Andy’s Blog

Since I’m taking the AOW fight in a bit of short notice, that means I have to get my weight down quicker than normal which also means two things: 1. I won’t be able to visit the local taco shops as much as I’d like and 2. there will be plenty of running on the schedule for the next couple of weeks.  The fight is set at 159.5 lbs so I’m aiming to show up the week of the event in the 171-174 lbs range.  As for the taco shops, if you are ever in San Diego you must try what is called a “California” burrito; never had anything like it in Los Angeles, it is good!  I’ll be missing those for the next month or so for sure.

The deal is completed and I will be fighting on September 26th in Macau (China) at the Venetian Casino.  This will be an exciting opportunity for me as I will be facing a good Japanese opponent and look forward to a battle.  Keep checking back for updates on training and developments for this event…it’s going to be a good one!  Bruce Buffer annoucing, Big John reffing and Bas Rutten commentating; this will be interesting.

Last night’s much hyped match between Cyborg and Gina Carano was pretty good, both women came out to win and did not hold back.  I thought Carano had her chances as she landed into mount once or twice and if she could have been able to keep Cyborg down, she might have been able to wear her down.  Cyborg appeared to be very well prepared and was strong and powerful.  I think this match showed the importance of weight class in today’s MMA; fighting is one half of the sport and the other half is making weight and putting size and strength back on.  I’m guessing Strikeforce might make another rematch due to the popularity of both ladies, but I think a lighter class, perhaps 135 lbs., might be better for Gina as she did not have as much bulk as her opponent.  Both competitors deserve a lot of respect though, breaking women’s MMA into the big time.

Babalu and ‘Dreamcatcher’ Mousasi was pretty interesting; I did not know much about the newcomer but after his performance against the very legitimate ‘Babalu’, you have to think (1) this guy hits hard and (2) he’s got to be one of the most unassuming guys in MMA.  His demeanor did not change much before, during or after the fight!

Gil Melendez looked strong against Ishida and definitely looked like one of the best lightweights out there.  I’m not sure if a rubber match between the two is necessary as Melendez won that fight from beginning to end and the much-anticipated match with Josh Thompson will be one to watch.

Just read that the highly anticipated match between Nick Diaz and Jay Heiron may be off due to some changes in the CSAC’s  procedures for testing.  I was really looking forward to this match and not only am I disappointed that it may not be happening, but it’s also sad that the CSAC seems to be constantly hounding Diaz because he tested positive for marijuana before.  I talked with Nick a while back and he made a very good point, that he’s probably one of the healthiest guys in the sport as he does not drink alcohol nor use any performance-enhancing drugs.  When I think about some of the people I have trained with and come across in the sport, his comment actually makes a lot of sense.  Hopefully the fight moves forward…last time I checked, marijuana didn’t give anybody super strength, just a strong case of the ‘munchies’.

Football is back!  Although it was just pre-season action, the NFL got underway with the annual Hall of Fame game from Canton, Ohio. Despite spending all of my time and energy on martial arts the past 12 years, football has always been my first love and I try to watch as many games as possible.  I usually try to go to at least one college game a year, last year being a witness to UCLA’s upset over Tennessee at the Rose Bowl  and hopefully this year I will be able to make the Hawaii vs. UNLV game at Las Vegas on Sept. 19th.  Despite being an undergrad from the University of Hawai’i and a current graduate student at UNLV, I’ll definitely be rooting for the (Rainbow) Warriors.

Above picture is of Terrell Owens , the most perplexing player in the NFL…let’s see how he helps or hurts the Buffalo Bills this year!

Watched the WEC tonight and I’m sure all of you have heard about the upset in the main event between Bowles vs. Torres which looked to be just the beginning of a major slugfest before Bowles was able to get the very, very impressive victory during the middle of the 1st round.  Also on the undercard was one of the guys from the gym, Ed ‘9mm’ Ratcliff, who won a decision victory over Phil Cardella.  Ed has looked very impressive in training leading up to this fight and I was happy for him as he was forced to pull out of his last two fights due to injuries.

BJ Penn showed why he is the ‘man’ at the 155 lbs.weight class last night by beating Ken Florian in the 4th round of their main event at UFC 101.  Florian has beaten a lot of good guys recently but BJ showed just how dominant he is in the lightweight division as he did not allow Florian to get off his patented kicks and elbows game.  I also thought that the key in this fight was BJ’s takedown defense; in the heavier weight classes the bigger guys are able to score takedowns on him but I can’t remember the last time BJ has been taken down in his own weight class.  The ground work, of course, was what we expect from BJ and it’s hard to see anybody beating him when he is in that kind of shape with that kind of focus.  I also liked the shorts…bringing back the old-school look!

Here’s a great picture from after the most recent fight.  We all need a support group to perform well and fortunately for me, my support group goes pretty far back.  In this photo are some of my friends from high school, like Marcia, Kelly, Sean and Carlos to my right and my brother and his wife to my left.  Also mixed in are the all important coaches, my boxing coach Nestor, strength coach Juan and high school football coach Todd Croce.

Call me crazy, but the morning after the fight I took off for Taiwan to go compete in the submission grappling tournament they were hosting.  Fortunately, I did not take a lot of damage in the MMA fight and was able to give it a good go at the tournament.  I got to the 3rd round, beating the first two opponents by points and then losing in the third match to Makoto Ikuta of Japan.  I had a great experience and here are a couple of the other guys that competed as well.  Left to right, Abu Dhabi-bound Baret Yoshida, Makoto Ogawasa, Dominic Damien, Jason Bukich and myself.

Here’s a good photo from my fight last Thursday night against Josh Ramage.  While the fight did not last long, it ended at 1:16 of the 1st round, it was a good one for me as I had to work to get Josh to the ground.  He had a considerable height and reach advantage over me and I had to be patient to get inside and work for the wrestling range.  Josh did hit me with a couple of good punches on the way down and made me work to pass his guard and eventually get to the mount position.  He’s a good guy and I enjoyed competing against him and wish him well in the future.