MartialArtsTimes » Editor’s Notes

Editor’s Notes - Oct 08

Artjunky — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:48:16 +0000

We’re proud to present our first Fight Card, featuring Joe Ray, the current ISKA FL Cruiserweight Champion. Ray trains out of Freestyle Fighting Academy and defeated Andrew Johnson in the main event at Warriors Collide. You can find your collectible card on page 5 of the magazine.
Thiago “The PitBull” Alves will have to change his training strategy as Diego Sanchez was forced to withdraw from their October 25th bout due to torn cartilage in his ribs. Josh Koscheck will take his place in what will be a challenging bout for both competitors.
Did the Kimbo show come to a end? We’ll find out, but again, don’ t be so quick to count him out. EliteXC put on a heck of a show, which was unfortunately dominated by the sideshow. Slice was quickly defeated in his hometown, in shocking fashion, and surrounded by a surreal set of circumstances.
Struggle builds character. Kimbo can either walk off with his small place in history, or he can bounce back, continue to climb the learning curve and become a better fighter because, not in spite, of the situation that surrounded him in only his fourth professional bout.
Anyone can get caught. It happens to even the greatest fighters on the planet. It’s how a fighter responds to it that goes to how they will be measured. Slice came out too aggressive and walked into a quick heel kick that appeared to knock the wind out of him. Kimbo lumbered down as he took a right jab into the chin. He will be back, and though he may not appear unbeatable, he will still be a star. He connects with the public in a way no other fighter today does. Like it or not, that’s not going to change with just one defeat.
The women fighters stole the show on CBS. Gina Carano captured headlines before the card started after the unique challenges she presented at the weigh ins. She backed all the hype up in her match against Kelly Kobold. Carano was not dominant, but she was solid, in what was possibly the biggest night for female fighters in the history of MMA.
Cris, “Cyborg”, Justino won impressively in her bout against Yoko Takahashi. With the win she sets up a potential match against Carano, in what would become the biggest profile bout ever for the women of the cage. A Gladiator versus a Cyborg, it would be epic and is currently in the works for early next year.
Don’t forget, Urijah Faber and Mike Brown are set to square off on Nov. 5th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The card will also feature Paulo Filho taking on Chael Sonnen and Jens Pulver against Leonard Garcia.
NAGA makes its return to Florida Atlantic University on October 25th and 26th. NAGA is a beast in terms of crowd and competition. You can find out more about the event at www.nagafighter.com.
Don’t forget you can join us at www.martialartstimes.net for the latest news and updates in the Wide World of the Martial Arts.

Editor’s Notes - Sept. 2008

Artjunky — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:56:45 +0000

The PitBull. Everyone and everything he surrounds himself with is the best in the world and his performance has proven that. His sole focus is clearly on Diego Sanchez, but that doesn’t stop us from getting giddy at the prospect of him taking the final step and earning the right to fight GSP.
Alves and all his friends at American Top Team are the best in MMA. Mike Brown has a pretty big fight ahead of him, too. He’ll face Uriah Faber for the gold on Nov. 5th. The fight was scheduled for September 10, but was postponed due to Hurricane Ike.
Might like to mention you can watch the PitBull when he takes on Diego Sanchez at Dania Jai-Alai, for free. It’s Pay Per View, but you view and they pick up the tab. How sweet. You can even watch the pros heave giant sized golf balls at each other at over 150 miles per hour. They’re as lethal as a Rashad Evans right hand.
Warriors Collide 6 is at the War Memorial on Saturday, Sept. 13th. Left Hook will put on another great showcase of our local talent, who will fight with pride, for glory. Good luck to all the competitors. The Martial Arts Times is proud to be involved with the event.
MMA’s odd couple, Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano, will try to put EliteXC on their shoulders at Bank Atlantic Center and carry them into the new year. You can doubt Slice’s ability to do so, just don’t count Kimbo out. Like him or not he’s a star, a man who has had the weight of the world put onto his back in a short time and thrived. You can ask about his ground game, but don’t question his charisma. Kimbo is living the American dream and having fun while he’s at it.
Slice has wide spread appeal, while Gina has a different kind of appeal. Slice is a hero in cartoons and Carano is an American Gladiator. This dynamic duo is not only needed to win their fights, but do so in a way that will make people feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and just as importantly to draw a large crowd to see Jake Shields put on a fighting clinic and possibly steal the show.
Halloween is just around the corner. Deco Dermot sells costumes. Lots of them. Where else can you learn a new choke hold while you check out? We’d like to thank them for their support, as well as the House of Scooters. With gas prices going crazy, you can restore some sanity by getting a vehicle that really gets good mileage.
And of course Dr. Chenique and Carlos Rollyson. These are two of the toughest guys on the planet and best instructors you can find. Dr. Chenique teaches the mental discipline and self control needed to be not just a great fighter, but great at life. An no one has the pedigree in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu that Rollyson does. You can learn it from the best if you join Team Rollyson. Don’t forget you can join us at www.martialartstimes.net for the latest news and updates in the Wide World of the Martial Arts.

Editor’s Notes - Aug. 2008

Artjunky — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:25:49 +0000

As we approach our one year anniversary next month it is an exciting time for our magazine. We’ve been happy to provide a fresh prospective and look forward to doing it better as we move forward. We’ll be making some announcements concerning our anniversary soon on our website, so make sure to keep in touch with us at martialartstimes.net.
We’d like to invite you out to Dania Jai-Alai on Sunday, September 7th from 1-3pm. The XFC Lightweight Champion John Mahlow will be there signing autographs and taking pictures. If you’ve never gotten to actually see and hold a real Championship belt the time has never been better. As a bonus, Mahlow will be conducting a free thirty minute seminar for attendees that afternoon. He is truly a well grounded fighter whose intentions are pure, and he’s excited to do whatever he can to help the sport grow. The people from American Top Team are a first class bunch.
With the rise of new fight draws like Kimbo Slice and Brock Lesnar, I’ve seen too many fans debasing new fans, claiming themselves to be the “true MMA fans”. This sickens me to no end. Instead of welcoming new fans with open arms and embracing the growing popularity of the industry, these so called fans instead mock newcomers and drive them back away from martial arts.
Unfortunately, too many in the sport have a limited idea of what MMA is. While today’s fighters utilize mostly aspects of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, an altered style of boxing and the wrestling skills now coined “Ground and Pound”, MMA is so much more than that. Is this because BJJ is really the world’s greatest martial art, or more because the greatest fighter to ever enter the octagon, Royce Gracie, was a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter that dominated the sport and brought thousands of new students to his art in the process.
You need to look no further than Kazushi Sakuraba to answer that question. A fighter with a catch wrestling background, he was infuriated that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was seen as the ultimate martial art. He made it his personal responsibility to prove that wrong. He did that by challenging and defeating the greatest BJJ fighters in the world, including Marcus Silvera and Vitor Belfort. When Sakaruba defeated Royler Gracie he became the first fighter to defeat a Gracie in several decades. In 2000, Royce Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba battled for an hour and a half, the longest fight in MMA history. Sakuraba walked away the winner after Gracie’s corner threw the towel in. From then on Sakuraba was known as “The Gracie Hunter”.
The Martial Arts Times goal is not just to provide an excellent publication, but to cover all the martial arts in a way that no other magazine on the market today does. While we pride ourselves on coverage of a variety of arts, everything we cover is a part of Mixed Martial Arts. Hung-Gar Kung Fu is MMA. Jeet Kune Do is MMA. Karate, TaeKwonDo, Judo, Greco Roman Wrestling, Pankration, Muay Thai, even traditional boxing among many others.
Who knows when the next great fighter of a new background will storm onto the scene and change the way the sport is seen, and the styles that the majority of fighters utilize. What about Lyoto Machida? Currently ranked among the best in the world at 205 pounds, this Brazilian is known for his Karate and not his BJJ. His unorthodox fighting style makes it very tough on opponents, which was very evident in his most recent victory over Tito Ortiz.
How about Karo Parisyan? A judo black belt, he is a tough contender at Welterweight. He fights with a style called the Hayastan Grappling System, which contains elements of judo, sambo, catch wrestling, freestlye and Greco Roman wrestling, as well as Muay Thai.
There are thousands of aspiring fighters across the globe looking to get an edge on their opponents so that they may be the next great champion. As Sifu Richie said in a previous edition, “You cannot defend what you do not know.” Some day soon there will be a fighter with a new style that will go on to dominate the sport and change the perception of what an MMA fighter is, much like Royce Gracie did in the 1990’s.
Don’t forget you can join us at www.martialartstimes.net for the latest news and updates in the Wide World of the Martial Arts.

Editor’s Notes July 2008

Artjunky — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:47:33 +0000

It’s been another huge month for Martial Arts, especially MMA, in South Florida. Thiago “the PitBull” Alves shocked the world by defeating UFC legend Matt Hughes in two rounds at UFC 85. This could very well be the biggest win in MMA history for a fighter who trains out of Broward.

Alves took the fight on short notice after Chuck Liddell was injured and removed from the card. He found his opportunity and seized it against Hughes, who many view as the top 170 pound fighter in UFC history. The PitBull is rumored to next face Diego Sanchez at UFC 89 in October.

Alves, was born in Fortaleza, Brazil and fights out of Hallandale for American Top Team. In fact, he is the sensei of the gym, and most certainly now the figurehead. With another win, the Pitbull is on the fast track to face Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight championship, though some recent rumors have surfaced alluding that Alves might move up in weight.

UFC’s newest competition will hit the airwaves hard, as Affliction – Banned will come to FSN and Pay Per View on July 19th. A lot of news has surrounded the fact Donald Trump has now become involved with the promotion, but it’s the star studded card that will have UFC executives keeping a wary eye on the promotion.

It all starts with Fedor, the Last Emperor, Emelianenko, seen by many as the best pound for pound fighter in the world. To show you how seriously Dana White takes him, you only have to look at UFC’s own Fight Night scheduled for the same evening. White put Anderson “Spider” Silva in the main event on cable tv on the Spike Network. Silva is widely regarded as the top fighter pound for pound in the UFC. He usually commands a nice buy rate on pay per view, but in this case is being used as counter programming.

Fedor will face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia. Andrei Arlovski will take on Big Ben Rothwell, while Josh Barnett faces Pedro Rizzo. Those three fights could be one of the best heavyweight cards in MMA history. Other notable names on the Affliction card include Matt Lindland, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Aleksander Emelianenko and Vitor Belfort.

Finally, Eben “The Big O” Oroz lost to John Mahlow in a controversial style at the XFC Salute to the Troops. A packed house just shy of 20,000 saw the title match go only three rounds. There was mass confusion over the length of the bout. In the future, XFC would be wise to make all title fights five rounds to avoid another scene like the one in Tampa. Besides the very upset crowd in the arena, the promotion dashed the hopes of a young fighter who did nothing wrong but train and fight for a five round title fight that was shortened without his knowing.

Welcome to Our New Home

Artjunky — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:35:57 +0000

Welcome to the new home of martialartstimes.net. We have changed webhosts, which will allow us to provide you with a far superior viewing experience. If you happen to notice anything that broke in the move, like a link to a picture, please let us know by e-mail.

We have a host of new features both here and on the way. Firstly, our RSS Feeds now actually work! There is one for the site in general or you can subscribe to an RSS only for the subject you’d like. As you’ll notice we implemented a new tagging system, which allows you to simply look up articles by keywords. Also, site mail now works, so you can e-mail any article to your friends.

More new site tools are on the way, including improved photo galleries and quite a bit more. Thank you for visiting and we look forward to seeing you again in the future. We’d like to thank our new host www.proithosting.com for giving us a new environment and giving us the tools to make your visits more pleasurable.