YOKOHAMA – Greco-Roman wrestling champion Joe Warren upset local favorite Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto Tuesday at the Dream 9 Featherweight Grand Prix 2009 Second Round.

“Kid Yamamoto is a champion, and I respect him,” said the 32-year-old American from the winner’s circle, “but a lot of these champions have been on top for a long time, and it’s my job to crush them!”

Yamamoto, who had not fought since New Year’s Eve 2007, got a bye in the Featherweight GP’s first round. His return to action from knee surgery was the big story on tonight’s card – but Warren had his own ideas regarding the ending.

The tone for this one was set during the referee’s pre-fight instructions, when Yamamoto appeared ready to hug his opponent. Warren accepted a handshake, but swatted away Yamamoto’s second hand. This was a hard-fought bout that went the distance.

Warren started light on his feet, and Yamamoto sent him reeling with an early front kick. The American reset, and closed with uppercuts before getting the first of his throwdowns from the clinch. Repeatedly, Warren the wrestler closed for takedowns. Yamamoto, who has a pretty good ground game himself, elected to stand and strike here, and made a strategy of meeting his opponent’s advances with kicks, knees and the clinch. Warren accepted, going into the over-and-under clinch and trading knees with the Kid.

By Randy Griffith
THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT

Johnstown’s Carlton Haselrig’s first mixed martial arts cage fight in his hometown started the same way countless others have: With a takedown by the former six-time national NCAA wrestling champion.

But Haselrig’s debut in the Cambria County War Memorial Arena got a little more interesting when opponent Chris Larkin managed a vicious headlock and the two grappled intensely until Hasselrig freed his head and took control.

Unlike NCAA rules, punching is allowed in mixed martial arts. The hometown crowd erupted as Haselrig pushed the more-experienced fighter against the cage fence and opened what he later called “a barrage of punches” on Larkin’s head, face and body.

It didn’t take long for the referee to see Larkin had enough.

He stopped the fight at 3:18 in the first round, upping Haselrig’s professional record to 3-1. Larkin drops to 6-6-1.

After the fight, Haselrig took time to greet fans and pose for pictures with former coaches at Pitt-Johnstown, where he earned six national wrestling championships before going on to a pro football career as a lineman for the Steelers.

Home cooking was the icing on his latest victory, Haselrig said.

Maynard stifled in debut, drops decision at Auburn Fight Night event
by John Morgan

Despite all the hype, all the questions, all the concerns of safety and regulations heading into the professional MMA debut of congenital amputee Kyle Maynard, the final product failed to answer many questions other than, “What happens if Maynard can’t take his opponent down?”

The inspirational former high school wrestler and ESPY award winner for Best Athlete with a Disability may be forced to recognize his limitations in MMA following a unanimous-decision loss in the main event of Saturday’s Auburn Fight Night in Auburn, Ala.

The card was held at the Auburn Covered Arena and was broadcast live on an internet pay-per-view broadcast.

Described by event commentators as having a “tin roof, barn next to us, a little hay and no poop on the floor,” the venue had a dirt floor, a square cage and a hammer and a metal pipe serving as the official bell.

But when congenital amputee Kyle Maynard made his way to the cage, the focus went from the shortcomings of the facility to the challenges of the main event fighter.

By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY
Northwestern’s Jake Herbert, named Tuesday as the 2009 winner of the Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top college wrestler, didn’t celebrate with a day of rest.
Instead, he was training for the U.S. freestyle wrestling championships, a step toward his goal of becoming a 2012 Olympian.

Herbert plans to compete April 11 in Las Vegas at freestyle nationals, a qualifier for the world team trials May 30-31 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The freestyle world championships will be held in September in Denmark.

“My immediate goal is to go win nationals and win the world team trials. If you’re not training to win a tournament, why even enter it?” Herbert said after a workout in Naperville, Ill., at the Overtime School of Wrestling, where he is now a staff member.

As a Northwestern junior, Herbert won the 2007 NCAA championship at 184 pounds, going 32-0. He took a year off from college wrestling in 2008 in an unsuccessful try to make the Olympics.

In his return to college wrestling, Herbert recently completed a 34-0 season and won another NCAA title at 184. He did not allow a takedown all season.

Marcus LeVesseur went where no other Division III college wrestler has ever gone before. From 2002-2007, the Minneapolis native compiled a perfect 155-0 record at Augsburg College and won four NCAA Division III titles, which had never been accomplished. In addition to starring on the mat for Augsburg, LeVesseur also excelled on the gridiron. He was a first-time All-MIAC quarterback for the Auggies.

Marcus LeVesseur

Following his college career, LeVesseur, a four-time Minnesota state champion, jumped into mixed martial arts (MMA). He is now one of the rising stars in the sport. On Friday night, LeVesseur will be featured on an MMA/boxing fight card put on by Seconds Out Promotions called St. Valentine’s Day Massacre at Epic in Minneapolis. For information on the event or to purchase tickets, click HERE.

RevWrestling.com recently talked to LeVesseur about his record-setting college wrestling career, his MMA career, whether he plans to ever wrestle again, and much more.

While you were at Augsburg, you went undefeated (155-0) and won four NCAA titles. When you reflect on that amazing accomplishment, how much does it mean to you?

Former Olympian and two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion Ben Askren’s first professional MMA fight was a quick one.

Askren (1-0), a former University of Missouri wrestler, scored a first-round TKO of Josh Flowers (0-3) at the Holiday Inn Expo Center in Columbia, Mo., at the debut Headhunters Fight League event.

Askren, the head wrestling instructor at American Top Team of Missouri, scored an early takedown and forced an 84-second stoppage after a subsequent ground-and-pound assault.

Askren, a four-time All-American, finished his collegiate wrestling career with a stellar 153-8 record with 91 pins. He went undefeated his junior and senior years with an 87-0 record.

Prior to competing in this year’s Beijing Olympics, where he was knocked out of medal contention by eventual bronze medalist Cuba’s Ivan Fundora, Askren announced his intentions of going pro in MMA.

As he recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), Askren knows his past accomplishments don’t necessarily mean success in MMA.

“The thing in MMA is there’s such a large skill set,” Askren said. “I wrestled 17 years fulltime, so I picked up a lot of skills, some I can use still. I know how to get in shape. I know some good ways to work out.

Mixed Martial Arts Videos on Purefight

170 Lbs Ben Askren Vs Josh Flowers

Dave Meltzer has the scoop from Yahoo! Sports

Henry Cejudo, the only American to capture a gold medal in wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, recently negotiated with Japanese promoters for a match on that country’s biggest event of the year, the annual New Year’s Eve event on network television that has become almost a cultural institution.

Promoters wanted to throw Cejudo, 21, into the deep end, as they wanted him to face Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, Japan’s most popular MMA fighter. The match would have a storyline where Yamamoto would be fighting for national pride, since Cejudo defeated a fellow Japanese wrestler, Tomohiro Matsunaga, in the gold medal match in the 121-pound weight class.

However, Yamamoto, coming off knee surgery, at this point doesn’t look like he’ll be ready.

Rick Bassman, who represents Cejudo, said talks are still ongoing but with Yamamoto out, it makes it less likely Cejudo would be brought in to debut on such a high profile show.

LionHeart MMA

State College, Pa — LionHeart announces the West Coast MMA debut of 2008 NCAA Wrestling Champion Phil Davis. Davis will face Josh Green at The Palace Fighting Championship in Lemoore, Ca. on Jan 22, 2009.

Richard Goodman of PFC said he picked Davis for the card because he stood out not only as a fighter but as a person. “We’re excited to have Phil out here at The Palace. It’s the place to be if you want to make a name for yourself. We have a great organization with fighters who have worked their way into the UFC and Phil’s the best of the best when it comes to wrestling. We’re looking forward to working with him as he makes his transition into MMA.”

LionHeart Founder Chad Dubin believes the show will be an important step forward for Davis. “A lot of people back East know what’s going on with Phil but it’s important for him to get out West and be seen by the MMA community out there. Palace Fighting Championship has proven to be a great stepping stone for fighters looking to move to the next level and we’re excited about the opportunity for Phil to fight out there.”

“I believe there are people out there that just have a warrior spirit, whether it’s fighting or something, they’ve got to do it. It’s hard to identify with me; it’s just something I do.”
—Evan Tanner, 2005

On what will unquestionably be remembered as one of mixed martial arts’ saddest days, former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner – beloved by fans for his fighting ability and by friends for his free spirit – has passed away at the age of 37.

Tanner, on a camping trip in the Palo Verde mountain area, was found by an Imperial County Sheriff’s Department Deputy on Monday. The cause of death is not known at this time. He had not answered friends’ text messages since last Wednesday, and was officially reported missing on Friday.