Is Kimbo your boy?

“Kimbo Slice” will be among the 16 heavyweight fighters to join the 10th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which starts shooting this week in Las Vegas.

"He just really wants to fight right now," Slice's manager, Mike Imber, told Sherdog.com.

UFC President Dana White confirmed the news with Yahoo Sports on Monday. Slice appeared on White’s latest video blog in advance of WEC 41 this Sunday in Las Vegas.

“It’s an opportunity for me to prove myself, being a mixed martial artist coming from the backyard, coming from being a street fighter and all,” Slice said. “It’s time for me to step my game up. I’m coming here to kick ass and take names and to continue to feed myself and my family.”

Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, was released from the Pro Elite organization on May 13, according to a recent SEC filing.

The 34-year-old father of six also opted to pass on a potential multi-fight deal with Strikeforce, which had obtained an option to purchase the bearded Internet phenomenon’s contract from Pro Elite last February.

Ferguson’s management told Sherdog.com that the promotion was offering less than the fighter’s Pro Elite contract had stipulated (Slice was paid $175,000 and $500,000 for two of his last three bouts), though both parties split on amicable terms.

This cleared the way for negotiations with Zuffa, which owns the UFC, to cash in on one of the sport’s fastest rising stars ever.

Though TUF hopefuls sign undisclosed contracts and make a reported $5,000 per each fight they finish (submission or stoppage) on the series, there is little doubt Ferguson won’t be afforded a different deal on the show. Slice is, by far, the highest-profiled candidate to ever make the show that prides itself on harvesting undiscovered talent.

Ferguson, who earned fame from the brutal backyard beatdowns he dished out over the Internet, fought three times for Pro Elite under its EliteXC banner. Two of those bouts were main-event attractions featured on CBS and are the No. 1 and No. 3 most-watched fights in U.S. history, topping off at 7.3 million viewers.

Last June, Slice (3-1) became the second mixed martial artist to make the cover of ESPN the Magazine after UFC superstar Chuck Liddell.

White has been critical of Ferguson’s unmatched notoriety, as well as his lack of fighting ability.

“It should be interesting, given some of the things I’ve said about him,” White told Yahoo Sports Monday.

Slice addressed the criticism from the UFC boss.

“DW can say whatever the [expletive] he wants,” Slice said. “The greatest revenge, to my knowledge, is success. I don’t care about the s--t talking.”

The move also squashes rumors that Slice was set to embark on a career in professional boxing. Gary Shaw, who promoted Ferguson under the EliteXC banner, was among those that made overtures for the slugger’s services in the squared circle.

Slice will have much to prove. He rebounds off a 14-second loss last October at the hands of Seth Petruzelli, a light heavyweight who was pulled up from the undercard after Ken Shamrock was deemed medically ineligible to fight that same day.

North Battleford to Host MMA Event in June.

Champion Fight Club will be holding an event at the upcoming Continental Fighting Championship - Saturday June 20th in North Battleford, Saskatchewan at the Agriville Center. You won't want to miss this!

I will keep you posted as we get closer to the event.


Take 'er easy.

UFC 100 - Fan Expo and more!

As you probably already know the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced that it is hosting its first mixed martial arts exposition this summer to coincide with the promotion’s historic UFC 100 event.

The UFC is teaming up with Reed Exhibitions for the two-day “UFC Fan Expo” to be held Friday and Saturday July 10-11 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, which will feature meet-and-greet sessions with UFC and WEC fighters, MMA demonstrations, fan-inspired special events, training sessions, and other activities leading up to UFC 100 — which is expected to be one of the company’s biggest cards ever.

The milestone event will likely include two title fights when welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre takes on Thiago Alves, and Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar unify the heavyweight title. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season No. 9 coaches Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping are also scheduled to fight on the yet-to-be finalized card.

“We are pleased to work with Reed Exhibitions to present UFC Fan Expo in conjunction with UFC 100,” said UFC President Dana White.

“The UFC 100 event is a milestone for us, for the sport of mixed martial arts, and for fight fans around the world, this will be an amazing weekend for UFC fans.”

The organization expects the expo to attract more than 100 companies and brands ranging from apparel to electronic gaming vendors to sports equipment and nutritional supplements sellers as well as other MMA-related companies.

Article courtesy of Andy Samuelson and the Las Vegas Sun

Canadian Jonathan Goulet has also stated that he will be fighting Don Hyun Kim at UFC 100.

UFC 98 on the way.

UFC 98: (Card is subject to change.)


Main card

* Light Heavyweight Championship bout: Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida

* Welterweight bout: Matt Hughes vs. Matt Serra
* Middleweight bout: Drew McFedries vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam
* Middleweight bout: Dan Miller vs. Chael Sonnen
* Lightweight bout: Sean Sherk vs. Frank Edgar


Preliminary card

* Welterweight bout: Brock Larson vs. Chris Wilson
* Heavyweight bout: Patrick Barry vs. Tim Hague
* Lightweight bout: Phillipe Nover vs. Kyle Bradley
* Light Heavyweight bout: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Andre Gusmao
* Welterweight bout:Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Brandon Wolff
* Lightweight bout: Dave Kaplan vs. George Roop


This title fight between Evans vs. Machida, will offer something that hasn’t been seen before in a MMA title bout. Two undefeated fighters going at it. I am really looking forward to this one. It will be interesting to see how Rashad is going to deal with such an elusive and unorthodox striker. As far as the Hughes - Serra fight goes, both fighters need a win in the worst way, this could make for a good fight if both fighters are healthy. Sherk and Edger should be another fight to look out for, it is a good match-up for either fighter. A loss for Sherk could be critical at this stage of his career and a win over a guy like Sherk could move Edger up the ranks.

The preliminary bouts showcase many contestants from last seasons Ultimate Fighter even Krzysztof is back for another match in the octagon! He has a tough fight in Gusamao and I am sure he has been working hard since his last bout.

New! Training Log Added!

Quick news update on the MMA Bros.net site, we have now added an amazing training tool to the site. Thanks to Chris from Fitness Partners you can now log, plan your workouts, create goals and even connect with friends with a simple to use interface. Sign up for free today and get training!


Cheers.

MMA Review: Instructional of The Month

Hey gang,

Health update: I am finally back up to 80% and I am feeling good. Unfortunately being sidelined for a few weeks has taken it's tole on my cardio and my lifts but 'faz parte' as they say in Brazil.

I also managed to get on the mat again which is always a good thing. Especially when you get to roll with people who are really passionate about the sport. These are the people you want to learn with, constantly and consistently improving. You should always be learning something every time you roll. Every time. Additionally, try rolling with many different people. The benefits of rolling with different people are obvious. Not only are you getting the feel of the different body types (tall/long-limbs, short-limbs, fat, strong, etc), you also have the benefit of different styles. The 'A' in MMA is often overlooked but this sport is still an art form. Lending itself to mold and adapt to the artist, you.

Switching gears to the title of this post, I had a chance to watch former UFC heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett's - Attacking the Guard (courtesy of Matt our MMA Bro, thanks again). Extremely beneficial information for any mixed martial artist or Jui-jitsu player to have. Attacking The Guard is a well demonstrated breakdown of Josh Barnett's top-game and how to use these techniques to effectively neutralize and capitalize when in your opponents guard. Emphasizing on head, arm control, and posture Josh Barnett demonstrates how to use 'bracing' and 'tripoding' to pass the guard or apply a number of submissions. What I also found interesting was his 'Snapping The Rubber Guard' segment where he shows how to breakdown the rubber guard using tripoding to create pressure making it difficult for the opponent to effectively implement his techniques. Some really cool stuff.

Body on a Budget - Part 1

Body on a Budget - Part 1

Who really has time to workout? Surely those who are paid to train full time are able to get it done but they represent a small minority. We all have to make some sort of sacrifice in order to lead a healthier lifestyle, but from personal experience, I can tell you that that sacrifice doesn't have to come at a hefty price. In fact this article will show you just how to train when you are short on time, money, space and just about every other lame excuse than your lazy ass is going to come up with. So without further a due I present part 1 of the 3 part series entitled - Body on a Budget.

***

First of all let me tell you how this idea came into fruition... I spent the better part of the last 5 years working in the geophysical sector of the oil and gas industry. In those 5 years I have worked a plethora of 'jug-hound' jobs, then as a seismic driller's helper and eventually a seismic driller. I am sure there are not many jobs out there that are more physically demanding then a seismic driller's helper when drilling over 1000m a day.

Negative 30 degrees Celsius is not hing new to Pete the Heat.

Not only are you lifting solid steel drill stem all day you also have to battle the terrain and elements for 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most of us have worked stints in the winter of over 55 consecutive days. Lesson #1 - Your job should not be an excuse not to train unless your job is harder than this one.

***

"So Del... If your job took up 12 hours of your day when did you workout and still get enough sleep?"

Well actually I found ways to train at work much of the time. However most people don't have a 80 pound air hammer to do squats with, or run sprints with 40 L of 'Seismic 2 in 1', or spend the day climbing mountains with 70 lbs of cables and geophones. So instead I will show you how I trained after work and still slept 8 hours.

***

My day would start at 6:00 am sharp. After a week in the field I always wake up without an alarm. There is a meeting at 7 am every morning to discuss 'important' matters then its off to the bush until then end of the day, which usually comes at 7 pm.

The trick is to already have a plan... If you don't have a plan you plan to fail. Very cliche, very real. So by 7:15 pm I am in the shower getting ready for supper. The shower/supper moments are truly divine when you just put in a hard 10 hours of physical labour in the middle of nowhere at -35 Celsius... At 8 I would be finished eating and heading back to my room. A room that measures no bigger than your average jail cell for those of you who have been in the clink. Lesson #2 : Lack of space is no excuse not to train unless you live in a room smaller than a jail cell.

***

Body weight (BW) exercises are a great way to get a solid workout with little space and no equipment. The problem with traditional BW exercises (push-ups, sit-ups) is that most of us learned the wrong way to do them. Not to mention they are also the most boring exercises known to man. In the next part I will show you how you can spice up even the blandest of exercises to make them more exciting and challenging, even if you are in a oilfield camp room without any equipment. Lesson #3: Not having free-weights or a gym is no excuse to not train unless you are a stub (no arms or legs).

***

Body weight exercises are not the only way to train in this situation. It can be the foundation of your workout but a perfect way to supplement your workouts without using weights is the resistance band. There are many types of resistance type products out there but the even the most basic rubber band set up provides a great workout.

I used to take a 40lb set of dumbbells with me to work but sometimes you cannot travel with weights. They are cumbersome and if you are traveling via the bus or you are flying, you will probably get dingged with extra baggage fees. As a baller on a budget myself, I prefer to take my resistance band instead. Not only is it easy to pack it also costs around $10. And if you cannot afford one I will show you awesome BW only exercises anyway. Lesson #4: Being broke as a joke is no excuse not to train unless you do not have the basic necessities covered (food, shelter, clothing).

***

Now that we know it is possible to have a decent workout without traditional equipment (weights) we can move on to the exercises. As I mentioned before, there are many different exercises you can do but what you will be doing really depends on your goals. If you are a power lifter you probably know that your lifts will go down if you are unable to stack the weight. And if you are bulking, do not expect that a resistance band will replace the dead-lift... So this is not a miracle program that will get you the same results as one that implements other resources. No, this is a program that I developed while living in hotel rooms and oilfield camps. It is a program that enabled me to achieve and maintain big results with little time, money and space.