Archive for January, 2007

LOS ANGELES (January 30, 2007) — Shamrock vs. Gracie: Countdown To DESTINY, a new 30-minute show previewing the highly anticipated debut telecast of the newest phenomenon in mixed martial arts—EliteXC, is currently airing on SHOWTIME (next play on SHOWTIME EXTREME 7:50 p.m. ET/PT) and will air regularly through Feb. 10, across the premium network’s multiplexes and On Demand outlets (see air dates and times below).

Countdown To DESTINY details the impending match-up between legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) pioneers Frank Shamrock and Renzo Gracie, which will air live on SHOWTIME on Feb. 10 at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Read the rest of this entry »

With a sold-out Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas as his backdrop, “Razor” Rob McCullough defeated Kit Cope by submission due to strikes to become the new WEC lightweight champion on Saturday, January 20th inside “The Joint.”

After dropping Cope with a right hand early in the first round, McCullough jumped into the guard of the Muay Thai specialist and landed some heavy ground-and-pound. After withstanding an omo plata and kneebar attempt, the “Razor” landed a fight-ending elbow that damaged Cope’s ribs and caused the tap out at 2:53 of the first round. Read the rest of this entry »

SANTA ANA, California (January 29, 2007) – New Era Fighting (NEF), the evolving mixed martial arts organization, signed 14 fighters last week in preparation for its inaugural show, tentatively scheduled in May, NEF president Ron Kort announced today.

The NEF stable is led by combat fighting legend Kimo Leopoldo and ex-porn star Aaron Brink. Newest team members include Liron “Da Icon” Wilson, Frederick “Death Wish” Steen, Christopher Scheminder, John “Machine Gun” George, Joel “Felon” Garcia, Rick Arballo, Luis “Spooky” Figueroa, Eric Denham, Ethen Cox, Mychal “Bolo” Clark, Alan Garcia Castillo, Oscar Borboa, Marlon Timothy Bonds, and Sean Belote. Read the rest of this entry »

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, January 25, 2006 – Century, LLC the world’s largest martial art supply company, today announced that it signed a licensing agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization, to produce an exciting line of mixed martial arts products. The companies plan to launch the new line in retail stores and martial art schools by next fall. Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK, January 24, 2006- A special episode of the popular reality series The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency will premiere on the cable network Oxygen on Wednesday, January 31 (10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT), chronicling the search for Ring Girls utilized at the International Fight League World Team Championship event in Portland, Ore., in November. The program, which stars supermodel Janice Dickinson and the associates and models that comprise the agency that bears her name, goes behind the scenes of the competition among the ladies to become ring girls for the IFL, the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league. Read the rest of this entry »

San Jose, CA – Razorclaws coach Frank Shamrock has announced that he will hold open tryouts this weekend for his Shamrock Submission Fight Team in San Jose, California.

The team fields fighters to compete in many of the world’s top MMA organizations, including his IFL squad, the San Jose Razorclaws. Though the team is based in northern California, many of its members live and work elsewhere when not training directly under Shamrock. Read the rest of this entry »

BURBANK, Calif., January 22, 2007 –Warner Home Video (WHV) and The International Fight League, Inc. the world’s first professional team-based mixed martial arts league, have reached an agreement for the exclusive worldwide home entertainment distribution of IFL branded programming. The announcement was jointly made by Jeff Brown, WHV Senior Vice President and General Manager TV and Franchise, and Gareb Shamus, IFL Co-founder and CEO. Read the rest of this entry »

SAN DIEGO – CBS Radio Free Talk FM, has announce that starting Sundays from 3-5 pm they will be airing the Fight Net Radio. The show will be hosted by Lee Honish and will report on all pugilistic sports with a focus on boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA). Lee Honish is joined by his co-host / contributors Matt Aguilar and Chris Erskine. Coverage will include interviews with fighters, commentary from events and straight ahead reporting on topics and issues that affect the fight world. Read the rest of this entry »

Ken Shamrock’s Squad Tops Brother Frank’s; Marco Ruas’ Southern Calif.-based team also victorious at ORACLE Arena; Horn Wins Superfight Following Team Competition

OAKLAND, Calif., January 19, 2007 – The Condors, based in Southern California and coached by Marco Ruas, and the Lions, based in Reno, Nev., and coached by Ken Shamrock, won their respective season-opening International Fight League matchups today in front of 5,005 at the ORACLE Arena in Oakland, Calif. MMA veteran Jeremy Horn (Salt Lake City) won the Superfight which followed the team bouts, scoring a split decision over Niko Vitale (Honolulu).

The mixed martial arts competition marked the first of 11 events on the 2007 IFL schedule, the most comprehensive advance schedule in the history of fight sports. Ruas’ Condors edged the Tiger Sharks, based in Seattle and coached by Maurice Smith, 3 bouts to 2, while the Lions got past the Razorclaws by the same 3-2 count. Read the rest of this entry »

Pavia, Ciscone & Associates, LLC, in conjunction with MMAagents.com, is pleased to announce that “Razor” Rob McCullough will be fighting Kit Cope in the main event for the first Zuffa-owned WEC event, for the vacant WEC lightweight title, on January 20th, 2007 inside “The Joint” at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

McCullough (13-3), from Huntington Beach, CA, is on a seven-fight winning streak and has won 11 of his last 12 fights, while Cope made his UFC debut in his last fight and was submitted by Kenny Florian via rear-naked choke at the Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale in November 2005. Read the rest of this entry »

SANTA ANA, California (January 18, 2007) – Ex-porn star Aaron Brink has signed a promotional contract to fight for New Era Fighting (NEF), the emerging mix martial arts organization featuring combat fighting legend Kimo Leopoldo, NEF president Ron Kort announced today. Brink is NEF’s first signed fighter since Kimo but, as Kort noted, numerous signings will be announced in the coming weeks as NEF prepares for its inaugural show, tentatively scheduled for May 11 in southern California.

“We’re excited to sign Aaron Brink,” Kort said. “He’s had opportunities in this industry but he wanted to comeback and show the MMA world what kind of fighter he is at 100-percent. Aaron has the driving desire to be an awesome fighter. He has a jaw, fist and body of steel. Now he’s ready to rock and roll. Brink is rock solid with a well-muscled body and only 3-percent body fat. He believes in using his iron fist, not submission moves, to put on a show. He uses his internal rage and violence – fists, elbows, knees, whatever. Read the rest of this entry »

Celebrated former five-time world champion and MMA pioneer Frank Shamrock and world renowned, revenge-minded Brazilian Jiujitsu expert Renzo Gracie will usher in the next generation of Mixed Martial Arts with EliteXC when their match-up highlights an explosive MMA fight card airing live for the first time on premium television.

The battle between the two legendary fighters will transpire in the main event on SHOWTIME, Saturday, Feb 10, at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast) from the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss.

Shaw: Welcome to “Destiny’’ – Shamrock vs. Gracie. Two world famous names from the two first families of MMA. Took 14 years to make this fight (but it is happening) and we are so excited to be working with SHOWTIME (for this historic event) in Southaven, Miss., on Feb. 10. We are going to stream the entire undercard for the first time live in real time starting at 7 p.m. eastern time. You will get to see every undercard fight, get in the dressing rooms and do the things that have never been done in this sport before. You are going to see a great card and obviously, the main event, I believe, is history making. For me (to go from) boxing to mixed martial arts, it is unbelievable that I am involved with Shamrock and Gracie on my very, very first promotion for EliteXC. So on behalf of ProElite, our public corporation and everybody that has worked hard to put this together, we are very excited and I thank you so much for being with us. Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK and RENO, Nev., January 17, 2007- The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league, announced today that its inaugural event in Nevada will take place on Saturday, June 16, with an 11-bout card at the Reno Events Center in Reno, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The event is the final date to be announced as part of the full 11-event IFL 2007 schedule, the most comprehensive advance schedule in the history of fight sports. The first season begins this Friday, January 19, at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California.

“The state of Nevada is the centerpiece of some of the greatest events not just in Mixed Martial Arts, but in all of fight sports, and we are very pleased to now join that group by hosting our first Nevada event,” said IFL Co-founder and Commissioner Kurt Otto. “We think the fans who will see the IFL for the first time in Nevada, in the hometown for Ken Shamrock’s Lions, will discover what fans in cities like Portland, Atlantic City, Chicago and the Quad Cities already know.that this event will compare well with any sports and entertainment event in terms of packed action and excitement.” Read the rest of this entry »

New York & Los Angeles, January 16, 2007 – FSN and MyNetworkTV have reached a strategic, three-tier television and new media programming alliance with the International Fight League (IFL). The joint announcement was made today by FSN President Bob Thompson, Twentieth Television President Bob Cook, and IFL CEO Gareb Shamus.

International Fight League, Inc. (IFLI:OTCBB), co-founded by Shamus and Kurt Otto, is the world’s first team-based professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) league. The IFL launches its first full 11-date season this Friday, Jan. 19, 2007 in Oakland, Calif. The IFL operates as a single entity with 12 teams, 10 of which are based in the United States (New York, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tucson, Portland, San Jose, Reno, Orange County and the Quad Cities), along with teams in Tokyo and Toronto. Read the rest of this entry »

Dallas, Texas — Former UFC star and Brazilian Jui Jitsu legend, Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo, is set to challenge former UFC Heavyweight Contender, Justin “The Hammer” Eilers, in the main event when ART OF WAR, Undisputed Arena Fighting Championships premiers at Dallas’ American Airline Center on Friday, March 9th.

Rizzo (14-7…Rio De Janeiro, Brazil) and Eilers (14-5-1…Boise, Idaho) are set to battle for the newly formed IFA (International Fighters Association) World Heavyweight Championship. Their championship bout will be one of ten (10) exciting Mixed Martial Arts fights on the card that will feature eleven Americans and nine International fighters. Read the rest of this entry »