Saturday, September 5 12:15 pm PT: Friday at Japan's Mecca of fightsport, Korakuen Hall, Shooto's afroed ace continued his ascent in the Shoot Boxing ring.
The fourth edition of Shoot Boxing's Bushido series witnessed Mamoru Yamaguchi taking a three-round unanimous decision over Masahiro Fujimoto. The perennially elite MMA flyweight used clean punching and defense -- as well as a one-arm shoulder throw for a Shoot point in the second round -- to earn scores of 30-28 and 29-28 from the judges. The win was Yamaguchi's fourth appearance in the promotion, all within the last seven months, and pushed his Shoot Boxing mark to 3-1.
An offshoot from the same combat sports family tree as Shooto, Shoot Boxing promotes "standing vale tudo" events that feature the full complement of punches, kicks, elbows and knees in addition to throws and standing submissions.
Saturday, September 5 9:00 am PT: Footage of Fedor Emelianenko’s stateside appearance at Fighthouse Gym in Manhattan in late August has recently surfaced online. And it’s not exactly great cinema. But the brief clip -- courtesy Showtime -- is good for Emelianenko looking swift in the ring and doing a meet-and-greet with NYC resident Renzo Gracie. Renzo looks happy to see him. Renzo generally looks happy to see anybody.
Also available: Emelianenko struggling with a jump rope, captured on film by rogue videographers. Not a ringing endorsement of his agility. But when Zuffa owns virtually all of your marquee fighter’s film footage, you make do.
No prospect in mixed martial arts has seen his stock rise any faster than Muhammed Lawal. Fresh off his 25-second nuclear attack on Mark Kerr, the man they call “King Mo” has his eyes set on new horizons.
Already one of the sport’s most charismatic characters, the unbeaten standout remains surprisingly humble in the face of his growing celebrity.
“I’m not a superstar,” Lawal told Sherdog.com in an exclusive video interview. “I’m just a fighter. I’m not worried about the celebrity status.”
Whether or not his next challenge comes as a heavyweight -- the weight at which he defeated Kerr -- or light heavyweight remains to be seen. It matters not to Lawal.
“I’m just trying to get fights right now,” Lawal said. “I’m not worried about the size. If you have the proper skill set, you will win the fight, regardless of size. I’m not worried about size at all.”
Check out TJ De Santis’ complete interview with Lawal, as he discusses his war of words with former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the possibility of competing in Strikeforce or the UFC and his decision to wear wrestling shoes in his match with Kerr.
Saturday, September 5 12:00 am PT: War Machine, the man formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, will lock horns with EliteXC and Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Mikey Gomez in the main event at Xtreme Fighting Championships 9 “Evolution” on Saturday at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. The event will air live on HDNet at 9 p.m. ET.
Machine will carry a four-fight winning streak into the bout and has not tasted defeat since he was choked unconscious by a Yoshiyuki Yoshida anaconda choke at UFC 84 in May 2008. One of the sport’s polarizing figures, the brash 27-year-old welterweight last appeared at Total Combat 33 in July, when he submitted Erik Montano with a third-round armbar. Spawned by Season 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, he still has never gone to a decision in his 11-fight professional career. A bloody and memorable technical knockout victory over Jared Rollins at “The Ultimate Fighter 6” Finale highlights his resume.
