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WEC 49
''WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on June 20, 2010 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Background WEC 49 was the only event the organization had held outside of the United States. The show was initially announced as taking place at the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. WEC vice-president Peter Dropick, however, confirmed with The StarPhoenix/Canwest News Service that the location was changed on April 10. Eddie Wineland was scheduled to face Charlie Valencia, but Valencia was forced off the card with an injury. Will Campuzano, who was previously scheduled to face Rafael Rebello on the preliminary card, was announced as Wineland's new opponent. Rebello would face WEC newcomer Chris Cariaso. Ed Ratcliff was scheduled to face Chris Horodecki, but just days before the event, Ratcliff pulled out of the event with an undisclosed injury. Horodecki would face WEC newcomer Danny Downes. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: , and . To accommodate the smaller fighters, WEC's cage was in diameter— smaller than the standard UFC cage. The smaller cage is now used by UFC for selected events. Last champions Before the UFC bought out the WEC in December of 2010, there were 3 weight classes in its final incarnation, which were Bantamweight, Featherweight, and Lightweight. At WEC 53, the last event before the promotion was closed down, there were two title fights between concurrent champion Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis, which was for the WEC Lightweight Championship. The second fight was against concurrent champion Dominick Cruz and Scott Jorgensen, to determine the final Bantamweight Champion, and the inaugural UFC B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WEC 51
''WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on September 30, 2010 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. This was the only event that the WEC hosted in Colorado. Background Alex Karalexis was expected to face debuting Chinese prospect Tiequan Zhang at this event, but was removed because of an injury and replaced by UFC veteran Jason Reinhardt. However, Reinhardt would also be forced from the card after failing a pre-fight eye exam, and was replaced by WEC newcomer Pablo Garza. The Zhang-Reinhardt matchup would later be rescheduled as a featherweight bout for UFC 127 following the UFC-WEC merger, with Zhang winning by submission. Clint Godfrey was originally slated to face Demetrious Johnson at this event, but was pulled from the bout due to injury and replaced by WEC newcomer Nick Pace. This event drew an average of 486,000 viewers on Versus. Results Bonus Awards Fighters were a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josh Grispi
Josh Richard Grispi (born October 14, 1988) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2006 until 2014, he has competed for the UFC and WEC. Background Grispi, a talented hockey player, was kicked out of many schools and even a paintball facility before venturing into mixed martial arts when he was 13 years old, following the advice of his father. Grispi went to South Shore Sportfighting. The sport grew on Grispi, and he began fighting in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, winning local tournaments while often being the youngest competitor. Mixed martial arts career World Extreme Cagefighting After beginning his career in 2006 and going 10–1 in smaller promotions, Grispi was signed by the WEC. He made his promotional debut against Mark Hominick at WEC 32, locking in a rear-naked choke submission in the first round. This was followed up by an early first round TKO victory over Micah Miller. His next fight came against former UFC L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamal Shalorus
Kamal Shalorus (; born 1972–1977) is an Iranian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the WEC, UFC, and ONE Championship. Early life and background Shalorus was born in an isolated rural community in northern Iran near Khalkhal. He has stated the men of his family were shepherds and wrestlers, and conditions were harsh, with very little infrastructure and no modern facilities such as electricity, a hospital, or school. Because of this, his birth was undocumented and he does not know his age. He was instead given the birth certificate of an older brother who had passed away. As such, several ages for Shalorus have been reported. Wrestling As a youth, Shalorus did well in wrestling and received the opportunity to train in Turkey, Greece, and eventually Britain, where he emigrated to in 1997. In 2001, Shalorus won the British Senior Championships in freestyle wrestling at 85 kg (187 lbs). It has been claimed by Shalorus and repeated by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamie Varner
James Varner (born October 12, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist who fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former WEC Lightweight Champion. Background Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Varner attended Deer Valley High School where he competed in wrestling. At Deer Valley, Varner was a two-time Regional Champion and a State Runner Up and went on to compete at Pima Community College where he was a two-time National Qualifier and a National Runner Up, in addition to being an NJCAA All-American and a two-time Academic All-American. Mixed martial arts career Ultimate Fighting Championship Varner competed twice in the UFC. His first appearance was against veteran Hermes Franca, which Varner lost via submission (armbar) in round three. His final appearance was against formerly undefeated Jason Gilliam, which he won via first round submission (rear naked choke). After this win, Varner transferred to the WEC. World Extreme Cagefighting Varner succes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Versus (TV Channel)
NBCSN (also known as NBC Sports Network) was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming primarily involving fishing, hunting, outdoor adventure programs, and outdoor sports. By the turn of the 21st century, OLN became better known for its extensive coverage of the Tour de France but eventually began covering more "mainstream" sporting events, resulting in its relaunch as Versus in September 2006. In 2011, Comcast, the original owner of the network, acquired a majority stake in NBCUniversal. As a result, Comcast merged the operations of its pay channels with those of NBC. In particular, it aligned the operation of its sports channels with NBC's sports division, NBC Sports. On January 1, 2012, Versus was rebranded as the NBC Sports Network. The branding was later shortened to NBCSN. By Septemb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Leone (fighter)
Anthony Leone (born May 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for Strikeforce, the WEC, Bellator MMA, and Absolute Championship Berkut. Background Leone went to Center Moriches High School in New York and then went to college at The University of Hawaii at Hilo. At the age of 20, Leone spent 11 months training alongside at the B.J. Penn Mixed Martial Arts academy in Hilo, Hawaii. Anthony splits his training time between Phuket Top Team in Phuket, Thailand, and Team Bomb Squad in New York. Leone was a silver-medallist at the Pan-American Games in No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu and placed Bronze in the World No-Gi Championships. The wrestler and jiu jitsu player brought strong grappling credentials with him into his Mixed Martial Arts career, and embarked on an eight fight winning streak before the big promotions took note and snapped up the youngster, then based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renan Barão
Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado (born 31 January 1987), known as Renan Barão, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. According to Fight Matrix, Barão holds the third longest unbeaten streak in MMA history, which lasted from 2005 to 2014. During his championship reign, he was ranked as a top three pound-for-pound fighter and regarded as one of the best mixed martial artists in the world. Background Barão was born into a poor family of 13 in Natal, Brazil. His parents divorced when he was young, and he was raised mostly by his mother, aunt and grandmother. Following the divorce, Barão would meet his father – who was an accomplished boxer – next time when he was a teen. Inspired by his father, Barão would instantly start training in combat sports. His nickname ''Barão'' (baron), which predates his athletic career, was given to him by his grandmother after a character in the 1986 Brazilian soap opera '' Sinhá Moça''. Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Todd Harris
Todd Harris (born June 4, 1970) is an American sports announcer and reporter for NBC Sports, currently focusing in Olympic and extreme sports. A graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in communications and broadcast journalism, as well as a Masters degree from St Mary's University in London in International Sports Journalism. Harris' sports media career began in 1991 with ESPN. While employed there through 2007, his workload mainly consisted of college football, the X Games, and IndyCar, which included the role of lap-by-lap announcer for ABC's coverage of the 2005 Indianapolis 500. In the past, he has also contributed to Turner Sports' coverage of the NBA playoffs and the 1998 Winter Olympics. Harris gained notoriety at a young age as the 15 year host of ESPN's coverage of the World's Strongest Man, hosting alongside 4x champion Bill Kazmeier. Harris was also given high profiled jobs with Hall of Famers Keith Jackson and Dan Fouts on the ABC college foo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WEC 41
''WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on June 7, 2009 at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California. It was the most successful show in the WEC's history. Background Featherweight champion Mike Brown defended his title in a rematch against former champion and no. 1 contender Urijah Faber in the main event. Eddie Wineland was expected to face Frank Gomez at the event, but was forced off the card with an injury and replaced by WEC newcomer Noah Thomas. Richard Crunkilton was expected to face Donald Cerrone at this event, but was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by James Krause. Charlie Valencia was originally slated to face WEC newcomer Kyle Dietz at this event, but withdrew from the bout due to injury and was replaced by Rafael Rebello. The event drew an estimated 1,300,000 viewers on Versus. UFC lightweight Kenny Florian acted as a special guest color commentator as Frank Mir was unavailable after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenny Florian
Kenneth Alan "Kenny" Florian (born May 26, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial artist and commentator who formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He formerly served as an analyst for UFC on Fox from 2011 to 2018, provided color commentary for UFC Fight Night, and provides color commentary on the robot combat television series '' BattleBots''. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) as a commentator. Florian has a background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai. He is known for his cerebral approach to the sport based on his meticulous game plans. Florian is recognized for his tendency to finish his opponents, having earned stoppages in twelve of his fourteen career victories. He is also one of only two fighters in history to compete in four different weight classes in the UFC: Middleweight, Welterweight, Lightweight and Featherweight, the other being Diego Sanchez. Florian defeated Chris Leben on the inaugural se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruce Buffer
Bruce Anthony Buffer (born May 21, 1957) is an American professional mixed martial arts ring announcer and the official octagon announcer for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, introduced on broadcasts as the "Veteran Voice of the Octagon". Buffer's catchphrase is "It's time!", which he announces before the main event of a UFC card. He is the half brother of boxing and professional wrestling ring announcer Michael Buffer, and is the President and CEO of their company, The Buffer Partnership. Buffer holds a black belt in Tang Soo Do and has fought as a kickboxer. Early life and martial arts background Buffer first ventured into martial arts when he was thirteen years old and living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studying judo and achieving the rank of green belt. He moved to Malibu, California with his family at the age of fifteen and befriended two of the students of Chuck Norris, who introduced him to Tang Soo Do, in which he holds a second degree black belt. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
