“I’ve fought in the past myself, I only ever jumped in there to learn and see what it was like having a big love of martial arts myself, so I’ve competed a lot in the cage, in the ring and on the mats.”

Nagel has worked with two stand-outs on the Australian scene, ex-Cage Fighting Chamionship lightweight champ Rob Hill, (who’s recently spent time training in the U.S.A with Matt Hughes’ HIT Squad), and Rize and TUFFA lightweight Champion Sonny Brown.

“I’ve worked with Rob Hill for the last few years, he’s a student of (Anthony) Lange’s. I’ve helped Rob a lot with his strength and conditioning, being a sparring partner for him sometimes (basically let him beat the sh** out of me)helping Rob a lot with his injury rehabilitation but mainly with his strength work leading up to fights.” said the Sydneysider.   “I helped him a lot leading up to his title fights with Bernardo Trekko, which he won, and his title defence against Adrian Pang which he lost in a five round decision.  I’ve been over to Hong Kong with him, and was his cornerman for his fight in Legends FC.”

“The other guy I’ve worked a lot with is Sonny Brown, a new up and coming fighter, a sparring partner of Rob’s, ” said Nagel, born and bred in Manly. “he’s the current Rize and TUFFA lightweight champion and Sonny came to me and had seen what I’d done with Rob Hill and being good mates Rob had obviously got in his ear and said give it a go.”

As a coach, Nagel is a believer in structural balance training; ensuring that the fighters (or members of the public) he trains don’t have any muscular imbalances that might make them prone to injury.

“As a strength coach my main prerogative is not only getting the guys stronger and fit and match ready but also to reduce their risk of injury so they can spend more time doing the things they need to do to prepare for the fights”, said the ex-Warriors Realm competitor. “Generally with structural balance we work on unilateral (one side only) movements, a lot of cable and dumbbell movements to address any issues with strength on each side to get the weaker sides coming up to be as strong as the stronger side.”

Like any fighter’s strength coach worth his or her salt, Nagel also focuses on building the explosive power a fighter needs to slam, punch or kick with force.

“Then we develop a lot of power; use a lot of cleans, deadlifts, a lot of olympic style lifts or modifications on olympic style lifting (such as jerks, split jerks and good mornings). Then as we start nearing closer (to the fight) we’ll definitely focus on maintaining the strength, maintaining the intensity but then also really start to focus on building up their endurance because they need a lot of gas in the tank — a good fighter should always be really fit.”

ROB HILL, 77 KILOS, DEADLIFTS 180 KILOS UNDER DAVE NAGEL’S WATCHFUL EYE

And to develop that all important gas tank, Nagel uses a mix of old school exercises.

“A lot of plyometrics, a lot of blood shunting; so your standard stuff, like burpies, sprint training, and a lot of old school training using kettlebells, ropes, sleds. I’m a big fan of plyometrics for athletes just to generate more power for them”

Dave Nagel, alongside head MMA coach Anthony Lange and other assistant coaches, is one part of the machinery at Lange’s MMA, one of Sydney’s longest running fight teams.

“The results are speaking for themselves with the boys between them getting three belts so I was very happy with that” said Nagel. “The boys train hard, they do well and they’ve got really good guidance under Anthony Lange who’s our head MMA coach. Then, with the assistance of other coaches like myself we have a really good fight team covering all aspects.”

If you’re an athlete or looking to get fit and want to learn more about training with Dave Nagel:  ASCA Level 1 Strength and Conditioning Coach, AWF Level 2 Olympic/Powerlifting Coach, Cert 4 Personal Trainer (AIF), Certified Kettlebell Instructor, visit his website at http://allsystemsfitness.com/

“I’m a big fan of the conjugated method, it’s basically a multi-faceted method of rotating and linking exercises that are close in nature so essentially linking things like bicep work into assist with chinning and back work to assist with chinning and a lot of rotator cuff work to create healthy shoulders”

Basic structural balance workout

A1. Dumbell split squat, 3 sets x 8 – 10 reps on a 3010 tempo

A2. Single leg, lying leg curl, 3 sets x 8 – 10 reps on a 3010 tempo

B1. Dumbell row, 3 sets x 8 – 10 reps on a 3010 tempo

B2. Incline dumbell chest press, 3 sets x 8 – 10 reps on a 3010 tempo

C1. Dumbell external rotation on knee, 3 sets x 8 – 10 reps on a 3010 tempo

D1. Side bridge, 3 sets x 60 seconds each side

Basic strength/power workout

A1. Power cleans 5 sets x 5 reps

B1. Power jerks 5 sets x 5 reps

C1. Conventional deadlift 7 sets x 3 reps

D1. weighted chins (supine grip) 7 sets x 3 reps

Basic conditioning workout (MMA style)

5 rounds of 5 minutes each

Round 1.

■         Kettlebell swings – 10 reps

■         Box jumps – 10 reps

Repeat for entire round

Round 2.

■         Sledgehammer on tyre – 15 reps each side

■         Farmers walk – 2 x 50 metre runs

Repeat for entire round

Round 3.

■         Tyre flips  – 30 seconds

■         Burpees – 30 seconds

Repeat for entire round

Round 4.

■         Ropes (snakes)  – 30 seconds

■         Sand bag (40kg) runs – 30 seconds

Repeat for entire round

Round 5.

■         Repeat a combination of the previous rounds exercises for entire round

The long term effects of the sport on Gary Goodridge aren’t a perfect indicator of the risks of participating in mixed martial arts or what’s to come for most fighters; Goodridge has taken on fights in kickboxing and MMA recklessly for years, long since a wise fighter would have retired. Fighters who’ve been in the game for as long like Couture and Nogueira (who’s taken far more punishment in his fights than most) still have their minds in tact.

The two reputable studies conducted on MMA support the idea that MMA is safe, relative to other combat sports. One study done by a leading American University suggested the risk of brain injury is lower in MMA than in boxing owing to the lower rate of knockouts. Similarly, a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that 28% of MMA matches ended in a blow to the head, compared to 40% for boxing. It’s worth noting, however, that it doesn’t take a knockout to cause brain damage. That’s been a key point of the recent media and medical discussion about the risk of contact sports: even “subconcussive” blows, that is, blows that might daze, but not KO, can be harmful for certain athletes over time. In favour of MMA is the fact that, under the UFC’s regulation, a concussed fighter must wait at least 45 days before fighting again, giving the fighter a chance to recover. No such precaution exists in the NRL, where high-impact concussions are common.

So, while MMA isn’t the only sport to blame and other sports may have the same problem to a greater extent, what is known about how long term brain damage works suggests that, for some fighters, there are likely to be some risks from long term competition. There’s still a lot that’s uncertain about the workings of this kind of brain damage in general, and in MMA specifically. So more research into the sport’s potential effects on the brain, like the UFC’s recent commitment to a three-year-study monitoring trauma to fighter’s brains, is a good thing and can only help in establishing how to keep the sport as safe as possible, and ensuring stories like Gary Goodridge’s are the exception to the rule.

An update: George Sotiropoulos will now be fighting Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 132, after original opponent Evan Dunham dropped out due to an undisclosed injury.

Elvis Sinosic

Before he’d ever stepped into the cage Elvis earned a degree in IT from the University of Canberra, and spent ten years in the IT industry that included a stint at giant accounting company Pricewaterhouse Coopers before he took the plunge in his late twenties; quitting to teach martial arts full-time.

Kyle Noke

Prior to focusing on mixed martial arts full-time, Noke worked security at Australia Zoo, a role that included guarding “The Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin. Noke committed to chasing his dream following the icon’s passing.  “He really pushed me to follow my career and follow my passion.” Noke said of Irwin in an interview with Yahoo.com.
 
 

Anthony Perosh

Long before he’d had an MMA fight, Sydney’s Perosh was on track for a career in Occupational Therapy, defined as “a health profession whose goal is to help people achieve independence, meaning and satisfaction in all aspects of their lives”, earning a degree in the field from the University of Sydney.  Instead, Perosh decided to focus on martial arts, living in Dallas, Texas for 3 years to train with Carlos Machado and eventually opening a martial arts school with Elvis Sinosic.

George Sotiropoulos

Sotiropoulos had designs of a more traditional career, earning an Associate Diploma of Business in International Trade and a Bachelor of Business in Finance, and working for financial giants Merrill Lynch and National Australia bank.  He left it all for a globe-trotting training journey covering Japan, Brazil, Greece and the USA that led him to the UFC.

James Te Huna

Like many fighters, Penrith’s Te Huna worked a blue-collar job to pay the bills before getting his break in MMA.  “It was pretty hard going from my bricklaying work to MMA training every day… I sensed that doors were starting to open for me in my mixed martial arts career, so I gave up the bricklaying and concentrated on training full time. I knew that if I strung together some good wins there would be a good chance of me joining the UFC when they eventually came to Australia. It was a big risk on my part, and I had to borrow money from friends and family to get there, but I’m glad it all worked out for the best.” said Te Huna in a 2010 interview with UFC.com

Mark Hunt

NZ-born Mark Hunt, who was famously encouraged to start kickboxing after an impressive performance in a nightclub brawl, was a construction worker and labour before moving to Australia and launching his kickboxing (and eventually, MMA) career.

It’s not an easy fight to call; both men are well rounded, without any glaring holes in their game.  Dunham (29 years old), who’s been ranked a top ten lightweight, like Sotiropoulos (33 years old), has demonstrated massive improvement with each fight.

Dunham is a southpaw. Sotiropoulos possesses a slight (2 inch) reach advantage. Technically sound, the American is aggressive and forward moving; fond of throwing kicks and flying knees. Sotiropoulos relies far more on his boxing, typically pressing forward confidently with his hands, often to set up the clinch or takedown.  Neither fighter is easy to finish on the feet; Dunham has demonstrated that he can come back from being rocked, as has Sotiropoulos.  Dunham’s lone knockout loss was to Melvin Guillard, who’s on a tear and capable of knocking out the best on any given night.  Not a great deal separates the two on the feet.

Grappling is also very tight on paper.  Dunham, who fights out of Randy Couture’s gym, is a BJJ black belt who’s demonstrated sharp submissions. While Joe Stevenson, who is also a BJJ black belt, was dominated in Sotiropoulos’s guard, Dunham has been impressive on the mat lately and I would not expect him to succumb to the rubber guard as easily.

In his fights against Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin, Dunham demonstrated very solid (improved) takedown defence; he won’t be easy to take to the mat.  With that said, Sotiropoulos managed to ground wrestler Kurt Pellegrino in their match-up,  so putting Evan Dunham on his back seems a difficult but not improbable feat.  Dunham has a good, active guard, that he used effectively against Sean Sherk but Sotiropoulos’s ability from on top is well documented. I suspect that Sotiropoulos might be able to control him from on top, but he certainly won’t dominate him from there.

Since, as I’ve argued, both men are fairly evenly matched everywhere, there is no obvious path of least resistance for Sotiropoulos to lead the fight down. Given that, the fight will likely play out with plenty of action both on the ground and feet. I expect Sotiropoulos to press forward aggressively with his hands as always, looking for the takedown where he can and trying to control Dunham from there.   Given the toughness and skills of both fighters I don’t think a knockout or submission is likely.  — this one will be going to a close decision.  Any Australian bias aside, I think Sotiropoulos’s hands, opportunistic takedowns and skill on the mat will be enough to edge out Dunham, but again — I think it will be close.

Update

The blog from two weeks ago discussed potential match-ups for Kyle Noke.  Since then, two of the fighters in that list of match-ups for Noke, have taken other fights; Chris Wiedman is slated to fight Jesse Bongfeldt at 131, Nick Ring against James Head at UFC 131.  Some had wondered if hard hitter Chris Leben may be his next fight, but he’s fighting Wanderlei Silva at UFC 132.  If the speculation was right, that leaves Nick Catone, Brad Tavares, and Riki Fukuda as potential fights for Noke.

“I’ve probably trained at 6 or 7 gyms in the time I’ve been there. The last gym I trained at was called Kiatphontip; about 30 kilometres outside of Bangkok, and that’s more of a traditional Thai-style gym with minimal westerners so more young Thais and experienced fighters there.  But I’ve trained at Fairtex before with the likes of Yodsenkai, Naruepol and Kaew Fairtex.  I’ve trained at a place called Scorpion gym in Pattaya.  I’ve trained at 13 Coins where Saenchai was based out of for a long time, and he’s the number one-pound for-pound best Thai fighter in the world they say.”

Hammond believes that for a Muay Thai purist, Kiatphontip offers the best training.

“The last gym that I trained at (Kiatphontip) had a lot more structure than I’ve ever trained in and a lot of the fighters and quality of the fighters was evident.  They’re very structured and they focus on traditional style training.  The trainers there were better than I’d ever experienced before just because they give a lot of accountability and they come around and they’re coaching a lot more than a lot of the other gyms. ” said Hammond.  “Because a lot of Westerners go there (to other gyms), a lot of gyms tend to take advantage of that. Whereas this gym was nowhere near Westernised, and still had a better mentality than a lot of the other gyms.”

And terms of value for money, Kiatphontip comes out on top too — unless you’re interested in luxury.

“At Kiatphontip; value for money and quality of training is hard to match.  I was paying 28 dollars a day to train twice and stay at the camp and for two meals a day. At Fairtex, I would train there twice a day, and it would cost me that or maybe a little bit more, just to train there” said Hammond.  “So you train a little bit more for how commercial it is, and if you’re not into the traditional Thai gym, I’m not gonna say its dirty but the best way I could probably compare it is training at your local boxing gym or your Fitness First. Fairtex has a nice air conditioned weights room, it’s got four rings, and Kiatphontip’s got a few different bags, it’s got one ring”

But Fairtex and 13 Coins have a unique appeal if you’re a fan of professional Muay Thai.

“Training there (at Fairtex) is pretty inspiring because you’re training with guys like Yodsenkai and Naruepol there’s probably 4 guys out of that gym that have got numerous world titles. So to train alongside that sort of calibre as a fighter or someone that’s never fought before, I think is something that you can’t do everyday.” explained Hammond. “The fighters that come out of those two gyms (Fairtex and 13 Coins) are probably the most recognised fighters in all of Thailand, so if you’re keen on Muay Thai, most people would have heard of those two gyms, so they’re good for what you gain. I find as a fighter turning up to those two gyms you’d probably gain a lot more than if you didn’t know how, but they still accommodate for fitness (levels); they’re pretty adaptive both of those.”

In 2010, Hammond and NSW Muay Thai fighter Luis Regis founded their own gym.  And not surprisingly, the emphasis is on traditional Thai-style training.

“SRG Muay Thai: Myself and Luis Regis, pretty prominent in NSW fighting at the moment, we came up with that name and started running it out of Mundine’s gym in Redfern about 8 months ago.  I suppose the friendship Luis and I had really created that and it’s very Thai-style, that’s a reflection of my style and Luis’s training style also; we both have different strengths, which is evident during the classes, Luis is very technical and I’m a very forward style of fighter so you get the best of both worlds.” Hammond said.  “We’ve both been to Thailand numerous times as well, and I think going over numerous times a year is what separates our gym apart from other “Muay Thai” gyms. Because the gym’s recently shifted to Gracie in Alexandria, the gym’s been in a building phase to try and get people involved, and obviously because its within a jiu-jitsu place, there’s some up and coming MMA fighters that are starting to train stand-up in the Muay Thai section so it accommodates for everyone.  But down the line we see it becoming one of the better Muay Thai gyms around just because of how traditional it is”

SRG Thai boxing runs out of Gracie Sydney martial arts and fitness centre, www.graciesydney.com.au.  Contact Luis Regis for more information on 0416155455

Brad Tavares

A fellow TUF 11 competitor, Tavares has two straight UFC wins, his last over Phil Baroni. Tavares has the edge in explosiveness on the feet, but Noke is more technically polished. The Aussie will have the upper hand on the mat; the Hawaiian struggled with Seth Bacyznski’s ground game, coming dangerously close to being triangled, and looking lost on the mat against Rob Hammortree. Don’t be surprised if Noke looks to score a takedown, as he did against Chris Camozzi and Rob Kimmons, and tries to finish Tavares on the with a submission.  My number one bet as the next match for Noke.

Nick Catone

A solid prospect coming off two straight wins over Constantinos Philippou and Jesse Forbes, he’s a step-up, but not a massive step-up.  While Noke will likely have the edge in stand-up over Catone, who didn’t look crisp on the feet in his last fight, Catone has the edge in wrestling — he’s used it for two decision victories in the UFC — which might spell problems for Noke if Catone looks to eek out a decision.  How he fares will depend on how far he’s come in his wrestling while training with Greg Jackson and co. While Noke’s wrestling against Camozzi and Kimmons was impressive, we’re yet to see him successfully stave off takedowns for an entire fight against someone with an excellent wrestling pedigree.

Chris Weidman

The former college wrestler and high-level submission grappler scored a win over Alessio Sakara in his March 3 UFC debut, a longtime UFC gatekeeper, making him an interesting challenge for Noke.  Weidman was outstruck by Sakara, and expect Noke to have a similar edge on the feet.  But Weidman’s grappling pedigree and takedowns raise the aforementioned question.

Riki Fukuda

Fukuda has built a solid impressive resume in Japan in Dream and DEEP.  His decision loss to Nick Ring at UFC 127 can be considered void; he received a win bonus from Dana White.  Fukuda has solid jiu-jitsu and power in his hands (though he’s not as technical as Noke) If they clash, though, expect Fukuda to employ what gave him his greatest success against Ring: wrestling.

Nick Ring

He might be coming off a controversial decision win, but he still has enough cred to make it a worthwhile match-up for Noke.  A TUF 11 castmate of Noke’s, he performed well on  the show, beating eventual winner Court McGee (albeit via very controversial decision). Stylistically, jokester Ring is similar to Noke, with technical stand-up and jiu-jitsu but wrestling as his biggest weakness.  Accordingly, there are a number of plausible ways for the fight to play out.  There will likely be plenty of striking, but either man may switch gears and look for the takedown.  A tough fight to call; my view is that it would likely end in close decision.

An update:

The week before last I wrote about the UFC working to secure a free-to-air channel to broadcast The Ultimate Fighter, and eventually The Ultimate Fighter Australia vs UK. Last week the UFC made it official, announcing that they will be airing TUF on free digital channel GO!, only hours after it airs in the U.S.

See more about this article here

To get into shape necessary to compete in the UFC’s uber-athletic 93 kilo division, he hired a new strength and conditioning coach who introduced him to the “Built like a Badass” program; a regimen designed by high profile U.S. fitness guru Joe Defranco (and available in e-book form, incidentally).

“It’s like a program out there just for MMA athletes.  I did that three times a week.  It’s a combination of heavy lifting, high weight – low rep, and endurance, like high rep – low weight lifting and cardio. My cardio mainly was just run as fast I can on the treadmill for 20 minutes”

And “The Hippo” Perosh believes he’s found a program that makes sense.

“The goal is not to be as strong as a powerlifter or look as good as a bodybuilder.  It’s very functional so all the big lifts like bench press and deadlifts and chin-ups, I could pump heavy weights out with that, which is all you need; because really, in MMA, the most I have to lift is someone my weight” said Perosh. “I felt very strong, I don’t feel like I can be outmuscled in the light heavyweight division”

Following a shoulder reconstruction and a period of inactivity, Perosh hit the 110 kilo mark; 17 kilos above the light heavyweight division’s weight limit.  No small gap, so he employed a nutritionist to lose weight the right way.

“It was a reduced calorie diet, about 2000 calories a day, with a mix of 35% protein 35% carbs 30 fat and I was eating very clean, so just your veggies and your tuna and chicken breast, sweet potato, oatmeal and that sort of thing; very clean, no sugar, no salt, just water and reduced calories.  It worked well because of the breakdown, I had more than enough energy to train twice a day and lose weight at the same time.”

Enough fuel is important when you consider a week in the life of Perosh, pre-127.

“Monday through Saturday morning I did 2 to 2 and a half hours of martial arts training.  I alternated boxing wrestling and BJJ, an hour each; every day I would do two styles and then about 4 o’clock every day I would do my conditioning.  And maybe 2 nights a week I’d have sparring at about 6 o’clock”

For 127, Perosh’s martial arts training recieved a shake-up too, and he worked with some of Australia’s best in wrestling and boxing.

“I brought in Steve Rudic; he’s my boxing coach, he won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth games, and I brought in Dennis Roberts as my wrestling coach who just missed out on a bronze medal in the 2010 Commonwealth games, and on top of that I had Elvis as my BJJ partner and all my students as well to help me with BJJ,” said Perosh. “Both the boxing and wrestling coaches, not only are they top competitors or were they top competitors, but they’re both heavyweights they’re both 6’3 6’4 115 kilos.  So not only were they good coaches, they’re good sparring partners as well.”

“The Hippo” is confident in his new pre-fight formula, save for a minor adjustment.

“I think I’ll stick with it.  I completely changed everything; had a new boxing coach, a new wrestling coach, a new strength and conditioning coach, a new dietitian, everything was new because it wasn’t working before,” said Perosh. “So I thought, I won now, I did really well, I’m happy with everything so it would be silly to change anything now.  The only thing I may change is that I may go to other places more often to spar with top boxers and top kickboxers.”

Ken Shamrock’s recent loss to Pedro Rizzo in Sydney may highlight that his best years in the cage are behind him.

But when asked why he continues to place his 46 year old body on sports toughest stage he looks bewildered. “It’s kind of like telling someone to stop breathing; you know what I mean – I want you stop breathing – how do I do that?”

Shamrock began his professional Mixed Martial Arts career in 1993, but his biggest fight began long before that. As a teen he faced a day to day battle to stay off the street and avoid a life of crime, a past that served as his greatest motivation throughout his career. “I didn’t want to end up dead or in prison, I wanted to be somebody.” Shamrock says.

The fighter known as “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” did just that. After a successful start to his professional fight career in the Japanese promotion “Pancrase,” Shamrock returned to his Lion’s Den Gym in Susanville, California.

“I remember getting this flyer from one of my students for this no holds barred event,” Shamrock explains. “In the U.S when I hear of a no holds barred event, I think of like the Hulk Hogan type of stuff, the chairs over the head and tables.”

That brochure was for an eight-man, single-elimination tournament pitching martial artists from different disciplines against each other. After making some enquiries Shamrock signed on to compete in the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championships in Denver, Colorado.

“We get there and we have a press conference, but there’s no press there because no one really knows what’s going on,” Shamrock remembers. “I’m waiting for this meeting of some sorts, to say this is how it’s going to work. That meeting never took place.”

For the 8 men competing, it would be a steep learning curve. According to Shamrock the first explanation of what they had signed up for came when savate fighter Gerard Gordeau  infamously kicked sumo wrestler Teila Tuli’s teeth into the front row. The 6 men who remained watched on from the locker room.

“Some of them (fighters) were trying to sneak out the back door, and then there were some of us who had already been through this and thought heck it’s just one guy and there’s no weapons.”

As the tournament progressed, Shamrock was one of 4 men left standing. His semi final opponent was Jiu Jitsu practitioner Royce Gracie, who would one day join him in the UFC hall of Fame and evidently defeat him on his way to victory in the organization’s first fight night.

“I figured he was too small, I’d go right through him”, Shamrock recounts with a smile. “I said there was no way a guy in jamies was going to beat me.”

Shamrock v Gracie was Mixed Martial Arts first great rivalry, and certainly not the last to involve the shoot fighter from California. Shamrock’s battles with Dan Severn and Don Frye are legendary but the one he shared with Tito Ortiz was simply created in fight heaven.

“If Tito didn’t have me, Tito wouldn’t be where he’s at. Fortunately for us we had each other,” says Shamrock.

The Shamrock v Ortiz rivalry reached new heights during Season 3 of the Ultimate Fighter, as they faced off as coaches. Shamrock was heavily criticised for his training techniques on the show but claims he was unfairly portrayed. Except for the part where he didn’t get on with Tito.

“I’ve been in the game too long to get hurt,” Shamrock explains as he shrugs his shoulders. “The UFC are where they are at because of that rivalry.”

Despite his history with the franchise, the UFC cut ties with Ken Shamrock after his third loss to Ortiz.  While he scoffs at suggestions that he should retire he knows the physical strain on his middle aged body is getting harder to ignore.

“You get frustrated because you think your body should come back and heal, and you don’t know why you can’t do this anymore, and so you keep pushing yourself harder and harder till you break.”

Throughout his career, Shamrock has been dogged by allegations of steroid use. It came to affront when he was suspended for a year for the use of a banned substance. Like he had in the past he denied the charges, before coming clean in a June interview with HDNet’s Mike Straka. Shamrock reflects.

“To me it wasn’t a big deal, when it came out I was a bit shocked. Sometimes you’re better to leave things alone rather than defend yourself.”

Love him or hate him “The World’s Most Dangerous Man,” deserves credit for helping Mixed Martial Arts become what it is today. But the personal cost is evident. Despite pleas from his body to halt the aches and pains he continues to put it through the punishment of 5 minute rounds in the cage.

Ken Shamrock is now a man who fights because he doesn’t know what he would do if he didn’t. These days escaping a Royce Gracie Gi choke seems far simpler than giving in to father time.

“How do you do that?” Shamrock exhales. “How do you begin to do that?”

The first whiff of an Aussie Ultimate Fighter came in 2010, with Dana White indicating, in vague terms, that he was interested in bringing the Ultimate Fighter to a number of global locations, Australia included.

In late 2010 there were more rumblings, with the Telegraph UK reporting that the UFC had a TUF Australia V UK in its sights.

At the pre-fight press conference for UFC 127, the UFC’s Managing Director of International Development Marshall Zelaznik gave us some concrete evidence.  And confirmed a name (or at least a working title) for the season: “The Smashes”.  (In case you haven’t picked it up, it’s a wordplay on “The Ashes”)

“We’re getting pretty far along (to being able to make an announcement), we’re not in a position to announce anything we’re getting close here on networks here” said Zelaznik “That will be the first step in getting the “Smashes” (to happen)”

Though he did rule out any chance of it happening in 2011 (as rumoured on the internet)

“I wouldn’t imagine that being any time within this year”

At least he’s talking talking in whens not ifs.  And when the time does come, who will the coaches be?  Marshall Zelaznik remained tight lipped when asked if Bisping V Noke be the natural choice.

“I don’t want to speculate about anything right now.  Obviously they’re both very good fighters, talented fighters and it would make some sense, but I wouldn’t speculate one way or another”

And this relates to a problem for “The Smashes”: what position will Kyle Noke and George Sotiropoulos be in a year from now?  At this point in time, Kyle Noke V Michael Bisping would be difficult to sell to an American audience given that Noke has not yet proved himself at the level Bisping has.

George Sotiropoulos, coming off a loss, is still a better candidate for a TUF coach right now.  However, his British counterpart Ross Pearson is not yet near contender status. Of course, between now and the time the groundwork for TUF Australia is finished, there’s plenty of time for Noke and Sotiropoulos to win or lose fights.

But, in the interests of growing the brand, the UFC is eager to make “The Smashes” happen.  At 127‘s pre and post fight press conferences, Zelaznik stated that they were looking to secure “terrestrial” — i.e. free to air — broadcasting deals for the show in Australia and the UK that would see the show “very widely distributed” and “take the sport to the next level”.  And if it’s any indication, the UFC is planning to produce a TUF Phillipines that won’t be aired in the U.S. due to a lack of interest.

So even if things don’t go perfectly, assuming Noke and Sotiropoulos don’t have a disastrous stretch from now until the relevant deals are in place, perhaps the UFC would be willing to produce a TUF with a “weak” coaches’ showdown to cater to fans in Australia and the UK.

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