Nate Diaz | Photo: Getty Images / Zuffa LLC

MAY 17, 2013 – Mixed Martial Arts is in its final phase of transitioning from niche sport to a fully mainstream and globally enjoyed combat sport. Zuffa has been heading the charge into this new stage, and has made some compromises to shed the label of “Human Cockfighting” and the connection between mixed martial artists with cage fighting thugs.

One of those compromises was the UFC fighter conduct policy, which has led to what some consider, controversial disciplinary actions for fighters expressing their views outside of the octagon. Matt Mitrione was the first UFC fighter disciplined, under the new policy, for not letting his fists do the talking. Mitrione’s choice of words, when discussing Fallon Fox and her right to fight against females as a transgendered person, led to a fine and suspension that was recently lifted. Nate Diaz is also in hot water due to his choice of words in a recent tweet about Pat Healy’s loss of bonus money.

This is the second instance in which a fighter has been punished for violating Zuffa’s newly installed code of conduct policy. In both cases fighters were disciplined for using terms considered to be derogatory and offensive towards the LGBTQ community.

The UFC code of conduct states:

“Fighters shall conduct themselves in accordance with commonly accepted standards of decency, social convention, and morals, and fighters will not commit any act or become involved in any situation or occurrence or make any statement which will reflect negatively upon or bring disrepute, contempt, scandal, ridicule or disdain to the fighter or the UFC.”

This statement is in-step with the views of major American sports leagues regarding how to deal with athletes generating bad publicity for their teams, cities and sport. If the UFC wants to continue attracting brands like Reebok, Budweiser and Nike then playing PC ball is a necessary and logical progression. And if MMA fighters want to make NFL and NBA money they better step in line too.

That means Mitrione can’t describe transgendered people as “sociopaths” and that means Miguel Torres can’t make jokes about windowless vans. And that means that fighters who are trying to make it to the bigger promotions also need to watch what they say because people may not be paying attention to you now, but the words you choose to use will linger on in the Internet when you’re famous.

Going mainstream means guys like Nate Diaz can’t use words like “fag” to describe other fighters anymore. Nate’s use of the other F word led the UFC to make the following statement:

“We are very disappointed by Nate Diaz’s comments, which are in no way reflective of our organization. Nate is currently suspended pending internal investigation and we will provide further comment once the matter has been decided.”

Nate Diaz’s expected punishment is being met with some controversy because Dana White made similar word choices in the past. When White became unhappy with a report he referred to the writer as a “p*ssy and a f*ggot” in a now infamous 2009 vlog. The profanity laced video resulted in considerable backlash against White, and ultimately, the UFC brand as well because he is their public face. Since then, the UFC has made an effort to appear as a more politically correct organization.

Dana White has gone on record, when describing the 2009 vlog, as the sole regret he had throughout his tenure as president of the UFC during an interview with Ariel Helwani, and has made it a point to distance himself and his brand from any association with homophobia. For an organization and sport that is trying to become mainstream in the middle of a downturn economy it would make sense that they try not to alienate demographic groups which represent potential sources of revenue. And when discussing expanded sources of revenue Biggie Smalls said it best: Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems.

As the sport becomes bigger the magnifying glass used to scrutinize every MMA fighter’s words and actions is also increasing ten-fold. When this happens fighters and MMA promoters still retain their freedom of speech, but freedom of consequences for their choice of words becomes compromised. Dana White and Nate Diaz are public figures, their words might not carry more weight than that of the average Joe but they are certainly heard on bigger platforms. Fighters are free to say whatever they want in whatever outlet they choose. The only thing is that they have to remember that, once they hit the big time, a lot more people are listening…which means there are a lot more people out there to potentially piss off. Mo Money Mo Problems for real.

On paper it seems extremely hypocritical that White would punish Diaz for using a derogatory term that he has used on public record in the past. That said; Diaz’s statement was made after the new conduct policy was installed so he exercised his right to free speech knowing that his words might carry consequences. And they did.

Whether Dana White’s response to the Nate Diaz tweet was hypocritical or an honest attempt at “better late than never” isn’t the important issue here. What fighters should gather from this is that, unless you are of vital importance to the company, making the UFC look foolish won’t be tolerated. As the UFC becomes more mainstream their core demographic of 18-34 year old males has also grown to include more women, children, seniors and people from all walks of life, socio-economic status and YES even sexual preference. Gay dudes may not like MMA, but they may like wearing Reeboks and driving Fords. If the UFC seems to condone gay bashing behavior, these brands may feel hesitant to establish marketing partnerships with the promotion. From a business stand-point this potential loss of revenue is inexcusable.

MMA may be a sport, but it is also a business. In America being bigoted is bad for business, and the UFC has never hidden the fact that they are here to make money. And in this regard Zuffa is no different than any other business. They will not and should not allow their employees to interfere and compromise their ability to profit.

The case of Nate Diaz is a strange one. He is being penalized for being who he is. All he did was sprinkle some 209 dust on his opinion. The thing is someone didn’t hear him call Caraway a “fag” in a private conversation. He took to a social media platform that is heavily promoted by the UFC to use a word that is highly offensive to some people. The twitter account may be his, but any comments he makes on that platform are not just his own, they are also perceived as those of a UFC employee. Like in any business, when you speak on behalf of a company your words may carry consequences. And in the case of Nate Diaz, they did.

In this edition of TXMMA’s Technique of the Week we feature famed black belt, Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu and his purple belt student Hunter Ewald.

Cyborg is a black belt under Francisco Albuquerque known for his innovative tornado guard and for being a fierce competitor. At 32-years old Cyborg remains an elite athlete who competes with men more than 10 years younger than him in the Adult Ultra Heavy divisions. Among his many titles Cyborg includes three Pan-American first place medals, three World No-Gi Championships and many more. As of May 2013 the IBJJF Adult Black Belt rankings list Cyborg as #26 in Gi and as #9 in No Gi competition.

We caught up with Cyborg after a long day of competing and coaching at the 2013 Dallas Open, where Cyborg took gold in the Adult ultra-heavy and Silver in the Absolute. His student Hunter, who will be assisting Cyborg in the video, won double gold in the Purple Belt Medium and Open weight divisions. For those of you who haven’t fought at a tournament before, this is especially commendable because once the tournament ends (usually after 10-12 hours) everyone really wants to get their medals and go home.

TXMMA Technique of the Week – Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu (Fight Sports)

In this edition of our TXMMA Technique of the Week, Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu demonstrates how to initiate a half-guard sweep with the arm-drag. The half guard is a transitional position that can be exploited by either person fighting to advance their offense or re-establish their defense. In this sequence Cyborg demonstrates how effectively one can transition from a defensive half-guard into attack mode.

The technique’s success is contingent upon creating enough distance between you and the opponent when initiating the arm drag. The distance serves the dual purpose of preventing the opponent from smashing to take away hip movement and begin passing and also serves to help generate momentum to initiate the sweep from bottom. For the arm drag to work secure a cross grip and use the top leg as a shield to prevent your opponent from closing the distance. This grip will remain secured throughout the entire technique. To generate force in the arm drag base out with your forearm and pull as you pivot and twist your hips in the direction you want your opponent to go. The key detail of the sweep comes at this point; as you execute the arm drag the bottom leg of your half-guard must come up against your opponent’s thigh as a butterfly hook. At this point the sweep is ready to be executed. To transition from arm-drag to sweep reach across your opponent’s back and secure a grip under the armpit with your top arm and pull your other arm across the chest, securing the shoulder, to prevent them from turning towards you to counter. Once the torso is secured, roll back and use the butterfly hook to sweep over your head. To end up in mount drag your base leg across the opponent’s stomach as you land. If the initial cross grip remained secured throughout the sequence once the mount is landed a traditional mounted armbar will become available by trapping this arm and turning the hips to execute it. As always practice the techniques shown here with safety and respect for your trainer.

For more information on Cyborg and his Fight Sports Team visit his website at www.miamibjjcenter.com

Bonus Footage from 2013 Dallas Open – Cyborg Abreu vs. Diego Gamonal Nogueira

HUMBLE, TX, May 15, 2013

At the time of this writing, the show should feature fifteen amateur fights in total with two championship fights in the middleweight and featherweight divisions highlighting the evening.

At middleweight, we have a battle of undefeated fighters vying for the title with incumbent champion Trevin “The Problem” Giles (4-0) of Elite MMA defending his title for the very first time against Chris Sutton (3-0) of Gracie Barra Katy in what should be a very interesting fight between two similarly-sized and fairly well-rounded prospects. Hard to predict what this fight will look like but one thing that is for certain is that neither fighter is looking to be a pushover for the other. To the contrary both fighters have professional ambitions and a title win here would go a long way to make that a reality so look for both to come out swinging.

Meanwhile in the featherweight division, Silverback Fight Club’s Tony Orozco Jr. makes his long-awaited return to the cage after almost two complete years since his last fight, a loss to (now pro) Colin Wright at Cage Combat 5 with this same title on the line. Fast forward to now and he’ll be taking another fresh face in Edward Longoria, currently 2-0 after debuting in MMA just this past February. With so much time gone by it’s easy to forget Tony went 3-0 in his first three fights when he first burst on the scene in 2011, even winning against Joe Zamora and going to his high school prom on the same night at one point. Still only 20 years old with two extra years of training behind him he could be right back in the thick of the prospect talk with a title win in this one. Or will the 22 year old Longoria take his place? We’ll see on Friday night.

As for the rest of the card, it’s anybody’s ballgame in terms of who we can expect to perform.

Out of all the rest of the card, only Manny Lozoya (Silverback) has more than a few fights and a winning record at 5-3 heading into his fight with Metro Fight Club’s Eric Charalambous.

The remaining fights are loaded with a mixture of reasonably-experienced amateur ‘veterans’ and debuting fighters but one thing they all have in common is that they’re still looking to make a name for themselves.

Here’s the entire card as it stands today.

Stay tuned to TXMMA.com  as we report back after the fights and let you know which of these fighters make a name for themselves with their performance at Cage Combat 14.

CAGE COMBAT 14
FRIDAY MAY 17, 2013

1. Mike Ross (Silverback) VS. Ramiro Ruiz (4oz) – 115

2. Robert Henson (Elite MMA) VS. Anthony Tsafantankis (Bushi Ban Bloodline) –155

3. Tyron Casanova (Champions MMA) VS. John Butler (JP MMA/ Team Tooke) – 160

4. Miguel Martinez (Unleashed) VS. Max Mungai (Kingwood MMA)- 170

5. Joshua Kothman (Unleashed) VS. Joe Scott (Bushi Ban Bloodline) – Hvy

6. Francisco Segura (Laredo MMA) VS. Garvens Brun (Kingwood MMA) – 135

7. Omar Khosravi (Silverback) VS. Michael Eaglin (Elite MMA) – 170

8. Jay Sader (Silverback) VS. Jeremy Lieder (Ground Dwellers) – 185

9. Sean Jefferson (Paradigm) VS. Tyler Flores (GB Woodlands) – 170

10. John Rodriguez (Silverback) VS. Santos Hernandez (Metro) – 145

11. Eric Perdew (Bushi Ban Bloodline) VS. Kyle Villarreal (4oz) – 163

12. Randy McCullough (Windy) VS. Steven Vera (Metro) – 135

13. Manny Lozoya (Silverback) VS. Eric Charalambous (Metro) – 145

14. Edward Longoria (Bushi Ban Bloodline) VS. Tony Orozco Jr. (Silverback) – 145 Title

15. Chris Sutton (GB Champions) VS. Trevin Giles (Elite MMA) – 185 Title

The IBJJF Mundials tournament is universally recognized as the most prestigious GI tournament in the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With that being said, it’s natural that plenty of grapplers from all around the world make the pilgrimage to the new mecca of BJJ year after year to try and win that coveted gold medal.

The Texas BJJ Community should be sending a sizable contingent of athletes to complete at this year’s 2013 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship event.

Texas-based black belts already registered to compete include: Sue Ausman (Travis Lutter), Bruno Bastos (Nova Uniao), Ulpiano Malachias (GB Westchase), Diego Gamonal Nogueira (BTT), Travis Tooke (Team Tooke), Marcus Antelante (Soul Fighters)< Carlos Diego Ferreira (Team Ferreira), Chris Westfall (Lutter), Jason Soliz (TX3C), Luis Rubalcava (Alliance), and Brandon Mullins (GB Texas).

Of course plenty of Texas grapplers from other ranks will be heading out to the Los Angeles area as well in search for a 2013 World Championship. That includes past international medal winners like Andy Cordova, Justin Rebolloso, Pedro Migliano, and many more.

All in all it should be a great showing for the lone star state and of course we’ll be there to cover it all for our readers.

Here are some shots from last year as a precursor to the event courtesy of Mike Calimbas Photography.

Rewind: 2012 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship

DALLAS, TX, May 10, 2013

To expound on that, IBJJF tournaments are always well-run and organized but grapplers seem to think the talent pool this year at most levels divisionally was much deeper making for plenty of competitive matchups at all levels. It would have been even deeper but the 2013 IBJJF Dallas International Open registration actually reached capacity a day earlier than anticipated so plenty of grapplers missed out on the chance to showcase their skills in Dallas.

Hint: Register early next time.

As for the overall team standings for the 2013 IBJJF Dallas International Open, it comes to no surprise that Nova União won by a comfortable margin at this tournament. The Bruno Bastos-led team boasts a strong presence in DFW with schools like Alvarez BJJ, Team Lutter, and several others all competing under the same banner.

Highlighting their performance individually were blue belts Horlando Monteiro and Jordan Shepler who claimed double gold in the adult and masters divisions respectively. Meanwhile at the higher ranks, team rep Arnold Monterroso took first in his purple light feather division while Abu Dhabi World Pro Absolute Champion Kaue Damasceno added to his accolades with a gold in the brown heavyweight division as well.

2013 IBJJF Dallas Open – Overall Team Standings

1 – Nova União – 243

2 – Gracie Barra – 198

3 – KG BJJ – 127

As for additional individual highlights in the black belt divisions, there are several worth noting:

► Gabriel Vella (Street Sports) won a close and thrilling absolute final over Roberto Cyborg Abreu (Fight Sports) in the men’s adult final while Mackenzie Dern (Gracie Humaita) did the same on the women’s side over Fabiana Borges (Gracie Barra).

► Meanwhile in divisional action, Carlos Diego Ferreira (Team Ferreira) won a stacked middleweight division with Albert Hughes (Fight Sports) and Marcus Antelante (Soul Fighters) coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The opposition in that one also included guys like Leonardo Iturralde (Alliance), Jake Mackenzie (GFTeam), and others so props to all the Texas-based guys for holding down the fort in this one.

► GFTeam’s Ítalo Lins and Denilson Pimenta closed out the feather division while Marra Senki reps Gustavo Carpio and Sergio Marra ran unopposed at light feather. Last but not least was Roberto Abreu winning at Ultra-Heavy over Luis Rubalcava and Gabriel Garcia to close out the action at faixa preta.

Check out the complete results from the 2013 IBJJF Dallas Open here.

2013 IBJJF Dallas International Open Photo Galleries

Here are high-resolution photo galleries for the 2013 IBJJF Dallas Open broken down by belt level via mikecalimbas.com. Order your prints today!

Black Belt | Brown Belt | Purple Belt | Blue and White Belt | Podium Photos

2013 IBJJF Dallas International Open Video Coverage

Good news! In addition to shooting photos of all the action, we managed to scoop a full nine hours and 105 matches worth of footage for our readers as well! Check them out via the playlist below or watch them all individually here. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE for more!

MAY 10, 2013

The McKinney North High School grad recently announced just last week that he and longtime girlfriend Marilyn were having a baby girl. And as if that weren’t enough, he’s set to make his debut in the AXS TV-aired Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) this evening and in the MFC 37 main event no less!

Benoit’s bout versus Anthony Birchak (9-1) was elevated to main event status after the cancellation of MFC 37′s planned main event between Chris Barnett and Smealinho Rama.

“It’s a dream come true,” he says. “MFC is the real deal and a great promo. The exposure I’m getting is awesome. I was dying just to get on a card and now I’m the main event. It’s just crazy. It means a lot I feel very blessed about the opportunities that have been given and I’m so thankful.”

Fighting out of the Saekson Janjira Muay Thai camp in DFW and also training down in Mexico at Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s gym in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico whenever he can get down there, “Babyface” feels he has stepped up in both training and skill lately and has high hopes for what he can accomplish in 2013.

With that in mind, Ryan Benoit will look to follow up his 3-0 campaign in the Legacy Fighting Championship last year with his first MFC win over his most accredited opponent yet in Arizona-based Anthony Birchak.

There’s been no love lost between the two ever since the fight was announced with both fighters chattering back and forth on Twitter.

“I hate that guy,” says Ryan Benoit. “No seriously the trash talk just comes with the fighting. Personally I think he is a douche but at the same I don’t have any personal reason to hate him besides him signing the contract to fight me. (As an opponent for me) He isn’t the most experienced but has the best record. I think we match up good but I think my skills will dominate his skills. I’m looking for a first-round TKO. Then hopefully it’s the UFC but if not I’ll fight for the MFC bantamweight title in August.”

“I would like to thank Saekson Janjira, my teacher for sure. I wish he was here with me. Thanks also to my sponsors: KO Reps, Lockout Supplements, and all my sponsors.  Thank God for all these opportunities and for giving me my baby girl coming in October. Time to go win this fight.”

HOUSTON, TX, May 8, 2013 – In search of an authentic Thai experience we (Mike and Felix) recently visited the famed gym and restaurant of Kru Pong (Thussayu Phumswarng) and his wife Toon on the southwest side of Houston, TX and got exactly what we expected.

As the owners of Kru Pong Thai Boxing and Thai Gourmet Restaurant, Kru Pong and Toon have long served Houston with their share of Thai culture throughout the years. Through extremely hard work, sacrifice and dedication they’ve developed quite a reputation in both the art of Muay Thai and traditional Thai cuisine. Martial artists from Texas who are seeking an authentic Thai experience don’t need to travel any further than to the city of Houston in order to do so.

Naturally, we had to learn more.

Sawadee krap.

A Brief History on Kru Pong (Thussayu Phumswarng) and Kru Pong Thai Boxing

Smile.

Thussayu Phumswarng is a two-time Lumpinee Stadium champion known in the martial arts community as Kru Pong. The combination of being a well-tanned at 67 years old along with his infectious smile make Kru Pong look more like a grandfather living in blissful retirement than the seasoned trainer of fighting machines he actually is. As with many things in life though, looks can be deceiving.

Kru Pong is the man considered responsible for bringing Muay Thai to Houston, TX in the early 1980s. At the time Kru Pong was already an accomplished fighter in his own right, but has really come into his own as a trainer and coach during the past four decades. Starting with his efforts in Patumwadee Kai in Thailand, Kru Pong has been responsible for guiding seven fighters in their paths towards a Muay Thai world championship title, and he has continued that tradition of excellence since relocating to Texas in the 1980s. The walls of his gym are covered with championship belts, awards, medals and clippings recognizing many of his past accomplishments as a teacher, fighter and business owner going back nearly 30 years.

Kru Pong’s influence in the development of Texas’ Muay Thai culture is so pervasive that most Muay Thai academies in the state can be linked to him in the same way that actors can be linked to Kevin Bacon through films in the game Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon. Kru Pong has trained a who’s who of established Texan instructors in the art of Eight Limbs that include Metro Fight club’s Saul Soliz, Elite MMA’s Hai Nguyen and Ed Liem, active champions like Nethaneel Mongolia and Alexis Chavaria, and many more.

Kru Pong has had a hand in molding a who’s who in the Texas Muay Thai scene and will continue to leave his mark by introducing people to the art he learned from his own father for as long as he lives. He already put his passion for fighting to the side once when he decided to migrate to the U.S. in search of a better future for his family and he is certain that he never wants to do this again.

Kru Pong and his wife Toon arrived in the U.S. in 1983 and immediately began working as chefs for a restaurant called Thai Pepper in Houston. Although fighting was something Kru Pong could not live without – not being able to put food on the table was something he needed to avoid in order to survive as well. And put food on the table they did. The Phumswarng’s style of cooking was so popular that they eventually were offered an opportunity to branch out on their own in 1995 with the help of some financial backers who believed in them. Kru Pong and Toon took the chance and once their Thai Gourmet Restaurant was established. All the while as business began booming, Kru Pong was able to re-address his main passion, teaching and training others in his country’s style of fighting.

Kru Pong’s Thai Boxing is conveniently located in the same strip mall as his restaurant; both locations share a wall. The convenient location of his Thai boxing academy allows Kru Pong to remain very much involved in the day-to-day activities of the family business while still being allowed to dedicate as much time as he wants to his beloved Muay Thai. The school is a long corridor that is blocked by Kru Pong’s desk. Behind this reception area the academy is divided into three sections; a small area for weight lifting and jumping rope, a section full of heavy bags, speed bags and other types of striking equipment, and the third and final part of the school is occupied by a single ring for Thai boxing.

The school is run in the traditional Thai style. Kru Pong explained that he does not teach a Muay Thai “class” in the classic western sense of the word. Kru Pong’s classes operate more like a well-organized circuit-training machine that is designed to push fighters to the point of breaking while they’re being asked to smile throughout the process. The gym opens from 4:00pm to 8:00pm each day and fighters take turns rotating from station to station so that they can develop and sharpen multiple aspects of their game.

The two constants during our visit with Kru Pong were the thuds of fighters punching and kicking their bags and Kru Pong reminding his tired fighters to “smile please” as they exerted the last of their energy training in their designated stations. Kru Pong’s students took turns doing endless sit-ups and push-ups, lifting weights, practicing hand-eye coordination with a speed bag, working on their clinch work and knees on a heavy bag and then drilled their techniques in grueling three minute sessions of pad work inside the ring. The workouts were very self-directed and required minimal supervision from the old Thai Master who spent his time going from station to station instructing his students to make simple adjustments to what they were doing.

Easy, right?

The workouts looked grueling and turned out to be much harder than they looked. We asked to participate in the class after being treated to a dazzling display of pad work by Alexis Chavarria, an assistant instructor at Kru Pong’s academy. Kru Pong nodded while giving us a half smile and then instructed Alexis to shorten the station rounds from three to two minutes in length. Though initially offended by the gesture it turned out that this was a smart and kind move on the part of Kru Pong, who knew that we trained in jiu-jitsu and were accustomed to creating opportunities for resting while in the middle of a ground fight.

The circuit was grueling and unforgiving. Kru Pong kept a watchful eye on each station and directed each person to a new one once the bell rang after every two minutes.

Our training at Kru Pong’s began with a light warm-up exercise that consisted of kicking a heavy bag while simultaneously holding dumbbells and throwing punches with the opposite arm that one kicks. We went from the warm up bag straight to hitting the pads. Pad work on its own is fairly tiring, but hitting pads while being told to smile brings things to a whole other level. Trying to maintain a consistent striking pace without lowering the rate of speed or level of power was exhausting and made us appreciate the demonstration given by Alexis even more once we tried out the Kru Pong Pad working style for the first time. Few sounds have been sweeter than the bell-which brought that first round of pads to an end. A round on a speed bag and another session of pads followed with only thirty seconds of rest between each round.

According to the students who were there that day each person training will do anything from 6-12 rounds of work and around 200 sit-ups in Kru Pong’s stations during an average two-hour workout day. We lasted four rounds -for a grand total of eight minutes of work- those eight minutes felt like an hour of continuous rolling on a BJJ mat, without proper cardio there was nowhere to hide as it became harder to keep our hands up to protect our chins and to generate power and speed for our strikes.

Martial artists from the Houston area owe it to themselves to check out Kru Pong’s Thai Boxing Academy. The man is a cultural legacy and one of the most savvy exponents of his fighting style in the entire country. We would be lying if we didn’t admit that Kru Pong made us feel exposed on our feet, but he appreciated the fact that we tried. Kru Pong was either amused by our struggles or impressed by our effort because he gave TXMMA a standing invitation to come back and visit before sending us off to go try his wife’s food next door.

Coming soon: Make sure to check back for our review of Thai Gourmet in the second part of our feature on Kru Pong and his wife, Toon.

For more information on Kru Pong’s Thai Boxing academy check out their Facebook Page for their address and hours of operation and as Kru Pong likes to say, “Sawadeekraap” and don’t forget to “smile please!”

HOUSTON, TX, May 7, 2013

The event will feature a title defense by the organization’s middleweight champion, 20 year old Trevin “The Problem” Giles out of Elite MMA. The undefeated (4-0) champion won the belt this past December with a convincing TKO victory over Silverback’s Eric Thompson who couldn’t answer the bell for the fifth round, giving Giles the win via TKO.

Defending that belt for the very first time, Trevin will be facing off against another undefeated fighter, Christian Sutton out of Gracie Barra – a fighter who won his last fight in just 24 seconds by submission when he guillotined Joe Whichard into submission at Cage Combat 13 this past March.

We recently caught up to the champion to discuss this fight, his opponent, and what his plans are for the near future.

Cage Combat 14 Interview -Trevin “The Problem” Giles

How does it feel to be defending your title at Cage Combat 14?

It feels great to be defending my title, but it always feels great preparing and going into a fight. Belt or not it’s a fight and I’m excited about it.

Tell us about your last fight against Eric Thompson. Did it go pretty much as you expected?

My fight with Thompson didn’t go exactly how i expected. I really thought that he would be more aggressive because the tape i watched on him and his fight club’s reputation. That being said I never expected him to quit but we did predict that i would break him and i guess that’s what happened.

What was it like to go five rounds for the first time? How did it feel to win that title?

It felt great having a five round fight even though i didn’t get the opportunity to experience the 5th round. And winning the title was great as well. I know I’m the best amateur middle weight fighter so it felt good to finally get what is rightfully mine.

Looking at your record, you’re 4-0 now. In your own words, how would you define your amateur career so far?

Due to the fact that I am 4-0 i would have to define my amateur career as successful. No matter how it happens the ultimate plan is to win and I haven’t failed to do so.

Have you given any thoughts to going pro?

I have giving a lot of thought to going pro. As a matter of fact this fight will more than likely be my last amateur fight.

Let’s talk about your upcoming fight. How do you feel about your matchup?

I feel great about this match up. Sutton looks like a pretty strong guy and if I am correct he is undefeated like me. So someone will leave that night with an ugly 1 on their record which makes this match up very exciting for me.

Did you watch his last fight? What do you think he brings to the table that you have to watch out for most?

I did watch his last fight and I saw that he ended it with a choke and I pretty sure that he believes that he will get it on me because he love throwing an arm over the head in the clinch. So I would say that the guillotine is his best weapon which isn’t saying much because everyone and their mamma can jump for a guillotine.

What are you looking to show in this fight?

For this fight I’m looking forward to showing how well rounded I am as well as how unforgiving my attack is.

Any predictions? How do you see this fight playing out?

I predict that I will knock this guy out. I seriously doubt that he will make it to the championship rounds.

If you had to give last words to your opponent before the fight, what would you tell him?

My last words to him would be “you are about to be in a hell of a fight.”

You have several other teammates fighting on this card also right? What other fights besides yours are you looking forward to most?

I’m really looking forward to seeing my boy Zach Henson has his first fight. I’m also looking forward to seeing my big homie Mike Eaglin go out and give someone hell. It’s going to be a great night for Elite MMA.

Professor Fortunato has been in charge of running the Rilion Gracie Academy of Houston, when Master Rilion is away from Texas, since first opening their doors in 2011. In the short period of time that they’ve been in Texas, RGA has helped produce champions in Gi and no GI jiu-jitsu as well as in mixed martial arts, assisting fighters like three-time amateur champion, ‘White Assassin’ Kolton Englund, who will be assisting Prof. Fortunato in both videos.

In the first part of our TXMMA Technique of the Week Prof. Jackson demonstrates how to set up a guillotine with a bump-sweep from closed guard. The bump sweep is one of the most traditional sweeps utilized in BJJ to go from guard to mount. A common way to counter the bump sweep is by controlling the person on bottom, and driving your weight forward to flatten your opponent and prevent them from generating momentum to tip you over. Begin by trapping the wrist on the side you want to sweep. Depending on your opponent’s reaction you will have the option to execute a kimura or shoot up for the bump sweep, the guillotine will become available by anticipating when your opponent will try to flatten you out in order to counter the sweep. Your opponent’s neck will become exposed for a guillotine by correctly timing the counter and shifting the hip towards the isolated arm, as you reach over the back of the head and under the throat, to lock the choke in. Make sure to control your leverage, create added pressure and restrict you opponent’s movement by placing a foot on the hip and draping your other leg around your opponent’s back. This technique is particularly effective in submission wrestling and MMA because a Gi’s lapels can often block the path of the arm and help your opponent buy some time to avoid the submission, but if done properly it is also very effective when training in the Gi as well.

For the second part of our TXMMA Technique of the Week Prof. Jackson shows a simple yet extremely effective way to counter the Toreana or Bull Fighter Pass and end up with your opponent’s back. Like with the guillotine set-up before, timing is everything to execute this counter. In order to block the pass it is crucial to anticipate when your opponent will swing your legs to pass in order to prevent this from happening by basing out with one hand and controlling your opponent’s hips with the other. Attaining this position will allow you to escape your hips and pull your leg out to create a scramble. The combination of your arm controlling the opponent’s hips and the power derived from the based arm and extended leg will create enough momentum to allow for the person on bottom to spin around and take the opponent’s back. As always practice the techniques shown here with safety and respect for your training partner.

For more information on Master Rilion Gracie and the RGA Academy of Houston visit their website at www.riliongracie.com.

Ricardo Mayorga | photo – Jonathan Daniel/Getty Sports

MAY 4, 2013 – Noted pro boxer Ricardo Mayorga made his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut last night in his native country of Nicaragua at the at Omega MMA: “Battle of the Americas” at the Pharaohs Casino, Managua.

Despite a pre-fight scuffle with his opponent at weigh-ins caused by the 39-year-old missing the planned lightweight limit by an incredulous twenty pound margin, his bout against Canadian transplant Wesley Tiffer went off without a hitch.

Ricardo Mayorga entered this new sport after having compiled a record of 29-8-1 with 23 knockouts in boxing. He last fought back in March 2011, dropping a loss to Miguel Cotto, but has held titles in the 147 and 154 divisions over the course of his 11-year boxing career.