Affliction “Day of Reckoning”: Explosive PPV and HDNet Match-ups Finalized
Posted on | December 17, 2008 | No Comments
Honda Center · Anaheim, California · Saturday, January 24
Pay Per View Event-9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
Seal Beach, CA (December 17, 2008) – The colossal Affliction “Day of Reckoning” fight card has now been finalized with explosive bouts set for both Pay-Per-View and HDNet telecasts. The scheduled 11-fight MMA extravaganza, including the much-anticipated main event battle between two of MMA’s most notorious heavyweights: Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko and Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski, promises to be an entertaining night of raging, all-star fight action.
“Day of Reckoning” takes place on Saturday, January 24at Honda Center in Anaheim, California and will be televised live on Pay-Per-View at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The show is stacked with great match-ups and some of the best talent in MMA today. The Emelianenko vs. Arlovski bout will decide who will be the reigning heavyweight champion of the world.
Emelianenko (28-1), universally recognized as the most dominating heavyweight in MMA, is the former undisputed PRIDE® Heavyweight Champion and Russian M-1 legend. He defends his newly acquired World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) Heavyweight Championship belt against hard-hitting striker and former UFC® Champ, Andrei Arlovski (14-5), who is on a five fight winning streak, with impressive performances over Ben Rothwell at “Affliction Banned” in July and most recently, Roy Nelson on the October 4 EliteXC show. When “The Emperor” and “The Pitbull” meet in the ring, it’s sure to be a fiery clash of will and technique.
Produced by Belmonte Productions, the blockbuster PPV telecast, which has a suggested retail price of $44.95, features other top-tier MMA stars battling it out in the ring, including Josh “The Baby Faced Assassin” Barnett (23-5), who is one of the top 10 heavyweights in the world, a celebrated wrestling star in Japan, and (formerly) the youngest UFC® Heavyweight Champion of all-time. He will go toe-to-toe with the hot-tempered Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel (35-12), in a match that has been labeled ‘highly combustible.’
Rounding out the Pay-Per-View telecastwill be Brazilian fighter and former UFC® Light Heavyweight Champ, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (17-8) facing off against former Olympic wrestler and Oregon State politician Matt “The Law” Lindland (21-5). Brazilian National Wrestling Champ and former UFC® Heavyweight Title Challenger, Renato “Babalu” Sobral (31-7), will fight Cameroonian mixed martial artist Thierry “The African Assassin” Sokoudjou (5-3). Lightweight standout Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki (12-1) will face off against rising star Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon (11-2), who is the brother of lightweight champ Joe Lauzon.
As a prelude to the epic PPV event, fans can tune in early to HDNet for the rest of the impressive “Day of Reckoning” undercard, with five additional fights. The telecast features the marquee light heavyweight rematch of Antonio “Minotoro” Nogueira (15-3) vs. Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko (21-3) as the main event, live at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT. Lil’ Nog will be looking to extract his revenge from “The Janitor” in this re-match which has been six years in the making. Also on the HDNet telecast, former IFL® Welterweight Champion Jay “The Thorobred” Hieron (16-4) will fight undefeated welterweight champ Jason High (8-0); nine-time TKO Featherweight Champion Mark “The Machine” Hominick (16-8) fights life-long wrestler LC Davis (12-1); and teacher and Cage of Fire Champion Albert “Al Boogey” Rios (11-3) squares off against Mexican Lightweight Champion of UCM Antonio “El Tigre” Duarte (11-1).
Promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and brought to you by Affliction Entertainment and its partners, Donald J. Trump and M-1 Global, Affliction “Day of Reckoning” is scheduled to include 11 rousing bouts of fierce, full-throttle battle headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski. The event will take place on January 24, 2009 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA and live on Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Ticket prices range from $50-$450 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (available online at www.ticketmaster.com or at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 714-740-2000) and at Honda Center Box Office (714-704-2500).
FIGHT CARD LINE UP
Pay-Per-View Fight Card
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland
“Babalu” Sobral vs. Thierry Sokoudjou
Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidellnikov (Baby Fedor)
HDNet Fight Card
Antonio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Jay Heiron vs. Jason High
Mark Hominick vs. LC Davis
Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight
To see Affliction’s official “Day of Reckoning” web site go to:
http://www.afflictionclothing.com/dayofreckoning/
To download video, photos and PR-related media go to the Media section at:
http://www.afflictionclothing.com/dayofreckoning/
To host our promo video on your site go to:
To watch Affliction fight videos, go to the video gallery at:
http://www.afflictionclothing.com/dayofreckoning/
To visit our myspace event page go to:
http://www.myspace.com/afflictionentertainment
To learn more about HDNet go to:
http://www.hd.net
Affliction
Already a mainstay for the most elite athletes, heaviest bands, A-listers and the fashion conscious, Affliction Clothing’s ability to set the bar high in fashion is evident in its collection’s indulgence of style and design, focus on quality, and its trademark series of divinely executed, dark and powerful themes.
(www.afflictionclothing.com)
The Trump Organization
The Trump Organization encompasses global real estate development and global licensing, sales and marketing, property management, golf course development, entertainment, entertainment and product licensing, brand development as well as restaurants and event planning. Donald J. Trump is the Chairman and President of the Trump Organization, a privately held company in New York. (www.Trump.com)
Golden Boy Promotions
Los Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions was established in 2002 by Oscar de la Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional company. In 2007, in its fifth year of promoting, Golden Boy Promotions set a record by selling over 2.5 million in Pay-Per-View homes in a single night. Also in 2007, Golden Boy Promotions established the record for highest grossing pay-per-view homes in a single year with more than 4 million total. Golden Boy Promotions is one of boxing’s most active and respected promoters, presenting shows in packed venues around the United States on networks such as HBO, HBO Latino, TeleFutura, SHOWTIME, VERSUS and ESPN.
M-1 Global and M-1 Challenge
M-1 Global (www.m1mixfight.com) has been one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organizations in the world for over a decade. International MMA stars who have fought under the M-1 banner have included Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Keith Jardine, Alistair Overeem, Yushin Okami, Ben Rothwell, Mike Pyle, Melvin Manhoef, Roman Zenstov, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Omar Suloev, and Chalid Arrab, to name a few.
Billed as the “World Cup of Mixed Martial Arts,” the M-1 Challenge is a full season of MMA events showcasing some of the best up and coming MMA fighters in the world. Broadcast to over 80 countries around the world, including HDNet in the United States, the M-1 Challenge pits teams of five fighters representing their respective countriesagainst each other for international bragging rights and the title of M-1 Challenge Champions. The M-1 Challenge presents MMA prospects all over the world an opportunity to test their skills, gain valuable experience at the international level, and become future stars in the sport of MMA. Fighters who succeed on the M-1 Challenge’s international breeding ground will earn the opportunity to participate in major MMA events presented by M-1 Global and their promotional partners such as Affliction Entertainment.
About HDNet
HDNet (www.hd.net) provides viewers with the best in original comedy, drama, news, sports and music programming.
HDNet is your exclusive, high definition home for popular, critically acclaimed original programming, including television’s only HD news feature programs “HDNet World Report,” the Emmy Award winning “Dan Rather Reports,” featuring legendary journalist Dan Rather and “NASA on HDNet” (presenting live shuttle launches through 2010). HDNet presents championship sports coverage featuring Major League Soccer, the
NASCAR Camping World Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup re-broadcasts, and premiere Mixed Martial Arts from “HDNet Fights;” behind-the-scenes sports news with “Inside MMA;” groundbreaking music programming with the HDNet Concert Series featuring leading artists and bands including Coldplay, Gwen Stefani, John Mayer and more; and entertaining and irreverent lifestyle programming including “Deadline!,” “Art Mann Presents,” and “Get Out!” HDNet is also the exclusive high definition home to critically
acclaimed and award winning programs such as the Emmy Award winning “Arrested Development, “Dead Like Me,” “Smallville” and the hit series “Torchwood.”
About WAMMA
WAMMA is a multi-faceted fighter and fan forward organization dedicated to leading the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to unprecedented levels of integrity, legitimacy and prosperity. With the help of forward-looking MMA promotions, WAMMA has created an environment where fighters from all organizations have the opportunity to openly compete to be the one true, undisputed champion in their respective weight classes based on WAMMA’s objective MMA Rankings
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Tags: Affliction > Andre Arlovski > Antonio "Minototo" Nogueira > Antonio Duarte > Brazilian > Chris Horodecki > Dan Lauzon > Day of Reckoning > Donald J. Trump > Fedor Emelianenko > Gilbert Yvel > Golden Boy Promotions > HDnet > Honda Center > Jason High > Jay Hieron > jiu jitsu > Joe Lauzon > Josh Barnett > LC Davis > M-1 Global > Mark Hominick > Matt Lindland > Mixed Martial Arts > MMA > PPV > Reanto "Babalu" Sobral > Thirry Sokoudjou > Vitor Belfort > Vladimir Matyushenko > wrestling
Holyfield confident of success against Valuev
Posted on | December 17, 2008 | No Comments
Saturday’s PPV card live from Switzerland
ZURICH, Switzerland (December 17, 2008) — Evander Holyfield is convinced that neither size nor age will matter in Saturday´s showdown with WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev. The 46-year-old challenger is determined to become the oldest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing when he takes on “The Russian Giant” in front of a sellout crowd of 12,500 fans in Zurich, Switzerland. In order to put his name in the record books, though, he needs to defeat the biggest and tallest champion of all time.
“I will display a performance that will surprise many people,” Holyfield said at today´s official press conference. “I have been asked about my age so many times but that is fine. It is not about how old you are. It is about how old you feel and what you can do inside the ring. I am very
experienced and I know what I have to do against Valuev. I am in great shape and I really look forward to Saturday night.”
Valuev-Holyfield is promoted by Wilfried Sauerland’s Sauerland Event and its Managing Director, Christian Meyer, in association with Don King Productions. The broadcast is being distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports for live viewing at 3 PM/ET – 12 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN and DISH Network for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. A same night replay will be available at 9:00 PM/ET – 6:00 PM/PT. Award-winning announcers Nick Charles and Al Bernstein will call all of the action.
Valuev will make his second appearance in Switzerland after stopping Jameel McCline in the third round of their meeting in January 2007. “It is great to be back in Switzerland,” Valuev said. “It is a great country and the people are very nice. It is something very special to fight an accomplished champion such as Evander Holyfield. He is a living legend and I am full of respect for him. However, once you are inside the ring, neither names nor titles, matter any more. I have trained very well and I will put on a good performance on Saturday night.”
Manager Wilfried Sauerland admitted the showdown will be one of the biggest fights he has ever staged. “This is a very special bout,” he said. “Holyfield has been heavyweight champion four times. He faces the biggest champion of all time. It is a clash of the superlatives.”
Philippe Huber, CEO of co-organizers Kentaro, believes that Saturday´s clash will help to put Switzerland on the world boxing map. “We are keen to establish Switzerland as a top venue for great boxing fights,” he said. “This is truly an outstanding event.”
A relaxed Holyfield also happily answered questions that were not related to boxing. A curious reporter wanted to know whether he really lived in a house with more than 100 rooms. “Yes, that is true,” Holyfield said. “I have been blessed and I am very thankful for my lifestyle. I have worked very hard for it and that is what I will do on Saturday night: Work hard to win the title.”
Asked about how many rooms his house in Russia has, Valuev smiled and answered. “My new house is not finished yet. These kinds of things take a little longer in Russia.”
Also on PPV is an 8-round super middleweight bout between Danish southpaw Mads “Golden Boy” Larsen (50-2, 37 KOs), former IBO title-holder, and 5-time world kickboxing and Thai boxing champion, Roberto Cocco (9-2, 5 KOs), from Italy.
Highlights from some other fights on the card, time permitting, may be shown including a 12-round co-feature matching two undefeated heavyweights, German-based, Italian-born southpaw Francesco Pianeta (17-0, 11 KOs) defending his European heavyweight title against French challenger Johann Duhaupas (17-0, 10 KOs); former New York Knicks dancer Eileen “The Hawaiian Mongoose” Olszewski (5-2-1, 0 KOs) defending her WIBA flyweight title against undefeated German favorite Nadia Raoul (9-0, 3 KOs); heavyweight Oleg Platov (26-1, 22 KOs) versus Jason Gavern (15-4-3, 8 KOs), cruiserweights Jimmy Kapanov (8-0, 5 KOs) and Paolo Ferrara (25-13-1, 7 KOs); heavyweight Timor Ibragimov (24-2-1, 13 KOs) vs. TBA.
For more information about Saturday’s Valuev-Holyfield PPV go to www.integratedsportsnet.com.
-IS-
Tags: Boxing > Evander Holyfield > Holyfield > Nikolay Valuev > Switzerland > Zurich
UFC TALK: British Talk Show Complete Video
Posted on | December 16, 2008 | No Comments
BOXING VIDEO LINKS: RIDDICK BOWE, YURI FOREMAN, KENDALL HOLT
Posted on | December 16, 2008 | No Comments
DEMETRIUS HOPKINS VS. KENDALL HOLT
Tags: Boxing > boxing video > fights > Kendall Holt > Riddick Bowe > Yuri Foreman
Global Economic Crisis Devestating Worldwide Gaming Interests
Posted on | December 16, 2008 | 2 Comments
by: Rich Bergeron
Over the past few months the economic crisis gripping our nation hit with full fury and is promising to only get worse. From corporate giants to Casino barons, everyone is feeling the pinch. The Fight Industry and Sports in general will no doubt be a hard hit sector of the economy as we lapse into 2009, even if Barack Obama turns out to be a miracle worker.
Lately, some of the main culprits and corporate crooks behind the economic collapse have reared their ugly heads. As these individuals and business enterprises emerge as the forces behind the culture of corruption, they always seem to have the same strategy. They grease the wheels, they make powerful friends, and they step on the toes of everyone they can to make themselves a buck. The recent revelation that Bernie Madoff bilked tens of billions from investors and financial institutions around the world should be no surprise in this vulture capitalist economy. Guys like Madoff should have been busted years ago but managed to breeze through previous investigations on cruise control.
And should we really be so shocked that a governor would resort to selling a senate seat? We live in a nation built by pork barrel projects and fat cat capitalists, and influence peddling is the number one sport of those who want to shape their position in the scheme of things.
The worst aspects of the Bush Administration nation have ultimately resulted in the bailouts of gargantuan investment firms, banks, and foreclosure-strapped mortgage brokers. Business as usual in Washington quickly tried to show it was fixing the problem but only scratched the surface of the massive fraud that made it all happen.
In the throes of this economic landslide, it is important to look at some of the characters the major news networks don’t normally focus on but perhaps should. The collapse of global gambling and casino interests ranks among the most intriguing untold stories of the financial crisis we face right now. Hundreds of billions change hands in casino deals, and it’s not just Mobsters behind the glitz and glamor anymore. Gaming interests and income can be so substantial that they have the power and juice to fuel massive money laundering efforts, counterfeiting, and even terrorism:
Gambling in Macau has a rich history, but it only recently became wide open to outside investors, and those wanting to branch out beyond Vegas came with their billions to develop the next big boom town:
The world’s financial picture has changed drastically from the time when the above reports were produced: May of 2007. Macau’s casinos are now dealing with a Chinese government crackdown on visitation to the island.The stress being felt by international markets, the high debt to capital ratios of many of the world’s casinos conglomerates, and the smash and grab corruption schemes all helped ravage Macau in addition to the Chinese Government’s moves. The future does not look bright for the Eastern gaming enclave according to this Washington Post piece.
Still, Macau is an imposing and formidable force in the worldwide casino picture. There are more than just a handful of casinos there, and not just one or two are owned by American casino corporations. Vegas East will no doubt continue to see declining numbers as the worldwide gaming sector suffers, and the original article City of Sin may be in for an even more profound fall from grace.
Las Vegas, Nevada is one of the hardest hit cities in the nation due to the ongoing housing crisis. While banks and big businesses get the bailout money first, there’s still a long delay getting relief to cash-strapped homeowners who can no longer afford their overblown mortgages. Las Vegas, which had experienced an overwhelming influx of new citizens in the last two decades, is now reeling as real estate prices plummet. So many property-owners there are either upside-down and stagnated by debt or on their way out, abandoning the dusty desert for other locales where the crisis isn’t so pronounced.
Yet, for the casino owners there is no easy way to pack up shop and leave town. Even the biggest of the bunch are facing a dismal 2009 outlook. There are different strategies being employed to weather the storm. Some casinos will have to sell off assets. This article outlines the details behind the recent sale of the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.
Other casinos just might face an even worse fate. As we have been reporting here at Fight News Unlimited in recent weeks, Station Casinos may be the first big Vegas enterprise to declare bankruptcy in these troubled times. We have also reported that gaming interests in Australia were feeling the pinch already. Just today I stumbled across this article detailing Station Casinos’ ties to Australian Billionaire James Packer:
Crown’s $414m US investment ‘worthless’
Packer’s lost nearly a billion dollars in net worth in these lean times for gambling. Like the Fertitta Family in Vegas who partially owns Station Casinos and represents the managing partner of the Casino chain, Packer has friends in the media. The Fertittas are partners on some of their developments with the Greenspun family, which operates much of the local Vegas media scene from newspapers to television stations. Packer cut out the middle man in Australia by having a direct ownership position over much of the country’s media industry. Packer’s approach seems aimed at acquiring as much control as he can over his country’s media landscape.
James Packer’s had an incredibly rough year. His international gaming enterprise Crown Limited has been his albatross as the world’s financial picture transitions from bad to worse. Packer’s only big break of late was when his 25% interest in PBL Media was saved by a last minute rescue package, which was just announced overnight. Packer’s luck may not be as good as Station Casinos’ in their recently failed attempts to recapitalize. Hover, it seems that Packer’s personal fortune is not just tied to Vegas and Australia. Packer also coincidentally has interests in Macau that are also suffering:
Melco Crown Offers Macau Casino Staff Unpaid Leave (Update1)
One of Packer’s biggest competitors in Macau is Dorchester, Massachusetts Native Sheldon Adelson, chief executive of Las Vegas Sands. It is certainly a small world, as Dorchester is where I also spent my younger years growing up in Massachusetts. At any rate, Adelson’s ventures in Macau are still in motion and bolstered by the grand pomp and circumstance that surrounded the opening of the $2.4 billion Venetian Macau.
The rating was attributed to recent cost cutting measures including the elimination of hundreds of Vegas jobs.
Even Adelson’s home state of Massachusetts is reconsidering the expansion of state gambling interests as a remedy for its fiscal problems. The Boston Globe recently detailed how New England is by no means immune from the global casino collapse.
Perhaps in the long run if the casinos continue to suffer and the housing crisis continues to worsen along with the global economic picture, a perfect world scenario could emerge. The reeling casino hotels could be mandated to provide their rooms as affordable housing to all those put out by the mortgage mess. That would be fitting of course, but don’t bet on it.
What’s more likely is that there will be some real financial casualties, jobs will be lost, and people will lose their personal fortunes. The corrupt will survive somehow and go right on corrupting. But, unless enough Americans start to realize that the late local news isn’t covering all the bases and the 24-hour news networks are dropping the ball on all the stories behind the crisis, there is no end in sight to this “recession” that is looking more and more like it could become a depression each day.
As 2008 comes to a close in Las Vegas, it may just be up to Robbie Knievel to resurrect the hope and the spirit of the community when he does a death-defying jump of the brand new MGM Mirage Volcano as part of a New Year’s Eve special planned for The City of Sin. If not, maybe the planned $50 million Mob Museum will save the day. Either way, it’s going to be a while before Las Vegas really gets back on its feet again.
More Related Links:
Casino stocks plunge to new lows in late October
Primm hotel rates for locals: free
Casinos again loosen up on rooms, meals
Another institutional investor ups LV Sands investment
Treasure Island deal seen as early holiday present for industry
Nevadans tell congressional panel bailout has not filtered down
Tags: Aarnold Schwartzenegger > bank fraud > bankruptcy > Barack Obama > Bernie Madoff > Bevanda Magica > Bill Clinton > bloggers > Britney Spears > business > capitalist economy > Cialis > Cocaine > conspiracy > corporate giants > Crisis > Dana White > Devestating > drugs > economic collapse > economy > embezzlement > Enron > federal government > Fedor Emelianenko > Fertitta Enterprises > first amendment > Frank Fertitta III > fraud > free porn > freedom of speech > Fury > gaming > George Bush > George W. Bush > Global Cash Access Holdings > global economic crisis > health care > Hillary Clinton > investigative reporting > investment > investors > IRS > island > JFK > John McCain > Judge Jeff Thaler > Karim Maskatiya > Kathryn Lever > Kirk Sanford > lawsuit > Levitra > loan fraud > loan sharking > Lorenzo Fertitta > Lucille Iacovelli > massive fraud > Medicare > Methampethamine > miracle worker > Mitt Romney > MMA > money laundering > nudity > Omer Sattar > Oxycontin > police > politics > pork barrel projects > Rambo > Randy Couture > republican primary > republican primary results > Rich Bergeron > RICO Act > Ritalin > Ron Paul > scandal > sector > Securities and Exchange Commission > securities fraud > sex > Sherdog > Social Security > Station > Super Bowl > Super Tuesday > supplements > tax evasion > taxes > Ted Kennedy > The Enron of MMA > UFC > Ultimate Fighting Championship > Viagra > way > worldwide gaming > Xenergy > Xyience > xyience apparel > Xyience Incorporated > Xyience supplements > Xyience Xtreme Sex > Zach Arnold > Zuffa > Zyen LLC
DECEMBER 20th Cagefights Feature High Schooler
Posted on | December 15, 2008 | No Comments
Rodriguez vs. Monson at MFA: MMA VIDEO
Posted on | December 15, 2008 | No Comments
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THIS MONSON VS. RODRIGUEZ FIGHT
KLITSCHKO DEMOLISHES RACHMAN
Posted on | December 15, 2008 | No Comments
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE WHOLE FIGHT
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