Daily Loaf

The mixed martial arts (MMA) heavyweight fighter, Brendan Schaub, is now one step closer to winning a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as he advances to the semifinals after defeating his team mate, Jon Madsen, last night on episode ten of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season ten.

Madsen put his wrestling skills on display by taken the 4-inches taller Schaub down twice during the first round without effectively controlling him on the ground. Schaub, on the other hand, relied on his boxing skills and kept dishing out punches including two powerful right hooks in round two which quickly sent Madsen  to the floor resulting in a win via knockout for Schaub.

Being a former football player for the University of Colorado, Schaub is no stranger to employing an effective game plan. He revealed after the fight that his strategy included to let Madsen wear himself out with his wrestling moves and then to just finish him off with solid punches in order to avoid being at the judges’ mercy. Interestingly, this was Schaub’s first MMA career fight that actually made it past the first round as he won all his previous five bouts via TKO in round one.

Watch Schaub’s impressive knockout of Madsen after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

TAMPA, Fla., Nov.13, 2009– The Real Fighting Championships (RFC) lightweight title belt is moving to the U.K. after challenger, Jason Ball, defeated defending champion, Edson Berto, during five grueling rounds last night at a sold out A La Carte Pavilion.

Berto surprised Ball with an unprecedented level of aggressiveness and a whole new fight strategy that included a ground game as much as a well-rounded stand-up arsenal of kicks and punches in the first round.

It took Ball until the end of the first round to adjust to Berto’s new and more intense style, which he then countered: for every one of Berto’s punches Ball shot back at least five of his own. While Berto was unloading his fists on Ball at a rate of a semi-automatic weapon, Ball unleashed the fire of a machine gun on Berto.  Read the rest of this entry »

In episode nine of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season ten Roy “Big Country” Nelson defeated Justin Wren via split decision (20-18, 20-18, 19-19) in the first quarter-final bout of the season. Nelson now advances to the semi-finals where he will most likely face one of the other members from Team Rashad.

While Wren seemed to dominated Nelson for most of the first and second round, Nelson went into over-drive at the end of the second round, apparently leaving a favorable impression on the judges. In lieu of calling a draw and adding a third round to the bout, they awarded Nelson the win via split decision, proving once again that judges are only human and certainly not perfect.

Watch the fight video (after the break) and decide for yourself:

Read the rest of this entry »

Rated as best mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter pound-for-pound worldwide, Fedor Emalienko proved that bigger is not always better when he defeated the five-inch taller Brett Rogers via TKO at 1:48 in round two during the Strikeforce main event at the Sears Center in Chicago, Ill. last night. The event was also broadcast live on CBS.

Rogers did not just roll over and play dead, however. In fact, it looked like the fight was going his way when he landed a devastating punch to Fedor’s nose early in the first round. As a result, Fedor had trouble breathing and missed a few shots aimed at Rogers while the blood flowed freely from the cut on his nose.

Naturally, Fedor took the fight to the ground to avoid Rogers’ powerful fists and to finally gain the advantage in this bout by submitting Rogers with an arm bar. But Rogers proved to be an escape artist just as the first round came to a close.

Watch round two of Fedor vs. Rogers in the fight video after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

The 28-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, War Machine, a.k.a. Jon Koppenhaver announced his official debut as porn star, War Machine XXX, on twitter last month. He was last seen in Tampa at the mixed martial arts event, XFC 9, where he defeated Mikey Gomez (fully clothed) via TKO in round three. Maybe his loss to David Mitchell at TPF 1 on Oct. 8, 2009 inspired him to start a new career doing what he loves most next to fighting: adult entertainment.

“I’m a full time Alpha Male. I get paid to fight and to fuck….what more could I ask for,” War Machine states in his twitter bio.

With a fight record of  10 wins and 3 losses after almost six years as professional fighter War Machine might just hang up his gloves for good. His career highlight was the win over Jared Rollins at TUF 6 Finale in Dec. 2007 immediately followed by his devastating loss to Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 84 in May 2008.

Ever since, his MMA star has been falling while he floated around regional MMA events without leaving his mark or earning a title. As much as he claims to love fighting, he seems to lack the direction to take his career to the next level.

Watch the fight video of War Machine vs. Mikey Gomez at XFC 9 after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Marcus Jones, defeated the UFC veteran, Mike Wessel, on episode eight of The Ultimate Fighter season ten (TUF 10) last night. After two months of restless waiting Jones finally got his chance to prove his worth in the octagon as the last fighter on Team Rampage, after being labeled as ’softy’ and ‘drama queen’ by his coach, Rampage Jackson.

Maybe Coach Rampage wanted to save the best for last, as he finally put some effort into preparing Jones for his upcoming fight against Wessel by sharpening his submission techniques. Rampage’s extra attention pays off when Jones sets a shining example for Rampage’s coaching skills by swiftly submitting Wessel in round one via arm bar.

Watch the video of Jones paying tribute to TUF 10 after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Tampa based mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter, Real Fighting Championships (RFC) is offering Jason Ball from the UK a shot at the the RFC lightweight title on Nov. 13, 2009 at the A La Carte Pavilion in Tampa. If Ball defeats current RFC Lightweight Champion, Edson Berto from Winter Haven, Fla., the belt might move to England for the very first time in Tampa MMA history.

The match up of the two professional MMA fighters, however, is not a first time by any means, since they already faced each other at RFC 18 last July. In spite of Berto’s home turf advantage Ball took the win via split decision after a three-round slug fest that could have very well taken place in a boxing ring as a stand-up battle of fists.

Watch the Ball vs. Berto fight video (RFC 18) after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) bantamweight champion, Miguel Torres, will host a mixed martial arts (MMA) seminar at World Class Martial Arts in Tampa on Nov. 12, 2009 from 8-10 p.m. Cost is $50 per person.

The seminar is open to anyone regardless of gym affiliation and experience. Torres, who is one of the best MMA fighters in the world pound-for-pound,  teaches some of the most effective MMA stand-up and ground techniques. He has over 15 years of fighting experience and an impressive professional fight record of 37 wins and only two losses. These numbers don’t include his equally amazing amateur fight record, though.

Torres only recently lost his bantamweight throne to Brian Bowles at WEC 42 in August of this year after an 18-months-reign and three successful title defenses against Yoshiro Maeda, Manny Tapia and Takeya Mizugaki. Rumor has it that he might change weight class and fight for the UFC in the near future. Other speculations include a rematch and de-throning of Brian Bowles, of course.

Watch the WEC highlights video of Torres after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Caroline Portugal has exactly four more months to make her dream  of becoming a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter a reality as she is getting ready for her professional debut at the Real Fighting Championships (RFC) event in February 2010.

Needless to say, her almost daily training is no walk in the park. Aside from learning new submission techniques she also works on becoming a more well-rounded fighter by perfecting her stand-up game.

Staying injury-free and healthy in spite of the high impact during long and sweaty work outs at the gym are, however, crucial for any professional athlete. Maybe even more so for MMA fighters who deal with a variety of components in their daily training, like ground work (jiu jitsu, wrestling), stand up game (jiu jitsu, boxing, kick boxing, judo), and last but certainly not least conditioning for maximum endurance during a 15-minute fight.

Being a life-long martial artist and fitness competitor has helped Portugal develop her own methods to counter-act the stress from her high-impact training. Here is what she revealed during some Q and A. Read the rest of this entry »

Tampa police officer, Chris Baten, delivered an almost hulk-like performance while trying to thwart CT Turner’s powerful and relentless attacks during the main bout of the mixed martial arts (MMA) event, Rumble at Robarts 4, which was hosted by the Sarasota based promoter, Art of Fighting (AOF) on Oct. 23, 2009. But ultimately, his opponent CT Turner fought like the indestructible Superman and took the win via unanimous decision.

Turner dominated Baten equally well during the stand up portion of the fight, as well as on the ground throughout all three rounds. His cobra like attack-punches were always followed by a quick retreat in order to evade Baten’s counter punches. On the mat he wrung Baten through several submission attempts including one vicious arm bar that made it seem like Baten was made out of rubber. When Baten was not busy defending himself against Turner’s serial attacks he dished out a few hard punches of his own, which hardly rattled Turner. At the end of the three-round war the bout went to the judges’ scorecards, who awarded Turner the win via unanimous decision to no one’s surprise.

See the complete fight card results and more fight pics after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jokes don’t win fights. But strategies do. In the sixth episode of the mixed martial arts (MMA) reality show The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season ten Coach Rampage focused on being funny and entertaining his fighters at the expense of Team Rashad. Coach Rashad, however, chose the high road and delivered his punch line in the octagon through Darrill Schoonover’s victory over Zak Jensen.

Schoonover went into the bout against Jensen with a spotless fight record of 10-0 and the full moral and strategic report of his TUF 10 coach, Rashad Evans, in spite of some performance issues during training.

Zak Jensen, on the other hand, had a fight record of seven wins and three losses prior to TUF 10. He did not seem to  be too popular with the other fighters on the show. His coach, Rampage Jackson, only showed limited support when Jensen decided to fight Schoonover in spite of the cut he suffered during training shortly before the bout.

Coach Rampage’s strategy to mess with Schoonover’s head by ridiculing him verbally before the fight almost escalated into a brawl between him and Schoonover, which Evans and Jensen prevented in the last minute. Watch a video excerpt of the verbal abuse by Rampage after the break.

The actual MMA match between Schoonover and Jensen seemed like a deja vu experience of last week’s bout between Justin Wren and Wes Sims as Schoonover followed Wren’s example and swiftly submitted Jensen via triangle choke in round one. Read the rest of this entry »

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 20, 2009– Tampa police officer, Chris Baten, will headline the mixed martial arts (MMA) event Rumble at Robarts 4 hosted by the MMA promoter, Art of Fighting (AOF), at Robarts arena in Sarasota this Friday. He will face Tampa native and MMA veteran, CT Turner, who recently made his debut in the boxing ring.

Both fighters aim at silencing any critics after their controversial last bouts at AOF  3 and AOF 4 earlier this year. While Baten suffered a loss due to a possibly premature fight stoppage against Kimbo killer, Seth Petruzelli, Turner earned a victory via the disqualification of Jamie Yager due to an illegal kick to Turner’s head on the ground.

The co-main event of the evening features two super heavyweight fighters, Imanee Lee and Salvatore Fernetti, who both tip the scales at 310 lbs and 285 lbs respectively. Lee is a former K-1 and WWF fighter while Fernetti has six professional MMA fights under his belt. Read the rest of this entry »

The mixed martial arts (MMA) World Light Heavyweight Championship bout between defending champion, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, and his challenger, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is upon us this Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will air this epic match on Pay-Per-View (PPV) along with four other fights on the main card at 10 p.m. ET. Some of the under-card bouts will be aired for free on Spike TV from 9 -10 p.m. If you would rather spend your hard-earned cash on beer and food instead of PPV, you can watch the UFC 104 for free at any of the following locations in the Tampa Bay area.

1. Read the rest of this entry »

Getting a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Guzzo brothers’ mixed martial arts (MMA) movie Caged Dreams really makes MMA fans appreciate all the hard work that goes into each fight scene. It also proves that team work is necessary to accomplish any great task.

Local MMA talent on set included former UFC fighter and owner of Gracie Tampa South, Matt ‘No Regard’ Arroyo, former TUF contestant, Allen ‘Monstah Lobstah’ Berube, pro fighters, Mike Greeson and Frank Santore, and last but not least XFC ring announcer, Christopher James. Read the rest of this entry »

Size and experience do matter, but apparently not to Justin Wren who put the UFC veteran and giant, Wes Sims, to sleep in about 60 seconds flat with an arm triangle choke on episode five of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season ten. Subsequently, Team Rashad maintained the lead over Team Rampage with a score of 5-0.

The 6′10” tall Sims might have underestimated the seven inches shorter Wren, who wasted no time eliminating Sim’s reach advantage by immediately attacking and pinning him against the octagon fence. He then closed the deal with a successful take-down and perfectly executed arm triangle choke that left Sims unconscious about one minute into the fight.

UFC president, Dana White, was quite perplexed that the fight was over before it even started. Coach Rashad was not surprised about the outcome, however, since he picked all his fighters based on their technical skills rather than their physical size. Read the rest of this entry »

For most professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters training for upcoming bouts means much more than working towards payday. It is a form of self-discovery and quickly becomes their way of life. MMA fans are usually not aware of the dedication and hard work, not to mention long hours that go into the preparation for a professional fight in the octagon.

The female MMA fighter, Caroline Portugal, reveals first-hand what it takes to get a shot at the limelight and how she prepares for her upcoming pro-debut at the Real Fighting Championships (RFC) event in Feb. 2010 in Tampa, Fla. during some Q & A as first part of a new weekly MMA training series.

Q: How has your training changed since you started getting ready for your first professional fight?
A: Before I knew I was going to fight (professionally) I just trained for (amateur) tournaments every other day. Now, five months before my first pro fight, I’m doing something everyday. I’m either working with my conditioning coach, Alan Molina, at either of my dojos, World Class or Spartan Gym. I’m doing something six to seven days a week. If I’m not at the dojo working on technique or sparring, I’m doing sprints or weights at home. I’m focusing on impact conditioning. My diet is 3000 calories a day. I try to spar with everyone while staying injury-free. Read the rest of this entry »

In the fourth episode of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) on Spike TV last night Team Rashad’s Brendan Schaub submitted Team Rampage’s Demico Rogers swiftly in round one, propelling his team’s score to 4-0.

Although Rogers followed Coach Rampage’s game plan and put his wrestling experience to good use with several successful takedowns, Schaub used his excellent jiu jitsu skills to control Rogers in the guard and then swiftly submit him with an anaconda choke in round one.

Coach Rampage was upset about the loss and blamed Rogers for not using the ground and pound to end the fight when he had Schaub on his back.

Coach Rashad, on the other hand, was thrilled with his team’s performance and criticized Rampage’s lack of respect for the fighters. Read the rest of this entry »

The debate about whether mixed martial arts (MMA) or boxing is more effective has been an ongoing one ever since the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) petitioned for the sanctioning of MMA in 2001. All speculation aside, fans had the rare opportunity to watch a professional MMA fighter in a heavyweight match against a professional boxer last night when Robert Turner faced Lamar Davis (2-1) in the boxing ring:

Turner, who has a professional MMA record of 4-0, made his professional debut in the boxing ring at the Tampa Fight Night held at the Hyatt Regency. Fighting in the boxing ring significantly differs from fighting in the octagon in numerous ways and Turner seemed to have a little trouble adjusting to the ropes when he slipped out of the ring early in the first of the four rounds scheduled. Read the rest of this entry »

The premiere of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season 10 on Spike TV last night left much to be desired for mixed martial arts (MMA) fans around the world. In the first and only preliminary bout of the night, Jon Madsen (1-0) pummeled Abe Wagner (6-1) for two long and bloody rounds while Wagner did absolutely nothing to at least block Madsen’s punches. Even Wagner’s coach, Rampage Jackson, repeatedly yelled ringside:”Abe, do something. Don’t just sit there!”

In spite of Madsen’s lack of MMA fighting experience, he was able to draw on his extensive highschool wrestling background by using the very same take-down technique over and over again. He did in fact defeat the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar, in a highschool wrestling match.  This blast from the past should have alarmed Coach Jackson before he picked the the fighters for the first preliminary bout of the season.

Maybe Jackson did not do his homework. But he certainly did not count on Wagner going all limp throughout the entire fight. After Madson’s first take-down of Wagner and the ensuing ground-and-pound, Jackson warned Wagner that he should watch out for that technique. Even if Wagner was not able to hear Jackson’s advice, it would have been only natural fighter’s instinct to anticipate the same attack and defend against it. Wagner should also have been able to use his MMA fighting experience and height advantage against Madsen in his stand-up game. Yet, against all odds, Madsen successfully repeated the exact same take-down with a dose of ground-and pound at least six times while Wagner remained lethargic.

UFC President, Dana White said:”This is the bloodiest UFC fight ever!” Read the rest of this entry »

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans In Tampa enjoyed an action-packed nine-bout fight card hosted by the Xtreme Fighting Chamionships (XFC) at the St.Pete Times Forum on Saturday. In the main event of the evening, Pablo Alfonso was crowned as the new XFC Bantamweight Champion after a four-round war against defending champion Jason Goodall. War Machine defeated Mikey Gomez in the co-main event of the  XFC Evolution bouts. Read the rest of this entry »

Mike Gomez

Former Elite XC fighter Mikey Gomez replaces Roger “Relentless” Bowling in the main event of the upcoming Xtreme Fighting Championship (XFC) fight card Evolution on Sept.5 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. Adding a sense of deja vu, this is the second time Bowling forfeits his chance to fight War Machine due to a pre-fight injury.

Gomez will face off against The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 finalist, War Machine, a.k.a. Jon Koppenhaver. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to On the Radar, where we preview up-and-coming arts events to mark your calendar for. Today’s edition is all about the return of next weekend’s epic MMA battle that’s sure to make Labor Day weekend anything but uneventful.

The Tampa-based mixed martial arts promoter Xtreme Fighting Championships returns with an explosive ten-bout card after a tour of  the Southeastern U.S. and Germany. In the main event on the Evolution fight card, the yet-undefeated Roger Bowling from MMA Bigshow faces former finalist of The Ultimate Fighter 6 reality show, Jon Koppenhaver (pictured) — better known as the “War Machine” in MMA circles.  Jason Goodall defends his XFC Bantamweight title against Pablo Alfonso from Miami in the co-main event and title bout, scheduled for five rounds of five minutes each.  Also on the fight card is Chris “Beast Boy” Barnett, who faces off against three-time Florida State wrestling champion, Daniel Perez. Perez gained notoriety when he knocked out ex-Buccaneer and TUF Heavyweight contestant, Marcus Jones, in 22 seconds flat at the World Fighting Championships 6.  In one of two pro debuts of the evening, recent XFC Open Fighter Tryouts winner, Julien Williams, fights Jiu Jitsu ace, Jeremy “Buttercup” Thurlow. Sat., Sept. 5, 7 p.m., St. Pete Times Forum, 401 Channelside Dr., Tampa, $15-$140, stpetetimesforum.com. — Astrid Bidanec

Let your voice be heard! Who is your favorite professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, promoter, event and venue? Please make your selection from the choices listed below. Read the rest of this entry »

The main event on the Art of Fighting (AOF) fight card indeed turned out to be the highlight of the evening, with an enthusiastic audience cheering on the mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran Tom Sauer on his walk towards the octagon as prelude to a very exciting fight against Marcio Cruz. Regardless, Sauer was not able to cash in on his home turf advantage. Cruz, on the other hand, seemed like Rocky Stallone in his most unpopular fight while beating the crowd favorite Sauer to a pulp and earning the World Fighting Organization (WFO) belt in the process.

Sauer repeatedly charged against Cruz like a bull seeing red and caught several punches to his head as a result early on in the fight. Read the rest of this entry »

The Sarasota-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter Art of Fighting (AOF) will host an exciting 11-bout fight card at the USF Sun Dome on Saturday, Aug.22. As main event the two MMA veterans Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz vs. Tom “Trauma” Sauer will slug it out for the first ever World Title of the new MMA sanctioning body, World Fighting Organization (WFO). Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Astrid Bidanec

TAMPA, Fla., July 24, 2009: The Real Fighting Championships hosted the mixed martial arts event, Pride, at the A La Carte Pavilion with seven bouts on the fight card. Florida State Lightweight MMA Champion Edson Berto vs. Jason Ball from the UK was the main event. Read the rest of this entry »

SARASOTA, Fla., June 13, 2009 – The Florida State light heavyweight title bout between TJ Cook and Arriell Gandulla was the perfect climax to a night full of exciting mixed martial arts (MMA) action hosted by the Sarasota-based promotion company Art of Fighting (AOF) at the Robarts Arena. There is no doubt that the well-known MMA clothing and promotion company, TapOut, was on a hot lead when they were scouting Cook in September 2008.

Watch the TapOut preview featuring Cook here: Read the rest of this entry »

Most of the time I like my fighting games fast, furious, and full of fireballs (like, say, Street Fighter 4). But when it comes to watching fights, I’ve lost some interest in the artfully choreographed wire work of kung fu flicks. These days I prefer my bloodsport to be less Bloodsport and more Mixed Martial Arts. I’ve been watching UFC fights since the first, dreadful, ridiculous pay per few events in the 90’s. The sport has come a long way for me since then, ruining my interest in boxing, wrestling, and even martial arts movies along the way. While a dull UFC fight can be as yawn inducing as Steven Seagal’s latest flick, a great, exciting, balls to the wall UFC is as exciting as exciting gets. In THQ’s new video game version of UFC, almost every fight is that exciting.

With its combination of punches, kicks, grappling, and joint locks, MMA is a complicated sport, and I was wary about how the game would be able to capture that kind of diversity, but UFC: Undisputed rises to the challenge, offering a complicated but intuitive game that matches the sport its emulating. Through combinations of button presses and analog stick movements, you can punch and kick with either leg at three different heights and with three different modifiers. When you’re in close your fighter throws knees and elbows. You can grapple the neck in a clinch or shoot for the legs for a take down. Once on the ground, button pressing and swings of the right analog stick make your fighter scramble for better position, rain down blows, or try and submit the opponent with a joint lock. All of this wears away at your fighter’s stamina, so it’s wise to take short breathers and pick your shots rather than just flail away.

So yeah, the game’s complicated. Or, if you prefer, it’s deep. (Video clip below the jump.)

Read the rest of this entry »

The Sarasata-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company Art of Fighting (AOF) is giving away two tickets to its next event, Rumble at Robarts 3, on June 13. All you need to do is visit the Free Shit section of Creative Loafing and fill out the web form. The fight card is set to feature fighters from Tampa and some international locations, as well as two high-caliber MMA pro’s: former TapOut show fighter and knock-out artist TJ Cook, who faces WEC vet Arriell Gandulla.

Here is a fight video of Cook:

Read the rest of this entry »

In the wake of the recent Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 98 last Saturday in Las Vegas, Nev., the general public as well as many mixed martial arts (MMA) fans have been discussing the value and expectations held toward MMA champions. In other words, did the defending Light Heavyweight Champion, Rashad Evans, let them down because he was not well prepared enough? Or was his challenger, Lyoto Machida from Brazil, simply the next Bruce Lee?

Watch the fight video of Machida vs. Evans and judge for yourself:

It is no secret that Western culture celebrates winners and trashes losers. In martial arts culture however, losing is actually considered a learning experience. In that sense, a fighter learns more from a loss than from a win. Granted he may lose his title belt and bonus pay alongside the fight. Nevertheless, a loss never determines the course of the future, whether it applies to a professional MMA fighter or a hobby martial artist. Besides, losing is as much part of fighting as punching, kicking, sweating and the spilled blood.

Read the rest of this entry »

Blood seems to be everywhere inside the octagon. The fighters look like they just walked off a minefield. Brutal punches, knees, kicks and, not to forget, ruthless ground-and-pounding are the very trademarks of mixed martial arts (MMA), also known as ultimate fighting and cage fighting.  Scenes from the movie Fight Club with Brad Pitt seem mild by comparison. Yet the popularity of MMA is evident in the recent increase of MMA classes for children and adults in the Tampa Bay area as well as the rest of the United States. Are these people out of their minds to expose themselves or their kids to mindless physical violence? Recent research findings will surprise you! Read the rest of this entry »

Lifetime TV plans a reality show that features female mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, including the Rare Ninja, Caroline Portugal from Tampa, Fla. The series is supposed to follow a similar concept as the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) well known reality show, as well as TapOut’s recruiting and sponsoring show. One major difference of the Lifetime documentary-style show, however, will be the focus on the lives, training, and professional debuts of  female MMA fighters. The launch is tentatively scheduled for later this year and will give female martial artists the opportunity to find sponsors.

Portugal said in a recent interview that she is very excited about this chance for women’s MMA to finally create its own niche after years of neglect by the male dominated MMA world. Moreover, she hopes the show will inspire other women to become involved in martial arts on some level, even if it’s only for the acquisition of self-defense skills.

(Videos after the break) Read the rest of this entry »

Two wins, two TKOs, two Tampa mixed martial artists—would you like some blood with that? Haki Lee and Eddie Boza both emerged victorious from their bouts at the mixed martial arts (MMA) event Rumble at Robarts 2 hosted by the promotion company Art of Fighting (AOF) in Sarasota on April 25, 2009.

Lee dominated his opponent Keith McCabe during the majority of the fight mainly through his superior conditioning and jiu jitsu skills. While McCabe started off with a noticeable height advantage that made it easy for him to land well-aimed kicks to Lee’s head and legs, Lee proved to have more endurance and a quicker sense of reaction when he managed a successful take-down in round one after connecting a hard kick to Mc Cabe’s body. Both fighters were mercilessly pounding each other on the ground with Lee attempting several unsuccessful rear-naked chokes and one painful looking arm bar that almost snapped McCabe’s elbow. In round two McCabe was visibly out of gas and put little effort into protecting himself from Lee’s vicious elbows during the ground-and- pound resulting in brutal damage and severe bleeding from McCabe’s eye. The referee called the fight and awarded Lee the win via TKO in round two. Read the rest of this entry »

By Astrid Bidanec

If you are a hard-core mixed martial arts (MMA) fan and you enjoy watching the blood spill live, then you should not miss the action at Robarts Arena in Sarasota this Saturday at 7 p.m. Among the 20 professional MMA fighters brawling for fame and cash will be two of Tampa’s finest: Haki Lee and Eddie Boza. Also on the Saturday fight card and well known in Tampa MMA circles are Dave “Pay Me” Yost from St. Petersburg, Carlos Gonzales from Dunellon, and Nicolae Cury from Deerfield Beach.

The event will be the second one hosted by the Sarasota based MMA promotion company Art Of Fighting (AOF) and will provide nine of the fighters from the first event on Jan. 24, 2009 the opportunity to duplicate their successes. Among the eleven new additions to the fight card are two debuting fighters from the Tampa Bay area: Ron Ritter from Largo and Raul Amaya from Bradenton. The main event will consist of Tom “Trauma” Sauer  vs. Rocky Batastini.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/3994235[/vimeo] Read the rest of this entry »

By Astrid Bidanec

Boffil clinches Hernandez

TAMPA, Fla., April 17, 2009— Real Fighting Championships (RFC) hosted the mixed martial arts (MMA) event, “Street Kings,” at a sold-out A La Carte Pavilion. Ring announcer Duane Spires dedicated a moment of silence to Charles “Mask” Lewis, who died in a car accident on March 11, 2009. Lewis was the co-founder of the well-known MMA promotion and clothing company, TapOut.

The fight card consisted of eight professional bouts with Eddy “The Hulk” Hernandez vs. Chris Boffil as main event.

The Hulk made it clear that he meant business when he signaled Boffil that he would cut his throat as referee Hosegood explained the fight rules. Read the rest of this entry »