IN THE TOP 10 - The UFC's Ultimate Fight Night scored big with men between the ages of 18 and 34.
LAS VEGAS - The UFC's Ultimate Fight Night-which featured victories by Tim Sylvia, Stephan Bonnar, and Josh Burkman, among others, as well as the announcement of Royce Gracie's return to the Octagon-was the ninth most watched show among males 18-34 that January evening, the UFC reported.
Spike TV aired the fights at 10 p.m. The top two shows belonged to Fox, both of which were episodes of "24." "The Golden Globes," "Two and a Half Men," "WWE," "CSI Miami," "How I Met Your Mother" and "Wifeswap" were ahead of Ultimate Fight Night.
Sambo Launches New Site CYBERSPACE - The countdown has begun; the American Sambo Association will soon launch a new Web site.
In the new site, you will find new and expanded pages and sections, and there will be pictures and videos. There will also be new areas, including pages for supported charities, press and correspondences, upcoming events, tournament results, rules, freestyle sambo national rankings, an expanded store, sponsors page and more.
The site is www.americansamboassociation.com.
Home, Sweet Home
The Desert Diamond Casino is another home for Rage in the Cage.
TUCSON, Arizona - Rage in the Cage has established its Tucson home base at Desert Diamond Casino to complement their $220-million Glendale Arena venue in Phoenix.
For more information on upcoming Rage in the Cage events, visit www.rageinthecage.com.
MMA's Rising Star-MKM Knockout Has 9 Shows Under Its Belt
Mehrdad Khan Moayedi
TAMPA, Florida - There is a new rising star in the world of MMA. The Shin Do Kumate, which was founded by "The Persian Warrior," Mehrdad Khan Moayedi, has nine shows in the books and a contract with TVN Pay-Per-View.
Officials at MKM Knockout Promotions Inc. are looking to take Shin Do Kumate to the forefront of North American fighting. Some of the fighters who they hope will take them there include Trevor Smandych, Remy Bonnel, Kate Meehan, Pedro Fernandez, Rick Roufus and Mehrdad Moayedi.
"Shin Do Kumate has a reputation as the proving ground in which the best fighters go to test themselves," says Joel Collins, MKM's matchmaker.
Furthermore, MKM Knockout Promotions will be incorporating a separate and new style of grappling into Shin Do Kumate. Not many details have been released about this new style, but MKM has said that it will be steeped in ancient martial art tradition and fighters will wear a full gi or traditional Thai shorts.
For more information and tickets to upcoming events, log on to www.mkmfights.com or call (727) 490-5473.
The World of Judo
Hrbek Named Coach of the Year Others Honored Include Bouyssou, Nakamoto
Serge Bouyssou (left), USA Judo Developmental Coach of the Year. Two-time Olympic medalist Jimmy Pedro is in the center. The others are members of England's Erdington Judo Club.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - USA Judo recently announced that Jim Hrbek (Schenectady, N.Y./Judo America) is the 2005 National Coach of the Year.
Hrbek, a five-time World Team coach, has worked primarily as chairman for Junior Development. The program yielded record medal counts (14 of 15 divisions entered) at the Pan-American Juvenile Championships in Valencia, Venezuela. Through Hrbek's guidance, U.S. junior athletes also competed successfully in junior and senior division events throughout Europe.
"I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Jim Hrbek on his selection as USA Judo Coach of the Year," said Leo White, USA Judo development director. "Jim has contributed a great deal to the sport of judo, he has worked with numerous elite players and he has been instrumental in bringing top junior athletes to positions on the senior roster. I would like to thank him for a job well done."
In 2005, Hrbek's club, Judo America, boasted two No. 1-ranked IJF Junior (younger than 20) athletes: Hannah Martin (Burnt Hills, N.Y./57kg) and Marina Shafir (Latham, N.Y./78kg). Hrbek also has worked with athletes from other clubs throughout the United States, including Daniel McCormick (Arlington, Texas/+100kg), who was the No. 1-ranked IJF Junior and No. 2-ranked senior athlete in 2005.
Jim Hrbek with Hannah Martin, as she receives the Outstanding Female Athlete at the 2005 Ladder Tournament.
In other developments, Serge Bouyssou (Hope, R.I./Mayo Quanchi Judo Club) was honored with the Development Coach of the Year award and Leigh Nakamoto (Pearl City, Hawaii/Kapolei Judo Club) received the Volunteer Coach of the Year Award for 2005. Nakamoto, the founder of the Kapolei Judo Club in Oahu, is active as a volunteer at many levels within the structure of judo in Hawaii. In addition to working with his club, Nakamoto has been heavily involved in the enhancement of the state's high school judo programs where judo is a varsity sport in many high schools.
"I am very proud of all of our Coaches of the Year," said White. "Through the leadership of coaches such as Hrbek, Bouyssou and Nakamoto, as well as many others, our athletes have reached great levels of success in 2005, and it's my hope that we will build upon this success in 2006."
The USA Judo Development Committee selected the winners. -USA Judo
Dyer Named Interim Director of Operations
Tommy Dyer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado - Tommy Dyer has been named the interim director of operations for USA Judo. In this role, Dyer will oversee logistics of USA Judo national events, including key tournaments such as the USA Judo National Championships and the U.S. Open.
Dyer, a past elite athlete, returns to the USA Judo Executive Committee, where he previously served as director of operations from 2000-2004.
"I want to thank Tommy for his dedication to USA Judo and his willingness to return to the Executive Committee," said USA Judo president, Dr. Ron Tripp. "With the upcoming changes in governance, we expect the administrative programs will fall into a more direct relationship with the National Office and the executive director. Tommy will be of great assistance to Jose Rodriguez [USA Judo executive director/CEO] and his staff during this transitional period."
Dyer is a coach with the Fort Worth Judo Club and has trained several top athletes, including Athens Olympian Nicole Kubes (Fort Worth, Texas). Dyer's acceptance of the interim director of operations role comes following the resignation of Pat Nading-Amman (Thornton, Colo.). -USA Judo
Upcoming Events
April 8. Matt Lindland's and Randy Couture's SportFight. Scheduled for Portland, Oregon. For more info, go to www.sportfight.tv.
April 9. FIAS Pan American Championships. Location to be announced. For more info, go to www.sambo.com.
April 15. UFC. Anaheim, California. Scheduled: Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin. For more info, go to www.ufc.tv.
April 15. The International Submission Wrestling Association. The ISWA will be hosting the Las Vegas International Open on April 15, 2006 at Cashman Center. The ISWA is the international governing body for the sport of no-gi submission wrestling. Visit www.iswa.us for more information and online registration.
April 22. SportFighting III. Jersey City, New Jersey. For more info, go to www.grapplers.com.
May 6. Battle of Brooklyn: Clash of the Clans. Brooklyn, N.Y. For more info, contact sambomatchmaker@battleofbrooklyn or info@battleofbrooklyn.
May 13. Grapplers Quest U.S. Nationals of Grappling. Bayonne, New Jersey. For more info, go to www.grapplers.com.
September 29 to October 2: FIAS World Combat Sambo Championships. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. For more info, go to www.sambo.com.
October 8. 3rd annual North American Freestyle Sambo Championships, Rahway, New Jersey. For more info, e-mail
October. FILA World Sambo Championships. Antalya, Turkey. For more info, go to www.fila-wrestling.com.
November 3-6. FIAS World Sambo Championships. Sofia, Bulgaria. For more info, go to www.sambo.com.
