Saturday, November 29, 2008

“THE CROATIAN SENSATION” , PAT MILETICH'S OUTLOOK ON RETURNING TO THE RING


Source: MMAweekly.com

Pat Miletich, founder and patriarch of Miletich Fighting Systems, is tired of watching all the young whippersnappers having fun. He wants back in the ring.

The Davenport, Iowa native had a stutter step in his last return to fighting, a submission loss against former teacher Renzo Gracie in a 2006 International Fight League appearance, but has not lost the competitive burn he feels makes him a threat to anyone in the welterweight division.

Miletich says he’s done extensive rehab on a longstanding neck injury, and feels it’s time to test himself in action. On Dec. 11, he will dip a toe back into MMA waters, facing Thomas Denny at Adrenaline MMA’s second show, in Moline, Iowa, Miletich Fighting Systems’ back yard.

It’s been a long time since “The Croatian Sensation” ran the two-lane roads of his home state, torturing himself outside the cage to make his fights inside them easy. At 40, he’s seen the first generation of his fighters go on to become world champions, stars in their own right.

Miletich himself lead the charge, becoming the first UFC welterweight championship in pre-Zuffa days at “Ultimate Brazil.” He defended the title twice in the organization’s dark days before ceding it to Carlos Newton at UFC 31. The loss ended a dominant period in Miletich’s career, and after losing again to Matt Lindland in a middleweight contest at UFC 36, he decided to hang up his gloves.

In his gym’s recent past, cornerstone fighters like Matt Hughes, Robbie Lawler, Spencer Fisher, and Jens Pulver have slowly moved away from the nest leaving a void in leadership, maybe even in the gym’s spirit. Some of the departures had to do with the business side of the sport, others with fighters’ need to see the world outside MFS walls. Fight teams are ever changing, ever colliding groups of personalities and ideas; they need figureheads and new blood equally to keep them vital.

With over a decade in the fight game, Miletich had seen ebbs and flows in the gym, but never an identity crisis. To the MMA faithful, Miletich Fighting Systems meant work ethic. In a young sport, it was one of the few gyms with an undisputed championship pedigree. There were talented fighters at MFS with years in the game, but they were always overshadowed by the marquee names. Miletich realized he couldn’t be the only role model of the gym’s reputation – he needed to convince the next generation of fighters they were part of its tradition as well.

“Basically, what it was is you need things to wake you up,” Miletich explained. “You’ve got to keep up with the curve. I think it was a phase where the new guys finally realized how good they were and have just started taking over, which was very important. I had been waiting for that to happen and had talked to several of them. The older guys are retiring and moving on and doing this and doing that. (I said), ‘You guys need to step up and become the leaders of the team and be the guys that are the role models of the work ethic, in the void those guys have left.’ They’ve stepped up and done that.”

Somewhere between a kick to the head and the crank of an armbar, Miletich woke up too, realizing he loved competition too dearly to give it up.

He cites fighters like Ben Rothwell, Ryan McGivern, Mike Ciesnolevicz, and LC Davis, all members of his Silverback team from the IFL’s salad days, as the new heart of the gym. Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia also remains, faithful to the man who first introduced him to the world of fighting.

No less than seven of Miletich’s new stars will fight on the Adrenaline card, and the gym appears to be singularly focused on preparation for the event.

In preparation for his fight with Denny, Miletich has re-invested much of his training time into bringing his jiu-jitsu game up to par, working with two Brazilian black belts at the gym.

“I’ve gone back to learning,” he said. “If you ever quit learning, you become so stagnant. And there were times in my career where I had stopped learning, but I sought out and luckily got the help of a couple of very good jiu-jitsu guys. I used to feel that I was real good on the ground, and I’m starting to feel like I flow like that again, which is nice.”

Miletich says the plan, at least for now, is to wear Denny out and finish him in the second round or early in the first. He thinks his championship experience, as well as his daily grind fending off the sharks at the gym, will be the deciding factor. But perhaps because of his last return, he’s a little cautious about making bold predictions.

“I think he’s got a ton of experience, (a) fairly well-rounded guy,” Miletich said of Denny. "(He) looks to slice people with elbows a lot, which I’m not real fold of, but I’ll do my best to avoid. Overall, I think I’ve got better skills that he does, but it’s MMA. You never know what’s going to happen, and upsets are happening all the time in the sport. So I’ve got to be on my toes with him, because he’s experienced enough to do damage.”

As to whether he’s turning over a new leaf in his career, there is equal caution.

“I guess that depends on who offers me a fight,” he commented. “We’ll just take this fight and see how it goes, and work from there.”

One thing he’s certain on, though, is that his time away will not be a factor against Denny.

“Not this time,” he said confidently. “I love to compete, and still feel that if I’m healthy and in shape, I think I can basically hang with anybody out there at 170. So I thought I might as well get out there and have some fun.”

Sunday, November 16, 2008

LESNAR TOOK RANDY'S BELT.


The legendary UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture lost in his comeback to Brock Lesnar in the main event at UFC 91 tonight in Las Vegas, as the younger, stronger man delivered a series of brutal punches and won a second-round TKO.

In the first round, they had a rough, tough wrestling match in which Lesnar spent more time in the dominant position, but neither man did a lot of damage. But in the second, Lesnar landed a brutal punch that knocked Couture down, pounced on him and continued bashing him until the referee had no choice but to step in.

It was the 45-year-old Couture's first fight in 15 months, and he looked rusty, while the 31-year-old Lesnar looked just as big and strong as ever. Lesnar also looked more patient than he had in his previous fights -- he picked and chose his spots and didn't rush into anything.

Couture will always be one of the all-time greats in MMA, but today was probably the last day he'll ever be the owner of a UFC title belt. Couture's record falls to 16-9; Lesnar's record improves to 3-1.

Up next for Lesnar will be the winner of the Frank Mir-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight at UFC 92. Lesnar's battle with Mir or Nogueira will unify the UFC heavyweight title, and will be one of the biggest fights of 2009.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

NEW BOOK AND CALENDAR FOR DEF LEPPARD!








It's been a while since you could buy any official Def Leppard calendars, and it's been even longer since the band released their first (and only) official book "ANIMAL INSTINCT" (1996's "NONE MORE BLACK" photo book was only released in Japan)…..but that is about to change really soon!

In the next few weeks, DefLeppard.com will start taking orders for "SHOTS FROM THE SPARKLE TOUR", a unique and luxury coffee table book that should be in every true Def Leppard fan's collection! Containing 80 pages of app 300 never-before-seen photos taken during their record-breaking "SONGS FROM THE SPARKLE LOUNGE" Tour, this book gives you an insight on what life on the road with Def Leppard is all about.
All photos are taken by photographer Ash Newell and do not only show Def Leppard doing what they do best on stage, but also show the band and their crew backstage and in other candid environments.

This exclusive book, sized 12"x12", is the perfect gift for any Def Leppard fan and will not be availabe in any shops! It can only be ordered through DefLeppard.com. 500 Deluxe Editions will be printed with 250 personally signed by the band. After these 500 sell out, "standard" editions will be available.

Exact pricing info is not yet available but will be posted here as soon as we accept orders. Furthermore, members of the Def Leppard Fan Club (of which the Fan Club will be relaunched very soon as well) will get access to the presales of the book, for which 100 signed editions have been reserved. "SHOTS FROM THE SPARKLE TOUR" promises to be just as much a rare collectible as the 1992-released "ADRENALIZE MAHOGANY BOX" is nowadays, so make sure you get your copy before it's too late.

Furthermore, the band will also release a 2009 calendar! Ordering and pricing info is not yet available for this great item either, but it will consist 12 pages full of live photos, so every month of the year you'll get a fresh new Leppard thing to look at. The Def Leppard 2009 calendar will also only be available through DefLeppard.com.