EliteXC Hawaiian Style
EliteXC brass held a media conference call Thursday afternoon to
discuss the particulars of their next Showtime offering: Sept. 15's
"Uprising" broadcast from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Topping the card will be the second title unification of the month, as ICON Sport champion "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (Pictures) tries to seize the EliteXC middleweight title from Chute Boxe's Murilo "Ninja" Rua -- and vice versa.
Both Lawler and Rua (who spoke through an interpreter) expressed the typical confidence expected from the sport's athletes, though Lawler was quick to give Rua's pedigree respect.
"He comes from a great team," Lawler said. "They've instilled a hard work [ethic] into him, and he knows what it takes to win. But if I touch him a few times with my hands, I'm going to knock him out."
Queried about his pending separation from his camp of eight years, Miletich Fighting Systems, Lawler refuted concerns that the change would impact his training.
"It's a business decision," he said of plans to become part owner of a gym alongside Matt Hughes (Pictures). "Pat (Miletich) is like a brother to me, and always will be."
Asked if the change from the ICON ring to Elite's cage would present problems, Lawler shrugged. "I've never really trained in a cage or a ring," he started. "It doesn't matter. I know how to fight and get the job done."
For his part, Rua voiced his confidence that he would win the fight anywhere it goes. "Standing or ground, it doesn't matter," his interpreter, Julio Heller, said.
Lawler, who became champion after a fourth-round destruction of Frank Trigg (Pictures) in March, displayed a Chute Boxe-level propensity for sudden violence when he battered Trigg into a corner.
"Rua has a lot of respect for Lawler, and he saw the fight with Trigg," said the Portuguese-speaking fighter's aide. "He finished the fight very quickly. But on Sept. 15, things will be different."
Trigg had previously been rumored to fight Jake Shields (Pictures), who opposes Renato "Charuto" Verissimo on the Hawaii card. Asked to explain why the fight never materialized, Shields laid the blame on his rival.
"Trigg never signed a contract," said Shields. "He doesn't want to fight me. He's had several opportunities, and he always has an excuse."
Shields maintained that he would be willing to meet Trigg at 185 pounds and had agreed to do so last October, but that Trigg "didn't return the promoter's phone calls."
Gina Carano (Pictures) has no problems with her phone service: the women's MMA figurehead is set to return to the promotion for the first time since a February victory over Julie Kedzie (Pictures), a bout that helped change perceptions about females in the sport.
Speaking of training at Randy Couture (Pictures)'s Xtreme Couture gym, Carano expressed relief that she finally had a place to blend her disparate styles.
"I didn't have anybody to put my MMA game together for me," she said. "I trained jiu-jitsu in one place, Muay Thai at another."
That seems set to end with Couture's supervision, though the UFC heavyweight champion hasn't spent much time with Carano yet.
"I haven't had a chance to train with Randy, because he was getting ready for Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures)," said Carano. "But everybody there is amazing."
EliteXC airs on Showtime Sept. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT from the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Topping the card will be the second title unification of the month, as ICON Sport champion "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (Pictures) tries to seize the EliteXC middleweight title from Chute Boxe's Murilo "Ninja" Rua -- and vice versa.
Both Lawler and Rua (who spoke through an interpreter) expressed the typical confidence expected from the sport's athletes, though Lawler was quick to give Rua's pedigree respect.
"He comes from a great team," Lawler said. "They've instilled a hard work [ethic] into him, and he knows what it takes to win. But if I touch him a few times with my hands, I'm going to knock him out."
Queried about his pending separation from his camp of eight years, Miletich Fighting Systems, Lawler refuted concerns that the change would impact his training.
"It's a business decision," he said of plans to become part owner of a gym alongside Matt Hughes (Pictures). "Pat (Miletich) is like a brother to me, and always will be."
Asked if the change from the ICON ring to Elite's cage would present problems, Lawler shrugged. "I've never really trained in a cage or a ring," he started. "It doesn't matter. I know how to fight and get the job done."
For his part, Rua voiced his confidence that he would win the fight anywhere it goes. "Standing or ground, it doesn't matter," his interpreter, Julio Heller, said.
Lawler, who became champion after a fourth-round destruction of Frank Trigg (Pictures) in March, displayed a Chute Boxe-level propensity for sudden violence when he battered Trigg into a corner.
"Rua has a lot of respect for Lawler, and he saw the fight with Trigg," said the Portuguese-speaking fighter's aide. "He finished the fight very quickly. But on Sept. 15, things will be different."
Trigg had previously been rumored to fight Jake Shields (Pictures), who opposes Renato "Charuto" Verissimo on the Hawaii card. Asked to explain why the fight never materialized, Shields laid the blame on his rival.
"Trigg never signed a contract," said Shields. "He doesn't want to fight me. He's had several opportunities, and he always has an excuse."
Shields maintained that he would be willing to meet Trigg at 185 pounds and had agreed to do so last October, but that Trigg "didn't return the promoter's phone calls."
Gina Carano (Pictures) has no problems with her phone service: the women's MMA figurehead is set to return to the promotion for the first time since a February victory over Julie Kedzie (Pictures), a bout that helped change perceptions about females in the sport.
Speaking of training at Randy Couture (Pictures)'s Xtreme Couture gym, Carano expressed relief that she finally had a place to blend her disparate styles.
"I didn't have anybody to put my MMA game together for me," she said. "I trained jiu-jitsu in one place, Muay Thai at another."
That seems set to end with Couture's supervision, though the UFC heavyweight champion hasn't spent much time with Carano yet.
"I haven't had a chance to train with Randy, because he was getting ready for Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures)," said Carano. "But everybody there is amazing."
EliteXC airs on Showtime Sept. 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT from the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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