Bleacher Report - Articles by Mike Saf

Urban Rumble Championship III: Live Video Stream

Mike Saf — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:34:40 -0500

Hey guys. In case you didn't know Urban Rumble Championship 3 is tonight at 7:30PM CTS in Pasadena TX, at the Pasadena Convention Center. This fight will feature Johnathan Ivey facing off against former UFC and TUF Season One fighter, Sam Hoger.

If you are in the area come out and sit in on 9 exciting bouts. Tickets will be sold at the doors and on the phone only. For tickets call 713-926-9966.

For those of you who can't attend, MMA City will have the live video stream at http://mmacity.com/2009/01/23/urban-rumble-championship-3-live-stream/. Tune in at 7:30PM/CST.

MMA City Reveals New Fashion Line

Mike Saf — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:34:37 -0500

Mixed Martial Arts Entertainment Co., MMA City (dot) Com, has engaged into the fashion industry.

MMA City has teamed up with MMA Urban Wear LLC to produce a high end fashion range looking to attract the Mixed Martial Arts community.

Head-gearing into the industry, the two companies have released a single T-shirt that is ready for purchase at mmaurbanwear.com. In addition, the company has projected further designs for future garment releases.

“Mixed Martial Arts is an emerging field. In the few months of business we have captivated the interest of thousands of MMA fans—former and new. With the addition of our new MMA City Apparel we’re hoping to engage and open new channels in the Mixed Martial Arts market. This first MMA City T-Shirt is ready for purchase. Also, stay tuned for our contests which we will be announcing at mmacity.com in the near future.” (Michael Safovich, Co-Founder)

MMA City T-shirts are made out of fine 100 percent cotton material and crafted in the United States.

Manny Pacquiao vs Oscar De La Hoya

Mike Saf — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:40:42 -0500

Today is a mark in history as legendary—Manny Pacquiao fights Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya in a 12 round boxing extravaganza. The event is scheduled to air live on HBO PPV on December 6th, 9:00 PM (ET)/8:00PM (CT).

De La Hoya Vs. Pacquiao

Picture via Bloody Elbow

Questions were raised after the official weigh-in at the Garden Arena for the welterweight match. Philippine Daily Inquirer reports -

The 29-year-old brawler tipped the scales at 142 pounds Friday in a festive official weigh-in at the packed Garden Arena. The moment the number was called out, trainer Freddie Roach quickly approached the scale to check if he heard it correctly. Everybody sensed something was wrong.

Pacquiao feels that De La Hoya may have rigged his way out of a $6-million penalty for being overweight.

Source - (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

“When I got to the venue, in less than an hour, I weighed 142 lb. In less than an hour I lost 4 lb and I did not even do anything. I don’t want to insinuate anything, but I lost 4 lb in less than an hour without doing anything,” Pacquiao said.

“I was surprised at my weight,” Pacquiao said later that evening inside his cushy 61st floor suite at Mandalay Bay. “Before I went to the weigh-in, I checked my weight and came in at 146 lb.”

The question remains as Pacquiao is only speculating, but can not be certain. However, Manny is relentless and is not intimidated easily.

Provisions and Outlook

For Manny Pacquiao, a nation of Philippines will be watching the legend today. If Pacquiao wants to win, he must hold on to his defensive. De La Hoya has height, weight, and reach advantage. Pacquiao can win, but he can not let size become an issue.

On the other hand, a reputation is on the line for 35 years old—Oscar De La Hoya. Some say Oscar is getting old, while Pacquiao, 29 years old, is still in his prime. However, the odds are still in De La Hoya’s favor. Oscar needs to use his physical advantage to win this battle. He needs to keep Manny outside his reach, and wait to set up the power shots.

Boxing, MMA, and even wrestling fans, are coming together to watch this insane battle take place. Check back later as we will update on the results of Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya at MMA City (dot) Com.

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MMA Independent Alliance Offers Free Live Streaming

Mike Saf — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:08:02 -0500

The MMA Independent Alliance (OTC Pink Sheets: SNMN) will be offering free live streaming for their MMA event on December 13, 2008. The MMA Independent Alliance will present “Brutaal Fight” on Friday December 13 at 5 PM CST at the MYTH in Minneapolis, MN. The event will be streamed live, for free on the People’s Fight Channel.

The basic fight card will be:

Jairus Volkmann vs. Justin White
BJ Van Busekom vs. Mel Ott
The Crow vs. Caleb Wolff
Bruce Nelson vs Zack Yencho
Chris Powers vs. Nate “The Killer” Howe (185 lb Brutaal Champ & MERC Management Client)
Colby Vogt vs. Corey Washington
Frank “The Tank” Johnson vs. (not announced)

Source - (World Stock Wire)

MMA Promotions are popping up all over the place. As we’ve previously seen, only the strong survive. Offering a live stream for free is a very cool marketing technique if you’re a newer company trying to come up in the world of MMA. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this in future events.

Miguel Torres Defeats Manny Tapia to Retain Bantamweight Title

Mike Saf — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:32:06 -0500

WEC 37 went down on December 3rd, and the bout of the night was Miguel Torres Vs. Manny Tapia. Miguel Torres was victor over Tapia in round 2 by TKO. Not only did Torres retain his Bantamweight Title, but he also proved himself subject to pound for pound status. I have to admit—Torres’s performance over Tapia was especially impressive and should go down in WEC history.

Manny Tapia had dreams of Bantamweight championship but Torres had other ideas. Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia went down as one of WEC’s best, and WEC could use some more similar performances.

Another fight is scheduled for tomorrow night, December 6, 2008. No, it’s not a rematch between Torres and Tapia, but features a fighter who coincidently shares Tapia’s first name.

You must know by now that a superfight is taking place between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya will not be a MMA battle, but alternatively will be a good ole’ boxing match. A handful of MMA fans have turned away from boxing in light of more exciting combat that is captivated in Mixed Martial Arts. However, this particular battle is not one to miss.

Check back later for more details on Pacquiao Vs. Del La Hoya.

HDNet: Largest MMA Event in the World

Mike Saf — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:30:15 -0500

Are you ready for real deal MMA? Are you ready for more turkey? Well, get ready for the World’s largest Mixed Martial Arts event at the Yokohama Arena in Tokyo, Japan. FiELDS K-1 WGP 2008 Final, featuring none other than “Turkey of the Year” - Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson. HDNet will premier K-1’s encore presentation in the US on December 6, 2008.

Kimbo Slice

Discouraged yet? Put your worries aside, Ferguson will not be on the fight card for this event. However, he will be a guest commentator, invited by FEG and HDNet for K-1’s US debut. I for one would not trust Kimbo Slice as a commentator, especially at the world’s largest MMA event. Alternatively, it should be fun to hear Ferguson’s interpretation.

Here are the fighters on the card for this premier –

- TAKERU vs. Taisei Ko
- Mitsugu Noda vs. Tsutomu Takahagi
- Peter Aerts vs. Badr Hari
- Errol Zimmerman vs. Ewerton Teixeira
- Gokhan Saki vs. Ruslan Karaev
- Remy Bonjasky vs. Jerome Le Banner
- Hong Man Choi vs. Ray Sefo
- Paul Slowinski vs Melvin Manhoef
… and three other yet undecided bouts.

As much as I am excited to hear Kimbo Slice commentate this event, I must say I’m way more ecstatic that K-1 is debuting “The World’s Largest” MMA event. K-1 and their sister company – DREAM, is known for premiering large scale events usually in Japan and around the world. Now, HDNet is bringing this event to the US in hopes to develop a big impact for future K-1 MMA interest.

“K-1 is a combat sport that combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San shou, Kickboxing, traditional Boxing, and other martial arts to determine the single best stand-up fighter in the world (the “1″).”

Check out K-1’s website for more information.

HDNet’s coverage starts December 6 at 12:00 AM / PT with an encore presentation later that evening. Encore presentation starts at 9:00 PM / ET/ 6:00 PM / PT.

Source – (Market Watch)

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Read more MMA News and Opinion at MMA City (dot) Com. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS Feeds as we will update on upcoming contests and giveaways!

Kurt Angle Talks MMA and Kisses Brock Lesnar

Mike Saf — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:30:18 -0500

Kurt Angle, 38 years old has been talking about entering the MMA arena for at least two years now. He has been in the talks with both, UFC and Affliction. Bloody Elbow thinks Kurt Angle is a liar about his MMA intentions, because he’s never actually been involved in an MMA bout, even though he always talks about how he can take on the top contenders.

Angle says, “It really comes down to money.”

Bloody Elbow reports that Kurt Angle did an interview, and that he’s still trying to hype his never existing MMA Career. The interview was on the “Big O & Dukes” show and you can listen to the entire interview here.

MMA City thinks Angle is just jealous of his old kissing buddy—Brock Lesnar, who signed with the UFC and went on to become UFC’s Heavyweight Champion.

This video was released a while back, but some of you still may not have seen it. What would happened if Kurt Angle was given the opportunity to follow Lesnar straight to the top? Yes, PPV sales would skyrocket, but what about the integrity of MMA? Check it out and enjoy.

Brock Lesnar Kisses Kurt Angle

Read more MMA News and Opinion at MMA City (dot) Com. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS Feeds as we will update on upcoming contests and giveaways!

UFC 92 Tickets

Mike Saf — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:21:24 -0500

What would be better than UFC 92 tickets for the holidays? December brings Christmas and New Years holidays. I don’t believe I can think of anything I would want more than to get some UFC 92 tickets so I could fly out and watch the event live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Nevada. Watching some of the best MMA athletes dual it out, on what’s hyped up to be one of the biggest fight cards of the year, sounds like a perfect holiday to me.

UFC 92 has an electrifying fight card, and what better time to catch a live show than now? Check out the lineup…

UFC 92 Lineup
Forrest Griffin Vs. Rashad Evans
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Vs. Frank Mir
CB Dollaway Vs. Mike Massenzio
Wanderlei Silva Vs. Quinton Jackson
Cheick Kongo Vs. Mustapha Al-Turk
Yushin Okami Vs. Dean Lister
Antoni Hardonk Vs. Mark Burch
Matt Hamill Vs. Reese Andy
Ryo Conan Vs. Brad Blackburn
Dan Evensen Vs. Pat Barry

If you think it’s too late to get cheap tickets, think again. Ticketmaster still has UFC 92 Tickets ranging from $250- $800. However, MMA City recommends EBAY to buy your UFC 92 Tickets. We noticed bids as low as $150 for two ticket packages. How can you pass that kind of deal up? Time is running short. Don’t miss these great deals. Reserve your UFC 92 tickets now!

MMA Promotion: UWC Success Recipe

Mike Saf — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:38:27 -0500

With the downfall of EliteXC, some of us are wondering if it’s even worth getting involved with MMA promotions. However, there are certainly MMA promotions who are still going strong. These companies are playing it safe nonetheless due to the receding economy and the scare it’s brought upon the MMA industry.

Recently, we’ve seen Zuffa LLC and President Dana White playing their cards very cautiously, so as not to make the same mistakes which led to the falling of other MMA organizations.

With organizations like the UFC succeeding and making a strong footprint in the market, the effect of a foul economy, and other factors that can lead to an MMA promotion business going under, it seems challenging for a start-up company to make an uprising in the field.

MMA Junkie’s Kelly Crigger met with Marcello Foran, the CEO of Ultimate Warrior Challenge (UWC). Crigger believes the UWC to be a promising MMA promotion with four successful shows already under their belt. Crigger refers to UWC as the East Coast’s equivalent to Strikeforce.

Crigger reports that Foran does not seem at all nervous about the UWC’s development.

“Everyone gets what’s coming to them,” Foran said, sipping a cocktail. “You have to ask, where did they get their knowledge about doing MMA shows other than boxing? I don’t have all the answers, but I’m learning and evolving all the time, which is key to survival in this sport. Did they?”

Below is Foran’s success recipe, where he combines what he’s learned from success, abject failure, and historical lessons of others. Listed are his seven rule:

1: Start small and establish credibility.

2: Surround yourself with a balance of good businessmen and MMA contacts.

3: Showcase a mix of local talent and national names.

4: Grow the organization in between the live shows.

5: Get a mass media deal.

6: Exercise financial efficiency.

7: Maintain a positive relationship with the UFC.

Source—MMA Junkie.

Sounds like it might work out for Foran and the UWC, but with the consistent fluctuation in the industry, and the fact that anything can happened during or between events, only time will tell if UWC can keep head-spearing to catch up to the other big dogs.

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Read more MMA News and Opinions at MMA City (dot) Com. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS Feeds as we will update upcoming contests and giveaways!

Canadian Border Patrol Denies Anderson Silva

Mike Saf — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:08:54 -0500

Anderson Silva

blogs.chron.com/fighting

According to The Vancouver Sun, Anderson Silva was set to make an appearance at Popeye’s Supplements for a promotional autograph signing for his sponsor–Nutrabolics.

“Silva was stopped at the border, denied entry, and turned around for reasons unknown.”

A riot almost broke out at Popeye’s Supplements as the fans were given the news of the no show. A saving appearance by UFC lightweight contender, Kenny Florian saved the day from the disastrous situation.

Silva fans were extremely disappointed by the no show when they had to wait in the cold for hours to catch a glimpse of the anticipated Anderson Silva. However, some fans were more than satisfied with the presence of Kenny Florian.

“It’s awesome,” said Cassidy Okoie, a 21-year-old kickboxer, “It’s a dream come true.”

As awesome as it must be to get to meet Kenny Florian, hard-raged Silva fans get a second chance to meet the MMA super star.

“Disappointed fans of Silva will get a second chance to meet their hero when he appears for a do-over next week. He’ll sign autographs at Popeye’s Kitsilano, 2295 W. Broadway, on Monday, Dec. 8, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.”

Source ~ http://www.canada.com/vancouversun

Gina Carano: WEC Vs. Strikeforce

Mike Saf — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 02:41:53 -0500

UFC’s sister company—World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)—showed interest in Gina Carano, undefeated female MMA star, earlier in November. The Canadian Press reported from a press conference in Toronto that Dana White showed interest in female MMA fighter Gina Carano.

Gina Carano

nbcsports.msnbc.com

In the past, Dana White would pass on talk of women fighting in the organization, saying that there was not enough talent. Now, White goes on record saying…

“Gina Carano is a star, I think she’s talented. I think she’s got all the tools, so what I’m willing to do is bring Gina into the WEC. We could do fights whenever there’s a challenger for Gina. That’s how I’ll test the waters and see how it goes.”

Source - (660 News)

Gina Carano, recently became a free agent, when her former contract with EliteXC expired, due to the company going out of business. Gina Carano has long proved herself as an excelled MMA fighter with a flawless 6-0-0 (Win-Loss-Draw) record.

While White is thinking about how he’s going to be testing the waters, another MMA Promotion Company is after Carano’s services. MMA Junkie reported earlier this week, that MMA Promotion Strikeforce is pursing Carano, now for a second go around.

Carano was still fairly new to MMA. Not many fans had seen nor heard of her. Strikeforce at the time was a rookie promotion that set an American record MMA attendance in a then recent event.

Early in Carano’s career, Strikeforce saw potential in the talented female fighter. In December ’06, Carano was offered a spot in “Triple Threat”, a Strikeforce Promotion. Shortly after, Carano began fighting for EliteXC.

Now, EliteXC has gone out of business and Strikeforce wants Carano back, but apparently the deal is held back by some legal issues.

“We’d love to have Gina fighting for us again,” said Strikeforce spokesperson Mike Afromowitz after the Nov. 21 “Destruction” event. “We’d love to have her back, but we’re a little restricted right now. There are a lot of legal issues. So when we’re allowed to, we’ll talk. But have to wait.”

Source - (MMA Junkie)

So, it seems like Dana White is in a good position to seal the deal with Gina Carano. WEC would benefit from Carano’s rising fame.

However, as with Fedor Emelianenko, White will not rush for the deal. He will wait it out until the benefit is swayed to his favor. On the other hand, Strikeforce would show more flexibility over White when dealing with Carano, and probably offer a better compensation.

So, what do the rest of you MMA fans think? Will Carano settle for a WEC offer, wait for Strikeforce to kick in a better deal, or will she just follow Fedor Emelianenko in a parallel path to greatness?

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Read more MMA News and Opinion at MMA City (dot) Com. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS Feeds as we will update on upcoming contests and giveaways!

Gina Carano Party Pictures with Tonya Evinger

Mike Saf — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:51:17 -0500

Back in September 2007, Five Ounces of Pain quoted MMA Fighter, Tonya Evinger before a bout against Gina Carano. -

“I’d like to make out with Gina, but I am here to knock her out. Either way she wants it, though, is fine with me.” – (Evinger)

Now, pictures of the two partying together have surfaced the Blogosphere. Some believe these pictures might entail to more than just a party and have titled this the so-called “Lesbian Party." Check it out for yourself. The pictures of the two are below. What do you think?

Gina Carano and Tonya Evinger Party Pics

Source ~ http://www.inquisitr.com/

Fedor Emelianenko Props Andrei Arlovski and Skips US Tour

Mike Saf — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:15:19 -0500

Fedor Emelianenko received a greater loss than he expected when the rest of the world found out that Emelianenko was defeated in Sambo for the first time in eight years.

Immediately, speculation started to spread that Emelianenko was losing his touch. Those who doubt Fedor used this to polish their certainty, while those who favor and believe that Fedor Emelianenko is the best fighter in the world, did not lose faith.

In fact, lots of theories started to come forward regarding the Sambo loss. Fedor’s movie, which he was busy filming instead of devoting his full time to Sambo, was said to be a cause of the loss.

Also, it was said that Sambo is not the same as MMA, and that a loss in Sambo does not mean much when anticipating future MMA battles.

However, even though Fedor says that Sambo is his hobby while MMA is his job, one still coincides with the other as Fedor believes that Sambo is the best training format for MMA.

Watching some of the Sambo competitions, I must say that I agree. Sambo is a very unique fighting style, and looks like a promising benefit for MMA.

With all said above, Fedor is all business when it comes to MMA, and apparently his Sambo loss was enough pressure for him to step up his game for his January bout with Affliction against dangerous Andrei Arlovski. Instead of flying to the US for a Press Tour, he will dedicate his time for preparation.

Fedor Means Business

www.mma-analyst.com

“My trainers, Vladimir Voronov and Alexander Michkov, met with me in Russia after the World Sambo Championships, and we decided that the Arlovski [fight] is too important to delay a comprehensive training camp in exchange for press-tour obligations on the other side of the world,” Emelianenko stated. “Andrei Arlovski is a dangerous fighter and has looked in prime condition and at the top of his game in his last few fights. He is one of the top three heavyweights in the world. This is not a fighter I will defeat if I am taking shortcuts in training.”

Source ~ (MMA Junkie)

WEC Fight Card for Dec. 3

Mike Saf — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:03:16 -0500

Here is the WEC Fight Card for Dec. 3, 8 p.m. ET, LIVE on Versus at The Joint: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. (wish I could be there)

Not quite UFC caliber yet, but you have to love the free fights on cable. It’s too bad Faber isn’t on the card but I guess the guy can’t fight every time. Maybe someone in the crowd will try to start some s!$& with him and he’ll choke someone out.

Miguel Angel Torres Vs. Manny Tapia
Brian Bowles Vs. Will Ribeiro
Waggney Fabiano Vs. Akitoshi Tamura
Joseph Benavidez Vs. Danny Martinez

I like Tapia, Bowles, Tamura, and Benavidez.

These fights will be cherry-picked for broadcast: I hope they air the Takaya/Swanson fight. The 145 scrappers are just fun to watch.

Johny Hendricks Vs. Justin Haskins
Mark Munoz Vs. Ricardo Barros
Blas Avena Vs. Kevin Knabjian
Diego Nunes Vs. Cole Province
Hiroyuki Takaya Vs. Cub Swanson
Bart Palaszewski Vs. Alex Karalexis
Shane Roller Vs. Mike Budnik

For more info on the fighters, check out www.wec.tv.

Quinton Jackson Makes Late Change in Prep for Wanderlei Silva

Mike Saf — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:16:02 -0500

The Daily Star reports that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has hired the help of Kerry Kayes as a coach, in preparation for his next bout with Wanderlei Silva in the Octagon for UFC 92.

Kerry Kayes is the strength coach for boxer Ricky "Hitman" Hatton, and has potential of getting the former champ back on his feet after a decision victory to Forest Griffin in Jackson’s most recent bout.

"And the Memphis-born brawler said the addition of Kayes, 59, to his team means we will see the most powerful Rampage ever on December 27 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas."

Source: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/

Some of us have to wonder: Why is it, that Jackson is just now making this move? What will one month of extreme training do for Rampage in his bout in December?

If the victory goes to Silva, will we witness another, Rampage Gone Nuts episode?

"It’s taken me out of my comfort zone and I don’t have the distractions I have in LA or in Las Vegas. All they’ve got me doing is sleeping, eating and training. I am training four times a day for this fight, which is crazy.

"My last trainer didn’t like me taking supplements, but after talking to Kerry I realise I will be 20 or 30 per cent stronger." - (Rampage)

Is The Fight Zone the Next Major MMA Promotion?

Mike Saf — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:19:46 -0500

UFC, Affliction, and now...The Fight Zone, Inc. (Pink Sheets: TFZI), is planning to debut with their first major MMA Promotion in late first quarter of 2009 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Fight Zone is planning to hit the MMA fields pretty hard with an intriguing fight card. All the details have not been confirmed yet, but they are planning to feature a bunch of the major Jiu-jitsu championship fighters.

One anticipated fighter that The Fight Zone, Inc. has revealed for their upcoming event is Robert Drysdale. If you haven’t heard of this guy yet, you might want to take out your notepad and pencil.

As Head Brazilian Jiu-jitsu instructor at Randy Couture’s Xtreme Couture training facility, and a coach for UFC Frank Mir on The Ultimate Fighter, Drysdale is potential for a serious headline for The Fight Zone’s promotion.

Robert Drysdale

http://robertdrysdale.net/

“Having dominated the world of Jiu-jitsu for many years, winning dozens of titles including the highly coveted Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling Championship, the BJJ Black Belt World Championship (4 times), and the National Brazilian Championship (5 times), Robert Drysdale is eagerly awaiting his first professional MMA fight.

"All of us at the Fight Zone believe Robert can go straight to the top ranks in MMA,” commented Skipper Kelp, head trainer and a director at The Fight Zone, Inc. “We are very excited to be announcing this event, which we expect to be the first of many to come for our fast growing organization.”

Source ~ http://www.marketwatch.com/

If The Fight Zone delivers, it will mean more excitement for MMA fans everywhere. Not only will we have a night of extreme Brazilian Jujitsu geared MMA, but also some needed competition in MMA promotions.

Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture

Mike Saf — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:53:30 -0500

MMA Fans were heard when we suggested Liddell would not be a good match-up for Anderson Silva. UFC has reconsidered this bout, and instead offered Liddell a fight with former heavyweight champion Randy Couture, which will be hosted in Cologne, Germany on June 13, 2009.

The Sun Reports –

“The pair have fought three times before at light heavyweight with Liddell winning two of those bouts.

But their next fight will be a heavyweight encounter which would see the winner thrust right into the title picture.”

Source ~ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/ufc/article1961641.ece

Silva’s match-up is now undecided and will be reflected by the outcome of UFC 92 Light Heavyweight bout taking place on December 27 ‘08.

Renato Babalu Sobral Crowned at Strikeforce

Mike Saf — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:24:07 -0500

Bad boy Renato “Babalu” Sobral predicted his defeat of former light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth and he wasn't kidding.

Renato got the championship after the fighters clinched against the cage and the Brazilian landed a big elbow strike that split Southworth open just above the nose over his right eye.

The blood started to flow from Southworth’s head, and while the fight was paused during the round to allow referee John McCarthy to check the cut, the action was allowed to continue. In between rounds, doctors had the chance to check the cut and they determined the damage was too severe and Sobral was declared the winner.

“Now it’s my belt, come and take it,” Babalu taunted.

Babalu made it clear that he would do everything and anything possible to take this victory, and it seems like this time he prevailed. Next, Renato Babalu will face Matt Lindland in Affliction’s Day of Reckoning, confirmed to debut on January 24th, 2009.

Who do you think will win?

Source ~ http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=7651&zoneid=2

DREAM in North America for 2009

Mike Saf — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:47:14 -0500

Japanese combat series DREAM is making a stampede into North America—with an exclusive deal with HDNet, DREAM will continue onward to be the top of the crème in MMA combat.

“DREAM is known for having the best MMA tournaments and superfights in the world and clearly has the greatest production and fighter entrances in the sport. This partnership solidifies our commitment to being THE Home of MMA.”

—Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights

HDNet Fights (http://www.hdnetfights.com) is one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organizations in the country. Founded by Mark Cuban, HDNet Fights promotes, produces, and airs over 24 live MMA events annually for broadcast on HDNet. HDNet Fights is unique as a unifying force in the MMA industry partnering with leading promoters, including Affliction, DREAM, StrikeForce (TM), M1, K-1, K-1 Max, MFC, Adrenaline and others to offer the quality match-ups and productions that MMA fans demand.

—USA-Inc/story.aspx?guid=%7B970FAC0A-C10A-4430-9C57-01CA7CBD9B02%7D" target="_blank">MarketWatch.com

We’ve heard a lot lately about Dana White, and his quest to expand MMA boundaries in North America, and Donald Trump on his journey with Affliction to feature the most prestige bouts. Now, DREAM is expanding its market and hitting North America hard. Who do you think will survive?

Jon Fitch is Back in the UFC Fold

Mike Saf — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:36:42 -0500

MMA City did not expect Jon Fitch to be gone from the UFC for very long. One day after the boot, MMA star Jon Fitch is back in the UFC and back on schedule to fight Akihiro Gono in UFC 94.

MMA Rated has the breakdown...

After speaking with UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta via phone, Fitch said the two had managed to clear the air, that the fighter would sign the company’s much-maligned video game licensing agreement and was cleared to fight Akihiro Gono at UFC 94, as previously planned.

“Communication kind of broke down with Dana (White) so we talked with Lorenzo,” Fitch told MMARated. “(I) just got off the phone with him and we came to an agreement. We’re going to move ahead and I’ll be back in the UFC. We’re going to sign off on the video game and I’m back. It was never even about the agreement or the contract. It was the approach that we felt Dana was being a little bit hot-headed and was threatening us right off the bat. It didn’t seem like a professional way of doing things.”

UFC Goran Reljic the Hero

Mike Saf — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:25:36 -0500

Croatian fighter, Goran Reljic risked his own life when he jumped into the sea to save two people who crashed into the ocean. Reljic heard a loud noise outside his residence, and immediately ran outside to help. Still in his boxers, Reljic jumped into the waters, swam to the vehicle, and broke the windshield free to result in saving two lives.

Goran Reljic

(Source)

Goran Reljic was scheduled to fight in October, but was stopped due to back Reljic’s back injuries. Reljic does not want to be praised for this heroic act, other than the fact that two men survived. MMA City praises Reljic despite his modesty, and wish him a fast recovery with his injuries.

This story was translated from Croatian source by Free Fight Videos Blog.

Jon Fitch Cut From UFC

Mike Saf — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:03:05 -0500

MMAmania reports that Jon Fitch has been cut from the UFC. Fitch and others refused to sign a lifetime video game contract to his name and likeness with the UFC. Christian Wellisch was also among the fighters that got let go.

“While the full details are a little murky at this time, Fitch was apparently approached about the issue when he turned in his signed bout agreement to fight Akihiro Gono at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2″ on January 31. And when he and his representatives attempted to negotiate the video game deal it was all or nothing.” (Source)