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The WKA-backed Combat Sports Challenge MMA promotion is scheduled to return on August 30 in Colonial Heights, Virginia for its 26th fight card which the promotion has dubbed “Full Throttle.” The recently-released fight card for the show appears to be one of the strongest lineup of fights on the East Coast this year.

In support of the card, FiveOuncesOfPain.com has entered into agreements with two fighters scheduled to fight each other in one of the night’s featured attractions. We have renewed our sponsorship with LeVon Maynard, one of the top unsigned welterweight prospects around and a fighter that is no stranger to long-time readers of the site. His opponent will be Philadelphia-based EliteXC contracted fighter John Doyle, who joins Maynard and competitive grappler Jared Weiner as only the third fighter Five Ounces of Pain has ever sponsored.

After winning a WKA amateur MMA title in 2006 en route to an overall 8-1 amateur MMA record, Maynard began his pro career with a 2-0 record. However, he has fallen to 2-2 after dropping his last two fights. The Air Force private contractor accepted a tough fight on short notice and suffered the first loss of his pro career at Ring of Combat 19 against Doug Gordon on May 9 following a first round TKO.

He then returned to New Jersey and accepted another fight on short notice, this time competing for BattleCage Xtreme in Atlantic City on July 12 against Rhino Fight Team competitor Mike Medrano. Maynard lost via unanimous decision to the New Jersey-native even though it was a fight some pundits felt Maynard clearly won.

Instead of taking a soft fight to pad his record, Maynard has accepted a bout against Doyle, the former Combat in the Cage light heavyweight champion who will be fighting at 170 pounds for the first time in his career. We first became aware of Doyle while training at Daddis Fight Camps several years ago. Considered a top prospect on the East Coast, Doyle has bounced around between several camps and has fought an infrequent schedule the past year and a half. Having returned to Philadelphia and now based out of the Fight Firm, Doyle is looking to regain the momentum he had behind him at the start of his pro career.

From a regional perspective, the Maynard vs. Doyle matchup will be a high-profile fight that could lead to bigger opportunities for the winner. After being TKO’d in the first round against Rafael Feijao during his EliteXC debut in February, Doyle has not competed for the promotion since in spite of the fact that he agreed to step up on virtually no notice. A victory in his welterweight debut against a game opponent could put him on the fast track to return to the promotion.

A victory for Maynard not only puts him back on the winning track, but it could help lead to a spot with a major national promotion, especially since sources have indicated to Five Ounces of Pain that UFC Vice President of Talent Relations Joe Silva could be in attendance at the event.

As much potential as the Doyle vs. Maynard fight has, it still isn’t even being billed as the night’s main event, as that honor belongs to a bantamweight matchup between Dwayne “Diesel” Shelton and Sidemar “Sedico” Honorio, currently two of the top unsigned 135 pound fighters in the world.

Shelton is 5-4 according to Sherdog, which is somewhat mis-leading as he began his career 0-3 while competing as an undersized lightweight. His early losses also came against Din Thomas, Cole Miller, and former UFC fighter Joe Veres. Since that time he is 5-1 and is currently on a two-fight win streak having just defeated Kevin Roddy via split decision during BCX’s July show.

Honorio, a native Brazilian, recently relocated to the Philadelphia area from California and is currently training out of Daddis Fight Camps. He helped corner Wilson Reis during EliteXC’s recent “Unfinished Business” event in Stockton and is now looking to make a name for himself on the U.S. scene after having compiled an undefeated MMA record in Brazil.

The card will also include the return of middleweight prospect Aaron Miesner, who will be competing for the first time since undergoing knee surgery. Miesner was one of 32 fighters invited by Spike TV and the UFC to go to Las Vegas and compete for a spot in the final field of 16 on the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

After dominating Brandon Sene for most of his qualifying fight, Miesner re-injured his knee and ended up losing the bout. The damage was significant enough that he was unable to return even though coach Quinton “Rampage” Jackson attempted to make Miesner his first choice to replace a dismissed Paul Bradley.

While sources indicate that Miesner has his sights set on returning to MMA as a welterweight, his first post-surgery fight will be a K-1 rules match vs. African pro boxer Francois Ambang of Team Combat in Virginia.

Other bouts will feature Anthony Morrison vs. Khristian Geraci, Zach Davis vs. John Opfar, and Chris “The Grinch” Reedy vs. Kris McCray.

Five Ounces of Pain will be traveling to Colonial Heights in order to cover the show.

HDNet to televise Ring of Combat XXI live -

HDNet already had an existing relationship with Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat. However, most of ROC’s events had been televised on a tape-delay basis. But with the demise of the International Fight League leaving a void in its schedule, HDNet Fights will be televising Ring of Combat XXI live from Atlantic City, N.J. on Friday, Sept. 12 at 9 p.m. ET.

According to the promotion’s website, the card will feature three title fights including Lyman Good vs. Johh Howard for the ROC welterweight title; season one winner of Spike TV’s “Pros vs. Joes” Charlie Brenneman vs. Team Bomb Squad member Nick Calandrino; and Ricardo Romero defending his ROC light heavyweight title vs. Glen Sandull.

The fight of the night could be a welterweight clash between Doug Gordon of Elite MMA and Greg Soto of Kurt Pellegrino’s new MMA school in New Jersey. Both are strong wrestlers and are on the radar of several major national promotions. The winner of this fight could potentially be in line for a contract offer from a national fight company.

IFL veteran Brendan Barrett will also be returning to action in a light heavyweight bout vs. Team Serra Longo fighter Constantinos Phillipou and Rhino Fight Team head trainer Rob Guarino is scheduled to fight Bill Walizer in a lightweight bout.

Combat in the Cage announces new equity partners -

Combat in the Cage announced earlier this week that the influential boxing father-and-son duo of Jimmy Binns Sr. and Jimmy Binns Jr. will be joining promoter and matchmaker Ed Hsu as equity owners in the promotion.

Binns Sr. is the former chairman of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission and is a member of the PA Boxing Hall of Fame. A licensed attorney, he has represented the World Boxing Association, Don King, Mike Tyson, and other well-known boxing figures.

Binns Jr. is a local businessman and former supervisor for the WBA. Having co-promoted several boxing events, he recently made the decision to transition to MMA events.

In a press release issued by the promotion, CITC is hailing the additions of Binns Sr. and Binns Jr. as a move that will help the company further expand its operations. The promotion has already announced several news sponsors as well as the return of its Muay Thai/Kickboxing promotion, East Coast Combat. East Coast Combat Challenge 3 is scheduled for Sept. 20 at the World’s Gym in Northeast Philadelphia.

Combat in the Cage “15th Strike” reminder -

Combat in the Cage will be returning to the Boys & Girls Club of Newark, Delaware on Saturday, Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. ET for an amateur card featuring over 20 fights. The show will feature two title fights with Tim Williams defending his Combat in the Cage cruiserweight title vs. Matt Andirkut and Kasheem Patterson defending his Combat in the Cage welterweight title against reigning CITC lightweight champion Charlie Joseph.

Other bouts include Julio Rosario vs. Brandon Cherry, Jeff Cressman vs. Pat Sabatini, Joe Pond vs. Pat Byrnes, Fan Evans vs. Justin Stoeckel, and Malik Kamara vs. Andres Lebron.

The show will also feature the amateur debuts of four fighters from Jared Weiner’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United with Matt Nice (vs. Jason Stoeckel) Lionel “Noreaga” Bocelli (vs. Michael Ryman) and Ken Berger (vs. Nail Gardner) all set for action. And in the first female fight in CITC history, BJJ United’s Andria Caplan will be facing Shannon Schade of Rising Sun MMA.

Tickets are available by clicking here.

World Championship Fighting to return on Sept. 19 -

Joe Cavallaro’s World Championship Fighting, which has been featured on VERSUS, ESPN, HDNet, and NBCSports.com, will be returning to the Aleppo Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass. on Friday, Sept. 19.

Bouts already announced for the show include Dan Bonnell vs. Joe Cushman, John Benoit vs. Davin Wesinger, Scott Rehm vs. Ryan Verrett, and Ryan Schiedling vs. Kirill Sementsov.

Philadelphia fighters tape “Bully Beatdown” reality TV show -

EliteXC fighters Jon Murphy and Wilson Reis recently joined welterweight champion Jake Shields in Utah for a new reality television show on MTV titled “Bully Beatdown.” “Bully Beatdown” is being produced by Mark Burnett productions and the basic premise is that wanna-be tough guys are given the opportunity to compete against professional fighters.

Murphy is scheduled to fight against for EliteXC against Shane Del Rosario during a ShoXC event set for Sept. 26. Also scheduled for the same card is Daddis Fight Camps’ Matt Makowski. Makowski will be making his SHOWTIME debut vs. Erik Apple.

Editor’s Note: Sam Caplan is the husband of Andria Caplan and trains regularly at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United in Jekintown, PA.

August is shaping up to be a strong month for regional mxied martial arts on the East Coast. Both the Combat in the Cage and Combat Sports Challenge promotions have loaded cards set for the summer’s hottest month.

On Saturday, August 16 in Newark, Delaware, Ed Hsu’s Combat in the Cage will be returning to the Newark Boys & Girls Club for its “15th Strike” show that will feature top amateur talent from the East Coast.

One of the show’s two featured bouts will see CITC middleweight champion Charlie Joseph (6-0 as an amateur) dropping down to the 170 pound weight class to challenge Kasheem Patterson of Daddis Fight Camps for Patterson’s CITC welterweight title.

Event organizers had been targeting August as a potential date for a grudge rematch between Joseph and former CITC middleweight champion Jesus Martinez, but a facial laceration sustained in their first meeting still has not healed and Martinez could not receive medical clearance.

Instead, Joseph will be dropping down in weight to try to add a second CITC title to his waist. Sources have indicated that Joseph is already on weight as he’s been trying to secure a fight against CITC interim lightweight champion Will Martinez, the older brother of Jesus Martinez.

The night’s other featured bout will pit CITC cruiserweight champion Tim Williams of Millville BJJ taking on amateur wrestling standout Matt Andirkut of Team Loch Haven.

Williams took on EliteXC contracted fighter John Doyle at 14th Strike earlier this month in both an exhibition Muay Thai and submission grappling match. After more than holding his own in the fight, he showed he is ready to turn pro and 15th Strike could mark Williams’ last appearance as an amateur.

15th Strike will also feature a host of fighters from Daddis Fight Camps and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United, two of the top fight gyms in the Philadelphia area.

Daddis, which hosts pro fighters Jon Murphy and Matt Makowski of EliteXC and Aaron Miesner from the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has a new crop of amateurs making their way through the ranks with pro aspirations. In addition to Patterson, middleweight Robert Peach, bantamweight Jeff Cressman, bantamweight Shane Donahue, featerweight Brylan Vanartdalen, lightweight Malik Kamara, and welterweight Joe DiFranco will all be fighting on the card.

Peach will be taking on Kenny Wilson of Gai Jin Ryu Dojo; Donahue is set to square off with Lance Umholtz of Warriors MA; Vanartdalen is will to do battle with Ken Nagle of Real Combat MA; Kamara is slated to fight fight Andres Lebron of NJ Shingitai JJ; DiFranco will face Leonard Moses; and Cressman will be taking on Pat Sabatini in what figures to be one of the best fights on the show.

Cressman has been extremely impressive since dropping to the 135 pound weight class and a win could potentially earn him a shot at the CITC bantamweight title currently held by Dan Flounders. Sabatini challenged for the then-vacant title earlier this month against Flounders but lost via rear naked choke at 2:36 of round 1.

BJJ United, which is led by head instructor Jared Weiner, the first-ever person promoted to black belt by Lloyd Irvin, will feature a trio of fighters making their amateur debuts. Undefeated EliteXC featherweight Wilson Reis is a top instructor at the school and Matt Nice, Lionel “Noriega” Bocelli, and Andria Caplan are all looking to follow in his footsteps.

Nice is scheduled to fight Jason Stoeckel of DE TSD in a welterweight bout; Bocelli will take on Michael Ryman of Real Combat MA; and Caplan will be taking on Shannon Schade of Rising Sun MMA. The bout between Caplan and Schade will be the first-ever female fight in CITC history. Caplan, the 2007 WKA Female Amateur Muay Thai Tournament Champion, is the wife of the author of this article.

A fourth BJJ United fighter could be added to the card, as event organizers indicated that Ken Berger is slated for a bout that has yet to be confirmed.

The East Coast’s other big show, Combat Sports Challenge 26, will take place on Aug. 30. While the card for the event has yet to be finalized, several fighters are rumored for the event, including Virginia-based fighters Anthony Morrison, Dwayne Shelton, and LeVon Maynard along with Philadelphia-based fighters Aaron Miesner, John Doyle, and Sidemar “Sedico” Honorio.

Five Ounces of Pain has learned that a main event featuring Shelton at Honorio at 135 pounds is in the works along with a welterweight clash between Doyle and Maynard. We’ll have more details as they become available.

Editor’s Note: Sam Caplan is the husband of Andria Caplan and also trains at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United in Jenkintown, PA.

Rutten, the head trainer for Slice, surprisingly has come out and said that the fight should have been stopped in the second round when Thompson had Slice’s arm trapped and was delivering unanswered strikes:

People ask me if the fight should have been stopped at the end in the second round, I say YES because those are the rules, it should have been stopped because Kimbo didn’t do anything to improve his situation. But I think what made the ref NOT do it was the fact that Kimbo was giving his thumbs up the whole time to let the referee know that he was OK. This was the refs decision, not Kimbo’s.

However, Rutten also indicated that he does not believe Kimbo tapped in the first round. Considering his thoughts about the second round, his opinion carries a lot of weight in my mind:

Oh, and he didn’t tap just watch the show.

In order to read Bas’ entire article about the fight, just click here.

In the meantime, check out this video of Bas Rutten going over submission holds with Cam Gigandet, one of the stars of the movie “Never Back Down,” which opens in theaters on March 14.

Working a Submission move – Watch more free videos

Rutten will report directly to IFL CEO Jay Larkin.

The affable Rutten has served with the fight promotion since its inception as a coach and commentator. He was originally brought on to serve as the head coach of the Los Angeles Anacondas but stepped down from that position in early-2007 after being tabbed to serve as a color commentator opposite Kenny Rice on “IFL Battleground.”

There is no word whether Rutten will continue as a commentator for the promotion, but he will remain in his role as a co-host of HDNet’s “Inside MMA.”

Updated: We’ve been informed that Rutten will continue in his role as a color commentator for the IFL.

Well his first fight only lasted a little over a minute and then his second fight against Bo Cantrell wasn’t really a fight because it only lasted 19 seconds. So we really didn’t learn very much from those two fights and I want him to fight a tough guy. Tank is definitely a tough guy and maybe he’s going to want people to know that he is still around and he will train hard for this fight. If he doesn’t train hard he’s going to be in a lot of trouble. I want Kimbo’s opponent to make this fight longer than the previous two. I shouldn’t say it but I want him to get hit but not too hard [laughs].

If he sticks with the game plan then we will get a better idea of where he is at. We need to get him some opponents that are going to put up resistance. We will take it from there and then build him up to better opponents. Some people want to rush it and have him fight Fedor but there is too big of a difference in experience. I mean Fedor has something like 24 fights and then all of his Sambo matches. Right now I just need to get him used to fighting in the cage. Kimbo has four fights this year and if he stays injury free and keeps progressing, then I have no problem putting him up against a top 10 fighter.

Bas makes an excellent point. What’s the point in throwing Kimbo to the wolves? He’s going to fight better competition each time out. These fights that he’s taking right now are just to get his feet wet and get used to fighting in a mixed martial arts atmosphere. It’s understandable that people make jokes about Tank Abbott as “legitimate competition.” That clearly doesn’t matter to Bas and it shouldn’t. His job is to ease Kimbo into the sport and build him up fight by fight, not book him against Top 20 guys right away. Give it time and eventually Kimbo will be tested by good fighters. You just can’t expect him to go full bore right out of the gates.

Kimbo is going to win some and Kimbo is going to lose some just like every mixed martial artist does. Bas is just trying to make sure that he’s winning in the beginning and getting the experience needed in order to make Kimbo a successful fighter. What’s so wrong with that?

Check out more Bas Rutten and Kimbo Slice content on FiveOuncesofPain.com 

Click each name to read the interview:

• Josh Koscheck
• Mayhem Miller
• Chris Horodecki
• Frank Trigg
• Bas Rutten
• Joe Lauzon
• Chris Horodecki
  
• Frankie Edgar
  
• Cub Swanson
• Tim Kennedy
• Mac Danzig
  
• Kenny Florian
  
• Dan Barrera

Additionally, we have a new Interviews section, with a list of all 5 Oz interviews.

I taped the show earlier this week in Los Angeles and I had a blast doing it. The crew at Inside MMA were super nice and they made the whole experience a very pleasant one. I just wanted to thank them publicly.

Joining me on the panel is Amir Perets, who has a background as a member of the Israeli special forces and now does anti-terrorism training, and Karo Parisyan.

If you’re a Karo fan, then you will enjoy the show. He was extremely outspoken and had us laughing quite a few times during the taping. He was very outspoken in his thoughts about how Randy Couture would do in a fight vs. Fedor Emelianenko, his thoughts on women’s MMA, and whether he turned down a chance to fight Jon Fitch.

I recently had the pleasure to interview one of my all-time favorites, former UFC heavyweight champion and current IFL color commentator Bas Rutten.

Bas has added co-producer to his list of many roles in MMA as he’s involved with a new MMA documentary called “Potent.”

Potent, which is available at PotentTheMovie.com, is an in-depth look at what it takes to be a successful fighter in MMA and includes testimonials from the likes of not only Bas but also Frank Shamrock, Mario Sperry, Dean Lister, Dan Henderson, Murilo Bustamante, Shawn Tompkins, and many more.

I was not only able to interview Bas about the movie for CBSSports.com but I was also able to ask him about a change in his role with the IFL, whether Xtreme Couture will be a featured team in the league next season, and his thoughts on star pupil, Kimbo Slice.

According to Rutten, Team Kimbo apparently wants another shot at Sean Gannon:

Q: Have you discussed an opponent at all?

BR: No, absolutely not. We would really like to have Sean Gannon, the guy he lost to on the Internet, because they changed a lot of rules with that fight. That fight was purely boxing and suddenly knees started getting involved and the choke holds and he started clinching, and that was not just the match. I think it’s really been bothering Kimbo and I think he wants revenge.

That match is high on the priority list and hopefully Tank Abbott is one, too. Apparently he made some videos and said some things about Kimbo. When you put those videos out I think you should not only just bark but you should fight and take the fight.

You can read the interview in its entirety by clicking here.

For Bas’ comments on Kimbo, the IFL, Randy Couture, being contacted by other promotions, and more, just click here.

Bas will be on during the show’s third segment and we’ll be taking IFL, Kimbo Slice, and MMA in general. If you have a question, feel free to call in at 888-459-ESPN.

IFL commentator and former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten will be a guest on the radio this Saturday on ESPN 920 in Philadelphia.

Bas will join my co-host John Floyd and I for a segment on The Saturday Morning Sports Hangover at 11 a.m. ET. Bas will probably be on during the third segment, sometime around 11:40 a.m. ET. If you have a question for Bas you can call into the show at 866-459-ESPN.

If you’re not in the Philly area you can hear the show at 920ESPN.com.

Here’s Bas’ post from a Sherdog thread:

OK guys, I have to say something here.

I am training Kimbo right now, and I have to say that he is one of the BEST fighters I have EVER trained. He really listens to you and does what you say, do you know how hard that it? If he’s dead tired, and I tell him five more rounds, he looks at me, but doesn’t say anything, he just does it.

I entroduced him to the Bas Rutten MMA workout, he was SO tired, he told me that he has never been as tired. Today I was teaching him again, he asked me in the beginning “Are we ging to do the Bas Rutten workout?” But he said it in a crazy way, so I asked him “Do you want to do it?”. He said “Please, yes!” I asked him why, because all my PROFESSIONAL fighters don’t want to do it. He said “Bas, I want to conquer this thing, I want to do it!”Man, he gets, Lots, and losts of respect!

All the shit that people write about him, I am telling you, and I hope you know I don’t lie, he’s a trooper! I wish that all my fighters would be like him. Even my wife loves the guy. He is SO respectful and uses NO bad language in front of kids (my two little daughters love him, and they don’t like anybody!), I am REALLY, blown away.

He really deserves this, I think this. Can a boxer be a MMA FIGHTER? We all know the answer, but can a street fighter be an MMA fighter? We all KNOW the answer to that!

I would wish that all my fighters were like him, like I said, I can put him through every workout I give him, he WILL do it, no questions asked.

I hope you guys meet Kimbo one day, you will be blown away. I just came back from an MMA event and I brought him there, just see how he is with the fans, it’s crazy!

You also know that I would NEVER train an asshole, so trust me, but he’s got me, Shawn Tompkins (who trained him longer than I have,) and Randy Kathami (boxing coach for my gym) respect. I REALLY love the guy.

El Guapo says:

Party one and Godspeed!!

SOURCE: http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showth…=583812&page=3

There you have it. Bas will also be in Atlantic City to corner Kimbo for his fight against Ray Mercer.

Congrats to Bas on the new gig.

 You can read the full release at:

http://eon.businesswire.com/releases/mma_today/gofish/prweb530821.htm