Friday, June 12, 2009

Following what has already been proclaimed by many as the best fight card of the year, The California State Athletic Commission has handed out medical suspensions to seven fighters from this past weekend’s WEC 41.

The event took place at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California on Saturday June 7th and was headlined by a rematch between local hero Urijah ‘the California Kid’ Faber and the man who took his title last year Mike Thomas Brown.

VERSUS, the exclusive television home of World Extreme Cage- fighting® (WEC®), garnered a 1.1 national HH rating and was the top-rated cable network in the country among all key male demos for its live WEC telecast on Sunday, June 7, featuring the most-anticipated featherweight champion- ship re-match in MMA history between Mike Brown and Urijah Faber. The fight lived up to the hype and featured five full rounds of intense action in the cage with Brown proving to viewers that he is still the #1 featherweight fighter in the world. 

Two years ago, Lyle Beerbohm was sitting in a prison cell, serving an 18 month sentence.  A crystal meth addict, he had stolen from his loved ones and committed multiple felon- ies during a dreadful, downward spiral.

On June 19, the reborn 30-year-old native of Spokane, Washington will attempt to continue his miraculous and inspiring transformation into an undefeated athlete in the world's fastest growing sport - mixed martial arts (MMA).

In the world of mixed martial arts it seems as though there are almost as many promotions springing up as there are fighters, apparel com- panies, and energy drink makers. All are looking to cash in on the remarkable growth of the sport. A lot of these companies are gone just as quickly as they have arrived. Some to mismanagement, some just never captured their target audience. However, one of the promotions making all the right moves in this industry is Illinois based Mayhem Promotions. And all signs point to bigger things from them.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Association of Boxing Commis- sions, a non-profit organization of state and tribal boxing commissions located throughout North American, has denounced as “unwarranted and illegal” a boxing match scheduled to be held in Birmingham, Alabama this coming Saturday, June 13 between former UFC champion Tim Silva (boxing debut) and former WBO world boxing heavyweight champion Ray Mercer (now, 48 years old). Read on for the full details. 

The fight card has been set for Saturday’s “Adrenaline MMA III: Bragging Rights” taking place at Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The event will include fourteen mixed martial arts bouts (five amateur and nine professional) and is scheduled for a main event boxing match between former UFC Champion Tim Sylvia (24-5 MMA) and former WBO Champion and Olympic gold medalist Ray Mercer (36-7-1 boxing). Sylvia is making his boxing debut against the aging Mercer.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The UFC® Octagon™ isn’t just for fighters anymore. Now, for the first time in the 15-year history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship®, anyone - no matter how young or old – can experience what it’s like to train in the most exciting sport in the world thanks to the launch of the UFC® Gym™.  UFC and New Evolution Fitness Company (NEFC) announced today that Concord, California will be the first home to the ultimate fitness destination, one that combines a complete UFC experience with mixed martial arts and fitness. 

Four-time World Muay Thai title-holder William “The Bull” Sriyapai feels like fine wine, getting better with age, as he pre- pares to face exciting Canadian light- weight prospect Chris “The Polish Ham- mer” Horodecki in one of the June 27th featured fights on the “Ultimate Chaos” pay-per-view event, airing live from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi. Former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley meets K1 and PRIDE combat fighting legend, Bob “The Beast” Sapp, in the much anticipated showdown on  “Ultimate Chaos, presented by Prize Fight Promotions and Fight Force International, in association with the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum, and Treasure Bay Casino. 

Rouge Warrior Championships will hold a five event tournament to determine champions in four wei- ght classes.  The pool of partic- ipants will include current members of the military and those recently retired from service. The events will be managed by IFC Caged Combat an organization of veteran martial artists who have produced nearly 100 MMA events since 1996.  The proceeds from the events are set to go to the Stars and Stripes Foundation, whose sole purpose is to aid our wounded veterans and to help them reacclimatize to society.

According to statements from World Extreme Cagefighting Gen- eral Manager Reed Harris, the rematch between Lightweight Champion Jamie “The Worm” Varner (16-2, 2 NC) and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (10-1, 1 NC) has been verbally agreed to by both fighters.  Varner and Cerrone last met at “WEC 38” in a title bout on January 25, 2009.  Varner picked up the technical decision win and was significantly injured in the process.  The sequel is tentatively set for this September, following statements made by Varner. 

Shortly after his unanimous dec- ision victory over Phil Baroni, during his in-cage interview, Joe Riggs told television announcer Gus Johnson that he broke both of his hands during the fight. Riggs dominated Baroni from the opening bell and earned the unanimous decision with a clinic of strikes.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

The results are in for World Extreme Cagefighting’s “WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber II”. Though the second fight between Feather- weight Champion Mike Brown (22-4) and Uriah “The California Kid” Faber (22-3) drew quite a crowd at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. According to a report from WEC General Manager Reed Harris the event was attended by 13,027 fans and brought in a live gate of $818,415. The total reported payout for the event was $215,942.05. With Jens 'Little Evil' Pulver pulling in an event high $31,253 in his first round loss to Josh Grispi.