From Drinking Buddies to Champs, Melendez and Shields Pushed Each Other

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Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez would love to be able to tell people that it was their mutual love of martial arts that first united them in friendship, but it isn't true.

These days the top UFC welterweight contender and the Strikeforce lightweight champ seem like dedicated training partners who have successfully pushed each other toward a common goal, but it wasn't always the case. Instead, it was their shared interest a completely different pursuit that first brought them together.

"Jake was looking for someone to party with," Melendez recalled. "I was like, hell yeah."

Then a student at San Francisco State, Melendez wasn't the type to turn down that request, so the two future MMA champions got together over a drink or twelve.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/14/from-drinking-buddies-to-champs-melendez-and-shields-pushed-eac/

Vagam Bodjukyan Kotetsu Boku Tony Bonello Stephan Bonnar

Strikeforce’s Three Stars: Diaz, Melendez and Aoki

Strikeforce's first major event under Zuffa ownership was not without its odd moments, but it was dominated by two champs who train together at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

No. 1 star -- Nick Diaz: Throughout their one-round scrap, both Diaz and Paul Daley were wobbled. The difference was in how each fighter recovered. Diaz's mixture of body shots and strikes to the head added up on Daley, and the damage at the end of the round was too much for Daley to handle.

No. 2 star -- Gilbert Melendez: How do you stop a wrestler? By punishing him every time he tries for a takedown. Melendez tagged Tatsuya Kawajiri early with a right hook, and then followed up with punches, kicks, takedowns and elbows until the fight ended with a TKO. He held onto his Strikeforce lightweight championship, but Melendez has his eye on more: the UFC lightweight belt.

No. 3 star -- Shinya Aoki: His first fight in the U.S. didn't go so well, but Aoki has been on a tear since losing to Melendez a year ago. He continued that streak on Saturday, cranking Lyle Beerbohm's neck until "Fancy Pants" had no choice but to tap.

Honorable mention -- Elbows: One of Zuffa's first changes to Strikeforce after taking over was to remove the ban on elbows. Strikeforce's fighters responded by using their new weapon with delight. Melendez used short elbows on the ground to finish off Kawajiri and Diaz used them effectively throughout his win over Daley.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-s-Three-Stars-Diaz-Melendez-and-Ao?urn=mma-wp1109

Tony DeSouza Edwin Dewees Nick Diaz Tadhg Steamfist Dixon

THQ, UFC releasing "UFC Personal Trainer" this June for Xbox Kinect, Playstation Move and Nintendo Wii

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The UFC is branching out into the fitness video game market with their upcoming joint release from THQ, UFC Personal Trainer, for the Xbox 360 Kinect, as well as Playstation Move and the Nintendo Wii. According to Thursday's press release for the game, it was designed by the National Academy of Sports Medicine with support from leading MMA trainers Mark DellaGrotte, Greg Jackson and Javier Mendez, and "will deliver a challenging and motivating UFC fitness experience that includes the best and most effective exercises utilized by today's renowned UFC fighters."

"UFC Personal Trainer delivers an authentic UFC fitness experience that is both fun and challenging while providing an intense workout,? said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, Core Games, THQ. "With the help of NASM and its Optimum Performance Training model, as well as the expertise of renowned MMA trainers Mark DellaGrotte, Greg Jackson and Javier Mendez, we are developing an original, high impact product that will help people around the world set and achieve their personal fitness goals."

"We are excited to join forces with THQ on the development of UFC Personal Trainer," said UFC President Dana White. "We want to give fans the opportunity to train like their favorite UFC athletes, and this product will enable people around the world to learn and utilize exercises to get real results."

Check out a quick preview of the game below:


App Users Click Here For Video: http://youtu.be/M0TWGkG4Dr0

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8992.shtml

Tadhg Steamfist Dixon Joe Doerksen Chris Dolman Edson Drago

Rashad Evans Decides Against Training at One Specific Gym for Jon Jones Fight

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Instead of joining a new camp, Rashad Evans has decided to train in several different locations in preparation for his light heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones.

Glenn Robinson, Evans manager at Authentic Sports Management, confirmed with MMA Fighting on Wednesday that "Suga" is "not going to train at one specific place" for the Jones fight.

"(Evans) is going to do a private training camp headed by Coach (Mike) Van Arsdale," Robinson said.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/13/rashad-evans-decides-against-training-at-one-specific-gym-for-jo/

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah

Tompkins interview: Hard feelings in camps and no future with Belfort

MMA trainer is really no different than being a head coach in any other sport. Different fighters need to be handled differently and when there's a beef between teammates someone has to be the boss. Shawn Tompkins knows what Greg Jackson is going through right now. Jackson's Submissions Fighting appears to be splintering a bit over the Rashad Evans-Jon Jones fight.

At TapouT Las Vegas, Tompkins joined me to talk about camp politics. He was also forthcoming about one of his old students Vitor Belfort, saying he'll never work with the UFC middleweight title contender again.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Tompkins-interview-Hard-feelings-in-camps-and-n?urn=mma-wp740

Tony DeSouza Edwin Dewees Nick Diaz Tadhg Steamfist Dixon

Gegard Mousasi, Keith Jardine Draw in Bloody Strikeforce Fight

by Michael David SmithAs almost everyone expected, Gegard Mousasi bloodied and battered Keith Jardine on Saturday night's Strikeforce card. But as almost no one expected, Jardine showed a tremendous amount of toughness, Mousasi had a point deducted for an illegal kick, and the result was a majority draw.

It was a mess of a fight, with Jardine's face becoming a bloody mess and the referee calling a halt to the action three separate times: Once for an illegal kick, once for a low blow and once because Mousasi's mouthpiece fell out. One judge scored the fight 29-27 for Mousasi, but two judges scored it a 28-28 tie.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/09/gegard-mousasi-keith-jardine-draw-in-bloody-strikeforce-fight/

Ao Hailin Shinya Aoki Andrei Arlovski Ricardo Arona

MMA Marketplace: Limited edition Korean Zombie shirt

We've professed our love for Tri-Coasta's Korean Zombie shirts in the past. The shirt for Chan Sang Jung's twister win over Leonard Garcia is no less awesome.

This one reminds me of playing "Super Mario Brothers," "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out," and "Duck Hunt" on my old Nintendo. (Am I the only one who tried to shoot the dog on Duck Hunt? Stupid thing was always laughing at me.) Considering the way he fights, Jung would make one heck of an old-school video game character.

Get this very cool, limited edition shirt for $25 right here.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/MMA-Marketplace-Limited-edition-Korean-Zombie-s?urn=mma-wp745

Robert Berry David Bielkheden Michael Bisping Dan Bobish

UFC 131 "Lesnar vs. Dos Santos" finally official for Vancouver's Rogers Arena on June 11

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Though it has been expected for some time, the UFC has finally made official the UFC 131 event on June 11 for the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The card has been filling up quickly with the UFC announcing several fights for the date, but the expected venue had yet to be made official until Monday.

The event is headlined by the heavyweight number one contender fight between Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos, a fight being bolstered by ten weeks of lead up on Spike TV during the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

All but two fights on the card are now official, as the UFC on Monday also officially confirmed two featherweight fights in Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes and Dustin Poirier vs. Rani Yahya. A lightweight bout between Yves Edwards and Sam Stout, along with a middleweight bout featuring Jesse Bongfeldt, are both also expected to be added to the official card soon. The full confirmed card is below:

Main Televised Card

* Brock Lesnar vs. Junior Dos Santos
* Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz
* Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes
* Shane Carwin vs. Jon Olav Einemo
* Dustin Poirier vs. Rani Yahya

Preliminary Card

* Anthony Perosh vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
* Donald Cerrone vs. Mac Danzig
* Darren Elkins vs. Michihiro Omigawa
* Joey Beltran vs. Dave Herman

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8969.shtml

Hirotaka Yokoi Hidehiko Yoshida Yoshiyuki Yoshida Yoon Dong Sik