|
Jeff Curran
Jeffrey Michael Curran (born September 2, 1977) is an American retired professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1998, Curran has fought at a number of different weight classes for a large number of promotions including Bellator MMA, Bellator, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, Strikeforce (mixed martial arts), Strikeforce, PRIDE Fighting Championships, World Extreme Cagefighting, WEC, International Fight League, IFL, the Resurrection Fighting Alliance, RFA, and King of the Cage, KOTC. Background Curran started his path towards mixed martial arts with karate and Tae Kwon Do when he was five years old. Curran has trained for 16 years and has fought for 5 years. He began wrestling in the fourth grade and did that until his freshman year when he began Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He graduated from Woodstock High School (Illinois) in 1995. Curran also says that as a teen he would box with his grandfather. Curran holds a rank of fourth-degr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Named after a lake southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The population is 40,269 as of the 2020 Census, a 1.2% decrease from 2010. Crystal Lake is the largest city in McHenry County, part of the Chicago metropolitan area. History Founding The City of Crystal Lake traces its origin to two separate communities which were established in the 1800s. Those communities were generally known as Nunda and Crystal Lake. In 1835, Ziba S. Beardsley had come to the shores of the lake and commented that the "waters were as clear as crystal", thereby giving the lake its name. Ziba Beardsley continued south to Naperville. In February 1836, the first white settlers, Beman and Polly Crandall and six of their ten children, came from New York State traveling to Crystal Lake in a covered wagon. Their original cabin was built in the vicinity of today's intersection of Virginia Street ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Of The Cage
King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstream combat fighters. KOTC has promoted a majority of its events at Native American casinos throughout the United States. KOTC also promotes events in Canada, Australia & Japan. King of The Cage events are also broadcast on most national pay-per-view platforms. The Cage Announcer for KOTC is Pete Trevino. In September 2007, Trebilcock sold KOTC to ProElite. Two years later, in July 2009, he reacquired 100% ownership of KOTC and simultaneously entered into a joint venture agreement with Mark Burnett Productions ("Survivor", "Apprentice", "Celebrity Apprentice" and " The Contender") to begin the development of a reality television program. Bully Beatdown, a Burnett produced program, aired three seasons on MTV and featured several KOTC c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WEC 40
''WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on April 5, 2009 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The event aired live on the Versus Network. Background This was the first WEC event to exclusively feature fights in the lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight weight classes. The organization's heavier weight classes had been folded into the UFC over the previous four months. World Extreme Cagefighting would maintain this weight class structure for the remainder of the promotion's existence. WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres was to defend his title against Brian Bowles at this event, but Bowles was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a back injury, and was replaced by WEC newcomer Takeya Mizugaki. The Torres/Bowles bout was rescheduled for WEC 42 that August, where Bowles won the title by knockout. Early reports suggested that Wagnney Fabiano could face former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber at th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Benavidez
Joseph Rolando Benavidez (born July 31, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Benavidez was born on July 31, 1984, in San Antonio, Texas, and is of Mexican descent. Benavidez grew up with his single mother and two brothers. He attended Las Cruces High School, where he began training boxing. At the age of 16, he also began wrestling, discipline in which he became a New Mexico State champion. He continued to wrestle for one semester at William Penn University before dropping out. From college onwards Benavidez struggled with alcohol and drug abuse before becoming sober, subsequently turning his interest into mixed martial arts. After fighting in smaller shows while working as a screen printer in Las Cruces, New Mexico, he joined up with Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male in 2007. Benavidez has since fought in Dream, WEC and most recently the UFC. His fighting style ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Brown (fighter)
Michael Thomas Brown (born September 8, 1975) is an American mixed martial arts trainer and former fighter who is the head MMA coach for American Top Team. As a mixed martial arts fighter, Brown was a former List of WEC champions#Featherweight Championship, WEC Featherweight Champion and also competed in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC before retiring in 2014 to become a full-time MMA coach. He is the head coach of Dustin Poirier. Background Brown Wrestling, wrestled at Bonny Eagle High School in Standish, Maine, where he won a state championship in 1992, his junior year. He went on to wrestle at Norwich University, where he was known for his ability to focus. Although he was an average student in high school, he was able to apply his focus to academics and excelled as a scholar-athlete in college. According to Norwich wrestling coach Rich Hasenfus, Brown was one of the smartest athletes and strongest wrestlers at Nor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of WEC Champions
This is a list of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champions at each weight class. In December 2006 World Extreme Cagefighting was bought by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, to concentrate on the four smaller weight classes under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Over the next two years, the World Extreme Cagefighting, WEC would phase out weight classes above 155 lbs, with most of the fighters going to the UFC. By the time of the WEC's absorption into the UFC at the end of 2010, the only remaining weight divisions were Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight, Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight and Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight. Discontinued Title Histories Super Heavyweight Championship :Weight limit: Unlimited Heavyweight Championship :Weight limit: Light Heavyweight Championship :Weight limit: Middleweight Championship :Weight limit: Welterweight Championship :Weight limit: Lightweight Championship :Weight li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urijah Faber
Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male, has been one of the coaches of Yan Xiaonan since she moved to Team Alpha Male in 2021. Faber was an NCAA wrestler. With his base in wrestling, he later started Brazilian jiu-jitsu and quickly earned a brown belt under Fábio "Pateta" Prado. Faber won the WEC Featherweight Championship at WEC 19 on March 17, 2006, and held the title for over two and a half years until losing it to Mike Brown at WEC 36 on November 5, 2008. He went on to challenge for the WEC Featherweight Championship two more times and challenged for the UFC Bantamweight Championship four times. Faber is widely regarded as one of MMA's pioneers for establishing legitimacy to lighter-weight classes. After his retirement on July 6, 2017, Faber was inducted into the UFC H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Versus (TV Channel)
NBCSN was an American sports television channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated to programming primarily involving fishing, hunting, outdoor adventure programs, and outdoor sports. By the turn of the 21st century, OLN became better known for its extensive coverage of the Tour de France but eventually began covering more "mainstream" sporting events, resulting in its relaunch as Versus in September 2006. In 2011, Comcast, the original owner of the network, acquired a majority stake in NBCUniversal. As a result, Comcast merged the operations of its pay channels with those of NBC. In particular, it aligned the operation of its sports channels with NBC's sports division, NBC Sports. On January 1, 2012, Versus was rebranded as the NBC Sports Network. The branding was later shortened to NBCSN. By September 15, 2014, most of NBC Sports' operat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapout (TV Series)
''Tapout'' was an American reality television series that focuses on the world of mixed martial arts. The series premiered on Versus, which is now NBC Sports Network, on June 3, 2007, before moving to its regular Wednesday night timeslot beginning June 6. The series follows Charles Lewis, Jr. - "Mask", Dan Caldwell - "Punkass", and Tim Katz "SkySkrape" of the Tapout clothing and gear line, as they travel around the country in search of promising MMA fighters to develop and possibly sponsor. Each episode follows the training and development of one fighter, culminating in a fight at a professional MMA event. As the series progressed the focus broadened to encompass not just the scouting of new talent but also the efforts of the Tapout crew to build their business, including day-to-day operations and the inter-relationships between the crew members and other Tapout employees. On March 11, 2009, Charles "Mask" Lewis was killed in an automobile accident in Newport Beach, California ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Belt (martial Arts)
In East Asian martial arts, the black belt is associated with expertise, but may indicate only competence, depending on the martial art. The use of colored belts is a relatively recent invention dating from the 1880s. Origin The systematic use of belt colour to denote rank was first used in Japan by Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo in the 1880s. Previously, Japanese Koryu instructors tended to provide rank certificates only. Initially the wide obi was used. As practitioners trained in a kimono, only white and black obi were used. This kind of ranking is less common in arts that do not claim a far Eastern origin, though it is used in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. Relative rank Rank and belts are not equivalent between arts, styles, or even within some organisations. In some arts, a black belt may be awarded in three years or even less, while in others it takes dedicated training of ten years or more. Testing for black belt is commonly more rigorous and more centrali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodstock High School (Illinois)
Woodstock High School is a public high school located in Woodstock, Illinois, a part of Woodstock Community Unit School District 200. Established in 1921, it is located 50 minutes south of Wisconsin and one hour northwest of Chicago. It has an enrollment of 1,198 students. Racial/ethnic background The student body is 70.1% White, 24.7% Hispanic, 2.4% Black, 1.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, 0.3% Native American, and 1.1% multi-racial. Financial/sociological status The student body is 26.0% low income, and 2.9% of limited English proficiency. The school has a 1.7% dropout rate. Advanced placement Woodstock High School offers the following Advanced Placement courses: *A.P. Calculus AB *A.P. Calculus BC *A.P. Statistics *A.P. Biology *A.P. Environmental Science *A.P. Chemistry *A.P. Physics *A.P. English Literature *A.P. English Composition *A.P. United States History *A.P. European History (2008–2009) *A.P. Art Studies *A.P. French *A.P. German *A.P. Spanish *A.P. Art History *A. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, controlling one's opponent, gaining a dominant position, and using a number of techniques to force them into submission via joint locks or chokeholds. Brazilian jiu-jitsu was initially developed in 1926 by Brazilian brothers Carlos, Oswaldo, Gastão Jr., George, and Hélio Gracie, after Carlos was taught jiu-jitsu by a travelling Japanese judoka, Mitsuyo Maeda who himself mastered his ground fighting while interacting with Taro Miyake (Tanabe student), Sadakazu Uyenishi (Handa, Tanabe) and Yukio Tani (Tenjin Shinyo-ryu) and catch wrestlers in Europe. Later on, the Gracie family developed their own self-defense system, and published ''Gracie Jiu-Jitsu''. BJJ eventually came to be its own defined combat sport through the innovations, practic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
