Joe Lauzon Video Blog Definitely Worth Checking Out (VIDEO)


UFC lightweight stud Joe Lauzon has been cranking out some awesome vlogs, which he posts on his YouTube page.  This one, however, is worth some extra special attention.  There's tons of behind-the-scenes stuff, including Lauzon's interactions with UFC on FOX 4 opponent Jamie Varner at the weigh-ins, and there are enough pre- and post-fight gems to make even the most jaded MMA fan grin.  Check it out.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/joe-lauzon-video-blog-definitely-worth-checking-video-144610284--mma.html

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo 

All Access: Ronda Rousey (Part 2) Reminder

All Access returns to Showtime tonight for the second part of their two-part series following Strikeforce Women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey's preparation for Saturday's bout with Sarah Kaufman. Be sure to tune in tonight to see Rousey make the final preparations for this weekend's fight and for a behind-the-scenes look at her life away from the cage.The show will air at 9 PM ET/PT on Showtime.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29929/all-access-ronda-rousey-part-2-reminder/

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

Tales from the Training Room: The 24-Hour Lock-In

Two weekends ago, New Jersey-based pro fighter Anthony Montanaro was stuck in hell.  He and over twenty other people were confined to the matted-space within the four walls of a massive gym, and every hour for twenty-four hours straight, all were subjected to workouts of varying length and composition.  There were seven-minute wrestling matches.  Rope climbs.  Box jumps and pull-ups.  The works.  No sleep was allowed, and men broke, both physically and mentally.  Yet, despite being driven to the brink of madness, Montanaro pushed through, and when the last workout was done and they were all permitted to leave, he was stronger because if it.  Such was the magic of the 24-hour lock-in.

 

"A 24-hour lock-in is your worst nightmare amplified by ten," says the 25-year-old Montanaro, who, with a shaved head and the tattoo of an armored pitbull on a chest, looks every bit the MMA fighter archetype.  "It's twenty-four hours straight of nonstop training, where every hour on the hour you have a different workout that could be five minutes to a half-hour long.  The whole purpose is to break you, to make you hit the wall as soon as possible.  It's all mental toughness.  It's a nightmare."

The Rhino Wrestling Club in Morganville, N.J., was where this nightmare unfolded; the day began Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. and went until 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning.  It was rigorous, with the intense physical activity and sleep-deprivation aspects making it more akin to what a soldier would do for Special Forces training than anything else.  "I don't know if they stole the idea from Navy SEAL-type stuff, but it was ridiculous," says Montanaro.  "It was kind of like the whole Marine or Army crucible-type stuff, know what I mean?"

To prepare for fights, fighters go to great lengths to make themselves like steel.  There's roadwork, padwork, grappling, and as we've seen on "The Ultimate Fighter", conditioning drills that can involve things like flipping giant tires and swinging sledgehammers.  With a fight coming up in the next few months, Montanaro is no different.  But what benefits are derived from the lock-in?  Clearly, the limits of the conditioning of the participants are pushed, but is there something more? 

"Honestly, just complete mental toughness," says Montanaro.  "You get to a point where you don't think you can go anymore and then you have to go.  It's insane.  It's probably the worst training I've ever done.  I was more nervous for that than any fight I've ever had to do."

What of the necessities of human existence?  "They have a bathroom, of course," says Montanaro.  "Food's included? all the food you can eat.  After your workouts, even if you weren't hungry, they stressed that you drink and eat nonstop ? just carb you up and keep you going.  Sleep, that's not encouraged at all.  They keep you awake, keep you zombified, keep you going."

Obviously, the whole endeavor was tortuous.  Was there any particular thing that Montanaro found to be the toughest?  "The toughest thing about the lock-in?  Where do I even start?  The whole damn thing.  Once you hit that first wall, that's when it's brutal.  Everything hits you all at once ? you want to sleep, you try to lay down and it's time for the next workout.  I would say around two or three in the morning, that's when it's the worst.  You know you could just leave at any point you want, but it's just that whole mental aspect." 

If one could literally leave at any time, it sounds as if the name ? a "lock-in" ? is a bit of a misnomer.  "It was going to be a complete lock-in, but it was so damn hot, there was no way they could do something like that.  We would've kicked the doors down.  There was no way."

With door unlocked and retreat requiring only an exit through the door, did anyone quit?  "No, surprisingly enough, no one quit.  And the craziest thing was there was an 11-year old kid there.  Some parent signed their kid up to do it!  It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.  So anytime someone wanted to quit, we'd look at this little kid.  He was our mascot."

What was the atmosphere like?  Was it all business, or was there at least some of element of fun to it?  "For the first probably like eight to ten hours, everyone was kind of feeling each other out ? you know, like, is everyone in full serious-mode or are we going to have some kind of fun here?  Probably at night is when everyone started to get a little loopy.  Everyone started to get punchy.  The later it got into the night, everyone was just out there."

Would Montanaro go through it all again?  "Absolutely," he says without hesitation.  "In a heartbeat.  After it was done, I honestly just wanted to stay and keep going.  It's just nonstop training, no drama, no [expletive], everyone was just there to train.  If we could do it, I would love to do it every month."

A wise man once posed the question, "Do you want to be a [expletive] fighter?"  It's doubtful he'd dare ask that of Montanaro and participants of the 24-hour lock-in.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/tales-training-room-24-hour-lock-200930968--mma.html

Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi 

Bellator 74 Main Card Set With Season 7 Welterweight Tournament, Good-Wallhead Headlining

Bellator will take to Caesar's Atlantic City in New Jersey on September 28. The card will be the Season 7 premier. Bellator 74 will prominently feature the promotion's 170 lb. division as the welterweight tournament kicks off on the live MTV 2 telecast at 8pm (EST).

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29898/bellator-74-main-card-set-with-season-7-welterweight-tournament-good-wallhead-headlining/

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

Lyoto Machida Earns KO and Shot at the Belt: UFC on FOX 4 Main Card Rundown

It's rare when every bout on a UFC main card is spectacular, but the stars aligned perfectly for UFC on FOX 4.  Mike Swick returned to knock someone's lights out, Joe Lauzon nailed another submission, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Brandon Vera had an absolute slobberknocker, and Lyoto Machida put Ryan Bader to sleep.  And at the end of it all, UFC president Dana White announced who of the four main card light-heavyweights had earned their shot at the belt.

 

  • In his first bout back after a lengthy hiatus, TUF 1 veteran Swick absorbed a world of hurt at the hands of DaMarques Johnson, and then delivered it right back ten-fold.  In the opening seconds, "Quick" plastered Johnson with a right hand ? his best weapon ? and though Johnson took it, the TUF 9 veteran wisely sought his fortunes on the ground.  There, Johnson was large and in charge, pounding on Swick from above and forcing him on the defensive.  Then came Round Two, which saw Swick catch a Johnson kick, throw him down, and land another crushing right square on Johnson's jaw.  Johnson was out cold.  The official time of the knockout was 1:20 of the second round.

 

  • Not to be outdone by Swick and Johnson's thriller of an opener, lightweights Lauzon and Jamie Varner went at it in a nonstop back-and-forth melee.  Utilizing his always-crisp boxing, former WEC champ Varner peppered the ace grappler with punches to the face and body, prompting Lauzon to constantly cover up.  But Varner lost steam with each passing minute, so the latter portions of the rounds had Lauzon finding back-control or mount and threatening with subs.  Varner changed things up in the third round by going for takedowns ? a ploy that provided Lauzon with the perfect opportunity to sweep him, out-scramble him, and eventually trap him in a triangle choke.  Varner tapped out at 2:44 of Round Three.

 

  • The biggest mistake you can make when fighting former light-heavyweight champ Machida is to take the bait on any one of the traps he lays.  Unfortunately, that's exactly what TUF winner Bader did.  Throughout the first round of their co-main event bout, Bader struggled to find an opening on the elusive karate man, while Machida established his range with kicks and waited patiently like a spider in a web.  In Round Two, Bader leaped forward looking to punch and he was stuck ? or, more accurately, struck.  It was a short right that did it, and Bader was unconscious.  The official time of the knockout was 1:32 of the second round.

 

  • Anyone who thought Vera was going to be a pushover for Shogun has to be eating a lot of crow right now, as the "Truth" took it to the Brazilian at every turn, and lasted deep into the fourth round against the legendary fighter.  Vera began the bout by planting a kick to Shogun's midsection, and from then on, it was clear that Vera was unafraid to stand and trade.  But the former PRIDE FC and UFC champ sought the takedown frequently, and when he was successful, he did his best to batter Vera from top position.  Did Shogun win rounds?  He did, but it was by no means a blow out, and whenever the action returned to the feet, Vera nailed him with elbows, punches, knees and kicks.  The end came at 4:09 in Round Four, in a sequence that had Shogun penetrating Vera's defenses with his fists and dropping the Truth against the cage, thereby giving him the victory via TKO.

 

Who was more impressive ? Machida or Shogun?  For his knockout of Bader, Dana White chose Machida, and now the "Dragon" gets the next crack at the UFC light-heavyweight belt.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/lyoto-machida-earns-ko-shot-belt-ufc-fox-025139501--mma.html

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott

Nate Diaz, Chris Weidman, Renato Sobral: The Morning News Roundup ? 8.11.12

On April 10, 2010, the UFC's lightweight division ground to a halt.  Of course, we didn't know it at the time.  At the time, we thought we'd seen a legendary champ defeated by a heavy underdog, and things would've definitely sorted themselves out in the immediate rematch.  They did, sort of.  The legendary champ was beaten worse than before, so there was no question as to who rightfully deserved to wear the crown.  But then came a rematch, then another, then a new challenger, and now another rematch.  Not that it's his fault, but since taking on the incumbent B.J. Penn on that night in April, 2010, Edgar has faced two other people.  And folks, there are way more than two people in the UFC's 155-pound weight class.  Time for the Baldfather to put his foot down!

  • UFC president Dana White said yesterday that regardless of who wins in tonight's title scrap between Benson Henderson and Edgar ? and regardless of it is via controversial, rematch-demanding circumstances ? top contender Nate Diaz is going to be a part of the next lightweight championship fight.  What if Henderson/Edgar II ends via close, close split decision?  Diaz gets next.  What if Henderson slips on a banana peel while Edgar simultaneously bonks his head on a fallen steel girder, and both men are KO'd?  Diaz gets next.  What if the Earth splits open and the main event fighters are swallowed by a deep, lava-filled chasm?  Diaz gets next.

Josh Gross at ESPN sums up the morass the weight class has been mired in for the past few years here:

Rather than new challengers earning opportunities, the division delivered a cycle of close calls followed by rematches, which, while justifiable, essentially immobilized an intriguing group of young fighters, who could sit in the pits or partake in dangerous contests and risk their status.

White says no more.  Diaz gets next.  And I'm fine with that.

  • UFC middleweight contender Chris Weidman had the microphone for yesterday's Q & A session in Denver, C.O., and of course the rising star talked about how he should be next in line to fight champ Anderson Silva.  I don't disagree, as Weidman has proved himself to be a worthy opponent, but I can't help but think that since Silva is getting up there in years and has accomplished so much (and made a ton of money), we won't see the Brazilian fight again unless it's a superfight against welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre or some other big-buck match-up.  What do you think?  Should Weidman face Silva next?  Or will Silva be rocking the pay-per-view percentage points and fighting only ultra-compelling opponents outside of his division?

 

  • Brazilian poofy-haired warrior Renato "Babalu" Sobral has signed with Bellator Fighting Championships and will be partaking in one of their light-heavyweight tournaments.  Sobral is a veteran of just about every fighting organization there ever was, including the UFC, Strikeforce, One FC, Affliction, and RINGS, and has worn championship belts often.  This is a good signing ? especially because Travis Wiuff is about to become Bellator's 205-pound champ, and Sobral beat Wiuff when they met in the UFC.  So, you know, cool rematch and all.

 

That's all for now.  Come back tonight for Cagewriter's coverage of UFC 150, and take advantage of our "no shenanigans" guarantee.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/nate-diaz-chris-weidman-renato-sobral-morning-news-140432637--mma.html

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard AckahÂ