Kevin Casey Replaces Ralek Gracie in K-1
August 30, 2007
Rorion Gracie’s son Ralek Gracie, who made a successful professional mixed martial arts debut in July 2007 in Hero’s against Katsuyori Shibata, was slated to fight against at K-1 Hero’s Olympia on September 5th. Apparently Ralek is injured and will be replaced by Kevin Casey. Casey is a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and studies under Rickson Gracie.
Kevin Casey choking Alan Sayce in a BJJ competition.
Relson Gracie on Allegations of Royce Gracie Using Steroids
June 18, 2007
Relson Gracie stopped in San Diego, California for a seminar on June 17, 2007 at Fabio Santos‘ academy. In this video, we sat down with Relson to discuss his thoughts on the California State Athletic Commission’s recent report that Relson’s brother Royce Gracie tested positive for steroids. The report, if accurate, is particularly unfortunate given that Gracie jiu-jitsu is based around the idea that it is technique, not strength which wins fights. This would be the first known example of a Gracie using performance enhancing drugs in competition.
Johnnie Morton’s MMA Debut: Lessons Learned
June 4, 2007
Johnnie Morton Photo Credits: TOM CASINO / FEG
Many have wondered what would happen if athletes as gifted as those in the National Football League decided to devote themselves to mixed martial arts. Johnnie Morton played football in college for University of Southern California and many teams in the NFL over a twelve year professional career. Though he had only spent time casually learning some muay-thai in the past, in 2007 he decided to enter the world of mixed martial arts, and signed with K-1 to fight in their Dynamite!! USA event held on June 2 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The eyes of fans and curious NFL players were on Morton on Saturday to see how he would fare. Morton was asked about the added pressure of such scrutiny in a press conference call on May 24th, and he responded:
I wish I had more time to prepare. I have only been [formally training MMA] for two months, but I try to learn at an accelerated rate. But I am sure that I will be someone who represents the NFL and many guys, due to my success or what have you, will either make the decision to try it or not.
When Morton was presented to the fans at the LA Colisuem on June 2, he received a very hearty and warm welcome, as this was the same venue he played football in college and Los Angeles is his hometown. His opponent was Bernard Ackah, a fighter from the Ivory Coast with one fight on his own professional MMA record. However fortune was not on Ackah’s side Saturday evening. Just thirty-eight seconds after the bell rang, Ackah delivered a right hand that sent Morton to the mat. Morton was knocked out cold and left the ring several minutes later on a stretcher and wearing a neckbrace.
Bernard Ackah
After the fight Bernard Ackah said this about Morton:
He was a very good puncher. He surprised me. I had to change my tactic to punching. Johnnie is good, a big guy with muscles, he was faster than I thought. I had to go from kicking to punching. He needs more experience.
Morton, who reported having a desire to withdraw prior to the fight and not share his thoughts with the media, was certainly not immediately available after the fight for comments due to his being brought to the hospital. Further worsening Morton’s plight is that the California State Athletic Commission has indefinitely suspended him and will hold onto his $100,000 purse because Morton has refused to take part in a post-fight anti-doping test from the CSAC, according to Sherdog.
While still early and we are not sure if Morton will try his hand again in the sport, Morton’s disappointing entry into the world of MMA is not likely to be remembered as a role model for others with NFL backgrounds to emulate. More probable is that it will be remembered as the way to not make the transition. NFL players, while athletic and accustomed to making a living from professional sport, cannot skip steps and jump into professional competition without the proper preparation that other mixed martial artists spend years working on. Like anyone else, there are techniques to learn that take years to adequately master. Johnnie Morton’s trainers Mike Guyman and Renato “Babalu” Sobral will have to carefully consider their next steps if Morton decides to return to the ring. In the meantime other NFL players considering making the crossover to MMA will likely be well-served by putting in significant time in the ring and on the mats before accepting a professional fight.
#70 Lovato wins Gold, Ryan Hall, MMA Girls, Gabe Ruediger, and Jason “Mayhem” Miller
June 3, 2007
Wow this is another packed show. Let’s start with the big news: On the weekend of May 26th in Brazil, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu National Championships (”The Brasileiros”) were held in Rio de Janeiro. The accomplished American grapplers Rafael Lovato Jr. and Ryan Hall headed down to the tournament to participate. We’ll hear from each as Ryan Hall tells us about what it’s like competing down there compared to in the United States, as well as talk to Rafael Lovato Jr. about his special accomplishment (sometimes a gold medal means more than a gold medal).
Rafael Lovato Jr. at the 2007 Brasileiros
Next, we’ll hear from Joanne of the MMA Girls. If you haven’t seen the MMA Girls on YouTube or MySpace, it was probably just a matter of time. Joanne and Lauren go over BJJ techniques and give their UFC predictions in video format, and have become celebrities quickly, with their videos reaching thousands of views very quickly, as in one of their vids having been viewed 312,000 times!!!
The MMA Girls, Joanne and Lauren
As we mentioned last week, The FightWorks Podcast headed on the road, travelling from San Diego to the Los Angeles area yesterday for the Jeremy Williams Benefit Seminar and the K-1 Dynamite!! USA show. At the seminar, we caught up with the always-entertaining MMA fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Mayhem, whose last fight was in the WEC, was sporting a shiny new blue cast on his hand, and we decided to ask him about that.
We also spoke with Gabe Ruediger, who is known by some for being asked to leave the house on The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 after having issues with his weight before a fight. Ruediger was asked to fight on yesterday’s K-1 Dynamite!! USA show at the LA Coliseum, but Armando Garcia and the California State Athletic Commission denied him his fighter’s license. Ruediger has engaged legal counsel on the matter and will tell us what he can of the situation.
Lastly, we’ll give a quick rundown of the K-1 Dynamite!! USA show, including a bit of audio from the match between Royce Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba.
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K-1 Dynamite!! USA Coming Together…
May 31, 2007
Fighters are beginning to settle into their lodging in Los Angeles in anticipation of the K-1 Dynamite!! USA event to be held this Saturday at the L.A. Coliseum. For those who can’t make it live, it will be distributed live by SHOWTIME® Pay Per View.
Also, a one-hour telecast on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. PT/6 p.m. PT) featuring EliteXC’s Jake Shields and Jonathan Wiezorek in the top bouts will precede the pay-per-view show.
vs. 
Kazushi Sakuraba and Royce Gracie
vs. 
Brock Lesnar and Min Soo Kim
vs. 
Johnnie Morton and Bernard Ackah
Images courtesy of TOM CASINO / FEG
Sunday’s episode of The FightWorks Podcast looks like it will be chock-full! Not only will we be heading up to LA to cover the K-1 Dynamite!! USA show, we have interviews lined up tomorrow with both Rafael Lovato Jr and Ryan Hall, two Americans who just returned from BJJ competition at the 2007 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu National Tournament. We will also speak with Joanne of the MMA Girls, a pair of BJJ and MMA practitioners and fans from Florida who’ve gained incredible attention in the short time they’ve been putting their BJJ technique and MMA prediction videos on YouTube.
Make sure you don’t miss this Sunday’s show by subscribing to our RSS feed!
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