Alliance MMA Pro Team Head Coach, & Full-Time Firefighter/EMT, Eric DelFIerro trains world class MMA Athletes such as UFC Bantamwieght Champion Dominick Cruz, UFC Fighters Alexander Gustafsson, Phil Davis, Joey Beltran, Brandon Vera… the list just goes on and on.

Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens will be fighting Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone today at 8PM/5PM ET/PT on FUEL TV (UFC)
Check out the weigh-ins video:

Article by Oron Larocke Crawford

Chad “Grave digger” Griggs (11-2) will be making the move to the light heavyweight division after getting steamrolled by Travis Browne in his UFC debut last month. The Strikeforce Heavyweight veteran was on a six fight win streak at heavyweight until being stopped by Travis Browne at UFC 145 in Griggs’ UFC debut.

Greeting him for his 205 pound debut will be Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis (9-1). The decorated collegiate wrestling stand out saw his undefeated streak ended in his last fight by Rashad Evans at UFC on FOX 2. The bout between Griggs and Davis has been verbally agreed on to take place at UFC on FOX 4 set to take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on August 4th.

The following bouts are set for the UFC on FOX 4 card:
-Middleweight bout: Brian Stann vs. Hector Lombard
-Light Heavyweight bout: Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader
-Heavyweight bout: Travis Browne vs. Ben Rothwell
-Heavyweight bout: Phil De Fries vs. Oli Thompson
-Heavyweight bout: Matt Mitrione vs. Rob Broughton
-Lightweight bout: Joe Lauzon vs. Terry Etim

Watch as MMA Fighter AJ Matthews Trains with Matt Van Buren, Shannon Slack, Team Vitor Belfort, Eric DelFierro and the rest of Alliance MMA for his upcoming bout against Charlie Raider on Bellator Fighting Championships

Article by Sherdog.com Staff
After a strong start to his UFC career, Brandon Vera’s struggles the last couple of years led to questions about his heart.

He believes he answered them Saturday, however, when he survived a brutal armbar to outpoint Eliot Marshall in their matchup at UFC 137.

“My coaches were super excited the fight went like that,” Vera told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show.” “A lot of people have been questioning what would Brandon Vera do in a situation like that. Well, you found out. I would let my arm break. I’ll let it rip and tear and then come back and fight some more. I’m not going to say I’m glad I hurt my arm, but I’m glad that people got to see it. People got to experience that with me.”

Vera had won the first and second rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. The fight turned in the third, though, when Marshall rocked him on the feet.

“I guess I got a little bit too relaxed, and he caught me with a good shot, the one I didn’t see,” Vera said. “I just remember thinking … ‘There’s no way, no way, no way I’m going out like this.’ I grabbed a single leg and just stuck through it. I was busy at least three more minutes of that round.”

Marshall was busy too. He locked up the armbar in what Vera called a perfect position because the cage made it difficult for Vera to defend.

“When my arm was straight and it locked out, I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going to tap, so we need to figure this out,’” Vera said. “Then I just turned my thumb over. As soon as I turned my thumb, Eliot took it home. He took the arm with him. I felt my ligaments tear. As soon as it tore, my arm went flat onto his stomach. When it was on his stomach, there was no more pulling. He couldn’t pull to hurt it anymore. I just kept [pulling] my arm out, flipped over to my knees and kept pulling, pulling, pulling … . We were basically playing tug of war with my arm.”

Vera escaped, earning his first UFC win since August 2009. He’s hoping his show of heart will get him back on track heading into what he believes will be a big 2012.

“I’ve never been rocked like that before,” Vera said. “I’ve never been in a submission before, I don’t think. Yeah. I got both of them in one night, hardcore. For me to be able to step up to the plate and come through it — there was for sure some questions in my mind and I did it. I think you can judge a fighter’s character a lot by their performance when you get to see something like that.”

Article by Steven Marrocco

Members of Team Cruz on “The Ultimate Fighter: Live” heard the bad news about their coach around the same time the rest of the world found out earlier this week.

After nine weeks on set, the UFC bantamweight champ sustained a torn ACL in training that ruled out his further participation on the reality show, as well as a season-ending fight with opposing coach Urijah Faber at UFC 148.

Speculation about Cruz’s replacement and the show’s coaching setup has since run wild, but Team Cruz members Justin Lawrence and James Vick say they don’t want anything to change on set.

“There’s no way we want anybody else but him,” Vick today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) during a teleconference in support of the show’s quarterfinal matchups, which kick off Friday on the show’s 10th episode. “He’s been here for 10 weeks now, and he’s a great coach (with) a great coaching staff.

“We’re getting very close to him, like family almost, and there’s no way I would want anybody else but him.”

Family was a term used by both Lawrence and Vick to describe the relationship between the Team Cruz coaches and fighters. Lawrence said support coach Eric DelFierro, who coaches Cruz at San Diego’s Alliance MMA, and Wilson Reis are key members of the team, as is trainer Lloyd Irvin.

Lawrence said his team hasn’t been informed of what, if anything, the UFC plans to do with the coaching staff now that Cruz is injured.

“But I’d say they’re going to have eight guys that are going to be upset if they try to change our coach,” he said. “It’s already been nine weeks. Like James said, we made a bond with the coaching staff already.”

At the start of the teleconference, a UFC representative deferred questions about the promotion’s plans to a later date. What’s clear to all, though, is that Cruz likely faces a long road back to health.

“I’ve also gone through two surgeries, and it’s no joke,” Lawrence said. “It’s the most depressing time of your life.”

Despite a shortened time on the mats with Cruz, Lawrence said he is grateful to have learned the champion’s training methods, even if they sometimes ran the team ragged.

“We’d come home after practice sometimes, and we were instantly crashed out, and when the next training session came around, we were like, ‘Already?’” he said. “It just really shows me what a world champion trains like, and how intense a training camp should be.”

Ross Pearson Training DB Strength & Conditioning at Alliance MMA in San Diego

Article by Mike Johnston
Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler is the best 155-pound fighter in mixed martial arts that no one seems to talk about.

The 26-year-old is a perfect 10-0 and represents everything that’s good about MMA. He is respectful towards his opponents and of the process in which it takes to become a champion; he is a world-class athlete that trains like one, not relying solely on his natural athletic ability; he’s soft spoken without a shred of hubris; and most important of all, he is supremely talented in the cage.

While it’s common for high-level collegiate wrestlers like Chandler who transition to MMA to rely on their abilities on the mat to grind out their opponents, Chandler doesn’t. He likes to finish fights as quickly as possible and he has done so in eight of his 10 fights.

In the main event at Bellator 67 on Friday in Orillia, Ont., it took Chandler just 56 seconds to knock out Japanese MMA legend Akihiro Gono — who had never been finished in less than seven minutes in his legendary 18-year career.

Chandler is such an explosive and athletic fighter there’s no reason he couldn’t give top lightweights like Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez a run of their money, despite the fact he only made his professional MMA debut in August 2009.

And no one is a bigger fan and supporter of Chandler than Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney.

“Just a few years ago (Chandler) was in college and was winning NCAA titles as a wrestler and had never officially or competitively hit anyone in the face, and (he) came into our first lightweight tournament after a smattering of professional fights and said without any equivocation or hesitation that he was going to win the tournament, he was going to beat Eddie Alvarez — who at that time a lot of people considered the best lightweight in the world — and he was going to win the (Bellator) title,” Rebney said at the Bellator 67 post-fight press conference.

“There was no braggadocious to it, there was no over-the-top-presentation. It was just a matter of fact of what was going to happen.”

And it certainly did happen. If you haven’t seen Chandler’s bout with Alvarez, take the time and check it out. It will be one of the more entertaining fights you’ll see. Bellator was so proud of it that they made it available on their YouTube channel for fans to watch.

His win over Alvarez is what put him on the map for many MMA fans, but still, he does not receive the accolades or recognition as that of his fellow lightweight champions in the UFC or Strikeforce.

The Missouri native isn’t bothered by this though.

“I don’t feel disrespected. I don’t feel like I need to worry about that,” Chandler said. “For me, I can’t control what the whole world thinks about me. All I can control is getting my butt in the gym every single day and getting as good as I can possibly be, and then try and live life right. So, I think hopefully I’m starting to get more recognition, but at the same time I don’t really need it.”

Chandler added that all the recognition he needs comes from his family and the people close to him in his life. “I’m so blessed to have an amazing support group around me … and it’s one of the main reasons I fight. ”

He also realizes there is more to the sport than just wins and losses. He has a website called Blessed Threads that sells MMA apparel with proceeds going to Friends of Kids with Cancer.

What’s most impressive about Chandler, the fighter, is his rise from an unknown wrestler to an elite-level MMA competitor.

“His growth has been the kind of exponential growth period you dream about either in athletics or business,” Rebney said. “He’s gone from being a great national-calibre, international-calibre wrestler to being one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the lightweight division in the world, so his growth period has been just shocking.

“The thing that surprises me most about Michael’s growth curve is that his striking has been so devastating. It’s so crisp and so technical and so powerful, and literally just a few years ago he had never done any striking and that kind of progression is unheard of, and shocking and great to see and obviously he puts on great performances.

“Where he ranks in the world, if I had a suitcase of all the money I have in the world I’d put it on him against anyone else.”

The consensus top-10 lightweight isn’t one to speculate as to where he is in the rankings, but he knows his hard work is paying off.

“I do believe I’m on my way to being the No. 1 lightweight in the world and I’m working hard towards that,” Chandler added. “So as far as where I am now, I don’t know where they want to put me … but I promise I’m working my way to get there.”

Bellator continues to produce some of the top fighters in the sport like Alvarez, Pat Curran, Ben Askren and Eduardo Dantas.

Michael Chandler could be the best of them all.

Watch as Phil Davis gives a tour of Alliance MMA in San Diego. Alliance Training Center is committed to providing a proactive, friendly environment for our members to achieve their personal goals in martial arts and physical fitness. We seek to enhance the quality of life in our community through our diverse and affordable fitness philosophy that is administered by our well-trained staff.

Article by Brian Hemminger

Michael Chandler’s life changed forever in 2011, but you wouldn’t believe it by talking to him.

If not for a certain UFC light heavyweight named Jon Jones, Chandler could have taken home the “Fighter of the Year” award after defeating the likes of Marcin Held, Lloyd Woodard, Patricky Freire and then top five lightweight Eddie Alvarez to win the Bellator tournament and capture the 155 pound title.

Despite all the accolades, the new rocket ride to the top 10 in the lightweight divisional rankings and that strap of gold around his waist, Chandler has remained grounded and humble.

After all, he’s not even come close to achieving his goal of becoming the best lightweight in the world yet, at least not in his own eyes.

For Chandler, it was back to the gym where he’s been working hard the past several months in preparation for his upcoming non-title “super fight” against Pride, UFC and Dream veteran Akihiro Gono, which will be the main event of Bellator 67 tomorrow night (May 4, 2012) in Rama, Ontario, Canada.

The Bellator lightweight champion spoke about remaining grounded, branching out his training with new teams and what he still has left to prove to himself during a special guest appearance on Bloody Elbow Radio last week.

Matt Bishop: It’s been a few months here, almost seven months since your life changed beating Eddie Alvarez. How excited are you to be getting back into competition next week?

Michael Chandler: Very, very excited. I did have a nice little layoff if you will. It kind of worked out real well. I fought in November and then in December we had Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to spend back home so that was a nice little time to rest and recover and heal up from the fight and it got me itching to get back in the gym and now I’m back and better than ever and I’m just excited to put on a show for the fans and continue to prove to the world how hard I’m working.

Matt Bishop: How has your life changed since beating Eddie Alvarez?

Michael Chandler: Honestly, I don’t really feel like it has changed much. I’ve done a few extra interviews. I get looked at a little bit differently in the MMA world. Some of the rankings have me in the top 10 but other than that, it’s the same old me. I’ve got a ton of hard work left to do and tons of hours left in the gym to still go through. I’ve still got the same goals, the same hard work ethic so that’s about it.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): You were confident heading into that bout against Alvarez which is a great sign, showing no fear. Now that you’re the champ, you’ve beaten him, what’s your confidence level like now? Did it soar even higher or have you tried to stay level?

Michael Chandler: My confidence is always very, very high. I wake up every morning knowing God put me on this Earth for this reason. When you wake up and you know you’re fulfilling your purpose in life and you’re working towards the goals that you know you believe in and you know you were put on this Earth to accomplish, it takes on new meaning. For me, I wake up every single morning knowing I was put in this sport to be dominant and be a champion.

Right now I’m the Bellator champion. I want to get to number one in the world. I want to be known as the best lightweight in the world and I’m not that yet so I have a ton of work left to do but I have a ton of confidence that I’m gonna get there because I know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s a lot of hard work. My confidence comes from my hard work and the great coaches and training partners I have around me.

It’s not, “I can jump higher or run faster or punch harder than that other guy” but I know I worked harder than him. I know I worked with better quality training partners and I worked with better quality coaches than him and if you truly believe in that, if you sell out and buy into that notion that you are training harder than anyone else in the world, you feel like you can’t lose.

Matt Bishop: How do you manage to keep yourself so grounded? That’s one thing that stands out to me with a lot of your answers. A lot of people after such a high profile win like you had against Eddie Alvarez, they would maybe do some stupid things. How do you keep yourself so grounded?

Michael Chandler: For me, I’ve been very grounded my whole life. My parents are very hard-working people and very awesome people and have helped me stay humble and they’ve led by example. That and like I said, by no means have I accomplished what I want to accomplish in this sport. You’ve got to give yourself a pat on the back and you’ve got to know that you’ve achieved things and you’re improving but at the same time, I know I have so much more work to do, it’s ridiculous.

I have so many hours left in the gym and I can’t for one second stop and think I’ve accomplished something because that’s when guys are passing you up. I definitely took a little time off, patted myself on the back, let my family pat myself on the back, see the joy I got in the win and then I got my head back into the game, got to the gym and have tried to get as good as I think I possibly can be. It’s a testament to my family, my upbringing and my humble, hard-working, blue collar family. That’s what I am. As soon as I’m number one in the world, maybe I’ll stop and think I’ve accomplished something but even then, I doubt it.

Matt Bishop: What did the Eddie Alvarez fight prove to yourself? It was a tough back-and-forth fight, getting in and out of bad situations. Did that fight prove anything to yourself?

Michael Chandler: Yeah, just that. The fact that I was in a war, in a bad spot there in that third round especially. I think more than anything, I knew that I could have that five round war and win. I knew that if anybody was gonna break in that fight, it was gonna be him. I knew that I was gonna put him in situations that he had never been in before. He had never fought a guy like me. I don’t know that the fans knew that about me.

More than anything, I hope I proved to the fans that I’m not going down easily. I’m gonna be hard to finish. I’m never gonna take a backwards step, I’m always going to be looking to dominate, dig deeper than every single person I step into the cage with. I hope that fight shows people to never count me out, never bet against me. I didn’t necessarily have to prove it to myself or my training partners because they see how hard I work and how passionate I am about the sport but you can’t really convey it to the fans unless you actually showed it and I think in that fight I showed it.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Now Michael, you’ve said before that you viewed your boxing as one of your little toys you love to play with and develop. With all this time off you’ve had, how far do you feel your boxing has come because I know you spend a ton of time with it?

Michael Chandler: Yeah, it definitely has and that’s been one of the most fun parts of the training. I’ve said it numerous times, Gil Martinez is the best boxing coach in the world and he’s got my hands from the first day that I started working with him to the Eddie Alvarez fight, you guys saw how much I’ve improved. I’ve continued working with him, continued sharpening my game and continued soaking everything up like a sponge.

That’s one of the big things that I try to be, more than anything, coachable. If you want to make it to the top, you can’t make it without coaches and training partners and you have to listen to everything they say and that’s why I’ve grown so quickly. I’m just excited to continue to work my hands, continue to work with Gil and everybody who’s helped me. Hopefully I’ll show even this fight that I continue to get better.

Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): Do you split your time with Xtreme Couture and with Gil since he went to the other training center?

Michael Chandler: Not so much. Right now I’ve actually been doing a lot of work with Alliance over at Throwdown. I’m still working with Gil and that kind of stuff. There’s been some changes and moving and that kind of stuff but that’s the beauty of being in the fight capital of the world. There’s always guys and coaches and tons of training partners and it just so happens that right now Dominick Cruz and Eric Del Fierro and those guys are in town for The Ultimate Fighter and I’m very blessed to have that opportunity to work with guys like that who have been in town for my camp. It’s worked out very well.

Matt Bishop: Now Mike, your fight with Akihiro Gono is a three round fight. Would you like to see Bellator go to five round fights for their superfights that involve their champions?

Michael Chandler: To me, I could care less. It doesn’t matter to me. Whatever would help them out the best as a promotion is what I think they should do as far as that goes. As far as me, being the champion, I’m always going to be prepared for a five round fight. I know this fight can’t go past three rounds but now I do feel like I’m in even better shape than the Alvarez fight. I’ve been bringing my cardio to new levels so I’m going to be prepared for a five round fight in the fall against Hawn or Weedman, whoever that is. It doesn’t matter to me. It’s up to Bellator in that regard.

Matt Bishop: It’s funny you bring up Hawn and Weedman because that’s my next question. What do you think of this lightweight tournament so far? Rick Hawn has looked very impressive and I think his fight against Weedman is going to be a good one. How do you handicap that?

Michael Chandler: Yeah, me too. If you look at Hawn, he’s knocked his last two guys out. He’s got power in his right hand and he’s the bigger, stronger fighter in this lightweight final but never, ever, ever count Brent Weedman out. He had a really tough fight against Jay Hieron. It was really close last year so I’m excited to see it. I’m excited to see who wants it more because in my eyes, it could go either way. Hawn might be able to throw Weedman around more but the grappling goes to Weedman. He’s got more submissions and he showed a lot of strength on his feet as well with punches, kicks and knees. I think it’s gonna be a barnburner and whoever wants to win it more is going to. I’m excited to be tuning in and see who wants it more in the fall.

Matt Bishop: Brian and I were at the post-fight press conference in Cleveland and it was kind of funny, both Eddie Alvarez and Lloyd Woodard were calling you out and it kind of seems that that’s a thing that more people are doing these days. How does it feel to be a marked man?

Michael Chandler: Shoot, I don’t know. I don’t ever look at myself like that. People are gonna talk about you and say they want to fight you and stuff, but for me, I just want to go in there with the same mindset every fight. Whether I’m 1-0 or 9-0, I want to always go forward and look to dominate a fight no matter who it is. For me, it’s kind of cool to be a marked man if you will. I’m not the kind of guy that gets fueled by people gunning for me or from having a bullseye on my back. I’m not one of those guys that trains harder because of it. I look at myself as the same guy from the beginning and I’m working to be the best in the world. It doesn’t faze me and I knew Lloyd Woodard was gonna do that. He called me out in his first two fights and I guess now that he’s out of the tournament, now he’s still doing it. We’ll see what happens.

Matt Bishop: What’s gonna be the biggest challenge presented to you in this fight against Akihiro Gono on Friday?

Michael Chandler: Ummm, biggest challenge is just the same challenge as every other fight. Go out there and get a win by any means possible. Go out there and try to get a finish. It’s the same as the last fight against Alvarez and the fight before that. Obviously Gono’s got a lot of experience so I’ll have to be on my A-game and stay out of submissions, keep my head movement up. More than anything, I’m just excited to get out there, get a win and put on a show for the fans. It’s my first fight up in Canada and people were saying I needed some fans up in Canada.

You can follow Michael Chandler on Twitter @MichaelChandlerMMA.

2.3 Weeks out from his UFC on FUEL 3 MMA Bout versus Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone, Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens let us in on his training camp in Las Vegas with Team Cruz and Alliance MMA.

One of a kind futuristic soda machine presented by UFC Fighter Brandon “The Truth” Vera

Article by Danna Norek
Sweet potatoes, also commonly labeled as yams, are an excellent and inexpensive staple to have on hand. These deep orange-fleshed nutritional powerhouses add several important components to the diet. Their health and weight management benefits far exceed the nutritional value found in ordinary white and yellow fleshed potatoes.

Superior fiber content

Sweet potatoes contain almost twice as much fiber as other types of potatoes. Contributing close to 7 grams of fiber per serving, they make an excellent starchy addition to any meal. The high fiber content gives them a “slow burning” quality. This basically means their caloric energy is used more slowly and efficiently than a low-fiber carbohydrate.

Heart-healthy

They contain a large amount of vitamin B6. This vitamin is crucial in breaking down a substance called homocysteine, which contributes to hardening of the arteries and blood vessels. Vitamin B6 helps keep the walls of these important blood passageways flexible and healthy which allows blood to flow freely.

In addition, sweet potatoes contain high amounts of potassium. Potassium plays an important role in lowering blood pressure by ridding the body of excess sodium and regulating fluid balance. It is also an important electrolyte that helps regulate the natural rhythm of the heart, and maintains normal function of the brain and central nervous system.

Rich in beta-carotene

Beta-carotene or vitamin A is an important antioxidant. One medium sweet potato provides your body with the complete recommended daily allowance of vitamin A and then some. Vitamin A is useful in the prevention of several different types of cancer as it is one of the most potent antioxidants out there.

Beta-carotene also helps to internally protect your skin from sun damage by both deflecting and repairing cell damage caused by excessive UV exposure. It also is an excellent nutrient for eye health and has been linked to prevention of vision loss and macular degeneration.

A great source of manganese

Manganese is a little-discussed trace mineral that has some great health benefits. It is a pivotal component in the metabolism of carbohydrates which helps support healthy blood sugar levels. This can help stabilize the appetite for hours as opposed to the temporary satisfaction that comes with most other carbohydrates.

It also is a cofactor in enzymes that play an important role in the generation of energy as well as the efficient utilization of antioxidants. It is used for the treatment of anemia and is useful as a treatment for several premenstrual symptoms in women as well.

Rich in vitamins C and E

As if being one of the top vegetable sources of beta-carotene weren’t enough, sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamins C and E. These are potent antioxidant vitamins that play an important role in disease prevention and longevity.

Both vitamins also play a huge role in the health and beauty of your skin and hair, making them popular supplements. The combination of beta-carotene, vitamin E and vitamin C in one food makes the sweet potato one heck of a “beauty food”. These nutrients all contribute to a healthy, glowing complexion and vibrant hair.

Watch as UFC Fighter Vitor Belfort trains alongside Dominick Cruz, Ross Pearson, Wilson Reis, Mike Chandler, AJ Matthews, and the rest of Alliance MMA.

Week 8 started a little rough…we woke up with no running water on Sunday morning. Pipes burst in the complex so we were shower-less for the day. With no practices scheduled in the morning, I worked on my computer and finished up an article for EliteFTS on “playground training”…hoping it will be published in the coming weeks. Dom and I ran to the TUF set to use their shower and then we met up with our Team Cruz athletes at a neighborhood park for a cookout. I mentioned last week that we were giving the guys a few extra days off this week since their bodies badly needed a break. Team chef, Chris Tickle, cooked up a feast and the rest of the team and coaching staff hung out, threw a ball around, and relaxed. The highlight of the cookout was the intense battles of “21″ that took place between myself, Dominick, and 6′ 3″ athlete James Vick. The big Texan played some JuCo ball and it showed in the first game…he put a butt-kicking on us. Game 2 was another battle, however, and I squeaked out a tough one. We thought about a 3rd game, but it was literally 100 degrees out in Vegas that day so 45 minutes of running around was enough for the three of us. I should add that while the Bantamweight Champ didn’t win either game, he can ball. If next week’s “Coaches Challenge” for the TUF show is hoops, Faber will be in trouble for sure.

After the cookout, I hung out in the complex pool for my “shower” since we still didn’t have any water.

Monday morning omelets kicked off the day (after a shower…water was fixed), and then off to TUF practice. Dom showed the guys some cage-control techniques and they drilled for about 90 minutes.

At the morning team practice at Throwdown, I warmed up with the guys…3 5-minute rounds of shadow boxing. This warm-up could easily be someone’s workout. The guys drilled while I did deadlifts and presses. Lunch at home was grilled chicken and veggies and then back to TUF for the afternoon session. We changed up their schedule a bit so I put them through a strength & conditioning session tonight. My plan was first 1/2 strength, second 1/2 conditioning. The session went something like this:

Dynamic Warm-Up with shoulder mobility and glute activation work

Round 1 (strength): Lateral Plyos –> Front Squats –> Hip Thrusters

Round 2 (strength): High-Rep Pullups –> Stability Ball Pushups –> TRX abs

Round 3 (conditioning): Incline Treadmill –> Weighted Tire Push

Round 4 (conditioning): Airdyne Sprints –> SuperBand Snapdowns

It may look like a lot on paper, however, we were in and out in under an hour. We ran home to eat and then back to Throwdown for the night training. Most of the guys were hitting pads and/or doing bag-work. I brought my gi and had the opportunity to roll with Wilson Reis. He’s a long-time black belt and I’m a bright white belt…needless to say, the 60 minute session was not pretty. Not only did I not score a single point, I never even came close to passing his guard…well, maybe one time. He may tell you differently though. It was one of the hardest sessions I’ve had out here to date. I loved it and hated it at the same time. Wilson is a great teacher too and showed me a lot of fundamentals that I need to start working on. I crawled home, showered, and went to bed….too tired to eat.

Tuesday has no TUF sessions so I made a morning Whole Foods run and then met up with the team at the TUF set for a sparring session. The UFC wanted to film Dom and the team training so that’s why we went to their facility and not Throwdown today. I did treadmill sprints and stretched while they had a great sparring session. It’s always awesome getting a front row seat to these sparring sessions. I get to watch UFC athletes Dom, Jeremy Stephens, Ross Pearson, and a bunch of other animals go at it each and every day….love me job. The afternoon had me back at the pool for an hour or so reading some more “Easy Strength”. I hope to finish it up by next week. The night Throwdown strength training session included Forrest, Mark Ellis, and a couple other guys. It was a squat and pull-up focus tonight. Dom and I made it back to the condo around 8:30 and I cooked up some steaks and a big salad for dinner.

Wednesday morning’s TUF session was sparring. Sparring sessions are fun for me because I get to watch, listen, and learn from the other coaches on our Team Cruz staff. Another solid training session in the books…we left and the guys went to Throwdown for a wrestling practice. I’m personally taking the day off so I just did 10 minutes of mobility work and watched the practice. We ran home for lunch, and then back to TUF for an afternoon wrestling session. Another quick turnaround and we were back at Throwdown for a strength session with a group of guys. This wasn’t the same group as the guys I trained on Tuesday night so there were a couple repeats movements…the primary lifts were shoulder mobility drills, deadlifts, pullups, and heavy carries. Dinner was some salmon, potatoes, and veggies, and then I worked on some program writing for the rest of the night.

Thursday started with big old omelets and then it was on to TUF for morning sprint work. Our fighter for the week, Sam Sicilia, was already on weight for his big fight Friday night. Sam is one of our hardest workers and definitely one of my favorites on the team (have I said that about every one of our guys?!). At Throwdown, the team boxed and I worked out with Colleen Schneider, a female MMA athlete who trains at Throwdown. We worked on squats and pullups, and then did a bunch of partner sprints as a finisher.

Back at TUF, the fighters, Sam and his opponent, Chris Saunders, weighed in (both at 155), and then Team Cruz drilled for 90 minutes. After practice, we were back to Throwdown for session #2 of the day. I rolled with Wilson again and only lasted about 45 minutes this time.

I tweaked an oblique muscle trying to hip escape during a scramble. The hip escape was unsuccessful and my oblique is still bothering me as I type this (5 days later). I must have pulled it pretty good. At home that night I iced up quite a bit and went to bed.

Friday – Fight day!! It’s so sweet to have prime seats to a UFC event every single week! I’m so appreciative of this opportunity out here. The morning TUF practice was drilling for the team and eating for Sam! It’s always funny to see how much weight the guys put back on after weigh-ins. Sam looked good and was ready to rumble. At Throwdown, the guys grappled and I did a real light workout…my oblique was really bothering me was I wanted to take it easy. My plan is to actually take the next 3 days off completely to try and rest it up. I’ll be home in San Diego training clients and running around so it will give me some much needed rest.

In the Team Cruz locker room, Sam seemed calm and confident. I stretched him out, he hit pads with Coach Eric, and worked on some ground techniques with Wilson. They called us in and it was go time!

The next 10 minutes were a war. Saunders earned a lot of respect from me…I thought Sam was going to walk through this guy, definitely not the case. Saunders took the first round in a big way. He connected on a solid leg kick that would have had me still on the ground today. Sam recovered from it and actually pushed the action. Sam dropped Saunders in the second and I thought he easily won round 2. Unfortunately, as the sign above the locker room door states, “Never leave it in the hands of the judges”. They awarded a split decision to Saunders. I’ve re-watched every fight so far this season and I’ve agreed with every decision the judges have made; except this one….definitely felt it should have gone to a third round. It is what it is. The two guys put on a hell of a fight…and Saunders got the better of it tonight. I hate leaving the locker room after a loss, but I had to catch a flight home. I gave Sam a hug and told him to keep his head up high…he should be proud of his performance.

The weekend back home was busy. Saturday started with clients in the morning and afternoon and then I finally got to spend some time with my better half. We went to dinner and then caught a Cirque du Soleil show, Totem, at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

I’ve seen about 10 Cirque shows and they always deliver for me. I am always so impressed and amazed at what the human body is capable of. Truly awesome stuff. If you’ve never seen a Cirque show, do it!

Sunday started with more clients and then brunch at one of my favorite spots in town, The Naked Cafe. After brunch, we hung out in Solana Beach for a little bit and then checked out a possible new condo in Carmel Valley. We are looking to move this year and the Carmel Valley area is #1 on the list. Rest and relaxation for the rest of the day.

Another busy week ahead…details coming soon. Keep rooting for Team Cruz! We need the Wolverine to win this one so we can tie things up 4-4!

Article by By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
The value of mental-training games may be speculative, as Dan Hurley writes in his article on the quest to make ourselves smarter, but there is another, easy-to-achieve, scientifically proven way to make yourself smarter. Go for a walk or a swim. For more than a decade, neuroscientists and physiologists have been gathering evidence of the beneficial relationship between exercise and brainpower. But the newest findings make it clear that this isn’t just a relationship; it is the relationship. Using sophisticated technologies to examine the workings of individual neurons — and the makeup of brain matter itself — scientists in just the past few months have discovered that exercise appears to build a brain that resists physical shrinkage and enhance cognitive flexibility. Exercise, the latest neuroscience suggests, does more to bolster thinking than thinking does.

The most persuasive evidence comes from several new studies of lab animals living in busy, exciting cages. It has long been known that so-called “enriched” environments — homes filled with toys and engaging, novel tasks — lead to improvements in the brainpower of lab animals. In most instances, such environmental enrichment also includes a running wheel, because mice and rats generally enjoy running. Until recently, there was little research done to tease out the particular effects of running versus those of playing with new toys or engaging the mind in other ways that don’t increase the heart rate.

So, last year a team of researchers led by Justin S. Rhodes, a psychology professor at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, gathered four groups of mice and set them into four distinct living arrangements. One group lived in a world of sensual and gustatory plenty, dining on nuts, fruits and cheeses, their food occasionally dusted with cinnamon, all of it washed down with variously flavored waters. Their “beds” were colorful plastic igloos occupying one corner of the cage. Neon-hued balls, plastic tunnels, nibble-able blocks, mirrors and seesaws filled other parts of the cage. Group 2 had access to all of these pleasures, plus they had small disc-shaped running wheels in their cages. A third group’s cages held no embellishments, and they received standard, dull kibble. And the fourth group’s homes contained the running wheels but no other toys or treats.

All the animals completed a series of cognitive tests at the start of the study and were injected with a substance that allows scientists to track changes in their brain structures. Then they ran, played or, if their environment was unenriched, lolled about in their cages for several months.

Afterward, Rhodes’s team put the mice through the same cognitive tests and examined brain tissues. It turned out that the toys and tastes, no matter how stimulating, had not improved the animals’ brains.

“Only one thing had mattered,” Rhodes says, “and that’s whether they had a running wheel.” Animals that exercised, whether or not they had any other enrichments in their cages, had healthier brains and performed significantly better on cognitive tests than the other mice. Animals that didn’t run, no matter how enriched their world was otherwise, did not improve their brainpower in the complex, lasting ways that Rhodes’s team was studying. “They loved the toys,” Rhodes says, and the mice rarely ventured into the empty, quieter portions of their cages. But unless they also exercised, they did not become smarter.

Why would exercise build brainpower in ways that thinking might not? The brain, like all muscles and organs, is a tissue, and its function declines with underuse and age. Beginning in our late 20s, most of us will lose about 1 percent annually of the volume of the hippocampus, a key portion of the brain related to memory and certain types of learning.

Exercise though seems to slow or reverse the brain’s physical decay, much as it does with muscles. Although scientists thought until recently that humans were born with a certain number of brain cells and would never generate more, they now know better. In the 1990s, using a technique that marks newborn cells, researchers determined during autopsies that adult human brains contained quite a few new neurons. Fresh cells were especially prevalent in the hippocampus, indicating that neurogenesis — or the creation of new brain cells — was primarily occurring there. Even more heartening, scientists found that exercise jump-starts neurogenesis. Mice and rats that ran for a few weeks generally had about twice as many new neurons in their hippocampi as sedentary animals. Their brains, like other muscles, were bulking up.

But it was the ineffable effect that exercise had on the functioning of the newly formed neurons that was most startling. Brain cells can improve intellect only if they join the existing neural network, and many do not, instead rattling aimlessly around in the brain for a while before dying.

One way to pull neurons into the network, however, is to learn something. In a 2007 study, new brain cells in mice became looped into the animals’ neural networks if the mice learned to navigate a water maze, a task that is cognitively but not physically taxing. But these brain cells were very limited in what they could do. When the researchers studied brain activity afterward, they found that the newly wired cells fired only when the animals navigated the maze again, not when they practiced other cognitive tasks. The learning encoded in those cells did not transfer to other types of rodent thinking.

Exercise, on the other hand, seems to make neurons nimble. When researchers in a separate study had mice run, the animals’ brains readily wired many new neurons into the neural network. But those neurons didn’t fire later only during running. They also lighted up when the animals practiced cognitive skills, like exploring unfamiliar environments. In the mice, running, unlike learning, had created brain cells that could multitask.

Just how exercise remakes minds on a molecular level is not yet fully understood, but research suggests that exercise prompts increases in something called brain-derived neurotropic factor, or B.D.N.F., a substance that strengthens cells and axons, fortifies the connections among neurons and sparks neurogenesis. Scientists can’t directly study similar effects in human brains, but they have found that after workouts, most people display higher B.D.N.F. levels in their bloodstreams.

Few if any researchers think that more B.D.N.F. explains all of the brain changes associated with exercise. The full process almost certainly involves multiple complex biochemical and genetic cascades. A recent study of the brains of elderly mice, for instance, found 117 genes that were expressed differently in the brains of animals that began a program of running, compared with those that remained sedentary, and the scientists were looking at only a small portion of the many genes that might be expressed differently in the brain by exercise.

Whether any type of exercise will produce these desirable effects is another unanswered and intriguing issue. “It’s not clear if the activity has to be endurance exercise,” says the psychologist and neuroscientist Arthur F. Kramer, director of the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois and a pre-eminent expert on exercise and the brain. A limited number of studies in the past several years have found cognitive benefits among older people who lifted weights for a year and did not otherwise exercise. But most studies to date, and all animal experiments, have involved running or other aerobic activities.

Whatever the activity, though, an emerging message from the most recent science is that exercise needn’t be exhausting to be effective for the brain. When a group of 120 older men and women were assigned to walking or stretching programs for a major 2011 study, the walkers wound up with larger hippocampi after a year. Meanwhile, the stretchers lost volume to normal atrophy. The walkers also displayed higher levels of B.D.N.F. in their bloodstreams than the stretching group and performed better on cognitive tests.

In effect, the researchers concluded, the walkers had regained two years or more of hippocampal youth. Sixty-five-year-olds had achieved the brains of 63-year-olds simply by walking, which is encouraging news for anyone worried that what we’re all facing as we move into our later years is a life of slow (or not so slow) mental decline.

Monday was a full day of training clients in San Diego. I finished up with my last client around 5:30pm. It was great to catch up with my home clients and see how they were doing with their health and fitness. I truly do hate being away from them for so long….fortunately, we have passed the 1/2 point of the show so we are getting closer to the end.

Tuesday started with a morning kettlebell session (TGU’s, snatches, swings, and windmills) and then on the plane back to Sin City. I met a bunch of the athletes at Chipotle for lunch and then to the condo to work on paperwork. Since their was no TUF show training today I only had one training session – I met the Ross Pearson, Forrest Griffin, Mark Ellis, and a couple other athletes at Throwdown for an evening strength training session. Our primary lift tonight was the deadlift; they went for 6 sets of triples tonight. I added a number of accessory lifts and we were done in 40 minutes.

Wednesday morning I cooked up some omelets for Dominick and I and then went to the TUF set. They were working on wrestling technique with Dom and assistant coach Shannon Slack so I left early and made my weekly Whole Foods run. I met up with the guys again at Throwdown and Dominick and I went through a strength training session together. We also worked on our deadlift and I added a lot of T-spine mobility and shoulder strengthening exercises for Dom. After our session I joined the rest of the group who was working on cage-control drills. I was lucky enough to partner with UFC athlete Mike Easton (yes, the Hulk) and he proceeded to throw me around for the next 15 minutes. A quick shower and lunch (quinoa, shrimp, veggies), and then back to TUF for my strength session with the guys. We went through a warm-up, a couple sets of broad jumps, and then went through 2 full-body complexes:

1. Rear-foot elevated split squats –> 1-arm rows –> TRX hip drops

2. Hip thrusts –> pull-ups –> RIP rotations

They finished with 100 meter sprints on the Concept 2 Rowers coupled with heavy carries.

I finished up Wednesday night with another strength session at Throwdown. We focused primarily on front squats and weighted pull-ups tonight.

Thursday morning’s breakfast was buckwheat pancakes and organic bacon for Dom and eggs and berries for me. I am also starting a meal plan that a colleague of mine, Brenton Robinson, put together for me. I really like some of the updates and suggestions he provided me with so I’m looking forward to it. Give me a week or two on it and I’ll send out an update. At TUF, we had the team go through a tough sprint session. After 6 hard weeks of training, we can start to see the rigors of the season taking a toll on these guys. We plan to lighten things up for the next couple days to let their bodies, and minds, reset.

At Throwdown, the team sparred along with legendary fighter Vitor Belfort and his team.

I lifted and did 15 rounds of sprints and then stretched out a few of the guys after practice. We ran home for lunch and then I skipped out on the TUF weigh-ins so I could get some paperwork done. I met some of the guys back at Throwdown later that night for a strength session. Weighted pull-ups for the guys tonight and then I did 4 rounds of bag work. My dinner that night was a big salad with some salmon.

Friday turned out to be an awesome day. We gave the TUF team the morning off so I got to sleep in. At Throwdown training, Vitor led a grappling session that was awesome. I learned some sweet new techniques. We drilled for a good 90 minutes before heading back to the condo. On the way home from training I found a great tweet that loosely said, “Team Faber is partying at the pool today while Team Cruz is training with Vitor Belfort. I guess that says it all”. I loved it! There were pics of Faber’s crew hanging at a local pool catching rays while Dom and his team was drilling and working hard. In short, hard work pays off…and earns you the championship belt!

Back at the condo, I went to the pool to get further into my latest read, “Easy Strength” by Dan John and Pavel. It’s been a great book so far. It’s really reinforced a number of things I’m already doing and made me question a number of things I’m doing as well.

After hanging in the intense Vegas heat (makes me appreciate San Diego!), it was back to TUF for the fight between our boy Vinc Pichel and Team Faber’s John Cofer. Cofer is a DI wrestler with decent stand-up so we were mostly concerned with the take-downs. Vinc is, without a doubt, one of my favorites on the team…an extremely hard worker, listens well, and may be the strongest guy on the team. I stretched him out and he hit pads with Coach Eric. He seemed very comfortable and confident; two good traits heading into a fight. If you missed this one, I highly recommend you check it out – it was my ‘fight of the season‘ so far. They had some great exchanges and Vinc stuffed every single take-down attempt that came his way. Cofer took the first round, Vinc won the second, and they had to go to a sudden victory 3rd round. We have always preached in our practices that the 3rd round will always belong to Team Cruz. We train too smart and too hard to not have better cardio and own the final round. Sure enough, 44 seconds in to the last frame, Vinc choked Cofer out.

Being in the locker room after a win is one of my favorite feelings! It’s such a team atmosphere…love it. I stayed in Vegas this weekend as well so no need to rush to the airport. Next up; Sam Sicilia vs Chris Saunders – should be another great one.

Saturday was another morning off for the TUF team. I met the the guys at Throwdown for an afternoon metabolic training session. Unfortunately, there was a seminar going in the gym so we had to training outside…and it was 98 degrees. Tire flips, sled drags, and Anaconda slams. Dom, Ross, AJ, Kristie, and Juan were beasts out in the heat and survived the quick, but intense, 25 minute session. After training, I had the pleasure of meeting Ronda Rousey, who is only the baddest gal in MMA. Dominick brought Ronda in as a guest coach to show the guys a couple Judo moves. If you don’t know Ronda, Google her. She is a beast! The team was fired up to see her and she then went ahead and hip-tossed them all for a 60 minute training session. I even had the honored of being dropped on my head by one of the best. The guys drilled easy and got a lot out of the training session. Dom, Ronda, and I went to the condo for some food and then we were off to the TUF house to watch UFC 145: Jones/Evans. One of my athletes, Travis Browne, was on the card so I was pumped to watch. Overall, the card didn’t impress me a ton…Travis threw a picture-perfect flying knee and then shortly after he choked out his opponent, Chad Griggs. A nice submission of the night bonus check is in the mail for Hapa. The main event went the way I thought it would, with Jones winning. Although, I thought he would finish Evans…it was a good fight on Jones part who won every round. We hung out with the guys at the house for a few more hours just shooting the breeze and then called it a night. Another long week in the books! The season is heating up…

More updates coming soon…

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Article by BJPenn.com
Former UFC heavyweight Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran defeated Anton Talamantes in his light heavyweight debut under the C3 fight promotion in Oklahoma.

After a dominant three-round performance that saw “The Mexicutioner” throw everything but the kitchen sink at his opponent, including a brutal head kick, he walked away with a unanimous decision victory to get his career back on track and bring a new threat to the 205 pound division.

Yesterday, Beltran weighed in at 203, a huge transformation and step forward in his career.

Looking like a completely different fighter, lean and ready to go at the weigh ins, Beltran made the fight his using superior striking and defensive wrestling to thwart off all takedown attempts from his opponent.

Beltran was a UFC fan favorite because of his heart and eagerness to stand and bang.

With “The Mexicutioner” leaned out and back to his old ways, who knows what the future holds for the UFC veteran.

We wish Joey all the best and congratulate him on having a successful LHW debut!

WAR!

Article by ESPN staff
Ross Pearson is ready to help the UFC out by taking a featherweight title fight with Jose Aldo, if the Brazilian needs a rival at UFC 147.

UFC president Dana White finds himself in need of a main event for UFC 147, after Anderson Silva v Chael Sonnen had to be switched to UFC 148 in Las Vegas. White suggested 145lb champion Aldo is likely to fill the breach.

However, Aldo is finding it difficult to find opponents. Hatsu Hioki has asked for more time, which has been granted as he prepares instead to face Ricardo Lamas.

Dustin Poirier would also ideally take his time in building towards a title shot, and he is booked to fight the Korean Zombie in mid-May.

The situation leaves Erik Koch as the most likely challenger to Aldo’s belt, but Pearson insists he would step up. The Brit has his own fight to prepare for against Cub Swanson, but he tweeted: “If nobody is ready to step in and fight Aldo I will do it tomorrow!”