Steven Muehlhausen | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

Tyrone Spong: Like to Be Champion in Boxing, MMA and Kickboxing Simultaneously

People say you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Tyrone Spong got that hint on Saturday night.The kickboxing legend made his MMA debut on Saturday night for The World Series of Fighting as he knocked out Travis Bartlett 3:…

People say you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Tyrone Spong got that hint on Saturday night.

The kickboxing legend made his MMA debut on Saturday night for The World Series of Fighting as he knocked out Travis Bartlett 3:15 into the fight. That’s an impressive debut for any fighter, but Spong says he knows he can do better than what he showed on Saturday.

“I know I can do better,” Spong told Bleacher Report. “It was amazing to experience all of this in my MMA debut. It was a very nice knockout and I showed some skills in the fight. The fans were happy with the fight. If I had to rate my fight on a one to ten scale, I would probably give the fight a 7.5-8.”

A lot of people were talking about the straight right hand that knocked out Bartlett, with Spong just walking away from him and going to his corner. In the world of kickboxing, that’s what you do when you knock a fighter down to the count of eight. Spong had a lapse to his kickboxing days for a moment after the knockdown.

“To be honest, it’s in my system to away after the guy goes down and I wait for eight count,” Spong stated. “I knew I caught him and knew the fight was over knowing he wasn’t going to get up from that shot.”

Coming from a different sport, the preparations leading into the new sport are usually different. Spong states a fight is a fight regardless of what form of combat it is.

“I wasn’t more nervous because it was an MMA fight,” Spong stated. “A fight is a fight. I get paid to show up, fight, try to do my best and entertain the crowd.”

Watching the fight on Saturday, Spong looked relaxed in the cage for a fighter who was making his MMA debut. He credits that to his training partners, the Blackzilians in Boca Raton, Florida.

“The reason I was so relaxed is because of the guys I train with,” Spong stated. “I work with Rashad Evans, Alistair Overeem, Jorge Santiago, Thiago Silva, Vitor Belfort and Anthony Johnson. To be able to train with those guys, test my skills against world champions and veteran’s of the game, it gives me a good self-esteem boost.”

Back in August, it was announced that Spong had signed a two-year, multi-fight deal with the kickboxing organization GLORY, with a debut at their December 2 event in Tokyo. The native of Suriname isn’t sure if he will be fighting at that event.

“I’m taking my time to evaluate everything with my manager regarding what’s going to happen in my career and what’s going to be next,” Spong stated. “I will make the decision this week, but I don’t know for sure if I’m going to participate in the December show. I signed for four fights, so I’m going to have more kickboxing fights.”

Spong stated on his twitter account on Sunday that he would like to face heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko in a boxing fight. Klitschko has yet to respond to the challenge. Spong, who has been sparring with boxing world champion Michael Grant, feels the heavyweight division in boxing needs some excitement and that he’s the man who can bring that.

“I see myself as a menace to everybody out there if I just work hard and prepare well,” Spong stated. “I also have been sparring with Michael Grant for awhile now. Heavyweight boxing right now is flat out boring. I think I can add some excitement to that division.

“I bring everything to the table. It’s a challenge. I’m not cocky. I respect both Klitschko‘s because they are great champions, real ambassadors for the sport, but at the same time, they are my challenge. I would like to challenge both Klitschko‘s and go at it.”

No one in combat sport has ever held world championships in boxing, MMA and kickboxing at the same time. Spong feels though that will change, as he wants to be the person to do it.

“That is something I would really like to do,” Spong stated. “Nobody has ever accomplished that. I think I have the ability to do it. I really believe in myself. It doesn’t come with ease. It is a lot of hard work and dedication. If I can put that all into my training, then I can do so.”

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.

You can also follow me on Twitter @fightclubchi.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Joey Rivera: Roy Nelson Basically Felt That Doing TUF Was a Wrinkle in His Plans

It has been an up and down season 16 of The Ultimate Fighter in terms of the fights and ratings. The ratings for this season have hit a low of 624,000 viewers with a high mark of 1.1 million, which has been achieved twice with last week’…

The season overall has been averaging 863,000 viewers, which is down when they went with TUF LIVE format earlier this year when it averaged a little more than a million viewers.

The fights have been the same thing as the ratings—up and down. We see fights like last week between Roy Nelson team fighter Jon Manley defeating Shane Carwin team fighter James Chaney via submission. Then we get fights like we saw about two weeks ago between Michael Hill and Matt Secor where for the most part the fight stalled before ending in controversy when the judges announced Hill got the victory.

Episode three of TUF saw the oldest member of the show—Team Nelson’s Joey Rivera—defeat Team Carwin’s number one selection Sam Alvey by majority decision. The 32 year old who fights out of Tucson, Arizona got into MMA due to the rough atmosphere of his early days in New Jersey.

“I first started training in 1997, when I was still in high school,” Rivera told Bleacher Report. “I started in aikido and then started doing judo. I really fell in love though with grappling. It was a great way to not get in trouble and to do something for myself. My neighborhood in New Jersey wasn’t the best and grappling was a good outlet for me to get away and find something I like to do.”

Most guys who make The Ultimate Fighter usually only tryout once to make the show. Rivera, however, tried out numerous times and felt that he wasn’t going to get that break of getting on the show.

“I had actually tried out three different times,” Rivera stated. “I actually tried out for the welterweight season, the lightweight season and another welterweight season. Finally they had another tryout, which was for this current season, but I wasn’t going to go because I had felt I tried too many times. They (UFC) said I didn’t have to tryout anymore and they accepted me.

“They (UFC) took me to the interview and accepted me. It was like all the hard work is now beginning to pay off.”

Roy Nelson has been questioned by UFC President Dana White in the past regarding the way Nelson looks, his work ethic; the list goes on and on. You see some of those things on the show, such as after Rivera’s victory Nelson made his guys pick a straw and whoever drew the shortest either had to fight or pass the straw to another teammate. Julian Lane got the shortest straw and chose to fight.

Rivera says he respects Nelson as a fighter, but questions Nelson’s fight selections, training methods and his commitment to the show from the very first practice up to last week’s episode.

“We as a team are frustrated with those things and we noticed it at the beginning, from the very first practice to right now in the season,” Rivera stated. “Its not that Roy Nelson is a bad guy. I just think that he’s probably a lot better fighter than he is a coach.

“Roy Nelson is a heavyweight. The first episode he basically said that his wife was pregnant and this (TUF) was a wrinkle in his plans because he had a fight coming up in December and all this other stuff. Exactly what he said is what we are to him.

“He lives in Vegas and if you compare him to Shane Carwin, where he came and brought in Nate Marquardt, his wrestling and strength and conditioning coach. He brought a team down. In where that with Roy Nelson, he lives in Vegas and he thinks he has that luxury of going home and relaxing where these guys (Carwin’s coaches) are on the job. He plans it a little better.”

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.

You can follow me on Twitter @fightclubchi.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Gregor Gracie Looking to Bring the Gracie Name Back to Where It Used to Be

If you have been a lifelong fan of mixed martial arts, you know what the name “Gracie” means. You can make an argument that if it wasn’t for the Gracie family, mixed martial arts wouldn’t be around today. The Gracies have fallen off in the last de…

The Gracies have fallen off in the last decade. Royce tried make a return to the UFC in 2006 and lost to then-welterweight champion Matt Hughes. In 2010, Renzo then made his UFC debut looking to avenge Royces‘ loss to Hughes, but lost to him as well.

The Gracies, though, are starting to make a little noise again with Igor and Rolles fighting in ONE FC, Roger in Strikeforce and Daniel in Bellator. Now another Gracie is looking to make a splash. Gregor Gracie will be fighting tonight as he squares off against Tyson Steele in the inaugural event for The World Series of Fighting.

World Series of Fighting 1 will be taking place from PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The Gracie vs. Steele fight is a part of the main card, which you can watch on the NBC Sports Network starting at 10:30 p.m. ET.

The 25-year-old Gracie would always watch old tapes of his family members fighting, but was met with resistance by his mother. Gracie knew, though, that MMA was meant for him.

“I always wanted to get into MMA since I was a little kid,” Gracie told Bleacher Report. “I remember watching tapes of Royce, Renzo and all of my family members. I loved watching them and always knew I was going to fight. There was a point I even wanted to quit school just to train. My mother wouldn’t let me do that though.”

Gracie, whose last three fights have gone under the ONE FC promotion, originally had a contract with World Series of Fighting and is glad to be fighting for the promotion for a variety of reasons.

“I had a contract with them (World Series) before and then I went to One FC,” Gracie stated. “Then about an hour after my last fight in August, my manager called and said, ‘Hey you want to fight?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, for sure.’ He said ‘OK, you’re fighting November 3,’ and I said ‘OK.’

“I already knew these guys. They came to New York and I met with them. Ray Sefo is a great guy and was always been a big fan of him when he fought in K-1. We spoke and he said in his organization, the fighters are always going to come first and that’s one of the biggest reasons I wanted to sign with them. That’s the way they used to do it in Japan.

“I think that’s the way to go. The fighters are the show, not the other way around.”

Gracie, who has a record of 7-2, will be going into his third fight in a little more than four months. He loves fighting often and feels it won’t be a detriment tonight against Steele. As long as he’s healthy, he wants to fight.

“I love fighting,” Gracie stated. “It’s something I enjoy, being in the ring or the cage. Sometimes the only thing that holds you back is if you have an injury in training camp or if you are really hurt after your fight. But after every fight, I feel good and don’t have any injuries.

“It’s not like I planned to fight three times in four months. After my first loss (to Adam Shahir Kayoom at a One FC show in June), I went straight to the ONE FC owner and said, ‘Put me on the next show, I want to fight again.’

“So I went and fought again and as soon as the fight was over, my manager called and wanted me fight on November 3. I want to stay busy and fight.”

A lot of the new MMA fans don’t know the Gracie name and questions have been raised regarding if the Gracies can once again make their mark in the sport. Gregor feels it can happen with the influx of a younger Gracie clan.

“Of course it can return and for us to make our mark,” Gracie stated. “There was a point when Pride was finishing up that we didn’t have too many guys fighting here in the United States. We went a little while without any of us representing the sport, but that doesn’t mean we stopped. We have been here the whole time.

“We have a lot of guys now. We have myself, my two brothers Igor and Rolles, Roger, Renzo, my cousin Neiman will be making his pro debut in December and Daniel fights in Bellator. We are still here.”

The question among the MMA community is if even with the new influx of Gracies in the sport, can they live up to the standard set by family members before them? Gregor says that’s why he’s here and they will get the Gracie name back to where it used to be.

“That’s what I’m here for,” Gracie said. “I’m going to fight my best to do that and to keep that name on top. My family feels the same way I do. Roger is doing a phenomenal job in Strikeforce. My brothers and I have been fighting in Asia and now I’m here with World Series of Fighting. We have worked very hard for this and we want to make sure we keep it that way.”

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.

You can follow me on Twitter @fightclubchi.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator Debuts in Michigan on Nov 30, Good-Koreshkov Tournament Final Headlines

Bellator has had shows in Midwestern states such as Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. You can now add Michigan to the list. The promotion announced earlier today that Bellator 82 will be taking place on November 30 from The Soaring Eagle Casino &am…

Bellator has had shows in Midwestern states such as Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. You can now add Michigan to the list.

The promotion announced earlier today that Bellator 82 will be taking place on November 30 from The Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

A main event for the card has been announced, with their welterweight tournament final featuring Season 1 tournament winner and former Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good squaring off against the undefeated Andrey Koreshkov. The winner will receive a guaranteed welterweight title shot and $100,000 in total tournament winnings. The main card airs on MTV2 with the prelims airing on Spike.com.

Good, who won his first round fight with a unanimous decision victory over Jim Wallhead, advanced to the finals by knocking out Koreshkov‘s teammate Michail Tsarev at Bellator 78 last Friday.

Koreshkov posted a unanimous decision victory over Jordan Smith in the opening round of the tournament, then advanced to welterweight tournament finals with a first round knockout of Dream Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis this past weekend.

The card will also be featuring two highly touted prospects making their Bellator debuts—Internet sensation Michael Page and former U.S. Olympic wrestling qualifier Shawn Bunch. Opponents have not been announced for either fighter.

You can follow me on Twitter @fightclubchi.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ticketmaster to Power Official Ticket Resale Marketplace for the UFC

The UFC announced today in a press release that it will be partnering up with Ticketmaster to create the official ticket resale marketplace for UFC. Fans will now have the ability to buy and sell tickets to UFC live events via a secure resale platform …

This will provide fans a website where tickets for select events can be bought and sold safely. For tickets at select venues, the marketplace offers Ticketmaster’s barcode transfer technology where tickets fans purchase from resellers are verified by Ticketmaster for authenticity and then reissued with new barcodes for the buyer, guaranteeing the validity of the tickets.

“UFC is the best live event experience in the world and by partnering with Ticketmaster, our fans have a reliable, quick and convenient way to buy and sell UFC tickets,” said UFC president Dana White, via UFC.com. “We are really excited to continue working with Ticketmaster to make buying and selling UFC tickets easier than ever.”

“UFC is one of the most forward thinking and fan-focused sports organizations in the world, and they understand that the resale market can be done better, so they are working with us to deliver the Official Resale Marketplace of UFC,” said Jared Smith, chief operating officer of Ticketmaster.

“Our highest priority is to deliver the most fan-friendly ticket purchasing experience in the industry. By utilizing our technology to provide secure, convenient access to tickets, we’re able to do just that for UFC fans.”

You can follow me on Twitter @fightclubchi

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

King Mo: MMA Is a Fad, Wrestling Training Is Harder

When you talk about pro wrestling versus MMA, fans are like, “pro wrestling is fake, nothing’s real and it’s like a soap opera.” Whereas those same people say MMA is real: it’s real competition.
We have seen fighters make the transition from …

We have seen fighters make the transition from pro wrestling to MMA, with some notables like Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Dave Batista and Ken Shamrock making the trek.

But we have never seen the transition from MMA to pro wrestling or someone who does both sports at the same time. Enter former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.

It was announced in May that Lawal had agreed to a deal with Bellator Fighting Championships and TNA Wrestling. Lawal made his debut in TNA a little less than three weeks ago, with his Bellator debut slated for sometime in January.

Lawal who has been an avid wrestling fan since he was a little kid and didn’t know what to expect when he made his debut.

“I had to change shirts,” Lawal told Bleacher Report. “I didn’t know what to expect. The people didn’t know who I was. They respect me because I respect the sport. The fans could have booed me or not cheer for me. I was happy that I got some kind of pop. I was cool with the reaction. I would have been in trouble if I got no reaction. That was my main concern.”

Pro wrestlers have been known in the past to become territorial when new people come into what they perceive as “their world.” Lawal says that wasn’t the case with him.

“They (the wrestlers) were cool,” Lawal stated. “They respect me because I respect wrestling. I know a lot of old school wrestlers, their moves, etc. I was a huge wrestling fan growing up and now I’m stepping into their world and training to do it.”

Lawal has been training at Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville, Kentucky, for about three weeks under the guidance of former WWE wrestler Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore and Frank Miller. Lawal says the training has been harder than he ever anticipated.

“I thought it was going to be hard, but this (pro wrestling training) is harder than I expected,” Lawal stated. “I’m going to tell you this. Pro wrestling training is three times harder than MMA. It’s harder because of the psychology, the positioning, the bumps, hitting the ropes and cutting promos.

“That s**t is hard. People don’t understand this s**t. People think wrestling is all fake. If you think it is fake, come try it out and you will see how real it really is.”

The Bellator and TNA star loves MMA, but feels MMA is starting to become a fad.

“It starts with the way the fans don’t think for themselves,” Lawal stated. “They have to look to certain people for approval on how they think. They bash the fighters and think fighting is easier than it really is. A lot of people didn’t grow up fighting. They grew up playing football and basketball. So they can relate to missing a pass, a layup, free throws and dropping a pass, an interception or kicking a field goal.

“MMA fans never grew up fighting. They just put on their Affliction or Tapout shirts and say, ‘Hey I’m a fighter or hey I’m going to a fight.’

“To me, its a joke. It is a certain demographic that’s involved and I’m not with that.”

You can follow me Twitter @fightclubchi.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com