Ben Saunders, after back to back decision losses, has been cut from the UFC.  Ben lost to Jon Fitch and Dennis Hallman and now finds himself out of the big leagues. 


But not to worry, the UFC never closes the door for good, and Ben will have an opportunity to fight his way back into the Octagon.  In a long tweet, Ben had a lot to say about the release and how he will prove that he belongs in the biggest MMA organization in the world.

King Mo takes MMA and training very seriously.  In preparation for his August 21st bout with "Feijao" Cavalcante, Mo talks about how he is contanstly adding different elements to his MMA game and how he studies his opponents.  Another excellent video insight by PureFight.org.

Team Renegade is led by Anthony Sansonetti, recent winner of the Master's Division of British Open sambo tournament.  Rolling with Anthony is always a treat, even when he's gently subbing you out.  In the following video, Anthony rolls with Team Renegade members.  To be the best, you need to roll with the best!  Here's the vid:

 

Conference call highlights from today featuring Tim Kennedy, Jacare Souza, KJ Noons and Jorge Gurgel:

 

Tim, what’s your feeling now that a shot at your first world title is just a few days away?

 

KENNEDY: “The only thing you can do when you are preparing for an event like this is prepare for every possibility.  I’ve brought in the best guys in the world. Every night I have had five or 10 black belts…trying to get prepared. I am prepared and excited. I just want to get in there.”

 

Tim, what was your take after a discussion with someone in regards to fighting Jacare?

 

KENNEDY: “He said he wished he’d brought the fight to Jacare earlier and to work on specific stuff that they wished they had trained for. Everyone was very surprised on how strong Jacare is.  They gave me a whole bunch of tools to start training and some mental things too, and how to approach the fight.’’

 

(TheGARV with finalist Mike Geurin...photo by Shawn Baran)

 

M-1 Global's Selection Americas semi-finals are in the books and the fights were amazing.  I had a great time ring announcing and already look forward to the finals on September 18th.  The 10 finalists have fought there way to the top and now will be fighting each other to see who reigns supreme.

 

Team Bombsquad, out of Cortland, NY, saw three of their four semi-finalists move on to the finals.  That's pretty amazing, and it shows how well head trainer Ryan Ciotoli trains his guys.  Ryan and Gary "G-Man" Marino do a great job running Team Bombsquad and their team is present in every organization.  Always a pleasure to see the Bombsquad represented at the shows.

 

One of the highlights of my evening was the return of Dr. Death Touch, aka Dr. Michael Kelly.  The good doctor had been noticeably absent from the past few events, so it was great seeing him.  We had a couple of funny moments together as well.  I was sitting beside him during the fights and at one point between rounds, a fighter took a drink of water and sprayed it out of the ring, right at us.  Dr. Kelly actually had to clean off his glasses afterwards.  Then later on, he returned to his seat only to find a fan sitting in it.  That's when the good doctor transformed from the mild mannered Dr. Kelly to the evil Dr. Death Touch.  He gave the fan a look and told him to scram.  The guy, evidently seeing his life flash before his eyes, did just that, bowing and scraping as he backpedalled away to his own seat.  It was a classic NJ MMA moment, and a great way to welcome Dr. Kelly back to ringside.

 

After the jump you can check out the finalists and read up on how to watch all the action come September 18th.  See you at Ballys!

Nate Quarry is not only an excellent MMA fighter, he's a motivational speaker.  Check out his speech at the TED Conference on 4-27-10.

Tomorrow night expect some fireworks at the NYWC Sportatorium in Deer Park, Long Island, when Christian Darrow, the "undefeated prison fighter" from the Attica Correctional Facility, takes on world champion kickboxer Bobby Campbell.  This fight tops a full card of kickboxing action featuring some of the best local talent around.

 

Darrow has made quite a splash in MMA circles by his bold challenges of guys like James Funaro and now Bobby Campbell.   He's a charismatic fellow and an interesting speaker, but when the bell rings tomorrow night, he'll have to let his feet and hands do the talking.

 

I will be on hand at the event doing commentary and hanging out with Lauren Kalikow's Pretty in Pink ring card girls, so head on down to the Sportatorium and get in on all the action!

After the jump, check out this interview video I shot with Darrow and Campbell talking with MMA fighter Andrew "The Montourage" Montanez.

In this excellent mini-documentary, professional fighter and special forces soldier Tim Kennedy contrasts "war" in the cage with real life war on the battlefield in Afghanistan.  Interesting perspective from Kennedy, who also talks about getting "primal" in the gym.