I’d like to start a new feature of the site where we go out and talk to fighters who are just getting started in the sport of mixed martial arts. Every great fighter was an amateur at some point in their career and this should provide a nice window into what goes on during this developmental phase. I’d like to periodically check in on the fighters we interview as well and follow them along as they progress in the sport.
Mike Pugh is 24 years old, he grew up in Norwalk, Ohio. He graduated from Mount Union college where he played football. He currently fights in the welterweight division where he has an 0-1 amateur record with his loss being via split decision. He currently lives and trains in the Cleveland area.
Brian Hemminger: What was your inspiration to get into mixed martial arts?
Mike Pugh: I did boxing for a while, watched a couple shows on SPIKE, and googled nearby MMA gyms. I took a look at one, went to visit and did a free class. I did real well and was one of the strongest guys in there. My instructor told me I could definitely be good if i put forth the effort. The rest is history. [Read more →]
Las Vegas, NV (USA) – For the first-time ever, millions of action sports thrill-seekers will see the UFC® and its matching event numbers racing around the ESPN X Games this weekend live on ESPN, all as part of a cross-promotional partnership with PMR Motorsports.
ESPN viewers and X Games fans packed inside the LA Coliseum won’t miss the trademark UFC logo and numbers “117” and “118” on the 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Rally Cars driven by Patrick Moro and Timothy Rooney of PMR Motorsports. 117 and 118 symbolize the next two blockbuster UFC events coming up in August.
“The UFC and the XGames are the perfect combination, and it’s an honor for UFC 117 and UFC 118 to be represented on the PMR Motorsports rally cars,” said Dana White, UFC President. [Read more →]
CHICAGO, Ill. (July 30, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships World Featherweight Championship belt will be on the line Sept. 2nd when reigning champ Joe “The Hammer” Soto defends his title against Season 2 Featherweight Tournament Champion Joe Warren at Bellator 27 in San Antonio. [Read more →]
This Sunday, August 1st, the UFC returns to the Versus channel with UFC Live on Versus: Jones vs Matyushenko. This card is loaded with some very compelling matchups, especially considering that this is a free show. The last UFC card on Versus was also pretty stacked, and it featured Jon Jones in the main event as well where he defeated Brandon Vera via TKO from his razer sharp elbows on the ground. Jones will face a stern test against the veteran wrestler Vladimir Matyushenko in the main event. As always, don’t throw away your hard earned cash based on these predictions, my analysis is usually a lot better than my actual winner selections. [Read more →]
CHICAGO, Ill. (July 29, 2010) — A showdown between one of MMA’s most exciting lightweights and a colorful, highly-regarded South Florida fan favorite will serve as the “Local Main Event” when Bellator Fighting Championships returns to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., for its Season 3 debut on Aug. 12th.
The much anticipated fight pits UFC and PRIDE veteran Yves Edwards (37-16-1) against four-time Bellator veteran and Miami native Luis “Baboon” Palomino (13-5) in a battle for bragging rights between two of South Florida’s top MMA gyms, American Top Team and MMA Masters. [Read more →]
SAN JOSE, Calif. (July 29, 2010) – Ryan Couture, son of MMA legend Randy “The Natural” Couture, has signed a multi-fight agreement with world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE and will make his professional MMA debut on Friday, Aug. 13 at the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event at Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Ariz., LIVE on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).
The 27-year-old Couture, a member of the Las Vegas, Nev., based Xtreme Couture fight team, will face Lucas Stark of Chandler, Ariz. in a three-round lightweight (155 pounds) bout. [Read more →]
CHICAGO, Ill. (July 28, 2010) — Missouri-based brawler Jose Vega, who caught the eye of Bellator scouts and MMA fans around the country during a nationally televised “Local Feature Fight” at Bellator 22 in June, has officially been added to Bellator’s upcoming Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament.
The 24-year-old Vega brings an 8-2 record to the tournament, which begins this August. His wins include a 2008 submission of fellow tournament participant Danny Tims and, most recently, a devastating 39-second KO of veteran Jarrod Card in front of a hometown crowd at the Kansas City Power & Light District on June 17th.
Vega is the fifth confirmed participant in the Bantamweight Tournament along with Tims, Las Vegas-based Kobra-Kai jiu-jitsu instructor Ulysses Gomez,fast-rising Wyoming native Nik Mamalis and Minnesota-based powerhouse Travis “The Hurricane” Reddinger. [Read more →]
(LAS VEGAS, NV — July 28, 2010) – With the city of Boston buzzing about the arrival of the UFC Fan Expo™ at the John B. Hynes Convention Center on August 27 and 28, the Ultimate Fighting Championship turned up the heat today by announcing the list of fighters that will participate in the weekend of festivities.
The following fighters will participate in autograph sessions and a variety of other fan activities: UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell, UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson, WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, Carlos Condit, Clay Guida, Cole Miller, Efrain Escudero, Gabriel Gonzaga, Jon Jones, Josh Grispi, Kurt Pellegrino, Matt Hamill, Martin Kampmann, Pat Barry, Roy Nelson, Thiago Alves, Anthony Johnson, Ricardo Almeida, Renzo Gracie, and former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber. Additional fighters added to the UFC Fan Expo will be announced in the coming weeks.
All the UFC Fan Expo activities will be planned in conjunction with UFC 118, which takes place at TD Garden on Saturday, Aug. 28. Headlined by a lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and former division leader BJ Penn, UFC 118 also marks the mixed martial arts debut of three-time world champion boxer James Toney, who will take on UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
For more information on UFC Fan Expo and to purchase tickets, visit www.ufcfanexpo.com. To subscribe to the official UFC Fan Expo newsletter visitwww.ufcfanexpo.com/newsletter. For companies interested in reserving space at this premier event, contact Ed Gallo, Event Director at 1-203-840-5546 or email egallo@ufcfanexpo.com. Don’t wait, space is limited and will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Las Vegas, NV (USA) –The pound-for-pound greatest fighter in the world, UFC® Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, is taking time out from his intense training schedule for his upcoming fight at UFC 117 to attend ESPN’s X Games 16 Thursday, July 29, 2010. “The Spider” will be in attendance at the LA Coliseum for the Moto X Freestyle Final, Women’s Super X Final and Men’s Super X Final, among other competitions televised live nationally on ESPN.
Two more fans of the X Games, UFC’s Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste, who recently graced the cover of Maxim Magazine, and Spike TV’s Best of PRIDE® host Kenda Perez, who is featured in the August issue of UFC Magazine, will also be in attendance Thursday evening.
Las Vegas, NV (USA) –Just days before UFC’s Jon “Bones” Jones takes on Vladimir Matyushenko live on VERSUS, the San Diego Padres will honor the rising light heavyweight in the team’s Major League Baseball game this Friday, July 30 at 6:58 PM PT.
Jones, in town for his UFC fight at San Diego Sports Arena on Sunday, Aug. 1, will throw the ceremonial first pitch and kick off the Padres game against the Florida Marlins.
“I love San Diego and I’m excited to do the first pitch for the Padres,” Jones said. “I’m going to try to throw a strike for the fans on Friday, and then give them a knockout Sunday.”
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