Posts from — January 2008

Less than a month after a very nice video was posted all over the internet about “Legalizing MMA in France” (the one above), the news finally came that France has now made MMA legal. Rumor has it that UFC’s Jess Liaudin was behind the push for the legalization process, and I would assume Cheick Kongo would also be supportive of the movement as well. The rules are basically unified rules, minus elbows and that actually is not a bad thing. Maybe we’ll see some Savate in the UFC?! Joking aside, France obviously have a very strong base of Kickboxing, and Jiu-Jitsu is also growing very strongly.Will the UFC hold an event there? Probably not right away, but it’s possible. Last year when I was in Austria, I did noticed that they had a TV show very similar to The Ultimate Fighter. I believe Germany already has legalized MMA so Germany could also be a first stop in the Europe mainland. So far, the first rumored event would be a Shooto event in April in France, not many details yet.

Maybe we need a similar video/push in Ontario? (still dreaming, I know).

Vive la France!

PS: Translation of Video:

I am not a violent man, a bum or a brawler.
I don’t fight in the street or in bars.
I am a practitioner of Kickboxing, Judo, Muay Thai, Wrestling, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
My sport is a combination of combat sports and martial arts.
In France they block the evolution and the transmission of Mixed Martial Arts.
My courage is not respected (known).

Gouwenberg (left) standing with Tim Thurston and Bill Mahood. Photo property of Revolution Martial Arts.

Todd Gouwenberg, a native of Langley, British Columbia, will face the toughest test of his career when he steps into the cage with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Hardcore Championship Fighting: Destiny on February 1.

Todd Gouwenberg is a veteran of TKO Championship Fighting and Bodog Fight who possesses a mixed martial arts record of 7-2. Gouwenberg holds victories over the likes of Icho Larenas, Martin Desilets, Michael Patt, and Konstantin Gluhov. Gouwenberg, known for his heavy hands, spends his time training at Revolution Martial Arts in Port Kells, British Columbia.

Revolution Martial Arts is home to the likes of Kalib Starnes, Kajan Johnson, Tyler Jackson, Kultar Gill, Bill Mahood, Matt Leo, Jay Jenkins, and of course Todd Gouwenberg.

Gouwenberg made his professional mixed martial arts debut in October 2003 knocking out Jeff Kirwinki at Western Freestyle Championships: High Impact. Gouwenberg’s first real test came at TKO 16: Infernal when he fought and defeated former TKO heavyweight champion Icho Larenas. After the impressive stoppage over Larenas, Gouwenberg’s career hit a rough patch where he dropped consecutive fights to Jacob Conliffe and Lavar Johnson. Since the losses, Gouwenberg has scored four straight victories including three in Bodog Fight.

Gouwenberg’s opponent, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, is well known for his time spent fighting for PRIDE Fighting Championship in Japan. Over the span of seven years, Nogueira has solidified himself as one of the top light heavyweights in the world scoring victories over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Guy Mezger. Nogueira is coming off a TKO loss to Thierry Sokoudjou at PRIDE 33: Second Coming.

Gouwenberg was recently on Full Contact Fighter Radio where he said, “I always look to keep a fight standing but things happen sometimes in fights where you have to adjust. If you get caught with a shot and you need to get a body lock or something and a takedown because you’re a little bit wobbled, there’s a lot of things that come into it. But yeah obviously if I can keep this fight standing for sure, there’s a lot of things that come into it and that doesn’t mean I won’t want to put him on his back and ground and pound him and then stand it back up again.”

This fight will be a stern test for Gouwenberg both standing and on the canvas. Rogerio Nogueira has spent an extensive amount of time working on both his striking and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Nogueira was the 2006 and 2007 Brazilian Boxing Super Heavyweight Champion and also won a bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games. Along with his time spent training with the Cuban National Boxing Team, Nogueira has secured his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt training with his brother, Rodrigo Nogueira at Brazilian Top Team.

Pushing all of Nogueira’s accolades aside, Gouwenberg feels he is ready to steal the spotlight. In preparation for the bout, Gouwenberg has spent his time at Revolution Martial Arts honing his skills with Tim Thurston (Boxing), Tim Shears (BJJ), Roy Witts (Boxing), Dave Rothwell (BJJ), and Paul LaLonde (Kickboxing and Muay Thai).

Hardcore Championship Fighting: Destiny is scheduled for February 1, 2008 at the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta.

Starnes exchanging punches with Alan Belcher at UFC 77: Hostile Territory. Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Today on Fight Network Radio, Mauro Ranallo broke news that Kalib Starnes would be fighting Nathan “Rock” Quarry in a middleweight affair at UFC 83 in Montreal, Quebec.

On the program Ranallo said, “Last night I got a scoop via text message, yes in a Fight Network exclusive Kalib Starnes contacted me to tell me he’d be taking on Nate Quarry in a middleweight contest at the UFC debut in Canada on April 19 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Of course I wanted to get sound from Kalib but he was still catching up on some z’s when I made the call today.”

Nate Quarry possesses a mixed martial arts record of 9-2-0 and a UFC record of 4-1. Quarry made his UFC debut in April 2005 defeating Lodune Sincaid at The Ultimate Fighter Finale. Quarry went on to defeat Shonie Carter and Pete Sell before receiving a shot at Rich “Ace” Franklin’s UFC middleweight title. Quarry was clearly over-matched as Franklin took control early landing hard shots before ending the fight at 2:34 with a viscious combination. After the loss to Franklin, Quarry underwent back surgery and spent nearly two years rehabbing before returning to the organization in September. Quarry was impressive in his return scoring a third round KO over Pete “Drago” Sell.

Kalib Starnes, a member of Revolution Fight Team & American Top Team, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 8-2-1. Starnes, a native of Surrey, British Columbia, holds victories over the likes of Jason MacDonald, Chris Leben, Danny Abbadi, and Gerry Elliot. Starnes is coming off a loss to Alan Belcher at UFC 77: Hostile Territory.

UFC 83 is scheduled for April 19, 2008 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec. Check out our rumors section for the latest UFC 83 card.

Brian Gassaway attempting to stuff Diego Sanchez’s shot at UFC 54: Boiling Point. Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

TKO Xtreme has learned that Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons will face UFC veteran Brian Gassaway at TKO 32: Ultimatum.

Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons possesses a decorated mixed martial arts record which includes appearances in Bodog Fight, PRIDE Fighting Championship, Jungle Fight, MECA and IVC. Pele holds victories over Pat Miletich, Matt Hughes, Evandelista Santos, and Jorge Patino. Pele has plenty of experience going up against notable names such as Chuck Liddell, Carlos Newton, Dave Menne, Renato “Babalu” Sobra, Lee Murray, Travis Lutter, and Thales Leites though in a losing effort.

Brian Gassaway, a native of Chicago, Illinois, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 26-17-2. Gassaway holds victories over the likes of Travis Fulton, Mark Hughes, Jamie Toney, and Trevor Garrett. Gassaway appeared in the UFC once losing to Diego Sanchez at UFC 54: Boiling Point.

Check out our rumors section for the latest TKO 32: Ultimatum card.

The Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Photo property of Wikimedia.org.

Tickets for UFC 83 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec go on sale February 3 for all of the UFC Fight Club members. Three days later there is a pre-sale for people subscribed to the UFC newsletter and finally, on February 8 tickets go on sale to the general public.

February 3 - UFC Fight Club pre-sale
February 6 - Newsletter pre-sale
February 8 - General Public

This information comes from Beth on MMA.tv.

Check out our rumors section for the latest UFC 83 card. UFC 83 is scheduled for April 19, 2008 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

Salaverry squaring off with Joe Riggs at UFC 52. Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Sherdog is reporting that Ivan Salaverry will face Rousimar Palhares in the UFC on May 24.

Salaverry, a native of Toronto, Ontario, currently resides in Seattle, Washington where he runs his gym, Ivan Salaverry MMA. Salaverry (12-5) is a veteran of the UFC and WFA who holds victories over notable fighters such as Joe Riggs, Tony Fryklund, Andrei Semenov, and Art Santore. Salaverry’s last octagon appearance came in May 2007 at UFC 71 where he lost via TKO to Terry Martin.

Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares, a member of Brazilian Top Team, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 7-1. Toquinho last fought at Fury FC defeating Daniel Acacio and Fabio Negao in the same night.

Jordan Klippenberg def. Mark Dalango - Submission (Armbar)
John Turnbull def. Kodie Bird - Unanimous Decision
Landon Linney def. Doug Lowney - Submission (Armbar)
Aaron Burke def. Nathan Dunn - Submission (Strikes)
T-Ong Komany def. Greg Hodson - Split Decision
Karl Krolak def. Nolan Clark - Submission (Triangle Choke)
Dan MacIver def. Keith Gagnon - TKO (Strikes)
Brian Grimshaw def. Brad Causey - Submission (Armbar)

Alessio weighing in for his bout with Alex Serdyukov. Photo property of World Extreme Cagefighting.

The Fight Network is reporting that John Alessio will face Brock Larson at a World Extreme Cagefighting card tentatively scheduled for March in Sacramento, California.

John “The Natural” Alessio, a member of Xtreme Couture, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 21-10. Alessio holds victories over notable names such Thomas Denny, Sean Pierson, Ronald Jhun, Alex Serdyukov, and Savant Young. Alessio is currently on a three fight winning streak with his last loss coming to current WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit.

Alessio was originally scheduled to face Derrick Noble at HCF: Destiny on February 1 but the fight was scrapped when it was announced Alessio was suffering from a knee injury which hindered his training. It is believed that the winner of Alessio-Larson will received a shot at the belt during the summer.

Brock Larson, a member of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, possesses a mixed martial arts record of 22-2. Larson holds victories over notable names such as Erik Apple, Keita Nakamura, Ryan Jensen, and Ryan McGivern. Larson’s last WEC appearance came in August where he was stopped by WEC champ, Carlos Condit.

Hat tip: Showdown Joe Ferraro