Archive for May, 2007

Four of the MMA fighters who’ll appear on EliteXC’s portion of Saturday’s SHOWTIME telecast at the Coliseum arrived in Los Angeles Wednesday. Rising welterweight Shields will make his ProElite/EliteXC debut against Pariente and Wiezorek takes on Persey, a replacement for Antonio Silva, in a super heavyweight match. The one-hour SHOWTIME telecasts begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The pay-per-view portion of Saturday’s “Dynamite!! USA” fight card will immediately follow (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT). It will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME® PPV. Contact your pay-per-view provider to order “Dynamite!! USA.” Tickets, priced from $10 to $1000, are on sale via Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com and the Los Angeles Coliseum box office.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – Toyo Tire (U.S.A.) Corporation has another champion under its belt as Toyo-sponsored Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeated Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell during UFC 71 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on the evening of May 26th.

Jackson became the new UFC® (Ultimate Fighting Championship®) light heavyweight champion by surprising Liddell with a right hook which sent him to the mat during the first round. Jackson seized the opportunity to overcome the stunned Liddell with a series of blows to score a TKO only 1 minute 53 seconds into the fight Read the rest of this entry »

The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s number one professional mixed martial arts league, takes a look at the league’s top submissions and tap-out artists, in the next episode of “IFL Battleground” on Monday, June 4, at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT/MT). “IFL Battleground” airs every Monday night on MyNetworkTV.

The show features full fights and highlights of IFL bouts which have ended via submission, and also includes demonstrations by “IFL Battleground” Co-Host Bas Rutten and IFL athletes such as the Tokyo Sabres’ Antonio McKee (Long Beach, Calif.). Read the rest of this entry »

The scene was one that seemed pretty familiar to most anyone. It was a warm mid-spring evening and a group of maybe 300 young men and women had gathered for a fairly social evening of casual athletic competition. On one end, with the sound of music filling the air, was a spirited whiffle ball game, while off to the side several other groups tossed around a softball and a football while chatting away the evening. About 300 yards away, a series of very competitive basketball games, ranging from shooting contests to five on five matchups, were attracting not just competitors but a rather large crowd of interested bystanders. In another area still another group milled about chatting up sports and talking about the upcoming plans for Memorial Day Weekend. It could have been a park in any growing mid-sized community, with a mix of men and women unwinding from their day jobs. Read the rest of this entry »

BURBANK, Calif.–Finally a DVD that packs a punch! Warner Home Video (WHV) and the International Fight League (IFL), the world’s number one professional Mixed Martial Arts league, are teaming up to give mixed martial arts fans an exclusive all-access pass to all the heart-stopping action from the IFL’s first ever season. IFL: Greatest Knockouts & Extreme Action chronicles the IFL’s ground breaking 2006 season and showcases all the incredible one-on-one bouts between all of your favorite IFL superstars and teams. From gut wrenching fists to jaw dropping kicks this DVD has it all! IFL: Greatest Knockouts & Extreme Action is available from WHV for a $19.98 SRP and will hit stores on September 18, 2007. Order due date is August 14, 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

(Referee Big John McCarthy, seen here helping a dazed Chuck Liddell up off the mat seconds after stopping the fight in the 1st round) 26.05.07 – Once again, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (27-6) has shocked the UFC world, this time with a 1st round knockout over Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell (20-4) on Saturday night at UFC 71 to win the UFC light heavyweight title. As before, in their previous bout in 2003, Jackson just had the better overall slugging skills for Liddell, 37, to deal with.

As the fight started, Liddell seemed very cautious of Jackson, and stayed on the outside, circling constantly and throwing nothing but an occasional jab. He briefly attempted a right hand, but caught a left-right combination from Jackson for his efforts. Shortly after, Lidell attempted to land a left to the body, and Jackson answered immediately with a huge windmill right hook that crashed off of Liddell’s jaw sending him down to the mat flat on his back and badly hurt. Jackson quickly followed up with three more shots which Liddell was helpless to block. The second shot, a big right hand, caused Liddell to go completely flat and motionless for a second, initiating the stoppage. Read the rest of this entry »

LOS ANGELES (May 26, 2007) – Jake Shields (http://jakeshields.proelite.com) was bred to be a beast in the ring. The life-long vegetarian always has lived a lifestyle that has provided him with the type of brute strength, determination and tremendous heart required to be a successful Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter.

So far, Shields has met with nothing but enormous success. Read the rest of this entry »

In anticipation of UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON taking place May 26th in Las Vegas, Azteca America – the fastest growing Hispanic Television Network in the United States – will present a one-hour special dedicated to this UFC® mega-fight of the summer. “La Venganza de Chuck Liddell,” hosted by Troy Santiago, will telecast Saturday May 12th immediately following the quarter finals of the Mexican League soccer game Cruz Azul vs. Tecos.

“La Veganza de Chuck Liddell” marks the first ever mixed martial arts (MMA) special to air on a national Spanish television network in the United States. Fox Sports en Espanol Spanish soccer narrator Troy Santiago [JPEG image attached] hosts this Ultimate Fighting Championship® special, guiding Azteca America viewers through a series of fights including UFC 66: LIDDELL vs. ORTIZ. Read the rest of this entry »

Las Vegas, NV (USA) The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization brings its UFC® Fight Night™ series of live events telecast on Spike TV back to Hollywood, Fla. for its third event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hard Rock Live. Headlining the South Florida card is Spencer “The King” Fisher vs. Canada’s Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout in a highly anticipated rematch of one of 2006’s best lightweight bouts. As a special feature, undefeated wrestling expert Jon Fitch will take on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Roan Carneiro in a sizzling170-pound matchup. UFC Fight Night will take place inside the Hard Rock Live and will telecast live on Spike TV Tuesday, June 12 starting at 9pm ET/PT (tape delay). Read the rest of this entry »

In a highly anticipated grudge rematch, Royce Gracie will face Japan’s Kazushi Sakuraba in the semi-main event of the spectacular “SoftBank presents Dynamite!! USA’’ MMA event Saturday, June 2, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It is presented by FEG (Fighting Entertainment Group), ProElite and SHOWTIME Networks. Tickets, priced from $10 to $1000, are on sale via Ticketmaster locations, www.ticketmaster.com and the Coliseum box office. The live card starts at 5 p.m. PT. The highly anticipated Gracie-Sakuraba fight is one of six that will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME® Pay-Per-View (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT). Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK, May 10, 2007 – The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league, announced today a series of promotions honoring Chicago-area servicemen and women in conjunction with the first-ever “Windy City” IFL event at the Sears Centre on Saturday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m.

“This is the first in a series of partnerships with the servicemen and women that we will be announcing in the next few weeks, and we couldn’t think of a better way to kick this off than in conjunction with our Armed Forces Day event on May 19,” said Kurt Otto, IFL co-founder and commissioner. “Those who serve in the military protect us with their selfless dedication to duty, and it is our pleasure to assist them in any way we can.” Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK, May 9, 2007- The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league, looks at two kinds of “knockouts,” those dished out by its world-class athletes, and the young ladies trying to become the next IFL Ring Girl in the next episode of “IFL Battleground” on Monday, May 14, at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT/MT). “IFL Battleground” airs every Monday night on MyNetworkTV. Read the rest of this entry »

World Extreme Cagefighting® (WEC™) and VERSUS will host a nine-city media tour coast to coast in local gyms to promote the first ever live televised WEC event. VERSUS first live WEC event will feature “The California Kid” Urijah Faber and the “Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit. The fight will originate from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and air live on VERSUS June 3 at 9 p.m. ET. The media tour will make stops in the following cities: Sacramento, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Miami, Tampa Bay, Boston, Philadelphia, Houston, and New York. Read the rest of this entry »

SANTA ANA, California (May 9, 2007) – New Era Fighting (NEF), the hot organization exploding on the mixed martial arts scene, combining the UFC’s raw brutality with the WWE’s entertaining theme, will hold the initial tryout session on July 18-20 for its “World’s Toughest Man” contest, NEF president Ron Kort announced today.

NEF’s international level tryouts will be held at Quiet Cannon (AKA QC’s in Montebello) in Montebello, California. Registration for fighters (minimum of 205 pounds), as well as female models, will be from 5 PM/PT to 10 PM/PT on Wednesday, July 18, followed by warm-ups and a rules meeting on Thursday afternoon. Fight tryouts are scheduled Thursday and Friday evenings, July 19-20. Read the rest of this entry »

Los Angeles, May 8, 2007 – MMA legends Royce Gracie and Kasuzshi Sakuraba, who fought an exhausting 90-minute battle seven years ago, will meet once again, this time as the co-main event at “Softbank presents Dynamite!! USA in association with ProElite” in the Los Angeles Coliseum on June 2 (live SHOWTIME® PPV, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).

Gracie (roycegracie.proelite.com), considered the godfather of modern-day mixed martial arts, will face the imposing Sakuraba (sakuraba.proelite.com), nicknamed “The Gracie Hunter” for his well-documented victories over four members of the Gracie family, including the dramatic victory over Royce in 2000. Read the rest of this entry »