Midwest Fight Report

With Shawn Tompkins, you got big smiles, firm handshakes and honest answers

MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Most fans likely will remember Sunday's UFC on Versus 5 event as one of the most exciting nights of fights in recent UFC history.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to recall it in that way.

Instead, I think I'll always recall UFC on Versus 5 as the night I found out Shawn Tompkins had passed away - the night I tried unsuccessfully on press row to choke back tears as the fights went live on Versus.

As tourney finale looms, Bellator 48′s Pat Curran focused solely on winning title

MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:45:00 +0000

Pat Curran is already a Bellator tournament winner, but his ultimate goal has eluded him.

"I just want to be the champion and be considered one of the best featherweights in the world," he today told MMAjunkie.com Radio.

He's but one step away from another shot at a belt. On Saturday he meets Marlon Sandro in the finals of Bellator's "Summer Series" featherweight tournament, and he believes he has an edge that will put him in position for a fight with current champ Joe Warren.

Strikeforce Challengers 18 medical suspensions: Duarte, James out up to six months

MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:30:00 +0000

Despite victories at Friday's Strikeforce Challengers 18 event, main-card fighters Joe Duarte and Nate James both could be out of action for up to six months.

MMAjunkie.com today requested and received the list of official medical suspensions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

In all, the NSAC issued suspensions to seven fighters.

Gamburyan Out Of UFC 135 Fight With Nunes Due To Injury

Site Administration — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 21:05:58 +0000

By MATT BOONE
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer

Manny Gamburyan is out of his scheduled UFC 135 fight with Diego Nunes due to a shoulder injury, the former Ultimate Fighter finalist announced today via his official Twitter account.

Nunes, who was scheduled to fight Gamburyan, now awaits an announcement on who his new opponent will be.

UFC 135 takes place on September 24, 2011, at the Pepsi Center in Denver Colorado. The event will be headlined by the light heavyweight title showdown between current champion Jon "Bones" Jones, and former title holder Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Leave your feedback on this article by posting a comment directly below! You can also chat about the card in the MMANEWS.COM Forums and/or the MMANEWS.COM Facebook. If that wasn't enough, MMANEWS.COM is now on Twitter as well @mmanewsdotcom.

After latest win, re-energized Jens Pulver has no plans for slowing down

MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:45:00 +0000

Jens Pulver said he's found a winning recipe for success in MMA. Or more accurately, one for finding success again.

The former UFC champ got back on the winning track this past Saturday with a second-round KO victory over WEC vet Coty Wheeler, and today, he told MMAjunkie.com Radio about the ingredients that have gone into his reinvention.

Mostly, it's about limiting his appetites between fights.

Injured Manny Gamburyan out of UFC 135 fight with Diego Nunes

MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:40:00 +0000

An injured shoulder has forced Manny Gamburyan out of next month's UFC 135 event, the fighter today announced via Twitter.

His opponent, fellow featherweight Diego Nunes, now awaits a replacement.

UFC 135 takes place Sept. 24 at Denver's Pepsi Center. Gamburyan vs. Nunes was slated for the preliminary card.

UFC’s Chris Lytle says retirement is permanent

MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:20:00 +0000

After an emotional sendoff that followed a vintage win in Sunday's UFC on Versus 5 main event, Chris Lytle said his announced retirement is set in stone.

And that's a good thing, he said.

Lytle, who concluded a memorable 20-fight UFC career with a third-round submission victory over Dan Hardy at Sunday's Versus-televised event, said the sport thankfully has afforded him the opportunity to call it quits for good.

Harley-Davidson renews UFC sponsorship, hosts "Hometown Throwdown" promotion

MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:10:00 +0000

A day after the UFC made its debut in Harley-Davidson's hometown, Milwaukee's motorcycle giant has announced a multi-year sponsorship renewal with the world's top MMA promotion.

Details of the deal were not disclosed.

However, in 2012, Harley-Davidson will sponsor the next "Hometown Throwdown" contest, in which fans get to vote on the host city for a future UFC event.

UFC And Harley-Davidson Renew Sponsorship

Site Administration — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:02:28 +0000

By MATT BOONE
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer

UFC issued the following today ...

UFC AND HARLEY-DAVIDSON RENEW SPONSORSHIP

UFC and Harley-Davidson Also Launch ‘Hometown Throwdown’ Promotion, Giving Fans the Chance to Bring an Action-Packed UFC Event to Their Hometown in 2012

Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced today that it has reached a multi-year sponsorship renewal agreement with Harley-Davidson. The world’s most famous motorcycle maker, which first became a core sponsor of the UFC® in 2008, will continue to be featured across multiple platforms including Pay-Per-View and television broadcasts, online, and in the UFC’s famed Octagon®.

On the heels of this major announcement, the companies also jointly announced the launch of a new promotion that gives fans the opportunity to bring a UFC event to their city in late 2012. Beginning next month, fans can visit http://www.ufc.com/hometownthrowdown and vote for their city to win the Hometown Throwdown event. The fully-interactive site will include all of the latest information on the promotion, as well as unique offerings from Harley-Davidson. The city finalists will be announced in early 2012, with the winner being crowned in the spring. The event is expected to be held next summer.

“Harley-Davidson has been a great partner for the UFC since 2008 and we’re excited to continue working with them for years to come,” UFC President Dana White said. “We love keeping the fans involved and so does Harley-Davidson, so we’re also excited to partner with them for the Hometown Throwdown. This is a great promotion. Fans are always asking for us to bring a UFC event to their city and now they’re in control. If they want the UFC in their city, they just have to rock the vote.”

Further demonstrating its commitment to the UFC and its athletes, Harley-Davidson was instrumental in the UFC putting on its first event in the state of Wisconsin last night. In front of thousands of fans at Bradley Center in Harley-Davidson’s hometown of Milwaukee, Chris Lytle defeated Dan Hardy in the exciting welterweight main event. For his victory, Harley-Davidson awarded Lytle with a 2012 Harley-Davidson HD BLACKLINE motorcycle with 103 Cubic Inch Engine.

“We were excited to have the UFC visit Harley-Davidson’s hometown of Milwaukee this weekend for the first time ever,” said Harley-Davidson Chief Marketing Officer Mark-Hans Richer. “To celebrate UFC’s arrival in our hometown, we wanted to present the winner of the main event with a gift that only Harley-Davidson could pull off. So, Chris Lytle is going home with a new, 2012 Harley-Davidson HD Blackline. Now, we look forward to the Hometown Throwdown promotion and giving UFC and Harley-Davidson fans the opportunity to bring a major UFC card to their city next year.”

More information on the Hometown Throwdown promotion will be made available in the weeks to come. Promotion subject to change.

For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com.

About Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over 12 UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually around the world. UFC programming is distributed in the United States on Viacom, Inc.’s Spike TV and on Comcast, Inc.’s VERSUS network. UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 132 countries and territories, reaching 597 million homes worldwide, in 21 different languages.

UFC® also boasts a powerful presence online, with UFC.com attracting over six million unique visitors per month, while also possessing one of the most powerful social media followings in all of professional sports. To date, UFC has over six million fans on Facebook and over 300,000 followers on Twitter. In addition, UFC President Dana White is one of the most accessible and most followed executives in sports with over 1.5 million followers on Twitter. On January 22, 2011, UFC continued to set trends in social media, becoming the first major sports league to stream live, broadcast quality action on Facebook.

Ancillary businesses include the best-selling UFC “Undisputed” videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC Gym™, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo™ festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, articulated action figures and other media including best-selling DVDs and a bimonthly magazine.

About Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson's Web site at www.harley-davidson.com.

Leave your feedback on this article by posting a comment directly below! You can also chat about the card in the MMANEWS.COM Forums and/or the MMANEWS.COM Facebook. If that wasn't enough, MMANEWS.COM is now on Twitter as well @mmanewsdotcom.

Strikeforce Challengers 18 salaries: Healy and Villante top event payroll

MMAjunkie.com Staff [mmajunkie-staff] — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:10:01 +0000

Main-card fighter Pat Healy ($10,000) and preliminary-card competitor Gian Villante ($10,000) were the top earners at this past weekend's Strikeforce Challengers 18 event.

The total disclosed pay for the event was $92,000.

MMAjunkie.com today requested and received the list of disclosed paydays from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.