TapouT, Silver Star Sold to Authentic Brands Group; Original Owners to Remain Involved

(The best part about being filthy rich? You don’t have to share ring girls anymore. / Props: amam-magazine.com / R.I.P.: Charles Lewis)
After a 13-year run that saw TapouT go from a two-man operation — with founders Charles "Mask&quot…

TapouT crew ring girl MMA Mask punkass skyscrape
(The best part about being filthy rich? You don’t have to share ring girls anymore. / Props: amam-magazine.com / R.I.P.: Charles Lewis)

After a 13-year run that saw TapouT go from a two-man operation — with founders Charles "Mask" Lewis and Dan "Punkass" Caldwell selling shirts out of the trunk of a car — to becoming the most powerful apparel and lifestyle brand in mixed martial arts, and then pressing on after Lewis’s tragic death, TapouT has finally reached the mythical "cash-out" stage of its existence. As first announced via press release yesterday, Authentic Brands Group has purchased TapouT, as well as its rival label Silver Star Casting Company, along with their subsidiary brands.

With offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto, ABG was founded earlier this year by chairman/CEO Jamie Salter, who previously managed such big-name brands as Polaroid, the Sharper Image, and Linens ‘N Things while at Hilco Consumer Capital. Now, he’s betting big on MMA. In a Bloomberg.com article published today, Salter wouldn’t talk numbers, but he did talk about how excited he was about his new company’s first major acquisitions:

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UFC 123 News: Karo Parisyan Returning and Bringing Back the Heat

When Karo “The Heat” Parisyan (19-5-0, 1 NC) pulled out of a bout against Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106, Dana White tweeted that Karo Parisyan would never again fight for the UFC.
Karo has only fought once since he got the axe from Dana,a subm…

When Karo “The Heat” Parisyan (19-5-0, 1 NC) pulled out of a bout against Dustin Hazelett at UFC 106, Dana White tweeted that Karo Parisyan would never again fight for the UFC.
Karo has only fought once since he got the axe from Dana,a submission win in Impact FC, but that may be the only fight […]

UFC Betting

UFC 123 News: Karo Parisyan Returning and Bringing Back the Heat

UFC 118 Salaries: James ‘Half-a-Milly’ Toney Gets the Last Laugh

(That’s actually ketchup on James’s head. Randy tackled him so quickly that he didn’t even have time to put down the hot dog he was eating. / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)
The UFC paid out $1,608,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the figh…

James Toney Randy Couture UFC 118
(That’s actually ketchup on James’s head. Randy tackled him so quickly that he didn’t even have time to put down the hot dog he was eating. / Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)

The UFC paid out $1,608,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the fighters who competed at UFC 118, according to figures released by the Massachusetts State Athletic CommissionJames Toney‘s whopping $500,000 salary led the payroll, putting him well ahead of fellow headliners Randy Couture ($250,000) and BJ Penn ($150,000). For you math aficionados out there, Toney earned over $2,500 per second in his UFC debut, which ended due to submission at the 3:19 mark of round 1. (Now calculate how much money you make per second at your job. Isn’t that hilarious?)

Keep in mind that the figures below don’t include additional compensation from sponsorships, undisclosed "locker room" bonuses, or cuts of the pay-per-view revenue that some UFC stars have in their contracts, which means that Randy Couture could have theoretically ended up with a bigger paycheck than James Toney. You know, if that helps you sleep at night.

Frankie Edgar: $96,000 (includes $48,000 win bonus)
def. B.J. Penn: $150,000

Randy Couture: $250,000
def. James Toney: $500,000

Demian Maia: $68,000
def. Mario Miranda: $8,000

Gray Maynard: $46,000 (includes $23,000 win bonus)
def. Kenny Florian: $65,000

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‘UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida’ to Go Down 11/20 in Auburn Hills

(Some fan-made video hype from SandmanMMAPromotions)
MMAFighting has confirmed that the previously reported bout between former UFC light-heavyweight champions Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida will headline November 20th’s UFC 123 card, which wi…

(Some fan-made video hype from SandmanMMAPromotions)

MMAFighting has confirmed that the previously reported bout between former UFC light-heavyweight champions Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida will headline November 20th’s UFC 123 card, which will take place at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It will be the UFC’s first event in the Great Lakes State since the spectacularly bad UFC 9, which was marked by an official ban on head-punches and a 30-minute Superfight Championship between Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn, in which both future Hall of Famers refused to engage, circling each other for the majority of the bout. That ill-fated event was held at Detroit’s Cobo Hall; now that Detroit has returned to wilderness, the UFC will instead head north to the suburb of Auburn Hills and the longtime home stadium of the Detroit Pistons.

At this point, the only other match reported for the event is a welterweight scrap between Matt Brown and Rory MacDonald. Brown is coming off consecutive submission losses against Ricardo Almeida and Chris Lytle, while MacDonald most recently succumbed to a TKO with just seven seconds remaining of his UFC 115 fight against Carlos Condit. You could say it’s one of those "must win" fights for both sides. And yet one of them will inevitably lose. Doesn’t seem fair, does it.

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

(We know that expression. Looks like somebody needs a James Toney upset to hit their $42,500 parlay bet. Check out more exclusive photos at FightMagazine.com’s UFC 118 photo gallery.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphe…

Arianny Celeste UFC 118 ring girl
(We know that expression. Looks like somebody needs a James Toney upset to hit their $42,500 parlay bet. Check out more exclusive photos at FightMagazine.com’s UFC 118 photo gallery.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– After Perfect Performance at UFC 118, More Tests Await Edgar (Versus MMA Beat)

– Kenny Florian Says Dana White Is ‘Dead Wrong’ About Him ‘Choking In Big Fights’ (MMA Convert)

– Wanderlei Silva Recovering, Hoping for February Return vs. Leben or Belfort (MMA Fighting)

– Roger Huerta vs. Eddie Alvarez set for non-title fight at Bellator 33 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Mark "The Smashing Machine" Kerr now sells cars in Scottsdale, Arizona. (MiddleEasy)

– Fan Opinon: Top 10 Personalities in MMA (LowKick)

– Tito Ortiz and Shaquille O’Neal face off at the UFC Fan Expo in Boston (Watch Kalib Run)

– Brett Rogers to Return Against Ruben "Warpath" Villareal Next Month in Halifax (Five Ounces of Pain)

– If Don Frye Says You Should Watch Shark Fights, You Should (MMA Scraps)

Breaking News: Kimbo Slice To Leave MMA To Become a Boxer

Michael Woods of ESPN is reporting that Kimbo Slice has decided to leave MMA for a chance to box.
Kimbo rose to fame with viral videos on the Internet and has since been participating in fights in Mixed Martial Arts for the past 3 years. The thing is h…

Michael Woods of ESPN is reporting that Kimbo Slice has decided to leave MMA for a chance to box.
Kimbo rose to fame with viral videos on the Internet and has since been participating in fights in Mixed Martial Arts for the past 3 years. The thing is he has mostly been all hype. 
This could serve […]

UFC Betting

Breaking News: Kimbo Slice To Leave MMA To Become a Boxer