Dominick Cruz has suffered another knee injury.
The former UFC bantamweight champion, who was sidelined for years after suffering consecutive knee injuries, has now suffered an ACL injury in his right knee.
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Ryan LaFlare is on the comeback trail.
The undefeated welterweight told MMAFighting.com recently that he is hoping to resume his UFC career in March following his second right ACL surgery.
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LAS VEGAS — Heather Jo Clark discusses the play between her and The best Fighter 20 Ending adversary Bec Rawlings, fighting and training despite a torn ACL and needing to be an inspiration to young women.
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A new form of fighting as a television spectacle was announced at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, with some major names in Japanese combat sports and entertainment behind it.
The new promotion is called “Ganryujima,” which is named after a small Japanese island best known as the site of a duel to the death in 1612 between legendary master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi (who the former kickboxer was named after) and Sasaki Kojiro. In more recent times, the island was used for televised pro wrestling spectacular grudge matches held without a ring or cage, known as Jungle Death matches.
Sadaharu Tanikawa, who ran the K-1 kickboxing promotion from 2003 until its closing in 2012, will be heading the promotion, which is being backed by the Fuji Network. The Fuji Network is one of the major networks in Japan. They ran prime time spectacles during the heyday of the Pride Fighting Championships, until canceling due to a scandal when it came out publicly that there was organized crime backing of the group. The Yakuza taint of Pride killed the promotion, as no other television network would touch the shows, even though ratings were still strong, and even after it was sold to Zuffa. It has not aired any fighting sports events for the past seven years.
Sports like kickboxing and MMA have continued to exist in Japan. UFC events at the Saitama Super Arena have drawn well, but to the general public, interest faded in both sports.
The rules explained at the press conference in Tokyo are that it will be a MMA fighting, but without submissions. The matches will be held in a flat circle, similar to sumo, with no ring or a cage. Punching will be allowed on the ground. Wrestling is allowed, but submissions are eliminated. There will be quick stand-ups from lack of punching on the ground, as the ground work will be allowed only if their is an attempt to finish the fight.
According to those close to the promotion, the mentality behind this is to attract a casual fan audience. Their belief is a cage is not general public friendly in Japan, and that extended ground work is boring to the public.
It’s more a spectacle, attempting to use people who already have names in Japan, and do celebrity fights and freak show fights, which worked for a period for ratings purposes. However, they were overdone and interest faded in them, but it has been years since they were done. The mentality was an attempt to produce a fighting surface and rules that sumos, the most famous combat sports athletes in Japan, can compete in. Attempts to use sumos in kickboxing and MMA worked for ratings purposes during Japan’s MMA boom, but they were unable to win many fights, so interest in them fighting faded over time.
Among those involved with the promotion are Hiroshi Hase, its Chief Director, a current senator in Japan whose background included wrestling in the 1984 Olympics and being a Hall of Fame pro wrestler; Masato, Japan’s best-known kickboxer whose retirement coincided with the ending of K-1 as he was its last native superstar; and Shinichi Shinohara, a silver medalist in the 2000 Olympics in judo.
The first show will be Feb. 28, which will air on Fuji’s satellite station, which is not that significant because satellite penetration in Japan is limited. But the top executives of Fuji are looking at building the group up to where they have a major network spectacular on Dec. 31, 2015. Fighting on New Year’s Eve was a tradition on the network for many years, until Fuji got out of the fighting business over the scandal.
The past few years, the Fuji Network brought in fighting celebrities like Bob Sapp, Fedor Emelianenko, Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Kazushi Sakuraba and many others for arm-wrestling and tug-of-war tournaments that aired on New Years Eve. In Japan, New Years Eve is the biggest television night of the year and the feeling is that gimmick has run its course and fights on network television are new again.
The initial reaction of the Japanese fighting sports media was strongly negative, particularly when Hase tied in the Ganryujima name with his pro wrestling death match on the island..
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Seven months after tearing his ACL and meniscus fighting Tyron Woodley at UFC 171, former interim welterweight champ Carlos Condit is seeing light at the conclusion of the tunnel.
“I Have essentially been cleared to begin doing some sparring and training provided that it’s light,” Condit told Bleacher Report. “I must be careful of anything explosive movement-wise or doing anything too fast. I am able to run, hit mitts and do lots of other things. I simply can not go 100 percent on anything yet.”
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An harm to Justine Kish has resulted in the reentry of one the season’s early favorites, Tecia Torres, in The Ultimate Fighter 20’s range.
Kish (4-0), the No. 9 seed of Team Pettis who has fought lingering knee problems throughout the course of the show, was found to have a torn ACL by physicians on Wednesday’s episode. An undefeated 26-year old who possesses a triumph over fellow TUF 20 castmate Randa Markos and was scheduled to fight No. 8 seed Bec Rawlings, Kish’s harm finally compelled her to drop out of the contest to get reconstructive surgery.
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From the time Dec. 20 rolls around, 21 months will have passed between fights for UFC expert Dan Miller, the older brother of lightweight warhorse Jim Miller. Surely the older Miller isn’t a stranger to wonders — his four-and-a-half-year-old son, Dan Jr., persevered through a kidney transplant to survive polycystic kidney disease — but for father, this latest recovery is no little wonder itself.
Much like recordbreaking NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, escalating neck problems driven Miller to get spinal fusion operation in July of this past year. Heading to the operating room, Miller’s fighting future was far from ensured.
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Speculation continues to swirl regarding former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and a possible comeback to mixed martial arts, as St-Pierre is scheduled to ease back into training at the end of October following a lengthy rehabilitation period from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.
St-Pierre vacated his long-held UFC title last December after announcing his indefinite hiatus from the sport that catapulted him into global prominence. In the time since, UFC President Dana White has continued to insist that St-Pierre will return, while St-Pierre’s former manager Stephane Patry reported last week that the Canadian star had officially made his decision.
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LAS VEGAS — Former Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez discusses making his UFC debut, being a watcher in the UFC scene, why he considers his UFC 178 rival Donald Cerrone is a liar, being the number one competitor and even more.
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At a particular point — who is to say when, but probably sometime between the lacy bunny lingerie and that gawky Saturday day vacuuming trip — Rin Nakai the theory appeared to eclipse Rin Nakai the combatant. The 1,000-pound elephant in the room, the one whose twinkling tiara lay in uneasy comparison to the stone face staring back into the camera, rested in the unanswered question of why just was Pancrase’s ruling royalty participating in difficult, semi-fetishistic but otherwise banal tasks on the routine, rolling out oodles of softcore strangeness via the promotion’s YouTube account each month like clockwork.
Ability became scene, and finally that was the purpose.
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Unlike many men and women in MMA, Mark Hunt never wished to be a combatant. Itis a point he makes abundantly clear several times even in a brief dialogue. Being a combatant is something he considers he was set on this particular Earth to be, and he is good with that, and having fun with that, however he makes it clear it had not been his decision but only his destiny. He was born having a strong punch and an inordinate number of durability. His clout, and power to get a punch, enabled him to make up ground fast both in kickboxing and afterwards in MMA, surpassing a lot more proficient and experienced individuals. And it enables him to still be a main event combatant, and maybe even a title challenger, after he’s passed his 40th birthday.”I Have had 23 years of fighting, as well as because time, I Have had two ACL reconstructions as well as a busted hand,” he points out seeing an injury history unusually brief to get a guy that is fighting the top level competitors, and been in several noteworthy wars, in three different sports (he briefly boxed as well) for such a long time. “I feel blessed by God. This is exactly what I am supposed to do in life. I never wished to be a combatant. That is what God said I am planning to do, and I am happy with that. The end is exactly the same, if I win, lose or draw.”His doctrine is quite Japanese-like, where it is around entertaining the viewers first and the outcome is not as significant. During the K1 and Pride heydays, nobody was concerned with win-loss records. It was all about getting the fans to enjoy you. Unlike many combatants who a day or two out from a fight which could be a ticket into a title run or the end of the line, Hunt looks unusually composed and care-free. He is going right into a five-round main event fight at his home from home, the Saitama Super Arena, just outside of Tokyo. Hunt, whose 9-8-1 career record may seem just like a contradiction to his being ranked as the No. 6 competition for winner Cain Velasquez, confronts Roy Nelson, who at 20-9, is the No. 8 competition. The estimated haymaker throw-down takes place on Saturday night in Japan, which will be really early Saturday morning in the U.S., on a show that will air only on Fight Pass. The show internally continues to be dubbed Fight Pass Mania, as it is considered the largest occasion having the most name gift of any show on UFC’s streaming service since its start.”I am excited regarding the matchup,” he said. “I am not planning to underestimate any combatant. I did that once, and that I got knocked out. He is among the best fighters on the planet. We are kind of similar. I am looking forward to Saturday night and having an excellent performance.”It Is Hunt’s first match back since a uncommon harm, the broken hand, coming from an original draw against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. That fight, on Dec. 7, in Brisbane Australia, was considered one of the greatest heavyweight fights in UFC history. Silva tested positive for an elevated amount of testosterone that night, hence the fight on Silva’s record is known as a no contest, but on Hunt’s record, it is still a draw. The Saitama Super Arena is a part of Hunt’s home from home. For most of his career, he was two individuals. He was a relative unknown living in Australia, after growing up in New Zealand. When he flew to Japan, he became “The Super Samoan,” a Japanese star who had been nearly a comic book figure come to life. But this trip was different, having been shaken up by the Tokyo quake when he arrived on Tuesday. “We only landed and it was the quake, bloody,” he said about his reaction. “When God says it is time for just one of us to go, we are done.”But Hunt does not feel like he is done in any manner.”It Is great for me to be doing what I am doing at my age,” he said. “I love doing what I am doing. Nevertheless , as soon as I am finished, I am not planning to return. I will not want the cash. The sole reason I am still fighting is since I consider I am still the best fighter on the planet. I’d like to defeat Roy on Saturday night, and then I’d like to fight a top-five man. Afterward I would like to challenge for the title once, whoever that may be against. That is all I am curious in. I need one opportunity for this title shot.”It’s been almost 13 years because both Mark Searches were born. It was on Dec. 8, 2001, at the Tokyo Dome, before a sold out crowd of 55,000 enthusiasts, and with 23 million more seeing on television. Hunt, who’d only fought once earlier in Japan, was considered to be out of his league in the K-1 World Grand Prix. He was a heavy underdog in every one of his fights. But he knocked out Jerome LeBanner, won via decision over Stefan Leko, and won an overtime decision over Francisco Filho to win the one-night eight-man tournament. The thought of a 5-foot-9 and 271-pound powerhouse, who’d just debuted in Japan two months before, knocking off three leading stars in a single night along with his chief ability being a knockout punch, as well as a granite chin, made him an immediate star in Japan. Itis a status he’s mostly preserved even though both the kickboxing and MMA age for the reason that state is long finished. He managed to make it to the top rung in kickboxing with little expertise – his first professional fight arrived four days after he was seen by means of a bouncer in a night club knocking multiple folks out in an Auckland, New Zealand pub. Another thing he knew, he was in the ring. But MMA proved to be a little more demanding. That career began in 2004, when the Pride Fighting Championships upped his pay significantly to tempt him from K1, mainly as among K1’s largest stars, during a promotional war. The concept was to find a huge man having a large name the people understood was rough, but was not an MMA fighter, to feed to Hidehiko Yoshida, a Japanese gold medalist in judo that Pride was attempting to establish its business near. It was Hunt’s first MMA fight, along with his first fight in the Saitama Super Arena. He continued only 5:25 before losing via armbar. But even without earth training, his natural power enabled him to live much longer than he should have.”I needed to learn an entirely new sport,” he said in regards to the move to MMA in the age of 30. “It was tough coming from a dramatic history, and I needed to learn the hard way. I’d just 3 or 4 weeks of training, and that I got armbarred by a gold medalist. It was kind of rough to come from a standing stunning history. I used to be like a fish out of water. It was a completely new and different challenge.”He learned quickly, knocking out enormous American wrestler Daniel Bobish, before competing in his first New Year’s Eve event on Dec. 31, 2004, and winning a freak show fight over Wanderlei Silva, who he outweighed that nighttime by 76 pounds. He fought several more times on New Year’s Eve, the greatest fighting day of the entire year in Japan. Recently, with fighting no longer popular, Tokyo has still been his New Year’s Eve destination, as he is competed with sportsmen from several sports in arm wrestling and tug of wars, winning the title once in the latter sport. However, even with triumphs over legends like Silva and Mirko Cro Cop in his early MMA fights, UFC needed no part of him when his contract came to them in 2007 together with the purchase of the assets of the Pride Fighting Championships. The feeling is he was lacking in earth abilities. The UFC was prepared to pay him off to simply go away, however he desired to fight MMA in the top level. Following a legal fight which continued three years, the UFC ended on the losing side and Hunt debuted, losing via straight armbar to journeyman fighter Sean McCorkle. At that time, Hunt was considered past his prime, at 36 years old, but his contract, because it came from Pride, did not let UFC to cut him. Subsequently he began winning, going all of the way into a title eliminator in 2013 where he lost via knockout to Junior Dos Santos.”I Have always believed I was the best fighter on the planet,” he said. “Coming from a standing history in dramatic, I could not catch up to the men with 20 plus years of training on the earth. I needed to learn entries. I found out it was not an easy road. I ‘d six losses in a row, but I still believed I was the greatest fighter in the world.”Saturday’s fight will probably be his 11th in the Saitama Super Arena, with wins and losses against a who is who of heavyweights in the Pride generation, including Yoshida, Cro Cop, Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett.Nelson and Hunt have some clear similarities. Both are short power stations with one-punch knockout power and both are not easy to quit. Both do not seem anything like a classic striker, being short and thick, with more than considerable weight around the center. Hunt figures he’s got the takedown shield to maintain the fight standing. Nelson, a black belt in Jiu Jitsu, would determine to truly have a leading border in the floor, but Hunt does not appear concerned.”If the fight goes to the earth, I do not care,” Hunt said. “We’ll see what Roy’s got. We are only going to fight.”
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