» Fighter: Jason Guida

Strikeforce is still working on getting the contracts signed for Fighters.com’s second-ranked super heavyweight “Dominator” Bobby Lashley (4-0) and fifth-ranked “Titan” Jimmy Ambriz (14-8) for the January 30 Strikeforce car in Miami. According to most reports there is no guarantee this fight will take place. Bobby Lashley is a man Strikeforce is hoping will develop nicely and be a star for the promotion, yet I see Bobby Lashley being unable to make the climb to the top tier of mixed martial arts (MMA).

 There is no denying that Lashley is an athlete. He is a two-time National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) wrestling champion. He wrestled in the Army and was training to compete in the Olympics in 2003 before being injured. After the injury Bobby went to professional wrestling where he would later become a “world champion” He has natural athletic ability but his wrestling credits are not on par with the likes of another pro wrestler turned MMA fighter, Fighters.com’s second ranked heavyweight and UFC champion Brock Lesnar (4-1). Brock’s success inside the Octagon have come from his massive size advantage accompanied by his elite wrestling abilities. It is tough to compare a NAIA champion to a NCAA National champion but most would agree that the better wrestler would be the NCAA champion. Brock is not someone we can compare Lashley to despite the parallels in their careers. Bobby is not Brock and will not see the success Brock has seen thus far in MMA.

Read More About WWE Star Bobby Lashley is a Bust for Strikeforce…

Heavyweight “Pee Wee” Dave Herman (12-0) TKO’d “Meat Truck” Kerry Schall (21-11) in 66 seconds Friday night in Hammond, east of Chicago.

The “W” was Herman’s third under the ProElite umbrella, a promotion whose heavyweight division has been stung recently with champion “Big Foot” Antonio Silva’s (11-1) positive test for banned substances and poster boy “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson’s (3-1) 14-second KO loss.

The victory came by a combination of knees with Schall in Herman’s Thai clinch and punches once Schall dropped.

After his brief TUF 8 appearance, light heavyweight Jason Guida (17-18) was overwhelmed by “Cannibal” Mamed Khalidov (15-3-1) by second-round TKO at 4:53.

King of the Cage Welterweight Champion Anthony Lapsley (14-3) won a majority decision over Mike Stumpf (10-2) by judges’ scores of 30-27 twice and 29-29.

Read More About Herman Rolls Over Meat Truck, ShoXC Results…

At least four fighters who were eliminated in the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 8 last week have found work in other promotions.

Joe Duarte (3-0), who was submitted via rear naked choke by Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) in round two, told Fighters.com, “I just cut much weight too rapidly. I thought I could make it easy but it didn’t turn out that way.  I was real slow and sluggish during the fight.  I will come back stronger next time….”

“Next time” will be 26 September at the Alberta-based Colloseo Championship Fighting in Edmonton, against MFC veteran Ryan Heck (5-2).

Heck was TKO’d in the first round at his last fight by Ryan Machan (5-2) in July.

“Big Deal” Ryan Jimmo (6-1), who was eliminated when he lost a majority decision to Antwain Britt (4-1), will headline XFights: Ontario vs Maritimes 4 October in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Jimmo, a Saint John, NB, native who now trains in Halifax, will face Toronto’s “Lethal” Jason Cecil (3-5).

Read More About TUF Competitors Find New Work…

“The fight starts right now,” proclaimed Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) about his eventual UFC title defense turned fight for top UFC contendership versus Frank Mir (11-3).

UFC President Dana White proclaimed the same thing to this season’s 32 contestants to be coached by Nog’ and Mir for the TUF 8 championship at lightweight and light heavyweight; but, before he could finish his sentence, Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) hit the deck in a fainting spell.

“Fainting Phillipe” White called him; and, Nover had a tough opening challenge versus Joe Duarte (3-0).

“I’m going to have to make him faint again,” Duarte said before the fight.

But, it was Duarte who had to tap in a Nover rear naked choke in the second round to keep from fainting.

Nover opened the first round with a head kick, followed by a body kick.

“He hits like a heavyweight,” Nog’ said.

But, Duarte countered a Nover leg kick with a straight left that dropped Nover. Duarte pounced; and, Nover gave up his back and ate an elbow.  But, Nover actually pounded Duarte while Duarte had his back and attempted a rear naked choke.

Read More About TUF 8: Fainting Phillipe Fights Back…

Monday the UFC officially announced its line-up for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, premiering 17 September on SpikeTV.

The 16 lightweights and 16 light heavyweights will be coached by Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender and interim UFC Champion “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir (11-3).

Lightweights

Jose Aguilar (0-0)
Fernando Bernstein (0-0)
Junie Allen Browning (1-0)
Rolando Delgado (0-0)
Joseph Duarte (0-0)
Efrain Escudero (10-0)
Brandon Garner (4-1)
David Kaplan (0-0)
Eric Magee (1-1)
Brian McLaughlin (0-0)
Wesley Murch (3-2)
Shane Nelson (9-3)
Phillipe Nover (5-0-1)
Ido Pariente (8-3)
John Polakowski (2-1)
George Roop (8-3)

Light Heavyweights

Ryan Bader (7-0)
Antwain Britt (3-1)
Jules Bruchez (0-0)
Charles Diaz (3-0)
Lance Evans (2-2)
Karen Grigoryan (6-1)
Jason Guida (17-17)
“Big Deal” Ryan Jimmo (6-1)
Kyle Kingsbury (7-1)
Tom Lawlor (4-1)
Ryan Lopez (4-4)
“Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (0-1)
Eliot Marshall (5-1)
Sean O’Connell (0-0)
Shane Primm (1-0)
Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8-1)

Read More About Soszynski, Guida Most Experienced of International TUF 8 Cast…

Chicago’s “Bartimus” Bart Palaszewski (29-11) snapped a three-fight losing streak with a right high kick that left “Grinder” Jeffrey Cox (9-6) unconcious against the fence at 1:27 of round two Saturday night at Adrenaline MMA in Hoffman Estates, east of Chicago.

After a paced and cautious first round for both fighters, “Bartimus” began working kicks in the second, first a solid body shot, then snapping at Cox’s leg.

During the final flurried exchange, Palaszewski wheeled a wide left hook to Cox’s body, backing Cox into range for the right high kick finisher.

Palaszewski literally lept out of the cage upon the stoppage “W”.

In the main event, Michael Russow (10-1) manhandled late replacement for “Snowman” Jeff Monson (24-8),  Jason Guida (17-16), tapping Clay’s big brother in a standing neck crank against the fence at 2:13 of round one.

“I hope he’s OK,” Russow related after the stoppage.

Hometown hero Rory Markham (14-4) said, “Let’s get serious.  That guy just jumped over me!” after “Silent Assassin” Jay Ellis (5-19) launched a flying knee at the opening bell, indeed, flying right over Markham.  “So, I decided I was going to keep it on the ground.”

Markham pounced on Ellis; but, Ellis swept to Markham’s guard, which Markham climbed into a triangle tapout at 57 seconds of round one.

Read More About Bartimus Kicks Losing Streak, Russow Taps Guida at Adrenaline MMA…

Fighters.com was live in Hoffman Estates, east of Chicago, Friday for the Adrenaline MMA weigh-ins.

Late main event replacement for “Snowman” Jeff Monson (24-8), former middleweight Jason Guida (17-5) weighed-in at 241.5 pounds, and it didn’t look like he found heavyweight girth in the gym (unless “The Gym” is the name of a pizzeria in Little Italy.)

Guida’s opponent, Chicago police officer Michael Russow (9-1) looked svelte at 243.2 pounds.

Middleweights Terry Martin (16-4) and bleached blond Daiju Takase (7-11-1) made their weight class at 185.2 and 185.8 pounds repectively.

IFL veteran Rory Markham’s (13-4) opponent, Jay Ellis (5-18), will give up nearly twenty pounds to Markham in their 180-pound catch weight match-up.  Markham weighed 180.1 pounds and Ellis weighed 161.6 pounds.

Fighters.com’s third-ranked heavyweight “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (24-4) attended with his girlfriend, who didn’t weigh-in but stood about 5′1″ next to 6′7″ Sylvia, and chided “Meat Truck” Kerry Schall (21-9), shouting, “Meat Trick!” as Schall weighed in.

Read More About Adrenaline Building at Weigh-Ins…

“Snowman” Jeff Monson (24-8) was replaced in Adrenaline MMA’s 14 June main event by Jason Guida (17-15) Wednesday due to a broken hand sustained 18 May versus Fighters.com’s fifth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (22-5).

Guida, older brother of UFC lightweight “Carpenter” Clay Guida (23-9), will fight Michael Russow (9-1) in Chicago.

“Say what you will about Guida, but when you need somebody to jump in on short notice and fight anybody…he’s the guy,” said Adrenaline CEO Monte Cox.

Fighters.com foreshadowed the eventuality of Monson’s injury in a May interview:

Fighters.com: Aren’t the odds pretty high that at least one of these [three] fights [in six weeks] will be canceled?  I mean, even assuming you win them all, the likelihood of sustaining a cut or other injury that doesn’t heal between fights is high, isn’t it?

Monson: If I fight to my potential, I should be alright.  To be honest, the training is harder than the fights; so, if I make it to the fight date OK, I like my chances.

Check Fighters.com Saturday night for live Adrenaline MMA updates from the Sears Center.