Michigan has a funny reputation when it comes to MMA. We were the place for UFC 9 which was not exactly the shining moment for the organization. The state came in, just before the show, and fighters were threatened with jail time if they threw punches. MMA pretty much fell off the map for quite a while after that. Then someone found a loop hole in the laws as they pertained to MMA in Michigan. The law stated that amateur and exhibition MMA were not regulated and therefore not against the law. Promotions started hosting events and things were starting to look up. Then it crashed again. The Boxing Commission and State Attorney General’s Office began threatening to, and finally did, serve Cease and Desist orders. Their viewpoint was that if the law doesn’t say it is legal then it’s not legal. Being a Police Officer I know I can’t arrest someone for driving a car while wearing a red shirt. Yet if I took the state’s standpoint on it, I could. Why? Because the law doesn’t specifically state that it is legal to wear a red shirt while driving. So things slowed down and then the laws came into being on March 28th of 2008 and Amateur was unregulated, while we are awaiting passage of Professional regulations.
During the off times, there was little you could do MMA wise. You could go to Ohio and watch or compete in shows, but, you also had the expense of doing that. One relief we had was that King of the Cage was doing regular events in Mount Pleasant. See they were hosting the events at an Indian Casino and since Indian Land is self governed the MMA Laws did not apply. It was through this promotion that a shining star emerged. We really had very little known talent in Michigan; little, as in numbers-wise, not with regard to the talent itself. We had the Legendary Dan “The Beast” Severn, who had reached almost mythical status from his fights in the original UFC. Even with this we had little else in the MMA world to celebrate. That is until James Lee burst into the MMA World. James is a dominating force in MMA. He took the KOTC Light Heavyweight Title and destroyed anyone who challenged him. His debut in Pride really shocked people. James took the fight on short notice and knocked out his opponent, Travis Wiuff. With the collapse of Pride, James is now a part of the UFC stables. As a Michigan Man myself, I take pride in knowing that we have world class athletes.
One thing that surprised me about James Lee was how approachable he was. Here is a man who is well known in MMA and has quite a future ahead of him. He’s down to earth and will sit and talk to you at length. He is also taking his knowledge and experience and sharing it. He recently opened the Mash Training Center in Metro Detroit. I thought I would take a minute or two and get the perspective from someone who is right on top of the bubble. He is at the gates of greatness and is ready to step into it. I presented James with some basic questions and asked him about his thoughts on MMA.
James Lee 5′11 205 pro record 25-3
I live in Sylvan Lake, Michigan
Pancrase Brave Tour champ, Gladiator Challenge middleweight champ, KOTC light heavy world champ, Pride 33 champ, and UFC vet,
I wrestled for 21 yrs, Jiu-Jitsu 16 yrs, Kick Box 16 yrs, and I’m a Pro Boxer.
Q: King of the Cage is a well known promotion. Some of the greats of MMA have risen to glory from there. How does it feel to have held the Light Heavyweight Title for King of the Cage? A: It was a great honor for me to have the KOTC belt for 2 years and the first and only fighter from Michigan to have it. It was great fighting for them. They are a fantastic organization to fight for!
Q: Having fought for Pride and the UFC how would you describe the challenges in being in such a deep pool of talent? A: It is tough fighting in deep talent pools because of politics. They can either throw you to the wolves or they can build you.
Q: In your debut in Pride, you shocked a lot of people with an impressive knock out of one the Elite in MMA Travis Wiuff. How did this win affect your career? A: It was a dream come true to fight in Pride and beat Travis under the conditions I did it in. That was an example of Pride trying to throw me to the wolves, LOL! But I prevailed on a 2 day notice and haven’t looked back since
Q: You have worked with smaller promotions, either as a fighter or coach for fighters. What is your view of how smaller promotions could improve? A: The smaller promotions need to care more about the fighter and not just letting anyone fight and better match ups
Q: Who are the top fighters you would like to face? Why? A: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson I want to fight to get the belt and I want to fight the best and get paid, LOL!
Q: As a fighter, you see the numbers of people jumping into MMA. What advice do you have for them? A: Fighters should train longer before fighting and be more serious and commit to training.
Q: As a trainer how do you approach making your students more prepared for the cage? A: I try to stimulate them mentally and have them be consistent in their training. Here at mash gym we provide top level training.
Q: Which do you prefer, Cage or Ring, and why? A: I prefer a cage because the fighting is continuous.
Q: Thank you for your time. What can we expect to see from James Lee in the near future? A: You can expect a win from me in UFC 88 on Sept 6the and having the premiere training facility in Michigan! Check us out at mashgym.com Thanks!
There is no secret that you have to be in phenomenal shape if you ever plan on being successful in the sport of MMA. If you are going to survive day in and day out through punishing grappling, lifting, sparring, and body hardening sessions. . . you had better make sure that you have your nutrition down to a science. You can train your butt off in the gym and hit a heavy bag until your knuckles bleed, but if you are not taking care of your body from a nutritional standpoint. . . you might as well have taken the day off. I hooked up with the great people at ALLTHEWHEY.COM to discuss the sport of MMA and their various products that have kept me wanting to come back for more.
When planning a supplement regimen tailored to meet your targets and goals as an MMA fighter, you have to take all aspects of the fight game into consideration. The number one thing that you must take care of as a fighter in my opinion is your joints! Whether you are really reaching to connect a jab, or you got lazy and find yourself in a tight armbar…it’s reassuring to know that your joints are healthy and strong (don’t get me wrong…I’m still tapping to that armbar). Glucosamine Chondroitin is the oil to your fight ending machine! After both shoulder and knee surgery I began to use this product religiously, rebuilding my cartilage and keeping inflammation down after my long workouts. If you’ve ever talked to me before about supplementation, you’ll know that I tend to rave about Glucosamine Chondroitin and its numerous benefits to both athletes and non-athletes alike.
“I gained 8lb. while adding allthewhey products to my MMA training”, Kyle Kaiser
Both Marc Dell and Rob Reed of ALLTHEWHEY.COM are big fans of the sport and admire the great athleticism. Rob told me. . .“Mixed martial arts unlike the football, basketball, and baseball sports of the world, is the only one-on-one sport where every single second of every single match requires 100% total focus on all body parts and a constant strategic strategy. As where boxing is more of an upper body focus…MMA is a full out 3 rounds, balls to the wall matter of “who wants it more.”…The will to “prepare to win” overshadows the natural “will to win.”
Another product that is a must on my list as far as nutrition for MMA is L-Glutamine. This amino acid will come to be your best friend before and after a hard workout, helping you to recover quickly while assisting to spare the muscle and strength that you’ve worked so hard to put on. It is a great additive to a lean Whey Protein Isolate shake post workout. Remember that shorter recovery times = you ready to go at the sound of that bell.
I could go on and on about all the products that Marc and Rob have hit spot on at ALLTHEWHEY.COM, but instead I’ll leave it up to you to research and teach yourself about the varying degrees of MMA specific nutrition. My advice is to study up and NEVER put something into your body that you don’t know anything about. Just like in the sport of MMA, when building up your supplement regimen…knowledge is power! Bad choices can lead to lifelong effects so stay natural and put in the work that your opponent deserves. Train hard, eat well, make positive choices, and you will succeed on and off the mat.
by Kyle Kaiser
MMA Training, Nutrition, Product reviews, and Current events
It’s a gorgeous evening in Denver, Colorado. My friend Lauren and I lug our oversized gym bags out of her beat up Volvo station wagon. Lauren Sugihara is a striking girl, with exotic looks and an hourglass figure. I could be a tattooed version of sporty spice. On the outside we may look like your average girls, getting ready for a weekend spin class. We are wearing sports bras and our hair is in ponytails, but as we get ready to workout we pull out hand wraps, shin guards, boxing gloves and mouth guards from our bags. Our gear smells like a guy’s locker room. We carefully remove our jewelry before warming up. I chat with Lauren about work and life as we wrap our hands and several minutes later we are kicking and punching each other in the head. This is our idea of fun. In fact, I flew from Los Angeles to help Lauren train for an upcoming fight. She’s had two amateur Muay Thai fights and with some more ground work hopes to fight MMA soon. Most people wonder why nice girls like us would want to hit each other in our spare time, let alone step in the ring or cage and put our pretty faces on the line, but this is what we train for and for many of us it’s what makes us feel truly alive.
The week before my training trip to Colorado I received a call from Kim Couture, wife of the 5 time UFC Champion Randy Couture. She was in Hollywood for an autograph signing tour with Randy and wanted to train with me to help prepare for her upcoming fight on ESPN Friday June 20 th. Kim started training last October and will be making her pro debut. I was happy to assist. I jump at the chance to spar other female fighters. It’s hard to find training partners similar in weight and experience, for women it’s even harder. Kim and I train hard, spar, tag each other with hard shots to the face, legs and body, then hug, shower and go out for lunch. Over chicken salads I learn that Kim is a country girl at heart, a caring mother, an on point business woman and a loyal wife.
Training with these two beautiful and talented women got me thinking about women and fighting. Women fighters are breaking the mold. Many are like Lauren and Kim. They are attractive, intelligent, successful women. Some have never been competitively athletic before discovering their love for fighting. They run businesses, raise kids, and they have never been in a street fight. There is a unique duality to these women; a side of them that only comes out in training. Women are not often encouraged to play sports in high school. They are told it’s not okay to punch, hit and shove. Fighting doesn’t come natural to most girls. So why with all the social norms against them and when they have so many other roles to play, do these women choose to fight?
There’s not much money in female fighting, at least in the beginning. I often spend much more money on training, supplements and medicals than I ever make on a fight. So what drives us? Kim says, “The more people tell me I can’t or shouldn’t be doing something, the more it drives me to not only do it, but to achieve it!” For me I love the physical rush of training, I love that it’s hard; I love the mental journey of preparing for a fight and the adrenaline of a victory. Lauren says she loves to fight because she is simply, “More happy doing it than not.”
I train personal fitness clients for a living and I also teach a women’s Muay Thai program in Hollywood. I recently ask my girls why they like to train. They used words like challenging, focused, fun, intense, physical and different to describe training. One girl jokingly commented she just wanted to look good naked. All the girls in class that night have never fought, so when I asked them if they would want to fight in the future 4 out of 5 surprised me and said yes. Some said they wanted the challenge, a way to test their skills, another said it would make her husband proud. My youngest student, who is 18, grinned sheepishly at me and said she wants to fight because she wants a trophy.
I take a good look at my girls; I wonder how many of them really will fight someday. I wonder how many of them will last through the training. It’s not that they can’t do it. They can! I truly believe that anyone can train like an athlete, but having the dedication and the drive to follow through is a different story.
The girl who said she wouldn’t fight said it’s because fighting is scary. She’s right. It is frightening and it’s not easy either. Someone once told me it takes three qualities to make a great fighter: skill disciple and conviction. Training is all about discipline. The good female fighters I know train like the guys do, many people don’t take us seriously and that makes us train harder. We sweat until we feel like we might pass out, we spar, and we get bruised and sore and wake up the next day to do it again. Lauren and I talked about how there is little room for a social life in our worlds. She’s at a receptionist desk for 8 hours Monday through Friday. She’s also a DJ and a playmate model. I start training clients starting at 7am and am often teaching until 9pm. We both train 2-3 hours a day ourselves so all we have energy for at the end of the day is a shower and some food. It’s not glamorous by any means. It’s me on the couch with packs of frozen peas on my shins, rubbing arnica gel on my sore neck and eating chicken and veggies. It’s a simple, beautiful life to me. I don’t see it as making sacrifices, I’m just living.
The physical challenge doesn’t bother us. It’s the mental challenges that Lauren and Kim said were most difficult to deal with, the conviction part. Lauren tells me she struggles with confidence but relies on the faith that her family, trainers and friends have in her. Kim feels similar, saying “(My greatest challenge is) being aggressive. I have to turn it up a lot in training more than my personality is used to. Also being confident in my own skills and letting it all go in there (is a challenge).” I can relate. When I first started fighting I had 70% discipline, 20% skill and 10% conviction. It’s only after 6 years of hard training and winning a few more fights than I’ve lost that I feel those percentages are more even.
I think for many female fighters confidence builds more slowly than men. We worry how our technique will look. We focus on honing our skills; we want to be taken seriously. Aggression and confidence come when we feel comfortable with our knowledge. From my experience women always want to figure things out and make it look perfect. For this reason there are some sharply skilled women out there in the fight world. Some may not be packed with muscle or bursting with fierce energy, but they have the mechanics to fight and as their records build so does their conviction.
Whether or not you agree that women should fight, there is one thing you can’t argue about when you watch a women’s match. They are incredibly intense. They are just as competitive and power driven as men in the ring. Female fighters put it on the line and fight hard. Some fight for the love of it, some fight to prove others wrong, some fight to gain confidence and self respect and every single one of them dreams of wearing a big, shiny championship belt around their waist.
At the top of the hour, we began with this week’s fight; the last semi final fight featuring CB Dollaway vs. Amir Sadollah. Round 1 began with flurry from CB followed by a push kick from Amir. Both mean do the Thai clinch and exchange knees with a bit of dirty boxing. CB received a knee to the body, bouncing back to his feet, he picked up Amir and slammed him to the canvas. In guard, CB landed strikes. Amir went for an arm-bar after CB postured up, but was unsuccessful. CB would attempt to pass but ended up in closed guard, with his posture being controlled for a moment. CB picked up Amir and landed back in butterfly guard. Amir scrambled to stand. CB throws a push kick that connects and shoots for another takedown. Back in guard, CB worked on strikes until Amir gave away his back but he spun out back into guard and blocked strikes until the end of the round. Round 2 began with standing up square off. CB threw a blocked high kick, throwing shots and a knee to the body. Amir would land a body blow that would bring CB to the mat. Bouncing back, he would shoot in for successful takedown. Raining down while in guard, Amir rolled to secure an arm lock. Amir would receive strikes in guard while trying to control posture. CB would posture up landing strikes and elbows. A bleeding Amir, scrambles and stands to almost land a push-kick on CB, whilst he was leaning on the cage. Round 3 began with a leg kick and left hook followed by a right, followed by flying knee from Amir. CB attempts a slam from the cage, but it would be stuffed but the second one would not be. CB would almost nearly lock in a rear-naked choke before Amir turned out of it, and escaped; which was amazing defense on his part. Amir would attempt some weird submissions from the north-south position. Back in guard CB would land strikes before succumbing to an arm-bar sending Amir to the finals at the palms.
Next up, we heard Dana speaking about an incident that occurred after the competitors left the house and went on their way. Jesse Taylor and some of the guys were staying at a hotel, when they returned Jesse Taylor booted out the window of their limousine. After this, he entered to hotel where he harassed female guests. After being approached by security he began bragging about being a UFC fighter. This not sitting well with Dana, he brought the coaches in to discuss the situation and explain what he was going to do. It was clear that Jesse was not to be going to the finals but be out of the UFC for good, for the way he had conducted. For the first time in seven seasons, a finalist was kicked off of the show, post-season.
Dana brought back the last two semi-finalists Tim Credeur and CB Dollaway to fight for a spot in the finals and Amir and the coaches as well as Dana himself would speculate. Round 1 began with a square off, followed by low kicks in unison. Seemingly intent to exchange, both ground fighters would throw low kicks at each other. CB lands a body kick. Tim misses a high kick and throws a flurry. CB landed a leg kick before both men exchanged furiously after a brief stand off. CB throws a body kick and body shot, plus an inside leg kick. After a throw of hands by Tim, he caught CB and dropped him to the mat, scrambling, CB would get a takedown after a sprawl. Tim would go for a leg, Cb would land shots before Tim would scramble to his feet. We closed off the round with another throw of hands. Round 2 would begin with a missed high kick followed up by a takedown by CB. Standing back up, they would square off and exchange. Tim threw a superman punch that would barely connect. Tim got caught and ate some shots almost being stopped by the ref. But, he would recover quickly, still eating shots. Exchanging again, CB would be the one to back up in distress during the back and forth exchange. Tim ate one on the chin and shrugged it off. CB shoots and Tim sprawls but still gets taken down in guard, throwing shots posturing up to pass before the horn. Round 3 began with a flurry from Tim and a takedown by CB. Standing up, CB would land a low kick. Another exchange would end with a leg kick from CB. CB would shoot for another takedown into butterfly guard. After a scramble, CB got another takedown followed by another scrambled. Holding Tim’s ankles, most likely for a pass attempt, Tim would scramble back to his feet. There was another flurry by Tim and a takedown by CB, finishing the fight by landed strikes from top and bottom. The judges’ decision would be CB Dollaway by a close decision.
So it is Amir Sadollah and CB Dollaway in the finals on Saturday, June 21st. I will not be covering it, as I am making my amateur debut the same day. It has been a joy covering this season, perhaps I will look forward to next season on THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER!
KJ Noons vs. Yves Edwards
This fight was for the Elite XC lightweight title. Noons lands the first strike of the fight with body kick. Edwards stands in the pocket and lands a straight right to the body and a nice right hand to the chin of Noons. Noons counters Edwards punches with a stiff straight right that makes Edwards fall to the canvas. Noons rushes in with a fury and begins to throw some lighting quick punches and even a couple of elbows from top position. Referee Mario Yamasaki steps in to stop the fight just 48 seconds into the first round.
Fireworks after the fight
There was a scuffle during the post-fight interview. Nick Diaz enters the cage after the fight to challenge KJ Noons for his title. Mind you, he was already beat by Noons last year. Hand gestures and words are exchanged between both parties. KJ Noons’ dad begins to get fired up and attacks a member of Diaz’s possee. One of Noons’ cornermen are seen throwing punches. Noons’ dad put Nick Diaz in a Muay Thai plum but the exchange was broken up quickly. Nick Diaz exits up the ramp with his brother Nate throwing up double middle fingers. It looked like something in the WWE and doesn’t belong in MMA in my opinion.
Nick Diaz vs. Muhsin Corbbrey
This fight was meant to be fought at the 160 pound division but Diaz weighed in at 9 pounds over. So the fight took play at a catch weight of 168 pounds. Corbbrey keeps a good distance at the start of the fight and lands a straight right to the body of Diaz. Diaz gets the Thai plum and knees Corbbrey in the body. Diaz lands a triple jab on Corbbrey with his right hand. Corbbrey lands a nice leg kick. Corbbrey is starting to time his counters on Diaz well. Corbbrey counters two Diaz jabs with two straight rights of his own. Corbbrey then lands a body kick and follows it up with a nice uppercut. Corbbrey finishes the round with an overhand right that scores for him. The second round starts as both fighters land hooks on each other. Diaz begins to close in but Corbbrey lands an uppercut. Diaz shoots in for a single-leg takedown but Corbbrey stuffs it. Corbbrey uses nice head movement to move away from Diaz’s jab and straight left. Diaz lands 2 nice left hands. Corbbrey uses good foot movement to avoid being part of a slugfest and the crowd begins to boo. Diaz begins to taunt Corbbrey and lands a left hand. Corbbrey answers by landing a right hand and begins to back up again. Diaz shoots for another takedown but cannot take Corbbrey down to the canvas. Diaz goes to the clinch and trips Corbbrey down to the canvas. Diaz ends the round in side control. The third round begins with Diaz shooting in for a takedown but Corbbrey defends again. Diaz scores with a nice uppercut and takes Corbbrey down with a body lock. Diaz is now is in Corbbrey’s half guard. Diaz is now bleeding from a cut over his left eye. Diaz has passed to side control and is working on a kimura. Diaz steps over Corbbrey’s head and drops down to lock in an armbar. The submission attempt is very deep but Corbbrey escapes. Diaz is back in side control throwing punches. Diaz stands up and lands some more punches. Diaz advances to the mount and continues to overwhelm Corbbrey with punches. Referee Chris West is forced to stop the fight 3:59 into the third round.
Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. Tony Bonello
The stare down is interesting as Bonello throws some unkind words at Rua. Bonello starts the fight aggressively by missing on a head kick but landing an uppercut. Bonello pulls guard and attempts to put Rua into an armbar. Murilo Rua defends easily and advances to side control. Rua begins to elbow Bonello in the head. Rua is controlling the fight and battering Bonello with left elbows. Rua obtains the mount but quickly decides to go back to side control. Rua begins to throw elbows to the head and body again. Rua advances to knee-on-belly and pounds out Bonello. Referee Mario Yamasaki stops the fight just 3:16 into the first round.
Dave Herman vs. Ron Waterman
Dave Herman begins the round by making Waterman eat some punches and Waterman takes an inadvertent finger to the eye. Waterman slowly drops levels and takes down Herman to the canvas. Herman gets back up to his feet but Waterman gets him back down to the canvas. Herman stands back up and scores with a jumping left-footed kick. Herman hurts Waterman with a nice knee to the body. Herman pounces on Waterman and is now in the mount. Herman pounds Waterman out from the mount. Referee Chris West is forced to stop the contest just 2:19 into the fight.
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Wayne Cole
The bell for the first round sounds and both fighters begin to trade some aggressive strikes in the center of the cage. Feijao reverses an inside trip to get a takedown. Wayne gets back to his feet quickly. Feijao lands an unintentional knee to the groin and gets warned by referee Mario Yamasaki. The fight continues as Feijao lands a knee to Wayne Cole’s head from the clinch that rocks him. Feijao runs in and forces Cole to the ground. Cole gives up his back to the Brazilian and Feijao ends the fight with punches. Referee Mario Yamasaki ends the fight just 2:47 into the first round.
In the beginning of this week, we saw this season’s coaches challenge, which would be a Basketball free throw competition. It began with Dana declaring that the winning coach would receive 10 G’s and that the fighter money would be doubled from 1 G to 2, but only if Rampage could make a successful 3 point basket; which he did with ease. His skills on the court would not follow up very well, as he would lag behind Forrest in the actual competition. Forrest and his team would receive the prize money, as the two coaches would have a brief yet warm embrace as well as a hand shake.
Jesse Taylor then gave a speech about his alias “JT Money” whilst getting a logo etched into his hairline with buzz-clippers. After this, as foretold by the man himself to me personally, the massive drunk-fest would ensue. With some being more reserved than others, my boy JT Money would be at the head of the pack when it came to all out sousing! His opponent Tim Credeur would attempt to calm the extremely wasted Taylor down by bringing him into the hot tub to sober up. But, not before the drunkard urinated in his swim trunks again, but this time on the bathroom floor. Following Credeur’s departure from the hot tub, Taylor attempted to hold himself under water before Credeur secured a body lock, dragging him from the enclosure. Taylor proceeded to pass out. Waking up he lacked a hangover, going ape-dung gorilla up on the cement wall of the yard, in the morning.
During the training session, we heard from both men of how the two opponents were dear friends, and that still practicing together, as well as helping each other, was pretty weird. Dana then speculated on the clash of styles, being Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling and that it is always interesting to see these two styles go head to head!
We also heard two great examples of why we, as fighters, press on to do what we do everyday. First it was Tim Credeur breaking down in front of the camera and the world, recalling that he was close to retirement before his wife convinced him to press and that “good things happen to good people”, proving that behind every great man there’s a woman. Next we heard Jesse Taylor claiming that when he’s in the cage his opponents are fighting him and his son, which is quite a powerful statement. Although I’m not a father myself, I know that it would be great motivation to buy my kid the power wheels I never got for Christmas. These were two perfect examples of the raw emotion put forth behind the squaring off, cold stares, and swinging fists of mixed martial arts.
Round 1 of the first semi-final fight began with an inside leg kick from Tim Credeur, followed up with a takedown by Jesse Taylor; into closed guard. With Credeur controlling the posture of Taylor, JT still landed some shots in guard. Still being controlled posture wise, Taylor would land a few solid hammer fists. Credeur would like for a few different submissions when Taylor was finally able to posture up, unable to rain blows down because of this. Moving back to closed guard, JT would manage to land some really solid blows to Credeurs face, yet again. JT was then swept but would immediately bring Credeur back to the bottom position where he looked for a Triangle choke, or an arm lock, but wouldn’t manage to succeed. Credeur would taste more punishment before the end of the round! Round 2 began with a touch of gloves. Credeur missed a high kick, spinning around. But, Credeur would almost use Taylor’s momentum to sweep him to the ground, but this was also unsuccessful. Once again, utilizing closed guard, he would work the butterfly, once unsuccessfully but the second time he would sweep Taylor to gain a mounted position. This would not last long as Taylor would execute a sweep of his own. Trying to make Credeur stationary against the cage, working on ground and pound that would slide away, so this wouldn’t not occur. Taylor would land some shots before passing to half guard, then back to full guard, still slamming his fist into Credeur’s face. Credeur would try another unsuccessful sweep before the close of the round. Round 3 of this semi-final fight began with both men looking like they wanted to exchange hands, but this wouldn’t be the case as Jesse Taylor once again shoots for a take down with Tim Credeur sprawling. Still working for the takedown, JT would succeed in doing so. Credeur working butterfly guard, was looking for multiple different submissions, but would eat shots from a postured up Taylor for his troubles. Credeur would then gain Taylor’s back for a moment, but rolled to escape almost being locked up in an arm-bar. After this, Credeur was within and inch of locking Taylor in an Omaplata shoulder lock, but would also power out of this submission, as he had with all others; showing great submission defense. After getting back to full guard, Credeur would work the butterfly before Taylor would pass to half, still working on his trademark ground and pound. With 20 seconds left, Credeur would come close to securing another Triangle but wouldn’t manage to succeed, and would spend the rest of the fight eating more shots from Taylor.
Preceding the official decision there would be a sobbing embrace, followed by a shot of Taylor vomiting and cracking jokes before he was declared the winner.
Next week we will have CB vs. Amir in what should be one of the most exciting fights this season. Also, one of my buddies get’s the boot on the Ultimate Fighter!
Michigan has a funny reputation when it comes to MMA. We were the place for UFC 9 which was not exactly the shining moment for the organization. The state came in, just before the show, and fighters were threatened with jail time if they threw punches. MMA pretty much fell off the map for quite a while after that. Then someone found a loop hole in the laws as they pertained to MMA in Michigan. The law stated that amateur and exhibition MMA were not regulated and therefore not against the law. Promotions started hosting events and things were starting to look up. Then it crashed again. The Boxing Commission and State Attorney General’s Office began threatening to, and finally did, serve Cease and Desist orders. Their viewpoint was that if the law doesn’t say it is legal then it’s not legal. Being a Police Officer I know I can’t arrest someone for driving a car while wearing a red shirt. Yet if I took the state’s standpoint on it, I could. Why? Because the law doesn’t specifically state that it is legal to wear a red shirt while driving. So things slowed down and then the laws came into being on March 28th of 2008 and Amateur was unregulated, while we are awaiting passage of Professional regulations.
There is no secret that you have to be in phenomenal shape if you ever plan on being successful in the sport of MMA. If you are going to survive day in and day out through punishing grappling, lifting, sparring, and body hardening sessions. . . you had better make sure that you have your nutrition down to a science. You can train your butt off in the gym and hit a heavy bag until your knuckles bleed, but if you are not taking care of your body from a nutritional standpoint. . . you might as well have taken the day off. I hooked up with the great people at 
At the top of the hour, we began with this week’s fight; the last semi final fight featuring CB Dollaway vs. Amir Sadollah. Round 1 began with flurry from CB followed by a push kick from Amir. Both mean do the Thai clinch and exchange knees with a bit of dirty boxing. CB received a knee to the body, bouncing back to his feet, he picked up Amir and slammed him to the canvas. In guard, CB landed strikes. Amir went for an arm-bar after CB postured up, but was unsuccessful. CB would attempt to pass but ended up in closed guard, with his posture being controlled for a moment. CB picked up Amir and landed back in butterfly guard. Amir scrambled to stand. CB throws a push kick that connects and shoots for another takedown. Back in guard, CB worked on strikes until Amir gave away his back but he spun out back into guard and blocked strikes until the end of the round. Round 2 began with standing up square off. CB threw a blocked high kick, throwing shots and a knee to the body. Amir would land a body blow that would bring CB to the mat. Bouncing back, he would shoot in for successful takedown. Raining down while in guard, Amir rolled to secure an arm lock. Amir would receive strikes in guard while trying to control posture. CB would posture up landing strikes and elbows. A bleeding Amir, scrambles and stands to almost land a push-kick on CB, whilst he was leaning on the cage. Round 3 began with a leg kick and left hook followed by a right, followed by flying knee from Amir. CB attempts a slam from the cage, but it would be stuffed but the second one would not be. CB would almost nearly lock in a rear-naked choke before Amir turned out of it, and escaped; which was amazing defense on his part. Amir would attempt some weird submissions from the north-south position. Back in guard CB would land strikes before succumbing to an arm-bar sending Amir to the finals at the palms.
