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The Return Of The Headhunter The Return Of The Headhunter
- From: pbuentello
-
Description:
The Return Of The Headhunter
On a cold night in Memphis, the “Headhunter” made his way back to the octagon. After, almost a four year absence from the UFC, Paul Buentello has fought for Strikeforce and the Affliction brands earning an impressive record of 5-1. His return to the UFC was met with enthusiasm from many fans. With the heavyweight division building up it was a no brainier where he wanted to go, but his journey was not an easy one.
Buentello, was part of the ill-fated Affliction: Trilogy pay-per-view, his original opponent was suppose to be, ex UFC Heavyweight Champion, Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia. Unfortunately, Sylvia was removed from the bout due to being medically suspended. Less than 60 days before the event, Sylvia, was knocked out by Ray Mercer.
His next scheduled opponent was Gilbert Yvel, two stand up fighters that love to bang it out. But, ten days before the event, Josh Barnett tested positive for steroids and was not cleared to fight. Barnett was scheduled to main event the pay-per-view against Fedor Emelianenko, now Affliction was left scrambling for a main event. “I called Tom (Atencio, Affliction Vice President) and threw my name out there,” said Buentello, “I was told they had something planned for the main event.”
A replacement was never found and Affliction folded its fight promotions. Fighters were left looking for their next fights and promotions to work for. The UFC and Strikeforce had a field day picking up talent left and right. Buentello was left with a decision two promotions that wanted him, in the end he felt it was time to return to the UFC. “UFC provides a great opportunity for me… I know what I’m getting into, consistency. UFC always lays its cards on the table.”
As soon as he was signed Joe Silva had a fight ready for him. Paul was scheduled to fight Todd Duffee at UFC 107, but few weeks later Duffee would have to withdraw from the fight due to an injury. His replacement was 6’11” Stefan Struve, who for a man his size has a majority of victories by submission.
During his training, Buentello parted ways with his longtime manager and trainer Bob Cook. “I’ve always came to this crossroads, if I ever go back to the UFC, I gotta have somebody on board that’s going to sell me like I’m the best thing since sliced bread,” said Buentello.
With that came a suspension from American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), where Paul has been training since he first stepped into the cage. With weeks before his fight, Buentello was left looking for proper training facilities and sparing partners. Paul found a gym to train at; the only problem was that he would have to make a 2hr commute everyday to Sacramento, giving him little time to rest. Fellow, and former, members of AKA lent out their support and even helped with sparring.
The night started out with a great preliminary card filled with tap outs, knock outs and strong finishes. Then it was time to go live on PPV, Buentello vs. Struve was the first match on the main card. The sound of “El Rey” blasted out of the speakers as Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello made his way to the octagon.
The first round was dominated by Struve, with him taking Paul to the ground. Struve was able to take Buentello’s back and was trying to lock. Late in the round Struve let go of the back and Paul was able to reverse positions and start throwing elbows to the body to end the round.
Buentello was clearly the winner of the second round, making Struve stand up and fight. At 6’2” it was a challenge for Buentello to throw a punch at the 6’11” Struve, but when Stefan went for a flying knee Paul was able to connect with a right hand to the chin that sent Struve to the canvas. Struve was able to shake off the cobwebs and stood back up to throw punches with Buentello. The crow started to roar with excitement as both fighters traded punches, Buentello would get the better of the exchange.
At the beginning of the third and final round time was called by the official so that Struve could remove a piece of tooth from his mouthpiece. When the fight resumed Buentello landed a right cross to the jaw, shaking Struve but not ending him. The pace was starting to slow as Stefan was scoring points with his leg kicks. Towards the end of the round Paul was able to push Struve down and hover over him, but no action made the ref stand them back up. One last time Buentello was able to land another right to the chin, Struve and Buentello went the whole distance.
It all came down to the judges decision, any fighter can tell you that’s not where you want the fight to go. Then Bruce Buffer, had the results, Stefan Struve would win by majority decision. The judge’s decision was in no way a true reflection of the fight.
Those who saw the fight saw the heart of a warrior, a heart that Buentello credits his Hispanic background “We’re hard workers and head strong, we never give up.”
If you ask Paul if his suspension from AKA had anything to do with his loss, without taking a breath he’ll tell you no. A close fight or not Paul is not one to blame anyone for his loss but himself “I was not pushing the pressure enough.”
Buentello is now back home in Austin and is back to being a member of AKA. His relationship with Bob Cook is back to being business friendly, and he has his next fight lined up and ready to go. Paul will face Cheick Kongo at UFC Fight Night, for the first time ever live on the Versus channel. Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello is back.
By Raul Rangel
undefeatedmagrrangel
@gmail.com
- Blog post
- 7 months ago
- Views: 441
- Not yet rated
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Thoughts About the AKA Suspens Thoughts About the AKA Suspension...from Outside
- From: pbuentello
-
Description:
From The OUTSIDER...
First off....PAUL WHERE ARE U ON HERE?!
I see people saying this and saying that about AKA based SOLELY on the success of the athlete's there, well I was there before all this success. The 1st thing I'll let the shit talkers know is that because it's a big team doesn't mean that everything there is good. Paul B, Jon Fitch, Mike Kyle (as crazy as he is), Dave V (as crazy as he is), and trainers Jerome Turcan and Andy Fong are probably the REALEST people there. I was there when Fitch and me were the only 1's rolling around together half the time and the only person who put in personal work with him was Lynn Schutlz. I was there when Mike Swick was still fucking kid lion not this stupid "quick" shit and he was a cool guy, to getting his head big from tuf, to being good old mike again. I was there when frank was gone, came back, and was gone again with the falling out with Jav. I was there when, did bob cook know how to put together a fight camp and have your ass in shape? fuck yea! but being in shape and having a TRAINER are two different things and SOME people didnt have trainers...actually MOST, as in any gym the people have their favorites. For a long time AKA was like that and when the people began to reap success from the growth of mma, good cardio, and the insane, better than most ufc, sparring sessions there....THEN they began to get trained personally. I'll tell you this, Javier Mendez is one of the most old school, REAL guys there is. When I was there and could no longer afford to go, he would let me in his doors for free and still leaves an open invite for me till this day. My dream has always been to go to japan and try my hand there. AKA was my 1st home from my budding friendship with Cleat, to my indoor fights with the punk, to my father son role with frank shamrock, to our falling out, etc and I will tell you that bob wouldnt mind kicking my ass while he told me..and i quote "if you fight you will never finish anyone...you have no finishing ability" and this is after me, a kid who didnt wrestle or do any shit growing up, would hang day in and day out with all the guys sparring, grappling, etc...I remember even one time Fitch (who is one of the few people always willing to help even back then) had me in a full out armbar that i got out of and my many chuck liddell get back to my feet wars we had. Bob could have gotten me to japan anytime he wanted but always had a reason never to help, got me in strikeforce anytime he wanted but would never help...always claiming "what have you done" or "i havent seen u" or "you have to come spar the world and show me what u have" while others at AKA commended me on my success thus far in this game we call mma as i train MYSELF 90% of the time with someone helping me here and there, while managing myself, trying to get my own sponsers, and fights...only person who never gave credit or tried to help was the one person who could....BOB.......COOK! If i had the power to make someone's dreams come true, i would. Look here Herschel walker, Cromier, and others who go to AKA who were wrestling stars or stars from another sport, you'll see bob put them in strikeforce their 1st fights! AKA caught on and began to build new fighters, but back then that wasnt even going on and like any gym you have to grow and learn i understand but a BIG gym, a NAME team, or a SUCCESSFUL team, does NOT mean everything is peaches and cream. My boy at ATT said he went thru the same things there and he is VERY successful, yet the "superstars" got the time over him he said. Most people at AKA are genuine i'll tell you that and they fixed most their flaws NOW and i love them all to death but I couldnt sit by and listen to people down talk Paul and uptalk bob when I was there and I know what can and may still....is still going on when it comes to SOME people. Everyone on the UG take what you will from everything I have written and I hope you get an inside and CLEARER perspective on the truth of how things in this game CAN work. late
www.therealfallenangel.com
- Blog post
- 9 months ago
- Views: 471
- Not yet rated
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The Headhunter faces a tall or The Headhunter faces a tall order at UFC 107
- From: pbuentello
-
Description:
The Headhunter faces a tall order at UFC 107
The UFC heavyweight division promises to get a little more entertaining Saturday night when Paul Buentello returns to the fold.
The 35-year-old from Austin, Texas, was last seen in the cage at UFC 57 in February 2006 when he laid a beating on Gilbert Aldana.
"Don't fear me, fear the consequences, baby," he said after that fight, delivering the Buentello slogan.
"Put (someone) in front of me, I'll bring it, guaranteed," he added.
Now Buentello (25-10) is back, looking to cut Stefan (Skyscraper) Struve down to size on the undercard of UFC 107 at the FedExForum in Memphis. The main event sees B.J. (The Prodigy) Penn defend his lightweight title against Diego (Nightmare) Sanchez.
At 6-11, Struve (22-3) is a tall order for one of Buentello's signature head kicks. But Buentello reckons if he can get close to the 21-year-old Swiss pipe cleaner, he can take him.
For the six-foot-two Buentello, it's a second chance to shine at the highest level of the sport. It took some two dozen fights to make the UFC the first time, knocking out Justin Eilers in the first round in February 2005 at UFC 51.
Buentello caught Eilers with a left and right, turning his legs to jelly.
"Seven years I've been trying to get here and I'm here," he said in the cage after stopping Eilers. "Awesome."
Buentello went on to submit Kevin Jordan and then got a crack at heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at UFC 55. Buentello came straight at the champion and was felled by a right that send him crashing face first into the canvas after just 14 seconds.
He rebounded to beat Aldana but left the organization after that.
"I didn't want to leave," he said. "My manager at the time just figured I could take my services somewhere else, just try to bring my value up and then try to come back to the UFC and have a bigger value. . . . It was kind of a bad move."
Buentello went 3-1 in Strikeforce and then 2-0 in Affliction, which folded fight operations earlier this year. He didn't think the UFC would pick up his contract.
"I'm pretty much of a humble guy and didn't realize I had done enough to get back to the UFC," he said. "I was just kind of going to move forward and then got the call that the UFC wanted to get me back in, so I jumped all over it."
He had options, with Strikeforce looking for heavyweights to match against marquee Russian Fedor Emelianenko. But Buentello opted for the UFC.
"It's the premier promotion to be involved in," he explained. "Every other promotion I've been involved in either is not just putting enough fights on or it just closes its doors."
He points to his original opponent Todd Duffee pulling out through injury, saying other promotions might have just scratched the fight. The UFC had opponents ready and kept the fight on the card.
"That's one thing about the UFC, if they tell you you're going to fight and you're healthy, they're going to keep that fight going. Other organizations would just scratch me off the card and put another fight on the card that's ready to go instead to trying to match me up."
Buentello says UFC fans will see a more agile fighter this time around. He has added a nutritionist and personal trainer to his team and plans to fight Struve at 245 to 250 pounds, down from 252 to 260. He's put on muscle and shed fat.
"I feel real light on my toes," he said.
Buentello is a longtime member of the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose although there are reports that he has been at odds with them recently over his choice of management.
The fighter has long commuted from Texas to California, training most recently with AKA heavyweight Cain Velasquez, seen by many as a star in the making.
"It's kind of weird, it's like a whole another world for me, I'm basically living two lives," Buentello said.
Buentello rents a room with friends in San Jose, where he keeps a car. Being away from wife Stacy and their family - he has kids aged 10, 15, and 17 and two stepsons aged 19 and 21 - has not been easy.
But things got better when Stacey, whom he met some 13 years, got a job with United Airlines. A five-foot-six, 118-pound baggage-handler, Stacy has enabled Buentello to commute back and forth more often as needed thanks to her airline job.
Growing up in Amarillo, Texas, Buentello played football and baseball - and even had some minor league tryouts.
He boxed as a kid and was drawn to fighting when the Unified Shoot Wrestling Federation - a former of MMA with open-hand striking - came to town.
"Guys got to go in there and just beat each other up and didn't get in trouble," he said. "Back then that was a huge thing, to actually fight and not go to jail. Plus you got paid for it. Back then it was $500 to win and a dollar to lose. So it was kind of motivating to get in there and start fighting and win $500 on a weekend."
Tall as a kid, he had had to fight on occasion when challenged.
"I always had that competitive edge, always had that attitude fight first, talk later. That's how I was kind of raised. My dad always taught me, don't ask, if somebody hits you, hit them right back and don't stop until they start yelling for help."
Buentello proved to have quick hands, which he says - if delivered right - make for "shock and awe" power.
"It's not the power, it's the speed - and speed kills," he said.
"If I threw with power I'd be off balance a lot and fall over like most of the guys do, but if you have perfect technique and have that speed in your hands, you're going to get some clean knockouts," he added.
With the UFC looking south of the border at Mexico, Buentello is a handy heavyweight to have around. He's also no shrinking violet in the cage. He has gone the distance just twice, defeating Gary Goodridge in Affliction in July 2008 and losing to Bobby Hoffman in a 2003 King of the Cage fight (a defeat he avenged two fights later).
- Blog post
- 9 months ago
- Views: 220
- Not yet rated
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Paul Buentello Suspended by AK Paul Buentello Suspended by AKA
- From: pbuentello
-
Description:
Paul Buentello Suspended by American Kickboxing Academy
- Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 7:47 am
by Danny Acosta
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Just weeks before his return to the Octagon, Paul Buentello has been suspended by the American Kickboxing Academy.
“I’m on suspension. I think Bob [Cook] has most control of it, letting me back in the gym,” said Buentello, who returns to the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Dec. 12. His UFC 107 bout with Stefan Struve will mark the first time he has competed for the promotion since Feb. 2006, where he notched a record of 3-1 between 2005-2006, losing only a title fight versus Andrei Arlovski.
The Strikeforce veteran has been with AKA since his cage debut in an International Fighting Championship event in 2000. Though Buentello lives in Texas, he has continued to train in San Jose, and prior to the suspension, he was one of four—alongside Josh Thomson, Mike Swick and Bobby Southworth—of AKA’s original fight team members to remain with the pioneer camp.
According to the fighter and his long-time trainer and friend, Dave Velasquez of Nor Cal Fight Factory, the dispute arose when Buentello replaced Cook with a new manager.
“I’ve always came to this crossroads, if I ever go back to the UFC, I gotta have somebody on board that’s gonna sell me like I’m the best thing since sliced bread,” said Buentello. The native Texan believes that someone is Elis Pacheco of New York-based Dedos Marketing Group, which has worked with Ice-T, Fat Joe and Beyonce Knowles.
Cook, Buentello’s former manager and trainer, declined comment.
Buentello met Pacheco on the set of a commercial spot with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans. Pacheco wrote Buentello a check on the spot for 30 minutes of work, which pleasantly surprised the fighter.
“You just get that vibe, you know? That he’s out for your best interest no matter what and he doesn’t care about pushing the limits,” he said. “He’s gonna get the deal done.”
Velasquez, an original member of AKA’s fight team alongside Cook and Buentello, has taken over Buentello’s camp.
“We all were in the sport when it was nothing. We were in bathrooms for locker rooms, you know what I mean?” he said. “Now that the sport’s blown up, its kind of hard feelings to say, ‘Hey you can’t train here anymore because I’m not managing you.’”
Both agree AKA’s doors closing to the former King of the Cage Heavyweight Champion has negatively impacted his training camp. Without the luxury of training in one place, Buentello has made treks to Sacramento—two hours away—and gets little rest because of the added commute and the crowding it creates in his schedule.
AKA isn’t out of Buentello’s life yet though. AKA fighter Mike Kyle has come to Nor Cal Fight Factory to spar. Bobby Southworth, too, demonstrated support, but cannot spar due to the recent birth of his child. Velasquez also brought in another AKA exile, Matt Major, to train with Buentello.
“I’ve been there a long time,” said Buentello. “That’s my home. It sucks, it sucks, it sucks that I can’t go home for a little bit.”
(Buentello works the pads with Velasquez.)
- Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 7:47 am
- Blog post
- 9 months ago
- Views: 368
- Not yet rated
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Maurice Slade Maurice Slade
- From: pbuentello
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Description:
This is my roommate that is fighting next Thrusday. I wanted to put this video together for him and show my support for this fight. And this was the first time I didn't have to pick up work outs that he left laying around at the apartment.. He has trained really hard.. Also check out his web site listedinc.com or
www.myspace.com/404818643
American Metal and HP Pavilionin association with Roy Englebrecht EventsPresentsThe Next ChapterThursday, July 16th , 2009 – 7:30pmHP Pavilion4 Rounds- 147 lbs_ Bout 1Maurice SladeSan Jose, CA2-1VSJohn DunhamStockton, CA0-4 - 1 year ago
- Views: 45
- Not yet rated
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westcoastdesignz westcoastdesignz
- From: pbuentello
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Description:
Just wanted share this old video with you guys. This is a true story about how I met the westcoast crew. I just picked up a San Jose Ca phone book and drew down on the westcoast designz number. From that day on these guys are like my family and great friends to have on my side here in the bay area. As I let them have lead designz on all my fight shirts and fight shorts lay outs. Even the AKA fighter Josh Koscheck is part of the west coast family. They print most of his MAR clothing and help on designz. As even Knoxx gear that I ware in many videos of mine, run under the westcoast designz banner. So enjoy the video and meet my family WESTCOAST DESIGNZ..... Meet the king of inks
- 1 year ago
- Views: 48
- Not yet rated
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pbuentello
- Views: 1089
- Since: 2 years ago
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