Tag: FanHouse Exclusive

M-1 and Showtime Reach Broadcast Deal, First Event Airs on March 25

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, M-1 Global, NewsInternational fight promotion M-1 Global and premium U.S. cable channel Showtime have reached a deal to televise four U.S. events in 2011, MMA Fighting has learned.

The first event will take place on Ma…

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International fight promotion M-1 Global and premium U.S. cable channel Showtime have reached a deal to televise four U.S. events in 2011, MMA Fighting has learned.

The first event will take place on March 25 at the Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va. and air at 11 p.m. ET. It will be the first of four M-1 U.S. Challenge shows to appear on the network this year, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed.

The deal is expected to be officially announced on Friday morning.

My First Fight: Frank Shamrock

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse ExclusiveWhen Frank Shamrock paroled out of Folsom Prison in the early nineties, he had narrowed his career choices down to three possibilities.

“I was going to be a physical therapist, or an exotic dancer, or I was …

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Frank Shamrock When Frank Shamrock paroled out of Folsom Prison in the early nineties, he had narrowed his career choices down to three possibilities.

“I was going to be a physical therapist, or an exotic dancer, or I was going to do this no-holds-barred fighting thing that Ken [Shamrock] was doing. And I didn’t know anything about any of them.”

Shamrock had spent most of the last decade in one institutionalized setting or another, whether it was group homes, youth crisis centers, or prison. His adopted father, Bob Shamrock, pointed him in the direction of the Lion’s Den, then an unknown gym for a mostly unknown sport, and run by Frank’s adopted older brother Ken. The first day Shamrock walked in the door, he was told he’d be getting a “tryout.”

Eddie Alvarez vs. Pat Curran Booked for April 2

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, Bellator, NewsPat Curran will finally get his shot at Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 39 on April 2, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney confirmed with MMA Fighting on Wednesday. Rebney said that no venue …

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Pat Curran will finally get his shot at Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 39 on April 2, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney confirmed with MMA Fighting on Wednesday. Rebney said that no venue has been finalized for the 155-pound fight, which will air live on MTV2.

Curran was supposed to fight Alvarez in October, but a shoulder injury suffered in training forced the 23-year-old to pull out of the fight. Instead, Alvarez fought Roger Huerta in a non-title fight and defeated him via second round TKO (doctor stoppage).

Years of Watching MMA Helped Heroic Joe Lozito Help End Murder Manhunt

Filed under: Fighting, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsJoe Lozito is a longtime fan of mixed martial arts. He remembers watching UFC 1 back in 1993, he once attended an EliteXC event with Kimbo Slice just to watch Joey Villasenor, and on his 12th wedding …

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Joe LozitoJoe Lozito is a longtime fan of mixed martial arts. He remembers watching UFC 1 back in 1993, he once attended an EliteXC event with Kimbo Slice just to watch Joey Villasenor, and on his 12th wedding anniversary, he surprised his wife Andrea with tickets to UFC 101. Ask him which fighters he’s enjoyed watching most over time, and he’ll unfurl a laundry list ranging from Dan Severn to Eddie Alvarez to Keith Jardine, who he admits is probably his favorite. Lozito goes on and on, afraid to leave anyone out.

“I admire the heck out of all the guys,” he says. “I hate to list them because I don’t want to short-change anyone and leave them out.”

In the beginning, though, Lozito had a preference for freestyle wrestlers, which makes his story a little bit ironic and a whole lot heroic. Because last Saturday at just a few minutes before 9 a.m. ET, Lozito executed a takedown for the ages, one that would have made any MMA fighter proud. His heroic actions helped capture alleged multi-murderer Maksim Gelman on a New York city subway train.

Ben Rothwell: I Need to Become a Contender or Find Something Else to Do

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveUFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell and Andrei Arlovski aren’t friends, exactly. Not in the strictest sense of the word. They spent a little over ten minutes in the ring together back in July of 2008. Since then the two hea…

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UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell and Andrei Arlovski aren’t friends, exactly. Not in the strictest sense of the word. They spent a little over ten minutes in the ring together back in July of 2008. Since then the two heavyweights haven’t talked much.

Still, Rothwell said, it was a strange feeling watching the latest stop on Arlovski’s precipitous decline last Saturday night. Watching his former foe laid out on the canvas after getting knocked out by Sergei Kharitonov in the first round of the Strikeforce Grand Prix, he felt sick to his stomach, though he’s not entirely sure why.

“Seeing him knocked out like that, it makes me feel bad,” Rothwell said. “I couldn’t even be like, hey, awesome knockout. It’s like seeing that happen to a friend, and I don’t even know Andrei all that well. I just know him from when we fought, and before he was really cool to me and after he was really cool to me. I haven’t really talked to him since, so I don’t know why I feel that way, but you just have that kind of connection with someone you fought a war with. I don’t want to see him like that.”

The MMA Hour With Scott Coker in Studio, Perez, Wallhead, Pearson

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, Bellator, VideosWe return on Monday with another two-hour live edition of The MMA Hour. Some of the guests who will be stopping by include:

* Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, in studio, who wi…

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We return on Monday with another two-hour live edition of The MMA Hour. Some of the guests who will be stopping by include:

* Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, in studio, who will look back at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva and the rest of the heavyweight grand prix.

* UFC lightweight Ross Pearson, who faces Spencer Fisher at UFC 127.

* “Judo” Jim Wallhead, who will be making his long-awaited Bellator tournament debut on March 5 against Rick Hawn.

* Kenda Perez, the host of the Best of Pride FC on Spike, will stop by for a special Valentine’s Day themed segment.

* And as always, we’ll be joined by Matt Mitrione for his oh-so-popular “Mitrione Minute.”

And of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.

Watch the show live below beginning at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT. Download previous episodes of The MMA Hour on iTunes here.