2011 mma prospects
- Thread starter hawkeye
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Liverlips I agree totally. The only moments were Hieron even did anything were when Weedman would take him to the ground and he would get a reversal. Weedman controled the fight standing. If Hieron had trouble taken Weedman down he has no chance of taken Hawn down.
celticdb15
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Joe Warren
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<H1 =h2>Grappling guru Warren ambitious in '11</H1>
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By Josh Gross
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<CITE>Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com</CITE>Face of doom: Just try coming between Joe Warren and his goals this year.
Joe Warren, pragmatic dreamer that he is, sometimes assumes too much.
Take 2011, for example. Warren, who won a world championship in Greco-Roman wrestling at 60 kg in 2006, is currently training in Colorado Springs, Colo., as if he'll qualify for and win a second world title this year. That journey begins in June at the World Team Trials and, should he advance, concludes three months later in Istanbul.
Then there's the issue of making the 2012 U.S. Olympic team in December, which, of course, the ever-confident 34-year-old father of a baby boy and girl says will lead to gold in London.
As if competing in multiple tournaments at the highest level of international wrestling wasn't enough, Warren has five mixed martial arts bouts penciled into his calendar, starting with a bout at 137 pounds on Saturday versus Marcos Galvao at Bellator 41 in Yuma, Ariz. Sandwiching his summer plans is an August defense of the Bellator featherweight title, which Warren captured in September by stopping Joe Soto. And, finally, entry into the promotion's bantamweight tournament Oct. 1, which could mean three fights in three months if things go according to plan.
Daunting.
"It's hard, man," Warren said Tuesday while driving home from wrestling practice -- midway between Colorado Springs and Denver. "I always assume I can get everything done without any stress. But it's tough. The wrestling is the toughest part of it. Even though I've wrestled my entire life, to be back at the Olympic Training Center competing against the top-level guys is like a fight every day. That took a little time to get back to, bumps and bruises.
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<DIV style="WIDTH: 300px"><CITE>Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com</CITE>Joe Warren's wrestling acumen has been tricky to solve for most of his opponents.
"Wrestling is a little more demanding than fighting, I think. The level of focus of those athletes is ridiculous. All they do is live and breathe one style of wrestling in the name of their country. That's their job. It's very serious. Everyone is trained at such a high level, and anyone can win at any time. It's battles everyday. Young kids, best in the world at what they do. Since I'm a little older, I can tell the recovery time is a little different."
With wrestling coaches demanding Warren's attendance at daily sessions, and his MMA trainers and teammates scattered between Denver and Boise, Idaho, "It's a little bit confusing right now, but I'm getting the job done," he said. "I just need to figure out where I can find a nice medium between the two so I can get both done. And that's just a scheduling thing for me."
Ben Askren, twice awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy as collegiate wrestling's best, competed for the U.S. in Beijing in 2008. After living the sport for 20 years, he finally had enough. Now 26, having captured the Bellator welterweight championship while winning each of his first eight bouts (including a dominant non-title affair Saturday against Nick Thompson), Askren is gladly focused on MMA. He decided this while sitting on the tarmac in Chicago, waiting to fly to Belarus for another grinding tournament that didn't pay in anything but pride.
"My thought was if I don't have the passion and I'm not excited to be doing this, then what's the point in doing it?" Askren said. "So I decided to put more focus in mixed martial arts."
Warren is clearly not ready to let his Olympic dreams die so easily, especially after missing his shot in 2008 when the U.S. Anti-Doping Association suspended him two years for testing positive for marijuana.
"I've talked to Joe a lot," Askren said. "I told him how tough it is [to juggle both sports]. Hey, Joe's got a lot of confidence. I don't want to be the man to ruin his dreams. I say, just win, baby."
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So does Warren (6-1), ranked No. 4 at 145 pounds by ESPN.com as he enters the third year of his MMA career.
"I'm real optimistic," Warren said. "I'm going to keep an open mind with wrestling. I'm going to go in there and push as hard as I can. If it happens and I win and get a chance at the Olympics, awesome. If it doesn't happen, I've got another love that I'm training for and I'll just move right into that. It doesn't hurt me. You would think it hurts me, but being in wrestling shape means I'm bullet-proof, about as strong as you can get. I'm in shape. My coordination is back. Being in wrestling shape definitely helps my fighting."
Warren's weight has come down as he wrestles at 60 kilos (about 132 pounds), thus the catch-weight Saturday against Galvao (9-3-1), a former top-10 bantamweight who fought for the Shooto title in 2008.
Saturday's undercard includes the four fighters who remain eligible to earn a Bellator title opportunity against Warren, the self-proclaimed "Baddest man on the planet," this August: Daniel Straus, Kenny Foster, Wilson Reis and Patricio Freire. With everything Warren is attempting to juggle, they are not on the champion's radar yet. But they will be.
"It's the first time I could say this," Warren said. "I know what I'm doing [while] wrestling; that's my sport, but I see myself as a fighter right now."
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<H1 =h2>Grappling guru Warren ambitious in '11</H1>
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<CITE =source>
By Josh GrossESPN.com
Archive </CITE>
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Joe Warren, pragmatic dreamer that he is, sometimes assumes too much.
Take 2011, for example. Warren, who won a world championship in Greco-Roman wrestling at 60 kg in 2006, is currently training in Colorado Springs, Colo., as if he'll qualify for and win a second world title this year. That journey begins in June at the World Team Trials and, should he advance, concludes three months later in Istanbul.
Then there's the issue of making the 2012 U.S. Olympic team in December, which, of course, the ever-confident 34-year-old father of a baby boy and girl says will lead to gold in London.
As if competing in multiple tournaments at the highest level of international wrestling wasn't enough, Warren has five mixed martial arts bouts penciled into his calendar, starting with a bout at 137 pounds on Saturday versus Marcos Galvao at Bellator 41 in Yuma, Ariz. Sandwiching his summer plans is an August defense of the Bellator featherweight title, which Warren captured in September by stopping Joe Soto. And, finally, entry into the promotion's bantamweight tournament Oct. 1, which could mean three fights in three months if things go according to plan.
Daunting.
"It's hard, man," Warren said Tuesday while driving home from wrestling practice -- midway between Colorado Springs and Denver. "I always assume I can get everything done without any stress. But it's tough. The wrestling is the toughest part of it. Even though I've wrestled my entire life, to be back at the Olympic Training Center competing against the top-level guys is like a fight every day. That took a little time to get back to, bumps and bruises.
<DIV ="mod-inline -right">
<DIV style="WIDTH: 300px; MARGIN-LEFT: 10px">[+] Enlarge
<DIV style="WIDTH: 300px"><CITE>Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com</CITE>Joe Warren's wrestling acumen has been tricky to solve for most of his opponents.
"Wrestling is a little more demanding than fighting, I think. The level of focus of those athletes is ridiculous. All they do is live and breathe one style of wrestling in the name of their country. That's their job. It's very serious. Everyone is trained at such a high level, and anyone can win at any time. It's battles everyday. Young kids, best in the world at what they do. Since I'm a little older, I can tell the recovery time is a little different."
With wrestling coaches demanding Warren's attendance at daily sessions, and his MMA trainers and teammates scattered between Denver and Boise, Idaho, "It's a little bit confusing right now, but I'm getting the job done," he said. "I just need to figure out where I can find a nice medium between the two so I can get both done. And that's just a scheduling thing for me."
Ben Askren, twice awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy as collegiate wrestling's best, competed for the U.S. in Beijing in 2008. After living the sport for 20 years, he finally had enough. Now 26, having captured the Bellator welterweight championship while winning each of his first eight bouts (including a dominant non-title affair Saturday against Nick Thompson), Askren is gladly focused on MMA. He decided this while sitting on the tarmac in Chicago, waiting to fly to Belarus for another grinding tournament that didn't pay in anything but pride.
"My thought was if I don't have the passion and I'm not excited to be doing this, then what's the point in doing it?" Askren said. "So I decided to put more focus in mixed martial arts."
Warren is clearly not ready to let his Olympic dreams die so easily, especially after missing his shot in 2008 when the U.S. Anti-Doping Association suspended him two years for testing positive for marijuana.
"I've talked to Joe a lot," Askren said. "I told him how tough it is [to juggle both sports]. Hey, Joe's got a lot of confidence. I don't want to be the man to ruin his dreams. I say, just win, baby."
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So does Warren (6-1), ranked No. 4 at 145 pounds by ESPN.com as he enters the third year of his MMA career.
"I'm real optimistic," Warren said. "I'm going to keep an open mind with wrestling. I'm going to go in there and push as hard as I can. If it happens and I win and get a chance at the Olympics, awesome. If it doesn't happen, I've got another love that I'm training for and I'll just move right into that. It doesn't hurt me. You would think it hurts me, but being in wrestling shape means I'm bullet-proof, about as strong as you can get. I'm in shape. My coordination is back. Being in wrestling shape definitely helps my fighting."
Warren's weight has come down as he wrestles at 60 kilos (about 132 pounds), thus the catch-weight Saturday against Galvao (9-3-1), a former top-10 bantamweight who fought for the Shooto title in 2008.
Saturday's undercard includes the four fighters who remain eligible to earn a Bellator title opportunity against Warren, the self-proclaimed "Baddest man on the planet," this August: Daniel Straus, Kenny Foster, Wilson Reis and Patricio Freire. With everything Warren is attempting to juggle, they are not on the champion's radar yet. But they will be.
"It's the first time I could say this," Warren said. "I know what I'm doing [while] wrestling; that's my sport, but I see myself as a fighter right now."
Tim Williams def Andre Gusmao by third round tko to improve to 7-0 as a pro. Gusmao a former UFC fighter had gone the distance with Bones Jones and defeated Mike Cienolevica by first round KO. I hope UFC or Strikeforce signs Williams by the end of this year, but I have a feeling Bellator will sign him.
celticdb15
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hawkeye said:
Interesting, I wish Jan the best!
Another interesting Missourian prospect is Steve Rustemeyer. He is 6'2 245 and is only 18 his record is 5-0 and he is on the Ameatuer circuit right now. He is very raw, but with the right training I could see him being another Ben Rothwell type fighter.
Gordan Bell won his fight against Dave Castillo last night. Bell is a guy who really has gotten no love, Bell also had submitted Ramsey Najim in thirty seconds, Najim is the favorite to win TUF. The only other prospect that has gotten treated worse is Tim Williams.
Last week Lance Benoist defeated Ryne Vincent by first round submission to improve his pro record to 5-0, Also on the card was another good prospect named Dustin Jacoby. Jacoby is 6'3 190lbs and is only 23 he is 4-0 pro and 4-1 am He currently trains with the H.I.T. squadand all of his victories came by first round stoppages.
Eric wisely is 26 years old he is 5'8 155, his record is16-5 and his last two victories were Hermes Franca by UD and last week he defeated Matt Veech by sub, both guys are UFC vets.
Another prospect I like is Jared Downing he is only 21 5'5 130 and has a record of 6-0. He needs time to develope, but I think he has a bright future.
Another prospect I like is Jared Downing he is only 21 5'5 130 and has a record of 6-0. He needs time to develope, but I think he has a bright future.
Alex Huddleston is 6'6 260 and is 24 his record is 7-0 amatuer, 5 of those coming by first round stoppage. He is a native of Missouri, a state that seems to be producing a lot of great young talent. I expect him to make his pro debut either at the end of the year or the begining of next year.
Clay Collard is 5'10 160 3-0 as a pro and all of his fights are first round kos. He is only 18 but has been training for a few years now.
Clay Collard is 5'10 160 3-0 as a pro and all of his fights are first round kos. He is only 18 but has been training for a few years now.