It is true, Nick Diaz is truly one of the more enigmatic fighters today, if not the most. Diaz is one who shuns the spotlight, because of its reliance on marketing versus him being a representative of the pure sport, doing it for the love. Socially awkward and regarded as a someone with antisocial, dark tendencies, it can be said that Diaz definitely Celebrates the Difference in his own way.
Is the quality of Countdown getting to be the same as 24/7? We will only have to see.
“Nick would take on anybody, anything, at any time. If he didn’t get the best of you, tomorrow you’d better be ready to do it again. He had some behavior problems, and also he had some gang problems. Gangs were trying to recruit him because he had a reputation of being tough and the gangs wanted to have him join up.” Tom Domench, Diaz’s 7th grade teacher. Sure, Tom, gang violence is a serious obstacle to overcome, but is it “fire alarm” serious?
“It’s an interesting connundrum that Nick is in, cause he truly doesn’t enjoy hurting people. He doesn’t want to be the guy that’s beating up other people. He doesn’t think it’s fun, but he does know that that’s his job, to win fights.” Cesar Gracie. We’ve heard from Diaz’s teachers, now where the fuck is his guidance counselor? It just sounds like he went into this whole ‘professional fighter’ gig without all of the relevant facts.
Posted in All, MMA, People on November 7th, 2011 by Bear
Civil had a chance to show our love for the grappling and Mixed martial arts world this weekend at the World No-Gi Grappling Tournament at the Pyramid. Kevin De los Reyes is a young grappling prodigy who trains under Cobrinha, one of the grappling and Brazilian, and is an also a Civil athlete. We had a chance to see how this young grappling phenom competes at such a high level, with his unique blend of strength, speed and intelligence while Celebrating the Difference.
Under the circumstances Kevin moved up in weight, he typically fights at 149 but he gave up a size advantage to give himself a challenge moving up to 160. I scored the fight for Kevin, who was going into to the match and had several advantages, the last of which being an omoplata position which he nearly finished and swept with one second on the bell left.
Kevin getting ready to compete.
Kevin close to finishing finishing and sweeping with omoplata.
Posted in Boxing, MMA on September 24th, 2011 by Bear
Will it live up to the hype? Experts say Jones will probably finish the fight by picking Jackson apart. Is Jon jones really that good. I want Rampage to will by KO early.
This has all the makings of war. Jon Jones is purely bred for fighting and is truly the future of MMA, Rampage is a former champion that is always dangerous, with one punch Knockout power. This is a matchup between a Clubber Lang versus Superman.
Everyone loves a good fight, and even more so everyone loves a good trash talking session. When the indomintable Jon Jones, UFC’s current light heavyweight Champion clashes with former champ “Rampage” Jackson, surely sparks will fly. The press conference for UFC 135 took place in Denver where the two fighters exchanged more than a few verbal jabs which led to an entertaining show of bravado and pre-hype extravaganza.
While Jones is known throughout the MMA world as being virtually indestructible at this point in his career, mauling his opponents with judo slams, spinning elbows and kicks, and a ferocious ground and proud game with dagger like elbows, the often soft-spoken champion took some licks from the veteran challenger over the mic.
In the presser, after Jones cited Rampage’s striking game as being more one-dimensional than that of Jones’ prior opponent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Rampage’s response drew cheers from the crowd.
“Well I just have to say, straight up, I respect you,” said Jackson. “I do think you’re the future of MMA. Straight up. Keeping it real. But you fought Shogun when he was rusty as hell. He was off an injury. You know what I’m saying. [Rua] hadn’t fought for a year. He had like two knee surgeries.”
Jones said there will always be excuses, with Jackson promising Jones will be the one needing excuses after the pair clash for the title in Denver.
As the cake’s icing, both men stood for the customary ‘stare down’ between fighters. When Jones employed his usual tactic of looking directly past his opponent, Rampage turned and leaned against the young champion’s chest, grinning ear to ear.
“Well, you know what? Rampage did turn his back on me at the press conference earlier. Kind of pissed me off,” said Jones (props to MMAMania for the transcription). So I might do a little extra in the fight because of that.”
Rampage clowned on Jones for his spandex and amateur wrestling, Jones continuing to rib Jackson for his lack of versatility in the striking game, as well as for Jackson’s lack of passion for the fight game. Rampage said during the interview saying Jones’ stare down was not a ‘man’s stare down.’
End the interview’s end, Jones took a lasting shot. “Hey, I was wondering if you guys had Steven Seagal’s number. I thought since I’m going to be fighting an actor, I might as well fight a real one.”
Rampage fired back, “I guarantee you, on September 24, [Jon] is going to choke. He’s going to choke. He’s not going to defend his belt because he’s going to be lying out… I don’t really even watch your fights. I know your weakness, though. The hair on it right now, that chin. Ain’t nobody ever hit you. I’m a fighter, homie. I don’t care how you fight. You’re real cocky. You’re going to be put in your place.”
Its obvious that Jon Jones is used to mentally clearing away his opponents, but the comments from Rampage got inside his head. It will be interesting to see how the new champion can handle this in the fight.
Jackson responded. “This guy, his stare downs, I’ve never seen a stare down like this before in my life. He’s staring at your feet. That’s not no stare down, so I turned by back.”
“Oh, I am outraged. I’m outraged and you guys will see that,” Jones said with a smile.
Posted in Art, Film, MMA on July 5th, 2011 by Bear
Anderson Silva is the greatest fighter of all time. There I said it, the only other individual that would hold a candle to that is Fedor Emelianenko, who is coming off two losses. Anderson certainly isn’t the most popular fighter, with his in ring controversial antics, he has become somewhat of an enigma.
“Like Water” Covers the Path Anderson took to his title fight versus Chael Sonnen, an amazing fight.
Anderson Silva is the longest-reigning UFC Middleweight Champion and one of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time. This behind-the-scenes documentary gives a surprising look at the man behind the fighter and the dedication and commitment it takes to stay at the top. From Silva’s life in Brazil with his wife, three sons, and two daughters, to training with his team in Los Angeles and Miami, first-time filmmaker Pablo Croce peels back the layers of an ultimate fighter to reveal the heart of a champion.
A man of few words, Silva does not shamelessly play into the media hype machine—although he is continuously taunted by opponents who do. He aligns more with the philosophy of Bruce Lee than Muhammad Ali, and is pound for pound just as effective. Confusing to promoters and opponents, Silva’s own psychological game is a mystery, but perhaps it is just because his path is more about the simplicity of hard work and the quest for perfection. Croce’s hard-hitting documentary exposes the unseen side of Ultimate Fighting and culminates in one heart-pounding fight that signifies more than just another championship.
