Lightweight standout Estevan ‘El Terrible’ Payan took a Strikeforce fight against a very tough opponent in Alonzo Martinez with just days notice and dominated the the three-round affair convincingly. The performance earned him a unanimous-decision victory via 30-27 scores.

“I felt great out there,” he said. “I work with so many tough guys. I’ve been trying to get here for such a long time, and now that I’m here, I plan on staying. … I got the fight on Monday, so on short notice I didn’t have great conditioning. Hopefully now I will get a couple of weeks’ notice to show my full game out there.”

Payan (13-3 MMA, 1-0 SF), a veteran of the Rage in the Cage promotion, now has won seven straight fights.

Source: www.ufc.tv

FAIRFAX, VA, January 11 – AZ Combat Sports Fighter, Aaron Simpson, kept his perfect record intact the hard way, surviving a full-on first round striking assault from Tom Lawlor to battle back and earn a razor-thin three round split decision victory.

The two 185-pound prospects immediately engaged, and it was Lawlor who was surprisingly winning the striking battle, as he repeatedly rocked Simpson. As the round progressed, he kept the pressure on, and while Simpson’s head was in the fight, it was obvious that his legs were not. Lawlor, cautiously aggressive, continued to press the action, but he refused to get reckless.

Looking to turn the tide, Simpson went back to basics, taking Lawlor down in the second minute. Lawlor battled back to his feet, and got a brief takedown of his own before pinning Simpson against the fence. After breaking, Simpson stalked, and the two locked up again. After separating, Simpson got off a few hard shots, but it was Lawlor who ended the round with a guillotine choke attempt.

The third began with more standup exchanges before the two locked up against the fence. Simpson pushed the action, but Lawlor remained dangerous throughout. Midway through the round, Simpson started to take control, eventually sinking his hooks in from the back with under two minutes left. With nothing going on there, Simpson let him loose, but continued to take command against the tired Lawlor, yet the two still finished the fight with a brief flurry.

With the win, Simpson improves to 7-0; Lawlor falls to 6-2, 1 NC

2. Xtreme Couture – Las Vegas, NV
I do not know Randy Couture’s level of involvement with training fighters, however Xtreme Couture seems to be the place to be among many fighters. I do not even know if it would be easy to document the fighters who regularly train there. However, we do know that such fighters as Randy Couture, Forrest Griffin, Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Mark Coleman, Mac Danzig, Amir Sadollah, John Alessio, Martin Kampmann, Jay Hieron, Mike Pyle, and the lovely Gina Carano.  Xtreme Couture boasts great training with Shawn Tompkins and great facilities that are state-of-the-art.

3. American Top Team – FL
American Top Team (ATT), is certainly the most sought after gym on the east coast and is a popular home for many of the UFC’s top Brazilian fighters. ATT seems to have a well rounded stable of fighters and recognizable names including: Thiago Alves, Denis Kang, Wilson Gouveia, WEC Featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown, former WWE Star Bobby Lashley, Luigi Fiorvanti, JZ Cavalcante, Roan Carneiro, Ben Askren, Jeff Monson, Mark Bocek, Jorge Masvidal, Hector Lombard, Cole Miller, Thiago Silva, Alessio Sakara, Jorge Santiago, Hector Lombard, Thiago Tavares, Antonio Silva, Gleison Tibau, Din Thomas, and Danillo Vilefort just to name a few. If this was a list of the gym with the most recognizable fighters ATT would win hands down.

4. Team Quest – Portland, OR and Murieta, CA
The roster of Team Quest is hard to top. The fact that Team Quest operates out of Portland, Oregon as well as Murieta, CA shows the breadth of the team, but also fails to consolidate talent into one location. MMA legends Dan Henderson and Matt Lindland are the main attractions, but there are several other notable fighters who call Team Quest home. Chael Sonnen, Ed Herman, Nate Quarry, Sokoudjou, Kryztof Soszynski, and several other prospects. The fact that Henderson and Lindland are coaches of Team Quest certain build a strong case for Team Quest.

5. Black House/Nogueira and Silva MMA – Miami, FL
It is hard to argue with the talent at the old Black House team, which is now branded Nogueira and Silva MMA.  The team is full of legends and champions.  What more can you say than the fact that Black House is the home of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.  Silva is not the lone attraction though.  Former PRIDE and UFC Hevayweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, UFC Light Heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida, former WEC middleweight champ Paulo Filho, Ronaldo “Jacare” de Souza, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Junior Dos Santos, Feijao Cavalcante and Andre Galvao all train together in the Miami gym.

6. Miletich Fighting Systems - Bettendorff, IA
If this would have been a list taken 3-5 years ago Miletich would have been higher. Pat Miletich is a legend in the sport and has trained some of the best including champion Matt Hughes who has opened his own gym in Illinois. Several other guys used to train at MFC including Jens Pulver, Jeremy Horn and Robbie Lawler. However the cast of fighters at Miletich is not what it used to be. They still ahve some good talent including Tim Sylvia, Ben Rothwell, Mike Ciesnolevicz, Rory Markham, Spencer Fisher, Brad Imes, and L.C. Davis. The news broke this past week of Drew McFedries being booted by Miletich over comments made at the UFC 98 post-fight press conference. Still some solid talent and a solid trainer in Pat Miletich.

7. Arizona Combat Sports – Tempe, AZ
This is a gym on the rise. Arizona Combat Sports is run by the Lally brothers in Arizona. The gym boasts a handful of known fighters who specialize in their wrestling. The gym is home to WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner, former WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit, TUF alums and Arizona State wrestling alums Ryan Bader and C.B. Dolloway, Aaron Simpson, Matt Riddle and Steve Steinbeiss. Arizona Combat Sports has potential to become a top tier gym in a few years.

8. American Kickboxing Academy – San Jose, CA

American Kickboxing Academy is a great gym with great competitive fighters.  I imagine sparring and training would be great here.  The best way to judge a gym is by the success of their fighters and AKA has had some great success, but does not have THE guy yet.  They do have the welterweight trio of Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick, heavyweights Cain Velasquez, Paul Buentello, and Daniel Puder.  Bobby Southworth and Trevor Prangley certainly add to the talent pool at AKA.  They also have guys like Cung Le, Josh Thomson and Anthony Johnson regularly training there.  I have to believe that AKA has top notch striking, but sub-par grappling training, which accounts for the lower ranking.

9. Wolfslair MMA Academy – London, England
This is a gym on the rise. The gym has gotten great exposure due to the fact that Michael Bisping coached the Ultimate Fighter season 9 and that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will coach season 10. When Cheick Kongo and Rampage Jackson amoved to train at Wolfslair it really put this gym on the map. Certainly, some of the best talent in the U.K. was already there, but Kongo and Jackson gave real street cred to the Wolfslair. It is possible that by year end Bisping, Kongo and Rampage could hold UFC belts or at least get title shots. That is why Wolflair appears on this list so high.

10. Cesar Gracie – Stockton, CA
Cesar Gracie’s MMA gym is not the most well rounded, but they have a few key names which cause them to be on this list. Also, Cesar Gracie is a jiu jitsu legend and his disciples are really slick on the ground. Jake Shields is a consensus top 5 welterweight and is coming off of a huge win over Robbie Lawler. Nick Diaz has been impressive in Striekforce with wins over Frank Shamrock and Scott Smith. Gilbert Melendez is the interim Strikeforce champ, and Nate Diaz has impressed in the UFC. Their downfall is in the striking department, but their fighters seem to do okay.

Otehr notable gyms: Gracie Tampa, Team Punishment, Team Rough House, The Pit, Team Wand, Striking Unlimited, and Minnesota Martial Arts and Nova Uniao.



The evolution of the mixed martial arts “super camp” has been widely recognized for the past few years as the sport has grown. From Pat Miletich’s legendary team to American Top Team to Greg Jackson’s team, the super camps of MMA produce some of the best fighters in the sport.

A new contender to enter the fray as a top super camp is Arizona Combat Sports, led by brothers Trevor and Todd Lally, and they will look for a clean sweep on Wednesday night as three of their top athletes compete at UFC Fight Night 18 in Nashville, Tenn.

Leading the way in the main event is Carlos Condit, who is actually a newcomer to Arizona Combat Sports, switching to the team last December. According to lead trainer Trevor Lally, Condit has all the makings of being a champion once again, in the UFC.

“He’s ready to bang, he’s ready to wrestle, his jiu-jitsu’s getting a lot better, and just what that guy brings to the table, you cannot break him,” said Lally.

The talent that Condit possesses got him to the pinnacle in the WEC where he reigned as welterweight champion, but now he has a whole new list of challenges ahead in the UFC. Lally believes that if Condit translates what he brings to the training room into the Octagon, he’ll do just fine.

“It’s his physical toughness,” he named as one of Condit’s best qualities. “We have one of our toughest guys banging with him every other night, his name’s Steve Steinbeiss, that guy he breaks the will of every guy we’ve ever had in here. I mean everybody, until you’re talking about Carlos, who if Steve pushes him back an inch, that guy literally bites down on his mouthpiece and takes it upon himself to push Steve back. I’ve never seen it done too much before.”

While Condit focuses his attention on Martin Kampmann, teammate Ryan Bader will look to make his first appearance in the UFC since winning the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter a successful one, as he faces Carmelo Marrero in a light heavyweight contest.

“People haven’t even seen Ryan Bader yet,” Lally said about the former Arizona State wrestler. “You give this kid a year, his athleticism is so unknown to most of the MMA fans and fighters, that if he gets it together – doesn’t reach as much, moves his feet a little bit more – he is so damn fast and so damn strong for his size and weight class.

“His athleticism is a step above most of the fighters at the top five at 205.”

Another asset that Arizona Combat Sports has in its arsenal is former All-American wrestler and Arizona State assistant coach Aaron Simpson, who will make his UFC debut on the same night as his teammates when he faces former training partner Tim McKenzie.

Simpson has long been credited for helping former students Ryan Bader and C.B. Dollaway reach their potential in collegiate wrestling, and Lally says that ability has led him to being a big help at the gym now as well.

“I would say the biggest thing Aaron brings to the table is just his cool headedness. Aaron’s a great motivator, you cannot not like the guy,” Lally said.

With a slew of All-American wrestlers, top-notch strikers, and teammates like WEC champion Jamie Varner, as well as top middleweight contender Thales Leites, in the gym, it’s no wonder that every piece of the puzzle is important at Arizona Combat Sports.

“Everybody we have here adds to somebody else’s game,” Lally commented about his team.

Trevor and Todd Lally will look to go 3-0 at UFC Fight Night on Wednesday as Carlos Condit faces Martin Kampmann, Ryan Bader takes on Carmelo Marrero and Aaron Simpson squares off with Tim McKenzie.

Jose Aldo (Nova Uniao Black Belt)

Nova Uniao Black Belt and the new WEC Featherweight Champion of the World, Jose Aldo, has not forgotten where he came from. Aldo has gone from being a struggling Jiu-Jitsu student living inside his gym, to now an MMA champion revered around the world. Remembering his humble beginnings he now strives to give back to the very community that helped him reach his full potential.

Aldo will be auctioning off several autographed items on eBay from the night he defeated Mike Brown for the Belt, including:

• Autographed Official WEC 44 Jose Aldo’s fight banner (4′x6′ Banner)
• 2 Autographed Corner men Dethroned Hats signed by Champion

ALL the proceeds will be donated to the Nova Uniao Community Program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Non-profit program is focused on teaching Jiu-Jitsu to underprivileged youths. By getting them off the streets and into an environment where they can learn discipline and build confidence for their future. Organized by Nova Uniao Co-Founder, Andre Pederneiras, the program is currently operated in two locations: “Morro Azul” with classes taught by Black Belt, Fabiano “Babu” Freitas, and “Morro Santo Amaro” with classes taught by Sengoku fighter and Black Belt, Marlon Sandro.

You can also take part in helping by purchasing Nova Uniao merchandise. 10% of each purchase will be donated to the Nova Uniao Community Program. To see the full line of Nova Uniao products, go to http://www.novauniao.com/gear

Marcelo, Gustavo, Aldo, Andre and Rizzo

The long-awaited World Extreme Cagefighting® lightweight title unification bout between reigning champion Jamie Varner and interim champion Ben Henderson will take place on Sunday, Jan. 10 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif.

If an explosive championship clash wasn’t enough, former featherweight champion Urijah Faber makes his return in his hometown of Sacramento to face top-ranked contender Raphael Assuncao.

Pictures from sherdog.com

The Ultimate Warrior Challenge (UWC) took place in Fairfaix, Virginia on October 3rd, where AZCS’ fighters went 2-0. Jacob McClintock defeated Beau Baker at 3:30 of the first round. McClintock’s stand-up looked clean and precise as he finessed the TKO out of Baker. Pat Runez won the UWC Flyweight title after he defeated John Dodson in a 5 round battle. The Championship Bout started out looking very strong, with Dodson…

seeming to be landing more strikes, even as Runez pushed forward. Dodson almost finished the fight in the second round after knocking Runez down and hurting him, but the third round would be the beginning of Runez’s comeback. Dodson attempted to capitalize on his success in the previous round, but Runez kept being the aggressor. The fourth and fifth rounds were where Runez won the fight as he began to control more of the exchanges and pushed the pace against the tiring Dodson. The scorecards came in at 49-46, 48-47 and 49-46, split in favor of Runez.

Jacob McClintock (6-0) has Finished all his fights in the 1st round

Pat throwing the knee

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-8 Bader
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Bader
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Bader

Round 2

Bader is caught with a finger in the eye. Referee Josh Rosenthal gives Bader a short reprieve and the fight is back on. Schafer looks confident as he slugs Bader with a right hook. Bader’s pace has slowed after the draining first stanza. Bader is loading up on his right hand and he’s falling short. Schafer stays calm and connects with a jab and a short right. Bader lands a grazing-straight right to the ribs. Bader winds up with his right hand is hit by two clean counter rights. Bader lands a left hook and Schafer taunts him with a smile. Schafer gets sloppy and is hit with two right-hand leads. A minute remains in the round. Bader lands a right hand after two uninspiring jabs. Schafer stuffs a takedown and blasts Bader with a right hand. Schafer stops another shot and works a guillotine as the round closes.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Schafer
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Schafer
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Schafer

Round 3
Schafer starts the round with a lazy jab and pays for it, as Bader connects with a right-handed haymaker. Schafer stumbles around the cage like a newborn deer taking its first steps before crashing to the canvas. Bader swarms with punches and elbows, but much like the first round, Schafer survives and stops Bader in his tracks with a solid guard. The fighters clash heads in the guard and Schafer is cut. The laceration is cleaned by a doctor and action resumes. Schafer finds a rhythm on the feet and pieces together a few clean right hands. Bader steps forward and snaps Schafer’s head back with a jab. Bader drops levels for a double-leg takedown, and he scores. Schafer attempts to defend the shot with a guillotine, but Bader easily passes to side control. Bader controls the final minute before giving up guard and an omaplata try at the bell.

Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Bader (29-27 Bader)
Brian Knapp scores the round 10-9 Bader (29-28 Bader)
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Bader (29-28 Bader)

Ryan Bader takes the unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-26.

“One of the next big things in MMA is going to be the growth and development of the flyweight division in the United States. The reality is there is enormous talent out there and we believe we’ve found some of the best and hungriest to prove themselves. The UWC is excited to be on the front lines of the flyweight effort,” said UWC founder and CEO S. Marcello Foran. “With Dodson and Runez, we have two top competitors in the division who have nearly identical styles and both come from two of the best camps in all of professional MMA. We can’t think of a better way to offer top shelf flyweight action to MMA fans than to make this fight the co-main event of the evening. This match up has all the makings to be one of the best flyweight fights in MMA history.”

John “The Magician” Dodson (12-4) hails from the elite Team Greg Jackson out of Albuquerque, New Mexico and is a two-time UWC veteran and Tap Out show star. Dodson has significant, international flyweight experience and has fought many tough opponents. Dodson trains with UFC Weltweweight Champion Georges St. Pierre, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, Nate Marquardt, PRIDE and Strikeforce veteran Joey Villasenor and WEC fighters Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Damacio Page.

“I know Pat’s a strong wrestler, and since he trains at AZ Combat, he’s got solid boxing skills too. I see him trying to take me down, but in 18 fights I’ve never been taken down once and I don’t see it happening on October 3 either,” said Dodson. “I’m going to bring a stand up war and we’re going to bang. This is one performance the UWC fans do not want to miss. I will be the first UWC Flyweight Champion.”

Pat Runez (6-0) fights out of Arizona Combat Sports in Tempe, Arizona. Runez is a two-time Palace Fighting Championships veteran and holds significant wins over Anthony Peralis and Luis Gonzalez. Runez is viewed as a blue chip flyweight prospect and trains alongside UFC fighter and winner of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” season 9’s Ryan Bader as well as UFC fighters Matt Riddle, Aaron Simpson, C.B. Dolloway, former WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit and WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner. Runez holds a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“John’s been on my radar as a guy to fight in the future. So when this opportunity to fight him in the UWC, which has great reputation as a strong, professional organization and is one of the best at marketing its fight, I was very excited for the opportunity,” explained Runez who watched Dodson’s epic fight against Villarisco. “I’ve seen John at a few grappling tournaments; he’s a powerful guy and super fast. We match up very well with similar styles and both have strong grappling backgrounds. Since he’s had more exposure than me at this point and has faced some higher-caliber opponents, he’s probably the crowd favorite. I know that I have to come in and win each rounds decisively, I am going to show the fans my dominance and give it everything I have.”

“What makes this fight so intriguing is that Dodson and Runez have nearly identical styles. Both are excellent offensive wrestlers with a penchant for boxing. They are also both first-rate athletes who come from two of the best and most-proven fight camps in the world,” said Foran. “This fight is so close it’s impossible to predict a winner, which makes it the most qualified bout to inaugurate the UWC flyweight division.”

John “The Magician” Dodson vs. Pat Runez will be contested for a maximum of five rounds each to be five minutes in duration.

UWC 7: REDEMPTION features current UWC Bantamweight Champion Mike “The Hulk” Easton (8-1) and Former WEC World Champ Chase “The Rage” Beebe (12-4) as the main event. Beebe and Easton were scheduled to battle last February at UWC Man “O” War only to have the fight cancelled at the last-minute when Beebe pulled out with a training injury days before the event. This will be Easton’s 2nd UWC Title defense.

UWC fans can expect even more exciting news in the days to come with announcements of the co-feature and final fight card for the upcoming Oct 3rd REDEMPTION show to be held at the George Mason Patriot Center Arena. UWC: REDEMPTION will feature first-class event production and a crowd-pleasing environment as the fast-growing UWC continues to provide the highest level of competition seen on the East Coast.

And, in what has become a popular tradition at UWC shows, fans can expect to see an appearance from nationally-prominent MMA superstars as well as celebrities and athletes from D.C.’s professional sport world. Special guests have included Quinton Jackson, Urijah Faber, Matt Hughes, Robbie Lawler, Tito Ortiz, Shogun, Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone, Hermes Franca, Brandon Vera, Andrei Arlovski, Washington Redskins’ all-pro tight end Chris Cooley, Washington Capitals standouts Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green, Nicklas Backstrom, and many others.

Doors will open at 6:00 pm with the first bout scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm. Tickets are on sale now and are available for purchase at all Ticketmaster outlets and Ticketmaster.com. A limited number of Ultimate VIP (UVIP) and VIP packages will be available, which include cageside seating, UVIP fight night pre-party, UVIP event lanyard, special guest fighter meet-and-greets, UVIP suite access, full food and beverage service and more. Fore more information or to purchase UVIP and VIP packages visit the official UWC website www.uwcmma.com.

TEMPE, Ariz. — The rise to power of Arizona Combat Sports as one of the top mixed martial arts gyms in the country was slow and steady. This was no overnight emergence.

ACS was started by two twin brothers who had no plans to run a martial arts school as their full-time profession. Todd and Trevor Lally just wanted a place to train after they relocated from Washington’s rain-drenched climate to Arizona’s barren desert.

Like many teenagers, the Lally brothers sought outlets through which to release their testosterone-fueled aggression. After team sports like rugby left them unfulfilled, they turned to martial arts. In 1991, after checking out several schools advertising “the fast track to becoming a certified black belt or your money back,” the brothers took a trip to the American Martial Arts Center, a local gym in Kirkland, Wash. Unbeknownst to the Lally brothers, they had stepped into what would later become AMC Kickboxing & Pankration, one of the sport’s top academies, now run by Matt Hume. Josh Barnett, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai and Rich Franklin have all called it home at one time or another.

“I was 17 years old, and I walked in the door and I saw Maurice Smith sparring someone, U.S. muay Thai champion Curtis Schuster [and] boxer Kim Messer,” Trevor said. “Legendary muay Thai instructor Haru Shimanishi came up to us and said to me and my brother, ‘You guys have the body of a Porsche, but you don’t know how to drive it. I will show you how to drive that car.’ As an angry 17-year-old kid, that’s what I wanted to hear.”

The Birth of ACS

Mainly testing themselves in kickboxing and Pankration tournaments prior to their involvement in MMA, the Lally brothers received their big break when they were asked to live and train at the Super Tiger gym in Japan while they competed inside the Shooto organization.

Following their stint overseas, the twins returned home to Washington. They would soon separate for one of the few times in their lives when Todd took an offer to train at John Lewis’ martial arts school in Las Vegas. Trevor remained in the Seattle suburbs until he was offered the chance to leave the comforts of home in favor of Arizona.

“I came down here with Danny Bennett, a muay Thai world champion, and looked in on a couple of the gyms down here and realized they didn’t know what they were doing,” Trevor said. “I was fresh off [the] Abu Dhabi [Submission Wrestling World Championships], and Danny was fresh off his Super Brawl win over Jay R. Palmer and a lot of gyms didn’t want us there. We would offer to teach class for free if they would let us work out there, and all the gyms said no.”

The solution was simple. Trevor, by then a 10-year veteran of martial arts, decided if he could not train anywhere, he would create his own opportunities.

“So we started our own gym,” Trevor said. “Todd came up with the name Arizona Combat Sports, and we buried it in downtown Tempe off by the train tracks. It was a 1,500-square-foot shack. After a year and half, it became 2,500 square feet, but Danny had to go back home to be with his family.”

Once they added Gustavo Dantas, an Andre Pederneiras black belt, as the school’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach, the core team that would carry ACS was in place.

‘We Beat the Punk Out of You’

The professional fight team started out small, with Ray and Steve Steinbeiss forming the foundation. In 2006, Arizona Combat Sports received its first taste of national attention when then 21-year-old Jesse Forbes was chosen for Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series. Two months later, another ACS mainstay, Jamie Varner, accepted the call and made his UFC debut against Hermes Franca.

The Lally brothers love to hang their hats on the fact that homegrown talent litters the ACS roster. Young up-and-coming fighters like Jacob McClintock and Ultimate Warrior Challenge flyweight champion Pat Runez are on track to become the next ACS athletes to make splashes on the big stage.

Arizona Combat Sports has also quickly gained a reputation of turning collegiate wrestlers into balanced mixed martial artists. Located within in a stone’s throw of the Arizona State University main campus, the opportunity to cross pollinate with a Pac-10 power has become one of the gym’s hallmarks. All-American wrestlers Ryan Bader, CB Dollaway and Aaron Simpson have all honed their MMA skills inside ACS.

“Jesse Forbes would go in there to help them wrestle, and they liked what he had,” Trevor said. “They came over here to check us out, and it’s been money ever since. Honestly, I credit Jesse Forbes with all the ASU guys.”