King Mo vs. Kerr at "Breakthrough"

Originally posted on MMAjunkie.com

Following the loss of would-be headline fighter Don Frye, "M-1 Breakthrough" will now feature a main event between previously scheduled headliner "King" Mo Lawal (4-0) and replacement fighter Mark Kerr (15-10).

Additionally, the Aug. 28 event, which takes place in Kansas City, will feature a special exhibition match between recent Strikeforce signee Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi.

A source close to the event today exclusively revealed the two matchups to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Bout agreements have been signed for both matchups.

Lawal, who's posted a 4-0 record with World Victory Road's Japanese-based Sengoku event series, makes his U.S. debut at the upcoming show, which is the first of what M-1 officials call a "premium fight series" to complement its current country-vs-country "M-1 Challenge" shows. Lawal, a Division I collegiate All-American, announced last week that his original opponent, veteran fighter Frye (20-7-1), had pulled out of the event.

Scrambling to find a last-minute replacement, M-1 officials settled for Kerr, once one of the sport's most feared competitors. But after launching his career with a 12-0 record and tournament wins at WVC 3, UFC 14 and UFC 15, Kerr hit a rough patch (which was well documented in the acclaimed documentary "The Smashing Machine").

Click here to read the entire article on MMAjunkie.comdd

MMA: History of the Pound-for-Pound Best

Originally posted on BleacherReport.com

1997 - Mark Kerr - UFC 14 and UFC 15 Heavyweight Tournament Champion,
World Vale Tudo 3 Champion
1998 - Mark Kerr - Undefeated 10-0

Click here to read the entire article at BleacherReport.com

Kerr-Gracie Tops the List of 10 Fights That Could Have Been

Originally posted on Sherdog.com

1. Royce Gracie vs. Mark Kerr

During MMA’s early years, the sport served as a vehicle to find the most effective martial art. In the 1990s, many of the most popular bouts were strict style-versus-style matchups. A debate that continues today revolves around whether Brazilian jiu-jitsu or amateur wrestling serves as the most effective base for MMA.

Two fighters who could have ended the debate 10 years ago were Kerr and Gracie. The latter was the star of the Gracie jiu-jitsu infomercials that were the first UFC events and caused BJJ schools to mushroom in the United States. While Gracie, at 6-foot, 175 pounds, did beat a strong wrestler in Dan Severn at UFC 4, he had never faced a physical specimen like Kerr during his first five UFC events. As a result, fight fans demanded that he fight the “Smashing Machine.” Pride, which was responsible for promoting the most memorable super fights at the time, heard the fans’ pleas and tried to make the match happen. To everyone’s surprise, the fight almost came to fruition; event posters with Gracie and Kerr on them were even printed. Then on Christmas Eve 1997, a little over three weeks before the show was supposed to take place, Gracie pulled out with a bulging disc in his back. That deprived fight fans around the world from perhaps the most important fight in the history of the sport, one that could have ended the tiresome wrestling-versus-BJJ debate once and for all.

Click here to read the entire article at Sherdog.com

FCF Radio featuring Mark Kerr

On this episode of Full Contact Fighter Radio with Jeff "Wombat" Meszaros, mixed martial arts legend Mark "The Smashing Machine" Kerr joins the show to talk about his career, his comeback and the movie that HBO made about his life. What's it like to have a camera crew following you around all day? What happened in his fight with Kazuyuki Fujita? Is he planning on fighting again? Tune in and hear what "The Smashing Machine" has to say about this and much more.

Click here to listen to the entire interview at FCFradio.com

Mark Kerr vs. Jeff Monson on Sept. 27th

Originally posted on ProMMA.info

Vengeance Fighting Championship will take place this Saturday, September 27th at the Cabarrus Arena in Concord, NC. The main event consists of two UFC/PRIDE veterans in Mark “The Titan” Kerr vs. Jeff “The Snowman” Monson in a heavyweight bout.

Click here to read the entire article at ProMMA.info

Fighters make weight for YAMMA - Kerr to Headline

Originally posted by MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] on Apr 11, 2008 at 9:23 am in

- News -

All participants for tonight's YAMMA Pit Fighting debut show have made weight for the event, including the larger-than-life Eric "Butterbean" Esch and main event fighter Mark Kerr, who was cleared for the event in just the past few days.

Tonight's event takes place at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J., and airs on pay-per-view. It's the debut show for YAMMA, which was launched by Bob Meyrowitz, the creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

In addition to two "Master Superfights," tonight's event features an eight-man heavyweight tournament, as well as two alternate bouts for the tourney. Veteran fighter Ron Waterman is on stand-by as the tournament's back-up fighter.

Kerr, an early UFC and PRIDE fighter, was a late replacement for the YAMMA fight card, which has been plagued by changes ever since the initial announcement of the event. However, Kerr had been under suspension by the state of Connecticut after he failed to clear a pre-fight medical for an August Global Fighting Championships event, but he was reinstated and cleared by the New Jersey commission just this week.

Kerr takes on Oleg Taktarov in a "Superfight, and Patrick Smith and Esch meet in the other.

The heavyweight tournament, which includes a handful of former UFC fighters, will feature just one-round fights in the opening round. The modified format assures that no participants have to fight for more than 25 minutes throughout the duration of the tournament.

The full weigh-in results from yesterday included:

MASTERS SUPERFIGHTS

Mark Kerr (266.2) vs. Oleg Taktarov (221.2)
Eric "Butterbean" Esch (416.2) vs. Patrick Smith (240.0)

HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT

George Bush (231.6) vs. Ricco Rodriguez (264.6)
Marcelo Pereira (219.4) vs. Travis Wiuff (242.8)
Tony Sylvester (262.8) vs. Chris Tuscherer (264.0)
Alexey Oleinik (220.2) vs. Sherman Pendergarst (264.6)

ALTERNATE TOURNEY BOUTS

Antwain Britt (228.2) vs. Bryan Vetell (266)
Lamont Lister (212.6) vs. Oleg Savitsky (199.4)

MMA goes Hollywood

MMA goes Hollywood

Wednesday Nov. 7th the World Cage fighting Organization put on an exciting mixed martial arts event at Circus Disco in Hollywood California. This event brought out many Hollywood celebrities such as Christopher Masterson (Francis from the TV show “Malcom in the middle”) and his brother Danny Masterson (Hyde from “That 70s Show”). Also in attendance was MMA legend Dan Severen, MMA fighter Jason Chambers (star of the History channel series “Human Weapon”), the New York Bad Ass Phil Baroni (who acted as announcer for the evening), former heavyweight champ Riddick Bowe, and Jason Mayhem Miller.

Originally, three MMA Agents fighters were slated to fight on the WCO card. UFC veterans Tiki and Carmelo Marrero were to fight on the under card and former UFC champ Mark Kerr was to be the co-main event. However, Tiki’s opponent backed out the day of the weigh-ins and despite a scramble to find a replacement, Tiki was unable to find an opponent in time to participate in the event.

This was Carmello Marrero’s first fight since leaving the UFC. His opponent Rafeal Real was a WEC veteran with a dangerous ground game. Early in the fight Carmello was in trouble after Rapheal scored an early take down and sunk in a deep guillotine as Carmello attempted to stand back up. However Carmello defended well and was eventually able to reverse Rapheal, gaining dominant position. Carmello then overwhelmed Rapheal by raining down numerous unanswered elbows on his opponent while in his guard. At the close of the first round, despite a slow start, Carmello was ahead on the judge’s score cards. However, due to an inadvertent eye poke, Rapheal was unable to continue fighting and the fight was stopped by the doctors after the close of the first round.

Mark “The Smashing Machine” Kerr began his mixed martial arts come back by defeating Steve Gavin in 1:39 of the first round. Gavin was a powerful wrestler fighting out of Minnesota where he trains with “Team Bison”. Mark dominated this fight from the outset, landing a stiff jab on Gavin, which allowed him to pummel in and cinch a tight body lock. Once Mark cinched the body lock he used his considerable strength and years of wrestling experience to pick Gavin up and slam him forcefully to the mat. From there Mark passed Gavin’s guard and landed a variety of punches and elbows. After coming close to sinking in a kimura, Mark used a variety of body punches and elbows to set up a key lock, which forced Gavin to tap out before the end of the first round.

Overall it was a good night for the MMA Agents team. Both fighters had dominant performances and demonstrated the benefits of UFC experience. Both Kerr and Marrero have been invited back to fight on the next WCO card to be held some time in December.

By Nathan Brodnax, J.D., B.A., A.A.

“Quicksand” Pyle makes quick work of Ebanez in Showtime

Kerr loses in London’s Cage Rage by TKO to Turk

Fighting on the undercard of the first-ever MMA event televised on the premium cable network Showtime, Mike “Quicksand” Pyle made a triumphant return to the welterweight ranks with a rear-naked choke victory over Ross “Da Boss” Ebanez in 1:55 of the first round on Saturday, February 10th at the EliteXC in Southaven, Mississippi.

Pyle (13-4-1), an instant crowd favorite from the moment he was announced as hailing from nearby Memphis, Tenn., took Ebanez (14-5) to the mat quickly with a nice double-leg takedown and easily passed to side-mount before taking the back of “Da Boss.” With Pyle’s hooks in and Ebanez flattened out on his stomach, it wasn’t long before the Hawaiian was forced to tap out.

Pyle, the former WEC 170-pound champion who had suffered two losses in the IFL at middleweight, also holds wins at welterweight over Jon Fitch, Shonie Carter, Bret Bergmark and Gustavo Machado.

“It was short and sweet, just like I like it, just like I love it,” Pyle told Sherdog.com.
In other news involving MMAagents fighters, Alex Stiebling, Zach Light and Jeff Ford will be competing this month in the Bodogfights series in Costa Rica. The Bodogfights will now be televised starting in March on the Ion Network, formerly the PAX network.

Stiebling (17-9-1), coming off a unanimous decision win over Auggie Padekan at X-1 in October, will be facing Moise Rimbon in a middleweight matchup. Light (3-3) moves up to welterweight to take on Jake Ellenberger, and Ford (2-1) will square off against Francis Carmont in light-heavyweight action.

We are actively soliciting sponsors for our fighters that will be competing in upcoming events. We realize that the economics of the MMA fight game today dictate the need for fighter sponsors. As such, we send out post-fight sponsor packets with photos of sponsored fighter wearing sponsor logo on shorts and shirts and wearing sponsor company gear when applicable. We encourage the use of these pictures in advertisement when applicable and without conflict. The costs vary greatly depending on fighter and event. If you should have any interest, or would like to request more information, please contact my assistant Scott Lewis at 949-892-8702 or by e-mail: scott@mmaagents.com. I can also be reached directly by e-mail at kenpavia@mmaagents.com.

The Cube in the Cage.

These heavyweights are not to be taken lightly.

Buoyed by the mainstream exposure that the UFC has received while being prominently featured on Spike TV for the last two years, the sport of mixed martial arts is in a boom period. Fighters like Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre and Rich Franklin have become household names, while attendance and pay-per-view numbers have skyrocketed. As big as MMA – and the UFC in particular – has become, however, it is clearly the bigger fighters that have been carrying the least weight.

In the UFC, which is arguably considered the premiere MMA organization, there is Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, Brandon Vera, and then everybody else. Fighters like Paul Buentello, Justin Eilers and, most recently, Jeff Monson – all talented in their own right –have received title shots without defeating a legitimate top contender, while other less-deserving heavyweights have been given opportunities to fight in the UFC without boasting even a single noteworthy victory.

Enter MMAagents, and its stocked roster of heavyweights. In addition to undefeated heavyweight prospect “Irish” Jake O’Brien (who is now 9-0 as a pro, and 2-0 in the UFC after defeating Josh Shockman at UFC 65 a few weeks back), there is Justin “Insane One” McCully, Wes “The Project” Sims, Mark Kerr and Vince Lucero. And there is one other guy on the MMAagents list that you may have heard of – former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez. But if you think this is a case of Ricco and the other guys, you are wrong.

Take McCully, for example. The longtime workout partner of Ortiz (the two are currently training together, along with O’Brien, up in the high altitude of Big Bear, California for Tito’s fight against Liddell on Dec. 30), McCully recently returned from a three-year hiatus away from MMA by winning two fights over a three-week span. One of those was a quick first-round submission victory in October over Warpath, who just this past weekend at Strikeforce took Buentello into the second round before losing to the “Headhunter.”

McCully, who started his fighting career in 1997, has returned in great shape and dominated both of his recent opponents on the feet and on the ground, but yet, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Team Punishment standout still waits for that call to make his UFC debut. “The Insane One” is due, and he deserves his shot.

Then there’s Sims, who is followed by controversy like Butterbean follows a Big Mac. There was the infamous stomping of Frank Mir, as well as the biting incident with Mike Kyle. Though the cynics are quick to point out Sims’ 0-3 record in the UFC, the fact remains that all of his fights in the octagon were entertaining and competitive. What’s more, Big Wes has gone 9-1-1 in his last 11 fights, including a controversial-as-usual first-round TKO over Kimo at X-1 in October.

Sure, Sims is loonier than Bugs, but his recent record speaks for itself. If Kevin Jordan and Sherman Pendergarst deserve UFC shots, surely Sims has earned another chance.

As for Kerr and Lucero – one, a legend in the sport, the other a proud journeyman brawler who has displayed moments of greatness – their respective path to the big show certainly has some hurdles to overcome. Kerr is a two-time UFC tournament winner (UFC 14 and 15), who then went on to become an even bigger star in Japan with the Pride Fighting Championships. The documentary “The Smashing Machine,” was shown repeatedly on HBO and turned Kerr into a fallen star of sorts, as it made aware his struggle to overcome an addiction to painkillers. But Kerr has returned healthy, despite losing his recent comeback fight against Mike Whitehead in an IFL Superfight. Up next for Kerr is the England-based show Cage Rage, where he looks to win his first fight since 2000. If Kerr can once again become the Kerr of old, there isn’t anyone in the sport he doesn’t match up well against.

Lucero, on the other hand, has never made it to the big time, despite his 17-10 professional record. Those 17 victories include wins over TUF 3 finalist Josh Haynes and Jonathan Ivey, but he’s been most impressive in losses to Eilers and Eric Pele. The decision loss to Pele in October showed that a fight with Lucero is no cakewalk. Just this past weekend Pele knocked out then-undefeated Antonio Silva, giving even more credence to just how tough Lucero is. Looking at the list of IFL heavyweights, there is no question that Lucero would fit in nicely there.

And then there’s that Ricco guy. The former UFC titleholder, Rodriguez (25-6 record) holds wins over Couture, Arlovski, Monson, Buentello and countless others. Most recently, Rodriguez decimated Ron Waterman at the WFA in July, winning by TKO when the referee stopped the fight after the first round. As gifted a fighter as there is in the heavyweight division, Rodriguez is now looking for the opportunity to fight the guy who took his belt in the first place – Tim Sylvia. Having lost over 80 pounds in the last year, Ricco has re-dedicated himself to becoming champion. If anybody deserves a chance, it is Ricco Rodriguez.

So yes, the heavyweight division is the weakest division in the UFC. And yes, the heavyweight division is in dire need of a boost. So look no further, because we have some of the best of the big boys right here. From top to bottom, these heavyweights are not to be taken lightly.