Ufc Going To Vegas

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Thursday, Jan 11, 2001

Ufc Going To Vegas

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UFC Going To Vegas

Viva Las Vegas

"It is great news for the UFC, it is truly a sad day for me…", that’s how Bob Meyrowitz, CEO of eYada and SEG, began his announcement that has sold the UFC. Yesterday on Eddie Goldman’s eYada show, Meyrowitz stated that he has sold all of his interests in the UFC to Lorenzo Fertitta and his Las Vegas based company Zuffa. Zuffa is an Italian word that means "to scrap" or "to fight." Fertitta, 31, owns the company in a partnership with his brother Frank and his brother-in-law Blake Sartini.

It does in fact look to be excellent news for Mixed Martial Arts, besides being a big MMA fan, Fertitta served on the Nevada State Athletic Commission from December of 1996 until this earlier year. Fertitta’s spot on the Commission was taken by Dr. Edwin "Flip" Homansky when Fertitta quit to due to the time demands in his new job as president of Station Casinos. According to Fertitta, he will continue with his responsibilities at Station Casinos and Dana White, Tito Ortiz’s former manager, will run the company.

Fertitta (left) on the NSAC

Meyrowitz stated that he feels that Mr. Fertitta will take the UFC to the great heights it deserves, and he no longer had the time or the energy to give the UFC what it needs due to his job at eYada. Meyrowitz also said that he guarantees that within 6 months the UFC will bigger and better and will be available to fans everywhere. He said that he is completely out of the UFC, and that his only involvement will be that he will buying every show on PPV, but, "I will be buying it on DirecTV and never on cable."

Mr. Fertitta is a huge fan of the sport and this looks like the beginning of some very exciting developments for Mixed Martial Arts.

Fertitta (3^rd from right) at UFC 29 in Japan

Look for a full layout on the NEW UFC in the February issue of Full Contact Fighter.

From the event’s promoter:

Kirk Jensen Promotions In Association With
Maurice Smith Presents:
"BATTLE IN BELLEVUE V"

Saturday, January 20^th at 8:00pm. Kirk Jensen and Maurice Smith bring the "Battle in Bellevue V" back to action. The card features MuayThai, Kickboxing and Pankration.

Main Event: Scott Shaffer (Maurice Smith kickboxing) vs. Jacob Mates (Millers Kickboxing)
5 round Super lightweight Muay Thai PACIFIC NORTHWEST TITLE FIGHT

Semi-Main event: Dave Cook (AMC Kickboxing) vs. Joe Green (Zura Martial Arts)

Pankration bout: Dan Dejos (Dennis Hallman Pankration) vs. Jerome Olson
Also on the card: Freddy Medellin vs. Chris Munson, John Polakowski vs. Jordon Morrision, Lynn Yang vs. Addy Hernandez, Anthony Hammlet vs. Seth McClellen, Steve Clasrk vs. Victor Ibarra, Sonny Ear vs. Jeremy Saunders.

Tickets on Sale now: $20 general admission $25 Ringside.

Fight Location:

MAURICE SMITH’S KICKBOXING CENTER
2620 – BELLEVUE WAY NE
BELLEVUE WA. 98004
TICKETS OR INFORMATION CALL (425)576-5300 (Maurice Smith Kickboxing) or AMC Kickboxing and Pankration (425)822-9656

Kuwait Shidokan Jitsu Warriors War I
By Joel Gold

The brackets have been selected for the Kuwait Shidokan Jitsu Warriors War I to be held February 8^th in Kuwait. Four of the top No Holds Barred fighters in the lightweight division will square off in an 8-man tournament. The most powerful being Matt Hughes of the U.S., the most unorthodox and dangerous, Pele Landi of Brazil, the most experienced being Dave Menne and the most technical Canada’s, Carlos Newton [pictured at right].

Bracket A:
Matt Hughes Vs. Jose "Pele" Landi
Omar Bouiche Vs. Kareem Allah

Bracket B:
Dave Menne Vs. Carlos Newton
Ricardo Liborio Vs. Khared Mibarak

The eight fighters from around the world will battle it out with the winner receiving $60,000 in prize money. Matt Hughes [pictured at left] has beaten Dave Menne back in Extreme Challenge 21, Menne has beaten Pele in WEF 9 and Pele has beaten Hughes’ trainer, Pat Miletich in WEF 8. This will surely be one of the best lightweight tournaments in the history of the sport. Pele and Hughes truly despise each other, their hatred came to a head back at WEF 9 when the two almost went to blows backstage after Pele lost to Menne. Hughes didn’t mince words when expressing his feelings for Pele, "I don’t like him, as I would guess most Americans that know him don’t like him. He is cocky, he is an asshole, he is an idiot!" In Brazil, at Mecca 4, Pele stated, "We had a problem backstage at WEF. He treated me really bad. I love when the fights go to the personal questions [level]. It’s going to be a war." Dave Menne was his usual self when asked about the fight, "I should do fine and hope to win." When asked about his previous loss to Hughes and his past win over Pele, he responded, "That fight was a while ago, Hughes and I both have grown since then. With Pele, I will be in much better shape this time and capitalize more on his mistakes."

Rules for the bout seem to resemble those of the UFC and Pride. Some no-nos are, no elbows on the ground, no stomping, no kicking a downed opponent (unless he is on his back) and no striking to the back of the head.

WEF 9