Los Angeles, Calif (USA), June 25, 2010….. HeadBlade® announced today that UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin inked a deal with the Culver City-based men’s grooming company specializing in headcare and head-shaving products worldwide.

Carwin holds an impressive 12-0 record in the UFC, many of which ended by knockout. His most recent KO against Frank Mir in UFC 111 landed him the pay-per-view bout against Brock Lesnar on July 3rd at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, billed as “The Biggest Heavyweight Fight Ever.” While Lesnar still holds the Heavyweight Championship belt, Carwin earned the title of Interim Heavyweight Champion after Lesnar pulled out of UFC due to illness in 2009. Up until this point, Carwin has always stepped into the Octagon with hair on his head.

“I am honored to be working with HeadBlade®. I have recently started shaving my head (mother nature was doing it for me) and I love it,” Carwin said. “Using the HeadBlade® Sport razor gives me a cleaner and faster shave than any other grooming device. For a guy who is raising a family, and being the UFC Interim Champion, time is everything. HeadBlade® is the ultimate razor, and the only one good enough for me.”
Todd Greene, the owner and inventor of HeadBlade®, saw an incredible opportunity to sponsor Carwin. “We’ve been huge fans of MMA (mixed martial-arts) since starting the company in 1999,” Greene said. “Shane is an undeniable force in the UFC, and when we heard he started shaving his head, there was no hesitation. He’s both a powerful fighter, and a genuine class act – the type of guy we had to have on our team.”
HeadBlade® has a long history of partnering with athletes and celebrities that embody the lifestyle of the brand, including NBA star Al Harrington, Olympian Zach Lund, comedian Howie Mandel, and over 40 fighters such as Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Keith Jardine.
Watch freshly-shaved Carwin brawl with Lesnar on pay-per-view Saturday July 3rd in Las Vegas for UFC 116. Carwin fans can also have exclusive chances to win prizes leading up to the fight through HeadBlade® and Carwin’s communities.
(photo via HeadBlade.com

SAN JOSE (June 23, 2010) – This Saturday, STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL will make history when they present a Mixed Martial Arts fight card that will feature the universally recognized No. 1 male and female fighters in the world stepping into the same cage on the same night for the first time. The eagerly awaited event will take place at HP Pavilion and be televised live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko, the world’s No. 1 pound for pound fighter, will take on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and top-ranked heavyweight Fabricio Werdum in the main event. The No. 1 female fighter, Cris Cyborg, will defend her STRIKEFORCE Women’s World 145-pounds Championship against Jan Finney in the semi-main.

Fedor and Cyborg were joined by Cung Le and Josh Thomson, who also will appear in featured fights on Saturday, at a Media Workout Wednesday at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA).

Le, of San Jose, is a former STRIKEFORCE middleweight titlist. He relinquished the belt last year to pursue an acting career that has since spawned two major motion picture releases, but returned Dec. 19, 2009, at HP Pavilion to face Sacramento’s Scott Smith. Le dominated before losing via a shocking third-round KO. He’ll take on Smith in a rematch of one of MMA’s most epic come-from-behind knockouts.

Thomson, of San Jose, will return to the cage for the first time since losing the STRIKEFORCE world lightweight title to top rival Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez on Dec. 19, 2009. He’ll face dangerous submission artist Pat “Bam Bam” Healy in a lightweight bout.

Tickets for STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum are on sale at the HP Pavilion box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online www.ticketmaster.com) as well as www.strikeforce.com. For more information, please also visit www.M-1GLOBAL.com.

What they had to say:

FEDOR
“I am always interesting in performing against top 10 fighters and Werdum has been in the top 10 for a long time. He’s a good, very patient fighter who thinks a lot and I am very happy to be fighting him. Style-wise, this should be a very interesting fight.

“The talk about me entering politics are false rumors. As long as I am competing in MMA, there will be no politics for me.

“MMA is a beautiful kind of sport that combines various elements of martial arts. You need to be good in all of them. I am excited about having my wife with me for the first time for a fight of mine in the United States.’’

CRIS CYBORG
“I’m very anxious to get back in the cage and very excited about this fight. It is a great honor to be on the same card as Fedor. I’m looking forward to meeting him and seeing all the other fighters on this show.

“I know Jan Finney is coming to win this. I don’t have a specific plan but I’m ready for anything. I’ll see how the fight starts and then go from there. I expect a tough fight.

“It will be great having (husband and fellow STRIKEFORCE fighter) Evangelista in my corner again. He couldn’t be there last time. He is the one who trains me, who got me started in this sport, so I love it when he is in the corner.

“I’d much rather be the one fighting than having to watch him fight. All I can think of while I am watching him fight is, ‘I hope this ends very quickly.’ ’’

(see the quotes from Cung Le and Josh Thomson after the jump )

CUNG LE
“I dominated for two-and-a-half-rounds the first time against Scott. Before the last round, my corner told me to take it easy and not take any unnecessary chances. But rather than listen, I tried to close the show with a bang, but it backfired on me.

“Saturday is a new day and a new fight. It is not our last fight and it isn’t last year. I am amped for it.

“I learned a hard lesson from our first fight, but I am determined to move forward. I love to compete and I am very excited about this fight.’’

JOSH THOMSON
“I didn’t make any excuses after the last fight with Gilbert, but ring rust is real. I didn’t get it gone, and Gilbert looked very good but I know why I lost and that is because I didn’t listen to my corner.

“On Saturday, the plan will be, like always, to get off first and dictate the pace. The plan against Gilbert was not to make it a brawl but that is what happened,

“I feel I’ve learned from that fight so expect a different Josh Thomson on Saturday than the one you saw against Gilbert.

“This is going to be a tough fight against a tall guy. There are lots of big fights down the road for me but they will go away fast if I am not totally focused on Saturday.’’

CHICAGO, Ill. (June 22, 2010) — Aisling Daly, the best female mixed martial artist in Ireland and the world’s No. 3-ranked 125 lbs. female fighter, is the latest addition to Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 3 Women’s Tournament.

The 22-year-old Daly (whose first name is pronounced “ASH-ling”) brings a pristine 9-0 record to the tournament, which will mark her MMA debut in the U.S. Her most recent win came against the previously undefeated Finnish knockout artist Maiju Kujala this past March.

Daly is the seventh announced participant in the tournament, each of whom is ranked among the world’s 10 best in their respective weight classes. The others are Japanese MMA sensation Megumi Fujii – widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world – 11-1 British tae-kwon-do black belt Rosi Sexton, 12-5 Seattle submission artist Lisa Ward, 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene, 8-4 New Mexico-based submission specialist Angela Magana and 5-1 Las Vegas-based powerhouse Lynn Alvarez.

The tournament begins on Aug. 12 and will once again be televised LIVE in primetime every Thursday night on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2.

“Bellator is the No.1 organization in the world form women’s MMA right now so I jumped at the chance to sign,” Daly said Tuesday. “They have all of the best female fighters in the world signed and I firmly believe that whoever wins the tournament is the best pound-for-pound female fighter in the world. That’s my goal and that’s what I’m coming to the U.S. to do … nobody will remember who finishes second.”

Daly got her start in combat sports at the age of 10 when she began training in karate. As a teenager, she picked up Brazilian jiu-jitsu and, later, boxing and wrestling.

“When I put all of that together, I figured I’d give MMA a go,” she said.

As evidenced by her four career TKOs (three of them in the first round), Daly considers herself an aggressive fighter who looks to finish fights early.

“When I go in there, I’m lookin’ to make an impact. I’m lookin’ to steamroll the person I’m fighting,” she said.

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said that trait should serve her well no matter which of the other top-ranked opponents she draws once the tournament begins in August.

“Aisling’s as tough as they come and she has all the tools necessary to be dangerous against anyone in this stacked women’s tournament,” he said.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator. Tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com.

Starting June 28, M-1 Global, home of the world’s most dangerous fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, is launching its search to find Europe’s top ring girls to sport the M-1 brand and want North America’s fan-feedback in choosing the winners. Go to www.m-1ringgirls.com between June 28-July 12 to vote and make your voice heard.

“Our North American fan base is extremely important to us and we wanted to ensure they were able to participate in the voting process,” says M-1 Global’s Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan. “The submissions for our ring girl contest have been through the roof and this is shaping up to one of our most successful promotions to date.”

Between June 28 – July 12, M-1 Global’s “Queen of the Ring” ring girl search will undertake seven preliminary elimination voting stages with a new group of contestants being posted to

www.m-1ringgirls.com every two days. The winners from each round will advance to the final selections with the top 10 ring girls being showcased live at the M-1 Selection 2010 – Eastern Europe Final Round on July 22 in Moscow, Russia and as part of the reality show, M-1 Fighter coming later this year.

About M-1 Global:

Founded in 1998 by Vadim Finkelchtein and Sergey Matvienko, M-1 Global has established itself in the realm of mixed martial arts (MMA) as the premiere entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With offices in St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles and affiliates in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Tokyo and Paris, the M-1 brand stages its M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Breakthrough events worldwide and its co-produced Strikeforce events in the United States; captivating the live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups.

Starting June 28, M-1 Global, home of the world’s most dangerous fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, is launching its search to find Europe’s top ring girls to sport the M-1 brand and want North America’s fan-feedback in choosing the winners. Go to www.m-1ringgirls.com between June 28-July 12 to vote and make your voice heard.

“Our North American fan base is extremely important to us and we wanted to ensure they were able to participate in the voting process,” says M-1 Global’s Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan. “The submissions for our ring girl contest have been through the roof and this is shaping up to one of our most successful promotions to date.”

Between June 28 – July 12, M-1 Global’s “Queen of the Ring” ring girl search will undertake seven preliminary elimination voting stages with a new group of contestants being posted to

www.m-1ringgirls.com every two days. The winners from each round will advance to the final selections with the top 10 ring girls being showcased live at the M-1 Selection 2010 – Eastern Europe Final Round on July 22 in Moscow, Russia and as part of the reality show, M-1 Fighter coming later this year.

About M-1 Global:

Founded in 1998 by Vadim Finkelchtein and Sergey Matvienko, M-1 Global has established itself in the realm of mixed martial arts (MMA) as the premiere entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With offices in St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles and affiliates in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Tokyo and Paris, the M-1 brand stages its M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Breakthrough events worldwide and its co-produced Strikeforce events in the United States; captivating the live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs at a slightly delayed 12:30 p.m. ET timeslot and welcomes WEC 49 winners Chris Horodecki and Mark Hominick to the show.

Today's show starts 30 minutes later than usual to allow for fans (and the crew) to enjoy the U.S. vs. Algeria clash in the World Cup. Horodecki and Hominick will each call in once the show begins to discuss their wins at this past Sunday's "WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus" event in the two fighters' native Cananda.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs 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.

(Brian Choi (L) Isamu Himura (R))
Press Release

Singapore’s Brian “Polar Bear” Choi clinches rousing victory at Resorts World Sentosa
Crowd favourite Malik clinches Superfight Championship title over Washington to conclude successful Martial Combat 4

SINGAPORE, 17 June 2010 – Martial Combat 4 provided another fantastic night of mixed martial arts action with Singapore-based Brian Choi stealing the show with his closely-contested decision over Japanese American Isamu Himura after a frantic see-saw battle at Resorts World Sentosa.

The two fighters set a frenetic pace as they constantly battled for position throughout the fight. Choi, a wrestling coach at Evolve MMA, landed a series of eye-catching takedowns in the fight, utilizing his wrestling skills to repeatedly pick Himura up and slam him on the ground. Himura responded with a few takedowns of his own as both men exchanged submission attempts.

The audience gave both fighters an enormous ovation at the start of round three as a rapidly tiring Himura attempted to take the fight to the floor. Choi was able to defend the takedown attempt and caught Himura in an arm bar. Choi appeared to have the submission locked in and Himura must have been tempted to tap but showed incredible heart to escape and fight to the finish. The fight was a fantastic exhibition of skills by both men which captivated the Resorts World audience and Choi was deservedly awarded the winning decision.

Said Choi, who was delighted to emerge victorious in front of his home fans: “He was a late replacement and I didn’t know anything about him so I couldn’t prepare. It was a tough fight but I think the takedowns won me the fight. This is a great show and I am proud to be representing Evolve MMA and Singapore.”

Highly rated Filipino fighter Eduard Folayang was tipped for a victory in the opening fight, but faced a stern examination of his MMA credentials against Slovakian Muay Thai specialist Egon Racz. Racz threw a couple of early leg kicks but Folayang, who has a very high level of Wushu, was able to check them comfortably. The Filipino scored with a right hand before landing a huge takedown. Racz showed some intelligent submission defence but was simply overwhelmed by Folayang who landed some ground and pound before sinking in a guillotine choke.

Muhsin Corbbrey, a world renowned MMA fighter, was looking to put on an eye-catching performance against the unbeaten Wu Cheng Jie. Corbrey scored with some heavy leg kicks but Wu was able to catch one and send Corbbrey to the canvass. It proved to be a fatal error as the American is deadly on his back. Corbbrey first attempted an armbar and from there transitioned into the mount. Once Corbbrey had secured a dominant position there was simply nowhere for the Chinese to run from the professional boxer as he received a torrent of vicious elbows that left the referee little option but to step in and award the fight to the American.

Brazilian Arthur Cesar was able to make it two wins out of two tonight for the Evolve MMA team with a submission win over South Korean stand up specialist Yun Seob Kwak. Cesar secured an early take down and pinned his opponent to the floor before finishing the fight with a rear naked choke.

The Superfight Championship Belt showdown was billed as the War in Singapore with Afghanistan-born Malik Mawlayi taking on Cyrus Washington from USA. After a hesitant start, the muay thai-trained Washington took the fight to Mawlayi who threw a wild back kick before taking the American to the floor and quickly moved into side control. Cyrus gave up his back in an attempt to escape and Mawlayi sunk his hooks in and secured the rear naked choke for the victory.

Said a jubilant Mawlayi: “He was so tall, when I saw him stepping into the cage, I thought I’d go to my Plan B, which was to take him down. But he was so strong I couldn’t submit him that fast, but as soon as he made a mistake I caught him – rear naked chokes are my specialty. I felt good fighting in Singapore and I am thankful my fans for cheering for me. I’d like to tell them to keep believing in me and I will certainly be back.”

Tonight’s contests were crowd pleasers with fans cheering on and inspiring the fighters. Held at the Compass Ballroom, Resorts World Sentosa, the Martial Combat series featured 10 world-class mixed martial arts fighters battle over five explosive fights, presented by ESPN STAR Sports and Resorts World Sentosa. Resorts World® Sentosa Martial Combat™ is the only MMA event officially recognized and sanctioned by two of the world’s leading governing bodies in the martial arts scene, the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Federation (AMMAF) and the World Martial Arts Federation of Singapore.

Mixed martial arts fans can expect even more hard-hitting action in Martial Combat 5 and 6 when another ten fighters do battle next month on 14-15 July at the majestic Compass Ballroom, Resorts World Sentosa. Fans can look forward to more fights over the next four months with some of the world’s top professional contenders competing at Resorts World® Sentosa. Kindly visit www.RWmartialcombat.com for more information.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (June 17, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships crowned its second Season 2 champion Thursday night as former NCAA wrestling superstar and U.S. Olympian Ben Askren put on a grappling clinic to neutralize knockout artist and rising MMA star Dan Hornbuckle in a dominating and well-rounded performance.

The 25-year-old University of Missouri product drew from the vocal support of an adoring crowd at the Kansas City Power & Light District to win a unanimous decision victory and complete the metamorphosis from highly touted prospect to full-fledged MMA star that many experts had predicted.

With his new wife Amy watching cageside, Askren (6-0) controlled the fight from the start, taking the veteran Hornbuckle to the mat early on in all three rounds and holding him at bay with his world-class wrestling skills. Hornbuckle tried to stop the momentum a few times, attempting a triangle choke mid-way through Round 2 and a kimura mid-way through Round 3, but Askren was able to escape both submissions.

“This is exactly the kind of performance we had hoped Ben would put on when we signed him six months ago,” Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “He showed some great talent in his first two Bellator fights but saved the best performance for last. It was a tremenously impressive night for Ben all the way around.  As an MMA fan, I cannot wait to see his World Title fight against Lyman Good this fall. ”

Afterward, Askren told Bellator color commentator Jimmy Smith that he has already shifted his sights to reigning Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good, who he’ll face in a title fight later this year.

“Lyman, keep my belt warm,” he said as his hometown crowd egged him on. “Shine it up once a week and enjoy it while you can because it’s mine, baby.”

Joining Askren in the winner’s circle was Lisa Ward, the 27-year-old Seattle-based submission artist who improved her pro record to 13-3 and gave fans a sneak preview of what they’ll see when she enters the cage as part of Bellator’s upcoming Season 3 Women’s Tournament beginning in August.

Ward wasted no time locking 19-year-old MMA up-and-comer Stephanie Frausto (2-2) into a tight rear-naked choke, putting her to sleep and ending the fight via technical submission just 2:01 into Round 1. Ward said after the fight that she is hoping for tournament matchup with Megumi Fujii, the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter, who handed Ward one of her three losses during a 2007 showdown in Canada.

“I would love another shot at Megumi,” Ward said. “We definitely have some unfinished business.”

Earlier, 24-year-old Missouri native Jose Vega delivered yet another Bellator “YouTube moment” with a highlight-reel knockout of North Carolina-based jiu-jitsu specialist Jarrod “The Wild Card” Card just 39.8 seconds into the first round of their “Bantamweight Feature Fight.”

After setting it up with a pair of stiff leg kicks, Vega (8-3) connected with a left hook to Card’s jaw, knocking him unconscious and dropping him to the canvas, bringing Vega’s many hometown fans to their feet.

“I’m lost for words,” an emotional Vega said afterward. “I’ve never had a KO before, but my hands have improved – [former Bellator fighters] Brian Davidson, James Krause and Tyler Stinson have been helping me with that. I saw the opening and I just went for it.”

In the first televised fight of the night, IFL and M1 veteran Raphael Davis improved his record to 9-1 by dominating Arena Football League veteran and one-time Nebraska state high school wrestling champion Demetrius Richards (5-3). Davis took the fight to the ground early on and quickly took Richards’ back, wearing him down with hammer fists and a flurry of knees to the body before Richards submitted to punches just 2:51 into Round 1.

The event also played host to five Local Feature Fights:

-       Tyler Stinson def. Leonardo Pecanha via rear-naked choke (1:42)

-       Rudy Bears def. Brian Green via rear-naked choke (3:49)

-       Cole Konrad def. John Orr via unanimous decision

-       Jared Downing def. Chad Vandenberg via rear-naked choke (11:35)

Fans who missed Thursday night’s action can watch all the best moments this weekend during special highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2. Check your local listings for exact dates and times.

Bellator returns to action next Thursday night from the Fourth Street Live entertainment district in downtown Louisville, Ky., where Bellator will conclude its second season with the championship rounds of its Middleweight and Featherweight Tournaments.

The two championship fights and the rest of the Bellator 23 featured card will again be televised live on FOX Sports Net.

Press Release

SYDNEY, Australia (June 16, 2010) – The cage will be ablaze with non-stop MMA action for the “The Uprising” as former UFC Champion and Hall of Fame Member, Ken Shamrock returns to the ring to take on former UFC Champion, Hall of fame member and PRIDE Veteran, Pedro ”The Rock” Rizzo in an exciting PPV event on July 17. In the Co-feature, English MMA fighter, Paul Daley who is ranked as the #8 welterweight in the world by Sherdog.com and ranked #5 by MMA Weekly will do battle with Brazilian MMA fighter, Daniel Acacio who is most notable for his fights in PRIDE Fighting Championships and his aggressive fighting style.

Presented by Impact Fighting Championship (FC), bouts from two incredible fight cards from Australia will be included in the PPV event. The Uprising from Sydney, Australia will go live in the USA at 10:00pm on the East Coast (ET) and 7:00pm on the West Coast (PST) and Canada on July 17th with a card stacked full of action-packed bouts. In addition, the exciting main event from “The Uprising” series from the Brisbane Entertainment Center, Brisbane, Australia, July 10, featuring former UFC heavyweight champion, Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett (25-5-0) and Jungle Fight veteran, Geronimo “Mondragon” Dos Santos (18-9-0) will also be included in the Pay-Per-View.

Impact FC has secured some of the world’s best fighters for these upcoming tournaments and will feature some huge names including Pride and UFC veterans. Fans will be thrilled to know that ‘Big John’ McCarthy, former head referee for the Ultimate Fighting Championship will be the referee for The Uprising series.

With a full card that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats, the slate of Uprising match-ups include, Pride K-1 and MMA legend Bob Sapp in a fight for dominance over Australian star and UFC veteran Soa “The Hulk” Palelei, DREAM Middleweight Champion, Paulo Filho will face dangerous striker, Denis Kang, Elite XC Champion and Pride veteran Murilo Ninja Rua with square off against former Ultimate Fighter Jeremy May, former UFC Champion and Pride veteran Murilo Bustamante will battle Jesse Taylor from the Ultimate Fighter, Australian kickboxing legend Peter Graham will fight the #1 ranked Heavyweight MMA fighter in Australia, Jim Yorke, popular MMA star Glover Teixeira is pitted against Croatian fighter from Perth Marco Peselj, Australian surfer and MMA star Richie “Vas” Vaculik is matched with local Australian fighter Luke Hume, and Australia’s rising MMA star Shane Nix will face Sydney’s own Manuel Rodriguez.

Headliner Kenneth (The World’s Most Dangerous Man) Shamrock, (27-13-2) is a UFC Hall of Famer as well as a professional wrestler. One of the biggest stars in MMA, he has headlined over 15 main events and co-main events in the Ultimate Fighting Championships and Pride Fighting Championships and has broken numerous pay-per-view records with his strong fan appeal.

The first UFC Superfight Champion, Shamrock also holds the title of the first MMA Heavyweight Champion in Japan, winning the title of King of Pancrase. During his reign as the UFC Superfight Champion, he was widely considered the #1 MMA fighter in the world.

Brazilian Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (18-9-0) recognized as one of the best strikers in the business was born to fight. Having returned to the basics, Pedro is training at Claudio Coelho’s gym, has simplified his regimen and is back in top shape, with renewed energy and excitement heading into this fight. The former professional kick boxer was a four-time Brazilian Muay Thai champion. Rizzo won his MMA pro debut via a first-round knockout of Eric Labaille on October 26, 1996. He extended his win streak to nine, including notable triumphs against David “Tank” Abbott (KO1) in UFC: Ultimate Brazil and Mark Coleman (DEC1), before dropping a 5-round decision to Kevin Randleman in their 2000 UFC heavyweight championship fight. “The Rock” responded with back-to-back wins versus Dan Severn (SUB1) and Josh Barnett (KO2), setting up a UFC heavyweight title fight against legendary Randy Couture, who won a decision and six months later, Couture stopped Rizzo on strikes in the third-round of their rematch for the title.

In 2002, Rizzo put Andrei Arlovski to sleep on punches in the third round, but Pedro dropped consecutive fights to Gan McGee (TKO1), and Vladimir Matyushenko (DEC3) to start 2003. A key victory came against MMA veteran Ricco Rodriguez (DEC3).

In a fight against Jeff Monson on September 1, 2007, Rizzo registered a third-round win, in the first pay-per-view event promoted by Art of War. On July 19, 2008, Rizzo fought Josh “The Babyface” Barnett in Affliction Entertainment’s Day of Reckoning and lost, 2nd round 1:44 KO (Punch) .

The main event for the “Uprising” series in Brisbane is a much anticipated event. Josh Barnett is a highly tactical, sound fighter whose world-class submission wrestling skills are notorious. Animated by his trademark humor and bravado, he is one of the top ten ranked heavyweights in MMA and a celebrated wrestling star in Japan. Although his grappling base comes from catch-wrestling, he has an evolved fighting style that combines a well-rounded standup and ground game. Barnett also has size, strength, and conditioning on his side. Barnett has fought in every major fight organization in the world and was scheduled to fight against Fedor for Affliction Entertainment’s Trilogy prior to being disqualified for failing his medical tests. This will be Barnett’s first fight since his disqualification in the U.S., while “Mondragon” has been training all of his life for this moment to take on “The Babyfaced Assassin.”

The 29-year-old “Mondragon” has an impressive record having taken down opponents in 23 professional fights. Prior to losing to Edson Conterraneo at Jungle Fight 17, Dos Santos finished off each of his previous seven opponents, the past three inside the first round. Dos Santos amazed the Brazilian mixed martial arts community when he stopped Assuerio Silva on strikes in just 61 seconds at Jungle Fight 15. He followed the performance with back-to-back first-round submissions against Douglas Humberto and Fabio Monstro.

“The Uprising,” is presented by Impact FC, Saturday, July 17th, 2010 at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT in the United States from local pay-per-view providers for a suggested retail price of only $29.95.

LOS ANGELES - As Strikeforce continues its expansion across the U.S., the promotion's
CEO, Scott Coker, says a pair of new cities each are likely to host an
event in August.

While Coker insisted that nothing yet is set in stone, on Wednesday
night the Strikeforce exec confirmed previous reports that both Houston
and Phoenix
are in the running for late summer events.

But according to Coker, Strikeforce has no intentions of staying within
U.S. borders, and international fans can expect to see the company
spreading across the globe within the next 12 months.