Kid Yamamoto talks UFC debut against Demetrious Johnson

Japanese mixed martial arts star Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto talks about his UFC debut which takes place this Saturday against Demetrious Johnson on the undercard of UFC 126. It was recently announced that the fight between Yamamoto and Johnson will be shown free on the UFC’s Facebook page. Kid Yamamoto talks UFC debut against Demetrious Johnson [...]

Kid Yamamoto talks UFC debut against Demetrious Johnson is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/ufc-news/kid-yamamoto-talks-ufc-debut-against-demetrious-johnson-53317/

João Roque Kristian Rothaermel Ben Rothwell Chad Akebono Rowan Mauricio Shogun Rua

UFC 126's Jon "Bones" Jones signs new endorsement deal with K-Swiss and FORM Athletics (press release)

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The following press release was sent to MMATorch this morning...

K·Swiss and FORM Athletics Ink Collaborative Endorsement Deal With Top MMA Fighter Jon "Bones" Jones

(Westlake Village, CA) February 2, 2011 - California Sports Company K·Swiss (NASDAQ: KSWS) has announced a multi-year endorsement with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Jon "Bones" Jones for both the K·Swiss and FORM Athletics brands. Under the terms of the deal, K·Swiss will add Jones to its stable of performance training footwear ambassadors, and FORM Athletics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of K·Swiss, will expand its current relationship with Jones for both lifestyle and performance apparel.

Jones' first official appearance under the new deal will be the highly anticipated UFC 126 Silva Belfort on February 5, 2011 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas as he faces undefeated fighter, Ryan Bader.

The Jones deal with K·Swiss will include appearances, ad campaigns and representation in the company's growing fitness category. He joins Jeremy Shockey of the New Orleans Saints, Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers, and Urijah Faber, the MMA Fighter and WEC Champion, in representing the TUBES training footwear category. Jones will also be collaborating with K·Swiss on a signature shoe.

"Jon is an elite athlete with an incredible training regime," said David Nichols, executive vice president of K·Swiss. "His input will be valuable in developing new footwear, and his notoriety in his sport and great personality will fit well with the K·Swiss athlete roster. We are extremely excited about working with Jon, and look forward to a bright future with him as part of the K·Swiss family."

As part of his expanded deal, FORM Athletics will release a Jon Jones Signature Collection of performance and lifestyle apparel for both in and out of the ring. Jones will attend the UFC fan expos and will be featured prominently in FORM's advertising campaigns. The addition of Jones rounds out FORM's roster of athletes and positions FORM near the top of a very competitive light heavyweight division of the UFC, as well as middle, light, feather and bantam weight divisions.

Jones has established himself as one of the most relevant athletes in MMA. At 23-years- old, he currently fights as a light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and was proclaimed as one of the top eight light heavyweight fighters in the world by UFC President Dana White. Jones has a strong background in wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and currently fights out of Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"From the inception of FORM Urijah and I identified Jon as a perfect fit for the brand with athleticism and skill that align perfectly with FORM Athletics brand values," said Mark Miller, president of FORM Athletics and K·Swiss Orange County. "Jon is well- respected and a perfect ambassador for our company."

FORM Athletics launched in early 2010 and has quickly established itself as a successful and progressive MMA and lifestyle brand designed and inspired by the world's toughest athletes. FORM has built a formidable stable of the industry's most prominent fighters including FORM Co-Founder, MMA/WEC athlete and former Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber, Anthony Pettis, Mark Muñoz, Scott Jorgensen, Joseph Benavidez, and Jon "Bones" Jones.

"I'm excited and honored to be part of the K·Swiss family, representing both K·Swiss and FORM Athletics," said Jon Jones. "Working closely with Urijah is special to me, everything he touches turns to gold - he is and will always be a champion." Looking forward, Jones has clear goals working with K·Swiss and FORM Athletics, "It is my mission to create and develop products that include my personal style and will advance athletic performance in both training and competition."

About K·Swiss
Founded more than forty years ago in Van Nuys, California, K·Swiss (NASDAQ: KSWS) introduced the first all-leather tennis shoe, the K·Swiss "Classic" in 1966. Since its inception, K·Swiss has rooted itself in California Sport with an aim to be the most inspiring and innovative sports brand in the market. Today the company offers performance and lifestyle footwear and apparel for several categories under its California Sports umbrella including Tennis Heritage, California Fit (Running, Triathlon and Fitness) and California Youth. K·Swiss also designs, develops and markets footwear under the Palladium brand, and owns the FORM Athletics brand. For more information about K-Swiss, visit www.kswiss.com.

About FORM Athletics
FORM Athletics is a division of K·Swiss that was founded in 2010 by sportswear veteran Mark Miller and WEC former Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber. FORM was built on the belief that true expression doesn't end in the gym, what you wear speaks to who you are, FORM is a brand designed and inspired for your active lifestyle. FORM is a true testament to the commitment, sacrifice, and confidence inspired by the world's toughest athletes. www.formathletics.com

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8341.shtml

Luiz Azeredo  Luciano Azevedo  Ba Te er  Ryan Bader 

Strikeforce: Columbus, March 5

Strikeforce Ohio
Saturday, March 5
Nationwide Arena
Columbus Arena
Airing on Showtime


MAIN CARD

* Rafael Cavalcante (#9-tie ranked Light Heavyweight) vs. Dan Henderson (for Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship
* Marloes Coenen vs. Miesha Tate (for Strikeforce Women's Welterweight Championship)
* Tim Kennedy vs. Luke Rockhold
* Billy Evangelista vs. Jorge Masvidal

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Upcoming_Events_42/article_8208.shtml

Matt Lindland Liu Jinwen David The Crow Loiseau Hector Lombard Alexandru Lungu

Roy Nelson talks next fight vs Frank Mir and UFC Heavyweights - Roy Nelson

UFC Heavyweight Roy Nelson, who is scheduled to fight Frank Mir at UFC 130 in on May 28th, drops a crazy conspiracy theory on Dave Farra of MMA:30. He also talks about the Mir match-up, Carwin, Velasquez, Brock, and JDS.

Source: http://mmalice.com/roy-nelson/roy-nelson-talks-next-fight-vs-frank-mir-and-ufc-heavyweights-video_467fc6d5b.html

Mark Hominick Choi Hong man Jeremy Horn Chris Horodecki Harold Howard

Exclusive: Josh Koscheck Talks Injury, Real Life Is Boring

Top ranked Welterweight contender Josh Koscheck was in San Jose this weekend for Strikeforce: Diaz Vs. Cyborg and our own Tony Medina was on the scene and happened to catch up with Koscheck to discuss what he has going on since his last fight and much more:<br><Br><br>

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

Harout Terzyan James Thompson Nick Thompson Josh Thomson Din Thomas

STRIKEFORCE NEWS: HDNet to air live prelim fights for Fedor vs. Bigfoot event on February 12

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Coverage for Strikeforce's February 12 kick off to the Heavyweight World Grand Prix will reach beyond Showtime, as MMAPayout.com reports that the night's preliminary card will air live on HDNet.

In addition to the preliminary card bouts airing on the network, their Inside MMA program will also air live from New Jersey that Friday night. The night's main card airs live on Showtime, featuring the first two Grand Prix quarterfinal tournament bouts in Andrei Arlovski vs. Sergei Kharitonov and the main event in Fedor Emeliananko vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.

The preliminary card broadcast will feature the commentating team of Bas Rutten and Michael Schiavello.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is a big positive for fans that have both HDNet and Showtime, as they can see more of the fights scheduled for that night. It's good for Strikeforce to have film on more fights as well, and they should find ways to broadcast preliminary card fights for more events to build their film library and to help bring along more contracted fighters that they aren't putting on main cards at this point.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_8292.shtml

Alex Schoenauer Ryan Schultz Pete Sell Andrei Semenov Ivan Serati

STRIKEFORCE QUOTABLES: "Bigfoot" Silva says Fedor hasn't changed his game over the last seven or eight years

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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"Man, Fedor is the type of fighter that, in the last seven or eight years has not changed much. He's a technical fighter, explosive on the feet, has both hands very fast and strong, he has ground and pound, when he's on top he's very strong? But his game has not changed during these last years. If you watch all of his fights, he'll pretty much end them the same way. Now he's got his own camp with Ernest Hoost, but I'm sure that when the time comes, he'll go back to his game, he won't change. He'll come more careful because he's coming from a loss, he won't expose himself much, after all it's two heavyweights, the first punch that connects could decide [the fight]. He's coming trying to stay relevant and I'm trying to stay inside the top 10. Who will win with this are the fans, because it'll be two monsters inside the cage trying to kill themselves."

-Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva talks to Tatame.com (translated by Orcus at BloodyElbow.com) about his February 12 opponent in the first round of Strikeforce's Heavyweight World Grand Prix, Fedor Emelianenko.

Penick's Analysis: This should be a very good heavyweight fight to kick off this tournament. It's an accurate statement on Fedor's game made by Silva here, as he hasn't really had to evolve what he does in the ring or cage while he was winning fights. It was his speed and power, along with his ground and pound game, that kept him winning fights, and then he got over-aggressive against Werdum and lost a fight for the first time in a decade. Whether that makes him more cautious in this particular fight remains to be seen, but I think his final comment there will hold true, and both will be out to win this fight convincingly. Someone's getting tagged, and it should make for a very good fight.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_8339.shtml

Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai 

UFC NEWS: Frank Mir, Roy Nelson publicly confirm UFC 130 bout in May

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Heavyweights Frank Mir and Roy Nelson have publicly confirmed their bout for UFC 130 in May in Las Vegas.

Mir on Wednesday sent out a message on Twitter revealing the booking, which had been reported previously but not yet confirmed, and Nelson has commented on the bout in comments made to ESPN.

"Frank is a top ten guy according to some polls," Nelson said. "I think a win over him would put me one fight away or even my next fight could be for the title.

"Frank is a former UFC champ. He's a Brazilian black belt. He's been in the UFC for ten years. He's a legend in our division and I'm honored to be fighting him."

The bout will serve as the likely co-headliner for the event, coming Memorial Day weekend and expected to be headlined by the Lightweight Championship rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.

Link to ESPN.com report

Penick's Analysis: This is going to be a very good heavyweight fight. Nelson beat Mir in grappling competition years ago, and so they've got a little history with one another. Both have heavy hands and have both won and lost fights due to strikes, and with both being extremely skilled in their submission games as well it makes for an even and exciting match up.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8287.shtml

Mario Neto Carlos Newton Mike Nickels

MMA family seeks support for Brazilian landslide victims

Torrential rains in parts of Brazil triggered landslides that have killed more than 500 people. This has had a chilling effect on the MMA community, so closely tied with Brazil.

To lend a helping hand, the MMA teams at American Top Team and Team Armory have joined together to found Combat Athlete Charities. Money raised will buy food and shelter for people in Nova Friburgo.

MMA manager Alex Davis, a driving force behind Combat Athlete Charities, is in Nova Friburgo, one of the worst-hit areas and also the home to UFC fighter Edson Barboza, to assist with relief efforts. He described the scene to MMA Junkie:

"There are entire regions that have been wiped out. Thousands of people are without water and food. Hundreds of people, if not thousands, are buried under mudslides so deep that they will never be found. Whole families have been wiped out. It's to the point that there may be no one left to even remind us that these people were once there. [...]

"Roads and bridges have all been wiped out, leaving thousands of people isolated with no water, no food, no electricity." 

The landslide has already claimed the mother of Pablo Popovitch, a BJJ world champ and Abu Dhabi champion, and he's asking for help in saving his father's life. UFC fighter Kenny Florian supported Popovitch, using his Twitter account to ask for donations and support for his friend. 

Brazil's effect on MMA is undeniable. The sport owes its beginnings to the Brazilian Gracie family, and today, three of the top five pound-for-pound fighters are Brazilian

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/MMA-family-seeks-support-for-Brazilian-landslide?urn=mma-308590

Bob Sapp Rumina Sato Kerry Schall Nino Schembri Fabiano Scherner