Posts from — May 2008

Main Card:

Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson (235.5) vs. James Thompson (257)
Robbie Lawler (184.5) vs. Scott Smith (184.5)
Gina Carano (144.5)* vs. Kaitlin Young (140.5)
Phil Baroni (185) vs. Joey Villasenor (184.5)
Brett Rogers (263.5) vs. Jon Murphy (260.5)

Undercard Fights:

Chris Liguori (161) vs. Jim Bova (160.5)
Carlton Haselrig (263) vs. Carlos Moreno (261)
Nick Serra (167) vs. Matt Makowski (171)
Justin Robbins (140.5) vs. Wilson Reis (140.5)
James Jones (154.5) vs. Calvin Kattar (155.5)
Zach Makovsky (135) vs. Andres Soares (134)
Joe Sampieri (155) vs. Mike Groves (154)

* Carano missed the required 140-pound weight limit resulting in purse penalty.

The TapouT Crew returns to film another episode of their self-titled reality show on the Versus network at the World Championship Fighting (WCF) event in Wilmington, Mass. on June. 20th, where local Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star Mike Campbell will be the featured fighter for the episode which documents the TapouT Crew’s quest to search for the best up and coming MMA fighters in the Country. Campbell will face his toughest and most experienced opponent to date in fellow local MMA star Rich Moskowitz in what promises to be a fight full of fireworks.

The 25 year old Campbell is no stranger to competition, as he represented the United States as a power lifter at the Power Lifting World Championships before starting his MMA career at the age of 22. As a professional MMA fighter Campbell has built a solid 4-0 record with 3 KO’s, and already holds a local title belt for the 170 lb. (Welterweight) Division. The soft-spoken fighter has aspirations of taking his game to the next level and that quest continues June 20th, 2008 as he fights in front of his largest crowd to date. An expected crowd of more than 3,500 MMA fans will be in attendance watching Campbell, including the aforementioned TapouT crew. He realizes this is a big piece of the puzzle that is his dream to fight at the world’s highest level. Mask, Skyskrape, and Punkass (The TapouT Crew) will be seeing one of the areas up and coming stars. Campbell is very grateful for the opportunity that both the WCF and TapouT have given him. He only cares about one thing, being the best in the world. He doesn’t take his dreams lightly, which is evident in how hard he trains. In addition to training in Mixed Martial Arts full time, he is also a personal strength and conditioning coach. Campbell is a student of the game and works hard every day to get to the next level. He has a very simple plan to get to where he wants to be: destroy anyone that gets in the way of Mike Campbell. The dream continues June 20th, 2008 at Aleppo Shriner’s Auditorium in Wilmington, MA.

The TapouT Crew’s filming of the June 20th WCF show will mark the second WCF event in a row to be filmed for the television series. Footage from the WCF 2 event can be seen on the TapouT show’s season premiere in June on the Versus Television Network.

As a testament to the phenomenal growth of the sport of MMA, The TapouT Crew went from selling t-shirts out of their car in the parking lot at MMA shows in California 10 years ago to building their company into the largest apparel brand in the sport. The TapouT Company now grosses millions of dollars per year, has their own magazine publication, their own television reality show and sponsors many of the top fighters in the world including those in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The TapouT Crew’s reality show follows their efforts - and antics - as they chose the latest fighter to sponsor. Members of the TapouT crew were recently featured on a recent CNBC documentary focusing on the MMA industry. The June 20th WCF event takes place just 13 miles north of Boston off of I-93.

Catch the action live and watch TapouT fighter’s Mike Campbell, Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon and many other local MMA fighters Friday, June 20th, 2008 at the Aleppo Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington, Mass.

Sherdog.com is reporting that UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre arrived in Brazil on Tuesday to train with a cast of Gracie Barra black belts in preparation for his upcoming August 9 showdown with Jon Fitch.

“I came to train and improve my Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Gracie Barra,” St. Pierre said. “The black belts have a unquestionable level (of skill) and I am looking to get a better game for my fight.”

While the Canadian stays in Rio de Janeiro to sharpen his ground skills, he has also assumed a full training routine with Gustavo Machado and Aloisio Barros.

“They are two very good fighters and it is important to spar with them to get prepared,” Sherdog’s No. 1-ranked welterweight said.

St. Pierre isn’t limiting his training in Brazil to one style. He also boxed in Nobre Arte, rolled with Gracie Barra Combat Team members and had a wrestling clinic with Adrian Jaoude, the brother of Olympic wrestler and International Fight League veteran Antoine Jaoude.

According to the report, St. Pierre will leave Rio de Janeiro June 10. St. Pierre will meet Jon Fitch at UFC 87: Seek and Destory which is scheduled for August 9 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

Hat Tip: Fight Linker

Gary Whittaker at The Franchise Radio.NET has posted the full lineup for KOTC: The Moment of Truth which is slated for June 20, 2008 in Montreal.

KOTC: Moment of Truth
June 20, 2008
Montreal, Quebec

Tim Hague vs. Josh Strickland
Victor Valimaki vs. Chester Post
Dana Dickeson vs. Dan Fowler
Justin Primmer vs. Culler Miller
Brandon Curts vs. Ali Mokdad
Scott Wright vs. Jason Cecil
Chris Doucet vs. Carlos Masferrer
David Slater vs. Gregory Carpenter
John Macdessi vs. Phil St. Pierre
Mitch Kay vs. Daryle Pinter
Wade Shanley vs. Jeff Walsh
Tim Chessel vs. Chuck Mady

Picture courtesy of Xtreme Couture Canada

Hi everyone, just a reminder about the Xtreme Couture Toronto grand opening this weekend on Saturday, May 31st from 1pm-4pm. UFC heavyweight champion Randy “The Natural” Couture will be on hand. And on Sunday, Randy will be giving a seminar from 10am-12pm. Contact Sean Coady @ 416-503-1600 for pre-registration and information on how to reserve your ticket.

The gym boasts a who’s who of Canadian instructors:

• Mark Hominick
• Chris Horodecki
• Mark Bocek
• Rob Di Censo
• …and many more

This should be a fun event!

Former UFC lightweight champion Jens “Little Evil” Pulver recently sat down with Sam Caplan to discuss his upcoming title bout with Urijah Faber at WEC on June 1 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California.

Pulver, a product of Miletich Fighting Systems, possesses a decorated mixed martial arts record of 22-8-1 which includes fights in PRIDE, UFC, WEC, and IFL. Pulver, known for his powerful left hand and wrestling, holds victories over notable names such as Joe Stevenson, Caol Uno, B.J. Penn, Dennis Hallman, and Robert Emerson.

After dropping consecutive bouts to Joe Lauzon and B.J. Penn, Pulver made the cut to featherweight and was successful in his debut submitting the highly touted Cub Swanson 35 seconds. WEC: Faber vs. Pulver will air live on Versus beginning at 9 PM EST.

WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber and former UFC lightweight champion Jens “Lil’ Evil” Pulver discuss strategy for their upcoming battle at the WEC on June 1, 2008 live on Versus.

Phoenix Fight Promotions: Last Man Standing
June 21, 2008

T.J. Grant vs. Chad Reiner
Rowan Cunningham vs. Matt McGrath
Kevin Manderson vs. Steve Claveau
Iraj H Hadin vs. Richard Arsenault
Tristan Johnson vs. Tommy Pariseau
Ricky Goodall vs. Chris Currie
Remi Morvan vs. Jason Vauture
Steve Skinner vs. Maneka Weva

Shane Carwin def. Christian Wellisch - KO (Punch)
Dong Hyun Kim def. Jason Tan - KO (Elbows)
Yoshiyuki Yoshida def. Jon Koppenhaver - Submission (Anaconda Choke)
Rich Clementi def. Terry Etim - Unanimous Decision
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Kazuhiro Nakamura - TKO (Kick-Punch Combo)
Rousimar Palhares def. Ivan Salaverry - Submission (Armbar)
Thiago Silva def. Antonio Mendes - Submission (Strikes)
Lyoto Machida def. Tito Ortiz - Unanimous Decision
Goran Reljic def. Wilson Gouveia - TKO (Punches)
Wanderlei Silva def. Keith Jardine - KO (Punches)
B.J. Penn def. Sean Sherk - TKO (Knee, Punches)

Reminder; The Fight Network will be airing Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano today live at 3:30 PM EST.