Carina and Rodrigo Damm to fight at FCC 35

Two of the most famous siblings in MMA will be fighting on the Freestyle Combat Challenge 35 show this Saturday. Carina and Rodrigo Damm of Brazil are both slated to fight in Racine, Wisconsin against yet to be announced opponents. The sister and brother team are most well known for fighting in the BodogFight organization. The FCC 35 card appears to be the biggest card of the year for any Wisconsin organization featuring big name fighters in Nick Agallar, Sergio Gomez, Jameel Massouh, and Kiuma Kunioku. Carina Damm sports an MMA record of (8-3) according to Sherdog. She is currently riding a three fight win streak and most recently defeated Sophie Bagherdai last month in Los Angeles by armbar in the second round. The fight was on Fatal Femmes Fighting 4 – Call of the Wild, an all girl MMA organization. Bagherdai was undefeated at (3-0) when Damm defeated her. Carina Damm began her MMA career in October 2004.

Carina Damm vs. Vanessa Porta

Carina Damm vs. Rosie Sexton

Carina Damm vs. Molly Helsel

Rodrigo Damm

Rodrigo Damm sports an MMA record of (7-1) according to Sherdog and also began his MMA career in October of 2004. Damm lost that first match against Luciano Azevedo at Shooto Brazil via split decision but has not lost a fight since then. His seven fight win streak dates back to July of 2005.

Damm is a very talented grappler and holds a black belt in BJJ under Pedro Andade, Eduardo "Jamelao" Conceicao, and Fabio Gurgel. He earned his black belt in 6 years and is highly decorated in both BJJ and wrestling in Brazil. He is a Mundial Champion in BJJ and a four time national wrestling champion.

Neither Carina or Rodrigo Damm have opponents listed but I sent an e-mail to FCC matchmaker Shu Hirata and will keep you posted if I find out who their opponents will be. Expect more FCC articles as the week unfolds.


Rodrigo Damm Highlight Video

Rodrigo Damm interview with OTM

Rodrigo Damm vs. Jyu Do Fan

Rodrigo Damm vs. Naoki Seki

Here is the fight card thus far:

Freestyle Combat Challenge 35: Beauty and the Beast
Team Strasser vs. Team World
Racine Case High School
Racine, Wisconsin

Carina Damm (Brazil) vs.
Nick Agallar vs. Phillip Tomblin
Sergio Gomez vs.
Jameel Massouh vs.
Rodrigo Damm (Brazil) vs.
Kiuni Kunioku (Japan) vs. Joel Blanton
DJ Taiki (Japan) vs.
David Love vs.

Kyle Weickhardt vs. Tim Nixon Rematch Slated For EFC 8 on May 2nd

Kyle “Wicked” Weickhardt and Tim “Arch Angel” Nixon recently did battle at Gladiators 50: Knock Out Kings in Milwaukee last month for the Gladiators 185lb Wisconsin Middleweight Muay Thai Championship. The two are set to fight again next month at Evolution Fighting Championships in West Bend, Wisconsin.

At Gladiators 50 on March 30th, Weickhardt scored a first round knock out against Nixon at 1:58 into the bout. It looked like “Wicked” threw a jumping knee followed by a right hook that sent the “Arch Angel” to the canvas. With the win, Weickhardt captured the new and vacant Wisconsin Gladiators Fighting Series Championship at 185lbs.

The EFC 8 fight is believed to be a non-title fight since it is not being fought in the Gladiators Fighting Series organization. Tim Nixon fights out of Green Bay Jiu-Jitsu & MMA and Kyle “Wicked” Weickhardt fights out the Duke Roufus Gym in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Tim Nixon vs. Jason Kazmierczak

According to a reliable source, the Tim Nixon vs. Jason Kazmierczak bout that was to take place at Gladiators 51 in May is said to be off the table due to Nixon pulling out of the bout. The bout was to mark the professional debut for Jason Kazmierczak.

Tim Nixon sports an MMA record of (2-3) according to Sherdog and is riding a three-fight losing streak in MMA. He would have been a good candidate for Kazmierczak’s professional debut and the two fighters are thought to have “Bad Blood”. It is unknown whether or not a replacement will be found in time for the card. It is also unknown if Nixon would be allowed to fight again so soon if he were to suffer another KO at the hands of Weickhardt two-weeks prior to the proposed Gladiators bout.

For a video of the match from Gladiators 50 click below:

Kyle Weickhardt vs. Tim Nixon

UFC 83 Results and Recap

Georges St. Pierre def. Matt Serra - TKO (Strikes) – RD 2
Rich Franklin def. Travis Lutter - TKO (Strikes) – RD 2
Nate Quarry def. Kalib Starnes - Unanimous Decision – RD 3
Michael Bisping def. Charles McCarthy - TKO (Strikes) – RD 1
Mac Danzig def. Mark Bocek - Rear Naked Choke – RD 3
Jason MacDonald def. Joe Doerksen - TKO (Strikes) – RD 2
Jason Day def. Alan Belcher - TKO (Strikes) – RD 1
Demian Maia def. Ed Herman - Triangle Choke – RD 2
Rich Clementi def. Sam Stout - Split Decision – RD 3
Cain Velasquez def. Brad Morris - TKO (Strikes) – RD 1
Jonathan Goulet def. Kuniyoshi Hironaka - TKO (Strikes) – RD 2

The Main Card

Georges “Rush” St. Pierre successfully regained his welterweight title against Matt Serra in a dominant display of ground and pound in his home country of Canada. Pierre decided not to stand with the dangerous Serra and took the fight to the canvas in a safe strategy that utilized ground and pound. The largest crowd in UFC history went crazy and it is apparent that the UFC is going to pay more attention to the lucrative northern market.

Rich “Ace” Franklin survived a near arm bar attempt by TUF 4 winner, Travis Lutter after he was fully mounted to out-cardio the out of shape Travis Lutter before decimating his opponent on the feet. After the fight, Franklin stated that he intentionally baited Lutter by giving him the arm to get the reversal. I question the strategy, but it worked nonetheless. Franklin won by TKO in round two.

Nate “The Rock” Quarry literally chased Kalib Starnes around the octagon for three rounds in on of the worst fights of the year. Round one was the only round Starnes engaged in and he lost every exchange he was involved in. Starnes may have ended any hopes of ever fighting in the UFC again. Quarry won the most lopsided unanimous decisions in UFC history as one judge scored the bout 30-24.

TUF 3 winner Michael “The Count” Bisping made his debut at 185lbs and survived an arm bar attempt by Charles McCarthy. After that Bisping used McCarthy as a heavy bag. McCarthy patiently stood against the fence, didn’t circle, and let Bisping tee off on him until the round ended. He then dropped to the canvas and could not continue to the second round.

TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig won by rear naked choke over BJJ black belt Mark Bocek. The bout was back and forth at times and was a great way to start the night. Danzig may not have been a BJJ black belt, but his BJJ was better than the Bocek’s last night. Bocek’s face was a complete mess after the bout.

Alan Belcher

Duke Roufus trained, Alan “The Talent” Belcher fought newcomer Jason Day on the undercard of the card. Ryan Harkness from Fight Linker did live play-by-play for a UK magazine called Fighters Only. Here’s what he wrote about the fight:

Jason Day comes into the octagon to some crushing metal music complete with
menacing siren sounds. The crowd is decent for him, but nowhere near as good as
they've been for the other Canadian fighters. It'll be interesting to see if
that means no boos for Alan Belcher.

Belcher struts into the ring to
some jive funk. The crowd gives a short boo which makes Alan smile grimly, then
that's it. Belcher sings along to his tune as he gets anti-cut goo slathered all
over his forehead. He's wearing some of the silliest shorts I've ever seen. It
looks like he's fashioned them out of labels ripped off Carlsburg beer bottles
and tassles from his grandmother's ottoman.

ROUND 1
The two fighters
throw strikes at each other. Day ties up and throws some nice inside uppercuts
before Belcher smothers him and starts going for a takedown. And the takedown
works, Belcher is now on top in side control. Day pulls him back into guard and
then pulls rubber guard. He uses his position to bounce solid elbows off of
Belcher's head. This rubber guard is rocking and Belcher doesn't seem to know
what the hell to do in it. More elbows by Day land until Belcher postures up and
breaks the rubber guard. Day is doing a great job with a very tight closed
guard; Belcher can't get any room to do anything. Now Belcher stands straight up
and walks away. The fight restarts on the feet.

Day is now landing some
great elbows from the standup and seems to have Belcher rocked. Belcher is
covering up and seems rocked as Day swings for the fences with body shots and
face shots. The ref steps in and stops it as Belcher slumps to his knees.

WINNER: JASON DAY (TKO, ROUND 1)

It was surprising to read that Belcher shot in for the takedown considering Jason Day’s strengths were supposed to be on the ground with submissions and ground control. Also, just days earlier Belcher stated in an interview that he wanted to never have to attempt another takedown for the rest of his career. Judging by the pictures and the text it sounds like he pulled a Charles McCarthy against the fence and let Day tee off on him. It’s also surprising to read that Day was better in the clinch, where Belcher’s strong suit is supposed to lie. In a post fight press conference Dana White said about Day, “Jason Day was amazing and also that Alan Belcher is amazing and that makes Jason Day look even better.”

While I have yet to see the fight, it sounds like Day was impressive in the fight. I think judging by the words of Dana White, Alan Belcher will definitely be back in the UFC in the near future. Picture galleries of the fight are available on MMA Weekly and the UFC website.

All in all, the event was fairly good despite the Quarry-Starnes fight. The four different winners of the Ultimate Fighter went (2-2) on the night. Dana White in the post-fight press conference said Jon Fitch is now the number one contender and that he is also going to discuss a possible fight between Georges St. Pierre and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. I think that there are some interesting match-ups for Rich Franklin in the future including Dan Henderson or Michael Bisping. I would speculate that Belcher’s next opponent could very well be on the card in Ed Herman or Nate Quarry. It’s hard to speculate whom Jason Day will fight next. Listed below is the fight card for UFC 84 next month:

UFC 84: Ill Will
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, NV
05/24/2008

155lbs: BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
205lbs: Wanderlei Silva vs. Keith Jardine
205lbs: Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic
205lbs: Tito Ortiz vs. Lyoto Machida
205lbs: Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendes
185lbs: Ivan Salaverry vs. Rousimar Palhares
205lbs: Rameau Sokoudjou vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
155lbs: Terry Etim vs. Rob Emerson
170lbs: Jon Koppenhaver vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
170lbs: Jason Tan vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Heavy: Christian Wellisch vs. Shane Carwin

TUF 7 Blogs: Ultimate Fighters or Ultimate Writers

We are now three episodes into the Ultimate Fighter and Dana said there would be some twists this season. Bringing on 32 fighters instead of the customary 16 was definitely different, but the second biggest twist I have noticed is that many of the fighters are now blogging about their experience on the Ultimate Fighter.

The first fighter I can recall blogging about his experience on the Ultimate Fighter show is Matt Serra. He did it for the fourth season or the comeback season, in which he became the Ultimate Fighter and earned the right to fight GSP. For the most part, I remember his blogs to be very entertaining and enjoyable, although I can’t for the life of me remember what site he blogged for. The UFC must have been entertained as well because they had Serra and Hughes both blog for UFC.com in season six.

This season I have noticed that at least half of the cast members have a blog out on the internet documenting their experiences on the show. This is the equivalent to all previous seasons combined. Of the eight blogs I came across, half are from Team Forrest and half from Team Rampage.

MMA Junkie kind of overdid it by having two fighters blog about this season with C.B. Dollaway and Luke Zachrich. At least both guys fought on different teams to give it a different perspective.

Matt Brown of Team Griffin and Dan Cramer of Team Rampage both landed gigs writing at MMA Weekly and UFC.com. Amir Sadalloh of Team Forrest landed a spot with the online version of the OC Register and Mike Dolce of Team Rampage is blogging for LoHud, which is also owned by a newspaper called the Journal News in New York. Brandon Sene of Team Rampage is blogging for Pramit Mohapatra’s new site Fight Ticker and Nick Klein of Team Forrest is blogging for his regional MMA website, Wisconsin Combat Sports.

At a time when I believed that blogging was on the decline, never before have MMA fans been given so much behind the scenes information. I have been regularly reading the Nick Klein and Brandon Sene blogs as I am a writer for Wisconsin Combat Sports and a regular at Fight Ticker. Needless to say both are excellent and talented writers. Here are some links to blogs from cast members:

(alphabetical order)

Matt Brown – Team Griffin – Blogs for MMA Weekly

Episodes 1 & 2

Dan Cramer – Team Rampage – Blogs for UFC

Episode 3

Mike Dolce Blogs – Team Rampage – Blogs for Lo HUD

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

C.B. Dollaway – Team Rampage Blog – Blogs for MMA Junkie

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Nick Klein Blogs – Team Griffin – Blogs for Wisconsin Combat Sports

Episode 1

Episodes 2 & 3

Amir Sadalloh – Team Griffin – Blogs for OC Register

Episode 2

Episode 3

Brandon Sene – Team Rampage – Blogs for Fight Ticker

Epidsode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Luke Zachrich – Team Griffin Blog – Blogs for MMA Junkie

Episode 2

Episode 3

Here are the teams chosen in Episode 3

Team Rampage Jackson

C.B. Dollaway, Matt Riddle, Paul Bradley, Daniel Cramer, Gerald Harris, Mike Dolce, Jesse May, and Brandon Sene. *Patrick Schultz replaces Paul Bradley.

Team Forrest Griffin

Tim Credeur, Amir Sadollah, Jesse Taylor, Matt Brown, Cale Yarbrough, Dante Rivera, Nick Klein, Luke Zachrich.

This article was originally posted on Fight Ticker on 04-18-2008.

UFC 83 Weigh In Results & Betting Lines

Official weights for UFC 83 according to MMA Mania

Main Card
170 lbs.: Matt Serra (169.5) vs. Georges St. Pierre (169.5)
185 lbs.: Rich Franklin (185.5) vs. Travis Lutter (185)
185 lbs.: Michael Bisping (185.5) vs. Charles McCarthy (186)
155 lbs.: Mac Danzig (154.5) vs. Mark Bocek (154.5)
185 lbs.: Kalib Starnes (186) vs. Nate Quarry (185.5) — swing bout

Preliminary Fights
185 lbs.: Jason MacDonald (185) vs. Joe Doerksen (184.5)
185 lbs.: Alan Belcher (185) vs. Jason Day (183.5)
185 lbs.: Ed Herman (185.5) vs. Demian Maia (184.5)
155 lbs.: Sam Stout (155.5) vs. Rich Clementi (155)
265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez (235.5) vs. Brad Morris (225.5)
170 lbs.: Jonathan Goulet (169.5) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (170)

Betting Lines at Bodog as of 4/18/2008 at 5:15pm

170 lbs.: Matt Serra (+300) vs. Georges St. Pierre (-500)
185 lbs.: Rich Franklin (-320) vs. Travis Lutter (+210)
185 lbs.: Michael Bisping (-330) vs. Charles McCarthy (+260)
155 lbs.: Mac Danzig (-500) vs. Mark Bocek (+300)
185 lbs.: Kalib Starnes (+205) vs. Nate Quarry (-265) — swing bout
185 lbs.: Jason MacDonald (-165) vs. Joe Doerksen (+135)
185 lbs.: Alan Belcher (-450) vs. Jason Day (+300)
185 lbs.: Ed Herman (+140) vs. Demian Maia (-180)
155 lbs.: Sam Stout (-160) vs. Rich Clementi (+120)
265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez (-260) vs. Brad Morris (+200)
170 lbs.: Jonathan Goulet (+190) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (-240)

Nick Agallar to Fight Chris Brennan in Art of War Finale

As you may remember, I posted an article in February stating that Nick Agallar would fight Dan Lauzon in the Art of War show this weekend called “Pros vs. G.I.s”. Long story short, Dan Lauzon had to pull out of the fight due to an injury. Nuri Shakir replaced Dan Lauzon and the fight was set to go until Nick Agallar pulled out of the bout with an undisclosed minor injury. Such is the fight world. Agallar will now fight Chris Brennan in the finale of the show on May 24th, in Winstar, Oklahoma.

Nick Agallar will still serve as a coach or captain in the show this weekend for the G.I. Team. Agallar spent 16 months in Iraq in late 2003 to early 2005. Madison’s Ron Faircloth will headline this weekend’s show against Damien Stelly in Tunica, Mississippi. The two events in Mississippi and Oklahoma will be cut into a nine episode television series that will debut nationally on Fox Sports Net on July 19th. Nick Agallar’s bout vs. Chris Brennan will air on the finale of the show on September 13th. I have attached a schedule of the TV series according to Art of War:

"GI vs. Pro" Fox Sports Net telecast schedule

Sat. July 19 GI vs. Pro - I 12:00 Midnight
Sat. July 26 GI vs. Pro - II 12:00 Midnight
Sat. Aug. 2 GI vs. Pro - III 12:00 Midnight
Sat. Aug. 9 GI vs. Pro - IV 12:00 Midnight
Sat. Aug. 16 GI vs. Pro - V 12:00 Midnight
Sat. Aug. 23 GI vs. Pro - VI 12:00 Midnight
Sat. Aug. 30 GI vs. Pro - VII 12:00 Midnight
Sat. Sept. 6 GI vs. Pro - VIII 12:00 Midnight
Sat. Sept. 13 GI vs. Pro - FINALS 12:00 Midnight

Nick Agallar last fought Luke Nichols at Freestyle Combat Challenge 33 in February in Kenosha. Agallar won via submission due to strikes in less than a minute into the bout. Nick Agallar sports a (20-5) record according to Sherdog and has won three straight fights and nine of his previous eleven. He has experience in many of the world’s largest organizations including BodogFight, UFC, WEC, and Hook ‘n Shoot.

Chris “The Westside Strangler” Brennan sports an MMA record of (19-12-1) according to Sherdog. He has been fighting since 1996 and holds wins over notable fighters such as Joe Stevenson and Thomas Denny. He has fought in many large organizations such as the UFC, King of the Cage, Shooto, Pride, and most recently Cage Rage, where he lost via TKO to Jean Silva in September.

Problems at Art of War/Sun Sports & Entertainment Group?

John Buckeye Epstein, former President of Sun Sports & Entertainment Group, which owns and operates the Art of War shows, was fired last month. According to Adam Swift of MMA Payout, he didn’t leave quietly and has filed a $25 million dollar lawsuit against the company. Here’s a quote from the article:

"I can't believe the audacity of Mr. Comu; the company had no funds, credit cards are shut off, vendors are calling every day, employees are owed more than forty thousand dollars in back expenses, and the medical bill reimbursements of past fighters like Justin Eilers and Pedro Rizzo were not being paid. All this while Comu takes a limo to the airport ten miles away," Epstein said.

Epstein may have a point as the company recently announced a financial overhaul that includes debt restructuring and the creation of new equity. Hopefully, the new deal with FSN will be enough to keep the company afloat and generate new fans through their new television series.

Wisconsin would like to wish Ron Faircloth best of luck in his battle against Damian Stelly this Saturday and Nick Agallar in May. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for the Ring Announcer, Chris Geraghty. Geraghty will be the ring announcer for both events and will have face time every week on the television show.


This article was originally posted on Wisconsin Combat Sports on 04-15-2008.

Eric Schafer and Tim Westlake Awarded Black Belts in BJJ by Pedro Sauer

After over ten years of dedication to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Professor Pedro Sauer and Henry Matamoros awarded black belts to Milwaukee area grapplers Eric Schafer and Dr. Tim Westlake of Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu. The testing occurred at the Pedro Sauer seminar hosted by Jeff Curran of Curran Martial Arts in Crystal Lake, Illinois on Saturday, April 12th.

Tim Westlake, commonly referred to as Dr. Tim, began Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1996 under Frank Cucci of the Linxx Academy in Virginia Beach, Virginia before relocating to Wisconsin in the late nineties when he began to train under Henry Matamoros. He is also the person responsible for introducing Henry Matamoros to Pedro Sauer. Dr. Westlake is an emergency room doctor and practices medicine in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

Eric Schafer began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in January of 1997 under Ben Salas, who instructed under Pedro Carvalho. Ben Salas ran dojos in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac before moving to California. Schafer’s teammates at the time included Henry Matamoros, Slade Martin, and Jason Kazmierczak. At the time, the team trained Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Stick Fighting. A cancelled Stick Fighting tournament in February of 1997 led the group to attend a MMA tournament instead and the rest is history. Schafer is currently instructing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes at Matamoros Jiu-Jitsu as well as the Duke Roufus Gym.

Eric Schafer and Tim Westlake join Henry Matamoros and Jon Friedland as the only black belts who reside in Wisconsin. All four live in Milwaukee.

Professor Pedro Sauer is one of the world’s most respected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners and instructors. He received his black belt in Brazil under Helio and Rickson Gracie over twenty years ago. Last November, Sauer was awarded his red and black belt from Relson Gracie, which is the equivalent to a seventh degree black belt.

Pedro Sauer will be hosting a charity seminar for Fighters Against Violence in Milwaukee next Saturday, April 19th, along with fourth degree black belt in Judo Josh Resnick. The seminar will be at Bayview High School and starts at 11am sharp.

Solomon Hutcherson Defeats George Allen

Former Racine resident, Freestyle Academy member, and Ultimate Fighter Season 3 star, Solomon Hutcherson recently defeated George Allen in North Carolina. The ISCF or International Sport Combat Federation – Unleashed card took place at the USMC – Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The win is Hutcherson’s third straight and brings his MMA record up to (9-4) according to Sherdog. The loss is Allen’s third straight and drops his record to (12-14-1). His last win came over three and a half years ago to Damien Stelly in August of 2004.

I apologize for being a little late with this Solomon Hutcherson news, but this one flew pretty low under the radar. In other Team Dagger news this week, Hutcherson’s teammate Kendall Grove announced on his official website that he will face off against Evan Tanner at the Ultimate Fighter Finale 7 on June 21. Wisconsin fighter Nick Klein should also be on the card. Wisconsin Combat Sports will keep you up to date with any Solomon Hutcherson news if and when it becomes available.

To read my other Solomon Hutcherson articles click below:

Solomon Hutcherson vs. George Allen

Solomon Hutcherson Fight Tonight In Canada Cancelled

Racine’s Solomon Hutcherson to Fight Amir Rahnavardi

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Combat Sports on 04-08-08.

Eric Schafer and Duke Roufus in Mississippi to Help Alan Belcher Train For UFC 83 Fight

Last Tuesday, Eric Schafer and Duke Roufus flew down to Biloxi, Mississippi to help Alan Belcher prepare for his fight against Jason “Dooms” Day at Belcher’s new Remix Gym.

Alan “The Talent” Belcher currently sports a (12-4) MMA record and is (3-2) in the UFC riding a two-fight win streak. Belcher last saw action in the Octagon last October when he opened up a hatchet-like wound on the head of Kalib Starnes forcing a stoppage in the second round.

Belcher was then slated to fight Ricardo Almeida at UFC 81 in Las Vegas, Nevada in February of this year, who would be making a return to MMA after an almost four-year layoff. The week of the bout Belcher came down with a severe case of Bronchitis and was forced by doctors to pull out of the fight. Belcher had trained extensively at American Top Team – Missouri and at the Duke Roufus Gym in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Ricardo Almeida fight.

Belcher was then rumored to fight Patrick Cote at UFC 83 in Montreal, Canada. When Cote slipped on some ice and hurt his knee, Jason Day was called up and offered the fight.

Jason “Dooms” Day is from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada and fights out of the Canadian Martial Arts Centre. He has over five years of MMA experience and is also a full-time carpenter who is looking to begin fighting full time. His Muay Thai coach is Gladiators veteran, Justin “Houdini” Tavernini. Day sports a (16-5) MMA record and is riding a four-fight win streak. His MMA record is (3-2) over UFC veterans and holds wins over Jonathan Goulet, Ron Faircloth, and David Loiseau with losses to Victor Valimaki and Patrick Cote. He most recently defeated David “The Crow” Loiseau in a controversial split decision in February, a fight where Loiseau took Day down at ease multiple times in the fight according to MMA Ring Report. Within a couple days of that win he received the call to fight Belcher. Day admits that wrestling his weakpoint but says he’s never had to worry about it.

About the Belcher Fight Camp

Eric “Ravishing Red” Schafer is coming off a 41 second submission victory over Ryan Antle at Gladiators 49 in February. He beat the journeyman fighter with a guillotine choke. Prior to that he suffered a second round TKO loss to Stephan Bonnar at UFC 77 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His MMA record according to Sherdog is (8-3-2) and his UFC record is (1-2).

According to a bulletin posted on Red’s MySpace account today, he is expected to return to the UFC late this summer. He also announced that he will be fighting on the Gladiators 51 card on May 17th in Milwaukee.

Former four-time World Champion, Duke Roufus recently scored a unanimous decision victory in front of the hometown fans in Milwaukee on March 29. He outpointed Lawson “Meet Your Maker” Baker of World Combat League fame. The win increased Roufus’ kickboxing record to (38-6-1). Roufus used the Baker fight as a warm-up to an upcoming bigger bout against Alexi Ignashov in Las Vegas in September that will take place with the KO World Series Kickboxing organization.

Roufus has also recently made statements about fighting MMA but has yet to reveal his plans. In addition to currently coaching UFC veterans Alan Belcher and Eric Schafer has has also coached numerous UFC fighters in the past such as Stephan Bonnar, David Heath, Sean Salmon, and Joe Doerksen.

Patrick Barry

Patrick “Get Hype” Barry of Louisiana is also in Biloxi helping Belcher train for his fight. He is currently a K-1 fighter with a kickboxing record of (15-5) according to Wikipedia. Of his 15 wins, 9 have been via TKO or KO. He is also a decorated San Shou fighter having fought on the international level.

Video Link: Pat Barry vs. Gary Goodrich – (K-1) 4/28/2007

Chad Jay

Chad “Don’t Play” Jay sports an MMA record of (7-2) and is a member of Belcher’s Team Remix. He recently lost a decision to Jake Rosholt of Team Takedown on HD Net Fights in March. Six of this up and coming middleweight’s seven wins have come via submission.

Link: Chad “Don’t Play” Jay to fight on HD Net Fights vs. Jake Rosholt of Team Takedown


Match-up

Jason Day has said in interviews that he hopes that Belcher gives him the fight he was hoping for with David Loiseau, i.e. a stand-up war. He has also stated that his wrestling is the weakest aspect of his game. Despite these statements his ground game seems to be very good from what I saw in his videos, it is his takedowns which need work. I think it would be a big mistake for him to keep the fight in Belcher’s area of expertise.

Jason Day has fought formidable competition and roughly half of his wins have come via submission and the other half via TKO or knockouts. Many of these fights have also come on short notice while working a full-time job. Alan Belcher has fought roughly the same level competition but his 60% of his wins have come by TKO or KO with only 1/3 coming via decision.

Belcher is a fighter who has a style very similar to Patrick Cote. Cote was also the last person to beat Day, so it seems that Belcher would also want to keep the fight on the feet. Belcher most recently beat Starnes using a highly effective clinch to throw elbows and knees. Day likes to tie up and use the fence to set up many of his takedowns, which could be a big mistake if Belcher is able to sprawl and clinch with Day. Day would be better off standing and banging than to tie up with Belcher who is likely to open him up with cuts from the clinch.

I expect that Day will probably get a takedown on Belcher but I don’t think he will be able to keep him down since Belcher is very good at scrambling on the ground. I also assume that Belcher is going to get the win via TKO cut or referee stoppage when Day makes the big mistake to stand and trade with a striker who gets better each and every fight.

Prediction: Alan Belcher – 2nd round – TKO


More Related Links:

Alan Belcher vs. Kalib Starnes – UFC 77

Jason Day Highlight Reel

My Interview with Alan “The Talent” Belcher

Duke Roufus and Red Schafer Training at American Top Team

Jason "Dooms" Day goes one on one with MMACanada.net

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Combat Sports on 04-07-08.

Wisconsin Fighter Nick Klein Earns His Spot on the Ultimate Fighter

Last night the Ultimate Fighter Season 7 debuted on Spike TV after the Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon Fight Night in Broomfield, Colorado. Sun Prairie’s Nick Klein arrived at the UFC training facility in Las Vegas, Nevada with a total of 31 other fighters. What’s different than previous seasons is that this season the 16 lucky contestants will have to earn their spot on the show by fighting, which was a surprise to all of the fighters when they arrived. The fighters were given 48 hours to make the 185lb weight limit before they were matched up with opponents, the winners could stay and the losers must go home. Coaches Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson will then select teams after the preliminary fights are completed.

A total of eight preliminary fights were shown in the one-hour episode with the other eight airing next week. Half were shown in their entirety and half were just highlights. In last night’s episode, Nick Klein faced off against a friend of Forrest Griffin’s from Athens, Georgia by the name of Dave Mewborn, who sports a (4-0) record according to Sherdog. The whole fight was not shown but what was shown was a dominant display of jiu-jitsu by Klein. He was shown in full mount, then side control locking up an arm triangle choke, followed by full mount again. Mewborn quickly tapped out and Nick Klein earned his spot on the show.

Of the 32 fighters, here is who made the first round and will be on the show going forward:

Mike Dolce, Nick Klein, Jeremy May, Cale Yarbrough, Amir Sadollah, C.B. Dollaway, Dante Rivera, and Paul Bradley.

Here are the 8 fighters who will sent home due to losing last night:

Dave Mewborn, David Roberts, Prince Mclean, John Clarke, Steve Byrnes, David Baggett, John Wood, and Reggie Orr.

Next week these 16 fighters will battle to earn the 8 remaining spots on the show:

Matt Brown, John Hall, Patrick Schultz, Erik Charles, Daniel Cramer, Dan Simmler, Nick Rossborough, Matthew Riddle, Timothy Credeur, Luke Zachrich, Mike Marrello, Jesse Taylor, Gerald Harris, Aaron Meisner, Brandon Sene, and Jeremiah Riggs.

Wisconsin Combat Sports and our readers would like to congratulate Nick Klein on his win and will keep you posted on Nick’s progress on the show.

For more information on Nick Klein read my earlier article:

Wisconsin Fighter Nick Klein Selected for UFC’s Ultimate Fighter 7

For more photos of the fight check out the gallery at the UFC's website:

Ultimate Fighter Episode 1

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Combat Sports on 04-03-2008.

Rick “The Jet” Roufus Defeats Mike Buell in Oklahoma at C3 Fights

While Milwaukee fight fans were treated to Duke Roufus fighting last Saturday in Milwaukee, his older brother and former Milwaukee resident, Rick “The Jet” Roufus won a unanimous decision victory nearly a thousand miles to the southwest. The fight, which took place at the First Council Casino in Newark, Oklahoma marks “The Jet’s” second attempt in MMA. Roufus, now of Tempe, Arizona squared off against Phoenix, Arizona resident Mike Buell.

His opponent, Mike Buell is a journeyman fighter with over twelve years of experience in MMA fighting. He also runs a gym in Phoenix, Arizona called Buell Fighting Systems. In addition to MMA, he also has experience in boxing, kickboxing, shootfighting, and submission grappling. Mike Buell sports an MMA record of (8-7) but has not had a fight listed on Sherdog in five years. It is interesting to note that both fighters currently reside in the Phoenix area and there is a picture of Mike Buell cornering Rick Roufus in a K-1 kickboxing bout on the website of his gym.

Rick Roufus won the bout (30-27) on all three judges scorecards and improves his MMA record to (1-1) with his win over Mike Buell. Roufus fought his first MMA bout in February against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith. Smith defeated Roufus with a straight armlock in the first round at a Strikeforce show headlined by Bob Sapp. The C3 fight card on Saturday was headlined by former UFC and Pride veteran, Mark Kerr. Kerr won by keylock at 2:41 in round 1 against Chuck Huus. It was rumored that Kerr and Roufus were to fight in January but the event fell through.

Racism in MMA – King of the Cage & Melvin Costa

Roufus’ opponent, Mike Buell infamously made the news last month and was brought to my attention by Sam Caplan when he was reported as a white supremacist in an intelligence report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The article talked of the involvement of racists in MMA.

Sam Caplan of Five Ounces of Pain had interviewed Gary Shaw about another white supremacist by the name of Melvin Costa would had fought in the King of the Cage promotion numerous times in 2007 after being released from prison. Here is Gary Shaw’s response to Caplan when questioned in October. “I was unaware of the situation (but) I’m in the process of handling it now,” he said. “Hopefully, it will never happen again.” Less than two months later, King of the Cage again had white supremacist Melvin Costa in the cage to fight in a December show.

What’s Next For Roufus?

It is not known what lies in the future for Rick Roufus. Is he going to get some more experience in MMA before taking another crack at a big show like Strikeforce or a former champion like Maurice Smith? Will he make another run in kickboxing like his younger brother is doing? Wisconsin Combat Sports will keep you posted.

Full results from the C3 fights on Saturday:

C3: Battle On The Border
First Council Casino
Newkirk, Oklahoma
03/29/2008

Danny Tims defeats Jacob Austin by Submission (Armbar) - 1:52 RD 2

Justin Scadifi defeats Charles Jones by Unanimous Dec. (29-28,29-28,29-27) - 3:00 RD 3

Steve Schneider def. Brandon Hollingsworth by Split Dec. (29-28,28-29,29-28) - 3:00 RD 3

John Orr defeats Mark Holata by TKO (Ref Stoppage) - 1:48 RD 2

Shannon Ritch defeats Jasper Lockett by Submission (Triangle Choke) - 2:01 RD 1

Brandon Shelton defeats Brittish Pena by Submission (Armbar) - 1:26 RD 1

Rudy Bears defeats Nate James by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) - 0:39 RD 1

Rick Roufus defeats Mike Buell by Unanimous Decision (30-27,30-27,30-27) - 3:00 RD 3
Mark Kerr defeats Chuck Huus by Submission (Keylock) - 2:41 RD 1

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Combat Sports on 04-01-08.