Is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s reign as a top heavyweight contender finished? After suffering a knockout loss to current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, many fight fans believed that it was. A few months later “Big Nog” was forced to withdraw from his rematch with Frank Mir citing a recurring hip injury.  Since withdrawing from the fight, very little has been heard from the legend.  Now returning from surgery, SanDiegoMMA.net was able to catch up with him at his new Black House gym in San Diego (Black House Team Nogueira), where he spoke publicly for the first time about his health issue.

“This is an injury I have had for about 4 years. For the past 2 years it has been bothering me a lot. I have been training for all the last fights I had, and it was very painful. My last 3 fights were very painful,” Nogueira revealed. “To tell you the truth, when I was training in 2005, I felt it a little bit in my hip but it wasn’t that much. 2006 it hurt me. When I trained for the Couture fight it hurt me so bad, then this year it was impossible for training. After Anderson Silva’s fight when he fought Chael [Sonnen], I was there in the group and from there I had training the next day and I couldn’t walk, so I went to Colorado [to see a doctor]. My physical trainer told me [the doctor in Colorado] was the best hip doctor in the world, Dr. Philippon.”

Dr. Marc Philippon is a Hip Arthroscopy Specialist specializing in Sports Medicine. He is also a managing partner at The Steadman Clinic and is known as one of the world’s leading orthopedic hip surgeons. Nogueira laughed, “He took a look at me and said ‘you can’t fight. You are 40% on your performance.’”

While it is a well-accepted fact in the Mixed Martial Arts community that fighters are never 100% healthy, every one of them strives to get as close to that mark as possible, and sometimes surgery is inevitable.

“I had arthroscopy in my hip, just to clean it up. I had some extra bone, a piece of bone, inside the joint so they just cleaned it up.  They tried to fix the cartilage inside the hip to put everything in place,” Nog said of the surgery. “The hardest part is that I got to be out about 6 weeks on crutches.”

Over the last several years, the buzz among MMA fans and media alike has been about the downfall of the legendary “Big Nog.” Even the man himself recognized the change in his capabilities. “I got slow. I couldn’t shoot anymore. You see my fights, normally I go to the ground, but I couldn’t shoot cause my hip was f—ed up. “

With the surgery out of the way, Nogueira faces the new challenges in front of him, including another surgery. “It is in both sides. I did one, I still have to do another one. Another surgery. End of January. The doctor told me you should do one then wait about 2 months, then do the other side.”

Having just completed the first surgery in mid-late December, Nogueria aims to shave a few weeks off of the doctor’s recommended downtime by pushing the second surgery into January.  Why go against the doctor’s recommendation?

The answer is simple: UFC Rio in August 2011. “That’s my goal. I even want to fight before that, but to fight in Brazil – that would be awesome. That’s my goal. That is why I tried to do both surgeries close together,” Nogueira admitted.

When asked who he would like to face, Nogueira responded with a smile. “If they give me Brock I would be ready to fight him.”

This 10,000 square foot gym is well layed out and open. It features an MMA cage, a boxing ring, and 2,500 sq. feet of mat space.

If you are in the area, stop by to check out this great addition to city know as “Fighter Town,” San Diego. You may even run into any number of your favorite MMA fighters.

Continuing with it’s reputation of being a great fight town, a few of the competitors are from right here in San Diego!

Competing in the 65.9 kg weight class is Baret Yoshida. Yoshida is the head-instructor at Und1sputed. His grappling credentials include:

• 6 time Hawaii state BJJ Champion
• 3 time Grappling Unlimited Champion
• 2nd in ADCC in 2001 and 2003
• 3rd in ADCC in 2007

The 98.9 kg weight class is dominated by San Diego grapplers.  First is 2007 ADCC world champion Xande Ribiero. While he is of a Brazilian heritage, San Diego is his home Xande and his brother run Saulo & Xande Ribiero’s University of Jiu Jitsu. Some of his accomplishments include:

• ADCC 2007 Champion
• 2 times World Jiu-Jitsu Champion Absolute division (2006 and 2008)
• 4 times World Jiu-Jitsu Champion Heavyweight division (2008, 2007, 2006 and 2004)
• World Jiu-Jitsu Champion medium-heavyweight division – 2000
• 2 times Pan-american Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion Super-Heavyweight (2005 and 2006)
• Pan-american Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion medium-heavyweight division – 2002
• Pan-american Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion Absolute division – 20013
• Times Grappler’s Quest Champion
• 2 Times World Cup Champion

Another San Diegan in the 98.9 kg weight class is Dean Lister. Dean Lister is a UFC and Pride veteran and part of team Fabio Santos. Lister is also a trainer at Throwdown Elite Training Center. His grappling accomplishments include:

• ADCC 2005 Superfight champion (defeated Jean Jacques Machado)
• ADCC 2003 under 98.9 Kg: quarter-finalist
• ADCC 2003 Absolute Champion
• Two time USA sambo champion
• Four time Machado USA BJJ champion
• USA Gracie BJJ champion

In the +99 kg weigh class is Xande’s brother Saulo Ribiero. Saulo run’s Saulo & Xande Ribiero’s University of Jiu Jitsu with his brother. His accomplishments include:

• Six time World Jiu-Jitsu Champion
• Two time ADCC Submission Fighting World Champion

On July 25, Total Combat held their 34th event, Vengeance, at Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park and once again put on a great show.

With the sport of MMA growing at such an exponential rate, Total Combat has definitely found it’s niche in the market. Other MMA companies should take note of what this organization is doing. They have top fighters such as their current middleweight champion Jesse Taylor, they provide a platform for up-and-coming fighters, they have the production value, and they have tapped into the MMA market in Mexico with MTV Tres and the recently announced partnership with ZZINC Group.

Total Combat 34 provided us with exciting fights at a great venue. One might think it odd to hold an MMA event in an outdoor theater but let me tell you, it worked. There wasn’t a bad seat in the house and who can complaing about being outside on a warm San Diego summer night!

The night started with one of the rare submissions in Mixed Martial Arts when Jason Carvajal secured a gogoplata forcing Jose Carbajal to tap out at just 1:34 of the first round.

The second fight of the night brought us Michelle Vera, little sister to UFC light-heavyweight Brandon Vera, in her second MMA bout against Leah Melnychuk. Throughout the night, there was no louder pop from the crowd than the one that echoed for Michell Vera. “Puma” was able to hold off Melnychuk’s takedown attempts and fight through foot stomps as she ruled the stand-up until the third round. Melnychuk scored a takedown and almost secured a triangle, but Vera was able to hold out for a unanimous decision win. Brandon Vera was a very proud big brother.

After that fight, I was sitting next to Michelle and got a chance to talk to her. She told me throughout the fight that Melnychuk kept telling her “you are going to lose” which only served to fuel Vera’s fire.  Michelle’s foot was also a beautiful shade of black and blue from the foot stomps.

The fights that followed showed one of the reasons that Total Combat is a success, providing a breeding ground for up-and-coming talent.

Tyler Bialecki from Yuma scored a first round submission over Javi Alanis from Riverside.

Arthur Fulber from San Diego overcame adversity as he secured a triangle from the bottom after taking a beating from Zeb Beatty from Rancho Cucamunga.

Mark Striegl fighting out of Alliance MMA here in San Diego looked very impressive in his debut as he put Andy Jewitt from Victorville to sleep with an RNC.

Juan Miranda finished fellow San Diegan Joshua WIlliams with a big KO just 57 seconds in to the fight.

Preston Scharf of San Louis Obispo fought a back and forth battle with Steve Gable of Oceanside before winning a unanimous decision.

In the main event, a contender for Jesse Taylor’s Total Combat middleweight title may have risen. Gary Padilla fighting out of Alliance MMA showed us true MMA by taking the fight everywhere against Steve mensing of Los Angeles. In the first round Padilla sturggled to score a takedown against Mensing good defense. Once Padilla finally scored a takedown Mesing was quick to his feet only to catch a head kick which stumbled him forcing him to eat brutal punches and elbows for about a minute and a half. The second round was very obvisous that Mensing had not completley recovered as Padilla kept the pressure on. Between the second and third round, the bout was stopped by the doctor giving Padilla the TKO win.

A great night of fights from a great promotion. Total Combat is going to continue to grow and is making it’s mark in the MMA world. If you haven’t been out to see an event put on by Total Combat, get out there and check it out!

The next event, Total Anarchy, will be on September 5 from Mexico City. No fight have been announced yet.

Be sure to check out the pictures for this event!

In the heavily male-dominated industry of professional MMA, roles for women can be few and far-between. We see women in the cage in some promotions, including Total Combat, and some form of ring girl in every promotion. But Diana Ocampo goes against the norm as CEO of this organization. She had her own first experience with MMA in 2000 when she took Jiu-Jitsu as part of a self-defense course at the Boys and Girls’ Club in Chula Vista. From there, her business partner Eric Delfierro became involved with The Lions Den, the first real MMA school in San Diego, at the suggestion of her instructor at the Boys and Girls’ Club. Delfierro began to hear murmurings from the students at The Lion’s Den that they wanted a platform to compete with other gyms in front of a live audience. Ocampo jumped on the chance. “The idea was fresh and new and got my blood flowing. I always liked creating something from scratch,” she says now. She began a humble, grass-roots campaign to promote the event, passing out flyers at local dojos, clubs, and eateries. It was a huge success with over 1000 attendees.

“When we first started in 2003, Total Combat was a hobby,” Diana says. “But as the events grew in number it evolved into a business.” And Ocampo’s business sense is evident. Aside from her duties and responsibilities with Total Combat, Diana has just signed on to be the head of San Diego operations for MTV3, a joining of duties that Diana calls “a marriage made in heaven.” She says “the press has been calling Total Combat the MTV of MMA since 2004. Wait until you see how we produce our next event. We are taking it to a different level.”

Though she is the only female MMA promoter out there, don’t think for a second that she is interested in playing a gender card. When asked if she has encountered any special challenges as a female in this industry, she replies, “Challenges are always an everyday thing when running a business…Why should gender be an issue?” In the beginning she chose to be invisible and most people were unaware that a woman was at the helm of this exciting new MMA promotion. Now Diana has carved out a definite place for herself in San Diego’s MMA scene – and she shows no signs of stopping or slowing down. As she says, “I never say I can’t do it because I don’t know it. I learn by doing. It may not be easy, which it wasn’t in the beginning with Total Combat. I ate rice and eggs for dinner for a year. I had a kid to support, but sacrifice is part of achieving success.”

SanDiegoMMA.net exists to bring San Diego fighters the spotlight that they deserve because San Diego is “Fighter Town.”  We are always looking for more fighters to spotlight and support!

The fight, which took place at a catch weight of 175 lbs., lasted less than three minutes as Taylor showed off his impressive wrestling to score a quick takedown overFickett. Taylor then began to show off his ground and pound catching and opening Fickett up with a big elbow. With the damage from the elbow done and Fickett hurt, he was at the mercy of the relentless Taylor before Jason Herzog  stepped in to stop the fight.

In the co-main event, WEC veteran Ian McCall took on Kevin Dunsmoor. After getting caught by a couple of big punches in the beginning of the fight, McCall resorted back to what he does best and used his ground and pound for the rest of the fight. McCall used his dominant positioning to keepDunsmoor underneath him while delivering punches and knees to the body. At the end of the second round, McCall nearly sunk an armbar but Dunsmoor raised his finger to say “No way. It’s not in. Dunsmoor showed his heart as he forced McCall to take a decision win instead of scoring the TKO or submission.

Another fighter that showed a great amount of heart was Nick Alvardo in his TKO loss to Rolando Perez. Perez used his superior stand up to pick apart Alvardo landing great combos. As the round came to an end in seemed that fair that the fight could be stopped as Alavardo ate big rights as he defended off his back. It seemed as though we would see a second round, but the doctor stepped in an called a stop to the fight between rounds and Rolando Perez took an impressive win.

In heavyweight action, Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran and Wes Fenton put on a show. Both fighters were trying to impose their will before giving that up and throwing down. Beltran came out swinging and connecting knockingFelton down and landing two more shots before the ref stepped in to stop the fight.

I want to give a shout out to David Galindo here. In the final 3 rounds of 5 minutes, David Galindo scored a submission win by way  RNC over Matt Lagler. After taking his opponent down and taking his back, David began to get frustrated as his opponent flattened out to defend the choke and the ground and pound.Galindo was able to muscle his opponent’s head out and secure the RNC in the second round.

Not quite sure what happened to the scheduled female fight, but respect has to be given to the two women who stepped up, Molly Helsel and Amber Tackett, both taking the fight on less than one day notice. Helsel came out strong taking her opponent down and sinking the RNC quickly.

John Macoology showed how a wrestler deals with a Brazian Jiu-Jitsu fighter. Macoology effectively used the takedown and let up strategy to out point his Yosuke Koreeda. Knowing his opponents submission strengths, Macoology intelligently refused to engage in a ground war. Both fighters used great kicks throughout the fight. At one point even throwing flying kicks at the same time. Great action.

John Mercurio, even through his loss, showed true talent in his first fight. After losing his mouthpiece from a punch Mercurio found his range and kept Herman Tarado at a distance winning round one. Tarado was determined to change the fight in the second round. After catching a kick, Tarado took the fight to the ground. After landing a big up kick, Mercurio was able to get back to his feet. After a flurry of punches and knee by Mercurio, Tarado once again scored a takedown. This time, able to secure mount and raining down punishment in the form of knees and elbows, Jason “The Law”Herzog was forced to stop the fight to give Herman Tarado an impressive victory.

The night started great with Erin Beach scoring a knockout win over David Reeder. Erin found his range quickly before being taken down. Able to scramble back to his feet, Erin once again found his range and landed a big right to score the KO at 1:53 of the first round.

Total Combat continues to put on impressive events showing why they are southern California’s leading MMA organization. Everything from the production to the fights is done properly. Other (bigger) MMA organizations could take a note from Total Combat.

On another note, I just want to say that the sport is called MMA not UFC. I was sitting in my chair when I overheard someone on their cell phone say “yeah, I am at some UFC fights.” It is like calling tissue paper, Kleenex. It is a brand!

Total Combat, Southern California’s premiere MMA organization based in San Diego, held its 31^st event at Paradise Casino in Yuma, AZ. The 10 fight event headlined by Holtville’s Zach Taylor and Tempe’s Jacob McClintock also featured Total Combat’s first female MMA bout and for the first time Total Combat hit mainstream by going live on MTV 3.

The event which is Total Combat’s fifth trip to Paradise Casino took place, for the last time, outside in the casino’s parking lot. The next time that Total Combat returns to Yuma, according to Director of Media and PR Brian Piepenbrink, will be inside a new building built in the same spot where the event was held.

Donald Molinas              vs.            Cody Culkin

Yucca Valley, CA                          Imperial Beach, CA

170 Lbs. 3×3 Min. Rounds

The first fight of the night started in the welterweight division. Cody Culkin, a high school teacher at Monte Vista High School, met Donald Molinas who took this fight on one day notice. The fight ended quickly when Molinas shot in and was caught in a standing guillotine and forced to tap at 30 seconds of the first round. Even though he was frustrated, props have to go to Molinas for taking the fight on such short notice. I also propose a nickname of ‘Teach’ for Culkin.

Final: Culkin by submission (guillotine choke) :30 of Round 1.

Julian Wray          vs.          Mike Garcia

Chula Vista, CA                       Yuma, AZ

135 Lbs. 3×3 Min. Rounds

The moment Garcia was announced it was clear that he was the home town favorite. Wray would be walking into the proverbial lion’s den for his MMA fight.

Throughout most of round one, Wray held his opponent down occasionally delivering some ground and pound from Garcia’s guard before passing to side then to mount and landing some shots to bring the round to a close. The second round looked similar to the first with the roles of the fighters switched. The third round was very close. Wray scored with a takedown, but Garcia worked a nice bottom game with numerous submission attempts. The round ended up going to Wray with his top control to give him the Unanimous Decision and his first MMA win.

Final: Wray by Unanimous Decision

Johnny Torres              vs.             Damon Ginart

El Centro, CA                                  Encinitas, CA

155 Lbs. 3×3 Min. Rounds

Johnny Torres was looking to rebound from his Total Combat 27 loss to Shannon Gugerty and that he did. Torres spent most of the fight taking Ginart down and delivering punishment with elbows and strikes. Ginart was able to mount some offense and show his Sanshou training after Torres narrowly missed sinking in a Peruvian neck tie. As the fight ended Ginart came close to sinking an RNC to steal the win, but Torres was saved by the bell.

Final: Torres by Unanimous Decision

Doug Dufur             vs.              Ralph Romero

San Diego, CA                                 Brawley, CA

145 Lbs. 3×3 Min. Rounds

Dufur looked the most comfortable of all the fighters on the card and it translated to the fight. Doug-E-Fresh came out with crisp strikes to setup a big takedown. Dufur then passed straight from guard to mount and landed some big strikes forcing a ref stoppage. With a couple more fights under his belt, Dufur can find his way into the WEC.

Final: Dufur by TKO 1:19 of Round 1

Michelle Vera        vs.        Jackie Casillas

San Diego, CA                        Brawley, CA

140 Lbs. 3×2 Min. Rounds

One thing as a writer that I will never be able to accurately portray is the nerves that fighters feel especially on their first fight. Both of these fighters were obviously nervous when they answered the beginning bell. Michelle Vera, UFC fighter Brandon Vera’s little sister (not his wife, her name is Kerry), threw a tentative kick and slipped just as the fight started. Jackie came in fast and was trying with everything she had to finish the fight. Michelle showed the heart of a warrior and stayed in the fight. Between rounds it was obvious that Casillas had gassed. The rest of the fight Vera used her Muay Thai to keep her opponent in defense often in a clinch. Good performance for Total Combat’s first female MMA fight!

Final: Vera by Unanimous Decision

Ruben Salazar         vs.             Brian Gugerty

El Centro, CA                            San Diego, CA

155 Lbs. 3×3 Min. Rounds

This was a great back and forth fight. Both fighters had strong Brazilian jiu-jitsu and good standup to match. The crowd wanted this fight stood up, but with the talent that both of these fighters had on the ground, the ref made a great decision to let them continue to work for position and submission attempts. I look forward to watching both of these fighters grow. In the end, Gugerty was able to edge out a decision.

Final: Gugerty by Unanimous Decision

Lorenz Daniels            vs.             Phillipe Portela santos de querioz

San Diego, CA                                         San Diego, CA

170 Lbs. 3×3 Min. Rounds

It took me longer to type out Phillipe’s name than it did for him to find his hand being raised. Daniels charged in quickly for a takedown. Phillipe defended the takedown forcing Daniels to fall landing Phillipe in mount. After landing a few punches, Phillipe found himself on Daniels’ back with a RNC.

Final: Phillipe Portela santos de querioz by Submission (Rear Naced Chone) :31 of Round 1

Eric Blaton            vs.            Nick Garcia

Yuma, AZ                               Carlsbad, CA

125 Lbs. 3×3 Min. Rounds

Blaton obviously came out as the hometown favorite and did not disappoint. Both fighters showed that they have what it takes to be in this sport given some time. Fighting well rounded games, these guys showed the heart of MMA. There were takedowns, punches, kicks, knees, sweeps, and submission attempts throughout the fight. In the end Blaton showed his resolve as he stood through some great shots by Garcia and used his control on the ground for the win

Final: Blaton by Unanimous Decision

Danny Martinez        vs.            Justin Cruz

Phoeniz, Az                            Guam

140 Lbs. 3×5 Min. Rounds

This fight was not for the faint of heart. Especially if you sat where I was!

The first round had some great action with Cruz keeping the center of the Octagon using kicks then scoring a takedown. Once up Danny Martinez found his game and opened up with some strikes and a takedown of his own. Cruz began working for an anaconda choke which seemed to be sunk, but Martinez stayed in the fight and worked his way into Cruz’s guard where he opened him up with some elbows. In the second round, the fight was taken to the ground 2 feet away from me. Cruz’s head was squirting blood, not pulsating or dripping, squirting. The judge that sat next me even got it on his arm. Then things got strange. The doctor told the ref to stop the fight, so it was called…or was it? After checking the cut, the doctor gave the okay to start again! They started back in the same position right in front of me. As soon as the ref said “go,” Martinez started in with elbows. Cruz then answered with an elbow from the bottom causing blood to run from Martinez nose. There was so much blood you could actually smell it. Soon the doctor stepped in and actually put a halt to the bout this time.

Final: Martinez by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) 4:27 of Round 2

Zach Taylor     vs.            Jacob McClintock

Holtville, CA                             Tempe, AZ

170 Lbs. 3×5 Min. Rounds

McClintock, who trains at Arizona Combat Sports, defended an early takedown by Taylor and took his back. Taylor, able to fend off the RNC, gets McClintock onto his back. Taylor then made a critical mistake by attempting an ankle lock and slipping through. McClintock then took advantage by landing some knees to the body of his opponent then throwing some big punches forcing the ref to step in and save Taylor. Frustrated by the loss, Taylor doesn’t stay around for his opponents hand to be raised.

Final: McClintock by TKO 3:11 of Round 1

Welcome to SanDiegoMMA.net. With many talented fighters training in the San Diego area, the city is currently a hotbed for MMA.

The purpose of this site is to keep you informed about local fighters and upcoming live events in San Diego, as well as to give you information on where you can train. We aim to focus on ALL fighters, not just those that have made it to the larger organizations. We are dedicated to highlighting those that are knocking on the door and those that are up-and-coming.

If you have questions, comments, or news, contact us at Dave@sandiegomma.net