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Friday MMA: A TV Viewer’s Guide
By: Jeff Sherwood
Friday
3:30 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC 101: Gracie Jiu Jitsu
Rener and Ryron Gracie cover the core positions, principles and techniques of Gracie Jiu Jitsu that were made famous in the UFC.
4:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Fight Night
Episode 21: Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard Nate Quarry vs. Tim Credeur; Roger Huerta vs. Gray Maynard.
10:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Fight Night
Episode 21: Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard Nate Quarry vs. Tim Credeur; Roger Huerta vs. Gray Maynard.
4:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: Best of PRIDE Fighting Championship
Greatest fights in Pride history.
5:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
The Gracie brothers break down Georges St.Pierre's historic arm bar; the greatest UFC Feuds; Carlos Condit remains committed to his title aspirations; the Strikeforce newcomers.
5:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Johny Hendricks all-access account of his UFC 158; Alexander Gustafsson provides a tour of his home; Cain Velasquez's Harley Davidson photo shoot.
6:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Fight Night
Episode 21: Nate Diaz vs. Melvin Guillard Nate Quarry vs. Tim Credeur; Roger Huerta vs. Gray Maynard.
8:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC: Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann
Wanderlei Silva vs. Brian Stann; Mark Hunt vs. Stefan Struve; Takanori Gomi vs. Diego Sanchez; Hector Lombard vs. Yushin Okami; Rani Yahya vs. Mizuto Hirota; Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Dong Hyun Kim. From Saitama, Japan.
9:00 p.m. ET AXS: Inside MMA
EPISODE: 285 Scott Jorgensen joins Kenny and Bas; Ron Kruck sits down with Prince Fielder.
10:00 p.m. ET AXS: A Night of Champions
Highlights from DREAM, Legacy FC and the IFL; fighters include Roy Nelson, Shinya Aoki and Daniel Pineda.
10:30 p.m. ET The Score: The Score Fighting Series
The Score Fighting Series (SFS) features fighters from North America and beyond with a focus on exciting match-ups and developing the next generation of great fighters. Tune in for non-stop action from events across the country.
11:00 p.m. ET SpikeTV: Bellator MMA Live
EPISODE: 12 David Rickels vs. Saad Awad; Mikhail Zayats vs. Emanuel Newton; Luis Melo vs. Trey Houston. From Tampa, Fla.
11:00 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Tonight
Before They Were Champs The earliest octagon moments of future title-holders Georges St.Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez.
11:30 p.m. ET FuelTV: UFC Ultimate Insider
Johny Hendricks all-access account of his UFC 158; Alexander Gustafsson provides a tour of his home; Cain Velasquez's Harley Davidson photo shoot.
12:00 a.m. ET AXS: Inside MMA
EPISODE: 285 Scott Jorgensen joins Kenny and Bas; Ron Kruck sits down with Prince Fielder.
12:00 a.m. ET FuelTV: The Ultimate Fighter
Season 17 Episode 10: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen: The Quarterfinals Begin A fighter gets a surprise visit from world champion Ronda Rousey; two fighters face off trying to secure a spot in the final four. Read more -
Shinya Aoki: I Crank Submissions Until the Fight is Over
Shinya Aoki talks about his clash with Kotetsu Boku at One FC: Kings and Champions. The event's undercard streams live and free on Sherdog.com.
Follow the jump for reader comments. Read more -
One FC Preview: Aoki vs. Boku
Follow the jump for reader comments. Read more -
Poll: Best BJJ in MMA?
Follow the jump for reader comments. Read more -
Mike Chiappetta Joins Press Row
By: Jordan Breen
Every Wednesday, Administrative Editor Jordan Breen welcomes a member of the mixed martial arts media into “Press Row” on the Sherdog.com blog. This week, Breen is joined by Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com.
Read more
Breen and Chiappetta discuss testosterone replacement therapy and its place within MMA, springboarding off of Chiappetta’s recent takeout feature on TRT. The two discuss the moral implications of these powerful hormones in sport, their usefulness outside of athletics, and the essential philosophical question of what kinds of people are “suitable” to take performance-enhancing drugs.
The two also discuss what can be done on the regulatory side, the idea of an “even playing field” in sports, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lasik eye surgery, scar tissue removal and much, much more.
Grab your credential and get a seat in “Press Row.” -
Pederneiras: Aoki-‘Chiquerim’ Scratched due to Visa Troubles
By: Chris Nelson
Willamy Freire will not compete for Dream in May. | Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com
Former Shooto 154-pound world champion Willamy “Chiquerim” Freire will have to wait to make his return to the Japanese ring.
Despite a Monday report from MMAWeekly.com stating that Freire would meet Dream lightweight ace Shinya Aoki at Dream’s May 29 “Fight for Japan” event, Sherdog.com has learned that the 23-year-old Brazilian will be unable to make the engagement in Saitama, Japan.
“‘Chiquerim’ has a problem with his passport,” Freire’s trainer, Nova Uniao leader Andre Pederneiras, tells Sherdog.com. “His passport expired and he doesn’t have time to get a new one.”
Freire, who captured Shooto gold with an October 2009 stoppage of Kenichiro Togashi, vacated the title in May 2010 following his first defense against Yusuke Endo. The Fortaleza native had an 11-fight win streak snapped by Waylon Lowe in his January UFC debut and, in a surprising turn, was released by the promotion after only one fight. Read more -
Aoki Quits Twitter
By: Chris Nelson
Shinya Aoki (right) | Taro Irei/Sherdog.com
When it comes to trash talk and taunting, Shinya Aoki can dish it out. But it appears the Dream lightweight champion can no longer take the barrage of online ridicule over his most recent loss.
On Thursday, Aoki shut down his personal account on social networking site Twitter, @waoki, following an onslaught of insults and mockery from fans of Yuichiro Nagashima. Aoki was brutally knocked out by the K-1 Max kickboxer in their mixed rules bout at K-1 Dynamite: The Power of Courage 2010 on Dec. 31 in Saitama, Japan.
The rules of Aoki’s match with Nagashima called for one three-minute kickboxing round, followed by a five-minute mixed martial arts round. Predictably, grappling specialist Aoki was on the defensive for much of the first period. The “Tobikan Judan” clinched, ducked, ran, and even dropkicked to avoid Nagashima’s strikes. At the start of the second stanza, Aoki rushed across the ring and shot for a takedown, only to be crushed by a jumping knee from Nagashima which knocked Aoki out just four seconds into the round.
A cosplayer who almost always appears in public dressed as a female anime character, Nagashima possesses a rabid online fan base comprised of many other cosplay and anime enthusiasts. Those fans jumped on the opportunity to mock Aoki continually after the New Year’s Eve loss, on both Twitter and message boards.
“I think I’m done with Twitter,” Aoki wrote plainly before deleting the account, adding that he would continue to communicate with fans through Japanese social networking service Mixi. Read more -
Primer: New Year’s in Japan
By: Jake Rossen
Kazushi Sakuraba | Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com
If Ryan Seacrest happened to be a major celebrity in Japan, he would eventually be offered a substantial sum to be beaten severely in any number of the country’s traditional New Year’s Eve fighting events. The Japanese watch television in huge numbers that night, and promotions have hired everyone from actors to pro wrestlers to fighters dressed in costumes in order to draw attention away from the standard music and variety programming.
Does it work? For a long time, it did: any combination of Sumo, Bob Sapp, or Olympic champions would usually produce tremendous ratings. But the decline of real fighters and the increasing reluctance (possibly related to the shrinking pay stubs) of the “special attractions” has taken its toll.
It’s a real sign of MMA’s erosion in Japan that only one event -- K-1’s Dynamite -- is actually airing New Year’s Eve; the more serious Sengoku takes place Dec. 30. In both cases, fans can see a series of competitive fights. But in K-1’s arena, the need for ratings will prompt the usual stunt work: Shinya Aoki will be facing Yuichiro Nagashima in a fight that alternates kickboxing rounds with MMA rules and Bob Sapp will be wrestling Sumo great Shinichi Suzukawa in an orchestrated entertainment-only intermission. Both are likely to dwarf the night’s most legitimate bout, a lightweight meeting between Strikeforce’s Josh Thomson and Tatsuya Kawajiri.
Stateside, most of the attention has been directed at Todd Duffee taking a late-notice bout against Alistair Overeem. Duffee was touted as a UFC prospect before a shock KO at the hands of Mike Russow; reported head-butting with UFC management led to his release. But Duffee can strike, and he’s a few levels above the kind of competition you’d expect Overeem to accept only three weeks after a grueling K-1 tournament. Too good to believe, actually. Like most of the Japanese product, it’s subject to change. Read more -
Shinya Aoki Has Problems
By: Jake Rossen
Shinya Aoki vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri: Taro Irei/Sherdog.com
It’s not uncommon for Japanese promotions to assign press escorts and censor more incendiary statements by fighters.
Someone had the weekend off. In comments translated by Gryphon.com, Shinya Aoki -- Saturday’s biggest winner in Dream thanks to an Achilles lock submission over a highly regarded Tatsuya Kawajiri -- expressed a somewhat disturbing view of the fight’s finish.
“I knew Kawajiri never taps so I could not win without breaking his bone,” he said. “I was hoping for an open-fracture."
Yes, hope: in the same way we maintain pleasant optimism for good health, a better economy, and family success, Aoki hopes he can send fighters to an orthopedic surgeon. Maybe he gets kickbacks.
By way of pattern, Aoki was also unrepentant when he damaged the arm of Mizuto Hirota last New Year’s. (He actually made faces and stuck out his middle finger, not typically signs of regret.) Aoki’s glee in hurting people is approaching sadism unseen since David Abbott was smiling as he tried to push Paul Varelan’s face through the fence.
Most fighters consider injury to be a side effect of winning: no particular enjoyment is taken, and athletes are usually quick to express remorse for gruesome results. Aoki is different: guilt is not on his menu.
There was some relief in Abbott’s tendencies because he was poorly conditioned and could usually be torn off of someone he downed. Aoki, like most submission specialists, can tie an opponent up for almost as long as he wishes. If the objective is to snap something, that’s a radically dangerous skill set to have. But with Dream struggling, punishing Aoki isn’t in their best interests. He’s got something close to a pass. At least he can’t go for the groin. Read more -
Poll: Aoki Still a Threat?
