mano a mano combat

This is an interesting competition “Video Analysis” of Demian Maia vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (Courtesy of Jason Scully a.k.a The Grapplers Guide)

Jason Scully recommends that you watch the regular video first to see what you notice in the match. Then watch the video with the commentary and slow motion to see if you noticed what he noticed. He then gets into some great technical conversations from there.

Full Match without Commentary and without Slow Motion

Video Analysis of the Match with Commentary and with Slow Motion

We at ManoaManoCombat are shocked at how blatant Darren Wong at the Bleacher Report practices male chauvanism in today’s day and age. His apparent disregard and disrespect for women is really shocking.

Those of us from Mano will not be reading any more of his articles, nor referring people to them. In fact we’ve unlinked anything we’ve ever sent our friends, readers and fans to go read on his “page”.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Amateur MMA Fights, Paintball Highlights At Mesquite Fundraiser: Mesquite, Nevada -

Every day, United States military personnel face a new battle as they return home from combat zones.

Addressing the desperate need to relieve the financial and emotional burdens caused by the physical and mental scars of war, Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy “The Natural” Couture created the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation.

With a mission focused on raising money and awareness, the foundation’s goal is to help these brave men and women fulfill any of their unmet needs as they return back to civilian life.

“Having spent time in a uniform, it became a personal goal of mine to find a way to give back to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces for the sacrifices they make defending our freedoms. The Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation was born out of that desire.” Couture explained.

Tapping into his network of current and former MMA fighters, Couture is hosting a weekend fundraiser October 16-18 in Mesquite, Nevada. Xtreme Combat Weekend will include three days of scenario paintball, amateur MMA fights and “Xtreme” parties.

Participants & donors have the opportunity to play paintball against and alongside nationally recognized fighters including Randy Couture, Ryan Couture, Gray Maynard, Jay Hieron, and John Alessio.

The paintball games will be played exclusively at A Pirates Paradise’s new field located 5 miles northeast of Mesquite. Owner Tim Andrus has spent the last two months preparing the 40-acre site for this event.

“The property borders and actually extends over the Virgin River. The thick scrub provides so much cover, we’ve had to plow roads and paths through the field, ” Andrus said. “We’re really excited to be the host site for Xtreme Combat Weekend. It’s a great cause; Randy is an awesome guy, and we’re doing something to help the troops.”

A highlight of the weekend will come Saturday evening when up-and-coming fighters take center stage at the CasaBlanca Events center for amatuer MMA fights presented by Tuff-N-Uff. A separate ticketed event; seats will range from $20 for general admission to only $50 for ringside. Like all the weekend’s events, proceeds support the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation.

Post fight, the public can meet up-and-coming fighters and some of their favorite MMA stars at an after fight night club in the CasaBlanca Hotel. A $15 cover charge applies, and this party is limited to persons age 21 and over.

“This weekend really wouldn’t be possible without our sponsors,” Andrus added. “Special Ops Paintball, Spyder Paintball, Kee Action Sports, Planet Eclipse and Blackjack Paintball have all thrown their support behind us on this event.”

Registration and event schedules are available online at the event’s website.

“We hope everyone will come join us for a great weekend including paintball and amateur fights all in the name of our troops,” Couture said.

Contact information:

Valerie Haney
Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation
4055 West Sunset
Las Vegas, NV 89118
Foundation’s Website
(702) 616-1022

Tim Andrus
A Pirates Paradise
(702) 469-6517

If you want to have a voice – let us know which you prefer: MMA or Boxing!

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Congratulations to Projekt Label Team Fighter Sarah Maloy for her first round victory at last weekend’s Vendetta Fighting Championships in Aruba. Sarah fought Rosa Columbo from Team Rage in the Cage in Arizona by Rear Nake Choke, 4:52 into Round 1. Can I just say we weren’t surprised?!

Sarah was a guest on CageDivas on Sunday, Sept. 13th, 2009. Look for more information on that soon to come. And of course we’ve interviewed Sarah – you’ll find that interview in detail on this website coming up soon!

Also, DON’T FORGET: You can buy Sarah’s Vendetta Walk Out Shirt on the Projekt Label Website.

In this down-to-earth interview of Miguel Torres by Cagewriter, he gives us some insight into his thoughts and feelings about Brock, Mayweather and money in MMA. 

Here are some of my favorite gems.

Response to WEC vs. UFC salaries: “I think I should be paid fair. I think I deserve what heavyweights are getting. I put in the same training time, if not more. I believe I possess more skill, because I don’t have the size to overcompensate. I can’t Brock Lesnar somebody and lay on them, and punch them with my right hand the whole time and knock them out that way. I have to devise another strategy to win a fight. I think that’s more entertaining because you see more skill involved, more agility.” (Emphasis added. And ”Brock Lesnar” somebody? Haha – too funny!)

On whether or not he’s as big a draw as Brock:  “I’m not as big of a draw as Brock Lesnar, but I have more personality than him; I’m more interesting than he is. I’ve heard Brock Lesnar. I’ve interviewed him. It’s like talking to the Hulk. “So Brock, what did you think about the fight?” “Brock smash Mir, Brock eat baby, I’m gonna drink a Coors, and maybe get on my wife.” That’s Brock’s interview! He’s getting paid millions of dollars for that. That’s their heavyweight champion, getting paid all this money, from out of nowhere Minnesota!” (Emphasis added. Yeah – I’d say he has a lot more personality!)

In response to Mayweather fighting in MMA: “I would love to fight Mayweather, just because of the simple fact that I think he’s a cocky asshole” and “Well, I’m not a white person, and I will smash his ass. I don’t care. His style of boxing is all built on getting people in the clinch. He’ll hit them, and then he’ll get in the clinch with them. Then the referee breaks them, and he’ll hit them and grab them again. I think it’s a great strategy. It’s not clean boxing, but it’s smart boxing. He’s going to hit somebody and grab them in MMA, and he’ll be done for. They’ll take him down. That’ll be all. I’ll be on top of the list to fight him.” (Hysterical - kid speaks his mind!)

On sponsors being kept out of the UFC: “I got lucky. I have a great manager, and he stipulated that my sponsors were going to be allowed in, no matter what. He either had foresight this was going to happen one day, or he was just on top of his stuff.” (Smart manager – who is this guy…I’m sure there are a lot of other MMA fighters out there who would like to know!)

Regarding the new Miguel Torres doll: “They’re going to send me a box for all the kids in the gym. It’s going to be weird to see all the kids playing with the little dolls of me. My daughter will have five of them. They’re going to beat up all of her other toys.” (My toy can beat up your toy — hahaha!)

Really funny interview. To read it in its entirety, go HERE.

In spite of all his protests and trash talking MMA, after watching Jeopardy tonight, it looks like Floyd Mayweather should be worried about the state of boxing.

I don’t blame the guy for defending his sport, in fact I’d expect him to. One should defend their sport – especially if it helped make them the person they are and if the sport is better for the contributions they’ve made. I just don’t respect his decision to put down another race or other cultures in order to do so. I guess like all bullies, he gets his high from putting down others. Makes him feel like a big man.

In fact if the shoe were on the other foot and a white MMA fighter said boxing was just for fried-chicken eating black people who weren’t athletic enough to do karate, he’d be feeling the backlash from the public, Reverend Al Sharpton, the NAACP and other black industry athletes. But Flawed Mayweather is who he is, so he can get away with setting a bad, racist example for the few fans he has left and not suffer any consequences.

But I digress. Back to my initial point – I can see why he’s worried. Tonight on Jeopardy, the question was:

“He’s the last boxer to fight Oscar De La Hoya”.

The answer was Floyd Mayweather.

No one even buzzed in. Ouch.

Pro Fighters Disgusted with Brock & News from Bisping

Mirko Cro Crop
“I must point out that his victory is a defeat for the sport as such. Don’t get me wrong, Lesnar is a fearsome and very dangerous opponent, but I am old school, I prefer skill and technique. This win was a defeat of martial skills. Much of what he achieved in the fight is a result of pure power… Of course, Lesnar has quality sparring partners, is an experienced wrestler and a man who learns very quickly. But he is yet to have a real struggle. He does not have many fights in his career and I would love to see how he would react to two or three good low kicks.”

Mike Swick

Dana White
“I was on Opie and Anthony a couple of nights ago and those guys were like you know what? [Brock Lesnar is] your Mike Tyson. This is the guy where people are gonna tune in and say ‘Oh My God what’s this guy gonna do next?’ You know what the crazy part is? I just flew up there a couple weeks ago and we hung out and went to dinner. [Lesnar’s] such a good guy, but I’ll give you this: The week of the event I have a hard time dealing with him. He gets miserable, he’s a grouchy guy who can snap at any time. That’s for real.”

According to Cagewriter, “UFC President Dana White does not condone his actions, but at the same time understands the behavior of Brock Lesnar before, during and after UFC 100. White gave Lesnar a verbal lashing following his meltdown against Frank Mir in the main event of their July 11 super-show, but also admits that (aside from the unprovoked sponsor bashing) he might have reacted in a similar fashion following the months of trash talk coming out of the Mir camp. Lesnar — who already claims he’s built like a black man may indeed have that same aura surrounding him that Tyson did. We can only hope that his career ends on more favorable terms. Not just for him, but for the sake of mixed martial arts as well.”

Michael Bisping
“I would have done the same thing” to Henderson! And: “I know there’s been some controversy, but I don’t have any bad feelings about him landing that second shot when I was on the ground. That MMA, you keep hitting until the ref pulls you off. I would have done the same to Dan…And, anyway, I didn’t feel a thing so it made no difference to me…Fair play to him, he caught me and knocked me out. Everyone saw it. It is a setback, I am pissed off, I was close to a title shot but I will be back. The worst has [now] happened to me. It doesn’t get any worse than my last fight, so what’s to worry about next time?…If anything, this will make me more aggressive in my next fight – I feel really sorry for whomever I fight next. I am a little embarrassed, I’m pissed off, and I just want to fight as soon as can be.” -Michael Bisping talking to Fighter’s Only about the controversial second shot landed by Dan Henderson in their UFC 100 bout.