UFC FIGHT PASS® IS “POWERED BY BAS” DURING OCTOBER

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Las Vegas – UFC FIGHT PASS® will be “Powered By Bas” throughout October, with UFC® Hall of Famer Bas Rutten previewing an upcoming fight and sharing some of his favorite memories from his storied career. Presenting an all new Face/Off collection, Rutten will give his expert analysis on the much-anticipated fight between lightweight contenders Dustin Poirier and Joe Duffy, as well as list his favorite eight fights of his legendary career on My Favorite 8.

Just in time for Pancrase 271, which will be streamed live on UFC FIGHT PASS on October 31, A Brief History of Pancrase will be narrated by Rutten, a three-time King of Pancrase champion, as he gives an insider’s look into the legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) organization from Japan.

Watch Rutten preview upcoming programs exclusive to UFC FIGHT PASS during the month of October.

“Bas Rutten’s legendary career has made him one of the most trusted analysts in mixed martial arts and his insight will give fans a unique perspective into the upcoming fight between Dustin Poirier and Joe Duffy, his storied career and the history of Pancrase,” Eric Winter, Senior Vice President and General Manager of UFC FIGHT PASS, said. “After a successful September that was ‘Powered By Ronda,’ October will be another exciting month as we close out the year.”

To continue UFC FIGHT PASS’ momentum leading into the end of 2015, November will be “Powered By Miesha,” featuring exclusive content curated by bantamweight contender Miesha Tate. To close out the year, the second annual “Dana White Christmas” will recap all of the UFC President’s favorite moments inside the Octagon.

Exclusive October programming “Powered By Bas” includes:

Face/Off: Poirier vs. Duffy (premieres October 13)

Rutten previews the upcoming lightweight showdown between contenders Dustin Poirier and Joe Duffy at UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: POIRIER vs. DUFFY in Dublin, Ireland. Duffy has been very impressive since his UFC debut earlier this year, but Poirier is vastly experienced with 13 UFC fights dating back to 2011. It is a tough fight to call, so Rutten examines the protagonists’ recent fights to see how they will face off.

My Ultimate 8: Bas Rutten (premieres October 27)

Rutten introduces his favorite eight victories from his Hall of Famer career. Going back to his greatest moments in the Pancrase promotion, Rutten provides insight into his bitter grudge matches, fighting his friends, battling through injuries and taking on the very mentor who first introduced him to MMA.

A Brief History of Pancrase, with Bas Rutten (premieres late October)

Rutten– a three-time King of Pancrase champion– gives us an insider’s look into the history of Pancrase, the legendary Japanese MMA organization that actually pre-dates UFC.

For the full UFC FIGHT PASS calendar, click here.

About UFC®

UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 158 countries and territories to over 1 billion TV households worldwide in 21 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service that is available throughout the world with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.




EMMANUEL SANCHEZ STEPS UP ON SHORT NOTICE AFTER KNEE INJURY FORCES PAT CURRAN OUT OF BOUT WITH JUSTIN LAWRENCE

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (October 13, 2015) – A knee injury sustained during training camp has forced former featherweight champion Pat Curran to withdraw from his bout at “Bellator 145: Vengeance” against Justin “The American Kid” Lawrence (8-2) in Saint Louis on November 6. As a result, Emmanuel “El Matador” Sanchez (11-2) has agreed to fill-in on short notice, providing fans with an amazing matchup between two of the divisions most exciting up-and-coming prospects.

The contest will take place during the main card of “Bellator 145: ‘Vengeance,” which airs live on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts will stream on Spike.com at 7 p.m. ET.

Top billing at the November 6 event features two world title bouts. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (24-2) defends his featherweight strap against Daniel Straus (23-6) and Will “Ill Will” Brooks (16-1) meets submission specialist Marcin Held (21-3), with the 155-pound belt on the line. “Bellator 145: Vengeance” on Spike will also feature Michael Chandler (13-3) fighting David Rickels (16-3, 1 NC) and heavyweight Bobby “The Dominator” Lashley (13-2) will look to avenge a previous loss on his record when he finally meets James Thompson (20-14) in a rematch.

Tickets for “Bellator 145: ‘Vengeance,” which start at just $30, are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com and at the Ford Box Office at Scottrade Center. Doors for the event open at 5:00 p.m. CT local time, and the first contest takes place one hour after.

When he made his promotional debut during the preliminary card of the record-breaking “Bellator 138: Unfinished Business” event, Lawrence’s finish of Sean Wilson was so impressive, it made its way to the Spike telecast. “The American Kid” is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor who went on to win the Resurrection Fighting Alliance title before signing with the Scott Coker-led promotion in early 2015. The Power MMA product has won four straight tilts and finished the last two within the first five minutes of action.

With an impressive record of 3-1 under the Bellator MMA banner, Sanchez looks to further his totals after recently competing September 25 at “Bellator 143: Warren vs. Davis,” when he defeated former King of the Cage champion Henry Corrales. Training with the acclaimed Roufusport camp in Wisconsin, “El Matador” is no stranger to taking fights on short notice. He replaced Goiti Yamauchi on less than a month’s notice at “Bellator 139: Kongo vs. Volkov” to take on Curran, the man he replaces now.

“Bellator 145: Vengeance” Updated Fight Card
Main Card:
Bellator Featherweight World Title Bout: Patricio Freire (24-2) vs. Daniel Straus (23-6)
Bellator Lightweight World Title Bout: Will Brooks (16-1) vs. Marcin Held (21-3)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: Emmanuel Sanchez (11-2) vs. Justin Lawrence (7-2)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Michael Chandler (13-3) vs. Dave Rickels (16-3)
Bellator Heavyweight Feature Bout: Bobby Lashley (13-2) vs. James Thompson (20-14)

Preliminary Card:
Bellator Heavyweight Feature Bout: Alex Huddleston (6-1) vs. Augusto Sakai (8-0)
Bellator Welterweight Feature Bout: Adam Cella (6-4) vs. Chel Erwin-Davis (2-1)
Bellator Welterweight Feature Bout: Garrett Gross (6-4) vs. Luke Nelson (2-1)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Steve Mann (11-2) vs. Hugh Pulley (5-2)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: Chris Heatherly (9-3) vs. Vince Eazelle (9-2)
Bellator Welterweight Feature Bout: Kevin Engel (4-0) vs. Kyle Kurtz (4-1)
Bellator Heavyweight Feature Bout: Kain Royer (1-2) vs. Clay Mitchell (1-0)
Bellator Middleweight Feature Bout: Adam Meredith (3-1) vs. Jordan Dowdy (2-0)
Bellator Bantamweight Feature Bout: Garrett Mueller (2-0) vs. Scott Ettling (3-0
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Brandon Lowe (debut) vs. Rashard Lovelace (1-0)

About Bellator MMA:
Bellator MMA is a leading Mixed Martial Arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator is available to nearly 500 million homes worldwide in over 140 countries. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike, the MMA television leader. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Santa Monica, California and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.
About Spike:
Spike is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.
About Scottrade Center:
Scottrade Center is a contemporary, 12-story glass and concrete structure located in the heart of downtown St. Louis. The home of the St. Louis Blues Hockey Club, Scottrade Center also features a full range of arena programming, including concerts, ice shows, family shows and other sporting events.




UFC® CAPS OFF EPIC YEAR WITH A LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE BOUT AS RAFAEL DOS ANJOS COLLIDES WITH DONALD ‘COWBOY’ CERRONE

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Las Vegas – It’ll be lights out in the Sunshine State when UFC® returns to Amway Center with a lightweight title bout as newly crowned champion Rafael Dos Anjos looks to defend his title for the first time when he meets No. 2 contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in a highly-anticipated rematch on Saturday, Dec. 19. In the co-main event, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos clashes with former STRIKEFORCE® champion Alistair Overeem in a bout that could have major title implications in the wide open division. UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: DOS ANJOS vs. COWBOY 2 will be the second consecutive championship bout to air nationally on FOX and eighth overall.

After putting on one of the best performances of his career against Anthony Pettis at UFC 185, Dos Anjos (24-7, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) captured the 155-pound title, becoming the first Brazilian to hold the UFC lightweight championship. In addition to his impressive wins over former champion Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz, Dos Anjos also handed Cerrone his last loss back in 2013. The Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt will put his title on the line when he and his former foe meet again.

Since dropping a decision loss to the champion, Cowboy (28-6, 1NC, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) went on to dismantle the lightweight division by picking off top contenders in one of the most talent-rich divisions in the sport. Undefeated in his last eight appearances, Cerrone has wins over the likes of Henderson, Eddie Alvarez, Myles Jury, Edson Barboza and Jim Miller. A Muay Thai expert who holds 15 wins by submission and five by knockout, Cowboy has proven he has the heart of a champion and is now looking for the belt to solidify his place atop of the division.

To set the stage, former UFC heavyweight champion Dos Santos (17-3, fighting out of Salvador, Bahai, Brazil) makes his long-awaited return against Overeem (39-14, 1NC, fighting out of Amsterdam, Netherlands), the former STRIKEFORCE heavyweight champion who owns 18 wins by knockout.

Plus, UFC FIGHT NIGHT showcases local talent as Orlando’s own Josh Samman will have home field advantage when he meets Tamdan McCroy in a middleweight bout. Coconut Creek’s powerhouse gym, American Top Team, will be represented by 10th-ranked featherweight Nik Lentz, welterweight Hayder Hassan and featherweights Cole Miller and Jim Alers, while Boca Raton’s Michael Johnson, Kamaru Usman and Vicente Luque compete under the Blackzilians banner.

For a full list of bouts and the latest news, please check ufc.com.

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: DOS ANJOS vs. COWBOY 2 go on sale Friday, October 16 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $250, $175, $125, $90, $75 and $50 (prices do not include applicable service charges and handling fees). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available at amwaycenter.com, and Chase Box Office at Amway Center. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, October 14 at 10 a.m. ET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, October 15 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: DOS ANJOS vs. COWBOY 2 will air live on FOX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Saturday, December 19, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FS1 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®

UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FS1 and FS2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.




Weekly Fight Network boxing programming schedule (Oct. 12-18, 2015)

Fight Network is a 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports. It airs programs focused on the entire scope of the combat sports genre, including live fights and up-to-the-minute news and analysis for boxing, mixed martial arts, kickboxing, professional wrestling, traditional martial arts, fight news, as well as fight-themed drama series, documentaries and feature films.

Below find highlights of this week’s programming:

Monday, Oct. 12
7:30 p.m. ET – Fight New Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET – Diaz vs. Sanchez – Featuring Joel Diaz vs. Guillermo Sanchez from Aug. 28, 2012 in Atlantic City, NJ.

Tuesday, Oct. 13
4:00 p.m. – KOTV Boxing Classics – Reliving memorable boxing fights from the past two decades.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

Wednesday, Oct. 14
4:00 a.m. & 10:00 p.m. ET – KOTV Boxing Classics – Reliving memorable boxing fights from the past two decades.
7:30 p.m. ET — Fight New Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

Thursday, Oct. 15
1 a.m. ET – KOTV Boxing Weekly – Covering all the latest news in professional boxing, featuring full recent fights and highlights from the sweet science.
9:00 a.m. ET – KOTV Boxing Classics – Reliving memorable boxing fights from the past two decades.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight New Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

Friday, Oct. 16
12 p.m. ET – KOTV Boxing Weekly – Covering all the latest news in professional boxing, featuring full recent fights and highlights from the sweet science.
7:30 p.m. ET — Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

Saturday, Oct. 17
8:00 p.m. ET – Fight New Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

Sunday, Oct. 11
2:30 a.m. ET — KOTV Boxing Weekly – Covering all the latest news in professional boxing, featuring full recent fights and highlights from the sweet science.
7:00 p.m. – KOTV Boxing Classics – Reliving memorable boxing fights from the past two decades.
8:00 p.m. ET – Ultimate Classic Boxing: DeMarco vs. Lane – Featuring Kenny Lane vs. Paddy DeMarco from Oct. 3, 1955 St. Nicholas Arena in New York..

Information:

www.FightNetwork.com

Twitter & Instagram @fightnet

www.Facebook.com/FightNetwork




Weekly Fight Network MMA programming schedule (Oct. 12-18, 2015)

Fight Network is a 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports. It airs programs focused on the entire scope of the combat sports genre, including live fights and up-to-the-minute news and analysis for mixed martial arts, kickboxing, professional wrestling, traditional martial arts, boxing, fight news, as well as fight-themed drama series, documentaries and feature films.

Below find highlights of this week’s programming:

Monday, Oct. 12
6:30 p.m. ET – Judo Tashkent Grand Prix – Highlights from the 2014 Judo Tashkent Grand Prix from Oct. 16-18, 20-14 in Uzbekistan.
7:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Fight Network’s John Ramdeen and Robin Black invite special guests to breakdown the weekend of MMA action.
7:30 p.m. ET & 11:30 p.m. ET- Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

Tuesday, Oct. 13
1:30 a.m. ET – XPTV – Coverage of regional U.S. professional and amateur MMA events.
5:00 & 5:30 ET – Xtreme Fighting Championship – Florida-based pro MMA featuring top American prospects, international stars and UFC veterans.
6:00 p.m. & 10 p.m. ET — – 5 Rounds Today – Video podcast with John Ramdeen and Robin Black breaking down a wide variety of topics in the MMA world, including previews of upcoming events and all the latest rumors and headlines.
8:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Fight Network’s John Ramadeen and Robin Black invite special guests to breakdown the weekend of MMA action.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET — Fighting Spirit MMA Season 4 – Compilation of international fights from SFL, Legend, FFC, M-1 and others.
11:00 p.m. ET – Battlegrounds MMA: O.N.E. – Featuring a one-night, single-elimination MMA tournament from Tulsa, OK, showcasing Roan Carneiro, Brock Larson, Cody McKenzie, Trey Houston, Jesse Taylor and others.

Wednesday, Oct. 14
5:00 p.m. ET – Texas Fight Night – MMA action from Texas featuring the Lone Star State’s top prospects in the cage.
6:00 p.m. ET – Best of Cage Rage – Featuring classic fights from the UK-based Cage Rage organization with Anderson Silva, Antonio Silva, Victor Belfort, Paul Daley and others.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and feature.
7:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
8:00 p.m. ET – Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 57 – Featuring Paul Daley vs. Lukasz Chlewicki and Ronnie Mann vs. Jose Luis Zapater from July n20, 2013 in Liverpool, UK.
11:00 p.m. ET – MMA Meltdown with Gabriel Morency – Gabriel Morency breaks down all the happenings in MMA, discussing odds, predictions, plus special weekly guests and exclusive interviews.

Thursday, Oct. 15
2:00 a.m. ET & 1:00 p.m. ET – Ultimate Challenge MMA 29: Vassell vs. Chapman – Featuring Linton Vassell vs. Nick Chapman from Aug. 18, 2012 in London.
5:30 p.m. ET – TakeDown Wrestling – Eztensive coverage of amateur wrestling events, including the latest news, behind-the-scenes coverage from events and exclusive interviews.
6:00 p.m. ET – Championship Fighting Alliance – Pro MMA from Florida featuring the likes of Josh Sampo, Mike Kyle, John Howard, Sean McCorkie, Luis Palomino and others.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fighting Rookies – Aspiring kickboxers climb the ladder of success as rookies compete for a chance to become pros and get experience needed to succeed at a higher level.
8:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and feature.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge 62 – Featuring M-1 Challenge featherweight champion Ivan Buchinger vs. Mansour Barnaoui from Oct. 10, 2015 in Sochia, Russia.

Friday, Oct. 16
12:00 a.m. ET & 11 a.m. ET- It’s Showtime Special – The world’s premier kickboxing organization featuring Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef and Giorgio Petrosyan.
4:00 a.m. ET – Best of Deep – Featuring classic fights from the historic DEEP promotion including Shinua Aoki, Hayato Sakuri and Gegard Mousasi.
5:00 a.m. ET – Best of Jewels – Classic fights from the all-female Japanese MMA league Jewels.
6:00 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge – Pro MMA from Europe featuring top rising prospects and international stars.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.
7:30 p.m. ET — Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
8:00 p.m. ET – Toe 2 Toe with Elias Theodorou – Sit-down interview with “The Ultimate Fighter Nations” winner Elias Theodorou.
11:00 p.m. ET – KSW 21: Khalidov vs. Grove – Featuring Mamed Khalidov vs. Kendall Groves and Michal Materia vs. Rodney Wallace from Dec. 1, 2012 in Warsaw, Poland.

Saturday, Oct. 17
6:00 a.m. ET – Best of TKO – Featuring Jeremy Horn vs. David Loiseau from TKO 15.
7:00 a.m. ET – Best of Gladiator Challenge – Featuring Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Kenneth Williams from Gladiator Challenge 4.
4:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.
8:30 p.m. ET — (CANADA + INTERNATIONAL ONLY) – World Series of Fighting 24: Fitch vs. Okami – LIVE featuring Jon Fitch vs. Yushin Okami, Vinny Magalhaes vs. Matt Hamill, plus Blagoi Ivanov defending the WSOF heavyweight title against Derrick Mehmen from Connecticut.

Sunday, Oct. 18
6:00 a.m. ET – Pancrase Classics – Classic pioneering MMA battles featuring Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Name Marquardt, Chael Sonnen and others.
11:00 a.m. ET – Best of ADCC- Features compilations of the greatest grappling matches ever held, featuring Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Eddie Bravo, Fabricio Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Ronaldo Souza and Royler Gracie.
12:00 p.m. ETB – Elite Muay Thai: Thailand vs. Challenger – The biggest Muay Thai series in the world featuring premium international stand-up fighters taking on the renowned Thailand National Team.
5:30 p.m. ET – Judo Qingdao Grand Priz – Highlights from the 2014 Judo Qingdao Grand Prix from Nov. 19-21, 2014 in China.

Information:

www.FightNetwork.com

Twitter & Instagram @fightnet

www.Facebook.com/FightNetwork




ONE CHAMPIONSHIP™ ANNOUNCES NEW BOUTS FOR ONE: PRIDE OF LIONS BEN ASKREN TO FACE LUIS SANTOS IN MAIN EVENT

12 October 2015 – Singapore: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), makes its return to Singapore in spectacular fashion with another blockbuster card, stacked with world-class mixed martial arts action. ONE Championship, together with partners, G-Shock, Alienware, LG, Berocca, Everlast, Canon, NagaWorld and 2XU proudly brings to fight fans all across the globe, ONE: PRIDE OF LIONS which will take place on 13 November at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The card will feature the highly-anticipated battle between ONE Welterweight World Champion, Ben Askren, and the challenger, Luis Santos. Along with this exciting main event comes a series of compelling new bouts.

CEO of ONE Championship™, Victor Cui, stated, “Finally, ONE Championship is back home in Singapore with another exciting night of world-class MMA. Aside from the highly anticipated rematch between Ben Askren and Luis Santos, we have also prepared a few surprises for fight fans in the Lion City. Get ready for another amazing night of fights as ONE Championship broadcasts ONE: PRIDE OF LIONS live to fans all across the globe!”

Tickets for ONE: PRIDE OF LIONS are available at S$749 for Cat 1, S$158 for Cat 2, S$58 for Cat 3, S$38 for Cat 4 and S$38 for Cat 5. Log on to http://www.sportshub.com.sg/sportshubtix/Pages/one-pride-of-lions.aspx for more information.

Former NCAA Division I All-American, Ben Askren is a collegiate wrestling legend and one of the finest mixed martial artists in the world today. In just a few fights in ONE, Askren was able to seize the ONE Welterweight World Championship with a resounding technical knockout victory over Nobutatsu Suzuki. The highly-skilled Askren is widely considered to be the absolute best in his division and one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound. His next challenge is a tough one, as he once again meets Luis Santos.

Luis “Sapo” Santos is a mixed martial arts veteran from Brazil with over 70 professional fights on his record and over half of his wins ending by knockout. With a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a penchant for spectacular finishes, Santos made his successful ONE debut with an emphatic knockout of Bakhtiyar Abbasov. Known for his aggressiveness and brute strength, Santos looks to wreak havoc inside the ONE Cage.

Singapore-based American fighter Major Overall is looking to impress crowds with his exciting, all-action style inside the ONE Cage. Overall has a highlight reel of stoppages in nearly all his victories as a mixed martial artist and has built a reputation as one of the most dangerous fighters in the division. He is now ready for his next challenge, against another explosive fighter in Kotetsu Boku.

Kotetsu “No Face” Boku, although originally from South Korea, is a Japanese MMA legend and is the former ONE Lightweight World Champion. With more than 30 professional fights on his resume, Boku has the experience of a seasoned veteran and has seen it all inside the cage. He gets to showcase his dynamite fists once again inside the ONE Cage as he takes on Major Overall.

Angela “Unstoppable” Lee is originally from Singapore but has lived and trained mixed martial arts in Waipahu, Hawaii. She is one of the most promising young fighters on ONE Championship’s growing roster and has impressed inside the ONE cage with her all-around striking and grappling skills. Lee, who is a member of the EVOLVE fight team, just wrapped up another impressive performance in Jakarta and is looking at a quick turnaround as she faces Natalie Gonzales Hills.

Natalie Gonzales Hills of Australia is a worthy female strawweight contender with a solid record. Her two wins inside the cage have both come by submission, with her ground game proving to be an asset. Aside from grappling, Hills also boasts very capable striking technique as she joins ONE Championship’s growing female roster. Hills is tasked to give Angela Lee another stern test in her ONE Championship debut.

Amir Khan is a promising young talent in ONE Championship’s stacked featherweight division. His battle with Shannon Wiratchai last May was epic and memorable, as he showcased his unfailing heart and tenacity. More importantly, the adversity has given Khan the much needed experience required to hit second gear in a career that is ready to skyrocket. Khan returns to face Jimmy Yabo next.

Jimmy Yabo of the Philippines is a solid featherweight contender with a 4-1 record. All four of his victories have come by knockout and he looks to continue the trend when he arrives in Singapore to face young prospect, Amir Khan.

Fans can check local TV listings for the live global broadcast. Also available on PPV at ONEPPV.com.

For more updates on ONE Championship™, please visit www.onefc.com and follow Twitter and Instagram @ONEFCMMA and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEFCMMA

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship™ has partnered with FOX and STAR Sports for an unprecedented 10-year cable television deal with a coverage that spans 70+ countries across the world.




Buchinger retains M-1 Challenge featherweight title Decisions Barnaoui

SOCHI, Russia (October 11, 2015) – M-1 Challenge featherweight champion Ivan “Buki” Buchinger successfully defended his title last night with a hard fought five-round unanimous decision over Mansour “Tarzan” Barnaoui in the M-1 Challenge 62
main event at The Ice Cube Curling Center in Sochi, Russia.

Buchinger (30-4-0, 7 KO/TKO, 16 SUB), fighting out of Slovakia, improved his M-1 Global record to a perfect 5-0 with his second title defense victory. He originally captured his title belt a year ago, stopping Tural Ragimov in the fourth round at M-1 Challenge 52.

Barnaoui (12-3-0, 4 KO/TKO, 7 SUB), of Paris, relinguished his M-1 Challenge lightweight title belt he won this past May in his M-1 Global debut, when he knocked out Maxim Divnich via punches at M-1 Challenge 57.

Former M-1 Challenge middleweight champion Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (27-3-0, 11 KO/TKO, 7 SUB), of Russia, used a rear naked choke for a win by second-round submission against Croatian opponent Kristijan “Pacman” Perak (8-2-1, 3 KO/TKO, 2 SUB).

Russian featherweight Kurbanali Abdusalamov (6-2-0, 1 KO/TKO, 3 SUB) won a decision over American invader Lee “American Bulldog” Morrison (14-6-0, 4 KO/TKO, 4 SUB), while red-hot Russian light heavyweight prospect Adam “The Beard” Yandiev (9-0-0, 3 KO/TKO, 6 SUB) defeated Demitry Voitov (10-5-0, 4 KO/TKO, 4 SUB) by way of an opening-round neck crank.

Rounding out the main card, Russian welterweight Alexey Kunchenko (10-0-0, 8 KO/TKO, 2 SUB) continued on his roll, punching out Brazilian Alexandre “Sangue” Ramos (9-3-0 (1 KO/TKO, 7 SUB) in the first round.

Fighting on the preliminary card, Spainard Enoc Solves Torres (17-9-0) won by armbar in the opening round versus Georgian middleweight Nodar Kudukjasvili (10-2-0), Ukrainian featherweight Andrey “Iron” Leshnev (8-4-0) won a three-round decision over Russian favorite Nikita “Piranha” Chistyakov (4-2-1), and Russian Delgat Kudbudinov (3-0-0) submitted Italian Georgia Belsanti (4-5-0) by way of a neck crank.

Also fighting on the preliminary card, Ukrainian lightweight Sergey Astapov (6-4-0) locked a rear naked choke on Russian Nikolay Kaushansky (6-3-0) for a third-round win by submission. Ukrainian light heavyweight Boris Polezhay (9-5-0) opened the night with a first-round submission victory via an arm-bar over previously unbeaten Russian Alexey Shopin (3-1-0).

Complete results below:

MAIN CARD

M-1 CHALLENGE FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Ivan Buchinger (30-4-0), Slovakia
WDEC5
Mansour Barnaoui (12-3-0), Challenger, France
(Buchinger retained M-1 Challenge featherweight title)

MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (27-3-0), Russia
WSUB2 (Rear Naked Choke – 1:02)
Kristijan Perak (8-2-0), Croatia2

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Adam Yandiev (9-0-0), Russia
WSUB1 (Neck Crank – 4:34)
Dmitry Voitov (10-5-0), Belarus

WELTERWEIGHTS
Alexey Kunchenko (10-0-0), Russia
WKO/TKO1 (Punches – 4:32)
Alexandre Ramos (9-3-0), Brazil

FEATHERWEIGHTS
Kurbanali Abdusalamov (6-2-0), Russia
WDEC3
Lee Morrison (14-6-0), USA

PRELIMINARY CARD

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Boris Polezhay (9-5-0), Ukraine
WSUB1 (Armbar – 4:39)
Alexey Shopin (3-1-0), Russia

MIDDLEWEIGHTS
Enoc Solves Torres (17-9-0), Spain
WSUB1 (Armbar – 1:54)
Nodar Kudukjasvali (10-2-0), George

LIGHTWEIGHTS
Sergey Astapov (5-4-0), Ukraine
WSUB3 (Rear Naked Choke – 3:26)
Nikolay Kaushansky (6-2-0), Russia

FEATHERWEIGHTS
Andrey Leshnev (8-4-0), Ukraine
WDEC3
Nikita Chistyakov (4-2-1), Russia

Giorgio Belsanti (5-4-0), Italy
WSUB1 (Neck Crank – 3:25
Delgat Kudbudinov (2-1-0), Russia

Information

www.M1Global.tv
www.mixfight.ru
www.wmmaa.org

Twitter & Instagram:

@M1GlobalNews
@VFinkelchtein
@M1Global

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/pages/M-1-GlobalNews
ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premier entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With its office in St Petersburg, Russia, the M-1 brand has staged more than 160 events worldwide, including M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the U.S. network, Showtime. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2015 promises to be another sensational year of world-class competition with a full calendar of Challenge events fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global Champions among the greatest fighters in the sport.

ABOUT M-1GLOBAL.TV: Enjoy MMA action now in high definition brought to you by M-1Global.tv, offering only the best fights from M-1 Global and other MMA organizations. M-1Global.tv is a great platform developed specifically to bring together the most exhaustive fight video database. It also provides an easy and intuitive interface, helping everyone to start using the platform in no time while avoiding any spoilers. Besides watching the past fights on demand at any time convenient to the customer, viewers are able to enjoy the action LIVE, all available to M-1Global.tv users through a low-priced month to month digital subscription. Your world of action. Anytime!

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VITALY BIGDASH IS CROWNED NEW ONE MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION PLUS: ADRIAN PANG DEFEATS PETER DAVIS BY SPECTACULAR KNOCKOUT EV TING EMERGED VICTORIOUS BY SUBMITTING HONORIO BANARIO ALSO: IRINA MAZEPA SHOCKS ANN OSMAN

9 October 2015 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), in partnership with Tune Talk, delivered yet another evening of world-class mixed martial arts action. The world’s most exciting MMA organization rocked Stadium Putra with 11 electrifying bouts at ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA. In the main event, Vitaly Bigdash shocked former champion Igor Svirid to nab the middleweight title.

Visit the official ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA photo gallery by clicking: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ivh34n9pza3q94o/AADwuMwRg-gnDecd5AIBoQyTa?dl=0.

In an intense main event showdown of elite middleweights, Russia’s Vitaly Bigdash weathered an early storm from former champion Igor Svirid of Kazakhstan to win via referee stoppage. Svirid stormed the gates at the opening bell, rocking Bigdash with huge bombs which staggered the Russian on numerous occasions. Bigdash however survived the onslaught and finished off Svirid a few minutes into the second round with a knee and a punch combination, followed by hammer fists on the ground.

“I know he is a very good fighter, a strong fighter, but I just wanted to go with the flow,” said Bigdash. With the victory, Bigdash is crowned the new ONE Middleweight World Champion.

In the Malaysia Super Fights, Ev Ting took home a victory for Malaysia while both Ann Osman and Peter Davis fell short in their respective bouts.

Irina Mazepa surprised the partisan Malaysian crowd with an upset win over Malaysia’s fighting belle, Ann “Athena” Osman. Osman looked to employ her usual grinding style to contain Mazepa, a former kickboxing champion. However, Mazepa prepared well for Osman’s ground game and quickly worked her way back up to the feet. In the stand-up, Mazepa flashed her solid striking skills, dropping Osman with a left hook followed by hammer fists from the top.

Ev Ting had little trouble taking care of Team Lakay’s Honorio Banario, finishing the Filipino via Guillotine Choke just moments into the first round. Banario opted to shoot for takedowns instead of relying on his Wushu base which proved to be his downfall. Ting capitalized on a missed shot by Banario and sunk in a deep choke to force the tap.

Adrian Pang made quick work of Peter Davis in a sizzling lightweight contest. Pang patiently stood his ground against Davis who circled him just outside of range. Once Davis attempted to close the gap however, Pang’s power shots took over as he dropped Davis with a punch. Pang then finished his opponent off with follow-up strikes from the top.

Featherweight standout Eric “The Natural” Kelly of the Philippines returned to the ONE Cage victoriously with a unanimous decision over Hiroshige Tanaka of Japan. Kelly, known for his technical submission game, showcased ferocious striking skills, battering Tanaka from end to end. Tanaka used his world-class wrestling to control Kelly, but the Filipino did more damage which earned the judges’ nod.

Riku Shibuya of Japan dominated Filipino Eugene Toquero from start to finish to win by unanimous decision. The two were expected to delight the crowd with a highly-anticipated striking battle, but Shibuya overwhelmed Toquero on the mat with his wrestling and devastating ground and pound. Toquero had difficulty shaking off Shibuya, who controlled the fight the entire way.

Korea’s Dae Hwan Kim made a successful return to the ONE Cage with a submission finish over China’s Teng Li Ge. In the first round, Teng kept Kim at bay with his long reach and solid stand-up game. Teng was also able to fend off a late submission attempt by Kim. In the second round, Kim found a way to get inside of Teng’s reach, locking in a one-armed Rear Naked Choke to force Teng to tap.

In a fantastic flyweight bout, Malaysian MMA hero Gianni Subba showed impressive takedown defense in a unanimous decision victory against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Almiro Barros. Subba staved off constant attempts for takedowns by Barros. On the feet, Subba took the slight edge by landing cleaner, stronger blows.

Former Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (MIMMA) featherweight champion Keanu Subba overcame a determined Florian Garel to claim victory by referee stoppage due to strikes with only a few seconds left to go in the first round of Subba’s ONE Championship debut.

In the second bout of the night, two Malaysian stars battled inside the ONE Cage. In the second round it was Saiful Merican who emerged victorious with a technical knockout victory over countryman Melvin Yeoh.

Agilan “Alligator” Thani of Malaysia kicked off ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA in spectacular fashion with a first round submission victory over Hisham Hiba, forcing the Egyptian to tap just a few minutes into the bout.

Official results for ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA
ONE Middleweight World Championship bout: Vitaly Bigdash defeats Igor Svirid by TKO (Strikes) at 0:36 minutes of round 2
Female flyweight bout: Irina Mazepa defeats Ann Osman by TKO (Strikes) at 3:05 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Ev Ting defeats Honorio Banario by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:56 minutes of round 1
Lightweight bout: Adrian Pang defeats Peter Davis by TKO (Strike) at 0:48 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Eric Kelly defeats Hiroshige Tanaka by Unanimous Decision
Flyweight bout: Riku Shibuya defeats Eugene Toquero by Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight bout: Dae Hwan Kim defeats Teng Li Ge by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:08 minutes of round 2
Flyweight bout: Gianni Subba defeats Almiro Barros by Unanimous Decision
Featherweight bout: Keanu Subba defeats Florian Garel by TKO (Strikes) at 4:51 minutes of round 1
Bantamweight bout: Saiful Merican defeats Melvin Yeoh by TKO (Strikes) at 1:10 minutes of round 2
Welterweight bout: Agilan Thani defeats Hisham Hiba by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:05 minutes of round 1

In case you missed the action log on to www.onefc.com/livestream for the full replay of the fights at only US $9.99.

For more updates on ONE Championship™, please visit www.onefc.com and follow Twitter and Instagram @ONEFCMMA and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEFCMMA

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship™ has partnered with FOX and STAR Sports for an unprecedented 10-year cable television deal with a coverage that spans 70+ countries across the world.




Fight Network LIVE this Weekend – ONE: Tigers of Asia, RFA 31, M-1 Challenge 62 & Enfusion 32

Toronto | New York – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, delivers an action-packed weekend of live combat sports, beginning this Friday, October 9 at 9 a.m. ET with a live presentation of ONE Championship: Tigers of Asia from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Later that day at 10 p.m. ET, Resurrection Fighting Alliance takes over the airwaves with RFA 31: Smith vs. Marunde from Las Vegas.

On Saturday, October 10, the live action continues at 12:30 p.m. ET as M-1 Global presents M-1 Challenge 61 from Sochi, Russia, immediately followed by a live broadcast of Enfusion 32 world-class kickboxing from Gent, Belgium.

Airing live exclusively in Canada on Oct. 9 at 9 a.m. ET, ONE Championship: Tigers of Asia features a ONE middleweight championship clash between world champion Igor “Lionheart” Svirid (10-1) and undefeated Russian challenger Vitaly Bigdash (7-0). In other featured tilts, Adrian Pang (21-8-2) throws down with Peter Davis (10-3) in a lightweight bout, Ev Ting (9-3) meets Honorio Banario (8-5) in featherweight action, Ann Osman (3-1) takes on newcomer Irina Mazepa (0-0) in a women’s flyweight encounter, plus fan favorite Eric Kelly (11-1) returns for a featherweight barnburner against Japan’s Hiroshige Tanaka (10-2).

Airing live exclusively in Canada and globally in over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East on Oct. 9 at 10 p.m. ET, RFA 31: Smith vs. Marunde from Downtown Las Vegas is headlined by a pair of championship clashes, as RFA welterweight champion Gilbert Smith (11-4) defends against fellow UFC veteran Bristol Marunde (16-9), while Zoila Frausto (12-4) meets Jocelyn Lybarger (5-1) for the inaugural RFA women’s strawweight title. Other matchups include a middleweight meeting between Mike Jasper (9-2) and Gabriel Checco (8-2), a bantamweight bout between Matthew Lopez (6-0) and Justin Linn (7-1), a flyweight bout between Shai Lindsey (4-0) and Joseph Peukert (7-3) and a welterweight showcase between Bojan Velickovic (11-3) and Vardan Sholinian (5-1). The domestic U.S. broadcast airs on AXS TV.

Airing live across North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East on Oct. 10 at 12:30 p.m. ET, M-1 Challenge 62 features a showdown for the M-1 featherweight title in the main event, as kingpin Ivan Buchinger (29-4) defends his crown against highly touted Mansour Barnaoui (12-2). In other action, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (26-3) takes on Kristijan Perak (8-1-1) in a middleweight bout, Kurbanali Abdusalamov (5-2) tangles with Lee Morrison (13-5) in a featherweight contest, light heavyweight Adam Yandiev (8-0) puts his perfect mark on the line against Dmitry Voitov (11-4), plus Alexey Kunchenko (10-0) looks to extend his unblemished record against Brazilian welterweight Alexandre Ramos (9-2).

Airing live across North America immediately following M-1 Challenge 62 on Oct. 10, Enfusion Live 32 from Gent, Belgium promises an exhilarating kickboxing card, headlined by Morocco’s Nordin Ben Moh against Spaniard Sergio Sanchez in a -70 kg clash. Plus the Enfusion -61 kg women’s title is on the line as Belgium’s Anke Van Gestel meets Holland’s Aleide Lawant, Dutchman Dexter Suisse battles Frenchman Brice Guidon in a heavyweight special attraction, plus Morocco’s Mohammed Jaraya enters enemy territory against Belgium’s Youssef Boulahtari.

For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit www.fightnetwork.com, follow us on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.




ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN RESULTS

8 October 2015 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), in partnership with Tune Talk, announced today that the mixed martial artists competing at ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA have made weight and are ready for all the action which takes place tomorrow evening, 9 October, at the Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur. The Ev Ting versus Honorio Banario fight will now be fought at a catchweight.

Visit the official ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA weigh-in photo gallery by clicking:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6k384krsvdao0f3/AABoZfKfuYDUszYYrjf_77sta?dl=0.

Main event combatants, reigning champion Igor “Lionheart” Svirid, and the challenger Vitaly Bigdash both stepped onto the scales at 83.5 kg/184 lbs and 83.8 kg/184.5 lbs respectively, and are ready to give fight fans a great show.

“I respect all men who have the courage to step inside the cage, but the ONE Middleweight World Championship is mine and I’m not leaving without it. I’m ready to show the world that my reign on top of this division will be long and dominant,” stated the champion, Igor Svirid.

“To be the man you have to beat the man, and that’s what I’m here to accomplish against Igor Svirid. My time has come and I’m ready to take that belt with my bare hands. I’m excited to show everyone exactly what I can do inside the ONE Cage,” stated Vitaly Bigdash.

The pair will be competing for the ONE Middleweight World Championship which Svirid currently holds.

In the Malaysia Super Fights, Peter Davis, Ev Ting, and Ann “Athena” Osman are ready to bring the hometown crowd up to their feet with some local flavour.

“It’s always a pleasure to fight in front of the fans in Kuala Lumpur. This city energizes me, it strengthens me and makes me who I am. I am ready to continue my rise to the top,” stated ONE lightweight standout Peter Davis.

“I gained a lot of experience from my last fight, and I know what I have to do in my quest for the featherweight title. I’m eager to show my improvements on fight night,” said Ev Ting, as he prepares to take on the Philippines’ Honorio “The Rock” Banario.

“As a martial artist, I continue to seek the challenges that I know will push me to become a better fighter. This bout against Irina Mazepa is no exception. I look forward to showcasing the result of all the hard work I put in training,” stated Ann Osman, as she returns to the ONE Cage.

Tickets for ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA, are still available at www.airasiaredtix.com/.

COMPLETE WEIGH-IN RESULTS

MAIN EVENT
ONE Middleweight World Championship bout: Igor Svirid (83.5 kg/184 lbs) VS Vitaly Bigdash (83.8 kg/184.5 lbs)

MALAYSIA SUPER FIGHTS
Female flyweight bout: Ann Osman (55.8kg/123 lbs) VS Irina Mazepa (56 kg/123 lbs)
Catchweight bout (66.7 kg): Ev Ting (66.7 kg/147 lbs) VS Honorio Banario (65.6 kg/144.5 lbs)
Lightweight bout: Peter Davis (70.3 kg/155 lbs) VS Adrian Pang (70.3 kg/155 lbs)

MAIN CARD
Featherweight bout: Eric Kelly (65.6 kg/144.5 lbs) VS Hiroshige Tanaka (65.7 kg/145 lbs)
Flyweight bout: Eugene Toquero (56.5 kg/124.5 lbs) VS Riku Shibuya (56.6 kg/124.5 lbs)
Bantamweight bout: Dae Hwan Kim (61.0 kg/134.5 lbs) VS Teng Li Ge (61.1 kg/135 lbs)
Flyweight bout: Gianni Subba (56.7 kg/125 lbs) VS Almiro Barros (56.6kg/125 lbs)
Featherweight bout: Keanu Subba (65.3 kg/144 lbs) VS Florian Garel (65.5kg/144.5 lbs)

UNDERCARD
Bantamweight bout: Saiful Merican (61.2 kg/135 lbs) VS Melvin Yeoh (61.0 kg/134.5 lbs)
Welterweight bout: Agilan Thani (77.1 kg/170 lbs) VS Hisham Hiba (77.1 kg/170 lbs)

Fans from around the world can witness the action online via live streaming at http://www.onefc.com/livestream. The event will be available for purchase at just US$9.99.

For more updates on ONE Championship™, please visit www.onefc.com and follow Twitter and Instagram @ONEFCMMA and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEFCMMA

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship™ has partnered with FOX and STAR Sports for an unprecedented 10-year cable television deal with a coverage that spans 70+ countries across the world.

About Tune Talk
Tune Talk is the fastest-growing Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in Asia, officially launching commercial services in Malaysia in 2009. Tune Talk’s target is to provide super low rates and exciting incentives to the market. Tune Talk’s prepaid service offers voice, SMS, data and BlackBerry packages that meet the demands for a simple, value-for-money product with easy accessibility and a wide distribution reach. As a member of the Tune Group, Tune Talk have the advantage of providing a completely unique lifestyle service with offers by Tune Money, Tune Hotels, Tune Insurance, BIG Loyalty Programme and AirAsia. For more information, please visit www.tunetalk.com.




UFC® ANNOUNCES PETER VESEY AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS

ufc_title-belt_206
Las Vegas – UFC® is pleased to announce Peter Vesey has joined the organization as Senior Vice President of Agency Partnerships. Based in the New York City metropolitan area, Vesey will lead UFC’s strategic partnerships with top advertising agencies around the world to ensure the continued success of UFC and the growth of its brand. Opening a satellite office in the New York region will uniquely position UFC to maximize its role as an important media influencer, while uniting key sponsors and global advertising agencies to create compelling marketing solutions and impactful ideas.

On the announcement, UFC Executive Vice President of Global Marketing Partnerships Michael Mossholder said: “Peter brings extensive experience and knowledge to the UFC organization and we are thrilled to have him build strong partnerships with leading advertising agencies. With a dedicated executive based in the New York area, UFC will be able to better manage the needs and relationships between our sponsors and advertising agencies around the world.”

As an industry leader in creating innovative and successful marketing campaigns, Vesey has developed start-up organizations, managed transitions during corporate mergers, and expanded new business at every level of his career. Previously at FOX Sports, Vesey successfully developed and managed the UFC portfolio for the network, negotiating strategic partnerships between the organizations and key sponsors like Coca-Cola, Samsung, Microsoft, Reebok, Anheuser-Busch and Harley-Davidson. Vesey was also part of the launch team for Classic Sports Network— which was ultimately sold to ESPN— and oversaw its tremendous growth as a leader in the emerging market of sports programming.

Vesey added: “As UFC continues to develop captivating stories around its brand and athletes, the advertising industry has quickly recognized UFC for its growing and passionate audience. With the UFC organization experiencing tremendous expansion over the past few years, it will be important to identify advertising partnerships that can utilize the strength of the UFC brand by leveraging its key sponsors to deliver compelling ideas to our audience.”

###

About UFC®
UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 158 countries and territories to over one billion TV households worldwide in 21 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service that is available throughout the world with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.




WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING HITS COMERICA THEATRE IN PHOENIX, ARIZ. WITH ONE-NIGHT, EIGHT-MAN LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT ON FRIDAY, NOV. 20, LIVE ON NBCSN

LAS VEGAS (October 7, 2015) –World Series of Fighting (WSOF.com) will return to Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, Ariz. with a historic, one-night, eight-man tournament that will appoint its winner the number one contender in the promotion’s fearsome lightweight (155 pounds) division, on Friday, Nov. 20, live on NBCSN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Priced from $29.99, tickets for “WSOF 25: Eight-Man Lightweight Tournament” go on sale on Friday, Oct. 9 at 10 a.m. PT at the Comerica Theatre box office as well as online at Ticketmaster.com and WSOF.com.

All eight tournament participants – Luis “Baboon” Palomino, Brian Foster, Mike Ricci, Islam Mamedov, Brian “The Bandit” Cobb, Jorge “Macaco” Patino, Joao “The Brazilian Samurai” Zeferino and Rich Patishnock – have been confirmed for battle in the first-ever World Series of Fighting one-night tournament.

Quarterfinal stage matchups for the tournament will be announced soon.

“We are excited to roll out our first-ever, one-night tournament filled with some of MMA’s top lightweight fighters, and to distinguish a new number one contender in this weight class that has been growing aggressively and is packed with world-class talent,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo.

Palomino (23-11) of Miami, Fla. is coming off an unforgettable, second, all-out slugfest with reigning, undefeated World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in the main event of WSOF 23, a fight that was named “Fight of the Month” for September last week.

The 34-year-old Palomino, who holds notable wins over the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Gesias Cavalcante and Patino, put Gaethje on the defensive in the outset of their rematch before being stopped near the close of the second round (4:30) with a Gaethje barrage of punches.

Another proven entity who has fought remarkable wars in the cage, Foster (23-7) of Sallisaw, Okla. is fresh off a spectacular performance at WSOF 23 where the 31-year-old scored a thunderous, first round (:32) KO (punch) of previously unbeaten LaRue Burley.

Ricci (10-4) of Montreal, Quebec, Canada is one of the latest additions to the ever-growing World Series of Fighting roster. The 29-year-old, Firas Zahabi-trained Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt has faced and defeated a collection of top rivals during his seven-year professional career.

Mamedov (12-1) of Jersey City, N.J. via Derbent, Dagestan, Russia is a ferocious 25-year-old who is unbeaten in his last 10 starts, a streak that dates back to Aug. 1, 2010. To date, Mamedov has made two appearances in the World Series of Fighting cage, scoring vicious, first round TKO’s on Leon Davis and Jimmy Spicuzza at WSOF 20 and WSOF 22, respectively.

Cobb (20-8) of Bakersfield, Calif. is a wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu expert who has produced submission finishes in 12 of his 20 career wins since his professional debut in 2004. He holds notable victories over fellow standouts Rad Martinez, Drew Fickett, Kazunori Yokota and Ronys Torres.

Patino (38-15-2, 1 NC) of Houston, Texas is a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil who holds black belts in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo, and boasts the most one-night tournament competition experience of the six competitors slated for action, thus far, in the Nov. 20 affair. Of the seven previous one-night tournaments he saw action in, the 42-year-old emerged the winner in five of them.

Zeferino (18-6) of Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil is a submission ace who has won 13 of his 18 career conquests by way of submission. A new addition to the World Series of Fighting roster, the 29-year-old will make his promotional debut in the midst of a five-fight win streak.

Patishnock (6-2) of East Stroudsberg, Penn. is a 27-year-old rising star and a three-time veteran of World Series of Fighting action. Under the promotional banner, he holds victories over Igor Gracie and Gregor Gracie, both members of MMA’s legendary first family.

World Series of Fighting will announce additional details concerning the format and rules of the tournament, soon.

About World Series of Fighting (WSOF)
“World Series of Fighting” (WSOF.com) is a world wide premier professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion dedicated to delivering the best action-packed fights for fight fans by producing the best possible match-ups between elite fighters from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com. Follow “World Series of Fighting” on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries and “World Series of Fighting” President Ray Sefo @SugarRaySefo.




Weekly Fight Network MMA programming schedule (Oct. 5-11, 2015)

Fight Network is a 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports. It airs programs focused on the entire scope of the combat sports genre, including live fights and up-to-the-minute news and analysis for mixed martial arts, kickboxing, professional wrestling, traditional martial arts, boxing, fight news, as well as fight-themed drama series, documentaries and feature films.

Below find highlights of this week’s programming:

Monday, Oct. 5
6:30 p.m. ET – Judo Budapest Grand Prix – Highlights from the 2015 Judo Budapest Grand Prix from June 13-14, 2015 in Hungary.
7:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Fight Network’s John Ramdeen and Robin Black invite special guests to breakdown the weekend of MMA action.
7:30 p.m. ET & 11:30 p.m. ET- Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

Tuesday, Oct. 6
1:30 a.m. ET – XPTV – Coverage of regional U.S. professional and amateur MMA events.
5:00 & 5:30 ET – Xtreme Fighting Championship – Florida-based pro MMA featuring top American prospects, international stars and UFC veterans.
6:00 p.m. & 10 p.m. ET — – 5 Rounds Today – Video podcast with John Ramdeen and Robin Black breaking down a wide variety of topics in the MMA world, including previews of upcoming events and all the latest rumors and headlines.
8:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Fight Network’s John Ramadeen and Robin Black invite special guests to breakdown the weekend of MMA action.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET — Fighting Spirit MMA Season 4 – Compilation of international fights from SFL, Legend, FFC, M-1 and others.
11:00 p.m. ET – King of Kings: World Grand Prix Riga 2015 – Featuring a one-night, single-elimination welterweight tournament from May 22, 2015 in Riga, Latvia.

Wednesday, Oct. 7
5:00 p.m. ET – Texas Fight Night – MMA action from Texas featuring the Lone Star State’s top prospects in the cage.
6:00 p.m. ET – Best of Cage Rage – Featuring classic fights from the UK-based Cage Rage organization with Anderson Silva, Antonio Silva, Victor Belfort, Paul Daley and others.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and feature.
7:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
8:00 p.m. ET – Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 56 – Featuring Brett Sizeland, Robbie Olivier, Graham Turner and Bola Omoyele in action from July 6, 2013 in London.
11:00 p.m. ET – MMA Meltdown with Gabriel Morency – Gabriel Morency breaks down all the happenings in MMA, discussing odds, predictions, plus special weekly guests and exclusive interviews.

Thursday, Oct. 8
2:00 a.m. ET & 1:00 p.m. ET – Ultimate Challenge MMA 28: Bostwick vs. Facey – Featuring Jake Bostwick vs. Jamaine Facey from May 26, 2012 in London.
11:30 a.m. ET – 2015 IMMAF Amateur MMA Championships: Part 1/4 – Coverage of the 2015 IMMAF Amateur MMA Championships from Las Vegas, featuring the men’s flyweight, female strawweight and men’s heavyweight divisions.
5:30 p.m. ET – TakeDown Wrestling – Eztensive coverage of amateur wrestling events, including the latest news, behind-the-scenes coverage from events and exclusive interviews.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fighting Rookies – Aspiring kickboxers climb the ladder of success as rookies compete for a chance to become pros and get experience needed to succeed at a higher level.
8:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and feature.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge 61: Battle of Narts 2 – Featuring M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Marcin Tybura vs. Ante Delija from Sept. 19, 2015 in Igushetia, Russia.

Friday, Oct. 9
9:00 a.m. ET – CANADA ONLY – ONE Championship: Tigers of Asia LIVE from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, featuring Igor Svirid vs. Vitaly Bigdash for the ONE middleweight championship
12:00 a.m. ET & 11 a.m. ET- It’s Showtime Special – The world’s premier kickboxing organization featuring Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef and Giorgio Petrosyan.
4:00 a.m. ET – Best of Deep – Featuring classic fights from the historic DEEP promotion including Shinua Aoki, Hayato Sakuri and Gegard Mousasi.
5:00 a.m. ET – Best of Jewels – Classic fights from the all-female Japanese MMA league Jewels.
6:00 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge – Pro MMA from Europe featuring top rising prospects and international stars.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.
7:30 p.m. ET — Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
8:00 p.m. ET – Toe 2 Toe with Mark Hominick – Sit-down interview with former UFC and WEC featherweight star Mark Hominick.
10:00 p.m. ET – CANADA & GLOBAL ONLY – RFA 31: Smith vs. Marunde -LIVE from
Las Vegas, featuring Gilbert Smith vs. Bristol Marunde and Zoila Gurgel vs. Jocelyn Lybarger in championship fights.
11:00 p.m. ET – KSW 19: Pudzianowski vs. Piliafas – Featuring Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Christos Piliafas and Jan Blachowicz vs. Houston Alexander from Sept. 15, 2012 in Gdansk, Poland.

Saturday, Oct. 10
6:00 a.m. ET – Best of TKO – Featuring David Loiseau vs. Steve Vigneault from UCC 2.
7:00 a.m. ET – Best of Gladiator Challenge – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Charlie West from Gladiator Challenge 1.
12:30 p.m. ET -M-1 Challenge 62 – LIVE MMA from Sochi, Russia, featuring Ivan Buchinger vs. Mansour for the M-1 Challenge featherweight title
3:30 p.m. ET – Enfusion #32 Belgium – LIVE professional kickboxing from Gent, Belgium, featuring Nordin Ben Moh vs. Sergio Sanchez, Brice Guidon vs. Dexter Suisse and Anke Van Gestel vs. Aleide Lawant from the -61kg world championship.
8:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.
8:30 p.m. ET — Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET – Battle Grounds MMA: O.N.E. – Featuring a one-night, single-elimination MMA tournament from Tulsa, OK, showcasing Roan Carneiro, Brock Larson, Cody McKenzie, Trey Houston, Jesse Taylor and others.

Sunday, Oct. 11
6:00 a.m. ET – Pancrase Classics – Classic pioneering MMA battles featuring Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Name Marquardt, Chael Sonnen and others.
11:00 a.m. ET – Best of ADCC- Features compilations of the greatest grappling matches ever held, featuring Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Eddie Bravo, Fabricio Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Ronaldo Souza and Royler Gracie.
12:00 p.m. ETB – Elite Muay Thai: Thailand vs. Challenger – The biggest Muay Thai series in the world featuring premium international stand-up fighters taking on the renowned Thailand National Team.
5:30 p.m. ET – Judo Astana Grand Prix – Highlights from the 2014 Judo Astana Grand Prix from Oct. 10-12, 2014 in Kazakhstan.




John Ruiz’ Quietman Sports Gym to host 130th annual USA Boxing New England Championships Nov. 7 & 14 in Chelsea, Nov. 28 in Plymouth

MEDF0RD, Mass. (October 5, 2015) – Quietman Sports Gym, owned and operated by two-time world heavyweight boxing champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz, is hosting the 130th annual USA Boxing New England Championships next month at two Massachusetts venues.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will be held, respectively, November 7 & 14, at Chelsea High School with the championship finals scheduled for Nov. 28 at Plymouth Memorial Hall. Winners in each weight class will advance to the USA National Championships

“This is a great opportunity for amateur boxers,” Ruiz said. “This tournament has great tradition and will feature great matches. It’s an honor and pleasure for Quietman Sports Gym to serve as host of this year’s event. We’re also proud to help raise funds for two great cause: Family Aid Boston (benefiting homeless families) and Chelsea High School High School Scholarship Fund.”

A Chelsea High School graduate, Ruiz is the only world heavyweight champion of Latino heritage.

During the past 50 years, USA Boxing New England champions have included world (pro) champions such as Brockton (MA) middleweight “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler (1973) and Providence (RI) welterweight Demetrious “Boo Boo” Andrade (2005-2006), as well as U.S. Olympians Andrade and Providence super heavyweight Jason “Big Six” Estrada (2001-2002-2003), plus Providence middleweight/heavyweight Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey (2000 & 2004), Worcester (MA) middleweight Edwin Rodriguez (2008), and Framingham (MA) welterweight Danny “Bhoy” O’Connor.

Event sponsorship and program advertising opportunities are available by visiting www.QuietmanSportsGym.com or calling 781.396.6700.

QUIETMAN SPORTS GYM INFORMATION:

Website: www.QuietmanSportsGym.com
Telephone: 781.396.6700
Twitter & Instagram: @QuietmanSportsGym
Facebook: www.Facebook.com.QuietmanSportsGym
CONTACT:
Bob Trieger, Full Court PRESS, bobtfcp@hotmail.com, 978.590.0470, @FightPublicist

ABOUT QUIETMAN SPORTS GYM: Owned and operated by two-time World Boxing Association (“WBA”) heavyweight boxing champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz, Quietman Sports Gym is located inside of Gold’s Gym in Medford (4000 Mystic Valley Parkway), a Boston suburb located only a few miles from where Ruiz grew up in Chelsea and trained in Somerville.

Quietman Sports Gym is a full-contact, sanctioned USA Boxing gym, featuring a boxing ring and mixed-martial-arts cage, as well as a full array of modern training equipment. The multi-fighting gym offers boxing and full-contact combat fighting classes, personal and semi-private instruction, self-defense classes, and white collar boxing in a clean, safe environment.

ABOUT USA BOXING NEW ENGLAND: The New England Association, Inc., the Local Boxing Committee (LBC), is the governing body of amateur boxing in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island under the authority of United States Amateur Boxing, Inc. (USA Boxing), Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.
The objectives of the New England Association are to foster, develop, promote, and coordinate recreational and competitive amateur boxing opportunities for all member athletes and supportive participants and to supervise such other amateur boxing matters that may properly come within its purview. The Association is a charitable, federal tax-exempt organization under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions, bequests, and gifts are deductible for federal income, estate, and gift tax purposes under sections 170(c) (2) and 2055(a) (2) of the Code.




MAGOMED BIBULATOV FACES DONAVON FRELOW IN FIRST-EVER WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING FLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP SHOWDOWN ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 29, 2015) –World Series of Fighting (WSOF.com) announced today that it will crown its first flyweight (125 pounds) champion in history – the winner of a matchup between undefeated, surging stars Magomed “Gladiator” Bibulatov and Donavon Frelow – at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. on Saturday, Oct. 17, live on NBCSN at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.

The bout represents one of two world championship matchups that will unfold at “WSOF 24: Fitch vs. Okami,” the second being a previously announced heavyweight championship contest between reigning kingpin Blagoy Ivanov (12-1) of Sofia, Bulgaria and challenger Derek “Caveman” Mehman (19-6) of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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“We are looking forward to crowning the first champion ever in our fast-growing and highly-competitive flyweight division, on October 17,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo.

“As two of the weight class’ most dynamic stars who have yet to be beaten, Magomed and Donavon have earned their respective places in this historic championship fight, and we are confident that the winner will personify what being a champion in World Series of Fighting is about.”

The fight marks the U.S. debut of the 27-year-old Bibulatov (9-0) of Grozny, Chechnya Russia, following a perfect, two-year run competing against opponents in his homeland as well as in France and Portugal, eventually earning the coveted, number one ranking in his weight class in Europe.

Bibulatov, a practitioner of martial arts, including sambo and wrestling, since his early youth, remains the only fighter to have beaten UFC star Taylor Lapilus, over whom Bibulatov earned a unanimous decision on October 12, 2013 in the main event of a fight card held in Lapilus’ home country of France.

In his last start on March 14, Bibulatov scored a first round (1:30) KO (punch) on Eduardo Felipe in co-main event action in Bibulatov’s hometown of Grozny.

A member of MMA legend Wanderlei Silva’s vaunted, Las-Vegas based fight team, the 30-year-old Frelow (5-0) has notched four of his five professional career victories, thus far, by way of submission.

Following a near-perfect amateur career that saw him amass an overall record of 5-1 between April 2011 and October 2013, Frelow accepted his first pro fight on just four days’ notice and at the flyweight limit of 125 pounds, 10 pounds lower than that he had previously been competing at.

Frelow persevered in his first pro start, though, defeating George Garcia by way of submission (guillotine choke) in the second round (:30) of their bout on March 6, 2014.

In his third pro outing on December 20, 2014, Frelow needed only 25 seconds to submit Donald Belcher with an armbar. Frelow has since recorded two straight wins in the World Series of Fighting decagon cage.

Priced from $39.99, tickets for “WSOF 24: Fitch vs. Okami” are on sale at Ticketmaster.com and WSOF.com.

In the welterweight main event, Jon Fitch (26-7-1, 1 NC) of Fort Wayne, Ind. will face rival superstar and grappling technician Yushin “Thunder” Okami (30-9) of Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan.

Doors at the Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino will open at 4:30 p.m. ET for WSOF 24, and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 5:30 p.m.

The entire preliminary fight card will stream live on an embeddable video player on WSOF.com.

The card is subject to change.

MAIN CARD (Live on NBCSN)

Welterweight Main Event: Jon Fitch vs. Yushin Okami

World Series of Fighting Heavyweight Championship Co-Main Event:
Blagoy Ivanov vs. Derek Mehman

Lightweight: Nick Newell vs. Tom Marcellino

Light Heavyweight: Vinny Magalhaes vs. Matt Hamill

World Series of Fighting Flyweight Championship
Magomed Bibulatov vs. Donavon Frelow

PRELIMINARY CARD (Live on WSOF.com)

Featherweight: Rick Glenn vs. Adam Ward
Featherweight: Alexandre Almeida vs. Saul Almeida
Heavyweight: Juliano Coutinho vs. TBA
Featherweight: Rodrigo Almeida vs. Bruce Boyington
Welterweight: Washington Nunes Da Silva vs. Colton Smith
Middleweight: Justin Torrey vs. Rex Harris
Middleweight: Louis Taylor vs. Nicolai Salchov
Heavyweight: Pat Walsh vs. Tyler King

About “World Series of Fighting” (WSOF)
“World Series of Fighting” (WSOF) is a world wide premier professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion dedicated to delivering the best action-packed fights for fight fans by producing the best possible match-ups between elite fighters from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com. Follow “World Series of Fighting” on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries and “World Series of Fighting” President Ray Sefo @SugarRaySefo.

About Foxwoods ® Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is one of the premier entertainment destinations in the Northeast. As the largest resort casino in North America, Foxwoods offers a vast array of gaming in six casinos; AAA Four-Diamond hotels, restaurants from gourmet to quick-service, world-renowned spas, award-winning golf, state-of-the-art theaters, and exclusive retailers. Perfect for both recreation and business, Foxwoods provides modern and versatile convention and meeting space to infuse new life into any meeting or event. Foxwoods Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. For a comprehensive look at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation visit Foxwoods.com.

ABOUT NBCSN
NBCSN, part of the NBC Sports Group, is dedicated to serving passionate sports fans. Now in more than 85 million homes, the Emmy Award-winning network is the cable television home of the Summer and Winter Olympics, National Hockey League (NHL) – including two games of the Stanley Cup Final — Premier League, Formula One, IndyCar, Tour de France, the 34th America’s Cup, and beginning in 2015, NASCAR. In addition, NBCSN features college football, college basketball, college hockey, cycling, outdoor programming, horse racing surrounding the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, Fight Night boxing, Ironman, the Dew Tour and USA Sevens Rugby. The network is also home to original programs such as Costas Tonight, NFL Turning Point, Pro Football Talk, The Dan Patrick Show, and NASCAR America. NBCSN is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.




FIGHT NETWORK MMA, KICKBOXING, WRESTLING & JUDO PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE (Sept. 28-Oct. 4, 2015)

Fight Network is a 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports. It airs programs focused on the entire scope of the combat sports genre, including live fights and up-to-the-minute news and analysis for mixed martial arts, kickboxing, professional wrestling, traditional martial arts, boxing, fight news, as well as fight-themed drama series, documentaries and feature films.

Below find highlights of this week’s programming:

Monday, Sept. 28
7:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Fight Network’s John Ramdeen and Robin Black invite special guests to breakdown the weekend of MMA action.
7:30 p.m. ET & 11:30 p.m. ET- Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

Tuesday, Sept. 29
1:30 a.m. ET – XPTV – Coverage of regional U.S. professional and amateur MMA events.
6:30 a.m. ET – Hip Show: Arena Combat – Tag-team MMA inside a 12m by 12m arena with three-level obstacle structures.
5:00 & 5:30 ET – Xtreme Fighting Championship – Florida-based pro MMA featuring top American prospects, international stars and UFC veterans.
6:00 p.m. & 10 p.m. ET — – 5 Rounds Today – Video podcast with John Ramdeen and Robin Black breaking down a wide variety of topics in the MMA world, including previews of upcoming events and all the latest rumors and headlines.
8:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Fight Network’s John Ramadeen and Robin Black invite special guests to breakdown the weekend of MMA action.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET — Fighting Spirit MMA Season 4 – Compilation of international fights from SFL, Legend, FFC, M-1 and others.
11:00 p.m. ET – Hard Knocks Fighting 45 – Featuring Jordan McKay vs. Joel Powell and Wolfgang Janssen vs. Craig Shintani from Sept. 25, 2015 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Wednesday, Sept.30
2:00 a.m. ET & 2 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge 61: Battle of Narts 2 – Featuring heavyweight champion Marcin Tybura vs. Ante Delija from Igushetia, Russia.
5:00 p.m. ET – Texas Fight Night – MMA action from Texas featuring the Lone Star State’s top prospects in the cage.
6:00 p.m. ET – Best of Cage Rage – Featuring classic fights from the UK-based Cage Rage organization with Anderson Silva, Antonio Silva, Victor Belfort, Paul Daley and others.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and feature.
7:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
8:00 p.m. ET – CWFC: Fight Night 8 – Featuring David Bielkheden vs. Jack Mason from May 11, 2013 from Al Fujairah, UAE.
11:00 p.m. ET – MMA Meltdown with Gabriel Morency – Gabriel Morency breaks down all the happenings in MMA, discussing odds, predictions, plus special weekly guests and exclusive interviews.
11:30 p.m. ET – MMA Platinum Gloves 10 – Amateur MMA featuring Vincent DeRiso vs. Mike Salvietti for the middleweight title from Aug. 1, 2015 in Long Island, NY.

Thursday, Oct. 1
2:00 a.m. ET & 1:00 p.m. ET – Ultimate Challenge MMA 27: Bittong vs. Smith – Featuring Neil Bittong vs. Ben Smith and Michael Page vs. Miguel Bernard from Apr. 7, 2012 in London.
7:00 a.m. ET – Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 55 – Featuring Che Mills vs. Cathal Pendred for the welterweight title from Jun. 1, 2013 in Dublin, Ireland.
9:00 a.m. ET – Fighting Spirit MMA Season 4 – Compilation of international fights from SFL, Legend, FFC, M-1 and others.
6:00 p.m. ET – Championship Fighting Alliance – Pro MMA from Florida featuring the likes of Josh Sampo, Mike Kyle, John Howard, Sean McCorkie, Luis Palomino and others.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fighting Rookies – Aspiring kickboxers climb the ladder of success as rookies compete for a chance to become pros and get experience needed to succeed at a higher level.
8:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and feature.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET – Combate Americas 1: Road to the Championship – Featuring Ozzie Alvarez vs. Justin Patterson and Ricardo Palacios vs. Benji Gomez from Sept. 17, 2015 in Las Vegas.
11:00 p.m. ET – Best of Hard Knocks Fighting – Relive the best fights from Canadian MMA organization Hard Knocks Fighting Championship.

Friday, Oct. 2
12:00 a.m. ET & 11 a.m. ET- It’s Showtime Special – The world’s premier kickboxing organization featuring Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef and Giorgio Petrosyan.
12:00 p.m. ET – Bookie Beatdown – Preview of the betting lines and top picks for major UFC events.
5:00 p.m. ET – UFC 192 Weigh-in – LIVE coverage of the official weigh-ins for UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustaffson in Houston, TX.
6:00 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge – Pro MMA from Europe featuring top rising prospects and international stars.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.
7:30 p.m. ET — Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
8:00 p.m. ET – Toe 2 Toe with Rashad Evans – Sit-down interview with former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.
11:00 p.m. ET – KSW 19: Pudzianowski vs. Sapp – Featuring Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Bob Sapp and Mamed Khalidov vs. Rodney Wallace from May 12, 2012 in Lodz, Poland.

Saturday, Oct. 3
6:00 a.m. ET – Best of TKO – Featuring Georges St, Pierre vs. Thomas Denny from UCC 12.
7:00 a.m. ET – Best of Gladiator Challenge – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Charlie West from Gladiator Challenge 1.
8:00 a.m. ET – Best of SportFight – Hosted by UFC veterans Matt Lindland and Chael Sonnen. This episode features Chris Jenson and Ryan Healy.
7:00 p.m. ET -UFC 192 Pre-Show – LIVE pre-fight coverage for UFC 192: Cormier vs. Gustafsson in Houston, TX.

Sunday, Oct. 4
6:00 a.m. ET – Pancrase Classics – Classic pioneering MMA battles featuring Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Name Marquardt, Chael Sonnen and others.
11:00 a.m. ET – Best of ADCC- Features compilations of the greatest grappling matches ever held, featuring Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Eddie Bravo, Fabricio Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Ronaldo Souza and Royler Gracie.
12:00 p.m. ETB – Elite Muay Thai: Thailand vs. Challenger – The biggest Muay Thai series in the world featuring premium international stand-up fighters taking on the renowned Thailand National Team.
5:30 p.m. ET – Judo Budapest Grand Prix – Highlights from the IJF Judo Budapest Grand Prix from June 13-14, 2015 in Hungary.
11:00 p.m. ET – Enfusion Live: London – Professional kickboxing featuring Rachida Bouhout vs. Laetitia Bakissy for the Enfusion women’s -64kg Title from Nov. 16, 2013 in Groningen, Netherlands.




UFC® SCHEDULES EVENT IN NEW YORK’S HISTORIC MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

ufc_title-belt_206
Las Vegas ? UFC® today announced a series of important steps to bring mixed martial arts (MMA) events to New York. These efforts include the scheduling of the organization’s first, professional MMA event in New York since the state’s ban in 1997. This event will take place at Madison Square Garden on April 23, 2016 featuring UFC’s top champions competing with other world-class athletes inside the Octagon®. UFC is also taking additional steps through the federal courts to ensure the event’s success.

“We believe fight fans have waited long enough to experience live UFC events in the state of New York and we are thrilled to announce our first event at Madison Square Garden,” UFC Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein said. “Professional MMA is legal around of the world and it is about time New York followed suit.”

In August, UFC filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – the federal appellate court with jurisdiction over New York – stating that New York’s prohibition of regulated professional MMA events violates the First Amendment rights of athletes and fans throughout the state.

On September 28, UFC filed a new case in federal court, reiterating its claim that the New York law banning MMA events is unconstitutional. This out-of-date law is too unclear for the public to understand, and has allowed regulators in New York to pick and choose arbitrarily what events they will permit. Events featuring every combat sport except MMA seem to be allowed in New York, though this is not explicitly stated in the law. The statute, and the state’s pattern of enforcing it, violates the Constitution’s prohibition on unconstitutionally vague laws.

Later this week, UFC will ask a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction against New York state officials enforcing its unconstitutional law. Without such an injunction, the event at Madison Square Garden will not be able to proceed.

About UFC®

UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 158 countries and territories to over one billion TV households worldwide in 21 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service that is available throughout the world with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.




Harrington defends title at SFL 44

TACOMA, Wash. – Justin Harrington and Alfonso Gonzales both walked out of the Emerald Queen Casino as champions to highlight the co-main events at SFL 44 Saturday in Tacoma.

Harrington (8-2) defeated Bobby McIntrye (3-2) by first round triangle choke (2:25) to defend his lightweight crown, but it wasn’t easy as McIntrye seemed to control the fight from the start.

Harrington had to overcame a big right and a painful-looking takedown before escaping a crucifix. The title appeared to be McIntyre’s for the taking, but a determined Harrington was able to walk out of the cage with the belt.

“I told him to keep his head up,” Harrington said about what he told his opponent after the bout. “He’s going to be a champion one day, just not today.”

Gonzales won the vacant SFL America Light Heavyweight championship with a second round TKO of Thomas Hoeper.

Hoeper and Gonzales went right after each other from the opening bell with both fighters landing several solid punches in the first round that brought the sold out crowd to their feet.

Hoeper, at 6-foot-7, found early success by taking advantage of his superior reach, but an vicious right from Gonzales (8-1) seconds into the second round immediately changed the title bout’s flow, leading to the referee stoppage soon after.

In the featured undercard bout, Spokane’s Daniel Swain (12-5-1) overcame a very pro-Drew Brokenshire crowd to defeat the hometown fighter via triangle choke in the third round (2:04).

After an evenly match first round, Swain gradually took control of the fight’s tempo.

“The fight went great,” said Swain. “Everything I want to do happened after that first round.”

Brokenshire, a resident of Tacoma, fell to 11-3 with the loss.

Dylan Potter, making his professional debut, kicked off the undercard by defeating Chris Aparicio by arm-bar submission at the 1:34 mark of the first round.

Lyndon Hirai also scored a win in his first career pro fight, connecting on a series of knees to the mid-section of Allan Nickolauson before the referee stepped in to stop the 135-pound bout 2:41 into the first round.

Also registering a first-round KO victory was Jeremie Montgomery (1-1), who ended his featherweight contest against Jadon Johnson with a barrage of punches. The last strike came a mere 1:26 into the first round and sent Johnson to the mat for good.

In a battle of 120-pound females, Jenny Liou (3-3) defeated Heather Denny (1-1) with a first-round arm bar (4:01).

Lightweight Thomas Pierce put away Jesse Hardenbrook with a rear-naked choke in the second round (2:21).

MMA returns to the Emerald Queen Casino on Dec. 12 with SFL 45.

SFL 44 results
155 – Justin Harrington (8-2-0) d. Bobby McIntyre (3-2), triangle choke, first round, 2;25
205 – Alfonso Gonzales (8-1) d. Thomas Hoeper (1-2) TKO, second round, 1:29
145 – Daniel Swain (12-5-1) d. Drew Brokkenshire (11-3), triangle choke, third round (2:04)
120 (females) – Jenny Liou (3-3) d. Heather Denny (1-1), arm bar, 1st round, 4:01
135 – Lyndon Hirai (1-0) d. Allan Nickolauson (0-1), TKO, 2nd round (2:41)
145 – Jeremie Montgomery (1-1) d. Jadon Johnson (0-1), KO, 1st round (1:26)
155 – Thomas Pierce (1-1) d. Jesse Hardenbrook (1-1), rear-naked choke, 2nd round, 2:21
175 – Dylan Potter (1-0) d. Chris Aparicio (0-4), 1st round, arm bar




Weights from Tacoma – CageSport MMA presents SFL 44

Lightweight Title Bout
Bobby McIntyre- 155
Justin Harrington- 154

Light Heavyweight Title Bout
Alfonso Gonzales- 203
Thomas Hoeper- 203

Featured Undercard Bout
Daniel Swain- 146
Drew Brokenshire- 146

Undercard Bouts
Heather Denny- 120
Jenny Liou- 120.5

Allan Nickolauson- 136
Lyndon Hirai- 135.5

Jadon Johnson- 146
Jeremie Montgomery- 144.5

Jesse Hardenbrook- 152.5
Thomas Pierce Jr.- 154

Chris Aparicio- 175.5
Dylan Potter- 181.5




HEAVYWEIGHTS BOBBY LASHLEY AND JAMES THOMPSON TO SETTLE THEIR SCORE AT ‘BELLATOR 145: VENGEANCE’ AT SCOTTRADE CENTER IN ST. LOUIS ON NOVEMBER 6

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (September 25, 2015) – This past June, fans in St. Louis were deprived of a highly anticipated heavyweight rematch between Bobby “The Dominator” Lashley (13-2) and James “The Colossus” Thompson (20-14, 1 NC), when Thompson was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. On Friday, November 6, the two heavyweights will finally square off at “Bellator 145: Vengeance,” at the Scottrade Center in the Gateway City.

The contest completes the main card of “Bellator 145: ‘Vengeance,” which airs live on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts will stream on Spike.com at 7 p.m. ET.

Top billing at the November 6 event features two world title bouts when Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (24-2) defends his strap against Daniel Straus (23-6) and Will “Ill Will” Brooks (16-1) meets submission specialist Marcin Held (21-3) with the 155-pound belt on the line. “Bellator 145: Vengeance” on Spike will also feature a rematch pitting “Iron” Michael Chandler (13-3) against David “The Caveman” Rickels (16-3, 1 NC).

Tickets for “Bellator 145: ‘Vengeance,” which start at just $30, are on sale now on Ticketmaster.com and at the Ford Box Office at Scottrade Center. Doors for the event open at 5:00 p.m. CT local time, and the first contest takes place shortly after.

Lashley looks to avenge a 2012 split decision loss to Thompson. The unfinished business between the two giant heavyweights was originally scheduled to be settled at “Bellator 134: The British Invasion” and again at “Bellator 138: Unfinished Business,” but an injuries sustained by both men caused the fights to be rescheduled.

Thompson, a 6-foot-5 striking specialist, hails from England and has been fighting professionally since 2003. A former rugby player and bodybuilder, “The Colossus” found his true calling in MMA and has been competing around the globe ever since. Fighting some of the best heavyweights in the sport, including Kimbo Slice, Alexander Emelianenko, Don Frye, Alistair Overeem, Mariusz Pudzianowki, Bob Sapp, Dan Severn and Hidehiko Yoshida, among others, Thompson has racked up 11 wins by knockout and another seven by submission.

A 6-foot-3, former WWE superstar, Lashley started training in the grappling arts at age 12 and would go on to win several titles, including: three National Championships at Missouri Valley College, an NAIA National Championship, a CISM World Championship Silver Medal and two Armed Forces Wrestling Championships during his tenure in the U.S. Army. In addition to a professional wrestling career with stints in WWE, ECW and TNA, Lashley began his MMA career in 2008, and has built an impressive resume that includes Bellator MMA submission wins over Karl Etherington, Josh Burns and most recently, a technical knockout of Dan Charles.

“Bellator 145: Vengeance” Updated Fight Card

Bellator Featherweight World Title Bout: Patricio Freire (24-2) vs. Daniel Straus (23-6)
Bellator Lightweight World Title Bout: Will Brooks (16-1) vs. Marcin Held (21-3)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Bout: Pat Curran (21-7) vs. Justin Lawrence (7-2)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Michael Chandler (13-3) vs. David Rickels (16-3, 1 NC)
Bellator Heavyweight Feature Bout: Bobby Lashley (13-2) vs. James Thompson (20-14, 1 NC)

Preliminary Card:
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Vince Eazelle (9-2) vs. Chris Heatherly (9-3, 1 NC)
Bellator Bantamweight Feature Bout: Scott Ettling (2-0) vs. Garrett Mueller (2-0)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Garrett Gross (6-4) vs. Luke Nelson (2-1)

About Bellator MMA:
Bellator MMA is a leading Mixed Martial Arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator is available to nearly 500 million homes worldwide in over 140 countries. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike, the MMA television leader. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Santa Monica, California and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.

About Spike:
Spike is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.

About Scottrade Center:
Scottrade Center is a contemporary, 12-story glass and concrete structure located in the heart of downtown St. Louis. The home of the St. Louis Blues Hockey Club, Scottrade Center also features a full range of arena programming, including concerts, ice shows, family shows and other sporting events.




VIDEO: Dana White Looking for a Fight – Sage Northcutt Highlight




WSOF 24 Adds Seven Preliminary Card Bouts To Oct. 17 Lineup

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 24, 2015) –World Series of Fighting (WSOF.com) announced today seven matchups stacked with some of the sport’s most prolific, emerging talent for the star-studded “WSOF 24: Fitch vs. Okami” world championship event at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. on Saturday, Oct. 17, live on NBCSN, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.

A featherweight (145 pounds) contest between former World Series of Fighting champion Rick “The Gladiator” Glenn and aggressive-minded standout Adam Ward will headline the preliminary bout card that will stream live on an embeddable video player on WSOF.com before the live NBCSN telecast of the five-bout main card.

An eighth bout pitting heavyweight Juliano Coutinho (6-1) of Cape Cod, Mass. against an opponent to be determined, will be announced soon.

“We are set to unleash what could very well be our most exciting lineup of preliminary bouts yet, filled with a diverse group of hungry, up-and-coming talent, future superstars and even a former world champion in Rick Glenn,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo.

The 26-year –old Glenn of Marshalltown, Iowa is looking to rebound after a hard-fought defeat at the hands of Lance Palmer that cost Glenn his World Series of Fighting featherweight title. The loss snapped Glenn’s phenomenal unbeaten streak that spanned 13 fights over the course of more than 4 years.

Heading into what will be his promotional debut under the World Series of Fighting banner, Ward of Chicago, Ill. is riding a five-fight win streak that began on September 27, 2013 when he submitted Pedro Velasco with a rear-naked choke just 42 seconds into the first round of battle.

In other featherweight preliminary bout action, Alexandre “Capitao” Almeida (16-5) of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil will square off with Saul “The Spider” Almeida (18-5) of Boston, Mass.

Alexandre, 27, will hunt for his fourth consecutive win. To date, 12 of his 16 career conquests have come by way of submission.

Saul, 26, is seeking his sixth straight win after earning a split decision victory over Chris Foster at World Series of Fighting’s debut event at Foxwoods Resort Casino on April 10.

Also at featherweight, Rodrigo “The Young Lion” Almeida (12-2) of Woburn, Mass. faces off with Bruce “Pretty Boy” Boyington (10-8) of Bangor, Maine.

The 29-year-old Almeida is looking to notch his eighth consecutive win, while Boyington, 36, boasts an 80 percent finish rate.

In one of two middleweight (185 pounds) preliminary card fights, hard-hitting KO artist and Iraq war veteran Justin Torrey (7-1) of Springfield, Mass. will throw down with Rex “T-Rex” Harris (7-2) of West Pittston, Penn.

Six of Torrey’s seven wins to date have come by way of (T)KO, while all seven of Harris’ victories have come by way of (T)KO or submission.

In the second middleweight scrap, recent World Series of Fighting signee Louis “Handgunz” Taylor (11-3) of Chicago will make his promotional debut against unbeaten prospect Nicolai Salchov (5-0) of Dusseldorf, Germany.

In the midst of a four-fight win streak, Taylor has produced 10 of his 11 career wins by way of (T)KO or submission. Salchov has done likewise in 4 of his 5 starts.

Washington Nunes Da Silva (5-1) of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil will meet Colton Smith (5-4) of Manassas, Va. at welterweight (170 pounds).

The WSOF 24 preliminary bout card will kick off with a heavyweight affair pitting Pat Walsh (6-2) of West Bridgewater, Mass. against Tyler King (9-3) of North Attleboro, Mass.

Priced from $39.99, tickets for “WSOF 24: Fitch vs. Okami” are on sale at Ticketmaster.com and WSOF.com.

In the welterweight main event, Jon Fitch (26-7-1, 1 NC) of Fort Wayne, Ind. will face rival superstar and grappling technician Yushin “Thunder” Okami (30-9) of Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan.

In the co-main event, World Series of Fighting Heavyweight Champion Blagoy Ivanov (12-1) of Sofia, Bulgaria will put his coveted title on the line for the first time against seasoned contender Derek “Caveman” Mehmen (19-6) of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Doors at the Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino will open at 4:30 p.m. ET, and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 5:30 p.m. The card is subject to change.

About “World Series of Fighting” (WSOF)
“World Series of Fighting” (WSOF) is a world wide premier professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion dedicated to delivering the best action-packed fights for fight fans by producing the best possible match-ups between elite fighters from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com. Follow “World Series of Fighting” on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries and “World Series of Fighting” President Ray Sefo @SugarRaySefo.

About Foxwoods ® Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is one of the premier entertainment destinations in the Northeast. As the largest resort casino in North America, Foxwoods offers a vast array of gaming in six casinos; AAA Four-Diamond hotels, restaurants from gourmet to quick-service, world-renowned spas, award-winning golf, state-of-the-art theaters, and exclusive retailers. Perfect for both recreation and business, Foxwoods provides modern and versatile convention and meeting space to infuse new life into any meeting or event. Foxwoods Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. For a comprehensive look at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation visit Foxwoods.com.

ABOUT NBCSN
NBCSN, part of the NBC Sports Group, is dedicated to serving passionate sports fans. Now in more than 85 million homes, the Emmy Award-winning network is the cable television home of the Summer and Winter Olympics, National Hockey League (NHL) – including two games of the Stanley Cup Final — Premier League, Formula One, IndyCar, Tour de France, the 34th America’s Cup, and beginning in 2015, NASCAR. In addition, NBCSN features college football, college basketball, college hockey, cycling, outdoor programming, horse racing surrounding the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, Fight Night boxing, Ironman, the Dew Tour and USA Sevens Rugby. The network is also home to original programs such as Costas Tonight, NFL Turning Point, Pro Football Talk, The Dan Patrick Show, and NASCAR America. NBCSN is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.




Fight Network Presents UFC Fight Night Japan Pre-Show & Live Prelims this Saturday, Sept. 26

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Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, presents extensive coverage of UFC Fight Night™: Barnett vs. Nelsonthis Saturday, September 26 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Fight Network will air the live prelims exclusively in Canada from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET. The main card will be televised on TSN5.

In the featured prelim, well-travelled Japanese veteran Keita “K-Taro” Nakamura (30-6-2, 1NC) makes his UFC return against Chinese standout Li “The Leech” Jingliang (10-3) in a welterweight showdown. In other action, Germany’s Nick “Sergeant” Hein (12-2, 1NC) and Canadian “Rajin” Kajan Johnson (20-12-1) enter enemy territory for lightweight clashes against Japan’s Yusuke Kasuya (9-1) and Naoyuki Kotani (33-12-7), respectively, while Japanese welterweight prospect Shinsho “Animal” Anzai (8-2) throws down with Dominican Republic export Roger “Viva” Zapata (4-1).

Premiering tonight, Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. ET, Fight Network’s UFC® Pre-Show features previews, predictions and analysis for the event, which is headlined by Josh Barnett vs. Roy Nelson, and airs at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday as a lead-in to the live prelims. Additional features and pre-fight coverage will air during Fight News Now Extra.

In addition to all the live events, Fight Network is the destination for UFC library content, specials and series, including UFC Unleashed, UFC Now, UFC Ultimate Insider and classic UFC PPV events. All airings are listed at www.fightnetwork.com.

The full card for UFC Fight Night™: Barnett vs. Nelsonincludes:

Main Card (Live on TSN5, 10 p.m. ET):
-Josh Barnett (33-7) vs. Roy Nelson (21-11)
-Gegard Mousasi (37-5-2) vs. Uriah Hall (12-5)
-Kyoji Horiguchi (15-1) vs. Chico Camus (14-6, 1NC)
-Takeya Mizugaki (20-9-2) vs. George Roop (15-12-1)
-Katsunori Kikuno (23-7-2) vs. Diego Brandao (23-10)
-Mizuto Hirota (17-7) vs. Teruto Ishihara (7-2)

Preliminary Card (Live on Fight Network, 8 p.m. ET):
-Keita Nakamura (30-6-2, 1NC) vs. Li Jingliang (10-3)
-Nick Hein (12-2, 1NC) vs. Yusuke Kasuya (9-1)
-Naoyuki Kotani (33-12-7) vs. Kajan Johnson (20-12-1)
-Shinsho Anzai (8-2) vs. Roger Zapata (4-1)

For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit tv.fightnetwork.com, follow us on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.




Bellator MMA on ESPN Deportes: ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ Joe Warren in Main Event against LC Davis

Bellator MMA returns to ESPN Deportes Friday, September 25, at 9 p.m. with the Bantamweight Feature Fight, featuring ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ Joe Warren (12-4) against former World Extreme Cagefighting and Affliction standout, L. C. Davis (23-6).

ESPN will be providing exclusive Spanish-language coverage starting at 7 p.m., on ESPN Deportes + live from the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, TX.

Date
Time (ET)
Event
Platform(s)
Fri, Sep 25
7 p.m.

Bellator 143: Undercard Matches

ESPN Deportes +
9 p.m.
Bellator Bantamweight Feature Fight:
Joe Warren vs L.C. Davis

Main Event also includes:
Bellator Middleweight Feature Fight:
Joey Beltran (16-11, 1 NC) vs. Kendall Grove (21-15, 1 NC)
Bellator Featherweight Feature Fight:
Henry Corrales (12-1) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (10-2)
Bellator Heavyweight Feature Fight:
Vinicius Queiroz (7-3) vs. Ewerton Teixeira (3-0)
ESPN Deportes +




Fight Network’s weekly MMA programming schedule (Sept. 21-27, 2015)

Fight Network is a 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports. It airs programs focused on the entire scope of the combat sports genre, including live fights and up-to-the-minute news and analysis for mixed martial arts, kickboxing, professional wrestling, traditional martial arts, boxing, fight news, as well as fight-themed drama series, documentaries and feature films.

Below find highlights of this week’s programming:

Monday, Sept. 21
6:30 p.m. ET – Judo World Championships 2004 Highlights – Highlights from the 2014 Judo World Championships on Aug.14 Judo World Championships on Aug.5-31, in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
7:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Fight Network’s John Ramdeen and Robin Black invite special guests to breakdown the weekend of MMA action.
7:30 p.m. ET & 11:30 p.m. ET- Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

Tuesday, Sept. 22
1:30 a.m. ET – XPTV – Coverage of regional U.S. professional and amateur MMA events.
6:30 a.m. ET – Hip Show: Arena Combat – Tag-team MMA inside a 12m by 12m arena with three-level obstacle structures.
5:00 & 5:30 ET – Xtreme Fighting Championship – Florida-based pro MMA featuring top American prospects, international stars and UFC veterans.
6:00 p.m. & 10 p.m. ET — – 5 Rounds Today – Video podcast with John Ramdeen and Robin Black breaking down a wide variety of topics in the MMA world, including previews of upcoming events and all the latest rumors and headlines.
8:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Fight Network’s John Ramadeen and Robin Black invite special guests to breakdown the weekend of MMA action.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET — Fighting Spirit MMA Season 4 – Compilation of international fights from SFL, Legend, FFC, M-1 and others.
11:00 p.m. ET – Enfusion Live #31: Malaga, Spain – Featuring Fran Palenzuela vs. Tayfun Ozcan in kickboxing action from the Enfusion -72.5 kg world title from, Sept. 19, 2015 in Malaga, Spain.

Wednesday, Sept. 23
2:00 a.m. ET & 2 p.m. ET – Global Fighting Championship 4 – Featuring Badr Hari vs. Arnond Oborotov on a stacked MMA/kickboxing card from Oct. 16, 2014 in Dubai.
5:00 p.m. ET – Texas Fight Night – MMA action from Texas featuring the Lone Star State’s top prospects in the cage.
6:00 p.m. ET – Best of Cage Rage – Featuring classic fights from the UK-based Cage Rage organization with Anderson Silva, Antonio Silva, Victor Belfort, Paul Daley and others.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and feature.
7:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
8:00 p.m. ET – Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 54 – Featuring Jesse Taylor vs. John Phillips for the Cage Warriors middleweight title from May 4,m 2013 in Cardiff, Wales.
11:00 p.m. ET – MMA Meltdown with Gabriel Morency – Gabriel Morency breaks down all the happenings in MMA, discussing odds, predictions, plus special weekly guests and exclusive interviews.
11:30 p.m. ET – TakeDown Wrestling – Extensive coverage of amateur wrestling events, including the latest news, behind-the-scenes coverage from events and exclusive interviews.

Thursday, Sept. 24
1:30 a.m. ET & 1:00 p.m. ET – Ultimate Challenge MMA 26: The Real Deal – Featuring Linton VBssell vs. Aurelijus Kerpe and Stav Economou vs. Tomasz Czerwinski from Feb. 4, 2012 in London.
3:30 a.m. ET – Hard Knocks Fighting: Out of the Cage: Lindsay Garbatt – Mini-documentary on Toronto native Lindsay Garbatt’s MMA journey ahead of her clash with Valeria Mejia at Hard Knocks Fighting 45 LIVE on Fight Network.
6:00 p.m. ET – Championship Fighting Alliance – Pro MMA from Florida featuring the likes of Josh Sampo, Mike Kyle, John Howard, Sean McCorkie, Luis Palomino and others.
8:00 p.m. ET – UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Barnett Pre-Show – Pre-show coverage and analysis of UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Barnett in Saltama, Japan.
8:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and feature.
8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
9:00 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge 61: Battle of Narts 2 – Featuring heavyweight champion Marcin Tybura vs. Ante Delija from Igushetia, Russia.

Friday, Sept. 25
12:00 a.m. ET & 11 a.m. ET- It’s Showtime Special – The world’s premier kickboxing organization featuring Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef and Giorgio Petrosyan.
4:00 a.m. ET & 5:00 p.m. ET – UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Barnett Pre-Show – Pre-show coverage and analysis of UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Barnett in Saltama, Japan.
12:00 p.m. ET – Bookie Beatdown – Preview of the betting lines and top picks for major UFC events.
6:00 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge – Pro MMA from Europe featuring top rising prospects and international stars.
7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.
7:30 p.m. ET — Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.
8:00 p.m. ET – KSW 18: Overeem vs. Rozalski – Featuring Valentijn Overeem vs. Mar4cin Rozalski, Jan Blachowicz vs. Mario Miranda and Curt Warburton vs. Artur Sowinski from Feb. 25, 2012 in Lodz, Poland.
11:00 p.m. ET – Hard Knocks Fighting 45 – LIVE MMA from Calgary, Alberta, Canada featuring Jordan McKay vs. Joel Powell and Wolfgang Janssen vs. Craig Shintani.

Saturday, Sept. 26
6:00 a.m. ET – Best of TKO – Featuring Georges St, Pierre vs. Thomas Denny from UCC 12.
7:00 a.m. ET & 12:00 p.m. ET – UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Barnett Pre-Show – Pre-show coverage and analysis of UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Barnett in Saltama, Japan.
5:00 p.m. ET – DEEP: Cage Impact 2013 – Featuring Doo Ho Choi vs, Shoji Maruyama and Ryuta Sakurai vs. Yuji Sakuragi from June 15, 2013 in Tokyo.
8 p.m. ET -CANADA ONLY – UFC Fight Night: Barnett vs. Nelson Prelims – Live preliminary bouts from Saitama, Japan, including Katsunori Kikuno vs. Diego Brandao and Naoyuki Kotani vs. Kajan Johnson.
9:00 p.m. ET – Hard Knocks Fighting 45 – Featuring Jordan Mackay vs. Joel Powell and Wolfgang Janssen vs. Craig Shintani from Sept. 25, 2015 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Sunday, Sept. 27
6:00 a.m. ET – Pancrase Classics – Classic pioneering MMA battles featuring Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Name Marquardt, Chael Sonnen and others.
8:30 a.m. ET – CANADA ONLY – ONE Championship: Odyssey of Champions LIVE – Live MMA from Jakarta, Indonesia, featuring Jadamba Narantungalag vs. Marat Gafurov for the ONE featherweight title, plus Herbert Burns vs. Timofey Nastyukhin, Roger Huerta vs. Koji Ando and Leandro Ataides vs. Alexey Butorin.
11:00 a.m. ET – Best of ADCC- Features compilations of the greatest grappling matches ever held, featuring Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Eddie Bravo, Fabricio Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Ronaldo Souza and Royler Gracie.
12:00 p.m. ETB – Elite Muay Thai: Thailand vs. Challenger – The biggest Muay Thai series in the world featuring premium international stand-up fighters taking on the renowned Thailand National Team.
4:00 p.m. ET – Fighting Spirit MMA Season 4- Compilation of international fights from SFLO, Legend, FFC, M-1 and others.
5:00 p.m. – USA Wrestling Weekly – Host Scott Casber gives weekly news and analysis centering around USA Wrestling, the sport’s national governing body, including interviews, features, and a look back at the past.
5:30 p.m. ET – Judo Baku Grand Slam 2014 Highlights – Highlights from the Judo Baku Grand Slam from May 9-11 in Azerbaijan.
11:00 p.m. ET – Enfusion Live: Groningen – Professional kickboxing featuring Rachida Bouhout vs. Laetitia Bakissy for thew Enfusion women’s -64kg Title from Nov. 16, 2013 in Groningen, Netherlands.
l

Information:

www.FightNetwork.com

Twitter & Instagram @fightnet

www.Facebook.com/FightNetwork
CONTACT:
Bob Trieger, Full Court PRESS, 978.664.4482, bobtfcp@hotmail.com, @FightPublicist

ABOUT FIGHT NETWORK: Fight Network is the world’s premier combat sports network dedicated to 24/7 coverage, including fights, fighters, fight news and fight lifestyle. The channel is available in the U.S. on Cablevision in parts of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, Texas-based Grande Communications, Armstrong Cable in Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, as well as on Shentel Cable in Virginia, West Virginia and portions of western Maryland, and Suddenlink Communications in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina.. Fight Network is also on Roku set top boxes in the U.S. and Canada, streamed live on website KlowdTV.com, and available on all major carriers in Canada and more than 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.




BACK-TO-BACK EVENTS AT THE COSMOPOLITAN OF LAS VEGAS SET THE STAGE FOR A BLOCKBUSTER WEEKEND

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Las Vegas – UFC’s December to remember will be highlighted by an unprecedented three-event fight week featuring some of the sport’s biggest stars. The action begins Thursday, December 10 as No. 6 strawweight contender Paige VanZant battles No. 8 Joanne Calderwood on UFC FIGHT PASS® in the main event of UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: VanZANT vs. CALDERWOOD. The following night No. 2 featherweight contender Frankie Edgar and No. 3 Chad Mendes serve as the marquee bout of The Ultimate Fighter®: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber Finale. Both events will take place at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

The blockbuster weekend culminates Saturday night when the first featherweight champion in UFC history, Jose Aldo, and interim champion Conor McGregor, finally settle their differences in the main event of UFC® 194®: ALDO vs. McGREGOR.

Former lightweight champion Edgar (18-4-1, fighting out of Toms River, N.J.) looks to secure a shot at the title with a win in the five-round main event of The Ultimate Fighter Finale. “The Answer” is riding a four-fight win streak that includes wins over Mendes’ teammate Urijah Faber, Cub Swanson, UFC legend BJ Penn and Charles Oliveira. A win here would solidify his place as the No. 1 contender in the stacked 145-pound division. Mendes (17-3, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) looks to get back in the win column after a short notice loss to McGregor in July. With a full camp behind him, the Team Alpha Male standout is confident the result will be different and that he will leave the Octagon® in line for another shot at championship gold.

Setting the stage for Edgar and Mendes will be the much anticipated return of third-ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia), who looks to keep his perfect record intact when he meets No. 9 Tony Ferguson (20-3, fighting out of Ventura, Calif.). Ferguson is coming off back-to-back Performance of the Night victories, and he hopes to climb into the top five of the division by handing Nurmagomedov the first loss of his career.

To headline the first UFC FIGHT PASS card on American soil, VanZant (6-1, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) meets Scottish sensation Calderwood (10-1, fighting out of Glasgow, Scotland). VanZant, who is one of mixed martial arts fastest rising stars, will need to use her relentless attack to counter Calderwood’s dangerous striking in hopes of staying undefeated inside the Octagon and take one step closer to a shot at the title. With four wins by knockout – three in the first round, the Scot is the most dangerous opponent to date for the Team Alpha Male prodigy.

For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

Visit the UFC® Press Portal for information and content to support your UFC coverage.

Tickets for THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® FINALE: TEAM McGREGOR vs. TEAM FABER go on sale Friday, September 25 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $350, $250 and $150. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com or through www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call (888) 929-7849. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, September 23 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, September 24 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: VanZANT vs. CALDERWOOD go on sale Friday, September 25 at 12 p.m. PT and are priced at $225, $125 and $75. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com or through www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call (888) 929-7849. Ticket prices do not include applicable service charges.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, September 23 at 12 p.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, September 24 starting at 12 p.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER® FINALE: TEAM McGREGOR vs. TEAM FABER airs live on FOX Sports 1 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Friday, December 11, with the prelims kicking off the evening on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

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Tybura retains heavyweight title, M-1 Challenge 61 results

INGUSHETIA, Russia (September 20, 2015) – M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Marcin Tybura retained his title, technically winning by first round knockout as challenger Ante “The Walking Trouble” Delija broke his leg, in tonight’s M-1 Challenge 61: Battle of Narts at Ingushetia, Russia.

Tybura (13-1-0, 4 KO/TKO, 5 SUB), fighting out of Poland, bounced back from a loss action in which he lost a Super Fight to M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan Puetz by way of a third-round stoppage due to severely broken nose.

Against Russian challenger Delija (14-3-0, 14-3-o, 5 KO/TKO, 7 SUB) in M-1Challenge 61, Delija broke his lower leg when a kick was blocked by Tybura, who pounced on his fallen foe until the referee stopped the fight when he saw Delija’s grotesquely injured leg.

Three of the other four main card fights ended in decisions. In the co-feature, Antun “Killer” Racic (18-6-0, 0 KO/TKO, 13 SUB), of Croatia, halted Russian featherweight Alexey Nevzorev’s (9-2-0, 1 KO/TKO, 4 SUB) unbeaten M-1 record at 3-0, taking a unanimous decision.

In a pair of featherweights matches, both decided by unanimous decisions, Russian prospect Magomed Idrisov (6-0-0, 2 KO/TKO, 0 SUB) remained undefeated against Lithuanian veteran Sergej Grecicho (21-7-0, 2 KO/TKO, 15 SUB), while Ukrainian Alexander Panasyuk (6-1-0, 1 KO/TKO, 4 SUB) got the best of Russian Lom-Ali Nalgiev (3-4-0, 0 KO/TKO, 2 SUB).

Brazilian light heavyweight Carlos Alexander “Indio” Pereira (33-10-0, 22 KO/TKO, 9 SUB) was impressive in his M-1 debut, locking an arm-bar on late replacement Ruslan Zhemukhov (5-2-0, 0 KO/TKO, 2 SUB), of Russia, in the opening round.

Judges were needed in six of eight preliminary fights. Russian lightweight Ramazan Esenbaev (9-1-0, 2 KO/TKO, 2 SUB) and his countryman, welterweight Rustam Gadzhiev (6-3-0, 2 KO/TKO, 0 SUB), were unanimous decision winners, respectively, over Kazakh-native Damir Ismagulov (4-2-0, 3 KO/TKO, 0 SUB) and Ukrainian Vyachseslav Ten (10-5-2, 4 KO/TKO, 6 SUB).

Split-decision victors were Russian welterweight Maksim Grabovich (2-0-0, 1 KO/TKO, 0 SUB), who ruined Adam Elmirziev’s (0-1-0) professional debut, and Elmar Mamedov versus Ruslan Esmurziev (3-1-0, 2 KO/TKO) in a battle of Russian featherweights.

Russian light heavyweight Akramat Evkurov (5-1-0, 1 KO/TKO, 1 SUB) used an arm-bar in his first-round submission win against Ukrainian Sergey Kutsy (2-3-0, 1 KO/TKO, 1 SUB). Russian heavyweight Murad Ismailov (5-0-0, 5 KO/TKO) went 5-for-5 with 5 KO wins in his young pro MMA career stopping Evgeni Boldyrev (8-6-0, 3 KO/TKO, 2 SUB), of Ukraine, in the first round on punches.

Complete results below:

MAIN CARD
(winners listed first)

M-1 CHALLENGE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Marcin Tybura (12-1-0), Lodz, Poland
WKO/TKO1 (Injury – 2:21)
Ante Delija (14-3-0), Russia
(Tybura retained M-1 Challenge heavyweight title)

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Carlos Alexander Pereira (33-10-0), Brazil
WSUB1 (Armbar – 4:02)
Ruslan Zhemukhov (5-1-0), Russia

LIGHTWEIGHTS
Alexander Panasyuk (6-1-0), Ukraine
WDEC3
Lom-Ali Nalgiev (3-4-0), Russia

FEATHERWEIGHTS
Magomed Idrisov (6-0-0), Russia
WDEC3
Sergej Grecicho (21-7-0), Lithuania

Antun Racic (18-6-0), Croatia
WDEC 3
Alexey Nevzorov (9-2-0), Russia

PRELIMINARY CARD

HEAVYWEIGHTS
Evgeni Boldyrev (9-5-0), Ukraine
WKO/TKO1 (Punches – 1:38)
Murad Izmailov (4-1-0), Russia

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Mikhail Ragozin (3-1-0), Russia
WKO/TKO3 (Punches – 2:00)
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (10-5-0), Ukraine

Akramat Evkurov (5-1-0), Russia
WSUB1 (Armbar – 1:00)
Sergey Kutsy (2-3-0), Ukraine

WELTERWEIGHTS
Rustam Gadzhiev (6-3-0), Russia
WDEC3
Vyacheslav Ten (10-5-2), Ukraine

Maksim Grabovich (2-0-0), Russia
WDEC3
Adam Elmirziev (0-1-0), Russia

LIGHTWEIGHTS
Ramazan Ezenbaev (9-1-0), Russia
WDEC3
Damir Ismagulov (4-2-0), Russia

FEATHERWEIGHTS
Elmar Mamedov (2-0-0), Russia
WDEC3
Ruslan Esmurziev (2-2-0), Russia

Upcoming Event: Oct. 10, 2015 – M-1 Challenge 62 in Sochi, Russia

Information

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www.wmmaa.org

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USA MEDIA CONTACT:
Bob Trieger, Full Court PRESS, 978.590.0470, bobtfcp@hotmail.com, @FightPublicist

ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premier entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With its office in St Petersburg, Russia, the M-1 brand has staged more than 160 events worldwide, including M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the U.S. network, Showtime. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2015 promises to be another sensational year of world-class competition with a full calendar of Challenge events fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global Champions among the greatest fighters in the sport.

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