- Wisconsin the 43rd State to Regulate MMA
- Brock Lesnar on Cover of UFC Undisputed 2010
- Power & Light events will bring mixed martial arts
- Coleman ready for long-awaited date with Couture at UFC 109
Wisconsin the 43rd State to Regulate MMA
Wisconsin on Thursday became the 43rd U.S. state to adopt mixed-martial-arts regulation with Gov. Jim Doyle’s signing of Senate Bill 290.
The bill took just five months to be signed into law following its September introduction.
With the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing’s boxing bureau now equipped with standard regulations, at least one major promotion – the Ultimate Fighting Championship – could be headed to the Badger State.
According to wicombatsports.com, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner, who attended Thursday’s official bill signing, said the UFC could make a trip to the state – to a market such as Milwaukee, Madison or Green Bay – in the next year.
The UFC has never promoted a show in the state, which has hosted (but not regulated) MMA shows in the past.
The state has a solid MMA fan base, and UFC officials previously told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Wisconsin – like most of the region’s states – draws solid pay-per-view and Spike TV ratings for UFC and WEC events. The state is also home to camps such as the Duke Roufus Academy, where UFC fighters Eric Schafer and Pat Barry train. (MMAJunkie)
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Cheeseheads rejoice! MMA is legal in Wisconsin
It’s a rare occasion that will make me, a proud Illinoisan, give kudos to the state of Wisconsin, but it’s happened. Wisconsin’s governor, Jim Doyle, signed legislation making the Dairy State the 43rd state to regulate MMA.
New York, for those wondering, still hasn’t legalized our fair sport. New York has been working on legalizing MMA for years, and just now has the governor introduced legislation to legalize and regulate the sport. It took Wisconsin about five months. (Cage Writer) … [MMA Payout’s Perspective]
Brock Lesnar on Cover of UFC Undisputed 2010
UFC heavyweight champion, pay-per-view king and former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar has earned the cover spot on “UFC 2010 Undisputed.”
The videogame, which is the second installment of the UFC and THQ’s bestselling videogame title, hits stores on May 25 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles.
THQ recently revealed the cover art and announced a host of upgrades to the highly acclaimed videogame game.
The debut 2009 title recently surpassed the 3.5 million mark in sales while earning positive reviews from the media and game players. Forrest Griffin graced the cover of the U.S. version, and Georges St-Pierre was featured on the Canadian version.
While “Undisputed” succeeded in an untapped market last year, the UFC title this year gets some competition from EA Sports, which releases “EA Sports MMA” in late summer. The title, which features some of the biggest names from Strikeforce’s and DREAM’s rosters, has the backing of one of the videogame industry’s biggest players. (MMAJunkie) … [MMA Payout’s Perspective]
Power & Light events will bring mixed martial arts
The Cordish Co., the Baltimore-based developer of the downtown entertainment district, has formed a stregic venue partnership with Bellator Fighting Championships. The mixed-martial arts promotion, which airs on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo, has agreed to bring four events to Kansas City this year, Cordish said in a release. The events will be shown live in prime time to 92 million homes, then condensed for later viewing.
The Kansas City events are expected to bring more than 1,000 hotel room nights and a projected net economic benefit of more than $2 million. The dates are April 29, June 24, Aug. 26 and Oct. 14.
The partnership is Cordish’s first with a sports organization to host nationally televised live sports events at any of the developer’s open-air, mixed-use venues, which are in various U.S. cities, the release said. But the parties are discussing expanding the partnership to other Cordish venues nationwide. (MSN Money)
Coleman ready for long-awaited date with Couture at UFC 109
Coleman was the originator of ground-and-pound, which at the time featured a brutal ram-like crack of the skull that became his trademark. Yet when headbutts were rightly outlawed by UFC 15, The Hammer was essentially neutered, opening the door for other wrestlers, such as Randy Couture with his dirty boxing game and brilliant game-planning, to establish dominance in various ways.
Some 12 years after Coleman and Couture were first set to fight at UFC 17 (it didn’t happen because Couture was injured in training), neither man resembles the physical force he once was. But that doesn’t mean the debate over which was more effective and aggressive is any less interesting, especially on the eve of their fight Saturday night in Las Vegas at UFC 109.
Had Couture, 46, and Coleman, 45, boxed for a living, a bout featuring two men their age with their records — 17-10 and 16-9, respectively — would likely be killed by the media. But not in MMA, not right now. Don’t forget, these two are pioneers, early modern-day heavyweight greats. A century from now they’ll likely be talked about in the same vein boxing historians celebrate Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey. So, it seems, the novelty of a fight, even if it comes at the tail end of their important careers, is appealing enough to look past certain stark realities. (Sports Illustrated)
QUICK HITS
- UFC 109 Weigh-In Results: Couture, Coleman Hit 205 (MMAFighting)
- Pros Pick: Couture vs. Coleman (Sherdog)
- Jon Fitch-Thiago Alves Rematch Set for UFC 111 (MMAFighting)
- White bearish on UFC 109 PPV “buys,” relief on way with Lesnar’s likely July return (MMAJunkie)
- UFC 109 preview: Fight of Mark Coleman’s life just another challenge for Randy Couture (MMAJunkie)
- “EA Sports MMA” adds Strikeforce’s Dan Henderson to videogame roster (MMAJunkie)
- “EA Sports MMA” adds top Strikeforce prospect Tyron Woodley to videogame roster (MMAJunkie)
- MMA Live’s Jon Anik Talks UFC 109 and MMA Programming on ESPN (Heavy)
- UFC’s White publicly dismisses Strikeforce as ‘lower-level show’ (USA Today)
- Lombard Wins, Masvidal Defeated at G-Force ‘Bad Blood’ (Sherdog)
- ESPN Primer: UFC 109 (ESPN)
- Bellator Champ Hector Lombard Wins By Decision at G-Force Fights 3 (MMAFighting)
- Extensive UFC 2010 Preview: New Modes, New Features, No Couture (ThrowThemBows)
- Analysts: THQ Turnaround Underway, Proving Time Ahead (Gamasutra)
QUOTE OF THE DAY
One thing is for sure — the WEC PPV announcement got zero air time on American sports media. When I saw the “MMA” tab on ESPN’s news ticker yesterday, I thought the WEC PPV announcement would be covered. Nope. What was ESPN’s MMA story? That Jose Canseco wrote on his Twitter account that he wanted to fight Herschel Walker. (Zach Arnold, Fight Opinion)
VIDEO OF THE DAY
- MMA Live: 2-4-10: This week, the usual suspects look back at Herschel Walker’s MMA debut and the rest of the Strikeforce: Miami card. Also, a complete preview of UFC 109, as two Hall of Famers face off this weekend in Las Vegas.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
TV LISTINGS
- HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (2005 World GP Finals) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (02/05/10)
- InsideMMA (Brendan Schaub, Matt Mitrione, & Dermontti Dawson) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (02/05/10)
- HDNet Fights Presents “Furious Finishes III” at 10 PM ET on HDNet (02/05/10)
- Best of Pride FC at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (02/05/10)
- UFC 109 at 10 PM ET on PPV (02/06/10)
UPCOMING EVENTS
- UFC 109: Couture vs Coleman at 10 PM ET on PPV (02/06/10)
- HDNet Fights: King of the Cage – Vengeance at 10 PM ET on HDNet (02/12/10)
- UFC 110: Nogueira vs Velazquez at 10 PM ET on PPV (02/20/10)
- Strikeforce Challengers: Prangley vs Amoussou at 11 PM ET/PT on Showtime (02/26/10)
- WEC 47: Bowles vs Cruz on at 10 PM ET on Versus (03/06/10)
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