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Tuesday, May 07, 2002

Ufc 37’s “high Impact”set To Touchdown In Louisiana



UFC 37’s "High Impact"
Set to Touchdown in Louisiana

By Jim Genia and Loretta Hunt

      With a card plagued by injuries, one cannot help but wonder if the Ultimate Fighting Championship 37’s "High Impact" show is somehow cursed. Numerous fighters’ injuries slowed the announcement of a complete card for weeks, while the card itself went through enough revisions to make one’s head spin.
      Light-heavyweight contender Chuck Liddell was first set to take on Vitor Belfort, who came down with allergies. Then, Evan Tanner had to bow out with injured ribs and rumors flew about the return of Extreme Fighting legend Igor Zinoviev, sidelined by injuries himself. Explains UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, "For Chuck, after going through three different main guys, he decided that if he wasn’t going to fight a name guy, someone that meant something for him, then he would wait." (Chuck has since been moved to the London show, Tanner once again a likely opponent).
Paul Creighton
      In the lightweight division, "There were just tons of problems," says Silva, explaining how even injuries from the last show further compounded this card’s outcome. An injury early on for Din Thomas, scheduled to fight Matt Serra at UFC 36, had to be scratched and with that the hopes that Serra would take on returning BJ Penn at the next show. Serra is working through injuries of his own — a biceps tear suffered during training just prior to UFC 36. Rumina Sato was also rumored to be in the mix, but once again fate intervened when word came from Japan that Sato had sustained training injuries as well. Penn’s next opponent — Lions Den stand-out Joe Hurley — was hurt in a car accident, leaving Silva to scramble for a replacement. "For BJ, nobody wanted to fight him on one month’s notice. You make the rounds and you call the "name guys", but there was no one for him to fight. I got numerous calls from Matt Serra and Gil Castillo, suggesting I get Paul Creighton [pictured] in."
      Misfortune did not hit these two weight classes alone. Dave Menne was slated to take on the Russian, Andrei Semenov, but the former middleweight champ separated and chipped the bone of his shoulder during training. Newcomer Joao Marcos Pierini was to clash with fellow rookie Benji Radach in the Octagon, but a herniated disc forced Pierini out as well. Is it all merely a case of " Ultimate bad luck"? Or is there dark voodoo magic at work here? Will the show, scheduled for May 10 in Shreveport, Louisiana, come off without any other setbacks — and deliver the same level of excitement as its predecessors?

Click here to continue the preview

Check back frequently, we will be posting interviews and profiles of the up-and-coming fighters on the card over the next couple of days.



Gekkeikan Sake Press Release:



Gekkeikan Sake Looks for KO at UFC 37

Fighters, Gekkeikan Girls to Host Sake Company’s Thursday Night Party at
N Cahoots Sports Bar with Limited Edition Tee Shirts and Posters Available to Fans 21 and Over; Pre-Fight Autograph Signing at CenturyTel Center Scheduled for Friday

Benji Radach
NEW YORK–Gekkeikan Sake is excited to announce that it will host two pre-fight events for mixed martial arts fans 21 and older prior to UFC 37. With two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture and UFC 17 Champion and Pride FC star Dan Henderson already on its roster, the Gekkeikan Fight Club is proud to introduce its two newest members-Matt Lindland and Benji Radach.

On Thursday, March 9th, Gekkeikan will host a party at N Cahoots, Shreveport’s largest sports bar. Located at 1303 Shreveport Barksdale Highway (318- 865-4541), N Cahoots is just minutes from Harrah’s Casino, the host hotel for UFC 37, and CenturyTel Arena, where the official weigh-ins will take place on Thursday afternoon.

Hosted by Couture, Henderson and the gorgeous Gekkeikan Girls, the event will feature giveaways such as special edition tee shirts and full-color autograph cards of all four fighters. N Cahoots will also offer several drink specials, including Gekkeikan Draft Sake Bombs.

Matt Lindland
Gekkeikan will host another autograph signing on Friday from 5:30 to 6:30 PM outside CenturyTel Arena, where fans will receive free autograph cards and can pose for photos with Couture and the Gekkeikan Girls.

Fans must be 21 years of age or older to attend either event-valid identification will be required. Beginning Tuesday, May 14th, high-resolution pictures from both events will be available at www.gekkeikanfightclub.com.


From the event’s promoter:


Rich Clementi

FFC II
May 4th, 2002
Quick Results


The Freestyle Fighting Championship II played to yet another full house Saturday night in Biloxi, Mississippi. There were five NHB Matches, two Submission matches, and a Pancrase rules match. Here are the quick results:

Pancrase Rules Match
Jarrett Becks. Hattiesburg, Ms. Vs Austin Parks. Waco, TX
Becks by rear naked choke round one.

NHB Matches
Adam Peeples. Houma LA. Vs. Mark Beecher. OK
Beecher via ref stoppage round one. Strikes

Aaron Williams. Biloxi, MS vs. Nick Roscorla. OK
Williams via guillotine choke round one.

Bone Sayavongsa. Waco, TX. Vs. Billy Shelton. Pensacola, FL
Sayavongsa via ref stoppage round one. Strikes

Warren Donely. Metairie, LA vs. Jeremiah O’Neil. Dallas, TX
Donely via unanimous decision.
[Pictured below: O’Neil in Donely’s guard]

Rich Clementi
Submission Match
Dave Benefield. Slidell, LA vs. Gene Gildea, Ocean Springs, MS.
Gildea via unanimous decision

Submission Super fight
Adriano Lucio. Rio De Janeiro vs. Phil Cardella. Dallas, TX
Lucio via unanimous decision.

FFC Lightweight 145.0-154.9lbs. World Championship bout
Rich Clementi Biloxi [Pictured with belt above], MS vs. Joe Jordan, Lexington, KY.
Clementi via arm bar Round 1

posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm
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