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The Legendary Rivalry Continues between Kazushi Sakuraba and the Gracie Family!

Posted by Mike Calimbas on May 13, 2010

It was officially announced at a press conference inside Kazushi Sakuraba’s Laughter7 gym this past Monday that the famed “Gracie Hunter” is to resume his MMA feud against the legendary Gracie family against none other than Rorion’s son Ralek at Dream 14 on May 29, 2010.

It has been 11 years since Sakuraba defeated Royler Gracie via kimura at Pride 8. Since then, he’s bested Ryan, Royce (twice), and even broke the arm of the fearless Renzo Gracie. Will Ralek (2-0), from the next generation of the famed fighting family, finally avenge the Gracie family honor against Mr. Sakuraba (26-11-1)? We shall see May 29th on HDNet.

In the meantime, catch the following video of Kazushi Sakuraba donning a BJJ black belt and training in the gi!

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2010 World Pro BJJ Cup Video – Mendes vs. Mendes and more

Posted by Mike Calimbas on April 30, 2010

The 2010 2010 World Pro BJJ Cup event took place in Abu Dhabi last weekend with many elite players competing for 145k in price money. There were many exciting matches at this event, including Claudio Calazans upsetting Braulio Estima and the match below, pitting featherweight Rafael Mendes against another highly-touted featherweight in his brother,Guilherme Mendes!

You can catch the rest of the matches from the 2010 World BJJ Cup on Emirates Jiu-Jitsu’s YouTube Channel.

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A Contradiction of Viewpoints within the Gracie Family

Posted by Mike Calimbas on December 1, 2009

Guys, if you do anything this week, I would suggest heading over to Fightworks Podcast to check out the war of words between Renzo and Relson Gracie through their recent interviews with Caleb and Dan.

The war of words started out during Relson’s interview, where he vehemently speaks out about his feelings on what real BJJ is and goes on to speak about Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, discounting the various open guard (x-guard, spider guard, etc.) techniques along the way. he also had this to say about world champion Roger Gracie, who Relson claims is the only one on the Gracie Barra team using true “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu” in competition:

Roger is the only one that keeps the Gracie style. He closes the guard, attacks the neck, sweeps, gets a good mount, and he submits everybody from the mounted position. You don’t see many Gracie Barra guys doing that. Only Roger.

More recently, the guys over at Fightworks Podcast had a chance to interview Renzo Gracie as well. The interview starts with Caleb asking Renzo about Relson’s comments and Renzo saying the following:

Now its funny, now that you mention, I had a very strange experience this past week. One of my students, he actually went to California, and he ask me where he should train. I say, “the Gracie Academy,” because that was the closest place to where he was going. I sent him to Rorion’s Academy, the one in Torrance. He goes in, and they told him that he shouldn’t train there, because that place was the “real jiu jitsu place.” It was like they were saying he doesn’t know jiu jitsu, and is learning from a source that doesn’t know how to teach.

(Continued…. and a little later, after a lot of words from Renzo….)

A lot of times, people only respect the hammer, so let me be honest: I am tired of being the nice guy. I have the fucking hammer in my hand! These people keep talking nonsense and insulting others. So they better be ready to step in there and stand up for their beliefs, because I’m ready to get in there and stand up for everything I believe. I also have a beautiful pair of brass balls to do it.

You can only presume where it goes from there but I guarantee you Renzo does not mince his words. Seriously, go read the interview now and it will shed all kinds of light as to how Renzo feel about “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.”

When you’re done with the interviews, come back here and let us know how you feel about this controversial debate.

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Chatting with Ricardo Talavera on the Eve of his Fight at Legacy Fighting Championships

Posted by Mike Calimbas on November 6, 2009

November 6th Ricardo from Lonestar Beatdown 2Interview from www.dncworldwide.com

We’re sitting here with our very dear friend and fellow ninja, Ricardo Talavera, who is finishing up final preparations for his Mixed Martial Arts fight at the Legacy Fighting Championships, this Saturday at the Arena Theater in Houston.

Ricardo, how are you feeling heading up to this fight?

Oh man, I feel very, very good. Very well prepared, physically and mentally.

You’re set to take on Danny Taylor of Bushi Ban. How much do you know about this guy? Do you feel that there is anything specific you need to prepare for?

I dont know much about Danny Taylor. He fights out of Bushi Ban, a very good and well-known gym. Bushi Ban is a very good gym, their fighters are pretty aggressive, they like to bang, love to strike and come ready to fight. So, to prepare for this fight i have been including a lot of Muay Thai training, Boxing and of course always to my basics, BJJ. I have been preparing to take care of Danny anywhere. If he wants to bang, then we bang, if he wants to clinch then we clinch, ground, he’ll be crazy. Whereever he wants to go, i am going to make sure he pays for it.

Who’s helped you prepare for this fight overall? What team are you training with and how have those guys prepared you for Danny?

I fight out of ELITE MMA. I train under Eric Williams and Hai Nguyen mainly, however, for this fight we have also included the instruction of Romelle Agra to take care of my Muay Thai training and also Pat Swan for my Boxing. To add to this, Coach David Campbell has been the one taking care of our conditioning out of hell training. plus of course all my teammates at Elite MMA that some how have given me and helped me through out my training.

Any predictions on how the fight will end?

Lights out. whether I choke him out, or KO him.

Are you looking forward to any other fights on the card?

Definitely, I want to see my teammate Sting Ray Blodgett kick some ass. I also want to see Robo’s fight to see what the whole fuzz is all about.

Anything else you’d like to say to your fans and loved ones before you step into the cage?

To my beautiful wife and momma to be. I am sorry for all the long and lonely nights i have put you through, Thank you for your love, patience and support. I love you.

And to my fans, thank you for the support and push through out the years…let’s get this win over with and go eat and party!!!

Ricardo Talavera is an Undefeated Professional MMA Fighter with a 1-0 record.  He is also a Petroleum Engineering graduate of West Virginia University and a die-hard Mountaineers fan. When he’s not fighting, Ricardo works as a software consultant for the oil & gas industry. You can hear more about the life and fights of Ricardo Talavera by following him on Twitter.

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ADCC 2009 Brackets Posted on Fightworks Podcast

Posted by Mike Calimbas on September 25, 2009

adcc

Straight from The Fighworks Podcast, here are the brackets for the ADCC Submission World Championships 2009, to be held this weekend in Spain.

Caleb and Dan will be live-blogging the action from ADCC starting Saturday at 5am CST and will continue at 6am Sunday on fightworkspodcast.com. You can also watch all the action LIVE as the they will be webcasting the most prestigious grappling tournament in the world live on PPV on September 26th and 27th. Order ADCC PPV Live Now for $24.95 and get the VOD(Video on Demand) for FREE !

Anybody care to make a friendly wager March Madness style? Eddie & Kris, I am talking to you.

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Girls in Gi’s – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Training Opportunity in Houston for Women of All Skill Levels

Posted by Mike Calimbas on September 10, 2009

Elite MMA’s Ashley Nguyen offering  a free training session for women and girls of all skill levels. Girls in Gi’s is a unique opportunity for those interested in self-defense and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

girlsingis

For more info on the Girls in Gi’s progam, visit their website at http://girlsingis.weebly.com/.

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