Category Archives: mixed martial arts

Fight Network, kickboxing, martial arts, mixed martial arts

Fight Network weekly MMA & kickboxing programming (Feb. 23-Mar. 1)

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Fight Network is a 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports. It airs programs focused on the entire scope of the combat sports genre, including live fights and up-to-the-minute news and analysis for mixed martial arts, kickboxing, professional wrestling, traditional martial arts, boxing, fight news, as well as fight-themed drama series, documentaries and feature films.

 

Below find highlights of this week’s programming:

Monday, Feb. 23

 

2:00 p.m. ET – Ring of Combat 47 – Featuring Chris Wade vs. Pat Defranco and Frankie Perez vs. Mike Santiago from Jan. 24, 2014 in Atlantic City, NJ.

 

5:00 p.m. ET – Fighting Spirit MMA Season 4 – Compilation of international fights from SFL, Legend, FFC, M-1 and more.

 

6:00 p.m. ET – Hip Show: Arena Combat – Tag-team MMA inside a 12m-by-12m arena with three levels.

 

6:30 p.m. ET – USA Wrestling Weekly – Host Scott Casber gives weekly news and analysis centering around USA Wrestling, the sport’s national governing body, including interviews, features and a look back at the past.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Hosts John Ramdeen and Robin Black invite special guests to break down the weekend of MMA action.

 

7:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – Enfusion Live #19: London – Featuring Andrew Tate vs. Wendell Roche for the -90kg world title, plus Daniel Sam vs. Andrew Thompson for the super heavyweight title, from June 29, 2014.

 

Tuesday, Feb. 24

 

2:30 a.m. ET — XPTV – Coverage of regional U.S. professional and amateur MMA events.

 

3:00 p.m. ET – Toe 2 Toe with Frankie Edgar – Sit-down interview with former UFC lightweight champion and featherweight contender Frankie Edgar.

 

7:00 & 7:30 p.m. ET – Xtreme Fighting Championship – Florida-based professional MMA featuring top American prospects, international stars and UFC veterans.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Hosts John Ramdeen and Robin Black invite special guests to break down the weekend of MMA action.

 

8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

 

9:00 p.m. ET – Havoc Fighting Championship 7 – Featuring Jordan McKay vs. Andrew Buckland and Sabah Fadai vs. Tim Tamaki from Dec. 19, 2014 in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.

 

11:00 p.m. ET – GFL: Best Battles 3 – Highlights from regional MMA, kickboxing and boxing events showcasing memorable knockouts and submissions.

 

Wednesday, Feb. 25

 

3:00 a.m. ET – Texas Fight Night – MMA action from Texas featuring the Lone Star’s top prospects in the cage.

 

4:00 a.m. ET – Rocktagon MMA – Pro and amateur MMA from Ohio featuring the next generation of stars.

 

6:00 p.m. ET – Best of Cage Rage – Featuring classic fights from the UK-based Cage Rage organization with Anderson Silva, Antonio Silva, Victor Belfort, Paul Daley and others.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now. MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

7:30 p.m. ET – – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

 

9:00 p.m. ET – Cage Warriors Fighting Championship: Fight Night 10 – Featuring Allan Love vs. Norman Paraisy from Mar. 28, 2014 in Amman, Jordan.

 

11:00 p.m. ET – MMA Meltdown with Gabriel Morency – Gabriel Morency breaks down all the happenings in MMA, discussing odds, predictions, plus special weekly guests and exclusive interviews.

 

11:30 p.m. ET – TakeDown Wrestling – Extensive coverage of amateur wrestling events, including the latest news, behind-the-scenes coverage from events and exclusive interviews.

 

Thursday, Feb. 26

 

1:30 a.m. ET – Ultimate Challenge MMA 34 – Featuring Makunga Bunduku vs. Ricky Campbell and Nathan Jones vs. Julian Kerr from June 1, 2013 in London.

 

6:00 p.m. ET – Championship Fightling Alliance – Pro MMA from Florida featuring the likes of Josh Sampo, Mike Kyle, John Howard, Sean McCorkie, Luis Palomino and others.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – Fighting Rookies – Aspiring kickboxers climb the ladder of success in the sport as rookies compete for a chance to become professionals and get experience needed to succeed at a higher level.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – Enfusion Season 3 – Fighters from 18 different countries compete in the 85kg MAX category in Ohrid, Macedonia as they love and train together in their quest for a kickboxing title.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, featur4es and inside analysis on the fight game.

 

9:00 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge 55: Guram Gugenishvili Memorial Show– Featuring Denis Smoldarev vs. Maro Perak and Kenny Garner vs. Aslambek Musaev from Feb. 21, 2015 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

 

Friday, Feb. 27

 

12:00 a.m. ET – It’s Showtime Special – The world’s premier kickboxing organization featuring Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef and Giorgio Petrosyan.

 

2:00 a.m. ET – Pancrase Classics – Classic pioneering MMA battles featuring Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Nate Marquardt, Chael Sonnen and others.

 

4:00 a.m. ET – Best of DEEP – Featuring class fights from the historic Japanese DEEP promotion including Shinya Aoki, Hayato Sakurai and Gegard Mousasi.

 

5:00 a.m. ET – Best of Jewels – Classic fights from the all-female Japanese MMA league, Jewels.

 

6 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge – Professional MMA from Europe featuring top rising prospects and international stars.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – UFC 184 Weigh-In – Live coverage of the official weigh in for UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano from Los Angeles.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – Toe 2 Toe with Josh Koscheck – Sit-down interview with UFC welterweight star Josh Koscheck.

 

8:30 p.m. ET – Hip Show: Arena Combat – Tag-team MMA inside a 12m-by-12m arena with three levels.

 

9:00 p.m. ET — KSW 30: Genesis – Featuring Borys Mankowski vs. Michail Tsarev and Aslambek Saidov vs. Rafal Moks from Feb. 21, 2015 in Posnan, Poland.

 

Saturday, Feb. 28

 

12:00 a.m. ET — Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

12:30 a.m. ET — Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, featur4es and inside analysis on the fight game.

 

1:00 a.m. ET – SuperKombat: VIP Edition Bucharest 2013 – Featuring Mike Zambidis vs. Harun Kina for the SuperKombat middleweight title from Aug. 31, 2013 in Bucharest, Romania.

 

6:00 a.m. ET – Best of TKO – Featuring Patrick Cote vs. Jason Day from TKO29.

 

7:00 a.m. ET – Best of Gladiator Challenge – Featuring Rashad Evans vs. Jamie Jara from Gladiator Challenge 27.

 

10:00 a.m. ET – Best of SportFight – Top quality MMA from the Pacific Northwest. Hosted by UFC veterans Matt Lindland and Chael Sonnen.

 

3:00 p.m. ET – Ring of Combat 48 – Featuring Brendan Barrett vs. Justin Woods and Chris Wade vs. Frankie Perez from May 16, 2014 in Atlantic City, NJ.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – UFC 184 Pre-Show – Live pre-fight coverage for UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano in Los Angeles.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

 

9:00 p.m. ET – Final Fight Championship: Futures 2 MMA – Featuring Ante Delija vs. Ruben Wolf from May 3, 2014 in Opatija, Croatia.

 

11:00 p.m. ET — Final Fight Championship: Futures 2 Kickboxing – Featuring Mladen Brestovac vs. Tomas Pakutinskas from May 3, 2014 in Opatija, Croatia.


Sunday, Mar. 1

 

1:00 a.m. ET – UFC 184 Post Show – Live post-fight reaction to UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano featuring event highlights and the live post-fight press conference.

 

10:00 a.m. ET – Best of ADCC – Featuring compilations of the greatest grappling matches ever held, featuring Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Eddie Bravo, Fabricio Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Ronaldo Souza and Royler Gracie.

 

11:00 a.m. ET – Elite Muay Thai: Thailand vs. Challenger – The biggest Muay Thai series in the world featuring premium international stand-up fighters takingon the renowned Thai National team.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – USA Wrestling Weekly – Host Scott Casber gives weekly news and analysis centering around USA Wrestling, the sport’s national governing body, including interviews, features and a look back at the past.

 

7:30 p.m. ET – Judo Paris Grand Slam 2014 Highlights – Highlights of the 2014 Judo Grand Slam from Feb. 8-9, 2014 in Paris.

 

9:00 p.m. ET – King of Kings: World Grand Prix 2014 Gdansk 1 – Featuring Artur Kyshenko vs. Radoslaw Paczuski, plus the one-night, single elimination -93kg tournament from Oct. 17, 2014 in Gdansk, Poland.

 

Monday, March 2

 

1:00 a.m. ET – Best of GYM Boxing: MMA Fighters in Boxing – A special look at some MMA fighters in boxing action including Ali Nestor Charles and Travis Fulton.
Information:

 

www.FightNetwork.com

 

Twitter & Instagram @fightnet

 

www.Facebook.com/FightNetwork

 
ABOUT FIGHT NETWORK:  Fight Network is the world’s premier combat sports network dedicated to 24/7 coverage, including fights, fighters, fight news and fight lifestyle. The channel is available in the U.S. on Cablevision in parts of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, Texas-based Grande Communications, Armstrong Cable in Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, as well as on Shentel Cable in Virginia, West Virginia and portions of western Maryland. Fight Network is also on Roku set top boxes in the U.S. and Canada, streamed live on website KlowdTV.com, and available on all major carriers in Canada and more than 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
M-1, M-1 Challenge, mixed martial arts

 M-1 Challenge 55: In Memory of Guram Gugenishvili: OFFICIAL RESULTS

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Presents

M-1 CHALLENGE 55

Guram Gugenishvili Memorial Show

Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015  *  Tbilisi, Georgia

 

Smoldarev defeats Perak

Garner, Kudukhashvili, Coga, Damkovsky, Abdulkerimov other winners

Denis Smoldarev knees Maro Perak

 

 

TBILISI, Georgia (Feb. 22, 2015) – Last night’s dramatic and entertaining M-1 Challenge 55: In Memory of Guram Gugenishvilli featured just about everything except a knockout. Past M-1 Challenge heavyweight Denis Smoldarev (10-1-0), of Estonia, positioned himself for another title shot, defeating highly-regarded Croatian opponent Maro Perak (23-5-1) in the main event at the Sports Palace in Tbilisi, Georgia.

 

Coming off a loss last November to M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Marcin Tybura at M-1 Challenge 53 in Beijing, China, Smoldarev bounced back with an impressive performance over Perak, who lost via an opening round submission by key-lock.

 

In another heavyweight match, former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Kenny “Deuce” Garner (15-8-0), fighting out of Port St. Lucie, Florida, also rebounded from a TKO loss in his last fight to Sergei Kharitonov in China, winning by second-round submission with arear-naked choke of Aslambek “Titan” Musaev (5-2-0), of Chechnya.

 

Rising middleweight star Nodar Kudukhashvili (8-1-0), a 2013 WMMAA champion, pleased his hometown fans with a three-round unanimous decision over American invader Luigi “The Italian Tank” Fioravanti (25-13-0).

 

In a battle between two of the top featherweight prospects in the world, German Max Coga (11-3-0) gave previously undefeated Pavel Vitruk (12-1-0) his first loss as a professional in a great fight. Coga locked-in a rear naked choke for a third-round submission victory over the talented Ukrainian.

 

Hometown favorite Artiom Damkousky (20-9-0) won his 20th career fight in a hard fought match with a three-round unanimous decision previously unbeaten Azerbaijan lightweight Heydar Mamedaliyev (7-1-0).

In another main card fight, Georgian giant Levan “Zangrief” Razmadze (5-1-0) suffered this first loss, by way of a first-round arm-bar submission to Russian heavyweight Arsen Abdulkerimov (8-2-0).

 

In preliminary fights, Spanish middleweight Enoc Solves Torres (16-8-0) defeated Russian foe Ibragim Tibilos (7-3-0) by third-round submission, using a rear-naked choke hold; Russian light heavyweight Batraz Agnaev (2-0-0) needed only a few minutes to lock-in a rear-naked choke to force his Polish opponent, Lukasz Borowski (3-3-0, into a first-round submission; Russian middleweight Artem Frolov (3-0-0) used a first-round rear-naked choke to submitArtur Oddilobekov (2-4-0), of Tajikistan; and local lightweight Raul Tutarauli (3-1-0), of Georgia, opened the show with a third-round submission (rear naked choke) of Russian Artur Aliev (1-1-1). In swing bouts held after the main event, featherweights Kurbanali Abdusalamov (4-2-0), of Russia, and Georgian pro-debuting Soso Nizharadze (1-0-0) won unanimous three-round decision over, respectively, Archil Tasziashvili (0-2-0), of Georgia, and Russian Shamil libekov (1-1-0).

Complete results and picture gallery below:

 

 

MAIN CARD

 

HEAVYWEIGHT:

Denis Smoldarev (10-1-0), Estonia             WSUB1 (Key-lock)                    Maro Perak (23-5-1), Croatia

 

Kenny Garner (15-8-0), USA      WSUB2 (Rear Naked Choke – 2:50) Aslambek Musaev (5-2-0), Chechnya

 

Arsen Abdulkerimov (8-2-0), Russia        WSUB1 (Armbar – 3:58)          Levan Razmadze (5-1-0), Georgia

MIDDLEWEIGHTS:

Nodar Kudukhashvili (8-1-0), Georgia              WDEC3               Luigi Fioravanti (25-13-0), United States

 

LIGHTWEIGHTS:

Artiom Damkovsky (20-9-0), Belarus               WDEC3               Heydar Mamedaliyev (7-1-0), Azerbaijan

 

FEATHERWEIGHTS:

Max Coga (11-3-0), Germany       WSUB3 (Rear Naked Choke – 2:36)      Pavel Vitruk (12-0-0),  Ukraine

PRELIMINARY CARD

 

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS:

Batraz Agnaev (2-0-0), Russia       WSUB1 (Rear Naked Choke – 2:09)     Lukasz Borowski (3-3-0), Poland

 

MIDDLEWEIGHTS:

Enoc Solves Torres (16-8-0), Spain  WSUB3 (Rear Naked Choke – 1:35)      Ibragim Tibilos (7-3-0), Russia

 

Artem Frolov (3-0-0), Russia   WSUB 1 (Rear Naked Choke – 2:09)   Artur Oddilobekov (2-4-0), Tajikistan

 

LIGHTWEIGHTS:

Raul Tutarauli (3-1-0), Georgia       WSUB3 (Rear Naked Choke – 1:45)            Artur Aliev (1-1-0), Russia

 

FEATHERWEIGHTS:

Soso Nizharadze (1-0-0), Georgia                           WDEC3                                 Shamil Alibekov (1-1-0), Russia

Kurbanali Abdusalamov (4-2-0), Russia              WDEC3                       Archil Taziashvili (0-2-0), Georgia

 

 

 
Denis Smoldarev and Maro Perak exchange punches

 

 
Denis Smoldarev & Maro Perak

 

 
Kenny Garner has top position against Aslambek Musaev

 

 
Kenny Garner – Aslambek Museav

  
Kenny Garner celebrates

Max Coga connects with Pavel Vitruk

Man Coga defeats Pavel Vitruk

Msx Coga

Kurbanali Abdusalamov & Archil  Tasziashvili

 

 
Batraz Agnaev & Lukasz Borowski

 
Enoc Solves Torres chokes out Ibragim Tibilos

  
Heydar Mamedaliyev & Artiom Damkowvky

Levan Razmadze & Arsen Abdulkerimov

 

Upcoming M-1 Global Events: Apr. 10, 2015, M-1 Challenge 56 in Moscow, Russia; May 2, 2015, M-1 Challenge 57 in Orenburg, Russia.

 

Information

www.mixfight.ruwww.wmmaa.org

www.M1Global.tv

www.M-1Global.com

 

Twitter & Instagram:
@M1Global

@VFinkelchtein

@M1GlobalNews

 

Facebook:

 

www.facebook.com/pages/M-1-Global/145250878842244
ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in the realm of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premiere entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With offices in St Petersburg, Amsterdam and Los Angeles and affiliates in Seoul, Tokyo and Paris, the M-1 brand has staged more than 150 events worldwide, including the M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge and M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the Showtime network in the United States. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and matchups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2014 promises to be another sensational year of world-class competition with a full calendar of Challenge events fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global’s Champions amongst the greatest in the sport. M-1 Global’s greatest asset is renowned heavyweight fighter, Fedor Emelianenko.

 

ABOUT M-1GLOBAL.TV: Enjoy MMA action now in high definition brought to you by M-1Global.tv, offering only the best fights from M-1 Global and other MMA organizations. M-1Global.tv is a great platform developed specifically to bring together the most exhaustive fight video database. It also provides an easy and intuitive interface, helping everyone to start using the platform in no time while avoiding any spoilers. Besides watching the past fights on demand at any time convenient to the customer, viewers are able to enjoy the action LIVE, all available to M-1Global.tv users through a low-priced month to month digital subscription. Your world of action. Anytime!
M-1, M-1 Challenge, mixed martial arts

M-1 Challenge 55: Guram Gugenishvili Memorial Show OFFICIAL WEIGHTS

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WATCH LIVE ON M-1GLOBAL.TV

MAIN CARD

 
(L-R) – Maro Perek, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Denis Smoldarev

HEAVYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

MARO PERAK (23-4-1), Croatia, 216 lbs. (98.1 kg)

DENIS SMOLDAREV (9-1-0), Estonia, 266 ½ lbs. (121 kg)

 
(L-R) — Kenny Garner, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Aslambek Musaev

 

HEAVYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

KENNY “Deuce” GARNER (14-8-0), United States, 263 lbs. (119.5 kg)

ASLAMBEK “Titan” MUSAEV (5-1-0), Chechnya, 211 lbs. (95.8 kg)

 
(L-R) – Luigi Fioravanti, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Nodar Kudukhashvili

 

MIDDLEWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

NODAR KUDUKHASHVILI (7-1-0), Georgia, 182 ½ lbs. (82.9 kg)

LUIGI “The Italian Tank” FIORAVANTI (25-12-0), United States, 184 ½ lbs. (83.9 kg)

 
(L-R) – Max Coga, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Pavel Vitruk

 

FEATHERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

PAVEL VITRUK (12-0-0), Ukraine, 145 lbs. (65.8 kg)                                    

MAX COGA (10-3-0), Germany, 144 ½ lbs. (65.5 kg)

 
(L-R) – Arsen Abdulkerimov, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Levan Razmadze

 

HEAVYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

LEVAN “Zangrief” RAZMADZE (5-0-0), Georgia, 275 lbs. (124.9 kg)

ARSEN ABDULKERIMOV (7-2-0), Russia, 250 lbs. (113.6 kg)

 
Heydar Mamedaliyev, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Artiom Damkovsky

 

LIGHTWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

ARTIOM DAMKOVSKY (19-0-0), Belarus, 154 lbs. (70.1 kg)

HEYDAR MAMEDALIYEV (7-0-0), Azerbaijan, 157 lbs. (71.3 kg)

 

MIDDLEWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

ENOC SOLVES TORRES (15-8-0), Spain *

IBRAGIM TIBILOS (7-2-0), Russia *

 

PRELIMINARY CARD

 
(L-R) – Raul Tutarauli, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Artur Aliev

 

LIGHTWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

ARTUR ALIEV (1-0-0 ), Russia, 153 lbs. (69.7 kg)
RAUL TUTARAULI (2-1-0), Georgia, 155 lbs. (70.4 kg)

 
(L-R) – Shamil Alibekov, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Soso Nizhardaze

FEATHERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

SHAMIL ALIBEKOV (1-0-0 ), Russia, 142 ½ lbs. (64.8 kg)

SOSO NIZHARADZE (pro debut), Georgia, 142 ½ lbs. (64.8 kg) 
(L-R) – Batraz Agnaev, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Lukasz Borowski

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

LUKASZ BOROWSKI (3-2-0), Poland, 200 ½ lbs. (91.1 kg)

BATRAZ AGNAEV (1-0-0), Russia, 204 lbs. (92.6 kg)

 

MIDDLEWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

ARTEM FROLOV (2-0-0), Russia, 183 ½ lbs. (83.4 kg)

ARTUR ODDILOBEKOV (2-3-0), Tajikistan *

 
(L-R) – Kurbananali Abdusalamov, M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Archil Taziashvili

 

FEATHERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5

KURBANANALI ABDUSALAMOV (3-2-0), Russia, 145 lbs. (65.8 kg)

ARCHIL TAZIASHVILI (0-1-0), Georgia, 143 lbs. (65.1 kg)

 

*Fighters hadn’t arrived yet in Tbilisi due to bad weather

 

WHAT:             M-1 Challenge 55: Guram Gugenishvili Memorial Show

 

WHEN:             Saturday, February 21, 2015

                        10:00 a.m. (New York City), 6:00 p.m. (Moscow)

 

WHERE:           Tbilisi, Georgia 1:30

 

PROMOTER:     M-1 Global

 

LIVE STREAM:  WWW.M1GLOBAL.TV

 

M-1 Challenge 55 will be streamed live from Georgia in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the fights by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV.Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may also watch all of the action on their computers, as well as on Andriod and Apple smart phones and tablets. The entire card will also be broadcast live, starting at 10:00 a.m. ET, on Fight Network viaCablevision’s Optimum TV, Grande Communications, Shentel Cable and Armstrong Cable in the U.S., nationwide in Canada, and on Roku devices across North America, and globally in more than 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

 
Denis Smoldarev

 
Former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Kenny “Deuce” Garner

 
(L-R) – M-1 Global promoter Vadim Finkelchtein and Kenny “Deuce” Garner

 

Information

www.wmmaa.org

www.M1Global.tv

www.M-1Global.com

 

Twitter & Instagram:
@M1Global

@VadimFinkelchtein

@M1GlobalNews

 

Facebook:

 

www.facebook.com/pages/M-1-Global/145250878842244
ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in the realm of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premiere entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With offices in St Petersburg, Amsterdam and Los Angeles and affiliates in Seoul, Tokyo and Paris, the M-1 brand has staged more than 150 events worldwide, including the M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge and M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the Showtime network in the United States. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and matchups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2014 promises to be another sensational year of world-class competition with a full calendar of Challenge events fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global’s Champions amongst the greatest in the sport. M-1 Global’s greatest asset is renowned heavyweight fighter, Fedor Emelianenko.

 

ABOUT M-1GLOBAL.TV: Enjoy MMA action now in high definition brought to you by M-1Global.tv, offering only the best fights from M-1 Global and other MMA organizations. M-1Global.tv is a great platform developed specifically to bring together the most exhaustive fight video database. It also provides an easy and intuitive interface, helping everyone to start using the platform in no time while avoiding any spoilers. Besides watching the past fights on demand at any time convenient to the customer, viewers are able to enjoy the action LIVE, all available to M-1Global.tv users through a low-priced month to month digital subscription. Your world of action. Anytime!
mixed martial arts, UFC

UFC and PEDs: Where do we go from here?

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Photo Credit: Esther Lin/MMA Fighting

Usually when I ask that question, it’s in the wake of a pay-per-view and I’m wondering aloud at what’s next for the fighters who competed on it. This time around, I’m talking about something that affects ALL mixed martial artists in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The UFC announced this week that it will implement far stricter, far more comprehensive drug testing in the wake of fighters like Anderson Silva and Hector Lombard failing tests for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), while Jon Jones and Nick Diaz failed tests for cocaine and marijuana, respectively.

Increased drug testing and harsher penalties can only help the UFC, and mixed martial arts in general. But what brought on this increase in failed tests? PEDs have been a part of sports long before MMA fighters started taking them, and they have been a problem in MMA prior to the last month-and-a-half.

But more fighters seem to be getting caught. As in most sports, there is a tremendous amount of pressure to perform in MMA and in the UFC. If you don’t perform, you basically don’t get paid. The increased demand for UFC programming by virtue of its deal with FOX could also be a factor. They went from being on Spike TV – where they only broadcast “The Ultimate Fighter” once a year and two or three live fight cards annually – to practically having two live fight cards a month and airing “The Ultimate Fighter” twice a year on the FOX channels.

The increase in programming means a need of more bodies to fill that programming. It also means that more fighters are training for more fights, which can lead to more injuries. PEDs, in addition to giving you a competitive advantage over your opponent, allow you to recover from injuries more quickly. With the need for more fighters to fill more fight cards, I think it’s possible the apparent increase in failed drug tests can at least be partly attributed to that.

The UFC’s increased drug-testing measures take effect July 1. What can we expect once it does? Here are some of the guidelines the UFC presented.

Even UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta admitted during this week’s press conference that things “would get worse before they better” with the new testing. Plus, it remains to be seen how much of this will actually stick once July 1 rolls around. UFC previously considered expanding its drug-testing efforts before but pulled back, citing cost and a previously botched attempt at doing so.

However, with the rash of high-profile stars like Silva, Jones and Diaz failing tests, cost can’t be considered a hindrance and the UFC must be vigilant. Browsing my Twitter feed following the press conference, it was eerily quiet. Almost no fighters weighed in initially. It is likely that was just a byproduct of the press conference taking place on a Wednesday afternoon, when most people are working or presumably have other things to do besides post on Twitter. But it was still pretty telling. It seems like this has grabbed fighters’ attention, as it should.

What do I think will happen? There will be an increase in failed test once the new measures take effect July 1, I’m fairly confident. But given that the UFC is supporting harsh penalties for those who do fail – including a ban of up to four years – I expect the dirty fighters to eventually cycle themselves out and the ones who compete clean (which is most of them, presumably) to take a more prominent role.

Increased drug testing is long overdue in the UFC. The sport of mixed martial arts itself is still in its infancy, especially compared to other sports like football, basketball and baseball. But just like baseball is still recovering from its own crisis with PEDs, these recent failed drug tests have shaken the foundation of the UFC and have harkened back to the days when it was referred to as “human cockfighting.”

UFC adopted the slogan “The Time Is Now” for 2015, and I couldn’t agree more. The time is now for them to take the lead in cleaning up the sport of mixed martial arts.

Chris Huntemann writes about mixed martial arts in the state of Maryland. He also shares his thoughts on the UFC, Bellator, and World Series of Fighting. Check out his blog, or follow him on Twitter: @mmamaryland.

Fight Network, kickboxing, M-1 Challenge, mixed martial arts

Super weekend of MMA & Kickboxing Action on Fight Network

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NEW YORK/TORONTO (Feb. 18, 2015) – A super weekend of mixed-martial-arts and kickboxing action is on tap this weekend on Fight Network, the world’s premier combat sports network dedicated to 24/7 coverage, including live airings of M-1 Challenge 55 and KSW 30: Genesis, as well as pre and post-fight coverage of UFC Fight Night 61: Bigfoot vs. Mir.

 
Denis Smoldarev

 

M-1 Challenge kicks things off Saturday morning (Feb. 21) at 10 a.m. from Tbilisi, Georgia. The main event pits past M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Denis Smoldarev (9-1-0), known as the Brock Lesnar of Estonia, against Maro Perak (23-4-1). Former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Kenny “Deuce” Garner (14-8-0), fighting out Port St. Lucie, Florida, takes on Chechnya prospect Aslambek “Titan” Musaev (5-1-0).

 

Also fighting on M-1 Challenge 55 is 20013 WMMA champion and hometown favorite Nodar Kudukhashvili (7-1-0) vs. American middleweight Luigi “The Italian Tank” Fioravanti (25-12-0) and undefeated Ukrainian featherweight contender Pavel Vitruk (12-0-0) vs. Germany’s Max Coga (10-3-0), as well as unbeaten lightweights Artiom Damkousky (19-0-0), of Belarus, vs. Azerbaijan challenger Heydar Mamedaliyev (7-0-0).

 

The MMA action continues on Fight Network at 1 p.m. ET with the live airing of KSW 30: Genesis from Posnan, Poland. Welterweights take the spotlight as hometown hero “The Tasmanian Devil” Borys Mankowski (16-5-1) faces Russian foe Michail “The Lonely Wolf” Tsarev (29-4-0) in the main event. In the co-feature, Rafal Moks (10-6-0) meets Aslambek Saidov (15-4-0) in a battle of Polish fighters.

 

Saturday night’s exciting programming on Fight Network continues at 5 p.m. ET with the showing of Ring of Combat 47 from January 24, 2014 in Atlantic City, NJ, featuring American lightweights Chris Wade vs. Pat Defranco and Frankie Perezvs. Mike Santiago.

 

Fight Network’s highly acclaimed news shows, Fight News Now: MMA Edition andFight News Now Extra, respectively, follow at 8:00 and 8:30 p.m. ET.

 

Final Fight Championship: Futures 1 MMA, from April 1, 2014 in Croatia, commences and 9:00 p.m. ET the furious action concludes with Final Fight Championship: Futures 1 Kickboxing, starting at 11 p.m. ET, from March 2, 2014 in Croatia.

 

The UFC takes center stage Sunday on Fight Network. A live pre-fight show for UFC Fight Night 61: Bigfoot vs. Mir begins at 5:00 p.m. with a live post-fight show airing at11:30 p.m. ET with highlights and the live press conference.

 

Brazilian heavyweight Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-6-0) fights at home in the UFC Fight Night 61 main event against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (16-9-0), fighting out of Las Vegas.

 

 

Information:

 

www.FightNetwork.com

 

Twitter & Instagram @fightnet

 

www.Facebook.com/FightNetwork
ABOUT FIGHT NETWORK:  Fight Network is the world’s premier combat sports network dedicated to 24/7 coverage, including fights, fighters, fight news and fight lifestyle. The channel is available in the U.S. on Cablevision in parts of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, Texas-based Grande Communications, Armstrong Cable in Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, as well as on Shentel Cable in Virginia, West Virginia and portions of western Maryland. Fight Network is also on Roku set top boxes in the U.S. and Canada and available on all major carriers in Canada, streaming live on website KlowdTV.com, and in more than 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East
Bellator, mixed martial arts, Spike TV

LEGENDARY MMA GREATS SET TO MEET FANS DURING BELLATOR MMA FAN FEST AT CONNECTICUT’S DAVE AND BUSTERS

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“The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko Returns to America to Join Fellow Legends of MMA Royce Gracie, Tito Ortiz & Ken Shamrock at Fan Fest Prior to Friday’s “Bellator: The British Invasion” Event at Mohegan Sun

 

WHAT:
Bellator Fan Fest at Dave and Busters

Fans of all ages are invited to Dave and Busters in Manchester, CT to meet and get autographs from some of the greatest MMA fighters of all time.

Fans will also have the opportunity to win tickets and great prizes, as well as snap a photograph with the Bellator ring girls.
WHERE:
Dave and Busters
100 Buckland Hills Dr.
Manchester, CT
WHEN:
Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. ET
WHO: 
Widely considered to be the greatest MMA fighter of all time,

Fedor Emelianenko is one of the most revered and respected fighters the sport has ever seen.  Stone-faced and quiet, Emelianenko boasted one of the most impressive unbeaten streaks in the history of the sport.  A multi-time World Champion in MMA and Sambo, Fedor returns to America for the first time in several years to participate in the “Bellator: British Invasion” fight week festivities.

The name Gracie is synonymous with MMA, and that is largely in part to Royce Gracie, the man who is considered to have invented the sport as we know it today.  The winner of the first several UFC events, Gracie would dismantle multiple opponents in a single night, many of whom were much larger than him.  For many years there was no answer for the Gracie Jiu Jitsu technique that he brought into a fight.  Today, it’s hard to find an MMA fighter who hasn’t trained in the art of jiu jitsu.

Tito Ortiz is an undisputed legend of the sport who still fights for Bellator. The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion is one of the fiercest competitors the sport has ever seen.   With a rabid fan-base supporting him, his last fight at Bellator 131 against Stephan Bonnar drew over 2 million viewers!

When Ken Shamrock participated in UFC 1, he already had three professional MMA bouts to his name. Much like the other legends, Shamrock is recognized internationally wherever he goes.  Shamrock competed in, and won championships at several fighting organizations including UFC, Pancrase, Pride, King of the Ring, as well as WWF and TNA.

 
FIGHT INFO:
 Bellator MMA returns to The Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, February 27 for “Bellator: The British Invasion” featuring four of the UK’s biggest and brightest MMA stars fighting on American soil. Light Heavyweight Champion Emanuel Newton defends his title against Liam McGeary in the headlining match, while “King Mo” Lawal meets Cheick Kongo in a heavyweight superfight.

 

Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased on Ticketmaster.com, Bellator.com or by visiting the Mohegan Sun Box Office.

 

FULL MEDIA FIGHT WEEK SCHEDULE

 

Bellator: British Invasion” – Friday, February 27, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.

Main Card (9 p.m. ET)

Bellator Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Champ Emanuel Newton (25-7) vs. Liam McGeary (9-0)

Bellator Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul Daley (35-13) vs. Andre Santos (37-9)

Bellator Heavyweight Feature Fight: Cheick Kongo (22-9-2) vs. “King Mo” Lawal (14-4)

Bellator Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Rameau Sokoudjou (16-12) vs. Linton Vassell (14-4)

Bellator Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Michael Page (7-0) vs. Curtis Millender (7-0)

Preliminary Card (6:45 p.m. ET)

Bellator Featherweight Dark Fight: Matt Bessette (13-6) vs. Josh Laberge (9-4)

Bellator Heavyweight Prelim Fight: Raphael Butler (8-1-1) vs. Josh Diekmann (15-5)

Bellator Welterweight Prelim Fight: Jesse Juarez (22-9) vs. Brennan Ward (9-3)

Bellator Middleweight Prelim Fight: Jason Butcher (8-1) vs. Tamdan McCrory (12-3)

Bellator Welterweight Prelim Fight: Bobby Flynn (4-2) vs. Neiman Gracie (2-0)

Bellator Bantamweight Prelim Fight: Marvin Maldonado (2-2) vs. Blair Tugman (6-5)

Dark Bout (approx. 11 p.m. ET)

Bellator Lightweight Dark Fight: Michael Mangan (0-2) vs. Dean Hancock (Pro Debut)

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 500 million homes worldwide in over 140 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.
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Bellator, mixed martial arts

WATCH PARTY: BELLATOR’S COUNTDOWN TO THE BRITISH INVASION

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Take a closer look at Bellator’s talented team of fighters from the U.K. Paul Daley, Michael Page, Linton Vassell and Liam McGeary, as they prepare to invade the U.S. on February 27th at “Bellator: The British Invasion,” which takes place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

The highly anticipated event airs LIVE and FREE on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET.

Countdown follows Team U.K. to London England for a look at their training, family life and a personal tour of their home land.

Grab some popcorn and click the image below to view the video!

Once you’re done enjoying it you can share it with your friends and family, so that they can watch it also.

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Fight Network, kickboxing, mixed martial arts

FIGHT NETWORK MMA & KICKBOXING PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE (Feb. 16-22, 2015)

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Fight Network is a 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports. It airs programs focused on the entire scope of the combat sports genre, including live fights and up-to-the-minute news and analysis for mixed martial arts, kickboxing, professional wrestling, traditional martial arts, boxing, fight news, as well as fight-themed drama series, documentaries and feature films.

 

Below find highlights of this week’s programming:

Monday, Feb. 16

 

10:00 a.m. ET – King of Kings: Grand Prix 2014 in Vilnius – Featuring Tadas Jonkus vs. Chris Baya in kickboxing action from Mar. 15, 2014 in Vilnius, Lithuana.

 

2:00 p.m. ET – Ring of Combat 46 – Featuring Brendan Barrett vs. Miodrag Petkovic and Frankie Perez vs. Rafael Machado from Sept. 20, 2013 in Atlantic City, NJ.

 

4:30 p.m. ET – Toe 2 Toe with Ken Shamrock – Sit-down interview with MMA legend and pioneer Ken Shamrock.

 

5:00 p.m. ET – Fighting Spirit MMA Season 4 – Compilation of international fights from SFL, Legend, FFC, M-1 and more.

 

6:00 p.m. ET – Hip Show: Arena Combat – Tag-team MMA inside a 12m-by-12m arena with three levels.

 

6:30 p.m. ET – USA Wrestling Weekly – Host Scott Casber gives weekly news and analysis centering around USA Wrestling, the sport’s national governing body, including interviews, features and a look back at the past.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Hosts John Ramdeen and Robin Black invite special guests to break down the weekend of MMA action.

 

7:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – Enfusion Live #18: Amsterdam – Professional kickboxing featuring top international stars and rising prospects from Amsterdam, Holland.

Tuesday, Feb. 17

 

2:30 a.m. ET — 1XPTV – Coverage of regional U.S. professional and amateur MMA events.

 

7:00 & 7:30 p.m. ET – Xtreme Fighting Championship – Florida-based professional MMA featuring top American prospects, international stars and UFC veterans.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – 5 Rounds – Hosts John Ramdeen and Robin Black invite special guests to break down the weekend of MMA action.

 

8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

 

9:00 p.m. ET – Havoc Fighting Championship 6 – Featuring Luis Huete vs. Wolfgang Janssen and Nick Campbell vs. Devon Neis from Sept. 5, 2014 in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.

 

11:00 p.m. ET – GFL: Best Battles 4 – Highlights from regional MMA, kickboxing and boxing events showcasing memorable knockouts and submissions.

Wednesday, Feb. 18

 

2:00 a.m. ET – Fighting Spirit MMA Season 4 – Compilation of international fights from SFL, Legend, FFC, M-1 and more.

 

4:00 a.m. ET – Texas Fight Night – MMA action from Texas featuring the Lone Star’s top prospects in the cage.

 

5:00 a.m. ET – Rocktagon MMA – Pro and amateur MMA from Ohio featuring the next generation of stars.

 

6:00 p.m. ET – Best of Cage Rage – Featuring classic fights from the UK-based Cage Rage organization with Anderson Silva, Antonio Silva, Victor Belfort, Paul Daley and others.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now. MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

7:30 p.m. ET – Fighting Spirit MMA – Compilations of international MMA fights from ONE FC, UCMMA, KSW, WFC, FFC, BAMMA, EFC Africa and more.

 

9:00 p.m. ET – Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 66 – Featuring Sergei Churilov vs. Nicolas Dalby from Mar. 22, 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

11:00 p.m. ET – MMA Meltdown with Gabriel Morency – Gabriel Morency breaks down all the happenings in MMA, discussing odds, predictions, plus special weekly guests and exclusive interviews.

 

11:30 p.m. ET – TakeDown Wrestling – Extensive coverage of amateur wrestling events, including the latest news, behind-the-scenes coverage from events and exclusive interviews.

Thursday, Feb. 19

 

1:30 a.m. ET – Ultimate Challenge MMA 33 – Featuring Denniston Sutherland vs. Ben Callum from Apr. 6, 2013 in London.

 

12:30 p.m. ET – Ultimate Challenge MMA 33 – Featuring Denniston Sutherland vs. Ben Callum inApr. 6. 2013 in London.

 

6:00 p.m. ET – Championship Fightling Alliance – Pro MMA from Florida featuring the likes of Josh Sampo, Mike Kyle, John Howard, Sean McCorkie, Luis Palomino and others.

 

7:00 p.m. ET – Enfusion Season 3 – Fighters from 18 different countries compete in the 85kg MAX category in Ohrid, Macedonia as they love and train together in their quest for a kickboxing title.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, featur4es and inside analysis on the fight game.

 

9:00 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge 54 – Featuring Maxim Divnich vs. Djambulat Kurbanov for the vacant M-1 lightweight title from Dec. 17, 2014 9n St. Petersburg, Russia.

Friday, Feb. 20

 

12:00 a.m. ET – It’s Showtime Special – The world’s premier kickboxing organization featuring Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef and Giorgio Petrosyan.

 

2:00 a.m. ET – Pancrase Classics – Classic pioneering MMA battles featuring Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Nate Marquardt, Chael Sonnen and others.

 

4:00 a.m. ET – Best of DEEP – Featuring class fights from the historic Japanese DEEP promotion including Shinya Aoki, Hayato Sakurai and Gegard Mousasi.

 

5:00 a.m. ET – Best of Jewel – Classic fights from the all-female Japanese MMA league, Jewels.

 

6 p.m. ET – M-1 Challenge – Professional MMA from Europe featuring top rising prospects and international stars.

 

7:00 p.m. ET — Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

7:30 p.m. ET — Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, featur4es and inside analysis on the fight game.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – Toe 2 Toe with Frankie Edgar – Sit-down interview with former UFC lightweight champion and featherweight contender Frankie Edgar.

 

8:30 p.m. ET – Hip Show: Arena Combat – Tag-team MMA inside a 12m-by-12m arena with three levels.

 

9:00 p.m. ET — KSW 29: Khsalidov vs. Cooper – Featuring Mamde Khalidov vs. Brett Cooper and Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Pawel Nastula from Dec. 6, 2014 in Krakow, Poland.

Saturday, Feb. 21

 

1:00 a.m. ET – SuperKombat: New Heroes Romania 2013 – Featuring Bogdan Stoica vs. Yohan Marsan, Andrei Stoica vs. Zinc Lain and others from Aug. 30, 2013 in Targoviste, Romania.

 

6:00 a.m. ET – Best of TKO – Featuring Patrick Cote vs. Jason Day from TKO29.

 

10:00 a.m. ET – M-1 Challenge 55 – Live MMA action featuring Denis Smoldarev vs. Masro Perak and Kenny Garner vs. Aslamnbek Musaev from Tbilisi, Georgia.

 

1:00 p.m. ET – KSW 30: Genesis LIVE! – Live MMA from Poland featuring Borys Mankowski vs. Michaeil Tsarev and Aslambek Saidov vs. Rafal Moks.

 

5:00 p.m. ET – Ring of Combat 47 – Featuring Chris Wade vs. Pat Defranco and Frankie Perez vs. Mike Santiago from Jan. 24, 2014 in Atlantic City.

 

8:00 p.m. ET – Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

8:30 p.m. ET – Fight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

 

9:00 p.m. ET – Final Fight Championship: Futures 1 MMA – MMA action featuring Stjepan Bekavac vs. Lajos Calvaruso from Apr. 1, 2014 in Opatija, Croatia.

 

11:00 p.m. ET — Final Fight Championship: Futures 1 Kickboxing – Kickboxing action featuring Patrick Van Rees vs. Ivan Stanic from Mar. 2, 2014 in Opatija, Croatia.

Sunday, Feb. 22

 

10:00 a.m. ET – Best of ADCC – Featuring compilations of the greatest grappling matches ever held, featuring Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Eddie Bravo, Fabricio Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Ronaldo Souza and Royler Gracie.

 

5:00 p.m. ET – UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Mir Pre-Show LIVE! – Live pre-fight coverage for UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs., Mir in Porto Alegrre, Brazil.

 

11:30 p.m. ET – UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Mir Post-Show LIVE! – Live post-show for UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Mir from Porto Alegre, Brazil, featuring highlights and the live post-fight press conference.

 
Information:

 

www.FightNetwork.com

 

Twitter & Instagram @fightnet

 

www.Facebook.com/FightNetwork

 
ABOUT FIGHT NETWORK:  Fight Network is the world’s premier combat sports network dedicated to 24/7 coverage, including fights, fighters, fight news and fight lifestyle. The channel is available in the U.S. on Cablevision in parts of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, Texas-based Grande Communications, Armstrong Cable in Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, as well as on Shentel Cable in Virginia, West Virginia and portions of western Maryland. Fight Network is also on Roku set top boxes in the U.S. and Canada, streamed live on website KlowdTV.com, and available on all major carriers in Canada and more than 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

 
Bellator, mixed martial arts, Spike TV

STORM WARNING IN THE BELLATOR MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION

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Alexander Shlemenko Defeats Melvin Manhoef in Spectacular Fashion on Spike TV at “Bellator: Manhoef vs. Shlemenko”

 

 Credit: Esther Lin / MMAFIGHTING.COM

 

 CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

 CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIAL SCORECARDS

 

FRESNO, Calif (Feb. 13, 2015)- Former Bellator Middleweight Champion Alexander “The Storm” Shlemenko (52-9) made quick work of his opponent with a dominating second-round knockout over Dutch striking ace Melvin Manhoef (29-13-1) in front of a near-capacity crowd at Save Mart Center at tonight’s “Bellator: Manhoef vs. Shlemenko” event which aired LIVE and FREE on SPIKE TV.

 

With Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, and often-successful spinning backfist utilizer Emanuel Newton in the crowd, Shlemenko borrowed a page from his playbook and attempted several spinning fist and kick attacks throughout the first frame.

 

When the second round started, Shlemenko stuck to that same game plan, and connected his spinning forearm flush with the jaw of Manhoef, sending him tumbling to the canvas.  The hungry Russian native left nothing to chance and landed another strike before “Big” John McCarthy pushed him off declaring him the winner at 1:25 of round 2.

 

“I hope Bellator heard me and will let me correct the mistake I made in the past and will give me the opportunity to fight for the Bellator Middleweight World Championship against Brandon Halsey.”

 

Former Featherweight Champion Pat Curran‘s road back to the top of the talented division hit a road block against Featherweight Tournament winner Daniel Weichel of Germany.  The two fighters wasted no time teeing off with crisp punches and accurate kicks, keeping the fight standing for a majority of the first frame.  Weichel swept the leg of the former champ, who quickly bounced back to his feet and got right back into the mix.  Both fighters finished the final seconds of round one with a flurry of punches that drew loud applause from the Fresno crowd.

 

Curran began the second round with a visible cut over his left eye.  After spending most of the round on their feet, Curran rushed Weichel and scored a takedown, where he imposed his will on Weichel for the final minute, likely winning him the round.

 

The third round featured a continuation of the exciting slugfest with Curran attempting to score another takedown in the third, but the German fighter stuffed the attempt, briefly tried to work on a choke and then disengaged to finish the fight on his feet.  At the end of 15 minutes, Weichel emerged victorious by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).

 

“Curran has achieved so much in Bellator and it was quite an honor to fight him. Tonight I proved that I belong here. I told the world that I am coming for the title shot and to claim the belt.”

 

Julia Budd (7-2) and Gabrielle Holloway (4-2) marked the first Bellator Women’s fight of the year.  Budd, the Canadian Muay Thai specialist showed a well-rounded skill-set throughout the fight overpowering Holloway, who took the fight on short notice.  Budd worked well from the clinch, utilized several knee strikes and connected with a straight right hand in the closing seconds of round one.  Holloway showed great poise throughout, and worked Budd with a takedown to open the third round, however Budd was able to transition into an armbar attempt, and ultimately worked her way to Holloways’ back and grinded out a dominant unanimous decision scored 30-26, 30-25 and 30-24.

 

“I’m really disappointed I didn’t get the knockout,” said Budd. “I was hoping to get on my feet and keep it standing or finish it on the ground, but she controlled my wrists and I couldn’t get my hands free to finish it.

 

“She turtled the entire time so I couldn’t elbow and posture up and strike like I wanted to, but it’s definitely something I’m goinvg to work on for the next fight.”

 

In the nights opening fight, it was a battle of two highly accomplished wrestlers in Chris Honeycutt, a two-time D1 All-American and Clayton MacFarlane, a D2 National Champion.  With the vocal hometown crown behind him, Honeycutt came out of the gates strong and utilized masterful ground control and precision striking throughout the first two rounds.  The highly regarded welterweight prospect Honeycutt exhibited great strength at points, tossing MacFarlane to the ground.  MacFarlane opened the third frame with a takedown, but Honeycutt regained control, took his opponents back and rained down strikes to MacFarlane’s body.  MacFarlane, now 4-1, was unable to protect himself from the body blows, and referee Jason Herzog stopped the fight at 4:16 of the third round.

 

“I got the Victory, but would’ve liked to have received the TKO in an earlier round,” said Honeycutt, who improves his record to 6-0 with the TKO victory.
Amateur MMA, mixed martial arts, New England Fights

FIGHTING PASTOR RETURNS TO MMA CAGE IN LEWISTON ON APRIL 11

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Lewiston, Maine (February 13, 2015) – New England Fights (NEF), America’s number-one regional fight promotion, returns to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine on April 11, 2015 with its seventeenth mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event.  Earlier today, the company announced the addition of a professional middleweight bout to the fight card.  Ryan “The Junkyard Dog” Cowette 2-2 will take on John Daniels (0-2) at a fight weight of 185-pounds.

 

Cowette is the owner and head coach of MMA Athletix gym located in Bath, Maine.  He is a veteran of the NEF MMA cage, having contested all four of his professional bouts for the promotion. Cowette rides a two-fight win streak into “NEF XVII,” having vanquished Dave Claroni (0-2) and Jesse Erickson (3-4) in the previous 18-months.  April 11 will be Cowette’s return to the cage after more than a year’s absence.  During that time, he has concentrated on operating his school, training his fighters, and building his ministry through Victory Church in Bath.  Cowette is currently the only professional fighting pastor in America.  He says that he will be looking to finish Daniels on April 11 in Lewiston.

 

“I like fighting,” said Cowette.  “I like the journey of a fight camp, being pushed, and the lessons learned.  I also miss the opportunity of having a good finish.  I will be looking to finish this fight.  When I started Victory Church I found it hard to balance  spiritual training and training for the cage.  At 185 I feel that I can find my spot.  Thanks to NEF for calling me back to the cage. ”

 

John Daniels is not a stranger to the NEF MMA cage.  Currently signed to a multi-fight contract with the promotion, Daniels lost to Jesse Erickson last spring at “NEF XIII.”  He will look to avenge that loss on April 11.  A six year veteran of MMA, and a former high school wrestling champion in Connecticut, Daniels currently trains out of Rock City MMA in Rockland, Maine.  He predicts a tough battle at “NEF XVII.”

 

“I am excited to be fighting for  New England Fights and their fans,” stated Daniels.  “They put on the best events.  I am fighting Ryan Cowette.  He is a great fighter.  I have a lot of respect for him.  This will be my toughest fight to date.  I am looking to push the pace and stay in his face the whole fight.  This will be a battle.”

 

NEF’s next MMA event, “NEF XVII,” is scheduled to take place onApril 11, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.  Bruce “Pretty Boy” Boyington (10-7) will defend the NEF MMA Lightweight Title against number-one contender Jamie Harrison (5-1).  In addition, Jarod “Last Minute” Lawton (4-1) meets Dennis Olson (12-7) in a welterweight contest.  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.