December 2008

The View From Ipanema “This is close to where Rickson Gracie had the famous fi ght with Hugo Duarte,” Master Ricardo Murgel tells me as we jog along Ipanema beach after a morning workout. Murgel is that rarest of creatures,…

The most common question I get from interviewers and fans is, “How or why did I get into MMA?” I believe MMA got into me, for there is no disturbing reason as to why my job is to beat people up. I didn’t have a tough…

There are times when everything appears stable—yet one day, the bottom simply drops out. PRIDE FC was the largest and most dominant of MMA promotions, yet the loss of a television deal was all it took for the organization to crumble.…

Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in the world. It garners more attention and new fans daily. The emergence of so many new athletes sometimes makes it hard for fans to notice some of the fi ghters on the verge of making it to…

If you’ve ever seen one of his many MMA pencil portrait drawings, you’re likely to have had the same type of take-your-breathaway reaction countless others have had when viewing his artwork for the fi rst time. Evan…

Most mixed martial artists are already familiar with the concept of pragmatism, even though they might not be aware of it. When they start training, they assume that they’ll apply the formula that promises to yield the best results.…

Gethin Aldous’ documentary about legendary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor and MMA fi ghter Renzo Gracie debuted October 25 at the inaugural United States Film Festival at the Crown Music Theater in Philadelphia. While mainstream…

September 3, 2008. Thirty-seven-yearold former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner loaded his camping gear onto his Kawasaki KLR 650 dirt bike outside his beachfront apartment in Oceanside, California, and embarked on his latest, greatest…

I’ve been in this business for about ten years, and damn have I seen it change. Before my fi rst fi ght - against a gi-clad “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu” expert – I was scared that his magic might destroy me before I stepped…

Imagine that tomorrow when you go to work, be it in a cubicle, an oil fi eld or on the mean streets handing out parking tickets (bastard) that the day determines your salary for the next year. Your morning Starbucks won’t be the only…