Results tagged “M-1 Global” from MMA Explosion

Gegard Mousasi has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled bout with Rameau Thierry Sokodjou in the semifinals of the Super Hulk Tournament at Dream 11, MMAWeekly.com has been told by multiple sources close to the situation. The Japanese promotion is currently trying to find a replacement opponent for the Oct. 6 event, which also features the promotion's Featherweight Grand Prix Finals.

According to one source, Mousasi may have injured his shoulder during a grappling exhibition with Fedor Emelianenko at M-1: Breakthrough last month in Kansas City.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with the
best fighter in mixed martial arts today, and the man who plans to
conquer him in his next fight.

Fedor Emelianenko holds the distinction of being both the best
heavyweight and top pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts
today. He also is the top mixed martial arts fighter of this decade,
and many would add the best heavyweight and even the best overall MMA
fighter of all time.

After defeating a virtual who's who of the heavyweight division, Fedor
will now have another confident challenger as he takes on the unbeaten
Brett Rogers. This will be on a Strikeforce-M-1 Global card this fall
at a date and location which will be shortly finalized. This card will
be shown in the U.S. on Showtime.

We had a chance to conduct interviews with Fedor Emelianenko and Brett
Rogers this Thursday evening while they were in New York on a
whirlwind media tour. When you listen to these interviews, you will
learn not only how both fighters are approaching this fight, but also
life.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at
http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-08-27T21_31_10-07_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?qmqx4mn1mzo.

Kansas City, Kansas - With less than one week to go until Friday's "HDNET FIGHTS PRESENTS M-1 GLOBAL BREAKTHROUGH" event live from the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, M-1 Global officials have released the final 12-bout card.
With six televised bouts scheduled to air during the HDNet telecast (10:00 p.m. ET, check local listings for channel availability) plus a special sparring exhibition between M-1 fighters Fedor Emelianenko and newly-crowned Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi, a five-bout undercard has been assembled for the local crowd planning to attend (doors open at 7:00 p.m. CT).

The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts has taken a great deal of heat since their inception in 2007. As far as I understand it, they want to be a sanctioning body for the sport. Legendary fighter/trainer Pat Miletich, one of the company's officers, apparently came up with the phrase "One Belt, One King," as the organization's motto. In other words, be the conduit between MMA federations and have the best fight the best.

Some people didn't like the way WAMMA did business, or thought they were in it just for the money. Some critics seemed to be those are just resistant to change, or to anyone who thinks "outside the box," to use an over-used phrase. I thought the idea was innovative, and was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Last year, WAMMA crowned Fedor Emeilanenko as their heavyweight champ and Shinya Aoki as their lightweight champ. Recently, photos of WAMMA's cleaned-out offices in Florida surfaced on the Internet. But according to this news release, WAMMA is still around, and with the recent alliance of Strikeforce/M-1/DREAM, who knows? They might be able to crown some more champs. My outlook is, if they do what they say, and it benefits the fans, what's not to like?

NEW YORK (August 20th, 2009) -- The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) today announces a new strategic partnership with Brand Asset Digital, the distributed technologies company. The association between the two groups will help WAMMA incorporate new sponsorships into traditional and electronic platforms.

"We believe our combined efforts will help bring new sponsors into the MMA arena," says WAMMA CEO Dave Szady. "It will also help advance WAMMA's mission of promoting the integrity, legitimacy and prosperity of MMA."

NEW MAIN EVENT BETWEEN "KING" MO LAWAL VS. MARK KERR
TO BE COMPLEMENTED BY SPARRING EXHIBITION BETWEEN FEDOR AND MOUSASI

Amsterdam, Holland -- M-1 Global (www.M-1Global.com) officially announced Monday morning that its August 28 "Breakthrough" event scheduled to be televised live in the U.S. has been moved from the Los Angeles Convention Center to the historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City.

"The change in venues is unfortunate, however, the change was necessitated due to circumstances beyond our control," said M-1 Global Chief Operating Officer Joost Raimond. "We had a partner in Los Angeles that backed out of certain commitments. However, instead of letting fighters and fans down by cancelling the event, we worked diligently to find a new location in Kansas City. At no point in time did we entertain the idea of canceling our first 'Breakthrough' event."

Info. on Fedor and Mousasi after the jump, but this isn't the first time they've sparred.

This is a great highlight with some awesome music, worthy of The Last Emperor.

Scott Coker, Strikeforce CEO, on Tapout radio recently talking the Fedor signing (thanks to Bloodyelbow.com):
- I'd like to see Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem against Fedor
- We have an alliance with DREAM.
- We are talking about having a card with the best of DREAM, K-1, M-1 and Strikeforce (Manhoef vs. Lawler or Aoki vs. Thomson).
- This will be the first time you see Fedor fight in a cage.
- We'll have an opponent named by a press conference on Thursday.

Also, Frank Shamrock had this to say on his Web site: "welcome fedor! strikeforce has the number one rated mens and womans fighters in MMA. with the upcoming 8-15 event we are once again making history and moving the sport forward.

congrats to tito for showing his true colors and getting back in the UFC; nice to see him back with his father dana white."

frank

By Loretta Hunt, sherdog.com:
Fedor Emelianenko has signed a multi-fight agreement that will see the world's No. 1-ranked heavyweight compete for Strikeforce, the promotion announced Monday.

Emelianenko, who became a free agent after Affliction Entertainment canceled its Aug. 1 event two weeks ago, will make his debut on Showtime under a co-promoted Strikeforce/M-1 Global production this fall. Emelianenko was to have faced Josh Barnett at Affliction "Trilogy" on Aug. 1, but Barnett failed a pre-fight test for an anabolic steroid and was refused licensure by the California State Athletic Commission.

"Strikeforce is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world," said Emelianenko in a press release. "I am prepared to fight any of them."

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Sherdog.com last week that he plans to match the stoic Russian against the likes of Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and the promotion's heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem.

"I feel pretty confident that we could give him four or five opponents that would make sense for him," Coker told Sherdog.com in an exclusive video interview.

Emelianenko, along with his promoters and management team at M-1 Global, had negotiated with the UFC last week, but could not come to an agreement over co-promotion.

"Fedor is a f---ing joke," UFC President Dana White responded Monday after learning that Emelianenko had signed with Strikeforce. "He turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies for no money!"

White also addressed fans: "I feel sorry for the real fight fans. I wanted to make the deal, but it takes two and it is very obvious Fedor doesn't want to fight the best, and doesn't give a sh-t about the fans!"

This article was updated at 3:52 p.m. EST and 7:35 p.m. EST with quotes from Dana White that the UFC's PR Director Jennifer Wenk sent directly to Sherdog.com.

Here's a news release from Mike Afromowitz, Strikeforce's public relations:
World's No. 1 MMA Heavyweight To Fight In STRIKEFORCE / M-1 Global Co-Promoted Events

First Fight To Air This Fall, Live on SHOWTIME®

NEW YORK (August 3, 2009)--After a week of intense negotiations and speculation, the hottest topic of discussion in the professional fight world has come to a head as the world's number one heavyweight and most sought after mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko has signed a historic, multi-fight agreement that will see him headline mega-events co-promoted by world championship promotions STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global.

Emelianenko, known globally as Fedor, will make his premium television debut this Fall when his first fight under the new agreement airs live on SHOWTIME®. Up until now, Emelianenko's live fights have aired exclusively on pay-per-view in the United States.

I talked with Jerod Phillips, owner of Tap or Sleep fightwear today, and he passed along that TOS-sponsored fighter - and Hollidaysburg native - Charlie Brenneman, won over Mitch Whitesel by unanimous decision Friday night at Valley Fight League's Broad Avenue Brawlers.

"He's 9 and 1 and headed for M-1," Jerod said.

Charlie recently signed with M-1 Global and will be fighting in Europe on August 16, Jerod said.

Charlie

from sherdog.com:
A week of misfortune turned to disaster for Affliction Entertainment on Friday, as the promotion canceled Affliction "Trilogy," which had been scheduled for Aug. 1 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

"Finding an opponent for the number one-ranked MMA heavyweight champion in such a short period of time was a huge endeavor, and I'm thrilled at the amount of fighters willing to take on this challenge," Affliction Entertainment Vice President Tom Atencio said in a news release. "But in the end, we just didn't have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards."

SI.com reported the news first Friday morning, and Sherdog.com confirmed shortly after. The cancellation -- which could spell the end of Affliction's year-long run as a mixed martial arts promotion -- comes on the heels of heavyweight Josh Barnett's failed drug test, which forced him out of the "Trilogy" main event against Fedor Emelianenko on Wednesday. Barnett, 32, tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid and was denied licensure by the California State Athletic Commission.

Promoters scrambled to find a replacement opponent for Emelianenko and reportedly considered middleweight Vitor Belfort, light heavyweight prospect Muhammed Lawal and heavyweights Brett Rogers, Paul Buentello, Jeff Monson and Bobby Lashley.

Atencio declined to comment further when reached by Sherdog.com.

Ted's Take: So, if this is Affliction's death knell as an MMA promotion, what does it mean for Fedor? Will he finally jump to the UFC? I say no. With Dana White and the Fertitta brothers on one side, and as White has called them, "Those crazy Russians" on the other side, I don't think they'll ever be able to compromise enough to ink a deal. Fedor could fight for Strikeforce, or other M-1 events in Russia, and definitely in Japan, but we'll most likely never see him inside the Octagon.

man, I'm getting' psyched for this one. Here's some ticket info.

And Kimber too, modeling some of Affliction's new threads. Don't forget Affliction Trilogy on Aug. 1.

Gilbert Yvel, who was tooled on by Josh Barnett at Affliction: Day of Reckoning, gets the KO on Pedro Rizzo and the right to fight Paul Buentello at Affliction: Trilogy on Aug. 1.

from M-1global's Web site:
The M-1 film crew was in tow when Fedor Emelianenko made his way to New York for the press conference held earlier this week at the Trump Towers to kick off formal promotion for M-1 and Affliction's "Trilogy" event on Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif. at the Honda Center.

Hosted by M-1 Global USA Vice President Jerry Millen, the blog gives fight fans an all-access look at the start of Fedor's press tour. Watch as Fedor's oldest fan makes an encore appearance and shares her thoughts on Fedor's upcoming fight vs. Josh Barnett; Millen interviews Barnett and asks him what it will be like to fight a close friend; Renato Sobral's thoughts on sparring Barnett every day and what his feelings are about fighting M-1 Global fighter Gegard Mousasi at "Trilogy," and more.

from mmajunkie.com
Top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) has confirmed what most of already knew: He's agreed to fight former UFC champion Josh Barnett (24-5) at Affliction's upcoming third show.

Affliction hasn't officially announced the fight, though Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio and representatives for Barnett have said agreements are in place.

Affliction III takes place Aug. 1. As Atencio recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio), it's expected to be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The night's main card airs on pay-per-view, and the preliminary card is expected to air on HDNet.

Emelianenko today told M-1Global.com about the fight with Barnett.

"I am always 100 percent involved in the negotiations especially with regards to the Barnett fight," Emelianenko stated. "We discussed this fight with the whole team (trainers, coaches, management), so as a team we agreed to a fight with Barnett."

WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (who was recently mentioned as a possible opponent for Josh Barnett) and top middleweight Gegard Mousasi, who won the DREAM middleweight tournament, and is now entered in the Super Hulk tournament, got together for some sparring. This is pretty interesting because Fedor is regarded by many to be the best fighter in the world, and to me, Mousasi represents the next generation of fighters, someone who can be regarded as one of the best, even if he never signs with the UFC.