Bloody Elbow, for MMA and UFC news

Jury Awards $3.2 Million in Damages to Ex-Employee of TapouT: Michelle Thomas, A former TapouT sales representative who filed suit over a wage dispute with the action sportswear company was today awarded $2.4 million in punitive damages (plus $840,000 in compensatory damages) by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury. She maintained that she was not paid the commissions she was promised and was denied overtime for working as many as 70-plus hours some weeks during her eight months on the job. Thomas also testified that employees were told to pay out of their own pocket for any television subscriptions needed to view the company's show on the Versus cable network, called "TapouT," as well as pay-per-view Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts. Thomas said she was roundly criticized by a supervisor for not watching one required program on her birthday. She was fired in June 2008.

TapouT Partners With Tekken 6 for Apparel Line TapouT is taking its brand into the videogame market through a new multi-year partnership with game developer Namco Bandai Games. The companies announced a new alliance today at Comic-Con 2009 in San Diego. As part of the agreement, TapouT will design five co-branded T-shirts, which will appear as in-game customization options for characters in "Tekken 6," the latest installment of Namco's popular fighting game franchise. In addition to outfitting their "Tekken 6" fighters, players and fans will be able to wear their own Tekken 6 TapouT gear. The deal is the first co-branding agreement Namco Bandai has struck with a major apparel company for in-game and offline gear. HT: mmajunkie