Fighters Only Magazine

Issue 67 - Out Now!

He's been made an example of through drug bans and Brazilian knees, but the fortitude of Chris Leben is unchanged: he will become the UFC middleweight champion. Two wins in two weeks have reinvigorated ‘The Crippler’s purpose and career, but do those demons still haunt the Oregon-born brawler?

A misguided and troubled childhood was dragged into The Ultimate Fighter house behind Chris Leben in 2005, and he's always had trouble shaking it. Has Leben finally left those jail stints behind him? Fighters Only’s Gareth A Davies talks redemption with the man who always has a puncher's chance.

Speaking of a new lease of life, we talk to Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ about his dramatic UFC 115 win and renewed passion for the rigours of MMA. The Croatian divulges why he was held by immigration in Vancouver and which fight legends he wants to face next.

Maintaining the momentum of MMA’s largest and most successful clothing manufacturer is hard, dealing with the death of a close friend at the same time is very nearly impossible. Nearly 18 months on from the death of TapouT’s Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis, co-founder Punkass talks about coping with loss and the hardships of TapouT’s early days.

Also featured:

• A look back at the career of Frank Shamrock
• The rapid growth of kids training MMA
• Your guide on how to eat like a fighter

Plus:

• Learn to fight like ‘Rampage’ Jackson
• Discover how ropes can improve your workout
• How you can bounce back from a loss

Now available from Morrisons, Tesco, WHSmiths, Asda and all good newsagents within the UK.

USA Issue 19 out Now!

Rashad Evans has changed. “I used to want to get people to cheer for me. I used to want to be the Forrest Griffin, the Chuck Liddell, the endearing guy.” No more. ‘Suga’ wants title-belt gold and he’s going to win it on his terms, whether you’re a fan of his alleged lay ‘n’ pray means or not.

The Fighters Only World MMA Awards ‘Journalist of the Year’, John Morgan, speaks to the former UFC light heavyweight champion about his showboating antics, how his talking with ‘Rampage’ was more than mere trash and why people should respect America’s martial art: wrestling.

The boxing world has offered a representative to the UFC for the first time since the promotion’s very first event in 1993. His name is James ‘Lights Out’ Toney and he’s coming after Randy Couture with dynamite in his hands and homophobic one-liners in his pocket.

Plus, an Aussie invasion: UFC BJJ specialist George Sotiropoulos and Dream commentator Michael Schiavello in-depth.

Also featured:

• Top ten grudge matches in MMA history
• Marco Ruas, our MMA Icon
• TUF-guy Nick Ring

Plus:

• Training tips from across the globe
• Drills for Octagon-worthy flexibility
• Learn the bicep crush

Pick up a copy today from Barnes and Noble, Borders, 7-Eleven, Walden Books, Hastings, Books-A-Million and many more. Or, click the link below to subscribe and save!

Canadian Issue 19 Out Now!

Rashad Evans believes in more than just smart dressing and pay-per-view drawing trash talk. ‘Suga’ has faith in the power of his wrestling roots and their ability to lead him back to UFC gold. Whether you’re going to cheer for him isn’t his concern, the former UFC light heavyweight champion is eager to regain his title regardless of your preference.

“I’m going to show that wrestling and hugging people is for women,” frankly states James ‘Lights Out’ Toney. The pugilist has taken up the MMA gauntlet unwilling to listen to any more claims of boxing’s inferiority to mixed martial arts. The multi-time champion will face one of the UFC’s most decorated veterans, Randy Couture and he’s got more than a few things to say about it.

Plus, Fighters Only speaks to little-known Afghan light heavyweight Siyar Bahadurzada about what it was like to grow up in a country filled with military unrest for decades and how fighting MMA holds no fear for him.

Also featured:

• The ten best grudge matches of all time
• Grapple guru George Sotiropoulos
• ‘The Voice’ of Dream, Michael Schiavello

Plus:

• Inside knowledge on how to fight shorter opponents
• Learn to fight like Josh Koscheck
• Tailor your Tabata training for MMA

Pick up a copy today from Barnes and Noble, Borders, 7-Eleven, Walden Books, Hastings, Books-A-Million and many more. Or, click the link below to subscribe and save!

Deutsch Ausgabe

‬‪Die September-Ausgabe von Fighters Only berichtet über eine Vielzahl spannender Themen:

• Wanderlei Silva will im Mittelgewicht zu Titelehren kommen. Wir begleiten ihn zurück an die Spitze.
• Brock Lesnar feierte bei UFC 116 seine triumphale Rückkehr ins Octagon. Oliver Copp war live für euch vor Ort.
• In der UFC zu kämpfen ist das Ziel einer Fighterkarriere. Doch was passiert, wenn man entlassen wird? Wie geht das Leben weiter?

‬Die September-Ausgabe von Fighters Only ist seit dem 6. August im gutsortierten Zeitschriftenhandel erhältlich.

South African Issue 9 Out Now!

MMA never ceases to surprise me. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something comes out of nowhere to prove that in this sport, anything can happen.

Witness two of the summer’s biggest fights. I don’t think many people expected Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian heavyweight king, to lose in only 69 seconds to the unheralded Fabricio Werdum. Likewise, how many people expected Brock Lesnar’s battle with Shane Carwin to be quite so dramatic? The UFC championship belt stayed around Brock’s waist, but only just. Carwin came close to putting him away in the first, but Brock showed his evolution as a fighter by pulling off an unexpected second-round arm-triangle choke.

I think I probably say this every month, but MMA just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The sport knows no boundaries and the continued international expansion of the UFC is proving just how global professional fighting can be. With international offices in Canada, England and now China, the UFC are blazing a trail like never before. This year they’ve already hit up new territories of Sydney, Abu Dhabi and Vancouver. Will Beijing and the elusive Toronto be the next cities to see the arrival of the Octagon?

MMA continues its march into the mainstream – for evidence, just look to the silver screen! This summer saw the release of The A-Team (starring Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson) and The Expendables (featuring Randy Couture). Rampage has won legions of fans with his turn in front of the camera, and his slot in the main event of UFC 114 no doubt contributed to the event coming fourth in the list of the UFC’s all-time highest selling pay-per-view cards.

Jackson’s co-star in the main event of UFC 114 was none other than our cover star this month, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. We have an explosive and intimate interview with Rashad, whose grudge match with Jackson was one of our highlights of both 2009 and 2010, such was the scale of their feud! Amazingly, the fire still burns and their animosity toward each other is as strong as ever. Find out Rashad’s thoughts on the matter on page 28.

Our Dialogue section is packed with some great interviews this month. We take some time out with what has to be the toughest lightweight in South Africa, EFC Africa’s back-to-back fight of the night star Bredon Katz. We also chat to standout Aussie grappler George Sotiropoulos and do a Q&A with rising star in the light heavyweight division Chett Meyer.

If, like many readers, you want to get up-to-date news and information about what’s going on in the MMA world then head to our website www.fightersonlymag.com. You’ll find breaking news stories (updated daily), exclusive interviews and features and regularly updated video content including everything from pre- and post-fight interviews to behind the scenes access and more. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@FightersOnlySA) and add us on Facebook. It’s never been easier to get your Fighters Only fix!

Thanks for your support and we hope you enjoy this issue.

Train Hard, Fight Easy