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UFC 144
''UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 26, 2012 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Venue UFC 144 was held at the Saitama Super Arena in the Chūō-ku central ward of Saitama City in Saitama Prefecture. The sellout event was held in the Super Arena's Main Stage Center Arena configuration, with a ticket cost of between ¥5,800 and ¥100,000 (ca. US$70 – US$1250). Background UFC 144 marked the UFC's fifth appearance in Japan, their first event in Japan since ''UFC 29'' in 2000, and its first event in Japan since the 2007 purchase of Pride Fighting Championships, which held many of its cards at Saitama Super Arena. The UFC event featured seven fights on the main card. George Sotiropoulos was expected to face Takanori Gomi at this event, but was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Eiji Mitsuoka. Leonard Garcia was expected to face Zhang Tiequan at this ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Zhang Tiequan
Zhang Tiequan, or Zhang Tie Quan (, born July 25, 1978), often anglicized to Tiequan Zhang, is a Chinese mixed martial artist, who last competed as a Lightweight in the UFC. A professional competitor since 2005, Tiequan spent most of the beginning of his career fighting in the Art of War Fighting Championship in his native China, until he signed with WEC in the United States. He is notable for being the first fighter from China to be signed to the UFC and the first to win a bout with the promotion. Background Zhang began training in martial arts and Mongolian wrestling as a child and won the Inner Mongolian Wrestling Championships at the age of 16. After this, he was recruited to fight at one of China's top Sanshou academies where he was under the tutelage of Sanda coach, Zhao Xuejun. In 2005, Zhao convinced Zhang to move to MMA making him one of the earliest professional MMA fighters in China. Zhang is also China's first-ever brown belt and black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hatsu Hioki
(, born July 18, 1983) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist competing in the featherweight division. He is the former Shooto Lightweight Champion, Sengoku Featherweight Champion, and TKO Featherweight Champion. Hioki is a long time Shooto veteran and has fought most of his fights in Japanese promotions including the largest mixed martial arts organization at the time, Pride Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts career TKO Major League MMA Hioki won his first MMA title in the Canadian promotion TKO Major League MMA, by defeating Mark Hominick for the featherweight belt. Prior to this Hioki had only one loss to Hiroyuki Takaya in Shooto and had a record of 8-1-1. He successfully defended this title twice before participating in the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix tournament. Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix Hioki defeated Masanori Kanehara in the semi-final of the tournament but was unable to continue on to the final to fight Michihiro Omigawa due to an injury ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yushin Okami
is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Okami has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Pancrase, M-1 Global, World Series of Fighting, DEEP, Professional Fighters League, and ONE Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career As an amateur, Okami fought in the pre-PRIDE 4 tournament, defeating two opponents before submitting Yuuki Tsutsui in the finals via triangle choke to win the tournament. He began his professional career in 2002, fighting in the GCM promotion and Pancrase, as well as making an appearance at Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 3, amassing a professional record of 7–0. In 2003, he competed in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, but was defeated by Matt Lindland. Also in 2003, he suffered his first professional MMA loss to Amar Suloev. Okami continued fighting in multiple promotions before arriving at Rumble on the Rock, where he entered a 175 lb tournament. Anderson Silva, Frank Trigg, Carlos Condit, and Jake Shield ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoshihiro Akiyama
, also known as and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the 2002 Asian Games. A fourth-generation Japanese of Korean descent, he acquired Japanese nationality in 2001. He is the former K-1 HERO's Light Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion. Judo career Before his professional mixed martial arts career, Akiyama was a decorated Judoka. He began training in Judo at the age of three. He has also trained Karate, Boxing, Kick Boxing, Wrestling and also Submission Wrestling with Greg Jackson. 2001 Asian championships Representing South Korea, Choo won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Judo Championships. 2002 Asian Games Representing Japan, Akiyama won the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games defeating Ahn Dong-Jin of South Korea in the finals. 2003 World Judo Championships controversy Akiyama defeated three opponents from France, Mongolia and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jake Shields
Jake Sequoyah Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and submission grappler. He was the last Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Champion, the only Elite XC Welterweight Champion, a former Shooto Welterweight Champion and former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. He also fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) challenging Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship. He has trained extensively with Fairtex SF and Cesar Gracie and is a member of the "Skrap Pack," which includes fellow Cesar Gracie students Dave Terrell, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, and Gilbert Melendez. After his loss to Akira Kikuchi he won 15 consecutive fights over six years, until his loss to UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre. He describes his style as American Jiu-jitsu. Early life Shields was raised near Mountain Ranch, California, in the Sierra Nevada. He was home schooled up to junior high. He and his two older brothers grew up at the end of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cheick Kongo
Cheick Kongo is a French heavyweight Mixed Martial artist and former Kickboxer who fights in Bellator MMA. A professional MMA competitor since 2001, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of May 10, 2022, he is #4 in the Bellator Heavyweight Rankings. Early life Born to a Burkinabé father and a Congolese mother, Kongo began training in martial arts when he was 5 years old, learning Kendo and Karate. As he grew older, he had already received black belt from both styles and began to expand his repertoire and trained in Boxing, Muay Thai, Savate, Wrestling and Shooto. at age of 19. At age 23, Silat, an Indonesian martial art, and was coached by Charles Joussot and Franck Ropers, men who brought Silat to France. He is also a cousin of rugby star Fulgence Ouedraogo, the French back-rower. Cheick is also a columnist for the French MMA magazine, Top Fight. Mixed martial arts career On June 10, 2001, Kongo began his professional career by knocking out Doog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Hunt
Mark Richard Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former mixed martial artist and kickboxer of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) until 2018 and was the winner of the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix. He is known as "King of Walk-Offs" due to his popularization of walking away and stopping attacks before the referee officially ends the match. Background Hunt was born in South Auckland, into a large Samoan family, and was a troubled child eventually leading to two jail terms for violent offending. He had no intention to be a professional fighter until a late night altercation outside a nightclub just after getting out of jail for the second time in Auckland changed the course of his life. The brawl did not last long, and Hunt knocked out multiple people. Sam Marsters, one of the bouncers at the door was impressed by the young man's knockout power and invited him to his gym to take up formal trainin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryan Bader
Arizona State Sun Devils Ryan DuWayne Bader (born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA where he is the current Bellator Heavyweight Champion, the former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, and the winner of the 2018 Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix Tournament. At Bellator 214, Bader became the first fighter in Bellator history to become champion in two weight divisions simultaneously. Prior to signing with Bellator, Bader competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the Light Heavyweight division and he was a cast member and winner of '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir''. As of December 13, 2022, he is #6 in the Bellator men's pound-for-pound rankings and #3 in the Bellator Light Heavyweight Rankings. Background and career Ryan Bader was born in Reno, Nevada and started wrestling at the age of seven. He entered mixed martial arts after a successful career in amateur wrestling. He attended ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
UFC Lightweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classes. Instead of the traditional championship model, the UFC held tournaments with the winner receiving a permanent appellation. In response to criticism from Senator John McCain that saw the loss of its television deal and the banning of the sport in thirty-six states, the UFC increased its cooperation with state athletic commissions and introduced weight classes in 1997, starting with UFC 12, and began introducing weight-specific titles. The original codification for weight classes introduced only two divisions: heavyweight, which grouped together all competitors above , and lightweight, which encompassed all competitors 199 pounds (90 kg) and under. At UFC 14 the lightweight division would be renamed to middleweight, though it would ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Beginning his career in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division, Edgar captured the UFC Lightweight Championship in 2010 and successfully defended it three times before losing it in 2012. Edgar then moved down to compete in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division, where he challenged for the UFC Featherweight Champion, UFC Featherweight Championship twice and the interim championship once before moving down to the Bantamweight division in 2020. Edgar's background was in amateur wrestling. He wrestled collegiate wrestling, collegiately for the Clarion Golden Eagles wrestling, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he was a four-time NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, NCAA Division I National qualifier. Early life Edgar was born and raised in Toms R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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