Regional MMA

Minnesota mixed martial arts is heating up in 2012 following a successful event co-promoted by some of the top promotions in the Twin Cities just a few weeks ago. Next on the schedule is Driller Promotions’ return to the Hyatt in Minneapolis on May 18 for Downtown Showdown V.

The event will feature two of the best 155-pound fighters in the state as Billy Christianson battles Nick Compton in what is sure to be a highly entertaining bout.

As good as this fight should be, however, it wasn’t actually the originally scheduled main event. Instead, Christianson, MNMMANEWS’s No. 8 ranked lightweight from the state, was previously set to fight No. 4 ranked lightweight Zach “Juice” Juusola. Unfortunately, a broken orbital bone on Juusola put a stop to that highly anticipated bout before it could get started.

“I was just kind of bummed out. I really wanted to fight Juice,” Christianson told Bleacher Report MMA. “I felt like he was a really good opponent for me. He was the guy that I wanted to take me to the next level. He has a great record, he’s higher than me on the rankings.”

After quitting his job at the railroad to go full-time in the sport, “The Kidd” has set his eyes on moving up the rankings in 2012. A win over Juusola would have helped catapult him closer to where he wants to be. While Compton doesn’t have the ranking that Juusola does, Christianson is not taking him lightly and continues to prepare for this new fight, almost as if he were still going against Juusola.

“We really only got two weeks to prepare for Compton, and that’s about the time that I really start cutting weight, taking it easy and just staying in shape,” he said. “I’ve watched some film, but we really didn’t change anything up from Juice because, surprisingly enough, [Compton] has kind of got a similar style as Juice.

“We trained for Juice and he’s a tough opponent. We trained hard for him, I really bumped up my camp. I’m confident that the same gameplan will work out against Nick.”

The gameplan, at this point, should be fairly obvious to those who have seen “The Kidd” fight.

In his six professional MMA victories, only one of Christianson’s opponents even made out of the first round without being knocked out or tapping out due to punches. That opponent was then quickly disposed of with a violent knockout just 25 seconds into Round 2.

His opponent, Compton, might be a different story, however. Though he has two professional losses, neither were by knockout. In fact, both came in decisions and one was a razor-thin split decision loss to another top-10 Minnesota lightweight, Damion Hill, back in January of this year.

“I’m definitely ready to go three, five-minute rounds if it comes to that,” Christianson said. “I train for well over three, five’s, so that should be easy. I’m confident that I could take him in a decision, but he’s got to stay awake that long to get that far.”

Though taking the fight with Compton was a step down as far as rankings are concerned, Christianson never considered dropping off the card and not fighting after Juusola got hurt.

“I’ve been itching to get in the cage. I haven’t been as excited for a fight as I was for Zach [Juusola]. I was really amped up for that one and when he got hurt, I really just wanted an opponent,” Christianson said.

“I didn’t want to fight a can, a nobody. It’s tough to find a good opponent on short notice and I definitely respect Nick for stepping up and taking this. In my eyes, Compton is a good opponent, especially on short-notice.”

While he is not overlooking his opponent for Friday night’s fight, Christianson is still very much looking to settle some unfinished business with his original opponent, Zach Juusola.

“I’m coming for Juice,” he said. “He was talking a little bit of trash about me on Facebook, saying how he’s going to knock me out... Saying how it was going to be an easy fight for him. So we’re going to give him that opportunity.”

According to Juusola’s Facebook, he expects to be back to training in approximately six weeks. That should give him plenty of time to prepare for the fight if the two lightweights meet in September, when Christianson is hoping to fight next.

For now, though, Christianson will be focused on staying in the win column against a tough opponent in Compton. If he can do that, then we just might see the developing grudge match between “The Kidd” and “Juice” later in 2012.

For tickets to Friday’s fight card, please visit the online ticket booth at SterlingMN.com or call 612-281-6300. Doors open at 7:00pm and fights will begin at 7:30pm.

For more MMA news, fighter interviews and opinions, follow Nick Caron: @NicholasCaron.

The Charleston Civic Center in West Virginia may be empty at the moment, but come May 18th, it promises to be filled with fans eagerly anticipating a knockout or tapout.

The arena will play host to one of the biggest MMA events in the state when the Reality Cage Combat promotion brings the action on May 18th.

A theme for the card has already been established with the mindset of "West Virginia vs. The World" being stated when looking at the rundown of fights.

The card showcases a number of West Virginians against fighters from numerous other areas. One of the proud West Virginians looking to carry the torch for the hometown crowd is Butch Hiles BJJ product Wes "The Limp Noodle" Lane.

For those who want to know a little more about Lane, check out an interview I conducted with the powerful puncher earlier this year. Lane recently took time out of his training schedule to speak with B/R MMA.

B/R MMA: How's training been going since last time we talked?

Lane: Training has been going great. I'm finally making the drop to 135 lbs. and surprisingly it's been fairly easy thus far.

B/R MMA: Have you done anything differently in the lead up to this fight?

Lane: Started doing a little strength and conditioning just to get a little stronger and some muscle endurance. The past couple of weeks I actually went down to train and spar with Spencer "The King" Fisher. In just that little [bit] of time I can tell [there has been] major improvement in my game.

B/R MMA: From what you've told me this event is on a bigger scale than your previous fights (attendance-wise). Any added pressure?

Lane: This arena seats I think up to 13,500 people. I've fought there before but since it's the first time MMA fights are being held there I expect somewhere around 10-12,000. The most I have fought in front of before is about 6,000-7,000.

But there's no added pressure really. I know it's my home town and that's why I went the extra distance and made the drive to train with Spencer before he headed out to train for Sam Stout.

B/R MMA: Without giving away your strategy, how do you see yourself winning the fight?

Lane:  I want to give everyone what they are looking for; a highlight knockout! But with that said, I'm prepared for anywhere this fight might go.

B/R MMA: You've told me the guy you're fighting is likely a standup guy, does that motivate you more to try and beat someone at their own game given your tendency to stand and trade?

Lane: Yeah definitely. Nothing more satisfying than beating someone at what they think is the best part of their game.

It fits right in to what I like to do and that's stand there and bang it out. People don't come to watch two guys lay on each other for three rounds; they want action. That's what this fight is going to be.

B/R MMA: Anything new at Butch Hiles or in your life that's changed your MMA career?

Lane: Nothing too drastic; still the same struggles as before. I think everything is starting to fall the right way with training and other parts of my game.

The only thing I can do is strive to get better and hope someone notices the hard work and decides to give me a chance. Also, I've now joined the world of Twitter so you can now follow me @LimpNoodle135.

There's Brian Stann and Tim Kennedy, but there's also Chad Robichaux. 

Robichaux served in the United States Marine Corps, going on eight tours of duty in the US's ongoing struggles against terrorism. 

However, he's far more than a regular soldier.

He's a hero—not for guns-blazing or Ramboesque exploits (although I'm sure he has many such escapades to boast of) but rather, for his humanity and generosity.

When soldiers fight a war abroad, returning to regular civilian life is almost like a war in and of itself, only the battlefields are varied. Instead of deserts, mountains and cities, the battles are fought in the mind, in the house and in the office—in large part due to a growing threat to soldiers: post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

It is this foe that Chad Robichaux seeks to vanquish.

But this wasn't clear to him when he first left the service. 

No, his road to being an admirable hero of a different sort started when he used his considerable martial arts skills to found profitable Gracie Barra gyms. 

"I did eight tours of duty. When I came back from the last one I was diagnosed with PTSD. That was what kind of lead me to open my gyms in the first place," Robichaux told Bleacher Report.

"I think at one time between both gyms we had over 1000 students. It was a very big success but underneath the surface of it all I was still dealing with post traumatic stress and dealing with issues in my family."

Nevertheless, Robichaux persevered.

"I’ve been married 17 years, have a great wife and family, three kids and I have a real strong faith as a Christian. It was those things that helped me to overcome PTSD, using martial arts in there to ground me and of course my faith. I surrounded myself by strong men of character and, of course, my family," said the Louisiana native.

Robichaux was fortunate that he had such a support base. But what of men who didn't have gyms, a loving, understanding family and faith? What was to be their fate? Would they be forever destined to abuse pills and alcohol to numb the harsh memories of war and the scorn of a society that ignored—or outright denigrated—their service?

Not if Robichaux had anything to say about it—his mission had changed now that he was healed.

"Finding my own healing, I just felt compelled to do the same thing for other people," he said.

But when it came to working within existing channels, the former Bellator fighter was pessimistic to say the least. He had seen the most commonly employed methods fail; something new had to be done.

What I’ve seen, from my experience and from friends, is that the [Department of Veterans Affairs] and other outlets that are out there only medicate the symptoms of PTSD, they don’t treat the root problem. So we wanted to do something different and we sought out to work on the root problem of PTSD, that’s working on a man’s heart and the root causes...not just medicating the symptoms, said Robichaux.

Sensing he had something truly remarkable, Robichaux applied the same fervor to getting his venture off the ground that he applied to the martial arts. 

"I did all the research and education I could and got certified as counselor through the American American Association of Christin Counselors to work specifically with PTSD. My wife got certified in things," he said.

Those certifications were put to good use. Robichaux moved himself and his family to rural Westcliffe, Colorado to start what would be known as the Mighty Oaks Wounded Warrior Foundation.

We run six-day and 10-day programs for guys with PTSD or TBI [Traumatic Brain Injury] or people who served and had problems reintegrating back into society. We also focus on the family. Wives and family members who struggle with reintegration of the service member into the family or into the world. That’s what we focus on. It’s an incredible program. We have four programs, and one of them involves martial arts, Robichaux said.

"Obviously in a six-day or 10-day we can only teach them about replacement therapies and physical activities being great for their mental health as well as their physical health, but we can’t teach them martial arts in 6-10 days. So We just teach them about using a physical hobby as an outlet," he said.

However, there's a more expansive program that sees servicemen spend the course of a year with Mighty Oaks.

But the guys that come for a year, that is a physical outlet we implement with them—martial arts. We have them do Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and have them do that program, get them on the mats and get them active because we found that when a guy wants to go to alcohol or drugs and take some more pills for the numbing effect or to take his mind off of the stuff their dealing with, you get the same results from physical fitness, specifically on the mats grappling. I experienced it in my personal path—the healing, he said.

Unfortunately, even the noblest endeavors are not without drawbacks. Even though opening Mighty Oaks was a blessing to many a servicemen, it was a burden to a Marine's wallet and family. 

"It wasn’t the best financial decision," he said. "We started a brand new non-profit foundation and anybody who does something like that has to realize that comes with certain struggles."

One of those struggles was Robichaux's fighting career.

It is said that a fighter is only as good as his training partners, but rural Colorado isn't renowned for it's abundance of MMA world champions or up-and-comers...or so one might think. 

While Robichaux expected to leave fighting forever due to having nobody to train with, he was pleasantly surprised when he moved to Colorado, since a true MMA legend lived in close proximity.

"We moved to a real rural area because we thought the environment was best, best environment for the troops. I knew I wouldn’t have any training partners. It’s amazing the way things work. I get up there, I thought I’d be giving up training but I ended up living 10 minutes from Brad Anderson and Randy Couture!"

"I didn’t know he had retired to a small community, the same one I ended up going to," said Robichaux.

It was the coincidence of a lifetime, and it's paying dividends in Robichaux's career as a martial artist.

"I’ve been coaching for so long, being a student again is amazing...Randy has a very strong work ethic, and he expects that out of the guys he’s gonna give time to," he said.

When it comes to ring control and overall fight strategy, the amount of knowledge he has from his own experience and from the people that coach him, it’s just a huge asset to have the opportunity to be around...When you have a guy like Randy or Brad Anderson coaching you, you just do what they say to do. There’s no cutting corners. I was pushed at a level I wasn’t pushing myself to.

Robichaux will need to draw on all of that knowledge on Friday night at Legacy FC 11 when he faces Joseph Sandoval, and he'll also need that knowledge because he is planning on making his way to the pinnacle of MMA: the UFC.

"I’m shooting for a win Friday night," he said. "Joseph Sandoval, he just got cut from the UFC, but he wants to go back at 125 pounds, so I think the winner of this fight is probably looking at a UFC shot at 125 pounds because they don’t have anyone to pick from really."

He's right. Flyweight, while exciting, is undeniably one of the UFC's most shallow divisions due in part to its novelty; the talent pool hasn't had time to develop. It's for that reason that Robichaux believes he's one of the most experienced and dangerous competitors at 125 pounds.

"I’ve been fighting since 1997, my first professional fight was in 1999. I’ve obviously been doing this a lot longer than a lot of these younger guys," said the 36-year-old.

"I can’t imagine anybody in the whole division having as much experience as I do and being able to make that weight still at my age with all the experience…I think my experience and well-roundedness will make me the top guy in the division."

Robichaux is certainly an ambitious man, but that hasn't blinded him to the people who are important to him. For this camp in particular, he is grateful for the help of his wife. 

We’re married for 17 years so she’s been around [fighting] and dealt with the hard times. She thought it was all over, but here we are again. She’s still here with me, and she’s here to support me. Even though she had her struggles with it, she’s 100% behind me. She believes in why we’re doing it. It takes everybody around you in your life—fighters know this—everybody around you sacrifices for you to fight.

Everyone may sacrifice for Chad Robichaux to fight, but Robichaux himself has sacrificed for others not to.

He offered to sacrifice his life for his country (but fortunately didn't have to—he survived), he sacrificed his body for the entertainment of MMA fans and he sacrificed his and his family's financial security to heal soldiers. 

He's the hero you hadn't heard of until you read this article.

Now you know him, know you can spread the word and watch him fight at Legacy FC 11.

Follow @MattSaccaro

Void of a UFC, Strikeforce or Bellator event, it was the debut of the all-women's MMA promotion Invicta Fighting Championships which left the MMA world in a buzz this past weekend. 

The fight card featured some of the top up-and-coming female fighters in the sport as well as some noteworthy veterans including former Strikeforce bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen in the main event.

It didn't receive the kind of media attention that the top male-dominated promotions do, but Invicta's inaugural show exceeded all expectations that fans could have possibly had going in.

Exciting fight after exciting fight led to even critics admitting that they were fairly impressed with what these women could do in the cage and the presentation delivered from the promotion.

Invicta may have opened the eyes of many fans who had previously written off any fight featuring two women, but the question remains—can Invicta stay in business long enough to put women's MMA on the map as more than just a "special attraction?"

Like with most other sports, women's MMA has struggled to keep up with its male counterpart.

While male MMA stars like Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre have become household names, women have struggled to even make it onto the televised fight cards of major promotions.

Even the biggest women's MMA star ever, Gina Carano, after playing the lead role in a major motion picture, has struggled to crack into the mainstream. Judging by the success of the movie, she may never truly get there. 

It doesn't help that UFC President Dana White has publicly slammed female fighting in the past, but it's this idea that women should not be fighting one another that has been and will continue to be the biggest obstacle for female fighters and promotions like Invicta. 

While Invicta's first event was a huge success with rumors indicating that there may have been as many as 250,000 viewers worldwide on Saturday, the reality is that the "honeymoon" factor will rub off soon and the promotion will have to make strides to stay alive.

Many promotions have come and gone and few have possessed the long-term staying power to make it through the ups and downs in the business over the past decade. 

Invicta seems different, though.

It's not just that it's an all-female show—those have been around in the past and failed—it's that Invicta seems to have captured both the beauty and the physicality that these ladies bring to the cage, rather than focusing on one or the other.

Overcoming the "female on female violence" aspect will be a challenge, but Invicta's understanding of what it is and where it's going will keep them around for years to come. For a fight fan like myself who doesn't care what the gender of the competitors is, Invicta is a welcome addition to my MMA calendar in 2012.

I look forward to their next event scheduled for July 28 and I truly hope that the MMA community will join me in embracing what this promotion is giving us. It's something different... And maybe that's not such a bad thing after all. 

In early December, Sam King burst onto the Western Canadian amateur mixed martial arts scene with a stunning first-round knockout victory over Chris Berry at Saturday Night Fights 4 in his native Regina.

According to King, who has been training under A.J. Scales at Regina’s Complete Martial Arts and Fitness for the better part of the past three years, it’s difficult to imagine his long-awaited debut playing out any better.

“It was unreal—the feeling was unreal,” offered King, 20, who has also trained at the famed Tiger Muay Thai Academy in Thailand. “I think that was the ultimate way to start [my career].”

“I was very happy with [Sam’s] debut—I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Scales, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the Nova Uniao banner who is also an undefeated amateur mixed martial artist. “It was great that Sam got a knockout in his first fight—that gave him a lot of confidence.”

Despite the fact that King—to say nothing of Scales—is doubtless pleased with his first match, he insisted that he feels that his impressive debut is merely the beginning of his mixed martial arts career.

“It was my first stepping stone—the first step towards what I want to do in life,” said King, who had returned to training within 48 hours of his debut. “I’ll think about that fight, but I try not to think about it too much—I try to move onto the next one.”

King’s “next one” is to be on May 5 when he is to return to the ring at Saturday Night Fights 5 in Regina and, naturally, the young 145-pound competitor will be looking to put on another performance to remember.

“I’ve been training a lot since my last fight and I think my skill-level has gone up and I can’t wait to show you guys,” offered King, who now trains six days a week. “Come May 5^th, I expect to put on a good show and, hopefully, pull out a victory.”

According to Scales, King’s next match—much like his debut—will merely be a stepping stone in what he believes will be a fulfilling career in the world of mixed martial arts.

“He knows what he wants—he wants to be an MMA fighter—and that’s exactly what he’s doing,” offered Scales, who awarded King a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2011. “There’s so much that I could say about the kid, but he’s going to be great. Trust me. You guys have to keep your eyes on him. Remember his name—Sam King—he’s going to do a lot.”

“I can’t see too far into the future, but I want to take it as far as I can,” added King. “Hopefully you’ll start hearing a lot more about me.” 

Ed Kapp is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained first-hand.

The Super Fight League is a disaster. I made my opinions clear in a previous article and a few people did not agree with them, but SFL 2 proved me right.

The SFL is doing so badly that it has already lost 99 percent of its viewers, and if it wasn't giving away tickets, there would be no one watching the live fights except the judges and commentators.

If you knew anything about the people involved you would not be surprised. Sanjay Dutt has been arrested on terrorism charges and was suspected of being involved in the Mumbai bombings which killed over 200 people.

No one in the U.S. would stand for it if someone involved in the UFC was caught up in the World Trade Center bombings and Dutt could be one of the reasons people in India do not want to support the SFL.

Ken Pavia is famous for being taken to court by the UFC for stealing trade secrets, and how can you take anyone seriously who says crazy stuff in interviews like this one which is from The Score newspaper:

“The first event sold out, no seats were available the day of the event,” Pavia told Mauro Ranallo on The MMA Show. “We were on the front page of the Mumbai Times — the No. 1 circulated English newspaper in India — two times the week of the first event. The second event this weekend is sold out. We have seven events the rest of the year, a reality show, and 12 next year. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. The WWE is big out here but it’s starting to wane now that (the Indian fans) have realized it’s fake, so we’re looking to capitalize on it.”

India Super Fight League’s Ken Pavia: We have so much untapped potential in our thumbs

I watched SFL 1, and if it was sold out then a lot of people who bought tickets decided not to go (which is weird). I also watched SFL 2, and if you believe that was sold out, then I have an exciting investment opportunity I would like to discuss with you.

I don't want to come across as churlish, but the Mumbai Times is not the No.1 circulated English newspaper in India. This is not important, but when someone gets three things wrong in one paragraph it does not do much for their credibility.

Pavia also claims in that interview that 450,000 people watched SFL 1, which is very impressive, but it seems only 3,000 people watched SFL 2, which means the SFL lost almost all of its viewers. I thought the first show was bad, but never in my wildest dreams did I realize that it had been this bad.

As I said in my previous article, first impressions count and the SFL has put so many people off MMA that it is going to be much more difficult for the UFC, or any other company, to put on fights in India in the future.

Some Indians have decided it is dangerous, others that it is fake and most of them just don't understand any of the rules. The 450,000 people who watched SFL 1 must have all hated it. Why else would they have decided not to watch SFL 2?

On top of all the other things the UFC was going to have to do to get into India, it is now also going to need to make people forget about the disastrous SFL and keep an open mind about MMA. The SFL owners have got a dime or two and could afford to keep the fiasco going for as long as they want which is not good news for the UFC.

Every time the SFL puts on one of their Bollywood style shows, it will make more people think that MMA is also a show which should be thought of in the same way as a concert or a movie instead of an actual sport.

A lot of people in India don't even think MMA is real. What is happening is even worse than I first predicted because it would be better if no one knew about MMA then having all these people not like it and think it is fake because their first exposure was seeing an Indian beat a Sri Lankan who had no MMA training at all for the SFL.

I can only imagine how much money the SFL must have lost. There is no way the meager ticket sales could have even come close to paying for the price of having LMFAO and Jennifer Lopez perform at SFL 1.

SFL 2 is the first time I have heard a fighter introduced as having a background in "amateur rugby," and he was supposed to have taken the fight on short notice but still proved to be more fit and strong then the Indian who was supposed to beat him.

To guarantee the Indian fighters did get some wins the SFL paid two wrestlers from the US to train them and then selected opponents for them who had never even trained MMA. The commentators did not even try to pretend and Phil Baroni introduced one tomato can from Sri Lanka as being 'an office clerk who had never trained MMA.'

And as people are going to accuse me of hating on the SFL, there were some improvements with the dreadful Indian commentator cut and some B-level fights on the card. If the SFL benched the Bollywood dancers and singers, stopped spending big bucks on pop stars and did the same thing as Legend or URCC or Dare or any other successful Asian organization instead of trying to become bigger than the UFC overnight it could be a success.

The 450,000 viewers which the SFL has lost, could have been put off MMA for life, but if they had seen the UFC  they might be fans for life. Getting so many people to watch SFL 1 was unreal, but the SFL dropped the ball big time by putting on such bad fights.

The SFL is a disaster not just for the people involved but for the UFC as well because it has damaged the image of MMA, just like I said it would. If the SFL had impressed those 450,000 Indians, there would have been room in the market for both the SFL and the UFC and Indian MMA would be booming.

Because the SFL put everyone off so much that they don't want to watch MMA anymore, the UFC must be reconsidering whether expanding into India now is such a good idea after all. It just goes to show how, in the wrong hands, an MMA organization can do major damage to the image of the sport. 

If it is in some seedy bar with only 200 paying customers in attendance, then the damage is limited, but when an amateurish MMA organization is in national newspapers and on national TV the damage will last for years and years and years.

The UFC needs there to be local shows in countries to raise the profile of MMA and to provide talent for it to use. The SFL could have been a good thing, but it has been so mismanaged that it is ruining the image of MMA in India and could put other promoters, such as the UFC, off ever coming to India.