Affliction: Day of Reckoning quick results, plus Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu pioneer passes away and Yoshihiro Akiyama getting his wish?

Affliction: Day of Reckoning quick results!

Here are quick results from the recent Affliction: Day of Reckoning event. When I have the time, I'll definitely post up my review of the show, which I found to be really really good and highly recommend it to MMA fans no matter where you're from.

Affliction 2: Day of Reckoning
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Honda Center in Anaheim, CA

1. Brett Cooper def. Patrick Speight via TKO (punches) - R2 (4:10)
2. Albert Rios def. Antonio Duarte via unanimous decision
3. LC Davis def. Bao Quach via unanimous decision
4. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Vladimir Matyushenko via TKO (knee) - R2 (4:26)
5. Dan Lauzon def. Bobby Green via submission (RNC) - R1 (4:55)
6. Paul Buentello def. Kiril Sidelnikov via TKO (referee stoppage) - R3 (4:18)
7. Renato Sobral def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via sub (D'arce choke) - R1 (2:36)
8. Vitor Belfort def. Matt Lindland via KO - R1 (0:37)
9. Josh Barnett def. Gilbert Yvel via submission (strikes) - R3 (3:05)
10. WAMMA Heavyweight Title: Fedor Emelianenko (c) def. Andrei Arlovski via KO - R1 (3:14)
11. Jay Hieron def. Jason High via KO (punch) - R1 (1:04)

Helio Gracie passes away.

Helio Gracie, the founder of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and the patriarch of the famous Gracie family, passed away in his sleep Thursday morning at his home in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. He was 95 and at the moment, the cause of his death is still not known.

Adapting elements from traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, Grace developed his own techniques and refined them to suit smaller fighters like himself in order to defeat fighters bigger than him. His teachings were then passed down to his children, most notably Rickson, Royler, Relson, Royce and Rorion, all established and well-known MMA fighters themselves. His teachings was instrumental in the formation of what would years later become the number one MMA promotion in the world today, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Rorion Gracie, who was one of the co-founders of the UFC, believed it as the one organization to showcase the power of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. His vision became a reality as his brother, Royce Gracie, used the teachings to win the first, second and fourth UFC Tournaments during the promotion's beginnings and from there on, started a legacy of its own with many MMA prospects picking up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and using it as a staple martial art when training for MMA fights.

Helio Gracie's last major appearance was at the ill-fated Dynamite!! USA event where he witnessed his son, Royce, defeat Kazushi Sakuraba in a highly anticipated rematch in Los Angeles, California back in June 2007 via unanimous decision.

Yoshihiro Akiyama to finally get his wish in July?

At DREAM.6 after his victory over Masanori Tonooka, the 2006 HERO'S Light Heavyweight Champion Yoshihiro Akiyama stated his desire to fight Hidehiko Yoshida at Dynamite!! 2008. Obviously with Yoshida being contracted under WVR and Akiyama pulling out of the New Year's Eve bash mere weeks before the event, not to mention his DREAM contract, that fight did not take place.

But that could all change in July.

Recently, there has been a report on the Sponichi website in which both Akiyama and Yoshida will indeed be facing each other at Sengoku IX. WVR PR Kokuho has showed interest in the article and did not deny anything in regards to the fight. Another fighter showing interest in Akiyama is Kazuo Misaki, who fought Akiyama at Yarennoka! back in 2007 in a controversial bout. Misaki was quoted in the latest Gonkaku magazine as saying, "If Akiyama signs I will welcome him. I want to hold a boiling-like fight."

There have been rumors swirling around that this could possibly be Akiyama's last fight as he might retire from MMA after this fight. To make things more interesting, Yoshida himself stated after the recent Sengoku event that he is also contemplating on retiring depending on what the future holds out for him. If this ends up being both men's last match, expect the match to be one of the most highly anticipated matches of all time if it does take place.

Source: MMAFighting.com and Nightmare Of Battle

Affliction: Day of Reckoning main event preview!

On Saturday, January 24th, Affliction MMA will be running their second-ever MMA event at the very same venue where they hosted their first, the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. For a promotion that is slowly and steadily gaining ground and with ties to many prominent names in business, sports and entertainment such as Donald Trump and Golden Boy Promotions headed by boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, Affliction has become known as more than just "those t-shirt guys" as UFC President Dana White infamously refers to them as.

Nothing could be more evident than a main event worthy of just about any MMA event in the world, an epic battle for the WAMMA Heavyweight Championship. It will be the champion Fedor Emelianenko, quite possibly the greatest fighter in the world today taking on the challenger Andrei Arlovski, a match only made possible thanks to the matchmakers at Affliction MMA. Here's a look at what could possibly be one of the biggest matches of the year!

WAMMA Heavyweight Title: Fedor Emelianenko (c) (28-1-1) vs. Andrei Arlovski (15-5)

Fedor Emelianenko. Just that name alone can bring attention to any MMA enthusiast from any different background. Fedor Emelianenko is synonymous to MMA much like Wayne Gretzky is to hockey, Tiger Woods is to golf, Michael Schumacher is to F-1, Zinedine Zidane is to soccer, Ernesto Hoost is to K-1 and Michael Jordan is to basketball. Despite being quite possibly the greatest MMA fighter in the world today, Emelianenko comes from a humble background. Born to a father who worked as a steel worker and a mother who worked as a teacher, Fedor is the second of four children in his family, with two of his younger brothers, Aleksander and Ivan both being MMA fighters, Aleksander being a professional MMA fighter while Ivan currently training in MMA. A master in the arts of sambo and judo, Emelianenko brought along his wealth of knowledge, skills and experience to Japan where MMA was beginning to take shape as THE sport to watch. Despite losing in controversial fashion in a RINGS event against Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Emelianenko bounced back from the loss when he ventured into PRIDE after winning the RINGS King of Kings 2002 Tournament and that's where his star shone. Emelianenko went up against the PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira after defeating Heath Herring to become number one contender for the title. The title match took place at PRIDE 25 back in March 2003 and after a hard fought battle, Emelianenko was able to wrest the title away from Nogueira and in the process, became the second PRIDE Heavyweight Champion in history. Facing the likes of Kazuyuki Fujita, Naoya Ogawa, Mirko Filipovic, Mark Hunt and Mark Coleman, Emelianenko went undefeated in PRIDE and after the promotion folded, carried on the streak by defeating Matt Lindland in BodogFIGHT, Hong Man Choi at Yarennoka! and Tim Sylvia at the inaugural Affliction event, Banned, where he also became the first-ever WAMMA Heavyweight Champion.

Andrei Arlovski is another fighter who is also similar to his opponent, Fedor Emelianenko. Like Emelianenko, Arlovski also came from a humble background, is strong-willed and patient and most importantly, is an accomplished sambo wrestler as well. Unlike Emelianenko though, Arlovski decided not to go to Japan to become a well-known MMA fighter, but traveled to the United States instead and competed for the UFC. Early on in his UFC career, Arlovski was fed to top competitors, such as Ricco Rodriguez and Pedro Rizzo and had to take tough losses from both men, but several key wins after thrust the Belarus native into the spotlight. When UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir was injured due to a devastating motorcycle accident, the UFC decided to crown an Interim Heavyweight Champion and two of the fighters who would compete for the title were Tim Sylvia and Arlovski himself. At UFC 51: Super Saturday, Arlovski put his submission skills to the test, making the Maine-iac tap out to an ankle lock to become the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. After several title defenses against the late Justin Eilers and Paul Buntello, the UFC would then recognize Arlovski as the official UFC Heavyweight Champion after Frank Mir was still unable to recover from his injuries and had not been able to defend his title for a very long time. After a great run in the UFC, culminating in a fight against Jake O'Brien at UFC 82, Arlovski left the UFC and is now contracted to Affliction. At Affliction's inaugural event Banned, Arlovski was able to put an end to former IFL heavyweight stand-out Ben Rothwell's 13 fight win streak when he defeated Rothwell via TKO. After a match between Arlovski and Josh Barnett was postponed to another future Affliction event, Arlovski ventured into EliteXC: Heat where he defeated Roy Nelson, becoming the only fighter to ever finish Nelson in his MMA career.

PRIDE Heavyweight Champion vs. UFC Heavyweight Champion!

Another dream offering from Affliction and ironically enough, it involves Fedor Emelianenko, who headlined Affliction: Banned and is now headlining this upcoming Affliction event. There has been a lot of media hype surrounding this event, in particular the main event between Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski as many are considering this event (especially Oscar De La Hoya) to be as big of a match as heavyweight boxing fights of bygone days. Aside from being former heavyweight champions of their previous promotions, both Emelianenko and Arlovski also have the distinction of beating two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia in record time, Emelianenko defeating Sylvia in 36 seconds while Arlovski defeated Sylvia in 47 seconds. This is also a dream match as both of these men are two of the best sambo wrestlers in the world of MMA today and this match will showcase the power of sambo and also the power of MMA in the heavyweight division of just about any MMA promotion in the world today. Add to the fact that Arlovski's boxing has gotten better after being trained under legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach and this could possibly be Emelianenko's toughest fight to date just yet.

”おまえわもうしんでいる！”

To many fans of Japanese manga and anime, the line above is a signature phrase from Hokuto no Ken or Fist of the North Star, which literally means "You are already dead!" To many fans of MMA, it is the signature Japanese phrase of Josh Barnett, a devoted fan of the series himself. Seeing as to how Barnett was originally supposed to face Arlvoski and his desire to fight Emelianenko, Barnett, who has a fight against Gilbert Yvel the same evening, will be watching this hugely anticipated main event intently as it is certain that he will be the next in line to compete for the WAMMA Heavyweight Championship. If anything, both Emelianenko and Arlovski will have to study Barnett well as one of these two men could be facing the Baby-Faced Assassin in a future bout for Affliction someday.

As the event draws near, one thing can be certain and that is the fans will be treated to quite possibly one of the biggest MMA fights in recent years. Will The Last Emperor retain the title that further immortalizes him or will The Pitbull be the one to end an undefeated streak and be crowned the new champion?

UFC 93 results, Overeem meets UFC President, KID Yamamoto out of the DREAM Featherweight GP and boxing legend endorses Affliction: Day of Reckoning.

UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson results!

An action-packed UFC 93 was an amazing way to kick start the new year with a bang! Held at The O2 in Dublin, Ireland, the main event saw a dominating performance by former PRIDE Middleweight Champion Dan Henderson as he defeated former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin by what most considered a surprise split decision as many felt that Henderson deserved a unanimous decision victory over Franklin. Elsewhere, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua was able to avenge his gruesome stoppage from PRIDE 31 back in 2006 by defeating Mark Coleman via TKO. After the event, it was announced by UFC President Dana White that Rua's next match will be against the legendary Chuck Liddell at UFC 97 in April. Denis Kang's first venture into the Octagon didn't go too well for the Korean-Canadian veteran. The former PRIDE, HERO'S and DREAM fighter was unable to defeat rising middleweight star Alan Belcher as he was submitted in the second round.

UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The 02 in Dublin, Ireland

Fight #1 - Lightweights
Dennis Siver def. Nate Mohr via TKO (punches) - R3 (3:27)

Fight #2 - Welterweights
Tomasz Drwal def. Ivan Serati via TKO (punches) - R1 (2:02)

Fight #3 - Middleweights
Eric "Red" Schafer def. Antonio Mendes via TKO (punches) - R1 (3:35)

Fight #4 - Welterweights
Martin Kampmann def. Alexandre Barros via TKO (punches) - R2 (3:07)

Fight #5 - Welterweights
John Hathaway def. Tom Egan via TKO (strikes) - R1 (4:36)

Fight #6 - Welterweights
Marcus Davis def. Chris Lytle via split decision

Fight #7 - Middleweights
Alan Belcher def. Denis Kang via submission (guillotine choke) - R2 (4:36)

Fight #8 - Middleweights
Rousimar Palhares def. Jeremy Horn via unanimous decision

Fight #9 - Light Heavyweights
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua def. Mark Coleman via TKO (punches) - R3 (4:36)

Fight #10 - Light Heavyweights
Dan Henderson def. Rich Franklin via split decision

Alistair Overeem meets Dana White!

In a bizarre piece of news, Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and DREAM fighter Alistair Overeem was said to have met up with UFC President Dana White at UFC 93. In his video blog, White asked Overeem twice on different occasions if he wanted to compete in the UFC, which Overeem replied that he would if his management could come to terms with the controversial UFC President.

Overeem remarked that the reason he is hoping to compete in the UFC is due to the fact that he believes a lot of fighters were ducking him and not wanting to fight him, using Mirko Filipovic as a concrete example. He is also looking for new opponents to compete against with White reassuring Overeem that if he does sign with the UFC, he will be able to find opponents for the hulking Dutchman.

White has also toyed with the idea of bringing in former King of Pancrase and three-time K-1 WORLD GP Champion Semmy Schilt over to the UFC as well. If he does sign with the UFC, it will mark Schilt's return to the UFC since his 2001 loss against Josh Barnett at UFC 32.

Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto out of the DREAM Featherweight GP.

Unfortunately for fans of the dynamic Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto, the popular Japanese fighter will be pulling out of the DREAM Featherweight GP to crown the promotion's first-ever Featherweight Champion. Yamamoto is currently recuperating from a knee injury he suffered back in July, causing him to miss out on his DREAM debut at DREAM.5 against Joseph Benavidez. He went for surgery in August and according to the 2005 HERO'S Middleweight Champion, his doctor advised Yamamoto to recuperate from his injury for eight months, meaning that he won't be able to recover in time for the Featherweight GP, which begins in March at DREAM.7.

Oscar De La Hoya endorses Affliction: Day of Reckoning!

Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya was present during the recent press conference hosted by Donald Trump at Trump Tower to hype Affliction: Day of Reckoning and why shouldn't he be? De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions is working together with the upstart MMA promotion based on the popular Affliction Clothing line to extensively help promote Affliction's MMA events and considered the upcoming WAMMA Heavyweight Title bout between champion Fedor Emelianankeo and challenger Andrei Arlovski to be one of the most historical MMA fights that is comparable to some of the most legendary heavyweight boxing fights.

De La Hoya mentioned his desire to help promote Affliction and provide healthy competition to the UFC. "In what we accomplished in this short amount of time in boxing, our intention is the same in the MMA world. The expertise in what we have, in what Affliction, Trump have, we can beat one of the premier promoters in the MMA world. A little competition doesn’t hurt."

In related news, Affliction Vice-President Tom Atencio has planned to put on four Affliction pay-per-views this year with ten events based around the M-1 Challenge series, bringing a total of fourteen events this year. Atencio remarked that he will look at each event as it comes in order for him to put on four Affliction PPVs. M-1 Challenge is also said to be a "feeder system" for Affliction and will be running the second season of the popular MMA team challenge this year.

Source: MMAFighting.com

Former UFC fighter found dead, Tito Ortiz joins Affliction commentating team and complete lineup for Affliction: Day of Reckoning.

Justin Levens and wife found dead.

Former UFC, IFL and WEC light heavyweight fighter Justin Levens and his wife, Sara McLean-Levens were found dead on Wednesday with gunshot wounds found on their body at their home in Laguna Niguel, California. Levens was 28 years old.

Lt. V. Wilson of the Orange County Sheriff's Department has preliminary suggested that the incident is currently being classified as murder-suicide, but nothing has been confirmed until the investigation is complete. He also informed that nobody knew who discovered the bodies of the deceased couple, although according to a CBS2 online report, the mother of the deceased female was the one who discovered their bodies before calling the police at 2:30 p.m. PST.

In his first seven fights, Levens went undefeated while he competed in the WEC. He then went over to the UFC where he made his debut against the late Evan Tanner at UFC 59 back in September 2006, losing via a first-round triangle choke submission. He went on to compete in the IFL shortly, but only managed a 0-3 record.

Levens was scheduled to compete at Affliction's inaugural event, Banned, but was pulled out at the last minute due to time constraints. It was later reported that Levens tested positive for the painkiller oxymorphone during pre-fight testing, according to the California State Athletic Commission.

Racking up an overall win-loss record of nine wins and eight losses, Levens last bout took place at the Palace Fighting Championships in Lemoore, California, where he lost to Kenny Ento via submission in the first round.

Tito Ortiz joins the Affliction commentating team at Day of Reckoning!

While Tito Ortiz won't be doing what he does best in the ring, not until he has fully recovered from his back surgery and not until his no-compete clause from the UFC is over in June, the Huntington Beach Bad Boy will be putting on the headset to join Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith, whom both are commentating for the M-1 Challenge series on HDNet Fights, at the commentating booth for Affliction's Day of Reckoning event.

"This has nothing to do with me fighting for Affliction," Ortiz remarked during the press conference for Affliction: Day of Reckoning. "I’ve been fighting for 11 years, so I think I know a thing or two about fighting."

Ortiz stated to Sherdog that he is currently at "about 40 per cent" and have "regained a lot of mobility just in the last two weeks." He hopes to continue fighting for at least another four more years.

Ortiz's last fight was a unanimous decision loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84: Ill Will. He and his longtime girlfriend, adult film star Jenna Jameson, are expecting twins in April.

The complete lineup for Affliction: Day of Reckoning!

It was announced at the press conference that 11 fights will take place at Affliction: Day of Reckoning on January 24th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Five of the bouts will be aired on HDNet Fights, while the last six bouts will air live on PPV.

Pay-per-view lineup:

WAMMA Heavyweight Title: Fedor Emelianenko (c) vs. Andrei Arlovski
Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Paul Buentello vs. Kirill Sidelnikov

HDNet Fights lineup:

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
Mark Hominick vs. L.C. Davis
Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

Source: Sherdog

Tito Ortiz to Affliction? Plus, Semmy Schilt returns to MMA and five top UFC fighters in one movie!

Tito Ortiz to appear as a special guest at Affliction press conference!

In what is definitely huge news in the world of MMA, it's been announced that former multiple-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz will be appearing at the Affliction press conference tomorrow afternoon in Los Angeles to promote Affliction's upcoming January 24th PPV event, Day of Reckoning, headlined by a WAMMA Heavyweight Title bout between champion Fedor Emelianenko and challenger Andrei Arlovski.

Speculation is running rampant that Ortiz's appearance (he appeared at Affliction's inaugural PPV event, Affliction: Banned, and was announced as one of the special guests in attendance with his girlfriend, adult film star Jenna Jameson) could spark a major turning point for the upstart MMA promotion based out of Affliction Clothing. Ever since losing to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84: Ill Will this past May, Ortiz has since become one of the hottest free agents in MMA today. Ortiz appeared on EliteXC Heat and announced that he was about a week away from signing a major deal with the company until EliteXC's parent company, Pro Elite, folded sometime after their very last event six days later.

After recently appearing on the popular HDNet Fights weekly MMA program, Inside MMA, Ortiz hinted that he would make his impending return to MMA in July after recovering from surgery to repair his injured back. It seems that Ortiz is gunning to make his return to MMA by signing with Affliction, but at the same time, despite major heat between Ortiz and UFC President Dana White, has not ruled out a possible return to the company that made him who he is, the UFC.

The complete lineup for Affliction: Day of Reckoning to be held on January 24th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California is as follow:

WAMMA Heavyweight Title: Fedor Emelianenko (c) vs. Andrei Arlovski
Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
Mark Hominick vs. L.C. Davis
Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight
Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov

Semmy Schilt to return to MMA at Dynamite!! 2008!

Three more bouts have been added to Dynamite!! 2008! The first big fight added will see three time K-1 WORLD GP Champion, former King of Pancrase Champion and current K-1 WORLD GP Super Heavyweight Champion Semmy Schilt facing the 2007 K-1 WORLD GP IN HAWAII Winner Mighty Mo! The last time both of these men faced each other was at the K-! WORLD GP 2007 IN AMSTERDAM event where both men fought under K-1 Rules with Schilt successfully defending his K-1 WORLD GP Super Heavyweight Title. This time around, both men will be facing each other under DREAM Rules.

Prior to becoming one of the most dominating K-1 WORLD GP Champions in recent history, the 6'11" Schilt made his start by competing in Pancrase and winning its coveted King of Pancrase Title held by such prominent MMA fighters such as Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Minoru Suzuki, Masakatsu Funaki, Josh Barnett, Guy Mezger and Yuki Kondo. He had a short stint in the UFC before moving over to PRIDE and finally, making a name for himself, winning three K-1 WORLD GP Championships by defeating established fighters such as fellow Dutchmen Remy Bonjasky, Peter Aerts and Ernesto Hoost (whom he faced in Hoost's final-ever K-1 fight) and currently holding the K-1 WORLD GP Super Heavyweight Title.

The other two bouts will see two young and talented WORLD MAX fighters, two-time K-1 WORLD MAX JAPAN Champion Yoshihiro Sato taking on the 2008 K-1 WORLD MAX Finalist Artur Kyshenko under K-1 Rules while Hideo Tokoro and Daisuke Nakamura look to tangle in what could be an exciting bout under DREAM Rules!

DREAM Rules Matches
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kiyoshi Tamura
Joachim Hansen vs. Gesias Calvancante
Jerome LeBanner vs. Mark Hunt
Shinya Aoki vs. Eddie Alvarez
Semmy Schilt vs. Mighty Mo
Hideo Tokoro vs. Daisuke Nakamura

K-1 Rules Matches
Musashi vs. Gegard Mousasi
Kozo Takeda vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
K-1 KOSHIEN Tournament Semi-Final: HIROYA vs. Shota Shimada
K-1 KOSHIEN Tournament Semi-Final: Ryuya Kusakabe vs. Koya Urabe
K-1 KOSHIEN Tournament Final: Winner of HIROYA/Shota Shimada vs. Winner of Ryuya Kusakabe/Koya Urabe
Yoshihiro Sato vs. Artur Kyshenko

UFC fighters to star in a brand new mixed martial arts film!

Five of the UFC's elite fighters spanning all five major weight classes will star in a new mixed martial arts movie set in the world of underground street fighting, similar to movies such as Bloodsport. Titled Never Surrender and directed by world-famous martial artist, Hector Echavarria (who also stars in the film as the main character, Diego Carter), the film also stars the UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, established heavyweight veteran Heath Herring, UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn and former UFC Light Heavyweight and PRIDE Middleweight Champion Quinton Jackson with Herring playing as Diego's friend, Stone, while the other fighters are competitors in the film's mixed martial arts tournament.

According to Echavarria, Never Surrender is a film best described as "an erotically charged, controversial action-thriller set in the world of underground street fighting where an MMA fighter who has been drawn into the world by an erotic and sexy promoter, quickly realizes that there is no way out, other than death."

The film is slated to be released in spring 2009.

Source: MMAFighting.com