Weekly Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing News – 08/10/2012
By PDG Staff
K-1 and Superkombat Announce Partnership
K-1, the world’s premier kickboxing organization, today announced an agreement with the European leader in combat sports production, Superkombat WGP, and that both companies will work together in the development of K-1’s live event production.
“I am pleased to have an industry leader like SuperKombat WGP supporting K-1,” said Doug Kaplan, CEO, K-1. “SuperKombat WGP and the company president Eduard Irimia believe in the strength of K-1. We are fortunate to have them on board as we expand globally and build the next generation of warriors in the sport.”
Superkombat WGP is the industry leader in fight production throughout Europe. The company currently produces live combat sports events in 75 countries across four continents. Irimia and his team will work closely with K-1 in the format and production of its 2012 series of live arena events in America, Greece and Japan. SuperKombat WGP will also assist K-1 in securing the biggest and best new kickboxing talent coming out of Europe.
“I am honored that Superkombat WGP will be working closely with K-1 to present the absolute best technology in live television production today,” said Irimia. “I am excited that K-1 has finally returned. SuperKombat WGP will help K-1 in every possible way to once again become a giant in combat sports.”
K-1’s next event is the U.S. Grand Prix Championships live from the LA Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, Sept. 8. The all-star line-up of heavyweight fights include: Mighty Mo vs. Rick Roufus, Seth Petruzelli vs. Xavier Vigney, Dewey Cooper vs. Randy Blake, and Jarrell Miller vs. Jack May. Also, the K-1 MAX (Middleweight) fights include: Chaz Mulkey vs. Kit Cope, Michael Mananquil vs. Scotty Leffler, Bryce Krause vs. Justin Greskiewicz and Ben Yelle vs. Joey Pagliuso. Superfights include: Lerdsilla Chumpairtour vs. Gabriel Varga, Andy Howson vs. Romie Adanza, Justin Buchholz vs. Zhipeng Zhou and Markhaile Wedderburn vs. Jeremiah Metcalf.
Bellator Signs Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral
Bellator Fighting Championships continues to bolster its already impressive roster as the promotion has announced the signing of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Renato “Babalu” Sobral to its Light Heavyweight roster. Still recovering from a hand injury suffered earlier this year, “Babalu” will make his Bellator debut in the Season 8 Light Heavyweight Tournament, which will air on Spike starting in January.
“Babalu is an awesome addition to the Bellator family,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He’s beaten some of the greatest fighters in the sport, and poses a tremendous threat to every fighter in our Light Heavyweight Division. From a fans perspective, he’s incredibly exciting to watch, and I’m expecting big things from Babalu in January on Spike.”
As the proud owner of an impressive 37-9 record, including submission victories over Chael Sonnen, Mauricio Rua and Travis Wiuff, “Babalu” has big things in mind when he steps inside the Bellator cage.
“I’m really happy to be a part of the Bellator family,” Sobral said. “This is my new home, and I can’t wait to get into the tournament. My only wish was that it could all be in one night, but I don’t think we can do that, so I’ll just put one more tournament under my belt, and I’m going to take this opportunity and get my shot at the Bellator World Title.”
UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson – Fight Card Update
With Josh Koscheck injured, welterweight Jake Ellenberger will now meet UFC veteran Jay “The Thoroughbred” Hieron at UFC 151. A top-notch wrestler with good striking, Hieron has won 11 of his last 12 bouts and looks to make his return to the Octagon a success.
UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson
September 01, 2012
Mandalay Bay Events Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
Main Card (PPV):
Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson – UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron
Dennis Hallman vs. Thiago Tavares
Dennis Siver vs. Eddie Yagin
Danny Castillo vs. Michael Johnson
Preliminary Card (FX):
Charlie Brenneman vs. Kyle Noke
Jeff Hougland vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Tim Means vs. Abel Trujillo
Daron Cruickshank vs. Henry Martinez
Preliminary Card (UFC Facebook):
John Lineker vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani
Shane Roller vs. Jacob Volkmann
Strikeforce: Ronda Rousey vs. Sarah Kaufman – Promo Trailer
TaKe On Productions Muay Thai “Battle at Bally’s II”: Gabriel Varga vs. Justin Greskiewicz
TaKe On Productions, New York’s premiere Muay Thai promotion, and MSG Sports announced the return of full rules Thai Kickboxing to Atlantic City with “Battle at Bally’s 2,” a professional and amateur Muay Thai event set to take place on Saturday, August 11, in the Grand Ballroom at Bally’s Casino, beginning at 6:00pm. Sanctioned by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, this event will feature a fight card that includes today’s best professional and amateur Muay Thai fighters, competing under full Thai rules which allow for forceful knee and elbow strikes. The “Battle at Bally’s 2” event will also be streamed live via internet PPV provider GoFightLive (GFL.tv) at a cost of $14.99.
Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased via: www.thegarden.com, all Ticketmaster locations, the Bally’s box office, and at Muay Thai and MMA gyms throughout NY, NJ, and PA. Fans can visit www.TakeOnProductions.com for special event VIP packages, along with the full fight card, fighter information and other exciting content. “Battle at Bally’s II” is being produced by TaKe-On Productions in association with MSG Sports.
The main event will feature two professional Muay Thai fighters from New York – Jay Matias from Sitan Gym and Douglas Ahammer from Chok Sabai Gym. The Co-Main Event features a rematch of a controversial draw from the historic March 16 “Muay Thai at the Mecca” card at The Theater at Madison Square Garden – Sean Hinds (C3 Athletics/Mushin MMA) versus Deshawn Robinson (America’s Finest Kickboxing). There will also be two amateur titles on the line with Spencer Grekoski (7-1) meeting Chris Mauceri (7-2) for five rounds of Full Thai Rules to claim the first-ever TaKe On 145 pound title, as well as Ariel Abreu (5-0) versus Paul Miller (3-2) for the first-ever TaKe-On 185lb title.
Other featured bouts on this explosive fight card include Andy Singh (Pin Point Muay Thai) vs. Anthony Demaio (Staten Island Muay Thai), Prairie Rugilio (Girl Fight MMA) versus Kylie Noll (Sensei’s Muay Thai), and Freddy Cheung (Sitan Gym New York) versus Scott Krampetz (Catone’s MMA).
Andrei Semenov Returns at M-1 Challenge
One of the most experienced and popular Russian fighters Andrei Semenov will come back to the ring on the big M-1 Challenge tournament that will take place in St. Peterburg on November 15.
Russian middleweight veteran made a name for himself fighting and winning in world’s best promotions like UFC, Pride and, of course, M-1, where he became a true legend of Russian MMA. In April of 2011 Semenov came back to the ring after two and a half year hiatus and won another great match against American middleweight Luigi Fioravanti only to take a rest for another year and a half.
Now the waiting is over, and the fans will have a chance to see Andrei and the other high-class M-1 fighters plus European amateur MMA championship finals in St.-Petersburg! The names of Semenov’s opponent and other tournament participants will be announced soon.
UFC on FX 5: Browne vs. Silva – Officially Announced
A five-round heavyweight showdown between contenders Travis “Hapa” Browne and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will headline an exciting UFC card scheduled for Friday, Oct. 5 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. The event will mark UFC’s first in Minneapolis since 2008, when UFC 87 broke the Target Center live gate record with a $2.25 million mark.
Additional fights include: The Ultimate Fighter season 14 winner John Dodson vs. highly touted flyweight Jussier Formiga; Matt Mitrione vs. Rob Broughton in heavyweight action; Josh Neer vs. Justin Edwards in a welterweight contest. The main card will also air live on FX at 9 p.m. ET.
Unbeaten at 4-0-1 in his UFC career, the 30-year-old Browne has made an immediate impact in the heavyweight division thanks to his versatile and dangerous attack. Training alongside UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and under the guidance of renowned coach Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, N.M., the Hawaii native will face the sternest test of his career in Silva.
Owner of wins over the likes of former UFC champions Andrei Arlovski and Ricco Rodriguez, as well as former PRIDE star Fedor Emelianenko, the 32-year-old “Bigfoot” has 11 wins by knockout and three by submission. He’ll look to place himself in the title picture on Oct. 5 when he meets the hard-hitting Hawaiian.
“Travis Browne is undefeated in his career and wants to prove that he’s ready for a shot at the title,” UFC President Dana White said. “He’s got a tough test in front of him in ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, who’s beaten two former UFC champions and also finished Fedor. I’m excited to finally get back to Minneapolis and I’m confident this card is going to deliver for the fans at the Target Center!”
Vale Tudo Japan – 12/24/2012 Promo Trailer
Superkombat World Grand Prix 11 – Qualification – Fight Card Update
Sebastian Ciobanu (Romania), Goran Radonjic (Montenegro), Daniel Sam (Great Britain), Andrei Stoica (Romania) and Alexandru Lungu (Romania) are the top fighters who have been confirmed for Superkombat WGP 11 – Qualification, scheduled for October 20, 2012
After the Superkombat WGP 11 – Qualification will be set and the fourth fighters qualified for Superkombat WGP 12 – Final Elimination, scheduled for November 10, 2012. So far, after the first three events Catalin Morosanu, Raul Catinas and Benjamin Adegbuyi have qualified.
The Superkombat WGP 13 – Final of this year will take place on December 8, 2012.
Sebastian Ciobanu – Sebastian Ciobanu alias “The Son of Dracula” is a Local Kombat veteran with 21 wins from 30 fights. He started his profesional career in 2005 at middleweight division, but in this moment is one of the most spectacular fighters from Romania at 95kg category. 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix in Bucharest, Romania runner-up, Sebastian Ciobanu (aged 27 years old) has a record with wins against Doug Viney (2009), Roman Kleibl (2009) and Mighty Mo (2010).
Goran Radonjic – The most popular fighter in Montenegro, Goran Radonjic made his debut at the Superkombat WGP 8 – Qualification in Podgorica, Montenegro (February 25, 2012) with his win against Frank Munoz (Spain). The Ex-WAKO Amateur European Champ, Goran Radonjic (aged 29 years old) has in his record a win against Mourad Bouzidi and a controversial loss with Igor Jurkovic.
Daniel Sam – Currently ranked the UK number one at the heavyweight division, Daniel Sam alias “The Giant” started to fight in Superkombat in november last year, at Oradea, and at Superkombat WGP 9 – Qualification in Cluj Napoca, Romania he lost the tournament final against Raul Catins alias “Iron”.
Alexandru Lungu – The heaviest fighter from Superkombat, Alexandru Lungu is also included in Superkombat WGP 11 – Qualification fightcard. With impressive background in MMA, Alexandru Lungu made his debut in stand-up last year when he win by KO hist fight with Bob Sapp alias “The Beast”. In this moment, Alexandru Lungu have 3 wins in 3 fights.
Andrei Stoica – Andrei Stoica is one of the most talented fighters from Europe. The oldest of the Stoica brothers, Andrei (aged 25 years old) has 10 wins in his professional record and his last appearance was at Superkombat WGP 10 – Qualification in Varna, Bulgaria (July 7, 2012) when he demolished Hakan Aksoy in the first round.
UFC 152: Benavidez vs. Johnson – Fight Card Update
Canadian welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald has suffered a large cut in training and will be unable to compete as expected against B.J. Penn at UFC 152. UFC President Dana White announced the news following UFC on Fox 4 on Saturday night, and MacDonald confirmed the development via Twitter.
UFC 152: Benavidez vs. Johnson
Sep 22, 2012
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson – UFC Flyweight Championship
Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann
Evan Dunham vs. T.J. Grant
Vinny Magalhaes vs. Igor Pokrajac
Marcus Brimage vs. Jim Hettes
Seth Baczynski vs. Simeon Thoresen
Matt Hamill vs. Roger Hollett
Dan Miller vs. Sean Pierson
Charles Oliveira vs. Cub Swanson
Mitch Gagnon vs. Walel Watson
World’s Greatest Kickboxers Announced for GLORY GRAND SLAM – Heavyweight Tournament
Glory Sports International, the parent company of world championship kickboxing league GLORY World Series, has today revealed the names of the first 13 fighters who have accepted an invitation to compete in the ‘GLORY Grand Slam – Heavyweight,’ 16-man, one-night, single-elimination tournament event in Tokyo, Japan in December.
World No.1 ranked heavyweight Semmy Schilt of The Netherlands tops the list and is joined by legendary icons Remy Bonjasky of Suriname, Peter Aerts of The Netherlands and Jerome LeBanner of France as well as decorated champions Errol Zimmerman of Curacao, Gokhan Saki of Turkey, Sergei Kharitonov of Russia and rising stars Filip Verlinden of Belgium, Ismael Londt of The Netherlands and Suriname, Braddock Silva of Brazil, Brice Guidon of France, Jamal Ben Saddik of Morocco and Igor Jurkovic of Croatia.
The nearly complete tournament field marks an unprecedented assembly of the world’s most outstanding kickboxing talent. The three fighters who will fill the remaining spots in the tournament draw will be announced soon, with Japanese fighters expected in the line-up. The December date and Tokyo venue for the event will also be announced soon.
Only fighters in the upper echelon of the stand-up fighting world were invited and their names underline GLORY’s position as the world’s No. 1 kickboxing league. Never in the history of the sport has there been such a convention of top-ranked fighters in a single night.
”We are thrilled to be able to bring such a high-caliber group of talent to Tokyo as part of our mission to usher in a new dynasty in stand-up fighting,” said Marcus Luer, Managing Director of GLORY World Series.
“GLORYis the premier league of kickboxing and the tournaments are open only to those fighters who have proved themselves to be worthy,” explained Cor Hemmers, kickboxing icon and GLORY ambassador.
“The fighters we have invited to the Grand Slam are either household names in the sport already or are the future Champions. They represent more than 10 nations spanning 4 continents”
“The fights will be spectacular and the tournament will be dramatic. The winner will be the unquestioned king of the heavyweight division.”
The Grand Slam event will debut a new tournament format devised by Hemmers. The sixteen fighters will battle it out over four stages in one night to determine an overall winner.
Full details of the new tournament format will be announced soon.
PRIDE FC – Memories Highlight
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