Author: Matt Erickson

Shine Fights Makes New Oklahoma Tournament Site Official

Filed under: NewsIt will have to change course and move halfway across the country to do it, but Shine Fights’ lightweight tournament will go on as scheduled.

On Saturday, MMA Fighting was first to report the news that the promotion had been denied a…

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It will have to change course and move halfway across the country to do it, but Shine Fights’ lightweight tournament will go on as scheduled.

On Saturday, MMA Fighting was first to report the news that the promotion had been denied a license in Virginia for its Sept. 10 lightweight grand prix at the Patriot Center in Fairfax and would be moving the event to Oklahoma.

On Monday, Shine Fights COO Jason Chambers made the move official on his Twitter account. Less than a week before the event, which is scheduled to air on pay-per-view, Shine will move to the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Okla.

Shine Fights Forced to Move Tourney From Virginia to Oklahoma

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, NewsJust a week before its lightweight grand prix tournament, Shine Fights has had to make a fairly major change in plans.

The promotion had a one-night, eight-man lightweight tournament planned for Sept. 10 at the Pat…

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Just a week before its lightweight grand prix tournament, Shine Fights has had to make a fairly major change in plans.

The promotion had a one-night, eight-man lightweight tournament planned for Sept. 10 at the Patriot Center on the George Mason University campus in Fairfax, Va. But MMA Fighting has learned that though the tournament will still go on, Shine will pack up camp and move the event to Oklahoma. The exact location and venue is not yet known.

According to a source close to the promotion, the issue at the heart of the move was a marketing push by Shine that gave fans the opportunity to choose the matchups for the first-round bouts in the tournament. That apparently didn’t sit well with Virginia’s commission, which operates under the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. The commission wouldn’t issue Shine a license because of the fan matchmaking, the source said.

Stephan Bonnar-Igor Pokrajac Planned for TUF 12 Finale

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsStephan Bonnar, the light heavyweight who became an MMA household name after his epic fight with Forrest Griffin on the season finale of the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” will once again fight on a TU…

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Stephan Bonnar, the light heavyweight who became an MMA household name after his epic fight with Forrest Griffin on the season finale of the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” will once again fight on a TUF card.

Sources close to Bonnar’s camp confirmed to MMA Fighting on Saturday that he has been offered a fight against Croatian Igor Pokrajac for the TUF 12 finale and has verbally agreed to the bout, though contracts have not yet been signed.

WEC Announces Signing of Chinese Lightweight Tiequan Zhang

Filed under: WEC, NewsIt didn’t take long for Zuffa to puts its official stamp on mixed martial arts in Asia.

Following UFC 118, UFC president Dana White announced the company had set up an office in Beijing, China, and hired Mark Fischer, formerly o…

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It didn’t take long for Zuffa to puts its official stamp on mixed martial arts in Asia.

Following UFC 118, UFC president Dana White announced the company had set up an office in Beijing, China, and hired Mark Fischer, formerly of the NBA’s China branch, to run its operations in Asia as executive vice president and managing director.

On Thursday, the WEC, the UFC’s sibling promotion, officially announced the signing of lightweight Tiequan Zhang, of Beijing. Zhang will be the first fighter from mainland China in the WEC’s history. His first task comes later this month against Alex Karalexis at WEC 51 in Broomfield, Colo.

Joe Soto, Joe Warren Meet in Bellator’s First True Title Fight

Filed under: Bellator, NewsThe surge in popularity of mixed martial arts in the last five years brought with it plenty of upstart promotions looking for their piece of the pie.

A few major promotions have come along, and a few have gone away, includi…

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The surge in popularity of mixed martial arts in the last five years brought with it plenty of upstart promotions looking for their piece of the pie.

A few major promotions have come along, and a few have gone away, including EliteXC and Affliction, both rather infamously.

When Bellator Fighting Championships arrived in spring 2009, it launched with a format unique enough to give it a better shot at longevity than some of its predecessors.

Using season-long tournaments, Bellator crowned champions in four weight classes in its first season. The Season 2 tournaments in those classes created opponents for the Season 1 champs to defend their belts against.

Thursday, in Season 3, in its 27th event, Bellator gets to see some of the fruits of its labor when Season 1 featherweight title winner Joe Soto meets Season 2 tournament champ Joe Warren in San Antonio. It will be Bellator’s first true title fight.

Canadian Medical Association Pushing for MMA Ban in Canada

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, NewsThe Canadian Medical Association will seek an outright ban of the professional sport of mixed martial arts in Canada.

The Associated Press reports that delegates for the CMA voted Wednesday at the organization’s a…

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The Canadian Medical Association will seek an outright ban of the professional sport of mixed martial arts in Canada.

The Associated Press reports that delegates for the CMA voted Wednesday at the organization’s annual meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario, to have a doctors group push for the Canadian government to ban the prizefighting aspect of the sport.