Category Archives: MMA

Mixed Martial Arts

If You Need a Smile – “Invicta’s Got Talent” Has You Covered

Invicta FC threw out a challenge to it’s fighters and six stepped up to the task.

As a way to promote their upcoming card Oct. 2, the all female promotion asked for videos from their competitors to entertain their fans. Tecia Torres, Kaiyanna Rain, Michelle Waterson, Ashley Cummins, Barb Honchak, and Katalina Malungahu all submitted, and did their jobs. Now it’s time for you to vote.

Watch their videos and vote for your favorite. The fighter with the most votes will received a $1000 bonus.

You can watch and vote for the contest at http://invictafc.com/invictas-got-talent.

Amber Stautzenberger Talks Pro Debut

As the Texas female fighting scene has grown, several stars have shined outside the state. One has been Amber Stautzenberger, who is coming off a successful amateur career to make her pro debut against Paige Van Zant at the Premier Fight Series 2 in Ft. Worth, TX this Saturday. The event will stream for $10 at  Premierfights.net.

We talked to Stautzenberger about turning pro and fighting in her home state.

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Wombat Sports: You haven’t been finished since your first fight. Do you feel that losing that one made you more aware of what the sport was all about?

Amber Stautzenberger: I think it did make me more aware. You have to react quickly from every position.

Wombat: Your last fight was a wild one with Tecia Torres. Did you learn a lot from that fight?

Stautzenberger: I did learn lots. I learned more from that one that I did my first fight. I have been working on not waiting for something to happen, but to make it happen. Make it my fight, not my opponent’s.

W.S.: You will be in your hometown this time around for your upcoming fight. What will it mean to have friends and family Watching? Will not traveling be beneficial?

A.S.:  I’m actually from south Texas, but moved to the DFW to attend college. I love when my family so much and I am super happy they will be in the crowd cheering me on. They have been supportive and are excited to watch me fight live again. Last time my parents and siblings saw me fight live was in 2009. Friends are great as well, especially my friends from the gym. They are the ones who know what I go through everyday until the fight.

Not traveling will be beneficial for the weight cut. I have everything I need at home and don’t have to spend money eating out.

W.S.: You are facing Paige Van Zant, who is coming off a win over Jordan Gaza. Although you are debuting as a pro, it seems you have more experience. How do you see this fight going?

A.S.:  I see myself ending the fight. I like to finish, whether it’s on the ground or standing. I lost my last fight, so I am very hungry for a victory!

W.S.: Anyone you’d like to thank?

A.S.: Yes! Thank you for taking the time to interview me. I want to thank my sponsors AMMOTOGO.COM, NOKOUT, M. King Construction Inc., Co., and M. Holcomb FNC-P Inova Richardson – Family Practice. A big THANKS goes out to my coaches at MOHLER MMA!!! Thanks Will Campuzano for taking your time to consistantly training with me multiple times daily!

Also good luck to my teammate ELIAZAR RODRIGUEZ who has helped me as well, and is fighting on the same card!!

Weekend Results – Kickboxer Miriam Nakamoto Successful in MMA Debut; Sarah Moras Chalks up Another Submission Win

Nakamoto

After defeating the #1 ranked kickboxer in the world, Miriam Nakamoto has made the jump to MMA.

Only a month after winning a world kickboxing title from Julie Kitchen, Nakamoto defeated Elizabeth Phillips in San Jose at the Red Canvas Fight Promotions: “Submission 2” this past weekend. Nakamoto used her superior striking, including some knees in the clinch, to get a second round TKO victory.

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Moras

In the Great White North, Sarah Moras got back on the winning track as she only took 93 seconds to cinch in an armbar to get the verbal submission victory over Christina Berry at Aggression Fighting Championship 11: “Takeover” in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Berry did yell in pain, and didn’t technically tap; but the stoppage was warranted.

Moras improves to 3-1.

You can watch the complete fight below

Kaufman Out of Invicta 3; Young vs. Smith II to Replace

Via Press Release

An injury has forced Sarah Kaufman to withdraw from her Invicta FC 3 bantamweight (135 pounds) Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) matchup with Kaitlin Young (7-6-1) of St. Louis Park, Minn. at Memorial Hall in Kansas City on Saturday, Oct. 6, setting up a highly-anticipated rematch between Young and Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith (3-2-1).of Pleasant Hill, Calif.

Promising upstart Raquel “Rocky” Pennington (3-1) of Colorado Springs, Colo. has been tapped to face Smith’s original Invicta FC 3 bantamweight opponent, professional boxer and undefeated MMA prospect Kim Connor-Hamby (4-0) of Stuttgart, Ark.

Both seasoned strikers, Young and Smith engaged in an all-out slugfest for three rounds at the inaugural Invicta FC event on April 28, before a majority draw was declared.  Young and Smith were awarded “Fight of the Night” honors for their valiant efforts and the possibility of a rematch has since been a hot topic of discussion.

To date, the 27-year-old Young has earned six of her seven professional wins by KO.  In her third start, she scored a memorable KO on former Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate with a head kick just 30 seconds into their matchup.

Smith, a 31-year-old product of the Cesar Gracie Academy, went unbeaten (3-0) as an amateur before turning pro on March 6, 2009 and scoring a third round (4:16) TKO on Louise Johnson with a series of punches.

The 31-year-old Connor-Hamby boasts a 10-2-2 (4 KO’s) record in professional boxing.

In her MMA debut on June 27, 2009, Connor-Hamby needed just 20 seconds to stop Crystal Hamilton with a barrage of punches.

Connor-Hamby reeled off TKO victories in each of her next two starts and earned a split decision over Jessica Hilger in her last MMA bout on April 17, 2010.

Pennington’s start will be her second in the Invicta FC cage.  The 24-year-old earned a unanimous decision over Sarah Moras at the last Invicta FC event on July 28 and, less than six weeks after that, returned to action in Honolulu, Hawaii where she submitted Raquel Pa’aluhi with a guillotine choke in the first round (3:52) of their meeting.

Before her professional debut in March when she scored a second round (2:25) TKO on Kim Couture with a series of knee strikes to the body, Pennington enjoyed a healthy amateur career that spanned three years and saw her amass a record of 7-1.

Tickets for Invicta FC 3: Penne vs. Sugiyama, priced from $25, are on sale and can be purchased at Memorial Hall box office (913) 549-4853), online at Ticketmaster.com and InvictaFC.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000.

Video – The Incalculable InvictaFC Promo

Courtesy Ester Lin

How can you measure a fight?

You can count punches, submission attempts, cage control time; among other stats. When it comes to Invicta, the number grows as to how many people are watching. Come Oct. 6, their fighters want their record to go up one more in the win column.

InvictaFC released this promo last week to measure excitement, which is hard to do in the first place.

Remember that InvictaFC 3 will stream live and free on InvictaFC.com Oct. 6.

Stephanie Eggink Signs with XFC; Faces Heather Clark Dec. 7

Via Press release

A former member of the Unites States National Boxing Team, Stephanie Eggink has signed a multi-fight deal with Xtreme Fighting Championships. Eggink was once the top ranked amateur boxer in the United States and competed on behalf of the US at the 2007 Pan Am games in Brazil. After taking a few fights as a professional boxer, Eggink then decided to make the move to mixed martial arts.

Eggink’s history with boxing made an easy transition to MMA, and the fighter who trains under Black Belt Rob Kahn in Tampa, Florida feels there is still plenty to prove as a woman competing in the young sport of MMA.  “I want to prove that girls can be just as bad ass as the guys, we definitely have to work harder to get the respect,” said Eggink.

Eggink has started her pro career with a (1-1) record and is scheduled to make her first appearance with the XFC at the December ‘Night of Champions II’ event. In her XFC debut Eggink will take on XFC veteran Heather Clark, as Clark makes her first cut to the Strawweight division after taking most of her pro fights in the Female Featherweight division.

XFC President John Prisco announced the signing to media officials this morning, excited to have a fighter with a high level of striking skills join his promotions ranks. “I’ve been watching Stephanie for a while now. I’ve spoken to her coach Rob Kahn about her many times, and this seemed like a good opportunity to bring her on. She’s going to get a tough fight with Heather Clark at this year’s final XFC event and I believe it’s going to be a great fight,” said Prisco. “Both of these ladies are very tough and they offer different aspects of the striking game that are going to challenge each other. Eggink is definitely the more talented striker, but Clark will have the KO power and the advantage of having more experience in MMA.”

Eggink joins a list of top rising, talented fighters, from across the country who have signed with the XFC this year, including her first opponent Heather Clark. Signing with XFC has proven to be a great move for WMMA competitors, with the careers of fighters such as: Felice HerrigSofia BagherdaiHeather Clark, & Marianna Kheyfets taking off after inking deals with the promotion.

For more information on Eggink, or the other 2012 signees, visit www.OfficialXFC.com. Make sure to tune in to AXStv for XFC 20 ‘High Octane’ on September 28 live from the Knoxville Municipal Coliseum and Night of Champions II from Nashville on Dec 7th. Follow the promotion for daily news and updates on Facebook and Twitter ‘OfficialXFC’.

Judo Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison Training MMA But Eyes 2016 Repeat

It was no surprise to Wombat Sports when MMA Weekly reported that Olympic Judo Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison joined up with Dominance MMA Management. In fact, Harrsion told us on the Wombat Sports podcast several months ago she was highly likely to train Brazilian jiu-jitsu after the Olympics; after her teammate Rick Hawn, as well as several of her teammates, were already rolling with Renzo Gracie in New York City.

Don’t look for Harrsion to enter the cage anytime soon. She also told us she wants to wait for the heavier divisions to open up (Harrision is currently fighting at 170 pounds); and she feels there is no real matches for her. This on top of her wanting to defend her Olympic title in Brazil in 2016.

You can listen to our interview with Kayla Harrsion here

 

Video – Get to Know the Female Fighters of Brace MMA

Brace for War MMA is doing their part to help get Australian women fighters some exposure to the world.

Their stack 14 fight card Oct. 27 in Southport, Australia will be the biggest all female event in the country’s history and to top it off, it will stream to certain countries, including Japan, and the U.S.

The promotion also put out this promotional video introducing you to four of the talent fighters who will be a part of this historic card.

Wombat Sports will have more updates on the card as the month progresses.

Kyra Gracie Still Gun Shy About MMA; Praises Ronda Rousey

It has been a few years since ADCC champ and BJJ black belt Kyra Gracie stated she would be making the transition to MMA, and it may be at least a year before she does.

The multiple time BJJ champ told Tatame.com that she is still working on her striking, and although a her MMA career will eventually happen, it will take some time.

“At the moment I’m training. Boxing I added to my routine, with Claudio Coelho, and always focus on Jiu-Jitsu, which is my root.” Gracie stated to Tatme. “The growth of MMA makes me think about it every day. I am studying the proposals and seeing with my coaches the best time for this transition. The interest has not diminished at all.”

“I have to take one step at a time..In this sport, I’m still a white belt.”

When asked about the Strikeforce champ Ronda Rousey, Gracie had nothing but great things to say.

“She’s pretty sharp with an armbar. It is to be congratulated. I think she is representing the woman very well in MMA. She comes from a very good track record in Judo and has adapted his routine very well to MMA. Every fight is a great evolution in the technical part of the ground and standing.”

“She is training Jiu-Jitsu with my cousin Cesar in San Francisco (USA), I see that is evolving every day.”

As for a possible match with Rousey in the future?

“I have a very good defense to armbar (laughs). I have already put it to the test.”

“Submission is my specialty.”

Gracie also commented about an appending match with Rousey and Cris “Cyborg” Santos.

“I think Cris is more complete because it has a very good standup and is evolving much on the ground, after already twice champion and world (Jiu-Jitsu) in purple,” obsevered Gracie. “Ronda is an Olympic athlete trains since childhood and used to all the suffering of the training.”

“I want to go watch. Difficult to predict a score because fight is a fight.”

Cage Warriors Title Bout Set for Oct. 27 for Sexton & Gaff

Sexton
Gaff

The two top Unified ranked flyweights in the world will duke it out for the Cage Warriors title Oct. 27 live on MMAJunkie.com. #2 ranked Rosi Sexton will take on #1 ranked Sheila Gaff in what will be the finals of the CWFC flyweight torunament in Cardiff, Wales.

England’s Sexton (13-2) has rebounded since her loss to Bellator’s Zoila Gurgel, winning her last three matches. In her semi-final bout, she defeated #4 ranked Ais “The Bash” Daly by unanimous decision. She also have notable wins over Roxanne Modafferi and Sally Krumdiack.

The German Gaff (10-4-1) has finished her last three oppo0nents in the first round, with a 10 second KO over Brazilian ace Jennifer Maia in the semi-finals of the tournament  and an 8 second KO over Sweden’s Hannah Silen. She also has a TKO victory over Daly.

The fight will stream live and free on MMAJunkie.com Oct. 27.

MMA Rising – Paige VanZant Faces Amber Stautzenberger On September 22

VanZant
Stautzenberger

Unbeaten teen prospect “12 Gauge” Paige VanZant has stepped in on short notice to face Amber “The Apex Predator” Stautzenberger at Premier Fight Series 2 on September 22nd in Fort Worth, Texas. VanZant replaces Ivana Coleman, who withdrew from the bout with Stautzenberger this week.

VanZant made a successful pro debut in June by edging out Jordan Nicole Gaza after three competitive rounds.

She now returns to Texas to face off against another local favourite in Stautzenberger, who turns pro after putting together a solid amateur career that included three stoppage victories…

Read the complete article at MMARising.com