SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (August 11, 2016) – In nearly 20 years since its founding, M-1 Global has promoted 215 events, including more than 2,000 matches, in 17 different countries on three continents.

M-1 Global’s homeland of Russia has hosted, of course, the most events with 128. Followed by Yuri Fuuta-led Belarus, which in only five years (2010 to 2014) has presented 29 competitions, and Ukraine, led by Dmitry Khristyuk, with 20.

While the three leading hosts of M-1 events are former Soviet Union-bloc nations, the fourth leading host in the MMA World is the United States with 10: 8 independent, M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge and M-1 Breakthrough, which showcased a rising star at that time, “King” Mo Lawal, versus Mark Kerr in the main event, as well as two super shows in partnership with Affliction, in which Fedor Emelianenko crushed former UFC champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski.

In the 2009-2010 era of team World Cup and M-1 Challenge, the most widely traveled around the world, included events held in the Netherlands (5 Teams), Japan (4 Teams), Finland (2 events), along with one-time events in Brazil, England, Spain, Bulgaria and Germany. Representing their country’s national teams in these competitions were the likes of UFC and Bellator fighters such as Gegard Mousasi, Stefan Struve, Jake Ellenberger, Karl Amossou, Gu Hyun Lim, Christian M`Pumbu, Mikhail Zayats, Dave Jansen, Hakran Diaz, Daniel Weichel and Niko Puhakka, the future winner of Grand Prix KSW.

M-1 Global’s recent history in Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan added to its collection of diverse location events, plus an unprecedented event in China for any MMA organization, the inaugural show, “Battle in Heaven,” was held in Beijing, followed by the Chhendu stage of the tournament, “Road to M-1”. Also, the “Road to M-1” project was a trial for M-1 Global’s move into Germany.

Seventeen countries have hosted M-1 Global events as the Russia-based organization continues to expand its borders. Future M-1 Global plans include hosting events in the UAE, Indonesia and Monaco.

INFORMATION:

www.M1Global.tv
www.mixfight.ru
www.wmmaa.org

Twitter & Instagram:

@M1GlobalNews
@VFinkelchtein
@M1Global

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/M-1-GlobalNews

ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premier entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With its office in St Petersburg, Russia, the M-1 brand has staged more than 160 events worldwide, including M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the U.S. network, Showtime. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2016 has been another sensational year of world-class competition, featuring a full calendar of Challenge events, fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global Champions among the greatest fighters in the sport.

ABOUT M-1GLOBAL.TV: Enjoy MMA action now in high definition brought to you by M-1Global.tv, offering only the best fights from M-1 Global and other MMA organizations. M-1Global.tv is a great platform developed specifically to bring together the most exhaustive fight video database. It also provides an easy and intuitive interface, helping everyone to start using the platform in no time while avoiding any spoilers. Besides watching the past fights on demand at any time convenient to the customer, viewers are able to enjoy the action LIVE, all available to M-1Global.tv users through a low-priced month to month digital subscription. Your world of action. Anytime!

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 10th, 2016) — As he puts the finishing touches on his fight week weight cut, Chuck O’Neil can’t even remember what it was like to fight at welterweight, nearly 15 pounds lighter than his current middleweight limit of 185.

“It’s insane,” said O’Neil, who returns to the cage Friday, Aug. 12th, 2016 on the main card of “CES MMA 37” at Twin River Casino.

“I’m like 197 ½ [Wednesday] with abs showing. I don’t know how the hell I used to make 170 a year ago. It’s crazy.”

The Bourne, Mass., native always found a way to get to 170, but not without sacrificing his long-term effectiveness in the cage. His inability to fully recover the following morning showed in his last fight at welterweight, a loss to Dominique Steele in June of 2015 in which O’Neil (16-8, 5 KOs) looked sluggish from the opening bell.

“A minute and a half in, my arms just felt like shit,” O’Neil said. “I knew I was in for a long haul in that one. I never want to feel like that again. That was terrible. It’s just not worth it to feel like that and fight.

“The biggest thing is I’m obviously very heavy into lifting. In between fight camps at 170, I’d work so hard to get myself strong again and then during camp I’d lose so much muscle mass trying to get myself down to cut that water weight. It was this back-and-forth yo-yo effect and I would just feel like crap at the end of camp where now I feel good the whole camp. I’ve put a lot of substantial muscle on. I’ve never felt this strong before. It’s awesome.”

The move to 185 didn’t come without its own setbacks; O’Neil actually lost his first fight in the middleweight division to Daniel Vizcaya via rear-naked choke, but fought old friend and rival Dennis Olson five months ago in an exhausting, 15-minute war that put his conditioning and cardio to the test, a sign that 185 was the right place to be. O’Neil won by unanimous decision.

“Dennis was in great shape then, too, and we both kind of got up and were joking around that we really weren’t breathing too heavy,” O’Neil said. “That was a really grinding kind of fight, too, where there was a lot of wrestling and Jiu Jitsu going on and grinding back and forth. For both of us to stand up afterward and be OK and show we were both in great shape, I felt great.”

In preparing for Olson, O’Neil had plenty of background to work with since he and Olson were former training partners. Friday’s fight features more of an element of the unknown; O’Neil faces Roy Jones (7-4, 3 KOs), a native of Waterloo, Iowa, who moved to southern Florida three and a half years ago to train with American Top Team.

Jones last fought in October and 2012 and later broke his leg training with former professional football player and Bellator vet Matt Mitrione, a freak accident in which Mitrione rolled over onto his leg.

“He easily had me by 100 pounds,” Jones recalled. “You could hear the snap. It was nasty.”

A full-time security guard, Jones couldn’t always balance work and mixed martial arts, so the post-recovery layoff grew longer and longer, but he’s always had the desire to step back into the cage.

“You know how it is when you miss something so bad you get depressed,” Jones said. “There are always those one or two good fights on TV you see that make you think, ‘I can do better than that guy.'”

Now Jones will get his own shot at television stardom against the experienced O’Neil, who is no stranger to fighting on the big stage. Facing The Ultimate Fighter alum is a strong test for a fighter making his way back into the cage for the first time in nearly four years.

“For me, it’s not even about testing myself,” Jones said. “Personally, I don’t feel like he’s that much of a threat to me. I take everyone seriously at the end of the day. Anyone can have that one lucky punch, but, at the end of the day, you can’t be afraid of people. I don’t fear anybody. I don’t care how big he is, how tall he is, how old, young. I’m coming to rumble. That’s the way it is. We can shake hands afterward.”

“This guy is obviously a real wild card,” O’Neil said. “You never know what you’re going to get coming into this fight. At the end of the day, I feel I can beat a lot of the top-level 185-pounders in the [Ultimate Fighting Championships] or Bellator, so if I can’t get past this guy, what the hell’s the point of talking about any of that other stuff?

“Whatever this guy brings to the table, I’m not going to overthink it or overplay it. I’m just going to go out there and play my game and he’s going to have to deal with me. That’s what’s going to happen at the end of the day.”

With a few more fights at 185, O’Neil’s comfort level in his new weight class will continue to grow. Whether or not he makes it to the next level depends on a lot of factors, luck included, but without having to think about drastic weight cuts, losing muscle mass or running out of steam in the cage, the veteran middleweight can instead focus on training for each challenge one fight at a time.

“Realistically, I just have to keep my nose to the grind and keep doing what I’m doing,” O’Neil said. “It’s time to move forward and keep that winning streak going now and just be smart. I had a lot of wins at 170. They know I’m not some bum.

“Now I have to carve my stone at 185 and show I’m capable of fighting in the bigger organizations at 185, which I honestly feel I can do. I train with heavyweights now and I toss them around in training, so it’s fine.”

Tickets for “CES MMA 37” are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

The main card features three, five-round title fights. Woonsocket, R.I., native Andre Soukhamthath (10-3, 6 KOs), now fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla., defends his CES MMA Bantamweight Title for the first time against Cambridge, Mass., vet Kin Moy (8-2, 2 KOs) in the main event, a rematch of their back-and-forth war in January of 2014 in which Moy won by unanimous decision. Providence’s Greg Rebello (20-6, 12 KOs) faces Oklahoma’s Ashley Gooch (9-4, 6 KOs) for the vacant CES MMA Heavyweight Title and Johnston, R.I., featherweight Joe Pingitore (6-2-1, 2 KOs) faces Matt Bessette (19-7, 5 KOs) of Stafford Springs, Conn., for the vacant CES MMA Featherweight Title.

The preliminary card features four exciting bouts, highlighted by a middleweight showdown between Berkeley, Mass., vet Pat McCrohan (2-0, 1 KO) and Russian Ruslan Melikov (3-1), fighting out of Fairfield, N.J. Providence bantamweight Marquis Brewster (1-0) faces Turtle Creek, Pa., native Roosevelt Archie (0-1); and Dylan Lockard of Derry, N.H., makes his professional debut against Seldon, N.Y., featherweight Mak Kelleher (1-2). Quincy, Mass., middleweight Mike Rodriguez (3-1, 1 KO) battles Stephfond Ewins (3-3-1, 3 KOs) of Pennsylvania.

Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/ces.mma for more information and use the hashtag #CES37 to join the conversation.

10 August 2016 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), will return to the iconic Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur for another stacked fight card. ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS is set to electrify fight fans in Malaysia’s capital city with a world-class event headlined by the nation’s own Ev “E.T.” Ting as he takes on Rob Lisita in the main event.

Ticket information for ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS will be available at www.onefc.com

CEO of ONE Championship, Victor Cui stated: “There is always a tremendous atmosphere and excitement in Kuala Lumpur each time ONE Championship comes to visit. This time, Malaysian MMA stars the likes of Ev Ting, Peter Davis, Ann Osman, Agilan Thani, Gianni and Keanu Subba will all grace the ONE Championship cage in one night, ready to set the Stadium Negara ablaze with excitement and world-class mixed martial arts action. ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS will be a historic evening for Kuala Lumpur, and we can’t wait to be there.”

Ev “E.T.” Ting is a mixed martial artist of Malaysian descent. He lives and trains out of Auckland, New Zealand, and has amassed a stellar 11-3 record so far in his professional career. A winner of his last two bouts by impressive submission over top caliber opponents, Ting is one of the most talented fighters to come out of Malaysia. As Ting’s popularity in his hometown soars, he gets the chance to once again grace the ONE Championship cage in the headliner against Rob Lisita.

33-year-old Rob “Warrior of God” Lisita of Campbelltown, Australia, is known as a relentless offensive force, armed with powerful striking combinations intended to score highlight-reel finishes. He is 14-8 as a professional mixed martial artist, and has proven to be a fixture in big fights owing to his fan-friendly style. A veteran fighter who has faced the best in his division and beyond, Lisita looks to continue fulfilling his goal of competing against the promotion’s top contenders. His next assignment is Ev Ting, who will be fighting in front of his hometown crowd.

Kuala Lumpur’s Peter Davis is a local MMA star, actor, and model. The 35-year old Malaysian star owns a respectable 10-4 professional record, winning four of his last five bouts in impressive fashion. He likes to use his reach and athleticism to stifle opponents from range while picking them apart with pinpoint strikes. Davis is set to take on offensive dynamo Shannon Wiratchai of Thailand.

Shannon “One Shin” Wiratchai of Thailand, is a veteran of exciting and memorable battles inside the ONE Championship cage. A mainstay of Bangkok Fight Lab, he trains in various martial arts disciplines at home in Bangkok, including Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling and jiujitsu. An innovator with a wide range of offensive manoeuvres at his disposal, Wiratchai likes to be creative with his striking, employing a myriad of unpredictable off-angle elbows and kicks. He’s set to lock horns with Peter Davis next.

Ann “Athena” Osman of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, makes a swift return to the ONE Championship cage following her exciting come-from-behind victory over Egypt’s Haiat Farag in her last bout. Known as Malaysia’s fighting belle, the female warrior hones her craft at Borneo Tribal Squad, advancing her skills in various disciplines such as wrestling, jiujitsu and Muay Thai. A well-rounded fighter, Osman likes to overpower opponents, and is always extremely aggressive in pursuit of a finish. Osman will take on April Osenio in what should be an interesting clash of styles.

April Osenio of the Philippines is known as Team Lakay’s fierce female warrior. The 22-year-old prospect trains out of the high-altitudes of Baguio City along with her more experienced Lakay teammates. In her last bout, Osenio upset Filipino-English fighter Natalie Gonzales Hills impressively by first-round armbar, despite being adept in the striking art of Wushu. She now aims to continue in the win column by taking on a monstrous challenge in Ann Osman.

Tatsuya Mizuno of Tokyo, Japan, is a 35-year-old mixed martial arts veteran with a professional MMA record of 15-11-1. Mizuno’s knowledge and wisdom is a cut above the level of any of his opponents due to his vast experience inside the cage. Mizuno is a highly-resilient and determined competitor, with great all-around striking and grappling skills. He gets another shot at victory inside the ONE Championship cage against Gilberto Galvão.

Gilberto “Giba” Galvão is a 34-year-old mixed martial arts veteran from Balneario Camboriu, Brazil, with extensive experience in the sport of MMA. A solid middleweight contender, Galvao has competed largely in Brazil and has compiled 28 total victories, more than half of which have ended in a submission. The exceptional grappler will make his ONE Championship promotional debut against Japanese veteran Tatsuya Mizuno.

Malaysia’s Gianni Subba is a 23-year-old flyweight prospect from Kuala Lumpur. He spends his time carefully honing his craft with talented teammates, including brother Keanu, at Bali Muay Thai & MMA in Indonesia. A winner of four of his last five bouts, Subba is a seasoned athlete with a stellar 7-2 clip in his young career. Five of his seven wins have come either by submission or by crowd-pleasing technical knockout. In his next assignment, the crafty Yago Bryan poses a stern challenge.

Yago Bryan of Rio de Janeiro is a Brazilian strawweight prospect who took on former ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke in his promotional debut. The 24-year old more than held his own against the Muay Thai veteran, going back-and-forth with Dejdamrong for five gruelling rounds. Skilled in both the striking and grappling arts, Bryan is making his way back to the ONE Championship cage, this time against Gianni Subba.

The undefeated Agilan “Alligator” Thani of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will be making a quick return to the ONE Championship cage following his spectacular technical knockout victory over American Brad Robinson this past May. The 20-year-old prospect is a perfect 5-0 as a professional, with four of his five victories ending in the first round. Thani has shown steady improvement in each outing, and will look to put his skills further to the test against the hard-hitting Trestle Tan.

Trestle Tan is a welterweight contender from Manila, Philippines, and is known as one of the hardest punchers in the promotion regardless of weight class. In his last bout, Tan made quick work of Djatmiko Waluyo at ONE: TRIBE OF WARRIORS in Jakarta this past February, winning via rear-naked choke submission in an exciting matchup. He will need to be at full strength as he squares off against Agilan Thani in an incredible showdown of powerful competitors.

22-year-old Keanu Subba of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a former amateur MMA champion and is one of the most promising young talents in ONE Championship’s featherweight ranks. He is 3-2 as a professional mixed martial artist after making a name for himself as Malaysia’s former MIMMA featherweight champion. Subba’s experience inside the ONE Championship cage as a young fighter has taught him great lessons that he says has helped him improve his overall game. He’ll get the chance to test those skills against Waqar Umar next.

Waqar Umar of Pakistan is a featherweight with a 4-3 professional mixed martial arts record. All four of his victories have come by submission, made possible by his well-established grappling skills. Inside the ONE Championship cage, he’s faced the likes of Peter Davis, Amir Khan, and Benedict Ang. His next task is to take on rising Malaysian star Keanu Subba.

In the evening’s Facebook Livestream preliminary bouts, Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion Bruno Pucci will take on Nuerdebieke Bahetihan, while Indian female atomweight Jeet Toshi makes her return to the ONE Championship cage against undefeated Taiwanese female fighter Jenny Huang. They will be accompanied by former WBF Asia-Pacific Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion Hisyam Samsudin and current MIMMA Featherweight Champion Muhammad Aiman, who will face off in a battle of Malaysian prospects to kick off ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS.

For more updates on ONE Championship™, please visit www.onefc.com, follow @ONEChampionship on Twitter and Instagram, and Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, Physique TV, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 9th, 2016) — Less than a week ago, Johnston, R.I., featherweight Joe Pingitore spoke about his desire to one day climb to the top of the rankings in the northeast and perhaps headline a future CES MMA fight card.

He’ll get his chance much sooner than anticipated.

Originally scheduled to fight Bill Jones Friday night on the main card of “CES MMA 37” at Twin River Casino, Pingitore (6-2-1, 2 KOs) will now face the region’s top 145-pounder, Matt Bessette (19-7, 5 KOs) of Stafford Springs, Conn., in a five-round bout for the vacant CES MMA Featherweight Title, one of three title fights airing live on AXS TV.

Pingitore stepped to the table with Bessette’s scheduled opponent forced to withdraw from the fight. Jones (12-10, 3 KOs), fighting out of Somersworth, N.H., will remain on the card in a separate three-round bout.

“When I have nothing to lose in a fight like this, that’s when I’m most dangerous,” Pingitore said Tuesday. “I’ve really got nothing to lose here.”

For Bessette, it’s more than just business as usual as he prepares for his third opponent in the past six weeks; it’s now become personal.

While talking about his originally scheduled bout with Jones, Pingitore mentioned he was interested in seeing how Bessette’s fight turned out that same night, hinting at a possible matchup down the road. When CES MMA announced the planned Bessette-Cervantes bout three weeks ago, Pingitore threw his hat into the ring via social media.

“He wrote, ‘I would’ve taken that fight.’ I laughed. I thought it was a joke,” Bessette said. “I thought he was kidding for a while because that’s Ping. Ping jokes a lot.

“But he started being fucking serious and then he started going on my Twitter talking more shit. I told him, ‘You need to stop.’ For one, I thought we were cool. We’ve trained together 30 times. We’ve gone to places together. We’ve traveled to train places together. Then this dude just up and calls me out like that? It’s a fucking slap in the face.

“It’s just not who I am. If he never did that three weeks ago, there’s a zero percent chance I’d say yes to taking the fight with him. I just wouldn’t do it. It’s not me. I’m not a guy who goes behind your back and fights good friends. If he didn’t do that and put himself in that position, he would not be in this fight. Ping talked his way into a fist-fight and he’s going to get a fucking fist-fight.”

Challenging Bessette, a nine-time Bellator and four-time CES MMA veteran, is a major step up in opposition for Pingitore, who carries a two-fight win streak into what is now the biggest test of his career and his first shot at a major mixed martial arts title.

“These opportunities come along and I just go out there and grab them. It presented itself to me and I saw no reason not to go out and try to get that upset,” Pingitore said.

“All of the preparation, everything has been the same. I still train for a five-round fight even though it was only a three, but now it’s actually five rounds. Everything worked out. I had a great camp either way. It’s not like I showed up to camp just because I was fighting Bill Jones.”

Friday will be Pingitore’s fourth consecutive nationally televised fight. He last fought in March when he knocked out Taylor Trahan in the third and final round of their rematch at “CES MMA 33.”

Since suffering a stunning loss to Lenny Wheeler in August of 2015, Bessette has caught fire, winning his last four bouts, including an impressive submission win over Taurean Bogguess at “CES MMA 33” and a victory over veteran Ran Weathers two months ago at “CES MMA 36.”

“He’s the pound-for-pound [No. 1] in the rankings for a reason,” Pingitore said of Bessette. “He’ll come out and he’ll come straight forward and I think that’s where I’ll have my opportunity to catch him. He’s got tricky standup. His wrestling is decent. His ground game is pretty legit. He’s been around. He’s probably one of the next kids to go to the UFC, unless I upset him.”

For Bessette, the last-minute change has become an all-too-familiar dilemma in recent months. Pingitore is the third opponent scheduled to face Bessette for the title. The original opponent, Pedro Gonzalez, suffered a back injury midway through training camp. Weathers was also a last-minute fill-in five months ago for Jairo Soares, who was forced to withdraw during the week of his scheduled fight against Bessette.

“It’s insane,” Bessette said. “In my own mind, I was positive no one was going to take this fight because it’s a 25-minute fight on five days’ notice against me on national television for a world title. An opportunity, yes, but people have got to be in shape for this. It was just good timing that Ping was on the card already and was already prepared to fight.

“They gave me several names and I said yes to them, but, in my mind, I said, ‘I’m going to smash these guys because none of them have been training.’ Ping was in shape, so this will be cool.

“Ping likes to bang, that’s for sure. He’s going to get what he wants, but it’s not going to be the way he wants it.”

As for the theory that Bessette has everything to lose while Pingitore has nothing to lose, Bessette laughed and said, “I’ve had 27 fights. I’ve always had something to lose. It doesn’t matter. I always have something to lose. It doesn’t matter who’s in there with me. I’m going to run fucking through them. I was going to run through this guy, I was going to run through Pedro and now I’m going to run through Ping. He just stepped up to get ran over.”

Tickets for “CES MMA 37” are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

The Pingitore-Bessette fight is one of three, five-round title fights on the main card. Woonsocket, R.I., native Andre Soukhamthath (10-3, 6 KOs), now fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla., defends his CES MMA Bantamweight Title for the first time against Cambridge, Mass., vet Kin Moy (8-2, 2 KOs) in the main event, a rematch of their back-and-forth war in January of 2014 in which Moy won by unanimous decision, while Providence’s Greg Rebello (20-6, 12 KOs) faces Oklahoma’s Ashley Gooch (9-4, 6 KOs) for the vacant CES MMA Heavyweight Title.

Also on the AXS TV main card, middleweight Chuck O’Neil (16-8, 5 KOs) of Bourne, Mass., faces Roy Jones (7-4, 3 KOs) of Waterloo, Iowa.

The preliminary card features four exciting bouts, highlighted by a middleweight showdown between Berkeley, Mass., vet Pat McCrohan (2-0, 1 KO) and Russian Ruslan Melikov (3-1), fighting out of Fairfield, N.J. Providence bantamweight Marquis Brewster (1-0) faces Turtle Creek, Pa., native Roosevelt Archie (0-1); and Dylan Lockard of Derry, N.H., makes his professional debut against Seldon, N.Y., featherweight Mak Kelleher (1-2). Quincy, Mass., middleweight Mike Rodriguez (3-1, 1 KO) battles Stephfond Ewins (3-3-1, 3 KOs) of Pennsylvania.

Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/ces.mma for more information and use the hashtag #CES37 to join the conversation.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 8th, 2016) — Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and where there’s bad blood between two fighters, there’s usually a different account of past events.

The anticipated showdown between featherweights Joe Pingitore and Bill Jones, who face off Friday, Aug. 12th, 2016 on the main card of “CES MMA 37” live on AXS TV from Twin River Casino, features the classic story of one fighter allegedly ducking the other; Jones (12-10, 3 KOs) says he’s clamored for this fight for quite some time, but Pingitore (6-2-1, 2 KOs) never agreed to come to the table until now.

In a rare twist, Pingitore, the Johnston, R.I., vet who makes his sixth appearance with CES MMA Friday, backed up his opponent’s claim — sort of.

“I ducked him and his terrible record because I didn’t want to fight a dude who’s 1-4 since 2012,” Pingitore said. “But enough is enough. He’ll be 1-5 now.”

There’s no doubt Jones has struggled in recent years, both in and out of the sport. The 38-year-old Somersworth, N.H., native, a full-time roofer during the day, hasn’t fought since last July and hasn’t won since December of 2014, but he enters the cage Friday with a clear conscious and a new outlook following a major lifestyle change.

Eleven months ago, after watching his father pass away due to what he called “poor decisions and poor habits,” Jones decided to quit smoking cold turkey. His ultimate goal, aside from improving his quality of life for the sake of his four children, is to fulfill his father’s last request to get back in the cage and “go win another” fight.

“I smoked for as long as Joe’s been alive,” Jones said. “Not smoking, this is the best camp I’ve ever had. This is the best I’ve felt, the best I’ve ever looked, the best I’ve ever trained. I feel like an animal.

“I’m going to kill this kid. He thinks he’s got an easy fight because I went in a slump. He’s got no idea.”

The outspoken Jones didn’t take his first pro fight until 2007 when he was 30 years old. He won nine of his first 13, including a split decision win over Matt Bessette in just his second pro fight, and was ranked high as No. 3 in the northeast in 2014 despite “smoking butts every day,” a lifestyle that eventually caught up to him in the cage.

“I didn’t do anything right,” Jones said. “I worked six days a week, I trained when I could, but when I trained, I worked hard training. At my job, I worked hard. We’d strip for three or four hours in the morning. We worked hard to get the job done.

“That atmosphere followed me to the gym. I’d get there and everybody would ask, ‘How do you feel?’ ‘Horrible, but let’s get to it!'”

With “family problems” affecting his training and work habits, Jones admittedly took some ill-advised fights in recent years and wound up losing four out of five during a three-year stretch between 2012 and 2015. He hit rock bottom last July when he ran out of gas in a fight against John Santos and got knocked out in the second round.

“I should’ve murdered that kid. Hands down,” Jones said. “I was so mad at myself because I had lost that fight by not training and smoking. I destroyed him for the first round and a half and as soon as I hit my wall, I was puffing for air. I couldn’t do anything. I was like, ‘That’s it. I’m done. I’m going to give it up.'”

At his father’s request, which came three days before he died, Jones has decided to give it one last shot. He’ll face a tough test in the 25-year-old Pingitore, who has won back-to-back fights and is looking to carve his path toward a potential headliner fight on a future CES MMA card. Pingitore says he never considered fighting Jones until Jones began tracking him down on social media.

“After I beat [James] Murrin [in June of 2015], he just commented on my Facebook statuses and stuff, talking shit, saying, ‘Let’s fight!’ and I ignored it at first because the guy isn’t in Top 10,” Pingitore said. “He said I’m the weakest one in the Top 10. We’ll see on the 12th. He’s going to find out different.

“This is the type of shit I live for. The last guy who called me out [William Chan] was back in my amateur days. I put him away in 40 seconds. I’m going to try to top that.”

Smoke-free for the first time since he was a teenager, Jones promises fatigue won’t be an issue Friday. The back-and-forth between he and Pingitore has escalated in recent weeks with Pingitore taking shots at Jones’ record in addition to his age, the latter of which admittedly “got under” Jones’ skin.

“My main goal is to go in there and put a hurting on Joe because he’s a cocky, mouthy little fuck,” Jones said. “Thirty eight years old is old? I’m 38 and I’m in better shape than 80 percent of the guys in the cage — smoking cigarettes!

“It’s one thing to say, ‘I’m going to tear this guy up … he’s nothing compared to me!’ but to say I’m old? I roof six days a week. This guy couldn’t carry three bundles up the ladder in a row. No way am I old. He’s 25 and fat and I’m 38 and shredded and he’s saying I’m old. I work crazy hard in everything I do. This kid doesn’t know what hard work is.

“I’m super excited. I haven’t been this excited since my first fight.”

While Pingitore isn’t looking past Friday’s fight, he’s still hopeful of one day being the main event on a CES MMA card and perhaps even dropping down to challenge contenders in a new weight class while maintaining his power and cardio. A win over Jones, who has more experience than any of his previous opponents, would be a step in the right direction.

“To fight a main event for CES, you’ve got to not only have the reputation, you have to be way up there,” Pingitore said. “This is going to be my ninth professional fight, No. 5 under the CES banner. I think it’s coming to the point now where it’s getting there. The hype is kind of setting in. It’s becoming real.

“If everything goes my way on the 12th, I’ll be [7-2-1]. That’s a legit record and that’s a legitimate contender. I’m interested in seeing what happens with the Bessette fight. I don’t know. I’m walking light these days, so, I might be going to 135. I’m kind of taking it one fight at a time, but at the same time I’m looking out for my future.”

Tickets for “CES MMA 37” are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

In addition to Pingitore-Jones, the main card features three, five-round title fights. Woonsocket, R.I., native Andre Soukhamthath (10-3, 6 KOs), now fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla., defends his CES MMA Bantamweight Title for the first time against Cambridge, Mass., vet Kin Moy (8-2, 2 KOs) in the main event, a rematch of their back-and-forth war in January of 2014 in which Moy won by unanimous decision. Providence’s Greg Rebello (20-6, 12 KOs) faces Oklahoma’s Ashley Gooch (9-4, 6 KOs) for the vacant CES MMA Heavyweight Title while Bessette (19-7, 5 KOs), a Stafford Springs, Conn., native, fights for the CES MMA Featherweight Title vacated by current Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) contender Rob Font in 2014.

Also on the AXS TV main card, middleweight Chuck O’Neil (16-8, 5 KOs) of Bourne, Mass., faces Roy Jones (7-4, 3 KOs) of Waterloo, Iowa.

The preliminary card features four exciting bouts, highlighted by a middleweight showdown between Berkeley, Mass., vet Pat McCrohan (2-0, 1 KO) and Russian Ruslan Melikov (3-1), fighting out of Fairfield, N.J. Providence bantamweight Marquis Brewster (1-0) faces Turtle Creek, Pa., native Roosevelt Archie (0-1); and Dylan Lockard of Derry, N.H., makes his professional debut against Seldon, N.Y., featherweight Mak Kelleher (1-2). Quincy, Mass., middleweight Mike Rodriguez (3-1, 1 KO) will be featured in a separate three-round bout against an opponent to be determined.

Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/ces.mma for more information and use the hashtag #CES37 to join the conversation.

08 August 2016 – Macau, China: ONE Championship™ (ONE) athlete and flyweight contender Andrew Leone has suffered an injury in training and will no longer be competing in the main event of ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD which takes place next Saturday, 13 August at The Venetian Macao’s Cotai Arena.
Flyweight prospect Tilek Batyrov of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan will replace Leone in the main event battle against Adriano Moraes with the Interim ONE Flyweight World Championship still on the line.

Ticket information for ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD available at www.onefc.com

Tilek Batyrov is a 24-year old flyweight prospect with a stellar 10-1 professional mixed martial arts record and is a former two-time Combat Sambo world champion. Fighting out of Fight Club Jash-Kuch gym, he is the former Alash Pride Grand Prix Champion and is one of the most promising young fighters to come out of the country. With six submissions and three thrilling stoppage victories on his fight resume, Batyrov is known as a bonafide finisher and will look to give former ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes a stiff challenge.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, Physique TV, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.

Yair Rodriguez won a five-round split decision over Alex Cacares in a featherweight bout in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Rodriguez, 146 lbs of Chicago, IL won two cards by 48-47 counts while Cacares took a card 49-46.

Rodriguez is 9-1. Cacares, 145 lbs of Miami, FL is 12-9-1.

Dennis Bermudez won a unanimous decision over Rony Jason in a featherweight bout.

Jason’s face was a mess as it was covered in blood from round one.

Bermudez, 146 lbs of Lyndonhurst, NY won by scores of 30-27 twice and 30-26 and is now 17-5. Jason, 146 lbs of Quixada, BRA is 15-6-1.

Thhales Leites scored a third round submission over Chris Camozzi in their middleweight bout.

Leites made Camozzi tap out with a rear naked choke at 2:58

Leites, 186 lbs of Rio di Jenairo, BRA is 26-6. Camozzi, 186 lbs of Lakewood, CO is 24-11.

Santiago Pozinbbio son a unanimous decision over Zaxk Cummings in a welterweight bout.

In round three, Cummings started to bleed from his nose.

Pozinbbio, 171 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL won by scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice and is now 24-3. Cummings, 171 lbs of Kansas City. MO is 19-5.

Trevor Smith defeated Joe Gigloiotti via unanimous decision in a middleweight bout.

Gigliotti started bleeding from the nose in round two when he was hit with a knee.

Smith, 185.5 lbs of Tokwila, WA won by scores of 30-26 on all cards ans is now 14-6. Gigliotti, 185.5 lbs of Gilbert, AZ is 7-1..

Maryna Moroz won a split decision over Danielle Taylor in a strawweight bout.

Moroz, 115 lbs of Ukraine won by scores of 30-27 and 29-28, while Taylor took card 29-28.

Moroz is 7-1. Taylor, 11.5 lbs of Van Nuys, CA is 7-2.

Court Mcgee won a unanimous decision over Dominique Steel in a welterweight bout.

In round one, Steele was cut over his right eye.

McGee, 169.5 lbs of Orem, UT won by scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice and is now 19-5. Steele, 171 lbs of Cincinnati, OH is 14-8.

Marcin Tybura scored an explosive second round stoppage over Viktor Pesta in a heavyweight bout.

In round two, Tybura countered a right hand with a devastating left kick to the head and Pesta was knocked out cold at 53 seconds.

Tybura, 249 lbs of Warszwa, POL is 14-2. Pesta, 239.5 of Prague, Czech Republic is 10-3.

David Teymur stopped Jason Novelli in the second round of their lightweight bout.

In round two, Teymur landed a straight left that sent Novelli to the ground. Teymur got t his feet only to eat six punches and the bout was stopped at 1:28.

Teymur, 155 lbs of Stockholm, SWE is 5-1. Novelli, 155.5 lbs of Portland, OR is 11-2-1.

Teymur was cut under his left eye in the first round.

Teruro Ishihara knocked out Horacio Gutierrez in the first round of their featherweight bout.

Ishihar landed a hard left that knocked Gutierrez down. Ishihara pounced on Gutierrez and landed one more clipping left and the fight was stopped at 2:32.

Ishihara, 146 lbs of Osaka, JAP is 10-2-2. Gutierrez, 146 lbs of Chicago is 3-3.

Yair Rodriguez 146 – Alex Caceres 145
Dennis Bermudez 146 – Rony Jason 146
Thales Leites 186 – Chris Camozzi 186
Zak Cummings 171 – Santiago Ponzinibbio 171
Trevor Smith 185.5 – Joe Gigliotti 185.5
Danielle Taylor 115.5 – Maryna Moroz 115
Court McGee 169.5 – Dominique Steele 171
Viktor Pesta 239.5 – Marcin Tybura 249
David Teymur 155 – Jason Novelli 155.5
Horacio Gutierrez 146 – Teruto Ishihara 146
Cub Swanson 144.5 – Tatsuya Kawajiri 145.5
Chase Sherman 245 – Justin Ledet 234.5

05 August 2016 – Macao, China: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), will be conducting a grappling tournament on Saturday, 13 August in Macao, China. The ONE GRAPPLING CHALLENGE MACAO is set to be held between 10am to 4pm in conjunction with the live pay-per-view event ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD, which takes place that evening at The Venetian Macao’s Cotai Arena. The tournament will follow IBJJF rules.

CEO of ONE Championship, Victor Cui stated: “In line with our vision to build local martial arts heroes in Asia, ONE Championship continues to develop new ways to promote the sport of MMA and other martial arts. This tournament is a step in the right direction and brings together the biggest names in grappling including ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki, ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee, and eight-time BJJ world champion Michelle Nicolini – the most decorated women’s BJJ practitioner in the world today. The tournament gives fans the chance to witness high-level technical grappling at its finest, and we are excited at the possibilities.”

ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki grew to international stardom as a ground specialist with a massive 25 submission wins against elite competition, while ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee sports several submission victories including a spectacular Twister. Besides her many accolades, new ONE Championship signing Michelle Nicolini is a member of the prestigious IBJJF Hall of Fame.

The tournament will feature a collective prize pot of USD$50,000 up for grabs, making it the biggest prize purse in the history of Asian grappling. There will be a USD$125 registration fee for each competitor, which includes a one night stay at The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel or the Holiday Inn Hotel Macao, six complimentary tickets to ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD, a 30% discount on additional tickets to the event, and a tournament t-shirt.

According to experience and belt color, competitors will be divided into three categories: Beginner (BJJ white/blue belts and those with less than two years of experience), Advanced (BJJ purple/brown belts and those with between two to five years of experience), and Elite (BJJ black belts and grapplers with more than five years of experience).

The tournament is also divided between male and female competitors, with two weight classes to choose from. Men are split at the 75kg mark, while for women the cut off is at 65kg. Cash prizes range from USD$300 to USD$5,000, with the latter reserved for winners in the elite division.

To sign up, visit the official website at https://onegrappling.splashthat.com/

ONE GRAPPLING CHALLENGE MACAO, Competition Details:

Ruleset:
Competition will follow IBJJF NO-GI rules

Age:
Participants must be 18 years or older to compete

Divisions:
– Beginner (BJJ white/blue belts or < 2 years grappling experience) - Advanced (BJJ purple/brown belts or 2-5 years grappling experience) - Elite (BJJ black belts or > 5 years grappling experience)

Weight Classes (including grappling attire):
– Male (Light Open -75 kg, Heavy Open +75.1 kg)
– Female (Light Open -65kg, Heavy Open +65.1 kg)

Weigh-In Schedule:
– Beginner Division weigh-in will begin at 9am on 13 August
– Full schedule & brackets will be released on 11 August

TOURNAMENT PRIZES

Division/Prize Purse:

Beginner Division:
USD$800 – (1st Place)
USD$500 – (2nd Place)
USD$300 – (3rd Place)

Advanced Division:
USD$1500 – (1st Place)
USD$800 – (2nd Place)
USD$500 – (3rd Place)

Elite Division:
USD$5000 – (1st Place)
USD$1500 – (2nd Place)
USD$800 – (3rd Place)

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, Physique TV, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.

NEW YORK – August 4, 2016 – Combate Americas, the first-ever U.S. Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise, today announced new main event and co-main event matchups for its 10-bout fight card that will air live on UFC FIGHT PASS® from The Exchange in Los Angeles, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 11 at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT.

Streaking star John “Sexy Mexy” Castaneda (10-2) will step in for Erick Sanchez, who suffered a staph infection, and face off with Angel “Tito” Cruz (5-2) in the featherweight (145 pounds) main event at “Aspira A Mas Presents Combate Americas: CombateOCHO,” while four-time UFC® veteran Danny “The Gremlin” Martinez will replace a hurt (knee injury) Jonathan Martinez (19-7) in the flyweight (125 pounds) co-main event contest with Benjamin Vinson (8-3-1).

In addition, the planned women’s atomweight (105 pounds) matchup between Kyra “Mogwai” Batara (5-3) and Lisa Ellis (15-10) has been scrapped due to a hamstring injury sustained by Batara.

“We wish Erick, Jonathan and Kyra speedy and full recoveries, and have the utmost respect for John Castaneda and Danny Martinez, two ferocious warriors who did not hesitate to accept our offers to face super tough opponents in the top two fights on our card, on short notice,” said Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren.

The 24-year-old Castaneda of Mankato, Minn. is riding a five-fight win streak, the last three of which came inside the Combate Americas cage, or “La Jaula.”

To date, the fast-rising star who normally competes at bantamweight (135 pounds), but who began his career as a featherweight, has notched 7 of his 10 professional career wins by way of (T)KO or submission.

Martinez of Chula Vista, Calif. will see action for the first time since his unanimous decision win over Richie Vaculik at UFC 193 last November 14.

The 31-year-old finisher, originally hailing from Tempe, Ariz., has earned 14 of his 19 career victories by way of (T)KO or submission.

Tickets for “Aspira A Mas Presents Combate Americas: CombateOCHO,” priced from $40, are on sale at ItsMySeat.com as well as at The Exchange box office. UFC FIGHT PASS is available on: personal computers, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Sony TVs with Android TV and Roku devices.

Doors at the Exchange LA open for the event at 5:30 p.m. PT, and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 6 p.m. The live UFC FIGHT PASS stream will commence at 6:30 p.m.

COMBATE AMERICAS: CombateOCHO

Featherweight Main Event:
John Castaneda vs. Angel Cruz

Flyweight Co-Main Event:
Danny Ramirez vs. Benjamin Vinson

Flyweight: Heinrich Wassmer vs. Benji Gomez
Featherweight: Izic Fernandez vs. Marcos Bonilla
Flyweight: Jonathan Santa Maria vs. Albert Tapia
Featherweight: Jonathan Quiroz vs. Ryan Lilley
Lightweight: Jose Estrada vs. Christian Cardona
Lightweight: Erick Gonzalez vs. Yoandy Carrillo
Welterweight: Daniel Rodriguez vs. Hector Saldana
Welterweight: George Hernandez vs. Hakob Ter Petrosyan

# # #

ABOUT COMBATE AMERICAS
Combate Americas, LLC. is the first U.S. Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise in history, designed to build Latino fighting champions and serve Hispanic fans, one of the world’s most avid groups of prize fighting enthusiasts. The Combate Americas franchise includes reality TV programming, live events and mobile programming. The company’s CEO, Campbell McLaren, is universally recognized as the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). New York Magazine described McLaren as “the marketing genius behind the UFC” and Yahoo! Sports proclaimed that he “knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today.” With an unprecedented product and a blue-chip ownership and management team, Combate Americas is poised to break new ground and bring about a new era in world championship level MMA competition.

About UFC®
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Singapore, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in over 156 countries and territories to more than 1.1 billion TV households worldwide in 29 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 4th, 2016) — With a second child added to the household just four months ago, Greg Rebello has finally gotten the hang of balancing fatherhood with fighting.

After admittedly struggling the first time around, which affected his performance in the cage, the 34-year-old Providence native is now raising a soon-to-be 4-year-old daughter and a 4-month-old son without missing a beat as he prepares to face Tennessee’s Ashley Gooch on Friday, Aug. 12th, 2016 for the vacant CES MMA Heavyweight Title on the main card of “CES MMA 37” live on AXS TV from Twin River Casino.

Everything has changed for the Rebello family; business is booming for his wife, Nicole, a former fitness model who runs Body Rock Fitness & Nutrition in nearby Lincoln, and Rebello (20-6, 12 KOs) is in the midst of a four-fight win streak in his post-retirement renaissance.

“It’s a hell of a lot easier,” said Rebello, who’s second child, Cameron, was born just two weeks following his knockout win over Keith Bell in March.

“Put it this way: I haven’t missed or come close to missing one single training session because I had to watch my kid. We have a lot of help. It hasn’t been an issue at all like it was the first time.”

His daughter, Mya, was born six days before his scheduled bout against Chris Guillen in 2012. Rebello won that fight, but the responsibilities of fatherhood pulled him further and further away from his career in MMA. He hit rock bottom a year later in a loss to Lewis Rumsey, prompting him to announce his retirement in the cage moments after the fight.

It wasn’t until his daughter got older that Rebello realized he still had enough left in the tank to make one more run as long as he rededicated his free time to training. He returned to MMA in December of 2013 and has since won five of six fights, including three in a row by knockout on AXS TV, making him a fan favorite both with AXS’ worldwide audience and commentators Pat Miletich and Michael Schiavello.

With his Muay Thai as sharp as ever at the age of 34, Rebello’s fights are now must-see TV. Next Friday’s showdown with Gooch figures to be just as entertaining as the rest. He and Rebello have combined for 18 knockouts in their 29 wins. Gooch has won his last six, all by knockout or submission, so the possibility of this fight lasting five full rounds is a long shot.

“[CES MMA matchmaker] Pat Sullivan doesn’t pay us by the hour,” quipped Rebello. “If he paid us by the hour, I’d stay there all night.”

The 6-foot-3 Gooch (9-4, 6 KOs) is still relatively unknown in the northeast, but he made a strong first impression in January on the main card of “CES MMA 32” when he submitted former Bellator vet Josh Diekmann via rear-naked choke at 4 minutes, 30 seconds of the opening round on AXS TV.

“I knew I was the underdog going in,” Gooch said. “They never bring in an out-of-town guy to win.”

Rebello worked Diekmann’s corner in that fight, so he caught a first-hand glimpse of what Gooch brings to the table, though he doesn’t think it’ll mean much when the bell rings next Friday.

“Josh Diekmann trained three times for that fight. He was coming off two knee surgeries. He literally was 10 percent in that fight,” Rebello said. “I knew myself and Josh knew that if it went to the ground Josh just wasn’t healthy enough to be able to do anything down there. As soon as that fight hit the ground, I knew it was over.

“If that was the Josh Diekmann who fought Mike Wessel for Bellator, he would’ve put Gooch to sleep.”

In order to finish what Diekmann started, Rebello will rely on the same footwork and fast hands that carried him in his last four fights. Though he and Gooch have a tendency to finish their opponents, their styles are polar opposites.

“Gooch is kind of a guy who goes straight forward with those fucking terrible punches. I’m more of the guy who sets it up,” he said. “I use my feints and my footwork. I kind of take a different approach to make guys play into my element.”

His fight against Mike Mucitelli, in which Rebello coaxed his opponent into coming forward and then knocked him cold with a well-timed overhand left, is a perfect example.

“The thing is I kept punching and moving backwards and moving in and just kind of every time he attacked I circled out and he just basically walked into one of my shots,” Rebello recalled. “The same thing happened against Keith Bell, but he’s a big heavyweight like Gooch and I think he just got tired of chasing me around and got frustrated. That’s when he started moving backwards and if you start moving backwards with me the fight’s going to be over.”

Gooch returns to Rhode Island next Friday in a familiar role as the underdog against Rebello, who has nearly three times as much experience as a professional. Born in Tennessee, Gooch spent several years living with a friend in Denver, where he linked up with the late Mauricio Zingano and his wife, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) standout Cat Zingano. When he decided to leave Colorado to move to Arizona, Zingano referred him to the head instructor at The MMA Lab in Glendale, John Crouch. The rest is history.

“I’ve fought on AXS TV before and I’ve had big wins on AXS before, so I don’t let the whole TV thing bother me very much. I’m just glad people are able to see me that usually don’t get to see me because I’m from the east coast, but I live on the west coast,” Gooch said.

“It’s a title fight, so there’s a lot on the line for Greg. I figure he’ll bring his best. It’s not really déjà vu. It’s a different fighter, a different day, a different scenario, and different things on the line. Like I said, every fight is different. Greg is a tough guy. Hat’s off to him. If I was a fan, I’d definitely be looking forward to this fight.”

With the way these two finish opponents, this could be the Fight of the Night, even if it doesn’t last that long.

“I’ve fought every opponent possible, every size,” Rebello said. “Nothing Gooch brings to the table is going to be any surprise to me.”

Tickets for “CES MMA 37” are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Rebello-Gooch is one of three, five-round title bouts on the main card. Woonsocket, R.I., native Andre Soukhamthath (10-3, 6 KOs), now fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla., defends his CES MMA Bantamweight Title for the first time against Cambridge, Mass., vet Kin Moy (8-2, 2 KOs) in the main event, a rematch of their back-and-forth war in January of 2014 in which Moy won by unanimous decision. Stafford Springs, Conn., vet Matt Bessette (19-7, 5 KOs) battles Stephen Cervantes (6-1) of Albuquerque, N.M., for the vacant CES MMA Featherweight Title.

Also on the AXS TV main card, middleweight Chuck O’Neil (16-8, 5 KOs) of Bourne, Mass., faces Roy Jones (7-4, 3 KOs) of Waterloo, Iowa, and featherweight Joe Pingitore (6-2-1, 2 KOs) of Johnston, R.I., returns to network television for the fourth time when he faces Bill Jones (12-10, 3 KOs) of Somersworth, N.H.

The preliminary card features four exciting bouts, highlighted by a middleweight showdown between Berkeley, Mass., vet Pat McCrohan (2-0, 1 KO) and Russian Ruslan Melikov (3-1), fighting out of Fairfield, N.J. Providence bantamweight Marquis Brewster (1-0) faces Turtle Creek, Pa., native Roosevelt Archie (0-1); Boston lightweight Devin Carrier (1-1, 1 KO) battles Holbrook, Mass., native Connor Barry (1-0); and Dylan Lockard of Derry, N.H., makes his professional debut against Seldon, N.Y., featherweight Mak Kelleher (1-2). Quincy, Mass., middleweight Mike Rodriguez (3-1, 1 KO) will be featured in a separate three-round bout against an opponent to be determined.

Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/ces.mma for more information and use the hashtag #CES37 to join the conversation.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 3rd, 2016) — Matt Bessette has a unique, if not unconventional, approach to choosing his opponents.

While some fighters want to know every last detail about the opponent they’re about to face – sometimes at an excruciatingly painstaking level – Bessette (19-7, 5 KOs) thrives off the element of the unknown, instead choosing to play it by ear and rely on his own ability, not hours upon hours of film study, to carry him through any given fight.

“I like the idea of not knowing much about the guy I’m fighting and I like the idea of him not knowing much about me,” said the Stafford Springs, Conn., vet, who faces a relative unknown in the northeast region, Stephen Cervantes, on Friday, Aug. 12th, 2016 for the vacant CES MMA Featherweight Title on the main card of “CES MMA 37” live on AXS TV from Twin River Casino, one of three championship bouts on the card.

Cervantes (6-1), an Albuquerque, N.M., native, replaces the original opponent, Pedro Gonzalez of Gloucester, Mass., whom Bessette knew a lot about, and vice-versa. Bessette dealt with a similar scenario in June when he faced Colorado vet Ran Weathers on 72 hours’ notice after his original opponent was forced to withdraw from the fight. The result was a surprisingly effortless win for Bessette via guillotine choke 4 minutes, 50 seconds into the opening round.

“I’ve done it so many times that it’s had very, very little affect on me,” Bessette said. “You just change your game plan a tiny bit and that’s it. It took me a collective 24 hours to get over the fact I wasn’t fighting Pedro and then I switched gears to Cervantes. Another day in the office.”

Bessette and Cervantes battle for the promotion’s featherweight title, vacated in 2014 when former champion Rob Font debuted with the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). A former Jiu Jitsu world champion, Cervantes carries an impressive resume into Friday’s title bout, including a win over Bellator vet Shawn Bunch and a showdown less than three months ago against World Series of Fighting alum Kyle Reyes.

“People aren’t expecting me to go out there and get a win. I’m coming in as a big underdog and rightfully so, but I’m going to show everybody out there in Rhode Island what’s up,” Cervantes said.

“[Bessette’s] a complete fighter. There’s nothing that the dude really can’t do. He’s aggressive. He’s strong-minded. He’s going to be super legit. I’m most impressed with his Jiu Jitsu, but that’s where I’m strongest. I’m not going to take anything away from him, but I just want people out there in Rhode Island and around the country to know I’m coming.”

Cervantes admits he’s watched a lot of his opponent’s fights, which, given the number of times Bessette has fought on network television with both Bellator and CES MMA, pokes holes in the theory that a fighter 2,200 miles east of New Mexico can still be considered an unknown commodity, but Bessette doesn’t view his worldwide exposure as a drawback.

“They can look me up, but unless you’ve seen me firsthand and have really done your homework on me, then it’s going to be harder to figure me out once you get in there,” Bessette said, “and that’s what I like.

“I think I’m going to be a shitstorm coming at him from everywhere. I’m just looking at really, really pressuring him. It’s going to be a long night for him as soon as the first bell starts.”

The proof is undeniable; Bessette made quick work of out-of-town opponents Weathers, Kevin Roddy and Taurean Bogguess, but struggled against Fall River, Mass., vet Josh LaBerge in 2015 on the undercard of Bellator 134, a fight that lasted two full rounds until the doctors finally stopped it before the start of the third.

“I couldn’t put him away,” Bessette said of LaBerge. “The doctor had to stop it, but it took two rounds to do that.

“I have a very unique style and any time I fight a guy around here sometimes I feel like they know a lot about me, which takes away from my ability to get the job done. Maybe it takes me a little longer. I think Cervantes is in a shitstorm and he just doesn’t know it yet.”

While Bessette, currently riding a four-fight win streak, is the heavy favorite entering next Friday, Cervantes has accomplished enough in his brief pro career to earn his opponent’s respect. He’s yet to back down from a fight and he jumped at the opportunity to face Bessette for a title on network television after lobbying to fight for CES MMA in the past.

“It’s a big deal to travel all the way to the east coast to fight and it’s great to fight on TV. It’s a good promotion that will give me a stepping stone for my career,” Cervantes said.

“I don’t shy away from any fight. I’ve taken fights like this on short notice. I stay in shape. I stay ready. My mentality is if you want to fight, I’ll go out there and give everything I have. I won’t shy away from any opportunity.”

Bessette, who makes his fifth appearance with CES MMA next Friday, has handled all the adversity from last-minute changes in the past and will have to o so again on the 16th against a newcomer to the northeast circuit. Now it’s up to Cervantes to weather the “storm” Bessette promises to deliver with the CES MMA title up for grabs.

“To fight for a title for CES is a dream come true,” Bessette said. “This is my first world championship fight and if you were with me day in and day out you’d know there’s something different in my eyes. I can feel it. All it takes now is me going out there and getting the job done and I have no problem going out there and getting the job done.”

Tickets for “CES MMA 37” are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Bessette-Cervantes is one of three, five-round title bouts on the main card. Woonsocket, R.I., native Andre Soukhamthath (10-3, 6 KOs), now fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla., defends his CES MMA Bantamweight Title for the first time against Cambridge, Mass., vet Kin Moy (8-2, 2 KOs) in the main event, a rematch of their back-and-forth war in January of 2014 in which Moy won by unanimous decision. Providence’s Greg Rebello (20-6, 12 KOs) faces Oklahoma’s Ashley Gooch (9-4, 6 KOs) for the vacant CES MMA Heavyweight Title.

Also on the AXS TV main card, middleweight Chuck O’Neil (16-8, 5 KOs) of Bourne, Mass., faces Roy Jones (7-4, 3 KOs) of Waterloo, Iowa, and featherweight Joe Pingitore (6-2-1, 2 KOs) of Johnston, R.I., returns to network television for the fourth time when he faces Bill Jones (12-10, 3 KOs) of Somersworth, N.H.

The preliminary card features four exciting bouts, highlighted by a middleweight showdown between Berkeley, Mass., vet Pat McCrohan (2-0, 1 KO) and Russian Ruslan Melikov (3-1), fighting out of Fairfield, N.J. Providence bantamweight Marquis Brewster (1-0) faces Turtle Creek, Pa., native Roosevelt Archie (0-1); Boston lightweight Devin Carrier (1-1, 1 KO) battles Holbrook, Mass., native Connor Barry (1-0); and Dylan Lockard of Derry, N.H., makes his professional debut against Seldon, N.Y., featherweight Mak Kelleher (1-2). Quincy, Mass., middleweight Mike Rodriguez (3-1, 1 KO) will be featured in a separate three-round bout against an opponent to be determined.

Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/ces.mma for more information and use the hashtag #CES37 to join the conversation.

NEW YORK – August 2, 2016 – Combate Americas today announced that reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC) women’s bantamweight (135 pounds) superstar Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña, along with 14-time UFC veteran and Team Alpha Male standout Danny “Last Call” Castillo and journalist Andrea Calle, will host the first-ever open tryout for the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise, in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday, Aug. 13.

All men and women, ages 18 and over, who are interested in participating in the tryout with the opportunity to earn a multi-fight promotional agreement with Combate Americas, can pre-register online at www.CombateAmericas.com.

Castillo and Calle will preside over the event, while Peña, along with Combate Americas referee Mike Beltran and Combate Americas Fight Director Mel Valenzuela, will comprise the panel of judges for the tryout that will take place two days after the much-anticipated, 10-bout “Aspira A Mas Presents Combate Americas: Combate OCHO” event, live on UFC FIGHT PASS® from Exchange LA.

“We are on an aggressive hunt to give undiscovered, hungry talent the opportunity to shine on our big stage, and hosting an open tryout in one of the major cities of the U.S. that is also a hotbed for combat sports is one of the best ways to achieve this,” said Combate Americas CEO and UFC co-founder Campbell McLaren.

The tryout process will begin at 12 p.m. and will put candidates through a variety of drills testing speed, endurance and strength.

Basic boxing, kickboxing and grappling skills will also be examined.

Priced from $40, tickets for the “Aspira A Mas Presents Combate Americas: Combate Ocho,” 10-bout event are on sale at ItsMySeat.com as well as at The Exchange box office. UFC FIGHT PASS is available on personal computers, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV and Roku devices.

In the featherweight (145 pounds) main event, Urijah Faber protégé Erick Sanchez (7-2) of Sacramento, Calif. will look for his third win in the Combate Americas cage, or “La Jaula,” and fourth consecutive victory overall when he squares off with dangerous finisher Angel “Tito” Cruz (5-2) of Rio Piedras, P.R.

# # #

ABOUT COMBATE AMERICAS
Combate Americas, LLC. is the first U.S. Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise in history, designed to build Latino fighting champions and serve Hispanic fans, one of the world’s most avid groups of prize fighting enthusiasts. The Combate Americas franchise includes reality TV programming, live events and mobile programming. The company’s CEO, Campbell McLaren, is universally recognized as the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). New York Magazine described McLaren as “the marketing genius behind the UFC” and Yahoo! Sports proclaimed that he “knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today.” With an unprecedented product and a blue-chip ownership and management team, Combate Americas is poised to break new ground and bring about a new era in world championship level MMA competition.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 2nd, 2016) — It’s one of the more unorthodox title fights you’ll ever see, a rematch between two fighters who say they don’t believe in rematches with the champion, not the challenger, carrying the bigger chip on his shoulder.

Woonsocket, R.I., native Andre Soukhamthath (10-3, 6 KOs), now fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla., defends his CES MMA Bantamweight Title for the first time Friday, Aug. 12th, 2016 against Cambridge, Mass., vet Kin Moy (8-2, 2 KOs) in the main event of “CES MMA 37” live on AXS TV from Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., a rematch of their back-and-forth war in January of 2014 in which Moy won by unanimous decision.

Two and a half years later, Soukhamthath, not Moy, is CES MMA’s inaugural bantamweight champion — the region’s highest honor in his weight class — after beating Kody Nordby in March, while Moy is hoping to keep the momentum going following back-to-back wins in 2015 with Bellator.

Having already beaten Soukhamthath once, Moy would’ve had no reason to grant his adversary a rematch were it not for the possibility of snagging Soukhamthath’s CES MMA title, which is the only real incentive to step back into the cage with a fighter he admits is a “real champion” and a “devastating” striker.

“I’ve never asked for a rematch against someone who’s beaten me because if this were real martial arts,” Moy said, “I’d be dead.”

Though Soukhamthath isn’t playing the “revenge” angle in next Friday’s rematch with Moy, the reigning champ, who also says, “I don’t look for fights and I don’t go around saying, ‘I want a rematch!'” is still a bit sour over the fact Moy called him out prior to their first meeting in 2014.

“They had to find a late replacement and they wanted to fight me in two weeks and I still took it because I’m a man,” Soukhamthath said. “I don’t back down from fights.

“I guess they called the matchmaker and said they wanted to fight me. If I wanted to fight somebody I’d call him face to face and say, ‘Hey, I want to fight you.’ That’s it.”

“We had been pushing to fight Andre for a while,” recalled Moy, “because, as I said back then, he was the best and I wanted to challenge the best. That’s why I was pushing it so hard.”

Moy got his wish and delivered, pressuring Soukhamthath from the opening bell and outworking him on the ground to earn the win, which, at the time, was Soukhamthath’s first loss in two and a half years, snapping his seven-fight win streak.

“I was expecting us to stand there and beat the shit out of each other,” Moy said. “The big thing was I had to get in his face, because I had watched Andre fight many times before that and if you give him time or give him the space and respect to get his game going, he’s going to pick you apart.

“He’s got devastating strikes, but he needs room for those, so I got in his face from the get-go. The second I got in his face and he couldn’t strike with me, he started shooting for a takedown. He’s a much better wrestler than I am, but on the ground I’m always active, striking from the bottom, or top, or wherever I am. I was able to outhustle him and push the pace until he started to fade and that’s when I really came alive.”

Those strikes on the ground — “baby punches,” as Soukhamthath calls them — were ultimately the difference in the outcome, but Soukhamthath says he doesn’t plan on doing anything different in next Friday’s rematch, which falls in line with what Moy feels is a consistent approach from his opponent on a fight-by-fight basis.

“To be honest, I think he does the exact same thing he did before, but he just does it better,” Moy said. “Kody Nordby is an amazing grappler and quite the wrestler, and I was impressed with the way Andre stopped him every time.

“Traditionally, he’s had good takedown defense anyway and against great grapplers like Kurt Chase-Patrick and Blair Tugman, Andre was able to stuff the takedowns, so while he’s gotten sharper, I don’t think he’s changed much.

“On the one hand, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but on the other hand I know I for one have made leaps and bounds in terms of not just the efficacy of my style, but what I do is completely different than when we fought before. Despite the fact he’s grown, he looks pretty much the same in my opinion.”

While Soukhamthath acknowledges he’s a better fighter now than he was in January of 2014, he still plans on “bullying” Moy the way he bullied Nordby in March, a heated rivalry that ended with Soukhamthath knocking out his opponent with a flying knee in the fifth and final round.

Though he may not have changed much stylistically, Soukhamthath is clearly more mature and more capable of handling pressure in and out of the cage, as evident by how he channeled his anger toward Nordby and fought a near-perfect fight on the biggest stage of his career.

“At the end of the day, I’m still a fighter. I’ll always be a fighter,” he said. “I don’t get emotional in my fights anymore. At the end of the day, I know I’m a better fighter than a lot of these guys on the regional circuit and I knew I was way better than Kody. He wrestled his whole life, he was an All-American — whatever. I still outwrestled him and I never wrestled a day in my life. The only wrestling I ever did was in MMA and I still outwrestled him. I don’t let those things get to me.

“When people talk, they talk because they’re insecure. That just gives me confidence when I know they’re insecure.”

The fact Soukhamthath is still on top of his weight class in the northeast despite losing to Moy the first time around adds a rare twist to Friday’s highly anticipated rematch. The irony isn’t lost on Moy, who once again finds himself chasing down the proverbial top dog in an attempt to stake his own claim as the region’s No. 1 bantamweight.

“I generally don’t give rematches to people I’ve beaten, but this is for the title and that makes all the difference,” Moy said. “I honestly feel that because it’s been so long ago Andre has both improved his skill level and he’s done some great things between now and then. It’s deserved. If anything, it’s me coming at him, not vice-versa, because he’s the champion.

“That’s who I want to test myself against. These are similar circumstances. He’s the one with the belt and he’s the one I want to beat.”

Tickets for “CES MMA 37” are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

The Soukhamthath-Moy rematch is one of three, five-round title fights on the televised main card. Stafford Springs, Conn., vet Matt Bessette (19-7, 5 KOs) battles Stephen Cervantes (6-1) of Albuquerque, N.M., for the vacant CES MMA Featherweight Title and Providence’s Greg Rebello (20-6, 12 KOs) faces Oklahoma’s Ashley Gooch (9-4, 6 KOs) for the vacant CES MMA Heavyweight Title.

Also on the AXS TV main card, middleweight Chuck O’Neil (16-8, 5 KOs) of Bourne, Mass., faces Roy Jones (7-4, 3 KOs) of Waterloo, Iowa, and featherweight Joe Pingitore (6-2-1, 2 KOs) of Johnston, R.I., returns to network television for the fourth time when he faces Bill Jones (12-10, 3 KOs) of Somersworth, N.H.

The preliminary card features four exciting bouts, highlighted by a middleweight showdown between Berkeley, Mass., vet Pat McCrohan (2-0, 1 KO) and Russian Ruslan Melikov (3-1), fighting out of Fairfield, N.J. Providence bantamweight Marquis Brewster (1-0) faces Turtle Creek, Pa., native Roosevelt Archie (0-1); Boston lightweight Devin Carrier (1-1, 1 KO) battles Holbrook, Mass., native Connor Barry (1-0); and Dylan Lockard of Derry, N.H., makes his professional debut against Seldon, N.Y., featherweight Mak Kelleher (1-2). Quincy, Mass., middleweight Mike Rodriguez (3-1, 1 KO) will be featured in a separate three-round bout against an opponent to be determined.

Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/ces.mma for more information and use the hashtag #CES37 to join the conversation.

02 August 2016 – Jakarta, Indonesia: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has announced a massive fight card set for 27 August at the state-of-the-art Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia. ONE: TITLES & TITANS features the return of Brazil’s Luis “Sapo” Santos as he takes on former ONE Middleweight World Champion Igor “Lionheart” Svirid in a five-round main event showdown.

CEO of ONE Championship, Victor Cui stated: “These are exciting times for Asian MMA. As ONE Championship continues to push the envelope in sports entertainment across the region, delivering to fans world-class mixed martial arts action, Jakarta is once again set for another explosive evening of fights. In a truly international fight experience, Brazil takes on Kazakhstan as Luis Santos faces the toughest test of his career against the heavy-handed Igor Svirid.”

Tickets information for ONE: TITLES & TITANS are available at www.onefc.com.

Luis “Sapo” Santos is a mixed martial arts veteran from Brazil with over 70 fights on his record and over half of his wins ending by either TKO or KO. With a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a penchant for spectacular finishes, Santos has emerged as one of the promotion’s most overwhelming physical specimens — a fighter capable of finishing a bout in a variety of ways at any given moment. Known for his aggressiveness and brute strength, Santos looks to continue his dominance inside the ONE Championship cage in his next bout against Igor Svirid.

Igor “Lionheart” Svirid is a 30-year old fighter from Almaty, Kazakhstan and is the former ONE Middleweight World Champion. He captured the title with a stunning 17-second knockout victory over Leandro Ataides in 2014 but later succumbed to now reigning champion Vitaly Bigdash in a memorable contest last year. At his best, Svirid employs a tenacious offensive attack partnered with iron-clad toughness to subdue foes inside the cage. He is moving down to welterweight and is set to take on Luis Santos in the main event.

Marcin Prachnio is a Polish mixed martial artist with an impressive 11-2 professional MMA record. He’s won his last six bouts, four of which by devastating technical knockouts. He is currently unbeaten with the promotion, overcoming two tough challenges in both Alexandre Machado and Leandro Ataides in his first two appearances inside the ONE Championship cage. Prachnio is now ready for his biggest challenge yet — against American light heavyweight standout Jake Butler.

Jake Butler has firmly established himself as one of the top elite wrestlers in the division. He has a highlight reel of victories by exciting finishes, and possesses some of the best wrestling in the sport having honed his skills as captain of the Princeton wrestling team. Butler is unstoppable when he utilizes his signature techniques, but has also improved his striking skills by training with Muay Thai world champions in Asia. He’ll be moving down to middleweight next to face the streaking Marcin Prachnio.

Vincent “MagniVincent” Latoel is a Dutch mixed martial arts veteran of Mulakan roots with over 30 professional bouts on his record. A lightweight standout with deep ties to the country of Indonesia, Latoel’s experience in a stacked lightweight division against the very best fighters in his weight class has made him an incredibly resilient and dangerous fighter. Latoel is in his 15th year as a pro and is looking for success in his next bout, this time against the Philippines’ Edward Kelly.

Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly is a 32-year old Filipino MMA talent and is one of the brightest featherweight prospects to emerge from the Philippines. A mixed martial artist with a complete striking and ground game, Kelly brings Team Lakay’s world-renowned Wushu Sanshou to center stage as he looks to showcase his skills inside the ONE Championship cage. In his last bout, Kelly scored an impressive submission victory over the highly-regarded Jordan Lucas. He seeks to replicate the feat this time against Vincent Latoel.

Anthony Engelen is a Dutch mixed martial artist of Indonesian descent who spends his days training full-time in Indonesia. He is an exceptional grappler and a well-rounded striker capable of ending fights quickly and decisively. With a young 4-2 MMA record, Engelen prides himself in being an exciting fighter, willing to please the crowd by always seeking the highlight-reel finish. The talented featherweight will take on Egyptian Sami Amin.

34-year old Sami Amin is the EFC featherweight champion from Cairo, Egypt. He made his promotional debut against Fransino Tirta in 2014, and is now looking for victory inside the ONE Championship cage. A highly-aggressive and fast starter, Amin likes to bring the fight to opponents by blitzing them with powerful combinations. In his next bout, Amin takes on the dynamic Anthony Engelen.

Indonesian mixed martial artists Sunoto and Yohan Mulia “The Iceman” Legowo will go head-to-head in a featherweight matchup of talented local fighters. Sunoto is a highly-aggressive Indonesian warrior while Legowo has proven to be a stellar grappling ace.

Mario Satya Wirawan, who owns a ONE Championship record of fastest knockout finish with a six second stoppage of Cambodia’s Chan Heng last year, will represent Bogor, Indonesia against the Philippines’ Burn Soriano in a bantamweight contest among the preliminary bouts at ONE: TITLES & TITANS.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, Physique TV, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.

LAS VEGAS (July 30, 2016) – On the heels of the historic and long-awaited passage of legislation making professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) bouts legal in New York State, World Series of Fighting (www.WSOF.com) tonight announced that it will bring its star-studded, championship fight series to Madison Square Garden along with a live broadcast of the show on NBC, on Saturday, December 31, pending the approval of the New York State Athletic Commission.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring our exciting, world championship live event series to The Big Apple, where fans have been anxiously waiting for years, for live, professional MMA action to be able to happen in their city,” said World Series of Fighting CEO Carlos Silva tonight, during the live NBCSN telecast of WSOF32: Moraes vs. Hill II.

“We have been working diligently,” continued Silva, “with the staff at the New York State Athletic Commission as well as the executives at Madison Square Garden to complete all of the necessary steps to make this historic and great event happen on New Year’s Eve.”

Participating fighters and featured matchups for the New Year’s Eve extravaganza at Madison Square Garden are being worked on by World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo, and will be announced soon.

The event will mark the second live World Series of Fighting broadcast on NBC, which has also been airing one hour, taped programs featuring a collection of the league’s top fights and highlights, twice annually since 2013. To date, the league has aired 31 live events on NBCSN.

ABOUT WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING

“World Series of Fighting” (WSOF) is a worldwide premier, professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion partnered with NBC, NBCSN and international media distribution giant, IMG. Established in 2012 and headquartered in Las Vegas with satellite offices in New York City and Boston, the company is dedicated to delivering an incredible experience for sports fans by producing action-packed, live fights between elite athletes from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com and follow “World Series of Fighting” on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries. WSOF and World Series of Fighting are registered trademarks of MMAWC, LLC.

Nikita Khrylov stopped Ed Hermann in the 2nd round of their light heavyweight bout.

Khrylov landed a visious kick to the head sent Hermman down limp to the canvas.

Khrylov, 206 lbs of Doenesk, UKR is 21-4. Hermann, 205.5 lbs of Portland, OR is 24-12-1.

Jorge Masvidal won a unanimous decision over Ross Pearson in a welterweight bout.

Masvidal, 171 lbs of Miami, FL won by scores of 30-27 and 29-28 and is now 30-11. Pearson, 170 lbs of San Diego, CA is 21-12-1.

Anthony Hamilton destroyed Damian Grabowski in 14 seconds of their heavyweight bout.

Hamilton landed an uppercut and left that made Grabowski curl up along the cage. Two more punches made Grabowski go to the deck and the fight was over.

Hamilton, 258.5 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is 15-5. Grabowski, 256 lbs of Opole, POL is 20-4.

Wilson Reis choked out Hector Sandoval in the first round of their flyweiht bout.

Reis got Sandoval on his back and made him tap out at 1:49

Reis, 126 lbs of San Diego, CA is 21-6. Sandoval, 126 lbs of Sacramento is 12-3.

Robbie Lawler 170 – Tyron Woodley 170
(UFC Welterweight Title)
Rose Namajunas 116 – Karolina Kowalkiewicz 114.5
Matt Brown 171 – Jake Ellenberger 170
Francisco Rivera 135.5 – Erik Perez 135
Ryan Benoit 126 – Freddy Serrano 126
Nikita Krylov 206 – Ed Herman 205.5
Ross Pearson 170 – Jorge Masvidal 171
Anthony Hamilton 258.5 – Damian Grabowski 256
Wilson Reis 126 – Hector Sandoval 126
Michael Graves 170.5 – Bojan Velikovic 170.5
Cesar Arzamedia 155 – Damiam Brown 155.5

MONTE CARLO, Monaco(July 28, 2016)- World MMA Association (WMMAA) Vadim Finkelchtein has gone public to explain the recent WMMAA decision regarding Team Maldonado’s appeal, which resulted in the change of the official Fedor Emelianenko-Fabio Maldonado fight result to a draw, in addition to terminating its Head of Judges, Radmir Gabdullin.

WMMAA president Vadim Finkelchtein

Vadim, talk us through the appeal process. Why did you accept it in the first place since Russian MMA Union rejected Maldonado manager’s appeal?

VF: “Everyone could see what was going on in the media and MMA community after the bout. Being the founder of both the Russian MMA Union and World MMA Association, I received tons of messages and calls from people demanding an explanation about how it was possible for Russian MMA Union employees to officiate their own boss’ fight. I read hundreds of negative comments disparaging the Russian MMA Union and WMMAA. Some even went so far to say it was about Russian Mafia doing business there, all Russian judges are bought, etc. I tried to stay away from this debacle, since the fight occurred in another promotion, but when Maldonado’s manager sent an appeal to the WMMAA, asking to reassess the fight outcome, we couldn’t say no. WMMAA’s reputation was on the line as well as that of the Russian MMA scene, too.”

What did the process of choosing the reassessment commission look like and why was head judge Radmir Gabdullin suspended?

VF: “Basically, I had to make Radmir, as the WMMAA’s head judge, responsible for the whole process. However, since he was one of the reasons the appeal surfaced in the first place, the most logical decision was to suspend him temporarily and appoint WMMAA’s Secretary General (Alexander Engelhardt) to handle it.”

Click these links to read WMMAA press releases about this subject: http://wmmaa.org/news/wmmaa-terminates-head-of-judges-radmir-gabdullin-1007/ and http://wmmaa.org/news/wmmaa-appeal-review-results-in-draw-for-june-17th-emelianenko-vs.-maldonado-fight-990/

In his recent interview, Radmir Gabdullin belittled the significance of WMMAA’s verdict, stating it was all unofficial and that he had never received any appeal.

VF: “There’s nothing to comment about here. It’s a pure lie. I don’t understand what he was trying to accomplish by saying something like this. If necessary, I can show the manager’s e-mail with Russian MMA Union employees, Kamil Gadzhiev and WMMAA employees as recipients. Saying he’s never received an appeal is absurd and a silly excuse.”

At the same time he insulted the professionals that reassessed the fight by calling them incompetent.

VF: “When I read it my first reaction was vast disappointment. How could he, as the official head judge, state something like this towards his colleagues who he knows really well? He used to officiate multiple events with them. Their experience is ten or maybe even hundred times greater than Radmir’s. Marco Broersen has been officiating major European events, including KSW, M-1 Global and many others, for 15 years. He’d been working in this field when Radmir was still in school. It’s a shame for him to say something like that. It’s degrading for both Radmir and the Russian MMA Union.”

Can you explain why 24-year-old Radmir had been chosen to become the head judge in both WMMAA and Russian MMA Union having no experience or appropriate education whatsoever?

VF: “You know, it all started back in 2010-2011, when I decided to start developing amateur MMA in order to provide thousands of young athletes with career opportunities. For that to happen the MMA Union in Russia was necessary, as well as official recognition of Mixed Martial Arts as a sport. It was hard. I had no experience working in a Federation; plenty of paper work. We lacked a qualified staff when we started to look for people. I offered Fedor Emelianenko to be the Union president with me heading the WMMAA. Gabdullin’s name was mentioned by Fedor. He said there was this young and promising guy, let’s see what he can do. I agreed completely, although I realized he had neither experience nor knowledge.”

What was your reaction to Kamil Gadzhiev’s comments claiming in each interview that a draw was the best outcome, but after the result was changed by Sherdog following the WMMAA’s verdict, he changed his mind and promised to call and mail Sherdog to protest its action?

VF: “I had a phone chat with Kamil. He made it clear that he trusts the WMMAA and Russian MMA Union, while repeating his personal opinion that the draw would be the most righteous decision. I don’t know why his words were not consequently supported by his deeds.”

Russian MMA Union has a lot of officials. Yet, no one would comment on the situation, including Fedor himself. Why is that?

VF: “I can’t answer this question. Most important for me is justice and reputation and that holds for Russian MMA and WMMAA, too. I couldn’t choose sides, which is the reason why an international commission of judges was created. No one tried to take the other man’s victory, as some have claimed in comments. As the WMMAA president, I feel ashamed the situation went that far. The vast majority of the leading MMA sites supported the WMMAA’s verdict; Sherdog changed the outcome. Another example is the Match TV poll result, in which 56-percent of Russian voters said Fedor didn’t win the fight. ‘Big’ John McCarthy said it. Sergey Kharitonov, Alexey Oleinik and many others have said the same. People who have been cheering for Fedor for years realized that. And now we have one person stating the opposite, saying our decision is unofficial, that experienced judges have become incompetent in no time, and he’d never received an appeal. That’s a sad situation and we need to handle it appropriately. The world awaits sound and reasoned decisions but gets excuses and lies instead. Our reputation is on the line because of that.”

Schedule of Major 2016 MMA Events
http://wmmaa.org/events/

Aug.3-8 – Asian MMA Championship in Hwasun, South Korea
http://wmmaa.org/events/2016_asia_hwasoon/

Sept. 14-16 – European MMA Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia
http://wmmaa.org/events/31/

Oct. 7-9 – Inaugural Pan-American Championships in Santiago, Chile
http://wmmaa.org/news/design-chosen-for-the-2016-pan-american-championship-950/

Nov. 18-20 – World MMM Championship in Macau, China
http://wmmaa.org/events/38/

Valentina Shevchenko won a five-round unanimous decision over former world champion Holly Holm in a bantamweight bout at the United Center in Chicago.

Shevchenko, 133 lbs of Lima, Peru won on all cards by a 49-46 score and is now 13-2. Holm, 135 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is now 10-2.

Edson Barboza won a unanimous decision over Gilbert Melendez in lightweight fight.

Barboza, 155 lbs of Rio de Jineairo, BRA won by cores of 30-27 twice and 29-28 and is now 18-4. Melendez, 155 lbs of San Francisco, CA is 22-6.

Francis Ngannou stopped Bojan Mihalavic in the first round of their heavyweight bout.

Ngannou got Mihalovic on the gorund and pounded him out at 1:34.

Ngannou, 259 lbs of Paris, FRA is 8-1. Mihalavic, 228 lbs of Serbia is 10-4.

Felice Herrig scored a 1st round chokeout of Kailan Curran in a strawweight bout.

Herrig made Curran tap from a rear naked choke at 1:59.

Herrig, 115 lbs of Crystal Lake, IL is now 11-6. Curran, 116 lbs of Ewa Beach, HAW is 4-3.

Eddie Wineland stopped Frankie Saenz in the third round of their bantamweight bout.

Wineland landed a booming right in the final frame that crumpled Saenz to the canvas. Wineland landed several shots on the ground. Saenza got to his feet but was quickly pummeled and the fight was stopped at 1:54.

Wineland, 135 lbs of Chesepan, IN is 22-11-1. Saenz, 135 lbs of Scottsdale, AZ is 11-4.

Darren Elkins won a three round unanimous decision over Godofredo Pepe in a featherweight bout.

Elkins, 145 lbs of Portage, IN is won by scores of 30-26 and 29-27 twice and is now 22-5. Pepe, 145 lbs of Brazil is now 13-4.

Kamau Usman won a three round unanimous decision over Alexander Yakovlov in a welterweight bout.

Yakovlev was deducted a point in the first round for grabbing the fence. Yakovlov was cut under the eye in round three.

Usman, 170 lbs of Boca Raton, FL is now 8-1. Yakovlov. 170 lbs of Fairfield, NJ is now 23-7-1.

Michel Prazeres won a unanimous decision over JC Cottrell in a lightweight bout.

Prazeres, 155 lbs of Belim, BRA won by scores of 30-26 and 30-27 twice and is now 20-2. Cottrell, 155 lbs of Oklahoma City, OK is 17-4.

MONTE CARLO, Monaco(July 20, 2016)- The World MMA Association (WMMAA) has terminated its Head of Judges, Radmir Gabdullin, due to his imprudence, inexperience, and technical inability to evaluate Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the professional sector.

Regarding recent statements that he recently made in the Russian press, Gabdullin expressed himself disrespectfully to other colleague judges, WMMAA Board member Alexander Engelhardt and the Association itself, as Worldwide WMMAA President Vadim Finkelchtein expressed, “One of the key factors of MMA is respect. This is a line we should and can never cross. That being said, it leaves me no other choice than to release Radmir Gabdullin from his function. We also severely advise that the Russian MMA Union do the same. (The Russian MMA Union is a full member of the World MMA Union.)

“We are working hard on standardizing in all countries of the world, all continents, in terms of Rules, Regulation and Referees committees, including anti-doping.We are a real worldwide organization and therefore we also have to reflect this in all of the WMMAA committees. Also, Russia will be, of course, represented in these as part of the WMMAA. More information will follow soon.”

Finkelchtein, who as WMMAA president reserves any other actions towards the associate judge, noted that, during the November 4-6 WMMAA Congress in Macau, China, a board of judges will be discussed and created.

Schedule of Major 2016 MMA Events
http://wmmaa.org/events/

Aug.3-8 – Asian MMA Championship in Hwasun, South Korea
http://wmmaa.org/events/2016_asia_hwasoon/

Sept. 14-16 – European MMA Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia
http://wmmaa.org/events/31/

Oct. 7-9 – Inaugural Pan-American Championships in Santiago, Chile
http://wmmaa.org/news/design-chosen-for-the-2016-pan-american-championship-950/

Nov. 18-20 – World MMM Championship in Macau, China
http://wmmaa.org/events/38/

Information

www.WMMAA.org
www.facebook.com/WMMAA-665064310170463/
www.youtube.com/user/TheWMMAA
Twitter: @theWMMAA
Instagram: @worldmmaa
CONTACT: Bob Trieger, Full Court PRESS, 1.978.590.0470, bobtfcp@hotmail.com @FightPublicist

ABOUT WMMAA: World MMA Association (WMMAA) is a world federation of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). The WMMAA is organized by Continental and National federations and it has presence on all five continents. Its goal is to provide unbiased structure and guardrail the growth of MMA as the official world governing body for Mixed Martial Arts. The WMMAA is a non-profit organization headquartered in Monte Carlo (Principality of Monaco). WMMAA is on a mission to develop a standardized and regulated organization, including competition, training, officiating, testing and growth when necessary. WMMAA is for all stakeholders in MMA, creating and developing the sport with competition for amateurs and sanctioning and advising the world’s leading promoters in terms of their professional events. WMMAA is an independent sport’s governing body of Mixed Martial Arts, a sports organization that has a regulatory and sanctioning function.

18 July 2016 – Macau, China: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced its first event in Macau, China. ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD is set to take place on Saturday, 13 August, in the Cotai Arena at The Venetian Macao. All bouts save for one have been confirmed. In the main event, former ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes will take on elite wrestler Andrew Leone for the Interim ONE Flyweight World Championship.

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “ONE continues its rise as the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts promotion with another massive fight card planned in Macau next month. We have some tremendous match-ups for fight fans out there, including a thrilling main event between two of the world’s best flyweights in Adriano Moraes and Andrew Leone.”

Tickets for ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD are available at www.onefc.com.

“Real champions pick themselves up when they are down,” said top contender Moraes. “I feel renewed as a fighter and ready to reclaim my place at the top of my division. I’m going to get inside the cage against Andrew [Leone] and show the world that I’m back.”

“It’s my time now. I’ve been working very hard on my game, and feel I’m at that point in my career where I’m ready to just take the reins and show everyone who I am,” said Andrew Leone. “With an amazing team behind me, I have all the tools I need to compete at the highest level.”

Former ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes is a highly-skilled Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt with solid striking techniques. As champion, Moraes was rarely opposed inside the cage, using his long limbs to wreak havoc from range while posing the constant threat of submissions on the ground. He is on the comeback trail to regain his title, but first he’ll have to get past the talented Andrew Leone.

26-year-old flyweight Andrew Leone of Cortland, New York, made waves in ONE Championship when he debuted with a victory over top Filipino flyweight Geje Eustaquio in 2013. He has since strung together two solid victories over high-level opponents, including a unanimous decision over Japanese MMA veteran Koetsu Okazaki in his last bout. Now Leone looks to continue his winning ways by taking on his toughest assignment yet in former champion Adriano Moraes.

Adrian “The Hunter” Pang is a mixed martial arts veteran from Queensland, Australia, with a 22-8-2 professional record. Throughout his storied career, Pang has decimated opponents with his powerful strikes, overwhelming them with brute strength. In his last bout, Pang easily handled Malaysian star Peter Davis, stopping him with punches just 48 seconds into the first round. In his next bout, Pang will take on top Filipino lightweight Eduard Folayang.

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang is one of the Philippines’ most well-rounded mixed martial artists, amassing an impressive 15-5 record over eight years as a professional competing in various promotions. A ONE Championship veteran since its first event in 2011, Folayang is a famed wushu champion who has won tournaments all across Asia, but he has also recently added solid grappling to his growing skill set. He now takes on his sternest challenge yet in Adrian Pang.

Eddie “The Magician” Ng is a 30-year-old lightweight standout originally from Hong Kong. A ONE Championship veteran who has been with the promotion since its first event in 2011, Ng is known for being a devastating striker with lightning quick hands and feet, as well as a highly technical grappler with a wide range of submissions. He returns to the ONE Championship cage against former champion Honorio Banario.

A former ONE Featherweight World Champion, Team Lakay’s Honorio “The Rock” Banario has long been one of the Philippines’ most respected mixed martial arts veterans. His vast cage experience has brought him all over Asia, encompassing several memorable battles against top divisional talent. Among his many talents, wushu expert Banario’s strength lies in his striking, but he has recently improved on his grappling as well. He is now ready to showcase his growing skills against Eddie Ng.

Christian Lee, younger brother of ONE Women’s Atomweight Champion Angela “Unstoppable” Lee, has impressed in his first few outings inside the ONE Championship cage. His growing skillset boasts unorthodox and unpredictable striking techniques, as well as technical grappling and creative submission maneuvers. The undefeated Lee is riding the momentum of five straight stoppage wins inside the ONE cage—three by highlight reel knockout and the other two by crafty submission—and looks to continue his early success against Martin Nguyen, his toughest opponent to date.

27-year-old Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen of Sydney, Australia, is a former ONE Featherweight title challenger with a 6-1 professional mixed martial arts record. All of Nguyen’s victories have come within the distance in the form of four solid TKO wins and two submissions, proving how dangerous he is in all areas. Nguyen’s complete skillset allows him to compete at the highest level as a professional, and he’ll be seeking to re-enter title contention with a victory against the promising Christian Lee.

Alain “The Panther” Ngalani trains out of Impakt MMA in Hong Kong, and is a veteran heavyweight contender with massive size and strength. Armed with the agility and quickness of a lighter fighter, Ngalani is a terrifying combination of size and speed, and is always looking to end fights early. In his last bout, Ngalani needed just a little over a minute to stop Ukraine’s Igor Subora, winning by TKO in the first round. Ngalani now looks to entertain local fans in attendance with another spectacular performance as he takes on Alexandre Machado.

Brazilian heavyweight champion Alexandre “Bebezao” Machado is a rare breed of heavyweight with a penchant for submissions. A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, he currently sports a 7-2 professional mixed martial arts record, and will be making his second appearance inside the ONE cage. He will have his hands full dealing with the hulking Alain Ngalani in what promises to be a classic and colossal clash of striker vs. grappler.

In the evening’s initial bout offerings, rising Chinese prospects Ma Jia Wen and Ma Hao Bin take on Filipino veteran Jimmy Yabo and Cambodian star Chan Rothana respectively, while Thai national wrestling champion Kritsada “Dream Man” Kongsrichai takes on Team Lakay’s undefeated prospect Joshua Pacio.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com and follow Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, Physique TV, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.

INGUSHETIA, Russia (July 17, 2016) – Former two-time M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Denis Smoldarev (13-2-0, M-1: 8-2-0) positioned himself for another title shot, taking a decision from former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Kenny “Deuce” Garner (16-10-0, M-1: 9-8-0), last night in the M-1 Challenge 69: Battle in the Mountains 5 main event, at Targin in Ingushetia, Russia.

The judges were very busy as five of six main event fights went the full distance, headlined by Smoldarev, representing Estonia, defeated American veteran Garner by way of a unanimous three-round decision.

Smoldarev was in control vs. Garner

American featherweight Lee “Bulldog” Morrison (15-7-0, M-1: 2-4-0) fell short against Ukrainian Andrey “Iron” Lezhnev (9-6-0, M-1: 3-2-0), dropping a three-round unanimous decision.

In another featherweight match, Sergey Morozov (7-1-0, M-1: 3-1-0), of Kazakhstan, won a three-round decision versus always tough Ukrainian Andrey “Iron” Lezhnev (8-7-0, M-1: 2-3-0).

Brazilian heavyweight Marcus “Montanha” Vinicius Lopes’ (10-4-0, M-1: 1-0-0) M-1 Global debut was a success as he won a three-round decision over Russian Kurban “Shkaf” Ibragimov (5-2-0, M-1: 3-2-0).

Russian flyweight Khamzat Dalgiev (6-1-0, M-1: 3-1-0) turned in an impressive performance, stopping Spaniard Ronny Gomez (3-5-0, M-1: 0-1-0) midway through the opening round on punches.

Croatian featherweight Antun “Killer” Racic (18-7-1, M-1: 3-4-1) unbeaten Russian prospect Movsar Evloev (5-0-1, M-1: 5-0-1), who took the fight on late notice, fought to a three-round draw..

Rounding out the main card are two other featherweight bouts: Brazilian Rafael Dias (11-3-0, M-1: 0-0-0) vs. Kazakh Sergey Morozov (6-1-0, M-1: 2-1-0)

In preliminary card action, Russian lightweight Lom-Ali Nalgiev (7-4-0, M-1: 4-0-0) remained undefeated in M-1 Global competition, winning a three-round majority decision over Gabriel Sabo (7-1-1, M-1: 1-0-0), of Switzerland, while Russian featherweight Zaur Akhmedov (1-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0) won his M-1 Global debut with a three-round decision against Adam Gagiev (0-2-1, M-1: 0-2-0).

Russian light heavyweight Amirkhan Guliev (3-1-0, M-1: 3-0-0) used a heel hook for a win by opening-round submission versus Spaniard Darwin Rodriguez (0-2-0, M-1: 0-1-0); Russian welterweight Magomed Maasaev (1-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0) locked in a triangle choke on Russian Ingiskhan Ozdoev (1-3-0, M-1: 1-3-0) for a submission victory in the second round; Adam Gagiev (1-1-0, M-1: 1-1-0) won a three-round decision over Russian pro-debuting Zaur Akhmedov (0-1-0, M-1: 0-1-0).

In the M-1 Medieval Knight fight between Russian heavyweights, Rustam Kukurkhoev won by second-round technical knockout over Vitaly Kravchenko.

Complete results and photo gallery below:

MAIN CARD
(all winners listed first)

HEAVYWEIGHTS
Denis Smoldarev (12-2-0, M-1: 8-2-0), Estonia
WDEC3
Kenny Garner (16-10-0, M-1: 9-8-0), Russia

Marcus Vinicius Lopes (10-4-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Brazil
WDEC3
Kurban Ibragimov (5-2-0, M-1: 3-2-0), Russia

FEATHERWEIGHTS
Rafael Dias (12-3-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Brazil
WDEC3
Sergey Morozov (6-2-0, M-1: 2-2-0), Kazakhstan

Andrey Lezhnev (9-6-0, M-1: 3-2-0), Ukraine
WDEC3
Lee Morrison (15-7-0, M-1: 2-4-0), USA

Antun Racic (18-7-1, M-1: 3-4-1), Brazil
DRAW3
Musa Kazikhanov (3-0-1, M-1: 0-0-1), Russia

FLYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Khamzat Dalgiev (6-1-0, M-1: 3-1-0), Russia
WKO/TKO1 (Punches – 2:28)
Ronny Gomez (4-4-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Spain

PRELIMINARY CARD

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Amirkhan Guliev (3-1-0, M-1: 3-0-0), Russia
WSUB1 (Heel Hook – 3:16)
Darwin Rodriguez (0-2-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Spain

WELTERWEIGHTS
Magomed Maasaev (1-0-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Russia
WSUB2 (Triangle Choke – 1:50)
Ingiskhan Ozdoev (1-3-0, M-1: 1-3-0), Russia

LIGHTWEIGHTS
Lom-Ali Nalgiev (7-4-0, M-1: 4-0-0), Russia
WDEC3
Gabriel Sabo (6-2-1, M-1: 0-1-0), Switzerland

Sergey Astapov (7-4-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Ukraine
WKO/TKO1 (Punches – 1:10)
Abubaker Mestoev (1-1-0, M-1: 1-1-0), Russia

FEATHERWEIGHTS
Adam Gagiev (1-1-1, M-1: 1-1-0), Russia
WDEC3
Zaur Akhmedov (0-1-0, M-1: 010-0), Russia

M-1 MEDIEVAL KNIGHT FIGHT – HEAVYWEIGHTS
Rustam Kukurkhoev, Russia
WKO/TKO2
Vitaly Kravchenko, Russia

(L-R) – Kenny Garner & Denis Smoldarev

Dalgiev vs. Gomez

Sabo vs. Nalgiev

Kravchenko vs. Kukurkhoev

Information

www.M1Global.tv
www.mixfight.ru
www.wmmaa.org

Twitter & Instagram:

@M1GlobalNews
@VFinkelchtein
@M1Global

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/M-1-GlobalNews

TOKYO – July 16, 2016 – RIZIN FF, the combat sports federation headed by former PRIDE Fighting Championships boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara, announced at a press conference today that all-time great Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (MMA: 31-11-1, 1 NC; Kickboxing: 23-8, 12 KO’s) will come out of retirement and return to Japan, where his legendary career was born, to compete in the highly-anticipated, 16-man, open weight “Grand Prix” tournament that begins in Tokyo on Sunday, Sept. 25.

A former PRIDE and K-1 Grand Prix tournament champion, Filipovic earned his place as one of the greatest martial arts combatants in history with an elite set of striking skills that helped him earn the most first round finishes as well as the most head kick knockouts in PRIDE history.

It was also announced today that 4 of the 16 Grand Prix participants, including superstar Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1, 1 NC) of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, will receive a bye in the first stage, and automatically advance to the tournament’s second, or quarterfinal stage, which will take place at a location to be announced on Thursday, Dec. 29.

Joining Sakakibara, Filipovic and Silva at the press conference were veteran warhorse Kazuyiki Fujita (15-11) of Funabashi, Chiba, Japan and former sumo wrestling champion turned MMA upstart Baruto Kaito (1-0) of Estonia, both of whom have been tabbed for battle in the first stage of the tournament.

The round of 16 matchups will be announced at the end of July.

In other, single-fight action on September 25, two striking sensations – Daron Cruickshank (17-8, 1 NC) and Andy Souwer (MMA: 1-0, Kickboxing: 159-19, 98 KO’s) – will collide in a lightweight (155) affair.

Cruickshank of Wayne, Mich. is a 13-fight veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) who made a successful RIZIN FF debut on April 17, scoring a first round (4:36) TKO with a series of kicks on a downed Shinji Sasaki.

A longtime kickboxing icon, Souwer of Den Bosch, Netherlands, is a two-time winner of the K-1 World Max tournament and a four-time Shootboxing world champion. On December 31, 2015, he made his long-awaited MMA rules debut at the inaugural RIZIN FF event in Saitama, Japan, decimating Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima by way of first round (5:29) KO with an onslaught of punches.

Unbeaten women’s light heavyweight and nine-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Gabi Garcia (2-0) and three-time junior Olympic wrestling medalist and undefeated flyweight (125 pounds) MMA star Kanako Murata (3-0) of Ehime, Japan will each see action against an opponent to be announced soon.

Garcia of Porto Alege, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil made quick work of both of her MMA opponents to date, scoring a first round (2:36) TKO (punches) in her professional debut on Lei’d Tapa at the RIZIN FF promotional kick-off event on December 31, and submitting Anna Malyukova with an armbar in the second round (2:04) of battle at the RIZIN FF affair on April 17.

Just 22 years of age, Murata made her professional MMA debut under the promotion of RIZIN FF on April 17, notching a unanimous decision over Natalia Denisova, and has since already competed twice more, defeating Maia Kahaunaele-Stevenson via third round (3:43) TKO (punches) and Ilona Wijmans by way of first round (1:17) TKO (punches), on June 4 and July 7, respectively.

Kizaemon Saiga (2-1) of Sakai, Osaka, Japan will take on fellow upstart Asen Yamamoto at a weight to be determined.

Women’s shoot boxing champion and unbeaten MMA competitor Rena Kubota (1-0) of Osaka, Japan will make her second start under MMA rules against an opponent to be announced.

MONTE CARLO, Monaco(July 15, 2016)- The World Mixed Martial Arts Association (WMMAA) has issued an announcement regarding an appeal recently filed by Stefano Sartori, manager of Brazilian fighter Fabio Maldonado, to reassess the result of his June 17th fight with Fedor Emelianenko, which headlined Fight Nights Global 50 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

WMMAA General Secretary & Senior Vice President Alexander Engelhardt (pictured to right) has declared that Emelianenko vs. Maldonado, which was originally ruled a majority decision victory in favor of Emeliananko, officially be changed to a draw.

Team Malondado’s appeal to the WMMAA was filed claiming a conflict of interest because all of the judges are employed by the Russian MMA Union, of which Emelianenko serves as president, as well as for the initial appeal to the Russian MMA Union, a sanctioned WMMAA member, being unjustly rejected by the head jury.

Engelhardt was appointed by WMMAA present Vadim Finkelchetein to handle the appeal procedure. A committee was formed comprised of Engelhardt, Hector Molina (Mexico), Chairman of the Rules, Regulations and Referee Committee; Ino Alberga (The Netherlands), Member of the Rules, Regulations and Referee Committee; Poalo Biotti (Italy), Chairman Ethics and Disciplinary Committee; Zaya Zaya (Australia), Member Professional Referee Committee.

In addition, independent judge Marco Broersen (The Netherlands), Chairman of Professional Referee Committee and Ethics and Disciplinary Committee, was responsible for selecting an independent judges’ panel to reassess the original result. The three-judges were Youri Lamoureux (Canada), Lukasz Bosacki (Poland) and Alexey Zemskov (Russia).

Each of the three aforementioned judges scored the first round in favor of Emelianenko, 10-8, and the second and third rounds for Maldonado, 10-9 each, resulting in a 28-28 draw.

The appeal procedure was divided into two parts for review in terms of whether the procedural mistakes related to the fight were made and that an independent international judges’ panel had to review the fight.

The WMMAA came to the conclusion that the appeal was legitimate and it was accepted due to the fact one of the fighters, Emelianenko, as President of the Russian MMA Union, and Head of Judges, Radmir Gabdullin, had a working relationship that could potentially affect the judgmental decisions. The WMMAA made it clear that it wasn’t saying the aforementioned relationship led to a different outcome of the result, just that it was an unfortunate choice.

Additionally, the WMMAA ruled that initially refusing the appeal was a mistake based on WMMAA amateur rules as Emelianenko vs. Maldonado was conducted under WMMAA rules.

The appeal decision that resulted in the result being changed to “Unanimous Draw” was accepted by the WMMAA, which informed Fight Nights, the promoter of Emelianko vs. Maldonado, Emelianenko, Sartori and the Russian MMA Union of its decision, and that it official had closed the appeal.

Schedule of Major 2016 MMA Events
http://wmmaa.org/events/

Aug.3-8 – Asian MMA Championship in Hwasun, South Korea
http://wmmaa.org/events/2016_asia_hwasoon/

Sept. 14-16 – European MMA Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia
http://wmmaa.org/events/31/

Oct. 7-9 – Inaugural Pan-American Championships in Santiago, Chile
http://wmmaa.org/news/design-chosen-for-the-2016-pan-american-championship-950/

Nov. 18-20 – World MMM Championship in Macau, China
http://wmmaa.org/events/38/

Information

www.WMMAA.org
www.facebook.com/WMMAA-665064310170463/
www.youtube.com/user/TheWMMAA
Twitter: @theWMMAA
Instagram: @worldmmaa

DENIS SMOLDAREV (11-2-0, M-1: 7-2-0), Estonia 270 lbs. (122.7 kg)
vs.
KENNY “Deuce” GARNER (16-9-0, M-1: 9-7-0), Russia 271 ½ lbs. (123.3 kg)

MARCUS “Montanha” VINICIUS LOPES (9-4-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Brazil 225 lbs. (102.3 kg)
vs.
KURBAN “Shkaf” IBRAGIMOV (5-1-0, M-1: 3-1-0), Russia 224 lbs. (101.9 kg)

FEATHERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

RAFAEL DIAS (11-3-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Brazil 133 ½ lbs. (60.7 kg)
vs.
SERGEY MOROZOV (6-1-0, M-1: 2-1-0), Kazakhstan 134 ½ lbs. (65.6 kg)

ANDREY “Iron” LEZHNEV (8-6-0, M-1: 2-2-0), Ukraine 144 lbs. (65.4 kg)
vs.
LEE “Bulldog” MORRISON (15-6-0, M-1: 2-3-0), USA 144 lbs. (65.6 kg)

ANTUN “Killer” RACIC (18-7-0, M-1: 3-4-0), Brazil 136 lbs. (62.0 kg)
vs.
MUSA KAZIKHANOV (3-0-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Russia 136 lbs. (62.0 kg)

FLYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

RONNY GOMEZ (3-4-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Spain 145 lbs. (65.8 kg)
vs.
KHAMZAT DALGIEV (5-1-0, M-1: 2-1-0), Russia 145 lbs. (65.8 kg)

PRELIMINARY CARD

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

DARWIN RODRIGUEZ (0-1-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Spain 203 lbs. (92.4 kg)
vs.
AMIRKHAN GULIEV (2-1-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Russia 208 lbs. (94.7 kg)

WELTERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
MAGOMED MAASAEV (pro debut), Russia 171 lbs. (77.8 kg)
vs.
INGISKHAN OZDOEV (1-2-0, M-1: 1-2-0), Russia (M-1: 1-2-0) 173 ½ lbs. (78.9 kg)

LIGHTWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

GABRIEL SABO (6-1-1, M-1: 0-0-0), Switzerland 154 lbs. (70.0 kg)
vs.
LOM-ALI NALGIEV (6-4-0, M-1: 3-0-0), Russia 155 lbs. (70.6 kg)

SERGEY “Bender” ASTAPOV (6-4-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Ukraine 155 lbs. (70.4 kg)
vs.
ABUBAKER MESTOEV (pro debut), Russia 155 ½ lbs. (70.7 kg)

FEATHERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

ZAUR AKHMEDOV (pro debut), Russia 140 ½ lbs. (63.9 kg)
vs.
ADAM GAGIEV (0-1-1, M-1: 0-1-0), Russia 208 lbs. (94.7 kg)

MEDIEVAL KNIGHT FIGHT — HEAVYWEIGHTS

VITALY KRAVCHENKO, Russia 244 lbs. (110.9 kg)
vs.
RUSTAM KUKURKHOEV, Russia 234 lbs. (106.2 kg)

WHEN: Saturday, July 16, 2016

WHERE: Targim, Ingushetia, Russia

PROMOTER: M-1 Global

LIVE STREAM: www.m-1global.tv (5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT in USA)

Information

www.M1Global.tv
www.mixfight.ru
www.wmmaa.org

Twitter & Instagram:

@M1GlobalNews
@VFinkelchtein
@M1Global

Facebook:

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NEW YORK – July 14, 2016 – Combate Americas, the first-ever U.S. Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise, today announced its return to UFC FIGHT PASS® with a stacked, 10-bout fight card that will air live from The Exchange in Los Angeles, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 11 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Tickets for “Aspira A Mas Presents Combate Americas: Combate Ocho,” priced from $40, are on sale at ItsMySeat.com as well as at The Exchange box office. UFC FIGHT PASS is available on personal computers, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV and Roku devices.

In the featherweight (145 pounds) main event, Urijah Faber protégé Erick Sanchez (7-2) of Sacramento, Calif. will look for his third win in the Combate Americas cage, or “La Jaula,” and fourth consecutive victory overall when he squares off with dangerous finisher Angel “Tito” Cruz (5-2) of Rio Piedras, P.R.

In the women’s atomweight (105 pounds) co-main event, emerging star Kyra “Mogwai” Batara (5-3) of Las Vegas, Nev. will collide with battle-tested veteran Lisa Ellis (15-10) of Olympia, Wash.

“We are excited to be back in action on UFC FIGHT PASS with a tremendous fight card featuring the best, up-and-coming Hispanic fighters in the U.S., some of whom have been climbing the ranks with explosive performances under our promotion since last year and others whom we recently recruited because of their outstanding results elsewhere,” said McLaren.

In other action on the five-fight main card, ferocious knockout artist Jonathan “Dragon” Martinez (8-1) of Plainview, Texas will battle fellow finisher Benjamin Vinson (8-3-1) of Portland, Ore. in a flyweight (125 pounds) contest.

Another flyweight matchup will see undefeated, submission ace Heinrich “Ricky Scraps” Wassmer (4-0) of Los Angeles put his perfect record on the line against dangerous puncher Benji “The Brawler” Gomez (5-5) of Oxnard, Calif.

Izic Fernandez (2-1) of Santa Ana, Calif. and Marcos Bonilla (3-2) of Los Angeles will face off in a featherweight scrap.

In preliminary card action, Yoandy Carrillo (1-0) of Naples, Fla. will battle Erick Gonzalez (4-1) of Los Angeles.

Carrillo, the cousin of former World Boxing Association (WBA) world lightweight champion Richar Abril, is coming off a devastating, second round (:19) knockout (punches) of George Hernandez at Combate Americas on April 25.

Gonzalez, who has notched three of his four professional career wins by way of (T)KO, was also victorious at the Combate Americas event on April 25, earning a split decision over Victor Martinez.

In another lightweight preliminary bout, Jose “Froggy” Estrada (1-0) of Oxnard, Calif. will return to action after his explosive debut in La Jaula, in which the 25-year-old scored a highlight reel, first round (1:44) knockout (punch) on Jonathan Quiroz on April 18, and collide with Christian Cardona (0-1) of Las Vegas, Nev.

Elsewhere on the preliminary bout card, Jonathan Santa Maria (3-3) of Whittier, Calif. will face Albert Tapia (3-5) of Huntington Beach, Calif. in a flyweight affair.

Unbeaten Daniel Rodriguez (1-0) of Alhambra, Calif. will meet Hector Saldana (1-2) of Murrieta, Calif.

The final undercard bout will be announced soon.

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ABOUT COMBATE AMERICAS
Combate Americas, LLC. is the first U.S. Hispanic Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise in history, designed to build Latino fighting champions and serve Hispanic fans, one of the world’s most avid groups of prize fighting enthusiasts. The Combate Americas franchise includes reality TV programming, live events and mobile programming. The company’s CEO, Campbell McLaren, is universally recognized as the co-founder/co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). New York Magazine described McLaren as “the marketing genius behind the UFC” and Yahoo! Sports proclaimed that he “knows more about the sport than just about anyone in it today.” With an unprecedented product and a blue-chip ownership and management team, Combate Americas is poised to break new ground and bring about a new era in world championship level MMA competition.

About UFC®
UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Singapore, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in over 156 countries and territories to more than 1.1 billion TV households worldwide in 29 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.

LAS VEGAS (July 14, 2016) –World Series of Fighting (WSOF.com) announced today that it has signed another heralded star – welterweight (170 pounds) powerhouse Paul “The Gentleman” Bradley (23-6, 2 NC) – to an exclusive, multi-fight agreement.

The 5-foot-9, 33-year-old Bradley of San Diego, Calif. will make his debut inside the World Series of Fighting decagon cage on a date to be announced.

“We are excited to welcome aboard Paul Bradley, and look forward to having him test his skills in our highly competitive welterweight division,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo. “Paul has fought and triumphed over some top caliber opposition during his 10-year career, so we are confident that he will be a great addition to our roster.”

In his last start on January 29, Bradley, who originally hails from Tama, Iowa, scored a stunning, 40-second TKO (punches) on previously undefeated, rising star and fellow, former collegiate wrestling ace Chris Honeycutt at Bellator 148.

A veteran of both the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Strikeforce and a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest reality series, Bradley will look for his third consecutive win when he competes under the World Series of Fighting promotional banner for the first time.

Prior to the victory over Honeycutt, Bradley notched a unanimous decision over Josh “The Dentist” Neer at Bellator 129 on October 17, 2014.

A lifelong athlete, Bradley twice earned All-American honors while wrestling for the University of Iowa. He placed as high as fourth in the NCAA national championships during his tenure at the NCAA Division I program.

Live World Series of Fighting action returns to NBCSN on Saturday, July 30 at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT, with star-studded event featuring two world championship rematches.

In the main event of WSOF32, reigning bantamweight (135 pounds) champion Marlon Moraes (16-4-1) will risk his title for the second time against Josh “Gentleman” Hill (14-1) while, in the co-main event, featherweight (145 pounds) champion Alexandre “Capitao” Almeida (18-5) will defend his title against the fighter he took it from – Lance Palmer (10-2).

ABOUT WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING

“World Series of Fighting” (WSOF) is a worldwide premier, professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion partnered with NBC, NBCSN and international media distribution giant, IMG. Established in 2012 and headquartered in Las Vegas with satellite offices in New York City and Boston, the company is dedicated to delivering an incredible experience for sports fans by producing action-packed, live fights between elite athletes from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com and follow “World Series of Fighting” on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries. WSOF and World Series of Fighting are registered trademarks of MMAWC, LLC.

Eighth-ranked John Lineker stopped fifth-ranked Michael McDonald in one explosive round in their bantamweight bout in the main event of UFC Fight 91 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Lineker dropped McDonald twice and almost had the Modesto, California native out. McDonald got to his feet only to be dropped again and was basically out on the ground. Lineker added a couple more shots for good measure and referee Herb Dean stopped the bout at 2:43.

Lineker, 136 lbs of Brazil is now 28-7. McDonald, 135 lbs is 17-4.

Number-three ranked lightweight, Tony Ferguson had some anxious moments, but he came back to make Lando Vannata tap out in round two of their wild bout.

After almost being stopped on a few occasions in the first round, Ferguson came back to land a plethora of jabs and huge kick to the head that cut Vannata’s face in round two. Moments later, Ferguson had Vannata on the mat and made him tap out from a guillotine choke at 2:22.

Ferguson, 155 lbs of Orange County, CA is 22-3. Vannata, 155.5 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is now 8-1.

Tim Boetsch stopped Josh Samman in round two of their middleweight bout.

Boetsch pounded away at Samman in round two, which opened up a cut on Samman’s face. More hard shots forced referee John McCarthy to stop the bout at 3:49 of round two.

Boetsch, 186 lbs of Sunbury, PA is 19-10. Josh Samman, 186 lbs of Tallahassee, FL is 12-4.

Daniel Omiellanczyk won a three round majority decision over Aleksey Oliynyk in a Heavyweight bout

Oliynyk was bleeding from the right eye in round two from a left elbow

Omielanczyk, 238 lbs won by scores of won by scores of 29-28 times 28-28 and is now 19-5-1-1. Oliynyk, 243 1/2 lbs is 50-10-1.

Keita Nakamura made Kyle Noke tap with one second to go in round two of their welterweight bout.

Noke’s face was a bloody mess in round two from the striking of Nakamura. Nakamura had Noke in a choke when Noke submitted just as the bell sounded to end the round.

Nakamura, 171 lbs of Tokyo, JAP is now 32-7-2-1. Noke, 170 1/2 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is 22-9-1.

#12-ranked flyweight Louis Smolka stopped Ben Nguyen in round two of their flyweight bout.

Nguyen took some vicious shots while on the ground in round one that forced blood from the nose. Smolka continued to pound Nguyen more in round two and the blood flowed all over the face of Nguyen. Finally, Smolka continued to punish Nguyen and referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 4:41 of round two

Smolka, 125.5 lbs of Kapeolei, HI is now 11-1. Nguyen, 125 lbs of Brisbane, AUS is 15-6.

Katlyn Chookagian won a unanimous decision over #13-ranked Lauren Murphy in a Bantamweight bout.

Chookagian, 135 lbs of Kenilworth, NJ is now 8-0. Murphy, 135.5 lbs of Glendale, AZ is 9-3.

Sam Alvey scored a 1st round submission over Eric Spicely in a middleweight bout.

Alvey made Spicely tap out with a front choke along the Octagon at 2:43.

Alvey, 185.5 lbs of Temecula, CA is 27-8-1. Spicely, 185 lbs of Olneyville, RI is 8-2.

Cortney Casey scored a 1st round stoppage over Cristina Stanciu in a straweight bout.

Casey got Stanciu on the ground and landed 8 elbows to the prone head of Stanciu and the bout was stopped at 2:36.

Casey, 116 lbs of Maui, HA is 5-3. Stanciu, 114 lbs of Bucharest, ROM is 5-2.

Scott Holtzman won a unanimous decision over Cody Pfister in a lightweight bout.

Holtzman, 155.5 lbs of Knoxville, TN won by scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28 and is now 9-1. Pfister, 156 lbs of Amarillo, TX is 12-6-1.

13 July 2016 – Singapore: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with a consortium-led by Heliconia Capital Management (“Heliconia”) for an investment into the company.

With this new partnership, ONE Championship will continue to expand and break new ground, and increase the number of live Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) events across Asia, especially in China.

Chatri Sityodtong, Founder and Chairman of ONE Championship, stated: “In less than five years, ONE Championship has grown into a global brand with a broadcast reach to over 1 billion homes across 118 countries around the world. We have consistently broken attendance records at many of the largest stadiums across Asia. I expect to see an acceleration in business fundamentals across the board for ONE Championship. My team and I are fully committed to building a global business with strong ethics and values such as integrity, respect, humility, courage and inspiration. As Asia’s largest sports media property and the 2nd largest MMA organization in the world, ONE Championship will benefit significantly from Heliconia’s ecosystem, network, and resources.”

MMA is currently the fastest growing sport, accelerating exponentially by over 30 times in the past 10 years. In the past five years, ONE Championship has accelerated the growth of MMA in Asia as the market leader, organising live events across the region and broadcasting around the world.

Derek Lau, CEO of Heliconia stated: “We believe ONE Championship can potentially be the next big thing for consumers in Asia. They have the right product for Asia, they understand Asia and know how to monetise the value proposition in various ways in the New Economy. We are really excited to see ONE Championship taking the lead in the coming years to grow the sports media and entertainment industry in Asia.”

Lee Ark Boon, CEO of IE Singapore, said: “Traditional media and entertainment companies in Asia are facing strong headwinds with declining content sales and advertising revenues. ONE Championship’s foresight to identify and create unique content with global appeal illustrates the need for our companies to embrace new business models and transform themselves into globally competitive companies.”

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “I believe this partnership marks the beginning of a long and fruitful journey to bring ONE Championship to the rest of the world. Heliconia is a well-respected investment firm with the expertise, resources and contacts across Asia. For us, this investment by Heliconia represents a strong vote of confidence and a belief in the value that ONE Championship can bring. This partnership will unlock additional markets and opportunities for ONE Championship.”

ONE Championship has consistently partnered with the best blue chip global brands around the world such as Disney, Facebook, Marvel, Under Armour, Sony, Universal Music Group, L’Oreal, and others. It currently has a roster of the best local and international athletes and champions in Asia. ONE Championship is dedicated to developing these athletes into true Asian heroes to inspire fans across Asia.

For more updates on ONE Championship™, please visit www.onefc.com and follow Twitter and Instagram @ONEFCMMA and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEFCMMA.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, Physique TV, MYTV, HTV, Esporte Interativo and more.

About Heliconia Capital Management
Heliconia Capital Management Pte Ltd is an investment firm and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore investment company Temasek that provides growth capital for Singapore’s leading small and medium sized enterprises, helping them become globally competitive companies. For more information about Heliconia, please visit www.heliconiacapital.com.

LAS VEGAS (July 12, 2016) –World Series of Fighting (WSOF.com) announced today the completion of a nine-fight preliminary card for the highly-anticipated WSOF32: Moraes vs. Hill II, world championship doubleheader that airs live on NBCSN at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT from XFINITY Arena in Everett, Wash. on Saturday, July 30.

The preliminary card will stream live, in its entirety, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT, on an embeddable video player on WSOF.com.

Joining the previously announced, headlining featherweight (145 pounds) preliminary card showdown between undefeated, rising stars Hakeem Dawodu (5-0-1) of Calgary, Alberta, Canada and Marat Magomedov (7-0-1) of Dagestan, Russia, are 8 fights stacked with a collection of 12 local upstarts.

“We have a phenomenal fight card in store for fans for our debut in Washington State, and are looking forward to touching down in Everett, and seeing some of the best prospects in the area, and potential, future World Series of Fighting athletes in action,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo.

In a featured, middleweight (185 pounds) preliminary card battle, Rex “T-Rex” Harris (9-2) will put a five-fight win streak on the line against undefeated Nicolai “Blanka” Salchow (6-0).

The 33-year-old Harris of West Pittston, Pa. is a perfect 2-0, to date, inside the World Series of Fighting decagon cage. In his last start at WSOF30 on April 2, he earned a unanimous decision over Clinton Williams.

Salchow of Dusseldorf, Germany is a 32-year-old finisher who has been taken the distance of a fight only once since turning pro in 2004. He is coming off a first round (2:25) TKO (punches) of Steve Montgomery on May 7.

In another middleweight preliminary card contest and rematch, Alfonso “Big Smooth” Gonzales (9-1) of Tacoma, Wash. and Thomas Hoeper (4-2) of Arlington, Wash. will revisit their first meeting that took place on September 26, 2015 and ended with Gonzales scoring a second round (1:29) TKO (punches) on Hoeper.

Elsewhere on the undercard, recent World Series of Fighting signee and former K-1 star Andrews Nakahara (4-3-2) of Mogi Das Cruzes, Brazil will make his promotional debut against Travis “The Praying Mantis” Doerge (5-8) of Renton, Wash. in a welterweight (170 pounds) bout.

Unbeaten prospects Patrick Benson (2-0) of McKenna, Wash. and Brett Malone (1-0) of Marysville, Wash. will put their perfect records on the line against each other in a lightweight (155) matchup.

Also at lightweight, Matt Coble (9-7) of Bellingham, Wash. will collide with Colt Hausauer (5-4) of Eastsound, Wash.

Following a stellar, near perfect amateur career during which he amassed an overall record of 10-1, 28-year-old Tycen “Shin To Chin” Lynn of Everett will make his highly-anticipated professional debut in a bantamweight (135 pounds) matchup with 23-year-old, fellow upstart Justin Hugo (1-1) of Everett.

In heavyweight action, Matt “The Attack” Kovacs (11-13) of Everett will face off with Bill Widler (9-6) of Redding, Calif.

Kicking off the WSOF32 preliminary bout card will be a bantamweight contest between Jon Marc Cortez (0-2) of Renton and Joe Elea (0-1) of Everett.

Priced from $29, tickets for WSOF32: Moraes vs. Hill II are on sale at XFINITYArenaEverett.com and WSOF.com.

In the world bantamweight (135 pounds) championship main event, Marlon Moraes 16-4-1) will defend his coveted title for the second time against Josh “Gentleman” Hill (14-1) while, in the co-main event and a second world championship rematch, Alexandre “Capitao” Almeida (18-5) will put his featherweight (145 pounds) belt on the line against the fighter he took it from – Lance Palmer (10-2).

Doors at XFINITY Arena Everett will open at 3:30 p.m. PT for WSOF32, and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 4:00 p.m.

WSOF32: MORAES VS. HILL II

MAIN CARD (Live on NBCSN)

World Series of Fighting Bantamweight Championship Main Event:
Marlon Moraes (Champion) vs. Josh Hill (Challenger)

World Series of Fighting Featherweight Championship Co-Main Event:
Alexandre Almeida (Champion) vs. Lance Palmer (Challenger)

Catchweight (162 pounds): Caros Fodor vs. Phoenix Jones
Middleweight: Phil Hawes vs. Louis Taylor

PRELIMINARY CARD (Live on WSOF.com)

Featherweight: Hakeem Dawodu vs. Marat Magomedov
Middleweight: Rex Harris vs. Nicolai Salchow
Welterweight: Andrews Nakahara vs. Travis Doerge
Middleweight: Alfonso Gonzales vs. Thomas Hoeper
Heavyweight: Matt Kovacs vs. Bill Widler
Lightweight: Patrick Benson vs. Brett Malone
Lightweight: Matt Coble vs. Colt Hausauer
Bantamweight: Justin Hugo vs. Tycen Lynn
Bantamweight: Jon Marc Cortez vs. Joe Elzea

ABOUT WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING

“World Series of Fighting” (WSOF) is a worldwide premier, professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion partnered with NBC, NBCSN and international media distribution giant, IMG. Established in 2012 and headquartered in Las Vegas with satellite offices in New York City and Boston, the company is dedicated to delivering an incredible experience for sports fans by producing action-packed, live fights between elite athletes from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com and follow “World Series of Fighting” on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries. WSOF and World Series of Fighting are registered trademarks of MMAWC, LLC.

ABOUT NBCSN
NBCSN, part of the NBC Sports Group, is dedicated to serving passionate sports fans. Now in more than 85 million homes, the Emmy Award-winning network is the cable television home of the Summer and Winter Olympics, National Hockey League (NHL) – including two games of the Stanley Cup Final — Premier League, Formula One, IndyCar, Tour de France, the 34th America’s Cup, and beginning in 2015, NASCAR. In addition, NBCSN features college football, college basketball, college hockey, cycling, outdoor programming, horse racing surrounding the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, Fight Night boxing, Ironman, the Dew Tour and USA Sevens Rugby. The network is also home to original programs such as Costas Tonight, NFL Turning Point, Pro Football Talk, The Dan Patrick Show, and NASCAR America. NBCSN is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.

About XFINITY Arena at Everett
The XFINITY Arena at Everett, recipient of the International Association of Venue Manager’s (IAVM)
prestigious Venue Excellence Award 2010, was developed by the Everett Public Facilities District.
The 10,000-seat venue hosts a myriad of events including concerts, ice skating and family shows and
is home to the Everett Silvertips, a Western Hockey League franchise. The venue is managed by
Spectra by Comcast Spectacor and embodies all three of its divisions: Venue Management, Food
Services & Hospitality and Ticketing & Fan Engagement.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (July 11, 2016) – M-1 Global has put together a solid main card for this Saturday night’s M-1 Challenge 69: Battle in the Mountains 5, headlined by heavyweights Denis Smoldarev (11-2-0, M-1: 7-2-0), a two-time M-1 Challenge heavyweight title challenger, and former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Kenny “Deuce” Garner (16-9-0, M-1: 9-7-0), at Targin in Ingushetia, Russia.

M-1 Challenge 69 will be streamed live from Ingushetia in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all of the action on their computers, as well as on Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.

One other previously announced M-1 Challenge 69 fight is Croatian featherweight Antun “Killer” Racic (18-7-0, M-1: 3-4-0) versus undefeated Russian prospect Movsar Evloev (5-0-0, M-1: 5-0-0).

Rounding out the main card are two other featherweight bouts: Brazilian Rafael Dias (11-3-0, M-1: 0-0-0) vs. Kazakh Sergey Morozov (6-1-0, M-1: 2-1-0) and Ukrainian Andrey “Iron” Lezhnev (8-6-0, M-1: 2-2-0) vs. American Lee “Bulldog” Morrison (15-6-0, M-1: 2-3-0), along with a heavyweight match between Brazilian Marcus “Montanha” Vinicius (9-4-0, M-1: 0-0-0) and Russian Kurban “Shkaf” Ibragimov (5-1-0, M-1: 3-1-0).

One preliminary card fight has been announced in the flyweight division as Ronny Gomez (3-4-0, M-1: 0-0-0), of Spain, faces Russian Khamzat Dalgiev (5-1-0, M-1: 2-1-0).

Additional preliminary card bouts will be finalized and announced this week.

Information

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www.wmmaa.org

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