In 2008 Kelly Crigger published a book through the publishing company Victory Belt Publications. He named his book Title Shot- into the Shark Tank of Mixed Martial Arts. Kelly is an Army officer serving as a Lieutenant. He has been writing about the sport of mixed martial arts since 2006. In an exclusive interview Kelly gave insight into why he felt a need to write the book. �??First I just wanted to explore why guys fought.  I wanted to understand a little more why people did it. Because, I understand why I do what I do, I�??m in the Army and I take risks for the greater good. But to strap on a little pair of gloves and slug it out with other guys is just something I wasn�??t understanding.  So it started out as an exploration of what motivated people to fight and then it just turned into a lot more from there.  I wanted to find out why the mma fighters were portrayed so poorly in the media when they were clearly from my travels much different people then the people that you see on TV. I wanted to explore the similarities between my profession the Army and mma because every team you go into has a hierarchy just like an Army unit would have, or like a battalion. A mma gym is the same way; there is a hierarchy for sure. So that is where it started. It was an idea to figure out why guys fight and it just blossomed into a whole lot more.�??

Kelly told me the mixed martial arts community is very supporting of the military. �??They are all very supportive. A lot of them will even go out of there way- like Greg Jackson- about 4 or 5 months ago after UFC 88, this was back in Nov. after Rashad Evans fought and knocked out Chuck Liddell. Greg Jackson jumped in a car and drove 4 hours from Atlanta down to Savannah, Georgia and donated a day of his time training troops down there. Just because we asked. He spent an afternoon training soldier on combatives. On how to be better at hand to hand while you are in uniform and in turn they took him out on a shooting range and let him bust a bunch of caps. So it was a good time.�??

Juanito Ibarra  - World Class MMA Boxing - Grand Opening


http://worldclassmmaboxing.com/


Juanito Ibarra

World Class MMA Boxing

Grand Opening

Febuary 21, 2009

Home of Juanito's Fight System

14042 Locust St
Westminister, Ca. 92683

Amatuer & Professional
Boxing/MMA/Ji-Jitsu
Wrestling/ Muay Thai
YRG Fitness System
WEIGHT MGMT
Nutritional Specialist

                             "The Pain"

Sixteen year old Harout was born in Hollywood, Ca. and started training Judo at the young of six. Since then he has been on the climb to the top. His resume is second to none. He has reached the level of first degree black belt in Judo. He is a 4 time Junior National Judo Champion, 2 time Junior Olympic Judo Champion, 7 time California State Judo Champion, 08' On The Mat and U.S. Open Champion, 08' California State Pankration Silver Medalist, 08' National Pankration Team Member, and took 4th place at the World Junior Grappling event. He is currently ranked #1 in the under 17 division at 155 and 170 in Pankration. Harout had his first amateur MMA fight at the age 15 and has since then put together a 16-2 fight record. He is quickly becoming known for being a finisher as most of his wins have come by the way of submission or technical knock out.

Harout trains out of the Main Event Gym and Kenam's Fight Club in Glendale, CA, where he also is a grappling instructor. Occasionally Harout makes his way to the nationally known Legends Gym for training. Harout knows his strong points are his Judo and grappling skills, but he does not shy away from the stand up while training or in the ring/cage. Even with a resume as good as his, he is very humble in knowing that there is always room for improvment in every aspect of his game.

Harout fights at 145 and 155.  Even with his young age he has been able to land a decent sponsor after being noticed by Tap or Sleep's owner Jerod Phillips. Since then larger organizations have been taking notice and just waiting for Harout to become of age. Harout will be fighting in King of the Cage in February.

Harout like most 16 year olds has a part time job on the weekends. He is being home schooled so he has the ability to train a few hours a day. Harout stays motivated with the simple ethics of just wanting to be a better person and the best fighter he can be. The younger fighter has the backing and support of his family which is important for every young fighter. He truly feels he is a top ten fighter and that after exploding on to the pro fight scene he will be fighting for a belt in major MMA organization and I believe he can. Keep your eye on Harout �??The Pain" Karapetyan because you could very likely be looking at a future champion in Mixed Martial Arts.

Interview with Rashad Evans: "They want me. It kind of makes me a little paranoid, but at the same time, I like paranoia.�??

Written by Penny Buffington

Undefeated UFC fighter, Rashad Evans finished the year with a record of 13 wins no losses and 1 draw. He also dominated Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 on Dec 27^th 2008 to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. I asked Rashad what happens as soon as you become the champ. He said, �??They rush you off to a press conference. Then after that you get rushed to your after party and then you try to get some rest. But first, party all night.�??

Since winning the title Rashad has been very busy with press obligations.  Where he was born in Buffalo N.Y, they gave him the key to the city and their local newspaper The Niagara Gazette chose Rashad as the athlete of the year. Rashad said, �??That was quite surprising to be honest. I didn�??t expect any of that. To have my home town: it was a beautiful thing. Just because in Niagara Falls sometimes you don�??t get the recognition you think you should get. I never really paid too much attention because my mom would be like the Niagara Falls Gazette doesn�??t have anything about you fighting. I don�??t know if it was because I moved to Michigan or whatever the case may be but they weren�??t really following me to well and to have that finally from them to be: you�??re the athlete of the year. That was pretty cool I liked that.

The fight was 2 days after Christmas so I asked Rashad if he had, had a chance to celebrate the holidays yet. �??Not really to be honest. I�??m just getting back to my family and the domestic issues.  I�??m trying to take care of them because they supported me for the whole training and preparation for the fight. They gave me the space and time I needed to focus so I�??m just trying to give some time to them so I can do it again in a few months. �??

BJ Penn is pumped and ready to take on UFC welterweight title holder George St. Pierre. �??I�??m coming in, in great shape. I�??m going to be real strong and real fast and great condition. I have got allot of stuff I am going to come after him with. I�??m going to try to knock him out. I�??m going to try to slam him on his head. I�??ve got no secrets. I�??m just going to go out there and grind this thing out and I�??m going to win this fight.�?? The event will take place Jan-31-2009 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will also air live on PPV.

Last time the two fought each other was in March of 2006. BJ lost to a very close decision. I ask BJ what his best attribute was as far as fighting goes. He said, �??My technique, George is a real athletic guy so you have got to be smart out there. You have got to be thinking, weighing everything out as the fight is going.�??

With only 1 month left before the fight, I asked �??The Prodigy�?? to explain what his training consists of. �??I�??m training 5 hours a day. I�??m training really hard for 3 hours in the morning, 2 hours at night. I�??m just going full blast. I do 12 rounds a day. I do calisthenics, running and sprints, eating healthy food and honest I could fight right now. I could fight right now, today, I�??m ready to go!�??

When Elite XC folded back in October, many believed it to be the end of mainstream exposure for women�??s MMA. No other mixed martial arts organization boasted a roster that full of female talent, nor gave them the platform on which to shine. There has been much speculation as of late over which organization, if any, would take over where Elite left off. Where would all the fighters go? Where and whom would they now fight? How will they be seen on television? For years I have heard talk about all women MMA reality shows happening, but they never did�?�until now. And as they say in life, timing is everything

A spectacular all women�??s MMA reality show is currently in development for 2009, with plans to begin shooting at an undisclosed, exotic location by early February. �??Ultimate Women Combat�?? will feature #1 ranked Tara LaRosa and U.K. fighting sensation Rosi Sexton as coaches, alongside jiu-jitsu legend Cesar Gracie. Model/actress Joanna Krupa and �??Outside The Ring�?? presenter Marika Taylor will be the show�??s hosts. Up to sixteen contestants will live and train together, fighting their way to become the UWC champion, with the final fight taking place back on U.S. soil. Although the format may sound familiar to other MMA reality shows, UWC has no intention of being a carbon copy of shows past. The level of female fighters showing interest in the show range from those with no professional experience, to established well-known fighters. With LaRosa, Gracie, and Sexton signed on, and the possibility of some big names being cast as contestants, this show could easily help propel women�??s MMA to new heights.

Written by Penny Buffington

Fresh off the reality show The Ultimate Fighter Season 8 ,Heavyweight, Antwain �??The Juggernaut�?? Britt headed down to the Dominican Republic where he caused his opponent to try and flee the ring after dealing with Antwains vicious ground and pound. Britt told me about the Dec 20^th 2008 event, �??I fought for Combat Extreme, down in the Dominican Republic fighting Thomas Sonnen. It was fun, fun to go down there and get away from this cold weather. It was a classic striker verses jiu jitsu guy. He was a really well accomplished brown belt down there. But luckily the striker won this time. I ended up winning in the second round due to referee stoppage. He took a lot of facial damage. He was cut up pretty bad. The ref had to stop it because he could not see any more.  It was a good win for me.�?? With a chuckle Antwain explains how his opponent tried to flee the ring during the fight, �??He was trying to go under the bottom rope.  It was good. We ended up on the ground a couple of times and my top game, my ground and pound, is pretty good.  So I was able to stay away from his jiu jitsu a little bit and kind of dominate on the ground also.  It was a really well rounded win for me. I�??m really proud of it.�??

 Strikeforce fighter Gilbert Melendez says, �??I have been hanging out and re-grouping a little. I just opened the El Nino Training Center. I�??ve been working on that a little bit and getting my training situated. I�??m getting the itch. I�??m ready to go. I�??ll be fighting early next year.�?? Gilbert�??s last fight, (6 months ago) resulted in a loss of his Strikeforce lightweight title to Josh Thomson. The only other loss Gilbert has was against Mitsuhiro Ishida at Yarennoka - New Years Eve 2007.

Having only 1 fight left on his Strikeforce contract Melendez explains, �??I have one fight left with Strikeforce. Right now, I�??m really happy with them.  I�??m feeling pretty confident right now. My next fight, I�??m planning on winning and I�??m planning on looking great. That is what I want to do and then maybe just weigh out some options. But I�??m really happy with Strikeforce. There is the possibility I could stay there with them, but I don�??t know, we will see how it goes.�??

Ishida Yarennoka has recently joined Strikeforce so a possibility of a rematch is very real. �??That is the one I am looking for, for my next fight. I�??ve been asking for Ishida; give me Ishida. I want to fight him again.�??