Global Gossip

Check out our new Beijing 2008 Olympics Blog right here on BodySpace.

Only 8 more days until 8/08/2008!  (When the Summer Olympics officially start in Beijing, China!)

http://blog.bodybuilding.com/Beijing2008

Two of the most explosive heavyweights of all time came back to the world of MMA and did not dissapoint.  
Arguably the pound for pound best fighter the world has ever seen, Fedor Emelianenko dismantled former UFC HW champ Tim Sylvia in a mere 36 seconds.  Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski returned to his championship form as he destroyed "Big" Ben Rothwell.  

After the Fedor fight there is no question in my mind who the top fighter is, it’s him!  He’s like the terminator, he comes to the ring emotionless with a blank stare and once that bell rings, it’s on!  Sylvia had a game plan to use his jab to keep him at bay, but that didn’t work as Fedor bum rushed him with barrage of punishing punches that floored the 6′8 giant.  On the ground Fedor wasted no time sinking in a half a$$ guillotine choke that did the trick as Big Tim quickly tapped out.  
Fedor earned the WAMMA heavy weight belt that was presented by Donald Trump.  He was asked who he wanted to fight next and he said Randy Couture!  Couture entered the ring and had a chat with his friend Fedor and was hopeful that this supersite would take place this year.  Stay tuned for that one!

I was sitting excuse me standing sixth row during the event and the electricity of the crowd was over whelming.  The crowd was very much Pro Fedor.  
I’ve had the opportunity to witness a lot of fights live and this by far was the best!  If Fedor is fighting anywhere near you, you gotta check it out.

I was also able to score a picture with Randy and let him know about what bodybuilding.com has been doing with the MMA scene and asked him to check out my writings, so that was cool!

The Co main event was an absolute violent slobber nocker with Andrei Arlovski punishing the very resilent Ben Rothwell.  I gained a lot of respect for the chin of Rothwell as he with stood ppunishment from Andrei the whole fight.  

The second round of this fight was amazing and one of the best rounds this year.  Arlovski was punishing Rothwell with combos and nearly sunk in a nice heel hook.  Rothwell was able to gain top position on Andrei and let loose with some stinging elbows and punches.  
The third round belonged to Arlovski as he hurt Rothwell with huge knees and punches and earned the TKO victory.

Rumor has it that a superfight between Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski will happen Oct. 11 in Las Vegas at the Thomas and Mack Center, look for me ringside for that one!  Hopefully Tito will be in action as well!

All in all this was a huge success for Affliction and MMA fans in general.  Affliction easily has the best heavyweight talent in the world and will no doubt give us the dream matches we’ve wanted for years!  The competition will no doubt force the UFC to up their game to give us even better cards than what we’ve had before, so it’s a good time to be a MMA Fan!!!!!

Also on the card was "Babalu" and "The Baby Faced Assasin" Josh Barnett.

Renato "Babalu" Sobral was able to defeat Mike Whitehead via unaimous decision.  The BJJ expert Babalu looked good inside the ring with some nice punches and stiff leg kicks.  Whitehead wasn’t able to do much more than lay and pray and the judges took notice, giving Babalu the victory.  Next in line for Babalu might be his former training partner Nogueria, or his dream match would be against my all time fave Tito Ortiz who attended the event with girlfriend Jenna Jameson.  I would love to see that battle!

Josh Barnett (no relation to me that I know of) he is from Seattle where I’m from too but who knows.  Anyways the former UFC heavyweight Champ avenged a early career loss to former UFC standout Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo with a brutal knockout in the 2nd round.  "I said I’d like to have that win back, but you know, Pedro is as tough as they get," Barnett said. "You take nothing for granted with a guy like him."

Barnett landed a huge left hook that floored Rizzo and followed it up with 2 punishing rights for the KO!  Who’s next for Barnett in the Stacked heavyweight division?  "Anyone dumb enough to sign that dotted line," Barnett said. "They’re all badasses, but they ain’t me."  LOL Classic, he must be my cousin! lol

I just got back from Anaheim California where the upstart clothing company Affliction teamed up with "The Donald" Trump where the provided us a great night of fights.  After a choppy start that had some delays the fights went underway at about 445.  

We witnessed the return of "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort at a new weight class (185) he was able to knock out Terry Martin in the second round.  He stunned him with a flying knee and followed it up with a devastating 1-2 punch combo that sent Martin through the ropes.  Belfort who trains with Randy Couture could prove to be a contender for Anderson Silva’s belt if he somehow makes his way back to the UFC!

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira twin brother of UFC heavyweight champ was able to TKO Edwin Dewees in the first round.  Dewees who trains with Ken Shamrock was most famous for his stint on the Ultimate fighter the comeback.  His inexperience against top level competition like Lil Nog was noticed by us and by his opponent has Lil Nog let his hands fly after letting him up.  He wasted no time sending him to the floor and the ref had no choice than to stop the bout.

Matt Lindland made his return to MMA in his own methodical fashion as he earned a unanimous decision victory over Fabio Nacsimiento.

Hello from Texas,

We would like to recognize two people:

First we would like to congratulate Gus Carter on his win at Masters Nationals in the 40+ Heavyweight. Gus won his Pro Card at this show. Our own Brian Dobson from Metroflex Gym had written an article in our Aug 2008 publication. His story is worth taking the time to read. Gus had been tested throughout his life however his faith pulled him through giving him the strength to push ahead.
A look at the article:

See article below written by Brian Dobson of MetroFlex Gym:

This months Metroflex news and views will focus on Texas’ newest pro Big Augustus “Gus “ Carter also known as Gus the Bus aka Gus Haney.
I remember when I first opened Metroflex Gym in 1987, I immediately started entering bodybuilding and powerlifting contests to help promote the gym. The first few shows I did were powerlifting but in the fall of 87 I decided to enter a bodybuilding show called The Texas Gran Prix in Dallas Texas. It had been a few years since I had competed in bodybuilding but was well prepared for this comeback. It became obvious after prejudging that the show was between me and  a short thick dude out of East Texas. Back then shows had height classes and this show had a short and a tall class. I took the tall and Big Gus took the short. I also was fortunate to take the overall. Only because of my conditioning and charisma LOL. This was the beginning of a life time friendship between Gus and I.
Shortly afterwards Gus moved from East Texas to Arlington to train with us at Metroflex gym and he put in many legendary battles with 8 time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman.
Metroflex and Pose Down magazine want to congratulate Gus on his great victory and on winning a pro card and showing that God blesses pursuit . He never gave up and hopefully will do well as an IFBB pro.
PD: How long have you been training Gus?
GC: 23 years
PD: How old are you?
GC: 44
PD: Where were you born and raised?
GC: Longview Texas
PD: How many children do you have?
GC: I have 4 kids ,Quavette, Demontria, Chris and Al
PD: What was your weight at the masters?
GC: 215 lbs
PD: When do you plan on competing again?
GC: At next years Houston Pro   I am burned out after 18 weeks of dieting!
PD: What was this years diet plan?
GC: I ate 5-6 meals of fish, chicken and turkey breast with 100-150 grams of complex carbs daily mainly from rice, potatoes and oatmeal. Nothing new just what works.
PD: What are your favorite body parts to train?
GC: Back and legs heavy favorite exercises bent over row, bar row, incline bar row for back strict but heavy
for legs leg extensions, lunges and hack squats
PD: What is your favorite diet food?
GC: Fish, tilapia is my favorite
least favorite is boiled chicken breast
PD: What is your general training philosophy?
GC: I always train heavy even when dieting 10-12 reps of multiple sets
PD: What is your best bench?
GC: 555 raw 725 squat belt only deadlift 725 belt only
PD: How has your faith in God helped you attain this great victory?
GC: My faith in God has brought me through a lot of trials. In this journey to become a pro we all face hardships. I lost my wife in a tragic car accident. I also had what everyone thought would be a career ending heart attack. By keeping Jesus first and close I was able to overcome many tests.
God blesses pursuit, never give up.

Once again congratulations to a great champion Gus Carter.

Second we would like to congratulate Jay Moore for signing on as a Muscle Tech Athlete. Jay also competed in Masters Nationals placing 8th in 40+ Heavyweight.  We hear Jay is contemplating on the Europa…You go Jay and we wish you the very best of Luck…..

Bodybuilding.com is now an official sponsor of a NASCAR car this weekend. Below is a mock-up of the car. We will have pics of the race next week!

FUBAR, the sponsor on the hood, is a new drink Bodybuilding.com will be selling. We are going to put it up on pre-sale for this weekend’s race!! Product should be here and available next week.  Check out the brand at www.getfubar.com!

Enjoy!

Junior Nationals just finished with a bang in 2008 and now we are gearing up for the USA’s in Las Vegas on July 25-26th!  Las Vegas better watch out because there is a very strong force coming their way in a small, muscular package; Tracy Bodner aka  ‘IslandGirl‘ on many Bodybuilding and Fitness forums, is making the cross over from Figure competitor to Female Light Weight Body Builder at the USA’s this year! Tracy won the Colorado State Figure Overall title in 2005, and in 2007 she graced the stage in Vegas tighter, and more conditioned than she had ever been.  After a lower than expected (and undeserving) placing, and a National’s judge telling Tracy if she wanted to continue to compete in Figure she needed to do one thing… “Stop working out, stop going to the gym.”  As she was “much too muscular for figure.“  Refusing to accept that advice, and because bodybuilding is her true passion, she has made the grand decision to bring the absolute best LW body building  package to the stage in Vegas next month!

Here are three recent photos of Tracy Bodner, aka IslandGirl taken by BodyBuilding.com’s  superbly talented #1 voted Photographer ISAAC HINDS:

In addition to being a former figure girl to now sponsored by “TP”.com , lightweight female bodybuilder, Tracy, along with her husband and trainer/coach Cameron (aka ParadiseCup) are also HEAD Judges for the NPC, and have their own team of devout followers that they prep  known as the TeamSkipDivas.  So while Tracy is getting ready for the biggest stage showing of her career, she and Cameron also find time prep several male and female bodybuilders for the upcoming Masters Nationals where they have several clients competing this weekend!  Colorado Natural Open as well as other shows later this year,  In addition to many figure competitors as well (including myself).  Our entire group of over 20 competitors meets weekly for body composition, posing practice/stage presentation, and cardio and diet/nutrition updates at a secret location in Aurora, Colorado .  Having worked with such infamous greats here on bb.com as ctgblue, vivid04, BigBee101, and the Force, who recently was forced to withdraw from the MetRx Challenge with a high chance of winning!  They also train/prep those in other states via the wonderful   internet;   You can find out more about Tracy, see awesome video and pics and more here:

http://myspace.com/teamskipdivas

Here is a video taken by Tracy’s daughter (Tracy is the super-fit mom of 3!) on July 12 when she was our beautiful guest poser for the Colorado State Championships!

Tracy is certainly an inspiration to all of us figure competitors that belong to her; she is a very caring, sweet, kind and honest prep coach as well as a good friend; Tracy’s physique is a testament to her discipline and superb training, people are always in awe when they first meet her; and myself as well as all of us on her team wish her absolute success next month on stage in Vegas in her very smart decision to switch over to lightweight female bodybuilding, after all bodybuilding is her passion!  Go and Kick some ass Tracy!

Take a hard, chiselled body with an attractive face and good marketability and you’ve got a potential for a cover model… add on charisma, charm, good sportsmanship, a great attitude and love for fitness and that can only give you FAME World Pro Fitness Model Champion Kendall Wood!

Having had severe bouts of asthma throughout his childhood, it was a challenge for Kendall to even be able to run a block let alone work out for hours on end.  With over 1000 visits to the hospital and a doctor telling him he may not live much longer, Kendall had no choice but to figure out how to become stronger than what his asthma was.

And so he did…in baby steps.  

Having moved down to Georgia for university, Kendall began lifting weights, playing football and basketball.  While he was getting healthier, he had to overcome more obstacles like surgeries in both shoulders, a ruptured patella tendon and, therefore, two surgeries on his knee.  These limitations only made Kendall work harder to achieve a healthier life.  In 2006 Kendall entered his first Fitness Model Search competition sponsored by Hardbody.  Out of a 22-city tour, this Harlem native made it in the final 15.  During that weekend, Kendall met FAME Pro Zac Titus who encouraged him to keep on competing.  Not ten minutes later did he meet the first ever FAME Pro Bodybuilder Ian Walling who also said he had what it took to become a Pro.  Those two meetings confirmed the fitness life Kendall knew he was meant to have.

Having decided to train himself for another fitness show, Kendall entered his first FAME competition winning Pro status in the FAME North American Championships November 2006.  After a whirlwind of more competitions, Kendall also won the Muscle Model division making him the first ever competitor to gain Pro status in both categories.  Finally, this past June, Kendall won the FAME World Pro Title for the Fitness Model category.

Having been backstage at the event I knew Kendall had what it took to be the World Champion.  It wasn’t even so much his physique (although obviously that had a lot to do with it!), it was the way he conveyed himself to the audience, the way he interacted with people backstage, the way he showed not only the competitors but also the staff and spectators what it meant to be truly Body-Proud and confident.  

Kendall has graced the cover of the July edition of Maximum Fitness magazine, and is starting up his online training at www.fitsciences.net

He is also currently working directly with the FAME organization on a show he’ll be hosting next year.  You can sign up for the FAME newsletter at www.fameworldtour.com to be the first to get the info on his show date!  

When I asked him what his increased popularity has done for him he humbly said, “If being popular can help somebody out there and also help me in a win-win situation then it’s worth it but popularity alone is meaningless.”

It’s funny how most people can attempt to read into another person’s story and end up being totally wrong.  Looking at Kendall most would think he’s got it all and it all came easy.  He may have it all now but listening to his story of how he got to where he is, that’s the motivating part - to know that someone went through endless amounts of obstacles in order to follow their dream.  That’s what Kendall did and not only has he won the hearts of his fellow competitors and fitness enthusiasts, he also won World status!  Way to go Kendall!!!!

To find out more about FAME World Champion Kendall Wood you can visit his website at www.fitsciences.net

Pose Down just returned from the John Sherman/Houston Pro Show….Great event with great athletes.  Pose Down had the pleasure of having Tricky Jackson at our booth and with this event Tricky took second place in the 202  and under class. Your winners in the Pro event were:

Silvio Samuel - Mens Bodybuilding
Felicia Romero - Figure
Tracey Greenwood - Fitness
Ray Arde - 202 and under

Your overall winners in the John Sherman Classic were:
David Goodin - Mens Bodybuilding
Pamela Franklin - Womens Bodybuilding
Monique Minton - Figure
Renel Charles - Novice Overall

We will have photos at a later date - Congrats to all of the winners of this event.

A special congrats to our Trish Warren who writes a column for Pose Down - "Classy" fied Fitness. Trish came in 10th at the Houston Pro show in the fitness category. Her cover was introduced at this show and Pose Down was present to cheer Trish on! Congrats Trish!!!!
We look forward to seeing Trish this year at the Olympia.

We are off to the Branch Warren Classic on July 12th in Conroe TX. We will bring the latest information following this show of all of your overall winners. Pose Down will be giving out a special award of “Most Muscular” for this show. Please make note of awards Pose Down will be presenting this year. One of which is the “Athlete Of The Year” presented at Texas State. We look forward to all of these shows and especially look forward to giving back the the Athletes!
Don’t forget to support your NPC by attending or competing in a show.

www.posedownmag.com - COMING TO A STAGE NEAR YOU!