MMAjunkie.com Radio today returns to its normal timeslot and welcomes to the show Dan Hardy, who headlines the March 27 UFC 111 event against UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
Also joining the show is heavyweight Paul Buentello, who meets Cheick Kongo in a March 31 televised main-card bout at UFC on Versus 1.
The bad blood between "The Ultimate Fighter 10" head coaches Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson spilled down to the assistant coaching staff, and it hasn't gone away since.
In a recent appearance on MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) Mike van Arsdale (8-5), Evans' wrestling coach on the show, said he's been itching to get a fight with Jackson's striking coach Tiki Ghosn (11-7).
Then there is Trevor Whitman, the Main man at GRUDGE MMA here in Denver. They say u can't teach an old dog new tricks but Trevor has proved that to be a huge lie! In my opinion Trevor wrote the book on Striking! Everyday, under his training, I learn so much it causes me to drop all my old thoughts, habits & everything I thought I knew about how to land- what I want- when I want! I’m like a starving kid in a candy store that can't stop eating…I learn something new everyday & I want to soak up all knowledge Trevor has! I am making improvements daily! 
One last thing before I end this…unfortunately, I had a very close friend pass this week. His name was. Tim was one of the few guys I could call and shoot the bull about everything but fighting…that's what I will miss the most about him…picking up the phone to call his ass & just shoot the shit. I'm glad to say I did just that and called him about two weeks ago and I hear his laughter from our conversation that day in my head today and it will remain there! With that being said, if you guys know someone that you have not reached out to say hello in a while…call them NOW…I would hate for you guys not remember the sound of a friends voice and especially the sound of their laughter?
Make that call...
-------Life is unpredictable. What is here today could be gone tomorrow. Don't regret not telling someone how you truly feel or just to catch that laugh----
Thanks for reading my training camp update on my web site. Check back for my video blog to be posted soon! Don't forget to stop at my online store on my web home page to get some of our new HH Gear.
Last but not least, I can guarantee, you guys will NOT be sitting down during my UFC fight against Kongo March 21!!
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
I've always found Paul Buentello to be a likable guy, and he has undeniable punching power, but I've questioned whether he was dedicated enough to conditioning to compete against elite opponents. But perhaps that's changing.
Buentello told FanHouse's Mike Chiappetta bout his increased emphasis on getting himself into physical shape, and the above video shows him seriously pushing himself in the gym.
As he prepares for Saturday night's UFC 107 fight with Stefan Struve, Buentello describes his workouts as "Kind of mimicking what I go through in a fight with cardio, weightlifting and power exertion, basically working on muscle endurance."
Buentello acknowledges that he hasn't always had the endurance that an MMA fighter needs.
"I could have the best cardio but once that lactic acid built up in your muscles you just can't push anymore," Buentello says. "It's a needed thing that I needed a long time ago."
Overall, Buentello says, the fighter we're going to see at UFC 107 is going to be a much better-conditioned fighter than we've seen in the past.
"You're going to see a more improved Paul Buentello," he said. "I'll be stronger, a little bit leaner and a little bit lighter."

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.)
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Buentello Out of Strikeforce, Likely to UFC
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Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello had a plan until the other guy got hit.
The future changed for Buentello on June 13 when a single punch from Ray Mercer chopped down former UFC champion Tim Sylvia, who was scheduled to face Buentello less than two months later on Affliction Entertainment's Aug. 1 show. In the wake of Sylvia's knockout loss, Affliction immediately swapped in the wildly aggressive Gilbert Yvel as a new foe for Buentello.
"Getting ready for Tim, we had a set game plan," said Buentello, a heavyweight who has fought for titles in UFC and Strikeforce. "Getting ready for Gilbert, you have to worry about all these variables of him kicking, throwing flying knees, and just being Gilbert Yvel."
I spoke to Buentello recently about his new match-up. Excerpts from our conversation:
Q: When Affliction first contacted you about facing Yvel, what was your reaction?
Buentello: (Affliction matchmaker) Tom Atencio kind of told me a week before Tim Sylvia was fighting Ray Mercer for a boxing match: "If anything happens to Tim, if he loses, you're not going to be fighting Tim." "Well, who am I fighting?" "It looks like you'd be fighting the winner of Pedro Rizzo and Gilbert Yvel."
Were you surprised when Tim got KO'd so quickly?
Oh yeah, I was very surprised. I didn't think he would get knocked out. I thought he would just take Ray Mercer down, hold him down and catch him in a guillotine or just submit him real quick.
Were you disappointed at all?
In a weird kind of way, yes, I was disappointed.
Me and Tim, we're good friends, I guess. We talk all the time. There's no bad blood or anything.
But I want to test my level with Tim. Tim wants to see how he can do with me. Our paths were supposed to cross many a time, and it's just another derail, or our paths won't cross again.
Let's face it, Tim's a much bigger name than Gilbert at this point, also. Did that factor into your disappointment?
It's a little different. Getting ready for Tim, we had a set game plan, and getting ready for Gilbert, you have to worry about all these variables of him kicking, throwing flying knees, and just being Gilbert Yvel, fighting as hard as he can, for as long as he can, and being ready for whatever he throws.
Let me follow up on that a bit. Tim is a much more methodical fighter than Gilbert is. How much of an effect did that have on your preparation?
The main thing was getting my angles and getting stuff defined of where I've got to be to throw this punch, where I've got to be to throw this kick, where I've got to be inside the clinch.
Going against Tim, it was just all about speed and power, and getting to that angle. Now it's all about being at the right position, so Gilbert can't counteract whatever I want to do to him.
It's going to add a different pace, it's going to add a different mindset. I have to be aggressive at certain times, and not be aggressive (at other times). With Tim, we were planning on just counteracting him, kind of counterfighting him.
So you could say it put a little more intensity onto it, because Gilbert does bring a different realm of fighting. He's going to do what it takes to win, whether it's legal or illegal.
How worried are you that he might try to pull some of the funny stuff that he's done in the past?
Not too worried about it. I have some sparring partners that are just as bad, so I'm kind of used to it.
If it happens and it doesn't end well, I'll be upset. But if it happens and I just shake it off, and he sees that and it deters him, I'll be more excited about it.
Has your camp, American Kickboxing Academy, brought in anyone to help you prepare specifically for Yvel?
No, no. We've got a couple of guys. We've got Cain Velasquez and we've got Kyle Kingsbury.
I asked Kyle to do me a favor and watch a couple of videotapes of Gilbert, and I guess he has, because he's bringing out all kinds of crazy stuff. He's been really my main sparring partner. Mike Kyle as well.
Kyle Kingsbury has really improved a lot, and he's been really a handful for me lately. He really studied his video.
At least in the fights of Yvel's that I've seen, although he's unorthodox, he often comes straight ahead. How much would you agree with that description?
He comes straight ahead, but everything he throws is very hard, very heavy. When we work on different situations, we make sure that I'm in this position, or at the right angle, or moving forward at the right time. Because when he throws, he throws with a lot of anger, a lot of pain. He throws (with) everything he's got.
What did you think of his fight with Rizzo?
I didn't get to watch it. I heard about it. The main questions were: Did he look clean? How's his shape look? Did he look confident? And all those questions were answered as "Yes."
So I just had to pick up the intensity of training. It's kind of motivated me more to pick up and start doing more two- to three-a-day training sessions, which is kind of hard on the body, but I've got a week of rest time before the fight.
Barnett pretty much dominated Yvel from the get-go when they fought in January. What do you take away from that fight, if anything?
What I take from that fight is that Barnett hit him a lot. Even though he was in dominant position, he hit him a lot and Yvel didn't quit. So looking back at that, I've got to be on pinpoint accuracy. I've got to have my cardio up. I've got to have my muscle endurance. Everything has got to be right in line, because it's going to be a war, no matter how you look at it, because he didn't go out easy.
Speaking of hitting guys a lot, in your last fight, you pretty much beat the living heck out of Kirill Sidelnikov, but he hung around for a long time. Would you attribute to his chin, or do you think you could have done something to put him away more quickly?
Two things.
Going into the third round, my cornermen, Crazy Bob (Cook) and Dave Velasquez said, "Hey, you're winning this fight, don't extend yourself." So in the third round, I wasn't looking out for the knockout punch.
But the thing is, if you noticed (during) the fight, I had to stay behind my jab, because everything I threw, if I threw my right hand for the power, he had that overhand right answer for it, like Fedor (Emelianenko) throws it. So I didn't want to overextend myself.
Even in the second round, I didn't want to overextend myself with throwing my right hand, because you could tell he was just ready to counteract that. Even though he was tired, and he wasn't all there, and he was pretty overwhelmed because he didn't have the experience to follow up on anything, I didn't want to overextend myself with my right hand.
I guess it was a good fight, because I had to use my experience to beat him.
That said, were you surprised that he withstood that? My recollection is that you just kept hitting him and hitting him, and he just ate it.
You know, if you watch the third round, he was fighting on heart. That kid has a lot of heart.
I think the heavyweight division is probably a little bit too big for him. I think he should go down to 205.
He was fighting on heart. If you watch the third round again — he was looking for a way out. He was looking for somebody to throw the towel in for him or something.
I'm sure you've seen or heard some of the doubts out there about Affliction's viability going forward. What other major outlets do you see out there for heavyweights?
Not many. You've got Bellator coming right around the corner and you've got Strikeforce.
Strikeforce is going to have a ton of fights the rest of this year, and a ton of fights next year. Showtime and Strikeforce, and even Affliction, they're all banding together and they're working together good, which is really good.
I still have a fight left with Strikeforce. I've still got a fight left with Affliction. I'm in a good spot right now, so I don't think I have anything to worry about until maybe next year.
Probably the losses of your career that people remember the most are to Andrei Arlovski and Alistair Overeem. What would you do differently a second time around?
On Arlovski, I wouldn't be aggressive. I wouldn't be aggressive at all. I was way too aggressive on that fight and overextended myself with that right hand.
And Overeem, it just wasn't me that day. He was a better man that day. ... That would be a totally different fight, just to begin with, because I wasn't even near 100%. I was probably 60% for that fight mentally. And if it comes around again, he'll get the whole 110% of Buentello.
How do you think Overeem will do now that he's finally going to be defending his title next month, against Fabricio Werdum?
Werdum's going to take it to the ground, but I think Overeem knows how to ground and pound well, obviously.
And I don't think Werdum is really big enough to handle Overeem's power. Overeem's been eating a lot of horsemeat and stuff like that, so Overeem's a lot bigger than he was.
It's been awhile since you fought in UFC. How much interest would you have in going back, and how much interest have they expressed in bringing you back?
Oh, yeah, I talk to (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva probably once every three or four months, just to say hi and chitchat. Yeah, I think the door's still open. I left on a good note. I don't have anything bad to say with the UFC. They're dominating right now. Publicly and promotionally. ... UFC's the place to be.
And also, UFC's building a great heavyweight division.
The offer's always there to go back. I'm pretty sure, a good 100%, that I'd be offered (a deal to come) back, if I wanted to go back. Or if the door's open enough to where I could go back, I think it'd be a great fit for me. I think I'd be a monkey wrench in the whole heavyweight division.
But right now, I'm happy. I finish out this year with Affliction, I hope to finish out with Strikeforce. We'll see what happens next year.
At one point, you actually called out Kimbo Slice.
That was a long time ago.
When you heard he was going to be on The Ultimate Fighter, what went through your head?
I just started laughing. I just laughed.
Kimbo, I think he went the wrong way of getting into it. He didn't have a fight manager, he had a promotional manager. He got thrown into the wolves at the wrong time, (against) Seth Petruzelli, which is known as the company killer — it just wasn't the right fight for him. He took advantage of the promotion and trying to get all this money out of them.
I thought it was funny he's in the TUF thing. Maybe he has earn his spot. Maybe he'll earn his spot now.
So at this point, who else would you like to fight? Who do you think might just be a good match-up for you?
The good match-up for me right now is Gilbert and that's what I'm focusing on. That's my main job right now. I never really look past my opponent.
There's always a good match-up out there. I'll always go to match-ups where I'm the underdog, where I'm not favored to even stand a chance. That's where I've performed the best, every time my whole career. Right now, I'm the underdog fighting Gilbert. ... which is a good position, because I have no pressure. I've been in this position a lot of times. I've made a living in these positions.
I guess we'll see what happens. Personally, I doubt this fight's going to a decision.
That's one thing, for sure. All I want to know is if Gilbert will stand. I hope he stands the whole 15 minutes, he doesn't try anything funny, don't want to get hit, take me down and hold me in side control and ease out a decision. We're both good strikers. I think the fans want to see it and I want to do it.
I think he does have a few leglock wins in Europe. Does it concern you that he might try to go that route?
Oh, we're working on it. Every time I hit somebody, they tend to turn into a good wrestler, so we're working on it. That's the thing I love about MMA — you have to work on everything.
That's a thing we had add in from Tim Sylvia, because Tim Sylvia was going to be a stand-up fight, guaranteed. He's not big enough, he's not fast enough to take me down, and he doesn't like to do that stuff. So that would have been a great stand-up fight.
Now that it changed to Yvel, everything changes, so we erase the chalkboard and start writing our new stuff down.
(Posted by Sergio Non)