‘War on the Mainland’ PPV Aug. 14 – Sylvia vs. Buentello

Two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim “Maine-iac” Sylvia takes on former UFC and Strikeforce heavyweight title challenger, Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello, in the main event for the vacant Powerhouse World Promotions (PWP), LLC Heavyweight Championship, August 14 on Pay Per View live from Bren Events Center in Irvine, California.

“War on the Mainland,” presented by Powerhouse World Promotions, is being distributed by Integrated Sports Media at 10:00PM ET/6:00PM PT in North America  on cable and satellite Pay-Per-View via iN Demand, DIRECTV, Avail-TVN and DISH Network, as well as Viewer’s Choice, Bell TV and Shaw PPV in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $29.95. It will also be available in the United Kingdom via Primetime Live. The PPV card will also be streamed live on Internet PPV outside of the United States, Canada and United Kingdom by going to www.WarontheMainland.com and registering.

“This event started as a training clinic that we’re still holding August 8 in San Diego,” PWP CEO Brian Manna explained. “It’s a full day, training clinic – MMA, Jiu-Jitsu, striking, boxing kicking, etc. – at Manna’s Martial Arts in San Diego. Tony Martinez (President of Powerhouse) suggested we do a show. We discussed it with members of our team – Joe Moreira, Carlos Palomino, Rodolfo Gonzalez and Burdett Streeter – as well as Doug Jacobs (Integrated Sports Media) and (associate) Benny Ricardo. Pay per view made it an easier sell and we were able to raise capital for the show. Now, people from all over the world will be able to watch our show.

“The depth of our field is unmatched. We not only wanted to make sure that we had three really good fights like we do, but to insure that all of the fights on this show would feature high quality fighters, as well as competitive, entertaining matches. These fights are all very well matched from top to bottom. All of us (Team PWP) are old-school martial artists. We stepped into the ring against anybody that was put in there; the type of show we’re putting on August 14th and few like it exist today in MMA for the public.”

Sylvia (26-6-0), fighting out of Bettendorf, Iowa, is coming off of an impressive second-round submission of 5-time World’s Strongest Man, Mariusz “Dominator” Pudzianowski. During his sensational career, Sylvia (6-8, 300 lbs.) has defeated many of the world’s top MMA heavyweights and super heavyweights – Andrei Arlovski (2) Brandon Vera, Jeff Monson, Wes Sims, Ricco Rodriguez, Mike Whitehead (2), Ben Rothwell and Jason Lambert.

Buentello (6-2, 250 lbs.), fighting out of Amarillo, Texas, has notable victories against “Tank” Abbott, Gary Goodridge, Justin Eilers, Mike Kyle and Kirill “Baby Fedor” Sidelnikov.

Sylvia-Buentello is one of three PWP title fights (5 X 5, all other fights are 3 X 5). Former WEC titlist Jason “The Punisher” Lambert (24-11-0) faces 8-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Allan Goes (17-3-0) for the vacant PWP Light Heavyweight title belt, while former UFC title challenger Thales Leite (17-3-1) fights Strikeforce veteran Falinko “Niko” Vitale (27-9-0) for the PWP Middleweight crown.

In a Special Lightweight Attraction, former UFC lightweight champion Jens “Little Evil” Pulver (22-13-1), one of the most popular MMA fighters in the world, meets Diego “El Nino” Garijo (4-1-0).

Also fighting on “War on the Mainland” are Brazilian middleweight Gustavo “Ximu” Machado (18-8-1) vs. Rick Reeves (10-3-0), Mexican welterweight Jorge “The Naked Man” Ortiz (16-5-1) vs. veteran Terry Martin (19-8-0), and California lightweights Joao Silva (3-0) vs. Erin Beach (1-0). All fights and fighters are subject to change.

“We’re hitting the ground running,” Manna added. “People all over the world want to fight with us. We’re not interested in signing fighters to long-term contracts. We’re interested in the fighters being self-sufficient and stable. Burdett is a financial advisor and one of our goals is to aid fighters to become more aware of how to make their financial future more stable.”

Tickets, ranging from $35.00 to $110.00 reserved and $110.00 to $295.00 on the floor, are on sale at the Bren Event Center Box Office (10 AM/PT-6 PM/PT, Mon-Fri), going on line to www.bren.uci.edu or www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 1.949.824.5000.

Doors open at 5:00 PM/PT, first bout 6:15 PM/PT, first PPV bout 7 PM/PT – 10 PM/ET. Go to www.WarontheMainland.com  or www.bren.uci.edu for additional information.

UFC 114 Sold Out, Venue To Host Viewing Party

It’s official: UFC 114 is sold out. But that shouldn’t preclude the general public from not viewing the pay-per-view event.

The MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, NV is offering fans the opportunity to view the PPV later this month at a closed-circuit viewing party, according to UFC officials.

Tickets for the closed circuit broadcast of UFC 114 are priced at $50 and go on sale Monday, May 17 at 1:00 PM (ET). Speaking of the event, the fight card for UFC 114 is as follows:

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Jesse Forbes vs. Ryan Jensen
  • Joe Brammer vs. Aaron Riley
  • Luiz Cane vs. Cyrille Diabate
  • Melvin Guillard vs. Waylon Lowe

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV segment)

  • Efrain Escudero vs. Dan Lauzon
  • Dong Hyun Kim vs. Amir Sadollah

MAIN CARD

  • John Hathaway vs. Diego Sanchez
  • Jason Brilz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
  • Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
  • Michael Bisping vs. Dan Miller
  • Rashad Evans vs. Quinton Jackson

UFC 115 Fastest Sellout In History

Chuck LiddellRich Franklin

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – UFC® fans in Vancouver today set a new record for the fastest sellout in history, with UFC 115 selling out just 30 minutes after the ticket pre-sale started this morning at 10am PT.

At 10:44am PT, UFC President Dana White issued the official news via Twitter @danawhite, stating, “Vancouver sold out in 30 mins!!!! Thank you Vancouver we worked hard on getting it there. Thank you Mayor Robertson”

UFC 115 will be available live on Pay-Per-View on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).

A fighter with dynamite in both fists and a champion that’s known around the world, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell (fighting out of San Luis Obispo, Calif. / 21-7 professional record) has faced the best and beaten the best. With an amazing 10 knockouts in the UFC, and seven consecutive at one point, Liddell is considered one of the greatest strikers in UFC history. With wins over Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort, this UFC Hall of Famer has cemented a legacy for himself in the sport of mixed martial arts.

“I’m ready for this fight, I’m in the best shape of my life, and I can’t wait to get back in the Octagon,” said Liddell. “I can’t tell the fans what happens in the Ultimate Fighter 11, you have to watch the show, but I’ll tell you how this is gonna end, I’m knocking Rich out.”

A former high school math teacher turned world-class mixed martial artist, Rich “Ace” Franklin (fighting out of Cincinnati, Ohio / 27-5-0 1 NC) holds memorable wins over Wanderlei Silva, Matt Hamill, Jason MacDonald and Nate Quarry. The former UFC middleweight champion that holds 12 wins in the UFC has moved up a weight class and looks to make even more noise in the light heavyweight division when he takes on one of the greatest fighters the UFC has ever seen.

“Chuck is a gamer,” Franklin said. “He is a professional – take Randy for example. He and Randy are friends, but he didn’t have a problem fighting Randy and punching him in the head, so he sure won’t have a problem punching me in the head. I’m excited about fighting Chuck, I’m going to give everything I have, and I look forward to giving fans a great fight in Vancouver.”

Varner, Shalorus Likely For WEC 48

Even though WEC officials have declined to comment about the possibility of Jamie Varner taking on Kamal Shalorus, it appears that the fight is likely to take place at WEC 48, which will be the organization’s first pay-per-view.

The event is scheduled to take place on April 24 from Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA.

Varner’s most recent MMA actvity was a title belt loss to Benson Henderson at WEC 46, snapping a 5-fight win streak; meanwhile, Shalorus made his WEC debut in late 2009 and replaced Alex Karalexis at WEC 42 on short notice. He would score a quick, 86-swecond victory over Will Kerr, then would follow that up with an unanimous decision win over then0unbeaten Dave Jensen at WEC 46.

Assuming the bout is signed, it will probably be a part of the main card; with the likelihood of a Varner-Shalorus bout increasing, WEC 48 looks like this:

  • Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber
  • Benson Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone
  • Mike Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan
  • Kamal Shalorus vs. Jamie Varner*
  • Antonio Banuelos vs. Damacio Page*

* – Not officially announced

Reed Harris Doesn’t Like Tito Ortiz Much

WEC GM Reed Harris joined Dave And Mahoney (www.Facebook.com/DaveAndMahoney) in studio on Fri Jan 29th to confirm the WEC’s move to PPV and comment of Tito Ortiz’s remarks about Chuck Liddell being an alcoholic.

UFC Applying Kimura To PPV Pirating

It is commonplace to find sites on the Internet where you can see events or programming for free. The individuals and/or corporations, whose stuff is being stolen (pirated), are slowly but surely – to coin a phrase – fighting back.

Now you can include the UFC on the list.

About this time last month, UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta testified before the House Judiciary Committee in reference to live sports broadcasting over the Internet and he said that the UFC is losing tens of millions of dollars due to people illegally streaming UFC pay-per-views online. As a result, the UFC is taking it to the courtroom.

A good example is the case of a bar that the UFC is suing for allegedly broadcasting UFC 104 without paying the fee that businesses have to pay for commercial broadcasts of the event. The bar claims that a customer hooked his laptop up to a TV and showed an illegal stream of UFC 104 without the bar’s knowledge.

Whether that’s the truth or not is anyone’s guess at this point; however, you can rest assured that the UFC is going to clamp down on “PPV pirates” who attempt to steal events via the Internet. Even Dana White is saying as much as he told a Vancouver (B.C.) newspaper:

“When people start going to jail, people will stop doing it.”

It will be interesting to see how forcefully the UFC will take this issue on. But without, the Internet will be a formidable foe as I suspect there are lots of outlets online that steal pay-per-views. So expect this to linger for quite some time.

UFC 100 Viewing Party Offer

Aaron sent this in:

Want to experience history in the making when Radio City Music Hall hosts the UFC 100 Viewing Party this Saturday July 11th?  The live Pay-Per-View event will be broadcast in High Definition on a 70′ x 35′ screen – the largest ever for a UFC broadcast! All this week, you can receive a 10 percent discount on your ticket when using this promo code: UFCFACE”. The first 200 fans to arrive will attend the exclusive autograph session with UFC title contenders Frankie Edgar and Matt Hamill and following that, all fans in attendance will have the opportunity to participate in the Q & A session. The event is just a few days away so take advantage of this special discount now and party in a room full of other UFC addicts!

Click here for more details about the event and to purchase tickets:  
http://www.radiocity.com/tickets/promotion.html?p_id=UFCFACE

Can’t get enough UFC? Check out this photo gallery of the UFC 100 fighters in action here: http://www.msg.com/photos/ufc-100-fighters-in-action/slide/1/ and watch this exclusive video of Brock Lesnar’s thoughts on his faceoff with Frank Mir in the UFC 100:  http://video.msg.com/Videos/MSG-Networks/5BXBQ6rNptPugHRzenf7j9wU2o0eU76g

Enter the MSG Fight Club ring here for everything MMA, boxing, and wrestling (exclusive videos, interviews, photos and more): http://msg.com/fightclub/