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 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.
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.
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.
MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes a plethora of expert analysts to the
show to break down this weekend’s combat sports action, as well as Wand
Fight Team prospect Jorge Lopez.
Top trainer Marc Laimon comes in-studio to breakdown UFC on Versus 2,
while MMA oddsmaker Joey Oddessa calls in to offer his expert opinion as
well. Percy Crawford of FightHype.com also joins us via phone to share
his wisdom on the latest in boxing, while Lopez previews his fight at
Saturday’s MMA Xplosion show in Las Vegas.
MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. Listen to and
watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.
As a reminder, submissions for the upcoming edition of “The Sunday Junkie” are due Sunday at 10 a.m. ET.
All topics – including this weekend’s UFC on Versus 2 event and the busy schedule coming in August – are open for
discussion. The person who sends in the submission we deem the best -
based on timeliness of subject, clarity and overall persuasiveness -
will be invited onto MMAjunkie.com Radio to discuss the topic.
Each winner will also receive a free year’s subscription to Fighters Only, the world’s leading MMA and lifestyle magazine!
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion, “The Ultimate Fighter” winner and best-selling author Forrest Griffin is at it again.
Griffin and publisher William Morrow are set for an August release of “Be
Ready When the Sh*t Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse,” the
follow-up to the fighter’s best-selling debut, “Got Fight?”
In support of the release, Griffin will soon embark on a nine-day,
nine-city book signing tour that includes visits to New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, California and Nevada.
UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell sat at UFC 115’s post-fight podium and made no excuses.
He had won a unanimous decision over Gilbert Yvel on the June 12 event’s
pay-per-view card but said it was “not a victory” for the fight’s lack
of finish. He chose not to disclose that he had torn his ACL on the
first takedown of the three-round contest.
Rothwell on Tuesday underwent surgery to repair both his ACL and a torn
meniscus and hopes to be back in action by February or March of 2011.