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Wednesday, 21 November 2007
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 This Thanksgiving weekend will be a difficult one for Tara LaRosa . While others stuff themselves with turkey, the Bodog Fight Women's 135lb Champion will be dieting to lose ten pounds.
Not satisfied with conquering her division, LaRosa has decided to drop to 125lbs and fight Minnesota's Cody Welchlin (2-1) in a lighter weight class, as Bodog Fight presents HOOKnSHOOT Saturday, November 24 at the Evansville Coliseum in Evansville, Indiana.
Cutting weight isn't anything new for LaRosa.
"I'm used to it," said the Jersey girl. "I've missed several Thanksgivings due to fights, but I'm on target and the weight is coming off fine, so I'll be ready."
LaRosa (14-1) is keen to show off her considerable mixed martial arts skills at 125lbs, after suffering her only professional loss at the lighter weight (to Jennifer Howe in 2003) - a small blemish on an otherwise extraordinary career.
"Jennifer was just better than me that night," admits LaRosa. "I'm actually glad I got that loss out of the way early on in my career, because I learned a lot from that fight - namely, that I needed to work a lot more on my standup and not hesitate in executing my game plan. Those lessons have made me the fighter that I am today."
Hard as it may be, having to fight is not the real reason Thanksgiving will be difficult this year for LaRosa .
Just three months ago, she attended the funeral of her boyfriend, SFC Adrian M. Elizalde. The 30-year-old Special Forces engineer and Green Beret from Fort Lewis, Washington was killed while serving in Iraq when his truck was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
"It's been horrible," said LaRosa, who has somehow managed to continue training while trying to cope with her tragic loss.
"I cry every night on the way home from the gym. Thankfully, my training partners - like Eddie Alvarez and Stephen Haigh - at the Philadelphia Fight Factory have been wonderful with me, and have helped me to really focus on this fight, which hasn't been easy with everything that has happened."
LaRosa says if there is something for her to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, it is the time she was able to spend with Elizalde, who was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal.
LaRosa also plans to dedicate the fight to Elizalde, knowing that no matter what physical injury she may suffer in the ring, there are some scars that are healed only by time. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 November 2007 )
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Tuesday, 20 November 2007
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 Bodog Fight: The Vault offers up all-new hard-hitting webisodes this Tuesday and Saturday on Bodog TV's multi-award winning website, bodoglife.net/fight.
Tune in Tuesday, November 20 for an exciting middleweight bout between Scott Henze (20-9-2) and Steve Connelly (12-3), filmed September 29 in Evansville, Indiana.
Henze was looking to rebound from a devastating loss to former Bodog Fight Welterweight Champion Eddie Alvarez, who KO'd the Indiana native in Costa Rica earlier this year.
Conversely, Connelly, also from Indiana, came in riding a three-fight win streak.
"Connelly's a real character," says Bodog Fight Commissioner Jeff Osborne.
"He won the world face-sucking contest and appeared in the National Enquirer when he was just nine years old. He was able to suck his entire face in like an old man, mainly because he had no teeth."
Connelly fights under the nickname "No Sweat", but not because he takes it easy in the ring.
"He was born without sweat glands," says Osborne.
"Unfortunately, this means he can't cut weight the way most fighters do, by sweating off the pounds in the sauna. He has to do it the old-fashioned way - diet and exercise."
Don't miss a second episode of The Vault on Saturday, November 24, featuring Brazil's Marcus "Ossoduro" Vinicios (2-3) and Canada's Dave Pogson (0-1).
Filmed in 2006 at the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver, British Columbia, this middleweight bout drew oohs and ahhs from the crowd, with Vinicious showcasing the Brazilian art of capoeira.
"A lot of people think capoiera is not a fight, it's a dance," says the Brazilian. "But capoeira is everything your body needs to survive. If you need to punch somebody you gotta do it, if you need to tap somebody out, that's fine too."
Bodog Fight: The Vault offers streaming video of all-new never-before-seen fights each Tuesday and Saturday, commercial free. Each "webisode" is fully downloadable and iPod-ready, featuring a previously unaired bout from the Bodog Fight archives.
This exclusive Bodog TV footage is only available online at bodoglife.net/fight, twice honored at the 2007 Digital Marketing Awards.
This cutting-edge website will also provide fans of Bodog Fight with the latest information on where to catch the show when it returns to U.S. television for an all-new sixth season.
Yes, we will be back, bigger and better than ever in 2008!
Filmed in beautiful Vancouver, Canada, series six will showcase all-new fights, a fresh crop of fighters, and an informative new desk segment with hosts Paul "The Mauler" Lazenby and Bodog Fight commissioner Jeff Osborne.
Quite simply, this series will be our best yet!
Can't get enough hard-hitting MMA action ?
Bodog Fight: The Complete First Series is now available on DVD . The four-disk set comes packed with more than ten hours of non-stop action and a ton of extra features, including fighter commentary, new behind the scenes footage and six never-before-seen fights. Plus, get a bonus limited edition CD featuring tracks from Bodog Music artists. Available now at better retailers everywhere and online at bodoglife.net/store .
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Monday, 19 November 2007
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 Due to a shoulder injury, Bodog Fight Welterweight Champion Nick "The Goat" Thompson has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming rematch with former champ, Eddie Alvarez.
"It sucks because I am really looking forward to fighting Eddie again," said Thompson, who was scheduled to meet his rival Saturday, November 24, as Bodog Fight presents HOOKnSHOOT at the Evansville Coliseum in Evansville, Indiana. "Our last fight was very exciting. Eddie feels that my winning was a fluke, and I am looking forward to proving him wrong. To have to pull out is upsetting, but it is part of the game." Fortunately, Thompson's injury, which he sustained while training for the fight, is not serious and the rematch can be rescheduled. "We were originally supposed to fight at an event on December 8 that has since been moved. So, they bumped us up to November 24, but with the shoulder injury now, I’m just not going to be ready in time. It shouldn’t take too long to heal, though, if I can rest it for a couple of weeks. But if I kept going it was going to get to the point where I just couldn't use it." No one will be more disappointed than Alvarez (11-1), who had vowed to make Thompson (39-8-1) pay for comments made last April following their fight at Bodog Fight: Clash of the Nations in St. Petersburg, Russia. As far as "The Goat" is concerned, that’s all water under the bridge. "Eddie is a guy that likes to put his opponent's picture on the heavy bag to motivate him when he trains," said Thompson. "That's cool, but to me it's in the past. We've talked and I have apologized to him, but if he wants to use it as fuel, that's great. I want to fight the best Eddie Alvarez I can so that when I beat him he won’t have any excuses." A new date will be announced in early 2008. The cancellation will not affect what is already a great fight card in Indiana, with Bodog Fight Women’s 135lb Champion, Tara LaRosa (14-1), set to drop down to 125lbs to take on Minnesota’s Cody Welchlin (2-1). Other Bodog Fighters include Mike Brown (14-4) and Eben Oroz (4-2), who will square off in bantamweight action, Chad George (5-3) and Matt Troyer (1-1) in another 135lb bout, and crowd favorite Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle (13-1), who faces Courtney "Chocolate Nightmare" Ray (6-4) at welterweight. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 November 2007 )
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Saturday, 17 November 2007
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 In UFC 78 Michael Bisping will face Rashad Evans in a light-heavyweight fight between two undefeated warriors out for respect. The Englishman Bisping,15-0, is very popular UFC cage fighter that won The Ultimate Fighter 3 reality TV competition. Bisping, 28, has a variety of weapons at his disposal with good striking power in his stand-up with either his hands or feet. Bisping has a good floor game to complement his strikes and he knows how to make adjustments in the heat of battle.
The 6'2" Bisping trains 5 hours+ per day working on MMA, Thai fighting, weightlifting and long runs. In many of his fights Michael has shown better stamina than his opponents. Bisping has shown some holes in his defense and he appears to have thin skin that is susceptible to cuts and swells. Sportsbook.com has Rashad Evans as a -330 MMA Betting Favorite. Rahad Evans, 15-0, gave Tito Ortiz all he could handle in his last outing scoring a draw with the legend and putting himself on the map as a legit UFC contender. The 5'11" Evans is was an All-American Collegiate wrestler at Michigan State but against Ortiz he showed a left hook that can get your attention with his striking. Evans has very good conditioning and in the Ortiz fight he seemed to wear down “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” in the final round as he scored an impressive double leg take down before firing relentless shots at Ortiz until the final bell. Evans ,28, is a confident fighter after the Ortiz fight and he seems to have better overall defense than Bisping. The Englishman is all excitement with his explosive offense but against Rashad he will be facing a surging fighter that has been improving in all aspects of the game. Put 2% of your betting bankroll on a Rashad Evans victory. EinsteinPicks has the best inside connections in Boxing and we have a GURANTEED pick with complete fight breakdown for this weekends Joan Guzman vs Humberto Soto fight on HBO. EinsteinPicks is on fire earn our Boxing picks package with this easy winner. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 November 2007 )
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Friday, 16 November 2007
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 Philadelphia's Eddie Alvarez and Minnesota's Nick "The Goat " Thompson have agreed to settle their bitter feud once and for all.
The two mixed martial arts fighters will clash Saturday, November 24 as Bodog Fight presents HOOKnSHOOT at the Evansville Coliseum in Evansville, Indiana.
This will mark their second meeting this year, after Thompson knocked out Alvarez last April at Bodog Fight: Clash of the Nations in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Vowing to avenge his only loss and regain the Bodog Fight Welterweight Title Belt, Alvarez (11-1) says he has extra incentive to whoop Thompson (39-8-1) following an altercation between the two.
"Nick got drunk after our fight and said some things he shouldn't have," said Alvarez. "He made some remarks about my son, Eddie Jr., and I plan to make him pay."
However, with Alvarez again giving up both weight and reach advantage to "The Goat", the explosive striker admits he will have to adjust his game plan this time around.
"I made some fundamental mistakes against Nick, and credit to him, he took full advantage. That won't happen this time. I still believe I am a better fighter than he is and I plan to prove it this time."
Alvarez, who took out Matt Lee in Bodog Fight : New Jersey, says many of the Philly fans who cheered him to victory there will also travel to Indiana.
"I may not have any fans from Indiana, but I will definitely have a lot of support in Indiana. They all want to see me win back the belt, and I don't plan to let them down."
Also appearing on the card is Bodog Fight Women's 135lb Champion, Tara LaRosa (14-1). The Jersey girl will drop down to 125lbs to take on Minnesota's Cody Welchlin (2-1), who nearly upset Japanese sensation Megumi Fuji (14-0). Welchlin would like nothing more than to beat LaRosa, who is returning to Evansville, where she began her stellar MMA career in 2002.
Other Bodog Fighters include Mike Brown (14-4) and Eben Oroz (4-2), who will square off in bantamweight action, and crowd-pleaser Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle (13-1), who faces Courtney "Chocolate Nightmare" Ray (6-4).
Ray is looking to avenge his only loss in the last three years against the tough Hornbuckle, who holds the HOOKnSHOOT Welterweight Title. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 16 November 2007 )
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