- UFC now available on Sohu.com
- UFC to make history in Abu Dhabi at UFC 112
- Woods Tops Power List in Bloomberg BusinessWeek Sports Rankings (Fedor and Lesnar Make List)
- Bellator Selects Its Home Base
- Stakes are high in Walker’s MMA debut
- Second UFC Gym to open in California this summer
UFC now available on Sohu.com
Hundreds of millions of sports fans in China will now have the opportunity to see UFC superstars like Randy Couture, Georges St-Pierre and “Minotauro” Nogueira fight in the UFC® Octagon™. The Ultimate Fighting Championship organization today announced it has inked a deal with one of the country’s largest web portals, Sohu.com to present UFC pay per view events online. Named the official web partner of the UFC in China, Sohu.com will live broadcast UFC events starting with UFC 109: RELENTLESS in February.
“China is one of the gateways to building UFC into the biggest sport in the world,” said Dana White, UFC President. “China is the cradle of martial arts, many of the styles that you see in the UFC were born in this country. With Sohu.com as our web partner, we look forward to presenting world class fights and to bringing the great tradition of martial arts back to its homeland in China.”
Larry Jin, Director of Sports, Sohu.com said, “SOHU Kungfu channel is made to comprehensively report and follow-up the many Kungfu fighting related events both in China and overseas. We are looking forward to working with the UFC to create a stronger relationship and to seeing Chinese warriors in the Octagon.” (UFC)
UFC to make history in Abu Dhabi at UFC 112
The world’s greatest indoor sporting event goes outdoors on April 10 as the Ultimate Fighting Championship® organisation lands in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for the first time.
Some of the world’s greatest mixed martial artists will appear on the historic open-air UFC 112 event at the Concert Arena, Ferrari World, Yas Island.
Topped by a double main event, two UFC world titles will be on the line at UFC 112. First, UFC lightweight champion BJ ‘The Prodigy’ Penn puts his belt on the line against No.1 contender Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar and then UFC middleweight king Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva defends his crown against fellow Brazilian striker Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort.
As well as two fascinating UFC title clashes, the UFC’s first venture into the region will also showcase an intriguing battle of legends as UFC icon Matt Hughes locks horns with MMA pioneer and Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Renzo Gracie at welterweight.
UFC President Dana White said: “This is one of the biggest and most significant nights in the history of the UFC. UFC 112 is our first ever outdoor event and it is taking place in the hometown of our brand new partners, Flash Entertainment. We are very happy we could deliver what fans around the world will recognise as a stacked card featuring the sport’s biggest stars.” (UFC)
Woods Tops Power List in Bloomberg BusinessWeek Sports Rankings (Fedor and Lesnar Make List)
To determine who the 100 most powerful athletes are on and off the field, Bloomberg BusinessWeek teamed with CSE, formerly known as Career Sports & Entertainment, an integrated sports and entertainment company that connects brands with fans, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek columnist Rick Horrow of Horrow Sports Ventures and host of “The $ports Take with Sports Professor Rick Horrow,” to create the 2010 version of the Power 100.
Unlike previous Power 100s, this year’s would focus only on athletes — not owners, agents, commissioners or coaches. On- field metrics included athletes who scored the best on the field (or the rink, greens or court) over a two-year period. The more popular the sport, the more weight those achievements garnered. (Bloomberg)
82. Fedor Emelianenko Mixed Martial Arts
83. Derrick Rose Basketball
84. Vijay Singh Golf
85. Steven Jackson Football
86. Andy Murray Tennis
87. Allen Iverson Basketball
88. Danica Patrick Auto Racing
89. Brandon Roy Basketball
90. Manny Ramirez Baseball
91. Floyd Mayweather Boxing
92. Candace Parker Basketball
93. Shane Mosley Boxing
94. Diana Taurasi Basketball
95. Misty May-Treanor Volleyball
96. Brock Lesnar Mixed Martial Arts
97. Patrick Kane Hockey
98. Chad Ochocinco Football
99. Matt Ryan Football
100. Ryan Sheckler Skateboarding
Bellator Selects Its Home Base
Mixed martial arts promotions typically have one town they return to over and over again with their biggest and best events. The UFC has Las Vegas. Strikeforce has San Jose. The WEC has Sacramento.
Bellator Fighting Championships has now made it official that it has a home of its own, with Hollywood, Fla., set to host Bellator’s top shows in 2010.
Bellator has announced that its Season 2 premiere will take place on April 8 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., and that it will return to the venue for its June 10 Season 2 finale, its Aug. 12 Season 3 premiere and its Oct. 28 Season 3 finale.
The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino also hosted Bellator’s Season 1 premiere and Season 1 finale.
“We are thrilled to be returning to the Seminole Hard Rock during our second and third seasons,” Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said in a statement. “As we discovered during our inaugural season, the Hard Rock Live is one of the finest, most state-of-the-art venues for MMA and the fan response was spectacular. We’re looking forward to bringing four world-class MMA events to South Florida and some of the country’s most devoted and die-hard MMA fans.” (MMAFighting)
Stakes are high in Walker’s MMA debut
Most will think of things like, “Yeah, it’s too bad he got hurt,” or “It’s too bad he embarrassed the sport,” or even “It’s too bad this had to be televised.”
But don’t expect to see a sports horror story like Willie Mays playing center in the 1973 World Series or Johnny Unitas quarterbacking the San Diego Chargers or Muhammad Ali fighting Larry Holmes. Instead, Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, will fulfill a long-time dream on Saturday by fighting professionally for the first time.
More likely, after the fight, most who watch Walker – and rest assured, it will be one of the largest audiences Showtime has ever had for an MMA card – will say “It’s too bad the guy wasn’t born 25 years later.”
He’s such a great athlete, if he were born in 1987 instead of in 1962, he could have become the greatest MMA fighter who ever lived.
We’ll never know. This is a guy who was born when John F. Kennedy was president for barely a year. The Cuban Missile Crisis was still seven months away. (Yahoo! Sports)
***
A lot of the players who are playing in the Pro Bowl on 1/31 have requested tickets to the show. This show is unique in how it’s laid out. To the public, the main event is Herschel Walker, but from a standpoint of who should in what spot based on tenure, he should be in the opener. The second biggest star is Bobby Lashley, who at this point is scheduled to be in the opener with Walker either second or third, probably with Melvin Manhoef vs. Robbie Lawler in the middle, and Cyborg in the semi and Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis as the main event.
As far as public interest as judged by Internet trends, if Walker is 100, Lashley is 44, Diaz is 19, Cyborg, Zaromskis and Manhoef are all a 2, which is the best indicator of who would draw the ratings and theory, who you’d want on last to not lose audience. Obviously there are reasons it won’t be that way, but I can’t think of any show where it is the prelims that are going to determine what level of success the show has. The goal at this point is to get 9,000 to 10,000, which would be more than Kimbo drew in the same arena in essentially his home town 14 months ago. (Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer)
Second UFC Gym to open in California this summer
“We are excited to open our second UFC Gym this summer,” NEFC CEO/co-founder Jim Rowley, said. “This facility will continue with the UFC Gym approach and feature unique fitness programming that will truly change the way people think about fitness.”
With easy access off Interstate 10, UFC Gym officials expect the Rosemead facility to become an instant fitness destination. The gym will feature cutting-edge training techniques, including MMA programming such as Muay Thai kickboxing, jiu jitsu, self-defense classes, and team-oriented Daily Ultimate Training, as well as one-of-a-kind offerings such as UFC Kid’s Gym Fitness, Octagon Training Disciplines, and High-Octane Conditioning. What’s more, the second UFC Gym will inspire members to realize results like never before.
“By combining our innovative fitness techniques with the fast-paced action of the UFC, we believe we’ve found the formula for success,” Rowley said. “We are really looking forward to bringing a UFC Gym to Rosemead. We are confident that it will only take one trip to our new facility for people to see why UFC Gyms are the future of fitness.” (UFC)
QUICK HITS
- UFC’s Nate Marquardt Named SAF’s “True Warrior” for 2009-2010 (Sharon Antcliff Foundation)
- Strikeforce Targeting Johnson-Mahe, Tate-Frausto for Challengers VII (MMAFighting)
- Frank Shamrock Now Targeting May, Not March, Return to Strikeforce (MMAFighting)
- DREAM.13 set for March 22 at Yokohama Arena in Japan (MMAJunkie)
- Rory MacDonald, Carlos Condit Verbally Agree to UFC 115 Bout (MMAFighting)
- Strikeforce: Miami Fight Card (MMAFighting)
- Coaches Honored with ‘Jackson/Winkeljohn Day’ (Sherdog)
- UFC Lands Internet Broadcast Deal in China (Sherdog)
- WEC’s Cruz vows to gradually dismantle bantamweight champ Bowles (USA Today)
- “Strikeforce: Miami” open workout photos (MMAJunkie)
- Chad Mendes vs. Eric Koch official for WEC 47 prelimary card (MMAJunkie)
- Dos Santos in No Hurry For UFC Title Shot (MMAWeekly)
- Yes, you will get to watch Hieron vs. Riggs this Saturday (Yahoo! Sports)
- Roxanne Modafferi Welcomes King of the Cage’s Entry to Japan (MMAFighting)
- King Of The Cage Japan: “Toryumon” Preview (MMARising)
VIDEO 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
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