Ray Hui Posts

A heavyweight bout pitting a 1992 Olympic judo gold medalist, Hidehiko Yoshida, against the 2008 winner, Satoshi Ishii, has been officially announced for Dynamite!! 2009 on New Year's Eve in Saitama, Japan.

As one of the early documentarians of MMA, filmmaker Bobby Razak is used to providing an inside look at the lives of fighters and personalities in the sport. But for his latest project, he's reaching out to individuals outside of MMA. Specifically, lawmakers in New York and Toronto.

"It's really to bring light to what is going on," Razak told FanHouse. "To show certain people in the hierarchy – the New York state commissions, the Toronto commissions – to show what our sport is about, how impressive it is, what good it does to the economy, what good it does to troubled youth. This is a great sport. These are great people and let's let them do what they want to do."

The two top MMA promotions in Japan, which originally were to go head-to-head in separate events on New Year's Eve, will instead square off inside the ring on FEG's Dynamite!! 2009 card at the Saitama Super Arena, World Victory Road's Sengoku Raiden Championship and FEG's DREAM announced in a press conference Wednesday.

UFC 106 on Nov. 21 raked in $3,003,250 in ticket sales at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, while WEC 44 on Nov. 18 drew a live gate of $131,200 at the nearby Pearl at the Palms.

UFC 106 made its three-plus million-dollar gate by selling 6,631 tickets, but the event was not a sell-out for the rematch event for former light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. The UFC gave away 3,898 tickets valued at $2,331,250 and left 223 tickets unsold.

Forrest Griffin, who revealed to the crowd a broken foot injury following Saturday's UFC 106 fight in Las Vegas, will be required to have his right foot x-rayed and cleared by a doctor or he will not be allowed to compete until May 21, 2010.

Griffin, who won a split decision over Tito Ortiz, received a minimum suspension of 30 days with no contact for three weeks.

Proving that a famous last name sells, Kim Couture earned an event-high $10,000 at Strikeforce: Challengers on Friday at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan.

Couture, the ex-wife of Randy Couture, was stopped by punches in the co-headliner to Kerry Vera, the wife of UFC fighter Brandon Vera. The women's fight came six days after the male counterparts fought at UFC 105.

Kimbo Slice will make his official UFC debut on the televised card of The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale on Dec. 5 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Spike TV announced Monday.

An opponent has not been announced, as there are still two hours of programming left and Slice is still being teased as an injury replacement, but numerous reports have stated that the brawler will meet fellow heavy hitter Houston Alexander at the finale in a catch-weight bout of 215 pounds.

Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz each earned $250,000 for their main event fight at Saturday's UFC 106 in Las Vegas.

Griffin's total prize included a $150,000 bonus for winning the fight, while Ortiz's salary remained at $250,000.

Griffin avenged a April 2006 loss to Ortiz by returning the favor with a split decision win after three rounds. When the two first met at UFC 59, Ortiz earned $200,000 for the win while Griffin earned only $16,000.

Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson and interim champion Gilbert Melendez will look to unify the belts in a rematch on the Strikeforce: Evolution card on Dec. 19 in San Jose, Calif.

The fight has been rumored for quite some time, but the website of Melendez's Cesar Gracie camp has finally confirmed the bout. The rematch has already been twice promoted and canceled both times this year due to Thomson's ankle and leg injuries.

Josh Koscheck may have been overlooked for a title shot, but he was well-recognized through monetary means by the UFC brass following Saturday's UFC 106 in Las Vegas.

Already, without considering his fight purse, his win bonus and earnings through sponsorships, Koscheck earned $140,000 in post-fight bonuses for his second-round rear-naked choke victory over Anthony Johnson.