Last night in Wilmington Massachusetts Judo standout Rick Hawn notched his 4th MMA victory. At 33 years old Hawn might be too old to be considered a prospect but despite his age he has serious skills that make you believe he can make it to the next level.
Hawn is one of, if not the, most decorated judo practitioners on the MMA circuit. Check out Hawn’s judo resume.
Olympic Teams: 2004 (Ninth)
World Championship Teams: 2007
Pan American Games Teams: 2007 (Bronze) Pan American Championship Teams: 2004 (Fifth), 2002 (Bronze), 1999
Hawn confirmed, according to a Sherdog.com report, that his next fight will be March 15th in North Carolina on the Shine Fights PPV, against Braulio Estima. Estima is a renowned submission grappler who will be making his MMA debut. While it’d be better for Hawn to take on more well rounded and experienced opponents it’s good to see him staying very active.
Obligatory Youtube Video:
Cole Konrad has his second career MMA fight tonight as he looks to improve his 1-0 record agaisnt Joel Wyatt and Matrix Fights 1 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Konrad, 25, is a decorated wrestler out of the University Of Minnesota. Konrad, while at the University Of Minnesota won two NCAA titles. The first came during an undefeated junior season of 2006 and he followed that up with another undefeated, title winning performance in 2007.
A decorated wrestler is always a very dangerous MMA fighter no matter how green they are. We’ve seen it with Brock Lesnar, Phil Davis, Muhammad Lawal and Josh Koscheck (in the beginning of his career.) Obviously there’s a whole lot to be intrigued about when talking about Konrad. He’s got the size of a modern day heavyweight, 6′5 265, and trains with a great camp at Minnesota Mixed Martial Arts. For a guy who aspires to be Baby Brock who better to train with.
Obligatory Youtube Video:
Keep a close eye on Hawn and Konrad both have the skill sets to one day be champion.
You declare a guy healthy and already people are trying to figure out when he’s gonna defend his title. Dana White said that Brock Lesnar would be back this summer, and now it’s looking like July might be the time. According to MMAJunkie.com:
UFC is targeting July 3 for an event date in Las Vegas. An event venue for the show, which will likely be UFC 116, has not been determined. … Plus the promotion’s first trip to Boston (possibly UFC 117), which is expected for Aug. 28.
White said the outcome Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez will factor into determining Lesnar’s next opponent.
Dana could be looking at a remarkable summer, as a Brock headlined pay-per-view followed by the organization’s first trip to Boston could bring some sick buy rates and live gates.
Why does news always happen on days where I can’t get to a computer for various reasons?
Anyway, Brock Lesnar appeared on Sportscenter this morning to discuss his future. Every time MMA news is on ESPN, I get giddy. I don’t know why, because it’s happened a bunch, but it just makes me feel like a school girl.
First thing is first, Good for Brock for getting better. I may not be the guys biggest fan, but I certainly think that he is a talented fighter. I never want to see anyone be sick like that.
Second, what does this mean for the UFC? Well, they get their cash cow back. Lesnar is the biggest draw in the UFC, and Dana is more than glad to have him back. As for the fight with Carwin/Mir, I’m pumped to see Brock back in the ring against a real test, but it would be a shame to see him at less than 100% and have him lose his belt because of it.
All in all, it’s good to have Brock back. Never thought I’d hear myself say that.
Cole Konrad is the most decorated wrestler in the history of University of Minnesota. The ultra-heavyweight won two national titles while with the Golden Gophers. That compares to just one for UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
Since then, Konrad has made the jump to MMA is making his debut on January 23rd. He trains with Lesnar and Sean Sherk at Minnesota Martial Arts Academy. From MMAFighting.com:
Cole Konrad, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion and training partner of Brock Lesnar, will try his hand at MMA at MAX Fights 8 on Jan. 23 in Fargo, N.D.
Konrad is comparable to Lesnar in size. The 25-year-old wrestled at 285 pounds when he competed collegiately for the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling team. He can make the cut to heavyweight as well, moving down to 264.5 pounds for the World University Championships in 2006.
Konrad has been training MMA the past two years alongside the UFC heavyweight champion at Greg Nelson’s Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Minneapolis and at Lesnar’s own gym in Alexandria.
Konrad finished his NCAA wrestling career in 2007 with a 154-13 record and on a 76-match winning streak.
Like Lesnar, Konrad has also had pro football aspirations, taking part in a three-day New York Jets rookie minicamp in 2007.
Konrad will face Gary Hamen (2-0).
Here is the reality of the situation: any time a 280 pound well respected wrestler makes a debut, we have to watch. We’ve all seen what Lesnar is doing based upon good wrestling and pure size, so what is to assume that a guy like Konrad won’t be able to do the same thing?
Sure, he has to put together some solid boxing, but look at Sherk. He came out of the same gym, and after many years of terrible stand-up, he developed very good boxing. Even if he lacks any kind of power, which I don’t think will be a problem for Konrad.
Oh baby. I am pumped for this fight. It looks like Brock Lesnar will continue to be out of commission for awhile, and while it sucks for the UFC’s bottom line, we will get to see all his possible opponents go at it for a chance at the champ. Starting with this one, via MMA Weekly:
It appears the wait for a heavyweight title fight for Shane Carwin has finally been set, except it will be for an interim title, as current champion Brock Lesnar remains on the mend. Carwin will now likely face Frank Mir in an interim heavyweight title match at UFC 111 on March 27 in Newark, N.J.
The rumored bout has started to take shape sources close to the negotiations disclosed to MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday night. Possibility of the bout was first reported by AOL Fanhouse.
The likelihood of this fight came about most likely in two parts following the UFC 107 weekend that just past. First, UFC president Dana White said the company was looking to make a decision in the next 6 to 8 weeks about the future of the title with Lesnar still sidelined.
The second part was Mir’s first round destruction of Cheick Kongo at UFC 107, putting the former champion squarely in the sights of another run at the title belt.
It looks like all the pieces of the puzzle have fallen together and Carwin vs. Mir is now a reality.
I really like this fight. As said above, Mir’s enhanced striking really looked good against Kongo. I really do believe that between that and the extra 25 pounds of muscle he’s added in the last few months, that he is ready to compete with any heavyweight in the world. That means you, Brock.
However, Frank Mir himself called Carwin a better version of Lesnar. Shane is a solid 265, has great wrestling and packs the hardest punch in all of MMA. His striking is nice and tight, and I just don’t see Mir achieving a takedown on him.
As you can probably tell, I like Carwin in this one, but it will be a damn good fight.
Judges had it 29-28, 29-28 and 28-28, a majority draw, for Struve.
Not Struve’s best effort. His unique frame makes him a hell of a prospect but he needs a lot of work. His kickboxing is…raw? I guess that sounds better then awful. His height makes his uppercut a weapon but he only threw it a few times this fight. His leg kicks should be devastating but, he doesn’t turn his hip into the kick and it limits it’s power. He also gassed very early on in the fight.
Buentello looked pretty good. He is what he is. A great boxer with limited skills otherwise. He’s a good guy to have around for the UFC, he’s always a game competitor.
Kenny Florian defeats Clay Guida
Florian dropped Guida with a big right hand and then sunk in a rear naked choke.
Really impressed with Florian. Probably the first time I’ve said that in his entire career. His boxing looked great and he didn’t have to rely on his muay thai and leg kicks. In his post fight interview he said that he “worked on shorting up his strikes” and it definitely showed. More importantly his wrestling looked great, he stuffed most of Guida’s shots and even had a big slam of his own.
I bet next time we see Ken-Flo it’s in Boston.
Guida has to improve his stand up. He’s relentless and always exciting in the cage but needs to continue to improve to stay relevant.
Jon Fitch defeats Mike Pierce
Fitch might now have the stigma of being a fighter that only takes fights to decisions. Not the most exciting fight but Fitch continues to do what he has to do to win.
Pierce showed some impressive power and wrestling.
Frank Mir knocks out Kongo
Mir killed Kongo. A big left floored him and then a choke put him to sleep. Can’t say much more then
Wow. Mir is driven by Lesnar and it showed. Mir is bigger and stronger, if he can retain his speed and cardio with the extra weight he is a serious threat to Brock.
BJ Penn destroys Diego Sanchez
What can I say? That was one of the most dominant performances I can remember. BJ stuffed every shot Diego tried. When Diego would grab a single BJ would punish him with uppercuts. BJ picked Sanchez apart on the feet. He was toying with him, he could have finished him at anytime. But, Penn wanted to prove a point. He wanted to prove he could go into the championship rounds. He wanted to prove he had the cardio. He wanted to shed the “he doesn’t train” label. And he did all that. Penn took a guy that’s unanimously considered a top 10 lightweight and made him look like a fool.
His last 5 lightweight fights:
- Destroyed Jens Pulver.
- Made Joe Stevenson’s head explode.
- Toyed with Sherk for 3 rounds before kneeing him in the face.
February 27, 2010, at 2:01 pm
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