- Strikeforce Signs Arlovski, 3 Title Fights Taking Place On April 17th CBS Event in Nashville
- BJ Penn Unlikely Source of Info for Hawaii Tsunami News Coverage
- Stratus CEO Paul Feller sees co-existence, not competition, as goal of new ProElite
- Rules Being Drafted for MMA Events in Wisconsin
- Randy Couture at the NFL Combine
- UFC Boss Dana White Donates to Girl With Brain Tumor
Strikeforce Signs Arlovski, 3 Title Fights Taking Place On April 17th CBS Event in Nashville
A bout between lightweight champions Gilbert Melendez and Shinya Aoki is locked for Strikeforce’s April 17 event at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn., confirmed a source with direct knowledge of the bout.
Josh Gross, of Sports Illustrated, was the first to report Monday of the matchup. Sherdog.com has confirmed independently that the bout has been signed.
…
Melendez-Aoki will be one of three championship bouts offered at the April 17 event, which will air live on CBS. Gegard Mousasi will defend his light heavyweight title against undefeated wrestler Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, while Jake Shields will meet two-division Pride titleholder Dan Henderson in a 185-pound championship match. (Sherdog)
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Arlovski Signs with Strikeforce
Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski signed a multi-fight, 16-month contract with Strikeforce on Monday, according to sources close to the negotiations.
Arlovski is likely to face one-time EliteXC champion Antonio Silva on May 15 in St. Louis, Mo., in his sophomore effort with the promotion, Sherdog.com has learned. Arlovski appeared on 10 days’ notice for Strikeforce last June as part of a co-promotional effort with Affliction Entertainment. Brett Rogers shocked the 31-year-old Belarusian out of the gate with a 22-second knockout victory. (Sherdog)
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Champ Alistair Overeem confirms May 15 Strikeforce fight with Brett Rogers
Alistair Overeem (32-11 MMA, 2-0 SF) wants American fans to get ready. There are no more obstacles in the way of his American MMA career; Strikeforce is the priority for 2010.
In an exclusive interview with MMAjunkie.com today, the Strikeforce heavyweight champion said he is likely to meet Brett Rogers (10-1 MMA, 2-1 SF) in a non-title fight on an as-yet-unannounced card set for May 15 in St. Louis, Mo. (MMAJunkie)
BJ Penn Unlikely Source of Info for Hawaii Tsunami News Coverage
As the world watched the terrible news of another horrific earthquake — this one epicentered in central Chile, and waited for news of a follow-up tsunami expected to hit Hawaii, UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn and his website BJPenn.com became a legitimate news outlet for information.
Penn, who incorporates frequent video blogs as part of his website, live streamed video footage of Hilo Bay on his website throughout the day. His videos were picked up by CNN and Fox News and broadcast to a worldwide viewing audience, and Penn was also interviewed by CNN regarding conditions in his area. (MMAFighting)
Stratus CEO Paul Feller sees co-existence, not competition, as goal of new ProElite
Paul Feller, CEO of Stratus Media Group, the company that assumed control of ProElite, Inc. this week, said his goal is not to be the next promotion to challenge the UFC.
“Our business is not to contend with the UFC but to create a great business model and series of MMA events that complement the UFC – but definitely complement our company in the live-events sector,” Feller recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
Stratus, which has focused thus far on live-event properties such as concerts, car shows, and auto races, is taking a big gamble in reentering the MMA market with a brand name that’s been dragged through the mud by most of the MMA community.
And with the UFC doing brisk pay-per-view business and expanding its presence on basic cable, Strikeforce airing on CBS and Showtime, and a host of other small promotions sharing space on smaller broadcast outlets, things are crowded already.
Feller’s counter for now is to move laterally around the problem while holding domestic events with a focus on the international market.
Despite his company’s earlier troubles, he believes ProElite’s value remains strong and the company can be turned around.
“I know when I’m in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or Shanghai, I can put out the name ProElite, and one out of every three people will know who ProElite is,” Feller said. “And that has brand equity.” (MMAJunkie)
Rules Being Drafted for MMA Events in Wisconsin
“There was an article I just read today where an amateur boxer who was 17-years-old was severely hurt. Another professional boxer with minimal experience was matched up with a much more experienced professional that person got severely hurt,” Colon says.
Act 111 limits the number of contests by a promoter or club at a given place, requires various fees paid by promoters… and requires inspectors and licensed judges at matches, among other things.
UFC’s representative says he expects to see an event here, which supporters say will bring revenue to the state as well.
“Between venues such as Resch center…Bradley center…even venues here in Madison …I think … someday definitely see UFC or in WEC in Wisconsin,” Michael Mersch, with UFC, says.
Those at today’s meeting largely appear to support the new law… but have concerns about matches currently scheduled for September and the department’s ability to staff those events.
The first public hearing for the new rules could happen at the end of June. (NBC 15, Madison Wisconsin)
Randy Couture at the NFL Combine
Randy Couture is spending the weekend in Indianapolis, trying to drum up interest in mixed martial arts training methods in general, and his Xtreme Couture gym in particular, for NFL teams interested in exploring new methods of strength and conditioning for their players.
Fox Sports NFL reporter Jay Glazer is working with Couture in designing and implementing MMA-oriented training programs for football players and athletes in other sports.
MMA training has become is the latest workout craze for NFL players, and Couture is seeking to expand that and position his own gym as the go-to place for football players who want to mix things up during the off-season. Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen has trained at Xtreme Couture and raved about the results. (MMAFighting)
UFC Boss Dana White Donates to Girl With Brain Tumor
“THE family of a poorly two-year-old girl were “shocked but over the moon” after a U.S. cagefighting boss pledged £5,000 to help pay for her treatment.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White made the surprise gesture on Ruby Owen’s fund-raising website on Saturday – despite having never met the family.
The 40-year-old American decided to support the Kidsgrove family’s campaign to raise £250,000 to pay for the youngster, who has a brain tumour, to have life-saving treatment in America. (Telegraph)
IMAGE OF THE DAY
QUICK HITS
- UFC 110: $540,000 in Merchandise (MMAPayout Perspective)
- TUF 11 Cast Revealed (MMAPayout Perspective)
- Noons-‘Dida’ Finalized for Dream 13 (Sherdog)
- Round 5 unveils images of Kimbo Slice, other fighters in “Ultimate Collector Series 2” (MMAJunkie)
- “Strongest Man” Mariusz Pudzianowski announced for May 7 KSW XIII card (MMAJunkie)
- Heavyweight prospect Cole Konrad signs deal with Bellator Fighting Championships (MMAJunkie)
- Heavyweight Arlovski Returns to Strikeforce (MMAFighting)
- Barnett Still Waiting for Dream Opponent (MMAFighting)
- KING MO VS MOUSASI SET TO RUMBLE ON CBS (MMAWeekly)
- OVEREEM TO FACE ROGERS IN MAY, NON-TITLE BOUT (MMAWeekly)
- White’s nightmare continues: Mainstream media still loves Canseco (Cage Writer)
- Melendez vs. Aoki Expected for 4/17 Strikeforce on CBS (Heavy)
- Marcus Davis Wants Dan Hardy to Die. Of AIDS. (Heavy)
- TUF 11 full cast revealed (VIDEO) (FiveOuncesOfPain)
TV LISTINGS
- HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (2008 K-1 World Max) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (03/05/10)
- InsideMMA (Matyushenko, Renzo Gracie) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (03/05/10)
- HDNet Fights Presents Furious Finishes IV, at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/05/10)
- Best of Pride FC at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (03/05/10)
- WEC 47: Bowles vs Cruz on at 10 PM ET on Versus (03/06/10)
UPCOMING EVENTS
- WEC 47: Bowles vs Cruz on at 10 PM ET on Versus (03/06/10)
- HDNet Fights: Sengoku Raiden Championship 12 at TBD on HDNet (03/12/10)
- HDNet Fights: XFC X-Night of Champions at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
- UFC on Versus: Vera vs Jones at 10 PM ET on Versus (3/21/10)
- HDNet Fights: King of the Cage – Legacy at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/26/10)
- Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs Mahe at 11 PM ET/PT on Showtime (03/26/10)
- UFC 111: GSP vs Hardy at 10 PM ET on PPV (03/27/10)
- UFN 21 : Florian vs Gomi at 10 PM ET on Spike (03/31/10)
- The Ultimate Fighter 11 Debut after UFN 21 on Spike (03/31/10)
Mr Feller is an idiot. 1 out of 3 people who work for Pro Elite dont know who Pro Elite is. Who is he kidding? You can hype your company without making up lies.
Disillusioned!
Brain Smasher, Larsenator:
What Feller is doing is pretty much justifying their choice of re-using the ProElite (EliteXC) brand because it is already known instead of creating a new promotion and “re-inventing the wheel”, as they put it. Here’s another interesting quote from article:
“The criticism that the brand received was directly related to a number of unfortunate situations that happened simultaneously – one of the big ones being lack of capital investment during the bank debacle that we all experienced last year,” Feller said. “It affected the aggressive growth plans of ProElite.”
That’s pretty cool about BJ Penn also nice to see Dana contributing to the family. Is it me or does the Strikeforce HW division seem confusing.
Feller can say what he wants it dont make it true. The negative image of the brand was due to poor management from top to bottom. They made every possible mistake you can think of and just because banks would keep dumping money to fund thier black hole of a promotion doesnt lay the blame on them.
The UFC is trying to diversify to no be so dependant on live events. Pro Elite was dependant on one fighter. Strike 1. The UFC turned down TV offers looking for the right deal that helps the UFC and MMA’s future. Elite XC took the first deal to come along. Lost tons of money while they give the events away to CBS. Strike 2. Pro Elite had to many people in power. There were like 8-10 people running the show. Pro Elite sold its sole to get on tv which was tantamount to Gary Shaw shooting himself in the foot as the company he sold to fired him. Strike 3.
A good tv deal would have allowed XC to have a contract that paid them well for their events, prevent their huge loss on live events, and give them garenteed shows that couldnt be terminated over the one bad fiasco like that of Kimbo/Shamrock/Petruzelli. Even no TV contract at all would have allowed Xc to run on a smaller budget and sustain itself.
I wont get into all the fans and investors they stole money from with their poor decisions when they made Pro Elite publicly traded.
BTW, there is nothing wrong with reusing the name and explaining people why. BUt claiming 1 out of every 3 people know who Pro Elite is over in UAE is a flat lie. First Pro Elite wasnt the name of the MMA shows running. So even if people did watch XC it dont mean they know who Pro Elite is. I bet 75% of the people who watch the UFC dont know who Zuffa is. I also doubt that XC/Pro Elite got more attention in UAE than in the US on CBS. Noone knows who Pro Elite is here. Hes taking over a company with a bad history. Atleast start off on a good foot and dont like to the public and exaggerate claims everyone knows is false.