Amanda Lucas Tries to Prove She's More Than Just a 'Star Wars' Reference

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There's a temptation to say that Amanda Lucas wants to fight so much, she'd take a bout on Tatooine.

Though Lucas certainly must be growing tired of the constant "Star Wars" references, she at least suffers them with a smile. The adopted daughter of George Lucas, creator of the biggest movie franchise in history, knows the mentions of her ultra-famous father and his uber-famous space saga are inevitable.

But what Amanda Lucas wants more than anything is to reach a point in her mixed martial arts career when "Star Wars" and her father are but mere footnotes, not the lead.

"it doesn't bother me - I'm proud of my family," Lucas said last week on "The MMA Hour" with host Ariel Helwani. "I hope to do my best on my own and prove I'm not just George's daughter. I work just as hard as my training partners and I don't want any special treatment. (But "Star Wars" is) going to get mentioned - it's nothing I can hide."

Lucas, 30, even had parts in the latter three films in the "Star Wars" saga, Episodes I, II and III, which helped fulfill a childhood fantasy of performing, even though she said acting is not where her talents lie.

"I'm not an actress," Lucas said. "It was fun, and it was something I can say that I did. I always wanted to be a performer. I liked the idea of acting, but it wasn't really my thing. I wanted to be Madonna or Janet Jackson, but I can't sing very well."

Instead, Lucas (2-1) now focuses her performance ambitions on fighting. After losing her MMA debut in May 2008, Lucas has won two straight, including a first-round submission win at Deep 55 in Japan two months ago. She'll next fight at Deep 56 on Oct. 29, her second fight in two months, but just her fourth in three and a half years.

Lucas, who trains at Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez's new gym, said though the women's MMA market is much tougher to crack than the men's, she wants to find a way to keep getting fights.

"My feeling is, I want to get in as much as I can and do this now," Lucas said. "I'm 30 years old, so now is the time. I can't be waiting every two years to fight."

Lucas will fight in Japan for the second time after her Deep debut in August. And this time, she's hopeful that she can avoid a certain highly iconic entrance theme. Lucas said she would never walk out to the theme from "Star Wars," but at Deep 55, it was played anyway.

For a while, Lucas will have to get used to the "Star Wars" comments. But she believes as long as she keeps training, fighting and building a name for herself. And famous father or not, her motivation is pretty simple.

"I just want to fight."

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/15/amanda-lucas-tries-to-prove-shes-more-than-just-a-star-wars-r/

Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama 

Phan wins thrilling UFC 136 decision over Garcia

Phan wins thrilling UFC 136 decision over Garcia

Nam Phan took an electrifying decision over Leonard Garcia at UFC 136 in Houston on Saturday night. Neither fighter let up for one second during the fight. On all three judges card, Phan won 29-28.

Phan got the edge early, teeing off on Garcia then knocking him down. Phan quickly moved into Garcia's guard, but after the referee didn't see enough action, he stood them up. Phan wobbled Garcia, and then defended one of his takedowns. Phan used body shots to create damage, and kept Garcia on his heels. In the final seconds of the round, Phan had one more onslaught to knock Garcia down again.

Garcia became more wild in the second round, winging big strikes that didn't go anywhere near Phan's face. Phan used short, fast punches to Garcia's face and body throughout the round. As the round wore on, Garcia began to tire, and a cut opened underneath his eye.

Between rounds, Phan said, "Let's touch gloves," to Garcia, who laughed and called Phan a word not fit for Cagewriter.

The first minute of the third round followed the same script that the rest of the fight had followed until Garcia knocked Phan down. He quickly got back to his feet, but Garcia teed off, swinging for the fences on every punch. They clinched, which slowed down the pace, but not for long. Phan took Garcia down, but the ref stood them up.

In the final minute, Garcia threw spinning backfists, swinging hooks, and every punch in the book. With less then 30 seconds left, Garcia tried for an unsuccessful takedown. As the round ended, the two swung wildly until the final horn ended, causing the crowd at the Toyota Center to erupt in cheers.

"I knew I had him in trouble. He had gathered so many points in the beginning. I knew I had to finish him," Garcia said after the bout.

This is a rematch of their December bout, which Garcia won by a controversial decision. Phan appeared to be the clear-cut winner in that bout, and was angry about the loss. He said he didn't want to fight Garcia a third time, but Garcia said he would be up for it if it were in Houston.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Phan-wins-thrilling-UFC-136-decision-over-Garcia?urn=mma-wp7965

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo 

Monday morning knockout: Lima stiffens Lozano at Bellator 53

While UFC 136 was happening, Bellator produced another memorable knockout. Douglas Lima won in the semifinals with a bruising right hand that knocked Chris Lozano stiff in the second round of their bout. It's well worth the 55 seconds you'll spend watching it.

Lima will face UFC vet Ben Saunders, and the winner will go on to fight for the Bellator belt currently held by Ben Askren.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Monday-morning-knockout-Lima-stiffens-Lozano-at?urn=mma-wp8069

Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè 

Massenzio goes unconventional route to smash Cantwell; Simpson, Elkins and Miocic also undercard winners at UFC 136

Massenzio goes unconventional route to smash Cantwell; Simpson, Elkins and Miocic also undercard winners at UFC 136

HOUSTON - Mike Massenzio is a wrestler by trade, but when his takedown game didn't produce results the New Jersey-native made it into a street fight. Massenzio consistently landed uppercuts and straight lefts to brutalize Steve Cantwell on his way to a unanimous decision victory, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, in the first fight at UFC 136.

Massenzio (12-5, 2-3 UFC) has been a loyal soldier for the UFC. He was called in on short notice for his last fight against Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 131. Massenzio was out of his league at light heavyweight. Tonight, at his more natural 185 pounds, he was the better conditioned and tougher fighter.

Cantwell's stand up is very good and he looked to be on his way to a victory at the end of the first round. Massenzio was getting caught by body shots and backing up. In the second, everything changed. Massenzio worked consistently for the takedown. None of them worked, but it wore down Cantwell.

In the final seven minutes of the fight, Cantwell had his nose broken and started dropping his hands.

Simpson dominates Schafer on the way to his sixth UFC victory

Aaron Simpson doesn't have to fight, he simply loves doing so. It doesn't hurt that the 37-year-old, is still a physical specimen. Eric Schafer simply couldn't keep pace with Simpson tonight. The former Arizona State wrestling star stood with Schafer for 15 minutes and tore him up to score a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all cards, at the Toyota Center.

Simpson (11-2, 6-2 UFC) has a decorated amateur wrestling background, but his hands have improved vastly. Schafer's big strength is his submission game, so Simpson decided to slug it out. It worked. He had Schafer rocked on several occasions and dropped him in the final 15 seconds of the second round.

Massenzio goes unconventional route to smash Cantwell; Simpson, Elkins and Miocic also undercard winners at UFC 136

Elkins thwarts Zhang guillotine attempts to pick up easy win

Tiequan Zhang's guillotine is dangerous, but tonight it was the only thing he tried.  Darren Elkins survived a submission attempt at the start of each round, gained top control and dominated his opponent on the ground for a unanimous decision victory, 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27.

Zhang, the only high level Chinese fighter working under the Zuffa banner, now has a 2-2 record with the company. The UFC is looking to break new ground in China and would love to market some Chinese fighters. It's probably safe to assume there will be dozens of Chinese fighters in the near future, but right now Zhang (15-2, 1-1 UFC) doesn't look like the guy to carry the banner.

Elkins (13-2, 3-1 UFC) fought twice for the UFC at lightweight. After a loss to Charles Oliveira, he dropped to 145, where he's now 2-0.

Miocic outlasts Beltran to get first UFC victory

Joey Beltran is no easy mark so Stipe Miocic knew it was going to be a grind to get a victory in his first UFC fight. Miocic landed some bombs and scored five easy takedowns on the way to a unanimous decision victory, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, in the final fight of the UFC 136 undercard on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Massenzio-goes-unconventional-route-to-smash-Can?urn=mma-wp7932

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

Marcus Davis interview: Veteran is still fighting, but not because he has to

Marcus Davis is on the outside looking in, but it doesn't bother the 38-year-old that his days in the UFC may be over. Those 14 fights over the course of six years, have set him up for some big things down the road.

Davis is fighting this weekend in Miami on the W-1 card at the Bank United Center against Season 13 "Ultimate Fighter" alum Chuck O'Neill (FoxSportsNet).

Davis keeps stepping into the cage because he loves, and thankfully, not because he has to as so many older guys in the past havbe.

"It really is about the fights. I'm a fighter, I've always been a fighter and I'm just fighting man," Davis told the "MMA Insiders Show" on ESPNRadio1100. "I just love showing up. I love fighting. I love entertaining. That's what I do. That's my job and that's why I got this real positive outlook and I'm back winning fights."

Davis is a busy man. He's already promoted three shows in Maine and headlined the last one on Sept. 24. Davis has opened two MMA gyms in his home state. More significantly, he also helped get the sport legalized in Maine.  Davis was so impressive during his pitch in front of legislators a few of them said he should look into a future in politics.

Check out the part of the conversation where Davis also talks about how dangerous it was to try and cut down to lightweight (8:40 mark). He fought twice at 155 pounds and put himself in real jeopardy when he did so for a fight against Curtis DeMarce in Canada.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Marcus-Davis-interview-Veteran-is-still-fightin?urn=mma-wp8207

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez