Mixed martial arts is on the cusp of mainstream sports and although it is still illegal to compete in the state of New York, the MMA World Expo is positioned to prove just how large the MMA fan base truly is in NYC and why it is the world’s fastest growing sport. FightZone TV is proud to be a part of this MMA milestone event.

Excitement is growing as the MMA community is getting ready to convene in Midtown Manhattan this Saturday and Sunday, October 24th – 25th at the historic Jacob Javits Center in New York City. For the 1st time in NYC history an event dedicated exclusively to the sport of mixed martial arts will gather legions from the martial arts disciplines including: Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Boxing, Wrestling, Muay Thai and dozens more for business opportunities, networking and learning.

Autograph and Photo Signings:
On Saturday, October 24th meet world-famous UFC Fighter and former Pride Champion, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva (Session 2) and former TUF cast members: Pete Spratt, Phillipe Nover and Pete Sell (Session 1). On Sunday, October 25th meet 9-time UFC World Welterweight Champion, Matt Hughes (Session 4) and current TUF Season 10 members Darrill Schoonover and Justin Wren (Session 3). Autograph and photo sessions are $20/session and include headshot and photo op with each fighter. Other celebrity appearances include: Rich Celementi, Everlast booth # 211, Kit Cope, Leonard Garcia, Duane Ludwig and Scott Jorgensen, Bodybuilding.com booth # 200. More celebrity fighters TBA.

Live Presentations by Expert Athletes & Coaches
Martial arts masters from various disciplines will demonstrate their signature styles in front of an audience of fans and fellow athletes for 2 hours each exhibit day. Among the celebrity presenters will be Judo Legend, Jimmy Pedro; Jiu-Jitsu Phenom, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro; Muay Thai Master, Kru Phil Nurse; World-Renown BJJ Teacher & Competitor, Marcelo Garcia; Olympic Gold Medalist & American Top Team’s Head Boxing Coach, Howard Davis Jr.; UFC, World and Olympic Champ, Mark Schultz; Martial Arts Hall of Famer, Maurepaz Auguste; Contender Asia Coach, Thanongsak Sor. Plantalae; 3rd Degree Machado Black Belt, Marcos Santos; Internationally renowned Strength & Conditioning Coach and Judo Olympian, Dr. Rhadi Bullard Ferguson; 2-Time Olympian Judo Specialist, Taraje Williams-Murray; BJJ Black Belt and Pan American Super Heavy Champ, Fabio Clemente displaying world class skills on the center mats for all to watch.

Educational Sessions
Offering education about the sport, in fact, is one of the key goals of the MMA World Expo. On tap for the weekend event are educational sessions, which will appeal to a broad range of attendees-from those just discovering the sport’s excitement to experienced athletes. “We also hope state legislators will pay a visit to attend our classes -and come to realize that this is a healthy form of competition, enjoyed by a wide spectrum of state residents-and that the ban on competitions should be removed as quickly as possible,” said event founder and director, Paul Paone.

One of the educational highlights, in fact, is a panel discussion entitled, “The Future of MMA”, which will include the Chairwomen of the New York State Athletic Commission, Melvina Lathan, discussing the road to the sport’s legalization. Mixed martial arts training and business seminars will also be offered and will include topics on: “Nutrition for the MMA,” “Fighter Injuries: Prevention & Treatment,” “Preparing to Compete,” and “Business Round Table Discussion for MMA Business Owners.”

MMA Marketplace
Designed for both on-the-spot-sales and business-to-business interaction, the MMA World Expo will feature an exhibit hall filled with vendors representing virtually all aspects of martial arts products, supplies, services and schools. Business-only hours for wholesale buyers are scheduled for 9 am – 11 am of each day followed by 9 hours of consumer exhibit time. Meet with event sponsors: Bodybuilding.com, Zebra Mats, Princeton Brain & Spine Care, FightZone.TV

Exhibitors Include: Alliance BJJ NYC Inc., American Top Team, BAMF Mouthguards, Battle of the Coasts, Bioage, Combat Sports International, Everlast MMA, Defense Soap, Dr. Adam Silk DC, Dymatize, Elite Plus Fitness, Ferguson Marketing Systems, Fighter Warehouse NY, GlideBoxx, Knockout Athletics, KNP Marketing & Travel, KRU Training, Marcelo Garcia BJJ Academy, Martial Arts Development Corp., Merrill Lynch, MET-Rx, MMADogma, Modern Gladiator Fight Gear, Modern Martial Arts, Moriah Herbs Corp., NeuLion, New York Jiu Jitsu, NYBJJ Academy, PowerBlock Dumbbells, Pro Muay Thai Gear.com, Red Arme, Ring To Cage Fight Gear, Split Lip Gear, Take On Productions, The Vitamin Shoppe, Ind., 92.3 NOW, The WAT, US ARMY, US Grappling, USA Wrestling/Grappling, Warrior House, Woldorf USA Inc. and more TBA.

Affordable and Accessible
“We also designed the show to be as affordable and value-packed as possible”, said Paone. “With general admission ticket prices at just $25 per day, we are removing any financial barriers for our attendees. And locating the show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in midtown Manhattan means accessibility to millions by public transportation alone–not to mention, we are reachable within 30 minutes of 3 international airports for out-of-town guests.”
For more info on the Expo visit: www.mmaworldexpo.com
or visit www.FightZone.TV

Thanks to Huy @ Firepowr.net for sharing. CLICK HERE to view the pictures.

Hawaii television host, Tony Solis, interviews MMA Pride and UFC Superstar, Wanderlei Silva.

Tito Ortiz was asked by UFC representatives to leave, but was finally allowed to stay for the press conference, where he exchanged words with UFC President Dana White. The videos are below. See Tito Ortiz speak of a rematch with Randy Couture, and a rematch with Wanderlei Silva, and what Wanderlei thinks about it. Enjoy.

Great show, and going into the night, I was conflicted about who I wanted to win for some fights. I’m a Lyoto Machida fan, and while I’ve never really been a Tito Ortiz fan, part of me was hoping to see him win just for the controversy it could’ve caused with Dana White. However, I also didn’t really want to see Machida lose, but anyway. That fight went about how I expected it would. I got excited when it looked like Tito was going to get that triangle choke in the 3rd round, but Machida escaped perfectly. I’ve also heard people comparing Lyoto Machida’s performance to Kalib Starnes. WTF? In no way was that a Starnes. Machida is ninja, whether he’s exciting or not. (No, it wasn’t an exciting fight overall). Maybe Tito can go to EliteXC now and fight Frank Shamrock, that would be nice.

Wanderlei Silva destroyed Keith Jardine. Damn. The Axe Murderer is back. Who’s next? Will we see a Silva/Liddell rematch? Will Silva ever fight Rampage again? or will Wanderlei drop to 185lbs as a lot of people suspect he will do? That is the match-up that should happen. Wanderlei vs. Anderson Silva. I’d pay double to see that fight.

BJ Penn was able to get the daily requirement of blood in his diet from Sean Sherk. BJ kicked Sherk’s ass throughout the whole fight, and afterwards ran over to wipe blood from Sherks face, then licked his hand. The winner of Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta needs to fight Sean Sherk next.

Damn Keith Jardine got KTFO. Hope he bounces back to winning form soon. It was nice to see Wanderlei Silva back to his old self.

Watch the video below for an interview with Wanderlei Silva about his training and preparation for his fight against Keith Jardine at UFC 84.

This was posted on our MMA Forum, and I thought it was good enough to be on the front page. Great highlight video of various fights from PRIDE‘s “Ref Cam” view.

UFC 79 was a great event. Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva was every bit as exciting as I expected, but whu would’ve thought it would go to a 3-round decision? Wanderlei’s chin is unpredictable, he got caught with some nasty shots and kept standing.

Matt Hughes was totally dominated by Georges St. Pierre. GSP scored takedowns at will and controlled the fight before finally catching hughes in a nasty armbar submission after going for a kimura. Matt Hughes verbally tapped out. No, Matt Hughes won’t retire on a loss. I don’t care what anyone says, I don’t think he’ll go out like that. I see Matt Serra healing up and fighting St. Pierre, Matt Serra will lose that fight and set up a “bad blood” match between Hughes and Serra sometime towards the end of 2008.

Lyoto Machida choked Sokoudjou to submission and remains undefeated.

Other results from UFC 79 are:

Rich Clementi defeated Melvin Guillard by Submission (Choke) round 1
Eddie Sanchez defeated Soa Palelei by Technical Knock Out round 3
James Irvin defeated Luiz Cane by Disqualification (illegal knee) round 1
Manny Gamburyan defeated Nate Mohr by Submission (Leg Lock) round 1
Dean Lister defeated Jordan Radev by Unanimous Decision
Roan Carneiro defeated Tony DeSouza by Technical Knock Out round 2
Mark Bocek defeated Doug Evans by Unanimous Decision round 3

Fans have known about plans for the fight for awhile now, and Wanderlei himself confirmed a fight with Chuck Liddell earlier this week, although UFC representatives stayed hushed about it. The UFC website even had an advertisement up temporarily a couple days ago that listed the fight for UFC 79, but was almost immediately taken down. I suppose Dana White wanted to save the announcement for tonight’s “Scream” awards show on Spike TV.

This fight will not be the main event for UFC 79, as that place is held for the welterweight championsip fight between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.

according to CBSSportsline:

Q: You have said that Dec. 29 is a possible re-debut date for Wanderlei Silva. If Chuck Liddell defeats Keith Jardine at UFC 76 on Sept. 22, might Liddell fight next on Dec. 29?

Dana White: He might.

Q: So it’s possible we could finally see Liddell vs. Silva on Dec. 29?

DW: It’s possible. Liddell would have to win. Liddell would have to come out injury free. There’s a lot of ifs.

Q: But if he’s able to beat Jardine and get through the match healthy, is that the match we’re going to see on Dec. 29?

DW: I’d like to see it, wouldn’t you?

Q: (Laughs.) I’ve been waiting to see it for five years, Dana!

DW: You!?

So anyway, that sounds good. I still say that fighting Keith Jardine is the stupidest decision the UFC has ever made for Chuck Liddell. Clearly a no-win situation for Chuck.

“I’ve been waiting for this for years” – Dana White 

The UFC website quotes Wanderlei Silva as saying:  ”Many fighters have a dream of fighting for the UFC, and as a champion for six years in Japan my dream has always been to have the UFC belt,” Silva was quoted as saying on the UFC Web site. “Today, I’m one step closer to this goal.”

There is photo and video of Wanderlei and Dana White together signing the contract for Silva to fight for the UFC.

Thank God they signed him before he gets too old. I hope we get to see Wanderlei fight like we’re used to seeing him fight. I’m still not sure if he can be a significant force at 205lbs in the UFC, but at least we’ll get to see a few exciting matches. Could he KO Quinton Jackson again? They’ve fought twice already, and Wanderlei won each time.

Will we finally get to see him fight Chuck Liddell? (BTW: Liddel will win this by KO, unless of course he catches a right hook to the jawpiece). Regardless, it should be a slugfest for a round or two.

It was just last month when Dana White sounded like he didn’t think a Silva/Liddell fight would ever happen. They wanted to schedule a fight for September 22nd, but Silva was replaced with Keith Jardine for some stupid reason. I still don’t understand the logic behind that fight.

Anyway, Silva is in the UFC now. Dana White said “He’s ours.” I don’t know when we’ll get to see his first fight in his return to the UFC, where he has a 1-2 record from when he previously fought in the UFC. I suspect he’ll fight in the octagon sometime before the end of 2007. Hell, they should let him fight Jardine for a tune-up fight. Jardine might KO him.

Oh well, I didn’t 100% expect it to happen anyway. I dont think Wanderlei Silva is the same fighter he once was, plus he would have to be roid-free to fight for the UFC. Well, I guess he would, unless his piss test didn’t show up until after the fight.

Anyway, UFC president Dana White said Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva will not be fighting Septempber 22 in Anaheim, California. He also told Yahoo!’s Kevin Iole that the fight between the former champions would probably never happen now.

Dana White is quoted as saying “I have done everything in my power I could do over the last six years to make this fight and it’s still not happening, I just don’t see it happening now.”

According to Dana White, he was informed by someone representing Silva that he didn’t want to fight Chuck Liddell. I believe it, too.

Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva has been a fantasy match-up for MMA fans for a long time, but if it ever happens, I have a feeling Silva will be just a fragment of what he once was, and Chuck Liddell is not getting any younger either, although I suspect he’ll be around the sport a lot longer than Wanderlei Silva. Whether or not Chuck Liddell will still fight in September has not been decided.

Discuss Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva on our new MMA Forum!