Yeah it’s not MMA, but I found it and felt like posting it here.

Topps Forms Exclusive Partnership With The Ultimate Fighting Championship® Organization

Multi-Year Deal Gives Topps Exclusive Rights to Produce UFC Brand Trading Cards of UFC’s Biggest Stars 

The Topps Company, the leading creator and marketer of sports and related trading cards and entertainment products, and The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®), the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization, have announced an agreement that will give Topps exclusive rights to produce UFC brand trading cards featuring current, future and former UFC athletes. The deal lasts through May 2011 for UFC trading cards and stickers.

The new collector brand will allow fans to experience the history and excitement of UFC and will include all of the biggest mixed martial arts moments from the start of the brand at UFC 1 to the upcoming Nov. 15 mega-fight UFC 91, featuring returning Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar (predicted to be the organization’s biggest event ever), and all the action-packed fights to come.

MMA continues to become one of the most popular sports in the country and Topps is looking forward to joining forces with UFC’s rising stars and illustrious history,” said Warren Friss Topps’ GM of Sports & Entertainment.  “We are extremely excited to work with UFC and give our collectors access that has never before been available in our industry.”

As part of the deal, UFC will provide Topps with unique elements of their organization including images and memorabilia such as match-used gloves and pieces of the UFC Octagon.  These will give the loyal fan a literal piece of the UFC or that special event.  These cards are highly collectible and sought after and usually sequentially numbered to a limited quantity.  Some of the UFC brand cards available to collectors will feature: Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Brock Lesnar, Royce Gracie, Forrest Griffin, Quinton Jackson and many others.

“We are excited to be working with Topps to showcase our incredible athletes on UFC trading cards,” said Dana White, UFC President.  “We look forward to having great success with Topps, and to giving UFC fans a product they can collect and trade with other fans of our sport.”

The UFC trading cards will launch in early 2009.

JAKKS Strengthens Action Figure Portfolio of Major ‘Fight’ Brands with UFC(R) License

MALIBU, Calif., Jun 10, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The world leader in fighting action figure toys, JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq:JAKK), announced today that it has signed an exclusive, four year worldwide Master Toy license agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship(R) (UFC(R)) organization, with a planned product launch expected to commence in 2009.

The new UFC product line from JAKKS(TM) will be collector-focused, and the license covers UFC legend Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, Brock Lesnar, Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira, Michael “The Count” Bisping and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva, among others. The license also includes the famed UFC Octagon(TM), and role-play items based on the UFC brand and its classic and current roster of star fighters.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship organization is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts group, regulated by the most prestigious sports regulatory bodies in the United States. UFC live pay-per-view events take place at preeminent destinations including MGM Grand(R), MEN Arena, Mandalay Bay(R) and O2 Arena, and they consistently draw sell-out crowds with record-breaking gates. Presenting more than twelve pay-per-view events per year, the UFC stands as the largest pay-per-view content provider in the country.

The UFC also dominates television with its reality series, The Ultimate Fighter(R), now heading into its eighth season. The Ultimate Fighter has reigned supreme for years in the coveted 18-34 male ratings demographic, and it regularly enjoys higher ratings than traditional franchise sports such as the NBA(R), NHL(R) and NASCAR(R), as well as NCAA(R) football and basketball. In partnership with Spike TV(R) cable network, the UFC also presents ten live UFC(R) Fight Night(TM) events and 26 taped programs of the popular program UFC(R) Unleashed(TM).

“The UFC is a perfect match for JAKKS, given our extensive expertise in developing and marketing collector driven sports action figures,” said Stephen Berman, President and COO, JAKKS Pacific. “UFC’s enormous and growing popularity amongst adults, coupled with the extensive roster of physically powerful star fighters, gives JAKKS a substantial base to work with, and should be a powerhouse combination for the line. Our objective is to give collectors an authentic UFC experience.”

“We are thrilled to have JAKKS on board as our first official UFC action figure partner,” said Dana White, UFC President. “The demand for UFC is tremendous, and through this relationship with JAKKS, we can present authentic UFC products and have them available to our loyal UFC fans all around the world.”

Dana White and Brock Lesnar just appeared on CNBC’s Power Lunch a few minutes ago to announce that the UFC has partnered with Jakks Pacific to create MMA Action Figures. Dana White was asked about the internet rumors of a big announcement, and evidently there is still an announcement to be made on Thursday. However, Dana White clearly said “NO” to the rumors of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. being affiliated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and he also shot down rumors of the UFC selling out to the WWE.

MAY 19th FIGHTER AUTOGRAPH SIGNING @ BEST BUY IN HOLLYWOOD

LOS ANGELES, California –
EliteXC in conjunction with Image Entertainment and Best Buy will be holding an autograph signing with EliteXC superstars on Monday, May 19th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the La Brea Best Buy store in West Hollywood, California.

Fighters scheduled to appear include:
Gina Carano
Frank Shamrock
“The New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni
Nick Diaz
Jake Shields

DATE AND LOCATION
Monday, May 19th
6:00pm to 8:00pm
BEST BUY
1015 N. La Brea Ave.
West Hollywood, CA 90038

The autograph signing will feature the debut of the first two EliteXC DVD releases: “Destiny” (2-disc set) which showcases Frank Shamrock vs. Renzo Gracie & Gina Carano vs. Julie Kedzie and “Renegade” (2-disc set) which features a lightweight championship match of KJ Noons vs. Nick Diaz & the MMA debut of street-fighting legend, Kimbo Slice.

A free, limited edition EliteXC poster will be available with the purchase of any EliteXC DVD (limited stock on hand).

Fighter appearances are subject to change.

Thanks to a thread on our MMA Forum, or I wouldn’t have known that Donruss is producing a MMA trading card set.

Here is the article from Beckett Media:

Donruss Enters the Octagon

Feb 22 2008 3:29PM

Donruss officials on Friday announced the latest in a string of non-traditional trading card developments, and this one should have mixed martial arts fans across the country fighting glad.

The July release of Donruss Americana II will include a Ring Kings insert featuring some of the top superstars of MMA, a cultural phenomenon that has supplanted boxing as the combat sport of choice for most fans.

Headlining the insert will be such notable names as former UFC Heavyweight champion Randy Couture, UFC Welterweight champion Matt Serra and former UFC Welterweight champion Georges St.-Pierre. Other stars slated to appear include Rich Franklin, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Houston Alexander and WEC Featherweight champion Urijah Faber.

“Everyone in Ring Kings represents one of the fastest-rising superstars in the world of sports based on the country’s overwhelming fascination with mixed martial arts,” says Donruss’ Scott Prusha. “We’re thrilled to be able to create what, for most of these guys, will be their first trading cards and autograph cards; and we’re truly excited about the future possibilities.”

Prusha says that Donruss plans to creatively sample Ring Kings early this spring at various trading card and mixed marital arts events throughout the country before unveiling an extensive promo-card rollout – with autographs – in an upcoming issue of the new Beckett Sports Card Monthly.

On a sidenote, here are some other MMA trading cards and various collectables.

Do you collect Martial Arts of MMA Memorabilia? If so, check out the new MMA Collectables Forum and share some of your collection! Here is a trading card that features a piece of Bruce Lee’s authentic Kung Fu gi.

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070611/20070611005875.html?.v=1

International Fight League Enters into Strategic Partnership and Licensing Agreement with The Topps Company
Monday June 11, 11:22 am ET
World’s Number One Team-Based Mixed Martial Arts League Joins With The World’s Preeminent Brand in Collectible Trading Cards

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The International Fight League, the world’s number one team-based professional mixed martial arts league, today announced a multi-year strategic partnership and licensing agreement with The Topps Company, one of the most storied brands in sports collectibles. The partnership will include the first-ever line of cards featuring IFL coaches and athletes, and will capture the league’s action and personalities in a collectible, consumer friendly, and high-quality format.

“We are very excited to begin this relationship with Topps, one of the most storied brands in the card business,” said Gareb Shamus, IFL co-founder and CEO. “This partnership is the latest in a series of moves by the sport of MMA and the IFL brand that shows how the sport will be able to reach a larger audience with compelling and unique content. It will be great way to showcase our stars through a combination of traditional trading cards, unique collectibles and new media projects.”

“The sport of Mixed Martial Arts is exciting and rapidly growing, and we are proud to partner with the IFL, their world class coaches and rising stars to make our entry in the sport,” said Ira Friedman, Topps’ vice president of publishing and licensing. “We have looked for the right entry point for the MMA category from a collectible standpoint, and feel that the IFL model is the best fit for both now and for the long term.”

The first Topps IFL branded product is currently in development. The card marketer plans its initial presentations to customers during the fourth quarter of 2007, with an expanded program in 2008 and beyond.

Topps joins an ever-growing group of IFL partners that include Microsoft Xbox, Brothers Apparel, Headline Headgear, Sandals Resorts, Warner Home Video, Dale and Thomas Popcorn, Fairtex Equipment and HeadBlade shaving products.

IFL events are televised weekly on FSN (Fridays at 11 p.m.) and Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific/7 p.m. Central on MyNetworkTV “IFL Battleground.”

About Topps

Topps is an international marketer of entertainment products, principally collectible trading cards, confections, sticker collections, and collectible strategy games. The Topps Company was founded in 1938 as Topps Chewing Gum, and in its early years produced a popular penny “Topps Gum” from a factory in Brooklyn, N.Y. After World War II, the company developed Bazooka Bubble Gum, and in 1950, added trading cards to its product line. Baseball cards appeared in 1951 and quickly became a vital part of pop culture, a tradition that continues to this day, and includes football (both American and European) and basketball, in addition to entertainment cards and stickers and albums, Topps also manufactures the popular lollipop brands marketed as Ring Pops, Push Pops, Baby Bottle Pops and other novelty candy and gum products.

About the IFL

International Fight League(TM) (IFL) is the world’s number one professional mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv

Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and IFL’s management’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future financial condition, and results of operations. There can be no assurance that future developments actually affecting IFL will be those anticipated.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ (favorably or unfavorably) from the expectations stated in this release include the risks and uncertainties such as the conditions of the markets for live events, broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance of the Company’s brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to litigation; risks associated with producing live events; uncertainties associated with international markets; risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television distribution agreements; effects of competition, including locations of competitors and operating and market competition.. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the Company’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.

IFL undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. This press release may include the opinions of IFL and does not necessarily include the views of any other person or entity.

The names of all International Fight League, Inc. televised and live programming, teams, images, and logos are trademarks, which are the exclusive property of International Fight League, Inc. All other trademarks and tradenames mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners, and are not affiliated with IFL in any way.

Contact:
The International Fight League
Jerry Milani
212/356-4009 (o)
917/797-5663 (c)
jmilani@ifl.tv