For the bantamweight GP, Eduardo Dantas, one of the great revelations of MMA in Brazil, had no cakewalk against the Cuban Alexis Vila, it wasn’t easy against Alexis Vila. In the initial round, Villa shortened the distance and put the Brazilian on his back on the floor. During the second round, Dudu dominated and was able to use his feared knee, while in the decisive round, took the back and almost ended with a rear naked choke. In the end, it was decreed the triumph of André Pederneiras pupil by unanimous decision. “I expected that. Since I came here this was my goal, to get the title of the GP, I’m going after the belt of the category, “said Dudu after the duel.

And in the heavyweight GP, the Brazilian Thiago Monstrão came from four straight victories and faced the dangerous Eric Prindle. In the first attempt, Big Monster knocked down Prindle and prefered  not to work on the ground and pound, standing up, he kicked twice, until the third blow, when he hit the American genital area. Prindle claimed not to be able to continue the battle, and the fight was considered no contest. The decision of the heavyweight GP will be rescheduled for 2012.

In the other fights, Patricky Pitbull just needed 50 seconds to use a cross and swing the ex-UFC Kurt Pellegrino. On the ground, five more punches completed the job. In a balanced and busy combat, Marcin Held surpassed the former employee of Dana White, Phillipe Naver by split decision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkzAelhz2UE&feature=player_embedded

Check out all the results:

Bellator 59
Atalantic City, New Jersey, US
November 26, 2011

Bantamweight GP Finals
Eduardo Dantas won Alexis Vila by unanious decision

Heavyweight GP Finals
Eric Prindle vs Thiago “Big Monster” Santos was considered No Contest

Other Fights
Patricky Freire won Kurt Pellegrino by TKO during R1
Marcin Held won Phillipe Naver by split decision
Karl Amoussou won Jesus Martinez by TKO during R1
LeVon Maynard won Chris Wing by unanimous decision
Lucas Pimenta won Doug Gordon by KO during R1
Scott Heckman submitted Brylan Van Artsdalen with a guillotine during R1
Gregory Milliard won Brandon Saling by unanimous decision

Pelo GP dos pesados, o brasileiro Thiago Monstrão vem de quatro vitórias seguidas e encara o perigoso Eric Prindle, o amigo do fisioculturista Lou Ferrigno (o Hulk da TV) que emenda sete triunfos. Eric vem de um nocaute rápido em Ron Sparks na semifinal do GP (veja abaixo).

Já na final do GP dos galos, Eduardo Dantas, uma das grandes revelações do MMA no Brasil, enfrenta o cubano Alexis Vila.

Nas outras lutas, o faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu Kurt Pellegrino, ex-UFC, é o rival do potiguar Patricky Pitbull, numa promessa de lutaço. Também ex-funcionário de Dana White, a fera Phillipe Naver enfrenta Marcin Held.

Bellator 59
Atalantic City, New Jersey, Estados Unidos
26 de novembro de 2011

Final GP dos Galos
Alexis Vila vs Eduardo Dantas

Final GP dos pesados
Eric Prindle vs Thiago “Big Monster” Santos

Lutas Casadas
Kurt Pellegrino vs Patricky Freire
Phillipe Nover vs Marcin Held
Karl Amoussou vs Jesus Martinez
Brylan Van Artsdalen vs Scott Heckman
LeVon Maynard vs Christopher Wing
Gregory Milliard vs Brandon Saling
Doug Gordon vs Lucas Pimenta Borges

According to our numerous “commentators,” champion Shogun will beat his challenger thanks to his greater experience, his Jiu-Jitsu and because he is more well-rounded.

On the Sports Science television program on ESPN channel, Shogun proved that he is truly out of this world: in terms of the power behind his punch. Could this be Shogun’s true weapon come Saturday?

Check out the card below, and then comment: who will win UFC 128?

UFC 128
Newark, New Jersey
March 19, 2011

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Jon Jones (light heavyweight-title fight)
Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland
Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus
Nate Marquardt vs. Dan Miller
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Brendan Schaub
Luiz Cane vs. Eliot Marshall
Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani
Ricardo Almeida vs. Mike Pyle
Kurt Pellegrino vs. Gleison Tibau
Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian Loveland
Raphael Assunção vs. Erik Koch
Nick Catone vs. Costantinos Philippou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvU8vzrBjeQ

Tibau will be in action. Photo: Josh Hedges.

Both are coming off a loss and it looks like sparks will fly when they face off in New Jersey this Saturday at UFC 128. Black belt Gleison Tibau and Kurt Pellegrino will feature on the preliminary card of the event promising plenty of excitement.

“I’m getting my ground game and wrestling up too speed to keep him where I want him,” says Tibau.

“I can’t let him get up once he’s down – only if I want him to. I improved my ground and pound, because it’s never a good idea to leave the outcome in the hands of the judges when you’re fighting in your opponent’s home town (laughs)!” says Tibau.

The fighter guarantees he’ll be ready for whatever comes his way in the octagon:

“I trained with muay thai fighters Macarrão and Diego Gaspareto, but I didn’t leave out my Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling. I did everything so as to erase the mistakes of the past. There’s a surprise in store for Newark, you all will be impressed,” he says in finishing, on the UFC Portuguese-language website.

Check out the complete card:

UFC 128
Newark, New Jersey
March 19, 2011

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Jon Jones (light heavyweight-title fight)
Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland
Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus
Nate Marquardt vs. Dan Miller
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Brendan Schaub
Luiz Cane vs. Eliot Marshall
Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Njokuani
Ricardo Almeida vs. Mike Pyle
Kurt Pellegrino vs. Gleison Tibau
Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian Loveland
Raphael Assunção vs. Erik Koch
Nick Catone vs. Costantinos Philippou

Segundo nossos diversos “comentaristas”, o campeão Shogun vence o desafiante graças à experiência, ao seu Jiu-Jitsu e por ser mais completo.

No programa da ESPN americana “Sports Science”, porém, Shogun provou no que ele é realmente fora de série: na força de suas pancadas. Será esssa a verdadeira arma de Shogun no sábado?

Confira abaixo, e depois aproveite para comentar: quem serão os vencedores do UFC 128?

UFC 128
Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
Sábado, 19 de março de 2011

Mauricio Shogun x Jon Jones
Urijah Faber x Eddie Wineland
Jim Milller x Kamal Shalorus
Nate Marquardt x Dan Miller
Mirko Cro Cop x Brendan Schaub

Preliminares (Spike TV e Canal Combate)
Edson Barboza x Anthony Njokuani
Luiz Banha Cane x Eliot Marshall

No Facebook:
Kurt Pellegrino x Gleison Tibau
Ricardo Cachorrão x Mike Pyle

Preliminares sem transmissão:
Joseph Benavidez x Ian Loveland
Raphael Assunção x Erik Koch
Nick Catone x Costantinos Phillipou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvU8vzrBjeQ

Tibau vai estar em ação. Foto: Josh Hedges

Ambos vêm de derrota e a promessa é de luta movimentada em New Jersey, neste sábado, quando acontece o UFC 128. O faixa-preta Gleison Tibau e Kurt Pellegrino se enfrentam numa das lutas preliminares num evento com o card que promete muitas emoções.

“Eu estou preparando o meu jogo de chão e wrestling para mantê-lo onde eu quero”, diz Tibau.

“Não posso permitir que ele se levante após uma queda, só se eu quiser. Melhorei meu ground and pound, porque nunca é bom deixar nas mãos dos juízes quando você está lutando na cidade natal de seu adversário (risos)!”,diz Tibau.

O lutador garante estar preparado para o que der e vier no octagon:

“Eu treinei com lutadores de muay thai, Luciano Macarrão e Diego Gaspareto, mas não esqueci meu Jiu-Jitsu e wrestling. Eu fiz tudo para apagar os erros do passado. Prometo uma surpresa para Newark, vocês ficarão impressionados”, encerra, em declaraçãoao site do UFC.

Confira o card completo:

Confira o card completo:

UFC 128
Nova Jersey, Newark
Dia 19 de março de 2011

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua x Jon Jones (for light-heavyweight title)
Urijah Faber x Eddie Wineland
Jim Miller x Kamal Shalorus
Nate Marquardt x Dan Miller
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic x Brendan Schaub
Luiz Cane x Eliot Marshall
Edson Barboza x Anthony Njokuani
Ricardo Almeida x Mike Pyle
Kurt Pellegrino x Gleison Tibau
Joseph Benavidez x Ian Loveland
Raphael Assunção x Erik Koch
Nick Catone x Costantinos Philippou

Pellegrino versus Morango. Photo: Josh Hedges

Winning 10 of his last 16 MMA outings by submission, Kurt Pellegrino gave further proof his Jiu-Jitsu is up to par when he submitted black belt Fabricio Morango with a rear-naked choke at UFC 111. To many Gentle Art lovers, mainly for the way he won the bout, it was a surprise.

Speaking of surprises, Pellegrino’s next opponent is George Sotiropoulos. For those who don’t remember, Sotiropoulos is the Australian who put on a Jiu-Jitsu clinic in beating favored to win Joe Stevenson at UFC 110.

To keep his ground game up to speed and win his fifth fight in a row for the promotion, only July 3 in Las Vegas, Pellegrino headed for New York, where he will do his prep work with Jiu-Jitsu world champion Marcelo Garcia. The two have faced off before in the past, in the quarterfinals of the 2007 ADCC.

“He was a good grappler, but he took me down, took my back and choked me. With him I’ll be the best prepared guy in the world,” he told MMAJunkie.com, with the certainty he will tap out at least a thousand times to Garcia.

Nevertheless, the lightweight won’t skip training with his old training partners Keith and Kenny Florian.

Curious about the Pellegrino vs Marclinho match? Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyzepuQAOa0

Pellegrino contra Morango. Foto: Josh Hedges

Tendo finalizado em 10 das 16 vitórias no MMA, Kurt Pellegrino reforçou que está com o Jiu-Jitsu em dia na luta contra Fabrício Morango, no UFC 111, quando finalizou o faixa-preta com um mata-leão. Para muitos amantes da arte suave, principalmente pelo modo como venceu a contenda, foi surpreendente.   

Falando em surpresas, o próximo adversário de Pellegrino é George Sotiropoulos. Se alguém não lembra, Sotiropoulos é o australiano que deu show de Jiu-Jitsu e bateu o favorito Joe Stevenson no UFC 110. 

Para não dar mole no chão e conquistar a quinta vitória seguida na organização, no dia 3 de julho, em Las Vegas, Pellegrino partiu para Nova York, ode vai se preparar com o campeão mundial da arte suave Marcelo Garcia. Ambos, inclusive, já se enfrentaram nas quartas-de-final do ADCC, em 2007. 

“Era um bom grappler, mas ele me derrubou, pegou as minhas costas e me estrangulou. Com ele serei a pessoa mais preparada do mundo”, disse ao site MMAJunkie, com a certeza de que será finalizado mais de mil vezes por Garcia. 

Entretanto, o peso leve não vai deixar de treinar com os antigos parceiros Keith e Kenny Florian.     

Está curioso para ver a luta entre Pellegrino e Marcelinho? Assista abaixo: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyzepuQAOa0 

Confira como deve ser o card do evento: 

UFC 116

Las Vegas, Estados Unidos

Dia 3 de julho de 2010

Brock Lesnar x Shane Carwin

Yoshihiro Akiyama x Wanderlei Silva

Kurt Pellegrino x George Soitropoulos

Stephan Bonnar x Krzysztof Soszynski

Matt Brown x Chris Lytle

Kendall Grove x Adversário a definir  

Goran Reljic x Adversário a definir   

[flickr set=72157623610652173]

[flickr set=72157623610652173]

Cachorrão finalizou. Foto Josh Hedges

Apesar do impressionante nocaute de Shane Carwim sobre Frank Mir, a luta de chão marcou o UFC 111, em Nova Jersey, neste sábado. George St. Pierre apresentou um Jiu-Jitsu de primeira, enquanto Ricardo Cachorrão e Rousimar Toquinho conseguiram boas finalizações. Quem gostou foi Renzo Gracie, que viu tudo de pertinho e foi focalizado num tremendo sorriso. Confira como foi o show:

Um braço de borracha

Apesar da nítida superioridade de Georges St. Pierre nos cinco rounds contra Dan Hardy, o que valeu a decisão unânime dos jurados, impressionou na disputa de cinturão meio-médio a elasticidade nos braços de Hardy. No primeiro round, o inglês sobreviveu a um armlock muito justo. Também marcou a resistência numa chave Kimura, na quarta etapa, encaixadíssima. Faixa-preta do brasileiro Bruno Fernandes, GSP mostrou que o wrestling e o Jiu-Jitsu estão muito afiados. Quedou de todas as maneiras e apresentou um chão bem trabalhado. Hardy teve muita disposição, mas os braços – aposto – ficarão bem doloridos.

Carwin brinca com Frank

Frank Mir tinha o sonho de enfrentar Brock Lesnar. Terá de esperar. A luta contra Shane Carwin era válida pelo cinturão interino de pesados, programada para cinco assaltos. No entanto, durou poucos minutos. Depois de ser prensado nas grades por Shane, Mir sofreu um potente soco e sentiu. Carwin continuou batendo, sem piedade, até o árbitro intervir, ainda na primeira parcial.

Pellegrino bom de chão

Se a luta fosse para o chão, quem diria que a vantagem não seria de Fabrício Morango, faixa-preta da Gracie Humaitá? Mas quem levou a melhor no solo foi Kurt Pellegrino. Apesar de Morango chegar perto de definir no assalto inicial, o americano montou, sufocou por cima, e, depois de pegar as costas, finalizou com um mata-leão. Tudo isso no segundo round.

Passeio de Fitch

Substituto de Thiago Alves, vetado pela comissão atlética poucos dias antes do evento, Ben Saunders tentou resistir contra Jon Fitch. Entretanto, garra e disposição não foram o suficiente para vencer. Fitch veio bem na trocação, abusou das quedas e castigou por cima, ao chão, principalmente com cotoveladas no último assalto. No fim, a merecida vitória por decisão unânime.

Jiu-Jitsu de primeira

Dois faixas-pretas da arte suave entraram e saíram vitoriosos do octagon nos primeiros combates. Rousimar Toquinho não deixou Tomasz Drwal respirar e, em apenas 45 segundos, finalizou com uma chave de calcanhar. Ricardo Almeida, o cachorrão, teve um pouco mais de trabalho, mas também finalizou. Contra Matt Brown, definiu com um mata-leão no segundo assalto.

Confira os resultados:

UFC 111

Nova Jersey, EUA

27 de março de 2010

Georges St. Pierre venceu Dan Hardy por decisão unãnime dos jurados
Shane Carwin venceu Frank Mir por KO aos 3min48s do R1
Kurt Pellegrino finalizou Fabricio Morango com um mata-leão aos 4min20s do R2
Jon Fitch venceu Ben Saunders por decisão unânime
Jim Miller venceu Mark Bocek por decisão unânime
Nate Diaz venceu Rory Markham por nocaute técnico aos 2min47s do R1
Ricardo Almeida finalizou Matt Brown com um mata-leão aos 3min30s do R2
Rousimar Palhares finalizou Tomasz Drwal com uma chave de calcanhar aos 45s do R1
Jared Hamman venceu Rodney Wallace por decisão unânime
Matt Riddle venceu Greg Soto por desclassificação a 1min30s do R3

Announcement of the UFC in Times Square in Manhattan. Photo: Bruno Ribeiro.

Never in the history of the UFC has a card gathered so many stellar black belts. If the statement is an exaggeration or whether they will prevail, is what viewers want to know in New York and neighboring New Jersey, which hosts the show today at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The main expectation of this spring Saturday in the U.S. is to see what kind of lesson 77kg champion Georges St-Pierre (19w, 2l) will teach challenger Dan Hardy (23w, 6l), an Englishman who presents danger despite his loose tongue .

Hardy comes into the title fight on a high after overcoming sharp wrestler Mike Swick at UFC 105, but GSP has more up his sleeve than just takedowns. A black belt in Jiu-Jitsu under Bruno Fernandes from Gracie Barra Montreal, and in karate as well, the Canadian superstar has the right opponent to put on a great display of Jiu-Jitsu.

GSP training with Gunar Nelson in NY. Photo: Luca Atalla.

Part of the press presents a “Rush” Saint-Pierre victory a given, pointing to a future fight between Hardy and Josh Koscheck being a classic. But, wait, respect is the challenger and his game today.

The ground may also be the easiest route for Frank Mir (13w, 4l), against overwhelming Shane Carwin (11w, 0l), in a heavily anticipated bout worth the interim heavyweight belt. Whoever wins will face the brute force of Brock Lesnar, in a title bout promising to be war. A Ricardo Pires Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Mir is one of the best representatives of the art in the Octagon, and will test Carwin’s submission defense. If there’s time, of course, because the undefeated knockout artist from Denver usually ends his contests in little over a minute, like he did against Gabriel Gonzaga.

Mir trains with Robert Drysdale. Photo: Publicity.

Also live on pay-per-view, two ground specialists Fabricio “Morango” Camoes (10w, 4l, 1d) and Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino (14w) make for an interesting matchup. Morango proved his worth in 2006 by winning an MMA lightweight tournament with three fights in one night, at Super Challenge in Sao Paulo. The champion of the weight group above was Demian Maia, but Morango took a longer route and only now made it onto the main card of UFC, after a promising draw with Caol Uno and due to problems in the medical exams of Thiago Pitbull, who found out the day before he would no longer face Jon Fitch. A new test should confirm that all is well with the ATT athlete, as he himself guarantees.

Last year Morango competed at the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship, however untrained, while Kurt loves to test himself in the ADCC. The one with their Jiu-Jitsu up to date wins today and advances.

Another black belt fun to watch on this card is Nate Diaz (11w, 5l), who has alternated between beautiful submission wins and decision losses. Which Nate will enter the Octagon today?

Cachorrão tries a takedown on Arona at ADCC 2001. Photo: Gustavo Aragao.

Based in New Jersey, Rio de Janeiro native Ricardo “Cachorrão” Almeida (11w, 3l) returns vs. Matt Brown (11w, 7l) live on Spike TV, and a submission would do the fighter well in his welcome to the welterweight division, looking to return to the main card in the presence of his fans and students.

Now Rousimar “Toquinho” has his work cut out for him in Tomasz “Gorilla” Drwal (17w, 2l) seeking to prove that his Jiu-Jitsu can still delight, and trying to strengthen the prophecy of his coach Murilo Bustamante, who said “Toquinho will be UFC champion some day. The Brazilian can start paving the way in New Jersey.

UFC 111 – St-Pierre vs. Hardy
Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, USA
Saturday, March 27, 2010

Georges St-Pierre vs Dan Hardy
Shane Carwin vs Frank Mir
Jake Ellenberger vs. Ben Saunders
Fabricio Camoes x Kurt Pellegrino
Mark Bocek x Jim Miller
Nate Diaz x Rory Markham
Ricardo Almeida vs Matt Brown
Jared Hamman x Rodney Wallace
Tomasz Drwal vs Rousimar Palhares
Matthew Riddle x Greg Soto

Dana White and Brock Lesnar, in a photo posted on the twitter of the UFC president. Mir and Carwin will determine who faces the heavyweight leviathen.