Six Xtreme Couture Fighters entered the cage this weekend. We had 4 wins, one hard fought loss and probably the most bizarre No Contest in MMA history.
Mike Pyle kicked things off by beating on a game Aaron Wetherspoon. Don’t forget Wetherspoon’s name. The kid is tough and has absolutely no quit in him. A lot of people are saying Pyle v. Wetherspoon was the fight of the night at the Elite XC/Strikeforce show in San Jose. If you missed it, click here.
Phil Baroni came up on the short end of the stick against Frank Shamrock. But he put on a hell of an effort. Initial reports are that Phil suffered a torn groin and a hernia. Shamrock says he had knee problems too. We’d like to see these two hook up again in the future. Shamrock put on a poor display of sportsmanship by taunting Phil in the fight and punching him in the back of the head. What’s wrong with that guy? Kneeing Renzo in the back of the head and punching Phil.
On Saturday Gray Maynard manhandled Rob Emerson, throwing him around the ring like a grappling dummy. Emerson tapped out after Gray slammed him, but the bout was ruled a No Contest. Gray’s looking forward to getting out there again and beating down whomever else the UFC locks in the cage with him. Despite being “knocked out” according the UFC interviewer, Gray was not suspended by the actual Doctor from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Also on Saturday the big man, Kimbo Slice took care of former Boxing Heavyweight Champion Ray Mercer.
In Cincinatti on Saturday our Wrestling coach Dennis Davis and Solomon Hutcherson won their fights.
(Gray Maynard trains under the watchful eye of Joe “Daddy” Stevenson)
Xtreme Couture members are spread across the country, ready to wage battle in four states today and tomorrow.
Mike “Quicksand” Pyle and The New York Badass Phil Baroni are in San Jose, California for tonight’s Elite XC/Strikeforce card. Pyle takes on Aaron Wetherspoon the former King of the Cage Welterweight champ. You can see that fight on Proelite.com for free at 7:30 eastern/4:30 pacific time. While in the Main Event on Pay Per View Baroni looks to shut Frank Shamrock’s trap and knock out the self proclaimed legend.
(Phil Baroni and Kimbo Slice prepare for their fights at Xtreme Couture MMA)
Tomorrow night on Spike TV Gray Maynard looks to start his UFC career off with a bang when he tangles with Rob Emerson on The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey Kimbo Slice takes on former boxing Heavyweight Champion Merciless Ray Mercer. Kimbo is trained by Shawn Tompkins and spent time preparing for his fight at Xtreme Couture.
Out in Ohio, Xtreme Couture grappling coach Dennis Davis is fighting, as is our pal Solomon Hutcherson.
Good luck to the crew.
(Mike & Gray watching Sam Stout vs Spencer Fisher in the gym)
Mike “Quicksand” Pyle is in San Jose, CA. He’s ready to claim another victim Friday night, when he takes on Aaron Wetherspoon.
You can catch the fight for free by logging on to Proelite.com. In the meantime you can catch Mike’s last fight on by clicking here. You’ve got to register with Proelite. But it only takes a second and it’s free.
MMA Weekly ran a great article on Mike this week. And he’ll be doling out discipline to a seven-year-old in front of millions of viewers in an upcoming episode of “Supernanny”.
If you haven’t yet, head over to MikePyle.tv. Do it now.
Here’s a hot highlight video of Mikey in action, put together by our very talented Mr. Scott Haney.
Update: Thanks to our buddy Colin, we’ve got a link to the video of Randy on the Guy’s Choice Awards.
Randy did a skit with Tracy Morgan on last night’s Guy’s Choice Awards on Spike TV. Funny stuff. We tried to find a clip of it in case you missed it. No luck. But the show replays on Spike Sunday and Monday at 2am Eastern. Set your DVR if you missed it. The skit is the open to the show so it’s on in the first two minutes. Tracy also performs a very funny magic trick about 20 minutes in.
While looking for the skit we stumbled upon this gem, it’s Randy on our good buddy Kevin James’ hit show King of Queens.
And if you’ve never seen Randy’s fight against Jeremy Horn in Rings, take a look.
Jo Frost, aka Supernanny, was on hand today at Xtreme Couture. The Disciplinary Diva brought a rambunctious seven-year-old boy with her. Oh and her reality TV crew. Along with the help of Mike “Quicksand” Pyle and Gray “The Bully” Maynard the youngster was put through a workout and taught some respect. Turns out he’s a nice kid. We can’t say much more at this point, but this blog is told to expect the show to air at some point later this year.
In case you are unaware “Supernanny” is what folks in the TV biz call a hit. 12 million people watch the Nanny whip irascible children into shape each week.
Both Mike and Gray had a great time. Gray telling us, “He’s a good kid. He’s just got a lot of energy. That’s why it’s important to teach him a sport to help him use that energy.”
Mike put it this way, “It was great to put a smile on someone’s face.” In case you’ve never met Mikey Pyle, he puts smiles on lots of people’s faces. He’s one of the funniest guys around. As Jay Hieron says, “I’ve known Mikey for years, and he’s made me laugh every single day.”
Gina Carano the newest edition to the Xtreme Couture stable of fighters will be teaching Muay Thai Saturdays from noon to 1pm. The class will focus on techniques, as Joey Varner’s 10am-11am class becomes a sparring session overseen by the esteemed Mr. Varner.
Gina will also be appearing on your TV sets tonight (June 12th) at 10:30pm eastern on Oxygen. It’s the debut episode of “Fight Girls” as show featuring Gina and Muay Thai legend Master Toddy training a bunch of up and coming young female kickboxers.
Rumor has it Gina will step back in the cage for Elite XC on September 1st against Jen Finney. Their June 2nd fight was scrapped after Gina got ill during filming for Fight Girls in Thailand.
We’re starting a new feature here on the Xtreme Couture blog. Every time there is a big boxing match Xtreme Couture Boxing Coach Ron Fraizer will break it down. Thus we begin with Saturday’s Miguel Cotto – Zab Judah affair. Taking place in Madison Square Garden on the Eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade the bout pits Puerto Rico’s favorite son against Brooklyn’s Zab “Super” Judah.
In order for Judah to win he must maintain his focus throughout the fight. In his career he has only shown he can do this once, in the second Corey Spinks fight. If he comes out like he did against Floyd Mayweather where he came out hard in four rounds then wilted mentally I think Cotto will stop Judah.
In order for Cotto to win he will have to walk through some fire. We’ve seen when he does that he can get knocked down. But now he’s up at 147 instead of 140 lbs. Maybe it was the weight loss that weakened his resolve. But in each of the fights where he has been hurt, he’s kept his compusre and come back to win those fights. Zab Judah is the most talented, most dangerous fighter Miguel Cotto has gotten in the ring with. To win this fight he will have to stay focused himself and absorb some punishment. If he does that he can break Zab down and win the fight.
It’s a great style match up. Both guys are great boxer-punchers who like to let it fly. They’re both also guys who have been touched. But Zab Judah when he first came out was supposed to be the heir apparent to Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whittaker. He’s shown that kind of defensive ability early in his career, but because he has heavy hands and likes to get it on and that makes him vulnerable to being countered.
My pick in this fight is Miguel Cotto breaks Zab Judah down and wins the fight. I think a late round stoppage for Cotto. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see Judah knock Miguel out.
Lightweight Sam Stout heads to the Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida after spending a month training at Xtreme Couture MMA in Las Vegas. Sam is taking on Spencer Fisher next Tuesday at UFC Fight Night 10 on Spike TV. Sam took a decision win over Fischer at UFC 58. Fisher took that fight on short notice and that’s why Sam is giving him another crack.
After spending a month in the 100+ degree sweat lodge/torture chamber that is Xtreme Couture MMA the Canadian stud is ready for whatever Spencer Fisher has. Stout is in tremendous shape and is determined to make his mark on the UFC’s incredibly stacked 155 pound division.
Sam’s coach Shawn Tompkins traveled with him to Florida. Tompkins is fresh off leading his IFL team the Anacondas to an undefeated record with a 3-2 win over Mo Smith’s team in Seattle. Tompkins and the Anacondas will be right back at Xtreme Couture as they gear up for the IFL playoffs.
Wellington, Fl – MMA enthusiasts and Pro-Fighters in Florida have a new mecca. It’s called the Fizogen-Xtreme Couture MMA Fight Training Center. Located in Wellington, FL the gym has 7500 square feet of space for training in the Mixed Martial Arts. It comes equipped with a ring, a circular cage, a fenced in grappling area and world class strength and conditioning equipment.
On hand for the Grand Opening, that attracted more than 700 people, were UFC Champion Randy “The Natural” Couture and Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva. Wanderlei took part to support Fizogen, one of his sponsors. The former PRIDE Middleweight Champion liked what he saw, saying, “It’s a very good gym, with a good space made for people who want to be professional fighters. They have everything, a cage, a ring, mats, weights, bags, etcetera. It’s also a palce for regular students to train, get in shape and make friends. I hope all students who become part of this team train very hard and are proud of this gym because this is one of the best gyms I’ve ever trained in.
This is the first time the Xtreme Couture name has been licensed to a training center. Namesake and Xtreme Couture founder, Randy Couture, is a fan of what he sees. The champ commented, “Dan Amato (owner of Fizogen) and his crew have done an excellent job of putting a facility together, that represents everything Xtreme Couture stands for.”
Randy had this to say about working with Wanderlei Silva, “I look forward to working with Wanderlei again both in the business world and as he transitions into the U.S, and on the mat in the training environment. He is a true warrior and a gentleman. ” Stay tuned to this site for more info on what these two superstars have in store for the future.
In case you’ve never seen Wanderlei the warrior in action, you’ll enjoy this:
