KJ Notebook: October 12th

Sid Gee is a local legend in the St. Louis Martial Arts community. Among his many endeavors, he was an assistant coach for the St. Louis Enforcers of the World Combat League for two years and has worked the mitts with the likes of Lance Benoist, Barb Honchak, Timmy Connors, Steve Berger and many more.

Earlier this week, Gee got a call from an old friend with an incredible opportunity.
Dave Smith, the cornerman for Rick Roufus, was on the line. One of Roufus' normal cornermen didn't have his passport and couldn't make the 14-hour flight to Japan for the K-1 World Granx Prix 2012 Final 16.

Roufus and Gee go way back. Both were karate tournament fighters back in the 70's and 80's, both nationally ranked.

"He trained with me one summer," said Gee, "and he got into kickboxing."

Roufus would go on to become a three-time World Kickboxing Champion fighting in Thailand, France, and Japan as well as all over the United States and Canada.

With Gee in his corner, Rufus' next fight will be against James Wilson. The winner will secure an alternate spot for the finals of the 16-man tournament to be held in New York City where the prize money will be $1 million. Wilson defeated another local, Doug Sauer this past September.

"I've known Rick for 30 years plus," said Gee. "I know the standup game well, so they invited me to be in his corner."

K1 is the pinnacle of kickboxing and the 13,000 seat Ryogoku Kokugikan is an impressive venue, but Gee is no stranger to the big events.

"I've cornered Tim Connors for one of his fights on HBO," said Gee. "But this is a bigger venue."

The event will air in the US on Spike.com on Saturday, October 13th.

Sid Gee can be contacted for private lessons at 314-452-8836

Bellator Reality Show Open Tryouts
Spike TV is casting for a new reality show to air in 2013. Open tryouts are November 10th from 8am - 4pm at the American Top Team Gym in Coconut Creek, Florida.

2013 will be a big year for Bellator as the contract with the UFC will have expired and Spike will replace all of its UFC content with Bellator. The organization has held back several of its championship fights until after the first of the year, including Michael Chandler vs Rick Hawn and Ben Askren vs Karl Amoussou.

This is a great opportunity to jump to nationwide notoriety. Just look what it did for the original cast of the Ultimate Fighter.

Upcoming Bellator fights:
Undefeated lightweight EJ Brooks will be returning to the Bellator cage Friday, October 19th. Brooks will be taking on Darrell Horcher at Bellator 77 in Reading, PA.

Darryl Cobb from American Top Team and Andre's MMA has announced via his official twitter (@devistatdarryl) that he will be returning to Bellator on November 9th. An An opponent has yet to be announced. Cobb was last seen fighting for Fight Hard MMA on August 18th.

Details on next Shamrock FC event
Shamrock FC returns to Lumiere Casino on December 1st with an event titled: Domination.

As a part of the professional card, two of Hahn MMA's top amateurs will be making their professional debuts. Malcolm Smith and Jake Buehler will be competing as part of the pro card. Smith looked impressive recently with a victory at the Warrior Weekend. It was his first time cutting down to 155, a weight that looked like a natural fit.

Also announced on the card are: Kevin Engel, Rickey Bolin, Terrell Brown, Vincent Eazelle, Danny Andrews, Martez Jones, Becky Gullet, Gary Tapusoa, Britt Wilson, Anthony Livingston, Aaron Highfill, and Coren Riley. Match-ups have not been announced as of yet.

More information can be found at shamrockpromotionsllc.com

Spire Title Fights Announced
The Spire Sanctioning Alliance have announced these upcoming Spire title fights.

Cage Champs - November 3rd
Brandon Howard vs Daniel Baynton - 135-pound SW Regional Title
Heath Hildebrand vs Hugh Pulley - 170 West Sectional
Fierce Taylor vs Travis Draper - 145 West Sectional
Davi'd Heard vs Buddy McGinnis - 155 West Sectional

Fight Hard - November 10th
Fierce Taylor vs Damien Newman - 135 West Sectional

Proving Grounds - December 1st
(Pending results of Taylor/Newman)
Fierce Taylor vs Charles Johnson - 135 Missouri State Title

Find more information and complete amateur rankings at spiremma.com

If you have gym or fighter information to submit or share, please email info@knucklejunkies.com