Ben Groveafter his win at PA Cage Fight 5 Wearing the MyHOUSE Red Dawn Fight Shorts

Former Olympic wrestler and current Strikeforce heavyweight prospect
Daniel Cormier on Friday night picked up his fourth stoppage win
in as many career outings.

The American Kickboxing Academy product also picked up his second
regional title in just two weeks - this time the King of the Cage
heavyweight championship.

Cormier's submission win over the previously undefeated Tony Johnson
capped-off the HDNet-televised portion of "King of the Cage: Imminent
Danger," which took place Friday night at the Inn of the Mountain Gods
Casino in Mescalero, N.M.

LAS VEGAS - Following one of the most impressive performances of his
career in a win over Aaron Simpson at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale,
middleweight slugger Chris Leben said he was in no
rush to get back in the cage.

But now in one of the shortest turnarounds in modern UFC history, Leben
steps back in the cage just two weeks later to meet Japanese superstar
Yoshihiro Akiyama at Saturday's UFC 116 event.

So why the change of heart? According to Leben, once Wanderlei Silva was
forced out of the contest, the UFC simply made an offer he couldn't
refuse.

LAS VEGAS - Following one of the most impressive performances of his
career in a win over Aaron Simpson at The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale,
middleweight slugger Chris Leben said he was in no
rush to get back in the cage.

But now in one of the shortest turnarounds in modern UFC history, Leben
steps back in the cage just two weeks later to meet Japanese superstar
Yoshihiro Akiyama at Saturday's UFC 116 event.

So why the change of heart? According to Leben, once Wanderlei Silva was
forced out of the contest, the UFC simply made an offer he couldn't
refuse.

Click here to view the embedded video.

(video via MMAFighting.com)

One of the original greats of mixed martial arts, Frank Shamrock announced his retirement during Saturday night’s Showtime broadcast of “Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum” event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

“When I was 22 years old, my brother gave me two important things,” Shamrock told the audience at the HP Pavilion after entering the cage. “He gave me an ass-whoopin’ and he gave me my love of mixed martial arts. Since that time I’ve traveled the world teaching mixed martial arts, preaching mixed martial arts and dragging my poor family with me from country to country to city to city.”

“I’m 37 years old now, and my time has come,” he said Saturday. “The stars like Gilbert Melendez and Cristiane ‘Cyborg,’ they’re the future and I am the past. Tonight I announce my retirement. This will be the last time I walk into this cage as a fighter.”

“It was an honor to bleed for you,” he said, “to break my bones for you and to entertain you.”

The 37 year old fighter began his pro career in 1994 and earned an interim title with the Japanese-based Pancrase promotion by defeating Bas Rutten. He became the UFC’s first middleweight (later renamed light-heavyweight) champion after Kevin Jackson at UFC Japan in 1997 and defended that title four times. One of those bouts was against Tito Ortiz and happened at UFC 22 and will be remembered as one of the great mma matches of the past. He went on to leave the UFC and earn the WEC light-heavyweight title, and became Strikeforce’s first middleweight title holder.

After amassing a 23-10-2 record over the past 16 years, Shamrock felt that he’s had enough of competing in the cage and will now work as a broadcaster for Showtime among other ventures.

HT: Sherdog.com for the quotes.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The on-again, off-again relationship between
Strikeforce and female slugger Erin Toughill is
apparently in good standing.

Following Strikeforce female champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos' utter
destruction of Jan Finney on the main card of Saturday's "Strikeforce
and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum" event, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker
said Toughill will provide the Brazilian's next challenge
provided she wins in a yet-to-be announced late summer tune-up.

"Erin Toughill is someone we're going to invite into the cage to fight
here," Coker said. "Before the end of the year, you'll see 'Cyborg' and
her in the cage."

Press Release
“Ring or cage?” is MMA’s biggest debate. Fans of the ring often say that it promotes better fighting technique, while defenders of the cage like that enclosure’s dramatic “no escape” appeal. The Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) has always taken place in a ring, and it always will. Why? Because the ring provides more exciting fights and a better overall experience for the fans.

MOST OF MMA’S HISTORY IS IN THE RING
Long before MMA arrived in North America, the pre-MMA pioneers in Brazil and Japan fought in a ring. In December 1963, “Judo” Gene Lebell and boxer Milo Savage stepped into a ring in Salt Lake City, Utah to square off in North America’s first televised MMA match. Cage fighting wasn’t presented to North American TV audiences until 1993, when the aim was to promote MMA as a “deathmatch”-style spectacle.

MMA IN THE RING = CLEANER FIGHTING TECHNIQUE
Very few MMA fans have seen more fights than Eddie Goldman, who has been covering our sport for over 15 years through his legendary show, No Holds Barred (http://eddiegoldman.com ). Widely viewed as “the godfather of MMA media”, Goldman has been an outspoken proponent of the ring, citing clean techniques as the reason for his preference:

“Over the years, cage fighters have learned how to use the cage enclosure as part of their strategy. Many fighters push their opponents up against the cage, or even move them to it after taking them down. This aids brawling, but not the use of submissions or clean striking. Just look at the decline of the number of submissions in so many of the top fights in most of the companies which use a cage, then compare that to the flow of action and the aesthetics of the fights in companies like the Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC), who use the ring.” – Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred (http://eddiegoldman.com )

MMA IN A RING IS BETTER FOR SPECTATORS
It’s no secret that watching MMA in a cage isn’t great for spectators. Many MMA fans have paid hundreds of dollars for a cageside seat only to discover that they get a better view by watching the fight on the TV screens. But sight lines aren’t the only issue – the action is different too. When not inside the unforgiving walls of a cage, fighters are forced to move and press the action. There’s none of the wedged-into-the-cage ground-and-pound or wall wrestling, there’s more stand-up fighting, more movement, and more overall excitement.

CORPORATE SPONSORS PREFER TO SEE MMA IN A RING
According to MFC CEO Mark Pavelich, most of the reservations about MMA he consistently hears from potential corporate sponsors have to do with the cage. As he stated in his interview on No Holds Barred:
“I hate the cage. I’ve never liked it. It’s completely non-sport-oriented. Why do you think that big companies like Nike aren’t involved in mixed martial arts? Because the second they hear the word ‘cage’, the executives ask, ‘why are these people fighting in a cage?’”

“I run the Maximum Fighting Championship like a professional sports organization. People can debate this night and day, back and forth, for the next hundred years, but it doesn’t matter what apparatus is better to fight in. It matters what’s more acceptable to the corporate sponsors that are going to generate money for your organization to keep it alive and keep it rolling.”

THE MAXIMUM FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP WILL ALWAYS BE IN A RING
So cage or ring? The choice of fighting enclosure is going to play a big role in our sport’s future. If MMA is to continue to grow and be embraced by TV networks and combat sports fans worldwide, the ring is probably the path to follow. The Maximum Fighting Championship will always take place in a ring and for anyone who doesn’t believe that the ring promotes exciting fights, we formally invite you to come to MFC 26: Retribution. You WILL be proven wrong. Again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if you’re ready for some exciting cage fighting, then let’s get around to throwin’ down!” – Bruce Pettis

Saturday, June 12, 2010 come out to the Indiana State Fairgrounds’ Toyota Blue Ribbon Pavilion, as long standing U.F.C. veteran Chris “Lights Out” Lylte and Premier Cage Fighting present “Total Warrior Challenge 6.”

Premier Cage Fighting (PCF) is one Indiana’s most reputable and promising, mixed martial arts promotions.  PCF has been slowly, but surely gaining recognition, as well as participation, from some of Midwestern M.M.A’s premier fighters and fans (hence the name).  Because of this, PCF has been able to produce electrifying fight cards.  Saturday, June 12th will be no exception.

The night will feature a main event between Joao Herdy and former CageCraze.com featured fighter Dustin Neace.  Other professionals set to perform will include:  Marvin Lemock, Justin Allen, Casey Dyer, and James Shaw.  Besides showcasing professional talent, PCF will be featuring multiple amateur bouts.  Amateur stand-outs Abe Garcia, Bobby Thilman, Matthew Perry, and Bryant Whitaker are all set to perform in the cage.

This will be a no-smoking event, so bring the whole family to witness some of tomorrow’s stars today

Check out our previous show, “Total Warrior Challenge 5″ on Comcast On Demand.

Event Information:

Name: Total Warrior Challenge 6 (view full fight card)

Date: Saturday,June 12th,

Location: Toyota Blue Ribbon Pavilion (Get Directions)

Time: Doors Open at 6pm, Fights start promptly at 7pm

Ticket information:

Get tickets now: www.totalwarriorchallenge.com

Submission Information:

Submitted on: June 4th, 2010

Submitted by: Dave Mcdaniel

In this week's installment of HDNet Fights Video Vault, our weekly
fight-of-the-week feature, we take a look at one of the sport's longest
running promotions, King of the Cage.

King of the Cage began broadcasting events on HDNet earlier this year,
and already the agreement is providing dividends in the form of
highlight-reel finishes.

Heavyweights Nick "Afrozilla" Gaston and Nick Guidry faced each other at
March's "King of the Cage: Legacy" in Reno, Nevada, and the pair
delivered one such clip.

Hi,

My name is Keith "Boogie" Brown. I was lucky enough to win a pair of MyHouse board shorts at a raffle at the "Good Fight" Thanksgiving Throwdown 2 and I've been rocking them ever since. From the practice mats, to the boxing ring, to the cage, these shorts hold up and stay comfortable. I have been spreading the word that My House gear is the truth. I will definitely be wearing them when I step in the cage for Naga's "Reality Fighting" at the Battle at the Beach weekend in Wildwood.

Attached are a few shots of me in "MyHouse"!