UFC® today announced it has reached a long-term agreement with ASN, the first 24-hour HD sports channel in Asia to distribute UFC programs in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Macau, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

ASN will officially launch UFC programming on April 10 with UFC 112: SILVA vs. MAIA, a live event taking place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and featuring two world title fights. In addition to broadcasting live UFC events, ASN will also feature UFC® Unleashed, a compilation highlight show featuring some of the best fight action in UFC history as well as select seasons of The Ultimate Fighter® reality television series.

Thomas Kressner, CEO of ASN, said, “ASN is thrilled to deliver UFC, the world’s fastest-growing sports organization to audiences in Asia and with HD production quality, our viewers will not miss a single striking detail.”

“We are excited to sign a deal with ASN and to distribute UFC on this HD sports channel,” said Dana White, UFC President. “Asia is a huge market for us, it has a deep-rooted history and appreciation for the martial arts. We are thrilled to be working with ASN and to deliver the UFC to all of our fans in Asia.”

Launched in 2009, ASN broadcasts exclusive, thrilling action from some of America’s biggest sports leagues including the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), NCAA college championship basketball and football and NASCAR. Other programs include Formula Drift and extreme sports. With about 20 live games or events per week, ASN brings to Asian audiences more American sports action than ever before.

I love Dan Hardy’s mouthguard. It reminds me of the Austin Powers teeth. I’m sure Hardy will give them some good soundbites for UFC Countdown show for his fight with Georges St. Pierre.

Canada will get their first dose of the Kimbo Slice phenomenon on Saturday, May 8th, when the Ultimate Fighter alumnus looks to make it 2-0 in the Octagon on the UFC 113: Machida vs Shogun 2 card at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Slice (4-1), fresh off his three round unanimous decision victory over Houston Alexander at the TUF10 finale last December, will be in with a familiar foe on May 8th, as he takes on his Ultimate Fighter castmate, Matt Mitrione in a heavyweight bout made official today.

Mitrione (1-0), an NFL veteran, made his proper mixed martial arts debut on the TUF10 finale card and showed impressive poise and power as he knocked out Marcus Jones in the second round, and he hopes to make another statement when he squares off with Kimbo this spring.

Tickets for UFC 113 are on sale now and are priced at $600, $400, $250, $150, $100 and $50. Tickets are available at the Bell Centre box office, by phone at (514) 790-2525 / 1-877-668-8269 or at www.geg.ca.

UFC 113 will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available).
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Cung Le was coasting to an easy decision win over Scott Smith until Smith summoned his inner Rocky Balboa last December at Strikeforce Evolution. Smith pulled the upset and got the surprising TKO victory late in the third round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Rich Franklin will make a personal appearance at the thirty-sixth annual Town Fair Tire World of Wheels (www.worldofwheels.com) custom car show.

The show rolls into Boston’s Bayside Expo Center Mar. 12-14 with its now familiar mix of custom cars and special attractions, and Franklin will make his personal appearance from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Mar. 14.

Ultimate Fighting Championship is an international mixed martial arts sports association formed in 2001. With a UFC Middleweight Champion title and an overall record of 27-5-0, Franklin has made a name for himself in the mixed martial arts world. A black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he also has trained in karate, boxing and Muay Thai.

He won his UFC Middleweight Championship title when he defeated Evan Tanner on June 05, 2005. As a result of his fighting prowess, Franklin was tapped to coach competitors on the second season of television’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” and he made his acting debut in the film “Cyborg Soldier.”

Although Franklin is known for his brawn, he holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in education and was a high-school mathematics teacher prior to his mixed martial arts career.
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Dominick Cruz shocked the world last night en route to capturing the WEC Bantamweight champ. Now another showdown with Joseph Benavidez appears to be inevitable.

It was the shortest two seconds of his life. With time winding down in the first round a clearly gassed Jeremiah Riggs knew he had to do something to keep the fight with the heavy handed Jesse Beale from going into the second round. And with a little bit of luck and a little bit of technique he saw his opening and Riggs ended the fight with two seconds left in the first round with a triangle choke.

“I’m not going to lie”, recalls Riggs. “Jesse Beale is a tough dude and he was throwing bombs.” Coming into the fight all of Beale’s 14 wins (out of 15 fights) had come by knockout and at times it looked like he was on his way to another big KO. “He landed a couple of big shots, especially that big knee”, said Riggs. “I had to step back for a second because I needed to make sure I was sticking to the gameplan. I didn’t come in wanting to stand with the guy even though I thought I could. I wanted to take him down but his takedown defense was pretty damn good.”

With approximately a minute to go in the first round Riggs appeared to be wobbled by a knee and threw a kick that Beale caught and used to took him down. “Yeah, throwing that kick wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done,” recalled Riggs. “But luckily I got my legs around him. And when he picked me up and tried to slam me I said thank you very much and cranked it with everything I had. I popped him with an elbow and a few seconds later it was over.”

What a lot of fans don’t realize is that Riggs spent a week in Australia helping teammate Brian Foster prepare for UFC 110 and didn’t arrive back into the United States until late Sunday night. “Going over to Australia then coming back for that fight a few days later probably wasn’t a smart move but it was an awesome experience”, said Riggs. “I was asked to come over and help Foster and I wasn’t going to say no. I’d do anything to help him. The fight with Lytle was disappointing but overall the trip was a great experience. I got to hang out with Rampage again and I got to spend some time with Michael Bisping. He’s a cool dude. I may go over there and train with them at the Wolfslair”.
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We had to dig way back into the ATO archives to find this one. Last summer ATO caught up with Randy Couture at Xtreme Couture as he was getting prepared for his showdown with Nogueira at UFC 101.

It will be interesting to see how his son Ryan does in MMA as he tries to pursue a career in the shadow of his father.

Headlining the STRIKEFORCE card at Bridgestone Arena (formerly known as Sommet Center) will be the world middleweight (185 pounds) title bout between MMA legend and two-time United States Olympic wrestling competitor Dan Henderson (25-7) and reigning STRIKEFORCE champion Jake Shields (24-4-1)

STRIKEFORCE World Light Heavyweight (205 pounds) Champion Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1) will defend his crown against undefeated MMA star and two-time NCAA All-American wrestler “King Mo” (6-0) while STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight (155 pounds) Champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (17-2) will put his title on the line against DREAM Champion and top-ranked Japanese superstar Shinya Aoki (23-4).

One of the most decorated figures in the history of MMA, Henderson, who left the UFC to sign a multi-year agreement with STRIKEFORCE in December 2009, is the only fighter in the sport’s history to simultaneously hold two different titles in two different weight classes (welterweight and heavyweight) for a major fight promotion (PRIDE Fighting Championships).

The 31-year old-Shields, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and resident of San Francisco, captured the vacant STRIKEFORCE middleweight crown with a unanimous five-round decision over fellow superstar Jason “Mayhem” Miller in a live CBS primetime televised matchup at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., on Nov. 7, 2009. Shields, who has not suffered a defeat since December 14, 2004, will put a 13-fight win streak on the line when he faces Henderson.
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