Askren (14-0) last fought Luis Santos (61-9-1) to a no contest after an accidental eye poke at One FC 26.
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Video of the Day - Vereb v. Askren
Here is Ben Askren wrestling Hungary's Istavan Vereb in a freestyle wrestling match from the 2008 Olympics round of 8.
Askren (14-0) last fought Luis Santos (61-9-1) to a no contest after an accidental eye poke at One FC 26.
Askren (14-0) last fought Luis Santos (61-9-1) to a no contest after an accidental eye poke at One FC 26.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
MMA World Grand Prix!
Rather than having the Olympics butcher MMA, why not an MMA World Grand Prix held outside the Olympic banner?
A World Grand Prix could consist of eight countries competing over three events that are spread out over four months. The rule-set would be the unified rules without elbows to the face of a downed opponent in an effort to reduce cuts. You could have weight classes from 135 up to heavyweight and a women's competitor.
The biggest challenge would be getting the best fighters in the world. As such, the competition would probably have to be co-promoted by the UFC, Strikeforce, One FC, M-1, Shooto and Bellator. If each promotion would be able to make money from the event, promoters might be agree to the idea.
We could see teams from Brazil, USA, Canada, Japan/South Korea, Russia, United Kingdom/Netherlands/Sweden, and Australia/New Zealand. Have the 8 team tournament fights play out over 3 events in 4 months like the old IFL. Allow teams to substitute fighters in if injuries occur. What country would win it all?
For the teams I've compiled below, you can qualify for the team if you were born in the country, are a citizen of the country, have a parent born in that country, or have trained or lived in the country for six months or more. I'm trying to compile two fighters per weight classes in case of injury. I'm working on the list right now, if you have suggestions, please post below.
BRAZIL
Captain and Head Coach: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
135- Renan Barao, Bibiano Fernandes (OneFC)
145- Jose Aldo, Pitbull Freire
155- Gleisen Tibau, Thiago Tavares
170- Demien Maia, Thiago Alves
185- Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort
205- Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida
265- Junior Dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum
Women's 135- Amanda Nunes (Invicta), Vanessa Porto
UNITED STATES
Captain and Head Coach: Randy Couture
135- Urijah Faber, Michael McDonald
145- Pat Curran, Chad Mendes
155- Ben Henderson, Gilbert Melendez
170- Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks
185- Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold
205- Jon Jones, Dan Henderson
265- Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier
Women's 135- Ronda Rousey, Meisha Tate
TEAM FAR EAST: Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Philippines
Captain and Head Coach: Kazushi Sakuraba
135- Takeya Mizugaki, Masanori Kanehara
145- Hatsu Hioki, Chang Sung Jung "Korean Zombie" (S Korea)
155- Shinya Aoki, Takonori Gomi
170- Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim (S Korea), BJ Penn (Korea/USA)
185- Yushin Okami, Riki Fukuda, Cung Le (Vietnam)
205- Brandon Vera (Philippines), Satoshi Ishii
265- Josh Barnett (Japan/USA)
Women's 135- Rin Nakai (11-0, Pancrase/GCM), Hitomi Akano
TEAM CANADA
Captain and Head Coach: Carlos Newton
135- Yves Jaboin (Canada/Haiti), Ivan Menjivar (Canada/El Salvador)
145- Antonio Carvalho, Chris Horodecki
155- TJ Grant, Mark Bocek
170- Georges St. Pierre, Rory Macdonald, Claude Patrick
185- Nick Ring, Francis Carmont (France/Canada), Pat Cote
205- Ryan Jimmo, Krzysztof Soszynski (Poland/Canada)
265- Steve Bosse, Smealinho Rama (6-0)
Women's 135- Sarah Kaufman, Alexis Davis
TEAM RUSSIA: Armenia, Belarus, Croatia, Lithuania
Captain and Head Coach: Fedor Emelianenko
135- Azamat Gashimov (Russia)
145- Dennis Siver (Russia/Germany), Deividas Taurosevičius (Lithuania)
155- Khabib Nurmagomedov, Alex Sarnavskiy
170- Marius Zaromskis (Lithuania), Magomed Shikshabekov
185- Alexander Shlemenko, Karlos Vemola (Czech Republic/UK), Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (17-2, Bellator, Russia)
205- Gegard Mousasi (Armenia), Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus), Igor Pokrajac (Croatia)
265- Alexander Volkov, Stipe Miocic (Croatia/US), Sergei Kharitonov
Women's 135- Milana Dudieva
TEAM WEST EUROPE: United Kingdom, France
Captain and Head Coach: Ian Freeman
135- Brad Pickett, Vaughn Lee
145- Ross Pearson, Andy Ogle
155- Terry Etim, Paul Sass
170- Dan Hardy, John Hathaway
185- Michael Bisping, Tom Watson
205- Jim Manuwa (UK/Nigeria), Cyrille Diabate (France),
265- Cheick Kongo (France), Philip De Fries (UK)
Women's 135- Rosi Sexton (125), Aisling Daly (125)
TEAM SCANDANAVIA: Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Denmark, Iceland
Captain and Head Coach: Bas Rutten
135- Sirwan Kakai (Finland), Mikael Silander (Finland)
145- Joachim Hansen (Norway), Bart Palaszewski (Poland)
155- Reza Madadi (Sweden/Iran), Anton Kuivanen (Finland)
170- Martin Kampmann (Denmark), Gunnar Nelson (Iceland), Pascal Krause (Germany)
185- Mamed Khalidov (Poland/Russia), Tor Troeng (Sweden)
205- Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden), Marcus Vanttinen (Finland)
265- Alistair Overeem (Holland), Stefan Struve (Holland)
Women's 135- Marloes Coenen (Holland), Shiela Gaff (Germany 125)
TEAM AUSTRALASIA: Australia, New Zealand
Captain and Head Coach: Ray Sefo
135- Michael Mortimer
145- Daniel Hooker, Richie Vaculick
155- George Sotoropolis, Adrian Pang
170- Kyle Noke, Brian Ebersole (USA/Australia)
185- Hector Lombard (Australia/Cuba), Dylan Andrews (15-4, NZ)
205- James Te Huna, Anthony Perosh
265- Mark Hunt (NZ), Soa Palelei
Women's 135- Kate Aroa, Fiona Muxlow
A World Grand Prix could consist of eight countries competing over three events that are spread out over four months. The rule-set would be the unified rules without elbows to the face of a downed opponent in an effort to reduce cuts. You could have weight classes from 135 up to heavyweight and a women's competitor.
The biggest challenge would be getting the best fighters in the world. As such, the competition would probably have to be co-promoted by the UFC, Strikeforce, One FC, M-1, Shooto and Bellator. If each promotion would be able to make money from the event, promoters might be agree to the idea.
We could see teams from Brazil, USA, Canada, Japan/South Korea, Russia, United Kingdom/Netherlands/Sweden, and Australia/New Zealand. Have the 8 team tournament fights play out over 3 events in 4 months like the old IFL. Allow teams to substitute fighters in if injuries occur. What country would win it all?
For the teams I've compiled below, you can qualify for the team if you were born in the country, are a citizen of the country, have a parent born in that country, or have trained or lived in the country for six months or more. I'm trying to compile two fighters per weight classes in case of injury. I'm working on the list right now, if you have suggestions, please post below.
BRAZIL
Captain and Head Coach: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
135- Renan Barao, Bibiano Fernandes (OneFC)
145- Jose Aldo, Pitbull Freire
155- Gleisen Tibau, Thiago Tavares
170- Demien Maia, Thiago Alves
185- Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort
205- Shogun Rua, Lyoto Machida
265- Junior Dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum
Women's 135- Amanda Nunes (Invicta), Vanessa Porto
UNITED STATES
Captain and Head Coach: Randy Couture
135- Urijah Faber, Michael McDonald
145- Pat Curran, Chad Mendes
155- Ben Henderson, Gilbert Melendez
170- Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks
185- Chris Weidman, Luke Rockhold
205- Jon Jones, Dan Henderson
265- Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier
Women's 135- Ronda Rousey, Meisha Tate
TEAM FAR EAST: Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Philippines
135- Takeya Mizugaki, Masanori Kanehara
145- Hatsu Hioki, Chang Sung Jung "Korean Zombie" (S Korea)
155- Shinya Aoki, Takonori Gomi
170- Dong Hyun "Stun Gun" Kim (S Korea), BJ Penn (Korea/USA)
185- Yushin Okami, Riki Fukuda, Cung Le (Vietnam)
205- Brandon Vera (Philippines), Satoshi Ishii
265- Josh Barnett (Japan/USA)
Women's 135- Rin Nakai (11-0, Pancrase/GCM), Hitomi Akano
TEAM CANADA
Captain and Head Coach: Carlos Newton
135- Yves Jaboin (Canada/Haiti), Ivan Menjivar (Canada/El Salvador)
145- Antonio Carvalho, Chris Horodecki
155- TJ Grant, Mark Bocek
170- Georges St. Pierre, Rory Macdonald, Claude Patrick
185- Nick Ring, Francis Carmont (France/Canada), Pat Cote
205- Ryan Jimmo, Krzysztof Soszynski (Poland/Canada)
265- Steve Bosse, Smealinho Rama (6-0)
Women's 135- Sarah Kaufman, Alexis Davis
TEAM RUSSIA: Armenia, Belarus, Croatia, Lithuania
Captain and Head Coach: Fedor Emelianenko
135- Azamat Gashimov (Russia)
145- Dennis Siver (Russia/Germany), Deividas Taurosevičius (Lithuania)
155- Khabib Nurmagomedov, Alex Sarnavskiy
170- Marius Zaromskis (Lithuania), Magomed Shikshabekov
185- Alexander Shlemenko, Karlos Vemola (Czech Republic/UK), Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (17-2, Bellator, Russia)
205- Gegard Mousasi (Armenia), Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus), Igor Pokrajac (Croatia)
265- Alexander Volkov, Stipe Miocic (Croatia/US), Sergei Kharitonov
Women's 135- Milana Dudieva
TEAM WEST EUROPE: United Kingdom, France
Captain and Head Coach: Ian Freeman
135- Brad Pickett, Vaughn Lee
145- Ross Pearson, Andy Ogle
155- Terry Etim, Paul Sass
170- Dan Hardy, John Hathaway
185- Michael Bisping, Tom Watson
205- Jim Manuwa (UK/Nigeria), Cyrille Diabate (France),
265- Cheick Kongo (France), Philip De Fries (UK)
Women's 135- Rosi Sexton (125), Aisling Daly (125)
TEAM SCANDANAVIA: Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Denmark, Iceland
Captain and Head Coach: Bas Rutten
135- Sirwan Kakai (Finland), Mikael Silander (Finland)
145- Joachim Hansen (Norway), Bart Palaszewski (Poland)
155- Reza Madadi (Sweden/Iran), Anton Kuivanen (Finland)
170- Martin Kampmann (Denmark), Gunnar Nelson (Iceland), Pascal Krause (Germany)
185- Mamed Khalidov (Poland/Russia), Tor Troeng (Sweden)
205- Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden), Marcus Vanttinen (Finland)
265- Alistair Overeem (Holland), Stefan Struve (Holland)
Women's 135- Marloes Coenen (Holland), Shiela Gaff (Germany 125)
TEAM AUSTRALASIA: Australia, New Zealand
Captain and Head Coach: Ray Sefo
135- Michael Mortimer
145- Daniel Hooker, Richie Vaculick
155- George Sotoropolis, Adrian Pang
170- Kyle Noke, Brian Ebersole (USA/Australia)
185- Hector Lombard (Australia/Cuba), Dylan Andrews (15-4, NZ)
205- James Te Huna, Anthony Perosh
265- Mark Hunt (NZ), Soa Palelei
Women's 135- Kate Aroa, Fiona Muxlow
Monday, June 4, 2012
Just Say No to Olympic MMA
By: MMA Blaster
Mixed martial arts should not be added to the Olympics as it would be chewed up and spit out in a watered down version of the sport we know and love. The rule restrictions would be impossible to ignore. Compound that with possible headgear, sponsors not wanting to see blood, and the fact that the best in the world wouldn't be allowed to compete would scare most away.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) would have a field day with the rules of MMA. In a perfect world, MMA should be as close as possible to a no holds barred fight. The Olympics would probably take out knees and kicks to the face while standing or grounded. Next, they would ban elbow strikes of any kind.
I wouldn't be surprised if punches to the face of a downed opponent found there way to the ban list. Heel hooks and other leg locks would fall victim to the Olympic rulebook. Then comes the bout duration, which would probably consist of three, three minute rounds or less.
In Olympic boxing the competitors wear headgear to prevent injury. Anyone who has seen Tae Kwon Do knows the amount of padding that they wear. The Olympic commission would likely mandate MMA fighters to wear headgear, shin guards, and lord knows what else. The most difficult aspect of the Olympic format is participants staying injury free with three to four matches over a two week and a half week time frame.
On that same note, Olympic scoring in Boxing and Tae Kwon Do give points to effective techniques in cumulative fashion throughout the bout. You can essentially win a fight if you have one big round. If a boxer lands far more punches in the first round he could be up 6-1 in the first, leaving him to coast and stall for the final four rounds and win 8-5.
Another problem would be finding quality fighters to be involved in the event. The UFC holds exclusive contracts over most star fighters. The exclusivity restricts fighters from competing in other MMA organizations as well as any other combat art. The MMA amateur circuit is pretty barren and fraught with corruption.
Rather than having the Olympics butcher MMA, why not an MMA World Grand Prix held outside the Olympic banner?
A World Grand Prix could consist of eight countries competing over three events that are spread out over six months. The rule-set would be the unified rules without elbows to the face of a downed opponent in an effort to reduce cuts. You could have weight classes from 125 up to heavyweight and a women's competitor.
The biggest challenge would be getting the best fighters in the world. As such, the competition would probably have to be co-promoted by the UFC, Strikeforce, One FC, M-1 and Bellator. If each promotion would be able to make money from the event, promoters might be agree to the idea.
We could see teams from Brazil, Japan, USA, Canada, Russia, United Kingdom, South Korea, and Australia(New Zealand). Or Team North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Or you could take the top eight fighters from each weight division regardless of country. It is very fun to think about. What country would win it all?
Mixed martial arts should not be added to the Olympics as it would be chewed up and spit out in a watered down version of the sport we know and love. The rule restrictions would be impossible to ignore. Compound that with possible headgear, sponsors not wanting to see blood, and the fact that the best in the world wouldn't be allowed to compete would scare most away.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) would have a field day with the rules of MMA. In a perfect world, MMA should be as close as possible to a no holds barred fight. The Olympics would probably take out knees and kicks to the face while standing or grounded. Next, they would ban elbow strikes of any kind.
I wouldn't be surprised if punches to the face of a downed opponent found there way to the ban list. Heel hooks and other leg locks would fall victim to the Olympic rulebook. Then comes the bout duration, which would probably consist of three, three minute rounds or less.
In Olympic boxing the competitors wear headgear to prevent injury. Anyone who has seen Tae Kwon Do knows the amount of padding that they wear. The Olympic commission would likely mandate MMA fighters to wear headgear, shin guards, and lord knows what else. The most difficult aspect of the Olympic format is participants staying injury free with three to four matches over a two week and a half week time frame.
On that same note, Olympic scoring in Boxing and Tae Kwon Do give points to effective techniques in cumulative fashion throughout the bout. You can essentially win a fight if you have one big round. If a boxer lands far more punches in the first round he could be up 6-1 in the first, leaving him to coast and stall for the final four rounds and win 8-5.
Another problem would be finding quality fighters to be involved in the event. The UFC holds exclusive contracts over most star fighters. The exclusivity restricts fighters from competing in other MMA organizations as well as any other combat art. The MMA amateur circuit is pretty barren and fraught with corruption.
Rather than having the Olympics butcher MMA, why not an MMA World Grand Prix held outside the Olympic banner?
A World Grand Prix could consist of eight countries competing over three events that are spread out over six months. The rule-set would be the unified rules without elbows to the face of a downed opponent in an effort to reduce cuts. You could have weight classes from 125 up to heavyweight and a women's competitor.
The biggest challenge would be getting the best fighters in the world. As such, the competition would probably have to be co-promoted by the UFC, Strikeforce, One FC, M-1 and Bellator. If each promotion would be able to make money from the event, promoters might be agree to the idea.
We could see teams from Brazil, Japan, USA, Canada, Russia, United Kingdom, South Korea, and Australia(New Zealand). Or Team North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Or you could take the top eight fighters from each weight division regardless of country. It is very fun to think about. What country would win it all?
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