Monday, February 27, 2012

Miami's Mike Rio will be on The Ultimate Fighter!

Congrats to Miami's Mike "the Wolverine" Rio... He was picked to be on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Mike and I were on an episode of BURN NOTICE together last year; as mercenaries. Mike is a great fighter, and a great person...
Interview coming soon!

Go to this link for More info







TOM STEDHAM
SOUTHERN FIGHTING NEWS

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Deontay Wilder wins again; improves to 21-0; all by KO.

No big surprise, but 2008 Olympic Bronze Medal winner Deontay Wilder wins again. I don't cut-and-paste the work of other writers, so please go to The Tuscaloosa News article by Steve Overby and read all about it...

Here's a snippet:

Actually, Saturday's fight was the longest of his career even though it was little more than a 12-minute workout. Hayes (23-11) showed little interest in competing and threw a laughable six punches combined over the second and third rounds.
“Getting the business out of the way as quick as I can,” Wilder said. “That's what I'm usually trying to do out there.”



TOM STEDHAM
Southern Fighting News

Friday, February 24, 2012

Miami's Tony Johnson fighting Brett Rogers

Miami fighter Tony Johnson Jr. says that it's a "done deal" and he's just waiting on the contract to arrive. He will face Brett Rogers in Japan on April 30th.
Tony as KOTC heavyweight champ.
Congrats to Tony for getting such a high-profile fight. He repeatedly asked for a certain other large, big-name black fighter (Bobby somebody...) but... for some reason it never got booked. Going against Brett Rogers is a nice career boost.

"He's a strong dude, but I think my game is a little better," Tony said. "I'm gonna go over there and showcase my skills and bring home the win."

Tony is the former King of the Cage heavyweight champ. He's 6-1, with his only loss coming from Daniel Cormier.

Rogers is 11-4, with 3 losses to huge names in MMA: Fedor; Barnett and Overeem. He last fought on Feb. 18 in Michigan. The fight was ruled a No Contest in the 1st rd after he punched Todd Allee in the back of the head. Allee couldn't continue, resulting in a NC stoppage.

Rogers banging against Fedor.

The fight may air on HDNet; everything is still in the planning stages. This could be a damn good match, and end up on a highlight reel. Stay tuned; more details coming in the future, including an interview with Tony.



TOM STEDHAM

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Alabama's Deontay Wilder is boxing Feb. 25 on HBO

Alabama's Deontay Wilder (20-0) is boxing in St Louis on Feb. 25. His opponent is Chris Koval (25-8) . This one will be on HBO, on the undercard of the Maidana-Alexander main event. 


Also on the card: unbeaten WBO super featherweight champion Adrien Broner (22-0, 18 KO’s) making his first defense of his title against #1 WBO ranked contender Eloy Perez (23-0-2, 7 KO’s).
Should be a great night of boxing... Don't miss it.


http://www.boxingnews24.com/2012/02/andre-dirrell-to-fight-in-may-deontay-wilder-to-show-his-stuff-on-february-25th/




http://www.hbo.com/#/boxing/fights/2012/02-25-devon-alexander-vs-marcos-maidana/index.html

Fight card and info
You read it here first, folks... as always!
ALABAMA fight news from ALABAMA'S #1 source: TOM STEDHAM

Upcoming MMA fights and BJJ/Grappling tournaments around the South

This list is updated regularly, so check here often. Send me info about any shows not listed and I'll get it posted.
MMA fights; grappling tournaments, boxing, training seminars, and more. If it's fighting, I cover it.
(and, sometimes, a 5k race, a trail run or marathon, a powerlifting meet, pro wrestling, and a strongman contest... Whatever it is, send it to me!)


TOM STEDHAM






Sep.


15th (SEMINAR)
11:00am until 2:00pm
BJJ black belt Professor Andre Galvao will be coming to Tampa, FL to host a 3 hour World class Jiu-Jitsu seminar.

GI & NO GI
PRE REGISTER - $120
WEEK OF THE EVENT (Sept 10th-15th) - $140

** Privates are available! **

1202 78th st Unit C Tampa,fl 33619

For more information contact Jr at 813 315 9886 or through Facebook

Norton BJJ
Clair-Mel City, FL










22nd
Highlander 3 Race

















Oct.
(date still open)
Miami International Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship

14th
Down & Dirty Mud Run
Atlanta, GA


















2013
Jan.
27th
Miami Marathon











25,000 runners in 2012! They want 30,000 for the next one!!!










--

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

SportFight X announces top fights in Huntsville, AL

SportFight X “Southeastern MMA’s Ultimate Proving Ground” released a portion of the fight set to take place Saturday, March 24th in the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, AL. The event will be broadcast on pay-per-view.

The SportFight X Main Event will be a featherweight fight between Stephen Wilhite representing Triad Martial Arts in Cullman, AL and Luke Neyland representing X3 Sports from Atlanta, GA. Both are making their professional debut. 
The SFX Co-Main Event is Matt Smart (3-1) of Sturgis MMA in Huntsville, AL and Will Kuhn (7-9) of X3 Sports in Atlanta, GA.
Also on the card: a welterweight match, with Matt Vaughan (1-2) of Sturgis MMA facing Steve Hall of X3 Sports. More fights will be announced soon.
The company is in the process of signing additional professional fights that will include a few well known fighters from the region such as Sasuke Zapata and Justin Pennington to name a few. Tickets to the event may be purchased from fighters, and will go on sale in the coming days at www.ticketmaster.com
For more information visit www.sportfightx.com and on Facebook.
Other fights:
185 Matt Ward- Triad Martial Arts
Vs
Riley Matheson- HeadHunter Combatives
145 Wes Baugh- Hybrid MMA
Vs
Keaton Woods- American Top Team Atlanta
205 Jason Sanderson- Throwdown
Vs
Jake Mears- Hybrid MMA
205 Scottie Rich- Team Don’t Blink
Vs
Josh Senkbeil- UWA
145 Anthony Gali- Hybrid MMA
Vs
Anthony Gentry- StraightBlast

http://sportfightx.com/sportfight-x-announces-top-fights/

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Kage Wars 005, Biloxi, MS

It's gonna be another sold-out show at Kage Wars 005 in Biloxi.
Feb. 24th at the Biloxi Community Center.

Official Fight Card
PRESENTED BY
BUDWEISER/JIM BEAM/DAD'S SUPER PAWN
CRESCENT SCHOOL of GAMING/TREASURE BAY CASINO

James Sharp VS Randy Billiot

Randy Hedderick VS Brandon Evans
Jason Floyd VS Fred Weaver
Alex Harrell VS Chris Pham
Douglas Lawrence VS Mathew Stock
Kyle Causey VS Brad Morrison
Mike DeAngelo VS James Goodin
Austin Parker VS Brad Kelly
David Coates VS Jack Brumfield
David Hayes VS Zach Hicks
Corey Jones VS Robert Dunn
Ethan Faulkner VS Tyler Sly
JB Kennedy VS Chris Prescott
Brandon Farris VS Nick Wernimount
Eric Steele VS Keith Hauter
Eryk Anders VS Bo Johnson














Fight Force International does it again... The next show will be April 14th.

CAGEJUNKIES EXCLUSIVE: YOISLANDY ‘CUBA’ IZQUIERDO VS. REZA ‘MADDOG’ MADADI AT UFC ON FUEL 2

CageJunkies has just learned from sources close to Miami based fighter Yoislandy ‘Cuba’ Izquierdo that the recently signed undefeated lightweight will be facing Rez ‘Maddog’ Madadi at UFC on Fuel 2. The event is scheduled for April 14th at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm. Madadi will also be making his UFC debut as he had to pull out of his originally scheduled bout at UFC on FX 1 in January.














http://cagejunkies.com/2012/02/cagejunkies-exclusive-yoislandy-cuba-izquierdo-vs-reza-maddog-madadi-at-ufc-on-fuel-2/

Monday, February 13, 2012

Your main event fighter: Little Patricia Vidonic

The main event of Fight Time 8 will be a female mma fight. I don't think that's been done; not lately, at least...
Miami's Jessica "JAG" Aguilar (12-4) takes on Montana's "Little" Patricia Vidonic in a pro 115-lb match.

Let's look at "Little" Patricia Vidonic:
Record: 5-1, w/5 straight wins, 3 by submission.
Last fight: October.

What's at stake: JAG is ranked as the #2 fighter in this weight class. If Patricia wins, it should certainly move her into the Top 10 ranks...
JAG wants to face the #1 fighter. A win over Patricia may very well get that for her; a loss would probably remove that chance.



Patricia said she is looking forward to her return to Florida.
"It's freezing here in Montana right now, so I'm excited about coming to sunny south Florida to showcase my skills."

How does she feel about facing the more-experienced Bellator veteran, Jessica Aguilar?
"Jessica trains at a great gym, and she's been in Bellator. I've had some tough fights. I earned my spot the hard way; and I won fight of the night at the Breast Cancer Beatdown last year in North Carolina. I want to climb that ladder and move on up to the next level. I know what Jessica will bring to the cage, and I know what I will bring. This will be an exciting fight!"

A look at Patricia's Facebook page will show her dedication. She is sponsored by Training Mask, and she posts videos of her intense training wearing their masks. Tire flips, rowing, sparring, etc...

"It is a great product," Patricia says. "It has greatly improved my training, and my endurance."

Patricia is giving away a Training Mask after the weigh-ins.

Weigh-ins are Thursday nite, at JM Lexus, from 5-8 pm. The fights start Friday nite at 7 pm at the War Memorial in Ft Lauderdale.

The full fight card is:
Jessica Aguilar vs Patricia Vidonic - Main Event
Mike Bruno vs Travis Cox Co-Main Event
Rafael Rebello vs Jim Chaikong
John Rivera vs Aaron Cerda
Efrain Cintron vs Michael Trujillo
Francisco Soares vs Doug Rossi
Marcio Armeli vs Daniel Golightly
Anthony Garavito vs Jerome Buchanan
Alejandro Gomez vs Nico Price
Hauley Tillman vs Lasiel Marquez


For more info on the fight, see the Facebook invite, or go to the Fight Time Facebook page or their website...


TOM STEDHAM
SOUTHERN FIGHTING NEWS

Saturday, February 11, 2012

10th Planet Black Belt Scott Einstein Eptein Seminar

Seminar with 10th Planet Black Belt Scott Einstein Epstein...
Saturday, March 17 at "10th Planet Miami Hotbox, 13170 SW 128th St, Miami, FL 33186"



$75 in advance; $100 at the door. Starts at NOON...

Facebook invite

Contact:
brandon@10thplanetjjmiami.com


SOUTHERN FIGHTING NEWS
TOM STEDHAM

Friday, February 10, 2012

Cage Rage Feb. 11 in Mississippi

Sat., Feb. 11 in the I.P. Casino Resort & Spa in Biloxi, MS.
"CAGE RAGE 10"

Main Event:
Capitao MMA's Danny Ruiz vs Eric Scallan for the Pro Welterweight Title.















Co-Main Event:
Bryan Goldsby vs Aaron Williams for the Pro Bantamweight Title.















Also Alabama's Jonathan McCraw vs Mississippi's Shiloh Pisarich.
















Cage Rage event info
Atlas fights






















SOUTHERN FIGHTING NEWS
TOM STEDHAM

Coming next: Little Patricia Vidonic, from Montana... she's fighting Miami's Jessica "Jag" Aguilar

ATT's John Rivera ready for Fight Time 8

"My training has been hardcore," says John Rivera, a 1-1 fighter with American Top Team. "I'm using an 88-lb vest and 3-lb gloves. I am ready!"

Rivera faces Aaron Cerda from Texas, with a 2-2 record. He says he's not focused on this particular opponent, who hasn't fought in a year.

"I've watched some footage, and I've seen what he has to offer, but I don't study opponents. Things can change. Fighters can change their training, and learn new things. Who knows what he has been working on in the past year? I worry about what I can do. That's my focus."

Rivera says his training motivation has increased lately because he has UFC fighter Marcus Brimage in his camp. The two hit it off after meeting, and Brimage will be in the corner for Rivera's fights, as he has been in the past.

"We have a lot of incredibly talented people at ATT," Rivera said. "Training with a current UFC fighter just adds to the atmosphere. We feed off each other's energy, and being the same size, our fight styles blend to help each other train. I push him and he pushes me."

It's probably a good thing that Rivera has so much energy. He will have only a few days to rest after his fight before helping Brimage get ready for his UFC fight on April 21.

"I have to help my ATT partner prepare for his big fight. He has a lot riding on his fight, and that's what we do at ATT: we help each other as much as possible. We are more than a team. We are a family."

Rivera stresses that he's not just fighting for himself or his team. He also supports the Fight 4 Foundation, a charitable organization that allows fighters to help terminally ill children.
F4F

"I'm fighting for the children who look up to me. The ones who can't do what I do, who have to overcome challenges just to make it through each day."

Walking Rivera to the cage will be three-time cancer survivor Wayne Rabon, aka Lil Wayne, a young boy who Rivera says is a "true champion."
"He inspires me," Rivera says. "To know what he has faced, and is still going through, and still greet every day with a smile, that's true courage."

Rivera will be fighting on FIGHT TIME 8, in the War Memorial in Ft Lauderdale. The stacked card features many south Florida fighters, including Jessica "JAG" Aguilar; Mike Bruno; Michael Trujillo and Anthony Garavito, among others.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.fighttimepromotions.com
Save $5 with code FIGHT8.


Don't miss JOHN "THE MUSCLEBOT" RIVERA IN ACTION!




Southern Fighting News
Tom Stedham

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

All-Army loses stranglehold on Armed Forces Boxing

Looks like the US Army boxing team has lost a little bit of its mojo...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Feb. 6, 2012) -- For the first time in 21 years, the All-Army Boxing Team lost its stranglehold on gold Feb. 3 at the 2012 Armed Forces Boxing Championships.

With two seconds remaining in the final bout of the tournament, Marine Corps Sgt. DeJesus Gardner scored a dramatic 14-13 victory over Sgt. Marvin Carey in a super-heavyweight bout that gave the Marines their first Armed Forces crown since 1992.


More at the link:

http://www.army.mil/article/73226/All_Army_loses_stranglehold_on_Armed_Forces_Boxing/

TOM STEDHAM

South Florida Fight & Fitness Expo

Don't miss this one! MMA, boxing, kickboxing, volleyball, basketball, grappling, BJJ clinics, and more...


Feb. 23-26 at 3650 SW 10th St, Deerfield Beach, FL... 

VERO BEACH BJJ open gi-only tournament, Feb. 11

Renato Tavares BJJ is hosting a Gi-only bjj tournament in Sebastian, FL on Feb. 11.



All the info is on the poster... No registration after noon on Feb. 10.

http://verobeachbjjopen.com/

TOM STEDHAM

RISE OF A WARRIOR, mma in Ft Pierce, FL, Feb. 11.

RISE OF A WARRIOR features a 16-man elimination welterweight tournament. The main event is Charles Rosa vs Chad Livingston.




This is an amateur MMA event, sanctioned by the WFO. More info: www.riseofawarrior.com

TOM STEDHAM

It's me, it's me...


I'm still working on my site: www.southernfightingnews.com, so until it's ready, I started this blogger page.

NEWS IS COMING... Exclusive interviews with UFC fighters, other pro and amateur mma fighters; pro boxers; bjj competitors and instructors...



TOM STEDHAM