January 9, 2011 – Ever wanted one spot to check out the latest happenings in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, BJJ, and Submission Grappling? Well you know you already have that with TXMMA.com but we decided to make it even easier to this new column entitled the TXMMA Roundup. Herein, we’ll post the most notable news and notes for everything going on locally, nationally, and all over the world in combat sports.

Enjoy this first edition!

Texas MMA News & Notes

Here’s just about everything you need to know about the Texas MMA Scene going on this January so far.

• HOUSTON, TX – Cage Combat 7 took place in Humble, TX this past weekend to usher in a new year of amateur action for the thriving Houston MMA scene. Aaron Croon won the Garcia Promotions 145 title to cap of an event filled with plenty of finishes. Check out our event recap as well as a full assortment of photos from the event right here.

• DALLAS, TX – New promotion Elements Fighting Championship (EFC) will be holding their inaugural MMA event this Saturday night at the Plano Centre. The Justin Miller led promotion currently has a ten-fight card slated for the event, headlined by Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks making his long awaited return to MMA competition against Longview’s Joshua Lee. For those of you that haven’t been following the scene all too close, Lee was last seen at XKO 13 scoring what many considered to be a huge upset against Dallas Jawbreaker Roy Spoon. He’ll look to continue that streak against his biggest challenge yet. Be on the lookout for a couple of features on this weekend’s fighters here on TXMMA.com. For now, feel free to check out the card here.

• HOUSTON, TX – Legacy Amateur Series also returns with their first event of 2012 this month on January 21st. This event scheduled for Houston’s Arena Theater (Legacy Amateur Series 7) brings forth a monster card with no less than FOUR title fights. Headlining the event will be a battle of Houston vs. DFW when Eric Garcia (Team Tooke) takes on Casey Williams (F3) for the 155 belt. 2011 TXMMA Brown Belt of the Year candidate Robert Yamashita will also be fighting for a belt at 185 when he takes on Kaileb Cumming. To see the rest of the card including the other 2 title fights, click here.

• HOUSTON, TX – Jake Latimer returns to the Houston area with his second professional show entitled Immortal Kombat (IMKF) II on January 28th at The Competitive Edge Sports Center in Spring. This event will feature newly-minted 4OZ Fighter Larry Crowe taking on Sam Mohamed in the main event of the evening while “Hurricane” Ike Villanueva makes his return to the light-heavyweight division in the co-main event against rising star Justin Ledet of Submission Boxing. See the full card here.

• SHREVEPORT, LA – Austin-based Bellator vet Adam Schindler headlines the Team USA vs. Team Japan card at G1 Fights: Sovereign Valor. The event is scheduled for the Coushatta Casino and Resort in Kinder, Louisiana on January 28th and also features some of Texas’ other top talents in the Imperial Fight Management led trio of Derek Campos, Jason Sampson, and Sean Spencer. All four are set to take on Japanese veterans from leagues like DEEP and Shooto so expect some good bouts to come out of this card. Check out more information here.

• SAN ANTONIO, TX –Premiere Combat Group returns for their next amateur event in San Antonio on Saturday, Janury 28th. This time around, Cowboys Extreme Cagefighting features Ray Rodriguez of Fort Hood taking on Josh Rios of Paragon MMA for the 145 title. Also in title action is Cameron Martin of Team Capital Punishment taking on Angelo Gutierrez of Seguin MMA for PCG’s 205 title. Check out the event poster here for more info.

For more of what’s going on within the Texas MMA Scene, make sure to check out the events calendar and announcements portal posted here on TXMMA.com.

Texas BJJ / Grappling News & Notes

Here are all the tournaments going on in Texas for the month of January including what’s already taken place and what  we can expect in the weeks ahead.

• TYLER, TX – The Gracie Grappling Cup kicked off the 2012 BJJ / Grappling Season in Tyler on January 7th at the Smith’s Lone Star Event Center in East Texas. Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu scored a first place finish in the team standings while Texarkana Jiu-Jitsu and Luke’s MMA picked up 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Kevin Olson won the Black Belt GI Open while Thomas Longacre, Derrick Krantz, Brad Taylor, Chris Spicer, and Lance Yager also performed well in action. Here’s a short news clip about the event.

• HOUSTON, TX – The F2W / WGC duo of Seth Daniels and Brett Boyce kick off their own 2012 campaign in Houston this coming Saturday with Tournament of Champions 9, set for the Competitive Edge Sports Center in Spring. The event features “grappler appreciation” pricing with the cost being only $25 per division. Absolute champions from this event will get FREE entry for the rest of the F2W / WGC in 2012 so the action should be fierce in this one. Check out the registration info here if you haven’t signed up yet. ALSO – TXMMA is holding a sponsorship contest for a registration as well so check us out on our Facebook Page if you want to try and compete for free at this event.

• DALLAS, TX – In just two weeks, the Dallas area will also be hosting its first BJJ event of the year with the IBJJF-style BJJ Winter Classic being put on by aKillerApps at the Waxahachie YMCA on Saturday, January 21st. With double the registrations numbers already compared to their last event, this one should also be good. There will be cash prizes for absolutes, consolation brackets for kids, and they’ve also decided to allow matches for third place. Plus black belts compete for free. Registration is now ongoing so make sure to sign-up if you haven’t already. ALSO – TXMMA is holding a sponsorship contest for a registration as well so check us out on our Facebook Page if you want to try and compete for free at this event.

For more of what’s going on within the Texas BJJ / Grappling Scene, make sure to check out the events calendar and announcements portal posted here on TXMMA.com.

National MMA News

There’s always so much going on in the world of MMA nationally and all over the world. Here are some of the biggest highlights as far as current news stories, event results, and upcoming events.

Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine Results 

The Zuffa-led Strikeforce held their first show of the new year for the Showtime network from the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas this past Saturday night. Below are full results and highlights from the event.

Main Card (Showtime):

185 lbs.: Luke Rockhold def. Keith Jardine via TKO (strikes) at 4:26 of round one
185 lbs.: Robbie Lawler def. Adlan Amagov via TKO (strikes) at 1:48 of round one
205 lbs.: Muhammed Lawal def. Lorenz Larkin via TKO (strikes) at 1:32 of round two
170 lbs.: Tyron Woodley def. Jordan Mein via split decision
170 lbs.: Tarec Saffiedine def. Tyler Stinson via split decision

Preliminary Card (Showtime Extreme):

170 lbs.: Nah-Shon Burrell def. James Terry def. via split decision
205 lbs.: Gian Villante def. Trevor Smith via TKO (strikes) at 1:05 of round one
170 lbs.: Ricky Legere def. Chris Spang via unanimous decision
170 lbs.: Estevan Payan def. Alonzo Martinez via unanimous decision

Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos Tests Positive for Steriod; Stripped of Title

As many of you have heard by now, Strikeforce Women’s 145 champ Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos has tested positive for anabolic steroids following her recent beatdown of Hiroko Yamanaka this past month. As a result of the test, she has been suspended from competing for 1 year by the CSAC.

Here’s her statement about it all from her Facebook Page.

“I would like to sincerely apologize to StrikeForce, the Zuffa organization, Hioko Yamanaka and my fans for my failed drug test. I am ultimately responsible for everything I put in my body, and at the end of the day, there is no excuse for having a prohibited substance in my system. I do not condone the use of any performance enhancing drugs by myself or any other professional athlete, and willingly accept the penalties and fines that have been handed down to me by the California State Athletic Commission and those of the StrikeForce/Zuffa organization. While I was preparing myself for my last fight I was having a difficult time cutting weight and used a dietary supplement that I was assured was safe and not prohibited from use in sports competition. It was never my intention to obtain an unfair advantage over Hiroko, mislead StrikeForce, the Commission or my fans. I train harder than any fighter in MMA and do not need drugs to win in the cage, and I have proven this time and time again! My only mistake is not verifying the diet aid with my doctor beforehand, and understanding that it was not approved for use in the ring. Unfortunately in the end I suffer the consequences and must accept the responsibility for my actions. I will do everything I can to show my fans that I can still compete at the professional level without the use of any prohibited substances, and ask God’s forgiveness for my mistake.”

Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate Scheduled; More Bouts Also Confirmed

Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate is set to take on rising star Ronda Rousey on March 3rd in what might be the biggest Women’s MMA match of the year with Cyborg out of commision.  The challenger has been killing it, winning all four of her bouts by armbar after she debuted this past August fresh off a stint on the U.S. Olympic Judo Team. Meanwhile, Tate will head into this one with a six-fight win streak in tact. Other main card bouts scheduled for this event include KJ Noons vs. Josh Thompson, Paul Daley vs. Kazuo Misaki, and Sarah Kaufman taking on Alexis Davis. As for the main event rumored for this event, Strikeforce is said to be targetting the heavyweight tournament finals between Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier to headline.

TUF Brasil to Broadcast on Fuel Network

UFC President Dana White alluded to this fact while he was a guest on ESPN Radio just a few days ago. Details still have to ironed out but the series should join the network that’s quickly becoming home for UFC programming – including the upcoming UFC on Fuel LIVE shows, The Best of Pride, UFC Unleashed, and much more. This first season of TUF Brasil is set to feature Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva coaching against each other before facing off at the end of the season. The event will also feature featherweights and middleweights vying for their own shot at UFC glory along with the honor of being the first TUF Brasil season winner.

UFC 142: Aldo vs Mendes this Saturday

UFC 142: Aldo vs Mendes goes down this Saturday, January 14, from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We’ll have our full preview of this card later this week but one noteworthy thing for Texans to consider is that this event will make the long-awaited UFC debut of “Neo” himself, Carlo Prater. He’s long been a veteran of the TXMMA scene and finally gets his well-deserved shot on the main card of UFC 142 opposite Erick Silva. Best of luck Carlo!

Main Card

Featherweight Championship: José Aldo (c) vs. Chad Mendes
Middleweight bout: Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson
Middleweight bout: Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Massenzio
Welterweight bout: Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater
Lightweight bout: Edson Barboza vs. Terry Etim

Preliminary card (FX)

Lightweight bout: Thiago Tavares vs. Sam Stout
Heavyweight bout: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Ednaldo Oliveira
Featherweight bout: Yuri Alcantara vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Welterweight bout: Ricardo Funch vs. Mike Pyle
Featherweight bout: Felipe Arantes vs. Antonio Carvalho

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