Miguel Torres (fighter)
Miguel Angel Torres (born January 18, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist. He is a former WEC Bantamweight Champion and has also formerly competed for the UFC and Ironheart Crown. Torres received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Carlson Gracie Jr. in September 2008. Background Torres was born and raised in East Chicago, Indiana. He began training in Tae Kwon Do when he was seven years old and later attended East Chicago Central High School where he competed in Wrestling. Torres also trained in Boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Mixed martial arts career Early career For a number of years Torres fought primarily in small, unsanctioned events held in nightclubs and bars. As a result, much of his early fighting career is undocumented. Prior to signing with the WEC, he fought often on local shows, including the Total Fight Challenge and Ironheart Crown. He held the bantamweight title in both of these organizations for several years and his participation in th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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East Chicago
East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing activity. Situated along Lake Michigan, East Chicago is about 18 miles from downtown Chicago, Illinois and is just west of Gary, Indiana. History The land that became East Chicago was originally swampland unsuitable for farming. The state of Indiana began selling off plots of land to railroads and speculators after 1851 to fund the local school system. Settlement of the area was very slow at first, and as late as the 1890s, the city had no proper streets or public utilities. East Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1893. The city was named from its location east of Chicago, Illinois. The 1900 Census gives a total population of just 3,411, but the arrival of Inland Steel in 1903 transformed the city into an industrial powerhouse. The ci ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tae Kwon Do
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. The literal translation for tae kwon do is "kicking", "punching", and "the art or way of". They are a kind of martial arts in which one attacks or defends with hands and feet anytime or anywhere, with occasional use of weapons. The physical training undertaken in Taekwondo is purposeful and fosters strength of mind through mental armament. Taekwondo practitioners wear a uniform, known as a dobok. It is a combat sport and was developed during the 1940s and 1950s by Korean martial artists with experience in martial arts such as karate, Chinese martial arts, and indigenous Korean martial arts traditions such as Taekkyeon, Taekkyon, Subak, and Gwonbeop. The oldest governing body for Taekwondo is the Korea Taekwondo Associat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Brian Bowles (fighter)
Brian Bowles (born June 22, 1980) is a retired American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor from 2006 to 2013, Bowles is also the former WEC Bantamweight Champion. Background Bowles was born in Charleston, West Virginia and raised in the small town of Chesapeake, West Virginia by his single mother. Bowles' father, who was largely absent from his life, died when Bowles was 11 years old. In the tenth grade, Bowles moved to Jackson County, Georgia, attending Jackson County Comprehensive High School where he competed in wrestling for three years. Bowles was later introduced to mixed martial arts by a former teammate after graduating, and began training at The HardCore Gym which has since been renamed to SBG Athens. Mixed martial arts career Early career Bowles compiled an undefeated 7-0 amateur record and began his professional career in regional promotions, earning two first- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sherdog
Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com. History Sherdog was created by photographer Jeff Sherwood (nicknamed "Sherdog") in 1997, and was later refined with the help of Garrett Poe. Sherdog features MMA news, individual records of fighters, reviews and previews of MMA events, interviews with fighters and referees, user forums, divisional and pound-for-pound fighter rankings, and original radio programs. Sherdog is also home to the Sherdog Radio Network, an internet-only sports talk network featuring Sherdog writers and staffers. Weekly programs have included ''The Savage Dog Show'' hosted by Greg Savage and Jeff Sherwood, ''Beatdown'' hosted by TJ De Santis and a number of co-hosts, ''It's Time'' hosted by Bruce Buffer and ''The Jordan Breen Sh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Manny Tapia
Manuel Alcaraz Tapia (born March 14, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter currently competing in the Bantamweight division. He has formerly competed for the WEC, King of the Cage, and Tachi Palace Fights. He is the former King of the Cage Flyweight Champion. Background Tapia is from Riverside, California. After the death of his parents, Tapia used football, judo, and wrestling as outlets for his anger. He attended Don Lugo High School in Chino, California and Chaffey College. Tapia was originally introduced to mixed martial arts a year out of high school. Mixed martial arts career Early career Tapia made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2003 for King of the Cage and compiled a record of 4-0-1 before winning the King of the Cage Flyweight Championship. He later signed with the WEC and was stripped of his title. World Extreme Cagefighting Tapia made his WEC debut at WEC 27 on May 12, 2007 in a Featherweight bout against Brandon Foxworth and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yoshiro Maeda
is a Japanese mixed martial artist who currently competes in DEEP's flyweight division, and formerly fought in DEEP's bantamweight division, the latter of which he is a former champion, recently losing the title to Daiki Hata who is still the reigning champion. With a professional career spanning 10 years, Maeda has competed in notable Japanese promotions such as Pancrase, PRIDE FC and DREAM, as well as the WEC in America. Mixed martial arts career Early career Going 0–1–2 as an amateur in 2002, Maeda made his professional debut in 2003 with a second round technical submission of Shigeyuki Umeki. Between his pro debut and 2005, Maeda racked a record of 17–2–1, with wins coming under the Pancrase and DEEP banners. World Extreme Cagefighting Following a drop in weight to the bantamweight division, Maeda debuted in the WEC with a first-round KO due to a kick to the body against King of the Cage champion, Charlie Valencia. With this win, Maeda was given a title shot against ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chase Beebe
Chase Beebe (born March 29, 1985) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist from Chicago, Illinois. He most recently fought for the World Extreme Cagefighting organization, where he was the Bantamweight Champion. He lost that belt on February 13, 2008, to fellow Midwestern MMA fighter Miguel Torres. Beebe trains at Gilbert Grappling in Country Club Hills, IL. Background Prior to MMA, Chase was a successful wrestler. He was a four-time Illinois State Champion for Montini Catholic in Lombard, Illinois. MMA career World Extreme Cagefighting Beebe made his WEC debut on March 24, 2007 at WEC 26: Condit vs. Alessio against Eddie Wineland for the WEC Bantamweight Championship, Beebe won via unanimous decision. On September 5, 2007, Beebe defended the WEC Bantamweight Championship against Rani Yahya at WEC 30 winning via unanimous decision. Beebe was defeated by fellow Chicago native Miguel Torres losing the WEC Bantamweight Championship at WEC 32 via guillotine ch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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WEC 32
''WEC 32: New Mexico'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) that took place on Wednesday, February 13, 2008. For the first time under Zuffa ownership, the show was held in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and not the usual spot of Las Vegas, Nevada. The event drew an estimated 268,000 viewers on Versus, a record low for the WEC. Jesse Moreng was originally slated to face the debuting Scott Jorgensen at this event, but withdrew from the bout due to a leg injury and was replaced by WEC newcomer Damacio Page.http://mmajunkie.com/news/3720/albuquerques-damacio-page-replaces-injured-jesse-moreng-at-wec-32.mma Results See also * World Extreme Cagefighting * List of World Extreme Cagefighting champions * List of WEC events * 2008 in WEC 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, bei ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carlson Gracie
Carlson Gracie (August 13, 1932 – February 1, 2006) was a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A member of the Gracie family, he was the eldest son of Carlos Gracie, and nephew to Hélio Gracie, founders of Gracie jiu-jitsu. Carlson Gracie is considered one of the most important and influential Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners. He and his students created various innovative techniques and strategies which revolutionized Jiu-Jitsu. He is also a mixed martial arts pioneer, having participated in multiple vale tudo matches in the 1950s and 1960s. His academy had one of the first programs for specific training for MMA, and many of his students would become world champions and go on to establish their own academies. Career Carlson was an early pioneer in mixed martial arts, founding one of the most successful teams of the era, which spawned many champions. In 2000, following a financial dispute, many of Carlson Gracie's students would split from him to form another MMA te ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was made up of 3 weight classes: , and . To accommodate the smaller fighters, WEC's cage was in diameter— smaller than the standard UFC cage. The smaller cage is now used by UFC for selected events. History Scott Adams and Reed Harris started the organization in 2001. Between 2001 and 2006, most of their events were held at Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California, and aired on HDNet. In December 2006, Zuffa purchased WEC. With the purchase, WEC continued as a separate promotion with its own roster of fighters. Adams was retained after the purchase as the organization's matchmaker. Harris and Adams were named co-General Managers and were both active in the new WEC. In 2008, Sean She ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |