Saturday, September 25, 2010
Never Neverland Trailer (video)
prAna is proud to support the Never Neverland film as a tool to raise awareness to the plight of hundreds of thousands of orphans in Swaziland… Swazi adults are disappearing every day, leaving a nation the size of New Jersey … Continue reading →
Bellator 30: Cancer survivor Baker wins; Makovsky and West make 135-title fight
Bryan Baker looked like he was dealt a possible death sentence back in April when he was diagnosed with chronic leukemia. The middleweight mixed martial artist kept the news a secret to almost everyone outside his inner circle. He's fought the disease galantly and showed similar moxie in taking out veteran fighter Jeremy Horn as part of Bellator 30 in Louisville, Ky. The leukemia is now in remission. The Baker-Horn fight was part of a Bellator card televised on FoxSports Net and held in an interesting setting, 4th Street Live, an outdoor entertainment district in the same town as the Kentucky Derby. Baker (pictured on left) showed he was a thoroughbred in spite of the terrible disease he's fighting. The 24-year-old had a tough time dealing with Horn's grappling in the first round but was able to keep the fight standing for most of the final two rounds and bust up Horn's face. Baker got a unanimous decision victory, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. Bellator also has its bantamweight tournament final set after Ed West and Zach Makovsky cruised to victories. The 5-foot-9 West was simply too long for Jose Vega. Vega, a good wrestler, got the fight to the ground in the first and second, but was in defensive mode the entire time that he had top control. West worked for triangle chokes, multiple armbars, a rear-naked choke and an even a kimura. He never got the finish but he did land a nasty shot to start the second that split open Vega's left eyebrow. West got a split decision win, 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29. Makovsky was the shorter fighter in his battle against Bryan Goldsby but he had no such problems on the ground. He was active moving from position to position maintaining top control the majority of the time after landing one his nine takedowns. He rolled in the first two rounds and cruised to a unanimous decision win, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. Makovsky (11-2) and West (15-4) will meet on Oct. 14 for the Bellator Season 3 Bantamweight tournament title fight in Kansas City at Bellator 32. Brit Jimmy Wallhead is scheduled to fight Ryan Thomas on that card.
Jimmie Rivera Beats Abel Cullum in King of the Cage Battle
by Michael David SmithJimmie Rivera and Abel Cullum waged a highly entertaining five-round battle for the King of the Cage bantamweight belt on Friday night, with HDNet viewers treated to a good fight that ended with Rivera taking Cullum's title by split decision.
It was one of the better shows King of the Cage has put on HDNet, which needed the Rivera-Cullum main event to entertain the fans and make up for the fact that former heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer abruptly pulled out of his scheduled fight with Ron Sparks. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
It was one of the better shows King of the Cage has put on HDNet, which needed the Rivera-Cullum main event to entertain the fans and make up for the fact that former heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer abruptly pulled out of his scheduled fight with Ron Sparks. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Dream 16: Omigawa, Takaya, Hansen Impress in Featherweight Bouts
Filed under: DREAMThe best featherweights fighting in Japanese MMA these days are Dream champion Bibiano Fernandes and Sengoku champion Marlon Sandro. But many of the best of the rest were in the ring Saturday at Dream 16, a fight card that featured five featherweight bouts.
Of the 10 featherweight fighters in action, the best of the bunch was Michihiro Omigawa, who beat the American Cole Escovedo with a straight arm bar two and a half minutes into the first round. The submission appeared to break Escovedo's arm and showed once again that Omigawa is one of the truly elite fighters in the 145-pound and under class. Omigawa has been one of the sport's most active fighters over the last couple of years, fighting seven times in 2009 and three so far this year. He's also been one of the best, climbing up the featherweight rankings by going 8-1-1 since the start of 2009.
Of the 10 featherweight fighters in action, the best of the bunch was Michihiro Omigawa, who beat the American Cole Escovedo with a straight arm bar two and a half minutes into the first round. The submission appeared to break Escovedo's arm and showed once again that Omigawa is one of the truly elite fighters in the 145-pound and under class. Omigawa has been one of the sport's most active fighters over the last couple of years, fighting seven times in 2009 and three so far this year. He's also been one of the best, climbing up the featherweight rankings by going 8-1-1 since the start of 2009.
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Magical Lily Pad Pond
We rose about a half hour before first light. As we put on our warm layers and lifejackets, the first light creeps over the hills. We push off one by one in our blue kayaks, there are only three of us on this excursion to the lily pad pond. We paddle across the calm bay [...]
Fedor Emelianenko Out Until January, Fabricio Werdum Eyes March Strikeforce Return
Fedor Emelianenko won't fight again for Strikeforce until January at the earliest as his management continues negotiations to finalize a contract extension.
Antonio Silva, who had been targeted to face Fedor in December, will instead take on Alistair Overeem's older brother Valentijn, while heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum has his sights set on a March return.
Antonio Silva, who had been targeted to face Fedor in December, will instead take on Alistair Overeem's older brother Valentijn, while heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum has his sights set on a March return.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Diaries Down Under Episode 4
Episode 4 of Diaries Down Under: road tripping Queenstown to Mt Hutt. It's still firing in New Zealand.
The Advantage of Maui Private Charters
Whether you are interested in whale watching, scuba diving or a sunset cruise, Maui has a package just right for you. However, there is something truly special about the ability to customize your vacation plans to your specific party and needs. This is where a Maui private boat charter can enhance your tropical getaway. Private [...]
Shots from South Korea
Korea was always a lucky place for me. I could finish once 17th and once 19th. But so far I took the wrong trains. But some days are left to go! I got some shots for you from South Korea. Some of them are mine, some are by John Carter. We had one day with [...]
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Fast Stencil! Put your name on your gear!
Scuba Diver Girls Agree! Even a four year old can do it! Watch four year old Clancy use the Fast Stencil! Fastencil is the revolutionary Do-It-Yourself ID kit for all your scuba gear. I’s the only system in the world that will let YOU “Personalize” your stuff with perfect expert results – everytime! �And the [...]
Video: Whitewater Kayakers Running the Plunge on Icicle Creek
I was over in Leavenworth one evening last week taking a look at the Plunge drop on Icicle Creek with Charles from AquaSports and we happened to run into this guy Nels, who told us he thought Darren Albright was going to be running it soon.� Sure enough, a few minutes later Darren came down [...]
The low single! Pudzianowski uses wrestling to maul Butterbean
Fat guys and wrestling don't go together. At least not with James Toney and Eric "Butterbean" Esch. Randy Couture, an accomplished amateur wrestler used the low single to takedown and eventually take out Toney. Mariusz Pudzianowski has zero wrestling background but even he knows that dudes with huge guts can't defend the lower part of their legs. Pudzianowski danced around Butterbean for a minute before he shot at the 400-pounder's leg and drove through for a takedown. On the ground, Pudzianowski unloaded with 70-plus shots before Butterbean, who was like an elephant on its back, was saved a few seconds later. A win over a grossly out of shape Butterbean, 44, isn't much to be proud of but it did allow the former World's Strongman champ to get back on the horse after he was destroyed by Tim Sylvia back in June. Pudzianowski (3-1) had major conditioning issues in that fight. He gassed within three minutes with his whole body turning purple. Pudzianowski was noticably less shredded in this fight.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Dave?s International Scale of River Difficulty (Funny)
I think this is Copyright 2002 by Dave Petterson of Calgary Paddlers, but it’s on a million websites so I’m posting it here because who are we kidding, it’s funny.� Here goes: “Someone was asking me about my class IV comfort level the other day, and my answer was something like “I’m comfortable that I [...]
Island traveller
It�s a special trip on the Canaries this year. We first arrived on Fuerteventura and had a good time for about a week at Sotavento. Afterwards we travelled to Lanzarote reporting from the second PWA Freestyle event. The action was great. Sarah-Quita took another title and Gollito could defeat Kiri in the final. We stayed [...]
TUF 12 preview: Big names galore pitch 'The Heel v. The Hero'
Countdown to TUF 12UltimateFighter.comSee More: TUF 12 • Georges St Pierre • Josh Koscheck • lightweights
You could see this storyline coming from a mile away. Josh Koscheck and Georges St. Pierre are the coaches for Season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter" and battle lines have been drawn. Do you side with the brash, cocky dude or the humble, respectful one? In this preview video, the UFC brings on board some of its biggest stars like Randy Couture, Kenny FLorian, Matt Hughes, B.J. Penn and Jon Jones to talk about why they love the show. Other fighters like Dan Hardy, Ryan Bader and Chael Sonnen select which coach they think will do the best job. Bader likes Koscheck. Sonnen chooses GSP. Hardy goes one further saying if he were on Koscheck's team he'd ask to leave. It looks like another good season with plenty of heat and even an appearance by Mike Tyson! TUF 12 debuts next Wednesday following Ultimate Fight Night 22 from Austin, Tx.
You could see this storyline coming from a mile away. Josh Koscheck and Georges St. Pierre are the coaches for Season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter" and battle lines have been drawn. Do you side with the brash, cocky dude or the humble, respectful one? In this preview video, the UFC brings on board some of its biggest stars like Randy Couture, Kenny FLorian, Matt Hughes, B.J. Penn and Jon Jones to talk about why they love the show. Other fighters like Dan Hardy, Ryan Bader and Chael Sonnen select which coach they think will do the best job. Bader likes Koscheck. Sonnen chooses GSP. Hardy goes one further saying if he were on Koscheck's team he'd ask to leave. It looks like another good season with plenty of heat and even an appearance by Mike Tyson! TUF 12 debuts next Wednesday following Ultimate Fight Night 22 from Austin, Tx.
Monday, September 20, 2010
UFC 119 on tap: Can Cro Cop fight with injured eye?
It's always something with Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. His ride with UFC has been tumultuous. Between confusion over reports that he was bailing on the organization after UFC 99 and a litany of prefight injuries, Cro Cop has been an adventure for the promotion. The latest drama will play out this week. Hopefully it's done by tomorrow or Wednesday. A Croatian report emerged last week that the main eventer at UFC 119 suffered an eye injury late in his training camp and may have to pull out of his fight against Frank Mir. Mirko Filipovic may have suffered a serious eye injury in his last training session before flying to Indianapolis. Sources close to the team claim the injury is of a serious nature and could put his UFC 119 with Frank Mir in jeopardy. Cro Cop has allegedly seen by a series of specialist and it's still unclear whether or not he will travel to the United States for the bout.UFC president Dana White went into damage control on Twitter saying Cro Cop was fine. Then Cro Cop threw more gas on the fire during this quick interview before he boarded a plane for Indianapolis. "What can I say? I'm leaving for Indianapolis, this is my 70th fight. That's a lot. I had bad luck in preparations. At the last training, in the last minute, I got a pretty bad eye injury. But I think it will be alright. I have to suck it up. I didn't want to cancel the fight under any circumstances. I took this fight to do a favor to UFC. I wouldn't do that fight for anybody else than UFC."Cro Cop says he refuses to back out. "I am ready to take the risk but I can say you this, all the money in the world is not worth getting my eye injured but at this point there is no chance in hell to back up. Frank Mir is gonna be my toughest fight in my UFC career. It won't be easy." Beyond the eye injury, it doesn't sound like Cro Cop is coming into the fight in tip top shape. "It would be easier for me if I had time to do a full preparation cycle but at the end of the day that's my problem. I accepted the fight under these conditions," said Cro Cop. "I was on vacation when they called me and I just couldn't say no to them. Not because of the money but because of respect to the guys at UFC. They provided me with everything and I secured my life existence fighting for them. To be completely honest, the money was pretty decent and I can assure you that no one would decline that offer."Cro Cop further confirms the lack of a real training camp when he talked about his conditioning. "I will try to do my best, more as a routine fight, and if the fight goes to the third round it will be a handicap for me. But you know, that's life and nothing is ideal." Good for Cro Cop. He stepped up on short notice. He's been a tough dude during his stint with UFC. He took a beating at the hands of Junior Dos Santos and withstood the early pummeling by Pat Barry before emerging with a win. Will he stick it out with an eye injury against Mir? "Again I have to be honest, when you have 70 fights under your belt your priorities change. There is a fear of injuries but I assure I will give my best. I will most certainly go for a win but I think I did a lot just by accepting this fight. That's my opinion."
Dwarf looks to make it as a pro MMA fighter
There are some shorter guys fighting in the bantamweight division. And even more may be on the way when WEC adds a 125-pound division, but a dwarf fighting professionally is something we've never seen on the big stage. Tyler Freeland wants to be the first little person to break through and make a living fighting. Just 5-foot tall, Freeland is seen here sparring with MMA blogger Aaron Tru. He looks to have some skills after logging 21 amateur fights. "Growing up sucked. I'd get picked on and made fun of all my life," said Freeland, who tried wrestling in high school to channel his aggression. Now he's moved to Las Vegas to work on MMA with Shawn Tompkins and his crew at the TapouT Training Center. Freeland has hypochondroplasia and never got taller than his current height. He shouldn't have problems finding fights down at 145 pounds, but he does face certain challenges. His limited reach makes striking difficult and as you can see in this fight video from 2009, he's especially susceptible to submissions when sitting in someone's guard. On the positive side, he'll be a tough guy to defend the takedown against. Either way, it's a nice story to follow and gives little people a role model.
Palhares gives fast apology to Marquardt for greasing accusations
Rousimar Palhares admitted he was wrong about the greasing accusations he threw at Nate Marquardt. He apologized after the fight for making the accusation, saying: "I'm very sorry for the accusations I made," Palhares told MMAjunkie.com. "Nate Marquardt did not cheat in any way, and I'm very sorry to him and his team for my actions in the fight."Palhares is known for getting fighters in painful leg locks, and Marquardt prepared for that by shaving his legs. Freshly shaved legs are harder to get a hold of, but are by no means against the rules.Palhares' team said that he has faced greased fighters in the past, and that makes him paranoid. At the same time, they made no excuses for their fighter."He should have never stopped," [Palhares' coach Murilio] Bustamante said. "Nate won fair and square and did exactly what he should have."Kudos to Palhares for owning up to his mistake. That bit of humility prevented a long drama, as when B.J. Penn accused Georges St. Pierre, Marquardt's teammate, of greasing.
What you need to know from the premiere of "The Ultimate Fighter"
The twelfth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" started up on Wednesday night. The show gives its winners a chance at a contract with the UFC. This season, coached by TUF 1 alum Josh Koscheck and welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, features lightweight fighters.What do you need to know from the first episode? Cagewriter has all the details. 1. Dana White's pre-show speech has not changed: He stood in front of the TUF hopefuls, flanked by Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck, and told them to give it their all. The wildcard format from last year has also not changed. The fighters need to win their first bout to get in the house, but after the fighters have made it, two of the opening-round losers will fight for a chance for the quarterfinals. 2. These fighters made the show: Marc Stevens, Spencer Paige, Nam Phan, Andy Main, Jonathan Brookins, Sako Chivitchian, Jeffrey Lentz, Alex "Bruce LeeRoy" Caceres, Michael Johnson, Aaron Wilkinson, Kyle Watson, Sevak Magakian, Cody McKenzie, and Dane Sayers. 3. These fighters impressed: Stevens, with a 13-second knockout, Phan who finished off WEC vet Mike Budnik with a liver shot, Lentz beat the crap out of Daniel Head after GSP crossed his name out on the list, Alex Caceres for choking out Paul Barrow and having a spot-on Bruce Lee imitation, McKenzie for choking out Amir Khillah cold -- a move predicted by GSP, and Dane Sayes and Ariel Sexton in the fight of the night. 4. High alert on troublemakers: Watson, Johnson and Caceres alluded to the idea that they might be troublemakers. Keep an eye out for them over the course of the season. 5. Alex Caceres, nicknamed Bruce Leroy, wore a yellow jumpsuit to walk out to the cage. If you don't see the coolness in that, well, learn son. What we have to look forward to this season: Drinking, tension in the house, Koscheck doesn't like GSP, and Mike Tyson? Mike Tyson.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
2011 K2 Snowboards now available
I’m writing this post in July in the middle of some sweltering heat and it feels plain wrong! But, having said that, when your life revolves around snowboards and snowboarding it’s good to see the newest of the new snowboarding gear regardless. We just saw this week that
Nate Marquardt TKOs Rousimar Palhares at UFC Fight Night 22
by Michael David SmithIn a bizarre ending to the main event at UFC Fight Night 22, Nate Marquardt knocked out Rousimar Palhares with a series of huge punches on the ground -- only to have Palhares appear to complain afterward that Marquardt had been cheating by greasing up his legs.
Palhares seemed to have Marquardt exactly where he wanted him on the ground, sinking in one of his signature heel hooks. But Marquardt pulled his leg free, and when he did, Palhares complained to referee Herb Dean that Marquardt must have been greasing. It was stupid of Palhares to complain to the referee during the fight, and Marquardt made him pay for it, landing a hard punch and then a bunch more punches until Dean stopped the fight. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Palhares seemed to have Marquardt exactly where he wanted him on the ground, sinking in one of his signature heel hooks. But Marquardt pulled his leg free, and when he did, Palhares complained to referee Herb Dean that Marquardt must have been greasing. It was stupid of Palhares to complain to the referee during the fight, and Marquardt made him pay for it, landing a hard punch and then a bunch more punches until Dean stopped the fight. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
'Fat fool' provides comic relief for many at UFC 118
Who doesn't have mixed feelings about James Toney and UFC 118? Sure he brought a lot of new media and attention to the event but one has to question whether the sport really benefitted from what Toney did in the Octagon. He received a rumored $750,000 up front for his efforts. No one expected the aging boxer to put up a great fight but could he at least pretend like he was going try? For me, all hope for the fight being even halfway decent, was finished as the scale read 237 pounds on Friday. Toney either had no shame or just said "screw it, I'm making my money. So why train?"He was ridiculed all over the country by folks who rarely buy UFC pay-per-views or attend the numerous viewing parties. Toney was fodder for casual fans like Luke O'Brien, who posted his recap of UFC 118 on Deadspin. If, over the last nine months, the boxer had trained to defend even one more
takedown than the number of cheeseburgers he seemingly stuffed in his gob, he
might have made the night more interesting. As it was, he didn't get to throw a
single punch before Randy Couture grabbed his ankle and, in slow-motion, dragged
him to the mat. Hitting a "low single" is one of the more insulting occurrences
in grappling, the rough equivalent of winning a chess game in four moves.
He's right. When was the last time a mixed martial artist even thought about a low single? The result would be getting your head kicked off into the mezzanine. Couture soon had the manatee in an arm triangle. Fat Toney looked so lost on the
ground that he didn't even know how to tap out properly.Apparently even referee Mario Yamasaki sort of mocked Toney. When Toney was sitting and pinned against the cage, Couture tried to tell the ref that his opponent verbally tapped. Yamasaki responded by telling Toney that he may want to just tap. After the fight, James Toney offered a few smart words
on courage: "Anybody else in boxing ... wouldn't have done what I done because
they ain't got the heart or the balls that I do. You know what I'm saying? My
balls. ... I got big walnuts. Not little nuts." Toney is correct, he does have guts but he should've also pointed out that no one else in boxing would've gone into the Octagon in horrific shape and dragged along boxing's reputation to take a beating. There was a lot more at stake here than just a single fight. Toney's lack of desire to take his training and conditioning seriously now makes him a footnote forever in the MMA versus boxing discussion. Deadspin also reports that Boston backed up its reputation as one of the roughest towns for fans. With the testorone and beer flowing there was plenty of tomfoolery in the stands at the TD Garden. In non-flack-approved action, a terrifying donnybrook among fat men erupted in
the upper deck before the event started. Bodies went flying. The wife of a pro
fighter sitting near me gasped in horror. One fat man almost plummeted from the
loge to great injury or death. At least two other crowd scuffles broke out
later. Each time, the pros behind me gawked like regular fans. Despite having an
armada of cops on hand, the Garden security staff seemed ill-equipped to handle
the raw New England aggression incited by MMA. In fact, one sleeping security
guard allowed an irate fan to storm up to the octagon and berate Marcus Davis
for shaming his Irish brethren This is a good read. Go check it out over at Deadspin.
takedown than the number of cheeseburgers he seemingly stuffed in his gob, he
might have made the night more interesting. As it was, he didn't get to throw a
single punch before Randy Couture grabbed his ankle and, in slow-motion, dragged
him to the mat. Hitting a "low single" is one of the more insulting occurrences
in grappling, the rough equivalent of winning a chess game in four moves.
He's right. When was the last time a mixed martial artist even thought about a low single? The result would be getting your head kicked off into the mezzanine. Couture soon had the manatee in an arm triangle. Fat Toney looked so lost on the
ground that he didn't even know how to tap out properly.Apparently even referee Mario Yamasaki sort of mocked Toney. When Toney was sitting and pinned against the cage, Couture tried to tell the ref that his opponent verbally tapped. Yamasaki responded by telling Toney that he may want to just tap. After the fight, James Toney offered a few smart words
on courage: "Anybody else in boxing ... wouldn't have done what I done because
they ain't got the heart or the balls that I do. You know what I'm saying? My
balls. ... I got big walnuts. Not little nuts." Toney is correct, he does have guts but he should've also pointed out that no one else in boxing would've gone into the Octagon in horrific shape and dragged along boxing's reputation to take a beating. There was a lot more at stake here than just a single fight. Toney's lack of desire to take his training and conditioning seriously now makes him a footnote forever in the MMA versus boxing discussion. Deadspin also reports that Boston backed up its reputation as one of the roughest towns for fans. With the testorone and beer flowing there was plenty of tomfoolery in the stands at the TD Garden. In non-flack-approved action, a terrifying donnybrook among fat men erupted in
the upper deck before the event started. Bodies went flying. The wife of a pro
fighter sitting near me gasped in horror. One fat man almost plummeted from the
loge to great injury or death. At least two other crowd scuffles broke out
later. Each time, the pros behind me gawked like regular fans. Despite having an
armada of cops on hand, the Garden security staff seemed ill-equipped to handle
the raw New England aggression incited by MMA. In fact, one sleeping security
guard allowed an irate fan to storm up to the octagon and berate Marcus Davis
for shaming his Irish brethren This is a good read. Go check it out over at Deadspin.
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