DREAM 17 Promotional Hype Video

The Promo video for FIGHT FOR JAPAN “DREAM 17″ World Bantamweight GP which takes place on September 24, 2011 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Location: Saitama, Japan Venue: Saitama Super Arena Broadcast: TBA Antonio Banuelos vs. Hideo Tokoro (bantamweight grand-prix quarterfinal) Bibiano Fernandes vs. Takafumi Otuska (bantamweight grand-prix quarterfinal) [...]

Source: http://www.mmatko.com/dream-17-promotional-hype-video/

Arman Gambaryan Manvel Gamburyan Sean Gannon Edgar Garcia

Heavyweight Participants Announced For Bellator Season 5 HW Tourney

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 31, 2011) ? When Bellator kicks off its Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament, the eight man field will bring a dominating 73-15-2 record into the cage that includes 41 combined knockouts. The eight heavyweights are set to square off at Bellator 52 as the promotion will determine who will earn a title shot against reigning undefeated Bellator Heavyweight Champion Cole ?The Polar Bear? Konrad. The four quarterfinal fights will air LIVE on MTV2 and in HD on EPIX October 1st from the L?Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Tickets for the event can be purchased on Bellator.com and Ticketmaster.com. <Br><Br> ?We?ve consistently seen dramatic, explosive performances from our heavyweights and that?s exactly what I expect in our Season 5 Heavyweight tournament,? said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. ?Neil, Ron, Eric, Mark, Big Monster all look to knock you out from the moment the first bell rings, so don?t blink when this tournament starts Oct. 1 LIVE on MTV2 and in HD on EPIX.?<Br><Br> Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament finalist Neil Grove is back and will take on Bellator veteran Mike ?300? Hayes in what should be a stand-up war. Grove is coming off a riveting win against former ?The Ultimate Fighter? competitor Zak Jensen at Bellator 47 and is eager to get back into the Bellator cage.<Br><Br> ?This tournament is stacked with strikers this year, which will provide a stronger line-up and even more exciting fights than last year,? said Grove. ?I?m sure Cole is just as busy as the rest of us, preparing for battle against one of us, and I?m just excited to compete for another shot at the title, especially for a promotion such as Bellator.?<Br><Br> Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Thiago ?Big Monster? Santos will enter his first Bellator Heavyweight Tournament against undefeated Bulgarian heavyweight and world-class Sambo competitor Blagoi Ivanov. While Ivanov has already collected a victory with Bellator, Santos has yet to compete inside the Bellator cage and already has title aspirations. <Br><Br> ?I?m extremely excited to be fighting on national television in the United States for the first time on MTV2,? said Santos. ?This is a huge opportunity for my young career, and I feel like this fight is going to be the first on my way to the Bellator Heavyweight World Championship.?<Br><Br> Another monster joins the tournament as Ron ?The Monster? Sparks looks to keep his undefeated record intact when he takes on Oklahoma native Mark Holata. The 11-2 fighter rides an eight-fight win streak into the bout, and will be looking to punch his ticket into the semifinals with a victory.<Br><Br> Army veteran Eric Prindle looks to build off his Bellator 40 victory with a long tournament run. His first test will be against Bellator newcomer and former college football standout Abe Wagner. The impressive heavyweight took down former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia earlier this year and is ready make a run in this season?s tournament.<Br><Br> Bellator Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament ? Quarterfinals (September 10, 2011 ? Lake Charles, La.)<Br><Br> Ron Sparks (7-0) vs. Mark Holata (11-2)<Br> Neil Grove (11-3-1) vs. Mike ?300? Hayes (15-4-1)<Br> Thiago ?Big Monster? Santos (8-1) vs. Blagoi Ivanov (4-0)<Br> Eric Prindle (7-1) vs. Abe Wagner (10-4)<Br><Br> For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator Leave your feedback on this article by posting a comment directly below! You can also chat about the latest news in the MMANEWS.COM Forums and/or the MMANEWS.COM Facebook. If that wasn't enough, MMANEWS.COM is now on Twitter as well @mmanewsdotcom.<Br><Br>

Source: http://www.mmanews.com/home.php

Denis Kang Georgi Karakhanyan Alex Karalexis Mark Kerr

Heavyweight Participants Announced For Bellator Season 5 HW Tourney

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 31, 2011) ? When Bellator kicks off its Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament, the eight man field will bring a dominating 73-15-2 record into the cage that includes 41 combined knockouts. The eight heavyweights are set to square off at Bellator 52 as the promotion will determine who will earn a title shot against reigning undefeated Bellator Heavyweight Champion Cole ?The Polar Bear? Konrad. The four quarterfinal fights will air LIVE on MTV2 and in HD on EPIX October 1st from the L?Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Tickets for the event can be purchased on Bellator.com and Ticketmaster.com. <Br><Br> ?We?ve consistently seen dramatic, explosive performances from our heavyweights and that?s exactly what I expect in our Season 5 Heavyweight tournament,? said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. ?Neil, Ron, Eric, Mark, Big Monster all look to knock you out from the moment the first bell rings, so don?t blink when this tournament starts Oct. 1 LIVE on MTV2 and in HD on EPIX.?<Br><Br> Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament finalist Neil Grove is back and will take on Bellator veteran Mike ?300? Hayes in what should be a stand-up war. Grove is coming off a riveting win against former ?The Ultimate Fighter? competitor Zak Jensen at Bellator 47 and is eager to get back into the Bellator cage.<Br><Br> ?This tournament is stacked with strikers this year, which will provide a stronger line-up and even more exciting fights than last year,? said Grove. ?I?m sure Cole is just as busy as the rest of us, preparing for battle against one of us, and I?m just excited to compete for another shot at the title, especially for a promotion such as Bellator.?<Br><Br> Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Thiago ?Big Monster? Santos will enter his first Bellator Heavyweight Tournament against undefeated Bulgarian heavyweight and world-class Sambo competitor Blagoi Ivanov. While Ivanov has already collected a victory with Bellator, Santos has yet to compete inside the Bellator cage and already has title aspirations. <Br><Br> ?I?m extremely excited to be fighting on national television in the United States for the first time on MTV2,? said Santos. ?This is a huge opportunity for my young career, and I feel like this fight is going to be the first on my way to the Bellator Heavyweight World Championship.?<Br><Br> Another monster joins the tournament as Ron ?The Monster? Sparks looks to keep his undefeated record intact when he takes on Oklahoma native Mark Holata. The 11-2 fighter rides an eight-fight win streak into the bout, and will be looking to punch his ticket into the semifinals with a victory.<Br><Br> Army veteran Eric Prindle looks to build off his Bellator 40 victory with a long tournament run. His first test will be against Bellator newcomer and former college football standout Abe Wagner. The impressive heavyweight took down former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia earlier this year and is ready make a run in this season?s tournament.<Br><Br> Bellator Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament ? Quarterfinals (September 10, 2011 ? Lake Charles, La.)<Br><Br> Ron Sparks (7-0) vs. Mark Holata (11-2)<Br> Neil Grove (11-3-1) vs. Mike ?300? Hayes (15-4-1)<Br> Thiago ?Big Monster? Santos (8-1) vs. Blagoi Ivanov (4-0)<Br> Eric Prindle (7-1) vs. Abe Wagner (10-4)<Br><Br> For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator Leave your feedback on this article by posting a comment directly below! You can also chat about the latest news in the MMANEWS.COM Forums and/or the MMANEWS.COM Facebook. If that wasn't enough, MMANEWS.COM is now on Twitter as well @mmanewsdotcom.<Br><Br>

Source: http://www.mmanews.com/home.php

Denis Kang Georgi Karakhanyan Alex Karalexis Mark Kerr

MMA Marketplace: Get your own authentic MMA championship belt

To get an authentic MMA championship belt, you can put in years of hard work, sacrifice and training to earn it, or you can drop $1,600 on a WAMMA belt on eBay. Look, it's so shiny!

WAMMA was the organization that wanted to create an undisputed champ at every weight class, regardless of what promotion they fought in. Fedor Emelianenko held the WAMMA heavyweight title. In this picture from November 2009, Fabricio Werdum can be seen jokingly grabbing at Fedor's WAMMA belt, but WAMMA barely made a blip among most MMA fans.

What they did make was a pretty, pretty belt, and it can be yours for a starting bid at $1,595 plus shipping on eBay.

Thanks to Bloody Elbow

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/MMA-Marketplace-Get-your-own-authentic-MMA-cham?urn=mma-wp6135

Quinton Rampage Jackson Jaime Jara Keith Jardine Antoine Jaoude

MMA Marketplace: Get your own authentic MMA championship belt

To get an authentic MMA championship belt, you can put in years of hard work, sacrifice and training to earn it, or you can drop $1,600 on a WAMMA belt on eBay. Look, it's so shiny!

WAMMA was the organization that wanted to create an undisputed champ at every weight class, regardless of what promotion they fought in. Fedor Emelianenko held the WAMMA heavyweight title. In this picture from November 2009, Fabricio Werdum can be seen jokingly grabbing at Fedor's WAMMA belt, but WAMMA barely made a blip among most MMA fans.

What they did make was a pretty, pretty belt, and it can be yours for a starting bid at $1,595 plus shipping on eBay.

Thanks to Bloody Elbow

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/MMA-Marketplace-Get-your-own-authentic-MMA-cham?urn=mma-wp6135

Quinton Rampage Jackson Jaime Jara Keith Jardine Antoine Jaoude

UFC on FOX update: Advertising expectations and ?Primetime?

UFC on FOX update: Advertising expectations and ?Primetime?Mixed martial arts has gone from being banned from pay-per-view to a contract with network television in just over a decade. However, there are few groups of people more skittish than advertising executives, Don Draper notwithstanding. Will the sight of blood, a nasty KO or a broken bone keep them buying advertising for the UFC's first foray onto FOX?

According to Ad Week, not at all. Though fighters for the event have not yet been announced, they expect for ad space for the Nov. 12, two-fight card to sell quickly.

One national TV buyer who represents a client that has bought time on Spike TV's UFC programming said he wouldn't be at all surprised to see more mainstream brands begin to line up for MMA events. "Content is definitely an issue, but no one's going into this with their eyes closed," said Kevin Collins, director of national broadcast buying for Initiative. "You're not going to get your traditional Sunday NFL audience, but I expect you'll find a lot of theatrical dollars, as well as QSR [quick service restaurants] and beer."

Those are all areas that the UFC has had success with in the past. Burger King has sponsored the UFC and their Brazilian branch works with middleweight champ Anderson Silva. Budweiser has had a relationship with the UFC for years, which had a famous dust-up at UFC 100 when then-champ Brock Lesnar proclaimed that he wanted a Coors after beating Frank Mir. Several movie promotions have made their way to the Octagon.

Still, the UFC and FOX are taking no chances and are making sure that the UFC on FOX will get plenty of build-up. "Primetime," the mini-series that has followed main event fighters in the weeks heading into their fights, will be turned into a one-hour show that will air on Oct. 30.

The show will air either before or after the NFL game assigned to your market on that Sunday. Pairing it with football will give the UFC the biggest exposure, as only "American Idol" pulls higher ratings on a regular basis, and that shows targets a completely different demographic.

Longtime MMA fans will undoubtedly tune in to see fights for free, but do you expect the UFC to win new fans with this venture onto network television? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-on-FOX-update-Advertising-expectations-and-?urn=mma-wp6472

Rani Yahya Kenichi Yamamoto Norifumi Kid Yamamoto Ryushi Yanagisawa