Rumina Sato. Fredson Paixao. Joe Stevenson. Vinicius Magalhaes. Jeff Glover. Ulysses Gomez. Bill Cooper. To those in the grappling world, the names represent the best of the best. To have them in the same hall together at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center is electrifying enough. To see them competing against each other in four Superfights that cap off the largest Submission Grappling tournament in history is something that could only be held at the UFC® Fan Expo� on Friday, July 10th and Saturday, July 11th, just hours before the lights go down for the biggest event in mixed martial arts history, UFC 100. Read more

Coming off of his career-defining performance against 3-time UFC® heavyweight title challenger Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo last Saturday night in Biloxi, Dutch knockout artist Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel has been added to the Affliction M-1 Global’s star-studded “Trilogy” Pay-Per-View event against another former UFC® heavyweight title challenger, Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello, live August 1 from Honda Center in Anaheim.

Russian combat fighting legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (30-1-0) defends his WAMMA heavyweight title against No. 1 contender Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett (24-5-0), in a highly-anticipated main event. Read more

While the stereotypical fighter is a big brute that grunts and smashes things with his fists, the women fighting at Tuff-N-Uff’s first all-female MMA event “Tuff Girls,” are a mixture of beauty and brains, with an emphasis on the brains. Tuff Girls is the first event of its type in Las Vegas to feature an all-female MMA fight card and will be held: Read more

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. Read more

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. “Obviously China is a huge market and the Chinese understand the martial arts probably better than anyone else in the world. It’s a no brainer that UFC programming will be appreciated in China, and will become a big hit for the NMTV network,” said Dana White, UFC President. Read more

By Rory Tulloch – BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) is a new British promotion running a tournament to crown their first champions of their respective divisions, dubbed “The Fighting Premiership”. The first set of semi-finals, containing bouts at Lightweight, Welterweight and Middleweight took place Saturday night at the prestigious “Room by the River”. A second set of semi-finals are to take place August 15th with the Featherweights, Light-Heavyweights and Heavyweights before the finals taking place September 26th. The tournament is being broadcast in the UK by digital satellite channel Bravo. Read more

By Christopher Salute — Let’s get past the super-cool nicknames on this one and try to forget that Tom Lawlor did in fact urinate in his own fruit salad to keep his housemates out of it. This fight is a perfect match-up between two The Ultimate Fighter alums on very similar rungs of the totem pole. CB Dollaway and Tom Lawlor both fought on their Ultimate Finale shows. Dollaway was a finalist but lost the bout to Amir Sadollah, a very impressive fighter. And, Lawlor fought and won an undercard fight against Kyle Kingsbury.

The deciding factor will be what both fighters have done since those Ultimate Finale fights. Dollaway has won his last two UFC fight cards via a submission and a TKO. Lawlor, on the other hand, has moved down to Orlando, FL, to train with American Top Team, which consists of fighters like Thaigo Alves and Mike Brown. Chuck Lidell recently trained with them, as well. He has also dropped down from the 205 lb Light Heavyweight class to a more lean 185. Doing so should make him a very powerful middleweight fighter. Read more

By Rory Tulloch – Former pro-wrestler and undefeated MMA fighter Bobby Lashley (4-0) has cemented himself as one of MMA’s top heavyweight prospects after an impressive victory over K-1 and Pride veteran, Bob “The Beast” Sapp (10-5-1) on the headliner of Saturday’s “Ultimate Chaos” Pay-per-view. In a bout that was dubbed “Battle of the Giants”, Lashley picked up the win just 3:17 into the first round when he dominated “The Beast” taking him down to the ground early, before forcing him to submit after an onslaught of strikes. Read more

By Christopher Salute – With UFC 100 coming up on Saturday, July 11th, I think it’s only appropriate that we begin counting down by of the fights you can expect to see, that evening. With 11 fights on the card and exactly ten weekdays between now and the event, we’ll need to get a move on it:

Matt Grice Vs. Shannon Gugerty Preview

Matt “The Real One” Grice last fought in FCF (Freestyle Cage Fighting) in Oklahoma before starting with the UFC. With an 8-0 perfect professional record, he was handed his first loss by Terry Etim at UFC 70. Now, over 2 years later, with a 1-2 record in the UFC, Grice needs a win against Gugerty to keep his UFC dreams (and career) alive. With a strong wrestling background, Grice’s first thought may be to take this fight to the ground. Grice has split his wins between TKOs, submissions, and decisions. So, it’s tough to say how he’ll be looking to beat Gugerty. Read more

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. Read more

On June 27, 2009 World Championship Fighting presented what many fans are calling their best fight card ever, live from the Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington, MA. While there was no marquee main event featuring fighters who already have national recognition, the card was filled with fighters ready to break into the national spotlight. As usual for WCF, the crowd was filled with a who’s who of MMA stars. UFC Fighters Jorge Rivera and John Howard joined Mark DellaGrotte, Sean Gannon and former Middleweight Boxing Champion Dana Rosenblatt were in attendance, along with actor Kevin James, who is filming a movie locally. Read more

FightZone TV is proud to announce that they will once again be providing national television coverage for World Fighting Championships “Battle of the Bay 8,” an action-packed Mixed Martial Arts extravaganza at Tampa’s USF Sundome to be held on Friday, July 10, 2009. The taped event, featuring cageside commentary by Fight Zone’s Jay Adams, will be aired nationally at a later date by FightZone TV to over 21 million homes on Fox Sport Net’s (FSN) affiliates SunSports, SportSouth, and nationally on DIRECTV, The Dish Network and AT&T U-verse, reaching over 20% of US homes with cable TV. Read more

By Christopher Salute – June 20th, Las Vegas, Nevada- During the Spike TV Season Finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Team USA vs. Team UK at The Palms, U.F.C. President Dana White commented, again, on the retirement of Chuck Lidell. “I’m not his father, he can do whatever the hell he wants to do. I’m his friend and I care about him a lot, and I’d never like to see him fight again.”

This stance seems a little less definite then White’s UFC 97 proclamation that we would “never see Chuck Lidell on the canvas again.” This came after a knockout loss to Mauricio Rua. That loss, White said, needed to be a one-sided win for Lidell if he planned to fight again.

White isn’t being malicious when he aggressively stands between Lidell and the cage. If anyone understands Lidell, it’s him. Dana White started his career with the UFC as the manager of Tito Ortiz and Chuck Lidell. It was through these connections that he found out the organization was looking for buyers, which is what started his campaign to find investors, purchase, and become President of the organization. So, when White says that he cares about Lidell, we can believe that he genuinely does. Read more

Now on newsstands, the UFC 100 commemorative magazine will take you closer to the Octagon than ever before. Featuring an exclusive in-depth breakdown of July 11th’s UFC 100 event with UFC President Dana White, the magazine also contains interviews, never before seen photos, articles on the 20 Greatest UFC fights and 5 biggest blood feuds, as well as fight tips, advice from Rachelle Leah, and much, much more. Don’t miss this soon to be collector’s item. Read more

The history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® is filled with stories of legendary fights and athletes who built a sport behind skill, heart, and determination. On July 10th and 11th, just before the lights go down and the first bell rings for July 11th’s historic UFC 100 event, fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet the fighters who made mixed martial arts what it is today, as well as the ones carrying the flag for the next generation, all under one roof at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center during the UFC® Fan Expo™. Read more

By Christopher Salute - The Mixed Martial Arts community has been pushing for the legalization of MMA in New York State for quite some time. Unfortunately, they will not see the fruits of their labor for another year.

On June 23rd, the New York State Assembly left bill A.2009-B on the table, meaning that it will not have another chance to be discussed until January 2010.

“Essentially, we just ran out of time,” said one representative from Assemblyman Steve Englebright’s office. Englebright is the New State House sponsor of bill A.2009-B and an advocate for MMA in New York. Read more

Watching Fedor Emelianenko “made me nervous tonight,” said Josh Barnett about Fedor’s bout with Andrei Arlovski at Afflictions “Day of Reckoning”. Barnett will face Fedor on August 1st at Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy.” He is probably wondering, like all fight fans and fighters on earth: can Fedor be beaten or is he invincible? The single loss on Fedor’s record is often disregarded as evidence of his vulnerability, since it was due to a cut resulting from an accidental (and illegal) elbow by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Even with this one debatable blemish on his record (he went on to later beat Kohsaka in a follow-up match), Fedor is the most revered heavyweight in the world by fighters and fans alike.

Fedor is one of those rare fighters that has staying power who consistently outperforms his competition. One of the things that makes Fedor a legend is his resilience. Fedor takes a beating and keeps on beating his opponents-he has been dazed by Kazuyuki Fujita’s right hook, broken his hand on Gary Goodridge’s head, been suplexed by Kevin Randleman, fought off the impressive ground skills of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, recovered from Mirko Filipovic’s brutal lefts to the face, endured Mark Hunt’s keylock, reversed Matt Lindland’s attempted bodylock takedown, overcome the giant Tim Sylvia, and survived the boxing skills of Andrei Arlovski. In the end, whether or not he has taken some blows, Fedor prevails over his opponents and deals out the final punishment. Read more

Fitness and mixed martial arts training fans met the new standard in equipment and training techniques this weekend when the new TapouT Research & Development Training Center held the grand opening of its new 18,000-square-foot facility on Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20. The schedule also included the U.S. debut of the Professional Arm Wrestling League. In that competition, John Brzenk, the world’s number one ranked arm wrestler, retained his title with a 5-1 victory over Denis Cyplenkov, the world’s number two ranked arm wrestler. Read more

Christopher Salute: There’s a new heavyweight joining the ranks of Mixed Martial Arts. In this corner: EA Sports! For those who are not up on their video game news, EA Sports has plans to enter the ring (or octagon, for that matter) to battle “THQ for the Best MMA ” Title, this coming year. The move was announced in the beginning of June. While the news, itself, shouldn’t shock (it was only a matter of time before they entered the world of MMA), the fighters rumored to be in this game are sure deliver a few blows to the current MMA Videogame Champion. That champion is UFC: Undisputed. Read more

By Christopher Salute — In one of the most impressive losses of 2009, Clay Guida’s “Fight of Night” against fellow lightweight contender Diego Sanchez, was nothing short of astonishing. Guida, the definite fan-favorite, lost in a split decision after a grueling fifteen minute bloodbath Saturday night at The Palms. However, the goal of the two fighters was clear as Sanchez stood in the center of the ring, post match, quoting Gladiator. “Are you not entertained?” he asked. Absolutely.

With a win over Guida, Sanchez should see an ’09 or ‘10 title shot in his UFC crystal ball. This same outcome makes Guida’s future a bit murkier. A win against Sanchez may have catapulted “The Carpenter” from middle-pack ratings draw to instant contender. But, just like most of his wins, his rise to the top isn’t going to come quickly or easily. Determined to become the UFC Lightweight Champion, Guida will need to jump through a few more hoops before he sees UFC gold. But, as he’s proven time and again, if anyone has the stamina to go the distance, it’s Guida. Read more

“Smokin” Joe Villasenor showed no signs of rust after a year away from the cage as he recorded a close split decision over Evangelista “Cyborg” in the main event of the sophomore edition of Strikeforce Challengers Friday night on SHOWTIME® before an enthusiastic crowd at the ShoWare Center.

In a gritty and tactical battle all the way to the end, Villasenor proved victorious winning on two of the three judges scorecards, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. “I haven’t fought in over a year and that’s a great fight to come back to,” Villasenor said after the fight. “A three-round war. I was really surprised by (Cyborg’s) countering. It turned into a great fight.”

SHOWTIME will replay Friday’s telecast on Thursday, June 24, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME 2. It will be available ON DEMAND beginning Monday, June 22. Read more

The main event weigh-in produced some pushing and shoving Thursday as Evangelista “Cyborg” and “Smokin” Joe Villasenor squared off a day before their huge Strikeforce Challengers, middleweight fight to take place Friday, June 19, at the ShoWare Center at Kent, Wash., live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

After Cyborg weighed in for their 185-pound fight at 184 ½ pounds and Villasenor 185 pounds, both fighters met face to face. Things got a little too close for comfort and Cyborg pressed his head hard against Villasenor who then pushed back before words were exchanged. At one point, Cyborg pushed Villasenor by the throat before both fighters had to be separated.

Each of the other eight fighters taking part in the televised portion of the show also made weight and squared off without incident. Read more

FightZone Media, consisting of FightZone TV, Magazine, Radio and Internet, has joined UFC Fan Expo as an Official Sponsor. In support of the event. FightZone TV will air over 100 TV commercials nationwide on over 30 of their airings from now until the day of the event. The first-ever UFC Fan Expo being held in Las Vegas in celebration of UFC 100 is a two-day fan exposition of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) activities starting Friday, July 10th and leading right up to the start of the historic fights on Saturday, July 11th. Read more

After an eight-month hiatus, Mixed Martial Arts’ (MMA) leading lady, the undefeated and extremely popular Gina “Conviction” Carano (7-0) will compete in the first fight of her multi-fight agreement with STRIKEFORCE when she squares off with rival powerhouse Cris “Cyborg” (7-1) in what is being billed as a milestone event in women’s MMA history.

The undefeated Carano and once-beaten Cyborg are slated to battle five, 5-minute rounds in the first-ever fight for the STRIKEFORCE Women’s 145-Pound World Title, Saturday, Aug. 15, live on SHOWTIME® at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Tickets, starting at $30, are available NOW at the HP Pavilion box office (408-287-7070), all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com), and the official STRIKEFORCE website (www.strikeforce.com). Read more

Rage in the Cage tickets start at just $25. $5 higher on fight day. A spectacular card is in place for when RITC makes its Globe debut. In the Main Event, local Super Heavyweight Adam Padilla fights rugged veteran Vince Lucero for the vacant RITC SHW Championship. Padilla has two quick first round submissions in the past two months. One of those wins was against Lucero’s teammate and friend. Lucero has vowed revenge
is his quest for this coveted title. Read more