SB Nation User Blog: Brent Brookhouse

Sengoku Cancels New Years Eve Show; Rumors of Co-Promotion With DREAM

Brent Brookhouse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:52:46 -0000

One of Japan's biggest promotions will not be hosting a show on the biggest fight night of the year.

The Japanese MMA scene is always a complicated monster but Chris Nelson of Bloody Elbow does a fantastic job of keeping up with it. The latest major news out of Japan is that Sengoku has canceled it's New Years Eve show (historically a major evening for Japanese MMA) and that the promotion may be putting on a joint show with DREAM. Mr. Nelson expands:

Late Tuesday night, multiple sources informed BloodyElbow.com that World Victory Road has decided to cancel its New Year's Eve "Sengoku Raiden Championship" show at Tokyo's Ariake Coliseum.

The news comes after rumors of the card being in serious peril began to mount this week, when WVR called off a press conference related to the event and had not yet released details for its television broadcast. The show's headliner - the only bout to be made official by the promotion - would have seen Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii in his MMA debut against fellow judoka Hidehiko Yoshida.

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With a five-hour slot on the Tokyo Broadcast System already in place and solid ratings needed, the extra juice that a match like Ishii-Yoshida could bring to the table may be too tempting for FEG to resist.

UFC 105 Press Conference Pictures

Brent Brookhouse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:47:16 -0000

BloodyElbow.com has photos from the UFC 105 press conference held earlier today. The highlight of the event may have been when Mike Swick was presented with a “runner up” trophy by his opponent on the event, Dan Hardy.

UFC 110 Fight Announcement: Igor Pokrajac v. James Te Huna

Brent Brookhouse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:55:15 -0000

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The card for the UFC's first trip to Australia continues to fill out.

The UFC 110 card is coming together very quickly. Today word comes from Fighters Only that Igor Pokrajac will be taking on James Te Huna as the promotion makes it's first trip to Australia. From Fighters Only:

Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filipovic’s former sparring partner Igor Pokrajac will have his second UFC fight when the organisation hits Australia, Fighters Only has learned.

The Croatian light-heavyweight (21-6) lost on his UFC 103 debut to Vladimir Matyushenko, dropping a unanimous decision.

In Australia he will face UFC newcomer James Te Huna, a New Zealand native who is based in Australia and was once signed to PRIDE (although the organisation went under before they could give him a fight).

Te Huna has picked up several knockouts in recent fights but hasn't fought a high level of competition. This fight would have to be an absolute barn burner to make the broadcast as there is really no name recognition at all for the two men.

Dana White UFC 105 Video Blog - Episode 2

Brent Brookhouse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:33:00 -0000

Dana White’s second video blog for UFC 105 is up on MMA Mania. Nothing screams class like the president of a major sporting organization buying $130 worth of scratch tickets. Spoiler Alert: The thrilling conclusion involves Dana and Lorenzo lifting a car.

Chuck Liddell Gets Drunk; Defends Lindsay Lohan

Brent Brookhouse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:07:44 -0000

November 10th, 2009: A very intoxicated Chuck Liddell was spotted leaving Leonardo DiCaprio’s party at Villa Tuesday night. When the photographers caught back up with him at Leo’s afterparty, he practically started a fight with photographers before it was broken up. Reportedly, he was trying to be a hero for Lindsay Lohan, who was entering the party and was the original focus of the photographers’ lenses.

- TMZ brings us their usual brand of important news (plus video).

Considering that at the moment Liddell is “retired” I don’t think it really will have any impact on the sport. Also, Josh Neer ran from the cops at speeds of around 100 MPH while drunk and Quinton Jackson went on a rampage through the city…I don’t think the promotion is losing any sleep over Liddell making a fool of himself.

Matt Hughes v. Renzo Gracie In Works For UFC 109

Brent Brookhouse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:01:12 -0000

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A "senior division" match-up is in the works for the UFC 109 card.

Heavy.com has the details:

Heavy.com has confirmed with sources close to the UFC that a welterweight matchup between Renzo Gracie and Matt Hughes is in the works for UFC 109 in February.

Gracie, 42, last appeared in a February 2007 disqualification victory over Frank Shamrock. Rumors have circulated over the last month that the legendary Gracie family member has been in negotiations with the UFC. Both fighters have been approached about the fight, but bout agreements have not been signed.

There really are no title implications in this fight but it should still be a fun watch. It'll be interesting to see if the UFC tries to work the "revenge" angle with Renzo looking to make right where brother Royce was unable. The layoff on Renzo's part is a little concerning, especially at 42 years of age. There aren't too many men who can continue to function at a high level in MMA into their 40's and it is a fair assumption that a long layoff may lead to a lot of rust.

Chad Ochocinco Looking For A Fight

Brent Brookhouse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:51:35 -0000

“Dana this Ocho Cinco, I want to fight your #1 and #2 best fighters asap,exhibition to raise money for a charity of choice!!!!!!,” Ochocinco tweeted. “matter of fact I want Anderson Spider Silva—-please don’t ignore me or you’ll have to fight me yourself!!! Sincerely Esteban :)”

- A “tweet” from Chad Ochocinco to UFC President Dana White

Dana responded with:

If you are really serious @OGOchoCinco, contact me. We’ll put a fight together for charity.

Of course this will never happen. Chad has been calling out boxers for months now but there will never be a time when he steps in with so much as an amateur fighter let alone one of the Pound-For-Pound greats.

Kazuo Misaki Leaves Grabaka Gym

Brent Brookhouse — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:20:40 -0000

It’s time for a new nickname for Kazuo Misaki. The former “Grabaka Hitman” has left Grabaka Gym. From MMAMania:

Earlier this week, Misaki has officially announced his departure from the Grabaka gym where he has been affiliated since 2000 — he made his professional debut in Pancrase in May, 2001. Citing his intent to “start from scratch,” he did not unveil any detail regarding his future plan for training or fighting schedule.

Located in Nakano, Tokyo, Grabaka gym was founded by Pancrase/PRIDE veteran and former ADCC winner, Sanae Kikuta, and has produced numerous standout fighters including Misaki, Akihiro Gono, Yuki Sasaki, and Kazunori Yokota. The retired UFC/Hero’s veteran, Genki Sudo and current UFC top middleweight contender, Nate Marquardt, count themselves among the fighters who have trained at the gym at one time or another.

Teaser Video For Tonights "The Ultimate Fighter"

Brent Brookhouse — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:29:21 -0000

BloodyElbow has up a teaser video for tonight’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. The show will feature a quarterfinal fight between Justin Wren and Roy “Kimbo Killer” Nelson.

UFC 107 Fight Announcement: Paul Buentello v. Stefan Struve

Brent Brookhouse — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:38:09 -0000

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Paul Buentello makes his return to UFC action against the almost seven foot tall Stefan Struve.

MMA Mania brings us the news on the newest addition to the UFC 107 event:

Towering up-and-coming heavyweight Stefan Struve (18-3) has officially taken over for the injured Todd Duffee in a bid to throw hands with Paul Buentello (27-10) at UFC 107: "Penn vs. Sanchez" from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 12.

Buentello was last seen using Kiril Sidelnikov’s face as a human punching bag for almost three full rounds at Affliction 2: "Day of Reckoning" earlier this year. "The Headhunter" went on to eventually score a late third round technical knockout over the Russian Sambo specialist, who later tested positive for having banned substances in his system after the contest.

Struve stands at close to 7' tall. While this may conjure up images of huge strikers like Semmy Schilt but Stefan possesses a very dangerous ground game. Most recently his submission skills were on display as he transitioned from position to position before submitting Chase Gormley.

A win for either man should put them into a position to get a fight with pretty decent implications. No word on if Todd Duffee will return with a fight against the winner.