American Combat Association http://www.americancombatassn.com Red, White, and Bruised! Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:50:00 -0800 http://www.blazonco.com/ en GREAT INTERVIEW WITH NEIL MELANSON AND ERIN TOUGHILL http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/great-interview-with-neil-melanson-and-erin-toughill http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/great-interview-with-neil-melanson-and-erin-toughill#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:50:00 -0800 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/great-interview-with-neil-melanson-and-erin-toughill On the heels of Randy Couture's victory over Mark Coleman, Randy Couture's catch wrestling coach Neil Melanson and Erik Toughill did an outstanding interview highlighting Couture's grappling evolution.

]]> On the heels of Randy Couture's victory over Mark Coleman, Randy Couture's catch wrestling coach Neil Melanson and Erik Toughill did an outstanding interview highlighting Couture's grappling evolution. We felt this interview would be interesting to fans of the ACA as Melanson highlighted how he got Randy thinking in terms of using his wrestling on the ground. Granimal and Kamal Shalorus share this philosophy in terms of using wrestling on the mat as well as on the feet and instill this philosophy in member of Team ACA. The interview speaks for itself and Toughill also discussed her upcoming fight against Cyborg Santos.

Here is the interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovS7X2ptIxM

]]> BJ PENN TRAINING WITH KENNY JOHNSON & PERSIAN CLUBS http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/bj-penn-training-with-kenny-johnson-persian-clubs http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/bj-penn-training-with-kenny-johnson-persian-clubs#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:21:00 -0800 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/bj-penn-training-with-kenny-johnson-persian-clubs Army McGuire, who we were introduced to through Billy Wicks, is a lifelong carny. In fact Army actually speaks carny (yes they have their own language). Army is an elephant trainer and strongman.

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Army McGuire, who we were introduced to through Billy Wicks, is a lifelong carny. In fact Army actually speaks carny (yes they have their own language). Army is an elephant trainer and strongman. On his website agelesstrength.com Army "propogates and promotes ancient and useful forms of exercise." These forms of exercise have clearly worked for Army as he can literally TEAR PHONE BOOKS IN HALF AND BEND PENNIES! One of Army's friends and disciples is renowned amateur wrestler Kenny Johnson. Army told us yesterday that Kenny recently began training with UFC Lightweight champion and future hall of famer BJ Penn. In this video from agelesstrength.com Kenny is seen demonstrating his Persian Club warmup for BJ. You can hear BJ marvel at Kenny's prowess with the clubs in the background. We at the American Combat Association share Army McGuire and Kenny Johnson's love for these "ancient and useful forms of exercise" and it is great to see one of the greatest fighters in the history of the UFC training with Army's buddy Kenny. Check out the video by following this link: http://www.agelesstrength.com/scrap-book-and-video.html

]]> ACA'S KAMAL SHALORUS ON HOMEPAGE OF INTERNATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/aca-s-kamal-shalorus-on-homepage-of-international-wrestling-hall-of-fame http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/aca-s-kamal-shalorus-on-homepage-of-international-wrestling-hall-of-fame#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:29:00 -0800 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/aca-s-kamal-shalorus-on-homepage-of-international-wrestling-hall-of-fame While doing footnotes for the book he is writing with Erik Paulson ACA President Matthew Granahan discovered something pretty cool.  On the homepage of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Hall of Fame, pictured next to the legendary Frank Gotch, is ACA's official grappling instructor, partner and co-founder Kamal "Prince of Persia" Shalorus.

]]> While doing footnotes for the book he is writing with Erik Paulson ACA President Matthew Granahan discovered something pretty cool.  On the homepage of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Hall of Fame, pictured next to the legendary Frank Gotch, is ACA's official grappling instructor, partner and co-founder Kamal "Prince of Persia" Shalorus.  Shalorus is pictured delivering a signature Karelin Lift/Gutwrench suplex the very same picture that shows up on the ACA homepage.  "A s soon as I saw that I had to call Kamal and let him know.  How cool to be writing a book and go to a major footnoted source and see your friend and business partner on their homepage. Pictured right next to Frank Gotch no less, how cool is that?" said the ACA President.  Kamal was excited to hear the news and we thank Dan Gable and the International Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum for the honor.  To see Kamal's pic next to the Humbolt Iowa legend go to: http://www.wrestlingmuseum.org/

 

 

 

 

 

]]> UFC 115: Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 Rumors and Fight Card http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/ufc-115-liddell-vs-ortiz-3-rumors-and-fight-card http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/ufc-115-liddell-vs-ortiz-3-rumors-and-fight-card#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:22:00 -0800 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/ufc-115-liddell-vs-ortiz-3-rumors-and-fight-card UFC 115: Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 Rumors and Fight Card

Event name: UFC 115: Liddell vs. Ortiz 3
Date : June 12, 2010
Location : Vancouver, Canada

]]> UFC 115: Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 Rumors and Fight Card

Event name: UFC 115: Liddell vs. Ortiz 3
Date : June 12, 2010
Location : Vancouver, Canada
Venue : GM Place
Broadcast : Pay-per-view

  • Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz
  • Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald
  • Pat Barry vs. Gilbert Yvel

At Thursday’s pre-UFC 109 press conference in Las Vegas, UFC President Dana White announced that the winner of the “UFC 109: Relentless” co-main event between middleweight contenders Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen will get a title shot against the winner of April’s UFC 112 bout between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

White also confirmed that, as previously reported, The Ultimate Fighter 11 coaches and former light heavyweight champions Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will meet for the third time at UFC 115 on June 12 in Vancouver , while Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione is set for UFC 113 on May 8 in Montreal .

]]> RANDY COUTURE FOCUSED ON CATCH WRESTLING http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/randy-couture-focused-on-catch-wrestling http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/randy-couture-focused-on-catch-wrestling#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:39:00 -0800 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/randy-couture-focused-on-catch-wrestling Randy "The Natural" Couture is "moving away from a jiu jitsu mentality" and says ""I'm working on my ground fighting with Neil Melanson, doing a lot of catch wrestling,"

]]> Randy "The Natural" Couture is "moving away from a jiu jitsu mentality" and says ""I'm working on my ground fighting with Neil Melanson, doing a lot of catch wrestling," Couture says. "Moving away from a jiu jitsu mentality, looking more through my wrestler's eyes, catch wrestling and submissions as they come from wrestling positions, which has been a lot of fun for me, and that's been an ongoing process for the last seven or eight months."
 
As a company that promotes catch wrestling as a sport we commend Randy for his conversion but many people we consult with aren't surprised.  "I never thought of Randy Couture as having a jiu jitsu mentality.  Randy has proven himself over and over again as a great wrestler" says legendary catch wrestler Billy "Pops" Wicks.  ACA President Matthew Granahan shares Mr Wicks sentiments. "I'm a huge fan of Randy Couture and always have been.  Historically when you look at Catch Wrestling, as I did writing Rough and Tumble with Erik Paulson, it is the grandfather of freestyle.  Therefore Randy already knew alot of the techniques and setups.  Randy has an outstanding trainer in Neil Melanson. When Randy talks about setting up submissions from wrestling positions that is exactly what Kamal Shalorus has taught me and what I in turn teach my fighters.  It's alot easier to teach an amateur wrestler submission wrestling than it is jiu jitsu because they know how to wrestle already.  If you can't wrestle you can't be a submission wrestler however if you can't wrestler you can learn bjj.  That is why I believe bjj is so popular.  It's a very effective style but for a wrestler you can't go wrong training in catch wrestling and because less people train in catch you can often surprise your opponents."
 
For a video highlighting Randy's training for his upcoming battle with Mark Coleman check out this link:
http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/01/20/randy-couture-moving-away-from-a-jiu-jitsu-mentality/

]]> BUSY YEAR SO FAR FOR THE ACA http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/busy-year-so-far-for-the-aca http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/busy-year-so-far-for-the-aca#comments Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:58:00 -0800 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/busy-year-so-far-for-the-aca The new year has been very busy for the American Combat Association.  Kamal Shalorus continued his winning ways for World Extreme Cagefighting with a dominating win over the previously undefeated Dave Jansen.  Dave Jansen was 15-0 prior to stepping in the cage with ACA's official grappling instructor.  "He thought he could take me down.  He had taken all of his other opponents down but he never met a true international wrestler before" the Prince of Persia and ACA co-founder Kamal Shalorus told us after his victory.  Kamal and ACA President Matt Granahan are currently planning a trip to California to train with Erik Paulson at his Combat Submission Wrestling school in southern California where they will be filming ACA's new DVD COMBAT STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING SECRETS.

]]> The new year has been very busy for the American Combat Association.  Kamal Shalorus continued his winning ways for World Extreme Cagefighting with a dominating win over the previously undefeated Dave Jansen.  Dave Jansen was 15-0 prior to stepping in the cage with ACA's official grappling instructor.  "He thought he could take me down.  He had taken all of his other opponents down but he never met a true international wrestler before" the Prince of Persia and ACA co-founder Kamal Shalorus told us after his victory.  Kamal and ACA President Matt Granahan are currently planning a trip to California to train with Erik Paulson at his Combat Submission Wrestling school in southern California where they will be filming ACA's new DVD COMBAT STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING SECRETS.

In addition to Kamal's win Team ACA fighters Jason "Murder Man" Lawrence (205lb) and "Big" John Cagle (hvywt) are training for their fights at the Mayhem at the Medallion Center in Columbia South Carolina.  The Medallion Center event is taking place on January 30 and Lawrence and Cagle's trainer ACA President Granimal is confident in their chances for victory. "John fights out of Texas so I haven't really worked with him directly but Jason has been training diligently.  He has fast hands and being from a boxing background I think he's going to surprise everyone with how well rounded his skills have become.  In addition to the Mayhem event the ACA is co-promoting an event on February 13 to be held at Carolina Wing and Rib on 2347 Augusta Rd in West Columbia, South Carolina.  The event will be part of a series of shows the ACA is promoting in conjunction with Sloan Promotions in Spartanburg SC.  The event will include a bikini contest with Hooter's Calendar Girls and a main event between ACA President Matt "Granimal" Granahan and Toughman champion Dave "Diesel" Sabian.  In addition Team ACA fighter Troy Israel will be making his mma debut for Smash Promotions in Charleston SC on February 25 at an event being held at the Omar Shrine Auditorium.  Troy had previously trained with Mark Mills at Columbia Martial Arts and was a state runner up in wrestling out of Pelion High School.  "Troy seems to have the eye of the tiger" says ACA President Granimal.
 
Finally Team ACA has a new apparel sponsor.  Modern Gladiator Fightwear based out of New Jersey and run by Modern Martial Arts Academy owner John Potenza is providing apparel and sponsorship for all members of Team ACA.  "We greatly thank John for the sponsorship" says ACA President Granimal.  "Modern Gladiator makes my favorite t-shirt that I wear all the time.  The front of the shirt says 'Catch Wrestling' and the back says 'All Grappling is not Jiu Jitsu'  I love that shirt" says ACA co-founder and official grappling instructor Kamal Shalorus.  The ACA is looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Modern Gladiator Fightwear.

]]> ACA'S KAMAL SHALORUS DOMINATES KERR ON WEC NOV 18TH EVENT http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/aca-s-kamal-shalorus-dominates-kerr-on-wec-nov-18th-event http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/aca-s-kamal-shalorus-dominates-kerr-on-wec-nov-18th-event#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:35:00 -0800 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/aca-s-kamal-shalorus-dominates-kerr-on-wec-nov-18th-event The American Combat Association's official grappling instructor and owner/partner Kamal Shalorus made a huge impact in his debut for World Extreme Cagefighting.

]]> The American Combat Association's official grappling instructor and owner/partner Kamal Shalorus made a huge impact in his debut for World Extreme Cagefighting.  The WEC broadcast the fight live on the Versus Network as a part of the Brown-Aldo Show on November 18th.  "I want to thank all my fans for supporting me" Shalorus told us.  "This was a great performance for Kamal.  People are expecting Kamal to be a dominant wrestler however he posesses an incredibly diverse skill set.  WEC better get ready because the Shalorus era is only beginning" said Kamal's partner in the ACA Matt "Granimal" Granahan.  For those of you that did not see the fight live you can watch it in our Coverage of Live Events section.

]]> ROUGH AND TUMBLE BOOK COMPLETE http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/rough-and-tumble-book-complete http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/rough-and-tumble-book-complete#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:29:00 -0800 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/rough-and-tumble-book-complete The Granimal, Erik Paulson and JD Dwyer have finally competed Rough and Tumble: The History of American Submission wrestling.  "This project was a huge undertaking but it was also alot of fun.

]]> The Granimal, Erik Paulson and JD Dwyer have finally competed Rough and Tumble: The History of American Submission wrestling.  "This project was a huge undertaking but it was also alot of fun.  We met so many great people that have helped influence mma as we know it.  Some of the people that have really helped us the most with this book are Gene Lebell, Billy Wicks and Frank Cain.  What a great story we are telling.  There have been alot of books written about different disciplines but never before has there been such a comprehensive history told about the history of American combatives" says ACA President Matt "Granimal Granahan.  "This is a book that every fan and fighter should read.  So many of the stories in this book were directly told to us from the men who lived them" says Erik Paulson.  Olympic wrestler, European Abu Dhabi Champion and undefeated WEC fighter Kamal Shalorus was also interviewed extensively for the book and is excited about it's upcoming release.  "You can't live if you can't breath, you can't run if you can't walk and you can't fight if you can't wrestle.  This book is going to tell the real history of mixed martial arts" says Shalorus.
 
With the book completed all that remains now is the footnoting, editing and publishing.  We will keep you abreast of the release date at americancombatassn.com.

]]> THE NATURAL MAKING ANOTHER RUN AS HEAVYWEIGHT http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/the-natural-making-another-run-as-heavyweight http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/the-natural-making-another-run-as-heavyweight#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:51:00 -0700 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/the-natural-making-another-run-as-heavyweight Joe Rogan has looked on in amazement as Randy "The Natural" Couture dominated his opponents and commented that combat sports are not supposed to be ruled by men in their 40's.  At 46 years of age the Natural continues to be a force to be reckoned with.

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Joe Rogan has looked on in amazement as Randy "The Natural" Couture dominated his opponents and commented that combat sports are not supposed to be ruled by men in their 40's.  At 46 years of age the Natural continues to be a force to be reckoned with.  Randy fought a very competive bout against Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera at UFC 102 in August and although he lost a unanimous decision he said after the fight that he's in the best shape of his life.
 
Couture's next fight will be against Brandon Vera at UFC 105 on November 14.  Although Vera and Couture have competed as heavyweights this fight will be contested at 205lbs.  Tito Ortiz is also returning to the octagon at UFC 106 on November 21 in a rematch against Forest Griffin.  Many readers may remember Randy's dominating victory over Tito in 2003.  Couture recently signed a 28 month/6 fight deal with UFC renewing his contract.  Perhaps Tito and Randy may cross paths once again giving Ortiz an opportunity to avenge his loss to the veteran Couture.  What would happen in a rematch between Tito and Randy present day?  Could the Natural pose a threat to the coveted Light Heavyweight crown?  We want to know what you think.

 

 

]]> WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR FEDOR http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/what-is-the-future-for-fedor http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/what-is-the-future-for-fedor#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:43:00 -0700 Troy http://www.americancombatassn.com/blog/article/what-is-the-future-for-fedor WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR FEDOR


Fedor Emelianenko has been called the best pound for pound fighter in the world by Sports Illustrated's mma rankings,

]]> WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR FEDOR

Fedor Emelianenko has been called the best pound for pound fighter in the world by Sports Illustrated's mma rankings, he's ranked as the number 1 heavyweight fighter in the world and yet he still hasn't danced on the biggest stage of them all.  That stage is of course the Ultimate Fighting Championships.  The UFC can lay claim to having the best fighters in the world yet Fedor continues to elude them.  Dana White has been quoted as saying that Fedor is "overrated" yet White tried to work out a deal to bring Emelianenko to UFC.  This is a deal which White was unable to close.
 
The cancellation of the Fedor Emelianenko-Josh Barnett fight was highly publicized.  Once the fight was off Affliction announced that they would cease holding mixed martial arts events and focus exclusively on their apparell line.  Josh Barnett returned to Japan and returned to professional wrestling in a match with Bob Sapp but what about Fedor?  Fedor has signed a multi-fight contract with Strikeforce and he is set to fight Brett Rogers on November 7.  This fight will be broadcast nationally on the CBS network.
 
What does the future hold for The Last Emperor?  Will he ever come to terms with the Ultimate Fighting Championships?  How would Brock Lesnar do in a fight against Fedor?  Is Dana White correct in his assertion that Fedor is "overrated"?  We want to know what you think.

 

 

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