LaTasha Marzolla: Playboy's Knockout Fighting at Tuff-N-Uff 11/27

Todd Jackson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:07:47 -0500

With women's MMA steadily on the rise, many aspiring female mixed martial artists are seeing new doors open. Those doors are providing more opportunities as the sport evolves and further accepts their efforts to prove they belong.

They certainly do belong, that much is already apparent.

With the efforts of gentlemen like Barry and Jeff Meyer, President and Vice President respectively of Tuff-N-Uff Amateur Fighting Championships, women's MMA has found a respectable, high profile promotion to support their ascent in the sport.

Just last July, Tuff-N-Uff put on the first ever all female fight card, Tuff Girls, in Las Vegas, the fight capital of the world. This groundbreaking event was an amazing show that really displayed how exciting women's MMA can be.

Tuff-N-Uff is proud to say that world class female fighter Gina Carano fought for them in her early years as an amateur. Tuff-N-Uff is honored to have helped Carano establish herself under their banner. Now they look to provide the venue for another rising amateur fighter to make her mark on the sport.

They are showcasing another stunning yet equally dangerous knockout, all puns intended there. LaTasha Marzolla (1-0), the 2004 Playboy Special Edition Playmate of the Year, will be competing in her second MMA bout November 27th. Fighting out of Xtreme Couture, Marzolla will square off with Kate Mcgray; both are undefeated as amateurs.

LaTasha has surrounded herself with some of the greatest fighters in the sport at Xtreme Couture. Training there she will continue to hone what is already a well seasoned fighting career.

Latasha started out training under Master Toddy in kickboxing. Her record as a kickboxer is 9-3 so she is no newcomer to combat sports. Her experience shines through in her efforts as an amateur mixed martial artist.

Her first fight in MMA also took place with Tuff-N-Uff against a fighter named Christy Tada whom she stopped in the first round by TKO.

“Latasha’s fight against Christy is the second most viewed video on Tuff-N-Uff’s YouTube channel and has been featured on websites all over the world,” said Jeff Meyer. “We’re excited to help her pursue her dream of becoming a future star in the sport of MMA. She is funny and sweet outside of the ring but has proven to be more than serious inside of it.”

It should be interesting to watch her career progress further as she trains at one of the best gyms in the world as she already has a solid background in full contact fighting. Not to mention a highly attentive fan base from her early years as a model for the most prestigious gentleman's magazine in the world.

Her recognizable name and her high profile MMA affiliations will help her not only make her own way in the sport but also leave in her wake reinforcement of the fact that female fighters are here to stay, and plan on doing some damage.

Point being if Marzolla can find success in this sport, not unlike Carano's or even Cyborg's, it will help to open doors for more women to compete in this fast moving sport. Their success lends itself to the evolution of MMA for the better.

This is not the only fight taking place on November 27th at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. Tuff-N-Uff, as always, intends to blow away their sure to be packed house with top notch fighters trained at some of the best camps in the world. It is not uncommon to see fighters from Wand Fight Team, Xtreme Couture, or many other prestigious gyms competing for the Meyer brothers.

There is nothing quite like attending one of these events. Fights are fights, and shows are shows; many are high quality and very entertaining. All that said, nothing at all compares with a Tuff-N-Uff event.

There aren't many amateur events that will bring in MMA moguls like UFC President Dana White, or living legend Randy Couture. It is not often that you will bump into Vitor Belfort on your way to buy a T-Shirt at a smaller event like this one. Another great supporter, both as fan and coach, is Wanderlei Silva.

No one attending one of these shows should be the least bit surprised to see one of these icons sitting across the venue, or even in the hallway outside.

Their support of this promotion is all the proof one needs to display the true quality and integrity of the events. Barry and Jeff work very hard to bring the best they possibly can to fight fans in the Las Vegas area. If you're not local to Vegas, you can always log on to their website and check out replay footage of the fights after they take place.

At the end of the day, Tuff-N-Uff is building the future of this sport by combining integrity with entertainment, quality with accessibility, and excitement with promise.

If ever you're able to catch one of their events, don't miss the chance. If you're not able to attend, support their efforts by checking out their site. There is more than one exciting match there just waiting to entertain you.

Read more Dana White news on BleacherReport.com

It's a Fact: WWE's Shane McMahon Will Invest in UFC

Joe Burgett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:52:11 -0500

Last week, it was reported that Shane McMahon, son of WWE owner Vince McMahon and a well-versed WWE executive in his own right, met with UFC President Dana White.

Many speculated as to the topic of the meeting. Dana White, being the secretive man that he can be when he wants to, said "no comment" every time he was asked about the meeting.

Now, it has been reported from both MMA and wrestling insiders that Shane McMahon will be buying into the UFC.

MMA fans, more specifically UFC fans, need to be happy about this, and I'll tell you why.

Shane O'Mac may be well known in the pro-wrestling circle, but he is a business man first and foremost. He brings a lot of business know-how to UFC, and, as a former VP of Global Operations for the WWE, he brings so much to marketing—not to mention that he has friends in high places.

Many are hoping he could help the UFC get an international expansion, and that is not out of the box either. The UFC can do it if they have a guy who has been there, done that. McMahon is that guy.

He has helped the WWE get into about 30 or 40 different countries outside of North America. He closed a massive deal with Brazil about a year ago, which made the wrestling promotion millions.

McMahon is incredibly smart to come in now because he can easily buy into UFC. If they were already international, he couldn't. Not because he doesn't have the money. For the amount he'd have to put in right now, he would be able to buy a good chunk of the company. But had it been international, it would have only been a small chunk.

He took out $50 million in WWE stock about two weeks ago, and no one knew why. We know now that he could be purchasing a nice chunk of UFC; $50 million for a very well-known international company wouldn't buy 10 percent of it.

As a matter of fact, Shane only owned about 2.5 percent of the WWE when he had $50 million in it. Because it is a well-known, billion-dollar international company, $50 million is nothing to it.

UFC is not a billion-dollar business yet, but Shane can get it there. He brings so much business know-how to the company, it's crazy.

If you want a great guy for marketing and international business, Shane is your guy. He brought millions to the WWE as VP of Global Operations, and will do the same with UFC once he arrives.

Because he is still holding his post as VP of Global Operations until Jan. 1, 2010, many believe nothing financial will happen on Shane's end of things until then. So, I'd expect UFC to start the year without Shane O'Mac by their side.

But by February or March, I could see him investing in them.

UFC, here comes the money!

Read more Dana White news on BleacherReport.com

Bleacher Report - Dana White

LaTasha Marzolla: Playboy's Knockout Fighting at Tuff-N-Uff 11/27

It's a Fact: WWE's Shane McMahon Will Invest in UFC