UFC 101
''UFC 101: Declaration'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on August 8, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first UFC event held in Philadelphia. The event featured the second title defense of Lightweight Champion BJ Penn against Kenny Florian, and a non-title Light Heavyweight bout for Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva against former Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. Background A previously announced bout between Rousimar Palhares and Alessio Sakara was cancelled due to a broken leg suffered by Palhares during training. Thales Leites stepped in to face Sakara. George Roop stepped in against George Sotiropoulos after Rob Emerson pulled out of the matchup due to a cut requiring stitches. Results Bonus awards Fighters were awarded $60,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin *Knockout of the Night: Anderson Silva *Submission of the Night: B.J. Penn See al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA promotion company in the world as of 2011. It produces events worldwide that showcase 12 weight divisions (eight men's and four women's) and abides by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. , it had held over 600 events. Dana White has been its president since 2001. Under White's stewardship, it has grown into a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise. The UFC was founded by businessman Art Davie and Brazilian martial artist Rorion Gracie, and the first event was held in 1993 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship competitions was to identify the most effective martial art in a contest with minimal rules and no weight classes between competitors of different fighting d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rob Emerson
Robert Michael Emerson (born July 30, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Emerson is also a veteran of Bellator MMA, the UFC, Pancrase, and was a cast member of ''The Ultimate Fighter 5''. Background Emerson was born in Huntington Beach, California and grew up in Dana Point, California. He started training Kyokushin Karate at the age of nine and picked up also Kajukenbo later. Being severely bullied in the school for his Tourettes, Emerson got into lots of fights in his juvenile years. While preparing to embark on a military career, Emerson went to an unsanctioned mixed martial arts show and ended up fighting there, kindling a fire to pursue a career in the sport. Mixed martial arts career Early career After being released from jail in 2002, Emerson made his professional debut against Jens Pulver at an Ultimate Wrestling event on June 29, 2002. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. The Ultimate Fighter According to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matthew Riddle
Matthew Fredrick Riddle (born January 14, 1986, in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is currently inactive due to going for drug rehab. As a professional MMA fighter from 2008 to 2014, Riddle made a name for himself by appearing on SpikeTV's ''The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and went on to hold a four-fight winning streak in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) before being fired upon testing positive for smoking marijuana in February 2013. He also fought for Titan FC and compiled a career record of 8–3 (2). In 2014, Riddle began training at the Monster Factory for a career in professional wrestling and made his actual debut in February 2015. Readers of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' recognized him as the Rookie of the Year and Most Improved wrestler of the year in 2016. Between 2015 and 2018, he worked on the independent circuit, wrestling ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thales Leites
Thales Leites Lourenço (; born 6 September 1981) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist best known for competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Leites made his mixed martial arts debut at Shooto Brazil in 2003, defeating Felipe Arinelli by arm-triangle choke submission. Leites would win his next two fights in Vitória before making his debut in the United States in Hawaii's Rumble on the Rock promotion in 2005, where he defeated Adam Roland in his fourth consecutive mixed martial arts victory. After a successful outing in the U.S., Leites returned to Brazil to fight Gustavo Machado, who was coming off two wins in the Japanese Pancrase organization. Leites defeated the more experienced Machado by submission in the third round, and was invited back to Rumble on the Rock to fight Hawaiian Ronald Jhun in September. Despite fighting a hometown favorite, Leites notched his sixth victory, defeating Jhu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tamdan McCrory
Tamdan Wade McCrory (born November 5, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2006, McCrory has also formerly competed for Bellator MMA and the Cage Fury Fighting Championships. Background McCrory was born and raised in the rural community of Ithaca, New York along with his twin sister. Growing up, McCrory was often bullied for being a self-proclaimed "nerd, " which later helped fuel his motivation for a career in mixed martial arts. McCrory attended and graduated from Ithaca High School in 2004 where he competed in wrestling and was a 2002 New York National Team Cadet for the Greco-Roman category. In May 2008, McCrory graduated from the State University of New York College at Cortland with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. Mixed martial arts career Early career McCrory began fighting mixed martial arts in 2006. He became one of th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Howard (fighter)
John J. Howard (born March 1, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Eagle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2004, Howard has formerly competed for the International Fight League, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, CES MMA, the Cage Fury Fighting Championships and Professional Fighters League. . Background Howard was born and raised by his single mother along with his brother in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts where he still resides to this day. Howard got into fights often while growing up. In high school, Howard played football and basketball and learned the electrical trade after getting his high school degree. He found martial arts after going to a Job Corps to get his high school diploma where he learned grappling from a freestyle grappler. Later on in his career he has become well known for his wrestling skills and takedowns in MMA despite not having any backg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Josh Neer
Joshua Martin Neer (born March 24, 1983) is an American bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2003, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, the Quad Cities Silverbacks of the IFL, and Shark Fights. Neer is the former Shark Fights Interim Welterweight Champion. Background Neer is from Des Moines, Iowa and began wrestling when he was six years old. In high school, he played football, was an All-Conference baseball player, and in wrestling, he finished fourth in the state for his senior season. Neer continued wrestling at Waldorf College, but got injured and dropped out after only a year. Neer began boxing when he was 18 years old. Mixed martial arts career Early career Neer went 89–1 as an amateur, sometimes fighting two to three times in one night. He received his nickname "The Dentist", by knocking the teeth out of two consecutive opponents during his amateur career. Neer began his professional career on March 15, 2003 by knocking ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kurt Pellegrino
Kurt Joseph Pellegrino (born May 7, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships and Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Pellegrino wrestled for Point Pleasant Borough High School and placed second in the state in his junior and senior year. Pellegrino was a two-time wrestling state finalist. Career Pellegrino trained with Ricardo Almeida, a world-famous Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor at a Renzo Gracie affiliate school. He later trained with Kenny Florian's camp in Boston, Massachusetts, and at the Armory in Jupiter, Florida with Justin Haskins, Eduardo Guedes, and Raphael Chaves. He subsequently moved to New Jersey, where he opened Kurt Pellegrino's MMA School in Belmar, New Jersey in 2008. Ultimate Fighting Championship The Italian-American Pellegrino fought Alberto Crane at UFC Fight Night on January 23, 2008, who he defeated via second round TKO. The fight was notable as the only pre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kendall Grove
Kendall Grove (born November 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also competed for the Bellator MMA, UFC, KSW, ProElite, King of the Cage, and was the winner of ''The Ultimate Fighter 3'' on Spike TV. Early life Grove was born in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii and is a graduate of Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Hawaii, where he was a high school wrestler and played football. Grove has a mixed ethnic heritage of Native Hawaiians, Native Hawaiian, Samoans, Samoan, Spaniards, Spanish, and Native Americans in the United States, Native American bloodlines. Kendall trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu in his freshman year in the high school and moved to Las Vegas in 2002 to focus in the sport. However, he got intrigued in mixed martial arts and begun training all aspects of it. Mixed martial arts career The Ultimate Fighter While on The Ultimate Fighter 3, Grove trained under Tito Orti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ricardo Almeida
Ricardo Alves Almeida (; born November 29, 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist and current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey. Almeida is a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Grapplers Quest, and a former Middleweight King of Pancrase. In Pancrase he had notable wins over Nate Marquardt and Kazuo Misaki. Almeida trains with and teaches former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar at his longtime Gracie system gym in Robbinsville, NJ. He also trains former UFC Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and The Ultimate Fighter 19 winner Corey Anderson Background Almeida is a fourth degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie, and part of the Gracie Barra combat and competition team. Mixed martial arts career PRIDE Almeida made his professional MMA debut on December 9, 2000 at PRIDE 12 against Akira Shoji. Almeida won his debut fight via unanimous decision. Almeida made ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amir Sadollah
Amir Ali Sadollah ( fa, امیرعلی ﺳﻌدالله, born August 27, 1980) is a retired American mixed martial artist, formerly with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the winner of Spike TV's '' The Ultimate Fighter 7''. He has fought exclusively within the confines of the UFC Octagon since the beginning of his MMA career, making him one of the few fighters who have done so. Mixed martial arts career Early career Sadollah was born in Brooklyn, New York but raised in Richmond, Virginia to an Iranian father and an Irish-American mother. Following his graduation from John Randolph Tucker High School he attended J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. Amir began mixed martial arts as a way to stay in shape. He began to take the sport more seriously after working as a surgical technologist at VCU Healthsystems and seeing similarities in the personalities of surgeons and fighters. Amir trained at Combat Sports Center in Richmond, VA. Amir trained under Brian Crenshaw ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Johny Hendricks
Johny Harvey Hendricks (born September 12, 1983) is an American former mixed martial artist and collegiate wrestler. He competed in the welterweight and middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former UFC Welterweight Champion. He is currently a Texas police officer. Early life Hendricks was born in Ada, Oklahoma. He was a three-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion and was a two-time high school national champion while at Edmond Memorial High School. His final high school record was 101–5. He would go on to attend college at Oklahoma State University (OSU). After a 10–0 redshirt season in 2003, Hendricks finished 5th in the nation at 157 pounds in 2004, while compiling a 37–7 record. Hendricks moved up to 165 pounds for the next three seasons. He won the 2005 and 2006 Big 12 titles and NCAA Division I national championships. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |