Wednesday, July 01, 2009

“HDNet will continue to showcase the premiere MMA promotion in Canada to millions of fans in North America,” announced Andrew Sim- on, the CEO of HDNet Fights.  HDNet and Maximum Fighting Championship have extended their agreement to continue broadcas- ting MFC events exclusively on HDNet.   

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Gegard Mousasi has declared his fight against Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, Renato “Babalu” Sobral an all-out war. “Sobral is so tough. When he comes, he comes to fight,” says Mousasi, as he trains for one of the biggest challenges of his career. Babalu Sobral ranks in the top ten of light heavyweights and has been training since Mousasi was a newborn. Besides the ten years difference in age and experience, Mousasi will have to contend with Sobral’s explosiveness and dangerous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills in the ring. 

Jorge "El Conquistador" Rivera (16-7) has extended his stint in the UFC for another four fights, according to a report by the BostonHerald.com.  Rivera last fought Nissen Osterneck (5-2) at “UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann” on April 1, 2009 at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn.  Rivera secured the split decision in what turned out to be the final fight of his previous contract.  Rivera’s performance, and prior tenure within the organization, were deemed favorable enough by the UFC brass to warrant his return. 

GRACIEMAG.com recently report- ed that Roger Gracie (2-0) has signed with Strikeforce to appear on their upcoming August 15 card “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg”.  The second degree Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu black belt is slated to face a yet to be named opponent at heavyweight.  Gracie last fought at “Sengoku 2” May 18, 2008 defeating Yuki Kondo (49-23-6) at 2:40 of round 1 by rear-naked choke, for just his second win in as many fights making up his MMA career.

On Wednesday, Sept. 2, World Extreme Cagefighting brings its hard-hitting, explosive brand of mixed martial arts to one of the finest fight towns in the country. The best light weight fighters in the world will be on display when WEC invades the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, OH. In the main event, fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone battles feared striker Ben Henderson in a bout that will crown the interim WEC lightweight champion.

With a host of fighters on the injured list for the summer, it seems that MMA fans have a lot to look forward to this coming fall. Hopefully welcoming the returns of UFC submission wizards Rousimar ‘Toquinho’ Palhares and Thiago Tavares, as well as the return of former WEC lightweight champion ‘Razor’ Rob McCullough.

A bout between Gabriel Gonzaga (10-4) and Chris Tuchsherer (17-1, 1 NC) has been officially added to the preliminary card of “UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira” set to take place at August 29 at the Rose Center in Portland, Ore.  The pro- posed match brings the total announced fights to eleven.  The event marks the UFC’s first venture into Oregon State and the greater Northwest area as a whole.

Monday, June 29, 2009

According to a report from Carson’s Corner, Nick Diaz vs. Joe Riggs II has been added to the upcoming event “Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cy- borg” taking place on August 15, 2009 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The report cites an unnamed source within the Strike- force camp. The rematch presents an opportunity for revenge for Diaz as he came out on the losing end of their first encounter. The fight card, to be shown live on Showtime, will also feature a main event bringing together the two biggest female stars in the sport, Gina Carano and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, as they go toe to toe in the most important fight in the history of women’s MMA.

Tuff-N-Uff, the nation's premiere amateur mixed martial arts org- anization, will present the Las Vegas' first all-female MMA card at the Orleans Arena at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 10. Featuring 24 fight- ers, each with a unique fighting background, "Tuff Girls" will be headlined by Barb Honchak and Las Vegan Meegan Thomas who will fight in the 125-pound weight class for the Tuff Girl Belt.  The announcement of this event also marks the 15th anniversary of Tuff-N-Uff's first event. June 18, 1994 Tuff-N-Uff hosted an amateur kickboxing event in Chicago, Illinois.

As one of the birthplaces of martial arts, China is rightfully considered to be hallowed ground for the warriors of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®. Today, UFC® is pleased to announce a television deal with Inner Mongolia Television that will mark the first time in history UFC will be seen on TV in China, continuing the global expansion of the premier brand in mixed martial arts. 

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Popular Bobby Lashley took super heavyweight Bob “The Beast Sapp to the mat right off the opening bell and used his improved ground-and-pound game to win by first- round submission in the main event on the “Ultimate Chaos” pay-per- view event, presented by Prize Fight Promotions and Fight Force International, last night at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Din Thomas has confirmed to MMA Spot.net that he will not be fighting tonight at Ultimate Chaos in Biloxi, MS. It appears that his half pound that he weighed in over turned into a dis- organized mess before the resurgent star finally had his fight with Javier ‘Showtime’ Vazquez called off. Reports from sources close to Thomas said that the fight had originally been allowed to continue, leading to Thomas attempting to rehydrate from the weight cut, weighing in at 146.6 lbs for his 145 lbs fight.