Who’s This Overeem Guy, And What’s He Doing With Fedor’s Belt?
Although newer fans may not have heard of Dutch kickboxer Alistair Overeem until he handily defeated Brett “the Grim” Rogers on Saturday, the guy’s actually been fighting MMA since 1999. He began his career fighting for smaller promotions like Rings, 2H2H and It’s Showtime before debuting in M1 and PRIDE in 2002. His PRIDE record includes losses to some big name guys such as Chuck Liddell, Little Nog, Fabricio Werdum and Mauricio Shogun Rua, but he did handily defeat Vitor Belfort twice (once for PRIDE in ‘05 and once for Strikeforce, in ‘06.)
T Q&A with Lyle Steffens
Lyle Steffens is a city of Tucson firefighter and a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. Steffens, who holds the light heavyweight title for Full Moon Fighting and has a professional record of 4-1, will be fighting Rich Hale for the Rage in the Cage (RITC) interim light heavyweight belt on Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Desert Diamond Casino, at Interstate 19 and Pima Mine Road. Steffens graduated from the UA in 2005 with a finance degree, after wrestling and playing football at Canyon del Oro High School. Doors open for Rage in the Cage at 7 p.m., and the fights start at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale at the Desert Diamond box office and through Ticketmaster for $25 to $100. The Weekly spoke to Steffens via e-mail.
Can you describe mixed martial arts and Rage in the Cage?
MMA is a combat sport that combines the elements from traditional combat sports such as boxing, muay Thai, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo and more…
DVD Review – BJJ Blue Belt Requirements
I was ridiculously excited when I got BJJ Blue Belt Requirements in the mail. I have been training in no-gi submission grappling for a couple of years and find that complicated enough. Putting on a gi on adds a whole new layer of complexity. Luckily, BJJ Blue Belt Requirements is the perfect roadmap for building a solid foundation.
BJJ Blue Belt Requirements is an instructional DVD set focusing on the fundamentals of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It features Roy Dean, a black belt under Roy Harris who holds belts in numerous other arts including judo, aikido, Japanese jiu jitsu and Iado. (I, of course, remembered “The Art of the Tap,” his amazing article on Grapplearts, in which he described BJJ as “a dance, a sophisticated martial interplay where warriors jockey for position and leadership.” The article offers a refreshing alternative to the tough guys I’ve come across in my training.)
Weekly Women’s MMA Wrap Up 16
FCF GRAND PRIX
According to Robert Sargent at MMARising, Freestyle Cage Fighting has announced the tournament brackets for their 8-woman 135-pound tournament, the opening round of which will take place on January 30th in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The roster is as follows:
AJ Jenkins (16-2) vs. Sarah Schneider (4-3)
Jenkins is on a five-fight winning streak, and none of her fights have gone past the first round. Schneider lost to Sarah Kaufman this past April, but there’s no shame in that, and she has notable wins over Julie Kedzie and Kaitlin Young.
Other Combat Sports articles:
MMA Opinion – Where’s WAMMA?
Savage Science – Interview with Amir Sodallah
