The Fight Nation ~ We cover ONE FC, DARE, URCC, RUFF and all Asian related fight news!

It’s Friday and you need to check out TFN’s interview with Rich “Ace” Franklin

In case you didn’t already know, former UFC Middleweight Champion and one of the most successful fighters to ever compete in the UFC, Rich “Ace” Franklin, is currently in Singapore. He’s here to have his fight camp in preparation for his upcoming fight against Cung Le at UFC 148. Franklin is currently have his fight [...]

Know This Fighter: Allamurad “Pretty Boy” Karayev

We here at TFN, like the millions of adults out there, don’t really like Justin Bieber. In fact, we dislike him so much we even had a Justin Bieber dartboard in the office much like this one. We can’t help but feel that this guy is nothing more than a punk who’s trying to hard [...]

Mondays are BORING so here are the best Asian MMA theme songs to get you jacked

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It’s a pretty slow day for you right now. You probably slept real late bumming away watching Youtube clips while trying to get some last minute work done for the crazy Monday morning or maybe you were watching football (yawn) because there wasn’t MMA on TV. Well, just so that you don’t feel so alone [...]

TFN Exclusive: Speaking with ONE FC’s CEO Victor Cui

Some know him as the CEO of ONE FC, some know him as the Most Powerful Man in Asian MMA, some know him as Victor and of course, some know him as that dude with the most awesome tailored suits. Regardless of what you want to call the head honcho of Asia’s biggest MMA promotion, [...]

Know This Fighter: Eddie “The Filipino Phenom” Yagin

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and like most curve balls, you’ll never see it coming. It’ll hit you like lightning and leave you feeling the sting from it for a very very long time. One guy who got thrown a major curve ball by life last week was Mark “The Machine” Hominick. Hominick [...]

Remember that Bentley Jon Jones bought? Yeah, he just smashed it.

Posted by Wesley De Souza on May 20th, 2012

Jon Jones and his Bentley, during happier times

Dear TFN readers, we hope you understand that while we’re mostly dedicated to the reporting of Asian MMA news and other cool Asian stuff, there are times where we can’t help but to ~~make fun of~~ write about something that happens over there in UFC land. Right now, happens to be “one of those times”.

The news is everywhere, Jon Jones has been arrested for driving under the influence (if you don’t get it, the dude got drunk). While no photos of the Bentley has surfaced, it has been reported that the vehicle has been totaled. The following was reported by TMZ:

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … Jones was involved in an accident at around 5:00 AM in Binghamton, NY. We’re told the car — which Jones crashed into a pole — was totaled and cops arrested Jones on the scene for DUI.

The car Jones was driving struck a telephone pole at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Helen Street in Binghamton (wherever that is) and Jones was arrested moments later at the scene of the accident. Luckily for Jones, he was bailed a few hours later by his mum. The following statement was issued by his management in regards to the situation:

“I can confirm that Jon Jones was arrested early this morning on suspicion of DUI. While the facts of this situation are still being gathered and situated, First Round Management fully supports Jon and we are asking for fans and media to respect the privacy of Jon and his family during this time.”

–Malki Kawa, Jon “Bones” Jones’ Manager

Looks like the squeaky clean image that Jones has been trying to portray will be hit hard by this arrest. It’s difficult handling the fame, fortune and attention fighters get when they’ve reached the level that Jones has reached and it’s even harder when you’re just 24 years old. Jones now has 2 options, either play the “sorry” card, be apologetic and tell everyone it was a one off thing or he can turn totally “gangsta” on us. Hey, it worked for R Kelly! Either way, we’re guessing it’s “Bye bye Nike” for the kid, if you know what we mean.

Dana White made the comment of “Wow, i guess its not my week is it?”, in response of Jone’s arrest. Dana, we’re pretty sure that Jon feels that exact same way too.

Jessica Aguilar beat Megumi Fujii at Bellator 69 and broke the hearts of JMMA fans

Posted by Wesley De Souza on May 20th, 2012

JMMA fans around the world have either been crying foul or just crying over the results of the Jessica Aguilar vs Megumi Fujii match which took place at Bellator 69. It was a highly anticipated fight between 2 of the best 115lb female competitors in the world. The match ended with Fujii losing via decision. Just to let you know, Megumi Fujii or Mega Megu as her fans affectionately call her, was the number one 115lb women’s competitor in the world. Many even considered her the best pound for pound female fighter in the world. Her loss to Jessica Aguilar was only the second lost of her career. Her record currently stands at 25 wins and 2 losses.

It was obvious that given Fujii’s bread and butter is her ground game, Aguilar was in danger of being taken down and submitted during the match. However, it was pretty clear in rounds 1 and 2 that this wasn’t going to be the case as Aguilar did a tremendous job at stopping Fujii’s take down attempts. While Mega Megu did finally take Aguilar down in the 3rd round and laid some nasty ground and pound to her, it was way too late. Judges scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Aguilar. It was a close fight with Aguilar winning rounds 1 and 2 while Fujii won the 3rd.

The big question now is what’s going to be next for everyone’s beloved Megumi Fujii. She’s not a young fighter anymore and is already 38 years old. Furthermore, she’s experienced everything in the fight game and has a great record of 25-2, with both losses being at Bellator. In a post fight interview, Fujii did state she would be taking time off to re-evaluate her options. Perhaps it’s time for her to turn her focus on preparing future fighters of the sport and to pass on the torch to the next generation of female Mixed Martial Artists.

I think that last line will get me death threats from JMMA fans, oh well. In the meantime, check out the highlight video of Bellator 69, including highlights from the match between Aguilar and Fujii.

It’s Friday and you need to check out TFN’s interview with Rich “Ace” Franklin

Posted by Wesley De Souza on May 18th, 2012

In case you didn’t already know, former UFC Middleweight Champion and one of the most successful fighters to ever compete in the UFC, Rich “Ace” Franklin, is currently in Singapore. He’s here to have his fight camp in preparation for his upcoming fight against Cung Le at UFC 148. Franklin is currently have his fight camp at none other than Asia’s no.1 MMA gym, Evolve MMA.

The match against Cung Le will be Franklin’s return to the Octagon after being out for more than a year, partly due to a scheduled match with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira falling through and also due to an injury of his own which he sustained during training. Besides it being his return to the Octagon, this is also his return to the Middleweight division as his last 2 fights against Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin were both contested at Light Heavyweight.

TFN managed to catch Franklin in between his busy training camp at Evolve MMA for a quick interview on his training camp for the fight with Cung Le, his return to the Octagon and his impression of Evolve Mixed Martial Arts.

TFN: Rich, first and foremost, thank you for taking your time off to have this interview with us.

Thanks for having me.

TFN: First off, what made you fly all the way from the USA to Singapore for your training camp?

I came here to Evolve MMA last year for a visit…and was very impressed by the quality of instructors and fighters here. I’ve been to many MMA camps all over the US and I got to tell you that Evolve is the real deal; I’ve never seen so many world champions under one roof. Typically, I have to go to a few different gyms for different disciplines to get my training done. Don’t get me wrong…my coaches in the States are awesome and I love them. This time, I just wanted to switch it up. The reality is these guys here, here at Evolve…they are at the highest levels of the world for fighting. So it made total sense for me to have my training camp here for UFC 148. So far, camp has been going very well. Chatri and Heath know what they are doing.

TFN: What made you choose Evolve MMA to prepare for your fight with Cung Le?

As I said, the quality of instruction here across all the disciplines like Muay Thai, Wrestling, BJJ, also the level of the fighters here, it’s a very professional fight team. In addition, Chatri brought in some Sanshou and Wushu guys to spar with me every day to adapt to Cung’s style…he’s unorthodox with a lot of spinning techniques. As a professional fighter, I have a complete camp here and we are tailoring stuff for Cung’s game too.

TFN: This fight against Cung Le will be your first in almost 18 months, how prepared are you mentally?

I actually feel great. I don’t have any little injuries or anything. So the rest has been good for my body.

TFN: You’ve been a veteran of the sport and we’re sure have trained at many facilities around the world. How does Evolve MMA match up to other facilities you’ve trained at?

Evolve is probably the best that I have ever seen in my career, in terms of instructors, facilities, fighters. The level of professionalism here is world-class. It’s a huge team with such a diversity of expertise. The resources here are unlimited.

TFN: How are you preparing for your fight with Cung Le at Evolve and who are the main trainers working with you?

Namsaknoi and Orono are helping me with my Muay Thai. I’m working my wrestling with Heath and Jake and Ben Askren and the dozen or so BJJ Black Belts here are fine tuning my ground game, Fabricio, Ximbica, all the guys. Mitch is helping me with my strength and conditioning. When I arrived, Chatri and Heath had already come up with the game plan and strategy for the fight. The entire camp has been planned out, day by day, week by week.

TFN: As mentioned earlier, you have not fought for several months due to a shoulder injury. Bearing that in mind, do you think ring rust will be a factor in the fight?

It might, but I don’t think so. I feel really good. Patience is going to be important for this fight.

TFN: Stylistically this seems like it has the makings of an exciting fight. How do you see this fight going? Will it be a stand up war or something that will go to the ground?

Stylistically, this fight is going to be an exciting one for the fans.

TFN: Should you beat Cung Le what’s next for you? Are you eyeing another title shot?

Right now, I’m focused on Cung. I can’t look past him. But yeah sure, another title run would be great.

TFN: Would you be attending the ONE FC show in KL on the 23th June?

I’m not sure, but I will probably be heading back to the States by then. I need to go back at least 12-14 days before the fight to get rid of the jetlag.

TFN: Thank you for your time, Rich!

Thank you for having me.

Know This Fighter: Allamurad “Pretty Boy” Karayev

Posted by Wesley De Souza on May 17th, 2012

We here at TFN, like the millions of adults out there, don’t really like Justin Bieber. In fact, we dislike him so much we even had a Justin Bieber dartboard in the office much like this one. We can’t help but feel that this guy is nothing more than a punk who’s trying to hard to be a tough guy. Last time we check, you can’t really be considered a tough guy just by carrying Floyd Mayweather’s championship belts around. Don’t get us wrong though, it’s not because he’s a pretty boy, it’s got nothing to do with it and we seriously have no problems with pretty boys. In fact, there’s a pretty boy who’s impressed us a lot and we got to give him mad props. This pretty boy, unlike Bieber, is the real deal. So much so that he is this week’s “Know This Fighter”. Say hello to Allamurad “Pretty Boy” Karayev.

Karayev currently lives in Malaysia and fights out of Malaysia’s no.1 MMA gym, Muayfit. Originally from Turkmenistan, Karayev has been training and fighting in Malaysia for quite awhile and has made a name for himself in the MMA scene over there. He currently has a very impressive 12-0 record (which is a mix of both pro and amateur fights) and has finished every single opponent he’s faced, most of the time, within the first round. Judging from his past fights, it’s obvious that despite his boyish good looks, Karayev is a complete monster in the cage. Once the round starts, Karayev goes for the kill. According to Fightermatrix, Karayev is ranked one of the top 50 flyweights in the world. All this at only 20 years old. Not too shabby for such a young dude.

As stated earlier, Karayev trains out of Muayfit and is part of their Elite Fight team which is the best fight team in Malaysia. He trains and fights along side well known ONE FC fighters Eric “The Natural” Kelly, Arnaud “The Game” Lepont, Peter Davis and Raymond Tiew. While natural talent plays a huge part in his ability to achieve so much success in such a short time, you can’t deny that training with the cream of the crop in the Malaysian MMA scene helps in taking his game to a completely whole different level. Karayev started off training in Muay Thai but has since started learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and wrestling to become a more complete Mixed Martial Artist.

While Karayev has defeated many opponents in local organizations such as Mayhem, Malaysia Fighting Championship and most recently, GODs FC, in convincing fashion, it’s pretty obvious that it’s time for him to step up and face bigger challenges. It’s a no brainer that the bigger challenge we’re referring is ONE Fighting Championship. It’s been strongly rumored (and we stress on the word RUMORED), that he will be fighting at ONE FC’s upcoming event in Kuala Lumpur. It makes perfect sense to have the youngster take his game to the next level by challenging himself on Asia’s greatest stage. While no confirmation of his participation has been given yet and no opponent has been named, it’s safe to say that the Malaysian fans will go nuts for Karayev should he fight at the event. His good looks will capture the attention of the ladies and his aggressive fighting style will get the guys rooting for him.

To say that this kid is money would be an understatement and we got a gut feeling that everyone’s going to see a lot more of him down the road. Afterall, he’s only 20 and the sky’s the limit for him. So get to know Allamurad “Pretty Boy” Karayev because this kid’s going to make waves in the Asian MMA scene. Like what we said, unlike Mr. “Bieber Fever”, Allamurad “Pretty Boy” Karayev is the real deal and he’s definitely not just a pretty face.

Korean Zombie taps out Dustin Poirier and proves that he really is a bad*ss

Posted by Wesley De Souza on May 16th, 2012

The more Jung Chan Sung fights, the more we believe he just might just really be a zombie that was resurrected by Kim Jong-il in North Korea but was sent over to South Korea as a spy. It was Jung’s task to destroy the country from the inside out by infecting everyone in South Korea with a Resident Evil type virus. Of course luckily for South Korea, Jung found martial arts and instead used his insane Zombie powers for the good of MMA and to completely destroy the competition in the UFC. Of course that’s a whole gigantic load of BS but hey, it’s a pretty funny way to start an article don’t you think?

Well, anyway, “The Korean Zombie” Jung Chan Sung, just defeated Dustin Poirier in one hell of a fight. The fight was the main event of the UFC on Fuel TV 3 Live event which just took place this morning. The fight was an insane brawl that lasted 4 rounds with Jung finally dropping Poirier with a huge shot, followed by a knee. Jung then submitting him with a Darce Choke. The Zombie was his usual nut job self and took the fight to Poirier both in the stand up and grappling department. From what we saw The Zombie seemed to have won all first 3 rounds of the fight. Mad props too to Poirier for bringing it. Their fight was named “Fight of the Night” and Jung also picked up an additional “Submission of the Night” bonus.

Looks like with that win Jung will be sitting up high up in the Featherweight division. It’s pretty interesting to note too that both top contenders to Jose Aldo’s featherweight gold, Jung and Hatsu Hioki, were Sengoku veterans. Looks like our Asian homies are doing an excellent job in that division.

So many questions are going to be raised now that Jung has decisively beaten one of the division’s top prospects. Questions like, who’s going to get the title shot with Aldo? Will it be Hioki or Jung? If Jung gets the title shot, will he be able to stand and bang with the freight train that is Jose Aldo? Will we see a scenario where Jung and Hioki have to fight each other? We also wonder if The Korean Zombie will sell more T Shirts now after this awesome win and of course, will Jung really be able to survive if there really was a zombie apocalypse? Interesting questions don’t you think so?

With that being said, here are some Gifs of the fight from the cool people at IronForgesIron to entertain you.

Andrew Leone is making his boxing more awesome by training with Barry Robinson

Posted by Wesley De Souza on May 16th, 2012

Wait till he punches a Korean now!

Andrew Leone has already begun preparing for his fight for the ROAD FC tournament at Thailand’s premier MMA gym, Phuket Top Team. PTT in fact just released a video on Andrew’s training leading up to the fight.

Andrew comes from a good wrestling pedigree and he’s focusing on improving his stand up game with a very well known boxing coach, Barry Robinson. Robinson has worked with names such as Fedor Emelianenko and Melvin Manhoef. On top of that, Robinson’s voice sounds like a videogame voice that’s spurring you on while you’re training. Much like those kind of voices you hear in Fight Night games. Very “Samuel Jackson-esque” in our opinion.We’re pretty sure that with this new knowledge in boxing, Andrew will be able to punch and knock out Korean fighters even more easily. This would be a good thing for Andrew as we’ve heard knocking out Korean fighters is one of his favorite “To do” things in life.

Leone will be taking part in the ROAD FC Bantamweight tournament on June the 16th at their “Final Four” event. The event is aptly named after the tournament which is in the semi final stages. Andrew will be joined by Kyung Ho Kang (9-6), Jae Hoon Moon (3-2) and Min Jung Song (3-3). Andrew actually defeated Kyung Ho Kang in the quarter finals of the tournament via decision. However, due to the controversy of the win (which you can read about here), Kyung was given a second chance at the tournament and defeated Shoko Sato to advance to the semi finals. From what we understand, Andrew will be facing Team Max’s South Korean Min Jung Song who has a 3 wins, one by KO and 2 via decision.

While nothing is confirmed, Andrew is rumored to make his ONE FC debut once he’s done with the ROAD FC tournament. His debut will most likely take place in Manila when ONE FC heads down there later this year. Bearing that in mind, we’re pretty sure that Leone is even more determined to win the bantamweight tournament and start of his ONE FC career with a bang or should we say “A Knockout”! Alright, we admit, that was over the top corny. Live with it.

Bob Sapp Watch: Bob Sapp went to Poland and got smashed by Mariusz Pudzianowski

Posted by Wesley De Souza on May 15th, 2012

Perhaps this kinda pissed Mariusz off

Here are somethings that you can learn from the confrontation/ match between Bob Sapp and Mariusz Pudzianowski that went down last weekend:

a) If you’re a washed up has been who’s claim to fame is crying after getting hit by Mirko Crocop, don’t pick a fight against a man who’s won 5 World Strongman titles and is diligently training at American Top Team. Oh yeah, and is someone who really seems to want to fight.

b) Should you chose to fight that scary individual, do not try to attempt to infuriate him by using a blow up dummy with fake boobs to represent him. Even if you’re more than 6 feet tall and have saggy man boobs yourself, it’s not a bright idea.

c) If you’ve done both (a) and (b) already, then at least try to have a proper training camp to prepare for the fight. When we mean a “proper training camp” we don’t mean this.

d) If you’re a complete dumb@ss and have completely failed in all points mentioned so far, it would be essential to have a good game plan to avoid getting killed in the ring. However, in such scenarios, not fighting might be a better option for a game plan than simply covering up while your angry opponent beats the snort out of you.

Well, in case you still don’t get it, Bob Sapp managed to completely fail in all the above and got the living life beat out of him at KSW 19 in Poland. Mariusz completed annihilated Bob Sapp in just 39 seconds. It wasn’t pretty as Mariusz went donkey kong on Bob Sapp and actually looked like he wanted to kill him, even after the fight. It came to the point where Mariusz’s corner men had to physically pull him off Sapp after the bell rang. Bob was so banged up that he actually got busted open (aka he bled) from the fury of punches from the angry Pole. Mad props to Mariusz by the way for taking this whole MMA thing seriously. The guy has obviously lost a lot of his body builder muscle and came into this fight looking to be in much better shape than he did in his last one

So check out the vid and learn the from the complete stupidity of Bob Sapp. One thing’s for sure, even though The Sappmeister suffered quite a beating, we’ll be sure he’ll be back to lose another day.

Mondays are BORING so here are the best Asian MMA theme songs to get you jacked

Posted by Wesley De Souza on May 14th, 2012

It’s a pretty slow day for you right now. You probably slept real late bumming away watching Youtube clips while trying to get some last minute work done for the crazy Monday morning or maybe you were watching football (yawn) because there wasn’t MMA on TV. Well, just so that you don’t feel so alone on this boring Monday, we got to tell you, there ain’t much happening in Asian MMA this morning either. So what better way to get you going and wake you up from your desk bound slumber than with some of the best theme songs from some of your favorite Asian MMA promotions out there.

The theme song has long been a very important part of any MMA promotion. It represents what that MMA promotion is all about and creates the atmosphere of it’s events. Not to mentioned that it gets you FREAKING jacked when you hear it after a couple of beers! Just like Face the Pain has become synonymous (even though it really is rubbish) with the UFC and truly represents the promotion, these following theme songs do the same for these Asian MMA promotions.

So sit back, plug in your ear phones and let’s skive for the next few minutes listening to the best theme songs in Asian MMA*

ONE Fighting Championship Theme

According to ONE FC, their theme song “captures the essence of the unbreakable warrior spirit of martial arts”. Produced by one of Singapore’s top producers, Don Richmond (who’s really one cool cat), the ONE FC theme really has a good build up to really get you psyched up. Unlike the UFC that relies on heavy metal with Face the Pain, ONE FC really wanted to go back to the heyday of Pride and have a theme song that exudes grandeur and sophistication while still making you want to punch someone in the face. It’s a perfect song for an organization that is set to surpass what PRIDE was back in the day. ONE FC definitely has one of the best theme songs in any MMA promotion today.

PRIDE Theme

I know what you’re thinking, “Come on, PRIDE? It’s dead dude!”. Yeah sure PRIDE isn’t around anymore but you have to give mad props to the legacy that PRIDE has left behind. A huge part of the PRIDE legacy has to do with it’s awesome introductions and those intros would have never been as cool if not for it’s fantastic choice of a theme song. Much like ONE FC, it went the orchestral route. The build up for the song was impeccable and the production was close to perfect. It truly represented the Bushido spirit which PRIDE was all about. This song is so good as an intro theme that it’s the only time where we would be okay watching a man banging on some drums with his butt cheeks showing, seriously.

DARE Theme – This is the New Sh*t

Dare has always been proud in being the bad boys of Asian MMA. Whatever other companies are doing, DARE will always turn 180 degrees and do the complete opposite. They’re constantly pushing the envelope, trying to innovate and bring something crazy to the world of Asian MMA. In other words, they really are trying to be the new sh*t and we really can’t disagree with their choice of a theme song. “This is the New Sh*t” by Marilyn Manson suits DARE perfectly and represents our favorite rebels in the industry. Now if only Thailand would lift the ban of MMA. We’re really beginning to miss DARE.

URCC Theme – Bakbakan Na

The URCC theme, “Bakbakan Na” is done by a local Filipino ban named Velcro. By just listening to this song once, you’ll know that this really is some old school rock. No fancy effects, no funny gimmicks or remixes, just some good old rock. That’s what the URCC is about. It’s not about flashy entrances or fancy intro videos, it’s about fighting. Old school fighting between a bunch of tough guys who love what they do. We doubt you’ll find another Asian MMA promotion as manly as the URCC. The action is non stop, the fighters are real old school tough guys, the ring girls are super hot and their fans love beer. Just like the promotion, the URCC’s theme is stripped down, raw and in your face. Nothing more and nothing less, it’s just a perfect fit.

Super Fight League Theme

Seriously, what list of Asian MMA theme songs would be complete without the EPIC theme song by the Super Fight League aka SFL. From the blazing guitar intro, to the bad@ss lyrics (Boom, Pow, Punch Kick WOW!) to the Hindi rap bits, this theme song is as nonsensical and completely ridiculous as Peter Griffin when he’s high on Redbull. You know, it’s so bad, it’s actually good. Love it or hate it, you will remember it, now that’s awesome. Come on everyone, together now, SUPER FIGHT LEEEG!

Notable Mentions

DREAM Theme

I wouldn’t call this one of the best theme songs out there simply because it doesn’t stand out as much as the others do. In fact, it just comes across as a very bland and watered down version of the PRIDE theme. We’re pretty much guessing that guy who wrote this song was looking for the elusive PRIDE feel to it but ended up with something that would have been more suitable for a B grade RPG video game.

Intro Theme for UFC’s “The Ultimate Fighter” Live

While this intro theme is from the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter live and has nothing to do with Asian MMA, we have to admit that mixing images of people beating each other up with the Red Hot Chili Peppers is just down right cool. The title of the song is “Higher Ground” and it was originally written by soul legend Stevie Wonder. The song was later remade by the Peppers and it topped the charts. It’s a great song for one of the hottest shows out there today and it’s so cool, we just had to give it a mention.

*Selections are made based on suitability of the theme song, awesomeness of the theme song, ability of the theme song to make you wanna punch someone and basically what TFN freaking likes. Should you have opinions that differ, please start your own Asian MMA website or tweet. Have a nice day.