Andrian Pang Headline Australian’s Warriors Realm

by Tony Green (2007-08-24)

Last week saw Team IMA/Fairtex Australian MMA Champion Adrian Pang headline Australian Cage Fighting show Warriors Realm at Southport on Australia’s Gold Coast.

After the group introduction and a performance from the musical guest, the night kicked off with Port Macquarie’s Jason Harris versus Integrated/Fairtex fighter Korey Gibson at 74kg. This was Harris’ MMA debut whilst Gibson looked to extend his perfect 3-0 record. Harris opened the bout with some leg kicks but was met with a solid double leg takedown from Gibson. Harris managed to grab hold of Gibson’s neck with a guillotine attempt, but the Integrated fighter managed to pass to side control and free his head.

Harris scrambled to his feet after some positional jostling but was promptly put down again by Gibson who this time managed to get Harris’ back and sink a fight ending Rear Naked Choke at 4:21 of the first round. Gibson managed to extend his record to 4-0, whilst Harris gave an excellent account of himself in his MMA debut.

Next up were former training partners Mick Mortimer from Integrated/Fairtex versus Takao Kitahira from Advanced Martial Arts who had entrance song of the night with Bob Marley’s “One Love”. Takao’s resemblance to eccentric Japanese fighter Genki Sudo was further highlighted when he came out for the first round in Crane pose doing his best Karate Kid Impersonation.Mortimer wanted nothing to do with the funny stuff and promptly clinched with Kitahira. The first round was close with both men getting takedowns and working their ground and pound. Kitahira punctuated the end of the first round by opening a cut on Mortimer, however Michael came out strong in the second with a nice take down.He then managed to pass Takao’s guard and get mount, and Takao was able to defend long enough to throw his legs up under Mortimer’s arms and escape the mount into a very unusual tangle of bodies where neither man could land shots on the other. Mortimer ended up in guard and after a stand up managed to hit another take down and seal himself a spilt points decision for the win.

The Australian Welterweight Title was on the line after the interval with Intergrated/FairtexMMA’s Matt Cain taking on the dangerous Jon Valuri from Mach 1 in Perth.

Valuri wasted no time in throwing a huge right hand right off the bat and followed it up with a nice take down on Cain. Valuri worked his ground striking until Cain was able to stifle his attack and gain a stand up. Towards the end of round one Valuri split open Matt Cain’s cheek , but “The Rolling Bear” was all clear to continue.

Cain opened the second by gaining double underhooks and picking Valuri up on his shoulder as he looked for a huge slam. Valuri managed to avoid a massive impact but Cain ended up on top, until they were stood up by the Referee.
From the stand up Valuri hit a takedown of his own and had a close Rear Naked Choke attempt on Cain, but Cain kept his chin tucked long enough to manage to spin into Valuri and eventually get a stand up. The second round finished in the clinch with the two exchanging, and in the third round they went right back to it. Cain landed a knee and managed to reverse Valuri and gain top position, but Valuri demonstrated his grappling skills by sweeping Cain and getting back on top. Cain was bleeding and possibly down by two rounds at this point but from the bottom threw up his legs and managed to secure a very tight arm bar on Valuri. Jon had no choice but to tap at 1:35 of the third round, crowning Matt Cain the Warrior’s Realm Welterweight champion.
Post fight Jon was gracious in defeat, and Cain expressed in no uncertain terms his delight in pulling the win out of the fire. After the show Cain stuck to his pre fight prediction that the longer the fight the stronger he’d become, and proved himself right with a great submission victory.

The main event saw MANNERS’ Team BJ PENN team mate Dave MORENO venture down under where he promised to “cuddle a koala & whoop a wombat”, however, first on the agenda for Dave was a fight with Team Integrated/Fairtex multiple Australian 145lb champion Adrian ‘The Hunter’ PANG. With PANG’S trainer Dan HIGGINS away with team-mate Kyle ‘KO’ NOKE catching Croc’s with the rest of the team from Australia Zoo. PANG had the overwhelming task of both preparing himself & then cornering 3 team-mates from Australia’s No 1 MMA team of Integrated Martial Arts for the event.

With his team going 3-0 & the crowd at fever pitch after the LIMA/MANNERS war, PANG entered the cage to a deafening ovation. The bout started with both fighters showing tremendous respect for each other standing and ended on the ground as the bell went to end the first 5 minute round. From ringside the round was very even & smart fans knew that PANG definitely had a massive task on hand in the dangerous BJ PENN trained MORENO. Round 2 saw the bout hit the floor again and the entire match to this point had been a display of MMA 101 with superb technique displayed by both fighters in all aspects of the game. As the seconds ticked PANG maintained top position and just as it appeared he had the American’s number, MORENO swept PANG, much to the crowds dismay.

With MORENO on top he looked to land a few heavy shots of his own from inside PANG’S guard. PANG maintained composure and avoided the heavy shots thrown with very bad intent. In a blink everything was about to change when the cagey PANG snuck his head of to the side of an elbow attempt & secured a head and arm choke from guard, causing an exhausted MORENO to tap right at the point of passing out.

The win marks the muay-thai champions second submission victory in his last 3 international outings! His most recent fights saw him win via triangle choke over cage Force Japan poster boy Taiyo NAKAHARA in the main event of their debut show in Japan. Adrian then returned to Australia and fought to a draw with SUPER experienced Shooto star Katsuya TOIDA.

Now with the win in hand, again by submission, over a BJ PENN trained fighter, the sky is the limit for this 145lb assasin once known as a striker. With the 3 imprsseive showings and the MMA world with it’s eyes set on Adrian, he hopes to soon fight in America against the worlds best.

Team Integrated/Fairtex Australia would like to thank their sponsors Fairtex, VAS, Redbak for their ongoing support.

For a full recap on the fights check out http://www.warriorsrealm.tv

Fighters Confirmed For MAGIC!

by FTX (2007-08-21)

Here is the current schedule of fighters making appearances at the Fairtex booth.This list is partial, as we are still adding attendees now.
Monday:

UFC Fighter Scott Smith – 9am to 12pm and 3pm to 5pm

Pride Fighter Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez – 2pm to 5 pm

Showtime/EliteXC Fighter Jake Shields – 2pm to 5pm

Tuesday:

UFC Fighter Scott Smith – 9am to 12pm and 3pm to 5pm

Showtime/EliteXC Fighter Jake Shields – 2pm to 5pm

Wednesday:

UFC Fighter James “The Sandman” Irvin – 9am to 10am and 2pm to 4pm

WEC Champion Urijah “California Kid” Faber – 11am to 2pm

Thursday:

UFC Fighter James “The Sandman” Irvin – 9am to 10am and 2pm to 4pm

WEC Champion Urijah “California Kid” Faber – 11am to 2pm

Fairtex will be presenting our new apparel line at MAGIC in Las Vegas from August 27th-30th!MAGIC is an industry only event, i.e. not open to the public.We encourage everyone who will be attending to visit us at our booth # 20612.We are located in the South Hall.For those attending the show, stop by to say hello, and wear your Fairtex.We will have a full schedule of celebrity athlete appearances at the booth including Jake Shields, Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez, Scott “Hands Of Steel” Smith, Urijah “California Kid” Faber, James “The Sandman” Irvin, and more…Final schedule of appearances and autograph signings will be available through the MAGIC daily show guide.We will also post the schedule at http://www.fairtex.com.See you at the show!
About MAGIC
Each February and August, the fashion industry converges on Las Vegas for one of the most influential four days in the business – the MAGIC Marketplace. Over seventy years in the making, what started as a small group of manufacturers has developed into the preeminent fashion market in the world.
MAGIC connects a global audience of serious buyers and sellers of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories. Thousands of retailers spanning single store boutiques to mass market domestic and international chains come to the Marketplace to access more than 3,600 manufacturers showcasing over 5,000 brands and private label resources.
MAGIC International is the world’s largest and most widely recognized producer of trade shows for the apparel industry. The MAGIC Marketplace consists of four concurrent running events, providing the most comprehensive apparel and accessory offerings found anywhere in the world.

Fairtex Smoker September 1st

by FTX (2007-08-17)

The next Fairtex smoker will be Saturday September 1st at our Mountain View location. Pre-Registration is required, as we always have a tremendous amount of athletes who want to compete. Please contact the gym at (650) 938-8588, or 1-888-FAIRTEXto register. You can also email Mimy at mimy@fairtex.com
If you haven’t made it out to one of our Smokers yet, you are missing out. The fights keep getting better, and the crowds keep getting larger. Weigh-Ins for this event will be at 11am on the day of the event. The first bout will be at 2pm. Our address is 2044 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View, CA 94043 See you there!

Shields vs. Charuto on Showtime

by FTX (2007-08-17)

Jake Shields will be facing Renato “Charuto” Verissimo at Elite XC in Hawaii on September 15th.The event is co-promoted by Hawaii’s two biggest MMA shows, Rumble On The Rock, and Icon Sports. Jake’s fight is part of the main card to be broadcast on Showtime.Charuto is a very tough UFC veteran, and a fight between him and Jake Shields had been scheduled several months ago on an event that did not materialize.Now the two will finally lock up on Showtime.
Shields has been busy training with his regular camp at Fairtex, and also at Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu.In addition Shields has traveled to Los Angeles to train with Ryron Gracie, and famous boxing coach Freddie Roach.
Jake Shields is looking to make a statement about his standing amongst the great welterweight fighters in the world.In fact Shields vs. Charuto is slated to take place in the same building, where both men previously competed in the Rumble On The Rock Welterweight Grand Prix, a tournament Shields would go on to win.At the Blaisdell on September 15th, Jake will look to build on that momentum.

Fairtex At MAGIC In Las Vegas!

by FTX (2007-08-16)

Fairtex will be presenting our new apparel line at MAGIC in Las Vegas from August 27th-30th!MAGIC is an industry only event, i.e. not open to the public.We encourage everyone who will be attending to visit us at our booth # 20612.We are located in the South Hall.For those attending the show, stop by to say hello, and wear your Fairtex.We will have a full schedule of celebrity athlete appearances at the booth including Jake Shields, Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez, Scott “Hands Of Steel” Smith, Urijah “California Kid” Faber, James “The Sandman” Irvin, and more…Final schedule of appearances and autograph signings will be available through the MAGIC daily show guide.We will also post the schedule at http://www.fairtex.com.See you at the show!
About MAGIC
Each February and August, the fashion industry converges on Las Vegas for one of the most influential four days in the business – the MAGIC Marketplace. Over seventy years in the making, what started as a small group of manufacturers has developed into the preeminent fashion market in the world.
MAGIC connects a global audience of serious buyers and sellers of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel and accessories. Thousands of retailers spanning single store boutiques to mass market domestic and international chains come to the Marketplace to access more than 3,600 manufacturers showcasing over 5,000 brands and private label resources.
MAGIC International is the world’s largest and most widely recognized producer of trade shows for the apparel industry. The MAGIC Marketplace consists of four concurrent running events, providing the most comprehensive apparel and accessory offerings found anywhere in the world.

Australia’s Travelling Warrior

by Templar Entertainment (2007-08-15)

Sydney-based martial arts expert, actor and stuntman Bren Foster will travel the world to make a new lifestyle TV program called Travelling Warrior.
The brainchild of Jeff Purser and Ranko Markovic, founders of Australian production house Templar Entertainment, the series will see Foster in a different country each episode, where he will explore the local sights, culture and food – as well as train with a local expert in that country’s traditional fighting style, before taking in a native champion at the end of each episode.
Essentially it is a mix of [TV Shows] Getaway with The Contender, and we will balance the infotainment aspect with an appropriate respect for the countries’ people, customs and local sports,” Purser explains.
An experience instructor of Taekwondo, kickboxing and Mixed Martial Arts, Foster stands in a good stead for the challenge.He is also well groomed for the screen, having been professionally trained as an actor and having already featured in several films, including national Geographic’s 2006 martial arts documentary Fight Science.
With the assistance of the Australian film commission, the producers will travel to Thailand with Foster and a film crew to shoot the pilot episode.
Templar Entertainment was formed after the huge success of the feature film Fat Pizza, which was Australia’s most profitable film of 2003, with Purser at the helm as producer.

Strikeforce MMA Heads To Playboy Mansion

by Michael Afromowitz for strikeforceusa.net (2007-08-15)

Leading mixed martial arts federation, Strikeforce, will produce a historic, first-ever mixed martial arts event at the world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, September 29th. Amongst those slated for action at the home of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner are undefeated Strikeforce world lightweight (155 lb. limit) champion “El Nino” Gilbert Melendez and UFC and Pride Fighting Championship veteran Josh “The Punk” Thomson.
The 10-bout fight card will also host the return of Strikeforce world light heavyweight (205 lb. limit) champion and The Ultimate Fighter season one runner-up Bobby Southworth as well as the return of former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star and Tough Enough 2 reality show winner Daniel Puder.
Loaded with top caliber fighting talent, the one-of-a-kind affair will also lavish each of its guests with a number of other memorable experiences including a top-shelf open bar; a buffet-style gourmet dinner; photo opportunities with Playboy Playmates; and a wine-tasting party featuring the spirits of various gold-medal wineries.
A poker tournament, open to a limited number of guests, will also take place on the Mansion grounds on the evening of the event.
“This is another leap forward into mainstream America for Strikeforce and the sport of mixed martial arts,” said Scott Coker, CEO of West Coast Productions, LLC, the parent company of Strikeforce. For over 20 years, Coker has pioneered the growth of martial arts in North America while presiding over his company that is the exclusive provider of martial arts footage to ESPN and the producer of some of the largest-scale fight cards in United States history. In 2003, he was honored as “Man Of The Year” by leading martial arts magazine, Inside Kung-Fu, for his ground-breaking efforts to bring Japan’s K-1 fighting to audiences in Las Vegas, Nevada twice annually. “We feel honored that Mr. Hefner chose the Strikeforce brand to entertain an audience at his home and we’re looking forward to putting on an incredible show.”
The event at the Playboy Mansion will be staged three months after the Strikeforce co-produced “Shamrock vs. Baroni,” extravaganza, the first mixed martial arts event to be distributed live on SHOWTIME® PPV. Before a crowd of 10,850 at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, former UFC middleweight champion and mixed martial arts legend, Frank Shamrock, became the first Strikeforce middleweight champion in history by choking out UFC and Pride veteran, “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni, in the second round of the star-studded fight card’s main event on Friday, June 22nd.

Battle Colossal In Pert

by wbcmuaythai.com (2007-08-14)

Three exciting contests for Australian national WBC MUAYUTHAI titles will be staged at the “Battle Colossal” in Perth on August 25.
This is the second event this year that WBC MUAYTHAI national titles have been held in Perth.
The card for the WA Italian Club Venue is as follows:
WBC Super Light Weight National Title 63.5kg division –
Perth’s Pamorn Martdee (Phon’s Gym) V Melbourne’s Ben Spivak (Sidyodthong).
WBC Super Welter Weight National Title 69 kg division – Perth’s Dusan Salva (Phon’s Gym) V Melbourne’s Daniel Smyrk Sidyodthong).
WPMF Super Middle Weight National Title 75+kg division –
Perth’s Adrian Ulici (Phon’s Gym) V Sydney’s Cameron Nell (Kai Song Pi Nong)
As well, on the same card there will be a Female Welter Weight International Preliminary Title (Female) 67+kg contest between Perth’s Carla Mayer (Cannington Kickboxing) V Queensland’s “TSUNAMI” Chiquita Lovini-Jorgensen (Mad X Gym).

Muay Thai Chaiya Review

by rottentomatoes.com (2007-08-13)

Landing a one-two elbow blow that’s hard enough to leave blood in your stool, yet sentimentally sweet and nostalgic enough to bring tears to your eyes, Muay Thai Chaiya was a winner as the closing film of the Bangkok International Film Festival.

The solo directorial debut of Kongkiat Khomsiri, who wrote the screenplay for Wisit Sasanatieng’s The Unseeable and co-directed Art of the Devil II, Muay Thai Chaiya is set in 1970s Thailand, and follows the exploits of three friends from southern Thailand as they come to Bangkok and then take divergent paths in the gritty world of Thai boxing.

Growing up in Chaiya, a fishing village in Surat Thani, three boys, Piak, Pao and Samor, are keen to follow in the footsteps of Pao’s brother, Krang (Prawit Kittichanthira), a legendary boxer who is taught by Pao’s father, Tew (former boxing and muay Thai champ Samart Payakaroon). The three boys share a bonding experience that leaves Samor a limping cripple, and then Piak and Pao both train as boxers under Tew. As Tew’s and Krang’s reputation grow, the big operators in Bangkok come calling, and Tew’s idyllic beachside boxing camp is scattered to the wind.

Piak, meanwhile, endures some hard knocks when his gambler father is killed. But he then woos a pretty nurse, Sripai (first-timer Sarita Kongpech, a doe-eyed Thai-Spanish actress), who has also caught the eye of Pao. Though good friends, Piak and Pao differ in style, with Piak hot-headed and brash, while Pao is a quiet strategist.

When they are old enough, Piak (Akara “Golf” Amarttayakul)
and Pao (Thawatchai Penpakdee) make their way to Bangkok, with buddy Samor (Sonthaya Chitmanee, from The Tin Mine) and Piak’s sweetheart Sripai in tow. They find that Krang is dead as the result of some shady business, and Tew has given up boxing and entered the monkhood.

The two fighters join a gym, and Piak is put forward as a top boxer, with Pao and expert cut-man Samor as his corner men. Piak’s impatience costs him a fight, though, and his career is soon ended. The two friends part ways, with Piak and Samor joining up with some gangsters. Piak then becomes the star of an underground fight club, where anything goes – knives, swords, pipes, makeshift body armor, the cannibal from Dynamite Warrior, anything. Pao disappears from the scene for awhile, admidst all the debauchery and mayhem.

As Piak and Samor become more deeply involved in the underworld, enforcing gambling debts, dosing fighters with laxative and even killing people, the movie takes on a bloody and violent tone that wouldn’t be out of place in a Martin Scorsese film. “It’s like a ‘Thai Goodfellas’,” one member of the audience said in a Q&A session after the screening. There’s even some rousing rock music (I heard a snippet of Hendrix) playing, with plenty of jump cuts between killings.

And with the boxing scenes, it’s more Raging Bull than Rocky, and I also couldn’t help but think about the Shaw Brothers’ Duel of Fists, directed by Chang Cheh and starring Ti Lung and David Chiang as long-lost brothers, involved in the muay Thai underworld in Bangkok. Muay Thai Chaiya even has a heaping helping of heroic bloodshed, just like in a Chang Cheh film.

Sangthong Ket-U-Tong takes on a much different role than she played in Citizen Dog, here playing a sexy go-go dancer who Piak takes up with, and Sripai flees to Pao.

Oh yeah, Pao. He eventually makes a return to the scene, as a boxer being coached by his father, who’s come out of the monkhood. Eventually Pao is set to fight a big bout, which places him at odds with the gangsters Piak and Samor work for.

There’s a big bloody showdown, with Piak hacking his way into the boxing stadium using two-handed Thai swords, and facing off against a Bruce Lee look-alike who even pulls out a pair of nunchuks to try and show who’s the big boss.

Along the way, there is plenty of heart and physical soul poured out. The lead actors trained extensively in Thai boxing (the film is co-sponsored by Fairtex gym), and a lot of effort was put into making the fights appear authentic. There are boxing dramas and there are boxing dramas; Muay Thai Chaiya is a Thai boxing drama, through and through.

The film has atmosphere, too, with a feel for 1970s Bangkok achieved through such details as old Pepsi signs adorning the front of the boxing stadium, and some old boxing posters in the office of the boxing promoter. It helps that Wisit Sasanatieng served as art director for the film; he has such an eye for detail, as shown in his own films, Tears of the Black Tiger, Citizen Dog and The Unseeable.

Minowa Has Little Trouble in Victory

by Daniel Herbertson for sherdog.com (2007-08-13)

NAGOYA, Japan, Aug. 11 — HEAT, a cage and the ever popular “Minowaman” made their way to the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium Saturday evening in a landmark event for Japanese mixed martial arts and kickboxing in the promotion’s fourth installment.
Whilst HEAT’s first three cards were held within the square ring, tonight, in cooperation with Cage Force, a switch was made to the octagon cage along with a change of rules to match that of the Unified Rules of MMA, which are used throughout North America.
Clearly it marks a sign of the times in Japan.
With many top fighters appearing to be at risk of developing some ring rust, HEAT is looking to provide its fighters with a different career path outside of Japan.
Only Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures)’s fight, the main event, was contested under rules you’d find with UFC-promoted contests, however the remainder of the MMA bouts disallowed the use of elbows. HEAT will continue using the cage in the future, the promotion said.
“Minowaman” had a busy year in 2006, racking up seven fights, five of which came in PRIDE. But since he blocked a kick with his liver and brutally headbutted Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures)’s shin at PRIDE Shockwave 2006 he has been, like much of the PRIDE roster, inactive.
Minowa was originally slated to face Mike Seal (Pictures) but Seal was forced out due to a cut. To the rescue came the relatively unknown South Korean wrestler Choi Seung Hyun.
Minowa looked to get in and out of the ring as quickly as possible, rushing the Korean as soon as the bell sounded with a flurry or rapid-fire punches which then led to a quick takedown into the guard for Minowa.
Quickly passing, Minowa applied a submission rarely seen inside an octagon or ring, the old “schoolyard twist your arm behind your back and gimme your lunch money” shoulder lock. It was highly effective and the overmatched Korean was forced to tap at 1:41 in the first.
This city’s own Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) was also scheduled to fight but was forced to withdraw due to a foot injury sustained during training. Hioki was in attendance to deliver a somber apology and to support Alive Gym’s latest rising star, Takesuke Kume.
From a gym most renown for its grapplers, Kume became the 2006 All Japan Amateur Champ at 168 pounds via his striking ability. However this momentum was lost in the 2007 Shooto rookie tournament when he first made his pro debut in Shooto’s last trip to Nagoya.
Facing the 2005 Amateur champ, Kume could only manage a draw and lost the coin flip to continue in the tournament. Now looking for his first pro win, he faced an interesting character in Brother “Yasshi.”
Making his pro MMA debut after “fighting” in the pro wrestling organization Dragon Gate, it was easy to see why Yasshi is considered a heel everyone loves to hate — he just sneers at everyone, though the girls seem to like him.
It was not to be Yasshi’s night. Kume took the upper hand early in the fight with his striking before landing a takedown that put him in mount. Punches to the hapless Yasshi followed, yet Kume was unable to get the stoppage from the mount. He looked to switch to an armbar that was sunk and extended, but Yasshi employed some heel-like tactics in illegally stomping Kume to escape, earning himself a needed breather and a warranted warning via yellow card.
In the second it was more of the same from Kume, who reversed a takedown and achieved back-mount where he rained strikes upon Yasshi and soon after applied a rear-naked choke to put Yasshi to sleep.
It was a dominating performance from Kume but it’s unclear how ready Brother “Yasshi” was for MMA, an attempt at a foot-lock while back-mounted would suggest he needs a little more preparation.
The man Hioki was supposed to fight, Brazilian Gustavo Coelho, instead faced off with Katsuya Toida (Pictures), who recently drew with Aussie hope Adrian Pang (Pictures) on a trip south of the equator.
Toida seemed to take a page out of Genki Sudo (Pictures)’s book as the fight started — getting his groove on and flapping his arms like a bird. The inexperienced Coelho wasn’t too impressed but Toida did manage to get a takedown out of it and spent the majority of the round in the guard looking for heel hooks.
In the second, Toida again got the top position but Coelho managed a heel hook attempt of his own, which Toida reversed into what looked like a pro wrestling move, the half Boston Crab. However, he didn’t attempt to crank the sub for the tap and instead chose position, riding out the round on top for the unanimous decision.
In the first bout of the night Kazuhisa Tazawa submitted and “judofied” Goutoku Onda at 1:20 in the first with a neck crank from head-arm control off a beautiful throw.
In the main event of the kickboxing bouts Lloyd Van Dams looked solid and powerful, although overweight, on route to an entertaining decision win against Ryuta Noji (Pictures). Tatsufumi Tomihira, Johtaro Usui, Alex Roberts, Masataka Chinushi and Little Mo also got checks in the W column.