Down The Pub - News and Notes from the UK
Pedro Wrobel Jan 24, 2005
Welcome back, one and all, to the smoky confines of The Pub. Cast
your eyes around at the smoke-stained wallpaper, the toothless
bully by the bar, the wobbling fat guys playing darts and the
obligatory tart, orange with fake tan, who flashes you a
gap-toothed smile. No, my friends, this isn’t paradise, this is the
social hub of Everywhere, the center of British life. And, best of
all, it’s full of nosey gossips who are willing to tell you
whatever you want to hear, as long as you buy them a carbonated
beverage.
“But who cares about what some lying drunk has to say?” I hear you exclaim.
Ah, but these are no ordinary drunks. These are, one and all, The
Bloke Down the Pub. Better than any grapevine, this amorphous
entity knows what’s going down. This may explain why some of
Sherdog’s goons turfed me out of my warm bed and encouraged me,
with sweet words, into the Pub’s smoky embrace.
Mine’s a pint …
British Sky TV channel Bravo has confirmed that it will be airing UFC 51 in the UK with only a 24-hour delay, which means that British fans will not quite have drowned in their own drool by the time the big fights appear on the little screen, from 9 p.m. to midnight on Sunday, February 6.
This does not appear to be a one-off phenomenon. The rumor, currently unconfirmed, is that Bravo has also signed a deal to show UFC 52 and that, as part of that deal, they have also secured the rights to 11 hours of further UFC programming. This includes UFC 48-50, Ultimate Knockouts, Ultimate Submissions and Ultimate Ken Shamrock.
Bravo has shown old UFC programming in the past, and this has reportedly pulled in excellent viewing figures. It is on the strength of this past performance that this deal was struck. So tell all your friends, the more people who watch UFC 51, the more likely Bravo is to keep showing us the fights.
More details will be available on www.bravo.co.uk at the beginning of February.
Wanderlei Silva Seminar
“Roll up, roll up, have I got a bargain for you! Some bald bloke from Brazil, with a tattoo on ‘is ‘ead, cheap as houses!”
So spoke Alex de Souza, BJJ brown belt and local wheeler-dealer, as I passed by his market stall last week.
It seems that since the "Axe Murderer" will be in London for Cage Rage 10 anyway, he has agreed to conduct a seminar before the event kicks off. The seminar is planned for the exactly the same day, at exactly the same venue as Cage Rage. For those of you who have over-indulged, this means February 26 at the Wembley Conference Centre. The seminar will take place between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., finishing just 15 minutes before the event itself is due to start.
Costs will be £50 per person, but there will be a small discount if people purchase Cage Rage tickets and seminars tickets through the Seminar organizer Alex De Souza.
To enquire about a seminar place, contact Alex De Souza at [email protected].
Jean Silva Joining Chute Boxe?
Smiling, lightweight fighter, Cage Rage champion, seeks caring team for kicks and giggles. Must be clean. Able to travel. Fan of flipping out and totally ripping people’s heads off. Please contact J. Silva.
I was clearly not the only one to have spotted the above advert in my morning browse of the personals columns. Clearly someone at Chute Boxe was feeling lonely and decided to invite Jean Silva to join his 74 namesakes at Chute Boxe.
The Bloke hasn’t heard anything from Jean himself, but it seems like the UK’s favorite Brazilian is preparing in the best possible manner for his upcoming rumpus with Chris Brennan. And a good thing too, since I’ve bet a crisp 10 pounds on him winning …
French Fries?
I was in France last week, smuggling cheap wine and cigarettes into the UK, when I had a very heartening experience. I walked into a building with “Le Pub” written on it and, lo and behold, the sight that greeted my eyes was every bit as beautiful as that in all the English drinking establishments. Except that everyone seemed to be wearing a string of onions around their necks. I still don’t understand that bit. Either way, the French blokes have gossip as well. Let’s take a look:
- Small but feisty middleweight Damien Riccio, famous for his run-ins with the Gracie clan, wants to punch some Russians. In particular, he wants to punch Andrei Semenov. Having stopped Matt Ewin in his last outing in the cage, and given that Ewin has gone the distance with the aforementioned Russian, Riccio figured that he’s probably in with a good chance against Semenov. It may not be logic as you or I know it, but Riccio is always entertaining in the cage. The Frenchman is coming back from an injury and should be back in action in a couple of months. Will he get his fight? Let’s wait and see.
- Moise Rimbon, a veteran of 2H2H, and the man who tapped Mark Epstein in the first round of their battle last year, is looking for fights. Since leaving BTT France he's had some trouble finding MMA fights and has been fighting kickboxing bouts. He has had meetings with Jerome le Banner and the manager of the French Top Team about getting fights.
- Rumor has it that Emmanuel Fernandez is in the mood to once again put his undefeated MMA record on the line against none other than UFC veteran Ivan Menjivar. This fight has yet to be confirmed, and I may have imagined it during some sort of strange wet dream, but I could swear that some guy down the pub told me about it so it must be true. Watch this space.
- Mohamed Khacha will be defending his UKMMAC welterweight title in March. His opponent is Mark Harrison and other members of the Bushido Academie will join Khacha.
Open Mats and Tsunami Appeals
I wanted to take a moment to thank all of those involved in the UK MMA scene that have taken the time to hold or attend charity events for the tsunami crisis in South East Asia. The response from what is still a small scene has been overwhelming, with events held across the country.
I personally attended the open mat hosted by Symon Jenner in Winchester and found it to be very friendly and very worthwhile, raising £170 for the appeal. Well done to all concerned.
“But who cares about what some lying drunk has to say?” I hear you exclaim.
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Mine’s a pint …
UFC on Bravo
British Sky TV channel Bravo has confirmed that it will be airing UFC 51 in the UK with only a 24-hour delay, which means that British fans will not quite have drowned in their own drool by the time the big fights appear on the little screen, from 9 p.m. to midnight on Sunday, February 6.
This does not appear to be a one-off phenomenon. The rumor, currently unconfirmed, is that Bravo has also signed a deal to show UFC 52 and that, as part of that deal, they have also secured the rights to 11 hours of further UFC programming. This includes UFC 48-50, Ultimate Knockouts, Ultimate Submissions and Ultimate Ken Shamrock.
Bravo has shown old UFC programming in the past, and this has reportedly pulled in excellent viewing figures. It is on the strength of this past performance that this deal was struck. So tell all your friends, the more people who watch UFC 51, the more likely Bravo is to keep showing us the fights.
More details will be available on www.bravo.co.uk at the beginning of February.
Wanderlei Silva Seminar
“Roll up, roll up, have I got a bargain for you! Some bald bloke from Brazil, with a tattoo on ‘is ‘ead, cheap as houses!”
So spoke Alex de Souza, BJJ brown belt and local wheeler-dealer, as I passed by his market stall last week.
It seems that since the "Axe Murderer" will be in London for Cage Rage 10 anyway, he has agreed to conduct a seminar before the event kicks off. The seminar is planned for the exactly the same day, at exactly the same venue as Cage Rage. For those of you who have over-indulged, this means February 26 at the Wembley Conference Centre. The seminar will take place between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., finishing just 15 minutes before the event itself is due to start.
Costs will be £50 per person, but there will be a small discount if people purchase Cage Rage tickets and seminars tickets through the Seminar organizer Alex De Souza.
To enquire about a seminar place, contact Alex De Souza at [email protected].
Jean Silva Joining Chute Boxe?
Smiling, lightweight fighter, Cage Rage champion, seeks caring team for kicks and giggles. Must be clean. Able to travel. Fan of flipping out and totally ripping people’s heads off. Please contact J. Silva.
I was clearly not the only one to have spotted the above advert in my morning browse of the personals columns. Clearly someone at Chute Boxe was feeling lonely and decided to invite Jean Silva to join his 74 namesakes at Chute Boxe.
The Bloke hasn’t heard anything from Jean himself, but it seems like the UK’s favorite Brazilian is preparing in the best possible manner for his upcoming rumpus with Chris Brennan. And a good thing too, since I’ve bet a crisp 10 pounds on him winning …
French Fries?
I was in France last week, smuggling cheap wine and cigarettes into the UK, when I had a very heartening experience. I walked into a building with “Le Pub” written on it and, lo and behold, the sight that greeted my eyes was every bit as beautiful as that in all the English drinking establishments. Except that everyone seemed to be wearing a string of onions around their necks. I still don’t understand that bit. Either way, the French blokes have gossip as well. Let’s take a look:
- Small but feisty middleweight Damien Riccio, famous for his run-ins with the Gracie clan, wants to punch some Russians. In particular, he wants to punch Andrei Semenov. Having stopped Matt Ewin in his last outing in the cage, and given that Ewin has gone the distance with the aforementioned Russian, Riccio figured that he’s probably in with a good chance against Semenov. It may not be logic as you or I know it, but Riccio is always entertaining in the cage. The Frenchman is coming back from an injury and should be back in action in a couple of months. Will he get his fight? Let’s wait and see.
- Moise Rimbon, a veteran of 2H2H, and the man who tapped Mark Epstein in the first round of their battle last year, is looking for fights. Since leaving BTT France he's had some trouble finding MMA fights and has been fighting kickboxing bouts. He has had meetings with Jerome le Banner and the manager of the French Top Team about getting fights.
- Rumor has it that Emmanuel Fernandez is in the mood to once again put his undefeated MMA record on the line against none other than UFC veteran Ivan Menjivar. This fight has yet to be confirmed, and I may have imagined it during some sort of strange wet dream, but I could swear that some guy down the pub told me about it so it must be true. Watch this space.
- Mohamed Khacha will be defending his UKMMAC welterweight title in March. His opponent is Mark Harrison and other members of the Bushido Academie will join Khacha.
Open Mats and Tsunami Appeals
I wanted to take a moment to thank all of those involved in the UK MMA scene that have taken the time to hold or attend charity events for the tsunami crisis in South East Asia. The response from what is still a small scene has been overwhelming, with events held across the country.
I personally attended the open mat hosted by Symon Jenner in Winchester and found it to be very friendly and very worthwhile, raising £170 for the appeal. Well done to all concerned.
