Here are video highlights of the SPF River City meet held Vicksburg, Mississippi at Warren Central High School. Featured is raw lifter Atavis Campbell (USMC- 475 raw) and equipped lifter Chad McMullin (585 bench).

Press Release

Featured title fight between top Canadian & Hawaiian 170-pounders to headline “TFC 11: Destiny”

Edmonton, Alberta (Canada): The Fight Club (TFC), one of the fastest-growing fight promotion in Canada, has secured a world class main event for its next event, “TFC 11: FORD vs WOLFF.” On Saturday, July 17th, live at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, TFC World Welterweight Champion Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford will defend his title against the man considered to be the number one 170 lb. fighter in Hawaii, UFC veteran Brandon Wolff. Tickets are available through http://www.thefightclub.ca/, or (780) 991-5670.

TFC 11 will be shown on pay-per-view across Canada on Shaw, Shaw Direct, Bell TV, and Viewers Choice, offering virtually all Canadians the opportunity to purchase and watch the show live. The event will also be broadcasted at many commercial establishments, bars, pubs, lounges, and casinos across Canada. In addition, through a distribution agreement with Ringside Boxing & MMA, the event will be televised to a potential worldwide audience of over 150 million viewers (on a delayed basis). News on a press conference will be announced soon.

Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford (12-2) is viewed by many to be the next great Canadian welterweight after UFC 170-pound kingpin Georges St-Pierre. A native of Edmonton, “The Real Deal” won the TFC welterweight title on December 5th of last year when he knocked out California native John Walsh (10-5) in just thirteen seconds at “TFC 9: TOTAL CHOAS.” Ford holds victories over UFC vets Pete Spratt, CJ Fernandes, and Tommy Speer, who he defeated via first round submission at the most recent TFC event, “TFC 10: HIGH OCTANE” on March 19th. Ford is currently riding a four-fight win streak.

At “DESTINY,” Brandon Wolff (7-4) will be looking to lift the TFC welterweight strap from Ford. Wolff, who holds the X-1 welterweight title, stands five feet, ten inches tall, and trains with Team MMAD in Hawaii. The former Navy SEAL is a veteran of the UFC, the WEC, Rumble on the Rock, EliteXC, and K-1, and has faced top-flight competition such as Riki Fukuda, Chad Reiner, Ben Saunders, and Yoshiyuki Yoshida. After going 3-2 in an up-and-down early career, Wolff came out victorious in four straight fights, which included a unanimous decision victory over Chad Klingensmith at “EliteXC: Uprising.” In May of 2008, Wolff faced the UFC veteran Reiner for the X-1 welterweight title. After five grueling rounds, Wolff was awarded the unanimous decision victory and the championship. Now, he will look to add TFC hardware to his collection.

The Fight Club is also pleased to announce the addition of Ron “The Yacman” Yacovetti, who will now handle play-by-play commentary cageside for “TFC 11: FORD vs WOLFF.” “The Yacman,” who is the face of the MMA social networking website Fightlaunch.com, has done fight commentary for several other organizations, including the Korean MMA promotion Spirit MC (Spirit Martial Challenge), and the California-based Art of Fighting promotion. In addition, Ron co-hosts a weekly Web TV series entitled “The Yac & J Show,” a comedic news magazine style show.

Look for the additional fights to be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.thefightclub.ca/.

The previously undefeated Chad Hinton will be looking to bounce back from the sole defeat of his career with an impressive showing in a lightweight showdown against fellow Cincinatti based fighter Daniel Straus at Bellator 23.

News of the bout was first reported by MMAJunkie’s Dan Stupp via the Dayton Daily News.

Bellator 24 takes place at the Fourth Street Live! entertainment complex in Louisville, Kentucky on June 24. The event will be broadcast live Thursday evening on FOX Sports Net, along with highlight shows that air on Saturday evening’s on NBC, Telemundo and Mun2.

Hinton (6-1) was handed the first defeat in his career via kneebar at the hands of Roger Huerta during Bellator 13 in his previous outing, while Straus (10-3) is currently riding a 7-fight win streak.

After a solid but unsuccessful lightweight tournament loss to UFC veteran Roger Huerta, Chad Hinton gets a second shot at a first Bellator win when he meets Daniel Straus next month at Bellator 23.

The two Cincinnati-based fighters have been booked for the preliminary card of the June 24 show.

MMAjunkie.com editor-in-chief Dann Stupp reported the bout in today's "MMA Insider" column for the Dayton Daily News.

Press Release

Featured title fight between top Canadian & Hawaiian 170-pounders to headline “TFC 11: Destiny” event

Edmonton, Alberta (Canada): The Fight Club (TFC), one of the fastest-growing fight promotions in Canada, has secured a world class main event for its next event, “TFC 11: DESTINY.” On Saturday, July 17th, live at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, TFC World Welterweight Champion Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford will defend his title against the man considered to be the number one 170 lb. fighter in Hawaii, UFC veteran Brandon Wolff. Tickets are available through http://www.thefightclub.ca/, or (780) 991-5670.

“DESTINY” will be shown on pay-per-view across Canada on Shaw, Shaw Direct, Bell TV, and Viewers Choice, offering virtually all Canadians the opportunity to purchase and watch the show live. The event will also be broadcasted at many commercial establishments, bars, pubs, lounges, and casinos across Canada. In addition, through a distribution agreement with Ringside Boxing & MMA, the event will be televised to a potential worldwide audience of over 150 million viewers (on a delayed basis). News on a press conference will be announced soon.

Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford (12-2) is viewed by many to be the next great Canadian welterweight after UFC 170-pound kingpin Georges St-Pierre. A native of Edmonton, “The Real Deal” won the TFC welterweight title on December 5th of last year when he knocked out California native John Walsh (10-5) in just thirteen seconds at “TFC 9: TOTAL CHOAS.” Ford holds victories over UFC vets Pete Spratt, CJ Fernandes, and Tommy Speer, who he defeated via first round submission at the most recent TFC event, “TFC 10: HIGH OCTANE” on March 19th. Ford is currently riding a four-fight win streak.

At “DESTINY,” Brandon Wolff (7-4) will be looking to lift the TFC welterweight strap from Ford. Wolff, who holds the X-1 welterweight title, stands five feet, ten inches tall, and trains with Team MMAD in Hawaii. The former Navy SEAL is a veteran of the UFC, the WEC, Rumble on the Rock, EliteXC, and K-1, and has faced top-flight competition such as Riki Fukuda, Chad Reiner, Ben Saunders, and Yoshiyuki Yoshida. After going 3-2 in an up-and-down early career, Wolff came out victorious in four straight fights, which included a unanimous decision victory over Chad Klingensmith at “EliteXC: Uprising.” In May of 2008, Wolff faced the UFC veteran Reiner for the X-1 welterweight title. After five grueling rounds, Wolff was awarded the unanimous decision victory and the championship. Now, he will look to add TFC hardware to his collection.

The Fight Club is also pleased to announce the addition of Ron “The Yacman” Yacovetti, who will now handle play-by-play commentary cageside for “TFC 11: DESTINY.” “The Yacman,” who is the face of the MMA social networking website FightLaunch.com, has done fight commentary for several other organizations, including the Korean MMA promotion Spirit MC (Spirit Martial Challenge), and the Florida-based Art of Fighting promotion. In addition, Ron co-hosts a weekly Web TV series entitled “The Yac & J Show,” a comedic news magazine style show.

Look for the additional fights to be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.thefightclub.ca/.

On May 22nd in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the SPF will hold the River City Push/Pull at Warren Central High School. Says Chad McMullin, the head coach of Warren Central HS Powerlifting: "this meet is potentially a big fund raiser for our team. Jesse (Rodgers-SPF President) is being nice enough to donate a portion of the entry fees to our team, so obviously the more lifters we have, the more funds we can raise for the team".

The entry form, as well as all meet information for the SPF River City Push/Pull can be found here.

Frank Curreri, WEC - The precious right hand of Chad George - knock on wood - has never been broken. And it's a good thing because the zany Los Angeles resident not only earns a paycheck by punching people in the face but is also quite skilled when taking pen to paper.

Though the proverbial spotlight may be firmly planted on Montreal for UFC 113, Maximum Fighting Championship made sure Canadian MMA fans outside of Quebec also had a chance to get their live-show fix this weekend courtesy of last night’s ”MFC 25 – Vindication”. The Edmonton event featured a slew of fighters hailing from America’s northerly neighbor as well as a handful of names once associated with the infamous Octagon.

Chase Gormley, who started his career out with six wins before dropping a pair of fights in the UFC, got back on the winning track by outpointing Ryan Fortin on all three judges’ scorecards. The victory was his second by unanimous decision in the promotion.

Not so lucky in result was TUF 6 alumnus Richie Hightower who emerged a loser after falling victim to a first-round submission at the limbs of Gavin Neil. The Rear-Naked Choke brought Neil’s record to 8-1 and was his fourth win in a row.

However, not all was lost for fighters with Ultimate Fighter experience, as Season Four’s Pete Spratt avoided the judges’ scorecards by finishing fellow Octagon veteran Luigi Fioravanti with less than a minute remaining in their bout. The accomplishment marked Spratt’s eleventh career TKO, while American Top Team’s Fioravanti is now 3-2 since parting ways with the UFC slightly more than a year ago.

To the surprise of some, especially those not flying a flag with a maple leaf on it, Ryan Jimmo lived up to his nickname and proved he is indeed a “Big Deal” by welcoming Brazilian Wilson Gouveia to MFC with a unanimous decision defeat. Gouveia, who showed up three pounds heavy to the weigh-in, has fallen in his last three fights and is now 12-8 as a professional. Comparably, the win improved Jimmo’s record to 13-1 and continued an impressive streak dating back to the Canadian’s only loss – his debut in February 2007!

The evening’s main event involved perhaps the largest contrast in personalities if not styles, as soft-spoken, technical jiujitsu practitioner Thales Leites tested his skills against colorful, physical wrestler Jesse “J.T. Money” Taylor and needed less than two-and-a-half minutes to pass the exam with a Triangle Armbar. It was the third loss for Taylor in his last four fights and his fifth by submission out of six total career defeats. On the other end of the spectrum, the hold brought about the one-time UFC Middleweight Championship contender’s third victory in a row since being released by the organization after a split-decision snoozer to Alessio Sakara at UFC 101.

Here is a complete rundown of results:

Jevon Marshall def. Garret Nybakken via Submission Round 3
Keto Allen def. Aaron Berke via TKO Round 1
Chad Freeman def. Mike Froese via Submission Round 1
Chase Gormley def. Ryan Fortin via Unanimous Decision
Gavin Neil def. Richie Hightower via Submission Round 1
Pete Spratt def. Luigi Fioravanti via TKO Round 3
Emanuel Newton def. Dwayne Lewis via Unanimous Decision
Ryan Jimmo def. Wilson Gouveia via Unanimous Decision
Thales Leites def. Jesse Taylor via Submission Round 1

Press Release

Thales Leites made quick work of Jesse Taylor, and Ryan Jimmo made a huge statement with a convincing victory at the Maximum Fighting Championship’s MFC 25: Vindication.

In front of more than 4,000 fans at the Northlands Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, and live on HDNet, Leites (17-3) submitted Taylor with an impressive triangle choke at the 2:27 mark of the first round. Taylor (14-6) initially forced Leites to the mat with a double-leg takedown, but the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, product scored big a strike from the bottom that opened a deep gash on Taylor’s eyebrow. That was the beginning of the end as Leites smoothly transitioned into the submission manoeuvre and forced the tapout.

It was a second straight win in the Maximum Fighting Championship for Leites and moved him to the top of the contender list for the MFC middleweight title.

In the night’s co-main event, Jimmo (13-1) surely shocked a number of mixed martial arts pundits as he dominated Wilson Gouveia (12-8) en route to a clear-cut unanimous decision. Jimmo showed his patented counter-striking in Round 1 and then thoroughly applied the heat on Gouveia in Round 2. Jimmo surprisingly took Gouveia down but instead of being caught up in the Brazilian’s jiu-jitsu skills, Jimmo unleashed a ferocious ground-and-pound assault. At one point, Jimmo had Gouveia stacked up in a neutral corner and rained down countless strikes that nearly forced referee John Braak to step in and stop bout. At the end of the round, a battered and bruised Gouveia needed help returning to his corner.

Jimmo continued to showcase a much more confident attack in Round 3, and despite getting caught with a punch from Gouveia in the early moments, he cruised to the win. A pair of judges gave Jimmo a 10-8 score in Round 2 and he finished with counts of 30-27, 30-26, 30-26 in his favor. Jimmo, who now fights out of Edmonton, Alberta, was given a huge ovation by the home-town crowd for the best performance of his career – a result which has tabbed him as the front-runner for a shot at the MFC light heavyweight title.

Meanwhile, former MFC light heavyweight champ Emanuel Newton showed that cleaning up his act outside the ring had a profound effect on his in-ring performance. Newton (13-6), who hails from Norwalk, California, utilized outstanding takedowns and control to take a unanimous decision from crowd favorite Dwayne Lewis (11-5). Newton, whose corner was anchored by MFC lightweight champ Antonio McKee, put a stop to his own three-fight losing skid while snapping Lewis’s own seven-fight win streak. The result was a bitter pill to swallow for Lewis who had more than 400 fans in the audience from his home town of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

In an entertaining welterweight encounter, veteran Pete Spratt (21-17) picked up the Knockout of the Night by stopping Luigi Fioravanti (17-7) at 4:02 of Round 3. Spratt took control in Round 2 doing most of his damage with brutal kicks to the body. In the third, Spratt dropped Fioravanti with a stiff jab and then pounced with a barrage that brought upon the stoppage. It was the second straight win in the Maximum Fighting Championship for the native of San Antonio, Texas, who captured the MFC’s 2009 Knockout of the Year in his last appearance at MFC 22 back in October.

Gavin Neil (8-1) picked up the Submission of the Night by coaxing a tapout from Richie Hightower (8-4) at 2:52 of Round 1. Hightower was done in by a wicked left hook from Neil and the Victoria, British Columbia, native moved quickly into a fight-ending rear-naked choke.
　
Other results:

Chase Gormley (7-2) def. Ryan Fortin (4-3) – Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Chad Freeman (4-3) def. Mike Froese (3-3) – 3:48 Round 1, tapout via armbar

Keto Allen (4-0) def. Aaron Berke (4-2) – 2:58 Round 1, TKO

Jevon Marshall (1-0) def. Garret Nybakken (1-1) – 2:00 Round 3, tapout via rear-naked choke

Join us tonight as The MMA News brings you the live, Quick Updates for Maximum Fighting Championships latest event “MFC 25: Vindication” from the Northlands Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

MFC 25: Vindication will take place on Friday, May 7 at the Northlands Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, and will air live on HDNet Fights throughout North America.

The preliminary action will begin at approx. 8:15 p.m. EST (5:15 p.m. PST) with the main broadcast card beginning at 10 p.m. EST.

Former UFC middleweight challenger Thales Leites will be facing former “TUF” fighter Jesse Taylor in the main event which will determine the top contender for the MFC middleweight title. Jimmo and Lewis, who are from Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Alberta, respectively, are two of the MFC’s most-popular fighters and both are in separate bouts which will go a long way to setting the stage for the next MFC light heavyweight title bout.

The MMA News will be keeping the spoilers off-of the main page. To see the live quick results for MFC 25: Vindication click

The full card for MFC 25 is as follows:

Main Card:

- Thales Leites def. Jesse Taylor via submission (triangle choke) – R1,2:27
- Ryan Jimmo def. Wilson Gouveia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Emanuel Newton def. Dwayne Lewis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Pete Spratt def. Luigi Fioravanti via TKO (strikes) – R3, 4:02
- Gavin Neil def. Richie Hightower via submission (rnc) – R1, 2:52
- Chase Gormley def. Ryan Fortin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary card:

- Chad Freeman def. Mike Froese via submission (arm bar) – R1, 3:48
- Keto Allen def. Aaron Berke via TKO (punches) – R1, 2:15
- Jevon Marshall def. Garret Nybakken via submission (rear naked choke) – R3, 2:00