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Bellator Adds Kenny “The Tooth Fairy” Foster To Promotion Roster.

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 11, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships officially announced today the signing of New York native Kenny “The Tooth Fairy” Foster to its fast growing list of up-and-coming fighters. Foster joins the promotion with an impressive 7-2 professional record, including a six fight win streak which he compiled from July 2009 […]

After a three-year 149 lbs. wrestling career at Carson Newman College, Foster found that he still had a hunger for competition. He filled that void by competing in tough man competitions but was eventually drawn to MMA when UFC fighter Clay Guida started training at his wrestling gym. After a successful amateur career in which he held a regional championship lightweight belt, Foster decided to begin training fulltime. The 25 year old relocated from Georgia back to his New York roots to train with Team Bomb Squad.

“Kenny Foster has a great competitive spirit mixed with powerful wrestling skills and ever evolving striking skills which makes it very hard to count him out of match-ups at featherweight,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

Although Foster has no problem drawing from his prior wrestling experience to win fights, he admittedly does not like to be categorized as a wrestler.

“I hate to even put it out there, but I’m a striker. Categorizing me as a ground fighter isn’t a fair assumption at all. All of my submission victories for my past 5 or 6 fights have come after I dropped my opponent with strikes,” said Foster. “Once I drop someone my wrestling instincts kick in and I just look for the finish.”

Whichever discipline Foster decides to use, it’s clear that he is going to “bring it” in his upcoming fights with Bellator.

“I feel like all the years I’ve been doing this have been building up to this point,” said Foster. “I feel like when I signed the contract today, it was the biggest blessing of my life. Today is the first time I truly felt like a professional. Signing a contract with an amazing organization like Bellator and now my trainer is talking about organizing my fight camp; I feel like I’m really getting the treatment now.”

Although Foster competed at lightweight the entirety of his amateur career and for his first professional fight, he plans to fight in the featherweight division for Bellator.

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.

Corey Hill Vs. Rob McCullough Set For Tachi Palace Fights’ “High Stakes” On September 9.

Corey Hill isn’t much for the hype these days. And the 31-year-old mixed martial artist isn’t really too concerned about getting back into the spotlight.
“Screw the hype, you know,” said the Brooksville, Fla. product. “I’m 31 years old and blessed with some talent and potential and I’m at the point in my career where I […]

Corey Hill isn’t much for the hype these days. And the 31-year-old mixed martial artist isn’t really too concerned about getting back into the spotlight.

“Screw the hype, you know,” said the Brooksville, Fla. product. “I’m 31 years old and blessed with some talent and potential and I’m at the point in my career where I want to fight tough guys. This fight is a personal goal and will let me and my team know where I’m at.”

Hill (4-3) will be featured in the co-main event of Tachi Palace Fights’ “High Stakes” against former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion Rob McCullough (18-6).

“He’s a former champ and tough as hell,” Hill explained. “He’s done a lot of great things in the cage. We are just excited and blessed with this opportunity to fight him.”

McCullough will make his return to the cage after a first-round technical knockout of Fresno, Calif.’s Isaac DeJesus (9-2) in July.

“It was good to be back fighting on the reservation and channeling that warrior spirit,” said the Huntington Beach native of his return to the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif. in July. “I think being back out there really helped me get back in the zone. I think that Isaac was the favorite and had all that crowd support, but I was really able to feed off being back in Lemoore.”

McCullough returned to his roots, fighting back at the Palace after losing two of his last three bouts in the WEC.

Hill has also had to fight back through some serious adversity. In December 2008 he severely broke his leg in a fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship with Dale Hart, but has since comeback to win two of three bouts, including a July submission victory over Kit Cope.

“I know that he’s tall,” McCullough joked about the 6-foot-4 Hill.

“He’s coming off of a good win over Kit Cope and trying to establish his career,” McCullough added. “I think this is a veteran versus newcomer type of fight. I know he has somewhat of a wrestling pedigree and might try and take the fight to the ground. I think we will definitely see my hand raised at the end of the night, though.”

Tickets can be purchased at www.tachipalace.com or charge by phone at 1-800-225-2277. Tickets may also be purchased at the Tachi Palace Gift Shop and start at a low price of just $30 for general admission seating.

The 9-bout card also features a middleweight main event that pits Visalia, Calif.’s Doug Marshall (12-3) against Sacramento, Calif.’s Kyacey Uscola (18-15). Marshall is currently unbeaten in the middleweight division and carries a 5-fight win streak into the bout. Meanwhile, Uscola is coming of a stint on Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” show.

Tachi Palace Fights will crown its first-ever middleweight champ, as Coarsegold, Calif.’s Anthony Ruiz (25-13) clashes with Oakland, Calif.’s Leopoldo Serao (16-7).

Also on the card in a featherweight special attraction, Athens Ga.’s Micah Miller (14-4) battles Atlanta, Ga.’s Diego Saraiva (18-9-1).

In other bouts;

-Hanford, Calif. flyweight Luis Gonzalez (2-2) vs. Chino, Calif.’s Darrell Montague (7-1).

-Thousand Oaks, Calif. middleweight Joseph Henle (3-0) vs. Santa Rosa, Calif.’s Collin Hart (2-1).

-Hanford, Calif. flyweight Paulina Ramirez (1-0) vs. Fresno, Calif.’s Stephanie Frausto (2-2).

-Lemoore, Calif. middleweight Andrew Martinez (6-2-1) vs. Sacramento, Calif.’s Mark Matthews (3-4).

-Fresno, Calif. featherweight Gabriel Solorio (5-2) vs. Fresno, Calif.’s Art Becerra (2-1).

Spike TV Will Show Lauzon Vs. Ruediger And Lentz Vs. Winner On August 28.

Live from the TD Garden in Boston, MA, Spike TV showcases two live undercard bouts from “UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II” on Saturday, August 28 at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT. In action, local product and sure to be crowd favorite Joe Lauzon (“The Ultimate Fighter 5” alum) of Bridgewater, MA takes on his former housemate from the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Gabe Ruediger, and Nik “The Carny” Lentz will square off with Andre Winner, fighting out of Leicester, England.

Lauzon (17-5) burst onto the mixed martial arts scene with a shocking knockout of former lightweight champ Jens Pulver at UFC 63 in September 2006. A cast member of “The Ultimate Fighter 5,” Lauzon won his first three UFC bouts before losing to fellow New Englander Kenny Florian via TKO in April 2008. After winning two of his last three fights, Lauzon needs a win in front of his hometown fans to continue his ascent to the upper ranks of the lightweight division.

Fighting out of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, Gabe Ruediger (17-5) is perhaps best known to UFC fans for his stint on season five of “The Ultimate Fighter”. But Ruediger’s mixed martial arts expertise extends even further, as he once held the lightweight title in the WEC. He enters his bout with Lauzon on a six fight winning streak, and is looking to make a big impression in his return to the Octagon.

Nik Lentz (20-3-2) is undefeated since his debut in the UFC, with wins against Rob Emerson and Rafaello Oliveira on his resume, as well as a draw with the veteran Thiago Tavares. The Minnesota product will look to continue his impressive run as he takes on “The Ultimate Fighter: US vs UK” alum, Andre Winner.

A product of Leicester, England, Andre Winner (12-3-1) is one of many impressive fighters coming out of Team Rough House. Winner was introduced to the MMA world as a member of Team UK on the ninth iteration of “The Ultimate Fighter,” in which he marched all the way to the finals before losing to Team Rough House teammate Ross Pearson in a bruising contest. He has since bounced back with consecutive victories against Roli Delgado and Rafaello Oliveira, and will look to win his third straight contest against Lentz.

Other bouts on the card might air on Spike TV, to be determined by the length of the fights.

Spike TV is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at www.spike.com/press.

Showtime Great Jay Larkin Passes Away At 59.

NEW YORK, NY (August 9, 2010) — One of the most successful television executives in the world of boxing and entertainment, Jay Larkin, passed away this morning at Nyack Hospital in Nyack, NY at the age of 59. Larkin had been battling cancer.
Services will be held Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at Beth David Cemetery […]

Services will be held Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at Beth David Cemetery (300 Elmont Road) in Elmont, NY.

Larkin put together a franchise that stood atop the world of boxing and television while at SHOWTIME from 1984 to 2006 with the creation of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION and a pay-per-view business that was second to none with the promotion of Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio Cesar Chavez, Felix Trinidad and many other Hall of Fame greats in the boxing world. Larkin was considered one of the most powerful professionals in the world of boxing.

Larkin was responsible for the programming, acquisition and production of the company’s boxing franchise as well as comedy and music specials for the premium television network. He worked his way up at the network to become Senior Vice President, Senior Executive Producer Sports & Event Programming at SHOWTIME.

It all began in 1986, when Larkin produced SHOWTIME’s first fight with Marvin Hagler and continued with him producing more of Mike Tyson’s fights than anyone else including a record $100,000,000 revenue night featuring Tyson-Holyfield II. He was very instrumental in the career of Evander Holyfield.

Larkin was involved in the marketing, distribution and production of many record setting and award-winning pay per view concerts featuring Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Sting, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, JAY-Z, The Spice Girls and the BackStreet Boys to name a few.

He also was in charge of many comedy specials and documentaries and worked with Tim Allen, Ellen DeGeneres, Jon Stewart, Drew Carey, Dennis Leary and Dave Chappelle to name a few. He was also the SHOWTIME executive in charge of the Broadway hit at the Cort Theater, “Laugh Whore” starring Mario Cantone, which received a Tony Award nomination.

Larkin was very involved in the world of professional theater and performing arts. He held bachelor’s degrees in theater and directing from C.W. Post College of Long Island University and also studied at the Boston Conservatory of Music and UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television.

Following his career at SHOWTIME, he joined the International Fight League as their COO in 2007-2008.

Larkin is survived by his wife, Lisa, and their two sons, Ryan and Gabriel.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in Jay Larkin’s name to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University, c/o Duke University Medical Center, DUMC Box 3624, Durham, North Carolina 27710 or online by visiting http://www.cancer.duke.edu/btc/.

Shark Fights Adds Paul Daley Vs. Jorge Masvidal For September 11 Show.

Amarillo, TX. – August 10, 2010 – Shark Fight Promotions announced today that UFC veteran Paul Daley will step into the cage with American Top Team fighter, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal September 11th at Shark Fights 13 in Amarillo, Texas. This will be Daley’s first bout in the U.S. following his highly publicized departure from the […]

According to Brent Medley, president of Shark Fight Promotions, “Choosing the right opponent to face a high-level contender like Daley was not easy. Numerous A-list fighters were under consideration. When we heard that Jorge Masvidal wanted to return to the welterweight division after several grueling weight cuts from 185lbs to 155lbs, he became our clear choice. We immediately approached Masvidal about the bout and he did not hesitate to step up to the challenge.”

Medley went on to say, “We feel that this is a very compelling match up. Daley and Masvidal are both highly skilled marquee fighters, with fight styles that match up well. Masvidal, who has been a dominating force in the lightweight division, is determined to prove that he’s an even bigger threat as a welterweight. Defeating Paul Daley would send that message loud and clear, but it won’t be easy. This is going to be a very exciting fight!”

Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal (20-5) is a former AFC Welterweight Champion and Bellator Fighting Championships veteran. He holds notable wins over UFC standout Joe Lauzon, former IFL lightweight champ Ryan Schultz, UFC and PRIDE veteran Yves Edwards, former Sengoku lightweight title-holderSatoru Kitaoka, and most recently Naoyuki Kotani.

In addition to Paul Daley vs. Jorge Masvidal, the impressive Shark Fights 13 main event roster includesKeith Jardine vs. Trevor Prangley, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Houston Alexander, Drew McFedries vs. Joey Villasenor, and a fifth fight yet to be announced. The event will be available on PPV.

Bellator Signs Former Arizona State Wrestling Prodigy Eric Larkin.

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 09, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the signing of former Arizona State University wrestling prodigy and fast-rising mixed martial artist Eric Larkin to its rapidly expanding roster.
The 2003 recipient of the illustrious Dan Hodge Trophy, Larkin captured the 2003 NCAA Division I National Championship at 149 lbs on his […]

The 2003 recipient of the illustrious Dan Hodge Trophy, Larkin captured the 2003 NCAA Division I National Championship at 149 lbs on his way to becoming the only wrestler that year nominated for ESPN’s ESPY Award for best male collegiate athlete. During his time spent wrestling at ASU, Larkin became a four-time All American along with picking up four PAC-10 Championships.

“Eric Larkin’s wrestling pedigree is as good as anyone competing in our sport today,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Larkin possesses an overwhelming amount of athleticism which gives him huge potential to become a top fighter in the sport. Ben Askren and Joe Warren, both tremendously talented wrestlers, have dominated at Bellator. I’m excited to see if Eric can follow a similar path.”

Following graduation Larkin took a job as the Assistant Coach of the ASU wrestling team where he coached from 2005-2009. After an unsuccessful 2008 Olympic bid, the 30-year-old who had been wrestling since age 11 decided to follow in the footsteps of numerous fellow Sun Devil wrestlers-turned MMA fighters and began training MMA full time.

“Seeing friends of mine from ASU like Ryan Bader, CB Dollaway, and Aaron Simpson get to where they are now in MMA and working out with them all the time let me know that I should make the transition,” said Larkin. “They were always trying to talk me into it and finally I was like, ‘Alright, I’ll do it’.”

The transition has proven successful as Larkin has compiled an unblemished record of 2-0 since making his professional fighting debut in 2009. Larkin currently trains out of The Lions Den in Scottsdale, Arizona and is a close training partner of Bellator Season 2 Welterweight Tournament Champion Ben Askren.

“I have the same outlook on my approach to the fight game that Ben [Askren] does: I’m going to take you down and ground and pound you until someone can stop it,” said Larkin.

Larkin currently walks around at around 164 lbs and plans to make his Bellator debut in the lightweight division before transitioning to featherweight to compete in an upcoming Bellator World Featherweight Tournament.

“I’m really looking forward to testing myself with Bellator. It’s time to gauge myself and see where I’m at,” said Larkin.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

About Bellator Fighting Championships