Monthly Archives: August 2012

Thai Pad Holding Technique

Thai Pad Holding Technique / Kicking in MMA / Heel Lock Tutorial

This is not exactly a brand new video but the tutorial quality is top notch. Check this video out for tips on Thai Pad holding technique, having kicking as part of your MMA offensive arsenal and heel locks.

Not sure on the guy’s earrings though, each to their own!

UFC 151 Conference Call Jones vs Henderson

Ahead of their forthcoming clash at UFC 151 on 1st September, a media conference call was set up earlier on today between the headlining fighters Jon Jones and Dan Henderson. Dana White, also present for the call, joined in the mostly respectful banter between the two fighters as the hype machine keeps on rolling ahead of this eagerly awaited fight.

We’ve got the full call transcript below….

Dana White:Ai??I thought Couture was wrapping it up at 37. Dan Henderson is a three time world champion. He’s a great wrestlers, has knockout power in both hands and has fought everyone from 170 pounds all the way to heavyweight. He continues to impress no matter how old he gets.

Dan Henderson:Ai??This is a fight I’ve been waiting for and working towards. One of the final goals I have is to get the UFC belt. I’m excited to get the opportunity.

Dana White:Ai??Jon Jones has been on a tear. If he wrecks Dan Henderson, that would be even more impressive. No one has ever knocked out Dan Henderson. He’s got a rock solid iron chin. If he did that it would be quite feat.

Dana White:Ai??Whether Dan Henderson wins or loses, he’s a UFC Hall of Famer.

Dan Henderson:Ai??I definitely plan on beating him to the punch and putting him on his back during the fight. I’m excited but everyone’s gonna have to wait to see how it unfolds.

Jon Jones:Ai??I feel as if my chin has been tested. It slows down your career and makes it so you can’t take punches. The more you get punched, the faster you’ll get knocked out. I train with Travis Browne and Andrei Arlovski and Lyoto Machida and Rashad both hit me pretty good. That conversation should be over by now.

Dan Henderson:Ai??I would have liked to have gone a little bit earlier. It is what it is. I’d have been ready to go in April but I’m excited about this. This timing has been great for me.

Dan Henderson:Ai??I typically want to fight three times per year.

Jon Jones:Ai??I think our PPV will do really well. Dan has a very strong and loyal fanbase and I’m starting to get a good fanbase.

Dana White:Ai??The thing between Rashad and Jon Jones was a big deal but the real fact of the matter was people thought Rashad had Jones’ number. If anybody thinks Dan Henderson can’t win this fight, they’re out of their minds. Fans who really know the sport know that Dan Henderson is the true threat.

Dan Henderson:Ai??The betting line doesn’t bother me at all. It’s funny to me. I know what I’m capable of and if it means proving people wrong, that’ll make it sweeter.

Jon Jones:Ai??I don’t think it’s fair to Dan. He’s done a lot of great things in this sport and it’s sad that people are more focused on my future than my immediate future. Everything I do is based around Dan Henderson, my study, my tactics. People may be overlooking Dan Henderson but I’m definitely not.

Jon Jones:Ai??I don’t feel like there will be extra distractions. There’s a little bit more controversy around me this training camp. My team doesn’t care about Nike or what I’m driving. It’s all about Dan Henderson for all of us.

Dana White:Ai??He’s fought the who’s who. He’s been around forever and fought everybody at every weight class. If you look at his skillset, I don’t know how you can discount this guy. Him and Rampage went toe-to-toe for five rounds blasting each other. The amount of disrespect has been ridiculous.

Dana White: Dan Henderson is probably one of the most overlooked and underrated fighters in the world today.

Jon Jones:Ai??I’ll be wearing a different outfit for weigh-ins, shoes, hats, different shirts. It’ll be like an official uniform. I saw the signature shoe and it’s pretty sweet but this is just a package they put together. It’ll be really nice, very professional.

Jon Jones:Ai??Dan’s definitely made a few statements about my style that have been unnecessary and uncalled for. My intentions are to go out and try to win in the most devastating fashion no matter what they say. When a fighter talks trash, I use it and it motivates me.

Jon Jones:Ai??Dan Henderson is high risk and high reward. He’s someone who had a Pride belt and a Strikeforce belt. I feel like I’m fighting the Pride champion and the current Strikeforce champion. He left both of those organizations on top. He’s just as experienced as all the guys I fought in 2011. Beating Dan Henderson is very important to me. He beat Fedor and Fedor is one of my idols. Beating Dan Henderson means the world to me. Dan Henderson is a monster, he’s a lion. I don’t want to look past him or talk about anything that’s past him.

Dan Henderson:Ai??For me, it’s more about two different styles fighting against each other, more of a chess match and Jon Jones is tougher to figure out than most guys. For me, that’s a fun challenge to try to figure that out. It’s more about that and the styles than the age. My conditioning and my training camp went perfect.

Dan Henderson:Ai??The Shogun fight was really close from the beginning. I felt like I got a little tired halfway through the fight trying to finish him. Maybe one or two more punches and being a little more busy and the fight could have been stopped or maybe I should have paced myself. I came out of it feeling pretty well. I hurt my thumb in the middle of the fight but my body felt great afterwards.

Jon Jones:Ai??I don’t believe anyone’s invincible. When you’ve fought for so long and taken so many big shots, I think your ability to take a shot and it fades away. I’ve watched his whole career about six times and I’ve realized there are some strikes that make him fall. A lot of times when they drop him, they rush into him. We’ve really dissected a lot of things that people do right and wrong when it’s time to finish him. A lot of fighter he’s fought didn’t have the necessary ground and pound to finish him. People get him hurt and they gas out and can’t finish the deal. I won’t gas out. I really believe I’ll hit the spot to make him fall and get the job done.

Jon Jones:Ai??Shogun Rua is not a wrestler and he took Dan Henderson down with ease. I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll be able to take Dan Henderson down. I’ve been wrestling since I was 14 years old.

Dan Henderson:Ai??If you’re trying for the knockout, you’ll be taken down sometimes if you’re not careful. I don’t have any type of competition with anybody in MMA in terms of wrestling. It’s a fight out there.

Jon Jones:Ai??I try to keep the martial arts spirit alive as much as possible. I fight for my family. This is a sport where we don’t have a retirement plan. The money that I make today is the money I’ll draw from when I’m 80 years old and I have to pay for several colleges already. Thinking about the business aspect, fans can be upset about caring about pay-per-views. If I don’t evolve with my time, it would be a shame. I refuse to be a broke athlete when I retire. It’s all about being business savvy. There’s a lot of broke guys that were famous as some point. I’m evolving and changing and growing as a person. If I was the same person I was when I first got into the sport, I would be failing.

Dan Henderson:Ai??He’s definitely probably up there in the top of the game as far as the guys that I’ve fought. I fought them over different eras so it’s tough to compare sometimes when you have different times and the way the sport has evolved. Jon Jones has improved more than anybody I’ve seen in the last few years and he’ll be tougher to beat as he gets more experienced in the sport. He’s right up there as far as the toughest guys I’ve fought.

Jon Jones:Ai??The positive ways things have changed is being more familiar with suffering. Knowing the numbers I’ve had on the treadmill and weight lifting from the last camp and trying to beat them. Also, I’m always trying to innovate and I feel study is much easier now. I feel you can do anything you put your mind to. When my coaches get together, we know how to study. We know what to look at, what to stare at. The biggest issue is coming up with new ways to make it fun, come up with new ways to learn, new ways to suffer.

Jon Jones:Ai??I’ve grown a lot. Life is like anything else. What people don’t realize is just because your’e a pro athlete doesn’t make you a professional. We all do things we regret. It happened and I’m moving forward in my life. Things could have been so much worse for me. I could have been sitting here thinking about a life I ruined or be on trial for injuring someone. It couldn’t have happened at a better time in my life. I’ll be a better man because of it all, more responsible. Only god can judge me. I’m moving forward.

Jon Jones:Ai??The biggest thing that hasn’t changed and the key to my stability is the people in my life. It’s not about whether I made it, it’s how I handled it when I made it. Greg has seen champions go down. They start believing they’re the greatest. I have the same woman, the same coaches, the same relationship with my friends. I have a very strong support base. You’re only as strong as the people around you.

Jon Jones:Ai??The difference is an extreme speed difference. Dan Henderson has solid wrestling and he’s got a bear hug and a few greco roman throws. The difference is Rashad has strong cardio and he can bring it for five hard rounds but I don’t think Dan can do that. It’s a slight insult but it’s the truth.

Dan Henderson:Ai??My cardio could be a little better but I attribute that to the pace of the fight. I’m not worried about the pace of this fight at all.

Jon Jones:Ai??I believe that if you’re healthy enough to play a sport, you shouldn’t take any performance enhancing drugs or anything. Fighters make a lot of money in their 20s, their 30s and when they’re in the 40s, you shouldn’t take a drug to get the strength of a 30 year old again. I think things like TRT or steroids should be for the sick or people who need the drugs. If you’re an athlete, you’re an athlete. I don’t think anybody should take anything that enhances them.

Dan Henderson:Ai??Team Quest means a lot to me. I started with Randy a long time ago and it’s grown to be a big family. We’ve got a great group of guys and a pretty international group as well. Cyrille Diabate is long and tall and great with his striking. Another tall guy I brought in is Christian M’Pumbu, the Bellator light heavyweight champ. Everybody pushes us.

With still just over a week to go, we’re sure there will be more to come from the UFC ahead this fight, so stay tuned for more updates!

Sprawl 10th Anniversary Edition Fusion 2 Fight Shorts

Taking influence again from the original SPRAWL shorts, with their ‘one piece’ construction, the 10th Anniversary addition are pretty much made up of two pieces of fabric, meaning there is less chance of them ever tearing and suffering from loose seems.

Standing out from the crowd

The 10th Anniversary Fusion 2 Fight Shorts feature an asymmetrical design which sets them apart from the Fusion S’s and Fusion 2’s, with the gold colouring appearing as a band that runs along the top and down the left leg of the shorts.

What also sets these shorts apart from it’s recent predecessors is their near seamless and streamlined look obtained by it’s more minimal construction as outlined above.

A new improved hybrid

Basically the SPRAWL 10th Anniversary Shorts combine the best of both worlds from the Fusion S and the Fusion 2’s. From the Fusion S Shorts, we have the open leg style fit and smooth seamless construction and from the more recent Fusion 2’s, the wide waistband and fitted cut have been implemented, but the tubular seems and ringed leg holes have been done away with.

What this means for you is that you are getting SPRAWL’s best ever fitting fight short with all the good bits taken from their best ever creations to date!

The SPRAWL 10th Anniversary Edition Fusion 2 Fight Shorts are available to buy now from our site.

We are the OFFICIAL EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTOR FOR SPRAWL – Authenticity Guaranteed.

SPRAWL 10th Anniversary Edition Fusion 2 Fight Shorts

New Hayabusa Flip Flops

Hayabusa, one of the most popular and respected brands in the UFC, have released two new designs of flip flops to help you see out the rest of the summer in style! The quick drying Hayabusa Burst Flip Flops and Hayabusa Fade Flip Flops are practical as well as stylish and can be worn during your post training shower and sure to become another one of your kit bag essentials.

Check out our What’s New page on our site for more images and information about these new Flip Fliops from Hayabusa.

Hayabusa Technique Fight Shorts

The number one trusted brand add a new pair of MMA fight shorts to their ever expanding range. The newAi??Hayabusa Technique Fight Shorts, in comparison to what you may expect Hayabusa fight shorts to look like,Ai??offer a contrasting choice of design for fans of all things Hayabusa. One thing that is constant though, is the quality of these shorts, Hayabusa have once again been consistent with the attention to detail and quality of construction of these new MMA fight shorts.

As theAi??Official European Distributor for Hayabusa, we are the first independant online retailer to stock the newAi??HHayabusa Technique Fight ShortsAi??Featuring a stylish urban inspired design, these mma shorts offer all of the usual high quality features and standards of construction that you have come to expect from Hayabusa.

Check out theAi??What’s NewAi??page on our site forAi??more images and information about these great new shorts from Hayabusa.

UFC 150 A Quick Round Up

Benson Henderson (Win) vs Frankie Edgar

In a tightly fought rematch at UFC 150, Benson Henderson edged his way to a win over Frankie Edgar, with a controversial spilt decision by the judges on the night.

Donal Cerrone (Win) vs Melvin Guillard

After an explosive start from Guillard, Cerrone managed to hang in there as Guillard dropped the pressure slightly, allowing “The Cowboy” to expose the “Young Assasin’s” suspect chin with a first round knockout.

Jake Shields (Win) vs Ed Herman

It may not have been the most exciting encounter of the night and he certainly won’t be winning any of the Fight of the Night Bonuses any time soon, but Shields‘ ground game proved too strong for Ed Herman as he came away With a unanimous decision on the night.

Yushin Okami (Win)Ai??vs Buddy RobertsAi??

With the odds heavily stacked in Okami’s favour coming in to this fight, it was little surprise to see a victory for the “Thunder” against Buddy Roberts. Roberts who stepped in for the injured Rousimar Palhares, was dominated by Okami and eventually knocked out. Again, probably not the most entertaining of affairs, but Okami was effective and got the job done, and as they say, “a win is a win”.

Justin Lawrence vsAi??Max Holloway (Win)

Ai??In this striking battle between two young lions, Holloway managed to inflict the greater damage, earning a TKO stoppage in round 2. Holloway, the youngest fighter on the UFC roster made sure that Justin Lawrence experienced his first professional loss with a series of devastating body shots, that ultimately proved too much for the “The American Kidd“.

UFC 150 by the numbers

15,008 – The crowd attendance at the Pepsi Centre in Denver for UFC 150.

$650,000 – Gate receipt sales.

$60,000 – Bonus pay day for Dennis Bermudez for Submission of the night against Tommy Hayden.

$120,000 – Double Bonus pay day for Donald Cerrone for Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night against Melvin Guillard.

Mirko Cro Cop set for return to MMA

After his knockout loss to Roy Nelson at UFC 137 last October and the retirement announcement that followed, the former UFC and PRIDE star Mirko Cro Cop, has hinted that he may not be totally calling it a day after all.

In an interview with USAToday.com, Filipovic clarified a little more on his current ‘retired status’:

“Concerning my retirement from the UFC, I said it was my last fight for the UFC and last fight on the present contract, but I did not say, ‘I won’t keep fighting,’ “

“I never said that. I think the best thing to say is that I was born to fight.”

Ai??”Iai??i??m training every day. I usually train twice a day, and Thursdays and Sundays are supposed to be my days off. But even on those days Iai??i??m training at least once. I have to do at least one session each day to be happy.ai???

ai???If you ask me, when I look deep into my soul, of course I would like to fight MMA again. People donai??i??t get it. Martial arts is my life. My motivation now is to prove to everyone that Iai??i??m still capable of being in the cage. Iai??i??m not old. Iai??i??m 37, but I can do things that fighters 10 years younger cannot.Ai??I will prove that, or I will die trying.ai???

Judging by those comments, he’s still very much active when it comes to his training and his hunger doesn’t seem to have waned at all!

There’ll be a chance to see the Croatian in action again later on this year in an up and coming K-1 tournament in October in Tokyo.

Jon Jones Nike Sponsorship Deal

According Malki Kawa, manager of UFC star Jon Jones, his newly announced sponsorship deal with Nike could be groundbreaking for MMA.

In a recent interview, Malki says;”It legitimizes the sport in such a big way,” Kawa said. “It opens the door for every other fighter out there because now, if you’re an intelligent manager or marketing guy, you go to people and say, ‘Hey, look, Nike’s in our sport ai??i?? they’ve got Jon Jones. You can’t get Jon Jones ai??i?? Nik\’s got him. But there are other opportunities.'”

UFC 150 Preview Melvin Guillard Confident

Ahead of the forthcoming UFC 150 event this weekend – Melvin Guillard’s main goal in his own words is to “win impressively” against Cerrone. Guillard is confident that he will see off former training partner Donald Cerrone this weekend at the Pepsi Centre in Denver.

Check out this pre-fight video link featuing Guillard in action.

UFC Machida vs Jones match up on the cards

An interesting article here about the likelyhood of Lyoto Machda getting a second bite at the cherry with a rematch against of Jon Jones later this year.

Read the full article here