighters are coming into the same fight as UFC Hall of Famers. It will also be a bout between the oldest active fighters in the UFC; Couture at 46 and Coleman, celebrating a recent birthday, 45.

UFC 109 takes place Feb. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

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EA To Release MMA Video Game 12/24/2009

“We are honored that EA SPORTS has selected STRIKEFORCE to serve as a premier league in its forthcoming MMA title,” said STRIKEFORCE President Scott Coker. “EA SPORTS has long been recognized by gamers as a highly innovative, ground breaking provider of sports gaming entertainment. We are confident that EA SPORTS MMA will function as a great ambassador for STRIKEFORCE’s fighters and effectively promote our sport to a new audience as well as to longtime fight fans.”

“We are very excited to be working with STRIKEFORCE and feature them as a premier league in our game,” said Executive Producer Dale Jackson. “They have a wealth of mixed martial arts expertise, put on great shows and have a great stable of top-notch fighters. Together we look forward to growing the sport and delivering an immersive interactive gaming experience.”

Brett Rogers will be headlining along with Fedor Emelianenko. Rogers currently  holds a record of 10-1-0. In his last fight, he knocked out Andrei Arlovski in just 22 seconds in the first round of action. And of course the number 1 Heavyweight and arguably the greatest fighter in the world, to some he is undefeated due to his questionable blemish that came by way of ref stoppage by and illegal elbow in the first 17 seconds of his fight with Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

Also slated to appear on the fighter roster for EA SPORTS MMA are STRIKEFORCE stars Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

EA SPORTS MMA will feature the most authentic, intense and broad mixed martial arts experience to date – complete with a vast array of top fighters and fighting styles from around the world. EA SPORTS MMA will be available on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system in 2010.
[courtesy easports.com]