BloodyElbow.com can exclusively confirm that Mid-Atlantic phenom Mike "The Hulk" Easton is set to lock horns with former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe in a bantamweight title clash (the first ever for the UWC!) on February 21st at the George Mason Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA. Below is the official press release:

 

UWC - Ultimate Warrior Challenge

MAN "O" WAR

Mike Easton vs. Chase Beebe UWC World Championship Title Fight

 
Washington, DC - East coast regional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) powerhouse the UWC - Ultimate Warrior Challenge announced today the signing of a fight between H.I.T. Squad's Chase Beebe and Team Lloyd Irvin's Mike "The Hulk" Easton. The bantamweight bout (135lbs) will be the Co Main Event for UWC: MAN "O" WAR, which will take place February 21^st, 2009 at the George Mason University Patriot Center Arena in Fairfax, VA. The winner will be crowned the UWC Bantamweight Champion of the world. 
 
"The UWC has always been committed to delivering the highest quality fights for metro Washington, DC and east coast MMA fans," said UWC CEO S. Marcello Foran.  "That's why we are so excited to announce the signing of this bout. Chase Beebe and Mike Easton are two of the best bantamweight fighters in America – if not the world – whose styles are tailor made for each other. If there was ever a 'can't miss' fight for fans in the Washington, DC area, this is it." 
 
Chase Beebe (11 - 3) is a four-time high school state wrestling champion now training with world renowned Marc Fiore, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler, and nine-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion Matt Hughes as part of Hughes' H.I.T. Squad in Granite City, Illinois. Beebe is the former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) bantamweight champion and holds notable victories over Eddie Wineland and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Rani Yahya. 
 
Mike "The Hulk" Easton (6 - 1), a two-time UWC veteran, hails from Temple Hills, Maryland and trains with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Lloyd Irvin and UFC Fighter Brandon "The Truth" Vera as part of Team Lloyd Irvin. Easton is a Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, Pan-American Jiu-Jitsu medalist, Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling national qualifier and holds major wins over Gerald Lovato and John "The Magician" Dodson.  
 

"Booking this fight was a no-brainer. Both fighters are incredible athletes and always do a superb job of entertaining the crowd," said Foran. "We are dying to see how Beebe's in-your-face grinding style will look against Easton's first-rate athleticism and vicious knockout power.  I know whoever wins this fight will have definitively earned the title 'UWC Bantamweight Champion'." 
 
UWC: MAN "O" WAR" will be held Saturday February 21, 2009 at the George Mason University Patriot Center Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. Tickets for the event will be available via Ticketmaster and the show will be streamed live over the Internet on Sherdog.com. For more information, visit www.uwcmma.com. 
 
The Ultimate Warrior Challenge (UWC) is the greater Washington, DC area's leader in providing fans with the best, most competitive and highest quality professional mixed martial arts (MMA) events. In addition to featuring elite fighters from the top MMA teams across the country, UWC also showcases and builds the careers of the many top pro fighters from the leading Virginia, DC and Maryland teams and gyms by giving them an opportunity and platform to challenge the very best in their highly competitive hometown area. UWC's fighters and events will serve as the catalyst for turning the Washington region into a powerful and highly-regarded MMA east coast destination.