BOSTON - Grapplers Quest champion Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu, undefeated under the promotion's banner,
capped off the UFC Fan Expo 2010 Boston "superfights" series with a
dominating 9-2 win over UFC veteran Rolles Gracie.

The Abreu-Gracie matchup, as well as three additional superfight contests, took place at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, which also housed the UFC Fan Expo 2010.

Pablo Popovitch, the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling
world champion, on Saturday also edged out late replacement Lucas Lepri. Ryan Hall
and Penny Thomas picked up wins in their respective Friday
contests.

Time: 10:00am to 1:00pm
Cost: $85

Come and train with Royler Gracie, a living legend of Jiu-Jitsu (7-Time Jiu JItsu World champion) and one of the world’s leading submission wrestling experts. He is the only person to win the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Wrestling World Championship for three consecutive years, and has won the ADCC more times than anyone else.

Waynesville Recreation Center
550 Vance Street
Waynesville, NC 28786
MAP

More information on the official site.

Hillary Williams at the 2010 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

The United Arab Emirates was the place to be last week, where some of the world’s best Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes met for the rare chance to compete for big dollar prizes. Like its no-gi cousin the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Grappling Championship, the Abu Dhabi Pro is only possible because of the generous patronage of the Emirati Royal Family.

To get a little better idea of what the event was like, we will speak with BJJ brown belt Hillary Williams, who took third place in the under 63 kilogram female division. Hillary is one of the busiest BJJ athletes out there today, regularly competing on the global stage on the weekends while working on her undergraduate pre-medical classes during the week!

Cohost Dan and I will go over some listener e-mail and of course, review the most recent BJJ Poll data.

Don’t forget to check out Hillary’s website after you listen to the show!

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show

Kurt Pellegrino is pulling out the big guns to
prepare for his bout with George Sotiropoulos at UFC
116.

The UFC lightweight next week heads to New York City to begin private
training with Marcelo Garcia, a three-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club champion and one of the
most decorated grapplers in the world.

"I'm going to try to build not just a bridge but a whole little town,
maybe a whole little city," Pellegrino told MMAjunkie.com on Thursday. "Just keep getting better."

PRESS RELEASE:

Abu Dhabi PRO Jiu-Jitsu and ADCC Submission Fighting Held Together for the First Time

APRIL 14, 2010 – TORONTO – Mixed Martial Arts Expo, Inc., the company behind MMA Expo – The Original MMA Expo (since 2005) – announced today that its upcoming June 12-13 event in Toronto will play host to two of the most prestigious grappling tournaments in the world. This will mark the first time ever that the ADCC Submission Fighting and the Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu-Jitsu Series will be held on the same weekend at the same venue. The result is an outstanding opportunity for North American competitors interested in competing in both types of tournaments.

“Mixed Martial Arts Expo has a track record of delivering a unique combative sports weekend that fans and competitors really enjoy and we are delighted to play host to these two world-class events”, stated Gerald Chopik, President of MMA Expo. “When it comes to holding the best submission tournaments on the planet most will agree that over the past decade the two Abu Dhabi tournaments have set the standard that others aim to achieve in terms of organization and quality of competition. In the submission grappling world, a division-win at either of their World Championships is equivalent to taking home Olympic Gold.”

Canada is becoming well-known for a growing and highly-talented pool of submission grappling and Jiu Jitsu competitors. “We would have been proud to host either of the Abu Dhabi tournaments at MMA Expo. To have both of these major events on the show floor on the same weekend is very exciting for grappling competitors, and especially those that want to compete in both tournaments. This new series of Canadian Regional Championships for both Gi and No-Gi competitors gives fighters a real opportunity to compete on the world stage and we are proud that MMA Expo can play a role in helping this happen.”

Reached in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Marko Leisten, president of the ADCC Federation, was keen on having secured Mixed Martial Arts Expo as the venue to showcase the ADCC Submission Fighting tournament. “This is something that we have been trying to put together for some time and I am very happy that we have finally secured the opportunity to feature ADCC events together with MMA Expo. I am looking forward to coming to Canada with ADCC Head Referee, Peter Ivanov. We foresee a high-level tournament with competitors from Canada and the USA.”

The Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu Jitsu Canadian Open Championships on Saturday, June 12, is produced by Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Professor Fabio Holanda of Montreal. Among the prizes is an all expense paid trip to compete at the Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu Jitsu World Cup in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2011. The ADCC Submission Fighting Championships on Sunday, June 13, is produced by ADCC North American East Coast Regional Tournament Director, Emilio Novoa.

Hamilton-based retailer and e-tailer, Fight Planet, is the official sponsor of both tournaments. “When it comes to knowing what’s happening in the submission grappling community across North America few people are more aware than Fight Planet owner Riccardo Ammendolia”, said Chopik. “Fight Planet has been a premiere exhibitor at MMA Expo since day one and Riccardo played a key role in bringing MMA Expo and the Abu Dhabi tournaments together. While many combative sport businesses have come and gone over the past five years it’s been exciting to watch Riccardo build Fight Planet to the point where it is now the Official Sponsor of these two prestigious events.”

Individuals interested in competing in either tournament at MMA Expo TORONTO June 12-13 will find more information at www.MixedMartialArtsExpo.com.

About The Abu Dhabi Championships

The Abu Dhabi Combat Club and the ADCC Submission Fighting Championships were the creation of a UAE national Sheik Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of then U.A.E. leader Sheik Zayed. ADCC Champions and top competitors are highly sought after by the leading MMA fight promotions like the UFC®, DREAM and Strikeforce. The expansion of Submission Fighting, led by the huge success of ADCC, has spawned amateur leagues around the world. With each year, the number of competitors in these and other similar events has grown tremendously. ADCC Championships is and has always been considered the pinnacle of the sport. The creation of one visionary, ADCC, now in its 9th edition in 2009 has become the beacon of a new generation and a new sport that is gaining world-wide popularity.

All requests for more information about the tournaments themselves should be directed to:

- ADCC Submission Fighting (NoGi) – emilionovoa@aol.com; www.adccregionals.com

- Abu Dhabi Pro Jiu-Jitsu (Gi) – fabio_holanda@hotmail.com; www.fabioholanda.com

About MMA Expo

Mixed Martial Arts Expo ~ the original MMA Fan Expo launched in 2005 ~ is a unique, high-energy, interactive consumer show for people who love martial arts and the full contact sport of mixed martial arts, the fastest growing sport in the world. The unique interactive model includes martial arts tournaments and demonstrations, martial arts and business development seminars and a show floor filled with apparel, gear, fitness and nutrition-based exhibitors.

MMA Expo also gives combative sports fans and martial arts competitors the unique opportunity to meet personally with some of the top professional fighters and MMA celebrities in the sport for autographs and pictures. Approximately 10,000 fans, 300 exhibitors and 30 MMA celebrities have attended MMA Expo Toronto events to date.

For exhibitor and tournament sponsorship information contact: Gerald Chopik, President, MMA Expo ~ gchopik@MixedMartialArtsExpo.com

UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin, who earned a future date
with Brock Lesnar with a UFC 111 win over Frank Mir, calls in to today's
edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio. So, too, does cast member Josh Bryant,
our radio correspondent for "The Ultimate Fighter 11."

Abu Dhabi Combat Club grappling champion Braulio Estima, who makes his
MMA debut at Shine Fights III in May, also calls in to discuss his
budding career while Strikeforce veteran Miesha Tate drops by the studio
to reflect on her recent win over the previously undefeated Zoila
Frausto.

MMAjunkie.com Radio begins at noon ET (9 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.

New York, N.Y. – He’s long been considered boxing ring royalty, so colorful brawler Ricardo Mayorga is more than pleased about the name of the venue where he will make his MMA debut against former UFC stalwart Din Thomas on May 15.

“I like it,” Mayorga said, “the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, NC. I like the crown because I have been a king in boxing and I will similarly rule in MMA. My critics are legion, I know, but I am hated by many, loved by some but respected by all. And no paying fan, at the arena or watching on TV, has ever requested a refund after one of my fights.

“I am a blue collar brawler and I know who pays the rent and how I buy my Nicaraguan cigars, my beers and everything else, it’s the fans and I love them all even the ones who jeer me,” Mayorga said. “Anyone who thinks this is some joke will be shocked at how easily I handle this Thomas character with my hand speed and dynamite power.”

“To me, Thomas is just another tough guy in my way. I eat ordinary tough guys like him for breakfast and then I spit them out. I will spit him out in North Carolina, you watch!”

Thomas, who has fought on nine UFC cards, is a highly respected MMA veteran who possesses a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the world-renowned American Top Team.

Thomas (25-8) doesn’t take Mayorga’s 29-7 record in boxing lightly by any means.

“This guy blows a lot of smoke and I don’t mean from his ever present cigarettes and cigars,” Thomas said. “But, with his humungous ego, he isn’t coming into my house to be humiliated. I will be ready for a real rumble and I hope to make him submit. The great Oscar de la Hoya could not pound some humility into this character but I know I can do this.”

Upstart Shine Fight Promotions will put tickets on sale today (Wednesday, March 31) for this historic event which many observers thought was merely being talked about. The tickets are reasonably priced at $25, $40, $50, $75, $150.

Given the Fayetteville area’s strong military and ex-military population, of course there is a military discount of $5 per ticket with the exception of the $150 tickets.

WORLD’S COLLIDE: MAYORGA VS THOMAS tops an action- packed card loaded with MMA stars. Also featured on the card will be former PRIDE and EliteXC star Murilo “Ninja” Rua, the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club 88-kilogram and Absolute division champion, Braulio Estima, undefeated MMA fighter and former Olympian Rick Hawn, and UFC/StrikeForce/Bodog/EliteXC/Sengoku veteran Nick “The Goat” Thompson. The show is taking place at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, NC, and will be beamed on PPV on cable and satellite in the United States and Canada.

Information can be obtained by calling the Crown Coliseum Box Office at 910-438-4100.

Tickets cannot be purchased at the Crown Box Office – Only at Ticketmaster Charge 1-800-745-3000 or Ticketmaster.com.

The event will be distributed in High Definition and will be available in both English and Spanish (where available). The MMA showdown will be distributed live on Pay Per View beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT by MultiVision Media, Inc. on Saturday, May 15 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT.

There will be a 30 minute countdown show prior to the live event at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT. The suggested retail price for the MMA showdown is $29.95.

Shine Fights CEO Devin Price said he envisions the match as a crossover moment for fans of both boxing and MMA. And, he predicts, the live venue tickets will go flying out of the box office.

“I think this is the right market for this great event. Folks in the Fayetteville area like good fights and the name of the sport is not as important. They will be turning out to see genuine combat with a masterful MMA veteran going up against one of the great boxers, in top form and still committed to the sport of fisticuffs, for the first time in this sport. This is history in the making and the fans who watch these fights will be the real victors here. There will be excitement galore and the prices for the tickets are very reasonable.
“In my opinion, boxing and MMA are not in some knockdown, dragout war,” Price said.

“It’s not all one and none of the other. The sports have so much in common, especially when it comes to the courage and fighting heart of the athletes. There is room in the marketplace for both boxing and MMA, and seeing a big boxing name like Mayorga cross over without abandoning boxing is proof of this.

“It’s all about an open mind because fans of one sport can learn to love the other. I really feel this. All that boxing vs. MMA nonsense is ancient history.”

To learn more about Shine Fight Promotions, follow the organization on Twitter @ShineFights, Myspace (www.myspace.com/ShineFights) or become a fan on Facebook.

UFC middleweight contender and 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club champion
Demian Maia has worked diligently to improve his standup skills since
making the move to mixed martial arts.

He's not foolish enough, though, to believe that he can stand with
middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.

"I think (in the preparation for) this fight I paid a little bit more
attention to wrestling," Maia said recently regarding his fight with
Silva at UFC 112 on April 10. "That's what I need to do in this fight. I
need to take Anderson down, so I paid more attention to it than the
last fight."

The man that can currently lay claim to being the “absolute” best no-gi grappler in the business due to the fact that he took home the prestigious 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Absolute Division Championship along with the 88-kilogram title is all set to make his initial venture into the world of mixed martial arts.

Braulio Estima, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, will face off with the undefeated Rick Hawn (4-0), a decorated Judo practitioner, at Shine Fights “Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas”.

The pair are set to square off on May 15 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Estima heads up the Gracie Barra Academy in Birmingham, England, and has spent time training alongside Renzo Gracie, while Hawn is a multiple champion in Judo where he placed ninth in the 2009 Olympic Games.

“I’ve seen a couple of fights and he’s a tough kid,” said Estima in regards to Hawn. “He’s very strong, very explosive. I’m not expecting an easy fight at all. He’s a top judo player in the world, so he’s an athlete himself. Whoever makes fewer mistakes will win. He already has experience in MMA, 6-0. He has a pretty good advantage in the cage, but I’m going to try work myself in a situation where this won’t affect me.”

Hawn understands that he needs to treat an adversary as potentially dangerous as Braulio with the utmost respect – MMA debut or not – stating,” I’m looking forward to the fight with Estima. Even though he is new to MMA, he has extensive ground skills that will require me to elevate my game. I am more than ready for the challenge. It’s not much of a surprise that I want to keep the fight standing with him if possible. This is MMA though, and anything can happen. Either way, I’m going to be well prepared and take advantage of my experience and strengths.”

The long rumored contest between Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Braulio Estima
(0-0), the 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club 88-kilogram and Absolute division
champion, and Judo practitioner Rick Hawn (4-0) is now official.

Shine Fight Promotions officials today announced that Estima and Hawn
will meet in a 175-pound catchweight contest on May 15 in Fayetteville,
N.C., at "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas."

The pay-per-view event, Shine Fight's third-ever fight card, is headlined by
UFC veteran Din Thomas and former boxing champion Ricardo Mayorga.