ICF: Power of Champions 2 Results

ICF's Power of Champions 2 took place at John Wood's Warrior Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada last weekend. The event focused on amateur up and coming fighters and was affliated with ISCF amateur fighting.

Special Guests in attendance included Forest Griffin, Frank Mir, Sam Stout, Amir Sadolah, Matthew Brown, Mike Whithead, Kim Couture and Shawn Tompkins. In addition to the MMA bouts, the event featured 3 Muay Thai contests. MMA fighter Joe Slick was on hand as the referee.

Results:

Robb Anderson def Matt Carpenter via TKO (ground & pnd) R1, 1:23
Derrick Lagasca def Robin Huchinson via Sub (rear naked choke) R1, 2:02
Lizzy Miller def Brooke Guidry via Sub (rear naked choke) R1, 1:56
Presley Lint def Rich St. Claire via TKO (ground & pound) R1, :56
Truett Anderson def Danny Penia via Sub (rear naked choke) R1, 1:51
Lis Braverman def Ivana Coleman via unanimous decision
*Braverman and Coleman had the fight of the night with a three round slugfest.



Expect the ICF to be staging affordable and exciting MMA shows in Vegas in the coming months! Check out http://www.icfights.com/ for details.

Video of the Day - Akiyama v. Nagata

Here is Yoshiro Akiyama v. Katsuhiko Nagata from K-1: Hero's 5 which took place on 5/3/06. Akiyama fights Alan Belcher at UFC 100.

Sengoku 7: Excitement

The last installment of Sengoku 7 delivered on many levels with exciting fights from beginning to end. The action in the featherweight tournament was fast and furious, with Nam Phan and Denis showing knockout power to slick Sandro and Hioki submission victories. Kim Mo again put on a show, busting a pearl white robe out of the closet.

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal def Ryo Kawamura via unanimous dec- King Mo domining the action and defending his kingdom. Much like a repeat of the Lesnar v. Herring fight, King Mo got takedows at will dominating Ryo. In the first, Mo landed some slams, and throughout the fight, got Ryo's back throwing knees and punches. While Kawamura was able to last the entire fight, he took quite a bit of punishment, including devastating knees to the hamstrings.

Jim York def James Thompson via KO(punch) R1, 4:33- Both fighters stood and traded punches, but York got to Thompson first. A few punches rocked Thompson, who tried to get a double leg takedown. However, York would not allow a takedown, and near the end of the first round threw a nasty punch which sent Thompson to the canvas.

FW Tournament:

Hatsu Hioki def Chris Manuel via sub (arm bar) R1, 4:12- Hioki showed superior grappling skills as he outworked Manuel, eventually getting a beautifully executed armbar in the first round.

Nam Phan def Hideki Kadowaki via TKO (punch) R1, 3:09- Phan and Kadowaki threw as many punches as you could fit into 3 minutes in this fight. But Phan had the more accurate strikes, throwing a devastating right hand which leveled Kadowaki.

(Nam Phan pictured)

Michihiro Omigawa def LC Davis via unanimous dec- LC Davis looked like he was fighting without energy throughout the fight. Omigawa got takedowns at will and was able to land punches.

Marlon Sandro def Matt Jaggers via sub (standing head and arm choke) R2, 2:57- Sandro was able to take Jaggers down at will in the first, but Jaggers always managed to get up and out of trouble. However in the second, with Bas Rutten and Jaggers corner thinking Sandro was stalling, the two made it to the feet. However, Jaggers left an arm out and Sandro sunk in a deep, nasty head and arm choke. Jaggers was unconscious very quickly.
*MMA Blaster Submission of the Night.

Masanori Kanehara def Jong Man Kim via unanimous dec- Kanehara won the fight with stining low kicks and controlling the action on the ground.

Chan Sung Jung def Shintaro Ishiwatari via sub (rear-naked choke) R1, 4:29- Jung came out throwing wild punches with Ishiwatari looking more conventional. However a looping punch found its mark and knocked Ishiwatri to the ground. From there, Jung pounced on his wobbled foe and finished the fight with a rear naked choke.

Ronnie Mann def Tetsuya Yamada via unanimous dec- This was an entertaining fight that featured kicks, knee bar attempts, takedowns, and sweeps. It was back and forth, and Yamada almost got an upkick KO. But Ronnie Mann pressed the action more and was closer to finishing the fight. Mann took the decision.
*MMA Blaster Fight of the Night.

Nick Denis def Seiya Kawahara via TKO (strikes) R1, 2:36- Denis may have entered the fight an underdog, but with emotion on his side he brought some serious thunder. He connected on a head kick early, then punches, another kick, and followed Kawahara to the ground throwing hammerfists until Kawahara's corner threw in the towel.
*MMA Blaster KO of the Night.

Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is slated to debut on ESPN Deportes on April 4, 2009. The format of the show will consist of 12 episodes with a run time of 2 hours shown on tape delay. The shows will feature 8 man tournaments in the 145, 155, 170 and 185 pound divisions played out over 3 months. There will also be non-tournament bouts featured.

Here are five quality fighters that are rumored tourney participants:

Wilson Reis (6-0) is an intriguing prospect in the featherweight, 145 pound, division. Wilson is a BJJ blackbelt who grew up in Brazil and moved to the states a few years ago. The submission specialist has 3 submission and 3 decision victories on his resume with a 4-0 mark in Pro Elite's Elite XC and Sho XC organizations. His last two victories were over Abel Cullum (13-2) and Brian Caraway (10-3).
*Wilson is slated to face Henry Martinez on April 10th.

(Wilson Reis pictured)

Eddie Alvarez (15-2) made a name for himself last year by having an excellent run in the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix. His entertaining street brawling mixed with wrestling style thrilled the fight fans of Japan as he beat Andre Amade, Joachim Hansen and Kawajiri in the tournament. Eddie is a former BoDog 170 pound champ, knocking out veteran fighter Derrick Noble (23-11) in 1:01 of the first round for the title, he defended the title over UFC vet Aaron Riley. In his last fight, Alvarez was baited to the ground by submission wizard Shinya Aoki and submitted via heel hook in the first round.
*Eddie is slated to face Greg Loughran (18-11) on April 3rd.

(Eddie Alvarez pictured)

Jorge Masvidal (16-3) is a 155 pound American Top Team member fighting out of Miami, Florida. He has lighting quick hands and feet which have produced some outstanding knockouts. Jorge has fought in the Sengoku/World Victory Road, Strikeforce and Bodog promotions. His big victories have come over UFC vets Yves Edwards, Joe Lauzon and IFL champ Ryan Schultz.
*Jorge is slated to face Nick Agallar (21-5) on April 3rd.

(Jorge Masvidal pictured)

Hector Lombard (18-2) is a famous 185 pound Cuban fighter with an excellent Judo background. Hector brings a 10 fight win streak into Bellator. He won the Australian based Cage Fighting Championships MW belt in November of 2007 and has defended three straight times. In his last fight, Hector beat Brian Ebersole (37-15) in the fourth round via a submission due to punches.
*Hector is slated to face Virgil Lozano (6-1) April 17th.

(Hector Lombard pictured)

Dave Menne (42-15) was the first Middleweight Champion of the UFC when he defeated Gil Castillo at UFC 33. Menne has been competing since 96' and has many victories not listed among his official 42 victories. His other big career moments were winning tournaments in Hook and Shoot, Extreme Challenge, Gladiators and Shidokan. Menne has big victories were over Carlos Newton, Jose Landi-Jons, Chris Lytle, Roberto Traven and Dennis Hallman. He'll be competing in the 170 pound tournament.
*Menne is slated to face Norman Paraisy (5-0) on April 17th.

(Dave Menne pictured)

WEC 40 Chicago - Preview

WEC 40 takes place April 5th at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago, Illinois. There is a solid lineup of fights that will take place. The undercard is stacked with Wagnney Fabiano, Eddie Wineland, Manny Tapia, Bart Palaszewski and Rafeal Dias. Expect to see some quick and exciting action.

Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki- This fight is for the 135 pound bantam weight title. Torres (35-1, 4-0 WEC), won the BW belt at WEC 32 over Chase Beebe and has defended against Yoshiro Maeda and Manny Tapia. Torres is a relentless, creative and entertaining fighter who has an endless supply of energy. Expect him to go big in this fight in his hometown.

(Miguel Torres pictured)

Takeya Mizugaki (11-2, 0-0 WEC) is a late replacement for Brian Bowles, who had to withdraw due to injury. Mizugaki is a veteran of the Japanese Shooto and GCM promotions and is currently riding a 5 fight win streak. He was a Shooto rookie of the year in 2003.


Joseph Benavidez vs. Jeff Curran- This match sets up nice to determine a number 1 contender for the BW Title. Curran (29-10, 2-2 WEC) has had a tough past two fights losing via guillotine against Urijah Faber and a decision to Mike Thomas Brown. Curran should look to take the fight to the ground to utilize his submission game. He has fought in the UFC, IFL and Pride with big wins over Rafael Assuncao, Wagnney Fabiano, Jason Dent and Bao Quach.

(Jeff Curran pictured)

Joe Benavidez (9-0, 1-0 WEC) is an up and coming prospect who trains with Urijah Faber. Benavidez fought in local promotions before being called to fight in Dream, defeating Junya Kudo (7-2) at Dream 5. In his lone WEC fight, Benavidez seemed tenantive at times, but was crisp in his striking. He notched a unanimous victory over Danny Martinez.

(Joe Benavidez pictured)

Ben Henderson vs. Shane Roller- Ben Henderson (8-1, 1-0 WEC) has six submission victories on his resume. In his last two fights he won via decision over Diego Saraiva and won his WEC debut over Anthony Njokuani via guillotine choke. Shane Roller (5-1) is a top level wrestler with 3 submissions and 2 TKO's on the win list. Roller won his two WEC fights over Mike Budnick and Todd Moore with the guillotine choke.

Rafael Assuncao vs. Jameel Massouh- Rafeal Assuncao (12-1, 0-0 WEC) is a BJJ blackbelt that some circles put in the top ten at 145. He has 8 submission wins on his resume with victories over Joe Lauzon, Jorge Masvidal and Joe Pearson. Massouh (21-4, 0-0 WEC) has fought many times out of Wisconsin's FCC promotion. Recently, Massouh has fought in Pancrase.

UNDERCARD

Anthony Njokuani vs. Bart Palaszewski
Dominick Cruz vs. Ivan Lopez
Diego Nunes vs. Cub Swanson
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Fredson Paixao
Eddie Wineland vs. Rani Yahya
Akitoshi Tamura vs. Manny Tapia
Mike Budnik vs. Rafael Dias

Dream 8 Preview

Dream will also have an event going on Sunday, April 5th in its Dream 8 event. The event kick off the Dream 8-man 170 pound tournament. Also, the last 139 pound bout will take place in Hata v. Tokoro. The event will be shown on a 5 day delay on HDNet. The headliner bout between Sergei Kharitonov and Jeff Monson should be interesting, as Sergei only fought once in 2008 beating Jimmy Abriz.

Non-Tourney Bouts

Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jeff Monson
Katsuhiko Nagata vs. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
Andrews Nakahara vs. Shungo Oyama
Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa vs. Katsuyori Shibata

170 Pound WW Tournament

Shinya Aoki vs. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
Jason High vs. Yuya Shirai
Seichi Ikemoto vs. Marius Zaromskis
John Alessio vs. Andre Galvao

139 Pound FW Tournament Final Bout

Daiki "DJ.taiki" Hata vs. Hideo Tokoro


(Sergei Kharitonov pictured)

UFC Fight Night 18 Preview

UFC Fight Night 18 will air next Wednesday, April 1st. The card features former WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit v. Martin Kampmann. After the show will be the premier of The Ultimate Fighter Season 9. With 8 undercard fights, expect some quick finishes to make the two hour timeslot.

Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann- I expect these two to test it on the feet before Condit attempts to get the fight to the ground. Carlos Condit (23-4, 0-0 UFC) is a superb grappler with 13 submissions 10 T/KO's on his resume. Condit won the WEC WW title against John Alessio and defended against Brock Larson, Carlo Prater and Hiromitsu Miura. Condit has fought in Pancrase and Rumble on the Rock with wins against Frank Trigg, Koji Oishi, Ross Ebanez and Renato Verissimo.

(WEC Champ Carlos Condit pictured)

Martin Kampmann (14-2, 5-1 UFC) comes from a kickboxing background, but he has an excellent submission game. He is most popular for the come from behind arm triangle victory against Drew McFedries at UFC 68. Kampmann's UFC victories have come against Jorge Rivera, Crafton Wallace, Thales Lietes and Alexandre Barros.

(Martin Kampmann kicks Thales Leites)

Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero- This is a grappler v. grappler match-up that favors TUF 9 champ Ryan Bader. Bader won TUF 9 with a nasty KO of Vinny Magalhaes. Bader (8-0, 1-0 UFC) may stand and trade with Marrero, denying his takedown attempts. To get to the finals of TUF, Bader subbed Kyle Kingsbury, KO'd Tom Lawlor and won a unanimous decision over Eliot Marshall.

(Ryan Bader pictured)

Carmelo Marrero (10-2, 1-2 UFC) was also wrestler in college, but competing in the junior college circuit doesn't compare to Bader's All-American status at ASU. Marrero is most known for his split decision defeat of Cheick Kongo at UFC 64. After that win, Marrero lost to Gabriel Gonzaga and Wilson Gouveia and was cut from the UFC. Marrero has stormed back, winning 4 fights straight with his last over Steve Steinbeis in the WEC.

(Carmelo Marrero pictured)

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tyson Griffin- Tyson Griffin (12-2, 5-2 UFC) is a top level wrestler with some big wins in and out of the UFC. Inside the UFC, Griffin was within grasp of a title shot, but lost to Sean Sherk last October. Before the UFC, he TKO'd Urijah Faber and Duane Ludwig. Inside the UFC, Griffin has decision wins over Clay Guida, Marcus Aurelio, Gleison Tibau and Thiago Tavares while submitting David Lee.

(Tyson Griffin pictured)

Dos Anjos (11-3, 0-1 UFC) was dominating Jeremy Stephens with excllent grappling for two rounds of his UFC debut. Unfortunately, in the third round Stephens unleased an uppercut that put out dos Anjos out. Outside the UFC, dos Anjos has wins in Brazil and Japan, with his biggest win over Takafumi Otsuka

Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller- Surprising Cole Miller is the one running his mouth before this fight saying he will give Junie a beatdown in this battle of TUF veterans. Cole Miller (14-3, 3-1 UFC) is a lanky 155 pound fighter, who has an excellent triangle. Miller has a last second submission of the night victory over Jorge Gurgel in his last fight. Prior to that, Miller lost to Jeremy Stephens, beat Leonard Garcia via decision and Andy Wang.

(Cole Miller pictured)

Junie Browning (3-0, 1-0 UFC) looked impressive in the TUF 8 finale, beating up Frank Mir favorite Dave Kaplan. The first round Junie looked to have good stand-up and in the second was able to get an arm-bar. My guess is that Junie will look to keep the fight standing, getting inside to take away Miller's reach.

(Junie Browning's Hand Grenade Tattoo)

UNDERCARD

Jeremy Stephens vs. Gleison Tibau
Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich
Brock Larson vs. Jesse Sanders
Nick Catone vs. Tim Credeur
Nissen Osterneck vs. Jorge Rivera
Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo
Tim McKenzie vs. Aaron Simpson
Ryan Jensen vs. Steve Steinbeiss (bout canceled after Jensen admitted Adderall usage)