It was just one year ago when Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson fell to a late replacement's short jab on CBS on the last card of the ill-fated EliteXC promotion. ... Read More
In the 2009 ADCC absolute championship, the Gracie Barra black belt showed he was not content with just simply having captured the 88-kilogram division title, and was magnificent in conquering the open-weight field, culminating with a victory over 99-kilo division champ Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro in the finale.
The inverted triangle that Estima used to tap Andre Galvao in the 88-kilo final reared its head again, as he locked it in on the defensively superb Ribeiro. ... Read More
The prohibitive favorite to win the under-99-kilogram division, Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro delivered, defeating surprisingly game upstart Gerardi Rinaldi to claim the title.
Ribeiro's 2-0 points win came courtesy of a sweep from the deep half guard fairly early in the 20-minute bout. In the rest of the affair however, Ribeiro showed his brilliant defensive technique and prowess, as the fearless Rinaldi locked up an omoplata, went for kimuras on top while Ribeiro played the deep half, as well as a kneebar and heel hook, to boot. ... Read More
Neither woman was especially impressive, but 2007 ADCC champions will square off in the women's over-60-kilogram final when Penny Thomas meets Hannette Staack Quadros.
Thomas, 2007's over-67-kilo champ, went for a leglock early in her semi-final bout with Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, but wound up giving top position to the Strikeforce 145-pound champion. Cyborg's top game was markedly better than she showed Saturday, and she nearly won the bout with a smooth pass to side control late in the points period, but was unable to hold position for the three seconds necessary to score points. In the first overtime period, Santos was penalized for accidentally kneeing Thomas in the head during a scramble. That penalty point wound up being the difference, as Thomas advanced to the final, (-1)-(-2) on points. ... Read More
The 2009 edition of ADCC is now just about half over. Though there were a few notable upsets across the seven divisions, the final fours in each weight bracket are largely those that you would expect.
In the men's 99-kilogram-and-over category, 2007 divisional champion Fabricio Werdum was clinical, tapping Rogent Lloret with a kimura in the first round before beating Tomasz Janiszewski 3-0 on points to earn his spot on Sunday. BJJ legend Saulo Ribeiro -- typically an 88-kilogram competitor -- outpointed Koji Kanechika and Romulo Barral to advance, while 2005 divisional champ Jeff Monson did likewise, grounding Karol Bedorf and Janne-Pekka Peitilainen. Also advancing to Sunday was Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu, who bested Tom DeBlass and Asa Fuller on points. ... Read More
One might think -- and rightfully so -- that UFC 100 on July 11 in Las Vegas obscures and eclipses all other mixed martial arts action this month. Sadly, it’s not much of a stretch ... Read More
Before he moves on to a challenge of far greater significance -- perhaps a crack at B.J. Penn or Kenny Florian for the UFC lightweight championship -- Diego Sanchez paused to credit one of the few men who can match his relentlessness ... Read More
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