Pablo “The Scarecrow” Garza showed why he belongs in the UFC.  After a feeling out process, Garza launched a flying knee to Fredson Paixao head leaving the Brazilian Ju Jitsu blackbelt unconscious.

Pablo Garza worked hard “For mi Familia, my coaches..Dylan  Spicer, Jeremy Stetz, for the FMACA and North Dakota.”

See the full video Garza KO Paixao here:

Garza Ko’s Paixao

FM Academy of Mixed Martial Arts

Has anyone checked out the number one mixed martial arts news source?  Fargo Fights has all the mma information at the touch of your fingertips.  From everything of full UFC coverage to all that is happening around the world of mma.  Read about the latest UFC news, the up coming fight cards and the quality mixed martial arts articles available.  FM mixed martial arts will soon be featuring the local mma scene, touching particularly what is goin on in the Red River Valley.  With new mma facilities (two just this year…FM Mixed Martial Arts and the FM Academy of Combat Arts) and the likliness of the sport, all the fargo fights will be reported by mma writers from FM Academy of Combat Arts.

This segment was originally broadcast on Dec. 10, 2006. It was updated on July 23, 2007.

Walk into any neighborhood and if they’re playing football on one corner, basketball on the next, baseball on the third and a fight breaks out on the fourth, everybody’s going to run and watch the fight. Hand-to-hand combat is strangely irresistible.

These days the national street corner is on TV, where millions are now being drawn to a new kind of fight called "mixed martial arts" or MMA. Not long ago the sport was banned as too vicious for decent society. But mixed martial arts came back swinging. In April, a fight on the Spike cable channel was watched by more young men than the NBA playoff game broadcast at the same time.

Correspondent Scott Pelley reports how a contest, once reviled and banished, has become one of the fastest-growing sports in America.

Pat Miletich, one of the greatest coaches of the sport and Brazilian Renzo Gracie, who helped invent it, are among the pioneers of mixed martial arts in America.

"You cannot hide who you are once you step on the ring. If you’re a coward, they will show it," says Gracie. "You can’t hide. It doesn’t matter how much money you’re getting paid. On the moment that that bell rings … you forget about everything else. You think about survive, and you think about beating up the other guy."

The name Gracie is to mixed martial arts as Ford is to cars. In Brazil in the 1920’s, the Gracie family invented a new jiu-jitsu. They challenged all comers and nearly always won. They brought their challenge to the U.S. in the 1990’s in a contest of styles – boxers, kick boxers, wrestlers and jiu-jitsu masters – to find out who was the ultimate fighter.

"What do you say to people who watch an MMA fight and say it’s barbaric?" Pelley asks.

"For them to understand my sport, I know it’s gonna take a little bit, you know, for them to accept and understand," Gracie says.

"What’s to understand? You’re pounding a guy, choking a guy into submission," Pelley remarks.

"It goes far beyond that. The first impression is, hit him, knock him out, hurt him, but believe it, it goes far beyond that," Gracie explains. "There’s so much technique involved, that I, to be honest, I think when I see a good fight, I think it makes a Russian ballet look like a uncoordinated body movements."

He admits that it can sometimes be a bloody ballet. "But the blood is the source of the whole thing. Believe – it’s not blood that’s coming out, it’s a little bit of pride that you’re putting out."

To prevent too much of that kind of "pride" spilling onto the mat, fights can end in a number of ways. There’s a knock out or a submission, a throat squeezing or bone straining hold that would do real harm if the loser didn’t tap his opponent to signal surrender. And if the tap never comes, the referee can always jump in.

"It used to be boxers were called – ‘Okay, this guy’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.’ Now it’s, ‘No, you’re the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world.’ These guys are the best pound-for-pound fighters," Miletich tells Pelley.

Miletich blended all those combat styles into one.

"Look, most people are more familiar with boxing. So how do you compare MMA to what we’re used to seeing?" Pelley asks.

"I would compare boxing to MMA as – you know jeez, checkers to chess. You know?" Miletich. "If you take the branches of a tree, all the techniques, if I do one submission hold on you, you have three different ways to escape. That’s three more branches. And I have three more moves off of each one of those branches. And then it just keeps going from there. It’s very complex."

This entire sport suffered a stone cold knockout just a few years ago. Back then, there were virtually no rules. Fighters could stomp, kick to the groin, there were no time limits, and no weight classes. Critics called it human cockfighting. It was barred in many states and banned on TV.

"In the late 90s, the reputation of the ultimate fighting championship was what?" Pelley asks.

"Uneducated gorillas that liked to go in there and basically kick the crap out of each other," says Dana White, a former amateur boxer who thought the fights might be just the thing to draw an audience that advertisers often want most – men, ages 18 to 34.

That group has been disappearing from TV audiences. White convinced investors to buy a league, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC. He adopted rules for the safety of the fighters and got 18 states to sanction the fights.

Asked if TV channels were eager to put this on, White says, "Not even close. I mean, you wouldn’t believe. All these big TV geniuses. And, you know, all the guys from Fox and this place and that place. You know, all these guys that supposedly know everything."
"Too violent," Pelley remarks.

"They were scared of it," White argues. "What’s more violent than the NFL? What’s more violent than the NFL?"

"Oh, come on. The NFL, they’re not throwing punches at each other, not usually," Pelley says.

"You’ve got 250 pound men in the best shape they could ever get into, and they’re so fast they could run track and field with pads on running directly into each other head to head. Broken arms. Legs getting snapped in half. Broken necks. What do you consider violent?" White replies.

He didn’t sign any network TV deals like the NFL, but he did get a reality show on cable where fighters compete for a spot in the league. Now, White has seven TV shows reeling in that young, male demographic; his Internet site sometimes gets more hits than the NFL. And he’s got a video game and his DVDs that outsell all other sports.

He and his partners bought the UFC for $2 million. Asked what it’s worth now, White says, "I don’t know. A lot more than two million."

"The smile on your face suggests maybe over 100 million, I’m guessing," Pelley asks.

"Could be. Could be. Could be a billion. I don’t know," White says.

It seems plausible. The International Fight League just went public and it is valued at more than $150 million. It turns out rules were the key: the money flowed when the blood stopped gushing.

These days, there are 31 fouls, and the fighters don’t come at each other bare-fisted anymore. They’re required to use special gloves with a little bit of padding over the knuckles. You can’t kick to the groin anymore, and you can’t stomp your opponent once he’s on the ground. The octagon itself is 30 feet across. There’s padding under the fighters’ feet, and they put the fence around it so the fighters don’t go rolling out onto the floor.

Have all the rules and regulations made the fights less interesting for the fans? That didn’t appear to be the case when 60 Minutes headed to a match in Anaheim, Calif.

There were some 14,000 fans in the stands and 700,000 at home, who paid $40 a pop to watch on TV. This event alone made $28 million. White does 14 of these a year.

Pelley wondered exactly where the fighters come from. Who wants to get in on this? One of the biggest stars is welterweight Matt Hughes.

The fights have made Hughes a millionaire. When he fights, he’s in a testosterone-fueled world of money and sex, but 60 Minutes found him where he grew up, on the family farm in Illinois.

"When I leave this sport, I want to be the same person as when I started this sport," Hughes explains.

"It’ll change ya if you let it," Pelley remarks.

"You’re exactly right," Hughes agrees.

Like a lot of the fighters, Hughes has a college degree. He was an all-American wrestler who sees this as more like the Olympics than a street brawl.

"Yeah, but you know better than I do that that’s not why those 17,000 people are in there," Pelley remarks.

"Well, that’s true," Hughes says.

"They want to see somebody bleed," Pelley says.;

"They like excitement," Hughes says. "There’s excitement all over. It doesn’t have to be somebody getting hurt to get excitement in the octagon."

In fact, a recent medical study found that MMA fighters are less likely than boxers to suffer brain injuries.

"There’s a lot more options. It’s a wrestling match. It’s a jiu-jitsu match. It is partially boxing. It’s not my only option to stand toe-to-toe with you and beat you in the face," says Pat Miletich.

Miletich coaches in Bettendorf, Iowa. Fighters from all over come to his gym, where Miletich has turned out eight top champions, including Matt Hughes who showed Pelley some of the finer points when he tried to train with Team Miletich. They wrestle, they grapple, they maul. Then they work endurance relays with a man on their shoulder.

Miletich teaches power, top conditioning, while Renzo Gracie is about counter balance and cunning.

Renzo teaches the pretzel logic of Gracie style at a gym in Manhattan. Where 60 Minutes noticed there’s only one picture hanging. Gracie and a fighter named Kazushi Sakuraba. In their fight in Japan, sponsored by Pride Fighting Championships, Sakuraba broke Gracie’s arm with. Gracie never tapped out – he just let it break.

During the fight, Sakuraba twisted Gracie’s arm completely inside out.

"To be honest, I really even enjoyed that moment. Because I had plenty conscience of what was going on. And I didn’t give up. I saw the ligaments going. I heard one by one going away. And I embraced that as a punishment for the mistake that I had," Gracie says.

Asked why he didn’t tap, Gracie says, "Because I really believe I could keep fighting even without the arm."

That’s the spirit he brought to bear in a match against Miletich. The two masters, both pushing 40, sized each other up. It was a clash of styles.

Miletich seemed in better shape, and was the heavy favorite. Gracie, the jiu-jitsu grappler, wanted to fight on the ground. Miletich defended against the takedown.

But there’s a saying in this sport: "There are so many ways to lose."

Gracie climbed the stronger Miletich like a tree and inch by inch improved his position until he had his arm around Miletich’s neck like a boa constrictor, tightening his grip, until the match was over. The move is called "flying guillotine."

Any sport with a move called a "flying guillotine" is never going to be for everyone. But the combat style the Fracies brought to America just a few years ago is quickly rising above boxing in popularity, at least among those who see beauty in the martial arts.

"People would see a lot of times fighting as a ugly thing, as a thing that denigrates the human being. In reality, you see fighting on everything," says Gracie.

"Everything’s fighting?" Pelley asks.

"Everything’s fighting. Doesn’t matter what it is. You wake up in the morning, to get outta bed is a fight, believe it," Gracie says. "So, fighting is actually the best thing a man can have in his soul."

Welterweight contenders Josh Koscheck and Yoshiyuki Yoshida will clash in the UFC Fight Night 16 headliner. Jonathan Goulet vs. Mike Swick, Razak Al-Hassan vs. Steve Cantwell, and Matt Wiman are also scheduled for the three-hour, televised main card.

Tonight’s event will serve as a fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and the crowd will be compromised nearly entirely of troops from nearby Fort Bragg, who are attending the event free of charge.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 16 RESULTS

* Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
* Jonathan Goulet vs. Mike Swick
* Razak Al-Hassan vs. Steve Cantwell
* Matt Wiman vs. Jim Miller (9pm ET)
* Brodie Farber vs. Luigi Fioravanti
* Nate Loughran vs. Tim Credeur (In progress…)
* Steve Bruno def. Johnny Rees via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 2, 3:44
* Ben Saunders def. Brandon Wolff via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 1:49
* Dale Hartt def. Corey Hill via TKO (injury) — Round 2, 0:20
* Justin McCully def. Eddie Sanchez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
 

"M-1 would like to congratulate Brock Lesnar on his UFC heavyweight title victory as well as acknowledge Randy Couture‘s return to active competition after a layoff that lasted over a year.

Couture and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko had publicly acknowledged a desire to fight each other multiple times over the course of the past year. While M-1 and Fedor remain interested in a match against Coturue, we would also like to publicly state for the record that we would welcome a superfight between Fedor and Lesnar that would be held as a co-promoted event between the UFC, M-1, and Affliction Entertainment.

We’ve invited the media to speak with us today to not only make it clear we would welcome a Fedor vs. Lesnar matchup but to act in a preemptive fashion to address the possibility that UFC officials will try and position Lesnar as the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, much like they have tried to use a marketing ploy to brand Anderson Silfva as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

In the past, UFC president Dana White and Zuffa, LLC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta have tried to claim that Fedor was "overrated" and that his "record was irrelevant." They make these claims in spite of the fact that Fedor holds career victories over UFC champions past and present. While we have tremendous respect for the contributions Mr. Fertitta and Dana have made to this sport, we do not believe they are sincere in their statements.

It is the position of M-1 that the UFC has adopted an anti-Fedor policy because multiple attempts to sign him have not been fruitful. For a company that has tried to market itself as the number one promotion in the world, they are unable to accept the fact that the number one fighter in the world does not reside on its roster of contracted fighters.

We believe that the UFC has determined that it’s much more inexpensive for them to use their marketing resources to use smoke and mirrors to brand a fighter as the pound-for-pound best as opposed to actually paying the pound-for-pound best what he is truly worth on the open market.

While Brock Lesnar is an accomplished athlete and a talented fighter, we do not consider him to be the number one heavyweight in the world. Until someone beats him, we strongly believe that Fedor should continue to be recognized as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. In a match between Fedor and Lesnar, we do not feel that at this stage Lesnar would be able to make it out of the first round."

For those who feel our statements in regards to Fedor are self-serving, we’d like to refer you to a video interview on the website RawVegas.tv in which at his UFC 91 after-party Couture himself acknowledges that "Fedor would probably tear Brock up at this point."

Jerry Millen, M-1 Vice President

If you have been watching this season 8 of the Ultimate Fighter, than you have a strong clue that there is more to this fight between Junie Browning and Efrain Escudero.  Dana White asks Junie in the show if he is retarded, bi-polar or simply just want to back out of the fight between himself and Efrain.  In the previous episodes, Junie has climbed the fence after a dominating win by Efrain and calls him out.  The mild mannered Efrain simply held his aggression until last nights episode and proved he was the dominant fighter.  Here are the play-by-play results:

Round 1

Both fighters come out trading blows and legs kicks. Efrain takes Junie down at the 4 minute mark but they get back up to their feet and Junie gets Efrain up against the cage and trys to take him down, and eats alot of elbows and a couple knees for his efforts. They eventually get off the cage and go back to the middle. Junie eats alot of leg kicks. I think Efrain won this round.

Round 2

Both fighters come out trading blows. At the 3 minute mark the round is looking pretty even until Efrain takes Junie down. Efrain manages to get cross body and locks Junie up in a darse choke.

Escudero defeats Browning by submission – Darse Choke in Round 2. Escudero moves on to the Ultimate Fighter finale to face Nover. To top it off Mir looses the bet with Noguiera and gets his head shaved because Noguiera’s fighters win their matches. Don’t miss the Ultimate Fighter Finale on December 13th.

Krzysztof Soszynski is one of the top light heaveyweight strikers as well as one of the top contenters of the TUF 8.  Last night he fought against his fellow TUF team mate Brazilian Ju Jitsu black belt Vinny Magalhaes.  Magalhaes and Soszynski both train together back in Temecula California with Dan Henderson. 

Round 1 The fighters get up against the cage and Vinny jumps on Krzysztof and pulls him down into his guard. Krzysztof keeps his cool even though he was locked up pretty good. He pops up and out and lets Vinny get back to his feet. Krzysztof catches Vinny with some nice leg kicks that seem to frustrate Vinny. Vinny jumps on Krzysztof again and pulls him into his guard and pulls out a arm bar and makes Krzysztof tap in the first round.

Magalhaes defeats Suszynski by submission – arm bar in Round 1. Magalhaes moves on to the finals for season 8 of the Ultimate Fighter to face Bader.

Last nights Episode 12 of the Ultimate Fighter was full of Junie Browing’s specatals of spazing against another cast member.  Before we get into that, let’s first touch on Junie’s previous training session.  Days before Junie is to fight, while training with another teamate, he is caught by one submission after another.  Finally Junie decides to let everybody know that he doesn’t want to fight anymore and to allow another person to take his place.  Back at the house he is discussing the possible outcomes of the semifinals with his fellow cast members until one of them shows Junie another point of view.  Junie spazes once again and whips a  glass mug at Shane Primm.

So Dana comes to the house to talk to him and find out whats up. Junie says he is under alot of pressure and doesn’t want to fail. Dana tells him he should of been kicked off 3 times already. He tells him he is a great reality star, but is he a great fighter? Dana does what he has never done on the show and asks the other fighters if he should kick Junie off. The fighters choose to let him stay because they want him to get his ass beat. Dana tells Junie to get his shit together and face his fears, hoping that justice gets served and that Junie grows up.

With current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva far and away the world’s top 185-pound fighter, we were curious to know which fighter is currently the second best.

Tens of thousands of readers made a pick in a weekly mma poll when we asked the question, and when all the votes were tallied, two fighters rose far above the rest.

However, the results, which were revealed on the most recent edition of "Inside MMA" on HDNet, may surprise you — especially when considering neither of the two fighters is even currently competing in the middleweight division.

In fact, both of the top vote-getters, Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson, next fight as light heavyweights when they fight each other in the main event of UFC 94 on Jan. 31.

Franklin, a former UFC champion who lost his belt and a subsequent rematch with Silva, earned 34 percent of the vote. Henderson was close behind with 28 percent.

"That surprised me not necessarily that they’d be the top two, but that the margin out there surprised me," host Kenny Rice said.

The third most popular choice was "Someone Else," which could account for fighters such as Yushin Okami, Paulo Filho and Cung Le, who didn’t appear in the list of options either because of long layoffs or recent losses.

Recent DREAM middleweight grand prix winner and current middleweight title-holder Gegard Mousasi finished in fourth with 8 percent of the vote.

Rounding out the list was "The Ultimate Fighter 3" winner Michael Bisping (8 percent), EliteXC middleweight champ Robbie Lawler (5 percent), former top UFC middleweight contender Nate Marquardt (5 percent) and veteran fighter Matt Lindland (3 percent).

“I’d love to fight Rich Franklin. But I’d love to fight Henderson too. They’re household names and legends of the sport and it would be an honor and a privilege to fight one of them. I think I stack up well against them. I’d go out there to win – and I think I could. I think I can beat both of them. It wouldn’t be easy, but my confidence is growing with every fight."

Rich "The Ace" Franklin is set to battle Dan Henderson in Dublin, Ireland at UFC 93.  Michael Bisping would be facing the winner of this fight and he is confident that he could beat both Henderson and Franklin. 

This story is brought to you by: John Morgan,

MMAjunkie.com

The 10th episode of “Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir” opens with a review of last week’s light-heavyweight bout between Team Mir’s Krzysztof Soszynski and Team Nogueira’s Kyle Kingsbury.

Fighters from both teams, including Ryan Bader, Tom Lawlor and Eliot Marshall, openly question Kyle’s decision to move the fight to the ground. The Team Nogueira light-heavyweight’s lack of ground skills was evident in the quick win for Krzysztof.

“My sister could have caught Kyle in an arm bar,” Junie Browning says.

With only two cast members left to compete, the lightweight matchup between Team Nogueira’s John Polakowski and Team Mir’s George Roop is a given. The focus immediately shifts to the always-smiling John.

Shane Primm believes John may be “legally insane.” Eliot calls John “a hugger” and says, “He likes to give his affection.”

As a montage of John’s displays of affection rolls, he shares with us the reason for his love.

“Nobody gives real hugs anymore,” John says.

John also asks Phillipe Nover to make a motivational poster to display in the house. A series of cannons in action along with the messasge “Fire the Cannons of Madness” is exactly what John has in mind.

George knows the kind reputation his opponent has developed. He assures us it will not affect his actions, stating he will enter the cage with “nothing but bad intentions,” while also insisting “I’m going to make him bleed.”

As George’s training is shown, an unfortunate moment sees the lightweight get his right hand caught in the cage. The hand is severely twisted, and George is concerned it may be broken.

Coach Frank Mir looks at George’s grip and tries to convince him the injury isn’t serious. Mir’s own comments later reflect that the injury is worse than he tried to let on.

Back at the house, John is seen wearing a pirate hat as he prepares his breakfast. Strangely, this is not the oddest part of the scene. Instead, it is John’s displeasure with his missing pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, green clovers, blue diamonds and purple horseshoes. Yes, John is beside himself that the marshmallows from his Lucky Charms have gone missing.

Eliot tries to console John, but it is now the hug giver who refuses to receive.

Lightweight Shane Nelson is surprised by John’s actions.

“Don’t [expletive] with his Lucky Charms.” Shane says. “They must be magically delicious for him to get so pissed.”

The lovable John’s killer instinct is openly questioned by several cast members. On cue, John apologizes during a sparring session when he catches his opponent in the face.

Meanwhile, George is icing his hand at all times. Despite the attention George is giving the injury his hand is visibly swollen. A series of quick sequences show that punching and grabbing, as well as throwing elbows and even holding a Thai clinch, are causing considerable pain. Mir says that no fighter is ever healthy entering a fight, and that they can only hope to be as “close to 100 percent as possible.”

UFC President Dana White stands behind John and warns everyone not to underestimate the red-headed hugger. “Don’t let his goofy persona throw you off, because this kid is very tough.”

Coach Nogueira sees George’s hand. While realizing the advantage it will give to John, Nogueira also respects George’s heart and will to fight.

George believes the hand won’t present an issue. Vinny implores George to, “Break his arm so he can’t hug any of us anymore.”

As the fight opens, the two combatants come out for the ceremonial touch of gloves. In true John-fashion, the two then embrace briefly in a hug before beginning their offense.

George, unable to utilize his right hand, uses a variety of sharp kicks to damage John as the first round opens. John tries to work inside with combinations of punches, but generally winds up just short.

After a bit of over-aggression from John, George scores a takedown. Some ground-and-pound follows with both punches and elbows. George then passes to side control, but John is eventually able to reclaim guard. John rolls, and George takes his back with both hooks in. Remaining calm while in trouble, John rolls into the hold and back to guard. John tries to work a high guard while looking for submission opportunities, but George stays calm while on top to close the round.

It is a close round, but George seems to have been the more effective of the two. Both corners feel confident that they’ve taken the first round.

George charges quickly forward to open the second round. John answers back, and a few solid punches score and put George on the defensive. With George wobbled, John continues to push forward and score with his hands.

Struggling on the feet, George again catches an opening and brings John to the floor. George appears to be gassed while on the ground, but is able to bring punches in spots.

John tries to roll out, but George takes his back. Locking in a body triangle, George looks for opportunities to sink in a choke. John defends well, and George is only able to score with a few elbows to the body.

It’s another close round, and both fighters begin to prepare for a third. Both seem a bit surprised when they learn the judges have reached a decision.

Despite his wounded hand, George is awarded the unanimous-decision win.

“I’m here to fight,” George says. “I’ll chop this hand off before I give up.”

White immediately voices his displeasure at the decision.

“It kills me so bad when these guys fight as hard as they do and they just get robbed by bad judging.”

John is happy with his performance, but knows he made a mistake by leaving the outcome up to the judges. Team Mir revels in the fact they have won five of the eight matches despite the unity in Team Nogueira.

John is consoled after his loss. After coming to terms with the results, the lovable loser decides to celebrate with a few cocktails at the house. During the party, Krzysztof begins to hurl food at a few of the fighters who have taken up relaxing in the hot tub. After Junie gets caught with a few raw eggs, the lightweight briefly loses his temper.

“I got hit in the face with a pork chop,” Junie says. “I’m just sitting here.”

John quells the revolt quickly with a few shots of alcohol and a request: “Shots for peace.”

The annual tradition of fighters asking for their semi-final matchups ensues. There is little fanfare in the process, although Junie will probably not be granted his request: light-heavyweight Ryan.

As the episode closes, the semi-final matchups are revealed.

Lightweights

* Phillipe Nover vs. George Roop
* Junie Browning vs. Efrain Escudero

Light-heavyweights

* Ryan Bader vs. Eliot Marshall
* Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Vinny Magalhaes

The preview for next week’s episode reveals that two bouts will be featured as Eliot will take on Ryan and George will meet Phillipe. The first two finalists will be determined then.

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV. MMAjunkie.com will recap each episode of the reality series, and full series coverage can be found on “The Ultimate Fighter 8” page. Additionally, be sure to stop by MMAjunkie.com each Thursday for exclusive blogs from fighter Ryan Bader and Team Mir assistant coach Ken Huhn.

Well, the semifinals are set, and we get to see John Polakowski dish out more than just hugs. Junie Browning almost loses it again because of a flying pork chop, and the days are coming in which we will finally be able to leave the house.

After Kyle Kingsbury lost to Krzysztof Soszynski, we were behind in team wins, but we kept our morale high for John, who would fight in the last quarterfinal fight of the show. John had been waiting to fight for some time, and though he is a fun-loving goofball of a guy, he flips a switch in his fights and becomes an animal.

John was always there to lift your spirits and offer a hug even if you were not in a hugging mood. He was always happy around the house and at the gym, but when it was time to train, he was all business. John comes from a kickboxing background and is a member of “The Pit” with Chuck Liddell. John’s ground game was his weak point, and he worked very hard with Coach Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and the other coaches to try to get it up to par with George Roop’s game.

Going into this fight, we were thinking that we had quite an advantage because of Roop’s injured hand. He tried to hide his swollen and badly bruised hand from us, but obviously, we saw that it was in bad shape. Roop kept telling us that it was fine, and in the fight it looked like there was nothing wrong with it since he essentially used it at will. Roop is a very tough-minded individual. No doubt about it.

John went into a pirate mode in the later stages of the show. He drew a “fire the cannons!” picture, and that was his motto from then on out. He was even donning a pirate hat. He would come up to me right when I woke up, give me a big huge, tell me to “fire the cannons!” then ask if I gave the dog a bone today. I would look at him in half confusion, hug him, and tell him I did indeed give the dog a bone today even though I had no idea what he was talking about.

John never got pissed off—until someone messed with his Lucky Charms. I was amazed at how mad he got about it, and I loved every second of it. He is such a nice guy, and to see him considerably upset about something so small was a sight to see. I think it was Tom Lawlor who took all the marshmallows out of his Lucky Charms and just left the oat things in the box. They sealed it up perfectly, and John, who is oblivious sometimes, thought that it was a manufacturing mistake. Then when he got into his second box, all the marshmallows were gone again. Could this just be coincidence, or could someone in this house who has been urinating on fruit, drinking their own pee and knocking out 155-pounders be playing a joke on him? Now, John was pissed and felt disrespected because he felt that he was nothing but nice to everybody and that he did not deserve this. He wouldn’t even talk to Eliot Marshall for some time because we had him convinced that Eliot stole them all. It was definitely an overreaction on John’s part, but we backed him up and had a good time watching this other side of him.

We only have about a week and a half left in the house at this point, and we are all out of our minds. Krzysztof starts throwing some rotten leftovers at some of the guys in the hot tub, and we join in. About six of us start throwing eggs, spaghetti, tomatoes and the dreaded pork chop. I never saw if the guys were getting hit by the food, but watching it on TV was hilarious. Supposedly Junie got hit in the face with a pork chop, and when he stood up pissed off to yell, he was confronted with an egg to the face! It was very comical for everybody upstairs when he was yelling—about something so surreal as getting hit in the face by a pork chop. Junie ran upstairs all pissed and slammed the door to show us that he was serious. Junie and Krzyzstof got into it a little argument, and as things settled down, it turned into an all-out food fight. This food fight was all in fun, and the house was a mess. Chocolate syrup was poured over people right in the kitchen, and then a whole thing of flour was dumped over them. Eggs were splattered everywhere. It was a genuinely good time; everybody was letting off some steam and getting rid of some pressure that the upcoming semifinals were forecasting.

The fight between George and John was a very exciting fight. Roop definitely won the first round. His kicks looked good, and he had a good takedown that was followed by effective ground and pound. I thought the second round went to John. He did a lot more damage in that round and looked like he almost had Roop finished. But like the old adage says, “You can’t leave it in the hands of the judges.”

Roop got the win, and Team Mir pulled further ahead. Krzysztof made it known that he did not enjoy our “family dinners” and that they are clearly the better team.

I don’t get why the other team was so against our dinners and Team Nogueira “get-togethers.” You don’t get too many chances to sit down with a legend of the sport in Nogueira very often, and we were just taking advantage of that. Also, most of our team got along and enjoyed each other’s company, so why not?

Anyway, the time finally came when we got to go in with Dana White and the coaches and tell them who we wanted to fight in the semifinals. I knew who I wanted to challenge, and I knew Eliot was going to ask for the same fight. We had talked about this since he called me out after his fight. He was stuck with me after that, and naturally, I had to fight the man calling me out.

Looking back at the show, I was surprised Krzysztof called me out. I thought I was the worst match-up for him in the house. I feel he massively underestimates my jiu jitsu. Nogueira told me that Kyzysztof had called me out and said he could beat me on the ground. I was not bothered by this at all, but Nogueira was pissed. I just told him, “Oh well, maybe I will see him in the finals if we both get there.” But Nogueira was pretty heated and told me he wanted to say something to Krzysztof in the room. I loved that, and it showed Nogueira really cared for and had the backs of his fighters.

The whole thing with Vinny Magalhaes and Krzysztof was also interesting. They were training partners at Team Quest before the show. However, they were at each other’s throats on the show. Vinny would complain to me how Eliot and Krzysztof would never practice with him and how they were always talking smack about him behind his back. Also, keep in mind that after Eliot’s win, Eliot looked at Krzysztof and said, “You and me in the finals, baby!” Right in front of Vinny. Vinny told me that he wanted Krzysztof because of that and because he felt Krzysztof had no jiu jitsu or wrestling. This whole thing was a huge surprise for me, especially with them being teammates.

It’s too bad we don’t get to see “Stankie” that much on the show anymore, but trust me, he was there in our ear. We actually had a code word in the back locker room when we needed Stankie to be quiet. Well, it was actually more of a code look. Kyle and I talked about it before his fight because Stankie sometimes would just go on and on when you were trying to focus. So before Kyle’s fight, he gave me “the look,” and I in turn gave assistant coach Daniel Valverde “the look”, and he in turn would shut Stankie up.

I also heard from one of the producers recently that Stankie was begging and pleading to get on “TUF 9” as a striking coach! Haha! I really hope they consider this. The world needs more Stankie.

Once again, thank you for your time and interest in this blog. One more week, and we get to see which two guys make it to the finals. I am training hard right now—hopefully getting ready for a fight here in December!

The Ultimate Fighter 8 season has been full of piss eating jello, sushi al cum and a bowl of soup pee.  Check out this video of Dave Kaplan getting Knocked Out

Fargo Fights.com would like to welcome TUF 8 contestant Eliot Marshall to the site. Eliot will be blogging after every TUF 8 episode. Here is his entry for episode 7.

So, I am not going to address the show in time order as I normally do. First, I am going to address the situation with Vinny and Big Nog. I want to start off by saying that everyone can see what happens when Big Nog feels disrespected. What he doesn’t do is have a conversation with you about what you are disagreeing about. He basically tells you to f*ck off and that “we are enemies.” What he doesn’t do is buy you a cheeseburger and fries from In’N Out Burger on one of the last days of filming as he did with me. Now on to what Vinny said. I don’t recall exactly what Vinny said about Nog’s jiu-jitsu. Nog is the greatest MMA jiu-jitsu fighter ever. Is his game basic? Yes. He does his basic skills very well. I’ll tell you who else has real basic ji- jitsu and doesn’t do “high level” new moves. That guy’s name is Roger Gracie and he is the best in the world at jiu-jitsu. The big conversation that a lot of the guys in the house had was if Vinny could beat Daniel Valverde. I don’t remember any point when Vinny said that Nog wasn’t good or that Daniel wasn’t good. All of this being said, Vinny had the most jiu-jitsu credentials of anybody in the house. This includes Mir, Nog, Valverde, and me. So for Vinny to say he had the best sport jiu-jitsu of anybody in the house is correct. Now, is Vinny the best fighter of anybody on the show, or has he made his jj work the best in MMA? That answer is no. It’s not even close.

After Junie’s fight. Frank came in the room and laid into him. I believe Frank was correct in his assessment. Junie just went three rounds with Roli. Roli isn’t that good. I am not talking about his skill on the ground or if he is a black belt or not. I am talking about MMA. Roli’s overall MMA skill was not at the level of any other lightweight on the show. So, for Frank to tell Junie he needs to step it up is very true. If Junie hoped to beat anybody else on the show he would need to step it up.

Let’s get to the fight between Jules and Vinny. We knew that Jules was terrible. The red team would come home from practice and tell us that they couldn’t even train hard with him. They said that the lightweights on their team would absolutely smash him. Now this can be slightly mentally difficult for Vinny. Vinny knew that Jules was very bad, but anybody can get caught with a punch. It would have sucked to lose to Jules.

Dana summed the fight up perfectly. The fight was utterly boring on the feet and then Vinny just smashed him on the ground. We all didn’t understand what Jules was doing in the fight. His only option was to come out and swing for the fences. All he did was stand there and get kicked a couple times by Vinny. Then for some unknown reason he decided to grab a single leg. After that Vinny pulled guard and Jules just rolled over and then got armbarred. I like Jules — he is a nice guy, but he is not very good at fighting.

It appears Affliction is now on the radar of one of the biggest names now on the MMA free agent market. Fabricio Werdum tells

Tatame.com

that although DREAM and Sengoku in Japan are viable options for the top ten ranked heavyweight, the most likely option for him will be Affliction:

“When I first heard the rumours, I didn’t know anything. I had four more fights left with them on my contract, which ran to 2010. But they demanded to renegotiate my exiting contract by cutting my pay in half…. It’s a pity I would have liked to continue with the UFC but now we forge ahead…. There are several possibilities now including fighting in multiple organizations. Affliction, Sengoku and Dream are big events, but I think the possibility of fighting for Affliction in particular will give me the best chance to fight the best in the world, Fedor, in addition to (Andrei) Arlovski, Josh Barnett and several other big names … that would be a great opportunity for me”"

FM mixed martial arts has become one of the most viewed, most sought after sport since the rise of its popularity.  Kudos to the Ultimate Fighting Championship for doing such a successful job.  Locally, FM mixed martial arts has flooded the Red River Valley area with hopes of finding a champion in our community.

At the past UFC event, Brcok Lesnar defeated Randy Coture to become the UFC Heavyweight champion.  From the hardcore to the mainstream fan, everybody now realizes that some of the toughest humans come from the Northland.

It is exciting for FM’s mixed marial arts rise in popularity and most are ethusiastic about it.  With mixed martial arts gyms opening in the area, we should all open our eyes to this wonderful sport.  Support your local FM mixed martial arts facilities by visiting and taking part in the training.  All of FM’s mixed martials arts have experienced instructors, with most competing proffesionally in MMA.

Remember, you do not have to be a mixed martial artist to join one of FM’s mixed martial arts facilities. They have classes for all designed to meet your self defense needs.  Support your local FM’s Mixed Martial Arts gyms.

FM Academy of Combat Arts is the new Mixed Martial Arts alternative website featuring MMA worldwide and locally.  From MMA rankings to fighter statistics, FM Mixed Martial Arts has it all.  Check out the latest articles featuring top MMA news and your favorite fighter.  Fargo Fights covers the latest, up-to-date MMA information.  They have pictures, videos and featured articles that will keep you intrigued.

On sale tomorrow, are the tickes for the Affliction Entertainment’s second pay per view event.  The Day of Reconing will feature the ultra tough Fedor Emelianenko, who will be defending his belt against Andre "The Pitbull" Arlovski.  Tune into the event on January 24, 2009 at the Honda Center located in sunny Anaheim, California.

Main Card live on Showtime PPV
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
Josh Barnett vs. TBA
Matt Lindland vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral
Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Vitor Belfort vs. TBA

Undercard live on HDNet
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov
Brett Cooper vs TBA
Albert Rios vs Antonio Duarte
Mark Hominick vs LC Davis
Jay Hieron vs. Jason High

Fargo, ND is a growing city with a sport that shares the same growth: Mixed Martial Arts.  The Fargo MMA scene has grown over the years along with the likes of the professional competition.  With the FM Academy of Combat Arts recently opening, all of us who have the desire to prove to ourselves and other what it takes to be a superior should stop by and check it out.

Dylan Spicer and John Kalenze are two talented Mixed Martial Artists who have the desire to lead and instruct those interested in the sport.  Former athletes, boys, girls, women and men are welcome to the facility located on main avenue just before 25th street.

This past Saturday night was an amazing night for the fighters, the UFC and most of all, the fans.  For the hard core MMA fan, all the action was on display. The outstanding ju jitsu by Dustin Hazelett made all of realize what a talent this 22 year old is.  Demian Maia had put on a clinic with his submission of Nate Quarry.  But most of all, we saw a legend fall and a new champion take the stage.

Continue reading →

Brock Lesnar earned the right to wear the UFC heavyweight championship belt on Saturday night with is handling of Coture.  The behemouth of a man, Lesnar landed a right blow to Coture’s temple sending the MMA legend to the ground.

According to Mark Chalifoux of the Baltimore Sun: With a second-round TKO of an MMA legend, Brock Lesnar became the UFC heavyweight champion of the world. And, he may have that belt for a long time.

Couture looked efficient in the first round and pushed the pace on Lesnar several times. It looked like it could be another classic upset in Couture’s file until Lesnar went on a tear in the second round. When you get down to it, what we saw was a more disciplined Brock Lesnar, one that didn’t exhibit any weaknesses and one that showed he has a solid chin.

He took some shots from Couture but was too big, too strong and too fast for the champ. Make no mistake, Couture did not lose this fight; Lesnar won it. Couture wasn’t too old or too slow. I still think he could beat every other heavyweight in the UFC. Lesnar simply outclassed him last night.

And with that, the UFC is in trouble. They have a marketable superstar, a legit heavyweight champion, with very few challengers. The only marketable fight he has left is with the winner of the Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir fight (which will be Nogueira).

After talking with a few friends around the MMA scene, they all think Nogueira would be in for a very long night against Lesnar. I think Nogueira has a better shot than that, but I would still have to pick Lesnar. After Nogueira, who is left to challenge Lesnar?

A rematch with Frank Mir (he wouldn’t stand a chance in a rematch)? A match against Gabriel Gonzaga, an overrated fighter with good jiu-jitsu? Nope. A shock from an up-and-comer like Shane Carwin or Cain Velasquez? Both too young.

The UFC’s heavyweight division is not very deep and Dana White’s top priority (as far as bringing in new fighters, at least) should be fixing that. They have a very marketable star with a huge fan base with very few challengers. I’m looking forward to his match against Nogueira and a possible rematch with Couture (not likely), but other than those two matches, there’s not much else.

Brock Lesnar showed everybody why he is the best heavyweight UFC has to offer.  With only three fights going into the bout with Randy "the natural" Coture, he proved he deserved to be there as he finished the legend in the second round of their heavyweight title fight.

Last night’s UFC 91 transcended its humble lineup and turned out to be a memorably action-packed night of fights, with eight dramatic stoppages and one 15-minute war, which featured Jorge Gurgel once again brawling instead of playing to his strengths. Who knows how many losses it’ll take for him to learn his lesson — Gurgel is now 3-4 in the UFC, with all but one fight going to decision — but the UFC will be rewarding the bad behavior with a $60,000 pay bump. Gurgel and Aaron Riley picked up the Fight of the Night bonus for their wild kickboxing match, which ended in a unanimous D for Riley.

Jeremy Stephens took home the $60k Knockout of the Night bonus for his skull-shattering uppercut of Rafael dos Anjos in the third round of their fight. While there were only two stoppages by strikes to choose from (Gabriel Gonzaga was responsible for the other one), UFC 91 featured five fights ending in submission, and though Kenny Florian and Demian Maia’s rear-naked chokes of Joe Stevenson and Nate Quarry were just as impressive, the UFC awarded Dustin Hazelett the Submission of the Night windfall for his oma-into-armbar pretzelage of poor Tamdan McCrory.

Once deemed barbaric, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has become a world class and world renowned sport.  The rules and regulations of the past almost led to the banishment of television due to the extreme violence the fighters faced. 

As a world class sport, the rules and regulations are designed to keep the fighters as safe as possible, completely removing cheep moves and unfair advantages.

Each bout will last three five minute rounds, unless it is a title fight, in which case it will be five, five minute rounds. There is a rest period between rounds of one minute. Weight classes go as follows

Heavyweight is 205 lbs to 265 lbs

Light Heavyweight is 185 lbs to 205 lbs

Middleweight is 170 lbs to 185 lbs

Welterweight is 155 lbs to 170 lbs

Lightweight is 145 lbs to 155 lbs

Fouls are as follows, a referee calls them if there is a infraction, usually players will get a warning then on the second infraction will lose points which could lead to them losing the match.

1. Butting with the head.
2. Eye gouging of any kind.
3. Biting.
4. Hair pulling.
5. Fish hooking.
6. Groin attacks of any kind.
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
8. Small joint manipulation.
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
13. Grabbing the clavicle.
14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
16. Stomping a grounded opponent.
17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
21. Spitting at an opponent.
22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
23. Holding the ropes or the fence.
24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
30. Interference by the corner.
31. Throwing in the towel during competition.

Mixed martial artists train in a variety of styles that have been proven effective in the ring, so that they can be effective in all the phases of combat. Typical styles, taught prior to an individual career, are: stand-up, clinch and ground.

Stand-up: Various forms of boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and/or forms of full contact karate are trained to improve footwork, elbowing, kicking, kneeing and punching.

Clinch: Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, Sambo, and Judo are trained to improve clinching, takedowns and throws, while Muay Thai is trained to improve the striking aspect of the clinch.

Ground: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, shoot wrestling, catch wrestling, Judo, and Sambo are trained to improve submission holds, and defense against them. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, pankration, and styles of amateur wrestling are trained to improve positioning and maintain ground control.

If you are in the Fargo, ND area, please check out the FM Academy of Combat Arts.  They offer Muay Thai, Kickboxing, combat submission wrestling and brazilian jui jitsu.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact combat sport in which a wide variety of fighting techniques are used, including striking (such as kicks, knees and punches) and grappling (such as clinch holds, pinning holds, submission holds, sweeps, takedowns and throws).

Some unarmed hand to hand combat techniques are considered illegal in most or all modern competition, such as biting, eye-gouging, fish-hooking and small joint manipulation. Over the last ten years, strikes to the groin have become illegal in all sanctioned organizations. The legality of other techniques such as elbows, headbutts and spinal locks vary according to competition or organization.

Modern mixed martial arts tournaments as a popular phenomenon emerged in 1993 with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, based on the concept of pitting different fighting styles against each other in competition with minimal rules in place, in an attempt to determine which system would be more effective in a real, unregulated combat situation. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, mixed martial arts events implemented additional rules for the safety of the athletes and to promote acceptance of the sport, while maintaining as much of the original no-holds-barred concept as possible.

The history of the modern MMA event can be traced to the Gracie family’s vale tudo martial arts tournaments in Brazil starting in the 1920s, and early mixed martial arts matches hosted by Antonio Inoki in Japan in the 1970s. The fighting concept of combining various combat disciplines gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the emergence of Bruce Lee and his theories of mixing various martial art styles. The sport gained international exposure and widespread publicity in the United States in 1993, when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter Royce Gracie dominated the Ultimate Fighting Championship, sparking a revolution in the martial arts, while in Japan the continued interest in the sport resulted in the creation of the PRIDE Fighting Championships in 1997.

A victory in a bout is normally gained by the judges’ decision after an allotted amount of time has elapsed, a stoppage by the referee or the fight doctor (in the event that the competitor is injured or can no longer defend himself intelligently), a submission, by a competitor’s cornerman throwing in the towel, or by knockout.
One of the earliest forms of widespread unarmed combat sports with minimal rules was Greek pankration, which was introduced into the Olympic Games in 648 B.C.

No-holds-barred events reportedly took place in the late 1800s when wrestlers representing a huge range of fighting styles including various catch wrestling styles, Greco-Roman wrestling and many others met in tournaments and music-hall challenge matches throughout Europe.
Boxing vs. jujutsu contests were popular entertainments throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early 1900s (“Merikan”).

Professional wrestling died out after World War I and was reborn in two streams: "shoot", in which the fighters actually competed, and "show," which evolved into modern sports entertainment professional wrestling.

FM Academy of Combat Arts

The Academy of Combat Arts will be opening in November for anyone looking to take their game to the highest levels of the sport or for anyone with a general interest in self defense and the combat sports. We will be offering Muay Thai kickboxing , boxing, Brazilian jiu jitsu, Erik Paulsons Combat Submission Wrestling, and Greg Nelsons’ MMA. There will be classes for all skill levels, ages and the like.  We will be hosting seminars from world champions such as Nat McIntyre, Nick Thompson, Sean Sherk and at least one of the Brock L.’s, as well as from Greg Nelson himself and other members of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy.

FM Academy of Combat Arts will be run by Dylan Spicer and John Kalenze. The gym is located on Main Ave. in Fargo and will be opening in November. 

John Kalenze is currently a muay thai instructor at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy and has numerous credentials under Greg Nelson, Nat McIntyre, and Ajan Chai Sirisute of the American Thai boxing Assoc. John has also competed and won several muay Thai fights and tournaments.

Dylan Spicer is currently a jiu jitsu and CSW instructor at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy under Greg Nelson, Sean Sherk, and Erik Paulson. He is  undefeated in MMA competition, and has won numerous submission grappling tournaments such as NAGA and US Grappling Tournament.

UPDATED FIGHT CARD 7/16

Chris Tuchscherer VS
Tony Mendoza

Daniel Otero VS
Sam Thao

Caleb Quinn vs
Zack Schroeder

Marcus Levesseur vs
Henry Krug

Zach Thumb vs Ryan Kotzea
Jacob Volkmann vs TBA
Tyler Larson vs Pablo Garza
Jessi Evans vs Marshall Martin
Jeremy Anderson vs Lee Barnett

This just in…….

Scheduled to fight at the 155lb class, highly talented Marshall Martin will be taking on Jessi Evans at the Fargo Civic Center on the 19th of July. 

Marshall Martin is from Belcourt, ND and fights out of his academy here in Fargo, ND.  Marshall is a three time MAX Fights contender with two wins by way of submission and a loss to the remarkable Kyle Jensen in the MAX Fights 155lb Title Fight.

Jessi Evans – MMA Fargo, ND is a well rounded fighter with great heart and stamina.  He is also a three time MAX Fights contender with knock out power in every punch.  Jessi Evans won his first two fights and was stopped by Marcus Levesseur who is a strong contender for the 155lb title shot.

As per the MAX Fights forum, please read the text below to see what the fans are saying about this MAX Fights IV Fargo, ND July 19th event:

"The both of these guys could go ten 5 minute rounds…this should be action-packed. Two of the area’s best at 155."

"I think that Marshall Martin is going to end this one quickly. I have
seen Marshall fight quite a few times and only have seen Jessi fight
twice, but I just do not think that he has what it takes to take out
Marshall. Marshalls hands are lethal and his ground game is getting
better every fight."

"I definately think this could be the fight of the night. I believe they
went against each other at the fargo open grappling tournament so it’s
kind of like a rematch."

"I totally agree about this could be the fight of the night.  I saw
Jessie this last Sunday and talked to him for a bit and he is in the
right mind set for this fight."

According to Wikipedia, Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full contact that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, from a mixture of traditions, to be used in competitions. The rules allow the use of striking and grappling techniques, both while standing and on the ground.

Modern mixed martial arts competition emerged in popular culture in 1993 with the founding of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Initially based on finding the most effective martial arts for real unarmed combat situations, competitors of various arts were
pitted against one another with minimal rules or concern for safety.

In the following decade, MMA promoters adopted many additional rules aimed at increasing safety for competitors and to promote mainstream acceptance of the sport. Following these changes, the sport has seen increased popularity with pay per view reach rivaling and professional wrestling.

This is exactly what the MAX Fights venue is looking to bring to the Fargo Civic Center on July 19, 2008.  With well rounded fighters looking to excite the crowd with devastating strikes of knock out potential.

If you decide to attend this event, please purchase your tickets now as this event will be sold out!!!

If you’ve been to one of our MAX Fights events before, you know the kind of treat you’re in for.  For some it will be quite the spectator sport and for others it may not be the family fun you’d expect at Disney World.  Please tell us your thoughts on this Fargo, ND MMA event.  Before you do, please read about who will be present for your entertainment.

Chris
Tuchscherer returns to Fargo after a great showing in his pay per view
debut on Yamma’s 8 man heavyweight tournament. Chris is bound for the
big time, so it’s a real treat to be able to watch him back home again
while we still can. His opponent will be decided shortly.

Returning
to Fargo from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil will be World BJJ champion, Daniel
Otero, to face currently ranked 6th in the World, Sam Thao. This will
be for the flyweight title.

In a lightweight challenger
elimination bout (for the right to fight for the belt currently held by
Kyle Jensen), Marcus Levesseur (see video clip below) will be facing Henry Krug. Marcus is a 4x national wrestling Champion and
was undefeated his entire collegiate career.  Henry is a one time MAX Fights alum and a 2008 IFL lightweight finalist with devastating strikes training out of Coconut Creek, Florida.

3x U of MN
all-American, Jacob Volkmann, will be facing Joe Keaveny, who has been
known for his exciting stand up but has also recently shown a much
improved ground game as well.

Caleb Quinn will represent the MN
Martial Arts Academy with his excellent Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu will
take on MAX Fights staple, Zack Schroeder (also see clip below). Zack
is an explosive stand up fighter and very good wrestler. He showed just
how well rounded he is by arm-barring Brian Strain last April.

Zach
Thumb, who easily handled a 50 fight veteran, who outweighed him by
nearly 80 lbs in our last event will face ND native, John Kelly.

2x
MAX Fights fight of the night winner, Jessi Evans, will face acclaimed
boxer and MMA fighter, Frank Johnson, of the famed Rice Street gym. One
of Jessi’s few lossed came to Frank, so there is a score to be settled.

Tyler Larson (former EFX champ) vs. Pablo Garza just added to the card…a couple of very exciting fighters

Just added to the card is Preston Engstrom of Fargo vs. Andy Przekwas of Roseau at 170lbs

More fights to be added and finalized soon.
The Jag girls will once again be there as ring girls in addition to former MS Teen ND, Taylor Kearns, and Rachel Stearns.

We’ve
timed the event to take place while the huge influx of wrestlers are in
town for junior nationals, so this one should sell out fast. We’ve
decided to give a discount to those that buy in advance. So, $5 off for
advance purchase. Tickets should be on sale 6/11 through www.ticketmaster.com or (701)235-7171,

For more information, call (701)212-2945 or (701)367-6592
www.maxfights.net to see our previous fight cards, read and contribute to our forum and get all the latest news.

Doors open at 6:30pm and fights start at 7:30pm

MAX Fights

Established to
overcome the misconceptions of mixed martial arts as a brutal sport, consisting of
blood-thirsty contestants and expose it for the respectful science and
art that it truly is. Where as MAX Fights hopes to further popularize the
sport in addition to replacing the first impressions made on some by
poorly-presented MMA events of the past.

On July 19th, MAX Fights has no plans to cut corners in the planning and execution of this up coming MMA event.  All the way down from the quality of the fighters, the venue used and the extra things that make for a great presentation such as ring lights and great sound, all the way down to
every person associated with or contributing to the event in any way.

The primary goal of M.A.X. Fights is to make the fans happy that they came to
the event. With three successful shows under their belt, they roll their profits back into the events which allows us to pay the
fighters what they deserve.  With a large fight purse, the incentive
for the fighters ascertains harder training and to help justify all the
sacrifices they need to make in order to be at their best.

MAX Fights wants all their fans to leave the show happy and satisfied with their choice of entertainment. The events that M.A.X. Fights puts
on will be loaded with talent and have the match-ups people want to
see.

Please tell us about your thoughts about MMA in our Fargo, ND community.