Pro Source MMA News

By Terry Goodlad

• Killer Kimmy (04/03)
  
  As if running the day-to-day business at Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts in Las Vegas and trying to keep up with her husband Randy Couture’s zany schedule weren’t enough, Kim Couture wants to be a fighter. Check that, she is a fighter. On February 23rd she fought in an exhibition Muay Thai smoker and while her skills were fairly evenly matched with her opponent, she showed more toughness in her ability to take punches and kicks than give them.
  
  That out of the way, she has taken the leap from a fight with head gear, shin gaurds and 16oz gloves lasting only 2 minutes for each of the 3 rounds, to a full-blown MMA fight with 3 rounds of five minutes each. No head or shin gear this time and she only has 4ounces of glove padding and her training to protect her. Couture will face fellow novice MMA fighter Jessica Cruz in Portland, Oregon on April 5th in an event promoted by Full Contact Fight Night, It will be televised on HDNET.
  
  While this fight will be a huge step up from the smoker she did a few weeks ago, Couture says she is ready. "I learned I needed to work on my defense and footwork and now it will be a strength."
  
  Couture admits she was not as mentally prepared as she should have been that first fight but vows it won’t happen again. "I was too relaxed, I didn’t wake up until the 3rd time I got hit. I was told my opponent was smaller than me and when she got in the ring she was a lot bigger than I thought. I was thinking there is nothing little about this girl. I will never go into another fight assuming anything. Be prepared for anything and if it’s less, then I would rather be pleasantly surprised."
  
  Couture is more than prepared for anything as she has been training with some of the best striking, JuiJitsu, grappling, and MMA coaches in the business including world champion Robert Drysdale, Quinon Chong, Shawn Tompkins, Chris Ben, and her takedown coach, Randy Couture himself.
  
  Couture is spending more time training now and less time being coached and has improved remarkably in the 5 weeks since her Muay Thai smoker. Her ground game is strong and her striking is precise and powerful so she will present a much better and more experienced overall fighter package when she faces Cruz this week.

• Rampage and Jay White Just Do It (04/03)
  
  Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Xtreme Couture’s Jay White just spent a few days in Los Angeles filming a commercial for Nike titled "Human Chain" and while the details of the commercial have not been released, White says it’s a really cool concept.
  
  Rampage is very well known, of course, being the UFC Light heavyweight champion, but White has not spent as much time in the limelight. White has a strong reputation in the MMA community for being very big, very strong, and having uncanny speed and mobility combined with skill. Randy Couture brought him to Las Vegas to help him prepare for his return to the UFC in 2007 and White has been invited to the training camps of other top named fighters including Cheick Kongo to improve their ground game and overall ability as MMA fighters.
  
  White, who trains and fights out of Extreme Couture MMA in Las Vegas, was chosen for the Nike commercial for his physique and overall appearance.

• Tim Sylvia Leaves UFC (04/03)
  
  Last Friday evening during an interview on HDNet’s "Inside MMA," former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia announced that he and the UFC are going their separate ways and he has joined with Adrenaline MMA, a new fight promotion company led by Sylvia’s manager Monte Cox.
  
  While Sylvia’s contract with UFC was supposed to expire in July 2008 and he was obligated to one more fight on that contract, UFC has willingly released him.
  
  Adrenaline MMA is a new fight promotion company that will allow its fighters to fight for other organizations so there will be less limitations on the number of bouts a fighter can fight in. That was particularly appealing to Sylvia, "I’ve got three to four years left and want to fight as much as possible so this is the perfect choice for me at this time."
  
  Formerly M-1 Global, Adrenaline MMA will debut on June 14th in Chicago, ILL with Cox as President and CEO and Bob Clark (COO) and Brian Patton (VP), all former M-1 execs, will join Cox as the administrative team.
  
  Sylvia is optimistic about his prospects with Adrenaline MMA and the opportunities this new freedom should provide, "Japan’s starting to get some big shows going again and the Affliction show is going to be happening, so I’m looking to fight in all of them, be real active, fight five or six times a year." Sylvia also expressed his desire to take on the legendary Fedor Emilianenko. "There is a guy out there named Fedor who I’d like to fight and I think the only way that’s going to happen is by me leaving the UFC."
  
  Adrenaline MMA signed Sylvia as well as IFL superstar and Sylvia’s Miletich Fighting Systems teammate, Ben Rothwell, to a multi-fight deal.