It looks like more jail time for War Machine. The former Ultimate Fighter contestant and UFC fighter (at the time going by his birth name of Jon Koppenhaver) tweeted last night that he was sentenced to another round of jail time after serving a stint previously for a felony assault conviction.

From War Machine's twitter (with some censorship on our part):

War Machine and Junie Browning are the two most prominent examples of former UFC fighters (in the "modern era") who have been unable to keep their names out of the papers for very negative situations.

There's quite a bit more at War Machine's Twitter if you want to check it out. But then again, isn't there always quite a bit more at War Machine's Twitter?

Following yesterday's monumental announcement of a 10-year media partnership with ESPN Star Sports, ONE FC unveiled several more interesting news items on a press conference in Singapore.

On the business side of things, the promotion made a huge announcement that government entities from Singapore will be backing them, with Cui saying that both the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) will be supporting ONE FC.

ONE FC has also announced two key bouts for their third show that is slated on March 31st. Headlining the card will be UFC vet and former Strikeforce champion, Renato 'Babalu' Sobral (36-10), taking on the very dangerous and explosive striker in Melvin Manhoef (24-9).

Also on a featured bout is Kevin Belingon (9-0), a URCC Champion who is one of the top prospects in the Asia, taking a huge step up in competition by facing the more experienced DEEP Bantamweight Champ, and 'Master of Leglocks', Masakazu Imanari (24-10-2).

Victor Cui also mentioned that there will be 2 more DREAM fighters competing on the card, along with URCC Champion Eduard Folayang, BJJ World Champion Zorobabel Moreira, Eddie Ng, and Nicole Chua, a female Muay Thai fighter who is set to make her MMA debut under the tutelage of the champions at Evolve MMA.

Although signs of their partnership with DREAM are already seen with multiple fighters from the Japanese promotion competing on this March card, Cui revealed that this won't be the co-promoted event as they earlier announced. The ONE FC head did mention though that they're working on that 2012 co-promoted show that would pit ONE FC's best fighters against DREAM's top fighters such as Shinya Aoki and Tatsuya Kawajiri.

More news, and the partial card for ONE FC 3 after the jump. As always, stay tuned to BloodyElbow.com for more updates, and follow me on twitter.

Continue reading this post »

There's interesting news coming out of the Asian MMA scene from both Legend FC and ONE FC. Both promotions will be hosting their next shows at the same date, and both promotions have announced major deals for their promotions on the same day as well.

Earlier today, Legend FC has announced an "exclusive distribution and syndication agreement" with ESPN. This Hong Kong-based promotion is already available on 10 countries, including PPV in North America, and with this deal, they'll be looking to expand their reach to a broader audience globally with the help of ESPN international. From their press release:

Legend Fighting Championship (Legend) today announced the signing of an exclusive distribution and syndication agreement with ESPN International (ESPN). Under the terms of the agreement, ESPN will serve as the sole distribution agent of all Legend broadcast content in Asia, Oceania, the Indian sub-continent, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

... "Legend’s combination of a roster filled with elite fighters from the Asia-Pacific region with high-quality production values makes us excited to work with them to continue to develop their audience around the world," said Mike Walter, vice president of programming, ESPN International.

ONE FC on the other hand, will be hosting a show on the same date, and as we wrote about earlier, the Singapore-based promotion is set to be broadcast all over Asia on ESPN Star Sports (ESS). The promotion announced this deal a few moments ago, also adding that they have entered in a 10-year partnership with the company, guaranteeing a decade's worth of shows being broadcast on ESS. From their release:

ONE Fighting Championship™, Asia’s largest MMA organization, announces a 10-year media partnership with ESPN STAR Sports, Asia’s biggest sports content provider. This partnership marks the largest MMA media deal in Asian history and includes showcasing the best Asian mixed martial artists against one another through a series of events across all the major cities in Asia.

... Adam Zecha, Executive Vice President, Head of Sales (SEA), ESPN STAR Sports, said, "ESPN STAR Sports has always been at the forefront in offering innovative and engaging programming to sports fans across the region. We have successfully showcased a diverse range of combat sports events to fans, and with this long-term partnership with ONE Fighting Championship, mixed-martial arts sports fans can now look forward to more exciting action on our networks."

Not sure about what's the difference between ESPN International and ESPN Star Sports? Not sure what's the difference between both deals? All that is explained after the jump.

Follow me on twitter -- @antontabuena.

Continue reading this post »

ONE Fighting Championships' second event will happen in Jakarta, Indonesia. Their first event was streamed on Sherdog.com, but now it looks like they're changing it up a bit and will be taking a page off the UFC's playbook by properly utilizing their social media platforms.

According to Rolles Gracie, who is one of the competitors on the ONE FC card, the event will be streamed live and free on the promotion's Facebook page, with a delayed telecast available all over Asia on ESPN Star Sports.

ONE FC will be hosting a press-conference in Singapore on Tuesday and I expect this TV deal, along with the competitors for their March show, to be part of the laundry list of announcements that will be made.

Key bouts on the card in Indonesia include a lightweight bout between Felipe Enomoto and Ole Laursen, who has been named as the #8 ranked lightweight in the 2010 World MMA Scouting Report, and a featherweight bout between URCC Champ, Honorio Banario and Bae Young Kwon.

Check out the full fight card after the jump, and follow me on twitter -- @antontabuena

Continue reading this post »

Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, who failed a post-fight drug test after beating Lorenz Larkin at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine, was a guest on today's MMA Hour and told Ariel Helwani that he had taken an over-the-counter supplement.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission announced on January 17th that Lawal tested positive for Drostanolone after the Larkin bout. Lawal faces a suspension of up to one year and a fine.

Lawal told Helwani he purchased a supplment called S-Mass "Lean Gainer" at Muscle Max. Ben Fowlkes has more at MMA Fighting:

The guilty party, according to Kogan and Lawal, is a supplement called S-Mass Lean Gainer by Rock Solid, which Lawal said he bought at a Max Muscle store in California and used only sporadically for "rehab stuff," the fighter explained. It was recommended to him by a Max Muscle employee some time in April of 2010, he said, though it's since been removed from the market, according to Kogan, who admitted he had no knowledge that Lawal was taking any supplements at all prior to his positive drug screening.

"To the best of my research, this product was taken off the shelves some time in mid-2011, for exactly the same reason that we're facing right now. Its primary and only relevant ingredient of that particular product is a substance known as Methyldrostanolone, which is basically just a pill format of Drostanolone," Kogan said.

...

"For me, the best way to get an advantage over your opponent is through hard work, preparation, and your skills," Lawal said. "That's the best way to get an advantage over anybody. Game-planning. That's the best way to beat your opponent."

Here's the description of that product:

S-Mass is the most powerful designer anabolic ever created and is probably the least expensive on the market. S-Mass represents a quality designer anabolic and an affordable price. S-Mass was designed to produce lean hard bodies. If you want t he lean hard look S-Mass is the product for you.

Lawal's manager Mike Kogan Tweeted after the show:

@Mike Kogan: not blaming just pointing out their lack of responsibility, accountability and malicious and intentional misguidence of consumers

@Mike Kogan: just pointing out the uphill battle that any athlete faces. They rename, relabel and hide shit on purpose to turn $ someone needs to start paying attention to it

Bobby Lashley may not have gotten a fair shake from the MMA community. He entered the fight game after a career in the WWE and was viewed by almost everyone as a 'poor man's Brock Lesnar'. It's how the WWE fans viewed him when he made his wrestling debut and it's how MMA viewed him as well. During his time in Strikeforce, he was criticized for taking easy fights, with most viewing him as an expensive can-crusher. He'd deflect this accusations by saying that he is new to the business and taking his time to develop. He'd then add that if people had a problem with how he's handling his career, he'd like to fight Fedor instead. Well, it looks like Bobby Lashley will get his wish.

After going 2-0 in 2011 on the regional circuit, Bobby Lashley is reportedly in talks to fight the 'Last Emperor'. Fighter's Only Magazine spoke with Lashley about this potential fight.

"I'm going to throw everything at him that I can. Of course, my wrestling's there, I don't give a damn what he's doing. I'd put my wrestling up there with almost anyone right now."

"I think that my wrestling would trump some of the things that he has. I know he's a great fighter, but if I fought him then of course I'm going to try and wrestle him down... If it was Dave [Bautista], I'm standing and banging with him. I've been doing a lot of boxing."

Lashley would obviously enter the fight as an underdog, though he may have more of a fighting chance than fans would give him credit for. His wrestling is solid for heavyweight and he has displayed some active ground and pound. The big question is: "has he developed in his year away from the public eye?"

For his sake, I hope so. Lashley is an incredibly likable fighter who has some name value. I just hope that M-1 isn't using him to try and still sell Fedor as the fighter he once was.

There's a bunch of news coming out of the Asian MMA circuit, and here's a brief rundown:

• Eric Kelly who has been dealing with a ton of management and personal issues lately has been pulled off the upcoming ONE FC 2 card in Jakarta Indonesia. Sources from the Philippines have informed BloodyElbow.com about the change.
  
  Stepping in for the featherweight standout is a fellow URCC champion, in Honorio Banario who has agreed to take the bout in less than 4 weeks notice.
  
  Banario is undefeated at 6-0 and is the reigning URCC lightweight champ. He is a product of the famed Team Lakay camp that houses several champions such as Eduard Folayang, Kevin Belingon and Roy Docyogen. His opponent will be Kelly's original opponent in Bae Young Kwon, a talented Korean fighter who is coming off a win over Brian Choi of Evolve MMA.
• Following an excellent performance from his teammate at URCC Cebu 7: Dominate, URCC Pinweight (119 lbs.) Champion, Roy Docyogen (9-0) will be looking to follow up with another big win for Team Lakay when the promotion hosts a show in their hometown of Baguio next month.
  
  On Feb 18, in Baguio City, the Wushu expert will look to defend his title against Rodel Orais, a former pro-boxer who is currently undefeated in MMA.
• Also on the URCC Baguio card, 6-foot-4 featherweight from Phuket Top Team, Will Chope will look to go 3-0 in the Philippines when he steps up in competition and takes on a former super-fight champion, Reydon "The Filipino Bolo Punch" Romero. It's probably an early fight of the night candidate as it's guaranteed to be entertaining when these two very game strikers go head to head.
  
  Chope, who always tries to remain busy, posted the news on his website and also announced another bout against Ev Ting in New Zealand three weeks earlier.

There are several big news (literally) coming out of the Asian MMA scene after the jump, so do check it out, and as always, follow me on twitter -- @antontabuena.

Continue reading this post »

BloodyElbow.com was on deck at the packed Cebu International Convention Center as the Philippines' biggest star headlined URCC Cebu 7: Dominate.

In what has almost been a trademark in each of his fights, Eduard Folayang once again displayed his massive heart and found a way to win despite facing adversity early on.

Folayang landed a few shots standing before getting dropped by a flush left hook from the Brazilian Muay Thai champion in Wadson Teixeira. The Wushu expert survived, regained guard, and reversed the position only to fall on a guillotine attempt from the BJJ brownbelt. Folayang defended well, and started raining down several of the loudest elbows I have ever heard. After taking all those heavy elbows, Teixeira signaled to tap, but the Nova Uniao and Legacy Gym product still went out, and remained down on the mat for an extended period.

All that in just 56 seconds of fighting.

With the victory, Folayang, who is ranked as the #6 lightweight in the World MMA Scouting Report, improved to 11-1 and extended his winning streak to six.

Check out the full results after the jump. Photo Gallery will be up soon, and as always, follow me on twitter.

Continue reading this post »