(Brock Lesnar will get his gross sweat all over you. Look out, Randy.)
Brock Lesnar is preparing for Randy Couture with his jiu-jitsu coach Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros, who as you might recall was the man to help Lesnar figure out the mystery of the kneebar after his loss to Frank Mir. Comprido tells Graciemag.com that Lesnar is training at a new academy, mixing it up with world class submissions guys like himself and decorated wrestlers like Cole Konrad. As for a prediction, Comprido isn’t shy:
“I know Couture is a very strategic fighter, but I believe Brock will take this fight in the first round.”
I’d rather fight Brock than Randy. Randy has been dealing with MMA for a lot longer and he knows how to fight off submissions to a greater degree than Brock does. Brock’s only trained for two or three years. I’ve been doing it a lot longer.
But Randy’s ability to stop my submissions would be about the same as my ability to stop his takedowns. He’s been wrestling for 18 years - I’ve been doing martial arts since I was four, so I’ve been practicing for 25 years. For him to catch up on the submissions game is going to be one heck of a feat.
That’s all very interesting, Frank. But maybe you should think about how you’re going to get past Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira first.
(All that wisdom, and no primetime TV slot on which to garble it…yet.)
Right away we knew that Al “Stankie” Stankiewicz (aka: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s boxing coach) had a certain magic about him. From his crazy motivational sayings to his semi-coherent ramblings about sardines, the man is straight up charismatic. But the more stories about him that trickle out, the more it’s starting to seem like he is being criminally underused in this season of The Ultimate Fighter. The latest Stank-tastic tale comes from TUF 8 cast member Ryan Bader, who paints a portrait of Stank as a lovable old card getting the most out of his affiliation with Nogueira:
I have a funny story about Al Stankie, who is our older boxing coach. After practice the coaches would go grab something to eat — most of the time without showering and in full Team Nogueira garb, which (I’m pretty sure) they were not supposed to be doing. Stankie had on a rashguard, full TapouT velour red warm-up, a TapouT beanie and a couple long gold chains. They went to The Palms to watch the Lakers vs. Celtics game. Stankie is a big Lakers fan, and when a Celtics fan expressed some joy about his team scoring, Stankie walked over and slapped the guy — with all of our Brazilian coaches looking on in horror. Before the other coaches could grab him, he yelled out, “I am with the heavyweight champion of the world! You want some?” Those of us that saw this understood that this could be Junie’s relative, and maybe that is why he wasn’t kicked off the show yet. Stankie is a great man, and Spike TV should give him his own show.
There are many stories that involve Stankie that I will try to give to you each week. We would all gather around Dan Valverde, one of the assistant coaches, and he would tell us the stories of what Stankie did over the weekend.
Bader also described Stankie as “drunk and funny as ever” when he and Nogueira showed up at the house to try and squash the prank war, which might at least partially explain the disrespect shown by many of the Team Mir fighters.
As for the suggestion that Spike TV should give Stankie his own show, we’re all for it. The fact that Brooke Hogan has her own show and Stankie doesn’t, well, let’s just say it’s a sign that this nation has lost its way.
In this NBC Sports video Andrew Falzon from MMA Payout looks at this weekend’s UFC vs. Affliction battle by breaking down the Affliction card and its chances for success against the free Silva vs. Irvin event. Aside from him referring to Tim Sylvia as “Emelianenko’s first real challenge” (um, Nogueira? who beat Sylvia recently? ringing any bells?) he does a great job as an on-camera commentator.
But all this media attention on Affliction and their struggle against the UFC’s counter-programming efforts only makes me wonder if it’s not really helping Affliction get the word out about their event. If the thinking behind putting a free event on Spike TV the very same night is that it will keep casual fans from paying for Affliction, it seems like the UFC also risks drawing attention to the Affliction event as media outlets inevitably run stories on the raison d’être of this UFC show.
That’s not to say those same fans who learn of Affliction by hearing about the UFC’s anti-Affliction show will all shell out the pay-per-view bucks, but it does help put Affliction on the map. Maybe the better tact would be to kill them with silence, though that’s never been Dana White’s way. Especially when it comes to t-shirt guy.
Have you ever wondered who was the better wrestler, Tito Ortiz or Matt Hughes? Or if Josh Barnett was tougher than Mark Kerr? What really happened in the controversial match between Ricco Rodriguez and current UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira?
All of those questions (and more) are answered in this outstanding collection of grappling matches from the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC).
Since 1998, the beautiful land of Abu Dhabi has played host to the Submission Wrestling World Championships. The ADCC World Championships are considered the pinnacle of ground fighting sports around the globe for world-class grapplers.
Take a walk back in time and witness some of the most competitive tournament matches in ADCC history.
THE FIGHTS:
Fabiano Iha -vs- Joe Hurley
Mark Kerr -vs- Josh Barnett
Roberto ‘Roleta’ Magalhaes -vs- Rodrigo ‘Cumprido’ Medeiros
Rumina Sato -vs- Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro
Vitor Belfort -vs- Genki Sudo
Baret Yoshida -vs- Wellington ‘Megaton’ Diaz
Matt Hughes -vs- Tito Ortiz
Jean-Jacques Machado -vs- Ricardo Arona
Ricco Rodriguez -vs- Rodrigo ‘Minotauro’ Noguiera
Eddie Ruiz -vs- Hayato ‘Mach†Sakurai
Mario Sperry -vs- Larry Parker
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MMA Junkie reports that the UFC and SpikeTV are finalizing details for UFC Fight Night 14, which will take place on September 17th and will lead in to the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 8, which beings filming this month. Though no names have been announced yet, the UFC has already begun contacting fighters for UFN 14, which could possibly be held in Florida.
Speaking of TUF 8, the Las Vegas Review-Journal says that the fight between the season’s coaches — UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir — will be held “probably on New Year’s weekend.” Oddly enough, nobody from the UFC has told Nogueira yet that he’ll definitely be fighting Mir in his first title defense. “Next week I will have a meeting with the UFC directors in order to find out everything about the reality show,” he said. “Maybe I’ll find about my next fight.”
Nogueira is currently assembling his team of assistant coaches for the show, and has already mentioned Amaury Bitteti and his twin brother Antonio Rogerio as guys you might see in Team Minotauro’s corner. We can only hope Nogueira’s partner at Ultimate MMA shows up once in a while to teach the TUF castmembers crazy shit like this:
“I have a couple more years in me to fight. I just don’t want to break somebody’s face. It was a dream to me also to make the academy, form a team and teach. I had something to do in my life and God gave me a second chance after the accident. I show I have heart. I keep coming back. I don’t think only of myself. I think about this sport and show people what we are all about. I have a lot of things to show.”
– UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira shares his passion for mixed martial arts in a recent interview with the Sun-Sentinel. “Big Nog” talks about the childhood accident that has helped propel him to the top of sport and has helped him achieve his dream of opening up a gym — Nogueira and Silva Mixed Martial Arts Academy, which is set to open this weekend in Miami, Fla. His partner in the venture is none other that UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Nogueira will have a lot of time to train in the facility for his upcoming stint as coach on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 and eventual showdown with Frank Mir on New Year’s Eve weekend in December 2008.
SPIKE TV AND THE UFC TURN TO SOME REAL HEAVY HITTERS FOR SEASON EIGHT OF “THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER®â€
Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira And Former Heavyweight King Frank Mir To Star In New Season Beginning September 17
New York, NY, May 12, 2008 — The coaches for season eight of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate [...]
SpikeTV has announced that UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will serve as the coaches for the eighth installment of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality television series.
TUF 8 will feature lightweights and light heavyweights and will premiere on Wednesday, September 17, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
The release also confirms [...]
Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir has been tabbed as one of two coaches who will appear on season eight of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), which will begin taping soon and is expected to debut on Spike TV on September 17, according to Yahoo!Sports.com.
His opposing coach is none other than UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, setting up an eventual blockbuster title match on New Year’s Eve 2008.
This is quite a reversal of fortune for “The Baddest Man on The Planet.” Less than 18 months ago, most were quick to write off Mir as a gifted and technical fighter who could not replicate his previous exploits inside the Octagon after recovering from a near fatal motorcycle wreck.
In fact, he lost two of his first three bouts when he returned to action — and his lone win over Dan Christison during that span was less than impressive.
But things began to turn around for Mir when he submitted Antoni Hardonk with a textbook kimura at UFC 74: “Respect” in August 2007. He did what everyone was waiting for him to do and he looked good doing it.
The “old” Frank Mir was back.
That was no more evident than when in his next bout Mir weathered a brutal attack from the massive Brock Lesnar at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” to pull off a crafty fight-ending submission (kneebar). It appears that the two back-to-back wins, as well as a visible re-dedication to training, has earned Mir another shot at championship glory.
First, however, he will have to train and manage a team of mixed martial arts hopefuls in front of a national television audience. That shouldn’t be a problem because Mir is comfortable in front of a camera thanks to his role as ringside announcer at World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) events.
He also knows a thing or two about Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA overall. Mir has a ton of fight experience and he’s not even 30 years old.
Nogueira — who defeated Tim Sylvia to win the interim heavyweight championship at UFC 81 — is the first man ever to hold Pride FC and UFC belts. He is undefeated inside the Octagon (2-0) and will look to win over several new fans (and students) while on the show.
Despite his talent and unrivaled accomplishments, it appears that Nogueira has yet to gain widespread respect and notoriety from casual fans. That could all change … soon.
TUF 8 is expected to feature light heavyweights and lightweights, breaking from recent tradition of focusing on just one weight class. Filming is set to begin soon and the show will run from September through December.
Should be good … and the eventual fight between Mir and Nogueira should be even better.
