Hawaiian Fighting Arts

While Zuffa, LLC – the parent-company of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting – has traditionally been
voracious in terms of protecting its product, Thursday night’s
revelation that the company was suing the Bellator Fighting
Championships, as well as influential agent Ken Pavia, came as quite a
surprise.

Bellator officials were just as taken aback, according to the company’s newly hired attorney, Patrick English.

“I was asked to represent Bellator yesterday when they heard there had
been a lawsuit filed,” English told MMAjunkie.com.
“Originally, they had no idea what it was about. It was actually Kevin
Iole who was kind enough to tell me what it was about.”

Here comes the Hammer.

Stanley Burrell, also known as MC Hammer, announced today that he’s
getting into the MMA business with Alchemist Management, a new
management and “brand-building” firm based out of Los Angeles.

“I’ve been a fan of combat sports for years,” MC Hammer stated today in a
press release. “MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world and this
is a great opportunity for us to launch a full-service management
company.”

Here comes the Hammer.

Stanley Burrell, also known as MC Hammer, announced today that he’s
getting into the MMA business with Alchemist Management, a new
management and “brand-building” firm based out of Los Angeles.

“I’ve been a fan of combat sports for years,” MC Hammer stated today in a
press release. “MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world and this
is a great opportunity for us to launch a full-service management
company.”

With Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva forced to bow out of UFC 117 due to
injury, the UFC turned to promotion newcomer Todd Brown to fill the gap.

Today, UFC officials made the switch official.

As MMAjunkie.com reported earlier this week, Brown
now faces Tim Boetsch on the UFC 117 preliminary
card.

It’s only been four months since Mark Munoz’s gym officially opened, but much like his life, everything has moved so fast.

The Lake Forest, Calif.-based Reign Training Center has gone from a room
with a mat to a full-fledged hotbed of talent with Munoz (8-1 MMA, 3-1
UFC) as a beacon for fighters in need of good wrestling.

He’s now a successful fighter in the UFC’s middleweight division after
uprooting his family to Southern California in September 2008 with no
idea of where he’d end up. 

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is primed to take over Northern California.

With the anticipation high for August’s “UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen”
event in Oakland, the UFC has scheduled several fan-friendly activties
surrounding fight week.

As MMAjunkie.com previously reported, the open workout sessions on
Wednesday, Aug. 4, are free to attend, and the UFC has announced an
autograph session prior to Friday’s weigh-ins, as well.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is primed to take over Northern California.

With the anticipation high for August’s “UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen”
event in Oakland, the UFC is now opening the doors to the card’s
pre-event press conference, which takes place Thursday, Aug. 5, at the
Fisherman’s Wharf Hilton Hotel in San Francisco.

UFC president Dana White and UFC 117 fighters Anderson Silva, Chael
Sonnen, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, Matt Hughes, Ricardo Almeida, Roy
Nelson and Junior Dos Santos will all be on hand for the conference,
which is free and open to the public.

Bellator Fighting Championships featherweight champion Joe Soto and season-two tournament winner Joe Warren will clash on Sept. 2.

As was first reported by MMAjunkie.com, Soto and Warren meet in the main event of Bellator 27.

Bellator officials today announced the matchup for the card, which takes place at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas.

A welterweight match-up between Mike “The Joker” Guymon and Daniel Roberts is targeted for UFC 121.

Sources close to the event today confirmed to MMAjunkie.com that verbal agreements are in place with bout
agreements expected to be signed shortly.

UFC 121 takes place Oct. 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and
features a heavyweight title match between current champion Brock Lesnar
and challenger Cain Velasquez.

The UFC will hold its first-ever European-based MMA exposition in
conjunction with October’s UFC 120 event, the organization today
announced.

As MMAjunkie.com first reported
UFC Fan Expo London 2010 will be held Friday and Saturday, October
15-16, at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre with meet-and-greet sessions
with UFC fighters, MMA demonstrations, fan-inspired special events,
training and development sessions, and other activities.

Featuring a middleweight contest between Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro
Akiyama, UFC 120 takes place October 16 at the O2 Arena in London.