Thales Leites is ready to bring it.

Written by Samantha L. Johnson

In his six-year MMA career, Thales Leites has faced many fellow Brazilians. None, however, left the impression on him or his career like middleweight title-holder Anderson Silva.

The two met in April of this year and battled the allotted five rounds until Leites lost via unanimous decision.
Leites had gone to decision before, but those fights were fast-paced, entertaining and got fans’ adrenaline pumping. This decision was slow, awkward and — as some would say — boring. Silva’s game plan was to keep it standing, while Leites’ was to work his impressive ground game.

The result was a hodge-podge of Leites dropping to his back and Anderson trying to kick his opponent’s knee out. The fight was criticized by everyone from MMA industry workers to the guy at the water-cooler the next morning.

“Being the only man to go five rounds with Anderson Silva doesn’t make me fell better,” said Leites. “When I go inside the cage for a fight and fight until the end, and I didn’t win it, this is why I felt upset.”

Leites never failed to acknowledge Anderson’s skill or size.

“I’m talking about me, not about Anderson. He did his job and broke my fight plan,” Leites said. “He is a huge fighter, and fighting against him is too hard, any mistake and he will kill you.”   

On Aug. 8, Leites will look to polish off the small tarnish Silva left on his record.

Though this time it won’t be a Brazilian, but an Italian that will take on Leites (14-2). Alessio Sakara (13-7-0, 1 NC) trains with one of the best camps in MMA, America Top Team, however, even his elite-level training team hasn’t kept Sakara from defeat.

Known through MMA as an entertaining, yet sometimes disappointing fighter, he’s normally kept to the preliminary card.

Leites feels confident in his abilities, but isn’t taking Sakara lightly.

“I’m ready to fight with him on [the] stand-up game,” Leites said. “He has a rock hands and is a very dangerous striker, but I have my skills too and if I have to fight standing with him I will.”

Leites is known as a submission specialist — nine of his 14 wins are via submission. Even when his opponents know it is coming he can normally sneak in his signature arm bar.

To combat opponents, like Sakara with a boxing background, Leites works tirelessly on his stand up.

“[I’m] training a lot every day, getting better at boxing and my muay thai game to close the distance, take down and use the submission skills,” Leities explained. “He can know my fight plan, but he doesn’t know how or when I will try the take down.”

As for if he can another title shot in the near future, Leities remains focused on the task at hand.

“All I want is to focus on my fight with Sakara,” he said.
 

Samantha L. Johnson is the News Team Lead for MMAMadness.com. Feel free to contact her via e-mail: samantha@mmamadness.com

Forrest Griffin will guarantee Silva an opportunity to show his skills.

 

Written by Paul Delos Santos

If Anderson Silva isn’t getting tired of constantly being asked about his lackluster performances, his manager Ed Soares just might be.

Soares said the amount of criticism that Silva receives for his fights against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites is unjustified.

“He puts on a show,” Soares said during a UFC 101 media teleconference. “The way I look at it, if you’re a challenger you have to take (the title away). … You can’t call a guy into your guard. If you want to take him to the ground, take him to the ground and then take the champion’s belt.”

Whatever frustrations that are constantly being felt, one thing remains certain, Silva will have a stern test when he takes on Forrest Griffin at UFC 101.

It will be Silva’s second foray into the UFC’s deepest division and faces arguably one of its most potent challengers and fan favorites. 

That doesn’t seem to concern Silva, who looks at this fight as another opportunity for experience. 

“Every fight is a great experience,” Silva said in Portugese and was translated through Soares. “Moving up and fighting a great challenger (is another one). All the experiences I’ve had in my life is going to help, especially fighting the former light heavyweight champion. I’m anxious and ready to get this fight going.”

Silva (24-4) was given the fight against Griffin by UFC president Dana White, when he produced his second questionable performance against Leities.

Some said that Silva might have been bored with the lack of real challengers in his division, and that a fight with Griffin would spark and produce the Silva that many thought was the world’s best fighter.

Per his answering of the same question over and over again, Silva remains insistent that it was Leites’ strategy that produced a boring fight, and that Silva was just doing what his job entailed.

“I’m in there to do my job,” Silva said. “At the end of the day, I’m here for the fans, but I’m putting my life and body on the line. I feel like I did my job and if people are booing, then it comes from lack of understanding of the sport. I executed the game plan. It’s just unfortunate that the opponents didn’t fight back.”

Regardless of whose fault it is, Silva faces a man known for accomplishing the near impossible in Griffin.

It was Griffin, who choked out, the then top-ranked light heavyweight, Maurcio “Shogun” Rua, and proceeded to beat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson for the light heavyweight title.

Though Silva has slipped in many pound-for-pound rankings, Griffin considers him to be the best fighter in the world, and he is looking to hand Silva his first loss in the UFC.

There will be a slight weight difference when fight night comes, but Silva isn’t concerning and gave another stock response.

“I train with a lot of guys of different sizes,” Silva said. “The biggest challenge is fighting a guy like Forrest, who’s aggressive and has been a champion. My main focus is training hard and getting ready for this fight.”

He doesn’t expect there to be any issues in terms of cutting weight for a 205 pound fight like there would be in a 185 pound fight. Silva normally walks around 210 and 215 pounds, and said both take their own type of time.

“People talk about moving up and down in weight is difficult,” Silva said. “For me to cut to 185, is that I have to eat a different diet and do a different type cardio. At 205, I eat differently and don’t have to cut too much weight. Both work fine for me.”

The question is, assuming Silva gets past Griffin, what would be next for the middleweight kingpin?

Soares stepped in to answer a question for Silva.

“He wants to be involved with the biggest fights possible. He wants to be in historic title fights,” Soares said. “It doesn’t make a difference. He’s there to defend his title when a valid contender steps up. If it’s 205 great, if it’s 185 even better.” 

Paul Delos Santos is an associate editor at MMAMadness.com. You can e-mail him at paul@mmamadness.com. Follow the entire MMA Madness team at Twitter.com/MMA_Madness.

Aaron Riley prepares to set the record straight.

Written by Samantha L. Johnson

Going into UFC 96, Aaron Riley was riding a three-fight winning streak.

Less than a minute after the opening bell, that streak was brought to a screeching halt.

Referee Rick Fike had called a stop to the contest in just 44 seconds of the opening round after Riley had fallen to the mat, ready to defend himself against Shane Nelson’s ground and pound.

Everyone in attendance — including UFC president Dana White — was baffled by the call.

Riley’s reaction to the stop was what one would expect from a man who thought the fight was going as planned.

“I couldn’t believe the [referee] had screwed up that bad,” Riley said. “I was really in disbelief; in a state of denial. Just thinking, ‘This can’t be happening.’ It was really just the worst stoppage ever.”

Fast forward three months, Riley and Nelson will get a second shot to prove who is better on Aug. 8 at UFC 101 in Philadelphia.

Riley said he has an idea of what Nelson might bring, but isn’t sure because how quickly the first bout ended.
“I kind of got a feel for him,” Riley said. “I still feel like we haven’t really fought so I still kind of feel like this is the first fight going in. But, I did definitely get an impression from him.”

This rematch has recently become more intense.

While Nelson trains under BJ Penn in Hilo, Hawaii, it is Riley who travelled cross-country to train with Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, NM.

Jackson coached welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre to victory over BJ Penn in the fight now known as “Greasegate.” 

Riley knows Nelson will be bringing his A-game to their meeting on Aug. 8, but after a six-week training camp with one of the best coaches in MMA, he’s more than prepared.

“Training camp is going really good. I’m out here at Greg Jackson’s and we’re covering a lot of good material,” said Riley.

Samantha L. Johnson is the News Team Lead for MMAMadness.com. Feel free to e-mail her at samantha@mmamadness.com. Follow us on Twitter. Twitter.com/mma_madness.

Kendall Grove is excited about his next challenge

When Kendall Grove trains for a fight, he never takes his opponent lightly.

As he prepares for his UFC 101 fight with Ricardo Almeida, he is surprised how little credit some people are giving his opponent.

“I did a couple of other interviews where they called Ricardo a one-dimensional fighter,” Grove told MMAMadness.com. “I’m not trying to hype him up, but he’s a great one-dimensional fighter. He has awesome jiu jitsu and he could end the fight at any time.”

That jiu jitsu game has Grove concerned enough that he has flown world class wrestlers and Brazilian jiu jitsu black belts to Hawaii to help him prepare for Almeida’s attack. His game plan going into the fight is reminiscent of Chuck Liddell.

“We had a good camp, worked a lot of angles, a lot of sprawl-and-brawl,” Grove said. “Definitely going to want to keep this fight on my feet, definitely ready to go and get taken down and use my best ability to stand up.”

Grove has also seen his striking improve significantly since his last fight, and will look to use his range and superior striking to make Almeida uncomfortable on his feet.

Grove also says that this is probably his toughest fight yet, and that Almeida has the skills to beat him. The only prediction that Grove will offer for the fight is that fans can expect him to come to fight.

Grove gives so much respect to his opponents because he never wants to get a big head. Part of his success, he says, comes from having the right mindset. That mindset, interestingly enough, includes never wanting to be the best fighter in the world.

“I might be the first fighter to ever tell you that I don’t want to be the best,” Grove said. “I want to fight and beat the best, but I never want to be considered the best because there’s always somebody out there that can kick your ass. I might sound crazy for saying that, but that’s just the way I look at it.”

Grove also faces the unique obstacle of a 12-hour plane ride and six-hour time change when he travels from Hawaii to Philadelphia for his fight. While he already experienced a similar trip flying from Las Vegas to England for a fight, Grove is aware that jet lag can wreak havoc on a fighter’s body.

“By weigh-ins [for the England fight] I was having good night sleeps. Even then, I was still messed up with getting acclimated,” Grove said.

To make the trip a little bit easier, Grove is flying to Orange County a week early, and will conduct the last week of his training camp there with BJ Penn’s team. This will essentially cut his travel time in half, and will give him more time to acclimate to the time change.

Penn, who Grove cross-trained with for the last two fights, has spent the majority of his training camp in California, preparing for his title fight with Kenny Florian. Grove would have travelled with Penn, but he had an important engagement that kept him in Hawaii until last Sunday.

Grove’s daughter, Chloe, turned one year old last Saturday, and took her first steps just days before that. Grove was expecting about 300 guests for her party, and wanted to stay and make sure that everything went well.
Cameron Gidari is the Associate Editor at MMAMadness.com. He can be reached with questions and comments at cgidari@mmamadness.

Tara LaRosa talks with MMAMadness.com

This was the status update on Facebook from highly regarded, but under-promoted women’s MMA fighter Tara LaRosa. LaRosa is currently the No. 1 ranked female Bantamweight fighter according to WAMMA. With a 17-1 record and unbeaten since 2003 it is easy to see why she deserves that ranking. What is interesting is that many of her wins come from common opponents with the likes of Gina Carano, who is wildly regarded as the face of women’s MMA.

Tara LaRosa has never missed weight.

LaRosa has always been athletic. She grew up playing field hockey, basketball, and softball. While she was in college she joined the judo club. Field hockey came and went, but the judo evolved into no gi grappling, Brazilian ju-jitsu and Muay Thai. She started fighting in MMA in 2001.

LaRosa is a Bodog Champion and has fought in Hook and Shoot, SmackGirl, XFO, and recently, Extreme Challenge. She is a Jersey girl at heart, but now lives and trains in Philadelphia at the Fight Factory. Under the guidance of Steve Haigh, Ricky Lee, Zach Makovsky and Michael Rankin, LaRosa cross-trains in all disciplines as well as strength and conditioning. She is a complete mixed martial artist who has nine submission wins and three more by way of KO.

Before a fight, fighters backstage will sleep, grapple or hit pads. LaRosa’s ritual is a bit different. “It seems to be a ritual for me to get really incredibly nervous before a fight,” LaRosa said. “It starts about 7-10 days out from a fight, then in the locker room before a fight… I can’t stop straightening things up. I also listen to music a lot to calm my nerves… and after I warm up, until I am called to the ring… I dance. I’m the only one that can hear the music from my ipod, but I’m just dancing away like I’m in a club. I’m fairly certain that anyone who has seen this is convinced that I’m a nut case! It helps me keep the nerves under control.”

LaRosa doesn’t have one specific influence that brought her into fighting, but she appreciates the work ethic of wrestlers. She cites Randy Couture and Jens Pulver as fighters she has looked up to. She is also a fan of the “little guy divisions” and enjoys the fighting skills of Miguel Torres, Zach Makovsky, Nat McIntyre, Uriah Faber, and some of the 155ers: Eddie Alvarez, Joachim Hansen, Frankie Edgar, Clay Guida, and Diego Sanchez.

When asked what she thinks of the current state of Women’s MMA she responds, “I don’t really know what to think …We finally have internationally recognized rankings through WAMMA for the four largest women’s weight classes (115, 125, 135, and 145), and there are again opportunities for women to get television exposure again from Strike Force, and Bellator. So, I guess it’s moving forward again, from where we seemed to have stalled with the demise of EliteXC and BodogFIGHT.”

The trick for promoters outside of the UFC is to stay in business long enough to expose and promote women’s MMA to the general public. Often, like the men’s lighter weight classes, female MMA matches are fast paced with a greater emphasis on technique. Gina Carono’s fights are often Fight of the Night candidates.

Does the UFC need to add a women’s division for women’s MMA to thrive? LaRosa doesn’t think so. “I think it just needs to be marketed correctly, and in the right places to gain exposure,” LaRosa said. “The UFC would be nice though. I would imagine that the WEC would pick up a women’s division since it kind of fits there pretty well.”

The WEC is creating a home for lighter-weight fighters, and perhaps women will find a home there as well. If female fighters are going to be taken seriously, just like any fighter, they need to treat the sport with respect and professionalism. This is where some think a few of the highly promoted females have fallen short. Carano has repeatedly missed weight and recently Chris Cyborg missed by several pounds. As two of the top female draws, this is completely unprofessional. Both Carano and Cyborg are fighting much lighter fighters.

Josh Barnet has some strong feelings on Cyborg’s weight issues . “Her (Cyborg) victory is hollow and her turning a blind eye to her lack of professionalism is deplorable,” Barnet said. “Never once was an apology uttered. Never once did I see one act of accountability. I don’t know how to say it in Portuguese, but Cyborg is deserving of no respect and no praise. If you were ever a fan, I’d find someone of better character and better heart.”

That person is Tara LaRosa.

LaRosa takes the sport very seriously. “Missing weight is a cardinal sin,” LaRosa said. “When you neglect to make weight, it shows a lack of professionalism, lack of dedication, and a huge lack of respect for your opponent, the promotion, and the sport and everyone in it… especially, when it is a highly publicized event.”

But is it actually harder for women to make weight? Not according to LaRosa. “No, it is not that hard for a woman to make weight… regardless of wherever you may happen to be during your menstrual cycle. I’ve had 18 fights over seven years, and I have never missed weight. Sometimes the cut has been easy, and sometimes it has been really tough… it tests your resolve. To me, training and making weight for a fight is the most tedious and grueling part of the whole sport… the actual fight itself is easy! So, I’m very disappointed with this epidemic of persons both male and female that are missing weight.”

The promoters have been smart so far in the building of Cyborg and Carano. They are often fighting women who are moving up in weight just to fight them. This gives them the illusion of dominance. When compared pound-for-pound, LaRosa thinks there is more talent out there that isn’t being pushed. According to LaRosa there are a lot of tough and complete female fighters out there, likeMegumi Fuji, Rosi Sexton, Michelle Tavares, and Roxanne Modafferi.

“These women have more complete skill sets in MMA, and much more experience,” LaRosa said.

Would LaRosa want to fight Carano or Cyborg? “I’d be interested in fighting Gina or Cyborg, but something would have to be worked out since they are two weight classes higher than what I am fighting at currently,” LaRosa said.

LaRosa doesn’t want to compromise her career as a top fighter at 135 lbs. for the lure of being an overnight sensation at a higher weight class. She feels that being lured to fight in higher weight classes can often be a taking a fight your set up to lose.

She is currently in negations with Strikeforce, and hopefully the 135 lb. talent-rich women’s division will begin to get the promotion and exposure it needs. Women’s MMA needs professionals to advance the sport, and one of the most talented is waiting for her shot.