1) Akiyama Marries Japanese Super Model Shiho:

BAD NEWS For MMA Fan Boys Around the World:

Korean-Japanese fighter Chu Sung-hooon, named Akiyama Yoshihiro in Japanese, has recently married Japanese model Shiho Yano.

Shiho posted on her blog Tuesday that they had recently registered their marriage.

``I'm comfortable to be with Akiyama. I'm grateful I met him,'' Chu's new wife said.

Shiho, 32, often called ``Charismatic Shiho," is famous in Japan. 

Chu also confirmed his marriage on his Web site, Tuesday.

``I have something to say. Shiho Yano and I have registered the wedding.''

The couple was reported to have met in January 2007.

The wedding date and procedure were not made public.

Chu joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) last month. The 33-year-old said that he wanted to win the UFC title in a press conference in Seoul last week.

He is likely to debut in the US-based Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization in July.

In Other News:

Health Services world wide are reporting an alarming rate of diagnosed depression found in young males ages 18-34. They are still not sure what the root cause is, but we will keep you updated as this story develops...

2) DREAM Haters Vs DREAM Defenders Featuring Smoogy:

1) Bloody Elbow

2) Fight Opinion

3) Fight LInker

4) MMA Analyst

Faturing Quotes Like:

But now BloodyElbow fanposter and avid Fightlinker hater Smoogy puts the numbers into context:

Japan is a difficult market and scene to grasp, particularly with second hand information, but the notion that we are reflexively one way or the other on the scene is pure fantasy. Please knock it off.

Stop with the nonsense. It’s just tiresome at this point.

 Update (3/11): DREAM defenders come out  

3) Ford Motor Company Signs With Bellator As Main Sponsor:

LOS ANGELES, Mar 11, 2009 — Bellator Fighting Championships and ESPN Deportes announced today a sponsorship agreement with Ford Motor Company. The agreement names Ford as the exclusive sponsor in the automotive category for Bellator Fighting Championships, a 12-episode mixed martial arts (MMA) series set to premiere on ESPN Deportes April 4th. Bellator is the first nationally televised mixed martial arts league focusing on the United States’ prolific Latino market.

4) Although, some are now chanting that Bellator is EVIL, which is why Filho is Leaning Towards Strikeforce and Sengoku!!!

 "Bellator’s contract is cruel. It’s a new event and we opted not to put Paulão there, because they didn’t want to put a clause in the contract that, if the guy stays without fighting for four months, the contract loses its validity. We were victims of this in EliteXC, which was consolidated and left the athletes behind, without fighting for a long time", said Joinha, who hopes to put the fighter in Strikeforce. "We already have offered to Sengoku and Strikeforce, that is where we want, if possible already fighting with Robbie Lawler",

The UG has some more info on their contracts, but here is what I think the real reason is:

In addition to the exposure on ESPN Deportes platforms, the deal includes athlete appearances at Ford dealerships in key markets to be determined by Ford, automotive display and consumer interactive sweepstakes.

 5) Meet the EliteXC Strikeforce Fighters in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 12 at Noons Noon:

MMAWeekly reports:

With a month to go before Strikeforce makes its promotional debut on the Showtime Network, they are holding a Kickoff Press Conference on Thursday, March 12 at the Avalon Hollywood in California that is open to the public. Fans are welcome to come out and meet many of the Strikeforce fighters.

6) A New Form Of Dyslexia has Just Been Discovered!

The newly discovered form of dyslexia is being labeled as Brasilexia. The key symptoms are switching the order of "H"s and "L"s. Side symptoms include pronouncing "H"s as "R"s. In extreme cases, some subjects have taken words from others and made them their own.

Here is one case study already being analyzed:

 http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/03/11/paulo-fihlo-looking-to-fight-in-japan-or-possibly-strikeforce/

According to Fighter’s Only magazine former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Fihlo is looking to make his return to either the Strikeforce organization or Sengoku which is based in Japan.

His coach told Tatame that Fihlo was looking to jump right into the frying pan and fight former EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler under the Strikeforce banner. He also said they had offered Fihlo’s services to Sengoku. Fihlo made a name for himself fighting in Japan under the Pride banner and was undefeated until losing to Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 back in November of 2008. That fight was a rematch of their first fight at WEC 31 in December of 2007 which ended in controversy when the referee stopped the bout while Sonnen was caught in an arm bar but verbally said he didn’t want to quit. The rematch was postponed due to Fihlo entering a substance abuse program. He came into their second fight an amazing 8 pounds overweight and looked completely out of it while losing a unanimous decision to Sonnen. Zuffa the parent company of both the WEC & the UFC subsequently released him.

...

7) And finally...BREAKING NEWS!!!

GOOD NEWS for THOSE who LOVE WAMMA and PRO-UFC MMA Live on ESPN:

FIGHT NETWORK REPORTS:

 Orlando, Florida - Starting on March 18, the Top Ten fighter rankings from the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) will debut each month on ESPN.com's original mixed martial arts studio show, MMA Live.

MMA Live is a weekly 30-minute show produced by ESPN Digital Media that covers the mixed martial arts landscape. Hosted by Jon Anik, with analysis from UFC lightweight title contender Kenny Florian andNewark Star-Ledger columnist Franklin McNeil, MMA Live features breaking news, fight analysis, instructional segments, and interviews with the sport's top names. 

WAMMA Vice President Pat Miletich, the first-ever UFC lightweight champion, will join Anik, Florian, and McNeil in-studio to break down the March WAMMA rankings. 

"Since WAMMA's inception, a primary goal of ours has been to launch a top ten fighters poll, in the mold of the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls for college football," said WAMMA CEO Dave Szady, a 33-year veteran of the FBI. "We're thrilled that those rankings are now a reality and that they will be featured on MMA Live."

This would make the two most popular MMA News shows: Inside MMA on HDNet and MMA Live on ESPN.com, both recognize WAMMA Rankings. Great news for everyone, especially with most posters here at BE, who have been following WAMMA from the start.