Archive for March, 2008

Two IFL stars, Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) and Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) will make their second respective title defenses and another, Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) will make his first when the International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI) returns to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., with a minimum of nine bouts scheduled for Friday, May 16. HDNet will have live television coverage of the event. Tickets are on sale beginning today via www.ticketmaster.com, the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office, and by telephone at 860-886-0070. Read the rest of this entry »

Photos: TOM CASINO/EliteXC

SAN JOSE (March 30, 2008) – In a bruising battle of Bay Area rivals, undefeated Cung Le broke the right arm of defending champion Frank Shamrock en route to capturing the Strikeforce middleweight title with a thrilling, give-and-take, crowd-pleasing third-round TKO Saturday on SHOWTIME.

The long-awaited, eagerly anticipated mixed martial arts event, presented by EliteXC and Strikeforce, attracted an enthusiastic, well-behaved crowd of 16,326 at the HP Pavilion that produced a gate of more than $1 million. Those in attendance included EliteXC standouts Kimbo Slice, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz and Phil Baroni. Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK — M-1 Global announced today a mutual agreement with Vadim Finkelchtein, manager of former PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko, to release the heavyweight from his contractual obligations.

“There is so much going on in the world of mixed martial arts right now that we have decided it is in our best interest if our company and Fedor go our separate ways,” said M-1 Global President and CEO Monte Cox. Read the rest of this entry »

During this Saturday’s EliteXC telecast on SHOWTIME (live at 9 p.m. ET/PT), the premium network’s website, SHO.com, will give fight fans the unique opportunity to view the main event match from INSIDE THE CAGE.

The Showtime Cage Cam will stream the main event (simultaneously with the telecast) from inside the cage when Shamrock and Le square off in what is expected to be an explosive championship fight. Visit http://www.SHO.com at the start of the main event (approximately 10:15 p.m. ET) to get up close and personal with two of the best fighters on the planet. Read the rest of this entry »

photo by tom Casino

Bay Area rivals Frank Shamrock (23-8-1) and undefeated Cung Le (21-0), will finally face off in the cage when Shamrock defends his Strikeforce world middleweight (185-pound limit) championship against Le in the main event of an eagerly anticipated EliteXC-Strikeforce co-promoted mixed martial arts extravaganza Saturday, March 29, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

In another Strikeforce world title fight, defending lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez (9-1) of San Francisco, Calif., will risk his 170-pound belt against Gabe Lemley (11-6) of New London, Iowa. Read the rest of this entry »

Legendary mixed martial arts fighter and one of the true ambassadors of the sport, EliteXC’s Frank Shamrock, will appear on popular late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” this Friday, March 28, as a prelude to the eagerly anticipated EliteXC-Strikeforce co-promoted MMA extravaganza one night later at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs at 12:05 a.m. ET/PT and 11:05 p.m. CT on ABC. Read the rest of this entry »

The International Fight League today announced that twins Jim and Bill Germanakos, the most recent winners of NBC’s hit show “The Biggest Loser,” will host the IFL weigh-in next Thursday, April 3, at 3 p.m. at L.A. Boxing in Secaucus, N.J., and give tips to the athletes trying to make weight for the IFL “New Blood, New Battles” show at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. The fights will take place on Friday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. Read the rest of this entry »

Las Vegas – One is a legend in the sport of mixed martial arts; the other is an established star on his way to greatness. But when MMA pioneer Jens Pulver challenges WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber on Sunday June 1st at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, only one of these 145-pound fighters will emerge with the victory in the most important featherweight bout of all-time. Read the rest of this entry »

Mixed Martial arts veteran Alex Schoenauer (Las Vegas) will take on local standout Brendan Barrett (Tuckerton, N.J.) as the International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI) will now hold 10 bouts on its card at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on Friday, April 4. In addition, two replacements have been named: Jason Black (Davenport, Iowa), representing Miletich Fighting Systems, and Jim Miller (Sparta, N.J.), fighting for Renzo Gracie Academy. Read the rest of this entry »

The International Fight League and Fox Sports Net (FSN) announced today that the IFL’s weekly, one-hour “Fight Night” show will begin its 2008 run on Saturday, April 19, at midnight local time. The show, which will begin with the IFL World Grand Prix finals from December 29, will run in that time slot through mid-July, a slot which will give the IFL limited preemptions on the FSN regional network in a spot that is key for the demo that follows the sport. Read the rest of this entry »

Fargo, ND April 26, 2008 – MAX FIGHTS III, The biggest fight card to hit the area, will happen at the Fargo Civic Auditorium Saturday, April 26th at 7:30pm (doors open at 6:30). Mark Cuban-owned, HdnetFights will be on site to film this event, so not only will a packed civic center be watching, but so too will millions from around the country! Headlining the card will be 2006 World jiu jitsu champion, Daniel Otero, who will come to us all the way from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK (March 21, 2008) – SHOWTIME mixed martial arts commentator Bill Goldberg goes toe-to-toe with MMA stalwarts Frank Shamrock and Cung Le in the second installment of Goldberg Toe-to-Toe, now available at SHO.com.

Shamrock and Le, both world class mixed martial artists and both San Jose residents, prepare to meet in the cage when EliteXC and Strikeforce return to SHOWTIME, live on Saturday, March 29, 2008 (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Read the rest of this entry »

The rules are abundantly clear: in mixed martial arts, a fighter is not permitted to deliver an elbow in a downward motion (ceiling to floor). Nor is a fighter allowed to strike an opponent behind the back of the head. Malaipet did both in the closing seconds of the first-round against Thomas “Wildman” Denny Friday in the main event of ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series on SHOWTIME, and was disqualified.

The telecast, which featured five fights, aired at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast) from Chumash Casino Resort at Santa Ynez, Calif. Read the rest of this entry »

Malaipet will try to continue his transformation from world-class superstar Muay Thai kickboxer to mixed martial arts world champion when he faces Thomas “Wildman” Denny of Hesperia, Calif., tomorrow/Friday, March 21, at Chumash Casino Resort at Santa Ynez, Calif., on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

Tickets, starting at $35, are available by visiting the Chumash Casino Resort’s Club Chumash, by visiting the website at www.chumashcasino.com or by calling StarTicketsPlus at (800) 800-585-3737. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. First live fight is at 6 p.m. PT. Read the rest of this entry »

The weigh-in for the New York State Wrestling Federation’s April 5 “Boxer vs. Wrestler Match” in New Rochelle, NY pitting boxer Larry Barnes (44-3-0, 17 KO’s) versus wrestler “Sweet ‘n’ Sour” Larry Sweeney will take place on Friday, April 4 at 4:00 p.m. at LA Boxing, 330 Waverly Ave., Mamaroneck, NY. This event is open to the public. Read the rest of this entry »