10th Planet Watch – 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Van Nuys Blog

“Akihiro Gono will return to action against Octagon newcomer, Dan Hardy, in a welterweight tilt set for UFC 89: “Leben vs. Bisping” at The National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England, on October 18, according to CageWarriors.com.

Gono was set to take on Jon Fitch at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” back in March; however, the Japanese showman has to withdraw from the bout because of a hand injury that required surgery to repair. In fact, Ghono has a history of hand injuries and needed time for it to mend otherwise it could have threatened his future fighting career.

He has one win in one attempt inside the Octagon — a beautiful submission (armbar) of Tamdan McCrory back at UFC 78: “Validation” in November 2007.

Hardy — who is the reigning Cage Warriors welterweight champion — has won eight of his last nine bouts and the lone loss during that span was because of a disqualification. “The Outlaw” is considered to be the top British welterweight prospect. He is a Taekwondo black belt and “kickboxing expert” who has been competing in professional MMA since 2004.

Here’s a snip from Hardy:

“I’m excited to be fighting such a tough, well-respected fighter for my debut as Gono. It shows that the UFC know I am capable of dealing with the top tier guys and I am very grateful for the opportunity to go in at this kind of level. Gono has been in there with some of the best fighters in the world and always put on a good show, he comes to fight and has very good counter-strikes and some interesting submissions. He is a perfect opponent for me to prove my place in the UFC welterweight division and give the fans a great show. Fighting so close to home will be good because all of the people that have supported me through my career will be able to be there for my debut in the UFC.”

This is solid fight that pits a crafty veteran against a promising young star. It should be a good one.

The UFC 89 card is beginning to take shape with several intriguing bouts that include Michael Bisping, Chris Leben, Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves and others.”
Source: MMA Mania

For More info on Dan Hardy visit his website

I’m on vacation in the Pacific North West and got some recommendations to check out Impact BJJ while I was here. I had the pleasure of Training with the guys over there last night. Michael Chapman and Armand Debruge Taught the class. I felt a little out of place since it was primarily a gi class (my gi has been packed away for years), but they chose that night to teach some nogi stuff. It was awesome, Great bunch of guys. If anybody is ever in the Beaverton, OR area, I suggest stopping by.

They have a couple of fighters fighting in the FCFF’s (www.thefcff.com) “Rumble at the Roseland” August 23rd. It’s and amature MMA show up here in Portland, OR. Many of the local gyms have fighters participate. I had the pleasure of going to one last year and had a blast. I’m looking forward to going to the upcoming one.

Impact BJJ

The TOTAL FIGHT CHALLENGE welcomes back Jason Human Weapon Chambers to our card for Saturday September 20th at the Hammond Civic Center which is located just 25 mins from Downtown Chicago. This is Chambers first MMA fight since his hit TV show “The Human Weapon”. Chambers will take on the tough up and coming “Dan New” who just won a tough fight against a very skilled striker, Steve Styx. We look forward to welcoming Chambers back to the Chicagoland area.

For more info go to:

WWW.TOTALFIGHTCHALLENGE.COM