Greg Jackson's Teamates Won't Fight Each Other

On paper, any of those match-ups might seem appealing. With UFC president Dana White’s opinions on teammates fighting teammates, any of them could be proposed at some point down the road.
One person who won’t be on board should those match-ups get made will be trainer Greg Jackson.
At a time when the teammate versus teammate debate rages on, Jackson put his foot down and said that his fighters make their own decisions, but if they choose to fight one another, he won’t be training them to beat each other.
“It’s up to the fighters at the end of the day. I will not be a part of it myself,” Jackson told MMAWeekly.com. “Like I’m not going to train one of my team to fight the other of my team. I wouldn’t even know how to do that, that’s so foreign to me that I couldn’t even do it.”
Jackson points out that he is simply the trainer for the fighters that are under his banner, but he doesn’t try to steer their careers. Ultimately, the choice remains theirs.
“I am not a manager. I’m not in charge of fighters’ careers. They have to make their own decisions. If they decide to do it, I’m not going to train them for it is basically the bottom line there,” Jackson stated.
What it comes down to for the New Mexico based coach is simply not being able to choose one fighter over another when it comes down to it. Jackson doesn’t want to be put in the middle, forced to train one of his fighters, knowing that it could be a detriment to somebody else he’s put work and time into.
For Jackson, while MMA is a job, it’s something he’s passionate about doing and just wouldn’t feel right choosing one fighter over another.
“I want to have a friendship with all of my guys and it’s more important than money. For me, I just do this for fun. It’s more important than careers or anything like that. Now that may not be true with them. I hope it is, but if it happens it happens,” said Jackson.
“It’s going to have to happen eventually, but I’m not going to be a part of it. I refuse to take part in any of that stuff. And the nice thing about not being very important in the world, is I’m sure it won’t be a big deal.”
Jackson does admit that there will always be a soft spot in his heart for the original members at his team, but even with them, he won’t pick and choose if any of them opt to face a teammate in the UFC or Strikeforce.
“My loyalty in all the team always goes to the first five guys,” Jackson commented. “Rashad (Evans), and Georges (St-Pierre), and Joey Villasenor, and Keith Jardine, and Nate Marquardt, those are the guys that really started to make the big move with me and my loyalty is always to them first, but I still couldn’t (do it). But they’re never going to fight, so I would just stay out of all of that stuff.”
For now, Team Jackson hasn’t been faced with much in the way of the teammate vs. teammate scenario, but with rising stars like Jon Jones and Carlos Condit looming around the same divisions as Rashad Evans and Georges St-Pierre, it may happen at some point in the future.
Either way, Greg Jackson will gladly take a step back and just watch.

United States Marine Corps Denies Marine Entry on The Ultimate Fighter Show

MMA valor has learned from a source that the United States Marine Corps has denied George “Loaded” Lockhart his leave request that would have allowed him to participate in season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter. Lockhart tried out for the reality television show, twice in the past (season 8, and 11) and made it each time until the Marine Corps denied his leave then also.
This news is very shocking and disappointing due to the fact that Lockhart is a Martial arts instructor for the Marine Corps. Lockhart even stared in a commercial that featured the marines that is shown during certain events on spike TV.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Marine Corps work very closely together and fans have even seen some Marines appear on past shows on The Ultimate Fighter. Dana White has been very public about his interactions with the United States Military and even been seen supporting Semper FI clothing. 
Spike TV and Ultimate Fighting Championship have even contacted Marine Corps directly and told them they wanted Lockhart on the show. Having him as part of the show would set a great example for people watching the show, but his request was still denied.
The Ultimate Fighter gathers males from the age range of 18-30 years old, roughly the same age group that the United States Military tries to recruit. 

Yushin Okami...DON'T COUNT HIM OUT!!! By Brian Michelino

  

      It’s been about 5 year since Yushin Okami has been looking to fight
for UFC gold. Yushin has quietly acquired a 10-2 record in the
ultimate fighting championship since he first came on to the scene by
winning fights by decision, with 12 of his 26 wins coming by decision.
None the less he is winning, when you look at Okami’s 5 losses you
will notice they mostly consist of top UFC fighters, fighters like
Chael Sonnen, Rich Franklin and Jake Shields all pop out. Okami has
fought top tier opponents as of late and is starting to get
comfortable in the spot light.
       Okami’s fight against Nate at UFC 122 proved this, Okami a
notoriously slow starter managed to come out strong. Okami out worked
Nate to grind a unanimous decision out even thought a lot of people
(including myself) wrote him off. It seems every time I bet against
Okami he always pulls off a victory, the truth of the matter is he’s a
very skilled fighter. Okami is Big for the weight class and is very
well rounded; his skill set matched it his superior size might give
anyone in the division trouble.
       Okami showed great Jiu Jitsu awareness in this fight verse Marquardt
(witch is what I thought would give him trouble) he got out of some
dangerous positions Marquardt put him in. Okami avoided three serious
submission holds that Nate had locked, two guillotines and a dangerous
looking heel hook. I don’t know if Okami has any chance against
current champ Anderson Silva but I can tell you one thing he defiantly
deserves the title shot now, no question.

Manny Pacquiao asks referee to stop Margarito fight

     Antonio Margarito is due to have surgery today providing the swelling on his face has gone down enough for the doctors to do the procedure. Margarito was brutally beaten about the face with such power, that he suffered a broken eye socket. This beating went on for 12 roungs by his opponent Manny Pacquiao in Saturday night’s fight.

      Manny Pacquiao did visit Margarito after the fight to apologize to him for hurting him so badly. Pacquiao went in to see Margarito in his locker room before Margarito was transported to a Dallas hospital.  Margarito did not do an after the fight interview, under the advice of his doctors. The doctors thought it would be best to get him to the hospital immediately.

     Pacquiao told ABS-CBN News that he told Margarito that he was sorry for his injuries and embraced him. He also thanked Margarito for the fight. Pacquiao went on to say he also apologized to Margarito’s wife and his camp.

     Pacquiao had asked the referee to stop the fight in the 11th round, telling the referee to “look at Margarito’s face.” Pacquiao did not want to do permanent damage to Margarito, which may be the case now.

     Margarito was a bloody mess, with both eyes swollen shut and his face looked like a slab of raw meat. Cries from the spectators to stop the fight fell on deaf ears and the fight continued. Margarito would not let his corner throw in the towel and he would not let the referee stop the fight.

     Connectictut residents watched from home like the rest of the nation on HBO PPV. Parties were held across the Nutmeg State to watch the fight that made history for Pacquiao who now holds eight weight division titles after this win.

Robert Drysdale Wins 2nd MMA Match by Brian Michelino

     Just In case any of you missed it. Robert Drysdale won his second MMA
fight by an armbar. He fought a tough Clay Davidson and although he
lost he showed some serious submission defense, however it wasn’t
enough against a world class BJJ competitor.
     Drysdale got to the ground fast and quickly transitioned to the
“S-mount” a position that is also taught at D’Arce Jiu Jitsu in Long
Island. From the “S-mount” Drysdale softened his opponent up with
strikes and finally secured the Armbar.
     Drysdale showed excellent balance from the mount and a
willingness to strike to gain position, these two thing are going to
help him evolve his BJJ game into a compete MMA game. Check out the
end of the Video you’ll notice Former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir
in his corner believe me that doesn’t hurt his chances of winning.
I’ll keep you updated about Drysdale Fight and success in MMA.

Old School Renzo Gracie Academy



Renzo Gracie Academy - 2002 Magno , Sean Willians, Ryan Gracie, Jay Yang, Joe D'Arce, Joe Capizzi, Harley, Nino Schembri, Fabio Leopoldo, Jamal Patterson

 Here is an old picture at The Renzo Gracie Academy in New York City.  Joe D'Arce of D'Arce Jiu Jitsu in Long Island is pictured in the center.
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D'Arce Martial Arts Training Etiquette by Brian Michelino

      Before I found D’Arce Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Long Island New York, I
remembered when I was looking for a BJJ school I was curious about the
etiquette of training, so I thought I’d let some of the potential
joiners of D’Arce BJJ know about how we run things here in Bay Shore.
       There are some things that should go without saying that should be
done in any MMA or BJJ school like making you are clean before
class, making sure you finger and toe nails are cut and not wearing shoes on
the mats. Things like training with ring worm is a big No-No in the
Jiu Jitsu community, you have to remember some of our member have kids
and you wouldn’t want to have them pass that on to them.
       It’s a good idea to stay away from moves like Neck Cranks and Heel
Hooks unless you make your partner aware you might be trying for them
before hand.
       Okay now that I made our school sound strict I’ll let you know some
of the things you could do at our school that might be frowned upon
among other gyms. First off don’t be afraid to ask a higher belt to
roll, I’ve heard in some school this is generally an unspoken rule but
in our school you can, I do it all the time! Also you can always ask
the instructor if you need help during the technique portion of the
class , you don’t have to just sit around and wait for him to come to
you, you ask him if you need help, after all they are here to make sure
you learn properly (also something I do all the time).
       Here at D’Arce Jiu Jitsu there is a friendly vibe and we
don’t get wound up about the little things, we are here to help you
reach your Martial Art’s goals, so if you guys have any more questions
please leave a comment in the comment section and we will answer it or
shoot us an email or call and will get right back to you! Hope this
answered some questions you guys might be having!