Strikeforce and M-1 Global Announce Record Worldwide Numbers for CBS 'Fedor vs. Rogers'

AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND (November 24, 2009) - M-1 Global and Strikeforce announced today that the international audience reports from broadcasters all over the world revealed an unprecedented number of viewers for the November 7th "Fedor vs. Rogers" MMA event from Chicago, Illinois.

"We are extremely happy with the preliminary broadcast reports," said M-1 Global CEO Joost Raimond. "The demographics of these numbers were very promising as our network broadcasting partners in the U.S., Russia, and Korea reach an enormous audience alone. Coupled with a dozen other countries and our successful internet stream in Japan and other territories, all early accounts and indications tell us that "Fedor vs. Rogers" delivered worldwide more than any other MMA show in the history of the sport," concluded Raimond.

Scott Coker, founder and owner of Strikeforce and experienced MMA promoter responded "We are thrilled with the tremendous viewership figures that the Fedor vs Rogers event generated overseas. The results clearly demonstrate the appreciation that fans worldwide have for a number of M-1 Global and Strikeforce mixed martial arts superstars including the number one fighter on the planet - Fedor Emelianenko - and his opponent Brett Rogers."

In total, over 25 million MMA fans all around the world were treated to a vintage performance from the world’s greatest MMA fighter, Fedor Emelianenko. The main event of Fedor vs Rogers reached an impressive 5.46 million viewers in the United States on the CBS Network. The fight was also broadcast in Fedor’s native Russia by "Channel 1," Russia's largest television network, and reached 16 million viewers in Fedor’s home country. In addition, "Fedor vs. Rogers" was broadcast to millions of viewers in Korea on SBS, one of the 3 major national South Korean networks, as well as television networks in China, Latin America, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ukraine, Finland, Africa, Turkey, Israel, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Malta. Live internet streams of the "Fedor vs. Rogers" bout generated ground-breaking viewer numbers in Japan and all over the world and these numbers continue to grow through Video on Demand.

'"CBS was proud to be the U.S. broadcaster in a fight seen by millions domestically and by millions more around the world," commented CBS Senior Executive Vice President Kelly Kahl. "Strikeforce and M-1 Global put together a great card, showcasing some of the best fighters in the world. Our ad sales for the fight were strong, especially for advertisers that target young men -- a group with a growing appetite for MMA."

Full Card confirmed for UFC 105, Manchester

UFC 105 will be aired for free in the United States on SpikeTV. Earlier today, Spike.com confirmed the completed card.

Main Card
Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera
Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang
Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy
James Wilks vs. Matt Brown
Ross Pearson vs. Aaron Riley


Prelims
Terry Etim vs. Shannon Gugerty
Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway
Nick Osipczak vs. Matthew Riddle
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jared Hamman
Andre Winner vs. Roli Delgado

UFC 105 will be held at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, England. If you are on the other side of the pond visit Ticketmaster.co.uk for tickets.

Tuff-N-Uff Amateur MMA Fights, Paintball Highlights At Mesquite Fundraiser

Mesquite, Nevada - Every day, United States military personnel face a new battle as they return home from combat zones.

Addressing the desperate need to relieve the financial and emotional burdens caused by the physical and mental scars of war, Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy "The Natural" Couture created the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation. With a mission focused on raising money and awareness, the foundation's goal is to help these brave men and women fulfill any of their unmet needs as they return back to civilian life.

"Having spent time in a uniform, it became a personal goal of mine to find a way to give back to the brave men and women of our Armed Forces for the sacrifices they make defending our freedoms. The Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation was born out of that desire." Couture explained.

Tapping into his network of current and former MMA fighters, Couture is hosting a weekend fundraiser October 16-18 in Mesquite, Nevada. Xtreme Combat Weekend will include three days of scenario paintball, amateur MMA fights and "Xtreme" parties.

Participants & donors have the opportunity to play paintball against and alongside nationally recognized fighters including Randy Couture, Ryan Couture, Gray Maynard, Jay Hieron, and John Alessio.

The paintball games will be played exclusively at A Pirates Paradise's new field located 5 miles northeast of Mesquite. Owner Tim Andrus has spent the last two months preparing the 40-acre site for this event.

"The property borders and actually extends over the Virgin River. The thick scrub provides so much cover, we've had to plow roads and paths through the field, " Andrus said. "We're really excited to be the host site for Xtreme Combat Weekend. It's a great cause; Randy is an awesome guy, and we're doing something to help the troops."

A highlight of the weekend will come Saturday evening when up-and-coming fighters take center stage at the CasaBlanca Events center for amatuer MMA fights presented by Tuff-N-Uff. A separate ticketed event; seats will range from $20 for general admission to only $50 for ringside. Like all the weekend's events, proceeds support the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation.

Post fight, the public can meet up-and-coming fighters and some of their favorite MMA stars at an after fight night club in the CasaBlanca Hotel. A $15 cover charge applies, and this party is limited to persons age 21 and over.

"This weekend really wouldn't be possible without our sponsors," Andrus added. "Special Ops Paintball, Spyder Paintball, Kee Action Sports, Planet Eclipse and Blackjack Paintball have all thrown their support behind us on this event."

Registration and event schedules are available online at the event's website, XtremeCombatWeekend.com.

"We hope everyone will come join us for a great weekend including paintball and amateur fights all in the name of our troops," Couture said.

For more information on the Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation please contact:

Valerie Haney
Xtreme Couture G.I. Foundation
4055 West Sunset
Las Vegas, NV 89118
xtremecouturegifoundation.org
(702) 616-1022

Lunch Break News Update

We all have busy schedules, so this new segment is meant to take the top news from the previous couple of days and condense it into one, easy to read segment that you can enjoy over your lunch break... or anytime you feel like it.

1. Strikeforce Kennedy vs Cummings results:

*Daniel Cromier vs Gary Frazier - Cormier wins via TKO (punches) R2 M3:39
*Travis Calanoc vs. Thomas Longacre - Longacre wins via Uni Dec
*Zach Light vs. Tyron Woodley - Woodley wins via Sub (armbar) R2 M3:38
*Ray Sefo vs. Kevin Jordan - Sefo wins via Sub (verbal stoppage) R2 M0:24
*Tim Kennedy vs. Zak Cummings - Kennedy wins via Choke (north-south) R2 M2:43

Mike Swick vs Dan Hardy for UFC 105
We reported this yesterday, as Mike Swick confirmed the fight without actually confirming it via his Twitter account. November 14th in Manchester, England Swick will get to take on British bad boy, Dan Hardy.


Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort to fight at UFC 108
Both Brazilians have verbally agreed to fight January 2, in Las Vegas, NV. This will be Belfort's second fight since joining the UFC. He recently beat Rich "Ace" Franklin via TKO at a catch weight of 195#. The men will compete at 185# where Silva will defend his middle weight belt.

Chuck Liddell Does the Tango
For the second week in a row Liddell competed on Dancing with the Stars last night. His Tango was better than last week's Foxtrot & Salsa, but still needs work. Now five weeks into his intense dance training the former lightheavy weight champion is finally shedding his infamous round belly.

Sam Stout to possibly face Joe Lauzon in Jan.
Lauzon has been out since this spring healing his knee. He underwent major surgery to repair the knee after his UFN headlining fight against Jeremy Stephens in February. Ahead of schedule on his recovery Lauzon thinks he can start camp soon and would be ready for a fight against Stout at UFC 108, January 2.

TUF alumni George Sotiropoulos and Jason Dent at UFC 106
Taking place on the preliminary portion of the card, Dent (19-9) will look to break Sotiropoulos' undefeated Octagon record.

To close, a treat for you: KIMBO SLICE on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Swick confirms his fight with Dan Hardy...in a round-about way

Just hours after the rumors started Mike Swick took to his Twitter account to address the newest claims of his next fight. Without confirming not denying, Swick slyly let us all in on who his next opponent would be- Dan Hardy.

Thought to be another bout vying for title contention, the two will meet in seven weeks to see who gets Georges St-Pierre next. At seven weeks out, the pair will likely be on the UFC 105 card in Manchester, England. Good for UK fans because they will be able to support Hardy and give him the "hometown" advantage; also good for American fans because UFC 105 will be aired on SpikeTV for free.

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Jason "Mayhem" Miller Freaks out on EA Game Developers

So, it's Friday and we're all ready to get home or have just gotten home- either way, you need a laugh.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller (yes, the same guy who soccer-kick Jacare in their last fight) is one of the growing list of fighters that will be portrayed on EA Sports' EA-MMA game; release date TBD. As part of the process Miller was brought in to get a preview of the game and his character.
When scrolling through the fighter skill screens Mayhem notices that his skills are... well, less than magnificent shall we say. He then continues to question the makers and act similar to a small child being told he can no longer have a bottle.

Watch, laugh, get scared, laugh some more, thank me.

Happy Friday!


Source: CagePotato.com

Strikeforce announces Fedor vs. Rogers to be Held at Chicago's Sears Centre

Written by Samantha L. Johnson

When Strikeforce initially announced their November 7th show would we headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs Brett Rogers they left a key element out of the press release-where the event would be held. After several locations were discussed and reviewed the organization has finally decided on Chicaco's Sears Centre.

The event, a co-promotion between Strikeforce and M-1 Global- will be Russian, Fedor Emelianenko's fourth time fighting in front of American fans in his almost decade long career. Emelianenko (30-1) will take on Rogers (10-0) in a heavyweight match to determine the new Strikeforce heavyweight champion. Emelianenko, a Pride veteran, has faced and defeated some of MMA's greatest heavyweights. Renowned by many as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Emelianenko is the man with a target on his back and the man Roger's needs to beat if he is to become the best heavyweight in the world...or at least in Strikeforce.

Rogers last fought in June of this year TKO'ing Andrei Arlovski in just twenty-two seconds of the first round. Though he is undefeated, many argue he has yet to face someone of Emelianenko's caliber. A win over the Russian would catapult Rogers to the top of the heavyweight food chain.

Tickets for this Strikeforce event go one sale Monday, September 28 with a pre-sale* beginning tomorrow and rumor has it there may be car donation being made.

This fight, along with three others, will be aired live on CBS November 7, starting at 9EST, delayed on PST.

*A special pre-sale ticket purchase opportunity will take place for "STRIKEFORCE Insider" e-newsletter subscribers www.strikeforce.com/signup.asp beginning at 10:00 AM, CT tomorrow/Friday, Sept. 25, and ending at 10 PM, CT on Sunday, Sept. 27. STRIKEFORCE Insiders will receive a special e-newsletter tonight with the pre-sale code.

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Cris Cyborg Santos- "A Hurricane of Aggression" Video

Dana White Ready to Make Fedor vs Lesnar A Reality

The UFC Prez mentioned at the UFC 100 post-fight presser that Fedor vs. Brock will eventually happen.

“This whole Fedor thing has been going on and on and on. I keep saying this and that about him and he keeps waiting. Eventually, Fedor’s going to be here. I want Fedor. I want him to come to the UFC and everything else. [Lesnar] just became the heavyweight champion. We’ll end up getting that deal done. And then we’ll do Brock vs. Fedor, and it’ll be a huge fight.”

I'll believe it when I see it, but any hope that his fight will ever happen is good. I still think Fedor would beat Brock at his point, Fedor wouldn't get stuck like Mir did, his hip movement is way too good for that to happen.

UFC 100 Predictions: Georges St. Pierre vs Thiago Alves

Thiago Alves- What We Know
Alves is an excellent muay thai striker with great defensive wrestling. Matt Hughes was able to get him down only once and he defended very well and Josh Koscheck wasn't able to get him down at all. He also possesses some brutal digging leg kicks that can suck the life out of a fighter. Has nice head movement and is very aggressive. Can take punishment, also has a nasty leg kick-straight punch combination. Can go a full hard 3 rounds(5 rounds we don't know) and totally dominated a high caliber fighter like Josh Koscheck in those three rounds. Is huge for welterweight and sometimes has trouble making weight. Has won 7 fights in a row.

Georges St. Pierre- What We Know
An absolute freak of nature, the consensus best wrestler in MMA even though he has no amateur wrestling background. Faster than most lightweights, the way he passes a fighter's guard is unbelievable. Using simple first-day techniques with such force and speed that even high-level jiu-jitsu players can't stop it. No one has been able to stop GSP from taking them down and its hard to imagine Thiago Alves will be the first. GSP uses tremendous footwork and angles in his striking along with that incredible quickness. He is way past any of the problems in his mental game from previous years. Can go a full hard 5 rounds. Is on the level of Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva.

The Verdict
I like GSP to take Alves down and beat him up from there, eventually stopping him somewhere around the 3rd round. Yoda(Greg Jackson) will lay out a perfect game plan and GSP will not stray from it, I just don't think Thiago is on the level of a GSP yet.

List of Bars Showing UFC 100

List of Bars and Restaurants authorized to show UFC 100.

Faber's Contract Issues - The WEC Better Step Up

WEC is picking up steam and popularity - or maybe just the latter - in more than just hardcore MMA betting circles but as we all know, more money equals more problems.

WEC pulled in a whopping 13,000+ fans at the recent event in Sacramento, which is nothing to sneeze at. Gate revenues reeled in nearly a million dollars.

But an issue that is rearing its head is the battle that a lot of MMA fighters seem to be complaining about: money.

WEC superstar Urijah Faber has only one fight left on his contract and he's been grumbling about the dollars and sense. On one hand, he has lost two of his last three fights so it may not be the best time to renegotiate but at the same time, Faber is truly one of the faces of WEC and without him, the league would take a big blow.

Let's face it: the WEC is not what the UFC is, although they are supposedly the same company. WEC is lighter weight classes and not nearly as popular as its big brother right now. But for the WEC to continue to grow and eventually earn a bigger share of the spotlight, it will have to hop on the back of guys like Faber.

Faber isn't the only star complaining about the dollars and cents in the WEC. Bantamweight Miguel Torres has also made a point of it to dig into the feeble paydays he's been receiving from the WEC. Torres (-300) is the favorite in the MMA betting lines against Brian Bowles (+220) in the WEC 42 event Aug, 9th.

Pride and Elite XC may not be around, but there are still lots of options for a guy like Faber. He's still a top 15 pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world, even if it is a lighter weight class that less people pay attention to, but he still has options in Japan, with Strikeforce or potentially Affliction.

Obviously, those would be the Plan B's in his books as a feasible superstar payday form the WEC would be Plan A.

With one fight left on his contract, let's hope that Faber can first and foremost get back on track with a win and then hopefully the two sides can settle their salary issues.