MMAterial Facts 07/22/10: Dave Herman, Zac Gearge Involved in Contract Disputes

– Herman, Bellator Locked in Legal Battle

– Featherweight Zac George earns Shine Fights release after two-month wait

– Athletic commission knocked out by City of North Van

– Bully Beatdown Does Not Violate Violence Code

– XYIENCE and Montreal’s TriStar Martial Arts Center Sign Sponsorship Agreement

Herman, Bellator Locked in Legal Battle

Herman, 25, is suing Bellator Fighting Championships for allegedly breaching a six-fight, 30-month contract he signed into with the promotion on Oct. 28, 2008. Herman is also claiming tortuous interference on the part of Bellator for a handful of fight assignments — including a four-fight contract offer from Strikeforce — he’s tried to secure since January. The promotion is countersuing for alleged breach of contract as well. (Sherdog)

Featherweight Zac George earns Shine Fights release after two-month wait

Signing the contract – a one-year, three-fight deal – was easy. But after that, everything seemed hard.

“It was a total disaster,” George said after MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today reported that several fighters from the canceled “Shine Fights: Worlds Collide” event had not been paid.

“Worlds Collide” was scheduled to take place May 15 at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C., before the North Carolina Boxing Authority pulled the plug on the show hours after it was set to begin… (MMAJunkie)

Athletic commission knocked out by City of North Van

City of North Vancouver councillors put the kibosh on hosting professional boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) fights in the city, after voting to disband the North Vancouver Athletic Commission Monday night.

“I’ve watched enough of it (Ultimate Fighting Championship) channel surfing to know that I find it repugnant … barbaric,” said Coun. Pam Bookham in an interview with The Outlook. (BCLocalNews)

Bully Beatdown Does Not Violate Violence Code

The CBSC received a complaint about this program from an anti-bullying activist who felt that it was inappropriate for the program to promote additional violence as the solution to the societal problem of bullying. MTV Canada argued that the premise of the program is to show “to instil a sense of empathy in the bully by asking him to face someone who might cause him/her fear or anxiety.” MTV also pointed out that the program carried a 14+ classification and viewer advisories. (Broadcaster Magazine)

XYIENCE and Montreal’s TriStar Martial Arts Center Sign Sponsorship Agreement

XYIENCE announces that it has signed a sponsorship agreement with Tristar Gym, a 13,500 sq. ft. mixed martial arts (MMA) training center in Montreal. The agreement means that the facility will retail XYIENCE’s energy drink brand, Xenergy, the official energy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and XYIENCE supplements, the original fight nutrition brand, to the exclusion of all other brands. The partnership was made official on Thursday, July 15, 2010, and also includes logo placement on the training facility’s mats and banner placement throughout the gym. (PRESS RELEASE)

PICTURE OF THE DAY

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Spoke to Scott Coker yesterday. He’s receptive to promoting Werdum-Fedor 2 in Russia. And I know Showtime is looking at potential dates. (Josh Gross, Sports Illustrated)

QUICK HITS

• UFC targeting ‘four to six’ Fight Nights in UK next year (ESPN UK)
• Not So Fast – UFC China Office Yet to Open (BloodyElbow)
• Matt Hamill vs. Tito Ortiz added to UFC 121 in October (MMAJunkie)
• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Brendan Schaub meet at UFC 121 in California (MMAJunkie)
• Massachusetts eliminates double weigh-in policy for mixed martial arts (MMAJunkie)
• Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Dan Hornbuckle not happening at Bellator 25 (MMAJunkie)
• Strikeforce 135-pound tourney official (MMAJunkie)
• Coker: Fedor Could Return in October, November (Sherdog)
• Santiago-Misaki Rematch Headlines Sengoku 14 (Sherdog)
• Bellator Hits ‘The Big Easy’ on Sept. 9 (Sherdog)
• CAMO Launches California State Tournament for Amateurs (Sherdog)
• Mike Russow Out Until Next Year With Injury (MMAFighting)
• Joe Rogan, Mayhem Miller Rip Gus Johnson (MMAFighting)
• ROXANNE MODAFFERI: I’LL FINISH THE FIGHT FOR HER (MMAWeekly)
• MIKE KYLE SET FOR COMEBACK IN STRIKEFORCE (MMAWeekly)
• Todd Duffee, Jon Madsen Agree To UFC 121 Bout (Heavy)
• Phil Davis Replaces Nedkov, Faces Wallace At UFC 117 (Heavy)

TV LISTINGS

• HDNet Fights Vault: 2009 World GP Final HL’s at 8:00 PM ET on HDNet (07/23/10)
• Fighting Words with Mike Straka (Frankie Edgar) at 8:30 PM ET on HDNet (07/23/10)
• Inside MMA at 9 PM ET on HDNet (07/23/10)
• HDNet Fights: K-1 World MAX 2010 at 10 PM ET on HDNet (07/23/10)
• Strikeforce Challengers: Del Rosario vs Mahe at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime (07/23/10)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Strikeforce Challengers: Del Rosario vs Mahe at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime(07/23/10)
• HDNet Fights: K-1 World Max 2010 Final 10 PM ET on HDNet (07/23/10)
• HDNet Fights: K-1 World GP 2010 at 10 PM ET on HDNet (07/30/10)
• UFC on Versus 2 : Jones vs Matyushenko at 10 PM ET on Versus (08/01/10)
• UFC 117 : Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen at 10 PM ET on PPV (08/7/10)
• Bellator 24: Lombard vs Goodman on FSN (08/12/10)
• Strikeforce Challengers: Riggs vs Taylor 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime (08/13/10)
• HDNet Fights: KOTC: Imminent Danger at 9 PM ET on HDNet (08/13/10)
• WEC 50: Cruz vs Benavidez at 9 PM ET on Versus (08/18/10)
• Bellator 25 on FSN (08/19/10)
• Strikeforce: King Mo vs Rafael Feijao at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime (08/21/10)
• Bellator 26 on FSN (08/26/10)
• HDNet Fights: Sengoku Raiden Championships 14 on HDNet (08/27/10)
• UFC 118: Edgar vs Penn 2 at 10 PM ET on PPV (08/28/10)
• Bellator 26 on FSN (09/2/10)
• UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Belcher at 9 PM ET on SPIKE TV (09/15/10)
• UFC 119 : Minotauro Nogueira vs Frank Mir 2 at 10 PM ET on PPV (09/25/10)