Shaquille O'Neal among the stars at 118 UFC

MMA Fan and new Boston Celtic Shaquille O'Neal was one of many stars present at 118 UFC in Boston on Saturday night. He joined by Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who was wearing a shirt with a photo of Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste over it.

New England Patriots Tom Brady and Wes Welker were also in the building, but was O'Neal, who showed off his MMA moves for the camera.He is no stranger to MMA, have trained for years. O'Neal also made an appearance at UFC Fan Expo on Saturday and also sought the UFC President Dana White for the chance to fight in Octagon.

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Gray Maynard hostile crowd at UFC 118 views

BOSTON--gray Maynard MMA fighting talked about Saturday's fight against Kenny Florian at UFC 118 press conference Wednesday.

Maynard talked about always for a title that shot in April, whether he needs he feel more trash, to get to speak noticed and be ignored game plan against Florian.

Check out the video interview below.

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Sylvia bullies his way to a victory of drilling on Buentello

Tim Sylvia is one the biggest heavyweights in the world and is playing to that strength more than ever. Two-time champ walks with former UFC heavyweight around in excess of 300 pounds and has brought a lot of mass in the ring against Paul Buentello. "The Headhunter" got suckered by Sylvia game, scored roughed in corners and end was paved by a great uppercut. Buentello was out of it, when he hit the deck and referee John McCarthy jumped to stop things at 4: 57 of the second round. Sylvia (27-6) picks up the heavyweight title in the main event of the PWP "War on land" in Irvine, CA.

We knew that Paul had their hands faster than I made sure that we wanted to play great man, get a hold of him and he, him wear of tires over the first two rounds. "said Sylvia."Then take control in the third, fourth and fifth ".

It didn't take that long because Buentello fact Sylvia game. He had clearly an advantage of speed with his hands, but he himself kept backing on the strings, where eventually the Sylvia 6-foot-8 clinched and move it into a corner.

Camp Buentello asked Sylvia (pictured at right with current UFC champ Brock Lesnar) to cut up to 275 pounds.They probably should have pushed to the limit of standard 265 heavyweights because with time, Sylvia rehydrated, eaten and stepped into the ring, sought to have at least 40 pounds on Buentello 251-pound. once things have corners, Sylvia put its full weight on his opponent's smallest. Has blasted away with big elbows, knees and effective uprights. At the end of the first round, Buentello had a cut on his nose and welt pockets under his left eye.

When moving and remained in the Centre of the ring, Buentello (28-13) had its moments in the second. He was able to land a few jabs effective and more than held their own negotiated when both fighters in open space.He just couldn't keep it up and killed his chances backing up.

"Paul has quick hands.I had to keep him on the end of my reach.Kicked him, him get inside then skip some elbows and knees. overalls on him, "said Sylvia.

Sylvia had questions about Buentello packaging so that wanted to work in the clinch game near corners.

"Paul coming to 250?We know that his form of struggle is usually 235, "said Sylvia."Even though he had twice-underhooks, I had my Chin on his shoulder to wear him. "
Sylvia was also effectiveness with some kicks leg hard.

"I saw him WinCE on football low the last," said Sylvia. "Once you take the legs from under them, you start kicking their high. "

After an embarrassing losses is fast, Ray Mercer and Fedor Emelianenko, this makes it three straight victories for Sylvia. during the discussion postfight in the ring, Sylvia was told that sometimes the way he'll defend his belt against fellow UFC veteran Pedro Rizzo. it is also likely that has improved its chances of getting a fight as soon as possible with a larger organization as DREAM or Strikeforce.

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Drew Fickett taps out three opponents to be / service GP champion

Call it a comeback, at least for one night.

Drew Fickett, who was one of the best Welterweights of the world to 2005, entered in the spotlight for the first time in the year and submitted by three opponents Friday night to win the first shine fights lightweight Grand Prix tournament in the first Council Casino in Newkirk, Oklahoma

The evening was a major turning point for Fickett, entered the pay event of his last five his last six and eight 11 verlieren.Und Fickett fully took advantage of his opportunity to impress, finishing quickly in his trio of tournament seizures.

In his first fight Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett standing guillotine choke and then in the semi-final filed Fickett from Dennis Bermudez tapped with a rear naked choke.

Fickett was fresh, only five minutes and 36 seconds ring time, Bennett and Bermudez, will need to finals Carlo Prater to versenden.Allerdings was a whole different story for Prater, who went the distance in two struggles for a total of 23 minutes before the action.

Set in a new edition of 2004, who was coincidentally also part of a one night tournament, advanced Fickett basic progression of scoring a takedown and softening up Prater mount Gracie-inducing rear-naked choke up.

"" He gave his back and I am really well with back, said Fickett.""So, once you give up your back might tap also out before something bad happens."

Fickett 122 seconds won his semifinal bout, Prater had even less time to recover his two previous battles.No additional attacks were planned, for what a rest period would have only a short drum Act inside the ring.Disadvantage despite entering fight, his post fight interview held positive Prater.

"" Drew is a true champion"Prater, expressed emotional after the fight.""He is extremely strong."

During Prater advanced to the finals, didn ' t do round bout of rich Crunkilton split decision in the way that he lost vorgesehen.Prater, in his opening but was given a chance in the semi-finals if Crunkilton continued because of a rib injury.

Actually, both quarter-finals were winners Crunkilton and Kyle Baker of the tournament was intended for bakers absence gezwungen.keinen reason but was probably due to a nasty cut above his left eye from his grueling quarterfinal victory over James Warfield.Alternativer winner Charlie Brown, coached by WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson, joined and lost to Prater by a majority vote in a very close fight.

Tournaments are present typically effectively UFC/WEC castoffs as also up and comers, and the big winner was Friday evening the same person, the it most.

Fickett, a man, a victory over current UFC welterweight No. 1 contender Josh Kosova check, holds has fought alcohol problems for years, all five of his Kämpfe-- beat down last year when he lost and this includes no battle was canceled when Fickett inebriated fight night up on showed.

So at the end of the night, his win streak GP trophy was to four Fickett inside the ring with the shine fights and enjoyed extended for at least one more moment in the spotlight.

"" I'm back", said Fickett.""155 Pounder look!"

1. Drew Fickett defeats Charles Bennett about submission (guillotine) - round 1, 3: 34
2. Dennis Bermudez defeated Shannon Gugerty via unanimous decision after two rounds
3. Kyle Baker defeated James Warfield on split decision after three rounds (OT)
4. Rich Crunkilton defeated Carlo Prater via split decision after three rounds (OT)
5. Drew Fickett defeated Dennis Bermudez via submission (rear naked choke) - round 1
6. Carlo Prater defeated Charlie Brown by majority vote after two rounds
7. Drew Fickett defeated Carlo Prater via submission (rear naked choke) - round 1, 2: 02

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Unlike Toney, acts as a true fighter Hunt

 

Spine of Mark Hunt is against the wall. A veteran of kickboxing, he is a huge MMA fan favorite clubs Japanese. But because he hasn't worked on his ground game, his style has led to a one-dimensional running rough lately in MMA. Hunt has lost five straight and not won since 2006, but he has made his UFC debut at UFC 119 in September. Why? Dana White said the inclusion of hunting was part of the purchase PRIDE Back in 2007. Good news for white are that hunting is not only going to take the money and run.

He said Sherdog back in July that he felt like he had lost much of his career and had not taken seriously his conditioning. From the appearance of the picture on the left hunting (amid) worked his butt.He is regularly about 290 pounds. Hunt is also down to American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fl., one of the best gyms grappling/Jiu-Jitsu at home.

No one is saying that James Toney could have beaten Randy Couture if first UFC 118 had worked a little harder. But he could've at least given himself a blow to stay out of the bridge more than 11 seconds, he wasn't come pounds of 237 a career high.Hunt, clearly, has no interest in a production of a similar performance Toney.

Former UFC Fighter Jeff Monson is also pictured (left). He looks a bit leaner. Monson spoke with Strikeforce fighting for promotion in October down to 205 pounds.

Tip via Fightlinker

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UFC 118 not sold yet; white surprised

MMA is increasing, but is not excluded from the effects of a lousy economy. UFC finally landing in Boston is a great shot for sport, but also a city for the fight against hunger has opened its wallet without some hesitation. Dan Duggan from the Boston Herald reports that UFC 118 needs a boost late to sellout:

Tickets went on sale June 25 and as of last weekend about 11,000 tickets had been sold. Ability of the garden for the event will be 15,500.

UFC President Dana White, Boston-native is surprised:

"I was shocked that we do not sell", white Herald said on Monday."Everybody is telling me that things are rough go back there." [...]

"We think it is going to sell," said White. "I think we as a couple thousand away from it.But when we get off to a thousand, we believe that a sale outside. will only by operators (sales). "

White is happy with the way that the event has been marketed.

"Everything is great," said White. "The fight card, led and now go there it's all good stuff. "

Probably he had good reason to be confident that the card you will sell. Boston media has shown in force Wednesday to cover the press conference prefight UFC 118. Documents as the Herald and Boston Globe have muscular yet in New England.

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How do we fix MMA's acting problems? Training and accountability

There is no get to it, MMA has some problems if it to amtiert. I speak not only of suspicious decisions. I'm talking about befremdliches interpretations of the rules in the cage, including but not limited to bizarre Stand-Ups as, which may or may not have cost former WWE star Bobby Lashley a victory against Chad of Griggs at StrikeForce: Houston last weekend.

In the case of referee, Jon missed it somehow Spritzer (a bit of a history of flubbing calls has), which decided, Lashley get up out of the full mount in the second Runde.Auf first, that it seemed as if he was going to review the section under Lashley's eye, but MMA fighting confirmed that Spritzer actually the fighters to the feet because he felt brought from the top position Lashley was not active enough.

I will stop a moment, that in can take. One of the dominant positions may have had reached, but he lost it, when the referee weren't decided that his occasional bursts of offense enough to keep him to the position he had earned to allow Lashley full mount.

Should happen ever in an MMA fight? Absolutely not, according to the sports erfahrensten referee, "Big" John McCarthy.

""Positions you are those guys out which can stand up because it is neutral or close to neutral,"McCarthy said, adding that guard or half guard are the most common examples."Once you say page has control guy won a dominant position where he really can not be injured, but he can damage his opponent. "If he can damage his opponents from that position, and his opponent can him who is the referee to the devil take it not damage?"

McCarthy itself was once this downfall guilty and only once. At UFC 17 1998 he took the full mount from Jeremy Horn, who currently enjoy was dominant against Frank Shamrock but nothing to do much with it.

"He stayed for over a minute and a half mounted and did nothing."Nothing, "said McCarthy." It was based out and I told him, 'Jeremy gotta you work, do gotta something', and he was based.I told him, "I stand up if not something to do" and he did not."I landed him get up and I felt like hell."

Horn would to go, submission and then McCarthy losing the UFC light heavyweight title fight over Kneebar headed to talk back to the locker room with him.Heard not Horn had employed his warnings, remain McCarthy asked? Horn replied that he heard you loud and clear.

' So I said: "then what were you thinking? '"McCarthy, remembers now." "And he said:"I thought I mounted on Frank Shamrock and I will do anything for me him.""

Laugh now, but back then it was serious.To make the same decision prayer when he is today, McCarthy would, admitted that he not sure he would. The persistent doubts highlights of one of the problems with the status of current MMA: when it comes to things like Stand-Ups, there is a lot which is left to interpret each single arbitrator for yourself.

Take for example the question of dominance.Once a fighter contact the trouble of securing control or mount, in a safe place and his opponent in a very precarious as much work enough to him to stay to justify? There is an average number of beats per minute needing to maintain? does he constantly to set up a kind of a submission, and if so, what is the set-up that is bound from his opponents tip subtle to be, is too subtle for the referee to notice?

Are difficult questions to begin with, and are covered in each referee MMA Guide.When I found out when I spoke with NSAC executive director Keith Kizer, it is not just a formal process for the selection of arbitrators and/or judge and ensure that all a certain base level of knowledge.

It is primarily a matter of turning in a resume showing some experience, have a good track record with some Commission somewhere on the planet and not because of any back child support.Commissions go not only, make sure each referee know what is caught in Mount or know what positions can move a certain template through the trouble and cannot be finished aus.Oft if we find out how much you do not know, is it too late.

How McCarthy put it, "Some people don't understand what the warriors."If a guy in the page control, see that with his shoulder pressure on someone, to move it and open, if you've never been there, how do you know how it is?You do not."It looks like a man laying on another."

This brings us to another problem.You say a referee crazy up.Say it is a major screw up the potentially the result of struggle geändert.Was now? who says the Commission that you again, at least not should use this someone until he proves that he knows what he's doing there?

At the moment, niemand.Es no system are the formal review for MMA refs, according to McCarthy.

"Boxing referee, bewertet.Es get your performance is a Panel as the older referee are retirement so you know that you not attempt to select the grader down, so you you have a better Zuweisung.Aber by the Commission, so that you, class if a show wurde.Und assigned receive typically three to six times a year benotet.Ist the biggest problem, we have that in MMA, who we have to do? we have not this older referee that can do this."

How determined the closest thing we have is a network of experienced refs like McCarthy.Es is never one instance, a great coach diplomas as a major event Bezuggenommen where he then, get a call, said McCarthy.Sie criticism offer each other honest reviews and recommendations for improvement - it is helpful, but it's all informal and unverbindlich.Es does not affect, which selects the Commission to work the next event.

The lack of coherent and consistent guidelines for referees, combined with the lack of any required certification or meaningful performance, well, it's a problem.

The third person in the cage every given fight night has the ability to a profound effect on a fighter's career and paycheck to use are responsible for ensuring security and fairness in each sanctioned Bout.sollten we some official system for make sure that you are performing competent in this task, and some actual consequences for you if you're not?

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