Year: 2007

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news women's martial arts MMA

UPDATE ON SMACKGIRL 7th Anniversary

SMACKGIRLAs this seventh year of Smack Girl draws to a close, thirty second ground limit rule has finally been abolished. However, strikes to the face while on the ground remain prohibited.

In the 52 kilo Light Weight title match, Su Hi Ham (Korea /CMA KOREA) challenges Yuka Tsuji (ANGRA).
“Since I have this chance to fight a title match in Japan, I’m working like crazy,” Su Hi Ham had said.
When asked her impression of Su Hi Ham, Tsuji replied, “She’s young!” with only a laugh and big smile.

Five other matches have been annouced:
Megumi Yabushita (Free) vs Lana Stefanac (Ladies of Pain)
Saori Ishioka (Zenmichikai dojo) vs Thricia Poovey (DeLuca’s Combat Academy)
Madoka Okada (Angra) vs Shawn Tamaribuchi (Ladies of Pain)
Satoko Shinashi (Free) vs Ann (Thai / tiger muay-thai gym)
Megumi Fuji (AACC) vs Nagano Mika (S-KEEP)

Emi Fujino (Keishukai GODS) will face V Hajime (Mask Jiu-jitsu). Previously injured badly in a car accident, Fujino had to withdraw from the MMA scene for two years, but now jumped back into fighting with a passion. After rehabilitation, she reemerged in November 2006’s Smackgirl and now is on a role with five consecutive wins. V is the winner of the Smack Girl Next Cinderella Tournament.

Lana “Lethal” Stefanac is the runner up of the Abu Dhabi’s 67 kilo and above class、with an MMA record of 4-0. Yabushita is getting her well-known wish to fight “much larger fighters.” She’ll have her hands full with Lethal Lana, who, weighing in at about 95 kilos (210 lbs), packs power and skill along with weight. “I want to show the crowd a good time, that even a woman can come this far,” the 35 year old Japanese fighter commented. Yabushita’s team “Tomoegumi” that she ran with Yoko Takahashi officially closed November 30th, giving Yabushita the title “free” fighter.

Poovey, the formar KOTC champion, lost to Tsuji in Smack Girl in April earlier this year. Now she’ll battle Ishioka, who commented, “I’m nervous because I’m facing a foreigner, but I’ll fight with all my might!”

Smack Girl predicts Okada vs Shawn Tamaribuchi will be to be a stand-up fight since Okada’s base is karate. Newcommer Tamaribuchi’s record is relatively unimpressive at 0-2, one of which was arguably a premature stoppage. This fighter is working to make a name for herself, training Muai Thai, BJJ and MMA. Okada, keeping a straight, blank face in front of a large gathering of press, stated that she’s practicing hard for the fight.

Shinashi commented, “As for me who’s relatively small, I want to show a good fight.”

Nagano, who had taken fourth place in the 2002 Wrestling Queen Cup Tournament, is making her debut against Megumi Fuji. “I’m nervous, but I want to show what I’m made of, even if it’s only one good thing at a time.” To which Fuji responded, “I won’t be thinking about how it’s her debut fight, but as usual will go for a submission or KO.”

Finally, Smack Girl has been and will continue cooperation with Australia’s MMA event XPLOSION. This brought Smack Girl Asha “the Basha” Ingeneri vs Rin Nakai this past September.

Smack Girl plans to hold five events in 2008 in Korakuen Hall. So far, the dates are 2/14th, 4/25th, 7/24th. 9/21st, and 12/18th. The 2008 World Remix Tournament open weight and light weight event will be in February, April will have the semi-finals, and finals will be in July.

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news women's martial arts MMA

Out N About Vegas WEC Style

Out N About Vegas WEC Style
Out N About Vegas WEC Style

Out N About Vegas WEC Style http://Fightergirls.com /Alpha Female Fightwear made an appearance at WEC at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas this Wednesday.

Out N About Vegas WEC Style

It was a stacked card and a night of exciting fights, with Jens Pulver submitting WEC favorite Cub Swanson in only 35 seconds of the first round by Anaconda choke, and Urijah Faber defeating Jeff Curran by Submission (Choke) at 4:34 in the 2nd round by guillotine choke, all four of these fighters in the 145lb weight class.

Erik Del Fierro of Total Combat was also in attendance, cornering fighter Ed 9mm Ratcliff, who was victorious at 155 lbs beating Alex Karalexis by Technical Knock Out at 1:26 in the 2nd round . It has been mentioned that Debi Purcell will be fighting on the Total Combat card in January, more on that story to follow! Miss Rara from NAMMAE was also there enjoying the excitement, as well as Ryan Loco from Proelite, Goze from Tagg Radio, Dan Henderson, Kit Cope, Clay Guida, Gabriel Gonzaga, John Koppenhaver and Dana White. Now that UFC has purchased WEC, there is little hope for a female bout on a future WEC card….but dare to dream.

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Maureen Shea Update

Maureen SheaFriends We hope everybody has a great month as the holidays approach. While Maureen has had a short reprieve from the ring, we have a lot of news and have been quite busy. There are a lot of exciting things going on and we can’t wait for the coming year. Here are just a few of the highlights:

Maureen recently spend approximately six weeks out of state working on a major project. We have promised to keep that quiet for a short while but know that all our supporters will enjoy it when the time comes. That project should be out by early January 2008. While the project unfortunately and effectively kept Maureen a bit busy, we are now working on her next boxing endeavor. Expect to see Maureen back in the ring by early February, and hope to set camp in mid January.

As many of you know, Maureen is a vegetarian. She recently completed a Public Service Announcement regarding her thoughts on the benefits. The PSA was filmed in California and it should be out in January. Of course we will fill you all in when it is officially out.

Robert Ferguson has been Maureen’s nutritionist for a while now. He has been an integral component and resource to Team Shea. Recently, his infomercial started airing. Keep an eye out for the infomercial as Maureen has a short clip in the airing. If you would like to know more about Robert Ferguson’s program, check it out at  . I highly recommend it. His principles have been a huge benefit to Maureen in her fight preparations.

Also, be on the lookout for the January/February issue of VegNews which should be coming out in late December and has a feature on Maureen.

Next Friday December 14, Maureen is scheduled to attend an event held by World Sports Magazine. The magazine is published in spanish and caters to the latin community. Maureen has been named their boxer of the year and will attend along with Juan Pablo Angel of the Red Bulls soccer team who was named their Athlete of the year. Of course, Maureen was on the cover of World Sports Magazine early in the year and it is exciting to see the pictures of Miguel Cotto and Felix Trinidad reading the issue with Maureen on the cover and as the main feature.

We wish everyone the best in the coming holidays. Thank you all for the never ending support and we promise to be in touch soon with more updates.

Team Shea

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Platinum Ring of Fire Results

Ring of FireTeam Shamrock vs. Team Gracie 155lbs Even Dunham wins by Front Choke over Cleber Luciano 185lbs
Kyacey “Ice Cold” Uscola wins by UD over Jorge “Macaco” Patino 205lbs
Mike Whitehead wins by UD over Daniel Serafian

Heavyweight
Ricco Rodriguez wins by TKO (Low Kicks) over Kevin Filal

Women 130lbs
Tonya Evinger wins by Cross Arm Lock over Kat Alendal

Team Shamrock wins 5-0

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news women's martial arts MMA

Boxing Vs. MMA Worlds Collide

Boxing Vs. MMAFighters Announced. For the first time ever: 6 Pro Boxing Matches, 6 Pro Mixed Martial Arts Matches (MMA), and beautiful Women in the same night, with World Wide Exposure via Television and Internet.

Miami, FL – A historic night of fights will be held Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007, at the Crazy Horse Saloon in Miami, FL. For the first time in history, a World Championship MMA match and World Championship Boxing match will be held in the same ring on the same night. To add to the entertainment, the beautiful Women of the Crazy Horse Saloon will host the Live Crowd and the Internet Audience.

The MMA bouts are headlined by a battle for the World Fighting Organization Heavyweight Championship between Mario Rinaldi of Fort Pierce , FL and David Oliver of Indianapolis, IN. In a special feature attraction, International MMA star Jorge Masvidal of Miami , FL battles Brant Rose of Lafayette, IN. In a pair of local grudge matches, Cruiserweights Tony Crothers takes on Brent Carraway and Todd Duffy faces off with Mark Haniger. A Women’s bout pits Jessica Aguilar of Miami, FL against Stephanie Palmer of AL. Also, Wrestling Olympic Gold Medalist, Alexis “El Monito” Vila, makes his Pro Debut.
Once the Boxing begins, undefeated Hector Sanchez of Puerto Rico (12-0, 5 KO’s) will take on Cuban star Jose Antonio Izquierdo (16-1, 13 KO’s) for the IBA Jr. Welterweight Championship. In addition, unbeaten World-rated Heavyweight Malik Scott (29-0, 10 KO’s) takes on Damien Norris ( 10-4-1, 7 KO’s). The Undercard features the sensational Velasquez Twins, Juan Velasquez (5-0) and Carlos Velasquez (4-0). Local boxers include Welterweight Ed Paredes (16-2, 9 KO’s), Heavyweight Kevin Burnett (9-1, 6 KO’s) and Anthony Fraguada (Pro Debut).

Worlds Collide: Collision 1 Miami is an exclusive VIP event with limited seating. VIP packages and General Admission tickets can be purchased by calling 1-877-24-FIGHT or by going to the event website Doors open at 5 pm and the action starts at 7. The Crazy Horse Saloon is located at 17800 NE 5th Ave. , Miami, FL.

Fans who cannot attend the live event can buy the Live Webcast for only $9.99.

Worlds Collide: Collision 1 Miami is presented by DeCubas Presents, Total Entertainment Live, Elite Promotions, RSS Holdings, L.L.C., and Rock On Entertainment Management (ROEM). The Crazy Horse Saloon has been leased out as a Venue for one of the greatest Fight Nights in history, not as a Gentleman’s Club.

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news women's martial arts MMA

Carina Moreno Defends WBC Title

Carina MorenoCarina “La Reina” Moreno (16-1, 5 KOs) defeats Suzannah Warner (7-6) retaining her WBC Strawweight title while extending her winning streak to eight in a row.  The fight started of fast for the defending champion as she came out with an all out attack, applying pressure as Warner stood her ground.  Fighting tough, Suzannah made it rough for Moreno, but the constant pressure took its toll on the New York native as she wore her down toward the later rounds.  Two judges scored it 100-90 while the other had it 99-91 all for Moreno.  Next on the list for Moreno will be Chantel Cordova (7-0 3KOs) February 23, 2008 at the Tachi Palace.

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news women's martial arts MMA

Fighter Girls At The North American MMA Expo

Fighter GirlsThe NAMMA Expo was in Anaheim, CA this past weekend with Randy Couture headlining the event and companies such as IFL, King of the Cage, Punishment Athletics, TapouT, Fatale Femmes Fighting, and Fightergirls.com in attendance.

Fatale Femmes Fighting came out to show their support for the women with a nice booth and fighters such as Lisa Ward signing autographs.

FighterGirls and AlphaFemale introduced their new line of training/board shorts to the audience. The three new designs will be available to order by the end of 2007 online at both FighterGirls and AlphaFemale sites.

Debi Purcell and Helen Shelby also announced their new all-female promotion, “Warrior Women” that will debut in early 2008. All female fighters interested in fighting on this prestigious promotion should contact Debi at debi@fightergirls.com. The following is the formal announcement:

WARRIOR WOMEN

Two extremely accomplished women in the sport of mixed martial arts have finally decided to step up to the plate and change the lack of positive progression in women’s mixed martial arts.

They have partnered up to promote all-women’s professional and amateur mixed martial arts events, nationwide and internationally!

“Warrior Women” is created by women and run by 2 women who have made martial arts a part of their lives for over 30 years, and they’re both trained and accomplished advocates in the sport of MMA.

I bring to you the partnership of Debi Purcell and Helen Shelby.

“Warrior Women” will reach a level of professionalism for the sport of women’s MMA like no other. They are backed and supported to be able to launch a series of events beginning in the coming New Year!

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Christmas in Japan Smackgirl MMA

Smack Girl MMASmack Girl is closing it’s 7th year in the industry with one final bang: “Smack Girl 7th Anniversary~ Starting Over~”, held on December 26th. The current Light weight Queen Yuka Tsuji will face Korea’s Su Hi Ham in her second title defense.

Su Hi brings a Muay Thai base to the ring, having debuted in February of this year in DEEP, where she defeated Hisae Watanabe in a battle of flying fist and kicks. In May, she lost to Miku Matsumoto by triangle choke, but went on to beat up Megumi Yabushita in a kickboxing bout, and Ayumi Saito in Smack Girl in September by decision. It’s been a busy year for Su Hi Ham. Yuka Tsuji is coming off two wins in Smack Girl this year, Thricia Poovy by TKO in April, and Michelli Tavares by KO in September.

Other fighters scheduled to appear are Madoka Okada, Saori Ishioka, and Mika
Nagano.

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Interviews female fighters news women's martial arts MMA

Carina “La Reina” Moreno

Carina “La Reina” MorenoThis past year was an eventful year for Carina Moreno, the world-class 105# from Watsonville, California. Along with over 4 victorious fights this past year and a current record of 15-1, Carina also won the NABF Fighter of the Year Award, the WBC Female Fighter of the Year Award, and the Lily Rodriguez Award. “I was shocked win I heard I received the NABF Fighter of the Year Award. And it’s an honor for any Mexican to win an award from the WBC (aka the “green belt” in the boxing world).

So what is it about Moreno’s boxing that has the ‘Boxing World’ keeping an eye on this 105 pounder who has been known for her “quick combos” and “great ring movement”? Carina’s Trainer, Rick Noble, focuses a lot on head movement, moving side-to-side, defensive techniques and quick combos. Noble stresses the importance of being ‘elusive’ with your opponent, making your opponent constantly guessing.

When asked what fighter(s) would she like to emulate, without hesitation, claims the style of Barrera and Juan Marquez. “I like the ‘Mexican’ style of boxing.” Which she went on to explain that 80-90% of Mexican boxers like to work the body and move in straight forward with constant pressure on their opponents.

Carina points much of her “good year” in the direction of gaining a great Manager (Repo Rick) and being signed by a promoter (Christian Prinup). “In the past, I was having a lot of problems getting fights with my amateur experience (36-2) and in my weight division.” Without hesitation, Carina has been securing wins in the 105#, 108#, and 112# division in her pro career but is thankful to now have a promoter who is willing to do whatever it takes to find her a fight.

While Carina was very excited to transition from amateur to professional status mainly because she was relieved to not ‘have’ to wear headgear and big gloves, she stated that her 38 fights as an amateur was important for her as a fighter. “In the beginning stages of female boxing, women were immediately turning pro and at times it showed in their skills. I think all fighters need to go through an amateur program in order to develop their skills in the ring.” Moreno goes on to comment that Female Boxing has matured and the women are demonstrating great boxing skills in the ring and at times stealing the show from the men on the card. Hopefully this will be the case on December 6th, as Carina defends her WBC title for the second time at the Tachi Palace and Casino in Lemoore, CA.

“A long-term goal of mine is to defend my title at 105# four or five more times and then move up to win the title at 108# and then 112#.” In the near future her manager hopes to get her a TV fight sometime in 2008.

While boxing is Carina’s ‘heart and soul’, she started training kickboxing and has been watching MMA on YouTube. “I think MMA looks like fun and would like to try it someday,” Moreno laughs.

In fact, Moreno and her trainer, Noble, recently opened up their own training facility in her hometown of Watsonville, California with both Boxing and MMA training. “Noble Moreno Boxing Club and Kutgar” is currently opened to the public for MMA training under Vince Vanderlippe.

Carina is hoping to end this eventful year victoriously on December 6th and is ready for her upcoming venture in 2008. Keep an eye on Carina “La Reina” Moreno is taking the Boxing World by storm!

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Bodog Fight Returns to Russia

Bodog FightWith the sold-out success of Bodog Fight: Clash of the Nations, a return to Russia was inevitable for Calvin Ayre’s hard-hitting mixed martial arts promotion. Following last April’s incredible live event at the ICE Palace in St. Petersburg, Bodog Fight presents Bodog Fight: Russia vs. USA Friday, November 30 at the MegaSport Ice Arena in Moscow.
While Bodog Fight: Clash of the Nations marked the historic homecoming of Russian Red Devil teammates Fedor and Aleks Emelianenko, Bodog Fight Russia vs. USA features the remarkable return of legendary Russian fighter, Oleg Taktarov.

It’s been nearly ten years since “The Russian Bear” last fought in competitive MMA, although the fighter-turned-actor did go five rounds with Dolph Lundgren (who played Ivan Drago in “Rocky IV”) for a celebrity boxing show in Russia this past summer.

Now, the former KGB martial arts instructor, who has fought Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, Renzo Gracie and David “Tank” Abbott among others, wants to make his MMA comeback on home soil.
The 38-year-old Taktarov (14-5-2) will fight 37-year-old John Marsh (7-6), whose biggest win came against Wesley “Cabbage” Correira in May 2004.”I’ve been training with some sambo guys in New York,” says Taktarov.

“I’m trying to refresh my memory and practice my old tricks with proper resistance. I feel good right now, like I did when I was in my prime. I’ve never taken drugs or steroids and my body is in great shape. I am looking forward to this fight and am very thankful to Bodog Fight for this opportunity.”

The fight card is as follows:

FIGHT #1: Alexander Kokoev vs Sultan Tikhaev, (Middleweight)
FIGHT #2: Ivan Anikanov vs Besiki Gerenava (Light Heavyweight)
FIGHT #3: Stanislav Shushko vs Telman Shariphov (Heavyweight)
FIGHT #4: James Binky Jones vs Vladimir Zenin (Lightweight)
FIGHT #5: Dan Evensen vs Konstantine Gluhov (Heavyweight)
FIGHT #6: Jessica Aguilar vs Julia Berezekova (Women’s 125lb)
FIGHT #7: Eric Pele vs Akhmet Sultanov (Heavyweight)
FIGHT #8: Zulu vs Vladimir Kuchenko (Heavyweight)
FIGHT #9: Diego Visotzky vs Alexander Shlemenko (Middleweight)
FIGHT #10: Emyr Bussade vs Andrei Semenov (Middleweight)
FIGHT #11: John Marsh vs Oleg Taktarov (Heavyweight)

Can’t get enough hard-hitting MMA action?
Bodog Fight: The Vault offers up new hard-hitting webisodes every Tuesday and Saturday on Bodog TV’s multi-award winning website, bodoglife/fight. These never-before-seen fights are commercial free, fully downloadable and iPod-ready, featuring a previously unaired bout from the Bodog Fight archives.
Still can’t get enough?
Bodog Fight: The Complete First Series is now available on DVD. The four-disk set comes packed with more than ten hours of non-stop action and a ton of extra features, including fighter commentary, new behind the scenes footage and six never-before-seen fights. Plus, get a bonus limited edition CD featuring tracks from Bodog Music artists. Available now at better retailers everywhere and online at bodoglife.

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