UFC on FX 5 Poster

UFC on FX 5 took place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN on Friday, October 5th. The night of action was shown live on FX with the preliminary card on Fuel TV. The main event featured Travis Browne taking on Antonio Bigfoot Silva.

The bonuses were announced at the post-fight press conference. Michael Johnson, Justin Edwards, Diego Nunes and Bart Palaszewski all earned an extra $40,000 for their performances. Johnson earned the knockout of the night for his second round knockout over Danny Castillo, Edwards earned the submission of the night after choking Neer unconscious just 45 seconds into their bout and Nunes and Palaszewski battle a hard three-round exciting battle for the fight of the night.

Quick Results
Darren Uyenoyama defeated Phil Harris by rear naked choke at 3:38 of round two
Diego Nunes defeated Bart Palaszewski by unanimous decision 30-27, 29-28, 30-27
Jacob Volkmann defeated Shane Roller by guillotine choke at 2:38 of round one
Marcus Levesseur defeated Carlo Prater by split decision 28-29, 29-28, 29-28
Mike Pierce defeated Aaron Simpson by knockout at 0:29 of round two
Michael Johnson defeated Danny Castillo by knockout at 1:06 of round two
Justin Edwards defeated Josh Neer by guillotine choke at 0:45 of round one
John Dodson defeated Jussier Formiga by technical knockout at 4:35 of round two
Jake Ellenberger defeated Jay Hieron by unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Antonio Silva defeated Travis Browne by technical knockout at 3:27 of round one

UFC on FX 5 Poster

UFC on FX 5 weigh-ins took place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN.  All the main card fighters made weight, however Dennis Hallman never made it to the scale and was released from the organization.  Earlier in the day he notified Dana White of the issues, was given fluids and knew he would miss weight.  His bout with Thiago Tavares was pulled from the card, and both fighters were given their show and win money.  Hallman was then released from the organization and sent home immediately to deal with his issues.

Also of note, Bart Palaszewski missed weight on his first attempt, but cut the additional weight within the allotted one hour time extension.

The full weigh-in results are:

• Travis Browne (246) vs. Antonio Silva (266)
• Jake Ellenberger (170) vs. Jay Hieron (170)
• John Dodson (126) vs. Jussier Formiga (126)
• Josh Neer (171) vs. Justin Edwards (170)
• Yves Edwards (156) vs. Jeremy Stephens (156)
• Danny Castillo (156) vs. Michael Johnson (156)
• Shane Roller (156) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)
• Diego Nunes (146) vs. Bart Palaszewski (146)
• Phil Harris (125) vs. Darren Uyenoyama (125)
• Marcus LeVesseur (156) vs. Carlo Prater (156)
• Mike Pierce (171) vs. Aaron Simpson (171)

Bart Palaszewski – drawn by Justin McAllister

Bart Palaszewski versus Diego Nunes was the first fight announced for UFC on FX 5 when it was scheduled to happen in September and in Indianapolis. The entire card got moved, but that was a good thing for Palaszewski as he was able to fine tune his training camp a bit more. He also decided to change his training up by heading out to New Mexico to train under Greg Jackson for the fight. MMARecap caught up with him to discuss his upcoming fight on Friday, October 5th.

How’s things going tonight?
Going great, man. Great.

You are down in New Mexico putting the finishing touches on your training camp for Diego Nunes. What made you head on out to Jacksons for a bit?
You know, I fought at the same gym for almost 13 years. Just wanted to see the world, I guess, of MMA a little bit. I’m just experiencing different things, different training partners. And obviously Greg Jackson’s the mecca MMA, so I figured if I go anywhere, I might as well go to the best place in the MMA community.

Have you been there for your full camp?
I was here for the entire camp. You know, I started my camp, and then my fight got bumped a little bit, but I’ve been out here for the last 7 weeks. So, pretty much most of my entire camp. I spent here about 2 weeks, I went home for a couple weeks, and I came back. Haven’t been here for the 7 weeks. So it’s been a pretty long camp since the fight got bumped, now. But I feel good, man. I’m happy it got bumped ’cause the first few weeks the altitude was kicking my ass to the point where training wasn’t really quality training.

So who’s going to end up being in your corner come October 5th?
I got one of my close buddies. You know, my buddy Brett was pretty much the striking coach, the red headed guy. He’s been usually in my corner, and he was going to be in my corner, but he booked a vacation on the same week that my fight is because the fight’s supposed to be in September, not October. So he figured, “after that fight I’ll go on vacation,” and then of course it happened that they rescheduled the fight to the week that he’s gone. So one of my close friends, they’re just gonna corner me with Brent and Gibson and Greg Jackson.

With the reshuffling of fights from the UFC 151 fall out, did that affect the position of your fight on the card?
I don’t believe so. I really don’t know… I really don’t care. You know, coming off a loss I’m gonna wanna keep my fight I guess on a lower profile. I think it’s gonna be a great fight. We’re two strikers that can, you know, get after it. I think that I’m a little bit more organized to come forward, a little more than Diego does, but I think our styles cross pretty well for an exciting fight. So it’s gonna be a good fight, it’s gonna be worth the money that people pay. We’re both coming off a loss, so I wasn’t expecting to get on any card or anything like that. So, I am where I’m at. I’m still in the UFC, so it doesn’t matter. I’m gonna get after it.

Now Nunes is a fighter who likes to stand and trade, how much does that play a factor into what you want to do?
Oh it doesn’t play any! (Laughs) I mean it plays a big factor. I’m a striker; I like to try to keep the fight standing up. So it’s one less thing I gotta worry about is the take-downs. Obviously at camp we’ve been concentrating on striking a lot, and taking Diego apart and coming up with a good strategy and a good game plan for the fight, and, you know, conditioning. I think that’s gonna be a big part of the fight is the gas tank — who has the bigger gas tank. I always come prepared, and this time I feel I’m as prepared as I usually am but at 6,000 ft in the altitude. So, I guess it should be that much better.

Nunes is a tough guy to beat, and he hasn’t been finished yet. You gave a bold prediction in that you were going to knock out Tyson Griffin, care to make the same statement?
I don’t know about a statement, but I definitely believe that I can. He’s a squirmy little guy, he does his bicycle, so it’s gonna be hard to hit him, but I think once I connect he’s not gonna enjoy it.

There’s been a lot of discussion with regards to the featherweight title and who is challenging for it. What was your thoughts when Frankie Edgar was offered the fight being that he is coming off of back-to-back losses in the lightweight division?
Well, you know, I don’t know how many people they called before Frankie answered, you know? They might have called a few people and they could have turned it down, so you never know. But you know Frankie is definitely an established fighter; he was a champ, a very great champ at 155, so I don’t see any reason why he doesn’t deserve a shot at ’45. I mean, everybody was behind Chael Sonnen to get a shot at 205 when he was coming off a loss at title fight 85, so he deserves a chance. So, yeah, I think Frankie is well-deserved. There’s many guys at ’45 that are deserving a title shot right now, but like I said you don’t know how many people turned it down before Frankie accepted it.

Where can the fans find you at?
@bartimus7 on Twitter, that’s were you find me. Hit me up… just don’t be a dick. Also on Facebook. I’ve been kinda MIA from training, busting ass, eating and sleeping

Any sponsors or people you want to thank?
VFD Sports, everybody that helps me out. All my homies, Brad and Barry. Obviously Team Jackson and all the coaches… put in work with me… I feel great, mentally, physically. Just ready to get after it, man.

UFC 144 took place on Saturday February 25 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan (though it happened on Sunday morning locally in Japan). The pay-per-view was super-sized with seven fights airing live during the broadcast. Including the first fight of the night between Issei Tamura and Tiequan Zhang that was originally aired on Facebook, all twelve fights ended up being broadcast either on FX or during the pay-per-view broadcast.

On RecapRadio Brent Todd and John Petit had given their predictions for the event. Even just going with the winners they thought would win, Todd went 2-5 and Petit went 4-3. The results were some of the most exciting and craziest in recent history.

Vaughan Lee submits Kid Yamamoto via Iron Forges Iron

The submission of the night award was easy to hand out as there was only one submission. Vaughan Lee defeated Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto by armbar late in the first round. The two each blasted the other with big punches with Yamamoto nearly finishing early in the round. But Lee was able to recover and after Yamamoto was hurt, Lee rushed and locked in a triangle. The submission looked deep, but Yamamoto wasn’t tapping. Lee switched to an armbar and that was all that was needed to earn the tap.

Five fights ended by either knockout or technical knockout making the decision for who would earn the $65,000 bonus difficult. The first fight of the night between Tamura and Zhang was a great start to the night as Tamura landed a vicious right that sent Zhang to la-la-land.

Still part of the preliminary fights, Takanori Gomi showed some of what made Gomi so popular as he was able to earn a technical knockout over Eiji Mitsuoka. In the second round while both fighters seemed extremely gassed, Gomi started to connect with his strikes. It wasn’t long before Mitsuoka wasn’t responding and Gomi just unloaded everything he had into punching Mitsuoka until the referee was forced to stop the fight.

Both Tim Boetsch and Mark Hunt had impressive knockouts in their bouts against Yushin Okami and Cheick Kongo respectively. Boetsch was losing his fight to Okami badly. Knowing he was down two rounds to none Boetsch came out in the third swinging. He staggered Okami with a straight punch. Boetsch smelled blood and swarmed with tricky uppercuts. The assault of uppercuts continued until Okami fell to the floor in a bad way and Boetsch landed two more before the ref stopped the fight.

Many felt that Hunt was going to be seriously outmatchedand outworked by Kongo. But that never happened. Early in the fight Hunt dropped Kongo but decided to let Kongo get right back up. The second time he wasn’t as nice as he swarmed Kongo and rained down punch after punch until Herb Dean was force to save Kongo from eating any more damage.

Anthony Pettis KO's Joe Lauzon - via Iron Forges Iron

With Boetsch’s come from behind knockout and Hunt’s impressive striking display it would take a special kind of knockout to earn the extra $65,000. And an impressive knockout did happen. Anthony Pettis and Joe Lauzon seemed happy to trade punches. Pettis lands a kick to the body on Lauzon but Lauzon continues to press forward. Pettis threw another kick, Lauzon went to block it low, but the kick sailed high and connected perfectly on Lauzon’s head and Lauzon was unconscious.

Frankie Edgar vs Ben Henderson - via Iron Forges Iron

The main event screamed Fight of the Night award even before the first punch was thrown. Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson have been in several battles that were amazing and exciting. Edgar caught nearly every one of Henderson’s kicks and then proceeded to punch him in the face for even throwing a kick. But Henderson had more than just kicks at the ready as he blasted Edgar with straight punches that bloodied up Edgar quickly. The fight was a twenty-five minute back and forth battle that was extremely close. The judges had their work cut out for them but in the end they awarded the fight to Henderson crowing a new champ. Even though Edgar lost, he still pocketed an extra $65,000 for the performance as the fight was deemed the Fight of the Night.

Quick Results
Benson Henderson defeated Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 49-46)
Ryan Bader defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mark Hunt defeated Cheick Kongo via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:11
Jake Shields defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Tim Boetsch defeated Yushin Okami via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:54
Hatsu Hioki defeated Bart Palaszewski via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Anthony Pettis defeated Joe Lauzon via knockout (kick and punches) – Round 1, 1:21
Takanori Gomi defeated Eiji Mitsuoka via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:21
Vaughan Lee defeated Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:29
Riki Fukuda defeated Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Chris Cariaso defeated Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Issei Tamura defeated Tiequan Zhang via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:32

On the February 21st edition of RecapRadio hosts Brent Todd and John Petit had a variety of topics to discuss. We kicked off the show talking about the lack of mma that happened over the weekend on a national level. With two weekends in a row without a UFC event it was rather surprising that there wasn’t a national show to take stage.

Carson Beebe then joined the show to talk about his upcoming fight for Legacy Fighting Championship. It is his first fight back at 135 since auditioning for The Ultimate Fighter. He discussed his wrestling, managing his time, and trying to rep Chicago while down in Texas.

After Beebe we moved on to give our thoughts on the UFC on Fuel TV 1 card. Petit was the victor in the predictions for the week so hats off to him.

With time running out and some sidetracking curbed, we settled in to give our thoughts on UFC 144 and our predictions. There were some differences this week in the predictions and both of us made compelling arguments for our respective fighters. Here’s how the fight predictions broke down:

Brent Todd:
Joe Lauzon Sub Round 2
Bart Palaszewski KO Round 1
Yushin Okami UD
Jake Shields Sub Round 2
Cheick Kongo UD
Rampage Jackson TKO Round 2
Frankie Edgar UD

John Petit:
Anthony Pettis UD
Hatsu Hioki UD
Yushin Okami UD
Jake Shields TKO Round 2
Cheick Kongo TKO
Ryan Bader UD
Frankie Edgar UD

Use the player below to listen to the full show.

Bart Palaszewski – drawn by Justin McAllister

To the common fan, the featherweight fight between Bart Palaszewski and Hatsu Hioki probably doesn’t stand out. And that is sad. But the reality is, it is because both guys have only had one fight inside the UFC though both fighters took different paths to get there.

Like Pettis and Lauzon, Palaszewski and Hioki both competed at the same card at UFC 137 in October of 2011. And like Pettis and Lauzon, one finished the fight in the first round, while the other squeezed out split decision.

Hioki made a name for himself competing in Shooto and Sengoku against top competition. Prior to his UFC debut, he put together a four-fight win streak. The win streak wasn’t just against nobodies in the featherweight division as it included wins over Takeshi Inoue and Marlon Sandro.

Prior to the Inoue fight, Hioki lost a split decision to Michihiro Omigawa in a fight many thought he won. Prior to the loss he went 8-0-1 finishing six of his eight opponents.

Hioki’s debut for the UFC was against George Roop and it came with a little bit of controversy. Roop was able to keep his distance and picked Hioki apart, but when Hioki was able to get his hands on Roop fireworks exploded. The fight was a back-and-forth battle and Hioki barely got the nod via split decision.

Palaszewski made not only his UFC debut, but his featherweight debut at UFC 137 against former top 10 lightweight and now featherweight fighter Tyson Griffin. He stated prior to the fight that he was going to knock Griffin out and that is what he did.

Less than three minutes into the fight Palaszewski saw his opening and the Team Curran fighter capitalized on it. He unloaded a barrage of punches knocking Griffin out while standing.

Prior to his UFC debut, Palaszewski went 3-1 in his second stint in the WEC. The run includes a victory over Anthony Pettis and finishes over Karen Darabedyan and Zachary Micklewright.

A lot of people will be quick to give Hioki the advantage in the grappling department. The problem with that is that Palaszewski is a black belt in jiu jitsu, he just doesn’t tend to show off those skills. Even if Hioki does have the advantage on the ground, the question is, can he get it there.

Palaszewski lost a split decision to Kamal Shalorus, a fight that made him look hard at his wrestling. His fight against Griffin many gave Griffin a huge advantage for possibly being able to get the fight to the ground. He never got it there and Palaszewski earned a knockout of the night bonus.

Hioki was able to get dropped quite a bit in Shooto, but because there was a standing eight count, he could recover. Unless Hioki can recover in about half a second, he’s going to have a very rough night against Palaszewski. Thus I am predicting another first round knockout for Palaszewski

Jeff Curran got his wish.  At his last fight at XFO 39, Curran stated that either he got the call to fight in the UFC or he was retired.  UFC Officials admitted that they were interested, and after several months acted on signing the “Big Frog”.  Curran now meets former number one contender Scott Jorgensen at UFC 137 in October.

Jorgensen made his UFC debut at the Ultimate Fighter 13 finale when he knocked out Ken Stone in just over four minutes.  Prior to that, Jorgensen lost an exciting five-round fight against bantamweight champion Dominic Cruz.  Jorgensen had earned the title shot by putting together a five fight win streak in the division.

Curran meanwhile is now 4-1 in his last five since being cut from the WEC.  He has fought in numerous weight classes in that stretch including featherweight and lightweight, but will be dropping down to bantamweight for the UFC.  Curran is a true veteran of the sport having fought in nearly every major promotion.

UFC 137 takes place on Saturday October 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The night will be headlined by Georges St-Pierre defending his welterweight title against Nick Diaz and feature a co-main event between BJ Penn and Carlos Condit.

The full lineup includes:

• Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz
• Carlos Condit vs. B.J. Penn
• Cheick Kongo vs. Matt Mitrione
• Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Roy Nelson
• Dennis Siver vs. Sam Stout
• Hatsu Hioki vs. George Roop
• Eliot Marshall vs. Brandon Vera
• Tyson Griffin vs. Bart Palaszewski
• Tim Credeur vs. Brad Tavares
• Jeff Curran vs. Scott Jorgensen
• Danny Downes vs. Ramsey Nijem

The name Daniel Villanueva won’t be familiar to almost every mma fan.  But undoubtedly you have seen his work on fighters like Jeff Curran and Bart Palaszewski.  Villanueva is the barber who shaves the awesome designs into their heads before a fight and MMA Recap’s Brent Todd caught up with him to discuss his career as a barber and his clients.

How long have you been a barber for?
I’ve been cutting hair since I was 13 years old. I started as a teenager in my neighborhood with family and friends. Started in moms the kitchen and then ended up in the basement.

Who are some of your clients that we’ve seen your work on?
A few clients of mine that you may have seen are Jeff Curran, Bart Palaszewski, and Jens Pulver.

What prompted you to try and put a logo on the side of someone’s head?
I would do designs on peoples heads when I was younger so when the before mentioned gentlemen asked if I could put a logo on their head you know I had to be down for the challenge.

What was your favorite design to do and who was it on?
Bart Palaszewski Team Curran logo, Suckerpunch and Alienware.

What has been the most complicated design?
Jeff Curran’s keltic cross was my most difficult because  he is such a perfectionest.

When I met you, you mentioned how excited you were to be able to get to work with Jens Pulver.  I saw that he has his mohawk back.  Was that something you were excited about doing?
Yes most definitely. Jens Pulver is a legend in the sport and the first to rock the mohawk and graphics.

What other things were you thinking of shaving into Jen’s head?
His nickname Lil’ Evil.

How much time does it take for you to complete a piece such as Bart’s HeadRush?
Two hours give or take.

If you could work with any athlete in the world, which one would it be and why?
I would have to say Micheal Jordon hands down. He is the epitome of a master of his craft always inspired by his talent.

Have you ever had a piece go wrong and if so what did you do?
Yes, I improvise when it happens because once the hair is gone it isn’t coming back.

The XFO is coming up on the 22nd, will we see your work there?
Absolutely a few of the guys from Team Curran will be sporting some of my graphics.

How can people who are interested in your services find you?
You can find me on Facebook Daniel Villanueva or you can contact me by Phone # 1(224) 629-3439 Fadez & Bladez website coming soon!!!!

Anyone you want to thank or give a shout out to?
Shout outs to my team first and foremost Fadez & Bladez Big Tito, Dewone, Lil’ Ride Rudy. All of Team Curran , Jeff Curran, Matt Ortiz, Bart Palaszewski, Dan Lardy And last but not least to all the people that support Fadez & and Bladez Barbershop.

Last night, World Extreme Cagefighting held their 50^th show entitled “Cruz vs. Benavidez”.  The night’s action took place at The Pearl inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada and the main card was televised on Versus.  Read on for the night’s televised recap as well as full results of the event.

The first night of the fight saw Chicago-based fighter Bart Palaszewski take on Zach Micklewright.  After a back and forth opening round, Palaszewski’s corner told him to wake up.  Palaszewski listened to his corner as he needed just 31 seconds in the second round to earn the TKO victory over Micklewright.

Scott Jorgensen continued his winning streak and more than likely picked up a fight of the night bonus against Brad Pickett.  The three round war saw both fighters landing big punches that hurt the other.  But neither fight would go down and unlike many opponents, the two of them pushed forward after being rocked instead of backing away.  Jorgensen’s wrestling and takedowns proved to be the difference as he would use them to secure the scores on the judges’ score cards.

Cub Swanson wanted to keep his fight standing against Chad Mendes, and it looked like Mendes would comply.  But after eating a couple of shots from Swanson, Mendes went back to his superior wrestling roots and used takedowns and ground and pound through out the three rounds.  With less than a minute left, Swanson threw massive punches to try and earn the victory, but Mendes just scooped him up and took him down to earn the judges’ decision.

Another exciting matchup was next between Anthony Pettis and Shane Roller.  Pettis who is known for his flashy attacks let some fly in the fight.  A great spinning hook kick landed on the back of Roller’s neck briefly wobbling him in the first round.  At the end of the first Pettis nearly scored again with a spinning kick from the ground.  In the second round Roller was able to put Pettis on his back, but Pettis would quickly escape.  The third round Roller took Pettis to the ground and worked some great ground and pound before Pettis was able to get up.  With just seconds left in the fight Roller attempted an arm-in guillotine, but Pettis was able to roll out of it and secure a triangle choke of his own.  Under ten seconds and Pettis squeezed the choke forcing Roller to tap.

The main event featured a rematch between Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez, only this time it was for the belt.  The five round fight was non-stop from the beginning bell to the closing bell.  Cruz worked his light and quick feet to attack Benavidez from multiple angels, but Benavidez did his homework, as he was able to counter many of his opponent’s attacks.  Cruz would score takedowns sporadically through out the fight to help ensure he would get the points for the round.  After the five round fight MMA Recap had it 48-47 for the champion but the judges were slightly different as they were split in who should win.  In the end though, the champion defended his belt with judges’ scorecards of 47-48, 48-47 and 49-46.

Quick Results:

• Champ Dominick Cruz def. Joseph Benavidez via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46) (retains bantamweight title)
• Anthony Pettis def. Shane Roller via submission (triangle choke) – Round 3, 4:51
• Chad Mendes def. Cub Swanson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Scott Jorgensen def. Brad Pickett via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Bart Palaszewski def. Zach Micklewright via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:31
• Maciej Jewtuszko def. Anthony Njokuani via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:35
• Javier Vazquez def. Mackens Semerzier via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:35
• Ricardo Lamas def. Dave Jansen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Fredson Paixao def. Bryan Caraway via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Danny Castillo def. Dustin Poirier via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

Team Curran Martial Arts is one of the best mixed martial arts schools in the Midwest.  Boasting top names such as Bart Palaszewski, Nate Moore, Pat Curran and it’s founder Jeff Curran.    The school is not only home to a great training facility, but also is part of one of the longest running local promotions, the XFO.  MMA Recap caught up with Jeff Curran to discuss the school and the organization.

What made you want to open up your own school?
I have had it for twelve years.  There was nowhere to train around here and I just needed a place to train.  I was already training for a few years at the time traveling out of state and I decided to start something small and it grew into something big.

What all is offered at Curran Martial Arts?
Obviously the size of our school, but we could have the biggest school in the world and still have a terrible program.  We have our Thai boxing, jujitsu classes, wrestling, mma classes.  We have everything separated.  I don’t let people just sign up and take mma.  The only people that can take the mma classes are advanced.  They have to have x amount of experience in Thai boxing, jujitsu, otherwise we are always going backwards and I am teaching more than I am drilling.  MMA to me is more just taking everything and drilling it together not teaching it as a style in and of itself.  Everyone that we have training here has started with us for the most part.  We don’t have a whole lot of guys jumping ship to join our team.  Everybody here is built from scratch for the most part.

Who are some of the other fighters who have come up through this gym?
Bart Palaszewski – hes a WEC contender.  Nate Moore who is no longer training nor fighting.  He was a four time UFC veteran.  We have a lot of guys on the local level and we kind of weed guys out as we go.  Some go on, some don’t.

The XFO is the longest running show in Illinois if I am not mistaken, why do you think you have been able to be so successful with shows?
Other than Xtreme Challenge, but they would be more considered an Iowa based show.  Other people may have started before us, but they aren’t doing shows any more and we are going strong.  We got a bunch of shows coming up.  We are doing a show at the V.F.W. in Woodstock, one at the Tilted Kilt in Elgin, Durty Nellies in Palatine.  We are doing smaller venues for our amateurs and then looking for bigger venues for our pro shows.  The big thing is that when we have a fighter like Pat or a fighter like Clay Guida we invest into the fighters and they are able to go onto bigger things.  Clay Guida came up through us.  Bart had a career before the XFO but we were able to help advance it to get him in there.  The other thing is that we are consistent.  If we lose on a show we do another one and if we do well we try to keep that format.  We just stay busy.

Recently you expanded the XFO to include all amateur shows, where did the need for this come from?
Cause if you don’t build talent, you can’t have a pro show.  You have to have those farm schools where you build people’s experience.  These guys need a place to get their start.  If I relied on all the other local shows I would only get one guy on a show or I would have to put all my guys on it.  I also wouldn’t have control over anything.  This is a connivence thing for me.  When I started the XFO it was for many selfish reasons for the school.  When I want Pat to fight someone at high level I can do that.  And then I give the same kind of attention to other teams in the area.  John Hosmin he didn’t do well in the WEC, but he got his exposure from our shows.

What needs to happen in your opinion for a show to be a successful show?
Good fights for sure.  Being consistent.  Being there for the fans.  Think about baseball.  Cubs fans can watch them play how many days a week?  If you are holding all your nuts for just two shows a year, and blow it out of the water and expect everyone to come.  That’s kind of selfish.  We are putting on a show every month and guys know they can see shows on a regular basis.

Outdoor war seems to be the most popular of your shows, any particular reason for that?
It’s just like an mma fest.  We start amateur bouts at like 2pm and that goes for like three hours.  We take an hour break and we start the pro card.  It’s always our best show and we can afford to put on more pro fights and bring in other talent.  It’s just the whole atmosphere to go party, drink, sit in the sun to watch fights.  We are six years running about to go on seven and it has never rained.  We do it the same weekend every year and according to the farmers almanac it won’t rain that weekend.