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Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Professor Paddle Ball 2011 Videos
The 2011�Professor Paddle Ball took place over Memorial Day weekend outside of Leavenworth, Washington, one of my favorite places.� The Ball is�a once-a-year gathering of the Northwest kayaking community organized by ProfessorPaddle.com founder James Amandus and a crew of volunteers, including Adam Ales, maker of the awesome Big Air Ramp over the past few years.� [...]
Rothwell interview: ?It?s not a comeback. It?s an unveiling?
This same Rothwell-lookalike made his way through a killer sparring practice, followed by a conditioning session where coach Duke Roufus bounced up and down on this fighter's abs as he did crunches.
Turns out that this was Rothwell, and he's looking at his UFC 135 bout to show how he's improved during the layoff.
"I've really worked hard on myself. It's not a comeback. It's an unveiling," Rothwell told Cagewriter. "I have been off for more than a year, and instead of using it as a layoff I've used it as a huge building block. I posted a few pictures, and people said, 'Whoa, this guy ain't the same.' When I came back to Duke, he said, 'People who are off because of an injury usually gain 20 lbs. You look like you've lost 20 lbs.'
Rothwell has 37 fights under that belt, and he sees that experience as an asset in preparing to end the layoff in a bout with fellow veteran Mark Hunt.
"I've been fighting for so long, and I've had layoffs, I've been out. I think I'm one of the few guys who can come back from such a long layoff and not look like I've missed a beat. I'm really banking on that fact. As far as Americans go, I'm one of the most experienced guys in the sport. I've been fighting the longest. I'm 31-7, and I've gone through a lot, inside and outside the Octagon."
He hurt his knee in the first round of the bout with Yvel, but is proud that he was able to complete the fight with a victory.
"It was a big challenge for me because I knew my knee was hurt, right at the beginning of the fight. I was in a must-win situation. I'm known for having exciting fights, and it wasn't one of my more exciting fights. Unfortunately for the crowd, they didn't like it, but for me, it was a tremendous mental victory because I knew what I was up against. I was on the brink of defeat, and I fought through and I won. I went through a three-round bout on one leg and won."
Back for a title run
Now, Rothwell wants to make a run for the title, in part because he isn't happy with the way other fighters have acted towards fans.
"A lot of these guys, especially champions, I see how they act, and it enrages me. It's not right. It's not fair," he said. "I fight for the fans because without them, I wouldn't be able to do this. A lot of guys talk the talk, but people know when they meet me, I smile in my pictures. I love giving autographs because I am very thankful for everyone that's made the sport possible. That motivating factor has made me who I am now, and it's time to go out and take what's mine."
He wants to be the kind of champ that fans deserve because MMA, and all the people involved in the sport, made such a marked difference on his life.
"When I was 17, 18 years old, I was on a path of destruction. I had no guidance. I had a gorilla on my shoulder. It wasn't even a chip. I was very lost. The sport has completely changed me. It's made me a far more humble person. It showed me the truth about a lot of people, and it showed me the truth about myself. The sport has given me a reason to be a good person. I have a lot that I fight to protect, and this sport gave me all that. I am forever indebted to it."
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Warren interview: Disappointed Bellator champ just wants fights
Joe Warren's rapid ascent to world champion has been fun to watch. Now the question is whether he can retain his Bellator featherweight world title and eventually add UFC hardware to his mantle.
To beat the best in the world, he knows he's got to log cage time. Real cage time. Warren is angry that his latest fight went by the wayside. Warren was set to face Patricio "Pitbull" Freire at Bellator 47 next week in Canada. Freire suffered a hand injury and the fight was canceled. Now he has to wait until September for his next fight.
Warren joined ESPNRadio1100's "The MMA Insiders" to talk about his career and what could be a bright future. Now, how will he handle another two months before he has to peak?
"I train full-time man. Since I can remember, I've been in the wrestling room training," Warren said. "As young as I am in fighting, I need to be in there training hard like that. My whole concern is the layoff time between fights."
Warren would love to be fighting 5-6 times a year. He already holds Bellator's 145-pound title and will work towards adding the 135 title with a tournament starting in the fall.
"I'm new at it, so I need to be in there. I can't simulate a live fighting match like I can a live wrestling match. It doesn't go down the way you ever expect it to. I feel like the only way I'm learning is in the ring," said Warren.
Warren's sense of urgency is due to his age. He's going to be 35 later this fall. He spent his 20's and early 30's on the international wrestling scene. He's rolled up a 7-1 record since making his MMA debut in March of 2009.
Warren said he plans on making one more run at the Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling. He'll compete in the U.S. Open in December, with an eye on the U.S. Olympic trials in February.
In the meantime, he'll continue training with guys like Scott Jorgensen and Kit Cope. He'll also mix in more time with Team Alpha Male and Urijah Faber. Warren is slated to face Alexis Vila at Bellator 51 in his opening fight of the bantamweight tournament.
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UFC 132 postfight: Screams of ?little guy!? inspired Cruz
UFC 132 could turn out to be a seminal moment for the bantamweight class in MMA.
The 135-pound title fight between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber was the first time fighters of that size headlined a card. The result was a close five-round fight that was waged all over the Octagon.
The champ, who retained his title via unanimous decision, 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47, knew there was a lot more on the line that just his UFC title belt.
"Me and Urijah kind of set the bar for the 135ers especially. we had something to show everybody in the world today ...� that 135ers can headline a card. 145ers can headline a card and it will be exciting," Cruz said. "We can compete with, you know heavyweights, 170 pounders. We all train hard. We all work hard. Just because we're little guys doesn't mean we can't scrap," joked Cruz.
There were even screams of "little guy, little guy" coming from the crowd. It turned out that the dude yelling for 25 minutes was Brandon Vera, Cruz's camp mate at Alliance Training Center in San Diego.
"I knew what that meant. That's when I'm sparring. It means, get on my toes, hop around, footwork [and] move. That's kind of like an active rest. Yeah, I did hear [Vera yelling]," said Cruz.
The bantamweights and featherweights have a chance to become some of the biggest stars in the game. They hardly ever have the stamina issues you sometimes see at heavyweight and light heavyweight. The smaller guys also seem to be more well-rounded which makes finishes, via submission or knockout, possible in just about every fight.
Many of boxing's biggest stars currently fight between 126-154 pounds, so it makes sense that Cruz, Faber, Demetrious Johnson, Jose Aldo, Kenny Florian and countless others could be mega-stars in the next few years. The UFC announced last month that it'll add one more weight class, the 125 pounders before the end of 2011.
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Cruz slips by Faber and retains title at UFC 132, but a third fight is needed
LAS VEGAS - Book it now. Five more rounds might be on the way between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. Cruz and Faber traded punches, knees, kicks, takedowns and awesome scrambles and produced a very tough tilt to score. After 25 minutes of action, the judges gave a unanimous decision, 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 to Cruz, the UFC bantamweight champion, in the main event of UFC 132 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
This was a revenge fight for the champion Cruz (18-1, 1-0 UFC). As a neophite, he lost in 2007 to Faber at WEC 26. Faber went onto a high level of stardom as the sport's best lighter weight fighter while Cruz worked in the background to improve his game and add incredible movement to his arsenal. The 5-foot-9 San Diegan also dropped down a weight class to 135 pounds. In the final days of the WEC, Cruz got on a hot streak and won the bantamweight title. When the UFC folded the 145 and 135 pound weight classes into the bigger promotion, Cruz was handed the title, but there was still unfinished business to legitimize the title. He had to beat Faber.
"I really hyped myself up for this fight. I wanted this fight for four years. I've been hungry for this fight, sweating for this fight, bleeding for this fight," Cruz said during the postfight press conference. "I got it. I won it. I'm happy."
The judges were slightly split on the fight with Sal D'Amato scoring it 5-0 for Cruz while Glenn Trowbridge had it 3-2.
"At the end of the fight, I said 'I'm glad I don't have to score that fight.' It was a very good fight back and forth and we'll see what happens," White responded when asked about a third fight some time down the road. "Third fights are always fun especially when they're as good as that one was. It was a great fight, very technical fight. It was MMA at its finest."
Faber (25-5, 1-1 UFC) and his corner looked devastated and sort of shocked by the decision. After getting blasted by Faber shots, Cruz hit the deck on three occasions, but his ability to bounce up quickly, may have nullified the flash knockdowns.
"You never really know how a fight is going to go until you get in there. I thought I landed the heavier punches. It just wasn't enough output on my side. I didn't finish him. I felt like it could've gone either way. I felt like I won the fight," said a gracious Faber.
Cruz admitted that he'd been blasted a few times by Faber.
"That dude hits hard. His hand are very fast," Cruz said. "They were prepared. His hands were good."
According to Compustrike, Cruz outlanded Faber 99-74, but the champ was knocked down three times. He scored with the judges by converting on 6-of-11 takedowns. Although it should be pointed that not once did Cruz ever really settle Faber down on the ground.
"We're both reaction fighters and was trying not to react too much to his movement, just kind of stalk him and take his best shot and land the heavier shots. I know I landed some heavy shots in there and I know i rocked him a couple of times. Apparently it wasn't enough," Faber said during the postfight press conference. "The main thing must've have been the amount of punches. That's the only thing I can think of."
Faber called Cruz cocky in the past, gave the young champ his due.
"Congrats to Dominick. I'm not an easy guy to beat. Joseph Benavidez is not an easy guy to beat," Faber said. "So we've got a good champ."
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? Junior Nation not happy with Jimmie Johnson
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Pat Miletich interview: Not everyone?s a fan of Tito getting UFC 133 main event
In describing his miraculous turnaround from the brink of retirement, Tito Ortiz is beginning to throw around the term "Cinderella story."� Ortiz, who fighting for his career at UFC 132, is now fighting Rashad Evans at UFC 133, but not everyone is feeling all warm and fuzzy. Showtime MMA analyst and former UFC fighter Pat Miletich was asked about Tito's tale and came across as less than thrilled that Ortiz is being given such a great opportunity (4:00 mark).
"I'm not comment a whole lot on that except, 'throw me in on an undercard and if I win, suddenly I'm a main event guy?' I don't know how that works. Tito puts asses in seats and probably sells pay-per-views, so it's a business decision most likely." Miletich said.
The Showtime analyst was also asked about a possible dream fight against Fedor Emelianenko.
"Let's be honest, Tito in the ring with Fedor ... I don't think Tito deserves that. I gotta be honest with you," Miletich said. "The level of class in those two persons. I don't think Tito remotely deserves that."
Miletich appeared on ESPNRadio1100 to promote his hour of the "The Sixth Annual ESPNRadio1100/98.9 FM 24-hour Radiothon" to benefit "The Caring Place" in Las Vegas.
Pat will be joined by Mauro Ranallo on Jul. 22 at the Palms. Anyone who'll be in the Las Vegas area that weekend can bid to sit in for an hour of radio with the Showtime duo. The proceeds go to "The Caring Place."
Check out the roster and bid if you'd like to contribute. Some of the other hours will hosted by Bernard Hopkins, Tony Dovolani, Brent Musberger, Larry Johnson, Jim Fassell and Mike Tyson.
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Weekly Whitewater Watch: July 11th ? July 18th 2011
Planning on taking an O.A.R.S. trip in the near future? Booked on an O.A.R.S. trip already? We present you with our weekly whitewater watch – a resource available to YOU, the interested adventure traveler. Check back every week for updates on rivers across the west! Here you will find information regarding weather, river flows, exciting [...]
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