Danny Castillo - Welcome to Texas

Came across this photo on Phil Cardella’s Myspace page. Cardella throws down with Danny Castillo this Sunday at WEC in Corpus Christi.

The prevailing thought is… welcome to Texas, Danny Castillo. This may not turn out well for you.

Click here for video from the WEC website interviewing both fighters.

By the way, we emailed Danny Castillo for an interview for this website. Here is the dialogue:

“Hello Danny,

We’re looking forward to your fight in Corpus Christi for WEC on March 1. We have to admit, we are HUGE Phil Cardella fans and will be cheering for all of the Texas-based fighters on the card.
That being said, we wanted to see if you would be interested in participating in an interview to put on our website, ..www. TexasTestosteroneFestival. com…

Here are our questions…

1) What is your gameplan against Phil Cardella at WEC on March 1?
2) What’s the one part of your game you’re hoping Phil Cardella does not discover or exploit during your fight?
3) Are there any injuries you don’t want Phil Cardella to be aware of?
4) What hotel will you be staying in the night before your fight? What will be the name you’re checked in under?
5) Do your cornermen need directions to the nearest hospital to the American Bank Center?

Thanks for your consideration, Danny. We’d wish you luck with training and in your fight March 1 but we’re really not capable of doing so. We hope you understand.
Respect.
The Texas Testosterone Festival”

Castillo’s response?

“LOL…Thats really cute!”

So, perhaps including a picture of a naked woman in our email to entice a response backfired.

For more on this fight click here.

Update 2/27/09: Put a new picture from the Sherdog forums above (hat tip to Evil Scott) as well as a link to video interviews with both Castillo and Cardella.

XFC Official Weigh-Ins

XFC’s public weigh-ins are tonight at 7:00 at Shiner’s Saloon at 422 Congress in Austin but the official weigh-ins happened at the XFC Training Center in lovely Cedar Park from about 2:30 to 3:15 this afternoon. The fighters were relaxed and hungry. The weigh-ins were officiated by Program Specialist Hector Barragan. Weights listed below are unofficial but the best we could make out standing just a few feet from Barragan.

No real exciting news other than Chris Spicer’s opponent, Jon Kirk, weighed in at 188 and has to share a couple hundred bucks of his purse with Spicer right from the get-go since he missed the 185 limit. Spicer came in at 184.5.

Daniel Gantman weighed in at 185.25 but possessed the heaviest shorts in the world, which he removed and weighed in at 184.75 on this second try. Opponent Cedric Marks watched closely. He weighed in at 178.5.

Here are a handful of the photos we took from the weigh-ins this afternoon. 

Chris Spicer 184.5	Jon Kirk 188

Darrill Schoonover 239	Justin Howard 248

April Coutino 124.25	Jen Babcock 125.75

Conan Cano 181.75	Brandon Farran 177.5

Paul Buentello to get Tim Sylvia Next

MMAJunkie.com reports Heavyweight Paul Buentello from Dripping Springs will next fight Tim Sylvia in a summer Affliction show. Sylvia’s manager, Monte Cox, is interviewed about Sylvia’s upcoming activities, including an upcoming bout with fellow UFC alum Buentello.

“I’ve been in discussion with them for that,” Cox said. “A lot depends on what the date ends up being. If [Affliction's next show] is in July, we’re definitely interested.”

Great news #1: Looks like Affliction is still alive and kicking (and grounding and pounding).

Great news #2: A match-up we never saw in the UFC looks like it will come to be - and still while the fighters are in their prime. Buentello has won his last two, against MMA veteran Gary Goodridge and young Russian Kiril ‘Baby Fedor’ Sidelnikov, while Sylvia has dropped his last two, modern classics against Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko with Sylvia in the heel role.

Great news #2: War Buentello!

XFC Weigh-Ins are Tomorrow Night

Obviously, we’re more than just a little excited for a great weekend of MMA in Texas - WEC Sunday night features Amarillo’s Leonard Garcia taking on Featherweight Champion Mike Brown, Dallas’ Marcus Hicks takes on Rob McCullough, and Austin’s Phil Cardella takes on Danny Castillo. We’ve posted twice before about Cardella so look at those posts for more info on that fight.

But for those of us who are fans of live MMA and interested in those fighters just one step away from the big shows like UFC, WEC, Affliction, and Strikeforce… we’re going to XFC on Friday night at the Travis County Expo Center. Rumors are out that talent scouts from the top of the food chain will be present. What’s a better way to sell a show than by great rumors like these flying about? We’re taking notes.

And to build the excitement, tomorrow night are the weigh-ins at Shiner’s Saloon at 422 Congress in downtown Austin. Fighters, Hot chicks, merchandise giveaways… hell, we’ll be there too. Buy us beer.

Austin’s Chris Spicer is 2 and 0 as a pro including a a dominating performance against a game Ken Laney just a couple weeks ago. Spicer has spent less than 2 minutes in the ring thus far. Look for fireworks against Jon Kirk, who is much more experienced with an 11-5 record but on a two fight losing streak.

Another fight to look forward to is the girls’ fight. Houston’s April Coutino will have her hands full with Jen Babcock from Team Jackson in Albuquerque. She gets knocked around by guys like GSP, Keith Jardine, and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans… she has to be tough.

Beer Guru On… Samuel Adams’ Winter Lager

Winter in Texas is relative. But unlike most of the country, what we consider winter is very nearly over, and that requires a change in our beer consumption. We asked Resident Beer Guru Patrick Wardrop to review one of our favorite winter brews before the season passes and SXSW reminds us, in a flood of free Shiner beer, that Spring has arrived.

Patrick writes of the Samuel Adams’ Winter Lager:

Appearance: Dark reddish amber, good head retention which fades to a thin light head with a little lacing.

Aroma: Slightly sweet with cinnamon or all-spice undertones that produces a very pleasant aroma.

Taste: A slight malty, caramel and cinnamon flavor with a hint of hop bitterness that has a dry smooth finish.

Mouth feel: Medium-High carbonation and medium body that is clean and crisp.

Drinkability: A very drinkable winter brew, it goes great with all kinds of food. I would classify this is as a crowd pleaser most would enjoy.

Serving type: Draft

Conclusion: Overall this a great beer that I would recommend to most, even some non-beer drinkers. It is a very smooth beer that isn’t too heavy for a dark beer (you can drink a few extras and not get full).

WEC’s Phil Cardella Will Hurt Danny Castillo

Phil Cardella sure knows how to secure Texas’s reputation for being a lawless house of crazies.

“I go wild pig hunting at night — I’ll walk around the woods with guns in the middle of the night,” he confessed. “I’ll dive off a 70-foot cliff head first, I’ll go 70 feet underwater without tanks. I don’t let any dips**ts into my academy.”

But he also knows how to scare the living bejeezus out of his opponents - the next one being Danny Castillo at WEC in Corpus Christi on March 1.

“I’m going to go in there and kick this guy’s a–; I’m going to choke the s— out of him. I’m sure he’s going to give me a choke. He’s going to get the s— beat out of him and he’s not going to want a rematch.” Then he talks of his last opponent, Rafael Dias. “I beat the snot out of Rafael Dias in my guard and he couldn’t pass. I beat up Rafael and put him in the hospital … I gave him a whole lot of elbows and almost submitted him several times. I didn’t break his spirit — I just kept pummeling him in the head and making the cuts bigger. His head hurt for two months straight. I didn’t enjoy inflicting those injuries to him but I’ll do it in a heartbeat to my next opponent.”

More great quotes from Cardella can be found here.

We may already be the kinds of guys that come up with excuses why we won’t take the wife or girlfriend to a Haunted House in October but chalk us up as particularly scared of Phil Cardella. By the way, even if you’re a dips**t, stop by Cardella’s Gracie Austin Jiu Jitsu Academy at 2919 Manchaca in South Austin and take some lessons.

Here is video of Cardella beating the snot out of Dias.

Phil’s video from joe on Vimeo.

Best submissions in mma?

“No. 4 The Triangle Choke: While in the guard, the fighter traps his opponent’s arm and pulls it forward. From there, the fighter puts his leg opposite to the isolated arm behind the opponent’s head and locks that leg into place with his other leg. Once the legs are locked, the opponent is trapped, and the fighter in guard applies pressure until his opponent either taps out or loses consciousness.”–www.askmen.com

Just this past Saturday at UFC 95, Demian Maia further cemented his position as one of, if not the, best bjj practitioner(s) in mma today by submitting WEC Middleweight Champ (for all intents and purposes) Chael Sonnen; a fight between two guys with slightly unpronounce-able names. His transitions and finishes are impressive, worth drooling over when watching again in slow-mo. With Anderson Silva having been submitted in the past, you heard it here first, Maia might be the man to beat him (if Silva can avoid being submitted by a very game Thales Leites, also slightly unpronounce-able, at UFC 97 in April).

Sadly missing from the askmen.com list are the Peruvian Necktie and the D’arce Choke. Also, I’d probably put the Gogoplata higher than 10. But, it’s tough to complain; I’m just glad stuff like this is being talked about at all, as 4 years ago no one knew what was going on when an mma match hit the ground. And knowing is half the battle, according the G.I. Joe.

Recap of Last Night’s Oscars

Hugh Jackman hosted last night’s Oscars, beginning with a stunning song and dance performance that left many applauding the handsome man’s breadth of talent.

Are you kidding? You clicked on this story?

Pops Goes Off on 14ers, Toros Take First

The Austin Toros defeated the Colorado 14ers yesterday 131-124 in Overtime to return to first place in the Southwest Division. Pops Mensah-Bonsu scored 39 points and Marcus Williams had 30 as the Toros recovered from a twelve point deficit at the half to tie the game in regulation and then outscore the visiting 14ers 18 to 11 in Overtime.

Mensah-Bonsu was 13 of 16 from the free throw line and the Toros got an amazing 42 chances as a result of penalties. The 14ers, on the other hand, continue to have success in 3 point territory against the Toros, making 15 of 31 attempts. The Toros were 2 of 11 from outside the paint.

The Toros next play the Albuquerque Thunderbirds three times in their next five games. Albuquerque has been on a tear lately, winning their last five. The Toros have won all four of their previous meetings. The Toros play Colorado for the last time in the regular season Wednesday, March 4. The Toros have won four of their six meetings.

Texas MMA Star Leonard Garcia can Beat Mike Brown

WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown certainly doesn’t have the legacy of B.J. Penn, but Georges St. Pierre’s dismantling of Penn as the result of a cunning gameplan demonstrates the next evolution of MMA and, more importantly to challenger Leonard Garcia, the best opportunity for victory this Saturday at WEC 39 in Corpus Christi.

Like Penn, Brown has shown an amazing amount of dexterity, both on his feet and on the ground. A true mixed martial artist, Brown has been training multiple disciplines from the start. A good wrestler with devastating KO power and brutal ground and pound, Brown has his fair share of submission victories on his resume.

Garcia, on the other hand, has an effective punch and a granite chin. He’s fought much of his career against the bigger fighters at 155 and has been willing to go toe-to-toe from bell-to-bell in legendary wars against Roger Huerta and Cole Miller. Both of these decisions were losses and Garcia will need more than just a homestate crowd to take the belt away from Brown if the judges get their say in the matter.

Expect this to go a lot longer than Brown’s victory over Urijah Faber or Garcia’s KO of the mighty Jens Pulver, but expect Garcia to need a great gameplan to take the belt home to Lubbock.

We all watched a visibly pained Brown leave the cage with his new belt as a result of bodyshots Faber was effective in inflicting but unable to capitalize on in later rounds that were never to be.

Garcia’s granite chin and stamina will make the later rounds nearly an inevitability. Brown should be fully recovered from his injuries four months removed but Garcia should strike Brown’s midsection with his punches, knees, and kicks continuously March 1 to wear the champion down, re-aggravate any lingering wounds, and use his own stamina and durability to his advantage – wearing down the champion while weathering his storm until opportunities arise for KOs, submissions, and round-stealing combinations as the later rounds arrive.

Garcia will have to avoid fighting from his back. This may prove difficult as Brown’s takedown skills are strong and Garcia has never demonstrated exceptional takedown defense while competing at 155.
Leg strikes have been the traditional foil to a strong takedown artist, and that should certainly be part of Garcia’s arsenal, but a counter-puncher like Garcia can also put his back to the cage and engage in dirty boxing both as a way to utilize the opportunity for strong knees to the body but also to leverage the cage in preventing a takedown and neutralizing Brown’s almost-certain strength advantage.

Garcia has the ability to win this fight and by taking a page out of the Team Jackson / Georges St. Pierre playbook and arriving in Corpus Christi March 1 with a solid gameplan, Garcia can become the next king of the 145 pound division.

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