Thread: Mma news - 5 august

A year ago, our reporter was jacked at a Tuff-n-Uff event in Las Vegas. Elena went to grab her equipment bag under her seat and nothing was there. She filed a report with the cops, told the security at the event but it was too late. Elena scrambled to get in touch with the guys at Xtreme Couture and Ryan Couture (The Natural Light, let's make it stick folks) opened the doors to give Elena a tour of the place. She told me Ryan Couture is the 'sweetest, kindest, most articulate person she's ever met'. Too bad for Elena. Apparently she's never met Dan Quinn.

Today, Strikeforce announced they now have two Coutures in the organization. If you're in the Phoenix area on August 13th, you too can witness his professional debut at Strikeforce Challengers: Riggs vs. Taylor. Hopefully Ryan's step-mother will be there, and if she is, someone please let her know I exist. Check out this interview we conducted with Ryan Couture around this time last year in which he predicted he would be signed by a major organization around this time this year, last year. It all makes sense whenever you push play.


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From the makers of 'Felony Fights' comes another show with an obvious title that requires no further explanation: Cage vs. Cons. Think Oz meets The Ultimate Fighter. Now take the remainder of that combination and divide it with blood splatter, hip-hop and grungy graphics and you have this 'Cage vs. Cons' promo. The show pits well-known convicted felons against not so well-known professional MMA fighters in commissioned MMA fights. At least that's the concept of the show. Not sure if any athletic commission will authorize this, but in theory it's still safer than strapping stun-guns to four-ounce gloves and letting teenagers punch other teenagers with them.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4C0TJyjXJI


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRFsD...layer_embedded


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Jason David Frank says that it's time to get off the amateur circuit and step up to Strikeforce.

"To really make it legit, and start making it count. We were going to do one more amateur, but what's the difference? Four amateur fights, five, all the same thing. Now I'm turning pro, get paid to do it, and it's not just about the money, but it's about doing it the right way."

"I'd love to get a Strikeforce deal. I want a Strikeforce deal. I keep talking about it all the time. I know my manager's talked to them briefly. It's just I want to build my record and do it the right way, and let me people know I can go more than one round."



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Jason David Frank, better known as 'The Green Power Ranger' (and sometimes The White Ranger based on some Hollywood technicality) has had beef with Jean-Claude Van Damme since 1995. Lets take a stroll down Memory Lane and let's try not to merge over into Hangover Highway (because it sucks, trust me). In 1995, the Dow Jones closed above 5,000 for the first time (Bill Clinton ftw), the Oklahoma City bombings went down, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened up in Cleveland, the first Playstation was released in North America and 1995 was the same year Jean-Claude Van Damme refused to attend the premier of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. The Green Power Ranger has held this grudge for 15 years and over the weekend, he's challenged the Universal Soldier to an MMA match. Here's what Jason David Frank had to say about his recently issued challenge:

"Anytime, anyplace, anywhere" — and "if [Van Damme's] too scared to come into the Octagon, I'll even take him on in a kickboxing match."



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On Wednesday 28th July 2010, @WarMachine170 said:

What's up guys!? I'm gonna do a weekly blog for this year while I'm locked up. Just want to keep y'all posted and give you some insight on what it's like here for me. When I first got here I was told I was gonna be kept in segregation to pretect myself since I'm a "celebrity." I told them NO WAY! 23 hours a day lockdown? FUCK THAT! So they stuck me in the "mainline." They classified me a 5 on a scale 1-6 so I'm with the big dogs. Everyone here has been to prison. Few guys in my unit are murderers waiting to be shipped out to prison for life. Funny, kinda odd, but they are the most friendly of the bunch... Most intelligent too. Hardest thing about this place is finding people you can have a decent conversation with.

So when you first get here you learn the rules, jail politics. You got the Whites, the Mexicans, and the Blacks + others. Whites and Mex share tables for recreation but you only eat show at your designated race's table. You never sit at the Blacks table and vice-versa, but you can talk to them here in County Jail. If a Mex or White fights a Black, all the Mex and Whites are required to jump in. One on one fights are only allowed against your own race and take place in an empty cell. I think it's dumb. I'm not trying to fight anyone and can care less abotu who fights who. I hope no big rumbles happen... I can't afford more trouble. Buttt if you don't help, you get jumped afterwards. Maybe I'll just throw body shots and leg kicks so I don't hurt anyone...

Anyway so far all is well. I'm bored a lot, just been reading and working out to stay busy. All the guys here are cool to me, I get a lot of questions about fighting. Seems everyone wants to learn some "moves." I wish we could train here, would make it way more fun... lol. So yeah, anyway I don't see anyone fucking with ME... Only way BS goes down is if I get drug into someone elses lame drama. Well that is that! Week 1 in a nut shell. Look forward to keeping you guys updated. Can't wait to get out and fight for all my fans again! Can't wait to open my gym in Austin! Thanks for standing by me. If you go to sdsheriff.net you can e-mail me. Booking # 10754342 Jon Koppenhaver. -WM



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mariusz-pudzianowski

"Butterbean is an MMA superstar in the USA. Mariusz would have to deal with an extremely experienced opponent, who's also an uncompromising competitor in the ring. His fighting style is very brutal and aggressive"

"If Mariusz improves his conditioning, and I know he works on it with professionals, this fight could end up being an unforgettable show for all KSW fans. Once both sides express their interest in the fight, KSW Federation will try to book this bout. "


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MAIA on sonnen v silva

"If I had to choose, I’d cheer for Sonnen, making an exception because I always want the Brazilians to win, but this time I have to be at Sonnen’s side, because I don’t admire the other one."

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuwDK...layer_embedded

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI-FE...layer_embedded

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"Sengoku is strong. We need only to wait for Dream to destroy itself, we will become the top Japanese MMA organization by not doing anything."

n the same broadcast, Sengoku stated their top fighters will earn anywhere from $3,420 to $11,400 per fight. Compare that to the $400,000 Brock Lesnar made at UFC 116, a payout so large that Jorge Santiago, Sengoku's middleweight champion, would have to fight approximately thirty-five times in the promotion just to equal what Lesnar pulled against Shane Carwin earlier this month.



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What did you say? Shinya Aoki doesn't fight at welterweight? Well he does, but whenever Mach Sakurai is slamming his knee into Aoki's head, Shinya has not been that successful. In 84 days, we will see Shinya Aoki return yet again to the welterweight division and participate in Ultimate Glory 2010's welterweight tournament held in Amsterdam and promoted by all those suave guys at Golden Glory. Other participants include Strikeforce's newly signed Siyar Bahadurzada, Diego Gonzalez, Tommy Depret, Jucau Carneiro, Paul Daley, Nick Thompson and Marius Zaromskis.

According to their website, this eight-man tournament will take place over the course of three events with the first one kicking off on October 16th in The Terminal (the same place that held last year's Glory 11). If this Glory event is anything like last year's, expect ridiculous gorgeous Dutch ring-girls accompanied by R&B singers that will rock the crowd during every intermission.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC2SY...layer_embedded

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For those of you who don't understand the greatness of the Bruce Buffer 180, I'll attempt to summarize the greatness of it in less than thirty words. Back in the day when UFC was an infant wetting it's diaper and puking over it's bib, the only constant fixtures at every UFC fight was Bruce Buffer and the Tapout crew (RIP Mask). The story goes that Bruce Buffer was announcing a fighter and midway through the introduction, he realized that he was facing the wrong guy. In a moment of rawesomeness, Buffer did a sudden 180 degree turn to face the other fighter. For years, it was deemed the greatest announcer recovery in MMA history, that is until James White hit the scene at Impact FC. Check out this video of one of the most epic screw-up recoveries in modern history.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fORS3...layer_embedded


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werdum on the ufc

They kind of used me and threw me out. That UFC business is complicated. It's tough to swallow that they would terminate your contract after two nice wins just because you lost the last one, regardless of how it happened. Business is business, it seems, and there's no soft spots involved. That's how it works - if they don't like it, you're out. Naturally, there's a little resentment, but since we must be professional with everyone, I can't take it personally. If that's the road you choose, you could get in trouble so it's best to stay professional."

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the kombie calls out omigawa

"I'm calling out Omigawa Michihiro. He recently stated(DREAM15,Young Sam Jung, POST FIGHT INTERVIEW) in his interview that the reason why he showed poor performance in his featherweight debut against me was that the lack of information about me that was available for him. It was really disappointing for me to see him making such an excuse and comments about my previous bout against him @ Deep: Gladiator. I respected him but it is ridiculous for him to say that the reason that he showed poor performance against me was lack of information about me. He's such a coward for not coming to WEC, where there are best athletes. Hope he comes to WEC and fight me. Next time, if a bout between me and him happens, I'll make sure that he won't be able to make any kind of excuses."


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Brazilian based 'Renascer em Crist' is one of the largest churches on the South American continent. If religion institutions had convenience store franchises, this would be it. With over 800 churches, the group has decided to institute MMA as their official sport. Shepherd, Douglas Meira, explains why the church adopted the sport we all love.

"MMA is a sport like any other, and why not promote an event like this inside the church? The main focus is to make this event a tool of evangelism, to bring God’s word to a specific audience. Another goal is to show that the church has its doors open to fighters and lovers of the sport"

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dream want to take over the world

"When K-1 and PRIDE were competing against each other, 80% of the martial arts market was in Japan. It is now the opposite and Japan is only 20%. We were worried that Japan would be left behind if we let this continue, it is unacceptable. We needed to change our business model."

"This is a declaration of war against the WWE and UFC. From Asia, we will take the world."

"We've let Dana White get a lead on us. Before (Shinya) Aoki beats (Gilbert) Melendez, we must win as promoters."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCm3N...layer_embedded

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werdum

I’ve gotten over 30 phone calls a day in my gym after the win, more students have come, the seminar value went up. It’s like at any other profession, a singer, soccer player, as you develop and get the spotlight the value changes".

"After the seminars I will undergo surgery on my elbow that I have put off for some time. We’re in July and I only want to come back 100% recovered. I think it’s hard to make it this year due the physical therapy, conditioning and all else. I might get back next year."

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The "bait and switch" tactic within the European kickboxing scene is a common method of drumming up some free PR and generating ticket sales and it looks as though Golden Glory's promotional wing United Glory has employed this tactic for their "World Series" welterweight MMA tournament which is set to begin on October 16 in Amsterdam.

Shinya Aoki, Paul Daley, Marius Zaromskis, Nick Thompson and Diego Gonzalez were originally announced for the tournament but now have all been inexplicably removed from the card. Given Aoki's plan to fight at DREAM.16 in September as a lightweight and Paul Daley's rumored signing with Strikeforce their removal really comes as no surprise.

Of the eight fighters that were originally announced we are left with Siyar Bahadurzada, Roan Carneiro, and Tommy Depret. Both Bahadurzada and Depret train at Golden Glory.

The card is also set to host a heavyweight kickboxing tournament featuring Errol Zimmerman, Gohkan Saki, Stefan Leko, Mourad Bouzidi, Brice Guidon and Anderson "Braddock" Silva. Ruslan Karaev and Ashwin Balrak were originally included in the participants but they have also been removed.



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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LOvF...layer_embedded


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butterbean on his next opponent

I know he allegedly broke his foot in the fight against Sylvia, but he didn’t show anything before he quit. Pudzianowski has no stand-up and as strong as he is, he punches like a girl. All he does is throw arm punches. He needs a lot of help. He’s the 5-time World’s Strongest Man but hits like a 130-pounder, not a strong man who weighs 270 pounds. He doesn’t have the skill level to get to the level he wants to fight."

"Once he gets a stand-up game – you can’t have a ground game working without one – he could be a force in MMA. He still needs some work on his ground game, too. We all know he’s very strong but that’s not enough at the highest level of MMA. I don’t know who has been coaching him but that trainer should be fired. Pudzianowski needs to prove himself, showing he has a good stand-up game by beating a good MMA fighter, before he gets another big fight like a spot on the October 9th show."



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An attorney for the Bellator Fighting Championships is confident a lawsuit filed against the promotion and MMA agent Ken Pavia by Zuffa LLC will prove to be little cause for concern – ultimately.

As first reported by Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole on Thursday, Zuffa, parent company of the UFC and WEC, filed a suit against Bellator and Pavia, as well as unnamed co-defendants, in Clark County (Nev.) District Court claiming Pavia gave proprietary documents to Bellator on request from Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

The suit alleges Bellator and Pavia were conspiring to essentially steal trade secrets from Zuffa through the exchange of confidential documents in e-mails. Pavia, head of the MMA Agents representation firm, handles dozens of MMA fighters, including many under the Zuffa umbrella.

Speaking to MMA Fighting on Friday, Rebney said the promotion's attorney, Patrick English, had instructed him to not discuss the suit publicly. And Pavia, also reached Friday, said he, too, was unable to discuss the pending litigation.

But English said he believes if the two sides come together, Zuffa's concerns will be alleviated.

"I think that this will end up being not very significant," English said. "What happened, clearly, is the UFC got a hold of an intemperate e-mail that was sent and got concerned about whether legitimately confidential documents were being circulated. In point of fact, the documents are really not confidential – and nothing's been done with them in any case. I know the folks at the UFC very well. I have a call in to them, and I'm sure that when they're free they'll give me a call back, and we'll discuss it and tell them exactly what we've got – and I think that will allay their concerns."

English said the number of documents – and the nature of the documents themselves – isn't what he believes Zuffa is worried about. English said he wasn't sure how many documents were allegedly shared between Pavia and Rebney.

"Maybe five – I have them all," English said. "I didn't count them. And frankly, it looks to me as though they're multiples of the same thing. We're not talking about a massive number of documents or anything like that."

When asked if he knew how Zuffa came into possession of the e-mails, English was quick with his response.

"It's pretty obvious that somebody gave them to them," English said. "I think that's a question for Mr. Pavia, not for me."

Donald Campbell, of the Las Vegas lawfirm Campbell & Williams, which is representing Zuffa in the case, told MMA Fighting on Friday the heart of the suit was simple under the law: theft of proprietary information.

"(The suit) involves, at its essence, a theft, under the law, of information that is not entitled to be shared or used and abused," Campbell said. "We haven't invented the wheel here – these are well recognized causes of action, and that's why the courts have provided the significant remedies they have to address them."

Though Campbell would not put a dollar amount on the damages Zuffa is seeking, he said because of the "highly confidential" nature of the documents allegedly exchanged, Zuffa will "seek the highest extent of damages allowed."

He also said UFC president Dana White and UFC legal counsel Lawrence Epstein told him "to leave no stone unturned."

"The conduct alleged is egregious, it's outrageous and we intend to address it with every legal vehicle at our disposal," Campbell said. "What's involved is the most sensitive and propietary information that has been essentially bought and sold on the marketplace in violation of multiple statutes."

English said he believes that the wording of the e-mails is what struck a nerve with Zuffa and led to the lawsuit. But he said he believes the suit to be unnecessary.

"It doesn't appear that way from the e-mails, but I've got the stuff and I've looked at it," English said. "I will say this: I think that the UFC folks had a legitimate concern, but I don't think they'll have that concern after we talk. I wish a phone call had been made rather than a lawsuit."

Though the suit alleges Bellator, as a competitor, could use the documents in a way that is damaging to Zuffa, English reiterated that the documents are not confidential and were going to be used by Bellator as a way to make sure it was running its operation in a way that was consistent with other promotions.

"What Bellator was doing – although it doesn't appear that way from the e-mails – was making sure that they covered all their own bases by cross-referencing against forms that other entities were using," English said. "But the forms themselves are incredibly routine, and they're not proprietary in any way, and they're not confidential in any way. We're talking about things like a form that (says) that two (fighters) don't have the same color trunks (or) their form when they're cutting somebody."

Though Rebney could not comment on the suit, he did tell MMA Fighting he was busy working on the promotion's Season 3 debut, set for Aug. 12 in Hollywood, Fla. – and that he will watch UFC on Versus 2 on Sunday.

"What I can tell you is I'm a huge fan of the UFC," Rebney said. "I'll be watching the fights on Versus on Sunday. I'm a fan of the organization and I appreciate what they do."


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Bob Sapp announced that he's been pulled off the Impact FC Sydney card because his plane ticket is too expensive. Actually, the greatest part of this story is the fact that Bob Sapp was in Bulgaria shooting a new Conan the Barbarian movie. Bob plays the role of Ukafa, a war hardened leader of Kushite tribesmen from the savannas of Kush. Ukafa is Khalar Singh’s second in command, jealous that Singh’s son, Fariq, will one day be warlord. Don't sit there and act like you didn't know that.



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an m1 fighter claims m1 screw fighters over pay


M-1 Global [expletive] me! Have not said anything but tried to be patient, pondered for a while if I would write something about this at all. Is that right sur[?] you understand and this has not helped me in my mental warm up before my match next weekend. Writes this to all of you will have something to do with the M1 in your careers. So here it is, I would receive a certain sum to meet Danny van Bergen (can not go into the sum due the contract). Then I would get a win bonus if I won. All this, and standards of professional MMA. When I came to Finland as it did at the weigh-in that we would get 50% of direct cash and 50% + profit bonus in our account within 10dagar. I have never had money before I ever been a match. Since this was a 50% bonus + profit on the account, which I was not informed of. I thought no more of this but they gave my account number. I waited for my money but no cash came in to my account. Contacted them via email and my manager and asked why no money came. I received a reply a few days after they have been wrong account number. I sent back and waited 10dagar. No cash was then either. Contacted my manager again and he tried to reach it. Now it became clear that the Finnish Shooto European champion not been paid. Well now it's kind of a solicitor engaged in this. M1 is one of the world, in all cases, europe's largest organizations, and they obviously can not meet those commitments. I have actually a contract at home but how far can you run this against an organization that is based in another country, especially in the case of relatively small amounts of money (large for me)! It feels very acidic!

Then I accepted a match in Japan for so little pay that I go back when I have to take time off from work, it does not feel better with the M1 [expletive] up myself. All this has got me in a negative state of mood before the match that I have to try to rub off. So little cash as fighters earn at that level all the time and effort you put down you want to get paid what you been promised. Ok now I will stop whining about this!



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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kay_Q...layer_embedded


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Overeem showed up in St. Louis in May, beat Brett Rogers convincingly, and passed his drug test with no problems in between.

However, if you think the heavyweight champion is going to gloat about passing the test amidst accusations that he was using performance enhancing drugs, think again.

"I was trying not to pay attention to it anyway because I knew I was going to come for the test and it was going to come out clean," Overeem said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour.

"So I just knew it was just getting through the stormy weather, or as you say to weather the storm. Let them talk, and I'm going to keep focusing on my training. And, yeah, I basically just did that. You know, you focus on what you can affect, and other people's opinions and other people's voices, yeah, you can't affect that. So let them talk -- I can't do anything about that anyway


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OVEREEM

"I did eight fights in eight months," Overeem said. "There's a max, you know. So I needed to take time off and let my body recover, and what happened was, I'd just got back from the states and my management already told me, 'Yeah, you have a fight coming up in Dream.15, they want you.' I told them, I'm tired. I need a holiday. The only reason for me to recharge and go back into training camp is if it's for the title. That's an opportunity I don't want to go to waste.

"A couple days later my management confirmed the fight, it was going to be for the title, against Andrei Arlovski. Well, what happened then was I was totally motivated, got my team back together, my sparring partners, got back into camp, and then after two week I heard that Andrei Arlovski is injured, he's not fighting."

Overeem said a number of replacement fighters were mentioned, including former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia, and he was assured that the fight would still be for a title.

"I asked on several occasions, is this for the title and is it confirmed? My management said yes, it's for the title and it's confirmed. So I kept training. Two and a half weeks into training...my management called me and told it's going to be Ricco Rodriguez and it will not be for the title. Then my motivation just totally was lost. I could still make it to see the Fedor fight, so I said, yeah, I'm going to go to the states and I'm going to challenge Fedor, the winner of the fight between Fedor and Fabricio Werdum. I cancelled the fight then and there."

Only several weeks later did he learn that Dream was still promoting his appearance as part of the event, and that Rodriguez had already left for Japan under the assumption that he'd be facing Overeem at Dream.15.

"I was like, wait a minute, I cancelled the fight," Overeem said. "Let's put out a press release so that everybody knows I'm not fighting. For the fans, for Ricco, for anybody that shows up, I'm not going to be there. ...It's the proper thing to do, I think."

Overeem also said that he's "undecided" about where his next fight will take place, but hinted that he may be interested in returning to K-1 this fall.

"You also have the K-1 Final Grand Prix at the end of the year. ...I have qualified for the final 16. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to compete, but I would like to compete. K-1 is striking, I like it, it has a little bit different audience. It's very popular in Holland. So yeah, I want to become champion. I see myself as champion."

Overeem reiterated that he's not sure if K-1 will take precedence over his MMA career, but said his dream is to become a K-1 champion as well as an MMA champ.

"That would be legendary. No other fighter has ever done that."


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Winning three heavyweight kickboxing bouts in one night to claim the K-1 World Grand Prix Final title may be the most physically demanding endeavor in combat sports. As a four-time World Grand Prix champion, Semmy Schilt knows that well.

The physical demands of the K-1 World Grand Prix are the reason that the 36-year-old Schilt is making a point of preserving himself this year. Schilt has stepped into the ring just once since winning the 2009 title on December 5, and he says he doesn't expect to fight again until it's time to begin the path toward defending his title in a Final 16 bout in September.

"The last time I fought was on the fourth of April, and now I am waiting on my next fight, in the Final 16 this year," Schilt told MMAFighting.com. "I don't have many injuries so its not necessary to preserve myself, but now I am training without pressure, and that feels good."

With his four World Grand Prix titles, Schilt is regarded as the world's top kickboxer, which is an incredibly prestigious title both in his native Holland and in Japan, where he usually fights. But in the United States, "world's top kickboxer" doesn't mean much more than "world's top cricket player" or "world's top rugby player": Americans can recognize that it's meaningful to be the best, but it's awfully hard to find an American who follows the sport.


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Schilt, however, did once have a kickboxing match in the United States (in 2006 in Las Vegas), and he says he saw the potential for American fans to become drawn to his sport -- but only if an American kickboxer becomes successfulat the highest levels of competition.

"I think the American fans are a lot like the Dutch fans," Schilt said. "There is room for K-1 in America, as kickboxing is very different than boxing or MMA. America needs to have heroes, the same as Japan and every other country -- the people like to see a countryman fight."

As it stands right now, the American athletes who could be successful in kickboxing are instead fighting in mixed martial arts, a sport that Schilt knows a little something about as well. Schilt was actually a professional MMA fighter before he was a professional kickboxer, and he even fought twice in the UFC in 2001. And Schilt says he wouldn't rule out returning to the Octagon in the future.

"I consider myself a fighter, and the rules decide what kind of fight it will be," Schilt said of distinguishing kickboxing from MMA. "There is a chance I will fight again in the UFC. There is always a chance."

Schilt attended UFC 93 in 2009 and met with UFC President Dana White, and he said that while that meeting didn't result in a job offer, he was impressed by how far the sport had come in the eight years since he participated, especially in the striking department.

"My impression of UFC 93 was good, the style is changed a bit, with a lot more stand-up fighting," Schilt said.

It would be fascinating to see how Schilt would fare against the current stable of UFC heavyweights, but Schilt says he doesn't see that happening soon. Instead, he's thinking about what the K-1 World Grand Prix Final will hold for him this year, and he says he thinks his 2009 rival Badr Hari, as well as his friend and sometime training partner Alistair Overeem, will provide some of his toughest competition.

"At the moment I am not training with Alistair," Schilt said. "I think it is a strange year for him. He wanted to fight Fedor Emelianenko for such a long time that I think he cannot focus so much (on MMA after Fabricio Werdum beat Fedor), so I think he will go for the K-1 World Grand Prix title this year."

As for Hari, whose bad boy image often overshadows his kickboxing talents, Schilt says he expects Hari back in the K-1 ring in September.

"If the police don't catch him, he will fight," Schilt said.

If Schilt wins the K-1 World Grand Prix again this year, he'll become the first five-time champion. But he's not overly concerned with records, and he says that even in the year he'll turn 37, he doesn't view 2010 as his last chance.

"It's my goal to become Grand Prix champion again, that this will be a record is nice," Schilt said. "I'll fight as long as my body stays strong and my mind is right."