- Affliction’s Motion to Dismiss Denied in Fedor Lawsuit
- LNF Ultra Cage MMA fighters raise money for breast cancer
- New Mixed Martial Arts Search Engine and Directory
- Ontario leads world in MMA devotion, UFC says
- UFC fights still not welcome in Ontario despite the sports growing popularity in the province
- UFC’s big hopes for the Big Apple
Affliction’s Motion to Dismiss Denied in Fedor Lawsuit
Fedor Emelianenko and his promotional team survived a first-round attack Monday in a legal battle that pits them against their former business partner, Affliction Entertainment.
Affliction’s attorney, Michael Bassiri, confirmed to Sherdog.com that a Los Angeles federal judge had denied Affliction’s motion to dismiss several claims made in a breach of contract lawsuit filed Oct. 28 by Emelianenko and M-1 Global.
The case is set to go to trial on Nov. 16.
Emelianenko and M-1 Global, a promotional/management group with which the fighter is closely aligned, have sued Affliction for damages following Affliction Entertainment’s decision to cancel its co-promoted “Trilogy” event, which was scheduled to take place Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif. (Sherdog) … [MMAPayout’s Perspective]
LNF Ultra Cage MMA fighters raise money for breast cancer
“It ended up being a great show,” LNF Ultra Cage Fighters founder Dan Ferrie said. “We had enough entertainment for everybody. (Glen) Big Baby Davis came, so we had the stars out. From the kid’s demonstrations, to the Human Floor, to the fights—it had something for everybody.”
“It was a very good night,” LNF Director Greg Mendes agreed. “Everybody pulled together. You know, me and Dan did a lot of work, but the final result was a culmination of everybody picking up all the loose odds and ends. And we had everything, from boxing, to kickboxing matches, MMA matches, and (strict) grappling. In the fights nobody got hurt real bad, which is always good, and everybody joining together to raise awareness really shows what type of people we have in the surrounding communities out here.”
It also demonstrated the intense following of mixed martial arts on the local level. Despite several supposed setbacks, the Holiday Inn was swarming with eager fans.
“MMA is drawing fans better than ever,” Mendes said. “And if it’s this good now, just imagine five years down the road—it will be the biggest thing out here. And hopefully New England can be a Mecca for the sport.”
Before entering the event room, patrons were greeted by the thumping bass from DJ Al Martinez, who kept the atmosphere buzzing throughout the evening. Singer Angella Kronillis also delighted the crowd with a stirring rendition of “God Bless America.” (Taunton Daily Gazette)
New Mixed Martial Arts Search Engine and Directory
Bridgewater, NJ (PRWEB) January 24, 2010 — Index MMA has launched a mixed martial arts directory and search engine. Located at www.indexmma.com , this website is a database of all mixed martial arts websites on the Internet. The worldwide directory consists entirely of user submitted websites.
“The sport of mma is growing incredibly fast and there are new websites all over the world created daily,” said Shawn Ayre president of Zelfanet. “We created a website to accommodate this phenomenon. Now a mma fan can jump on one website and search through a plethora of websites that may have been buried or not even listed in traditional search engines. This is exciting news for mixed martial arts enthusiasts”.
The website was created by the web design group of Zelfanet LLC. Zelfanet is a leading provider of technology solutions based out of New Jersey, USA. (PR Web)
Ontario leads world in MMA devotion, UFC says
More than any other part of the world, Ontario has the most interest in pay-per-view shows for mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship says.
“When we look at our TV ratings and our pay-per-view buys, on a per-capita basis, Toronto and Ontario are the No. 1 places in the world,” UFC executive Marc Ratner tells the Toronto Sun. “It’s unbelievably popular in the province of Ontario and especially Toronto.”
Although Quebec has hosted UFC events and Vancouver plans to do so later this year, Ontario officials say MMA remains illegal in their province for now. But UFC can draw a crowd of 35,000 to 40,000 in Toronto, says Ratner, the promotion’s vice president of regulatory affairs. (USA Today) … [MMAPayout Perspective]
UFC fights still not welcome in Ontario despite the sports growing popularity in the province
On the phone from his office in Las Vegas, Marc Ratner says bluntly that if Ontario were to legalize mixed martial arts, the biggest-ever UFC event in history would go down in Toronto.
“We think we can draw 35,000 to 40,000 there,” said Ratner, vice-president of regulatory affairs for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Despite his desert locale, Ratner should know what he’s talking about when it comes to Canada’s most populous city. As the UFC’s expansion point-man, he’s spent years lobbying state and provincial governments to pass laws legalizing the controversial UFC. Most of them have. Queen’s Park hasn’t.
According to Ratner, there isn’t a place on earth that boasts more of an interest in UFC than Ontario.
…
Provincial athletics commissioner Ken Hayashi, who rightly or wrongly has been perceived by some as being anti-MMA because of his strict adherence to federal Criminal Code regulations, which in his interpretation outlaws mixed martial arts, didn’t respond to calls and e-mails from the Sun.
In a story last year by the Sun’s Steve Buffery, Hayashi maintained his stance that mixed martial arts is an illegal activity in Canada.
Until Sec. 83 is changed to allow for professional combat sports beyond what the law calls a “boxing contest,” there won’t be any UFC bouts in Ontario, Hayashi has said. (Toronto Sun)
UFC’s big hopes for the Big Apple
When Gov. Jim Doyle signs the bill sometime this week, Wisconsin will become the 43rd state to regulate mixed martial arts.
It’s one that doesn’t regulate it that still stands out, however. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been desperate to get into New York and has spent thousands on its lobbying effort.
But there will be no MMA in New York any time soon, even if the state legislature sends a bill to the desk of Gov. David Patterson for his signature in the next few months. That’s because once the bill is signed by the governor, there would be a 120-day window that would have to pass before the bill became law and the sport became legal and regulated by the New York State Athletic Commission.
If the state does pass a bill this year, this is a thought that may essentially give UFC president Dana White a license to print money: Hold the company’s annual New Year’s Eve show in Madison Square Garden with a bout featuring reigning heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. (Who knows if he’ll hold the belt then, but he should be the headliner regardless.)
January 1, 2011, is a Saturday, the day the UFC normally holds its pay-per-view events. How about a New Year’s Eve weigh-in and then a fight to kick off the New Year in the world’s most famous arena? (Yahoo! Sports)
QUICK HITS
- Hansen challenges Fernandes for DREAM title (Yahoo! Sports)
- Round 5 Announces UFC Ultimate Collector Series 2 (Round5)
- MMA fighting: Bobby Lashley ready for bout at BankAtlantic Center (Miami Herald)
- Bobby Lashley Sees Positives of Opponent Shuffling (MMAFighting)
- Herschel Walker to Debut in MMA (Financial News USA)
- Walker uses star power to hype fight (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
- Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal cautiously optimistic on potential bout with Gegard Mousasi (MMAJunkie)
- Tokyo Five Signs Matt Serra For Sponsorship At UFC 109 (FightLine)
- 11 Bouts Signed for UFC’s Versus Debut (Sherdog)
- Griffin vs L’il Nog at UFC 113 (Yahoo! Sports)
- Josh Gross: Stoic Zaromskis shoots for Strikeforce welter title (Sports Illustrated)
- Liddell, 40, has plenty of fight left in him (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
- Cole Konrad, Training Partner of Brock Lesnar’s, Wins MMA Debut (MMAFighting)
- Nick Diaz Happy With Welterweight Return (MMAWeekly)
- 12 Questions for Cris ‘Cyborg’ Santos (Sherdog)
- Shine Fights inks Dave “Pee Wee” Herman; bout with Jeff Monson likely for spring (MMAJunkie)
- Mauler Manhoef aware of shortcomings (ESPN)
- King Of The Cage Japan: “Toryumon” Preview (MMARising)
IMAGE OF THE DAY
TV LISTINGS
- HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (Musashi Tribute) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (01/29/10)
- InsideMMA (Gegard Mousasi, Gilbert Melendez, & Tony Lopez) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (01/29/10)
- HDNet Fights Presents Best of DREAM Super Hulk GP at 10 PM ET on HDNet (01/29/10)
- Best of Pride FC at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (01/29/10)
- Strikeforce Miami: Diaz vs Zaromskis at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime (01/30/10)
- Countdown to UFC 109 at 12:30 AM ET/PT on Spike (01/30/10)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Hopefully indexmma.com gets a LOT better, because right now it’s pretty much useless.
Machiel Van:
Agreed, indexmma.com needs a lot more work before it can become useful.