UFC MMA archive

Three times a week, Nick Fiore flies in a plane. In the cockpit. In the pilot's seat.

He's 20 years old.

He takes off from and lands at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, "so watch out when you're driving on [Route] 110," he said.

Fiore, a junior at Farmingdale State focusing on aviation, took flight on another career path Thursday night -- mixed martial arts. Fiore submitted Antonio Quinones via a guillotine choke in the second round of their lightweight bout at the MMA Platinum Gloves amateur tournament.

The walkout from the back room to the grand ballroom at the Upsky Hotel in Hauppauge was short. The ceiling hovered just a few feet above the top of the six-sided cage. Certain moves -- elbows, punches to the face of a grounded opponent, ankle locks -- were forbidden.

Otherwise, it wasn't much different from his high school wrestling matches at Kellenberg, Fiore said. Still, it was an athletic competition in which the opponent attempts to exert his physicality over Fiore. That's far different from sitting in a classroom learning how to gauge instruments to help navigate a plane through a cloud.

"You get nervous before the match," Fiore said. "Everybody gets nervous. You just have to block it out and stay calm."

Fiore, who lives in Hicksville and trains at Bellmore Kickboxing Academy with Marc Lehr and Keith Trimble, controlled much of the fight with his striking and grappling. He had several submission attempts against Quinones and landed a hard takedown at the end of the first round.

"He did exactly what he was supposed to do, moving forward, being the aggressor," Lehr said. "He's smart, he's tough as nails, doesn't say much. In fact, this is the most I've seen him talk."

Fiore said he started training at Bellmore Kickboxing around the summer of 2011. He had recovered from a knee injury the year prior, he said, and was looking for an athletic endeavor to test his knee.

"It was a natural thing just to keep grappling," said Fiore, who also played football for Kellenberg. "I love wrestling. There was just nothing else to do. I started looking into jiujitsu, some other schools."

The tournament, which is sanctioned by the UMMAF, continues Nov. 16 with the semifinals in multiple weight classes at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue. Amateur MMA is legal but unregulated and unsanctioned in the state. New York remains the only state in the United States with a ban on professional MMA.



Fiore takes off in amateur MMA tournament

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has suffered a fractured neck that will put him out of action for several months while also cancelling his scheduled bout against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on Nov. 2.

Ortiz was set to come back to the sport after retiring in 2012 following a loss to Forrest Griffin and his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Following his exit from active competition, Ortiz underwent several surgeries to repair various damage done to his knee while competing in the Octagon, but once he felt healthy again the 38-year-old former champion decided to return to the cage.

Unfortunately, Ortiz's body gave out in the final days leading up to the fight and the diagnosis from his doctors was a fractured neck. Ortiz attempted to stay in the bout, but his doctors insisted that he drop out after explaining that landing awkwardly on the injured neck could cause permanent damage like paralysis.

The "Huntington Beach Bad Boy" made his first public statement Friday night via Twitter.

Ortiz gave MMA fans a whiff of his physical condition this morning on Instagram, offering a foreboding quote.

UFC president Dana White offered a mysterious tweet of his own, just moments before this afternoon's press conference which had announced the official statement.


Tito Ortiz suffers fractured neck, MMA comeback now in limbo - News | FOX Sports on MSN

July 7, 2012. Las Vegas. Tito Ortiz choked back tears at his UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony as he tried to explain why his bout with Forrest Griffin that night at UFC 148 would be his last.

"I put my heart, soul and body into this sport," Ortiz said at the time. "I've had ACL surgery, back surgery, neck surgery, a meniscus tear. When people ask me, 'Why you retiring?' I'm retiring because it's time."

If only the Tito Ortiz of 2013 would have listened to the Tito Ortiz of 2012.

I'm not here to make cruel jokes at Ortiz's expense in the wake of the news that Ortiz suffered a serious injury in training and had to pull out of his planned Bellator fight with fellow former champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on Nov. 2. A fractured neck is an injury I wouldn't wish on anyone.

If the unverified numbers which made the rounds among media types this week about what Ortiz was scheduled to make for the fight are even in the ballpark, well, put it this way: You would have come out of retirement, too.

But hopefully Ortiz takes his latest injury as a sign that enough is enough.

"The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" finally had his karma correct when he took the stage to accept his UFC Hall of Fame plaque just over a year ago. The sins of the past had been forgiven. He had won back skeptical fans with his inspirational upset of a younger and healthier Ryan Bader at UFC 132. He seemed to finally make peace with Dana White after stepping up on short notice and meeting Rashad Evans just two months later and took a Fight of the Night bonus in his loss. Ortiz transitioned from fading fighter to elder statesman.

The long and heartfelt ovation Ortiz received from the fans at the UFC Fan Expo that day -- not to mention that night, when he was arguably robbed of the decision in his trilogy fight with Griffin -- showed the pioneer of the sport had come around with the fans, as well.

If only Ortiz had left well enough alone.

It's easy for those of us who have never been in a fighter's shoes to tell them it's time to hang ‘em up. We've never felt the intoxication of the bright lights, the attention, the money, the rush of having 15,000 fans chanting your name. It can't be easy to walk away.

Especially when you're in a position like Ortiz has been over the past year. He had both neck and ACL surgery and suddenly found himself feeling better than he'd felt in years. Your mind starts cranking. You start thinking about how you weren't getting blown out of your fights. How you could have gotten the decision against Griffin. How you almost got the late submission against Lyoto Machida. You come to the conclusion you've still got something left in the tank.

And that doesn't even take non-fight matters into account. The very public marital troubles with estranged wife Jenna Jameson. The management career, which hasn't exactly gotten off to a gangbuster start, as his top client, Cris Cyborg, remains outside Zuffa while women's MMA experiences its golden age. Another run in the spotlight would make it all go away for awhile.

All understandable. Still shouldn't have come back.

Have you noticed we haven't heard a heck of a lot from Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in recent weeks? Sure, he spoke up about his perceived slights at the hands of the UFC when he signed with Bellator earlier this year. But after the Ortiz fight was signed, Jackson more or less stopped with the negative chatter. Say what you will about Jackson vs. Ortiz, but if nothing else, "Rampage" appeared to have his head in the right place as he prepared for the bout.

You can't say the same for Ortiz. Starting with the August press conference in Newport Beach, Ortiz seemed more concerned with bashing the UFC than focusing on his new company. On Twitter and in seemingly every media appearance he made, Ortiz bashed White and the UFC, the people who had made nice with him in his public sendoff last year. For the money it took to lure Ortiz out of retirement, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney had to wonder when his new marquee star was going to focus on the present.

That's moot now, since Ortiz had to pull out of the fight. If anyone aside from Ortiz, Jackson, and their respective accountants were disappointed by the fight's cancelation, they haven't been speaking up. Rebney now gets to take was what shaping up as a sure money loser and repurpose it into the best fight card, by far, he's ever put on free TV, and focus on what promises to be a killer lightweight title fight between Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez.

Ortiz and Rebney have tried to sound positive about Ortiz's eventual return. But the facts remain stark. Ortiz is 38. He'll turn 39 in January. He's only won once in his past nine fights. He's added another serious injury to a lengthy list.

Your body's trying to give you a hint, Tito. Please don't come back this time.



A message to Tito Ortiz: Please don't come back - MMA Fighting

The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Below is a rundown of who will be stopping by and when:

1 p.m. ET -- Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler will preview his rematch against Eddie Alvarez and talk about Saturday's show going from a pay-per-view card to a free Spike show.

1:25 p.m. -- Emanuel Newton will discuss his Bellator interim light heavyweight title rematch against Muhammed Lawal on Saturday night.

1:45 p.m. -- Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will talk about his loss to Anthony Pettis in August and what's next for him.

2:05 p.m. -- Steve Carl will look back at choking Josh Burkman unconscious on Saturday night en route to becoming the first WSOF welterweight champion.

2:25 p.m. -- Cole Miller will discuss his UFN 30 win over Andy Ogle and calling out Conor McGregor afterwards.

2:45 p.m. -- Diego Sanchez will look back at his Fight of the Year candidate against Gilbert Melendez at UFC 166 and discuss what's next.

3:05 p.m. -- Referee Marc Goddard will talk about his part in the controversial Ross Pearson-Melvin Guillard fight on Saturday in England.

3:25 p.m. -- We'll answer your #themmahour questions on anything and everything going on in the MMA world. Hit us up on Twitter using that hash tag, leave a question in the comments section below, or give us a call.

Plus, we'll be taking your calls on anything and everything. Got a question or comment? Give us a call at 1-888-418-4074.



The MMA Hour with Benson Henderson, Diego Sanchez, Cole Miller, Michael Chandler, Marc Goddard, Emanuel Newton, Steve Carl - MMA Fighting

It's Halloween once again, and we have a "SPOOK"tacular scarefest in store for you today. Following herewith are the 10 creeeeepiest, craaaaaaawwwliest, scaaaariest professional mixed martial artists currently alive. Or aaaaare they?!?!

These are active (or at least semi-active) fighters only. Creepiness based on public persona and in-cage style or behavior (as opposed solely to rap sheet, etc.)

Enjoy the show...if you dare.


Pictures: The 10 Creepiest Fighters in MMA Today | Bleacher Report

Long-time MMA fans can count on on their fingers the number of still-relevant fighters with a career that dates back to 2001. Joe Riggs is among a small, exclusive group alongside the likes of Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz and the Nogueira brothers that, at the very least, can still win fights.

His is a career that predates Zuffa. One that, early on, took place away from the eyes of a commission. One that started when Jon Jones was in middle school. One that has hit some of the highest highs achievable by a mixed martial artist.

One that, 14 years deep, is just now getting started.

Just days ahead of one of the most important fights of his career, Riggs opened up to Bleacher Report on the time he has spent punching people in the face while locked in the cage. "I started boxing at 10 years old, started wrestling a few months after that," he continued, "I started fighting when I was in high school."

While his official record says his MMA debut took place in 2001, like so many others, he was fighting off the grid far earlier. Both under conditions and at an age that almost certainly wouldn't be allowed today. "My first fight was when I was 17," he reflected. "My dad had to sign a waiver for me...I knocked out a guy who was 30."

He described the conditions of MMA in the 1990s, where he would do the fighting equivalent of handing in a resume on Wednesday, then fighting the following Friday. Conditions that ranged from cages in barns to unenclosed mats on the floors of bars.

Eventually, completely legal opportunities began opening up. At age 19, he became a true mainstay of the Rage in the Cage, fighting 12 times for the promotion within a two-year span. By 2003, he began traveling the country, working his way onto cards promoted by Rumble on the Rock, WEC and IFC.

By 2004, he stepped foot into the UFC's Octagon for the first time, kicking off what would be a relatively short, but incredibly memorable, stint with the promotion by elbowing Joe Doerksen into submission. It was a very fast two years that was best known for his missing weight in a title fight against Matt Hughes and the far-more-infamous hospital brawl with Nick Diaz.

Eventually, though, the plans the UFC had for him and the plans he had for himself no longer lined up, and he asked for a release from the promotion. "They wanted me to fight Anderson Silva," who was signed by the promotion around the time Riggs re-debuted at middleweight in a losing effort against Mike Swick.

I was like a stepping stone for the belt. After I lost that title shot, they just used me as a measuring stick. I had always wanted to fight Jake Shields and someone was offering me the opportunity to fight him. We got into an argument and I was being a dumb kid. I fought in Canada one time and the fight with Shields fell through.

For five years, Riggs journeyed between promotions and bounced between weight classes. All the while fighting on and off with Strikeforce. Eventually, though, a contract dispute lead to an ugly breakup, and he was back precisely where he started. Fighting in small shows across Arizona.

By 2010 he was, more or less, flying completely solo in his MMA career, leading to the first losing streak of his career: "I fought Jordan Mein...and I signed with Bellator and fought Bryan Baker literally without training at all." By his next fight, though, a gym was rising to serious prominence: "Two years ago, I started training with MMA Lab and I haven't lost since. My skills were there, I just wasn't in shape."

When he started with the Lab, he started rolling with the best of the best: "I went there, Ben Henderson was there and his work ethic is second to none. I tried and I failed to do everything that he did. I tried training as hard as he did, my training is modeled after him." While his body was getting honed by Henderson, his mind was being sharpened by head coach John Crouch.

With a strong crew around him, Riggs rattled off one of the longest winning streaks of his career. That caught the eye of one of the promotions he bounced in and out of, Bellator, who had a somewhat unique offer for him. "I talked with [Bellator's Matchmaker] Sam Caplan who asked if I would be interested in Fight Master," he said. "I said yes."

He won his way to the finals and faces off with Mike Bronzoulis in the finale. On the line is a check for $100,000, a guaranteed spot in one of Bellator's tournaments and the clear path to the title that comes with it.

It's a new beginning for Riggs, and it only took 14 years.


Joe Riggs Talks Old School MMA, UFC Breakup Ahead of Bellator 106 Matchup | Bleacher Report

Neither man needs reminding that Chandler choked out Alvarez, and so the Bellator lightweight title changed hands that night. The "shrieking pain of defeat" continues to haunt Alvarez, who admitted he has struggled to regain some measure of control over his career while engaged in a contractual battle with Bellator. At a certain point not so long ago, he had enough and just wanted to fight again. That's why this rematch with Chandler is happening Saturday at Bellator 106 in Long Beach, Calif.

As for the current Bellator lightweight champion, well, it has been 24 months since the Alvarez fight and Chandler's right foot remains sore -- it likely will for as long as he feels stuff -- though you wouldn't know it based on his success.

"When I wake up in the morning it takes me a couple steps to loosen up the joints," Chandler said.

In the third round, Chandler planted his left leg, flung his right and stepped back to gather himself. But there was no putting pressure on it. Chandler had connected with Alvarez's hip and,"because the pain was so intense," the foot was worthless.

"To this day my foot still hurts from that," Chandler said. "I didn't break my foot. I thought I did. After the fight, it swelled up like a freakin' watermelon."

For the next two-plus minutes, Alvarez, who was knocked down twice in the first period, seized, attacked and unloaded.

"Ninety-nine percent of people watch that third round and think I was almost finished," Chandler said. "But to me, I wasn't even close to being finished."

That defiant mantra may as well have been Alvarez's after the opening five minutes, which felt like a distant memory while he whaled on Chandler in the third. Having recovered from being dropped at the beginning and end of Round 1, Alvarez, finally warmed up, moved with purpose. He rebounded to outscore the green-yet-determined Chandler in the second.

As action moved to the middle period, Alvarez deployed digging body shots that busted up Chandler on the inside prior to the challenger's awkward, hobbling kick. Chandler said he never was rocked, his equilibrium never was tampered with, but he was several steps behind Alvarez and decided to shift into survival mode.

"I felt him quitting. I felt him ready to go," Alvarez said. "But I didn't commit to the knockout. I just thought the knockout would come.

"Rather than forcing it I wanted to throw my combinations. I was positive something big would land if I let my combinations go, but he toughed it out. All credit to Mike. He toughed it out. He got through it. And he got himself to the next round."

Each time Chandler spars, he said he does so with the idea that a new round is a fresh start. In the real world, that paid off at the most crucial moment.

"When you're in that crazy storm for two minutes and you're getting your face beat in, your emotions are running high," Chandler said. "Your heart rate easily doubles. And your body starts to fatigue because of the craziness that's going on. But when you get that minute back and you can sit on your stool, you look your coach in the eye as best as you can and consciously let your body get to neutral, back to normal.

"It doesn't matter how badly I got beat in the third round. The fourth is completely different. That's how I practice."

If Alvarez thought he was going to finish it in the fourth, Chandler wanted to send a message off the top.

"When I came out that fourth round I beat him to the center. I threw that first punch. I landed that first punch," Chandler recalled. "Eddie was the most surprised guy in the building because he just got done beating on my face for the last three minutes and he saw a guy standing in front of him that, if anything, was fighting harder than he was before.

"That's my mentality."

Chandler chalked it up to his wrestling roots, though that misses the mark. Wrestlers enter MMA all the time, and some do fall flat. Not because lessons from wrestling fail to apply in MMA. That's not it at all. Fighting is inherently more demanding than wrestling, and in this way Chandler's effort against Alvarez proved what he's capable of. The finish happened fast. During a scramble, Chandler launched himself toward Alvarez with an uppercut to the jaw. The challenger was unrefined purpose, and when he clocked Alvarez with an overhand right that was almost enough.

"I saw the look in his eyes," Chandler said.

Alvarez admitted to panicking his way into making a bad mistake, in which he gave up his back and seconds later tapped while his neck was tightly squeezed.

Chandler had been through hell -- the first time that had happened in his promising career. Though he found a way to win, it came with a price.

Like Alvarez, Chandler suffered damaged rib cartilage. His lungs, stomach and arms also ached from such intense labor. His face was a mess.

"I felt like every organ was sore," Chandler said.

And, of course, that foot -- the unwanted reminder Chandler expects to carry with him the rest of his days after one of the best fights he'll ever have the privilege of taking part in.

"As cliche as it sounds, it lets you know you're human," Chandler said. "You like to feel pain because it lets you know you're alive. A crazy fight like that, it was great. I don't want to make a habit out of it, because ultimately I want to go out there and be able to compete in this sport at a high level for as long as I can. You can only be in so many wars like that and keep your body capable. I enjoyed it but I'm hoping for a quick finish."


Chandler recounts first duel with Alvarez - Mixed Martial Arts Blog - ESPN

Kim Fohrd of Mount Saint Mary not only won her first-ever cross country race on Sunday, she dominated it.

The sophomore captured the Monsignor Martin Association cross country championship on a cold day and sloppy course at the Knox Estate in East Aurora. She ran the 5,000 meters in 20 minutes 27 seconds, almost a full minute under the time of her teammate Hailey Gattuso (21:22). Fohrd had about a 500-foot advantage when she hit the finish.

“I really pushed myself,” Fohrd said. “It was hard, it was muddy, but I got there.”

Despite runners from the Mount finishing first and second, Immaculata won its second straight MMA title as Katie Simon (21:58), Rachel Luczak (22:00), Claire Attea (22:05), Grace Attea (22:34) and Mary Kate Smith (22:38) finished fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth and 10th, respectively. While the tight pack propelled Immaculata over Mount Saint Mary, 34-37, Immaculata coach Charles Planz credited a gritty performance by Attea with pushing them over the top.

“Claire Attea has been hurt part of the season, then she came down with respiratory problems. She wasn’t up to potential physically as well as mentally,” Planz said. “She certainly got her thoughts and health back together today, and that’s what brought it for us.”

Buffalo Seminary’s Sam Burlow, who finished third (21:46) Sunday, will join Fohrd, Gattuso and the Immaculata cross country team at the New York State Federation cross county meet at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls on Nov. 16.

In the boys race, Canisius’ Billy Christ capped off his MMA career with his second consecutive league championship, improving on his time from last year by six seconds, finishing at 17:06.

Christ, whose backside was completely brown from all the mud picked up throughout the race, said the 30-degree temperatures and sloppy conditions weren’t going to deny him his second championship.

“That was the only goal” this year - “to repeat,” Christ said.

“Around the two-mile mark I thought I had it in the bag, it’s when I started to go.”

St. Joe’s won its second straight team title as all of its seven runners finished in the top 10. Those runners are: Anthony Belfatto (second, 17:16), JD McGuire (third, 17:30), Joe Sulhay (fourth, 17:52), Liam Hilbert (sixth, 18:04), Jack DiCesere (seventh, 18:18), Cornell Overfield (eighth, 18:28), and Charlie Cilano (10th, 18:57).

St. Joe’s team total was only 23 points.

“They have been working together all year,” Joe’s coach Matt Hellerer said. “They feed off each other, they push each other regularly in practice and in the races. They’re a great group of guys.”

Joining Christ and St. Joe’s at Federation are two more Canisius runners – Liam Gallagher (fifth, 18:01) and Brian Armstrong (ninth, 18:36), who both finished in the top 10.

Hellerer described the Federation meet as a war, filled with 250-plus of the best cross country runners in the state. He said he’s thrilled to return to Federation and would be excited if his team were able to crack the top 15.




Fohrd, Christ capture MMA cross country titles - Sports - The Buffalo News

Neither B.J. Penn nor Renzo Gracie need to prove anything by fighting again.

Except to themselves.

"I want to see how we go into the mid-30s," Penn, 34, told Newsday. "I want to see, maybe this is the best we're ever going to be. We're going to find out, that's for sure."

Both Penn and Gracie possess enough accolades in Brazilian jiujitsu and mixed martial arts to last a lifetime and beyond.

Still, they choose to fight again rather than retire -- a decision many MMA fighters struggle with.

"If someone else makes it for you, you're never going to be happy," said Chuck Liddell, a former UFC light heavyweight champion who retired in 2010 at age 40.

Penn (16-9-2) emerged from a second pseudo retirement to be a coach on the next season of "The Ultimate Fighter," which is being recorded now for broadcast early next year. He is coaching against Frankie Edgar, the man who took Penn's lightweight title and held onto it in the rematch as well.

Penn doesn't like that.

"This is one time, I want to fight him now, not he wants to fight me [because] I'm the champion," said Penn, one of only two men in UFC history to win a title in more than one weight class. "I want to fight him. That's what it is."

Penn is 1-2-1 since that second loss to Edgar. After losing a one-sided decision to Nick Diaz in October 2011, he debated fighting again, only to return 14 months later for an even greater one-sided decision loss to Rory MacDonald.

Also roaming around the TUF tapings is Gracie, a BJJ legend. He is helping Edgar coach his team of young fighters.

Several weeks ago, Gracie said he planned to return for another MMA fight in February or March of 2014. Gracie turns 47 on March 11.

"I do believe fighting is the most important thing to push yourself forward, to make yourself better," Gracie said. "I don't fight just for the money or just to become a champion. I fight because every time I fight, I improve myself as a teacher, as a fighter, as a way to show other people ways to do things. I'm able to teach them -- my students and the people I train -- to be better."

Gracie owns four BJJ academies in the tri-state area, including one in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. UFC champions Chris Weidman and Georges St-Pierre are among those who train there.

Gracie doesn't care that UFC president Dana White -- and many others -- publicly questioned why he wants to fight competitively again. Gracie looked outmatched in his last fight, a TKO loss to Matt Hughes with 20 seconds left in the third round at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi in April 2010.

"I do what I feel my heart tells me to," Gracie said. "It's not about winning or losing anymore. Now it's just about doing it for the real reason -- I love it. I would do it even for free."

Gracie mentioned One FC, a prominent MMA promotion based in Asia, as a possible place to fight. He gained much of his popularity fighting for Pride in Japan in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Perhaps his most notable fight there came in defeat in August 2000 when he refused to tap out to a kimura submission, thus allowing Kazushi Sakuraba to break his arm rather than concede defeat.

When Gracie disciple Matt Serra, a former UFC welterweight champion from East Meadow retired from competitive fighting last May, he couldn't bring himself to use the "R" word. During an hour-long conversation two weeks shy of his 39th birthday, Serra could only use the phrase "walk away."

Walking away from an athletic career is never easy, regardless of the sport. The cheering stops. There's nothing to train for, nothing requiring a three-month regimen. The recognition from fans continues, but the interest level wanes.

The adrenaline rush from being on center stage can be like a drug to some fighters. And when that gets replaced by the reality of that moment no longer being something to experience, the adjustment period takes time.

"You went 30 years of having something coming up soon, training for something, now you're not training for anything," said Liddell, the UFC's first mainstream crossover star. "You're out there, you're just trying to figure out where you're going."

Liddell struggled with the idea of retiring. After a first-round TKO loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97 on April 18, 2009, the belief was that Liddell would retire. White was emphatic that Liddell was done.

But on June 12, 2010, there was Liddell -- inside the octagon for UFC 115, holding his own against Rich Franklin until the final seconds of the first round. A right hook from Franklin ended the bout -- and Liddell's fighting career. Six months later, after 21 wins in 29 professional MMA bouts, "The Iceman" was done.

"When I decided, I told Dana, 'Can you wait a couple months to announce it?'" Liddell said. "I wasn't ready to say it. I made the decision, but I'm not ready to go out and deal with telling people I'm not fighting anymore. So we waited three months to announce it."

The decision to retire rests with the fighter first, regardless of interest from a promoter. The decision to once again step into a cage to challenge yourself against someone else in a combat sport involving all four limbs begins with the fighter, as well.

"What is life but defying the odds?" Gracie said. "The secret to be a true champion is to never quit. I'll be 60 and still thinking about beating up someone, in a poor man's event, in a ring set up in a bar, who knows? It's what drives me."




MMA legends Renzo Gracie, B.J. Penn won't submit to retiring

It's no coincidence that some of the world's most prolific writers have Bovada Sportsbook in there list of what I feel to be the Nr: 1 greatest sports books ever.




Welcome!!

Saskatchewan has introduced a bill to allow legal mixed martial arts events in the province.

The proposed legislation would create a provincial athletics commission with the authority to sanction professional combative sports, including MMA.

The commission would be responsible for ensuring that competitors had medical exams before and after fights and that qualified medical staff, referees, judges and timekeepers were hired.

It would also ensure that promoters and competitors had the proper licences.

MMA facility owner and jiu-jitsu instructor A.J. Scales says having a commission would allow mixed martial arts to grow in Saskatchewan.

Scales also says the commission would be the voice of safety for competitors.

"We have somebody that's going to oversee and govern their sport and actually be an advocate for them and make the popularity of the sport grow," Scales said Tuesday at the legislature.

"They're going to have doctors in place. They're going to be able to be that third party that's going to voice that concern over their safety when sometimes fighters don't want to admit that they're injured or they're not capable of competing. The commission's going to make sure that their safety comes first."

The House of Commons in Ottawa passed a bill in June legalizing contact sports such as MMA.

The legislation makes professional boxing and MMA contests legal in Canada when they have the authorization of a provincial athletics commission.

Only boxing was allowed under the old prize-fighting law. That left combat sports, including taekwondo, karate and MMA in legal limbo.

Plans are to have the Saskatchewan commission running by next summer.



Saskatchewan introduces legislation to allow MMA

Cops are searching for MMA fighter Luke Cummo — who was featured on “The Ultimate Fighter” — after he got into a domestic dispute with his ex-wife stemming from a custody battle between over their two boys, sources told The Post.

Luke Cummo, 33 — who has been posting photos of himself on Instagram while cops scour the area looking for him — allegedly sent email threats to his ex-wife, the sources said. Nassau police responded to his home in Valley Stream earlier today with a warrant out for his arrest and are actively searching for the MMA fighter, sources said. According to a friend, Cummo has been spiraling out of control and is currently going through a custody battle over their twin-boys with his estranged ex-wife. “He’s acting stranger and stranger. If you see his Facebook, you can see some weird stuff. He still trains people but a lot of his MMA brethren have stopped talking to him. He quit fighting, lost his job with the UFC,” after a DWI conviction in 2007, the friend who refused to have his name published said. “He’s really losing it.”

Cummo, who now teaches mixed martial arts to children, was featured on “The Ultimate Fighter” during Season Two.

He was a striking coach in Garden City and taught muay thai, a form of martial arts, to aspiring fighters.

He posted to Facebook today around 10 a.m. wearing a pair of head phones and a cap plastered with the phrase “My ego,” along the front.

He also posted the same photo to Instagram [LukeCummo13] around the same time. His Instagram summary is titled “T.E.A.M. Captain; I bring the ruckus!”

He accepted friend requests on both social media sites as cops are still searching for the mixed- martial artist.

Cummo, a biology buff, brags about drinking his own urine on www-mixedmartialarts-com and said “I drink as much as I can as often as I can.”

Better late than never.

Adriano Martins needed 30 MMA fights to finally earn a chance in the UFC, and he wants to make the best of it on Nov. 9 in Goiania, Brazil.

A former Jungle Fight lightweight champion, Martins (24-6), signed a contract with the UFC after a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Gurgel at Strikeforce’s final show, but it took him months to make the transition to the Octagon after that win.

"I’ve worked years for this opportunity," Martins told MMAFighting-com. "I hurt my knee 10 days before my fight with Jorge Gurgel, but I didn’t know how bad it was. After the fight I returned to Manaus and went to the doctor, and he said I’d need to have surgery. It was tough, but I’m perfect now."

The winner of Martins vs. Gurgel would sign with the UFC, and the loser wouldn’t have an opportunity inside the Octagon.

"Things were never easy to me," he said. "I heard a lot of people say that I deserved to be in the UFC a long time ago, but my time is now. I’m more mature and focused now, doing everything I have to do. It’s my time now"

"I was confident and I knew what could happen if I win or if I lose. I knew I could sign with the UFC if I win that fight but I didn’t let that pressure over me. Right after the fight, Sean Shelby met me backstage and said ‘congratulations, and welcome to the UFC.’ I was really happy."

Martins makes his first Octagon appearance against Daron Cruickshank at UFC Fight Night 32, and wants to score his 12th knockout victory.

"I’m going for the knockout," he said. "I want to win, and I want to finish him."

Cruickshank, a TUF 15 alum, has a 3-1 record in the UFC, but experience is not a problem for the Brazilian veteran.

"I’ve seen some of his fights and he’s tough, but I have fought opponents that are tougher, bigger and with heavier hands in Brazil before," he said. "I respect him, but I will show what I can do in this fight. He will have his hands full.

"I’ve worked hard, now it’s the time to let my hands do the talk. I will show why I deserve to be in the UFC. My opponent is a well-rounded fighter, has four fights in the UFC, but I don’t care. It’s going to be a good test for me in my UFC debut, and I will show why I deserve to be here."





Adriano Martins celebrates UFC opportunity after 30-fight MMA career - MMA Fighting

Mauricio Rua may follow fellow Brazilian Lyoto Machida to the middleweight division.

Following back-to-back losses inside the Octagon, "Shogun" revealed that he could cut some pounds to "restart" his career at the middleweight weight class. The former light heavyweight champion takes on James Te-Huna on Dec. 7 in Australia, and that could be his last fight at 205.

"It might happen, but for now I have a fight scheduled," Rua said during a Q&A with the fans prior to the UFN 32 weigh-ins in Goiania, Brazil, just days after Machida's sucessful middeweight debut. "I would have to do some medical exams to check if it’s possible."

"Shogun" normally cuts around 23 pounds to fight at light heavyweight, so he would need to drop an extra amount of weight to fight at 185.

"My normal weight is 228, 231 pounds. "Maybe I can (drop to 185) and maintain my performance," he said. "I would need to think about it, but that’s something that can happen."

Before he makes that decision, Rua is focused on his battle against Te Huna at UFC Fight Night 33.

"He’s an aggressive fighter and I know it will be tough," he said, "but I like this fight because of his style."


?Shogun? Rua won?t rule out moving down to middleweight - MMA Fighting

The UFC Fight Night 32 post-fight press conference is the last piece of business to take care of after the action is over in the Octagon, and we have the live video below at MMAFighting-com.

UFC officials will announce the winners of the Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses, and winning fighters will meet the media after their fights.

The UFC Fight Night 32 post-fight press conference takes place about 30 minutes after the main event ends, meaning it will start around 11 p.m. ET.


Video: UFC Fight Night 32 post-fight press conference video - MMA Fighting

Rafael Cavalcante made quick work of Igor Pokrajac at UFC Fight Night 32, and everything went exactly as he expected.

A former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, "Feijao," landed vicious knees from the clinch on Pokrajac on Saturday’s event. He perfected the move that finished the bout a few minutes before he entered the Octagon.

"I always had some good knees from the clinch, and Anderson (Silva) has taught me a lot for a long time," Cavalcante said after the fight. "Rodrigo (Nogueira) told me minutes before the fight that Pokrajac would try the clinch as soon as he felt the power of my hands, so I had to clinch him first, that’s what I did. I landed the knees and it was over."

"Feijao" shared his secrets, revealing that you can't target your opponent's face first.

"I always throw the knees to the body first, forcing him to defend himself and let his face open," he said. "I knew he was hurt as soon as I landed the first knee. This is what I do. I'm an aggressive fighter and my physical conditioning is getting better and better. I just have to thank my team for that."

More than two years after his last MMA win, which took place on September 2011 in Strikeforce, "Feijao" knew he had his back against the wall when he entered the cage in Goiania, and he used his pressure in his advantage.

"I needed this win so bad," he said. "After I got to the top at Strikeforce, I had no more goals in my career so I lost focus. I'm back, focused on what I need to focus, and I'm in the best shape of my life."

Cavalcante leaves his first-round knockout loss to Thiago Silva, in his UFC debut, in the past and says he’s open to fight whoever weighs 205 pounds and is currently signed with the promotion.

"I will fight anyone UFC puts in front of me."




Rafael Cavalcante credits Anderson Silva for first UFC win - MMA Fighting

The Road Warriors. Demolition. The Hart Foundation. Scott Smith.

Which one of these names doesn't belong? Trick question, brother. All these names belong alongside one another in the annals of tag-team combat sports history.

At least they will once Nov. 23 has come and gone. That's the day that the California-based Gladiator Challenge MMA organization will get in touch with its inner carnival barker and host a tag-team MMA fight—you read that correctly—featuring Smith, a professional mixed martial arts veteran with multiple fights in the UFC, WEC and Strikeforce under his belt.

Smith (18-10-1) will team up for the action with fellow middleweight Blaine Wilson (1-2). The partners will face two other middleweights in Bellator alum Jaime "El Cucui" Jara (34-15) and Mike Quaintance (4-1).

The Gladiator Challenge news release for the event notes that the stakes for the fight will be nothing less than the very first tag-team championship in the history of mixed martial arts history. This is quite an age we live in.

Though the championship belts may or may not be a first, there is some precedent for tag-team MMA, though the examples in existence kind of make Gladiator Challenge look like the golden days of Pancrase by comparison. Smith, 34, is probably best known to UFC fans for staging what is in many books the greatest in-fight comeback in UFC history. During their fight at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale, Pete Sell doubled Smith over with a body shot. But when Sell rushed in for the kill, Smith caught him with a perfect shot to the jaw, knocking Sell out and netting him the victory and a Fight of the Night bonus check.

But Smith is far from a one-hit wonder. Though his UFC record stands at a tepid 1-3, he does have career wins over the likes of Cung Le, Terry Martin and Kyle Noke.



UFC Veteran Scott Smith to Participate in MMA Tag-Team Fight | Bleacher Report

Every sport encounters evolution throughout its life.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that mixed martial arts, in all its greatness and growth, falls under this spell as well.

But the evolution of the fastest growing sport in the world doesn't just stem from international marketing, strategic rule changes and monetary expenditures. More importantly, MMA's rapidly expanding nature manifests from the fighters.

The fighters ultimately enable the sport to grow. Whether it's by training multiple disciplines, exuding youthful excellence or challenging the laws of physics with natural gifts, fighters exponentially evolve into more equipped machines.

Here are the new prototypes of today's MMA, where athletic superiority, mental determination and precision reign supreme.


Pictures: Rory MacDonald and MMA's New Prototypes | Bleacher Report

In an undisclosed location in Los Angeles, in a climate-controlled vault piled to its ceiling with old beta SP tapes and hard drives, sits over 5,000 hours capturing the history of mixed martial arts.

This irreplaceable treasure trove of images -- shot and preserved over 17 years by filmmaker Bobby Razak -- could be the largest privately owned MMA footage library in the world. An encapsulation of Razak's collection will be released in 2014 with History Of MMA, a 90-minute feature film that connects the dots between the rise, fall, and second rise of MMA, spanning the humble beginnings of the sport in America to its modern-day success worldwide.

Through his camera lens, the 40-year-old Razak (pictured above, behind camera) has captured more than 20 promotions in over a dozen countries, including Japan, Brazil and throughout Europe. Razak's footage dates to 1996, when he began filming the underground fighting circuit around Los Angeles, but the documentarian has covered virtually all of the big ones and a lot of the smaller ones as well: the UFC, Pride Fighting Championships (Japan), Cage Rage (England), Cage Wars (Ireland), Bellator MMA and the list goes on.

SEGURA: Looking back at UFC 1

Though the mixed-discipline sport has gone through various incarnations dating to the Olympic Games in 648 BC, MMA has only existed in the United States -- via some recorded fashion -- for 20 years. The Ultimate Fighting Championship, born on Nov. 12, 1993, in Denver, Colo., is largely recognized as the starting point for the sport stateside. Back then, it was called No Holds Barred, or NHB; UFC 1 was meant to be a one-off, pay-per-view event engineered by Brazil's jiu-jitsu royal family, the Gracies, to hype their style of combat outside of their native country.

In London, Razak, a budding 18-year-old filmmaker, watched UFC 1 on VHS, then bought the second pay-per-view event a few months later following the first one's surprising overnight success. The son of Fijian immigrants who fled to England on overcrowded "banana boats" to make the most of their newfound independence, Razak grew up in Tottenham, an economically depressed part of North London, where both his parents worked in factories sewing clothes.

Since age 6, Razak had cultivated a love for martial arts of all kinds. At a neighborhood newspaper shop, Razak once begged his father to buy him an expensive magazine with Bruce Lee's iconic Enter The Dragon image on its cover -- a luxury for a family with such limited means. Razak's father did eventually buy the magazine for his son, and Bobby hung the inside poster, with Lee's chest claw-scratched and trickling blood, on his wall. Razak wouldn't see Dragon until he was 13, but by then he'd made up his mind that he'd devote his life to something creative.

Yet, when the time came, finding employment in this field was difficult. "I couldn't get a job in the U.K. and my mom told me if I wanted to make it in something artistic, I'd better go to America," said Razak, who moved to Los Angeles in 1994.

Razak kept a variety of jobs to stay afloat: cinema worker, cold-call stockbroker, personal assistant on film sets and bouncer. Razak bounced for a decade through the ever-changing Hollywood scene.

"I bounced at virtually every nightclub in Hollywood, from the Athletic Club to Backstage to the Ivar -- you name it," said Razak. "It felt weird sometimes; people in the [MMA] industry -- people who only knew me as a filmmaker -- would come through."

Razak also kept his hand on the pulse of the martial arts scene. In 1998 and 1999, he co-promoted two underground MMA events called Neutral Grounds, one of which featured a future UFC superstar named Chuck Liddell. Razak didn't have aspirations to become a promoter -- he ultimately wanted to make an MMA film and needed the money to do it.

"I promoted two events at the Hollywood Athletic Club and the money I raised from those underground events I put into Rites of Passage," he said.

In 1999, Razak cold-called the Hammer House, an MMA gym and team in Columbus, Ohio, that trained featured UFC fighters Mark Coleman and Kevin Randleman.

"Over the phone, I was able to talk them into letting me follow them to Japan for their next fights," said Razak. "Back then, there was no money involved. They were just happy that someone was interested in their story."

With the money he'd raised from Neutral Grounds and other savings, Razak arrived in Urayusu, Japan for UFC 23, where he chased the energetic Randleman behind the scenes until the Ohio State wrestler entered the Octagon for his championship-making turn against Pete Williams. Two days later, Razak and Randleman were in Tokyo to support Coleman, another decorated collegiate wrestler who decisioned 6-foot-8 Brazilian giant Ricardo Morais at Pride 8. At both events, Razak had unfettered access to film wherever he pleased, which allowed him to capture some of the fighters' most private moments behind the curtains in their sanctuary-like dressing rooms.

By this time, the UFC and MMA were under heavy fire in the States. U.S. Senator and future presidential candidate John McCain had become the 90's poster boy for the anti-MMA movement. Working his political connections, McCain vowed to exterminate what he described as "human cockfighting" in America. Ironically, around the same time, Razak worked with Capital Records executive Sidney McCain, Senator McCain's daughter, to secure some of the music for Rites of Passage.

"Her father was trying to bury the sport, while his daughter was helping me get music for an MMA film," recalled Razak. "Whenever I teased Sid about it, she said her career was her own."

Rites of Passage released in 2001 and could be purchased on pay-per-view directly after UFC events. The film also gained Razak the reputation as a serious filmmaker in the sport. Razak began to appear at more and more MMA events. He also began collaborating with Charles "Mask" Lewis, Jr

A day which started off badly for Ben Askren in the morning got worse in the afternoon.

First, Bellator announced that it is releasing its undefeated welterweight champion from any matching rights he might get from other promotions during his free-agent period.

Then UFC president Dana White indicated his company is not interested in signing up Askren at this stage of the game.

"No interest," White told reporters after the UFC 167 press conference.

While White had previously indicated the company was interested in talking to the 12-0 Askren, he says he now feels Askren has to pick up victories in a smaller organization before they'll take another look at him.

"As far as the kid, as far as the level he's on? He barely beat Jay Hieron, you know? He's got some work to do, he can fight in another organization and work his way up and go from there."

White used the Askren situation to take another jab at Bellator's business practices.

"They don't want him," White said. "He's their champion and they don't want him. What does that tell you? They don't even care. ... The fact that they would just give away a guy who was undefeated, it just shows what kind of people you are."




Dana White: UFC isn't interested in signing undefeated Ben Askren - MMA Fighting