Tag: The Lineup

Sylvester Stallone Announces Ronda Rousey to Join ‘Expendables 3’ Cast

UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will turn her attention to acting for at least a little while. She has apparently been cast in The Expendables 3 starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Mickey Rourke.
The move was first teased by Stallone …

UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will turn her attention to acting for at least a little while. She has apparently been cast in The Expendables 3 starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Mickey Rourke.

The move was first teased by Stallone on Twitter a week ago when he asked “who is the newest, maybe toughest female on the planet?” followed by a question asking “RR vs. GC?”.

The letters seemed to point to former Strikeforce contender Gina Carano and UFC champion Ronda Rousey. Stallone followed those messages up on Tuesday with confirmation that Rousey has joined the cast of the new film, along with boxing’s Victor Ortiz.

According to Deadline.com, production on The Expendables 3 will begin in mid-August with an August 15, 2014 release date for the new film.

The filming will go on for a few months, but Rousey‘s level of involvement is unknown at this time. In all likelihood, she will have a small part in the film given the timeline for filming versus her upcoming bout at UFC 168 on December 28 against former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate.

Rousey‘s name has been tossed around acting circles before when she was rumored just days after her title win at UFC 157 in February as a possible star for the third Hunger Games film that will begin production soon. Rousey and her agent shot down that rumor, but at the time her manager Darin Harvey didn’t deny the fact that his client had star potential and a move into films was a possibility.

“If a film opportunity comes along, we’re not going to say no if it’s the right opportunity. Every big producer in Hollywood has taken interest in Ronda,” Harvey told Bleacher Report in late February.

“Common sense will tell you you’re looking at a young, beautiful girl that’s headlining main events, that people are interested. Ronda has star power. Anyone in the film business can look at this and tell it’s a great opportunity not only for Ronda, but it’s a great opportunity for themselves.”

The first two Expendables films grossed over $575 million worldwide for Millennium Films. This also won’t be the first time an MMA fighter takes part in the action franchise—former UFC champion and Hall of Famer Randy Couture starred in both The Expendables and The Expendables 2.

Rousey and her management were unavailable for comment about the news at the time of publication when contacted by Bleacher Report. Rousey is represented by the William Morris Endeavor for any potential film roles.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Sylvester Stallone Announces Ronda Rousey to Join ‘Expendables 3’ Cast

UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will turn her attention to acting for at least a little while. She has apparently been cast in The Expendables 3 starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Mickey Rourke.
The move was first teased by Stallone …

UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will turn her attention to acting for at least a little while. She has apparently been cast in The Expendables 3 starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Mickey Rourke.

The move was first teased by Stallone on Twitter a week ago when he asked “who is the newest, maybe toughest female on the planet?” followed by a question asking “RR vs. GC?”.

The letters seemed to point to former Strikeforce contender Gina Carano and UFC champion Ronda Rousey. Stallone followed those messages up on Tuesday with confirmation that Rousey has joined the cast of the new film, along with boxing’s Victor Ortiz.

According to Deadline.com, production on The Expendables 3 will begin in mid-August with an August 15, 2014 release date for the new film.

The filming will go on for a few months, but Rousey‘s level of involvement is unknown at this time. In all likelihood, she will have a small part in the film given the timeline for filming versus her upcoming bout at UFC 168 on December 28 against former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate.

Rousey‘s name has been tossed around acting circles before when she was rumored just days after her title win at UFC 157 in February as a possible star for the third Hunger Games film that will begin production soon. Rousey and her agent shot down that rumor, but at the time her manager Darin Harvey didn’t deny the fact that his client had star potential and a move into films was a possibility.

“If a film opportunity comes along, we’re not going to say no if it’s the right opportunity. Every big producer in Hollywood has taken interest in Ronda,” Harvey told Bleacher Report in late February.

“Common sense will tell you you’re looking at a young, beautiful girl that’s headlining main events, that people are interested. Ronda has star power. Anyone in the film business can look at this and tell it’s a great opportunity not only for Ronda, but it’s a great opportunity for themselves.”

The first two Expendables films grossed over $575 million worldwide for Millennium Films. This also won’t be the first time an MMA fighter takes part in the action franchise—former UFC champion and Hall of Famer Randy Couture starred in both The Expendables and The Expendables 2.

Rousey and her management were unavailable for comment about the news at the time of publication when contacted by Bleacher Report. Rousey is represented by the William Morris Endeavor for any potential film roles.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Miesha Tate Hilariously Swats Advances of Popular College Basketball Team

If you think Miesha Tate is a villainess with MMA fans, you should see her approval ratings in the locker rooms over at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Yep, the group in question would be the very same FGCU Eagles “Dunk City” basketball squad that alley…

If you think Miesha Tate is a villainess with MMA fans, you should see her approval ratings in the locker rooms over at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Yep, the group in question would be the very same FGCU Eagles “Dunk City” basketball squad that alley-ooped to national popularity and a Sweet 16 berth in this year’s NCAA men’s tournament.

Fresh off of their huge ESPY win for the year’s biggest upset, the Eagles were apparently feeling their oats, or whatever excited eagles feel, when they encountered the UFC women’s bantamweight contender. Following an on-camera interview with YouTube channel ESNews (h/t MMAJunkie.com), Tate found herself squarely in the sights of what appears to be most, if not all, of the FGCU roster. Why don’t we take a look:

The best part is one player’s attempt to woo her by proclaiming—twice, just to be sure Tate and the boom mic operator picked it up—that he’d “love to take a piece of that.” Shellacked grin unwavering, Tate responded by saying he “wouldn’t remember it.” Because she suspected them to be intoxicated, you see. RE-jected.

Personally, there are two things I don’t understand about this. First, that a person would ever formulate the phrase “I would love to take a piece of that,” verbally or mentally. Second, that a person would say it while making direct eye contact with the object of said comment, as if he were reciting Yeats or the magic words to some kind of Internet-guaranteed Spanish Fly spell. 

Hey, maybe that line works just fine on the white-sand beaches of Dunk City. But it’s apparently a different ball game when you’re out in the real world and addressing a woman who not only fights people for money, but also has no earthly idea who you are.

Tate has garnered herself plenty of attention and fans across the fight community and beyond for a rock-solid fight career and her sharp-tongued rivalry with MMA golden girl Ronda Rousey. And also for being physically attractive.

No word on Bryan Caraway’s whereabouts during the incident.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Gina Carano to Star in Comic Book Based Movie ‘Avengelyne’

Kickboxer turned mixed martial artist turned actress Gina Carano has another movie deal lined up. After starring in the 2012 action flick Haywire and making a bit appearance in Fast & Furious 6, Carano will now be playing 1…

Kickboxer turned mixed martial artist turned actress Gina Carano has another movie deal lined up. After starring in the 2012 action flick Haywire and making a bit appearance in Fast & Furious 6, Carano will now be playing 1990s comic book relic Avengelyne, the namesake from the oft-resurrected series created by Rob Liefeld.

 

Carano is a name very familiar to fight fans. Incredibly attractive and owning legitimate striking skills, she was the unquestioned face of women’s MMA from 2006 through 2010. She pioneered new ground in the sport, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue, headlining the first ever major MMA card with women given top billing and establishing women as a viable draw in the sport.

 

She owned a 7-1 MMA record, her final fight being a harsh knockout loss to Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (now Cristiane Justino, after divorcing her husband, Evangelista Santos). Afterward, Carano more or less hung her gloves up and achieved moderate success as an actress, but is still best remembered for her setting the foundation for fighters like Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.

While Carano is, for the most part, remembered favorably by MMA fans, Avengelyne is widely panned by comic book aficionados. Created in 1995 by Rob Liefeld, an artist who is largely blackballed in the comic industry these days, Avengelyne is remembered as a generic story that served as a flimsy stage for a scantily-clad heroine.

A fallen angel banished to an Earth overrun by demons, Avengelyne is tasked by God to protect “The One,” who will fix all the world’s ills. However, she must do this while wearing essentially no clothing to obscure her disgusting, genuinely inhuman proportions.

The story will reportedly be retooled by Liefield and Carano, and the movie will be produced by Scott Karp and Brooklyn Weaver.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Urijah Faber and Phil Davis Host 1st MMA Draft Combine at Recent UFC Fan Expo

The UFC Fan Expo took place over the July 4 weekend in Las Vegas. One of the featured exhibitions of the 2013 version was the first MMA combine, hosted by Urijah Faber and Phil Davis.
The combine, the brainchild of MMADraft.com, hopes to find the next …

The UFC Fan Expo took place over the July 4 weekend in Las Vegas. One of the featured exhibitions of the 2013 version was the first MMA combine, hosted by Urijah Faber and Phil Davis.

The combine, the brainchild of MMADraft.com, hopes to find the next MMA superstars. The amateur fighters who participated in the event were run through a series of MMA skill tests that allowed the cream of the crop to showcase their talents.

The hope of Faber and Davis is that the combine will allow fans of MMA to become aware of what up-and-coming fighters they need to keep an eye on as those fighters move through the ranks.

Bleacher Report was on hand to talk to Faber and Davis, as well as other UFC fighters and participants at the combine.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Phil Davis Watching His ‘Karate Kid’ Collection to Get Ready for Lyoto Machida

Phil Davis has a chance at UFC 163 to pick up the biggest win of his career when he faces former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.
In this exclusive interview, Davis breaks down how so many past fighters have made mistakes fighting Machida beca…

Phil Davis has a chance at UFC 163 to pick up the biggest win of his career when he faces former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

In this exclusive interview, Davis breaks down how so many past fighters have made mistakes fighting Machida because they try to outdo him at his own game.

Davis has no plans of jumping in and trying to go strike-for-strike with Machida in what he does well.  Instead, Davis wants to brush up on what he’s great at so Machida is guessing and trying to predict what comes next.

Just to make sure that Davis is ready for Machida‘s unique striking style, he’s pulled out some essential training DVDs that he believes will come in very useful for his upcoming bout at UFC 163.

“I’ve been watching The Karate Kid movies just in case,” Davis joked. “You never know. If I hear ‘sweep the leg,’ I don’t know, you’ve got to be ready.”

Machida has been known to pull off some pretty amazing moves during his fights, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a crane kick could be unleashed at Davis when they meet in Brazil.

Check out this interview with Davis as he gets ready for his trip to Brazil to take on Machida in the co-main event of UFC 163.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com