Over 2000cheering fans surged to their feet to applaud the entrance of local legend and seasoned veteran fighter, “Smokin” Joey Villasenor, Strikeforce veteran, 35-years-old, representing Jackson -Winkeljohn MMA, at 27-8-1 and specializing in boxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. With shouts of encouragement nearly drowning out his music, Villasenor confidently made his way down the aisle to the ring to meet his opponent, 24-year-old Chris “Kamikaze” Camozzi, 14-4-1 representing Factory X MMA out of Denver, CO, specializing in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The two warriors met in the main event for Shark Fights 15, which took place at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, NM, Friday, May 27, 2...

UFC 130 showcases a matchup between two dynamic competitors hoping to vault into the title picture when Frank Mir and Roy Nelson square off in Las Vegas. Both men are Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts, both men have multiple knockout victories, and both men are former heavyweight champions.

Tonight, the Bruckner Bar and Grill in the Bronx, New York hosted the opening of the Bronx week film festival, which opened with documentarian Kahleem Poole's project titled New York MMA.* The intimate venue of the screening room at Bruckner was filled to capacity, including guest appearances by Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and New York City's own Lyman Good. *Editor's note: US Combat Sports reviewed the film after the press screening at the beginning of the month. That review can be found here. What was more surprising, and perhaps more pointed for a film supporting the sanctioning of MMA in New York, were those Bronxites not involved in the MMA community tha...

Among the big headliners of Bellator's debut show in Atlantic City, tonight, it was relative unknown local fighter Giedrius Karavackas that stole the show in his comeback victory against Philadelphia's own Sam Oropeza. The bout between the two Mid-Atlantic prospects was originally never intended to air on the MTV 2 broadcast, but was bumped up to the main card after fellow Broad Street Brawler Anthony Morrison failed to make weight. Karavackas made the most of his television debut, bringing home a dramatic submission victory in the eleventh hour. As they are known to do, the Philly fans came out in force to support their man, with an entire entourage, including Bellator lightweigh...

Over the last two weeks, the feud between labor organization Unite Here and UFC majority owners the Fertitta brothers has gone from a piece of trivia on the east coast to the purported reason for why MMA is still not sanctioned in the state of New York. UFC president Dana White has gone from cryptic statements about unseen forces holding back the sport in the Empire State to directly blaming the Culinary Union Local 226 and their parent company, Unite Here, for killing New York MMA. While Unite Here has had a well documented and long standing grudge with the Fertittas over lack of unionized labor in the Fertitta-owned Station Casinos, the union organization's attempts to derail MMA in ...