11 City Oscar-Floyd Tour!

The official announcement—and the start of an 11-city media tour—for the highly anticipated super fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather will be Tuesday, Feb. 20 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The fighters and camps will then travel across the country making stops in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles and will conduct public press conferences and invite fans to be a part of the experience of the most anticipated boxing event in decades. The sold-out May 5 fight has already set a live-gate record of $19 million and is expected to be among the biggest pay-per-view events of all time. More details to come. Here is the lineup:

Tuesday, Feb 20 — New York
Wednesday, Feb 21 — Philadelphia/Washington, DC
Thursday, Feb 22 — Chicago/Detroit
Friday, Feb 23 — Miami
Monday, Feb 26 — Houston/Dallas
Tuesday, Feb 27 — San Francisco/Las Vegas
Wednesday, Feb 28 — Los Angeles

Elite XC Signs Shields and "Ninja"

New promotion Elite XC officially announced yesterday that the organization has added Jake Shields and Murillo "Ninja" Rua to their growing roster of fighters. Elite XC is scheduled to have their premiere event this Saturday, February 10th in Southaven, Mississippi, a card that will also be televised on the Showtime Cable Network. With such notable MMA fighters like Renzo Gracie, Frank Shamrock, David Loiseau and Joey Villansenor set to compete for the new promotion, the addition of Shields and Rua only further bolsters Elite's fighter stable.

Shields of course is widely considered to be one of the world's better welterweight fighters, carrying a record of 16-4-1, the Cesar Gracie fighter has defeated such notable competitors like Yushin Okami, Carlos Condit and Hayato Sakurai. The Pride veteran Ninja Rua rebounded recently from difficult times when he defeated British fighter Mark Weir last September at Cage Rage 18. Prior to that, Rua had lost 4 of his last 5 fights competing in Pride, albeit, against such world class fighters like Paulo Filho, Sergei Kharitonov and Denis Kang. The announcement from Elite XC stated that Rua, who currently has a record of 12-7-1, would be competing in the promotion's middleweight division.

Both fighters are slated to make their Elite XC debut on the promotion's May 5th card. The new organization has already previously stated that fighters signed to Elite XC will be allowed to compete in other promotions, as long as there are no scheduling conflicts.

Wesley "Cabbage" Correira: Veteran Fighter Ready for Silva at Elite XC

Not many fighters are known by one name and even less fighters are known by the name of a vegetable (are there any?). Wesley "Cabbage" Correira has fought his way from the tough streets of Hilo, Hawaii, along with childhood friend BJ Penn, and rose to face two UFC Heavyweight champions. Since the height of his MMA career, Cabbage has had his share of victories and defeats. He is currently scheduled to fight the big Brazilian, Antonio Silva, who many are touting as the next big thing in the Superheavyweight division. This fight could mark be the turning point in Cabbage's MMA career. A win would reintroduce the iron jawed fighter back to the upper tier of the heavyweight division. However, a loss may sentence him to the lower ranks where he will serve a tough test for up and coming fighters.

FCF: It has been a long time, what have you been up to?
WC: Nothing much, just cross training and getting ready for my fight on Showtime. I have been relaxing and trying to get fights, but something always seems to get in my way.

FCF: Personal or business-wise?
WC: I don't know, a little bit of everything.

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New Era Fighting to promote "World's Toughest Man" contest

SANTA ANA, California (February 6, 2007) - New Era Fighting (NEF), the evolving mixed martial arts organization combining the raw brutality of UFC with the entertainment value of WWE, will promote the "World's Toughest Man" contest, NEF president Ron Kort announced today.

NEF will hold a series of international level tryouts, tentatively scheduled to begin June 15-17,at a venue in Orange Country, California. Each tryout in the proposed series will be conducted during a three-day tournament.

Combat fighters selected will advance to the next round, where they will fight each other in a tournament format to determine 10 survivors.

The 10 tryout survivors as well as fighters already signed to NEF promotional contracts will compete on a show in either California or Las Vegas. The winner will be crowned "World's Toughest Man" and be offered an anticipated $1,000,000 winner-take-all purse to fight living legend Kimo Leopoldo, headlining a full card for a pay-per-view broadcast live from in Las Vegas at a date to be determined.

"More details are still being worked out," Kort explained. "We want to prove to the MMA world that NEF has the best street-fighting heavyweights. The challenge is open to anybody who weighs a minimum of 205 pounds, if they have what it takes to be an NEF warrior. We will be organizing a set of rules to keep the action going for these tryouts. The goal is to test the fighters' abilities in a safe environment and keep the audience entertained every minute of the event."

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STOUT’S “QUEST” TO BE THE BEST

By Mike Russell

Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout had an epiphany on the night of June 4, 2006. Under the glare of the spotlight that had become a familiar omnipresence for the London, Ontario-based mixed martial artist, Stout (10-2-1) realized that he would need to round out his fight game if he would ever want to be a successful fighter in an organization like the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

This self-realization was punctuated by a tap-inducing rear-naked choke administered by “The Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Kenny Florian (4-3) at the reality TV series’ third season finale. In one minute and forty-six seconds, the 23-year-old fighter had made a decision that would necessitate the adoption of a different training approach. The world-class kickboxer would make it his mission to become a more complete fighter.

“I’ve spent all this time since my loss against Florian focusing on my wrestling a lot more and also trying to not end up in those bad situations that can lead to submissions,” says Stout.

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GSP On Moving To 185, UFC 67 Thoughts, Serra, Much More

MMANews.com's own Luis Cruz spoke with the outrageously popular Georges "Rush" St. Pierre earlier today to discuss a number of topics.

Download this free exclusive interview to hear the current UFC Welterweight champion talk about such subjects as:

Injuries, Serra, Hughes etc etc...Pretty good interview.

(Download MP3)

(Read More)

UFC 67 - NSAC Injury Report

Roger Huerta - 05/20/83 - Suspend until 03/06/07, No contact until 02/25/07.

Eduardo Sanchez - 11/04/82 - Suspend until 03/21/07, No Contact until 03/06/07.

Marvin Eastman - 06/28/69 - Suspend until 03/21/07, No contact until 03/06/07. (Lower lip Laceration)

Jorge Rivera - 02/28/72 - Rivera must clear nasal & right jaw fractures w/ENT or oral, maxillary, facial surgeon or no contest until 08/03/07. minimum suspension no contest until 04/05/07, no contact until 03/21/07

Tyson Griffin - 04/20/84 - Griffin needs a repeat retinal ophthalmologic exam with a retinal specialist every 6 months due 07/07.

(Full Listing)

Arlovski tabbed for UFC 70

By Steve Sievert

While the timing seems ideal for UFC heavyweight Andrei Arlovski to step back in the cage at UFC 69 in Houston, he's being saved for the promotion's United Kingdom debut, set for April 21.

In discussing potential matchups for the Houston Shootout card with UFC boss Dana White, he said the "The Pitbull" is being lined up for UFC 70, which looks like it's going to be loaded with talent.

It's expected that Tito Ortiz-Forrest Griffin 2 will headline that show, with Arlovski being joined on the card by Cro Cop, native son Michael Bisping and Cheick Kongo.

After everything falls into place, it's likely that UFC 70 will pack more of a punch than the Houston show. But, with stars like GSP and Mike Swick on the 69 card, plus a key welterweight elimination with Diego Sanchez and Josh Koscheck, Shootout will still very much be a must-see show.

Randy Couture The Underdog?

PinnacleSports.com has officially set a betting line for the upcoming Heavyweight title match scheduled for UFC 68 "The Uprising" on March 3rd between current champion Tim Sylvia and former two-time champion Randy Couture.

Pinnacle, like many when the news first broke - has Couture as the underdog, as expected.

As of this writing, Tim Sylvia is -238, meaning if you bet $238 on him and he wins - you collect $100 profit. Randy Couture is currently set at +218, which means if you bet $100 on him and he wins, you collect $218 profit.

Source: www.mmanews.com

Wrestling star knows mixed martial arts

By Scott Fishman

Former wrestling champ and international star Bill Goldberg goes from the ring to the announce desk when Mixed Martial Arts promotion Elite Xtreme Combat (EliteXC) launches on the Showtime cable network Saturday, Feb. 10.

The former football player turned wrestler, who has been training in Muay Thai five years, owns the Extreme Power Gym in Oceanside, CA.

Above all, he is a fan of the sport.

There is legitimacy to my name, said Goldberg, who announced a World Fighting Alliance (WFA) event in the summer and a handful of Pride Fighting Championship shows.

I do have a pretty extensive background. It's not just like getting someone cold and putting them in the booth just because they're a well-known name.

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Who's faster, Mosley or Collazo?

By Karl Freitag

Both "Sugar" Shane Mosley (43-4, 37 KOs) and Luis Collazo (27-2, 13 KOs) maintained today that their speed will lead to victory on Saturday night their WBC interim welterweight title clash at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. Collazo told reporters today that both his speed and boxing skills are superior Mosley's. "Not only faster, but more sharp," Collazo told Fightnews. "Mosley's a great boxer, but I believe I'm bringing more to the table right now....whatever he brings to the table I'm going to have answers for it and if the fight goes the distance, I will come out with a decision."

Mosley, of course, has different ideas. "I KNOW he's not faster than me," said Shane. "Let's all find out on Saturday who's the slickest, who's the wisest....I'm getting better and better and better and for some reason I'm getting so fast it's funny. It's scary to me."

JOACHIM HANSEN SIGNS TO FIGHT FOR PRIDE IN U.S.

MMAWeekly.com has confirmed that Joachim Hansen has signed a new 5-fight contract to continue fighting with the Pride organization. Hansen will be kicking off the first fight of his new contract at Pride 33 in Las Vegas, Nev. against newcomer Jason Ireland on Feb. 24.

Although it has not been confirmed, it is likely that Hansen will participate in Pride’s upcoming Lightweight Grand Prix. The 5-fight deal should keep Hansen under contract long enough to complete the Grand Prix, should he participate and make it to the finals.

In other news, Pride has also officially announced that Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua will get a chance to put his (15-2) record on the line once again, and for the second time for Pride in the United States, when he steps into the ring for a Feb. 24 rematch with Alistair Overeem, live from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

After loss at ADCC, Jucão wants UFC shot!

The BTT athlete Roan Jucão, who did signed contract to do three bouts at the UFC octagon, will do his first bout at the American event on April 5th, at UFC Fight Night 9. Jucão, who will face the Hawaiaan fighter Antony Torres, said that doesn’t know his adversary, but knows that he never did lose. “I don’t know him a too muchm but he is pupil of the Enoue brothers and he never did lose”, said Jucão.

Champion of the national selective of ADCC 2005, Jucão enjoyed the opportunity to avaluate his defeat at the selective to Marcelo Uirapuru (Gracie Barra BH) and guaranteed that the favoritism didn’t disturb him. “We just did need more resistence. I did lose some weight to fight. I have always trained Submission and I did get in the selective to adapt myself into the weight. I lost for a tought athlete just because of a little detail”, said Roan Jucão who is expecting to be invited by the ADCC organization.

Source: www.tatame.com

Tito Ortiz Update

LOS ANGELES – (February 06, 2007) – MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) champ and “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz plays the role of Tino Alva in an upcoming episode of “NUMB3RS,” the popular CBS TV series on Friday, February 16th at 10-11PM ET/PT.

Ortiz plays the defending champion in the All-Out Fighting League who is anxious to find out who his opponent will be in the upcoming big match. Someone, however, seems to be knocking off the competition to improve his own ranking in the league.

“It was great fun to play this role,” said Ortiz. “It seemed that almost everyone on the set knew about my exploits with the UFC and also knew a lot about MMA.”

Ortiz has a loyal fan base from his televised fights and from having appeared on Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” series. He’s also had roles in several feature films including “Cradle 2 the Grave” and the controversial Turkish film “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq.”

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PSL at TheFitExpo in Pasedena, CA

The Professional Submission League (PSL), the champions league of submission wrestling, is planning a big weekend for Febuary 17-19 at the Fit Expo in Pasedena Ca. TheFitExpo, California's once a year fitness event, features 150 Exhibits offering the latest in cutting edge fitness & health products and services. Vendors come from around the world to participate and represent in the heart of the fitness industry. TheFitExpo also offers attendees the unique opportunity to learn from the pros in a series of seminars, demonstrations & live interactive training sessions.

The PSL will be in full force at TheFitExpo with a booth inside the expo along with a series of seminars featuring PSL founder Rico Chiapparelli, ADCC World Submission Wrestling Champion Jeff 'The Snowman' Monson and Brazilian Jiu-Jistu Legend Saulo Ribeiro. All PSL seminars will end with a question & answer session and are FREE with your admission into the Fit Expo.

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VEGAS - APRIL 14th - Grapplers Quest U.S. Nationals - BOOK NOW!

EVENT: 6th Annual U.S. Nationals of Grappling presented by: Grapplers Quest
When: Saturday, April 14th, 2007
Box Office, At-The-Door Registrations, and Weigh-Ins Open at 8:30 AM
Tournament (Children, Teen's No-Gi/BJJ) Starts at: 10:30 AM

NIGHT-BEFORE WEIGH-INS (Friday, April. 13th):
Location:
The Sports Center Las Vegas (All-Sport Arena)
121 East Sunset Road
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Time: 5:00-7:00 PM

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Klaudija Filipovic: Mirko Has Promised He Will Retire In Two Years.

Translated:

Wife our MMA master Klaudia Filipović in discussion with Index has given her comments of his husband fight and future plans.

Klaudia always watches her husband’s fights live, because she says, she always wants to know what has happened.

“Of course I am happy. Mirko has won, and besides that he didn’t get beaten too much, and than I am happiest. I always watch his fights live because simply I have to immediately know how he did.” – thinks wife of Mirko Filipović.

I never let my son to watch Mirko’s fight, because clearly he is too young but this fight was exception.

“I must admit that he never watches Mirko’s fights, but this time I have made an exception so he did watch the recording. I thought the fight wasn’t too ugly. He is still young so there is time for it” – said Mrs. Filipović

And last Klaudia Filipović has added: “Mirko has promised to me that he will stop fighting in two years. I sincerely hope for it, but you know how old saying goes: promises aren’t always kept, and only fools should take them as definite.

Source:

Matt Hughes Latest Blog Entry

Monday, February 05, 2007

I went to the UFC and had a great time. I was surprised at the outcome of the Anderson fight. I knew he would win, but I didn't think it would end like that. Went to my brother-in-law's for the Super Bowl when I got back from Vegas. All in all a good weekend.

Well, I believe I finally got some answers about the loss from the St. Pierre fight. I went into that fight mostly on faith and I believed that it was my destiny to win that fight. I now realize that it takes more than faith to do anything in this world. Faith is still #1, but it also takes #2 knowledge and #3 physical practice.
So, my mistakes were:

1. Knowledge - I should have watched more tape of Georges' fights and come up with a better gameplan instead of going out there and finding a way to win one way or the other.

2. Physical Practice - I think I should have gone in stronger and in better shape, even though it never went past the middle of the second round, I think I could have been in better shape.

My faith was very positive and I did believe, before the fight, that I was supposed to win. Maybe that's why I didn't put as much training into it as I could have. So, now I will begin training harder than I ever have before on the road to fighting Georges again.

Thanks to everyone for their support.

-Matt

(Matt's Blog)

Bodog Fight Season 2 Airs Feb 13th

The second season of BodogFight, titled "St. Petersburg," will air on ION TV starting February 13. Weekly episodes air every Tuesday an Saturday at 11pm ET on TV and will be available on the BodogFight website Wednesday mornings.

Season two will culminate in a pay-per-view on April 6 in St. Petersburg, Russia.



ION TV is the channel formerly known as PAX TV and Independent Television (or "i"). Last season, BodogFight aired on the Men's Outdoor and Recreation channel.

The season one "BodogFight: USA vs. Russia" pay-per-view finale will air for free on ION TV Feb. 17 at 8pm ET.

BodogFight is currently filming seasons three and four in Costa Rica.

Muller Media Acquires 20% Stake in MMA Feature Film, 'Never Submit'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Muller Media Inc. (Pink Sheets: MUME) President Kenneth Eade announced today that it has acquired a 20% stake in Imperia Entertainment's mixed martial arts movie, "Never Submit." The investment opportunity came about due to the production's need for cash before the anticipated closing of Imperia Entertainment's $10 million in bond financing on March 9, 2007. "This doesn't fit the company's family film production model, but it is a great opportunity for the company to capitalize on the rising popularity of this sport, which has brought in excess of $40 million in a single showing of pay-per-view events and adds great value for the company's shareholders," said Eade.

TapouT Magazine (www.tapoutmagazine.com), the leading MMA magazine in the country, has begun a cross-country tour to promote its publication as well as the movie. TapouT Magazine readers can expect to see the mixed martial arts movie prominently featured in the bi-monthly publication throughout the casting, filming and theatrical release stages, as well as enjoy behind the scenes details from "Never Submit" director James Hergott, one of TapouT Magazine's newest contributors.


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Chris Horodecki - 2007 FCF Fighter Of The Year!

Los Angeles Anacondas lightweight Chris Horodecki has been named “Breakout Fighter of the Year” for 2006 by Full Contact Fighter, one of mixed martial arts’ longest-runing and most respected publications.



The nineteen-year-old Canadian dazzled audiences with his gritty performances in the IFL, mixing strong wrestling skills with an explosive kickboxing attack. After defeating Scorpions lightweight Ed West and the Pitbulls’ Erik Owings, Horodecki earned his greatest accolades for his decision victory over Bart Palaszewski at IFL Houston this past Friday.

Despite being nearly knocked out several times in the bout, Horodecki battled through early adversity to take two of the three rounds on judges’ scorecards.

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MMAWEEKLY RANKINGS UPDATED ON FEBRUARY 6

The latest MMAWeekly Rankings were released on Tuesday, February 6th. This system ranks the top ten MMA fighters from all across the world in each of the five major weight classes, as voted on by the MMAWeekly staff.

The MMAWeekly Rankings are your #1 source for the most up-to-date and complete fighter rankings. The next update of the MMAWeekly Rankings will take place on Tuesday, February 20th, which is two weeks from now.

Here are the current MMAWeekly Rankings, which are up-to-date as of February 6th.

HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (over 205 pounds)
1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Mirko Cro Cop
3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
4. Josh Barnett
5. Tim Sylvia
6. Andrei Arlovski
7. Fabricio Werdum
8. Aleksander Emelianenko
9. Mark Hunt
10. Sergei Kharitonov

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Kyle Noke Interview

Kyle Noke is one of the leading middleweights to come out of Australia. In his latest fight Kyle Noke broke his hand and kept on fighting to win a unanimous decision over Frank Shamrock trained fighter, Brian Ebersole. Infinitemma caught up with Kyle to talk about this fight and what the future holds.

G'day Kyle, how are you?
Good thanks mate!

For some of the people that may not have heard of you, can you tell us how you got involved with the sport of MMA?
Coming from Dubbo in N.S.W, I always played football then I moved to the Sunshine Coast and a friend of mine Tony Green asked me to come along to train with him and his brother. I have never looked back since.

Who are your current trainers?
Daniel Higgins is my trainer.

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Warriors Realm Press Release

Luke Pezzutti

Warriors Realm is proud to announce that Sydney based BJJ and MMA trainer Luke Pezzutti is set to make his promoting debut. Formerly a top level national MMA competitor, Luke is very passionate about the sport and now looking forward to his new challenge as a promoter.

Luke with fellow business associates Les Elias and Jim Kendrovski have combined to form the New South Wales branch of Warriors Realm.

The first NSW event is scheduled for Friday March 23rd and will be held at the Hurstville Civic Centre Sydney. An awesome fight card will soon be announced. For ticket enquires and event information contact 0423 423 575.

Nick Diaz on Gomi.

We spoke to Nick Diaz on his upcoming encounter with current lightweight Pride Champion, Takanori Gomi. The 23 year old did not refrain from expressing his thoughts.

"I don't think he has anything to offer that I haven't seen before. I think I've fought tougher guys than him. The guys I've fought hit harder, were better wrestlers and better grapplers. What does he think he'll be able to do to me? I'm not intimidated at all and if he thinks he can knock me out that's fine. I think he'll be the one getting an ass beating so I hope he's ready." - Diaz

Source: www.graciefighter.com

JULIE KEDZIE: ELITE XC'S FEMALE ENIGMA

It seems that this is the time in MMA for history to be made. Over the past several months there have been notable firsts, as there will be this coming February 10th when EliteXC makes history as the first live MMA event to be carried on major pay-television when it debuts on the Showtime network.

Not only will the event itself be historic, on the card itself there will be more history made when Julie “Jules” Kedzie and Gina Carano clash in the first women’s fight, MMA or boxing, to ever appear on the network.

While Carano has received much of the fanfare heading into the bout, it is Kedzie who is the more experienced MMA fighter and has been on peoples' radars for quite some time herself.

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Shamrock-Gracie is Good to Go, Says Promoter

Frank Shamrock knew he was in for a fight this week — he just wasn't sure if it would take place inside a court or cage.

Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker informed Sherdog.com late Monday evening that an agreement with Pro Elite and Showtime was in place that will keep the parties out of a courtroom showdown Tuesday, and guarantees Shamrock's bout against Renzo Gracie on Feb. 10.

Holding a contract that mandated the former UFC champion's next bout would by promoted by Strikeforce, Coker won a temporary restraining order on Jan. 24 that barred Shamrock from fighting on the Showtime-televised card. After the order was upheld on Jan. 29, Coker agreed to lift it in hopes of reaching a settlement with Pro Elite, which will promote its first mixed martial arts card under the EliteXC banner this Saturday.

(Read More)

For the First Time Ever, Major MMA Event to Stream Live Undercard Bouts for Free

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) (PRIMEZONE) -- ProElite, Inc. (Pink Sheets:PELE), an entertainment and media company dedicated to producing world-class sporting events, today announced it will work with Interactive Video Technologies (IVT) to offer the first ever free webcast of five undercard Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights to kick off the premier of EliteXC. The live, interactive video webcast, powered by IVT, will begin at 7:00 PM EST on Saturday, February 10th on www.ProElite.com. The SHOWTIME network will telecast the main event, featuring legendary middleweight Frank Shamrock versus Renzo Gracie on February 10, 2007 (10 p.m. ET) live from the Desoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi.

EliteXC brings to the MMA sport the highest levels of honor, integrity, discipline and self-esteem, all the while remaining inclusive for fighters, fans and organizations. EliteXC capitalizes on the growing popularity of the sport of mixed martial arts by building a community of martial arts enthusiasts around the world. EliteXC's spectacular live events showcase the world's top fighters.

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