This months’ Gracie Mag Issue features an article about the 2009 AZ BJJ State Championsh and, the growth of Jiu-Jitsu in Arizona. Also, Gracie Mag mentioned GD’s win in Japan. To get your issue, please visit Gracie Mag Website

Two AZ Combat Sports fighters were featured in this month’s edition of Extreme Fighter Magazine. Jacob McClintock (Gustavo’s Brown Belt), and Elena Reid are both undefeated in MMA Competitions. Jacob’s record is 5-0, and Elena is 3-0.

MANY WEAPONS sits down with Founder of GD Jiu-jitsu and head Jiu-jitsu instructor at Arizona Combat Sports. Gustavo Dantas is a 3rd degree black belt from Andre Pederneiras (founder of Team Nova União). Gustavo has been producing world-class competitors since October 2000 in Tempe, Arizona.

The state passed a law to allow unified and less restrictive fighting rules at MMA events in hopes of attracting organizations such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship to hold economy-boosting shows here. In October and November, local organizations EVO MMA and Rage in the Cage each put on events that allowed the new fight rules. And Arizona-based fighters C.B. Dollaway, Efrain Escudero and Ryan Bader made national names for themselves in UFC’s reality show, The Ultimate Fighter.
For Arizona, MMA has arrived.

The most powerful man in all of MMA, UFC President Dana White, gave The Republic an exclusive phone interview a few days before UFC 92 – the organization’s year-end show that features three of the biggest matchups of the year, including a light heavyweight title bout – Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Question: Let’s talk about MMA and Arizona. C.B. Dollaway (former Arizona State wrestling standout who trains out of Arizona Combat Sports in Tempe) is fighting in the UFC 92 card. And with (Yuma native) Efrain Escudero and Ryan Bader (ASU, Arizona Combat Sports) winning The Ultimate Fighter, what do you think about Arizona’s MMA talent?

Answer: “I really believe in C.B. Dollaway. . . . He’s got a lot of potential to be a great fighter. The Lally brothers (trainers Todd and Trevor Lally of Arizona Combat Sports) have a camp down there and are pumping out a lot of good talent. The Southwest has always been a hotbed for MMA, and that includes Arizona. There’s been a lot of talent that has come out of there, and there will continue to be. It’s not bad that they’ve got ASU wrestling down there.”

Q: A program the school almost got rid of.

A: “Yeah, that would’ve sucked.”

Q: So where does Arizona stand in the MMA world? And will UFC hold an event here?

A: “Arizona is one of the top states. As this sport grows, there are camps opening all over the country. We’re all over now. We (the UFC) went to (expletive) Dublin, Ireland, this year. And we sold out in four days. The sport is growing all over the world. Arizona is no different. We’ll probably end up doing a Fight Night in Arizona soon. I’m hoping 2009.”

Q: What do you look for when you go into a market? This year, you’ve gone to Minneapolis and Atlanta for the first time and drew big gates.

A: “When we go into a market, we pull ratings we get on Spike TV and pay-per-view buys in the area. We see what the demo (demographic) is down there. That’s what we gauge and then decide where we want to go.”

Q: Where does Arizona rank there?

A: “It looks good. We’ll have a Fight Night there.”

Q: How was 2008 for the UFC?

A: “2008 was a kick-(expletive) year for us. We couldn’t be happier. We exceeded all of our goals. It was the year my partner Lorenzo Fertitta (a Las Vegas casino magnate who purchased the UFC in 2001 and spent millions to help push the organization into the mainstream) came back to be with us full time. And what we will accomplish in the last (eight) years is nothing compared to what we will accomplish the next nine years. We have big plans and big goals. It’s not like we’re guys saying, ‘Look at what we’ve done’ and pat ourselves on the back. We’re going to put our heads down and drive forward. Remember this conversation and remember that I told you this: In 10 years, we’re going to be the biggest sport in the world. Bigger than soccer. Bigger than football. Dancing. I don’t care what it is . . . badminton. We’re going to be the biggest sport in the world.”

Mixed Martial Arts Videos on Purefight

Mixed Martial Arts Videos on Purefight

“The Doberman” is the favorite in this season’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” and with good reason. The former All-America wrestler at Arizona State already has a perfect 6-0 record.

Site News: “TUF” cast member C.B. Dollaway joins MMAjunkie.com by MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] on Apr 03, 2008 at 9:57 am in – Site News – MMAjunkie.com is pleased to announce that C.B. “Doberman” Dollaway, an undefeated MMA middleweight and one of the most experienced fighters chosen for the current season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has joined the site as a columnist to recap each episode of the reality series.

Dollaway (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a former All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, will pen a weekly column for  MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) to discuss what it was like behind the scenes of each episode. His first column debuts later today.

“The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest” is the latest installment of the UFC’s groundbreaking reality series and features UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin as coaches. Rather than the usual 16 cast members, producers chose 32 for this season. However, in order to make it into “The Ultimate Fighter” house and earn a spot on the cast, fighters had to first win a fight. Half of those preliminary fights, including Dollaway’s, aired during Wednesday’s debut.

“The format for this season was great,” said Dollaway. “They really brought some amazing competition, and I think this season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ will be one of the best so far. The fights this season will separate this season from the others. I saw some amazing bouts during the filming.” In addition to MMAjunkie.com’s usual weekly recaps, Dollaway will write his own column in which he talks about the stuff that doesn’t make it to air.

“I want to thank MMAjunkie.com — I am an MMA junkie — and Yahoo! Sports for allowing me a forum to share a lot of the behind-the-scenes footage that doesn’t make it to air,” Dollaway said. “I will break down the fights, tell you what we saw leading into each one, and how everyone reacted post-fight. I will talk about nicknames — and even how one name got painted on the ceiling of the house.”

Dollaway, who was born in Michigan and now resides in Arizona, is a former Ohio high school state champion, a junior college national champion, a two-time NCAA qualifier, and a 2005 collegiate All-American while at ASU. His transition into MMA has been a smooth one. With a wrestling and Muay Thai background, he’s posted five stoppages — four by way of knockout. During a 14-month career, the Arizona Combat Sports team member has faced solid competition in some of the sport’s top organizations. Victories over Hans Marrero (11-5), Joe Bunch (7-1) and George Hartman (3-2) have come in fight promotions such as HDNet Fights, the IFO, and Rage in the Cage. Dollaway made his MMA debut at a November 2006 Cage Fighting Federation show and earned a 17-second victory with a knockout via slam. Nearly 100,000 people have watched the knockout on YouTube.

During Wednesday’s debut of “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest,” Dollaway earned a quick, firstround TKO of David Baggett (4-2). The performance was lauded by UFC president Dana White and both coaches. Dollaway has already emerged as an early favorite to go far in the competition, but he says the show was full of top prospects. “Spike TV and the UFC treated all of us fighters great, and that made us really want to win the show,” Dollaway said. “Fans will definitely not question the abilities of the fighters. There will be several stars from this season. Some of the performances of my castmates made me a fan of theirs right away. Expect a hundred times the action as any previous season.

“Tune into my weekly blog and let the Doberman take you on a ‘TUF 7′ journey.” In addition to Dollaway,  MMA junkie.com will reveal a second “TUF” cast member/columnist next week after his first fight on the show airs. The two cast members are on separate teams and will write about their respective squads.

But if the former Arizona State University wrestling coach continues to put on performances like his 18-second knockout win at “WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown,” you soon will.

“There are wrestlers out there that aren’t necessarily the better athletes, and I think you have to be an athlete in this sport to be well-rounded,” Simpson said. “If you just come straight forward, you get knocked out or submitted doing that.”

This story, written by John Morgan, was produced by TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com) specially for MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). The show — which is hosted by fighter/broadcaster Frank Trigg, Gorgeous George and ace producer Goze — books some of the biggest names in MMA. Download all the former episodes at www.taggradio.com, or tune into TAGG Radio’s live shows Monday-Friday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT.