Recently in wrestling Category

Here's a wrestling club you should check out: Gang Green, a club for youth level through college, run out of York College of PA. Their mission statement reads, "Gang Green Wrestling Club is a group of dedicated coaches, parents, and volunteers committed to educating the overall person through the lessons learned in wrestling, thereby improving York Country wrestling and bringing prestige to the region."
Watch the video and you'll see a familiar face: local fighter Duane Bastress, who won his most recent fight on July 18 at Central Pennsylvania Warrior Challenge.

here's the Web site for more info.: http://sites.google.com/site/ganggreenwc

By Mike Fridley of sherdog.com:
Saturday, 8:10 p.m. ET: Former Big Ten standout wrestler Phil Davis is now 3-0 after his destruction of Terry Cohens (4-3) at UWC "Capital Punishment."

A four-time All-American at Penn State University, Davis punished his opponent from a variety of positions before putting him away with punches from the mount at 4:29 of the opening period.

Davis provided one of the best interviews the Sherdog Radio Network has ever aired some months ago when he spoke with Jordan Breen, but he kept it short and sweet Saturday night in Fairfax, Va.

"I did what I could," said Davis.

The 24-year-old prospect could make waves in the sport at 205, but I think his frame is best suited for the middleweight division. I believe it's only a matter of time before we see this kid handing out beatdowns in the Octagon.

Earlier today, I spoke with Jerod Phillips, whose York County -based MMA clothing company, Tap or Sleep, sponsors local pro Biff Walzer, about Biff's fight tonight in Atlantic City.

Jerod told me that for tonight's fight, Biff weighed in at 155.2 pounds, and the guy he's fighting, Kevin Roddy, weighed in at 153.

I asked Jerod what his thoughts were pre-fight, and he said, "What I'm worred about is Biff trying to muscle him around and getting caught in an armbar."

Jerod said they might try to stand-up with Roddy for a while, since he is not known for his striking ability.

Jerod also said that at weigh-ins, the scale had to be replaced because it was weighing everybody heavy. Biff, who trains at LionHeart Fighters in State College, had to shed about three pounds early Friday, but it was no problem for the life-long wrestler.

"He did a little running and then went to the sauna," Jerod said.

LionHeart Fighters' Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis will take on Cody "Donnybrook" Donovan at the next Ultimate Warrior Challenge, Capital Punishment, on April 25.

Davis, a four-time All-American from Penn State, is 2-0 as a pro.

Donovan is 4-1 and last won against John Doyle by TKO (punches and elbows) at UWC's Man -"O"-War event on Feb. 21. As it turns out, Davis was originally scheduled to fight Donovan at UWC's Man O War, but was injured, so fellow teammmate Doyle stepped into the cage on short notice.

Here's a video featuring local wrestling sensations - and brothers - Jacob and James English. Enjoy the sick wrestling moves.

Ben Askren, a collegiate wrestling star at the University of Missouri and a 2008 Olympic competitor, will be making his debut in MMA next month, probably as a welterweight. Here's what his wikipedia entry says: "He is known for his incredible pinning ability (he holds the single-season NCAA pin record); his massive afro, and his "funky", or unorthodox, wrestling style." And here's the latest entry from Askren's Web site:

So if you haven't heard by now and you likely have I am debuting in the cage on February 7. I don't know who my opponent is yet, I just had one back out. I think we have another one locked in but nothing is for sure yet. The fights are on Feb 7 at the Holiday Inn Expo center in Columbia, MO.

I have been training very hard for my debut, my jiu jitsu is going to new levels and I keep getting better everyday. Great news is we now have a striking coach at ATTMO his name is Lucas Lopes and he is great so far. His English isn't the best but I am learning some Portugese and we communicate what we need to, plus Kiko helps with the language barrier.

Also fighting on the card are my BJJ coach Kiko France, Training Partner Zach Lenon, Former teammate at Mizzou Tyron Woodley and UFC Vet Din Thomas. If you want more info about that you can check www.headhunterevents.com

On Sunday I went with my son - and many of his Central wrestling teammates - to Penn State's dual meet against LeHigh and Lock Haven, and had a great time. Penn State lost a close one to LeHigh 16-17 and totally destroyed Lock Haven, 36-3. At PSU's Rec Hall, there was not a bad seat in the house, and unlike other elementary meets I've been to, the match going on was the only match going on - it took center stage, and the lights were dimmed except for spotlights on the mat.

There was blood in the first bout, as Penn State's 174-pounder, Quentin Wright, battled LeHigh's Alex Caruso. The action spilled outside the mat and it appeared that Caruso's face struck the scoring table, which drew some gasps from the crowd. He walked to his teammates with a sizeable cut on his cheek.

It was my first time at a collegiate match, so it took a while to learn the point system and the legal/illegal moves. There was only one pin during the entire dual meet, scored by PSU's Bubba Jenkins at 149.

After the second meet, many of the team members hung out for autographs, and I said hello to PSU assistant coach and one-time MMA fighter Aaron Anspach again. The guy's a class act all the way, and from the condition of his cauliflower ears, looks like he still trains hard.

from five ounces of pain:
Ben Askren, who represented the United States in freestyle wrestling at the Beijing Olympics this past summer, is scheduled to make his mixed martial arts debut on February 7 in Columbia, Missouri.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news with Dan Lambert, the president of American Top Team, where Askren is currently preparing for his pro debut.

Askren, who will compete at welterweight, is one of the most decorated amateur wrestlers in U.S. history. He was the 2006 and 2007 winner of the Danny Hodge Trophy, an annual award given to the top collegiate wrestler.

The 24-year old was also a two-time NCAA champion while competing for the University of Missouri, where he posted an amazing record of 153-8 during his four-year amateur career. He is also fourth on the all-time NCAA list for pins with 91, trailing only Gene Mills (107), Wade Schalles (106), and Larry Bielenberg (94).

Askren is also scheduled to fight on February 26 in Miami. Already viewed as one of the top unsigned prospects in the sport, it's likely Askren is already attracting interest from major national promotions. However, his asking price will no doubt increase if he's able to begin his career 2-0.

Time to catch up on all the goings-on at LionHeart Fighters in State College.

Light-heavyweight Phil Davis, who is 1-0 as a pro, takes on 4-1 Josh Green at the Palace Fighting Championship on Jan. 22.

Undefeated Paul Bradley, 9-0, moves down to welterweight to fight UFC veteran Roan Carneiro, who has a 12-8 record. Bradley and the American Top Team member square off at the World Cagefighting Alliance event on Feb. 6.

Middleweight Lou Armezzani and featherweight Jim Hettes will travel down to the Dominican Republic for Combate Extremo on Dec. 20.

Best of luck to all the LionHeart Fighters from MMA Explosion.

I had the pleasure today of meeting Aaron Anspach, Penn State All-American heavyweight wrestler and now assistant coach for the Nittany Lions.

Aaron, who went to high school in Columbia, was in town to conduct a wrestling clinic at Central High School for elementary-age wrestlers. He was a great guy, knew how to relate to the kids and gave an inspiring speech at the end. Not to mention he's freakin' huge.

He's also a big fan of MMA and a one-time team member at LionHeart Fighters. So, up above, is Aaron's one and only MMA fight - a dominating performace with tons of thunderous take-downs and some pretty good striking too.

Jerod Phillips of Tap or Sleep sent me this slide show he put together on York County's lightweight pro, Biff Walizer. Nice group of shots - we see Biff with James "Binky" Jones, and Biff's wins in Kentucky, and most recently, the one in D.C. last weekend.

Just got these photos from Jerod Phillips, manager for Biff Walizer and owner of Tap or Sleep fightwear. These were taken before Biff's 148-pound fight last weekend at Battle at the Nation's Capital with Jerod wrapping up Biff's hands. Biff, who trains at LionHeart Fighters in State College, took the fight on short notice, dropping 12 pounds in a couple of days. In a little over a minute, Biff submitted his opponent, which made for a nice payday, when you look at the dollars-to-seconds ratio.

York County's own Biff Walizer, of LionHeart Fighters, will be fighting at the first-ever Battle at the Nation's Capital at the DC Armory. Biff told me he took the fight at the last-minute as a fill-in. The fight's at the curious weight of 148 Biff said. Curious because it's sandwiched in between the staple fighting weights of 145 and 155. Biff had a couple days to shed some pounds, but he did it. Fights start at 8 p.m. tomorrow, but I'm not sure where he is in the line-up. I'll keep you guys posted on how he does. Hopefully, he gets another arm for his collection, like Steve Cantwell.

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."

Davis will enter the fight 1-0 as a professional. He won the NCAA Wrestling Championships at 197 lbs. in March of this year.

In other LionHeart news Paul Bradley's fight against Raphael Sapo in Washington D.C. at Battle at the Nation's Capital has been cancelled due to an injury of Sapo. The fight will be rescheduled at a later date.

Here's an email I received from LionHeart Fighters:

Hey Everyone.

Just a quick note.

Phil's fight scheduled for Dec 19 in Miami has been cancelled. We should have another one scheduled sometime after the first of the year.

Also, Paul's fight in D.C. for Dec. 13 is still on. You can get tickets and find venue details at www.districtcombatproductions.com.

Have a good one.

I think I mentioned this in the radio show, but I also wanted to say here that I talked with Jerod Phillips from Tap or Sleep fightwear about York County pro Biff Walizer last week.

Walizer, who I profiled in the Daily Record, lost by knock-out to Dom Stanco at Ring of Combat. he currebtly trains at LionHeart Fighters in State College.

Jerod told me several things about Biff: he'll stick to fighting at 145, no more fights at 155. The guys he's fighting at 155 are cutting 20-25 or so pounds, and are just too tall and too muscular. Phillips doesn't doubt Biff's strength or athleticism, but those odds may be too much. We see this happen all the time, fighters dropping weights classes to get to where they need to be to have success.

Also, Biff will be taking the winter off so he can dedicate himself to the Red Lion High School varsity wrestling team. From all that I have heard, Biff is a great coach - so much that parents have moved to the school district just so their kids can get on the team.

Third, Biff will be looking into different training techniques - like crossfit - to get in top condition when he starts fighting again.

All in all, great news about Biff. We wish him the best, and until the next fight, here's to a great wrestling season.

It would surprise me if Biff responded to some of the disparraging comments left online in response to my story on him. Biff's too humble of a guy, and would take the high road. Me, I'm not those things.

here's what John Kilker wrote: "Wow I think the real story here is that this guy is a teacher. With all his gambling issues and drinking issues this guy needs to lose his job. I think I will e-mail this link to the Red Lion school district so they can see what their teacher is doing outside of work. Drinking it up and Gambling.. Way to go Biff.. you a great role model teaching the kids to play blackjack?"

Have you ever lived? Made a mistake? Been addicted to anything? Biff was honest and brave enough to seek help. What have you done but simply critcize another? Not to mention the kids he helps in class and on the mat. Tell me you've done something like that, John.

And this gem from someone who calls himself "Knute Rockne," you know, the famous Notre Dame football coach: "This is not a sport, it is plain brutailty, and it should probably be banned."

Probably? Make up your mind first before posting. You named yourself after a guy who coached football when they didn't even wear helmets, or maybe just the leather ones. And I'd be willing to bet you football today is more violent than MMA, in terms of injuries. You don't have to like it, but face it, MMA is here to stay.

Biff in training.

My story on Biff Walizer and MMA hit the York Daily Record on Sunday, if you missed it. Click here to read the story.

Here's the video on Tap or Sleep's Jerod Phillps:

Jerod Phillips of Tap or Sleep fightwear caught up with pro lightweight fighter Biff Walizer at a recent wrestling tournament in Lock Haven. Biff talks about his win in Kentucky at Intimidation Cage Fighting and what's in store for him in the coming months.

powered by ODEO
Tom Joyce and I give our picks for the upcoming UFC 88 - Breakthrough event, discuss the KJ Noons- Nick Diaz-EliteXC feud and break down steroids in MMA.

Lesnar

from the Pioneer Press:
Former Gophers wrestler Brock Lesnar, who is 2-1 as a mixed martial arts fighter, found out this week that Ultimate Fighting Championship would like him to compete next on a November card, but his opponent and site remain undetermined.

Ted's Take: So who do you think it'll be? It won't be a title shot - heavyweight champ Big Nog and contender Frank Mir are locked in doing TUF 8. Shane Carwin's only had one fight in the UFC and he and Brock appear to be cut from similar molds. I see a good clash coming with Cheick Kongo. He's a tall, lean kickboxer who has shown improvement on the ground. Lesnar is a muscular wrestler with surprising striking. Instant fireworks.

Kongo

Catching up on Pennsylvania MMA news - LionHeart Fighters' Phil Davis submitted his opponent with an anaconda choke (Big Nog's signature move) at an MMA event - Extreme Fighting Challenge - in Ohio earlier this month. That brings Davis' record to 3-0 as an amateur. Word is he's planning to turn pro soon. We'll keep you updated.

-- So Florian beat Huerta. The UFC had said a while back that this fight would be to determine the number one contender to BJ Penn's lightweight belt, but then reportedly backed off from that days before the bout. One could make the connection the souring on the signifcance of the fight was due to Huerta's disparraging comments in FIGHT! magazine, where he doubted their loyalty and said they paid him $50 a day for a promotional tour. So, the question is, now that Florian won, will he get a title shot, or is Dana White's next move going to be to let BJ Penn jump up a weight class to take on welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre?

-- Cheick Kongo (who some call "Cup Check" because of the four or so knees he fired at CroCop's nuggets in their fight) beat Viking Dan Evenson (who was waaay into his entrance music, by the way) ... so where does Kongo go from here? I'm still not too impressed with this guy - Herring gave him problems .. let's see how he does against tougher competition on the ground, like maybe Shane Carwin or Brock Lesnar, or even Frank Mir.

Caught a few of the fights on saturday night. Here are some thoughts:

In Lesnar/Herring and St-Pierre/Fitch, we saw the polar opposites of sportsmanship. Lesar thrashed Herring for three rounds. Totally dominated him with wrestling, but didn't seem to know how to put the veteran fighter away, a la jiu-jitsu or ground-n-pound. We did see another vicious one-punch knock-down, like he did to Frank Mir, so people better start fearing his hands.

It was a great victory for Brock. I was happy for him, until he started taunting and laughing at Herring. Before the final bell rang. Nah. That ain't cool.

St-Pierre vs. Fitch went the full 25, and gets my nomination for Fight of the Year, but more on that in a minute. St-Pierre was the first fighter to pass Fitch's guard and also handed Fitch his first loss in the Octagon. Fitch proved to the world he deserved his title shot, absorbing punch after punch, elbow after elbow, takedown after takedown.

After the grueling contest, St-Pierre got down on his knees and shook Fitch's hand. If I were to guess, he was thanking Fitch for giving him the fight of his life. Fitch in turn got down on his knees, knowing that he gave St-Pierre his biggest challenge. He then picked St-Pierre up to display him to the roaring hoard.

That's the way MMA should be. That's what makes it so special. The camaraderie between fighters. There is some unexplainable bond that is forged when you push someone to their physical and mental limits. No matter what happens in the lives from that point on, St-Pierre and Fitch will never forget that night.

BJ Penn, who seems to be making a habit of post-fight cage appearances, materialized and yelled to St-Pierre to make a re-match between the two happen. St-Pierre, in a not-so-enthusiastic repsonse, said he would fight anyone who was worthy. "Eee can't andle my widdum," anyone?

Ok, so the Olympics are about to start in China - who here is gonna watch?

*crickets*

Seriously, I might catch a few events, but all that talk about so-and-so is "poised to medal" and the emotional back-stories is a bit overwhelming ... and since when is the word "medal" a verb?

When you think about it, some of the major components of MMA are already at the games: wrestling, judo (throws and submissions), boxing and tae kwon do, which begs the question: is it really a stretch to just put those sports together and make a place for MMA at the Olympics?

Knowing the International Olympic Committee's stringent requirements for accepting sports into the games, I suspect not. It's too barbaric, they'll say, but really, isn't that how the games started, with armed and unarmed combat inside a coliseum, a blood-thirsty crowd and fights to the death?

Here's an excerpt from the pankration - the ancient Greek sport that uses throws, takedowns, strikes and submissions - entry at Wikipedia:

"In the lead-up to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, a modern non-nude version of pankration was tipped as being a new sport in the Olympiad, especially due to its being an event in the ancient games. However, its application was not approved. The International Olympic Committee was unconvinced that Greece could handle the total number of sports proposed. To placate the IOC, the organizers removed all new medal sports and pankration missed out."

My conclusion is that it's OK that MMA is not an Olympic sport, because - even though it's now on network TV and legal in many states - it still has that air of a fringe sport, which, I think, for me and many others, is part of its attraction. It's not for everyone. Not everyone can handle it. And that's fine - it will thrive without everyone's blessing - and they can go back to curling or badminton.

If you get the urge to talk Olympics, check out the York Daily Record's blog on the Olympics, called "The O-Zone", here.

Here's an email from LionHeart Fighters in State College:
Last minute news...

Phil (Davis) is fighting in Colombus, Ohio this Saturday, Aug. 9th, at The Extreme Fighting Challenge.
For venue and ticket info go to:
http://www.extremefightingchallenge.net/

Ya gotta love the attitude of our guys...ready to throw down. Anywhere. Anytime.
Bradley and Rockwell are going along to coach.

Go get 'em fellas.

York County's own Biff Walizer, a lightweight pro out of Windsor Townhip, is scheduled to get back into the fighting game, after a series of mishaps and injuries. He's been training in York and also with Team LionHeart in State College.

Biff has a fight later this month with this promotion:

And, if all goes well then, he's got another fight on Sept. 12 in New Jersey with Ring of Combat:

LionHeart Fighters, a new and huge MMA facility in State College had three fighters at the Battlefield Fighting Championships in Virginia. Here's a highlight video from that event.

Not sure that this has been optioned yet, but here's the trailer ... It's called "The Real Angle." About halfway through they show Kurt training MMA and talking about fighting Randy Couture. This would lead us to believe he's still interested in competing.

I respect Kurt a lot, but I gotta tell you, in one shot, as he's going to his daughter's dance practice, he's walking like an old man. I'm just concerned for his health, and I'm not sure any state doctor would allow him to fight. ... and one more thing - who the hell is he talking to on that cell phone all freakin' day long???