Ufc 28 Fighter Meetinglarry Hazzard Gives A Powerful Pro-mma Speech
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Larry Hazzard Gives a Powerful Pro-MMA Speech Tonight the UFC held its usual pre-fight meeting for the combatants, their seconds, managers and the press. This time, was slightly different than usual though…New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Chairman Larry Hazzard made a speech welcoming MMA, and the UFC in particular, to New Jersey.  Hazzard also warned the fighters and their crew that now that they are licensed by the State of New Jersey as professionals, that they should act the part; reminding them that the eyes of the sporting world are upon them. It was quite clear from his speech that Mr. Hazzard is pro-Mixed Martial Arts. "This is a very, very major venue as far as combative sports is concerned, especially professional boxing. MMA is a relatively new type of athletic competition which I ‘PERSONALLY’ endorse. [this statement was met with a rousing round of applause] Hazzard continued, "I endorse it mainly because I am very familiar with the martial arts, but this form of competition has not been accepted universally–or I should say nationally…and it certainly hasn’t been accepted universally, and I am an advocate of it[MMA], and I am an ally; however I must take an opportunity to caution you and remind you. We are only interested in the highest levels of competition, therefore it’s incumbent on all of you especially when you compete here in this state, to be in top-notch condition because we will not tolerate any second rate competition here…and it’s good for the sport! So you should take it as a personal challenge to help to promote this sport, because we are in the infant stages [of MMA]…and the state of Nevada right now is considering giving you the opportunity to compete there, and much of that is dependant upon the report that they get from me here in New Jersey. Now, I want to remind you that our main goal and our mission is not for anyone to be getting hurt…it’s to give you an opportunity to demonstrate and exhibit your skills…but our main goal is the health and safety of the combatants. That’s why all of you know, that you had to go through a pretty extensive battery of medical examinations in order to participate here in this state." [The fighters had to spend almost the entire day traveling to and from the hospital, as well as undergoing everything from bloodwork to eye exams to CAT scans.] Hazzard went on to give a powerful motivating speech in favor of the sport–not the type of thing we are accustomed to from Athletic Commissioners in dealing with Mixed Martial Arts. The meeting went on with the usual speeches from MMAC President Jeff Blatnick, SEG Chief Bob Meyrowitz, John Perretti, a review of the rules by "Big" John McCarthy. Both Blatnick and McCarthy noted that in order for this show to be accepted by the NJ State Athletic Control Board, knees would not be allowed to be used as strikes on the ground (similar to the no kicking of a downed fighter rule).
As evidenced by this picture, neither Pat nor Matt will be getting any toothpaste endorsements any time soon. |
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Thanks to Nikolay Travkin for translation assistance  FCF: Where are you from? AO: Minsk [Belarus] FCF: What is your martial arts background? FCF: How many fights have you had? FCF: Nothing is really known about you or your style of fighting, how do you usually win your fights? FCF: Do you know anything about your opponent Aaron Brink? FCF: What are you looking to do? Take it to the ground? Stand up with him? FCF: Does coming to the U.S. and fighting in the UFC have special meaning for you? FCF: What is your prediction for the fight?
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Super Brawl wins 3-2!! Preliminary Bouts Preston Hartzog (Shark Tank) def. Cabbage (Grappling Unlimited) Split decision Gary Freitas (Grappling Unlimited) drew Jose Lopez (Shark Tank) Jay R. Palmer (Freelance) def. Jacob Vela (SWAT) Team Super Brawl Vs. Team Extreme Challenge Abe Rodriguez (Grappling Unlimited) def. Robbie Rose (Miletich Martial Arts) Jason Black (Team Extreme) def. Jeremy Bennett (Erik Paulson) Jay Martinez (Shark Tank) def. Rick Gravesen (Miletich Martial Arts) Joe Doerksen (Team Extreme, Canada) def. John Allessio (Shark Tank) |
