Monday, February 28, 2011

March will be a time to sit down on your couch with a nice big bowl of popcorn and your remote handy to enjoy a healthy dose of fights. The best part—it won’t hurt your wallet, as just one pay-per-view event is scheduled for the month. The rest can be seen on basic or premium cable, including events from UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Shark Fights, Titan FC, and M-1 Challenge.

The M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England opened its doors to U.K. MMA fans Saturday evening as the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts staged their fifth event at the impressive 21,000-seat capacity venue. With the show being aired on free television via SyFy this was the participating fighters chance to display their talents before a wider audience—and they did not fail to impress.

“UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch” is in the books after the promotion’s recent event Down Under. The Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia played host to a night of bouts in which the cageside judges played a crucial role. But before we go any further we have to ask our favorite post-event question: What did we learn?

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship returned to London for the first show of their 2011 campaign on Saturday, as the famous HMV Forum was near capacity for another quality Cage Warriors event. The fans in attendance were treated to the same high caliber show that has made Cage Warriors one of the most respected brands in all of international competition. Although the card had been through a run of changes over the final days leading up to the event, matchmaker Ian Dean managed to persevere and put together a fan friendly and competitive event.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Tonight's "UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch" event will be broadcast on pay-per-view from the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.  The event features a  welterweight  main event matchup between former champion B.J. Penn and the ultimate grinder Jon Fitch. Also featured will be two division-shaping bouts with Dennis Siver taking on George Sotiropoulos and Michael Bisping meeting up with Jorge Rivera. Catch all the live blow-by-blow action as we bring you live coverage of the main broadcast card round-by-round.

Friday, February 25, 2011

When rumors first surfaced that the UFC was on the verge of signing three fighters from the famed Wolfslair Academy, many U.K. fight fans had their fingers crossed that one of them would be light heavyweight Tom Blackledge. Those that have followed the English fighter know of his dynamic fighting style and ability. Despite his 10-6 record, Blackledge is always a split-second from ending a bout—likely why he was one of the recent acquisitions for the world's premier MMA promotion. MMA Spot’s Jamie Kennedy had the pleasure of speaking to Blackledge from his training camp in Sydney, Australia, where the heavy-handed striker could hardly contain his joy in the thought of making his debut against native Australian Anthony Perosh.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

February is proving to be an interesting month for MMA in the Carolinas. Young fighters with tremendous potential will be competing this month and fans in multiple regions have the opportunity to catch some quality MMA shows live. Two events of note include King MMA's "Caged Chaos II," and Carolina Fight Promotions' CFP 15.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

For the very first time a female bout will headline a major mixed martial arts promotion in Great Britain; as the pioneer of women’s MMA in Europe Rosi "The Surgeon" Sexton takes on international superstar Roxanne Modafferi in the main event at Cage Warriors 40 which is to be hosted by the HMV arena in London, England. The bout has been heralded as one of the biggest in all of women's MMA. MMA Spot's Jamie Kennedy had the honor of sitting down with Rosi to chat about her influence on U.K. MMA, her pending bout with Roxanne Modafferi, and much more.

Santiago previously competed in the UFC in 2006. Since leaving from the promotion, the American Top Team member has remade himself and matured as a fighter, building an 11-1 record over the last four years. A strong finisher, he has knocked out or submitted twenty-one of his twenty-three opponents. As a result, the Brazilian stalwart has carved out a reputation as one of the most electrifying fighters in the world. Now, Santiago, who is ranked in the top ten in his weight class, is ready to face new challenges and bring his brand of excitement back to the U.S. fans. He plans to show the fight world that he belongs in the biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in the world, and amongst the elite of the 185-pound division.

The UFC has continued to trek through the entire globe, stopping in some of the most rabid MMA markets in the process. One such market has proved to be Australia, where the UFC will make its second visit this weekend. The country has produced UFC mainstays George Sotiropoulos and Anthony Perosh, but stars could be in the making in Kyle Noke and James Te Huna.

Showtime Sports and M-1 Global announced today an upcoming mixed martial arts event entitled "M-1 Challenge: Damkovsky vs. Figueroa" featuring two M-1 Global title fights. The bouts will air live on Showtime on Friday, March 25 at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Artiom Damkovsky will defend his M-1 Challenge lightweight championship against Jose Figueroa, while Tyson Jeffries and Magomed Sultanakhmedov will battle for the vacant M-1 Challenge middleweight belt from Constant Center in Norfolk, Va.

Brazilian light heavyweight contender Antonio Rogerio Nogueira takes on one of the sport’s rising stars, undefeated Phil Davis, a former NCAA Division I champion wrestler, in Spike TV’s UFC Fight Night live from the KeyArena in Seattle, Wash. on Saturday, March 26 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.  The co-feature showcases a battle between British sensation Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy” and knockout artist Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Also on the televised card will be a welterweight showdown between Duane Ludwig and Amir Sadollah.