Page 2 - Top MMA News and Mixed Martial Arts Headlines

Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Jr., founder of the popular multi-million dollar MMA clothing line and television show TapouT, was killed on the morning of March 11, 2009, when his Ferrari collided with a Porsche driven by Jeffrey David Kirby of Costa Mesa. One year later, the Lewis family still waits for justice. While most of the mixed martial arts community has been able to accept Mask's passing while pressing forward in honor of his memory, his sister Carla Lewis continues to face it on a daily basis as the trial of Kirby, now scheduled for April 2, 2010, continues to drag on. Kirby had been charged with vehicular manslaughter and is facing a possible sentence of more than 19 years if convicted. However, like most court cases, lengthy delays are no longer the exception and have instead become the rule. "For the past year Charles' attorney and myself have repeatedly come before the Judge, wanting our case sent to trial," Lewis said. "Kirby has changed his attorney several times and has not appeared, at least twice. The last court date had in attendance several family members and friends who had traveled a great distance, just to be told we have to come back. It is quite frustrating, to say the least."

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Be better than you think you can be. Don't quit two minutes before the miracle. Believe. Charles "Mask" Lewis, the co-founder of TapouT, passed away a year ago today in a car accident and continues to motivate friends and loved ones with the messages that were central to his life. Those who knew him remember his buoyant spirit, drive for excellence, and generosity. More than that, they feel the imprint his positive energy has left in a fast-moving and ever-changing world.

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The ratings are out for Saturday's WEC 47 event, and the numbers are not good. Only 373,000 viewers tuned in, down 42% from WEC 46 (which, it should be noted, had the promotion's top draw-Urijah Faber) and only drawing more than WEC 45. A big reason could be the ongoing DirecTV-Versus dispute which keeps Versus out of 18 million households.

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And according to Michael Bisping, that's a good thing for Dan Hardy. "Dan's in a great position. All the pressure is on GSP for this fight. I know Dan's a consummate professional and I know from the UK scene he's come up with a great game plan to bring the UFC welterweight title back to England. I will be up late, and cheering Dan on for sure. He knows he's the underdog, but every welterweight on the planet is the underdog against GSP right now. Dan is a very good striker, he has that edge over GSP, but Dan's best weapon is his belief in himself. He won't beat himself before the fight starts."

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"Randy Couture, he respects my game like I respect his game. He's the best at what he do in his sport; I'm the best at what I do in my sport. We gonna see who has the better style and everybody know it's James Toney. If he tries to throw blow for blow with me, he definitely gonna get knocked out."

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With his win at Ring of Fire last week, former UFC welterweight John Alessio has indeed put himself on the right path following his decision to make major life changes. No longer part of the Las Vegas party scene and now a dedicated gym rat, Alessio has won three fights in a row and continues to look increasingly more impressive each time out.

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Mike Swick and Dan Hardy have never appeared to be the best of friends. Of course, Hardy beat Swick to earn a welterweight title shot in November and then Swick talked publicly about how he didn't believe Hardy had done enough to truly earn that shot. So with that in mind, you might be surprised to hear that Swick has changed his tune about Hardy's right to face Georges St-Pierre later this month at UFC 111 and his chances of pulling off the upset in Newark, NJ. "Hardy can definitely win. Overall, GSP has the better chances to win, of course, but Hardy is getting better and better and, honestly, I am more excited to see this GSP fight versus Hardy than pretty much anyone else you could put GSP in with," Swick recently said.

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In a bout first reported by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), Rob Emerson (9-8 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) meets Nik Lentz (17-3-2 MMA, 1-0-1 UFC) on the UFC Fight Night 21 preliminary card. The UFC today announced the matchup, bringing the total number of fights on the card to 11. Featuring a lightweight matchup between perennial contender Kenny Florian and Japanese import Takanori Gomi, UFC Fight Night 21 takes place March 31 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C. The main card airs live on Spike TV and serves as the lead-in for "The Ultimate Fighter 11" season debut.

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Jon Jones (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Brandon Vera (11-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) could be headed up a division around the same time. The light heavyweight headliners of UFC on Versus 1 spoke Tuesday to media about their March 21 fight, and both said a trip to the heavyweight division is not out of the question in two years, give or take. It would be Vera's second run in the weight class since June 2008, when the UFC urged him to drop to 205 pounds after losses to Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdrum. Jones has served his young career at light heavyweight but said his still-growing frame may support a move up.

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The Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales, Australia, which was tasked with regulating UFC 110 in Sydney, has ruled against Stephan Bonnar with regards to his appeal of his 110 loss to Krzyzstof Soszynski, meaning the official fight result-Soszynski win by TKO-stands. Bonnar appealed claiming it should've been ruled a no contest because the cut causing the TKO was caused by a accidental headbutt, with the likely outcome being changed to a Draw if the appeal won. Multiple reports indicate Bonnar will get his rematch at the TUF 11 Finale in June, but Bonnar did not confirm the rumors yesterday. Soszynski was unavailable for comment.

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A welterweight matchup between Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago is currently in the works for UFC 115. The potential bout was first reported by The Las Vegas Sun, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has since confirmed that both fighters have verbally agreed to the fight, and bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly. While not yet officially announced, UFC 115 is expected to take place June 12 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. The night's main card airs on pay-per-view.

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A lightweight match-up between Matt Wiman (11-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and Mac Danzig (19-7-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is expected for UFC 115. Sources close to the bout told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Tuesday that both fighters have agreed to meet one another and are expected to put pen to paper soon. While not yet officially announced, UFC 115 is expected to take place June 12 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. The night's main card airs on pay-per-view.

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"I think June, July is realistic (for Emelianenko's return). It's not 100 percent. Don't take this as a fight announcement, but I think during the summer. After the CBS show, we thought that the (Strikeforce) terms needed a little bit tweaking -- nothing major, just a little bit of tweaking. So, we had a round of negotiations with Strikeforce. Everything went positively. We're pretty much at the end."

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"At some point Fedor's going to have to step up and be willing to fight top level guys again. I don't know what's going on with him or why he's not willing to do that and certainly (Fabricio) Werdum is one of those guys he's going to have to face to be considered a top fighter."

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When Dominick Cruz defeated Brian Bowles to win the WEC bantamweight title on Saturday night, the new champion didn't have long to celebrate before the questions started coming about who he might fight for his first title defense.

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“I’m hoping to get a rematch with Scott Smith as soon as possible,” he said in a video interview released by Strikeforce on Monday, although he still hasn’t been given word if that is his next fight or not.

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Toby Imada, whose “Submission of the Year” helped put Bellator Fighting Championships on the map during its debut season, will return to the promotion for its upcoming Season 2 lightweight tournament.

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As other fight promotions scramble for relevance in the U.S., the Ultimate Fighting Championship continues its own worldwide expansion. The UFC today announced a new long-term distribution agreement with All Sports Network, a 24-hour high-definition sports channel in Europe. The new deal provides UFC programming to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Macau, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

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At this past weekend's WEC 47 event in Columbus, Ohio, Joseph Benavidez (12-1 MMA, 4-1 WEC) stunned Torres with a one-sided submission win and likely earned himself a shot at the 135-pound title. But Scott Jorgensen (9-3 MMA, 5-2 WEC) also landed one of the more memorable finishes in recent memory in his bout with Chad George, and he made a legitimate claim for contender status.

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UFC newcomer Travis Browne (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will meet "Ultimate Fighter 10" veteran James McSweeney (4-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the live finale of "The Ultimate Fighter 11."

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