(Pictured Georges St-Pierre and boxing coach Freddie Roach. Courtesy of Eric Williams/D.R. Photo Management)

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre is always out to improve himself, he’s always studying ways of making himself a better fighter, and he’s taken another step forward by traveling to Hollywood to work with one of the best boxing coaches Freddie Roach.

Training at the Wild Card gym, GSP is looking to close some of the holes in his game focusing on his boxing under the tutelage of Roach.

“It is time to focus on my boxing,” St. Pierre said. “When I get to the other side of my career I don’t want to be one of those fighters who have been hit too many times, so they keep getting knocked out. If you have the opportunity to work with someone like Freddy, you take advantage.”

Meanwhile, Roach looks at the training sessions as a personal challenge to teach one of the best wrestlers in mixed-martial-arts the dynamics of boxing. He’s got nothing but praise for the UFC champ, as the French Canadian fighter is quick to pick up on the training.

“It’s a challenge for me as much as it is for him,” Roach said. “The footwork and the stances are different than what I’m used to working with. I’ve never looked at MMA the way some [in boxing] have. A fighter is a fighter and a good one is going to pick up knowledge from wherever they can and apply it as they can.”

“Georges is such a tremendous athlete, and he’s such a fast learner,” Roach said. “We were working at different distances and different angles than he’s used to fighting in MMA, but he picked it all up so fast.”

The photo and the quotes are courtesy of Yahoo! Sports, just click the link to read the rest of the article.

Click here to view the embedded video.

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre squared off against former NHL tough guy Goerges Laraque on Friday on a special episode of ‘Off the Record’ on the Canadian sports network TSN.

Both men squared off at the Tristar gym in Montreal in a friendly grappling match that pitted the 190 pound champ against the 275 pound hockey player.

In the end the UFC champ proved too much, taking down his fellow Quebecer at will, winning the battle of the two Georges on Friday night.

“I was surprised,” St. Pierre admitted. “He’s better than I thought he would be. I respect him a lot because he showed up. A lot of guys talk but don’t show up.”

Laraque, who was noticeably winded following the skirmish, was noble in defeat.

“That’s much harder than an NHL game or a hockey fight,” Laraque told Landsberg following the tilt. “It’s unbelievable, I couldn’t imagine fighting someone my own size.”

HT: TSN.ca

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (May 21, 2010) — South Florida native and MMA rising star Pat Curran will return to fight in his home state for the first time next month since two upset victories in Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 2 Lightweight Tournament catapulted him into the tournament’s championship round and national MMA stardom.

Curran, who grew up in Delray Beach and Boca Raton, will face off with MMA veteran and 2009 “Sumbission of the Year” title-holder Toby Imada during the Main Event fight when Bellator returns for the fourth time to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on June 10th. The winner will take home Bellator’s Season 2 155-lbs. Tournament title and will become the No.1 contender to reigning Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez.

The much-anticipated Curran-Imada fight is just part of the eight-fight Bellator 21 card, which will also be televised LIVE on FOX Sports Net and during special taped highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo. Tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets and at Ticketmaster.com.

“We can’t wait to return to South Florida and bring our Lightweight Tournament Championship fight with us,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebeney. “I am especially happy that Pat Curran will have a chance to fight in front of his hometown crowd. He has gone on a tremendous run in our Lightweight Tournament and has made a substantial name for himself in the world of MMA. His fight against Toby Imada, a crafty MMA veteran, is going to be a great fight to watch and a great Main Event at the Hard Rock.”

Curran, who now lives and trains outside of Chicago, was standout wrestler for Olympic Heights Community High School, finishing fourth at the state finals during his senior year. After graduating, he studied for and received his Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification in South Florida before being convinced by his older cousin, MMA legend Jeff “Big Frog” Curran, to move to Illinois to begin a career in MMA.

He took his first pro fight in February of 2008 and quickly compiled an impressive record of 9-3.
He made his Bellator debut in impressive and dramatic fashion on April 15th in Chicago with a first-round KO of Georges Saint-Pierre training partner Mike Ricci. Curran then followed that up with one of the biggest upsets of the year in all of MMA, a unanimous decision win over superstar Roger Huerta in Bellator’s Lightweight Tournament semifinal round Boston.
The wins have helped turn Curran into an overnight star.

Imada (25-12) is perhaps best known for the remarkable inverted triangle choke submission that he used to dispatch the heavily favored Jorge Masvidal during the semifinals of Bellator’s Season 1 Lightweight Tournament. The submission has now been viewed more than 700,000 times on YouTube and won Imada “Submission of the Year” honors from nearly every MMA media outlet. But the submission has also served to overshadow the magnitude of an impressive three-year run that has seen Imada win 11 of his last 12 pro fights including a Bellator quarterfinal submission of WEC veteran James Krause and a semifinal submission of up-and-comer Carey Vanier.

Details on the other seven fights will be released in the coming weeks.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow us on Twitter @BellatorMMA or become a fan on Facebook at Facebook.com/BellatorMMA.

UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck earned a shot at the title after defeating Paul Daley the other weekend at UFC 113. Koscheck will face champion Georges St-Pierre in a rematch and plans on leaving it all on the line this time.

“This time it is everything. This is going to be it man. This is my run to the title and I’m going to get it. I’m close. I’ve got to be focused. I’ve got to train and I’m coming out of this fight with a victory.”

“Georges, you better work on your power because I’m going to force you to stand up with me when we fight and I’m going to knock you out.”

HT: MMAWeekly.com

Would you prefer Alistair Overeem fought Fedor Emelianenko or signed with the UFC before the end of 2010? What would you tell Andrei Arlovski after watching him lose for the third straight time? Is Matt Lindland on his last leg where current relevance in MMA is concerned? Are you more excited about the heavyweight headliners at Moosin MMA or the battle between bad-ass Betties a few fights down on the card?

Keyboard warrrrriors….come out to plaaaay-yay!

If you’re reading these lines you’ve made it through another work-week and are back in the friendly digital confines of “Grappling with Issues”, our site’s resident Friday feature highlighting insight and opinion from Adam Tool and myself on six subjects plucked from the Mixed Martial Arts landscape. However, just because we staffers get the fancy set-up, please don’t feel precluded from dishing out your own thoughts on each matter in the comments section at the bottom of the column…

More appealing match-up at this weekend’s Moosin MMA event – Tim Sylvia vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski or Tara LaRosa vs. Roxanne Modafferi?

Adam Tool: In essence this question is asking which fight I’ll be looking for first when I hit the internet Saturday morning to catch up on some fights, and the answer is LaRosa vs. Modafferi. I could care less about anything Tim Sylvia does anymore; he lost a big chunk of whatever respect I had for him following is 36 second clowning at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko. He could have salvaged his career by coming back with a hard-fought win over a respectable opponent, but instead he got knocked out in less than 10 seconds by a 48 year old boxer making his professional MMA debut. The headlining bout at Moosin seems like it’s designed to give Pudzianowski (who comes up second to Krzysztof Soszynski in the “Fighters Whose Name I Hate Typing” category) a legitimate name to add to his meager record. A win over the former body builder does little to help Sylvia’s reputation, and a loss just sends him further down the heavyweight rankings.

LaRosa and Modafferi are two legitimate fighters in the world of women’s MMA, with LaRosa being one of the top P4P female fighters in the world. We’ve got the always intriguing striker vs. grappler dynamic for this bout, and Modafferi will no doubt be hungry to avenge her loss to LaRosa in their previous meeting. Strikeforce is supposed to be the home for women’s MMA but so far this year they’ve dropped the ball as far as promoting new talent. With a win here Modafferi could easily be pegged as an upcoming contender for Sarah Kaufman’s championship, but it’s tough to see where LaRosa goes from here unless she’s willing to move back up to 135 lbs. In any case this should be an entertaining scrap between two aggressive young ladies, and I’m looking forward to watching it in grainy flash video on Saturday morning.

Brendhan Conlan: Tool essentially squished my opinion into a little ball and smacked it over the fence for a homerun. Though the result of Sylvia’s almost-guaranteed slop-fest with Pudzianowski is fascinating in a sick way I’m far more interested in seeing how the action unfolds in LaRosa vs. Modafferi.

I don’t fault “The Maine-iac” for taking what he felt would be an easy win against an opponent with some name value (Ray Mercer) on the heels of losing 3-of-4 against top shelf competition. It was a calculated risk and a gamble he ultimately paid for by sacrificing his already-wavering reputation in the sport with both the loss and by showing up as though he’d trained at Pillsbury Top Team for the bout. However, embarrassing knockout aside, it has to be noted Sylvia had only finished a single opponent in the four years prior. Looking at his record seems to indicate Tim-meh benefited more from a distinct size advantage coupled with a shallow heavyweight pool, rather than a particular set of skills, to earn his reputation as a two-time UFC champion. His physical dimensions and past praise will always make Sylvia an attraction, but then again the same can also be said about the “World’s Biggest Ball of Yarn”. Fighting a 2-0 former strong-man who once tested positive for performance enhancing drugs has “freak show” appeal but doesn’t compare from a competitive standpoint to the other pairing mentioned in this topic’s subject line.

Modafferi is 7-1 since 2007 with the lone loss coming in a match she took on short notice against Marloes Coenen, a naturally bigger and equally respectable Mixed Martial Artist. LaRosa is currently riding a fifteen-fight win streak and is 18-1 over her eight-year career. They fought to a decision in 2006, so there’s a familiarity there that should breed engagement because both already have a fair idea of what to expect when they lock horns or stand and bang. Their combined skill, heart displayed in previous fights, and styles should make for an entertaining scrap and definitely one I find to be more appealing than that featuring 4X the weight.

What advice would you give Andrei Arlovski on the heels of losing his third consecutive fight?

Tool: Honestly, I have no idea. He’s spent the last two years dedicating a bulk of his training to boxing, yet he was clearly being handled on the feet by Antonio Silva. I don’t know if that owes more to Arlovski’s decline or Silva’s improvement, but there’s little left of the mystique “The Pitbull” once had. He’s still got plenty of name value amongst casual fans so he’ll keep getting fights as long as he wants to but there’s no reason to believe that he’ll have a spot amongst the heavyweight elite any longer.

If I had to mark one area for improvement it might just be cardio. Late in the fight it looked as though Silva had all but punched himself out (at least, that’s the only reason I can think of as to why he insisted on continually clinching against the cage) and Arlovski could have turned things around if he would have had to the gas to really pour it on. He’s got to be feeling better about his chin after taking some of Silva’s best shots, and I still believe that his striking looked awesome against Fedor (right up until the flying knee of course), so I don’t think I’m ready to write Andrei off completely. The long layoff between his last two fights might have played a factor, so I think he should try and get back in the cage as soon as possible if he’s to have any hope of breaking this losing streak.

Conlan: If I was in Arlovski’s ear I would concentrate on the positives stemming from his loss to “Bigfoot” Silva, encourage him to continue training outside of his comfort zone, and get him in touch with Georges St. Pierre (or comparable high-level athlete) to discuss the benefit potentially derived from speaking to a sports psychologist.

As Tool mentioned, “The Pitbull” absorbed a few clean shots from Silva and never went limp in the process. Obviously Arlovski is interested in actual victories, not moral ones, but his retention of consciousness is an important fact to note when owing 3/4 of his career losses to having it taken from him while Silva has an equal ratio of career wins by TKO. The bout as a whole was relatively close and essentially up for grabs. A few tweaks in strategy and perhaps a bit more mental focus between bells would have likely resulted in a Belarusian victor rather than a Brazilian one.

Moving on, my understanding is that Arlovski spent some time training at American Kickboxing Academy and Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting rather than working with his regular group of pre-fight handlers. I think it was a wise decision on his part regardless of result, as I truly believe improvement goes hand-in-hand with the type of preparation Mixed Martial Artists receive in camps as deep and experienced as those mentioned (as well as 5-10 others). There’s no doubt in my mind Andrei would get an infinite amount more out of sparring and grappling with actual peers rather than peons, and the type of knowledge found in places featuring guys like Jackson or Dave Camarillo is an asset any fighter is lucky to have in their corner.

Finally, though I have no idea if he’s already sought counsel on the matter, I think it would behoove Arlovski to spend some time speaking with a sports psychologist. There is no underestimating the influence an athlete’s mental state has on his/her performance during “go” time. I would be shocked if the manners in which Emelianenko and Brett Rogers beat him don’t still play his mind at some level, and I suspect his hesitance to fully engage against a lessened Silva in the final round may have actually been evidence of doubt-laced caution rather than questionable conditioning. I don’t think it’s far-fetched to think his self-esteem may have taken another dip with a third consecutive loss nor is it crazy to think Arlovski may enter his next match-up with additional stress/anxiety due to the possibility of going 0-4. Talking to a professional equipped to handle people in similar situations could genuinely help the former UFC Heavyweight Champion regain his mojo and get back to baring his fangs in the cage.

Of the four Brazilian’s to emerge victorious at “Strikeforce – Heavy Artillery”, who were you most impressed by – Rafael Cavalcante, Roger Gracie, “Jacare” Souza, or Antonio Silva?

Tool: Each fighter’s win was impressive for one reason or another, but the fighter whose performance stood out the most to me would have to be “Jacare.” I’ve been watching Souza’s career with interest for a few years now and I’m pleased to see him starting to make waves here in the U.S. While the announcers on Saturday night might have wanted you to think that “Jacare” and Joey Villasenor were having a great back-and-forth battle, the reality is that Souza dominated the fight from bell to bell. His cardio may not have been where he wanted it to be in the third round, but that’s only the second time in his career he’s gone the distance (and he won both times). As Jason High pointed out on Twitter, Souza isn’t like most jiu-jitsu fighters when it comes to taking the fight to the ground. Whereas Demian Maia or Thales Leites might pull guard, Souza has a mean shot that worked almost every time on Saturday. Once he’s on the ground there are few fighters in the world that can match his grappling ability, and I’ll give credit to the toughness of Villasenor for surviving and getting out of some bad situations. I’m sure he would have preferred to get the finish but in the end “Jacare” gave a dominant performance that puts him right at the top of the list of contenders for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship. Now we just have to wait and see who he’s going to fight for that title (note to Scott Coker: please not “Mayhem” Miller).

Conlan: Credit to all of the names involved, and I can’t argue against Tool’s choice of “Jacare” (though I wouldn’t mind seeing he and Miller give it a third go-round with the Strikeforce title involved), but I was actually most-impressed by Rafael Cavalcante’s performance against Antwain Britt. “The Juggernaut” may not quite be at Villasenor’s level in terms of experience of success in the cage, but he also wasn’t coming off nearly a year’s layoff between bouts and has twice as many fights in the last two-and-half years as “Smokin” Joe does. Britt has heavy hands and put them on “Feijao” a few times to no avail only to end up slumped against the cage, then finished, due to some well-placed strikes from the blackbelt in BJJ. Cavalcante is now 9-for-9 in terms of finishing opponents he’s beaten in the first ten minutes of action and has yet to rely on his submission arsenal to pull out victories. The performance was too impressive as far as I’m concerned to opt for someone who fought to a decision.

Which would you rather see: Alistair Overeem fights Fedor Emelianenko before the year is up, or Overeem goes to the UFC and mixes it up with the new class of top heavyweights?

Conlan: Tough question! I’ll go with Overeem vs. Emelianenko by the width of a thread plucked from the Russian’s favorite sweater. I’m confident “The Demolition Man” will eventually end up in the UFC regardless of when the move actually takes place, while I think the number of Fedor’s future fights – especially against top competition – is a bit more debatable and its limited nature should be capitalized on. Also, assuming Emelianenko emerges victoriously from his San Jose showdown with Fabricio Werdum on June 26th, an added bonus to a bout with the imposing Dutch striker is it serving as a proper Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship match rather than inviting criticism of the title due to the involvement of lesser competition or enormous gaps in the strap being defended.

I’d love to see Overeem slugging it out in the UFC against Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, or Brock Lesnar as much as anyone else, but all involved parties are young enough to see those outcomes to fruition within the next couple of years. On the other hand, “The Last Emperor” has recently dealt with a slew of nagging injuries and has little left to prove in his career outside of the Octagon (a possibility seeming less-and-less likely with each passing day). Putting the two together before year’s end would give Emelianenko a chance to further solidify his legacy against a respected, and much larger, heavyweight while also allowing Alistair an opportunity to become the first fighter to legitimately beat Fedor and reap the benefits attached to such a feat.

Tool: At the moment I would also probably have to lean towards Emelianenko vs. Overeem myself, if for no other reason than because Overeem represents the lone interesting opponent for Fedor at the moment. If Fedor can’t fight Alistair then what is there left for him to do? Fight worthless cans in Japan on New Year’s Eve? Take on guys out of their weight class like Dan Henderson and “King Mo” Lawal? I know Fedor doesn’t really care about taking on the best fighters in the world, but it’s something his fans would like to see if they’re going to have any ammunition in the ongoing pound-for-pound debate.

Overeem will have to make his way to the UFC sooner or later if he wants to considered the best in the world, but he does have the luxury of time. The UFC’s heavyweight division has four guys at the top right now, and none of them have faced each other yet. There’s still some work to be done in establishing the pecking order amongst Lesnar, Carwin, Velasquez, and Dos Santos, and by the time things start to sort themselves out the timing should be right for Overeem to come in and establish his place. If he enters the UFC as the man who shattered Fedor’s mystique, then the interest level shoots right up for any potential dream bout he takes in the octagon.

Should the winner of tonight’s Tyron Woodley/Nathan Coy fight become the top contender to Nick Diaz’s Strikeforce Welterweight Championship?

Conlan: I can see Woodley receiving a title shot with a win, especially with Jay Hieron’s Strikeforce future currently in limbo, but in no way should Coy get a crack at Diaz’s belt regardless of how convincing his method of victory might be. The three-fight streak he’s riding was preceded by back-to-back losses and involves competition with a combined record equating to a single win over even. Tonight only marks his second appearance in Strikeforce with the initial bout coming more than two years ago. Beating a rising star like “T-Wood” would be impressive but isn’t enough to thrust him into championship contention.

However, if Woodley walks away winner he’ll move to 7-0 as a professional and 4-0 in Strikeforce. He’s finished five of his six opponents in the first round and the sixth only made it through about ¾ of the second stanza. Another early submission or TKO would further establish the 28-year old as one of the company’s legitimate rising stars, and with a roster of welterweights thinner than Cory Hill trying to cut to 135-pounds it would make sense to give the Mizzou alumnus a shot. Additionally, if Strikeforce wants to capitalize on the recent heat between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and champ Nick Diaz, they can always make a future catch-weight bout for the two rivals while pairing Woodley against either Marius Zaromskis or Evangelista Santos (depending on who walks away winner at June 16th’s Strikeforce event in Los Angeles) to keep him active and erase any leftover doubts about how deserved his contendership is.

Tool: Brendhan’s right on the money here, as Strikeforce has a very real prospect in Tyron Woodley. His run on Strikeforce Challengers has been impressive, but with a win tonight the time will be right for him to take on a bigger role within the company. The welterweight division in Strikeforce is so devoid of talent that Woodley makes as much sense as anyone else. He also represents a great stylistic match-up for Diaz, as his wrestling pedigree could likely allow him to dictate where the bout takes place, and his heavy hands would be a good test for Diaz’s legendary chin and peppering punches. Other than the aforementioned Hieron, I can’t think of anyone else that Strikeforce could get to represent a credible threat to Diaz’s title.

TRUE/FALSE – His headlining spot on tonight’s Strikeforce Challengers card represents Matt Lindland’s last chance at relevancy in the current MMA scene.

Conlan: False, though certainly a loss to any associate of reality television whore Spencer Pratt would destroy the bulk of his remaining credibility as a contender. Lindland may be 3-4 over his last seven bouts but keep in mind the people he’s lost to over that period – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (a split decision by the way), Vitor Belfort, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and Fedor Emelianenko. It’s not as if low-level fighters are mopping the mat with the Team Quest founding-father. Yes, he’s 40 and on the downside of his career, but he’s not on the border of crossing over into “Ken Shamrock” territory. It would take a string of consecutive losses to fighters of Casey’s caliber before I’d comfortably state Lindland had lost all relevance in the sport.

Tool: I’ll go with true, as I can’t see Lindland doing anything of note in the near future should he fall to Kevin Casey. Personally I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror anymore if I lost to a guy that uses Spencer Pratt for credibility, but that’s me. Brendhan has a good point about the quality of opposition Lindland has lost to, but it’s also fair to point out that his last win was two years ago against the less-than-impressive Fabio Nascimento. “The Law” has gone 1-3 since then, and the only real interest he’s garnered from the MMA media is centered around his attempt at a political career and the upcoming documentary about his life. He doesn’t have the fan support of somebody like Jens Pulver, so will anybody still want to see Lindland fight if he can’t get a win or two along the way?

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will face off with former Montreal Canadiens hockey enforcer Georges Laraque this Friday.

The two friends will appear on the Canadian sports channel TSN on Friday’s edition of ‘Off The Record‘ beginning at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT).

“First we will do a wrestling match, because he believes that he is going to be able to put me down at will, and I believe that I am going to be able to put him down at will,” explained St-Pierre.

“On the ice I would never go against him, he’s going to beat me and I agree with that 100 percent, but on the floor I have no problem,” GSP added.

GSP is giving up about 80 pounds to Laraque in their friendly match. The champ weighs approx. 190 pounds currently while the Laraque weighs in at approx. 270 pounds.

“I think because of the weight difference he’s going to have a hard time,” said Laraque. “I want to pick him up and body slam him.”

“The problem is Georges believes I am like a tomato can you can grab at the supermarket and you can lift it and do what you want,” remarked St-Pierre “He’s going to find out that it’s not that easy.”

Once video becomes available The MMA News will have it up for fans to check out.

HT: TSN.ca

CageCraze.com Profile: “The Franchise” Kyle Gibbons

“The world isn’t all sun shines and rainbows.  It is a very mean and nasty place.  I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.  You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life, but it isn’t about how hard you can hit.  It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward.”-Sylvester Stallone as “Rocky” in Rocky Balboa

"The Franchise" Kyle Gibbons

Though a typical motivational movie quote, this statement illustrates a true definition of life.  Hardships are a primary part of life and our responses to them shape us as individuals.  Kyle Gibbons, not only as a fighter, but as a person, exemplifies this philosophy.  He is a person who has stared life in the face and decided to fight back.  Kyle’s hardships gave him the needed motivation to commence a career in mixed martial arts, but his background as a martial artist and athlete were prior commitments.

Kyle Gibbons has always been a competitor.  He was a Michigan high school three sport athlete and started at wide-receiver for a Minnesota college.  During his stint in college, Gibbons became aware of mixed martial arts, and the likes of Royce Gracie, through a fellow teammate.  After persistent talk of mixed martial arts from his teammate, Gibbons let his curiosity get the best of him and looked into the sport, thus beginning the romance.  It was love at first sight for Gibbons and mixed martial arts.  His infatuation eventually led him to enroll in Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes.

While training under Kevin Shoults in Traverse City, Michigan, Gibbons found himself in a different competitive atmosphere than that in which he had been accustomed.  In the past he had been perplexed with how he could benefit his team, but now he had only himself in which to regard.  Even with this dilemma Gibbons excelled.  He entered a North American Grappling Association (N.A.G.A.) tournament just three months into his training where he defeated four men in a combined one minute and seventeen seconds.  This successful outing led a training partner (whom had competed for King of the Cage) to explain to Kyle that he thought Kyle possessed the talent to prosper in mixed martial arts.  Despite being introduced to Mike Camp (a matchmaker for the Legends of Fighting) and manager Scott McCorkle, Kyle wrote off the prospect of fighting.  However, a series of unfortunate events including the death of his mother, best friend, and grandfather led Kyle back to the idea of fighting.

Kyle with his LFC belts

After a phone call to Mike Camp, Kyle was set for his mixed martial arts debut.  After all that he had endured, Gibbons’ emotions came to a head while his opponent entered the cage.  “I was still so angry over the death of my mother that when I saw my opponent begin to make his way to the cage I began crying.  I knew I was going to win.  I felt it.” proclaimed Gibbons.  Gibbons pre-fight thoughts became a reality in less than ten seconds.  Perhaps Gibbons’ most emotional ten seconds of his life gave him a 1-0 mixed martial arts record via knockout.  Kyle went on to fight four more times gaining four more impressive victories in the amateur ranks.  Unfortunately, life decided to throw turmoil into Gibbon’s life one more time.

After a fire consumed Gibbon’s home and months of propositioning, Kyle decided to sign with manager Scott McCorkle.  With this decision Kyle moved to Indianapolis, Indiana to focus on his fighting career.  Since these series of life altering events, Gibbons has added multiple accolades to his resume.  He has obtained a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, possessed the LFC Amateur, as well as professional Middleweight title, and held the LFC professional light heavyweight title.  Currently, Kyle resides in Greencastle, Indiana, training at AAKA under the tutelage of Steve St. Pierre.

Kyle with his loving & supporting wife Erin

Besides his commitment to expanding his mixed martial arts repertoire, Kyle Gibbons is a very dedicated law enforcement officer.  He has accredited his study of the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (and his body’s muscle memory) to help him subdue assailants while on duty.  With such a busy lifestyle, one has to have support in every aspect.  Kyle’s wife Erin has provided such.  She has acquired knowledge of the sport just to support Kyle.  According to Kyle, she has kept him grounded and helps him maintain his priorities.  “She didn’t marry me because I was a fighter. She could care less; she supports me fighting because she supports me in everything else in life.” stated Gibbons. This simple fact can be of the utmost importance to a fighter.  With this Kyle can enter the cage subconsciously knowing that no matter the outcome his wife will be there for him.

The future for Kyle “the Franchise” Gibbons seems to be bright.  He possesses a work ethic that cannot be taught and an innate ability for overcoming life’s obstacles.  Kyle is the epitome of quote “…it isn’t about how hard you can hit.  It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward…” (Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa).

You can watch Kyle Gibbons compete May 28^th, 2010, at the Eight Seconds Saloon for the Legends of Fighting Championship.

This article is sponsored by:

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MONTREAL - While top UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck secured a future
title shot against champion Georges St-Pierre with a
win at UFC 113, the fighter did little to endear himself to the Canadian crowd.

After wincing in pain at what appeared to be a glancing (albeit illegal)
knee and smothering brash opponent Paul Daley for three rounds in a
relatively stale affair, Koscheck took to the mic to predict a loss for
the NHL's Montreal
Canadiens.

The move ensured Koscheck will forever reside as an enemy of the
Montreal crowd, and the former collegiate wrestling champion said he now has
no desire to fight St-Pierre on his home turf.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Josh Koscheck incensed Montreal fans at the Bell Centre Saturday night, not only by predicting that the Pittsburgh Penguins would defeat the beloved Canadiens in their Stanley Cup playoff series, but by scoring a shutout three round unanimous decision over Paul Daley in the co-main event of UFC 113, a bout that will win no votes for Fight of the Year, but that did earn Koscheck a shot at national hero Georges St-Pierre's welterweight title and a coaching spot against GSP on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter.

“UFC 113: Machida vs Rua II” may not have been given a catchy nickname but it might as well be entitled ‘back on track’. After a couple of unimpressive cards which have resulted in lackluster fights the upcoming UFC has all the ingredients of a classic.

The main event is a relative rarity in recent UFC title fights in that there is little to choose between the two fighters. The first meeting between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida was close with the majority of spectators disagreeing with the judges who awarded Machida a controversial decision.

Regardless of the win the unbeaten Machida has lost little of his air of invincibility and will be looking to show that the first fight was merely an aberration by comprehensively outclassing his opponent in the rematch. “Shogun” did not make an impressive UFC debut being badly beaten by Forrest Griffin. Despite defeating fellow Pride veteran Mark Coleman he also failed to impress in his second Octagon appearance.

It was third time lucky for the the former Pride Middleweight Grand Prix champion as an emphatic first round knockout win over Chuck Liddell propelled him straight into a title show. He was a heavy underdog but Rua rolled back the years to give Machida the fight of his life. Even if Rua had been awarded the decision, as most impartial observers felt he should, this rematch would have been inevitable so to some extent the judge’s decision has been rendered irrelevant. The real winner will be decided in Montreal tomorrow night.

There is plenty of intrigue outside the main event as well. Paul Daley has won his last four fights by first round KO, two of them inside the octagon, but will be facing arguably the toughest test of his career against UFC veteran and outstanding wrestler Josh Koscheck. The TUF 1 alumni will be looking to prove that Daley’s superlative stand up can only take him so far in the UFC by putting the Englishman on his back and keeping him there.

Daley will be hoping to let his hands go but may also relish the opportunity to demonstrate that there is more to his game than merely knocking people out. A convincing win over Koscheck would firmly establish Daley as one of the top welterweights in the world and might even propel him towards a fight with reigning champion George St-Pierre, a mixed blessing if ever there was one.

Koscheck, who has already had his shot at St-Pierre, has been fighting for the UFC since 2005. He lost to GSP via unanimous decision but he has won three quarters of his 16 UFC fights and will provide a stern test of Daley’s title credentials.

The rest of the main card and undercard consists mainly of matches featuring Canadian fighters with Sam Stout vs. Jeremy Stephens and Patrick Cote vs. Alan Belcher being the main ones. Outside of Canada though all eyes will be on the bout between former street fighter and internet legend Kimbo Slice and former NFL star Matt Mitrione.

Both men featured on TUF 10 together where Kimbo surprised a lot of people with his easy going attitude and willingness to learn. He is a hugely marketable asset who did his reputation no harm by defeating Houston Alexander in his UFC debut. Kimbo will be looking to prove that he has evolved from a back yard brawler to a modern day mixed martial artist by defeating Mitrione in Montreal.

There is no guaranteed formula for exciting MMA fights, if there was Zuffa would probably have patented it. Unlike recent UFC events you cannot criticize either the matchmaking or the card at UFC 113. Hopefully the fighters can put on a show which will make the disappointment of UFC 112 seem little more than a distant memory.