63-year-old holds off robber with rear naked choke

A robber messed with the wrong man in Florida on Thursday night. 63-year-old, 5-foot-7 Fred Kemp used a foot sweep and a rear naked choke to disarm a robber who pointed a gun at Kemp and his wife.

The couple was getting into their car in Boynton Beach when a man came out of the darkness and approached them with what turned out to be a pellet gun. Wanting to keep his wife safe, Kemp returned to the skills that he learned as a wrestler for Hofstra University.

"He started to hit me, so I reacted from there," a bruised but smiling Kemp said Friday. "I got him out into the street and held his arm. I foot-sweeped him down and I was trying to get a hold of the gun. He banged me up a little bit but my main concern was the gun."

Kemp's quick thinking led him to apply a rear-naked choke, then when the robber was weakened, he took the gun from him. The police report mentioned that Kemp held the robber down until the police arrived.

"He asked me to let him go when I had him down," Kemp said. "I said, 'No, I'm not going to do that.'"

Fighters who started as wrestlers often go back to rely on their wrestling skills when they get in trouble in a fight. Clearly, that instinct sticks with them, because Kemp was smart enough to rely on his sport when danger found him. Joe DeMeo, a friend of Kemp's through wrestling, was not surprised to hear that Kemp took out the criminal.

"Fred Kemp's the last guy I would rob," DeMeo said. "He'll go down fighting. ? He does have a lot of physical ability. He's a no-nonsense, get-the-job-done kind of guy."

Remember that the next time you approach a diminutive 63-year-old. It's probably not a good idea to mess with him.

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MMA Top 10 Bantamweights: Benavidez Stuck at No. 2

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Joseph BenavidezJoseph Benavidez doesn't get enough respect.

Benavidez is probably the best flyweight in MMA, but he so far hasn't had the opportunity to prove that because the UFC doesn't have a flyweight class. So the tiny Benavidez is fighting bigger guys at 135 pounds, and he's doing a remarkable job of it, beating every single opponent he's faced except the bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz.

That makes Benavidez the No. 2 bantamweight in MMA, and yet the No. 2 bantamweight in MMA doesn't even get to fight on TV: His victory over Eddie Wineland at UFC on Versus 5 was shown only on Facebook, not on Versus. If Benavidez were the flyweight champion, he'd be fighting on the top of the card. Instead he's fighting on Facebook.

And since Benavidez has already had his chances at Cruz and lost, he's going to remain stuck as the No. 2 fighter in a weight class the UFC doesn't do much to promote. At least until the flyweight class opens up.

Top 10 Bantamweights in MMA
(Number in parentheses is the fighter's rank in the last bantamweight list.)

1. Dominick Cruz (1): Cruz's upcoming bantamweight title defense against Demetrious Johnson will be shown on Versus, not on pay-per-view, a further illustration of how the bantamweight class hasn't really been fully integrated into the UFC. But it's a great deal for fans to get a pay-per-view-worthy fight for free.

2. Joseph Benavidez (4): When he's not fighting Cruz, he dominates: Benavidez is 15-2 in his career, with the two losses coming to Cruz and the 15 wins featuring eight submissions, three TKOs and four unanimous decisions, none of which was close.

3. Brian Bowles (2): The former WEC bantamweight champion, whose only loss came to Cruz, will almost certainly get the next shot at the bantamweight belt if he can beat Urijah Faber at UFC 139 in November.

4. Urijah Faber (3): Even though he just lost to Cruz in his last fight, beating Bowles might be enough for Faber to get another shot at the bantamweight title. In a largely overlooked weight class, Faber is still the most popular fighter, and he's the only bantamweight the UFC would put in a pay-per-view main event.

5. Demetrious Johnson (5): Can Johnson beat Cruz? It's an awfully tall order. Johnson has good takedowns and is a good wrestler, but Cruz rarely allows his opponents to get close enough to him to take him down. The oddsmakers have installed Johnson as a +300 or higher underdog, which means Johnson beating Cruz would be almost as big an upset as Yushin Okami beating Anderson Silva.

6. Scott Jorgensen (6): Jorgensen draws Jeff Curran at UFC 137, in a fight that Jorgensen should win handily. Curran has had a long and impressive MMA career, but it's been five years since Curran beat anyone notable.

7. Miguel Torres (7): Torres was the best bantamweight in the world a few years ago, but he needs some time to regroup after having lost three of his last five. At age 30 it's not too late for Torres to get back into bantamweight title contention, but younger, faster opponents like Benavidez and Johnson have exposed some flaws in Torres' game.

8. Brad Pickett (8): The British Pickett gets to fight in front of his home crowd at UFC 138, when he takes on Renan Barao in Birmingham, England. Pickett has won 10 of his last 11 fights but has been sidelined all of this year with an injury.

9. Renan Barão (10): Barao lost his first pro fight and has gone an incredible 26-0 since then, including a unanimous decision victory over Cole Escovedo at UFC 130. He hasn't faced anyone nearly as good as Pickett during that streak, however, so he's getting ready for his toughest test yet.

10. Eddie Wineland (9): Wineland is coming off back-to-back decision losses, but he looked good enough in losing to Faber and Benavidez that he deserves to remain in the Top 10. Barely.

 

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Video: 200 MPH with Paul Thede & Lightning Motorcycles

Lightning Motorcycles had a busy week last week, as the San Francisco Bay Area company was hard at work at Bonneville setting the fastest speed ever on an electric vehicle, and then later shattering that record. Though the team wasn’t able to break past 220 mph as they had hoped, rider and multiple LSR holder Paul Thede is probably still happy with the fact that he spent the better part of the week going faster ...

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63-year-old holds off robber with rear naked choke

A robber messed with the wrong man in Florida on Thursday night. 63-year-old, 5-foot-7 Fred Kemp used a foot sweep and a rear naked choke to disarm a robber who pointed a gun at Kemp and his wife.

The couple was getting into their car in Boynton Beach when a man came out of the darkness and approached them with what turned out to be a pellet gun. Wanting to keep his wife safe, Kemp returned to the skills that he learned as a wrestler for Hofstra University.

"He started to hit me, so I reacted from there," a bruised but smiling Kemp said Friday. "I got him out into the street and held his arm. I foot-sweeped him down and I was trying to get a hold of the gun. He banged me up a little bit but my main concern was the gun."

Kemp's quick thinking led him to apply a rear-naked choke, then when the robber was weakened, he took the gun from him. The police report mentioned that Kemp held the robber down until the police arrived.

"He asked me to let him go when I had him down," Kemp said. "I said, 'No, I'm not going to do that.'"

Fighters who started as wrestlers often go back to rely on their wrestling skills when they get in trouble in a fight. Clearly, that instinct sticks with them, because Kemp was smart enough to rely on his sport when danger found him. Joe DeMeo, a friend of Kemp's through wrestling, was not surprised to hear that Kemp took out the criminal.

"Fred Kemp's the last guy I would rob," DeMeo said. "He'll go down fighting. ? He does have a lot of physical ability. He's a no-nonsense, get-the-job-done kind of guy."

Remember that the next time you approach a diminutive 63-year-old. It's probably not a good idea to mess with him.

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UFC on Fox: You want cross-promotion? We?ve got cross-promotion

The UFC announced its seven-year deal with FOX on Thursday, promising plenty of cross-promotion between existing FOX entities and the UFC. To help out the network and the promotion, Cagewriter has a few ideas:

A "Glee"/"The Ultimate Fighter" crossover episode -- The fighters have to put together a song and dance to get New Directions to regionals. Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray finally solve their difference in the Octagon. Dana White and Mr. Schu smile and nod a ton. How could this go wrong?

Put the "American Idol" spin on "The Ultimate Fighter" -- Televise the tryouts, and have a panel either over-praise or break the hearts of every contestant.

"The Family Guy" goes to a UFC show -- Peter Griffin and his buddies head to catch some fights with some buddies in Quahog, only to find out that Brian has his UFC debut, with Stewie as his cornerman. Roy Nelson has a cameo.

Feed a fighter challenge on "Hell's Kitchen" -- The chefs have to create a post weigh-in dinner for Anderson Silva. It has to take into account his nutritional needs and love for fast food. Can they handle it, or will the chefs turn on each other? (Hint: It's reality TV. They're going to turn on each other.)

"So You Think You Can Dance: UFC edition" -- Fighters sure like to show off their moves on their way to the Octagon or after fights. Is it too much to ask for a UFC dance-off? No. No, it is not.

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Long Line Forming for Fights Against Bellator's Joe Warren

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Joe WarrenUNCASVILLE, Conn. -- If everything goes according to Joe Warren's plans, he might find himself to be the busiest fighter in MMA. Warren, who is Bellator's reigning featherweight champion, is moving forward with plans to enter the promotion's upcoming bantamweight tournament field. But he also has two other fighters waiting for dates against him with hopes of wresting that featherweight belt from his grasp.

So in what order will he tackle his many tasks? According to Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, Warren is locked and loaded for the bantamweight tournament, where he'll take on former Cuban Olympic wrestler Alexis Vila in September.

But after that, things get tricky.

Of course, if Warren beats Vila, he'll advance, and if he makes it through to the tournament finale, he'll be booked up until November. That will leave current No. 1 contender Patricio "Pitbull" Freire waiting ... or not. Pitbull is currently recovering from a broken hand and his return date is yet undetermined.

If he's healthy, he'd get the first featherweight title shot at Warren, but there's another guy in line right behind him, and that's Pat Curran, who punched his ticket to face-off for gold by knocking out Marlon Sandro at Saturday night's Bellator 48.

Curran could potentially face either Warren or Pitbull, depending on who emerges from their bout with the belt. But it may be a while for that to happen. That may not be the worst thing for Curran, who has fought four times in the last four months and could probably use a break.

Rebney said Pitbull should get back into training in the next three to four weeks, and would likely need at least two months of camp before facing Warren.

So things will depend mainly on how far Warren advances and how quickly Sandro's hand heals.

"If Joe ... wins the bantamweight tournament and earns the right to fight [champion] Zach [Makovsky], then he could conceptually have three world title fights in a row," Rebney said.

Here's one more wrinkle for fun: Warren has brought up the possibility of trying to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in wrestling. Think there's a back log of fighters waiting to get at him now? It might only get worse.

"It'll play itself out, but it'll be interesting theater to watch it play itself out," Rebney said.

 

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UFC reportedly has deal with FOX; Network has big press conference announcement set for Thursday

The rumor merry-go-round continues to twirl with regards to the UFC and a new television deal.

First it was the Wall Street Journal reporting that Zuffa (parent company to the UFC) was closing in on a deal with Comcast/NBC. Now Sport Business Daily says FOX has stepped up to grab the mixed martial arts giant in a package that could be worth as much as $90 million per year.

In what would represent a major push into the mainstream for the UFC, Fox has agreed to a deal that will see the broadcast channel air as many as four MMA events per year, according to several sources. The multiyear deal would mark the first time the UFC will have consistent airtime on a broadcast network. Fox execs refused to comment on the deal, but sources with knowledge of the negotiations said bidding had gone as high as $90M per year. The Fox deal is believed to be for seven or eight years.

UPDATE: John Ourand from SBJ tweeted that FOX has a major announcement on the way later this week.


UFC president Dana White wouldn't confirm the deal to MMAjunkie.

"You guys will know when we have a TV deal," said White.

White appeared with Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole on Friday's "MMA Insiders" on ESPNRadio1100/98.9 FM in Las Vegas.

"We do not have a deal. We're out there talking to everybody. When you're out there talking to everybody there's going to be lots of rumors," White said (19:10 mark). "In a perfect world, what would really work out great is if you could be on CBS and FOX and Comcast/NBC. Just like the NFL is. That would be the perfect world, but this sport has a lot of room to grow."

White has been very selective over the years with the UFC's programming partners.

"I will not do a dumb deal. We're not going to do a deal that doesn't make sense. We could've been the first mixed martial arts on network television, but none of the deals made sense," White said. "And as you saw all those guys [that were on network TV like EliteXC on CBS] ended up going out of business."

The UFC has been looking for a multi-platform deal. The promotion would like programming on network TV and several cable channels. Currently, it's running live fights and additional programming with preview shows and past fights on Spike and Versus. That will change in a deal with FOX.

As part of the deal, most of the weekly programming that UFC has on Versus and Spike TV will move to FX starting in January. That includes several fight cards, plus shows like the reality series "The Ultimate Fighter." Fox-owned Fuel also will wind up with some UFC content. But rumors that Fox will rebrand Fuel as a UFC channel are not true, sources said. Fox was attracted to UFC programming, which has produced some of the highest viewership figures ­-- and most attractive demos --­ on Versus and Spike TV.

According to SBJ, Viacom-owned Spike dropped out of the bidding because of lagging numbers:

The UFC's talks with Viacom-owned Spike ended before that. Sources said Spike ultimately passed over concern that its UFC shoulder programming stopped growing. Shows like "Unleashed," "Knockouts" and "Countdown" averaged 1 million viewers in '05. This year, they are averaging 492,000. Spike holds the rights to UFC library programming through '12, including old fights and shoulder programming such as "UFC Unleashed."

The most recent live event on Versus actually trended up at UFC on Versus 5.

UFC's Sunday night event in Milwaukee on Versus also drew 766,000 viewers from 9:00-11:09pm ET, marking the net's most-viewed program for the week ending August 14. That figure is up 3% from 744,000 viewers for the last UFC event on Versus on June 26.

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Royce Gracie Wants One More UFC Fight, but Ready to Move on Without It

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Mixed martial arts pioneer Royce Gracie will be in Rio this weekend when the UFC heads back to his home country, the nation that is credited with giving birth to the sport. Gracie, of course, won't be competing at UFC 134 in Brazil, but that doesn't mean he's not still hopeful of one more match.

There's a caveat to that, as he's not looking for just any match. There's only one fight he wants, and only one organization that can give it to him. Even though Gracie realizes that time is running short to make it a reality, he hopes to have a shot to avenge the one loss he still thinks about. He wants to fight fellow legend Matt Hughes.

"That's the only one," Gracie said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. "I want to be able to show up to the fight. [Last time], I didn't show up. It happens."

Gracie said that the first fight against Hughes -- a first-round TKO loss at UFC 60 back in May 2006 -- was the only time in his career he didn't have his A-game, not peaking on the right day.

"That's the only one missing," said Gracie, who avenged his only other in-ring loss by defeating Kazushi Sakuraba.

Gracie said that he has spoken with UFC president Dana White about the possibility, but that he doesn't know if it will ever happen. Hughes, meanwhile, has a match coming up with Diego Sanchez at September's UFC 135.

At 44 years old, Gracie still keeps himself in good shape, saying he lives "a professional athlete's life," by running every day and consistently training. He also travels an extensive schedule, teaching seminars and spreading the message of Gracie jiu-jitsu.

Still, he'd carve time for one more training camp for one last shot at the UFC, and one more shot at Hughes. He said he wouldn't be interested in any other offer from any other organization, suggesting he is mostly at peace with the possibility of never fighting again.

"If it happens, good." he said. "If it doesn't happen, good.

"Been there, done that," he continued. "You have to know when to stop in this sport. It's very hard. I saw an interview from BJ Penn. He was saying it's very hard to stop because when you're a fighter, you're a fighter. But you have to know when to stop."

So for now, Gracie will continue teaching his art and in the more near-term, he'll travel to Rio to revel in the homecoming of the sport he helped build the foundation for.

Whether or not he gets that last fight, he has much to be grateful for and there is much to celebrate him for. Regardless of the outcome of one match against Hughes, his contributions to the sport will always be an enormous reason for MMA's growth, and now he gets to enjoy it firsthand in the country in which he grew up.

"It's good it's in Brazil," he said. "It's back where it all started with my father. It's coming back home. There's so much talent in Brazil, so many guys that will probably never get discovered. It's a chance for them to come out and train more. After all, UFC today became a job, it became a sport. Kids wake up in the morning and say, 'I want to be a UFC fighter one day, just like they do in baseball."

 

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Spend 6 seconds watching Pat Barry?s flying takedown

In preparing for his UFC on Versus 6 bout with Stefan Struve, Pat Barry has to prepare for a bit of a height difference. Struve, nicknamed "Skyscraper," is a foot taller than Barry, and will have an eight-inch reach advantage. With that much of a deficit, Barry has to come up with some unconventional training methods.

Tickets for their card in D.C. at the Verizon Center, which will be headlined by Dominick Cruz's title defense against Demetrious Johnson, will go on sale Wednesday for UFC Fight Club members, and the general public on Friday.

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