****The author is a Marine Corps veteran and actually served under Maj. John Caldwell who is cited in this article. The author's opinions are not that of the Marine Corps and have no official endorsement by either the Marine Corps or the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It is purely a matter of personal opinion shared by a Marine Corps veteran and journalist for U.S. Combat Sports**** All good things must come to an end. And in the case of one of the most recognizable partnerships inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship's Octagon, the U.S. Marine Corps and the UFC have officially cut ties. The three-year partnership between the two came to an abrupt halt November 30 after a push...

The game plans will be very different when Bellator Fighting Championships welterweight champion Ben Askren and Season 6 champion Karl Amoussou meet at Bellator 86 on January 24 live on Spike TV. But what won't be different is both men's desire to compete and excel once the cage door closes inside the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The level of competition on that night should be remarkable. Askren, a former Olympic wrestler who has gone undefeated over the first ten fights of his mixed martial arts career, is known as much for his constant work ethic as much his trademark "Funky" wrestling style.

Xtreme Fighting Championship has announced that welterweight Corey "The Real Deal" Hill will be fighting Ryan Thomas in the co-main Event of XFC 21: Night of Champions II live on AXStv. Hill comes into the bout with a 3-1 record through his last four fights and has finished his two most recent opponents in the first round. Hill is part of the growing XFC 170-pound division and after a string of unlucky events that included an injury and then a last minute opponent drop, Hill will return to the promotion's cage on December 7 for the final XFC event of 2012. As is standard for XFC fighters, Hill gets a difficult opponent who is eerily similar in many ways, when he fights the 1...

Jarrod "Wildcard" Card, a four time veteran of the XFC will return to action on December 7 for XFC 21: Night of Champions II. XFC 21 will be the final show of the year for the rising promotion and will feature some of the biggest names under the XFC banner. Card will step in to take on recently signed Keith "The Rockstar" Richardson (8-3) in a Featherweight matchup that will be aired on the AXStv portion of the card, along with the lightweight championship title fight between Nick Newell and Eric Reynolds. Jarrod Card started off in the XFC a perfect 2-0 and was at one time the promotions featherweight champion. After a short stint at bantamweight, Card has returned to ...

XFC officials announced the co-main event of the second Night of Champions event as a welterweight bout between two XFC vets, Corey "The Real Deal" Hill and Ryan "The Tank Engine" Thomas. Set for December 7 and broadcasting live from Nashville on Axstv, the bout has been added to the already stacked line up that also features a Lightweight Championship bout between Eric Reynolds and Nick Newell, Females Stephanie Eggink vs Heather Clark, as well as Open Fighter Tryout winner Jason Hicks vs recent signee Kevin Forant. Corey Hill was last seen in the XFC cage in December of 2011 when he defeated fellow TUF veteran Charlie Rader with a first round Brabo choke. Hill followe...