HESKETT NAMED WRESTLING COACHFormer Ohio State Assistant, Four-Time All-American Joins Black Knights   WEST POINT, N.Y.  – Joe Heskett, a four-time All-American, national champion and former U.S. World Team member who spent the past four years as an assistant at Ohio State University, has been named the head wrestling coach at Army Athletics Director Kevin Anderson announced.Heskett, a 2001 graduate of Iowa State University, replaces Chuck Barbee who resigned following his 10th season to pursue other interests.   “I am very excited to have one of the young talents in collegiate wrestling as our head coach,” said Anderson. “Joe comes highly recommended from Athletic Director of the Year Gene Smith of Ohio State has unmatched credentials on the mat and his passion and dedication to the sport should pay immediate dividends. He has continued to advance his career and we are confident he can lead us to wins over Navy, EIWA Championships and national qualifiers.”   Heskett, who won the 165-pound national championship in 2002, is the ninth head coach in program history.   "Life will often surprise us with outstanding opportunities,” said Heskett. “I am humbled and honored to be able to lead and represent the Army wrestling program. I am inspired by what West Point represents and I graciously accept the challenge to mentor and motivate the cadet-athletes, improve their technical and tactical skills on the mat and to beat Navy. I would like to thank my family, Kevin Anderson, the West Point search committee, specifically Associate Athletic Director Gene McIntyre for his time and energy and the entire USMA athletic department."   Heskett, the eighth four-time All-American at Iowa State, graduated with a degree in speech communications and a career record of 143-9.   He was a three-time national finalist, winning one championship and finishing second and third. Heskett captured three Big 12 Championships, won the prestigious Midlands event on three occasions and graduated third on Iowa State’s all-time wins list.   Following his decorated collegiate career, Heskett earned a spot on the 2007 U.S. World Team after winning the U.S. Nationals and U.S. World Team Trials. He represented the United States at the ’07 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan with a fifth-place finish. He dropped a tough, three-period battle with a two-time world champion from Russia in the semifinals before wrestling back to finish fifth and was one of five wrestlers to qualify at his weight for the Olympics. Earlier that summer, he won a silver medal at 163 pounds at the 2007 Pan American Games.Less than a week after returning from the World Championships, Heskett was forced to retire from competitive wrestling due to an injury and joined the Ohio State staff.Hired as the volunteer assistant in 2006, Heskett was training for the Olympics while assisting in recruiting, team academic support, cultivating donor and alumni relations and other operational duties. Shortly after his competitive retirement, he was promoted to full-time assistant on Tom Ryan’s staff as the chief recruiter. In addition to his work on the mat, Heskett also assumed responsibility for practice plans, academic progress and community service initiatives.   During his tenure at Ohio State, Heskett helped the Buckeyes to four top-10 team finishes at the NCAA Tournament, three NCAA champions and 15 All-Americans. He played a large role in securing the nation’s top recruiting class in 2006 and helped sign a host of top prospects.   Heskett began his coaching career at Cal Poly University where he was the head assistant wrestling coach an also earned his master’s degree with honors in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Athletic Administration. He assisted in all facets of the program, including fundraising, and helped the Mustangs to their highest NCAA placement in nearly 20 years.   Leadership and leadership training is another passion of Heskett’s. He was Iowa State’s representative at the NCAA Leadership Conference, a board member of the Children’s Body Image, a former member of the Major Ray Mendoza Leadership Fund and an Ambassador and Public Awareness Speaker for the Ohio State Medical Center. He is the founder and Chief Visionary Officer for h Leadership in Columbus, Ohio, a firm with an array of industry expertsA native of Akron, Ohio, Heskett and his wife Tara have two daughters, Olivia and Ava, and are expecting a son in late July. They will reside at West Point.

New York City, New York (July 5, 2010) – Continuing its quest to seek out the world’s next mixed martial arts superstars, M-1 Global’s highly anticipated M-1 Selection 2010 – Americas Semi-Final world tournament bouts are set with the live event taking place August 7, 2010 at Bally’s Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“M-1 Global is committed to finding the next generation of MMA superstars and the Selection tournament plays a pivotal role as the proving ground for these young fighters,” says Evgeni Kogan, Director of Operations of the mixed martial arts powerhouse, M-1Global. “The semi-finals represent the mid-point and its win – and earn a spot in the finals – or go home. The caliber of competition gets markedly tougher from here on.”

The semi-final round bouts feature rising American stars; all expecting to demonstrate spectacular athleticism as they create fireworks within the ring.

Tournament fighters include:

Josh Bacallao and GeorgeSheppard Lightweight Division

Pat Audinwood and Dennis Bermudez Lightweight Division

Robert Rodriguez and Daniel Viscaya Light Heavyweight Division

Tom Gallicchio and Aaron Meisner Welterweight Division

Reggie Pena and Colin Schrader Welterweight Division

Shane Primm and Mike Geurin Middleweight Division

Tyson Jeffries and Plinio Cruz Middleweight Division

Byron Byrd and Mike Foster Light Heavyweight Division

Medi Hassan and Pat Bennett Heavyweight Division

Andrei Kapylov and Kenny Garner Heavyweight Division

· Additional bouts to be announced

The M-1 Selection 2010 – Americas Final round match-ups will be determined at the conclusion of the August 7th event in preparation for the September 18th showcase of the 2010 M-1 Selection Championships.

The “M-1 Selection” is the world’s premiere MMA competition where the next generation of superstars are given the opportunity to showcase their skills on the world stage with fighters being eliminated after only one loss; victory will advance the winning fighters throughout the tournament and earn them a trip to the championship event where they will compete for the coveted “M-1 Selection” title.

The “M-1 Selection” tournament is broken down into global regions: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Americas with each region hosting three rounds and a final of the ““M-1 Selection” tournament. The winning fighter in each weight class will gain the opportunity to fight on the larger international stage.

The tournament features some of the best up-and-coming fighters from each region as they begin the journey towards a tournament victory.

A divide among New York Democrats has stalled the legalization of MMA, says state assemblyman Steven Englebright.

Englebright, a Democrat who chairs the assembly's Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee, has twice sponsored legislation that would legalize MMA in the Empire State. Last year, his committee green-lighted the sport, and this year, the state senate gave the OK.

But following recent developments, Englebright is not optimistic that MMA will be voted on this year.

Seems like the stigma surrounding mixed martial arts continues in New York, and despite the strong lobbying efforts from both the UFC and independent MMA organizations, it will be some time before The Big Apple sees a mixed martial arts event. The New York Daily News is reporting that Assembly Democrats have stripped approval for MMA from an upcoming budget bill:

The push to legalize ultimate fighting in New York is on the ropes. Assembly Democrats stripped approval for the wildly popular violent sport from a budget bill that lawmakers will take up as soon as today. Gov. Paterson sought to legalize mixed martial arts, saying fights could pull in more than $2 million in tax revenue for the cash-strapped state. “The majority of voices who spoke about this issue in our conference were not supportive of approving it as part of the budget,” said Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D-L.I.), a fight fan. Englebright said it’s a long shot the Assembly will revisit the issue.

Dana White and the UFC have been doing a great job cleaning up the “reputation” of mixed martial arts, and it’s only a matter of time before it’s recognized as a legitimate sport but it seems like old-timers and ultra conservatives are running things in New York and so we wait for approval. For now.

New York, NY, June 28, 2010 – Spike TV will telecast live coverage of the weigh-ins for the highly-anticipated “UFC 116 Lesnar-Carwin” fight card on Friday, July 2 at 7:00pm ET/4:00pm PT. The main event features a showdown between the top two heavyweight mixed martial artists in the world, UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and interim heavyweight titlist Shane Carwin.

Spike TV also announces it will telecast the light heavyweight clash between “The Ultimate Fighter 2” alum Seth Petruzelli (14-5) and Ricardo Romero (10-1) on Saturday, July 3 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The Petruzelli fight will join the already-announced Brendan Schaub-Chris Tuchscherer fight as part of the Spike TV live Prelims.

Fighting out of Orlando, Florida, the veteran Petruzelli scored his first big victory against mixed martial great Dan Severn in January 2004, winning a three-round decision. A year later he joined the cast of “The Ultimate Fighter 2” but lost to Brad Imes in the show’s semifinals. Petruzelli gained worldwide attention in October 2008 when he defeated Kimbo Slice with a first round TKO, and riding a four fight winning streak, he returns to the Octagon to take on Ricardo Romero, making his UFC debut.

Fighting out of New Brunswick, NJ, Romero is 10-1 in his mixed martial arts career, including winning his last five straight. A highly-regarded college wrestler for Rutgers University, Romero also scored a notable victory over “The Ultimate Fighter 10” alum James McSweeney in April 2009. The Petruzelli-Romero fight will replace the Grove-Reljic fight, which will no longer air live on Spike.

Other bouts on the card might air on Spike TV, to be determined by the length of the fights.
Spike TV is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at www.spike.com/press.

New York, NY, June 24, 2010 – Spike TV will showcase two of the Boston area’s finest mixed martial arts fighters in live undercard bouts from “UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II” on Saturday, August 28 at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT. Live from the TD Garden in Boston, Joe Lauzon (“The Ultimate Fighter 5” alum) of Bridgewater, Mass. takes on Terry Etim in a lightweight battle and Milford, Mass native Jorge Rivera (“The Ultimate Fighter 4” alum) meets Alessio Sakara in a middleweight clash.

Lauzon (17-5) burst onto the mixed martial arts scene with a shocking knockout of former lightweight champ Jens Pulver at UFC 63 in September 2006. A cast member of “The Ultimate Fighter 5,” Lauzon won his first three UFC bouts before losing to fellow New Englander Kenny Florian via TKO in April 2008. After winning two of his last three fights, Lauzon needs a win in front of his hometown fans to ascend to the top reaches of the lightweight division.

Fighting out of Liverpool, England, lightweight contender Terry Etim (14-3) has won four of his last five bouts in the Octagon® and is unquestionably one of the UK’s finest prospects. But to take that step to the next level, he must get past Lauzon on August 28th. This marks the sixth time Etim has fought live on Spike TV
Veteran fighter Rivera (18-7) has won a career-best three straight UFC fights including most recently a second-round TKO over Nate Quarry (“The Ultimate Fighter 1”) in March. The 38-year-old will fulfill a life-long dream as he will step into the Octagon for the first time live in front of his partisan hometown Boston crowd.

Fighting with American Top Team in Miami, Sakara (19-7, 1 NC) switched to fighting middleweight 2 ½ years ago, and after dropping his first fight to Chris Leben at 185 lbs, he has won his last three bouts. The veteran slugger is coming off an impressive 1st round TKO over James Irvin this past March.

Other bouts on the card might air on Spike TV, to be determined by the length of the fights.

Spike TV is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at www.spike.com/press.

The name “Jose Aldo” warrants both fear and respect among featherweight fighters these days, but how much praise does a champion’s training partner deserve before he’s even made his WEC debut?

At “WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus“, fight fans will get an opportunity to draw their own conclusions about Renan Barao — training partner of the current WEC champ and a 20-1 Brazilian fighter whose current 20-fight win streak dates all the way back to his pro debut — but while all the hype seems to surround Barao for his upcoming WEC bantamweight debut, people shouldn’t be too quick to count out the challenger, Anthony Leone.

One of several undefeated fighters from Team Bombsquad, Leone himself is no stranger to trading punches with champions. At 21, he left Long Island, NY and headed to Hilo, HI to study MMA under former UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn. Since then he’s compiled an undefeated record of 8-0 and is just as eager as Barao to get his name out there this Sunday at WEC49.

“My opponent is pretty good. He’s 20-1, with a 20-fight win streak, I know that, but he’s never really faced a wrestler or somebody who will switch it up on him like I can,” Leone said. “All the guys he’s fought are mostly Muay Thai fighters… I don’t know, I think he’s got a lot of hype behind him.”

Leone on the other hand has been winning quietly the last two years, jumping back and forth between the 145 and 155 lb. divisions, but always in the mix with the best around and consistently coming out on top by submission or decision.

Before coming back from Hawaii in 2008, Leone turned to the popular MMA forum The Underground in search of a quality camp to join when he got home to New York. Right away, all signs pointed to Cortland based Bombsquad.

“That was all Zack,” said Leone. “We met on The Underground and he asked me, ‘What type of opponents are you looking for?’ Then he gave me three options; an easy opponent, a hard opponent or whoever we put in front of you. I said, ‘I don’t really care.’ I was 1-0 at the time and feeling pretty good. The rest is history.”

Leone has kept busy since he got back to the mainland and has been in and out of the cage just about every three months for his entire career, but it wasn’t until he took a single fight at 135 that he got noticed by the likes of the WEC.

He and his manager had decided a few months back that the WEC was just too stacked at 145 to make a run at a featherweight contract, so when a new promotion called the XCFL offered Leone a title shot and a chance to drop to 135 for a fight with undefeated Boston Sityodtong prodigy in Teteki Matsui, he jumped at the chance.

The result was a bantamweight debut that contained more memorable moments than most’s career highlight video.

Leone revealed new found speed and the same kind of power against Matsui. He took him down with slams from the front as well as behind, unloaded straight left and right punches at an incredible pace and ate more than one headkick as well as an illegal knee to the head while he was down.

“I had to cut 30 pounds to make 135,” said Leone. “I think i got a lot faster but those guys [in the WEC] are so much faster too. It’s got its ups and downs.”

The real difference in the wrestler’s game came when he moved Upstate so he could train with the Bombsquad full time. He explained there were people to roll with in Long Island but nothing could match the sparring he received day in and day out with his brothers at arms in Cortland.

“Moving up to Cortland has been great for me,” he said. “Back when I used to train in Long Island we’d mostly work on my wrestling or jiu-jitsu, but not spar. Then, I come up to Cortland and we’re forced to spar atleast three or four times a week. I never used to like to get hit, but now I’m used to it. I’m never scared to get in cage and take a shot. I know it’s going to happen — I know I’m going to get punched — it’s just a matter of doing it back to him.”

As World Extreme Cagefighting continues to gather up the most talented fighters under 155 pounds, more and more exciting fights have found their way onto the undercard. This weekend’s event will feature Wagney Fabiano along with Raphael Assuncao and Diego Nunes competing in the featherweight and bantamweight divisions, and fight fans can’t afford to miss Barao and Leone.

Below is meet director Dale Hammond's meet write up for the USAPL Orange County Powerlifting Championships that took place in Pine Bush, New York. In his first meet, Chris Smith (148) broke 2 New York state records. Videos of Smith can also be seen below. John Bogart competed as well.

New York, NY, June 10, 2010 – The finals are set for “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz” as Court “The Crusher” McGee and Kris “Savage” McCray emerged last night to compete for a six-figure contract with the preeminent mixed martial arts organization in the world, The Ultimate Fighting Championship®. Emanating from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV, the finale will be telecast LIVE on Spike TV Saturday, June 19 at 9:00 PM ET.

Fighting out of Orem, UT, Court McGee (10-1) is aiming to complete one of the most miraculous comebacks in the history of mixed martial arts. McGee is a former heroin addict who was actually once pronounced dead by EMTs when they arrived on the scene after an overdose in 2005. McGee emerged from a six day coma after the incident and went through an extensive physical rehab program, relearning basic motor skills such as walking. Wrestling, karate and jiu jitsu were a pipe dream at the time, yet five years later, McGee stands at the precipice of becoming “The Ultimate Fighter,” with his opponent McCray the only thing standing in his way. The next-to-last pick by Team Liddell, McGee dropped his first bout on the show via a razor thin decision in a war with Nick Ring, but, like in life, received a second chance. Filling in for an injured Rich Attonito, McGee defeated James Hammortree via guillotine in the second round of their quarterfinal matchup, and garnered a spot in the finals by defeating Brad Tavares with a rear naked choke with only 18 seconds left in the third round of their semifinal slugfest to move onto the finals.

Training in Dumfries, VA, Kris McCray (6-0) was born to a military father, and was raised in Germany, where he excelled in basketball, badminton and soccer, garnering All-Europe honors soccer at Ansbach American High School. It was in Germany where his interest in MMA was sparked, watching karate movies and imitating the moves. In 1999, McCray moved permanently to the United States, graduating from Woodbridge Senior High School in northern Virginia while earning a varsity letter for wrestling. Upon graduating, McCray enrolled in Northern Virginia Community College, earning his Associates Degree in General Studies in 2001. While enrolled there, McCray began serving in the US Army Reserve, where he spent 8 years (6 active, 2 inactive). Towards the end of his time in the Army Reserve, he began training in jiu jitsu at Gold Medal Grappling in Woodbridge, Virginia, which set him on the path that he is on now. Like his opponent in the finale, McCray, a member of Team Ortiz, also received a second chance on the show after dropping his first bout, being selected as the wild card because of his impressive showing in a three-round loss to Josh Bryant. He defeated fellow wild card selection Kyacey Uscola to get back into the competition, then took out number one overall pick Kyle Noke via decision in the quarterfinals and avenged his loss to Bryant via unanimous decision in the semifinals to punch his ticket for the finals.

The Spike TV nationally televised card kicks off with a middleweight bout featuring “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Ortiz vs. Team Liddell” contestants Rich Attonito and Jamie Yager. In episode 4, Attonito (7-3) was awarded a victory over Kyacey Uscola via disqualification but broke his hand and was unable to continue on his quest to become “The Ultimate Fighter.” Now fully recovered, Attonito is currently training with American Top Team in Florida.

Jamie Yager (2-1) impressively knocked out Charles Blanchard in one minute and eight seconds in their bout in episode 4, but was unable to answer the bell in the third round of his intense battle with Josh Bryant in episode 10. Fighting out of Los Angeles, Yager was a standout varsity letterman in baseball and football and was the 2001 Athlete of the Year at South Pasadena High School in California.

Headlining the Spike TV card will be the previously announced battle of UFC light heavyweights Keith Jardine and “The Ultimate Fighter” alum Matt Hamill, a middleweight bout between Aaron Simpson and Chris Leben, and a lightweight matchup pitting Dennis Siver against Spencer Fisher.

Other matches on the fight card include (might air time permitting):
Brad Tavares (4-1) vs. Seth Baczynski (11-5)
Chris Camozzi (12-3) vs. James Hammortree (4-0)
Jamie Yager (2-1) vs. Rich Attonito (7-3)Last night’s “The Ultimate Fighter” semifinal bouts featuring Josh Bryant vs. Kris McCray and Court McGee vs. Brad Tavares can now be seen in their entirety on ultimatefighter.com.

Spike TV is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press.