He makes an effort to be diplomatic here and there, but EliteXC VP Jared Shaw is none too happy with “Nature Boy” KJ Noons–and with good reason. Fight Hype has an interview with Shaw, here’s a tasty excerpt:

PC: Are you anticipating a press conference from Noons' camp?

JS: Honestly, I don't care one way or the other. It's not on my mind. If they want to have a press conference, I find it humorous. Even if they had an allegation that was possibly true, which I find incredibly hard to believe, or they just have the rights and they want to go over them, nothing changes the fact to what this is really about. Yes or no, will you fight Nick Diaz? Do you want to defend your belt against a #1 contender? What ever your gripes are about boxing, money, who you do or you don't like with Pro Elite and EliteXC, let's focus on the situation here. You signed a contract. When you signed the contract, you knew what you were getting in your 3rd or 4th fight. You already knew and now it's time to fight again and not only is it time to fight again, you're given a golden opportunity. Look Percy, there is nothing that says I can't put KJ Noons on an undercard; off TV. He can be first fight of the night; champion or not. There is no rule to that so who is really threatening who here? Again, being a champion is a great thing, but if you are not around, having a belt doesn't mean anything because nobody knows who you are. Win or lose in a fight with Nick Diaz, I believe both of them come out stars. I don't think KJ is scared because, again, he's never backed out of a fight and he doesn't seem like the type of guy that would back out of a fight and he sure as hell went on HDNet and had plenty to say about Nick Diaz. I was reviewing the tape of the last fight last night just to enjoy it again because it was a great fight and at the end, KJ Noons is calling Nick Diaz the #1 fighter in the world. If he hasn't lost since then, he has to be the #1 contender in EliteXC.

PC: They think Eddie Alvarez is the #1 guy. What do you think?

JS: Yeah, pick on a guy that's unavailable.

There’s a lot of people that still don’t like Diaz. On balance, most of the SAVSCI staff is a fan of the tightly wound Stockton, CA native. He’s clearly got his out of the ring issues but he’s everything you want from a fighter when the bell rings. Kind of funny that Noons is doing a better job of “turning Diaz babyface” than anything else.

And assuming that Noons ever *did* fight Eddie Alverez, another SAVSCI favorite, he’d get taken to school. Alverez made it to the DREAM Lightweight GP Final round but was unable to face Shinya Aoki in that bout due to a nasty eye injury. Since he’s not a punk like Noons, he wanted to fight anyway but fortunately cooler heads prevailed. Alverez’s eye looked awful and the last thing we’d like to see is for him to suffer a permanent injury. Like Shaw notes, Alverez isn’t available at the moment which very likely has something to do with Noons’ calling him out. Don’t worry, Big Kahuna…uh..KJ…once his eye heals he won’t be hard to find…

Jared Shaw: ‘Yes or No will you fight Nick Diaz’ @ FightHype.com

Here’s the much discussed “Nature Boy” KJ Noons ‘heel interview’ from HDNet’s ‘Inside MMA’. This was vintage early 1980’s Ric Flair, which is why we’ve started calling Noons ‘Nature Boy’. If you’re a Noons fan and haven’t seen this, there’s a good chance you *won’t* be a Noons fan by the time its done:

Vince McMahon turned 63 on Sunday….

It is fair to say that Vince dictates an entire sport (or entertainment industry to be exact) with his ideas, investments, booking, and directions of his company. This one man could change the entire face of an industry with an idea he wakes up tomorrow morning. How many people can make that claim in any industry?

Vince McMahon has been around the sports entertainment business longer than any other promoter, wrestler, owner, and writer in 2008. If it happened somewhere or sometime in pro wrestling, Vince has either seen it, known about it, or created it. Vince McMahon is to pro wrestling what Bill Gates is to technology.

Unlike others who inherit businesses, Vince worked for it. Vince began promoting long before he took over the WWF. Vince began by promoting rock concerts, minor league sports, Evil Knievel, and arguably the first world-wide MMA event headlined by Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki. Vince also spent years as an announcer in the WWWF.

Vince took over the company from his father twenty-six years ago. At the time, the WWF was a northeast company in the United States. Vince took the company from regional to national to international in just a matter of a few years. By 1986 there weren’t many people in the world who didn’t know who Hulk Hogan was. Vince McMahon became a marketing genius in the 1980s.

Vince McMahon’s success did not come without risk. Vince’s first WrestleMania gamble is legendary. Vince risked everything by promoting the first WrestleMania. WrestleMania III also came with the same kinds of risks. Both shows were a success and Vince McMahon took the number-one seat in pro wrestling for the next decade.

All of us at THE SAVSCI would like to wish Vinny Mac a happy belated birthday. We’d buy him a cake but everyone knows that the only time that cakes show up in pro wrestling are as part of an “angle”…

Happy Birthday Vince McMahon @ PhillyBurbs.com

At least for this week….the ECW “Three Way Dance” comes to MMA:

In the never-ending quest to push the envelope in the sport of mixed martial arts, a pair of Virginia men think they’ve found the next big thing.

It is called San Do, a Japanese discipline in which three fighters compete in the ring at the same time. It will be making its area debut tonight at the Norfolk Masonic Lodge, on Granby Street.

“It’s the last man standing,” promoter Rick Anderton said. “Did you ever see, ‘The good, the bad and the ugly?’”

Anderton, from Dublin, Va., put on a show in Radford in June. He and partner Barry Taylor, a Norfolk lawyer, worked with state boxing commissioner Dave Holland to develop rules and regulations for the sport.

“I was a little skeptical myself, but to honest with you it went really well,” said Holland, who attended the Radford show.

Bouts are held in a 12-sided ring with walls slanted at a 45 degree angle. Contestants square off for three, 3-minute rounds. When three competitors are in the ring, no ground fighting is allowed - only punches, kicks and throws. Points are scored by striking. If one competitor is knocked out, the remaining two fight by professional mixed martial arts rules.

“It’s mostly stand-up fighting, and it’s a lot of action,” said Jerry Beasley, a Radford University professor and founder of the school’s Karate College. “You can’t start fighting just one guy. You have to be prepared on both sides.

“It’s wild. As soon as they start getting some better quality athletes, they’ll really have something.”

Taylor said “highly-skilled” fighters for the seven-bout card will be coming from as far as Texas.

The show is being taped for broadcast this fall.

“We like to say it’s the next evolution,” Taylor said.

Bouts begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the door.

The initial take here at SAVSCI was that this is a hoax and we’re still not 100% convinced that its on the up-and-up. For the sake of argument lets assume that it is.

First of all, the athletic commission in Virginia should be ashamed of themselves for sanctioning this farce. Maybe if we take our proposal for MMA in an exploding no ropes barbed wire death match ring a la Japan’s FMW promotion to the Virginia Commission that they’ll “rubber stamp” it?

Secondly, the promoters should be ashamed of themselves as well. They obviously don’t care about the sport at all–the last thing MMA needs is anything to make it seem less legitimate, and a match format right out of pro wrestling doesn’t help. Might as well throw in tag team competition while you’re at it. No reason to stop there–why not a bullrope match, throw some tables and chairs in the ring. And have the winner of each event wrestle a bear–a live bear, or maybe just a dude in a bear suit.

To the best of our knowledge here at SAVSCI there is no Japanese fighting style called SanDo. The writer could have messed up San Shou, which is a Chinese discipline that involves takedowns but no grappling.

And to the huckster who came up with this idea–a mutation of the sport–and a bad one at that–does not the “next evolution” make.

Just a bad, bad, bad idea….assuming its not a hoax which we’re still keeping our fingers crossed that it is.

3 way dance MMA in Norfolk, VA @ Hampton Roads.com

“Bang” is such a cool last name….fighters have been introduced, with Gomi getting a nice reaction and we’re set to go.

ROUND ONE:

This is basically booked to be a showcase match for Gomi–Bang is a solid young fighter, but this is only his 7th pro fight in against a guy who’s considered to be one of the PFP best in the world. Gomi with a low kick, and he’s sticking out his jab more as a rangefinder than an actual punch. Bang responds with a low kick of his own which gets a nice response from the crowd. Very tentative start–Gomi may have some ‘ring rust’ but just as that was typed gets off a nice three punch combination. Gomi’s hands are down by his waist, indicating that he’s not particularly concerned about Bang’s punching power. Slow, tactical round so far with both fighters looking for openings. Gomi’s combination was the most significant action thus far. Understandable that Bang wouldn’t want to rush in against Gomi as he misses a leg kick but Gomi looks pretty tentative. He partially connects with a one two though his punching looks less than precise. Both fighters miss big punches, then connect with matching bodyshots. Nice combo for Gomi partially slipped by Bang. 1:15 left in the first round and so far its Gomi’s round but not by much. Low kick for “The Fireball Kid” he’s moving and trying to shuffle now. Leg kick by Gomi partially connects, nice counterpunch by Bang. Both fighters hang straight right hands just short. Bang starting to press the action more, perhaps realizing that Gomi not the same fighter–at least so far tonight–that he’s seen in videos. Gomi’s round, but just barely. He’s lucky that’s not Nick Diaz on the other side of the ring from him tonight because his boxing skills look very sloppy…

ROUND TWO:

This is only Gomi’s 2nd fight since his classic with Diaz–he beat Duane Ludwig in March at Sengoku 1 when Ludwig couldn’t continue after a cut. In other words, this is only his 2nd fight in a year and a half. Gomi with a straight right–he’s landing more now but he’s in against an opponent that can’t really exploit his sloppiness. Bang letting his hands go to and tags Gomi. Bang goes for the clinch and lands a knee to the body. In addition to Diaz–who won that classic fight with a gogoplata only to have to turned into a “no contest” after failing a drug test–Gomi has lost only to the cream of the crop. Two of his losses are to men who can claim to be the best in the world at the weight, UFC champ BJ Penn (3rd round submission on a “Rumble at the Rock event). Gomi pops Bang with a knee and follows up with some punches but Bang closes guard. Gomi goes for a choke and Bang bails out. Round ends without much action, Gomi’s round though he looks far from sharp. Anyway, in addition to Penn the only other men to have beaten Gomi are Marcus Aurillio and DREAM lightweight GP king Joachim Hansen…

ROUND THREE:

Gomi has a lot of goodwill in Japan, but he’d clearly like to end this fight decisively. Gomi’s boxing stance is better now and Bang seems to be tiring. Low kick by Gomi. Neither fighter appears anxious to press the pace. Bang lands a nice combination. Bang goes for the clinch but Gomi defends. At this point it looks like Gomi just wants to coast to a decision. Low kick by Gomi. Big punch by Bang partially connects. 3 minutes left in the fight, Bang realistically needs a stoppage. Nice combination by Bang. Bang swinging for the fences now, Gomi not defending particularly well. Diaz’s boxing skills would be carving him up right now. 2 minutes left in the fight as Gomi comes forward, but Bang countering nicely. Cut over Bang’s left eye. 1:46 left, Gomi not doing much but Bang not doing enough to beat a superstar. Both fighters look tired now with under a minute left. Were this a 10 point myst system fight Bang may have stolen this round but unless something insane happens in the final 20 seconds Gomi will sweep all three scorecards. 10 seconds left, Gomi fakes a flying knee as the fight ends. It’ll be a Gomi unanimous decision but far from a spectacular showing…

TAKANORI GOMI WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION

Gomi did what he needed to do, but just a workmanlike performance…

Trigg vs. Takimoto, on paper it should be a rout for “Twinkletoes” but there’s not really a Japanese judoka that’s entered MMA that’s not a double tough SOB. They typically get thrown in over their head without the opportunity to “work their way up”. Classic example is the great Hidehiko Yoshida, who fought Don Freakin’ Frye in his MMA debut–and won!

ROUND ONE:

Trigg moving nicely and appears to be in great shape, but when is he not? He takes down Takimoto but the judoka ends up on top and works inside Trigg’s guard. Trigg excellent fighting off of his back. Trigg is a tough dude to keep down and he scrambles back to his feet. Knee to the body by Trigg and he lands a couple of nice punches–looks like he’s been working on his boxing as he’s putting together his punches very nicely. Trigg gets the takedown now and is beating on the side of Takimoto’s head but the judoka doing a nice job defending. People forget how good Trigg is–he enters this contest 16-6 with his six losses coming to an insane level of competition–try Robbie Lawler, Carlos Condit, GSP, Matt Hughes (twice) and Hayoto Sakuri on a Shooto show.

Fighters exchanging punches and Trigg gets an easy takedown. Trigg had a top mount but the wily judoka grabbed a leg and looked for a knee bar causing “Twinkletoes” to relent. Round wins, a clinic by Trigg so far as he looks very sharp…

ROUND TWO:

Fighters exchanging strikes, Trigg gets the best of it and now he takes Takimoto down and finds himself in side control. He’s looking to pass, softening up his opponent with knees to the breadbasket in the process. Trigg floats over his opponent and is in something of a modified half guard now. He doesn’t like having a judo badass with his legs and arms all intertwined around his so he smartly gets up and starts landing ground and pound power shots with his long arms. Trigg an exceptionally smart fighter–he’s shown a tendency at times in his career to get cocky (and sloppy) when a fight is going his way but he’s razorsharp tonight. He’s working now inside Takimoto’s guard, landing a lot of heavy elbows, forearms and fists. Takimoto gets up, and partially connects with a nasty haymaker that at the very least gets Trigg’s attention. Trigg pulls guard and finds himself in a bad position with the judoka working for a kimura with just under a minute left. Trigg’s powerful arms are all that’s saving him at the moment, along with less than perfect positioning and leverage for Takimoto. Trigg trying to defend the kimura on one arm while pounding Takimoto’s midection with the other. He’ll survive the round now and for good measure escapes and lands a few knees as the round ends. Another nice round for Trigg, who’s looking sharper than he has in some time. If Affliction is looking to bolster their lighterweight classes maybe they should start with this guy?

ROUND THREE:

Trigg, of course, was one of the announcers at Affliction: Banned. He’s done a lot of broadcast work and does a good job at it. Camera shows the great Hidehiko Yoshida in the crowd. Perhaps motivated by the sight of the judo legend, Takimoto gets a takedown and a big knee but Trigg reverses and is working inside a tight guard. Trigg is so powerful for the weight its scary. He sure doesn’t look like a 36 year old fighter as he’s had his way with his much younger opponent so far. Anyway, not sure why Affliction hasn’t approached Trigg to fight yet–he’s clearly got a lot left in the tank, he’s an intelligent, entertaining fighter that has a good rapport with the fans, he’s got a great pedigree and has only lost to the absolute top of the food chain. Trigg briefly in trouble as the judoka grabs his arm but he gets out of it. Trigg was very visible among the media at the Affliction show and was a complete gentleman, cordial and happy to talk to everyone even though he’s something of a “big deal” in the sport. That’s always been a big deal for several of our staffers–we get the opportunity to meet quite a few famous people and there’s nothing that impresses us more than someone who is cool in real life and doesn’t have to be. Trigg rocked for a moment by a couple of big wild punches–he’s not really worried about Takimoto’s power and his hands were really low when he got caught.

Back to the celebrity thought as the bell rings for what should be a unanimous Trigg decision as he helps his opponent up and shakes hands with his entourage before Jacob “Stitch” Duran towels his face off…lets get the decision first….

FRANK TRIGG WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION

No argument there as it was a clinic. Takimoto, like seemingly every Japanese judoka that goes into MMA, was a tough SOB but he was on defense for the entire fight. Trigg speaking now giving a lot of love to the Japanese fans saying its the “best venue, best crowd and best atmosphere” for a professional fighter. Hard to argue with that. Trigg looked really sharp and he indicated a desire to come back and there’s no reason he won’t be.

Anyway, we’ve had the opportunity to meet quite a few celebrities and know a number of close associates that have as well. Some of the big ones are pricks just like you think they’d be–Barbra Streisand, who famously had her assistant send out a memo to the entire MGM staff that they weren’t to speak to Babs nor even make eye contact were they to encounter her. No big surprise there–a bigger surprise is noted actor/director/anti-Semitic and misogynist drunk driver Mel Gibson is pretty much as big of a prick as Babs. He showed his true colors with his ranting slurs when pulled over drunk, but he’s a guy who at least *pretends* to be a “good guy”. Guess again–when he was in Charleston, SC filming “The Patriot” he sent out a similar memo to Babs–that staffers were basically to ignore him if they saw him, not to speak to him or make eye contact with him if they had the privilege of serving him and to do whatever they could to keep other guests out of the sight of Mr. Gibson. On top of everything, he was an awful tipper….

Oprah Winfrey rolled into Charleston quite a bit as well–she thinks she’s the queen of the universe and expects everyone to grovel at her feet but at least she’s a good tipper. We heard from a number of sources that her boyfriend/significant other or whatever Steadman Graham, meanwhile, was incredibly cool to everyone–probably because he sympathizes with them having to do Oprah’s bidding 24/7. Oprah’s the type that expects stores to open when they’re closed (as she famously did at a Hermes store in Paris, then tried to suggest that they were “racist” because they wouldn’t let her and her entourage in after hours), expects stores to run off other customers so she can shop alone and so forth. Now, Oprah is a big deal to be sure but we’ve always looked to Frank Sinatra for guidance in these matters–there’s no bigger deal past, present or future than Francis Albert and while he definitely had a temper he also went out of his way to treat what many celebrities would consider “peons” with respect–he was famously kind to busboys, dishwashers, valet parking attendants, etc. He was also a notoriously generous tipper, with a ton of stories about tipping shoeshine boys and parking lot attendants hundreds of dollars. So Oprah needs to come correct–if Sinatra isn’t too big to treat service workers with respect neither is she…

Anyway, more on this after the main event…

ROUND ONE:

That was quick….Kitaoka gets the takedown immediately, grabs a heel hook and French taps. So much for this being the “fight of the night”…

SATORU KITAOKA WINS BY TAPOUT (HEEL HOOK)

Fighters are in the ring now and we’re doing the ring intros.

ROUND ONE:

Damm with a low kick starts the action. Another low kick connects, Mitsuoka misses a combination. Mitsuoka tries for a takedown and misses. He misses what appears to be a koppo kick and ends up on the mat. Damm trying to work inside his goard and not really getting anywhere so far. Damm trying to pass but he eventually decides to get up and reassess the situation. Finally the ref stands them up.

Damm with a nice combination scores, but Mitsuoka counters and knocks his opponent to the mat. He takes Damm’s back, locks in a rear naked choke and gets the tapout.

EIJI MITSUOKA WINS BY TAPOUT (REAR NAKED CHOKE)

Slow start but an impressive finish for Mitsuoka who gets handed his “bowling trophy” by one of the comely Sengoku girls….

Fight underway:

ROUND ONE:

Fight starts similar to the last one, with Kosednar looking for takedowns and Yokota defending. Yokota trying to get something going with his punching, but hasn’t really done any damage as of yet. If anything, Kosednar may be getting the best with his counters. Fight goes to the ground and Yokota working inside Kosednar’s guard with 2 minutes left in the round. Kosednar closes the guard very tight and Yoktoa struggling to get anything going on offense. Kosendar tries for some sort of choke/facelock from the bottom but his opponent defends. Round ends this way–not the most exciting round, but closely contested and very tactical. Yokota was the aggressor so he’d probably get a narrow edge.

ROUND TWO:

Nice striking exchange to start the round with Yokota scoring with some uppercuts from close range and Kosednar retaliating with a flurry of his own. Ref separates the fighters to opposite corners and restarts for some reason. Kosednar gets a nice takedown on the restart and briefly takes his opponent’s back. Yokota reverses nicely and now works inside his opponent’s guard. In the last minute of another close, tactical round. Ref stands them up and yellow cards Kosednar for some reason–maybe b/c he was “stalling” keeping the guard really tight and not really doing anything. Yokota looking for a rear naked choke near the ropes but it doesn’t appear there’s enough time to do anything with it as the round is winding down. Kosednar reverses and lands a couple of nice strikes from the top as the bell rings. Yokota probably took this one as well…

ROUND THREE:

Awkward exchange to open the round with Yokota appearing to land a front kick and Kosdnar either going down or slipping. Yokotoa going for a takedown, Kosdnar grabs the ropes and now the ref shows both men a yellow card for reasons that are uncertain. Our source in the arena says that Yokota got a card and that Kosdnar got showed the card to keep him honest. Now Yokotoa *nails* Kosdnar in the gonads with a front kick and he’s in a lot of pain with his pasty white body turning beet read. He’s been down and in pain for about two minutes and a couple of Japanese medics are tending to him. They’ve got a towel over his groin and appear to be massaging his family jewels. Tough gig for everyone concerned. Not to get gross here, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Kosdnar has some sort of testicular injury judging from the time and concern the doctors are showing with him. The poor guy is in some *serious* pain as he ate that front kick full force. Kosdnar is more purple than red now and is starting to slowly make it to his feet. If he can continue he’s a better man than any of us. He removes his cup and hands it to his corner and then shoves a bag of ice down his trunks and that’s never a good sign. He’s walking around and doesn’t look like he’s going to die now and we may be ready to fight again. Kosdnar = toughest dude ever for continuing the bout after that kick to the groin. Yokota gets another yellow card and there’s not a dude in the audience that disagrees with the penalty.

Yokota trying to get top mount but no go and we’re back to stand up. Yokota lands a straight right and partially connects with a knee. He looks like he doesn’t want to get too close to Kosdnar and since he just kicked him in the nads real hard you can’t really y blame him. 1:30 left in the fight which the Japanese fighter would *probably* have won had it not been for the penalties. Kosdnar lands a straight right, perhaps his best punch of the fight but Yokota walks right throw it. Ref watching closely as Yokota tries for the takedown and Kosdnar uses the ropes again but gets away with it. :30 left now and looks like someone may be cut with some blood on the mat. May be from an earlier fight. Round ends that way…

KAZUNORI YOKOTA WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION

This is first fight of the Lightweight GP tourney aka “The Road to Gomi”. Schultz is a real tough dude–he was the last lightweight champ of the IFL before that promotion folded, plus he’s a Portland, OR homeboy who trains at Team Quest under Matt Lindland. Hirota is the lightweight champ of the Japanese Cage Force promotion. Schultz could be the favorite to win the whole thing. He dominated recent Affliction signee Chris Horodecki to win the title late last year (though Horodecki TKO’d him in an earlier matchup). Prefight is done, fighters are in the ring and here we go…:

ROUND ONE:

Hiorta comes out swinging, but Schultz counterpunches nicely. Hirota slows the pace to consider the effectiveness of his strategy. Hirota the aggressor and is moving forward, but Schultz countering everything nicely. Hirota lands a straight right that stuns Schultz but he shakes it off. Schultz’s best weapon so far has been his counter low kicks which are clearly causing Hirota difficulty. Schultz gets the takedown and the fight goes to the ground. Schultz works briefly in Hirota’s guard, then gets up trying to land some big strikes. In the process he gets nailed with a nasty upkick that hurts him but he seems to have his legs back. Round ends without much action…

ROUND TWO:

Pretty even fight, with Schultz trying for takedowns and not getting them and the two men exchanging strikes but none really getting an advantage. Fighters now trading punches, with Hirota getting the best of it. Schultz is dazed and is trying to tie up and go for a takedown but misses and falls between the ropes. Schultz tries again and Hirota clocks him with a big left hook and he goes down like he got shot. Ref waves it off immediately…

MIZUTO HIROTA WINS BY TKO

Should be an entertaining fight…Nastula has insane judo skills. Once again, our usual video feed is down and we’re working from a backup audio feed. It’s got to go through a translator and then to us, so we apologize for not having our usual detail.

ROUND ONE:

Both fighters obviously looking takedown. Yang’s takedown defense so far has been kicking the judoka in “the family jewels”. Kick to the cup and the ref gives Nastula a moment to recover. Fight resumes and now Yang lands a knee to the groin. Yang gets yellow carded for his “kick in the balls” takedown defense tactics. Fight resumes now with no real action thus far except a kick and knee to the gonads. Round in its last minute with nothing more really happening–Nastula by default so far.

ROUND TWO:

Yang quickly takes the judoka down and is working in his guard. He doesn’t look comfortable dealing with the ground and pound, which leads us to believe that he’s been working more on his judo and less on his MMA. Nastula tries and armbar but Yang easily escapes. Nastula now complaining to the ref that–surprise–his groin hurts. Fight is now being waved off, we’ll wait for the decision. Guessing it’ll be a ‘verbal tapout’ or a TKO loss for Nastula. Ref saying that when he called ‘break’ after the armbar attempt that Nastula didn’t get up, and then started to complain about his groin. Very sketchy decision, but it appears like it’ll stand.

YANG DONG YI WINS BY TKO