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MFC Announces Stacked Lineup For MFC 26 Event

The Maximum Fighting Championship announces a stacked lineup for it’s Sept. 10th main card event in Edmonton, Canada. The event will be shown live on HDNet (check local listings) and features a MFC lightweight title bout between champ Antonio McKee vs. Luciano Azevedo.
Here’s the full MFC Press Release
A power-packed lineup of talented fighters including […]

Here’s the full MFC Press Release

A power-packed lineup of talented fighters including many of the Maximum Fighting Championship’s biggest names is set for action at the highly anticipated MFC 26: Retribution.

This is the formal announcement of the final card for the event slated on Friday, Sept. 10 at the River Cree Resort and Casino, just outside Edmonton, Alberta.

Before the live crowd and the millions watching throughout North America on HDNet Fights, MFC 26: Retribution will be one of the most action-filled events in the history of the Maximum Fighting championship. The event begins at 6:15 p.m. MT with the televised main card starting at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for HDNet channel designation).

MFC 26: Retribution will feature two high-impact bouts that will share co-main event status. In the night’s finale, homegrown MFC standout Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford (12-2), a two-time challenger for MFC welterweight championship, returns on his quest for championship gold as he takes on American Top Team star Douglas “The Phenom” Lima (14-4).

Ford, an Edmonton, Alberta product, has built up a massive fan following thanks to his aggressive style and he will be out to extend his current four-fight winning streak. Lima, a native of Brazil now fighting out of Atlanta, Georgia, is a submission specialist who is eying a shot at the MFC crown.

In the night’s other co-main event, legendary veteran Antonio “Mandingo” McKee (23-3-2) not only puts his MFC lightweight title on the line but also his very career when he takes on Brazilian talent Luciano Azevedo (16-8), the only man to hold a win over pound-for-pound top-10 fighter Jose Aldo.

McKee, who fights out of Lakewood, California, has not been defeated in seven years, but stated clearly that he will retire from competition should he not finish Azevedo inside the five-round distance. Azevedo, a native of Rio de Janeiro, has taken to the challenge and vowed to end McKee’s career and secure the title around his own waist.

The remainder of the televised card is stacked with the MFC’s finest including a pair of middleweight bouts that promise to be explosively entertaining.

First up, brash British striker Tom “Kong” Watson (12-3) takes on hard-charging American wrestler Jesse “JT Money” Taylor (15-6) in a true matchup of clashing styles. Watson, who hails from Southampton, England, made a dynamic organizational debut scoring a first-round, head-kick knockout of Travis Galbraith at MFC 24, and he wants to follow that up with a win that will assure him a title shot. Taylor, who fights out of Murietta, California, is looking to get back to winning ways following his submission loss to Thales Leites at MFC 25, and the former reality show standout is determined to leave his mark on Watson.

In the other middleweight clash, two rugged customers will meet head-to-head as “King” Solomon Hutcherson (11-6) takes on David Heath (15-6). Hutcherson, who fights out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has made a name for himself with MFC fans for his never-say-die attitude, and the former reality show contender is eager to prove his worth. Heath, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma who will be making his first venture into the 185-pound ranks, is always ready for battle and was a co-recipient of the MFC Fight of the Year for 2009.

A light heavyweight matchup is also featured on the main card as ultra-popular Fort McMurray, Alberta, native Dwayne Lewis (11-5) matches up against Mike Nickels (8-3) of Denver, Colorado. The heavy-handed Lewis is on the cusp of big things in the MFC’s 205-pound division but needs to return to the formula that earned him a seven-fight winning streak prior to a unanimous decision loss to former light heavyweight champ Emanuel Newton at MFC 25. Nickels, a jiu-jitsu expert who has no problems standing toe-to-toe with his foes, was a co-recipient of the MFC Fight of the Year for 2009 and is eager to strut his stuff again.

Opening the HDNet Fights televised card is a showdown of lightweights pitting Curtis “The Demon” Demarce (10-7) against undefeated rising star Tyson “The Man Of” Steele (6-0). Both fighters are making their organizational debuts and hoping to leave a strong first impression on the big stage.

The MFC 26: Retribution undercard features a number of up-and-coming fighters in the following bouts:

Middleweight – Steve Fader (2-1) Calgary, Alberta vs. Ford Robertson (2-0) Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Light Heavyweight – Adam Rabidoux (1-1) Edmonton, Alberta vs. Taylor Bull (2-2), Hobbema, Alberta

Catchweight – Ryan Ballingall (3-3) Nanaimo, B.C. vs. Aaron Berke (4-2) Kamloops, B.C.

Lightweight – Theo Brisley (3-2) Nanaimo, B.C. vs. Chad Freeman (5-3) Kamloops, B.C.

Tickets for MFC 26: Retribution are going fast and are available via the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024 and through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone (780) 451-8000 and www.ticketmaster.ca.

Mike Hayes Will Focus On Not Letting The Fight Go To The Ground At Bellator 26.

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 24, 2010) – Mike “300″ Hayes came out with his hand raised in victory at Bellator 21 last June at the Bellator Season 2 finale in Hollywood, Fla. Not only did the hard-hitting Washington state-native earn a convincing unanimous decision over South Carolina native Steve Banks during the event, but he was also granted entry into the Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight tournament. While this would normally be viewed as a major achievement for an up-and-coming heavyweight, Hayes was left with a bad taste in his mouth and was admittedly not happy with his performance and inability to finish the fight.

“I was very disappointed with how the fight went down that night, I felt very flat and wasn’t able to stick to my game plan,” said Hayes. “This was my first fight in a large arena and I was caught up in the moment, it won’t happen again.”

Hayes went back to the drawing board after the fight. Returning to the Ring Demon Jiu-Jitsu gym in Redmond, Washington, Hayes decided to focus on his gas tank to prepare for Bellator’s grueling 12-week, eight-man heavyweight tournament. For a guy that was dubbed “300″ by an ex-trainer for the Spartan-like attitude he brings to the gym, this tournament is second nature.

“I have been focusing extremely hard on my cardio and conditioning, I want to be ready for anything in this tournament” said Hayes. “I have also been training my groundwork extensively. I want to be able to take guys down and use my power to finish fights.”

Hayes brings an impressive 12-3-1 professional record to the tournament and is currently riding a four fight win-streak. Hayes will likely have the toughest fight of his career at Bellator 26 this Thursday night at the Kansas City Power & Light District against on of the most feared heavyweight submission fighters in the sport, feared Russian submission specialist Alexey Oleinik (27-5-1). Among the most dangerous heavyweight submission artists in the sport, Oleinik owns 23 submission victories out of an astounding 27 wins.

Hayes would be lying if he stated that he wanted to put his ground game to the test in this fight, explaining, “I will be focusing on one thing, making sure this fight does not go to the ground.”

Hayes and Oleinik will be fighting for the last remaining spot in the Bellator Season 3. With a win Hayes would join undefeated Polish sensation Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski, fast-rising two-time NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion Cole Konrad and Neil Grove, fighting out of England by way of South Africa.

Tickets for the event – which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net along with action-packed highlight shows that will air on NBC Saturday nights – are on sale now at ticketmaster.com

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

Jose Vega Believes He’s “More Complete Than Ever” For Bellator 26.

Although unknown to the five-year-old or those around him as he ran the South Florida streets, Jose Vega’s destiny to become a fighter was laid out for him virtually at birth.
“When I was a kid living in Florida my uncles and my dad used to get drunk together a lot,” said Vega. “One […]

Although unknown to the five-year-old or those around him as he ran the South Florida streets, Jose Vega’s destiny to become a fighter was laid out for him virtually at birth.

“When I was a kid living in Florida my uncles and my dad used to get drunk together a lot,” said Vega. “One night we were outside, and there was this kid next door that always used to fight with my cousin, and they said, “We’ll give you a dollar if you go over there and punch that kid in the face”, so I went over there and punched him in the face and we got to fighting.”

Close to15 years later Vega found himself pouring over MMA fight videos, while at the same time going on a tear through the amateur and professional ranks in his backyard of Missouri with literally not a single day of formal training under his belt.

All-in-all, Vega somehow managed to string together seven victories as a professional prior to ever stepping foot inside an MMA gym with all of his wins coming by way of submission, before a call from Bellator Fighting Championships recently gave the naturally gifted Vega the incentive he had been looking for to completely change his approach to the sport.

“I’m more complete now than I’ve ever been before,” boasted Vega in the days leading up to his bantamweight tournament fight with longtime rival Danny Tims at Bellator 26 in Kansas City. “Up until right before my most recent win over Jarrod Card with Bellator I had been training myself by watching fight tapes and instructionals. Now I finally have someone watching over me telling me if what I’m doing is right or wrong.”

And the results spoke for themselves as Vega put the favored Card to sleep with a crushing punch that catapulted the budding 135 lb prospect directly into his current place in the Season 3 Bellator Bantamweight Tournament.

Standing in front of Vega this Thursday evening in the Bellator cage is a man that is far from a stranger to the self-taught Kansas City bantamweight, Danny Tims.

The pair of Missouri-based fan-favorites first met at the amateur level in a closely contested battle that saw Tims’ hand raised in victory when the dust had a chance to settle. However, Vega didn’t exactly agree with the judges’ decision, stating, “Our first fight was in his hometown, and I don’t like to be a sore loser, but I got him to admit that I beat him right after that fight. I ended up losing a real close decision, but we all know why they gave him that, because it was in his hometown.”

There are two sides to every story, and Tims’ side to this one is that Vega is “crazy.” Tims states that he dominated the fight between the two from the beginning to the sound of the final bell.

The second time the pair met, the result couldn’t have been any more different.

“I fought him for the second time in the finals of a tournament in Sturgis,” said Vega. “In the second round he reversed me while I was ground and pounding him and I upkicked him right before he got up and he just turned around and tapped on the cage.

“I think I broke him mentally because he couldn’t take me down or do anything. He just quit.”

Again, Tims has a slightly different recollection of events when it comes to his second meeting with Vega, stating that dehydration at the end of a single-evening elimination tournament as the reason he tapped out, and stresses that the defeat had nothing to do with him breaking mentally.

This Thursday evening from the Kansas City Power and Light District, the score will be settled once and for all as Vega meets Tims for the third time in what is undoubtedly the biggest fight of either fighter’s professional career.

Vega will be entering the bout riding a wave of confidence and vows to silence his rival with his actions in the cage at Bellator 26.

“I’m sure that I can put him to sleep the same way I did to Jarrod Card if he decides to stand with me and I also believe I can submit him if the fight goes to the ground,” said Vega. “All of his submission wins are rear-naked chokes. You don’t see him throwing up triangles or armbars. It makes him one-dimensional. I’ve submitted people with triangles, gogoplatas, armbars, keylocks and a variety of other submissions, so I feel like I have a lot more options at my disposal in the submission department.

“There’s no way he’s going to take me down and grind me out. I see the same fighter that I fought at amateur. I don’t think he has any tools he can beat me with.”

Get your tickets now for Bellator 26, taking place live from the Kansas City Power and Light District on Thursday, August 26.

Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons Rematch Official For Oct 9 Strikeforce Event.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Aug. 25, 2010) – A grudge rematch that fans, media, and the confident fighters themselves have been clamoring for since the first fight ended in bloody controversy nearly three years ago, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 9, when KJ Noons (9-1), fresh off a knockout victory last Saturday, challenges STRIKEFORCE World Welterweight (170 pounds) Champion Nick Diaz (22-7, 1 NC) in the main event at HP Pavilion here, live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

In the co-feature, undefeated STRIKEFORCE Women’s Welterweight World Champion Sarah Kaufman (12-0) will make the second defense of her 135-pound title against No. 1 contender and Dutch superstar Marloes Coenen (17-4).

Another featured fight will pit an emerging star from the STRIKEFORCE Challengers series, up-and-coming Luke Rockhold (7-1), against the vastly more experienced, 2000 Olympic Games wrestling silver medalist, Matt “The Law” Lindland (22-7), in a middleweight (185 pounds) contest.

Tickets go on sale to the general public this Saturday, Aug. 28, at 10 a.m. PT online at Ticketmaster.com, at HP Pavilion ticket office, or by phone at (800) 745-3000.

A special presale opportunity for “STRIKEFORCE Insider” e-newsletter subscribers begins today, Wednesday, Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. PT. Sign up to become a “STRIKEFORCE Insider” at http://www.strikeforce.com/insider.html.

Diaz has not lost a fight since he faced Noons, losing via disputed first-round TKO on Nov. 7, 2007. Diaz, of Stockton, Calif., has been devastating in recent outings, notching seven in a row. The talented, outspoken, no-nonsense brawler also boasts a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.

The always-dangerous Noons is an aggressive and prolific striker who has won his last six fights, including the thrilling slugfest against Diaz that ended when the cageside physician halted the proceedings due to excessive cuts around Diaz’ eyes.

Since that fight, there has been no love lost between the pair of brash fighters. Seven months after their first fight, on June 14, 2008, the fighters and their camp members nearly came to blows in the cage after the fighters registered victories in separate bouts.

“Nick has no class, he’s a bum, a piece of (expletive) and he and his team disrespected my family and I with their gestures and trash talk and tried to upstage my fight,” said Noons after the near-fracas.

Offered Diaz: “I’m sorry about what happened in the cage afterward, but I didn’t start it. His guys were talking (expletive) to us.”

Diaz is coming off a first-round submission (armbar) over fellow superstar Hayato “Mach” Sakurai last May 29 at DREAM 14 in Japan. The six-foot, 27-year-old Diaz won the STRIKEFORCE title with a convincing first-round TKO (punches) over Marius “The Whitemare” Å½aromskis on Jan. 30, 2010.

The 5-foot-11, 27-year-old Noons, who was born and raised in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, registered a spectacular, crowd-pleasing second-round knockout over Jorge Gurgel during last Saturday’s STRIKEFORCE: Houston, live on SHOWTIME.

Kaufman, a former ballet dancer, retained her belt for the first time with an explosive third-round body slam KO over Roxanne Modafferi at STRIKEFORCE Challengers in Everett, Wash., on July 23.

The personable, hard-hitting, 5-foot-5, 24-year-old Kaufman, of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, has scored knockouts in nine of her 12 victories.

Coenen, 29, will appear before an audience for the first time since suffering a hard-fought third-round TKO loss to Cris Cyborg for the STRIKEFORCE Women’s Middleweight (145 pounds) Championship at STRIKEFORCE: Miami last Jan. 30.

The game and courageous, 5-foot-9 Coenen gave Cyborg one of her toughest fights. A member of Holland’s Team Golden Glory, Coenen has been a mixed martial artist since the age of 14. She will be moving down in weight to challenge for the title.

Rockhold, of Santa Cruz, Calif. will bring a six-fight winning streak into what figures to be the toughest assignment of his career. Many feel the 25-year-old is one of STRIKEFORCE’s next great middleweight stars. He has been victorious by submission in all but one of his wins. A member of Team AKA in San Jose, Rockhold won his last start with a first-round TKO (knees to body) over Paul Bradley on Feb. 26, in San Jose.

Lindland, of Oregon City, Ore, brought home the silver in Greco-Roman wrestling. He’s fought the best in a 13-year MMAs career, including the famed Fedor Emelianenko. An All-American at the University of Nebraska before turning pro in 1997, Lindland holds victories over Pat Miletich, Jeremy Horn, former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton and remains one of only two men to submit Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Travis Lutter.

In his most recent fight, the six-foot-tall Lindland scored a third-round TKO over “King” Kevin Casey on May 21 during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers in Portland, Ore.

About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts (MMA) series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March 2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME® to stage live events on the premium cable television network. The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events on the CBS Television Network.

Dana White To Give Keynote Speech At UFC Fan Expo On August 28.

UFC President Dana White will give his keynote speech at the UFC® FAN EXPO™ on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 1pm ET at the main stage inside the John B. Hynes Convention Center in Boston. Immediately following the keynote speech, White will take part in a Question and Answer session with fans.
With strong ties to […]

With strong ties to the Boston area, White is excited to return to his roots and present the East Coast with an event featuring some of the sport’s most influential fighters, brands, and sponsors.

“It has always been my dream to bring an event to Boston,” White said. “With UFC 118 and the Fan Expo, we’re delivering a weekend fans in the Northeast won’t want to miss.”

This year’s UFC Fan Expo leads into UFC® 118: EDGAR vs. PENN 2 Presented by TAPOUT®, featuring the lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and former division kingpin BJ Penn. For more UFC Fan Expo information and to purchase tickets, visit UFCfanexpo.com. For companies interested in reserving space at this premier event, contact Ed Gallo, Event Director at 1-203-840-5546 or email [email protected].

Ultimate Fighting Championship® – www.ufc.com

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over twelve UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually and 30 live arena events around the world. UFC programming is distributed in the United States on Viacom, Inc.’s Spike TV and on Comcast, Inc.’s Versus network. UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 130 countries, territories and jurisdictions, reaching 430 million homes worldwide, in 20 different languages. Ancillary businesses now include UFC.com with over 5 million unique visitors per month, the best-selling UFC “Undisputed” videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC Gym™, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo™ festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, articulated action figures and other media including best-selling DVDs and a U.S. bimonthly magazine.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa®, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.

About Reed Exhibitions

The UFC Fan Expo is operated by Reed Exhibitions, the world’s leading events organizer, with over 470 events in 37 countries. In 2008, Reed brought together over seven million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today, Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organized by 38 fully staffed offices.

Reed organizes a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses, and meetings. Its portfolio of over 470 events serves 44 industry sectors, including: Aerospace & aviation, automobiles, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering, manufacturing, environment, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewelry, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, medical education, printing & graphics, property & real estate, security & safety, sports & recreation, and travel. Working closely with professional bodies, trade associations, and government departments, Reed ensures that each and every event is targeted and relevant to industry needs. As a result, many Reed events are market leaders in their field.

Bellator Fighting Championships Signs DJ Linderman To Heavyweight Roster.

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 23, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the signing of heavyweight prospect D.J. “Da Protege” Linderman to its rapidly expanding roster. The California native brings an impressive 8-1 record to the promotion and is currently riding a three-fight win streak.
Although Linderman was signed after the completion of the Season 3 […]

Although Linderman was signed after the completion of the Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament roster, he remains ready and available should there be complications with any of the remaining fighters.

“D.J. Linderman is a great addition to our heavyweight talent-pool,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He is a powerful heavyweight that has a tremendous amount of potential. We’re happy to have him on board and look forward to see what he does in our steadily growing heavyweight division.”

Standing at 6′2” tall and tipping the scales near the 250 lb. mark, Linderman has made use of an impressive wrestling base to rack up eight impressive victories in the heavyweight division during his two years spent as a professional in the sport. A skilled ground fighter, Linderman works for the takedown and looks to control his fights on the canvas before utilizing brutal ground and pound or making use of his dangerous submission arsenal.

At just 26-years-old, Linderman currently trains out of Team Do Somethin’ in Yreka, CA. Da Protege holds an impressive victory over Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament participant Mike “300” Hayes as well as a KO win against American Top Team veteran Mario Rinaldi last November.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships