official kumite results.

tony has had offers from japan several times over the past 18 months. but, tony is contracted to kotc until early next year. by then he would have won the heavyweight kotc title. then, he will be free to hit japan. tony fighting in japan isn't a matter of if, it is a matter of when. next year is the answer. also, i am confused. some of you say you want to watch tony fight top level guys. so, he says he wants to fight our best fighters here in oz, elvis sinosic and larry. he has never challenged bums publicly. just 2 guys, larry and elvis. both considered the best 2 in oz. thats why he wants to face them in the cage. then, some of you say elvis shouldn't fight him ? make up your mind. you want to see him fight the very best in oz, or you prefer to watch him fight 0-1 guys because the best find an excuse not to fight him ? all the best boxers and k-1 fighters in oz fight each other. if these two guys put the sport of mma before themselves, like tony has by getting mma of the ground here in nsw. and, fight him. the sport will benefit. as for predictions, elvis will not submit tony. any black belt in bjj that has ever trained with tony will agree. and, that is the only hope elvis has of beating him. when it comes to punching and kicking, tony's an animal. i predict that tony would ko elvis in the 3rd round via left hook. larry wouldn't last a round. he would get ko'ed 1st clean punch that landed on his chin.

my 0.02cents worth.

wat about soa?

Two interesting trains of thought here regarding Justin's so called "smart fans"

Justin doesn't seem to think we matter because the real bums on seats come from a more general type of punter, and therfore who Tony fights doesn't matter, yet John seems to think that Tony -v- Elvis/Larry would put the sport on the map because they are "big names".

So, come on promters, and I mean you too wehah and kezza, do us smart fans count or not ??

John, as far as whether I'd like to see Tony fight bums (to quote the term being used) or top flight opponents like Larry/Elvis, why not let us see Tony fight top opponents who AREN'T Larry/Elvis ? Why not do what the other shows are doing and bring in some overseas talent to showcase his skills.

That way smart and dumb punters alike will be the winners !!

:-)

Tank

Hey Tank. All fans count in my book whether they are from the dumb or smart fan base. Aussie MMA needs every unit of support it can get to put their bum on a seat or feet on a piece of sticky,beer stained carpet.

Cheers!

"or you prefer to watch him fight 0-1 guys because the best find an excuse not to fight him ?"

That makes sense, Elvis and Larry wont fight Bonello. Therefore it is their fault you match him to fight 0-1 fighters. Which other fighters were contacted to fight Tony on this show?

I could think of a bunch of better fights for him what about Tama Tehuna, Steve Thomas, Brad Morris, Pedro Galiza, Api Hemara, the Fokis etc etc. The possibilities of matching Bonello in Australia are huge, he will fight guys 30kg bigger and even team mates. I'm amazed that the best opponent you could find for a 3x world champion is 0-1 in MMA.

I almost starting a defense everytime I read this thread :(

Seriously though and I have a lot of experience in promoting Tony. You don't get the big names (larry, Elvis) so you turn to level B and then they ask silly money and I mean really SILLY money.

Respectfully, to the average fan whether Tony beat beat Sam NEST or Sam SMITH is of little signifigance. Physical presence is something I had always looked for in BONELLO opponents as I honestly believe that is the only area where he can be potentially overshadowed in the ring.

So you are left with the scenario

Take the fighter that looks $1.50 and wants a million bucks or the fighter that looks a million bucks and wants $1.50.

From a promoters perspective I find it amussing that B levels ask for BIG $$ re an opportunity to fight TB. There is a lot more than money to be gained with a win over Tony.

On that who here in Australia would like to fight Tony for $2500 on my next XFC event on September 30. failing that December 2. Heavyweight bout under either XFC or XMT rules 5 x 3?

Justin

Bonello's peeps

Justin

"Bonello's peeps"

So it was a bar mitzvah with scraps hey? ;P

  • Juggs

Really, bringing me up about fighting  Tony= dead horse + stick

I have no interest in fighting Tony.  It's not going to happen.  Tony is making his own career and I am working on mine.

You asked what fighting Matsui does.  It brings exposure.  He's fought and gone the distance with some of the best fighters in MMA (and you CANNOT doubt the quality of his opponants).  This fight has opened up doors for further fights for me.  You will see me fighting again in either Japan or US in the near future.  It has also more importantly been helping me open doors to try and get other fighters overseas and some more exposure which I am constantly working on.

Thanks for keeping me in the smart fans eyes.

Elvis

Quote, For all readers interested from Pedro Galiza's corner. At no time till after the end of the 2 minute round were we informed that the times had been changed to what was first agreed 2rounds of 5 minutes, this is what we prepared for. The round ended at 2 minutes we protested that the fighters be put back to there original positions before the 2 minutes had ended to finish the 5 minute round but were refused, we then asked for the agreed 5 minute rounds but were then told to get of the stage, at no point was Pedro scared or did not want to fight, we tried to negotiate but they would not even listen they said to fight 2 minute rounds. Pedro said I came to fight 5 minute rounds it was made prity clear either 2 minute rounds or there would be no fight, we stated the agreed 5 ninute rounds or we're not fighting. There was no compromise we went back to the dressing rooms. It is a clear mistake on the organisers, the promoters should apologise to both fighters and the people who paid there money to watch. Also Pedro should be paid for the fight and the fight declared a non contest. This would be fair and honourable on the part of the promoters...
Robert Naumoski

i bring up the elvis and larry fight senario against tony. because, once again at my show on friday, everyone kept asking me when larry or elvis is going to fight tony. i kept telling everyone that i have tried to make the fights happen, but neither will fight him. as a promoter, i want to make the match vs tony that most people want to see. 95% of people i talk to say elvis. other 5% say larry. but, if elvis states here that the fight will never happen. then, the fight will never happen. as it takes 2 people to make a fight.

John,

You say 95% of people you speak to would like to see Elvis vs Tony , well I would think 100% of people here and everywhere else want to see Tony's skills against a top line, credible opponent.

Obviously now that we have established that Elvis and Larry are out of the question, do you think you can make this scenario happen as a promoter ?

Any top line fighter will do.

p.s. Congratulations on holding an mma event in Sydney , hopefully its a big step foward

Elvis,

How big was the crowd at Pancrase for your fight with Matsui ?

kotcdownunder, surely this isn't the first time you've heard Elvis say he won't be fighting Tony ?

I've seen him saying it for the 2 years or so that I've been visiting mma.tv.

And, by the sounds of the number of people that were asking about it, you seemed to have a lot of people at the show that were interested in Tony's opponent, which would seem to conflict with Justins theory.

It's great that you are trying to getthe matches that your fans want. If there enough interest generated here for an international opponent or 2 for Tony would you be as enthusiastic in trying to get the match ?

If so, maybe a few of the smart fans could make some suggestions ??

Tank

Unfortunatly I have to agree with John.P (dammit) and disagree with Justin.

I think the 'smart' fans are very important. We are the ones who sell the promotions to our friends, relatives and businesses. Without us, promoters would HAVE to spend thousands on advertising. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising around, and the best sales people for an event are those who are passionate about it.

Fight fans have had kickboxing rammed down their throats for the last 10 yrs and want to see something different, but usually boo when it hits the ground.
Ignorance is a funny thing. Anything unfamiliar is usually met with negative views, until they are educated about it.

My 2c.
-Dave

"Elvis, How big was the crowd at Pancrase for your fight with Matsui ?"

The arena was capable of holding 4000 people, but because it was in Yokohama (not Tokyo) it did not have a sellout crowd.  Numbers were probably about 2500-3000 people.  It was only a small show. I'm sure Pancrase was hoping for a bigger turnout.

Elvis

A lot of pancrase and moreso Shooto events are to crowds the size of the Aussie events. pancrase has some bigger 10 thou + events too though.

Justin

Alot of Shooto shows are tiny! I'm talking like under 500 people.

Justin and Jaje are correct. I've been to a SHOOTO show at Kitazawa
Town Hall, Tokyo and it was barely able to hold 300 MAX!! Good for
the punter thou cause it's practically unavoidable to bump into many
SHOOTO stars.

  • Juggs

I think a smaller intimate venue often makes for good television product. Still nothing beats 10's of thousands of fans :(

Justin