London, UK – UFC® today announced the first three bouts to feature on the UFC FIGHT NIGHT® LONDON card, the organisation’s eagerly awaited return to the capital after a two year absence.
No. 7 middleweight Michael Bisping (27-7, fighting out of Orange County, CA, USA) will return to fight on home soil for the first time since 2010 as he takes on No.8 Gegard Mousasi (37-6 -2, fighting our of Leiden, Holland) at the O2 Arena on February 27.
Bisping’s last fight at the iconic O2 Arena saw him walk away not only with a victory but also the Fight of the Night bonus for his performance. “The Count” will be looking for history to repeat itself in London this February. Standing in his way is former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi who will be no easy competitor with notable wins over Dan Henderson and Costas Philippou. One thing that can be guaranteed is there will be fireworks when these two strikers collide.
Two rising UFC talents will also battle inside the Octagon® as England’s Mike Wilkinson (9-1, fighting out of Manchester, England) takes on Finland’s Makwan Amirkhani (12-2, fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden).
Wilkinson last defeated Niklas Backstrom in devastating fashion within 2 minutes of the first round, earning him the Performance of the Night bonus, before injury forced him out of competition for over a year. Amirkhani also likes to keep his battles short, ending both his UFC victories in the first round. A win for either athlete will certainly put the featherweight division on notice and show Europe continues to be a hotbed of emerging talent.
Tenacious warrior Norman Parke (22-4-1 fighting out of Bushmills, Northern Ireland) will take on a tough test in Russian Rustam Khabilov(17-3, fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico). Following a win in Dublin last month over Reza Madadi, Parke will be looking to put on a show stopping performance and climb the lightweight ladder while Khabilov hopes to prove he remains a force at 155 pounds.
Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT® LONDON go on sale Friday, December 4 at 12 p.m. GMT and are priced at £40, £50, £75, £100, £125 and £150 (prices do not include any applicable service charges and handling fees). Tickets are available for purchase online at http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/35004F7ED13483B9 and www.axs.com/uk.
UFC FIGHT CLUB member have the opportunity to purchase tickets early on Wednesday, December 2 at 10 a.m. GMT via www.ufcfightclub.com.
UFC newsletter subscribers will also have priority access starting on Thursday at 10 a.m. GMT, to sign up for the UFC newsletter please visit UFC.com.
For a full list of bouts and the latest news, please visit UFC.com
Helen ‘Hellraiser’ Harper will be setting her sights on the bright lights of Las Vegas on December 14th for season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter Trials.
Born and raised in Aldershot, Hampshire in the UK and having spent a few years living and competing in Phuket under Phuket Top Team, Helen is now firmly back where she started at home in Farnham, Surrey.
With her only loss coming by the way of controversial stoppage due to a Groin Strike against Strawweight UFC Athlete Cortney Casey, the 28-year-old has only been competing in mixed martial arts for four years and holds an impressive record of 4-1 inside the cage.
Not content with simply applying herself to the world of mixed martial arts, Helen has also competed in several Muay Thai events successfully including winning her pro kickboxing bout.
The pound for pound ranked #4 in UK & Ireland and #1 in Southeast Asia on Tapology does not take anything for granted in this forever evolving sport and has been working hard over the last few months by competing in many Gi and No Gi Competitions. So much so that Helen has picked up 7 Golds, 2 Silver and 1 Bronze, placing in every competition she has entered.
Having recently competed in a Muay Thai event at ‘The Road to Main Event’ on November 21st against Kat Holden, Helen took the fight on 2 weeks’ notice due to some prior pull-outs with her own schedule of fights in mixed martial arts. After three hard fought rounds, Helen was the one to walk away victorious with a decision win, although it was no easy feat.
“I’d had a few pull outs in a row and the only fight that I could have had was up in Sunderland, which would have meant I wouldn’t have had a corner. It was very frustrating. My coach at Shinkick (Jesse Saunders) told me he already had a few guys fighting on this show and they’d had a pull out – did I want to fight? Of course I said yes, that’s equivalent to asking a fat kid if they want cake…
“It was incredible! Kat is no walkover, she’s a seriously tough girl and as you said, it was by no means easy. I absolutely loved it though, and would do it again tomorrow if I could!”
Having decided to sharpen up her forever growing arsenal of tools in her tool box, Helen has been focusing more on becoming more specialised and dedicated to the whole of her MMA game. Having spent some time down at Legacy BJJ/Urban Kings under the tutelage of BAMMA‘s Head Match-Maker Jude Samuel, who was in Helen’s corner for her last MMA fight against Sophie Langsford where Helen picked up a win via decision over three hard fought rounds.
“I’m sharpening up my technique. I can brawl amongst the best of them but when it comes to technique I do struggle to keep things tight. My Muay Thai is the main thing I can see a big improvement in, and that’s thanks to the guys at Shinkick – especially Jesse and Rob. Strength and conditioning is done at Andy’s with the resident S&C coach, James Hardy. Wrestling is also at Andy’s, with Csaba who is an absolute beast – fantastic teacher and all round nice guy. I couldn’t ask for a better set of guys. Having spent a few months’ worth of training up at Jude’s in London, it is a fantastic gym, but I just couldn’t afford to keep travelling up there. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who does find themselves in the Kings Cross area though.”
Having recently been over to Phuket in Thailand to see her good friend and UFC flyweight athlete Ben Nguyen get married, which must of been amazing. Helen went over to AKA to train and then competed in a Muay Thai fight.
“I went over to witness Ben’s wedding, and had the opportunity to fight, so I grabbed it. Unfortunately, I also got very sick that week so it wasn’t my best fight but I made it to the end without throwing up so I was kind of happy about that!“
Now back in the UK, Helen is set to face one of her biggest goals to date – the TUF 23 Trials out in Las Vegas on December 14th. This is not the first time Helen has gone to try out for The Ultimate Fighter, back in April 2014 for season 20, Helen made it through to the final 20 athletes which is a great accomplishment in itself.
“I came home on Monday evening to 8 messages telling me about the trials. I wasn’t going to go, purely through lack of funds, but then Andy had a long chat with me and told me to get there any way I could. He reminded me that this is what I have been aiming for all this time so it would be stupid not to go.
“UFC is an organisation where anything could happen. Yes, I know the general expectation of me, but what they are looking for in a person for each series varies from show to show. The real bonus having been to Vegas before, is that there are a number of friendly faces I can count on to cheer me on!”
With costs from the UK to Las Vegas being expensive, especially on a massive UFC fight card week, yet alone near Christmas, Helen has decided to set up a ‘MAKEACHAMP‘ page to try to assist with the costs associated with getting to Las Vegas for the TUF 23 Trials.
“Andy encouraged me to get to the trials any way I can. I am a Teaching assistant who’s been living in my overdraft since I can remember. Realistically the only way, even though I absolutely hate asking people, is to ask for help. I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the support. The way I look at it is people are not only giving me their hard earned cash to achieve my own dream, which is incredible in itself, but they are believing in me. For that I am extremely lucky.”
Helen is also holding a grapplethon at the gym she trains at, Andy Roberts BJJ, on December 6th to also help raise funds for herself to get to the TUF 23 Trials.
“The plan is to grapple for 8 hours (10am-6pm). I was worried about not having enough people to turn up so I have been trying to book half hour slots – it’s not going that well so far. I hope I will get a few more booked this week! If anyone wants to come, it’s in Farnborough on Sunday and open to anyone!”
It’s day three at the IMMAF European Championships at Walsall in Birmingham and it promised to be another day stacked full of great competition.
Team UK had 7 athletes competing today and went 3-4 overall, which will also see both flyweights Jake Bond and Warren Mason face each other in the final.
It’s day two of the IMMAF European Championships at Walsall in Birmingham, where Team UK are competing against several high level teams to gain the ultimate Gold.
After yesterdays great start, Team UK carried on the momentum and brought today’s score to a rather impressive 5-3 by the end of the first rounds. With Jack Shore and Hardeep Rai both competing twice today and winning both times also. So you could say 7-3 at the end of the day in total.
Here are the Unofficial results from today:
Toni Lampinen (Finland) def. Franklyn Rodrigues (Portugal) via Decision (Unanimous)
Sam Slater (Ireland) def. Jussi Pirttikangas (Finland) via unanimous decision
Jack Shore (UK) def. Jonny Martin (N. Ireland) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) (Round 1 – 1:03)
Ultimate Impact Championship held their sixteenth event on Saturday, November 14th at GL1 Leisure Centre in Gloucester, for which also happened to be their 5th year anniversary as one of the South West’s leading Premier Promotions.
‘Iron’ Piotr Ptasinski New UIC 16 Middleweight K1 Champion
As well as having two Title fights for their main and co-main events, the rest of the card was nothing to be sniffed at quietly either with three exhibition fights, in which everyone was making their debut and one of those was a 0.23 second KO. I can easily say Dwight Edmonson has a very bright future in this ever evolving sport if that exhibition fight was anything to go by.
Whilst holding it down in the amateurs we were entertained to three exciting mma fights for which all went the distance, just proving that each and everyone that competed were evenly matched and fought damn hard, not forgetting the only amateur K1 fight which pitted 17-year-old Mason Carter against 22-year-old Josh Bishop.
Moving on to the PRO card and we got to see the current UIC female K1 title holder, Laura Handy compete in her 3rd MMA bout which was using semi-pro rules (No Elbows). I for one can tell you that Laura will be one to watch out for in the female flyweight division, especially having witnessed first hand how much of a ‘beast’ she is with her rear naked choke. Natalie Bee was no push over and tried to defend Laura’s RNC for a good 60 seconds before finally giving in and tapping.
Before we reached the two title fights we were in for a PRO lightweight treat between Aaron Khalid and former UIC lightweight champion Wayne Drake. From the outset you knew this was going to be a battle of whose submission game is the best and with a very evenly scored first round from both guys it was Aaron Khalid who came out in the second round with slick rear naked choke that made a very worthy opponent in Wayne Drake tap at the 1 minute 18 second mark.
First up for one of two title fights was the current UIC MMA Middleweight Champion Craig White competing against former Cage Warriors athlete ‘Iron’ Piotr Ptasinski in a PRO K1 title fight. Kudos to Craig White coming out to ‘The Lion King – Just can’t wait to be king’ and having an excellent choice in his perfectly pedicured painted toe nails ;). As expected we got to witness some ‘beautiful violence’ in true K1 fashion with both athletes having their own fair share of the non stop action for the full five rounds. It was, however, to be ‘Iron’ Piotr Ptasinski’s night as he was crowned the new UIC Middleweight K1 Champion via Unanimous Decision.
Jordan Miller New UIC 16 Lightweight Champion
The final fight was now upon us and it was time for current UIC lightweight champion Marc Allen to defend his title against UK MMA veteran in that of submission expert Jordan Miller.
The round starts fierce with both guys aiming with high kicks until Allen goes in for a single leg takedown on Miller against the cage where the action stays for a while as Miller’s takedown defence is really strong and he is not giving an inch. Allen is also not walking away as he is now aiming to go for a double leg takedown whilst both guys are battling for pure dominance but Allen perseveres and gets the takedown but not without getting himself caught up by Miller. Miller has Allen’s head and arm possibly looking for a head/arm choke to no avail and both guys scramble back to their feet.
Both up against the cage again with Allen trying to get a takedown and Miller looking for a kimora but to no avail and turns to land a few elbows to soften up Allen’s body. With the action returning to the ground Miller manages to slide himself back towards the cage to sit up but Allen has Millers legs tied up. Allen tries to sneak round-up and round to Millers back but as in doing so the submission expert Miller gets Allen in a Kneebar and he is forced to tap at the 4 minute 32 second mark of the first round. We have a New UIC Lightweight Champion – Jordan Miller.
Here are the full results:
Exhibition fights
Ben Bassett vs Joe Macfield
Josie Dorse vs Emilia Posadzhieva
Tom Rubery vs Dwight Edmondson (0.23 second KO Round One)
Amateurs
Charles Mason Def Donovan Smile Unanimous Decision
Dayle McCrae Def Dan Kneil Unanimous Decision
Josh Bishop Def Màson Càrter Unanimous Decision
Lukasz Marcinkowski Def Will Jones Unanimous Decision
Semi-Pro MMA
Laura Handy Def Natalie Bee RNC 2.00 Round One
Pro MMA
Aaron Khalid Def Wayne Drake RNC 1.18 Round Two
Pro K1 – Middleweight K1 Title
Iron Piotr Ptasinski Def Craig White Unanimous Decision
New Middleweight K1 Title – ‘Iron’ Piotr Ptasinski
Pro MMA – Lightweight Title
Jordan Miller Def Marc ‘Suplex’ Allen Kneebar 4.32 Round One
UFC 193 came live from Melbourne in Australia, in an all female double title headliner. Ronda Rousey was making a defense to her bantamweight belt against boxing champion Holly Holm in the main event at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia tonight and it was Holly Holm who put on a master class performance and KO’d Ronda Rousey in the 2nd round to become the New Bantamweight Champion.
UFC 193 came live from Melbourne in Australia, in an all female double title headliner. Ronda Rousey was making a defense to her bantamweight belt against boxing champion Holly Holm in the main event at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia tonight and it was Holly Holm who put on a master class performance and KO’d Ronda Rousey in the 2nd round to become the New Bantamweight Champion.
In the co-main event it was strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk who was defending her belt against Canada’s own Valerie Letourneau in a five round battle, for which we saw Joanna Jedrzejczyk retain her title via Unanimous Decision from a very tough Valerie Letourneau.
Here are the full results:
Main Card
Holly Holm DEF Ronda Rousey via KO 0.59 seconds Round Two
UFC 193 comes live from Melbourne in Australia, in an all female double title headliner. Ronda Rousey will be making another run at her title defense of her bantamweight belt against boxing champion Holly Holm in the main event. In the co-main event strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will be defending her belt against Canada’s own Valerie Letourneau.
Before any of the above action can take place we have to make sure they are of course all on weight.
Here are the full weigh-in results:
Main Card
Holly Holm 134 lbs vs Ronda Rousey 134 lbs
Joanna Jedrzejczyk 114 lbs vs Valerie Letourneau 115 lbs
On Episode 5 of UFC 193 Embedded, women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey gets a message of encouragement from a big name in news before talking about loss at Ultimate Media Day. Her challenger Holly Holm, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and strawweight challenger Valerie Letourneau also take questions from the media in Melbourne.
After finishing their weight cuts, all parties head to the official weigh-in. Both champions get into heated staredowns, with Rousey and Holm having to be separated on stage.
UFC Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video blog leading up to the double-championship fight night at UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm, Saturday, November 14th 2015.
No. 7 middleweight Michael Bisping (27-7, fighting out of Orange County, CA, USA) will return to fight on home soil for the first time since 2010 as he takes on No.8 Gegard Mousasi (37-6 -2, fighting our of Leiden, Holland) at the O2 Arena on February 27.
Five Rounds with Emma 
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