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Tag Archives: Mixed Martial Arts
WILL BROOKS RETAINS TITLE IN A STATEMENT 5-ROUND VICTORY
Bellator / Eric Coleman – Select Fight Photos / Scorecards
IRVINE, Calif. (April 10, 2015) – An energetic Southern Californian crowd was on hand tonight at the Bren Event Center enjoying a spectacular night of fights at Bellator 136.
With celebrities and MMA legends the likes of Tommy Lasorda, Charlie Hough, Jermaine Dye, Tito Ortiz, Ken Shamrock, Don Frye and Frank Shamrock cageside, the Scott Coker-led promotion emphatically returned to the arena for the first time since its debut on Spike at Bellator 85.
In addition to a lightweight title fight in the main event, 12 other exciting contests helped continue the trend of exciting cards on Spike TV thus far in 2015.
It took the full five rounds, but Will Brooks (16-1) made the first defense of his Bellator Lightweight strap, defeating Dave Jansen (20-3) via unanimous decision [49-46, 49-46, 49-46]. After a clear cut opening frame that saw “The Fugitive” surprise “Ill Will” with his explosive kicking and punching, Brooks slowly turned the tide in his favor, slowing the pace and using his world renown grappling to remain the 155-pound kingpin.
“Dave Jansen is exactly what people consider him to be,” said Brooks. “He’s got that warrior spirit and he’s really intelligent. He fought hard, I just fought harder. I’m still young in this sport, and there were definitely a lot of things that I wanted to do in the fight that he neutralized. I’m looking to stay busy and get back to putting on exciting fights for the fans.”
After 15 minutes of co-main event action, Rafael Carvalho improved to 11-1, earning a split decision win [28-29, 30-27, 29-28] against Joe Schilling (2-4). The young Brazilian slowed the fight down throughout, nullifying the striking of “Stitch Em’ Up.” One judge did see the fight in favor of the world champion kickboxer, but it wasn’t enough as Schilling drops to .500 inside the Bellator cage.
In a battle of submission specialists, Marcin Held (21-3) finished Tiger Sarnavskiy (30-3) via verbal submission caused by a knee bar at 1:11 of round three. With the win, Held has now won 12 of his 21 professional fights via submission.
The first televised scrap of the evening featured heavyweights Tony Johnson (8-2) and Alexander Volkov (6-1). After three grueling rounds, “The Hulk” remained undefeated in the Bellator cage. Johnson was awarded a [29-28, 28-29, 29-28] split decision. Overall it was the wrestling of Johnson that earned him the victory. Now, Johnson returns home to his two daughters and fiancée, where he doubles as a self-proclaimed “Mr. Mom.”
Joey Beltran (16-11) bounced back from a lackluster opening round to take rounds two and three, ultimately defeating Brian Rogers (11-8) via majority decision [28-28, 29-28, 29-27]. “The Mexicutioner” impressed in his Bellator MMA middleweight debut, while “The Predator” has dropped four of five scraps.
Saad Awad (18-6) handed Rob Sinclair (12-3) the third loss of his career, earning a unanimous decision [30-27, 30-27, 30-37]. With the win, Awad moves even closer to a trilogy fight with lightweight champion Will Brooks.
In the opening bout of the evening, John Teixeira (18-1-2) defeated Fabricio Guerreiro (20-4) via split decision [29-28, 28-29, 29-28]. Guerreiro has now dropped two of his last three bouts, while “Macapa” has won three straight.
AJ McKee (1-0) made a successful professional debut on Friday night, finishing Marcos Bonilla (1-2) with a deep rear-naked choke at 2:08 round one. The contingent that remained after the main card was heavily in favor of the Long Beach, Calif., native.
Chad George (16-8) finished Mark Vorgeas (5-3-1) with a head and arm choke at 3:37 of the first round. There was no tap or verbal submission, as George had to inform the referee that his opponent had gone unconscious. The Los Angeles native now has nine submission wins in his young career.
Laguna Hills, Calif., Justin Governale (4-2) submitted hometown boy Jay Bogan (6-5) via rear-naked choke at 2:09 of round two. It was an exciting end to a fight that was nearly finished by Governale with strikes.
Steve Ramirez (1-1) finished Jon Santa Maria (3-1) with a toehold at 3:29 of round one.
Cleber Luciano (11-5) finished Aaron Miller (14-10) with an arm bar at 4:36 of round two.
About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is a leading Mixed Martial Arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator is available to nearly 400 million homes worldwide in over 120 countries. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Santa Monica, California and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.
About Spike TV:
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.
NEF MMA ANNOUNCES WEIGH-IN RESULTS FROM LEWISTON
Lewiston, Maine (April 10, 2015) – New England Fights (NEF), America’s number-one regional fight promotion, held weigh-ins for its seventeenth mixed-martial-arts event, “NEF XVII,” earlier today at the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center in Lewiston, Maine. “NEF XVII” will take place at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee located at 190 Birch Street in Lewiston tomorrow, Saturday, April 11 with doors opening at 6:00 pm. The first fight is scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm.
The professional NEF MMA Lightweight Title bout between Bruce Boyington (10-7) and Jamie Harrison (5-1) is now a non-title catchweight fight after Harrison was unable to make the lightweight limit of 155-pounds.
The weights from Lewiston, Maine:
PROFESSIONAL
CATCH Bruce Boyington (154.0) vs Jamie Harrison (156.3)
170 Dennis Olson (170.9) vs Jarod Lawton (169.4)
CATCH Kaline Medeiros (116.2) vs Calie Cutler (117.9)
150 John Raio (150.4) vs Derek Shorey (149.3)
CATCH Jesse Erickson (156.3) vs Mark Deford (155.4)
CATCH Jay Perrin (139.0) vs Elias Leland (134.0)
AMATEUR
CATCH Dave Brown (125.4) vs Norman Fox (126.2)
165 Connor Barry (165.2) vs CJ Ewer (164.7)
155 Rick Matthews (153.7) vs Matthew Hanning (154.7)
S.HWT Dave Smith (292.6) vs Ora Spratt IV (282.7)
185 Brandon Russell (186.0) vs Heath Hanson (176.6)
CATCH Caleb Serra (147.1) vs Clifford Redman (145.0)
S.HWT Ryan Glover (227.6) vs Jason Field (271.0)
135 Sheldon Bang (135.4) vs Mike Crespo (134.1)
115 Alex Walker (115.1) vs Randi Beth Knowles (115.8)
155 Ricky Dexter (154.7) vs Zenon Herrera (153.8)
185 Chris Rideout (182.7) vs Ruben Redman (181.1)
185 Chris Smith (185.6) vs Dan Meuse (181.2)
135 Caleb Costello (134.7) vs Wilmer Carrero (136.0)
150 Alex Johnson (149.2) vs Dustin Shorey (148.9)
Tickets for “NEF XVII” start at just $25 and are on sale now atwww.TheColisee.com, by calling the Colisee box office at207.783.2009 x 525, or by visiting the Colisee box office at 190 Birch Street, Lewiston, Maine 04240. For more information on the event and fight card updates, please visit the promotion’s website at www.NewEnglandFights.com. In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”
About New England Fights
New England Fights (“NEF”) is a fight events promotions company. NEF’s mission is to create the highest quality events for Maine’s fighters and fans alike. NEF’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.
M-1 Challenge 56 Live, RFA 25 Today on Fight Network
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“BELLATOR: BROOKS vs. JANSEN” OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN RESULTS FOR FRIDAY NIGHTS FIGHT ON SPIKE
“BELLATOR: BROOKS vs. JANSEN” OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN RESULTS FOR FRIDAY NIGHTS FIGHT ON SPIKE
Champ Will Brooks (155) vs. Dave Jansen (154.6)
“I’m going to go out there and cut Dave Jansen down. I’m going to smoke him. I’m going to embarrass him.” – Will Brooks
“My mental edge is going to be key and me beating Will on Friday night. I’ve always believed it’s mentality before physicality, and it’s my mentality that’s going to lead me to the world title. It’s also going to be because of my experience, determination and laser focus. All of these things are just culminating into the perfect storm.” – Dave Jansen
Additional photos available here / credit to Bellator MMA / Eric Coleman
IRVINE. Calif. – April 9, 2015 – 25 of the 26 fighters competing on Friday’s “Bellator: Brooks vs. Jansen” took to the scales and successfully hit their targeted weights Thursday afternoon at the Radisson Hotel in Newport Beach, Calif. The stacked MMA card emanates from the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif., tomorrow, airing LIVE and FREE on Spike at 9 p.m. ET.
“Bellator: Brooks vs. Jansen” is headlined by a fight between Bellator Lightweight World Champion Will Brooks (15-1) and Dave Jansen (20-2). “Ill Will” has won six consecutive bouts, while “The Fugitive” has rallied off seven straight victories of his own.
The event also features the return of multi-combat sports star Joe Schilling (2-3), who faces Brazilian standout Rafael Carvalho (10-1) in a middleweight co-main event.
“Bellator: Brooks vs. Jansen” – Friday, April 10, Bren Events Center, Irvine, Calif.
Joe Schilling (185.6) vs. Rafael Carvalho (185.8)
Marcin Held (155.8) vs. Alexander “Tiger” Sarnavskiy (155)
Alexander Volkov (243) vs. Tony Johnson (264)
Fabricio Guerreiro (145.8) vs. John Teixeira (145.2)
Joey Beltran (184) vs. Brian Rogers (186)
Saad Awad (155.4) vs. Rob Sinclair (155.2)
A.J. McKee (144) vs. Marcos Bonilla (146
Jonathan Santa Maria (125) vs. Steve Ramirez (126)
Chris Herrera (186) vs. Luc Bondole (185.6)
Cleber Luciano (150) vs. Aaron Miller (150)
Jay Bogan (146.6) vs. Justin Governale (146)
Chad George (136) vs. Mark Vorgeas (135.6)
M-1 Challenge 56 weights & pictures from Moscow
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“Bellator MMA: Halsey vs. Grove” preliminary card takes shape with Jesse Juarez vs. Ricky Rainey, Joe Taimanglo vs. Antonio Duarte, and Jordan Parsons-Julio Cesar Neves Jr.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (April 9, 2015) – A talent-laden preliminary card for May’s “Bellator MMA: Halsey vs. Grove” event is starting to take shape with the addition of welterweights Jesse Juarez (22-9) vs. Ricky “The Sniper” Rainey (10-3), bantamweights Joe “The Juggernaut” Taimanglo (20-6-1) vs. Antonio “Tigre” Duarte (18-5) and featherweight Jordan “Pretty Boy” Parsons (10-1) vs. Julio Cesar “Morceguinho” Neves Jr. (30-0).
The new additions complement the four-bout main card for “Bellator MMA: Halsey vs. Grove,” which includes undefeated Bellator MMA World Middleweight Champion Brandon “Bull” Halsey (8-0) against towering Hawaiian scrapper Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove (21-14), former Bellator MMA World Champion Eduardo “Dudu” Dantas (16-4) vs. Mike “The Marine” Richman (18-5), light heavyweights Virgil “Rezdog” Zwicker (13-4-1) vs. “Razor” Razak Al-Hassan (12-4) and welterweights Fernando “The Menifee Maniac” Gonzalez (23-13) vs. “Curtious” Curtis Millander (7-1).
“Bellator: Halsey vs. Grove” takes place on Friday, May 15, at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif. The night’s main card airs live on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT local time), while preliminary bouts stream on Spike.com.
Tickets for “Bellator: Halsey vs. Grove,” which start at just $50, are currently on sale at Pechanga.com and the Pechanga Resort & Casino box office.
Doors for “Bellator: Halsey vs. Grove” open at 3:30 p.m. PT local time, and the first contest takes place 30 minutes later. Additional bouts will be announced shortly.
Juarez, of Torrance, Calif., is a seven-time Bellator MMA veteran whose days with the company date back to the promotion’s second show. The 33-year-old has been fighting professionally since 2006 but is currently enjoying one of the best runs of his career at 5-1 in his past six appearances, a run that includes Bellator MMA wins over Ron Keslar, Joe Williams and Jordan Smith.
Rainey, of Gastonia, N.C., fights for the fourth time under the Bellator MMA banner. All three of Rainey’s Bellator MMA fights have ended in the first round, as he’s bracketed TKO wins over Johnny Cisneros and Andy Murad around a loss to top contender Michael “Venom” Page. Seven of Rainey’s 10 career wins have come by finish, including six by knockout.
A five-time Bellator MMA veteran, Taimanglo has quickly established himself as one of Guam’s top fighting exports. A scrappy 30-year-old, Taimanglo never fails to entertain. He fought most recently in September, scoring a decision win over Michael Parker.
Fighting professionally since 2006, Duarte hails from Tijuana, Mexico. He makes his Bellator MMA debut on the strength of back-to-back submission wins over Marco Beristain and Ed West. Fifteen of Duarte’s 18 career wins come by way of stoppage, including 11 by tapout.
The 24-year-old Parsons, of Fargo, N.D., is a member of California’s famed Alliance MMA. Fighting professionally, Parsons has established himself as one of the top prospects in the world after winning 10 of his first 11 professional fights, including three by knockout and two by submission. Parsons made his Bellator MMA debut in April 2014, scoring a knockout win over Tim Bazer just four seconds into the second round.
Brazil’s Neves Jr. has compiled an incredible career mark of 30-0 despite being just 20 years old. Competing professionally since 2011, when he was just 17 years old, Neves Jr. already owns a pair of Bellator MMA victories by TKO, as he downed Poppies Martinez in the first round of a September 2014 matchup and finished Josh Arocho in the second round of an April 2014 contest.
“Bellator: Halsey vs. Grove” – Friday, May 15, Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, Calif.
Main Card (9 p.m. ET)
Bellator Middleweight Title Fight: Champ Brandon Halsey (8-0) vs. Kendall Grove (21-14)
Bellator Featured Bantamweight Fight: Eduardo Dantas (16-4) vs. Mike Richman (18-5)
Bellator Featured Light Heavyweight Fight: Virgil Zwicker (13-4-1) vs. Razak Al-Hassan (12-4)
Bellator Featured Welterweight Fight: Fernando Gonzalez (23-13) vs. Curtis Millender (7-1)
Preliminary Card (7 p.m. ET)
Bellator Welterweight Prelim Fight: Jesse Juarez (22-9) vs. Ricky Rainey (10-3)
Bellator Bantamweight Prelim Fight: Joe Taimanglo (20-6-1) vs. Antonio Duarte (18-5)
Bellator Featherweight Prelim Fight: Jordan Parsons (10-1) vs. Julio Cesar Neves Jr. (30-0)
NEF XVII WEIGH-INS THIS FRIDAY; JAY JACK UNCENSORED PODCAST TO PROVIDE COVERAGE
Lewiston, Maine (April 8, 2015) – New England Fights (NEF), America’s number-one regional fight promotion, today announced that the weigh-ins for its upcoming mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event, “NEF XVII,” will take place this Friday, April 10 at 2 pm EDT. The weigh-ins will originate from the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center located at 490 Pleasant Street in Lewiston, Maine. “NEF XVII” will take place at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee located at 190 Birch Street in Lewiston this Saturday, April 11 with doors opening at 6:00 pm. The first fight is scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm.
All of the stars for Saturday night’s event will be on hand at the weigh-in this Friday, including: NEF MMA Lightweight ChampionBruce “Pretty Boy” Boyington (10-7); Bellator veteran Dennis “The Menace” Olson (12-7); Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jarod “Last Minute” Lawton (4-1); undefeated professional women’s fighter Calie “The Honey Badger” Cutler (3-0); and many others. The weigh-in is open to both the public and media free of charge. For those unable to make it to Lewiston on Friday, the Jay Jack Uncensored (JJU) podcast will be on hand recording their next episode and covering the festivities. The podcast archives can be accessed at onlinebjjproject.com/podcast/.
The current “NEF XVII” fight card (subject to change):
PROFESSIONAL
155*TITLE Bruce Boyington 10-7 (Young’s MMA) vs Jamie Harrison 5-1 (First Coast Full Contact/Riot MMA)
170 Jarod Lawton 4-1 (New England United) vs Dennis Olson 12-7 (Team Triumph/Boston BJJ)
185 Ryan Cowette 2-2 (MMA Athletix) vs John Daniels 2-3 (Rock City MMA)
155 Jesse Erickson 3-4 (CMBJJ-New England United) vs Mark Deford 0-3 (F2 Arena)
150 John Raio 2-6 (First Class MMA/Choi Institute) vs Derek Shorey 1-1 (Shatterproof Combat Club)
135 Elias Leland 2-0 (The Academy of MMA) vs Jay Perrin 1-0 (Team Triumph/Boston BJJ)
115 Kaline Medeiros 3-4 (Gracie Fitness) vs Calie Cutler 3-0 (Jacked N Tan Fight Team)
AMATEUR
S.HWT Dave Smith 0-0 (Berzerkers MMA) vs Ora Spratt IV 0-0 (Shatterproof Combat Club)
125 Norman Fox 3-1 (MMA Athletix) vs Dave Brown 1-2 (Plymouth Fight Club)
265 Ryan Glover 1-0 (Berzerkers MMA) vs Jason Field 0-0 (Independent)
185 Ruben Redman 0-1 (Independent) vs Chris Rideout 0-0 (Independent)
185 Chris Smith 0-0 (Berzerkers MMA) vs Dan Meuse 2-0 (The Academy of MMA)
185 Heath Hanson 0-2 (3Ronin Athletics) vs Brandon Russell 0-1 (Team Nitemare)
165 CJ Ewer 3-1 (Young’s MMA) vs Connor Barry 4-1 (Independent)
155 Ricky Dexter 2-0 (Team Irish) vs Zenon Herrera 3-6 (Independent)
155 Rick Matthews 1-1 (Team Irish) vs Matthew Hanning 0-1 (Independent)
145 Clifford Redman 0-1 (Independent) vs Caleb Serra 0-1 (Kaze Dojo)
150 Alex Johnson 1-1 (Ruthless MMA & Boxing) vs Dustin Shorey 0-0 (Shatterproof Combat Club)
135 Mike Crespo 2-1 (MMA Athletix) vs Sheldon Bang 1-2 (CMBJJ-New England United)
135 Caleb Costello 1-3 (Team Irish) vs Wilmer Carrero 0-0 (MMA Athletix)
115 Randi Beth Knowles 0-0 (Boyington’s TKD/Young’s MMA) vs Alex Walker 0-0 (Kaze Dojo)
Tickets for “NEF XVII” start at just $25 and are on sale now atwww.TheColisee.com or by calling The Colisee box office at207.783.2009 x 525. For more information on the event and fight card updates, please visit the promotion’s website at www.NewEnglandFights.com. In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”
About New England Fights
New England Fights (“NEF”) is a fight events promotions company. NEF’s mission is to create the highest quality events for Maine’s fighters and fans alike. NEF’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.
Fight Network Presents M-1 Challenge 56 Live, RFA 25 This Friday, April 10
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821 SECONDS OF AWESOME; GET READY FOR FRIDAY’S “BELLATOR: BROOKS vs. JANSEN” WITH NEW “IN FOCUS” & “FOUNDATIONS” DIGITAL CONTENT
IN-FOCUS
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FOUNDATIONS
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“Bellator: Brooks vs. Jansen” takes place on Friday, April 10, at Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. The night’s televised main card, featuring Bellator MMA Lightweight World Champion Will Brooks vs. top contender Dave Jansen, airs live and free on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts stream live on Spike.com 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.
Tickets for “Bellator: Brooks vs. Jansen,” which start at just $38, are on sale at Bellator.com and Bren.UCI.edu.
“Bellator: Brooks vs. Jansen” – Friday, April 10, Bren Events Center, Irvine, Calif.
Main Card (9 p.m. ET)
Bellator Lightweight Title Fight: Champ Will Brooks (15-1) vs. Dave Jansen (20-2)
Bellator Middleweight Feature Fight: Joe Schilling (2-3) vs. Rafael Carvalho (10-1)
Bellator Lightweight Feature Fight: Marcin Held (20-3) vs. Alexander “Tiger” Sarnavskiy (30-2)
Bellator Heavyweight Feature Fight: Alexander Volkov (24-4) vs. Tony Johnson (8-2)
Preliminary Card (7:30 p.m. ET)
Bellator Flyweight Prelim Fight: Fabricio Guerreiro (20-3) vs. John Teixeira (17-1-2)
Bellator Lightweight Prelim Fight: Saad Awad (17-6) vs. Rob Sinclair (12-2)
Bellator Middleweight Prelim Fight: Joey Beltran (15-11) vs. Brian Rogers (11-7)
Bellator Featherweight Prelim Fight: Jay Bogan (6-4) vs. Justin Governale (3-2)
Dark Bouts (Following Spike TV broadcast)
Bellator Featherweight Prelim Fight: Marcos Bonilla (1-1) vs. A.J. McKee (0-0)
Bellator Flyweight Prelim Fight: Jonathan Santa Maria (3-0) vs. Steve Ramirez (0-1)
Bellator Middleweight Prelim Fight: Chris Herrera (4-2) vs. Luc Bondole (4-1-1)
Bellator Bantamweight Prelim Fight: Chad George (15-8) vs. Mark Vorgeas (5-2-1)
Bellator Catchweight (150 pounds) Prelim Fight: Cleber Luciano (10-5) vs. Aaron Miller (14-9)
About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is a leading Mixed Martial Arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator is available to nearly 400 million homes worldwide in over 120 countries. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Santa Monica, California and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.
About Spike TV:
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press.