Saturday, March 12, 2011
New art from Fernanda O'Connell
www.clubofthewaves.com/surf-artist/fernanda-oconnell.php
www.fernandaoconnell.com
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/860OBaSssas/new-art-from-fernanda-oconnell.html
Yoshihiro Akiyama Out of UFC 128
Friday's devastating earthquake in Japan has forced Yoshihiro Akiyama out of his scheduled bout at UFC 128 next week against Nate Marquardt. He will be replaced by Dan Miller. The news was first reported by MMA Diehards, and the UFC confirmed the change quickly afterward at its official website.
UFC president Dana White initially reported on Twitter on Friday night that "Akiyama and his family are safe," and that the Japanese fighter would be Stateside for the fight. But several hours later the news had changed.
"Yoshihiro Akiyama will not be able to participate at UFC 128 due to the tragedy in Japan," White said in the UFC's official statement.
Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/12/yoshihiro-akiyama-out-of-ufc-128/
Aoki is back in the states while Irvin scurries off to Europe
Strikeforce is putting together a fascinating card in San Diego. The April 9th event was originally was supposed to feature part two of the heavyweight Grand Prix's first round. Because of licensing issues with Josh Barnett, those fights were moved to Dallas in June.
Scott Coker has thrown together an excellent card in its place. Nick Diaz will defend his 170 title against Paul Daley and Gilbert Melendez puts his 155 title on the line versus Tatsuya Kawajiri. The latest addition to the card is former top five lightweight Shinya Aoki. MMA-Japan.com had the original news.
The infamous Japanese submission artist will battle Lyle Beerbohm. It's an interesting booking with Beerbohm (16-1) having just suffered his first career loss at the hands of Pat Healy. That said, Aoki (26-5) is also coming off a devastating loss at the hands of Yuichiro Nagashima. That was the bizarre fight fought under varying rules at Dynamite!! 2010. The first round featured K-1 rules. Aoki drop kicked and flopped his way through those three minutes. In round two, the MMA portion of the fight, Aoki got drilled in the opening seconds by a knee and went night night (4:05 mark).
Aoki hits the ground in Southern California in less than four weeks, while James Irvin has to leave the state and country for that matter to get a fight. Irvin, who has multiple positive tests for banned substances, is expected to fight in Poland on Mar. 19.
If he goes through with the fight against Mamed Khalidov, it could effectively end his fighting career in the U.S. Irvin was dumped from this week's Shark Fights 14 card in Texas when it was revealed he tested positive again for a banned substance back in December after a win in Calfornia over Jorge Oliveira. He is suspended through this December. Irvin's checkered history with positive tests and injuries is unrivaled in MMA.
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Friday, March 11, 2011
Video analysis: Hendo wins another title, what's next?
Many were ready to toss Dan Henderson on the scrap heap following his upset loss at the hands of Jake Shields. Back at light heavyweight, Hendo has responded nicely with huge knockout wins over Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante.
How big were those wins? Where does that put Henderson in the pecking order in the middleweight and light heavyweight rankings? Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to talk about Henderson's future in Strikeforce and also addressed some fans talking about a possible fight against Fedor Emelianenko.
My First Fight: Rashad Evans
Filed under: UFC
When Rashad Evans showed up to his very first MMA training session, he was pretty sure one of two things was going to happen: either he was going to learn to fight, or he was going to get robbed at gunpoint. He was really hoping for the former, but from the looks of the alleged gym a stranger had just driven him to, the latter seemed more likely.
"It looked like a set-up," Evans says, looking back. "I looked at the building and was like, this sh-t cannot have a credible gym in there."
Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/10/my-first-fight-rashad-evans/
My Reaction To Winning The Blog Contest (Blog #1)
Source: http://whitewaterraftingblog.oars.com/post/my-reaction-to-winning-the-blog-contest-blog-1
COTW wins international design award!
The Pixel Awards are a cutting-edge, international website design award, annually honoring compelling sites that have shown excellence in web design and development.
Our Editor remarked: "We're so stoked on this nomination, and not just for us, but for the recognition it gets our incredibly talented and hard-working featured surf artists and photographers".
You can see all the nominees here.
Club Of The Waves is listed under the Art category!
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/ot2MkrTJVXU/cotw-wins-international-design-award.html
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Now that's a hematoma! Jimmo inflates Lewis' eye at MFC 28
Ryan Jimmo has carved out a reputation as a points fighter, but he did a nice job of forcing the doctor's hands at Maximum Fighting Championship 28 by busting up Dwayne Lewis. After peppering Lewis with kicks for 11 minutes, Jimmo got the fight to the ground where he pounded away as the former champion's face. The skin below Lewis' eye blew up like a balloon forcing a third round stoppage and handing the MFC's 205 title to Jimmo.
"Whenever he came wild, I just made sure I evaded," Jimmo told MMACanada.net (Video - 2:15 mark). "So what I did, instead of evading that time, I just planted and threw. I knew he just didn't think I was going to come with anything. I'm pretty sure I caught him with a right hand. Right after, we clinched up, he went down almost like jelly. I knew I rocked him. The takedown was almost way too effortless."
Since an early ouster on Season 8 of "The Ultimate Fighter," Jimmo has put together a solid run in Canada. The competition hasn't been the best, but the light heavyweight looks like a good prospect. With a karate background, he possesses awkward timing and had Lewis confused most of the fight. Now it's Mark Pavelich's job to bring in some bigger name challengers for Jimmo in 2011.
The best story of the night came from Drew Fickett. With all that Fickett has battled outside the ring and cage, it's hard to believe the MMA veteran is only 31 years old.
Fickett was a slated to face MFC lightweight champ Antonio McKee, but the one-and-done UFC fighter had to back out the fight last week because of a knee injury. Instead UFC-veteran Matt Veach filled in. Veach, who was 1-2 with the UFC and actually manhandled current UFC lightweight champ Frank Edgar at times during their December 2009 fight, looked like an amateur against Fickett.
Fickett's as slick as it gets in the submission game, so it was bizarre to see Veach choose to take it to the ground early and jumped into his opponent's guard. It took just a few seconds for Fickett (41-13) to throw his leg up, secure an arm and lock on an armbar for the finish. All that in just 36 seconds.
Fickett, who has fought a well-chronicled battle against alcholism, signed a long-term deal with MFC. Let's hope he keeps it together and we get to see him face McKee in the near future.
TUF 9 alum Richie Whitson (11-1) was also a winner, although the decision was a tight one against Curtis DeMarce. On TUF 9, Whitson lost to Ross Pearson, the eventual show victor.
Former UFC light heavyweight Rodney Wallace (10-4, 0-3 UFC) was taken out by Emanuel Newton via second round submission.
Ebersole's manscaping at UFC 127 could start a trend
Brian Ebersole's surprising win at UFC 127 came with unorthodox striking, a Fight of the Night bonuns and most importantly, epic manscaping. Ebersole's chest hair was shaped into an arrow pointing up, something he's done for the past few years to show his opponent where to hit. Could his excellent UFC debut inspire more MMA manscaping?We have a few suggestions.
Forrest Griffin: The UFC light heavyweight and original Ultimate Fighter has been pushing his book about surviving the apocalypse, so why not really commit to it and show it on his chest?
Dominick Cruz: The UFC bantamweight champ is known for being light on his feet and dancing around the cage, so he may as well let opponents know what they're getting into before the fight starts. A pair of ballet slippers should do the trick.
Georges St. Pierre: The French-Canadian wears the fleur-de-lis on many of his walkout shirts and usually shows up at his fights waxed (we are assuming) and tanned, but shaving a fleur-de-lis into his chest hair at UFC 130 would truly show devotion to Quebecois.
Clay Guida: The Carpenter is a huge fan of "The Big Lebowski," and is just crazy enough to try this. It would take a talented manscaper to do the job, but who wouldn't want to see the Dude represented on Guida's chest?
UFC on Versus 3: Munoz scores a huge KO against Dollaway
Mark Munoz and C.B. Dollaway were decorated collegiate wrestlers, but they said during the prefight interview that they were willing to slug it out. Maybe Dollaway should've stuck to the grappling.
He scored a takedown early, let Munoz get up and then got bombed by a straight right. Dollaway fell to his back and got nailed by two more hammerfists. Referee Mario Yamasaki had to jump into save the downed fighter just 54 seconds in.
A few seconds later Dollaway (11-3, 5-3 UFC) regained his senses and couldn't understand why the fight was stopped. His eyes were glassy and he looked lost on the ground after the final hammerfists.
Since his move to middleweight in 2009, Munoz (10-2, 7-2 UFC) has been very good with five wins against just one loss.
Sanchez shows amazing guts in taking controversial decision from Kampmann
That's a fight worthy of a rematch or better yet two more rounds. That's if either Diego Sanchez or Martin Kampmann could've gone another second after beating the hell out of each for 15 minutes.
Sanchez looked like the more busted up fighter, but he still got the nod on all three scorecards, 29-28, for the unanimous decision victory in the main event at UFC on Versus 3.
"I knew I caught him with some big shots too. We both got caught with some big shot. I got cut," Sanchez told UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "I knew I scored points with that takedown. I thought I won the fight by putting the pressure on and controlling the end of the fight."
Kampmann, who said he suffered a broken right hand, sounded devastated by the decision.
"I thought I won the fight. I think I won all three rounds," Kampmann said. "Definitely, Diego caught me with some good shots as well. I think look at his face. I think I won the fight. He was throwing a lot of flurries, but most of it wasn’t landing. I feel I was landing way more and cleaner shots. I'm very disappointed. I can't put words on this."
Sanchez (23-4, 12-4 UFC) landed some heavy shots, but not nearly as many overall as Kampmann. Compustrike said Kampmann outlanded Sanchez in every round. The total was 97-45. Sanchez was also 1-of-15 on takedown attempts. Most of the Mexican-American's punches landed were power shots at 39 of the 45.
FightMetric had Kampmann outlanding Sanchez, but by a closer margin of 79-51. In round-by-round strikes, Kampmann won 2-of-3 rounds. The first was 33-10, second was 27-22 and third was a tie at 19-19. In that final round, Sanchez was 19-of-88 and Kampmann was 19-of-68.
Update: Sanchez and Kampmann were rewarded for great efforts. Their war was dubbed Fight of the Night and each got a $60,000 bonus.
Seconds after the fight, UFC president Dana White tweeted that he thought Sanchez definitely won. Meanwhile, Rogan couldn't understand how Sanchez could've possibly won. That's the kind of fight it was. The first round was a blowout, but the second and third were difficult to score.
Getting the win was heckuva comeback for Sanchez. In the middle of the second round, he looked like he was on his way to a certain loss. The right side of his face was swollen and he had a nasty crescent cut under his right eye. From the opening seconds of the fight, he was also bleeding badly from his mouth.
Sanchez didn't give up and his constant pressure suckered Kampmann into a firefight. With two minutes left in the second, the Dutch striking specialist allowed himself to get trapped on the cage. Sanchez fired 8-10 shots at Kampmann and nailed him with two big lefts. He'd also cut Kampmann over his right eye just seconds before. The blood seemed to throw off Kampmann mentally.
In the third, Sanchez finally scored a takedown. That made him 1-of-15 for the fight. Kampmann (17-5, 8-4 UFC) didn't stay down for the long. The final three minutes were highlighted by Sanchez charging forward and throwing flurries. He landed some good shots, but Kampmann landed even more with excellent counterpunching and movement. By the end of the fight, the other side of Sanchez's face was swollen and covered in blood. As the horn sounded, his corner covered the left side of his face with a towel. The blood flow was so intense it was spurting right through the towel.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Pro wrestler turned MMA fighter, Lashley volunteers to go back to the 'minor leagues'
Bobby Lashley was making a nice living performing around the country doing the "fake stuff," but his competitive juices pushed him to enter to the unrehearsed world of mixed martial arts. With a solid amateur background and massive build, Lashley appeared to have the goods to be a very good MMA fighter, but his ascent hit a major speed bump last time out and now the former pro wrestling has elected to head back to smaller MMA shows and leave Strikeforce. It's something rarely done in the world of MMA.
"I’m not giving up. I know what I’m capable of," Lashley told Bloody Elbow Radio. "[...] There’s going to be a lot less pressure. Because I’m not undefeated anymore. That’s going to alleviate a lot of pressure for me. I don’t have to worry about keeping this undefeated streak or anything like that."
Lashley (5-1) re-emerges at Titan Fighting Championship on Mar. 25 in Kansas City. He'll meet James Jack.
"I can just go out there and be more comfortable. I think you’re going to see a much better fighter, because I think they’re going to let me fight every couple of months," Lashley said. "I’m just going to get better and better and better."
The fight will be televised on HDNet and he'll still be the centerpiece of the card.
Lashley was making solid progress when he signed with Strikeforce back in Dec. of 2009. He won his first fight for the promotion against Wes Sims to move to 5-0, but there were some warning signs. He was a still a one-tricky pony, who had to rely solely on his ability to get the fight to the floor and his cardio was iffy. So when Chad Griggs weathered the first Lashley takedown storm, the heavily muscled former NAIA wrestling champ, hit the preverbial wall at Strikeforce: Houston back in August. Griggs pounded away at Lashley, who crumbled to the floor and had no fight left in him.
"It’s hard when you have your first fight. And that first fight is on TV. You have a lot of publicity around you. It’s kind of hard," Lashley said. "Other guys, they get a handful of fights before they ever see any competition or are even on TV or anything like that."
Lashley just didn't like being under the spotlight as he was trying to hone his skills and gain experience.
"My first fight was on a major card and I’ve been on TV my whole career," Lashley said. "Everybody was like 'Who are you going to fight next? Are you going to fight Fedor?' And man, I’ve only got one fight under my belt!"
The 252-pound Lashley has to improve his stamina and needs to get past the mental hurdle of getting punched in the face. Much like former fellow pro wrestler Brock Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champ, Lashley looked very uncomfortable in the standup game.
The biggest thing? He needs to get his mental game together. Lashley's honesty is admirable, but he doesn't come off as a guy who believes he can be a great fighter. Even Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was beginning to querstion Lashley's dedication to the craft. Lashley told PROMMANow that he has nothing personal against Coker, but he probably won't be returning to Strikeforce in the future. He's hoping to get more steady action with Titan FC.
Triple Crown of Surfing Art
What is the Triple Crown of Surfing?
If you weren't aware, there is a surfing event going on in Hawaii called the Triple Crown of Surfing, one the most prestigious of all surfing contests. The event spans 6 surfing comps with a holding period from November 12th through to December 20th. Right now is the Pipeline Masters (awesome!). The best Hawaiian local surfers take on the professional surfers from around the globe, in arguably the best waves on the planet.
www.triplecrownofsurfing.com
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/-kIph4xLOVQ/triple-crown-of-surfing-art.html
K2 Brigade Wide Snowboard 159 ? 2011
Source: http://snowboardaction.net/k2-brigade-wide-snowboard-159-2011/
Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson Fighter Salaries
Filed under: Strikeforce
Newly-crowned Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson earned $250,000 for his Strikeforce fight this past Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, according to salaries reported to the athletic commission.Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, whom Henderson defeated to win the title, earned $28,000 and would have earned another $28,000 if he had emerged victorious. Henderson was not listed with a win bonus.
The reported salaries for all fighters can be found after the jump.
Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/07/strikeforce-feijao-vs-henderson-fighter-salaries/
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson post-fight press conference notes
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After the fights were over, the fighters from Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson had plenty to say.
-- "Beating the opponent was the most important thing, and the belt was the cherry on top. But I do like cherries," Dan Henderson said after winning the championship with a knockout of Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante. Though the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt has not yet been successfully defended, Henderson insists he's not supersitious.
He also said that Cavalcante's strength advantage was not a problem.
"All throughout my career in wrestling and MMA, I've learned that it's about technique and position. I've never felt weak against big and strong guys because of that. I'm big on the inside," Henderson said.
"Henderson is a tough guy. He does what he does well," Cavalcante said.
-- Liz Carmouche impressed the MMA world even in loss, as she took her fight with champion Marloes Coenen on two-weeks notice and still took two rounds from her. Carmouche says that she can't wait to return to the gym. She also said that she did not tap from the second-round guillotine.
"It was tight, but I wasn't tapping for sure," Carmouche said.
After the fight, Coenen said that she believes that Carmouche will be the champion. Carmouche was touched by the idea.
"I felt like I won for a second. I can't express what that did for me."
-- Marloes Coenen said that she was appreciative of having a referee who let the fight continue, because she felt her bout against Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos was stopped too quickly. When asked if Carmouche's strength was a factor, Coenen answered, "Did you look at her?"
She also had a short answer on if she'd like another shot at Cyborg. "Definitely."
-- Tim Kennedy called out Robbie Lawler for his next possible opponent, but said that he would like another shot at the Strikeforce middleweight belt, currently held by Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza.
"Of course I want the title, but I want to fight the best. Strikeforce has the best heavyweights in the world, but we're contenders in the middleweights, with the athlete we have."
-- Strikeforce announced that Beijing gold medalist in judo Satoshi Ishii has signed with Strikeforce and will fight Apr. 1 on a Strikeforce: Challengers Card.
Local Hero Peggy Oki
Peggy has more than earned this honor with her inspiring & enduring support for protecting cetaceans and ocean life, through her Origami Whales Project… An international campaign, aimed at getting the message across to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), to put a stop to the slaughter of whales and the cruelty of commercial whaling in Japan, Norway and Iceland.
Photo: Peggy Oki. Photo by Matt Dayka
You may remember Peggy Oki as the only female member of the legendary Zephyr Skate Team (a.k.a. Z-Boys of Dogtown)…
www.peggy-oki.com
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/VnF8pVvadWc/local-hero-peggy-oki.html
Yahoo! exclusive video: TUF 13 tryouts
Spike takes you behind the scenes of the Las Vegas tryout for Season 13 of "The Ultimate Fighter." It's a pressure cooker with hundreds of aspiring fighters getting just a few minutes to show off their skills.
Included this bunch, that showed up back in November at the Red Rock Casino, were a 51-year-old, a K-1 veteran coming back from open heart surgery and a U.S. Army captain, who just returned from Iraq in April.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Yahoo-exclusive-video-TUF-13-tryouts?urn=mma-325881
Yoga and Skydiving
Source: http://skydivechick.com/2011/02/yoga-and-skydiving-2/
Monday, March 7, 2011
Aoki is back in the states while Irvin scurries off to Europe
Strikeforce is putting together a fascinating card in San Diego. The April 9th event was originally was supposed to feature part two of the heavyweight Grand Prix's first round. Because of licensing issues with Josh Barnett, those fights were moved to Dallas in June.
Scott Coker has thrown together an excellent card in its place. Nick Diaz will defend his 170 title against Paul Daley and Gilbert Melendez puts his 155 title on the line versus Tatsuya Kawajiri. The latest addition to the card is former top five lightweight Shinya Aoki.
The infamous Japanese submission artist will battle Lyle Beerbohm. It's an interesting booking with Beerbohm (16-1) having just suffered his first career loss at the hands of Pat Healy. That said, Aoki (26-5) is also coming off a devastating loss at the hands of Yuichiro Nagashima. That was the bizarre fight fought under varying rules at Dynamite!! 2010. The first round featured K-1 rules. Aoki drop kicked and flopped his way through those three minutes. In round two, the MMA portion of the fight, Aoki got drilled in the opening seconds by a knee and went night night (4:05 mark).
Aoki hits the ground in Southern California in less than four weeks, while James Irvin has to leave the state and country for that matter to get a fight. Irvin, who has multiple positive tests for banned substances, is expected to fight in Poland on Mar. 19.
If he goes through with the fight against Mamed Khalidov, it could effectively end his fighting career in the U.S. Irvin was dumped from this week's Shark Fights 14 card in Texas when it was revealed he tested positive again for a banned substance back in December after a win in Calfornia over Jorge Oliveira. He is suspended through this December. Irvin's checkered history with positive tests and injuries is unrivaled in MMA.
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Dan Henderson vs. Rafael Feijao Cavalcante Fight Video
Filed under: Strikeforce
Dan Henderson beat Rafael Feijao Cavalcante with one of his trademark hard right hands, followed by several more punches on the ground, to earn the Strikeforce light heavyweight title on Saturday night. The video is above.
Cavalcante had won the first round of the bout while Henderson had won the second, but in the third it was short and quick: Henderson landed that punch and knocked Feijao down, and Feijao appeared to hurt his head landing on the canvas and was quickly finished.
Henderson, the former Pride champion in two weight classes, is now the Strikeforce champ as well.
Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/06/dan-henderson-vs-rafael-feijao-cavalcante-fight-video/
Gustafsson chokes out a tired Te Huna at UFC 127
James Te Huna was a little too wired fighting in front of the home crowd in Australia. The Sydney resident fought at a frantic pace in the opening minute, then faded quickly before becoming a first round rear-naked choke victim of Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 127.
Less than 30 seconds into the fight, Te Huna (12-5, 1-1 UFC) scored a takedown and was incredibly active on top. Gustafsson did a nice job of weathering the storm. Te Huna was throwing punches and elbows from side control and looked to have an easy pass for the mount, but never seized the opportunity.
Gustafsson settled Te Huna down by getting him, first in his half guard and then full guard. The Swede got back to his feet with three minutes left in the round. A minute later, Gustafsson scored a takedown against Te Huna, who was clearly winded. He scored another when he reversed a Te Huna takedown attempt and quickly took his back with 1:10 left. Te Huna didn't provide much opposition on the ground. Gustafsson flattened him out and applied a rear-naked choke. Te Huna survived and spun out, but Gustafsson stayed with it and got the New Zealander back to his stomach where he latched on the finishing submission. He got the tap at the 4:27 mark of the first.
At 6-foot-5, Gustafsson, 24, is an intriguing light heavyweight prospect. He's now 3-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming against super-prospect Phil Davis. He's also got wins over Jared Hamman and veteran striker Cyrille Diabate.
Surf Photographer - Josh Househam
www.clubofthewaves.com/surf-photographer/josh-househam.php
http://joshhousehamphoto.tumblr.com
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cotw/~3/Mmg4lROHG3M/surf-artist-mo-ryan.html
Sunday, March 6, 2011
UFC 127 picks, Vegas-style: Can Penn avoid a Fitch decision win?
UFC 127 betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse Stadium):
B.J. Penn (+160) vs. Jon Fitch (-190) - Welterweight
Jorge Rivera (+240) vs. Michael Bisping (-320) - Middleweight
Denis Siver (+250) vs. George Sotiropoulos (-330) - Lightweight
Brian Ebersole (+240) vs. Chris Lytle (-320) - Welterweight
Chris Camozzi (+150) vs. Kyle Noke (-180) - Middleweight
Spencer Fisher (+120) vs. Ross Pearson (-150) - Lightweight
James Te Huna (+170) vs. Alexander Gustaffson (-200) - Light heavyweight
Riki Fukuda (-130) vs. Nick Ring (Even) - Middleweight
Jason Reinhardt (+170) vs. Tiequan Zhang (-200) - Lightweight
Anthony Perosh (+150) vs. Tom Blackledge (-180) - Light heavyweight
Mark Hunt (+210) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (-270) - Heavyweight
Curt Warburton (+120) vs. Maciej Jewtuszko (-150) - Featherweight
Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.
Former 'Crocodile Hunter' bodyguard, Noke rolls over Camozzi at UFC 127
During the many chapters of his life, Kyle Noke has seen it all. He's looking to make the MMA chapter his most interesting. A former bodyguard for Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, Noke stormed to a 3-0 mark in the UFC after an easy win tonight over Chris Camozzi in the pay-per-view opener at UFC 127.
A native of New South Wales, Australia, Noke served as one of Irwin's bodyguards for three years and also worked with his Aussie brother on his martial arts skills. Irwin, who passed away in 2006, was a huge MMA fan.
"Strong, very strong," Noke told MMAjunkie.com of Irwin's ability. "He had that strength from wrestling crocs all his life from pulling them in and holding them tight. We'd never let him get on top because he would just hold you down as tight as he could."
Irwin did more than employ Noke, he backed his fighting efforts.
"He's one of the reasons why I'm here where I am now. He sponsored me and paid for my first flights to the States. He really pushed me to follow my career and follow my passion," Noke told the Sydney Morning Herald. "He used to help us prepare for fights. He had such an eye for detail through what he had been doing for so many years. You only have to watch the guy on TV to know how much passion the guy has got. If I could channel that passion in fighting for wildlife then that's a great start."
Irwin was an MMA devotee and according to Noke, The reality star even entertained fighting and donating the proceeds to charity.
Noke looked inspired from the opening seconds. Camozzi charged him for a single-leg takedown attempt, but the Aussie thwarted the effort with some underhooks. He showed his power by pushing forward, scoring a takedown and falling into the mount position. Camozzi did a solid job of avoiding big shots for a few seconds, but allowed Noke to crawl up his body.
Noke (19-4-1, 3-0 UFC) appeared to be setting up an armbar or inverted triangle when Camozzi tried to escape out the backdoor. Noke was quick to react by taking Camozzi's back. The Aussie flattened out Camozzi and tapped him with a rear-naked choke at 1:35 of the first.
Camozzi was a familiar opponent for Noke. They were castmates on Season 11 of "The Ultimate Fighter." Noke lost via unanimous decision to Kris McCray during the TUF 11 quarterfinals, but he appeared to be one of the better prospects on the show.
Fighting out of Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, Noke, 30, is just moving into his prime. He has a well-rounded game and a chance to do some damage in the UFC.
Video analysis: Will Bisping get fined, suspended or worse?
Michael Bisping got a win on UFC 127, but he still came out a big loser.
Just seconds after pounding out Jorge Rivera, the Brit lost control of his emotions by spitting at the corner of the American. He also yelled at Rivera. Bisping told him to apologize and said "go home loser."
Let's not forget about the illegal knee Bisping threw earlier in the round. Rivera's camp has gone on record saying they think it was intentional.
Twitter was flooded with reaction from fans and fighters. Trainer Keith Florian, the brother of UFC fighter Kenny Florian, said what Bisping did was worse that Paul Daley and his sucker punch of Josh Koscheck at UFC 113.
Yahoo! Sports' lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to give his take on Bisping's outburst. He said anything from a fine to firing is possible from UFC management.