The world of boxing got the news it was waiting anxiously for years.

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather finally agreed to fight each other.

The contract was signed today and the date of the fight is set for May 2, in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao spoke to Yahoo.com about the news: “I am very happy that Floyd Mayweather and I can give the fans the fight they have wanted for so many years,” said Pacquiao, who signed the contract for the bout Thursday. “They have waited long enough and they deserve it. It is an honor to be part of this historic event. I dedicate this fight to all the fans who willed this fight to happen and, as always, to bring glory to the Philippines and my fellow Filipinos around the world.”

Mayweather announced the signing of the contract on his social medias.

Mayweather is 32 years old and has a professional record of 47-0, with 26KOs.

Pacquiao is 36 years old and has a professional record of 57-5-2, with 38KOs.

In this 16s video, you can see Rodolfo throwing some punches.

Here’s what he wrote about the experience in his Facebook page: “Man, it was tough to learn Jiu-Jitsu. For the fifth calss it’s not that bad. I am really enjoying the boxing classes. Thanks for coach Claudio and his team for the patience with me.”

Kev Capel teaching at his academy. Photo: The Urban Athlete

GMA member Kevin Capel of Roger Gracie Academy Buckinghamshire was recently interviewed on open mat radio.

In the podcast he speaks about how he received his black belt from Roger Gracie and training with Roger’s father, Mauricio Gomes in the UK.

Kevin  trained in many different martial arts including boxing, Tae Kwon Do and Judo before he ventured into Jiu-Jitsu and now teaches in the UK.

Check out the interview here: http://www.openmatradio.com/2013/10/08/episode-86-kev-capel/

Photo by Erik Fontanez

TORRANCE, Calif. — If he gets through Chris Weidman in their rematch at UFC 168, Anderson Silva wants to live his lifelong dream and in his following fight box Roy Jones, Jr.

Silva, speaking with reporters at the UFC 168 World Tour in Los Angeles on Monday, explained that he still has goals at 38 years old. One of those goals, he said, has long been to box former multiple-division boxing champ Jones. Now, he said, the timing is right and he wants to make the Jones fight happen after his December UFC fight.

“My focus is my rematch now … I finish this then it’s the fight with Roy Jones, Jr.,” Silva said. “It’s my dream. It’s my personal dream.”

The boxing game is vastly different from anything seen in MMA, Silva explained, so preparing for such a match would take an extended amount of time. In addition to the training for the boxing bout, Silva said he needs to discuss things with his close cohorts. More importantly, the former UFC middleweight champion needs to run his boxing venture through his current boss, the UFC president.

“I need time for training because it’s a different sport,” Silva said, adding that he couldn’t put an exact timeframe on how long he would need to train for the fight. “I don’t know, I need to check [with] my coach and check with Dana [White]. It’s my big goal, but I need to check.”

White has seldomlly been open to allowing his high-profile fighters to compete in other combat sports, apart from an occasional grappling tournament. Silva said dealing with his employer about such a subject has been an arduous task before, but the personal importance of boxing Jones made the fighter realize that talking to White is equally as important.

“I [haven’t] talked to Dana about this because Dana [can be] very difficult,” he said. “But I’ll talk to Dana now because it’s my dream, my personal dream.”

Silva relocated to Los Angeles earlier this year, opening up a gym Torrance and settling down in Southern California. The location serves as easy access to where Silva said he will go to prepare for Jones – Wild Card Boxing under the tutelage of famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach.

With Roach’s help, in conjunction with his regular trainers and team, Silva hopes to fulfill a dream that he said started back when he watched televised fights with his father in Brazil.

“For a long time I watched Roy Jones and [talked] to my dad and said, ‘Dad, look at this guy,'” Silva said. “I’ve talked [with Roy Jones], but not too much. He said, ‘I’m ready, Anderson.'”

Move over, Anderson Silva. It appears Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is a more appealing fight than you.

According to a report on Thursday by MMAjunkie.com, a match between Bellator MMA’s Jackson and boxing’s Roy Jones Jr. is being targeted for an end-of-the-year pay-per-view.

Citing an anonymous source within Jackson’s camp, the report said that Rampage’s people and representatives for Jones have been keeping an ongoing dialogue for over half a year.

“We’ve been talking to Roy and his people over a potential ‘Rampage’ vs. Roy fight for over seven months,” the source said. “Boxing and MMA have both been discussed, and [Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney] has been in these discussions every step of the way.”

GRACIEMAG.com attempted contacting Bellator officials for comment, but messages were not returned before the time of this publication.

Leading into his loss to Chris Weidman, former UFC champ Silva was in talks to face Jones. Even after the loss, Jones was still intrigued in a fight with “The Spider.”

“It’s something the world’s been wanting to see for a long time,” Jones recently told Fuel TV when talking about a fight with Silva. “It’s an event, not a boxing match, not an MMA fight, but an event [between] two guys who have that razzle-dazzle, and when they’re focused, you can’t whoop them.”

Well, world, now you get to see Jones fight Jackson. Happy about that?

He does not fight back, but only dodges the punches with head and body movement.

Do you think you would be able to hit him?

Rumors of UFC middleweight Michael Bisping being knocked out while sparring at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing gym were denied by the fighter and boxing trainer today and yesterday.

Bisping and Roach took to Twitter to clarify that at no time did the fighter spar with one of Roach’s professional boxers and get knocked unconscious.

“I have never been ko’d sparring at wildcard gym, or in sparring ever,” Bisping tweeted.

Roach, in answering a fan on Twitter, had a much shorter explanation when addressing the rumor that one of his boxers knocked out Bisping.

“Not true,” he wrote.

Bisping added that he has been recovering from eye surgery and hasn’t sparred in a while, further shooting down rumors of his recent knockout.

Rumors began when a blog post by MiddleEasy.com said that Bisping came into the boxing gym and became too aggressive with his sparring partner. Roach, according to the post, then paired Bisping with an unnamed professional boxer. The boxer then knocked Bisping out.

“The Count” is currently scheduled to take on Mark Munoz at an upcoming UFC event in October. Munoz told GRACIEMAG.com’s Choke MMA Show that  he felt Bisping would be a good fit for him as a next opponent, and the fight was reportedly booked for Manchester, England days later.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Ed Mulholland/WireImage/Getty Images

UFC President Dana White had a recent conversation with two-time boxing champion Andre Berto about fighting in the UFC.

According to a report from Yahoo! Sports, Berto and White ran into each other about three weeks ago and discussed the boxer potentially coming to fight for the MMA organization.

“I talked to Dana White about this … the last time I [saw] him,” Berto said. “Don’t be surprised if I try to get in that thing and win a title. I’ll be the first fighter to win a boxing championship and a UFC mixed martial arts world championship.”

Berto added that he knows the basics of MMA and that “it might be” a reality that he one day competes in the UFC’s famous Octagon.

Berto isn’t the only one in his family with MMA aspirations. His brother, James Edson Berto, fights for Bellator and his father, Dieusel, fought at UFC 10 way back in 1996.

The boxer also said that his sister, Revelina, is trying out for Season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter. That season will be coached by Ronda Rousey and the Miesha Tate-Cat Zingano winner at the TUF 17 Finale.

The instructors for Evolve University / Photo: evolve-university.com

With technology becoming more and more infused with our gentle art, Evolve MMA has worked to become a leader in such partnership. On March 26, they launched the largest online university for martial arts.

Evolve University offers online teaching by renowned world champions within the Evolve MMA family. The professional Evolve Fight Team includes DREAM world champion Shinya Aoki, Muay Thai world champion Orono Wor Petchpun, UFC fighter Rafael dos Anjos, US Olympian Heath Sims, ONE FC superstar Zorobabel Moreira, Total Combat FC champion Eddie Ng, WBA Boxing world champion Yodsanan Sityodtong, Jiu-Jitsu world champion Leandro Issa, Muay Thai world champion Namsaknoi Yudthagarngamtorn, Muay Thai world champion Attachai Fairtex, No-Gi world champion Takeo Tani, MCFC champion Mitch Chilson, and many others.

The first phase of Evolve University will include thousands of online tutorial videos across different martial arts such as Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, etc. The next additional phases of Evolve University will include interactive teaching guides, community enrichment tools, course management software, degree certifications, and much more.

Chatri Sityodtong, founder and chairman of both Evolve MMA and Evolve University, stresses, “Evolve Mixed Martial Arts is once again revolutionizing the martial arts industry in Asia with the introduction of Evolve University, Asia’s largest online university for martial arts. For the first time in history, anyone anywhere in the world will be able to learn martial arts and self-defense under our decorated World Champions.”

Clara Leo, CEO, also adds, “I am excited today to unveil Evolve University to the world. Evolve University has been in stealth mode operations for the last 24 months, developing proprietary systems, producing thousands of high quality, tutorial videos, and building complex software for the future. Evolve University provides unprecedented access to self-defense knowledge to every person on the globe, irrespective of geographic location. Unfortunately, today we all live in a world of senseless violence against innocent victims. Every week, you hear terrible news stories from around the world. At Evolve MMA, we believe that authentic self-defense knowledge is a critical necessity for everyday life. Evolve University aims to make this world a safer place.”

To read more about Evolve University, please go to www.Evolve-University.com

According to world-class boxing trainer Freddie Roach, Nick Diaz’s boxing isn’t the best in the UFC. Roach referred to his ability as just “okay.” (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Boxing trainer Freddie Roach has cornered world champion boxers throughout his career. Being in his position, Roach has dissected what many call “the sweet science” with a watchful eye, and been able to point out advantages and flaws by fighters for years. As much experience as he has, Roach’s opinion on technique is widely respected by many of the sport’s aficionados.

Roach has also worked with MMA fighters, such as UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. St-Pierre defends his title against Nick Diaz this Saturday at UFC 158, and Roach told GracieMag.com that he and GSP have devised a game plan to counter whatever Diaz throws.

“For the hands, we’ve already set a good game plan and we know how we’re going to fight with Diaz’s so-called best [boxing] in UFC,” Roach recently said at his gym, Wild Card Boxing. “To make an adjustment to fight Diaz is not hard.”

Diaz, a Cesar Gracie black belt, is known not only for his Jiu-Jitsu, but also his stand-up game. His boxing is regarded by many in the MMA community as being some of the best in the UFC. However, when asked of what he thinks of Diaz’s boxing prowess, Roach was quick to shoot down any notion that he has the best hands in the UFC.

Famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach (pictured) isn’t impressed with Nick Diaz’s boxing ability. (Photo by Landry Major/Getty Images)

“Bulls**t. I know it’s bulls**t,” Roach said. “He fires arm punches … walks forward and crosses his legs, his balance is off. I’m not impressed.”

Diaz is durable and tough, he added, but the thought that Diaz has the best boxing in MMA is something Roach doesn’t believe. He was equally as critical, however, about Rua and St-Pierre when the MMA fighters first arrived at Wild Card.

“When Georges St-Pierre first came here his technique wasn’t that good, but it’s getting better and better now,” he explained. “The thing is that most of the guys in MMA or the UFC have history in the ground game and so on, so it’s more new to them. A lot of times they’ve never been taught on how to do it correctly.”

Now Roach says GSP is more than ready to counter Diaz’s striking when the two face off Saturday in Montreal. Also, Roach said Rua is already getting wowed by his coaching, saying that the fighter is pivoting the right way and punching off the correct foot.

But as far as Diaz goes, Roach has no impression that the fighter’s boxing is world-class.

“He’s very durable, got a lot of balls,” he said of Diaz. “But the thing is his boxing ability — It’s okay.”

Before an exciting roll, Rashad Evans shoots the breeze with his black belt friend Danillo Índio. (Photo by Ryan Loco)

With a battle coming up Feb. 2 at UFC 156 in Las Vegas, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, 33, has been doing some extra special training with his teammates at the Florida-based Blackzilians team.

All because of the respect Evans has for the seasoned Rogério “Minotouro” Nogueira (20-5), who he considers to be one of the most complete and experienced fighters in the UFC today.

Following a no-gi Jiu-Jitsu session, Evans had a chat with GRACIEMAG.com. Check out what he had to say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrUKGduDP-s

UFC 156
Las Vegas, Nevada
February 2, 2013

• José Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar
• Alistair Overeem vs. Antonio Silva
• Rashad Evans vs. Antônio Rogério Nogueira
• Jon Fitch vs. Demian Maia
• Gleison Tibau vs. Evan Dunham
• Jacob Volkmann vs. Bobby Green
• Edwin Figueroa vs. Francisco Rivera

For more UFC and MMA coverage,

visit GRACIEMAG.com’s Choke MMA section

Pay attention, Sonnen: Gilbert Durinho teaches how to fend off Jon Jones’ elbows. Photo: GRACIEMAG.

If you were Chael Sonnen, what would you do to keep Jon Jones’s elbows at bay?

The best thing to do, of course, would be to not end up underneath him. That’s no easy task. Another would be to avoid irritating the light heavyweight champion during shooting of season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, the final of which will take place April 27, probably in New Jersey, USA. But we doubt Sonnen will take that route.

So the solution is to tune in to the advice of Gilbert “Durinho” Burns, who helped train Vitor Belfort for his own encounter with Jones. To Durinho the trick is to meld Jiu-Jitsu with boxing.

That’s right, the leg guard of Jiu-Jitsu and the hand behind the head of boxing.

“Fighters these days insist on grabbing the wrist of the opponent on top doing ground and pound. That’s just what he wants, since all he has to do is twist and the elbow goes in crisp,” says Durinho.

“I’d rather climb my guard up and try clinching him behind the head. If he escapes, I protect myself with the hand behind the neck, like in boxing, until I can get a knee in and distance him or try an armbar…” he teaches, with the help of training partner Jhon Menezes in a training session filmed at Vitor Belfort’s Rio de Janeiro gym.

Did you find the 2011 lightweight world champion’s tip helpful? Let us know in the comments field below.