Team AKA had mixed results, on what was a historic night for MMA as the first ever sanctioned MMA event in California was held at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. In front of the largest crowd to ever witness a MMA event in the history of the United States (18,265 fans), Team AKA sent 3 fighters to battle on this historic night. First up for Team AKA was the WWE $1,000,000 Tough Enough Challenge winner Daniel Puder, who was making his return to MMA after a two and half year absence from the sport to take on a tough heavyweight in Jesse Fujarczyk. Fujarczyk came out swinging but Puder was able to keep his composure and score a takedown. After a brief lull in action, both fighters were stood back up and both started trading shots but it was Puder who landed the big shot that hurt Fujarczyk. Clearly hurt, Fujarczyk attempted a sloppy takedown but Puder was able to transition to his back and secure a rear naked choke that forced Fujarczyk to tap. Puder showed excellent composure in his return fight and with a little more training in the striking department, Puder looks to be a force in MMA in the coming years.

Coming off a disappointing loss to Devin Cole at WEC 18, Mike Kyle looked to bounce back with a win over Krysztof Soszynski. Kyle looked good early on, as he was able to tag Soszynski with both punches and some painful looking low kicks. Just as it looked like Kyle was about to take full control of the fight, an accidental thumb to the eye made Soszynski flinch and action was halted in order to give Soszynski time to recover. As time wore on, it was clear that Soszynski would be unable to continue as he told the ringside doctor that he couldn't see out of the eye. In what was a disappointing ending to what was an anticipated heavyweight battle, the fight ended in a technical draw. Kyle now looks to get another chance to fight, as he is eager to get another win on his record.

In what was easily the fight of the night, Josh "The Punk" Thomson waged a 5 round war with Clay Guida for the vacant ISKA Strike Force Lightweight Championship. Guida came on strong in the first round, as he got an early takedown and was able to ground and pound Thomson with success. Thomson was able to secure, what looked to be a fight ending guillotine choke but Guida was somehow able to escape. Towards the end of the round Thomson got an excellent triangle/armbar but Guida was able to slam his way out of it. Much like the first round, Guida worked the ground and pound from the top and Thonson worked for submissions from the bottom and almost came close with an excellent armbar but somehow Guida again managed to escape. Thomson again secured, what looked to be a fight ending guillotine choke but again Guida somehow managed to escape even though most in attendance were sure that the fight was over. Guida was deducted a point in the third round as he used his fingers to work over Thomson's cuts in order to get a stoppage of the fight. In the final two rounds, Guida was able to use his ground and pound to success, while Thomson looked to end the fight with a submission from the bottom. At the end of the night, Guida was declared the ISKA Strike Force Lightweight Champion by unanimous decision. Props to both fighters as they left all in the ring and gave those in attendance their money's worth. Thomson now looks to start over and reestablish himself as a top five lightweight but he has nothing to ashamed of as he gave an excellent performance and could of easily ended the fight with a submission.

Photos Courtesy of Sherdog.com

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Baroni takes on Kondo at Pride Bushido 10

By Ricardo Mendoza

"The New York Badass" Phil Baroni makes his return to Pride Bushido as he takes on King of Pancrase Yuki Kondo in a welterweight match-up on April 2nd at Pride Bushido 10. Baroni is coming off a disappointing loss to Ikuhisa Minowa at Pride Bushido 9, in a fight that Minowa was able to control Baroni for much of the fight en route to a boring decision. Kondo is coming off a controversial decision loss to Kazuhiro Nakamura at Pride Shockwave 2005, in a fight that many fans felt he won. Baroni looks to add another knockout win to his record and put him back into title contention. Kondo will be making his welterweight debut, in what should be an exciting stand-up war that is sure to be an early candidate for fight of the year. Baroni has been training hard at AKA in preparation for this fight and looks to show off his hard work in the ring come April 2nd.

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Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie tickets now available

By Ricardo Mendoza

Don't miss your opportunity to be part of MMA history as on March 10th, Strikeforce will promote the first ever sanctioned MMA event in the history of California as they host Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. The main event will see the return of former UFC Middleweight Champion Frank Shamrock to MMA as he takes on respected BJJ black belt Cesar Gracie, in a fight that has been several years in the making with both fighters already expressing their dislike for one another. San Shou legend and local fighter Cung Le will finally be making his much-anticipated MMA debut. Top ten lightweight Josh "The Punk" Thomson takes on the dangerous Clay Guida, who comes in with a fifteen fight-winning streak. Number one ranked Shooto lightweight fighter, Gilbert Melendez takes on David Padilla. UFC veteran Eugene Jackson comes back to MMA to take on Jorge Ortiz. In what has to be an anticipated fight, former WWE superstar and winner of the One Million dollar Tough Enough Challenge Daniel Puder will make his return to MMA after a two and half year absence from the sport against an unnamed opponent.

Tickets are now available at both DANIELPUDER.com and JOSHTHOMSON.com. Tickets ranging from $30, $40, $50 and $100 seats are available.

** All profits from sales of tickets on danielpuder.com will go to benefit Puder Strength Training (PST), a non-profit program that Daniel has set-up to help local high schools by donating Strength training equipment to their strength training programs. As a thank you from Daniel for purchasing tickets from danielpuder.com, included in your purchase will be a free Daniel Puder T-Shirt as a small thank you for helping Puder Strength Training.

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Mike Swick wins in his UFC Pay Per View debut!!!

By Sal Carrillo

Mike Swick has made a habit of ending his fights early. His match at UFC 58 on March 4th was no different. This time however, it took Swick about 2 minutes and 9 seconds to finish the fight. Mike Swick was making his UFC pay per view debut against Mixed Martial Arts veteran Steve Vigneault. Both fighters were part of the USA vs. Canada theme with Vigneault being the experienced Canadian fighter. The fight started as most of Swick's fights do, with Swick coming right out to the center of the cage and throwing leather. In the early going Vigneault seemed up to the task as he countered many of Swick's jabs and combinations, but Swick seemed to be much faster. The early part of round one saw both fighters measuring the distance of the other fighter mostly with the jab. The two fighters then exchanged knees in the clinch and referee Steve Mazzagatti stepped in to restart the fighters in the center of the cage. With 3:04 left in the first round Swick unleashed a flying right knee that connected with the head of Vigneault. Vigneault out of desperation grabbed Swick's leg in a takedown attempt. Swick showed great balance in defending the takedown and saw an opportunity. As Vigneault lifted Swick up into the air to complete the takedown, he left his neck exposed. Swick saw this and immediately secured his right arm around the neck of Vigneault in an attempt for a guillotine choke (a choke that cuts the flow of blood to the brain forcing your opponent to submit or pass out). Swick then jumped to guard so as to keep Vigneault from escaping and applied the choke by bringing his left arm into proper position and torquing his opponent's head and neck to more quickly finish the choke. Vigneault tapped out signaling his submission and referee Steve Mazzagatti jumped in to stop the fight. One note that should be of particular interest was the fact that Swick showed outstanding wrestling skills when in the clinch and up against the cage. With this fight going longer than any of his previous UFC fights, we were able to catch a glimpse of Swick's well rounded skills in Wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu to go with his already proven striking skills.

Mike Swick continues his impressive run through the UFC's Middleweight division bringing his UFC record to a perfect 3-0. with this win Swick propels himself into the Middleweight title contenders pool (as proof Champion Rich Franklin named Swick as a possible opponent in his post fight interview). This win also brings Swick another step closer to a much anticipated rematch with fellow TUF (The Ultimate Fighter TV Show) season one participant Chris Leben. Congratulations to Mike Swick for his impressive UFC win!!! Congratulations are also in order for Team USA who won the challenge 5 fights to 3.

Photos Courtesy of MMAWeekly.com


For more information on Mike Swick please visit MikeSwick.com

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Dan Ash adds another title to collection at AKA

By Dray Miller

Rising Team AKA kickboxing star Dan Ash added a sixth win to his record to go with zero losses Saturday, Feb. 25th in Fairfield, and more importantly also became the IKF CA State Super Lightweight champion. Taking on a very tough opponent who came into the bout with a 4-2 record of his own, including several KOs, Dan showed great composure as he pushed the action and weathered a few flurries from his foe. After four round, all judges saw the bout three round to one in favor of the new champion. Congratulations to Dan Ash!

Two more AKA fighters were featured on the Fairfield card, and under the guidance of coach Derek Yuen both ensured it would be a clean sweep for Team AKA. Kara Potter came out very aggresive in her fight, forcing a standing eight count on her bloodied opponent mid-way through the first round (which may well have saved her from being knocked out). Kara continued dominating her opponent for the remaining rounds and all three judges scored the fight 30-26 in her favor.

Also victorious on the card was Patrick Cox, who managed to fight his way through the unorthodox style of his opponent, punishing him with body kicks and controlling most of the fight, on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

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Mike Swick Returns to the Octagon

by Dray Miller

Mike "Quick" Swick, after being sidelined the last few months with various injuries, returns to the UFC octagon this weekend for the first time since he KO'd Gideon Ray last August. In his first pay-per view appearance, Swick will represent the United States when he faces off with Canadian Steve "Lion Heart" Vigneault. Vigneault is a multi-time champion in Canadian mixed martial arts and based on his brawling style, this match has the makings for plenty of fireworks.

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Fitch, Koscheck, Prangley return to the Ultimate FightNight

By Dray Miller

Ultimate Fight Night 4 will feature three of AKA's top rising stars, as both Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch make their return to the Spike TV fight card and Trevor Prangley will fight for the first time on Spike TV.

Fitch is coming off a dominant win over the previously undefeated Brock Larson back in October at UFN 2. This time around, the competition gets no easier for Fitch, as he squares off against Ultimate Fighter season 2 veteran Josh Burkman.

Also returning for the first time since UFN 2 will be Koscheck, who suffered a stunning third round submission loss to Drew Fickett after dominating the entire fight. He will be looking to get back on the winning track at the expense of Russian fighter Ansar Chalangov.

Coming off his controversial loss to Jeremy Horn, Prangley looks to rebound against Team Quest fighter Chael Sonnen, whom he has beaten twice already. Despite their two previous encounters, Sonnen is one of the few fighters at 185 pounds who can match Prangley's wrestling, ensuring this should be a tough fight. A victory here could launch Prangley back into the title hunt.

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Busy month for Thomson

By Dray Miller

Ring rust will definitely be a foreign concept to top lightweight contender Josh "the Punk" Thomson in the next few weeks, as he has three fights lined in the next four weeks, the last potentially being against a top-ranked fighter in Pride. Thomson will get back into the ring on the undercard of the Shamrock-Gracie event in San Jose on March 10th, taking on mid-west fighter Clay Guida, who is 18-4 in MMA.

Less than two weeks later, Thomson will headline the Pride and Fury fight card in Worley, Idaho against Noah Thomas on March 23rd. Finally, Thomson is in negotiations to fight in Pride in early April, though nothing is official yet.

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Team AKA at San Francisco Golden Gloves Boxing tournament

By Dray Miller

A long list of AKA fighters will be participating in the 75th annual San Francisco Golden Gloves Boxing tournament the weekend of March 24. Among those looking to repeat as champions from AKA include Jimmy Zimmerman, Clint Coronel and Valerie Evans. The list of fighters competing is as follows:

David Barrios
Andy Sierra
Anthony Chavez
Kara Potter
Dan Ash
Amber Goodwin
Valerie Evans
Clint Coronel
Jimmy Zimmerman
Maurice Slade
Mark Brenner
Andrew Harrison
Jesse Vasquez
James Chapman

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