StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

Rafael Dos Anjos Confident He Won Two Rounds Against Evan Dunham

FightLine.com MMA News - 13 hours 34 min ago

Rafael Dos Anjos Confident He Won Two Rounds Against Evan Dunham

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

John Cholish talks retirement, fighter pay and losing money fighting at UFC on FX 8

Bloody Elbow - 14 hours 3 min ago

It was announced ahead of his fight this past weekend at UFC on FX 8 that John Cholish would be retiring from the sport of mixed martial arts. Cholish would lose that fight, a second round guillotine choke submission loss to Gleison Tibau, his second straight loss after making his UFC debut with a TKO of Mitch Clarke.

With a fairly secure future ahead of him thanks to a job at a Wall Street commodities brokerage firm, Cholish was able to speak openly about his decision to retire and the difficulties of making a living being a UFC fighter with MMA Junkie:

"I'm fortunate enough that I have a job that provides for me really well," Cholish said. "I give a lot of these guys credit that fight at this level. I think they could be compensated much better based on the income that the UFC takes in. Fortunately, I can just walk away and I'm OK with it. By no means do I mean it disrespectfully toward any other fighters because I think they do a great job. But hopefully Zuffa and the UFC will start paying them a little better."

....

"At the end of the day, it's hard," he said. "I have great coaches that take time off and travel. They deserve money, as well. To be completely honest, on a fight like this, I'm losing money to come down here. Flights, hotel rooms, food – and that doesn't even cover the cost of the time I have to pay for my coaches for training. It's funny because people talk about the fighters, but at the same time there's camps and coaches behind the fighters that you don't even see. So if a fighter is having a tough time making ends meet, how do you think his coaches are doing?"

None of this is really new. Fighters at the lower and even many at the middle levels of the UFC are in an unfortunate spot. They're not making a ton of money to fight -- Cholish made $4,000 to show, $4,000 to win at UFC 140, his only disclosed payday -- but training is expensive and there are limits to how many members of your camp the UFC is willing to fly to an event. So, if you want more than just your trainer at the show, you're going to have to pay to fly them down, and if you want more than the one hotel room for yourself and your team...that's another expense.

That means that fighters need to pull in a good amount of sponsorships to help make ends meet or they can work another job. But working another job means less time to train and less focus, which can mean less ability to put on the impressive performances needed to get that big new contract. Pulling yourself out of the workforce to train full time can also be rough on your future if you're never able to make the kind of money that provides security down the road.

This is why some people get very hung up on the revenue distribution inequality between the UFC and the fighters. That's not to say that the UFC should be paying out the close to 50% of revenue to fighters that we see from the NFL and NBA, but it doesn't seem like a stretch to think that fighters that make it to the biggest stage in the sport be able to fight full time and take home an amount of money that their elite skills would seem to demand.

Still, with no union to represent them, we're not going to fighters ever working together to establish a suitable equivalent of a "league minimum" as in other sports leagues -- and yes, I'm aware that the UFC is a promotion and not a league.

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

UFC On FX, Mark Hunt, Renan Barao: The Morning News Roundup – 5.20.13

FightLine.com MMA News - 14 hours 32 min ago

UFC On FX, Mark Hunt, Renan Barao: The Morning News Roundup – 5.20.13

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

Metamoris II Organizer Ralek Gracie Talks Match Making, Judges, Rule Sets and Rorion's Old Man Jitsu

Bloody Elbow - 15 hours 3 min ago

T.P. Grant had a brief talk with Ralek Gracie, organizer of the Meamoris jiu jitsu promotion. A member of the Gracie family and son of UFC founder Rorion Gracie. Ralek competed in MMA from 2007 through 2010 in Japan, retiring with a 3-0 record, his final fight being a win over Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba.

Ralek is now the driving force behind Metamoris, a BJJ promotion that features submission only matches. Their first event was held last fall and they are now set to hold their second event on June 9th, featuring a stacked card. Headlined by a sure to be exciting match between Kron Gracie and MMA submission ace Shinya Aoki, two very aggressive grapplers. Right under them is a match between two of the sport's top stars in Andre Galvao and Rafael Lovato Jr. Click here for event info and full fight card.

So here with out further ado here is the interview with Ralek Gracie:

T.P.: What is getting someone for an event like this like? The first time, did you really have to look for people, or did they come to you?

Gracie: I had to go out get people on board. And nobody really got it, no one really got the scale of what it would be like. I think now it's different talking to people the see the kind of press were getting and the media we're building around it. So it's cool.

T.P.: What was getting Brendan Schaub on board like? Did he volunteer for it or did you guys approach him?

Gracie: He volunteered man, he really wanted to test himself in the jiu-jitsu arena. And he wanted to do the world championships, the IBJJF worlds. I and said "Man you are going to go do the IBJJF which is a 10 minute match and you are going to have 3 matches or 4 matches in a day, and you're going to have to go in there and be very wary of the point system because there is going to be a guy who is going to pull you in his guard and sweep you one time and essentially beat you by points and you are just going to be sitting there with your hands opened wondering like where is the fight?' I know he's a fighter and I know for us he might get in an environment ---- he might just go in the and go for a submission --- and do his best and he gets to go in there and fight, and it's pretty much a fight without punches. So for him I think it makes more sense, getting treated right and being in an environment where he's really getting built and it's helping him---- so I think it's cool, I think it's awesome.

T.P.: So you feel that submission only tournaments are the best competitive reflection of jiu-jitsu? The best rule set that reflects what jiu-jitsu is to you.

Gracie: Yeah man, what I think is the more rules, the more you change the way people train. It's the same difference between jiu-jitsu and MMA. The MMA rules you train for MMA, if you train for a jiu-jitsu match you get, you know, beat up in an MMA match. If you train for a very specific point system in jiu-jitsu your training is going to be geared towards that system and it is going to change the way that you effectively approach maybe even the idea of a submission. And that‘s what we want to avoid, we want to create something were you're really going for submissions, and that's the main objective for them and there is no other main incentive for them other than to submit somebody. And I think that it's in the submission matches that we see the most dynamic jiu-jitsu from athletes across the board.

T.P.: I know Rickson kinda played around with creating his own promotion once with a point system. Do you ever think there is going to be a point system that could give us what you think a submission only match would give us?

Gracie: I'm working on it man. What we have now is three judges who are going to make the decision, and we want these three judges to basically make the decision on their experience as masters of the art and essentially curating it, like art. Saying ‘Ok, this person won' and they'll give a whole list of reasons, and we'll film them after the event and release that to the public. So that it's an educational process, they're explaining why they made their decision.

And they have 2 options in their decision, they can decide on a win or they can decide on a draw. And there's no points. There is no ‘I think you get 3 points for this sweep', no it has to be an overall, overwhelming domination, with real technique and strategy and positioning and angles and all these things that they are going to be able to see as a master, but... they'll just be able to see, they'll just be able to know it's there, and then they'll be able to make that decision. And it's actually a very simple thing at that point. What's difficult is being able to explain why they made that decision. And that's what we are looking for. We are looking for judges who not only are masters and have a reputation, but speak amazing English and are actually very articulate.

That's the hardest trouble for me right now. Like for me, if I was a judge, I could watch a match and Buchecha clearly had the upper hand against Roger, he was controlling the pace, he was way more aggressive with submissions, and got a close submission attempt and it was extremely close. I could describe that for 5 minutes explain in detail what happened watching that match, and that's what we want, we want the true reflection of jiu-jitsu, and we want unbiased judges who can curate the art of these athletes, and we want to create a space where it's open and we can showcase the best in the world in a very open way.

T.P.: Have you picked those judges yet? You said you were in the process of... do you have a few judges in mind? Have you picked them already?

Gracie: We have one, we have Pedro Sauer and he's just a very well-known black belt, actually he's a black and red belt. And just a very solid guy, very articulate. I was on the phone with him and he really felt me, the way that he was talking about the approach of being a judge for this, it sounded just right. So we're excited, and he's kinda on the level of criteria we're expecting as far as being able to really make a decision, and stick to it and explain the decision, and be accountable for their decision to the public. Which has never been done before, so it should be interesting.

T.P.: Yeah. Which match are you personally looking forward to at Metamoris II most?

Gracie: I think personally the main event. I think Shniya Aoki vs Kron is going to be high flying. It is going to be explosive man. Kron is a very exciting competitor, he is someone that doesn't like to grab on to this very much, he likes to be free and catch people in the chaos. And Shinya is the exact same way and in the matches I've seen him compete in jiu jitsu he'll try flying armlocks, and he'll try things that will generally surprise people because they'll never expect someone to go for something that outlandish or that different. Even if he doesn't land them, he'll go for things and he isn't afraid, he can really pull out a lot of tricks because he really thinks outside of the box, as far as jiu jitsu he isn't Mr. Cookie Cutter Jiu Jitsu Competitor, he is a jiu jitsu fighter. I'm really excited about that match.

I think Braulio Estmia vs Rodolfo obviously is a huge match, especially within the core jiu jitsu community it is even bigger than Kron and Aoki. Rodolfo is just the top guy right now, other than Buchecha, he is the top guy in the world and within his weightclass he is the top guy. And it is very cool that he is going against Braulio, who is a little bit more seasoned, been around the block. He has ADCC titles, he has got the world titles, he has got the Pan titles, and he is just coming in taking this match against this guy who he is giving up weight against, seeing Braulio go in there and go in there with Rodolfo is gonna be bananas.

Every other match on the card is interesting, we have a women's match Mackenzie Dern and Michelle Nicolini which is going to be exciting, Brendan Schaub and Cyborg is gonna be crazy. People think Brendan is gonna get tapped out in 3 seconds but I think it is going to be madness. It is gonna go anybody's way in that match.

T.P.: I personally am looking forward to Hall vs Cooper, I think that is going to be a great match

Gracie: Yeah man, for sure. I think the whole card is going to be great. I just hope I'm relaxed enough to enjoy it and not be worried if we have enough lights on the mats.

T.P: When did you decided from move from athlete to promoter?

Gracie: The decision was made more so because I had kids. Without kids I would be competing more, my mindset would be much more ‘just go to war' because it is fun and it is exciting. But having kids really makes you think more long term. These guys are my life now. I never really sat down and thought "Oh I'm gonna become a promoter now", the opportunity came up and it was perfect for me and just ran with it. And here we are and it is exciting.

T.P.: Growing up did you ever thing about doing anything else besides jiu jitsu?

Gracie: I'm an artist, I feel like an artist in everything that I do. I would love to just direct movies, if I wasn't in the jiu jitsu business I'd be directing movies, or something in the movie business.

T.P.: What is your personal style of Jiu Jitsu like?

Gracie: My jiu jitsu... hmmm... my jiu jitsu. Anyone's jiu jitsu is what they are training for and what their life style is like. So it is funny, for me right now jiu jitsu is the decompressing tool. For my whole life it has never been that way, now getting to train jiu jitsu and getting on the mat is like going on vacation. Where was before it was to fight and I was thinking about fighting and competing in Japan. My competitive process was to make my jiu jitsu be as multi-faceted as possible. Have my jiu jitsu be 50% stand up and 50% ground and really understand to concepts and leverage of jiu jitsu from a standing perspective as well. Everything that I do, even throwing a kick or a punch, I try to do it in a way that it is in line with my jiu jitsu philosophy.

My jiu jitsu is more of a complete, I like to think, and I try to be as complete as possible. The self-defense is there, but I don't need to think about defending myself because I'm not getting into street fights, I'm in more of the competitive thing. And if I do teach people it is more about figuring out what they want. If they want to learn defense or if they want to learn how to fight, I can go from there and help them. I'm not imposing myself on them, like they had to do one thing or the other.

T.P.: Ok one more question, what is rolling with Rorion like these days? What is his "old man" jiu jitsu like?

Gracie: Oh man, he is excellent. My dad right now is focused on educating people about diet and about nutrition. He still teaches a couple classes at the Torrance academy, he hadn't been teaching very much, but he stepped back in and started teaching a bunch of classes recently and people have been going bananas. He is 100% self-defense focus. And when he isn't doing self-defense, he is with Ed O'Neil rolling around doing private classes.

His thing is he stays as relaxed and smooth as possible and he has a couple little tricks. And it is very masterful and interesting how he does it. Rolling with him, he'll lay down and you'll get on top of him and he feels like he doesn't even exist, you know he is so small. And then all the sudden his little foot or his little hand comes in and gets you. He is very sneaky, very playful and very interesting. He isn't thinking of competition, he is just drilling for fun.

For more on Metamoris II visit their website, their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter, and be sure to give Ralek Gracie a follow on Twitter. If you want to join the discussion comment below or reach out to T.P. Grant on Facebook or Twitter.

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

Matthysse vs. Peterson results and gifs: Lucas Matthysse steamrolls Lamont Peterson with huge KO win

Bloody Elbow - 16 hours 3 min ago

Lucas Matthysse def. Lamont Peterson by KO round 3 2:14

Heading into Saturday night's Showtime Boxing Peterson vs. Matthysse card, most fans expected an exciting war in the main event. What they got instead was a massacre.

It took Lucas Matthysse less than 3 rounds to do what no man has done before - put Lamont Peterson down and out. After a mostly tentative round 1 from the two noted slow starters (each man landed a paltry 7 punches in the opening frame according to CompuBox), Matthysse ratcheted up the aggression in round 2, first dropping Peterson with a glancing left hook late in the round. A wobbled Peterson survived that round, but it was not long before he was down again, the victim of another brutal left hand midway through round 3. Incredibly, Peterson made it back to his feet (and in all honesty, it probably should have been stopped there), but was clearly out of it and it took only a few seconds for Matthysse to drop him again and have the fight called off.

For Matthysse, this is a huge, potentially career-defining moment. The 30 year old fighter is now 34-2, but what is truly remarkable is his KO ratio. 32 KO's in 34 fights for a 94% ratio. That's an astounding figure, and this KO of Peterson is the best yet. While there was never any doubt that Matthysse had power, there were definite doubts if he could employ that power against a high level opponent. He settled that issue emphatically here.

If things go according to plan, next up for Lucas Matthysse will be a showdown with Danny Garcia in what would be a huge fight and an opportunity for Matthysse to truly launch himself to the next level of boxing stardom. Let's hope Showtime and Golden Boy can indeed make it happen.

Also on the card, Devon Alexander defeated Lee Purdy by corner stoppage at the conclusion of the 7th round. Purdy was a gutsy fighter here, stepping in on a few weeks notice, but he simply had no answer for Alexander's uncharacteristically high output and offensive minded performance. Very good work from Alexander here, despite suffering an injury to his left hand in round 1. Hopefully that won't keep him out of action for too long.

Here's a gif of the Matthysse vs. Peterson finish, courtesy of Zombie Prophet. I love the way Matthysse circles into the punch, maximizing the power of his hook, while also throwing it tight in order to get it off before Peterson's own punch. Much is made of Matthysse's power, but it's the technique that allows him to best utilize that power.

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Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

Hacran Dias Says He Will be a Different Fighter Against Nik Lentz

411 Mania MMA Feed - Mon, 05/20/2013 - 01:00

He's says he's improved...

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

Ken Shamrock Says MMA Has Caused Boxing to Put on Better Match-Ups

411 Mania MMA Feed - Mon, 05/20/2013 - 01:00

Except for Floyd Mayweather...

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

PXC 37 Results and Fight Videos: Michinori Tanaka takes bantamweight title

Bloody Elbow - Mon, 05/20/2013 - 00:04

Japan's top young prospect was able to take a huge win at PXC 37 to remain undefeated and claim the promotion's bantamweight crown. Check out results and watch videos from the event.

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

Bryan Caraway Happy With Getting UFC 159 Submission Bonus From Pat Healy

411 Mania MMA Feed - Mon, 05/20/2013 - 00:00

He hates marijuana...

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

UFC on FX 8 results recap: Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold

Bloody Elbow - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 23:00

In the main event of UFC on FX 8, Vitor Belfort picked yet another win over a top middleweight by knocking out ex-Strikeforce champ Luke Rockhold in the first round. Belfort busted out a spinning kick that leveled Rockhold, and The Phenom followed up with some punches to turn his lights out. The finish came just after the halfway mark of the opening stanza.

With the win, Belfort (23-10, 12-6 UFC) picked up his 11th first-round finish in the UFC and could be in line for a future title shot. Rockhold (10-2, 0-1 UFC) was making his UFC debut on the card after a successful run in Strikeforce.

What was the high point of the fight?

Obviously the finish. A spinning kick directly to Rockhold's chin, then some brutal GnP just for good measure? It was pretty unbelievable.

Where do they go from here?

Belfort could very well be meeting the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman next. Finishing Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold in successive fights gives him the best claim on the next title shot. It remains to be seen if the UFC will go in that direction, but I wouldn't mind seeing it.

Rockhold suddenly finds himself in a precarious position. He undoubtedly needs a win in his next fight to maintain his status in the upper tier of the middleweight division, and there are a lot of possible fights out there for him. The best fit to me (and probably the best style matchup for Rockhold) would be a bout with Brian Stann.

Watch now, later, or never?

Now. It was one of the better finishes you'll ever see. If there was ever a time to check out a short main event fight, this is probably it.

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

Belfort’s Recent Success Raises Important Questions About TRT

FightLine.com MMA News - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 22:48

Belfort’s Recent Success Raises Important Questions About TRT

Categories: StandThemUp.Org MMA Feed

Metamoris II: Previews, Results, and Highlights

Bloody Elbow - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 22:07

T.P. Grant had a brief talk with Ralek Gracie, organizer of the Meamoris jiu jitsu promotion. A member of the Gracie family and son of UFC founder Rorion Gracie. Ralek competed in MMA from 2007 through 2010 in Japan, retiring with a 3-0 record, his final fight being a win over Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba.

Ralek is now the driving force behind Metamoris, a BJJ promotion that features submission only matches. Their first event was held last fall and they are now set to hold their second event on June 9th, featuring a stacked card. Click here for event info and full fight card.

So here with out further ado here is the interview with Ralek Gracie:

T.P..: What is getting someone for an event like this like? The first time did you really have to look for people, or did they come to you?

Gracie: I had to go out get people on board. And nobody really got it, no one really got the scale of what it would be like. I think now it's different talking to people the see the kind of press were getting and the media we're building around it. So it's cool.

T.P: What was getting Brendan Schaub on board like? Did he volunteer for it or did you guys approach him?

Gracie: He volunteered man, he really wanted to test himself in the jiu-jitsu arena. And he wanted to do the world championships, the IBJJF worlds. I and said "Man you are going to go do the IBJJF which is a 10 minute match and you are going to have 3 matches or 4 matches in a day, and you're going to have to go in there and be very wary of the point system because there is going to be a guy who is going to pull you in his guard and sweep you one time and essentially beat you by points and you are just going to be sitting there with your hands opened wondering like where is the fight?' I know he's a fighter and I know for us he might get in an environment ---- he might just go in the and go for a submission --- and do his best and he gets to go in there and fight, and it's pretty much a fight without punches. So for him I think it makes more sense, getting treated right and being in an environment where he's really getting built and it's helping him---- so I think it's cool, I think it's awesome.

T.P: So you feel that submission only tournaments are the best competitive reflection of jiu-jitsu? The best rule set that reflects what jiu-jitsu is to you.

Gracie: Yeah man, what I think is the more rules, the more you change the way people train. It's the same difference between jiu-jitsu and MMA. The MMA rules you train for MMA, if you train for a jiu-jitsu match you get, you know, beat up in an MMA match. If you train for a very specific point system in jiu-jitsu your training is going to be geared towards that system and it is going to change the way that you effectively approach maybe even the idea of a submission. And that‘s what we want to avoid, we want to create something were you're really going for submissions, and that's the main objective for them and there is no other main incentive for them other than to submit somebody. And I think that it's in the submission matches that we see the most dynamic jiu-jitsu from athletes across the board.

T.P: I know Rickson kinda played around with creating his own promotion once with a point system. Do you ever think there is going to be a point system that could give us what you think a submission only match would give us?

Gracie: I'm working on it man. What we have now is three judges who are going to make the decision, and we want these three judges to basically make the decision on their experience as masters of the art and essentially curating it, like art. Saying ‘Ok, this person won' and they'll give a whole list of reasons, and we'll film them after the event and release that to the public. So that it's an educational process, they're explaining why they made their decision.

And they have 2 options in their decision, they can decide on a win or they can decide on a draw. And there's no points. There is no ‘I think you get 3 points for this sweep', no it has to be an overall, overwhelming domination, with real technique and strategy and positioning and angles and all these things that they are going to be able to see as a master, but... they'll just be able to see, they'll just be able to know it's there, and then they'll be able to make that decision. And it's actually a very simple thing at that point. What's difficult is being able to explain why they made that decision. And that's what we are looking for. We are looking for judges who not only are masters and have a reputation, but speak amazing English and are actually very articulate.

That's the hardest trouble for me right now. Like for me, if I was a judge, I could watch a match and Buchecha clearly had the upper hand against Roger, he was controlling the pace, he was way more aggressive with submissions, and got a close submission attempt and it was extremely close. I could describe that for 5 minutes explain in detail what happened watching that match, and that's what we want, we want the true reflection of jiu-jitsu, and we want unbiased judges who can curate the art of these athletes, and we want to create a space where it's open and we can showcase the best in the world in a very open way.

T.P: Have you picked those judges yet? You said you were in the process of... do you have a few judges in mind? Have you picked them already?

Gracie: We have one, we have Pedro Sauer and he's just a very well-known black belt, actually he's a black and red belt. And just a very solid guy, very articulate. I was on the phone with him and he really felt me, the way that he was talking about the approach of being a judge for this, it sounded just right. So we're excited, and he's kinda on the level of criteria we're expecting as far as being able to really make a decision, and stick to it and explain the decision, and be accountable for their decision to the public. Which has never been done before, so it should be interesting.

T.P: Yeah. Which match are you personally looking forward to at Metamoris II most?

Gracie: I think personally the main event. I think Shniya Aoki vs Kron is going to be high flying. It is going to be explosive man. Kron is a very exciting competitor, he is someone that doesn't like to grab on to this very much, he likes to be free and catch people in the chaos. And Shinya is the exact same way and in the matches I've seen him compete in jiu jitsu he'll try flying armlocks, and he'll try things that will generally surprise people because they'll never expect someone to go for something that outlandish or that different. Even if he doesn't land them, he'll go for things and he isn't afraid, he can really pull out a lot of tricks because he really thinks outside of the box, as far as jiu jitsu he isn't Mr. Cookie Cutter Jiu Jitsu Competitor, he is a jiu jitsu fighter. I'm really excited about that match.

I think Braulio Estmia vs Rodolfo obviously is a huge match, especially within the core jiu jitsu community it is even bigger than Kron and Aoki. Rodolfo is just the top guy right now, other than Buchecha, he is the top guy in the world and within his weightclass he is the top guy. And it is very cool that he is going against Braulio, who is a little bit more seasoned, been around the block. He has ADCC titles, he has got the world titles, he has got the Pan titles, and he is just coming in taking this match against this guy who he is giving up weight against, seeing Braulio go in there and go in there with Rodolfo is gonna be bananas.

Every other match on the card is interesting, we have a women's match (names here) which is going to be exciting, Brendan Schaub and Cyborg is gonna be crazy. People think Brendan is gonna get tapped out in 3 seconds but I think it is going to be madness. It is gonna go anybody's way in that match.

T.P: I personally am looking forward to Hall vs Cooper, I think that is going to be a great match

Gracie: Yeah man, for sure. I think the whole card is going to be great. I just hope I'm relaxed enough to enjoy it and not be worried if we have enough lights on the mats.

T.P: When did you decided from move from athlete to promoter?

Gracie: The decision was made more so because I had kids. Without kids I would be competing more, my mindset would be much more ‘just go to war' because it is fun and it is exciting. But having kids really makes you think more long term. These guys are my life now. I never really sat down and thought "Oh I'm gonna become a promoter now", the opportunity came up and it was perfect for me and just ran with it. And here we are and it is exciting.

T.P: Growing up did you ever thing about doing anything else besides jiu jitsu?

Gracie: I'm an artist, I feel like an artist in everything that I do. I would love to just direct movies, if I wasn't in the jiu jitsu business I'd be directing movies, or something in the movie business.

T.P: What is your personal style of Jiu Jitsu like?

Gracie: My jiu jitsu... hmmm... my jiu jitsu. Anyone's jiu jitsu is what they are training for and what their life style is like. So it is funny, for me right now jiu jitsu is the decompressing tool. For my whole life it has never been that way, now getting to train jiu jitsu and getting on the mat is like going on vacation. Where was before it was to fight and I was thinking about fighting and competing in Japan. My competitive process was to make my jiu jitsu be as multi-faceted as possible. Have my jiu jitsu be 50% stand up and 50% ground and really understand to concepts and leverage of jiu jitsu from a standing perspective as well. Everything that I do, even throwing a kick or a punch, I try to do it in a way that it is in line with my jiu jitsu philosophy.

My jiu jitsu is more of a complete, I like to think, and I try to be as complete as possible. The self-defense is there, but I don't need to think about defending myself because I'm not getting into street fights, I'm in more of the competitive thing. And if I do teach people it is more about figuring out what they want. If they want to learn defense or if they want to learn how to fight, I can go from there and help them. I'm not imposing myself on them, like they had to do one thing or the other.

T.P: Ok one more question, what is rolling with Rorion like these days? What is his "old man" jiu jitsu like?

Gracie: Oh man, he is excellent. My dad right now is focused on educating people about diet and about nutrition. He still teaches a couple classes at the Torrance academy, he hadn't been teaching very much, but he stepped back in and started teaching a bunch of classes recently and people have been going bananas. He is 100% self-defense focus. And when he isn't doing self-defense, he is with Ed O'Neil rolling around doing private classes.

His thing is he stays as relaxed and smooth as possible and he has a couple little tricks. And it is very masterful and interesting how he does it. Rolling with him, he'll lay down and you'll get on top of him and he feels like he doesn't even exist, you know he is so small. And then all the sudden his little foot or his little hand comes in and gets you. He is very sneaky, very playful and very interesting. He isn't thinking of competition, he is just drilling for fun.

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UFC on FX 8 results recap: Main card

Bloody Elbow - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 22:00

UFC on FX 8 featured a four-fight main card with three middleweight fights and one taking place in the lightweight division. Three of the four fights were pretty entertaining. This post will be a brief recap of the first three main card fights, while the main event bout between Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold will get a separate post.

Ronaldo Souza defeated Chris Camozzi by submission (arm triangle choke), 3:37 of round 1

Jacare's UFC debut went just about as well as it possibly could have. Camozzi (19-6, 6-3 UFC) was a late replacement for Constantinos Philippou and just wasn't at Souza's level. After clipping Camozzi with a punch, Jacare (18-3, 1 NC, 1-0 UFC) got a takedown and methodically slithered back and fourth until he was in an advantageous position. After getting to mount, he expertly set up an arm-triangle choke and nearly squeezed Camozzi unconscious in about three seconds.

Rafael dos Anjos defeated Evan Dunham by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

This was the most controversial fight of the night without a doubt. At least the decision was. Dos Anjos (19-6, 8-4 UFC) and Dunham (14-4, 7-4 UFC) went back and forth with solid striking for all 15 minutes, with Dunham mixing in some takedowns as well. Most people believed that Dunham had edged out the second and third rounds, but all three judges leaned towards the Brazilian fighter instead. Dana White claimed it was a robbery, but the fight just seemed really close to me. The stats make it look that way as well.

Rafael Natal defeated Joao Zeferino by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

In one of the slower bouts of the night, Natal (16-4-1, 4-2-1 UFC) had an iffy first round against Zeferino (13-5, 0-1 UFC), who was making his UFC debut on short notice. Zeferino gassed badly after the first round, but Natal was slow in taking advantage of it. He finally came on strong late in the fight, but wasn't able to get a finish before the final horn.

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Dana White Files Renan Barao UFC 161 Status As “Probably” Off

FightLine.com MMA News - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 21:54

Dana White Files Renan Barao UFC 161 Status As “Probably” Off

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UFC On FX 8 results recap: Fuel TV prelims

Bloody Elbow - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 21:00

Nik Lentz (24-5-2, 1 NC) vs. Hacran Dias (21-2-1)

It was expected that the two men would engage in a grappling war, but they were striking early and Lentz got the advantage. Lentz had a hard time getting Dias down in the first, but a well-timed knee to the face early in the second put Dias down and Lentz took advantage, grinding out most of the rest of the round on top. Dias took his corner's advice and came out strong in the third, battering Lentz with strikes and almost submitting him with an arm triangle. Lentz held on though and was awarded a unanimous decision victory with scores of 28-27, 29-28, and 29-28.

Francisco Trinaldo (13-2) vs. Mike Rio (9-2)

The two fighters engaged in a bit of a wrestling battle at first, but it was Massaranduba who finally took over with a powerful takedown. And just like that, he locked up an arm triangle. Rio had no answer for it, and Trinaldo didn't even need to pop out to side control to crank on it. He finished from half guard, which is a testament to his strength. The finish came at 3:08 of the first round.

Gleison Tibau (27-9) vs. John Cholish (8-3)

Cholish announced before the bout that he was retiring regardless of the outcome, and he ended up on the short end of the stick. Tibau did what he does best - use his size and strength to bully Cholish. It didn't help that Cholish was a bit timid on the feet as well. Tibau did a good job of catching kicks and making Cholish pay to take the first. Halfway through the second, Tibau hammered Cholish with two lefts that cut him, and Tibau used the moment to lock up a guillotine. Cholish escaped once, but Tibau persevered and grabbed it again for the submission victory.

Paulo Thiago (15-5) vs. Michel Prazeres (16-1)

After a year and a half lay off Thiago returned to action against Prazeres, and got the job done. Prazeres wasn't a pushover though, that's for sure. Prazeres likely won the first round by being more active of the feet and controlling Thiago with a body lock against the cage. The second round saw the two fighters trade position back and forth a bunch of times, but Thiago squeaked it out. The fight really came down to the last minute, where Thiago managed to get a takedown and do some damage on the ground. All three judges ended up awarding Thiago 29-28 scores to keep him UFC career alive.

Yuri Alcantara (28-4, 1 NC) vs. Iliarde Santos (27-7-1, 1 NC)

In this Bantamweight fight, Alcantara completely schooled Santos. He laid into him with strikes early. Santos showed he was a game fighter by trying to pressure for the takedown against the cage, but couldn't control Yuri. After the separation, Alcantara landed some perfect straight punches that led to the TKO stoppage.

Any fans of the lighter divisions wish this was Alcantara's actual UFC debut. His first fight was marred by poor reffing and will remain soiled, but in this bout he showed how easily he can outclass competitors. Yuri never looked out of control in the fight and finished the bout with a dominant performance. He'll need a signature win before he gets a chance at the bantamweight title. Santos came into the fight on short notice and will most likely get another shot before being cut.

Roger Hollett (13-5) vs Fabio Maldonado (19-6)

The most memorable point of the opening Light Heavyweight fight was the spinning back kick that landed right on Maldonado's family jewels. The Brazilian was put down for a couple minutes before declining to see the doc and continuing the fight. After the restart he basically gave away the first round allowing himself to be positionally dominated by Hollett for the remaining four minutes. In the following two rounds, Maldonado took over. He pushed Roger back against the cage and reeled off his signature body shots mixed in with uppercuts. Hollett showed the wear visibly after taking the damage and Fabio took the fight on the judges' cards.

After being so completely dominated by Glover Teixeira in his last fight, Maldonado needed this win to stay in the UFC"s good graces. With this being his first win in his last four fights, Fabio will be matched against another low-ranked Light Heavy in his next go around. Hollett has now lost both his fights in the UFC. It's hard to imagine the UFC giving him another shot after this.

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Jon Jones Still Stuck In Vitor Belfort’s Mind

FightLine.com MMA News - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 20:06

Jon Jones Still Stuck In Vitor Belfort’s Mind

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UFC On FX 8 results recap: Facebook prelims

Bloody Elbow - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 20:00

UFC On FX 8 started out with three fights streaming on Facebook. The first showed Lightweights Martins and Larsen battling in the Octagon. After that, the final two bouts featured four of the UFC's 11-man Flyweight roster.

John Lineker (21-6) vs. Azamat Gashimov (7-3)

The two-round Flyweight fight capped off the Facebook portion of the prelims. Throughout the bout, Lineker showed he was the more talented fighter by far. Twice in the first round, he dropped Gashimov with strikes and finished him early in the second.

Lineker scored his second win in 3 UFC fights. He and Formiga should face each other next. This was the second time in as many fights and as many divisions that Gashimov was finished by his opponent. Since his current record only boasts a single win over someone with a winning record, I wouldn't be surprised to see he UFC let him go at this point.

Jussier Formiga (15-2) vs. Chris Cariaso (14-5)

Formiga took control of the fight throughout the first two rounds. He displayed excellent guard passing technique, but failed to deal any real damage to Cariaso in their Flyweight tilt. Cariaso came back late in the final round to beat up Jussier, but it wasn't enough for him to win the decision.

Formiga grabbed his first UFC win with the unanimous decision after losing in his UFC debut to John Dodson. A fight with fellow FX 8 winner John Lineker makes a lot of sense for both fighters. Cariaso's transition to 125 lbs. hasn't gone as well as he'd have hoped. After picking up a win in his Flyweight debut, he's now lost his last two fights. Considering how thin the division is, he'll probably get one more shot, but he'll definitely need a win there to stay in the UFC.

Lucas Martins (13-1) vs. Jeremy Larsen (8-4, 1 NC)

The Lightweights got the event started with a striking battle that went into the third round. Larsen was ahead on the judges cards heading into the final round, but Martins wasn't out of the fight. It took him only 13 seconds of round 3 to rally and get the TKO win.

The TKO got Martins his first win in the Octagon. In his UFC debut, he lost in the first round to Edson Barboza and this win probably saved his UFC contract. Unfortunately for Larsen, he's now coming off consecutive losses in his two UFC fights. Most likely, he won't be getting another fight in the promotion.

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UFC 160 fight card: Velasquez vs. Silva 2

Bloody Elbow - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 19:00

Antonio Silva's massive upset win over Alistair Overeem a few months ago significantly changed the landscape of the heavyweight division. UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez now fights Bigfoot in a rematch of their one-sided slaughter last May. Overeem was due to face Junior Dos Santos at UFC 160, but an injury to Overeem means that Mark Hunt is within touching distance of a title shot. Visa issues had him stuck in New Zealand,but apparently those are cleared up now and he's good to go.

Other big fights on the May 25th PPV include Glover Teixeira against James Te Huna, Donald Cerrone against K.J. Noons, and Gray Maynard versus T.J. Grant. Maybe one of the hidden gems for best fight on the card is veteran Mike Pyle against late replacement Rick Story.

The bout order is now set, so here's a look a the current card:

Main Card:

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva [HW title]
Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt
James Te Huna vs. Glover Teixeira
T.J. Grant vs. Gray Maynard
Donald Cerrone vs. K.J. Noons

FX Card:

Mike Pyle vs. Rick Story
Dennis Bermudez vs. Max Holloway
Colton Smith vs. Robert Whittaker
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo

Facebook Card:

Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Stephen Thompson
Estevan Payan vs. Jeremy Stephens
Brian Bowles vs. George Roop

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Daily MMA 5/19: Voice vs Dana White, UFC on FX 8 post-fight interviews and press con, Shooto Brazil 39 fight vids

Bloody Elbow - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 18:00

Dallas Winston and Zombie Prophet of Bloody Elbow present a round up of the best MMA and UFC videos on YouTube. Today's list features: Michael Schiavello's hour-long 'The Voice vs. Dana White' interview, Michelle Ould explaining her Tweet about Bryan Caraway allegedly selling PED's, Caraway on Inside MMA discussing Pat Healy's financial penalty for marijuana use, Vitor Belfort is 'a T-Rex surviving in a new jungle', UFC on FX 8 post-fight interviews with winners Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Rafael Natal, Rafael dos Anjos and Nik Lentz, the UFC on FX 8 post-fight press conference, and 8 fight videos from this weekend's Shooto Brazil 39 event.

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[Site News] Important Note About Comments

411 Mania MMA Feed - Sun, 05/19/2013 - 18:00

A change is being made to our Disqus policy...

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