LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 In late 1994, the United States Congress began a systematic crackdown on the sport known as Mixed Martial Arts. Viewed as “human ****fighting” by the stodgy old politicians, MMA became banned in state after state. Within a year, MMA was illegal throughout the country. The Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) was hit the hardest by this. The largest MMA organization in North America – running huge shows out of the casinos in Nevada and California – was reduced to promoting shows out of high school gyms in small towns in the Midwest and Southeast, until eventually even those options went away. By early 1996, after being forced to Brazil and eventually Japan, the company was awash in red ink. In August, the venerable Japanese MMA promotion ALPHA-1 bought out their American counterpart for mere pennies on the dollar, cherry-picking only the most prized contracts from GAMMA’s roster and releasing the rest. ALPHA-1’s owner, Ietsuna Hisamatsu, was not done acquiring other organization’s talent. The upstart England-based British Cage Fighting (BCF) was the next organization to be targeted by the former video game company executive. But instead of buying them out, Hisamatsu (under the advice of good friend and ALPHA-1 President Meiji Nishamura) conducted an all-out assault on BCF, signing many of their top performers (who had non-exclusive Associate contracts). In December 1996, BCF ceased operations, releasing the few performers they had left. Sensing total world domination of the sport that most Japanese consider to be theirs, Hisamatsu and Nishamura set their sights on the only remaining MMA organization that had been able to maintain a somewhat-regular schedule – Canada’s intrepid all-female group, the Women’s Extreme Fighting Federation (WEFF). Within two weeks of the start of negotiations, the business deal was done – the WEFF was folded into ALPHA-1’s Women’s Division. As a privately held company, ALPHA-1 was not required to release the financial details of the deal; however, the rumor was that the cost of buying out WEFF was nearly as much as the price of GAMMA. While it may have seemed like ALPHA-1 had secured the monopoly that its executives desired, all was not well within the company. Veteran home-grown talents could see the bloat within its ranks, and could see the writing on the wall – it just wasn’t going to be possible for everyone to stay happy with the available number of slots on the company’s monthly pay-per-view cards. In mid-December, ALPHA-1 announced a series of roster cuts to trim the talent pool down to a more manageable number. The public backlash was significantly greater than either Hisamatsu or Nishamura expected. On their New Year’s Eve show, they announced the hiring of a new Chief Matchmaker – Mittens Blurcat. Blurcat, or course, is most famous for being the owner of the most popular web site dedicated to Mixed Martial Arts. While not admitting to it publicly, Hisamatsu and Nishamura privately hope that Blurcat will be able to turn around the public’s perception of ALPHA-1 by putting together fights that fans will be willing to buy tickets or pay to watch on pay-per-view, and by advising Nishamura on which free-agent fighters the fans want to see. The Blurcat.com forums suddenly took on a lot more significance than they had only a month earlier. As the calendar turns to 1997, the entire World of Mixed Martial Arts has their eyes on the lone remaining superpower in the sport. Did ALPHA-1 make the right business moves? Can one superfan-turned-webmaster propel the sport to new heights? And what of America, where may still follow the sport that the politicians don’t want to be seen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 The main players: OWNER: Ietsuna Hisamatsu PRESIDENT: Meiji Nishamura CHIEF MATCHMAKER: Mittens Blurcat ANNOUNCERS: Midori Kato, Ryan Wayne COLOR COMMENTATORS: Garth Ward, Jiro Komatsu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 WOMEN’S DIVISION CHAMPION: Sayoko Ebisawa (16-1) 1. Janinha (11-1) 2. Chiyo Yanagimoto (9-1) 3. Jenny DeNeuve (7-0) 4. Naora Kikuchi (9-1) 5. Hester Maclean (7-0-1) 6. Mizuki Watanabe (6-0) 7. Alison Beattie (10-3) 8. Roz Wareing (8-1-1) 9. Simone King (6-1) 10. Phoebe Bergman (14-5) The rest: Michelle Addams (4-0) Lisa Labone (1-0) Pamela O’Neill (1-0) Veronika Sablikova (4-0) Yutsuko Sasaki (7-4-1) Hanako Shimizu (2-0) Yuya Shimizu (4-1) Romi Takahashi (4-0) Taniko Uchiyama (6-2) Sarah Vaughan (18-6) April Watson (13-5) Katarzyna Wojciechowska (8-4) After the purchase of WEFF, the Women’s Division became ALPHA-1’s largest, and possibly most talented, division. There have been rumors of splitting the division into two weight classes, but nothing has been announced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION CHAMPION: Go Yamamoto (13-1) 1. Paulo Roberto Bezerra (9-1) 2. Chojiro Goto (8-1) 3. Sean Morrison (12-3) 4. Carlos da Guia (5-0) 5. Giovani Silva (20-9) 6. Teeratep Nutnum (5-0) 7. Ricardo Fernandes (15-7) 8. Rodolphe Gygax (16-7) 9. Callum Henson (4-0) 10. Marcus Speed (2-0) The rest: Atep of Indonesia (2-0) Fujimaro Hidaka (1-1) No division suffered as much from the roster cuts as the Lightweight Division. Similarly, the Lightweights threat on Blurcat.com has featured the most amount of posts for fans clamoring for their favorite fighter to be hired. Almost equally as controversial was the ranking of Morrison, GAMMA’s champion at this weight class, as only the No. 3 contender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION CHAMPION: Gabriel Gallego (12-0) 1. Julio Regueiro (9-0-1) 2. Claudio Palacios (10-2-1) 3. Will Kane (7-0) 4. Kafu Bunya (10-3) 5. Fumiaki Hayashi (13-4) 6. Randy Carsley (5-0) 7. Nathan Chambers (5-0) 8. Jack Humphreys (12-2) 9. Noach Van Der Capellen (10-3) 10. Joe Hinchcliffe (12-4) The rest: Peter Bracewell (17-7) Ikku Funaki (5-3) Scott Gillespie (2-0) Simon Vine (7-3) Fans of the old GAMMA promotion hit the Blurcat.com forums in mass once the Welterweight Division rankings were released. GAMMA mainstays Jack Humphreys, Noach Van Der Capellen, and Joe Hinchcliffe were placed at the bottom of the top 10 list, behind untested (but undefeated) Randy Carsley and Nathan Chambers, and BCF addition Will Kane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION CHAMPION: Juro Fukazawa (7-0) 1. Andrew Rush (12-0) 2. Maarten De Vries (13-4) 3. Patrick Thomas (6-1) 4. Dan Halvorsen (22-11-2) 5. Davis Spyrou (11-4) 6. Ieyoshi Yama****a (10-4) 7. Uwe Maier (5-1) 8. Carl Ratcliffe (9-3) 9. Tucker Plumm (13-7) 10. Yoshinobu Tanaka (8-14) The rest: Greg Atteveld (15-10) Phil Ball (7-6) With the way Fukazawa rose straight to the top of the Middleweight Division, it’s not surprising to see that most of the former ALPHA-1 fighters were among the roster cuts. While the British fans applauded the decision to name former BCF star Andrew Rush the No. 1 contender, American fans questioned the decision to release the last GAMMA Middleweight champion, Matthew Dean. The Blurcat.com forums were abuzz at the inclusion of Yoshinobu Tanaka in the top 10; after all, he has the worst record of anyone still under contract to ALPHA-1. However, one respected poster (a long-rumored Mittens Blurcat alias) pointed out that at least Tanaka was on a winning streak, while the others under consideration for the final spot were currently on losing streaks and had less-than-stellar records themselves. The fact that he’s Japanese in a Japan-centered organization didn’t hurt things, either. And due to the small size of the division, many posters were calling for new hires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION CHAMPION: Tadamasa Yamada (13-1) 1. Zvonimir Asanovic (10-1) 2. John Rivero (7-0) 3. Heiji Endo (8-1) 4. Roberto Aldez (19-3) 5. Anthony LeToussier (13-5) 6. Faas Smit (5-0) 7. George Laurent (12-1) 8. Christopher Sharp (9-1) 9. Leon Banks (11-3) 10. Inejiro Chiba (20-4) The rest: Ashley Ballard (4-0) Gempachi Higa (9-5) Curt Kitson (10-3) Mike Watson (2-0) The Blurcat.con forums have been abuzz since the GAMMA buyout, speculating on the outcome of a potential champion vs. champion match between Tadamasa Yamada and Zvonimir Asanovic. Although not yet announced, most feel that it is just a matter of time before that fight takes place. The Light Heavyweight Division is already shaping up as ALPHA-1’s most popular, as many of the competitors are viewed as serious title threats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION CHAMPION: Hassan Fezzik (25-0) 1. Raul Hughes (11-0) 2. Hiro Arai (17-3) 3. Jeff Carlton (16-3) 4. Tony McCall (20-4) 5. James Foster (16-2) 6. Stafford Alois (18-7) 7. Tim Boyer (16-3-2) 8. Rick Stanley (20-7-3) 9. Robun Yamazaki (17-6) 10. Eddie Whelan (10-2) The rest: Mark Bicknell (8-3) Bob Dozier (4-2) Rav Kapur (5-0) Steve Mason (2-0) Lefter Oktay (6-0) Thomas Smith (6-1) The Heavyweight Division is the one by which most organizations are judged, and ALPHA-1 is the home of many of the legends of the sport. But the Japanese fans were up in arms about Raul Hughes being named the No. 1 contender; despite the fact that he was GAMMA’s last Heavyweight champion, many people feel like he’s more lucky than good, and should have to prove his worthiness as a title challenger against someone with a more well-known reputation, such as Hiro Arai or Robun Yamazaki. Still others want to see him against Hassan Fezzik, if only to prove that ALPHA-1 was always better than GAMMA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 ALPHA-1 announces “ALPHA-1: 36” live on pay-per-view Saturday, week 3, January 1997 from Kanto, Japan. The fight card: ALPHA-1 Heavyweight title match: Hassan Fezzik © (25-0) vs. Raul Hughes (11-0) ALPHA-1 Welterweight title match: Gabriel Gallego © (12-0) vs. Julio Regueiro (9-0-1) Sean Morrison (12-3) vs. Chojiro Goto (8-1) Heiji Endo (8-1) vs. Faas Smit (5-0) Teeratep Nutnum (5-0) vs. Callum Henson (4-0) Jenny DeNeuve (7-0) vs. Phoebe Bergman (14-5) Mike Watson (2-0) vs. Ashley Ballard (4-0) Romi Takahashi (4-0) vs. Veronika Sablikova (4-0) Carl Ratcliffe (9-3) vs. Dan Halvorsen (22-11-2) Randy Carsley (5-0) vs. Nathan Chambers (5-0) Steve Mason (2-0) vs. Rav Kapur (5-0) Uwe Maier (5-1) vs. Phil Ball (7-6) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Due to an injury suffered in training, Jenny DeNeuve is out of ALPHA-1: 36. She will be replaced by Mizuki Watanabe (6-0). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Marcus Speed has renegotiated his contract, extending his deal with ALPHA-1 to 4 fights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 ALPHA-1 is pleased to announce the addition of the following people to its roster: Women’s Division: Haley Croft (5-0) Umeka Fujiwara (2-0) Kimie Igarashi (0-0) Kirsten Page (7-3) Gianna Russo (2-0) Vicki Summers (9-2) Lightweight Division: Cory Brewer (7-4-1) Jamie Hewitt (1-0) Luke Hilton (4-1) Marko Prochazka (10-2) Welterweight Division: Darin Blood (2-0) Truck Gleeson (5-0) Agustin Gonzalez (3-0) Eli Harris (0-0) Xie Ming (3-0) Middleweight Division: Jim Carpenter (20-5-1) Bixente Fontaine (9-3) Thorbjorn Rekdal (3-1-1) Adam White (0-0) Light Heavyweight Division: Percy Catcher (6-2) Aleksei Chekhov (8-2) Petey Mack (6-1) Nicolai Mickiewicz (9-1) Heavyweight Division: Mugur Boc (2-0) Khru Duangjan (23-13) Shane Gilchrist (11-2) Dave Lennon (6-1) Gunnar Nilsson (18-3) Stratos Papaioannou (20-4) Derek South (1-0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 James Foster has been injured in training, and will be out for 2-6 months. He joins Jenny DeNeuve and Jim Carpenter on the injured list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 ALPHA-1 has reached an agreement with Japanese Sports Vision 2 for a television show on the fourth Thursday of every month. The new show, the first regularly scheduled televised program in MMA history, will be called ALPHA Quadrant. Also, it has been announced that ALPHA-1 has reached an agreement with Public Access Select to broadcast their next 6 events on pay-per-view in America and Canada. ALPHA-1 is currently seen in Japan and Asia on pay-per-view on J-Remote 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Here are the results from “ALPHA-1: 36”: Hassan Fezzik (26-0) def. Raul Hughes (11-1) by TKO in 1:45 of round 2 to retain the ALPHA-1 Heavyweight title (***) Gabriel Gallego (13-0) def. Julio Regueiro (9-1-1) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 5 to retain the ALPHA-1 Welterweight title (***) Chojiro Goto (9-1) def. Sean Morrison (12-4) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (**) Heiji Endo (9-1) def. Faas Smit (5-1) by TKO in 7:56 of round 1 (***) Teeratep Nutnum (6-0) def. Callum Henson (4-1) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (**) Mizuki Watanabe (7-0) def. Phoebe Bergman (14-6) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (**) Mike Watson (3-0) def. Ashley Ballard (4-1) by TKO in 7:24 of round 1 (**) Romi Takahashi (5-0) def. Veronika Sablikova (4-1) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (*) Carl Ratcliffe (10-3) def. Dan Halvorsen (22-12-2) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (**) Randy Carsley (6-0) def. Nathan Chambers (5-1) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (*) Steve Mason (3-0) def. Rav Kapur (5-1) by knock out in 0:23 of round 1 (*) Uwe Maier (6-1) def. Phil Ball (7-7) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (*) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 ALPHA-1 announces “ALPHA Quadrant” live on Japanese Sports Vision 2 Thursday, week 4, February 1997 from Eastern Asia. The fight card: Marcus Speed (2-0) vs. Atep of Indonesia (2-0) Gempachi Higa (9-5) vs. Percy Catcher (6-2) Scott Gillespie (2-0) vs. Darin Blood (2-0) Mugur Boc (2-0) vs. Derek South (1-0) Umeka Fujiwara (2-0) vs. Hanako Shimizu (2-0) Thorbjorn Rekdal (3-1-1) vs. Adam White (0-0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 ALPHA-1 announces “ALPHA-1: 37” live on pay-per-view Saturday, week 2, February 1997 from Kinki, Japan. The fight card: ALPHA-1 Light Heavyweight title match: Tadamasa Yamada © (13-1) vs. Zvomimir Asanovic (10-1) ALPHA-1 Women’s title match: Sayoko Ebisawa © (16-1) vs. Janinha (11-1) Naora Kikuchi (9-1) vs. Chiyo Yanagimoto (9-1) Claudio Palacios (10-2-1) vs. Kafu Bunya (10-3) Giovani Silva (20-9) vs. Marko Prochazka (10-2) Ieyoshi Yama****a (10-4) vs. Davis Spyrou (11-4) John Rivero (7-0) vs. Nicolai Mickiewicz (9-1) Robun Yamazaki (17-6) vs. Rick Stanley (20-7-3) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 New hires for February 1997: Jennifer Nash (0-0), Women’s Division Raul Pastor (0-0), Heavyweight Division Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddyGarner Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Those are some stacked cards! You need to pad these guys against some cans.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 14, 2008 Author Share Posted February 14, 2008 Here are the results from “ALPHA-1: 37”: Zvomimir Asanovic (11-1) def. Tadamasa Yamada (13-2) by knock out in 3:24 of round 2 to win the ALPHA-1 Light Heavyweight title (****) Janinha (12-1) def. Sayoko Ebisawa (16-2) by submission in 8:37 of round 1 to win the ALPHA-1 Women’s title (**) Naora Kikuchi (10-1) def. Chiyo Yanagimoto (9-2) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (***) Kafu Bunya (11-3) def. Claudio Palacios (10-3-1) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (**) Giovani Silva (21-9) def. Marko Prochazka (10-3) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (**) Davis Spyrou (12-4) def. Ieyoshi Yama****a (10-5) by submission in 4:15 of round 3 (**) John Rivero (8-0) def. Nicolai Mickiewicz (9-2) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (**) Rick Stanley (21-7-3) def. Robun Yamazaki (17-7) by TKO in 1:24 of round 2 (**) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 ALPHA-1 announces “ALPHA-1: 38” live on pay-per-view Saturday, week 2, March 1997 from Kyushu, Japan. The fight card: ALPHA-1 Lightweight title match: Go Yamamoto © (13-1) vs. Paulo Roberto Bezerra (9-1) Anthony LeToussier (13-5) vs. Roberto Aldez (19-3) Bixente Fontaine (9-3) vs. Maarten De Vries (13-4) Stratos Papaioannou (20-4) vs. Tony McCall (20-4) ALPHA-1 Middleweight title match: Juro Fukazawa © (7-0) vs. Andrew Rush (12-0) Jack Humphreys (12-2) vs. Noach Van Der Capellen (10-3) Roz Wareing (8-1-1) vs. Hester Maclean (7-0-1) Ricardo Fernandes (15-7) vs. Rodolphe Gygax (16-7) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 Here are the results from “ALPHA Quadrant”: Atep of Indonesia (3-0) def. Marcus Speed (2-1) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (**) Percy Catcher (7-2) def. Gempachi Higa (9-6) by knock out in 2:58 of round 3 (**) Darin Blood (3-0) def. Scott Gillespie (2-1) by unanimous decision in 5:00 of round 3 (*) Mugur Boc (3-0) def. Derek South (1-1) by TKO in 7:37 of round 1 (*) Umeka Fujiwara (3-0) def. Hanako Shimizu (2-1) by TKO in 2:38 of round 2 (*) Adam White (1-0) def. Thorbjorn Rekdal (3-2-1) by TKO in 3:18 of round 3 (*) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 ALPHA-1 announces “ALPHA Quadrant” live on Japanese Sports Vision 2 Thursday, week 4, March 1997 from Southern Asia. The fight card: Yoshinobu Tanaka (8-14) vs. Patrick Thomas (6-1) Petey Mack (6-1) vs. Aleksei Chekhov (8-2) Thomas Smith (6-1) vs. Dave Lennon (6-1) Truck Gleeson (5-0) vs. Xie Ming (3-0) Fujimaro Hidaka (1-1) vs. Jamie Hewitt (1-0) Pamela O’Neill (1-0) vs. Gianna Russo (2-0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 New hire for March 1997: Bill Brown (0-0), Light Heavyweight Division Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMuscle Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 Mugur Boc has failed a drug test! He will be suspended for the next year. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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