Training for UFC 117 : Anderson Silva Traing with Steven Seagal.
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva has employed an unlikely training partner to help with preparation for his upcoming UFC 117 bout against Chael Sonnen: action movie star and martial artist Steven Seagal.
VIDEO: Anderson Silva Traing with Steven Seagal
Rebuilt and refocused, "Cro Cop" says he's anxious for standup war at UFC 115
Once considered among the most feared strikers in mixed martial arts, when Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (26-7-2 MMA, 3-3 UFC) first uttered the words "right leg hospital, left leg cemetery," it didn't exactly seem like simple braggadocio.
An experienced K-1 kickboxer with potent striking, Filipovic has enjoyed just moderate success since joining the UFC in 2007. But with "Cro Cop" set to face fellow knockout artist Pat Barry (5-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at next week's UFC 115 event in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Filipovic said his ready to flash vintage form in a crowd-pleasing affair.
"[Barry] is a good fighter, very fast, and I saw the way he destroyed (Antoni) Hardonk," Filipovic told us on Friday's media call promoting the event. "It was amazing. It will be a good fight, and I'm looking forward to it."
When Filipovic came to the UFC, he was riding a wave of 12 wins in 14 PRIDE contests, and his kickboxing-based style had earned "Cro Cop" a legion of fans around the world. But despite transitioning to a cage after spending years fighting in a ring, Filipovic declined to concern himself with the type of structure surrounding the fighting surface and limped off to a 1-2 start in the UFC.
Filipovic said he now realizes that was a mistake.
"There are so many small details that I actually wasn't aware about," Filipovic said. "Fighting in a cage is fighting in a cage. It's not a ring. The cage has its own rules, and it's a big difference.
"I spent my whole career fighting in Japan in a ring. The cage is a cage. ... (Now) I have an original UFC cage in my house. I have a gym inside my house, and I have cage there."
But Filipovic didn't stop there. The Croatian made a complete change in his regimen prior to his most recent win – a UFC 110 victory over Australian journeyman Anthony Perosh – and he believes the adjustments are paying serious dividends.
"It is very important to have a camp like Ivan Hippolyte has in Amsterdam," Filipovic said. "First of all, he's a first-class coach. Second thing, there are many sparring partners, which I don't have in Zagreb, in Croatia. It's good to go there to be isolated.
"I don't think [my old training partners] were on the level like professionals. I don't want to offend them. They are my friends who came to help me, but they're just not that kind of level of fighters that I can find in Amsterdam. It's one thing to spar with friends of mine who are good, very solid fighters. But it's another thing to spar with Remy Bonjasky and other K-1 stars. That's something very different."
But along with the change in scenery and adjustments in training, Filipovic said there's one more important aspect to his improved attack: himself.
The 35-year-old said his lethal legs are finally 100 percent again, and he's ready to let them fly.
"Thank God finally I have recovered completely," Filipovic said. "I had a very bad injury two years ago. My leg was broken. The knee was completely broken. I had three surgeries for the knee, and of course it reflected in my kicking. I was afraid to kick. It was still very fresh, but I decided to take the risk for the Cologne fight (UFC 99).
"One year ago, it was only six months after the surgery, so it was a suicide according to the doctor, but I decided to take the fight, and I decided to take another fight with (Junior) Dos Santos, which wasn't a smart idea in that condition. But I'm a fighter. I like the sport. I like fighting, and I like competition. But obviously you need to make a decision with the head and not with the heart."
It's that recovery process that Filipovic cites for a ho-hum win over Mostapha and the loss to Dos Santos.
"It was really a hard injury, and it really took time, Filipovic said. "Now it is one-and-a-half years since I had the operation, and it's finally OK. Finally, two months ago, I started with the full kicking.
"If you noticed, I didn't even try to do a kick with Mostapha Al-Turk. I didn't try – or I tried only once – to kick Junior Dos Santos. I didn't feel very stable in kicking. I didn't feel my leg good, so I just didn't kick. Of course it frustrated me a lot, but it was my decision to enter the cage. It was my decision to accept the fight. Nobody forced me in that, but thank God that is behind me now and the legs are OK."
Written off by some MMA observers as past his prime during his current 5-3 stretch, Filipovic respectfully disagrees. In fact, if "Cro Cop" is right about his current path, Barry might soon be looking to cash in on some free Canadian healthcare.
"[Barry] is a good fighter, a good striker, and that's what I like," Filipovic said. "I like to fight strikers. I don't like to fight (grapplers) – not because I can't handle it. I just prefer to stay in a standup position. Pat will stay in a standup position.
"It will be a good standup war, and I think the audience will be very satisfied with the fight. Plus I think there will be many Croatian fans. Vancouver has a strong Croatian community. There will be many Croatian flags. What fighter could wish more than that? A good opponent, an excellent audience, that's all I can wish."
UFC 117 official with Silva vs. Sonnen, Almeida vs, Hughes, Dos Anjos vs. Guida
UFC 117 official with Silva vs. Sonnen, Almeida vs, Hughes, Dos Anjos vs. Guida
Headlining the event is a long-rumored middleweight title fight between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and challenger Chael Sonnen.
Tickets for the event, which will range from $50 to $400, are scheduled to go on sale to the public on Friday, June 11, while UFC Fight Club members will have first shot at seats on Wednesday, June 9.
"When we offered Chael Sonnen this shot at the title, he promised us one thing: that he was going to make this a fight," UFC president Dana White stated in today's release. "I know he means it, and after beating three legit contenders in Nate Marquardt, Yushin Okami and Dan Miller, he's definitely going to bring the best out of Anderson Silva on Aug. 7.
"And as far as Anderson is concerned, he wants to remind everybody why he's considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world."
Sonnen (24-10-1 MMA, 4-3 UFC) earned his shot at the middleweight title with a February win over fellow contender Nate Marquardt. Due to injuries suffered in the contest, Sonnen was unavailable to face Silva at UFC 112 in April, so Demian Maia took the fight, instead.
Sonnen actually lost to Maia at UFC 95 in February 2009, but he has since rattled off three-straight wins over Marquardt, Okami and Miller.
Meanwhile, Silva (26-4 MMA, 11-0 UFC) pushed his UFC record to 11-0 with a lackluster unanimous-decision win over Maia. While Silva has soured some fans with his inability to finish some of his recent opponents, he's still widely regarded as the best fighter in mixed martial arts.
While Sonnen has earned mixed results during his seven-year career, the Oregonian said pedigree has little to do with what will happen in the contest. Instead, he insists what is essentially a striker vs. grappler affair will come down to a test of will.
The Almeida-Hughes fight, which will serve as the evening's co-main event, is actually a rematch of sorts. Hughes defeated Almeida in 2000 during an ADCC grappling match.
Almeida (12-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who looks to avenge his mentor's loss, goes for his fourth consecutive win in the UFC. After a four-year break from the sport, the former PRIDE and Pancarase fighter went 1-1 with a submission win over Rob Yundt and a close split-decision defeat to Patrick Cote in 2008. Then, after another yearlong layoff, he returned to post decision wins over Matt Horwich and Kendall Grove and the submission victory over Brown in March.
Hughes (44-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC), who was inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame this past weekend, quietly has moved back into title contention. After losing his long-held welterweight title during a tough 1-3 stretch, he's since rebounded for a close decision win over Matt Serra and the TKO victory over Gracie.
Guida (26-11 MMA, 6-5 UFC), a crowd-pleasing lightweight who's been involved in some of the UFC's most legendary scraps, recently snapped a two-fight skid with a second-round submission victory over Shannon Gugerty. The 28-year-old posted a three-fight win streak (the second-longest of his career) with wins over Sam Schiavo, Mac Danzig and Nate Diaz before a very close split-decision defeat to Diego Sanchez and a submission defeat to Kenny Florian.
His opponent, 25-year-old dos Anjos (14-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC), opened his UFC career with a knockout loss to Jeremy Stephens and a decision defeat to Tyson Griffin. Although the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt surprisingly got a third fight with the organization, he made the most of it and scored a unanimous-decision win over Rob Emerson. He then posted two more wins with a decision victory over Kyle Bradley and a second-round submission win over fellow contender Terry Etim at UFC 112 in April to extend his current win streak to three.
The UFC visits Oakland for the first time, and the promotion hasn't held an event in Northern California since "UFC 76: Knockout" in September 2007.
UFC 114 medical suspensions: Five fighters suspended up to six months or longer
A larger-than-normal number of fighters suffered more-serious-than-usual injuries at this past weekend's UFC 114 event, and five fighters could be medically suspended for up to six months or longer.
Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer today emailed the list of UFC 114 medical suspensions to us.
Main-card fighters Mike Russow and Diego Sanchez – as as well as preliminary-card fighters Amir Sadollah, Waylon Lowe and Luiz Cane – are dealing with ailments ranging from a broken forearm to a corneal abrasion to a fractured sinus.
Ten fighters in all were suspended from the card, which took place May 29 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Russow, who scored a come-from-behind knockout victory over Todd Duffee, and Dong Hyun Kim, who scored a decision win over Sadollah, were the only winning fighters issued mandatory medical suspensions.
Sanchez, who suffered a decision loss to fast-rising welterweight John Hathaway, is suspended indefinitely pending doctor's clearance due to an eye injury.
The full list of medical suspensions includes:
Dan Miller: Suspended until June 29 with no contact until June 20 due to upper-eyelid laceration
Todd Duffee: Suspended until July 14 with no contact until June 29 for precautionary reasons
Mike Russow: Suspended until Nov. 26 due to broken left ulna/forearm, though can be cleared early by orthopedic doctor; regardless, suspended until July 14 with no contact until June 29 due to upper-eyelid laceration
Diego Sanchez: Suspended indefinitely until cleared by ophthalmologist for possible right-eye corneal abrasion; regardless, suspended until June 29 with no contact until June 20 for left-eye laceration
Amir Sadollah: Suspended until Nov. 26 due to possible right-hand and right-ankle injuries, though can be cleared early an orthopedic doctor following X-rays; regardless, suspended until June 29 with no contact until June 20 for precautionary reasons
Dong Hyun Kim: Suspended until June 20 with no contact until June 13 due to right-eyelid laceration
Efrain Escudero: Suspended until July 14 with no contact until June 29 due to scalp and left-eyelid lacerations
Waylon Lowe: Suspended until Nov. 26 due to possible chest injury, though can be cleared early an orthopedic doctor following X-rays; regardless, suspended until June 29 with no contact until June 20 for precautionary reasons
Luiz Cane: Suspended until Nov. 26 due to fractured left-maxillary sinus and nose injuries, though can be cleared early by ear-nose-throat doctor
Jesse Forbes: Suspended until June 13 with no contact until June 6 for precautionary reasons
