Birmingham, UK – February 3, 2012 – It was confirmed today that MA Inc will be presenting the first ever MMA Show Live at The NEC in Birmingham May 12-13 in a separate hall, alongside The Martial Arts Show Live, giving fans two shows for the price of one. Split Decision, the company founded by Liam Fisher (former Head of Business Development at BAMMA), has partnered with MA Inc to establish a new and very much needed event for the huge and very loyal MMA audience and fan base.

The first six fighters confirmed to attend are UFC fighters Kenny Florian, Che Mills and Simeon Thoresen, BAMMA Middleweight Champion Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, UK MMA legend Ian “The Machine” Freeman and UFC, PRIDE and DREAM veteran Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

The MMA Show Live will be an interactive fan experience dedicated to mixed martial arts from around the world. Populating a second hall at the NEC in Birmingham alongside The Martial Arts Show Live, The MMA Show Live will consist of five training areas where some of the biggest names in the business will host special group training sessions, a huge stage & screen for Q&A sessions, an autograph zone where fans can meet their favourite fighters and exhibition stands where some of the biggest brands in MMA will be selling merchandise and much, much more.

Liam Fisher, CEO at Split Decision said “Split Decision is a company made up of huge MMA fans so this is the perfect opportunity for us to help create a show that we all believe every MMA fan would want to go to. There’s going to be over 40 fighters and MMA personalities from all over the World attending, including some A-list superstars, MMA legends and some of the most exciting up and coming talent around today. I’m immensely excited that my company can be a part of this.”

Training sessions with fighters are available for Platinum ticket holders only and are limited to 500 people across the whole weekend. For a limited period only the Platinum tickets are priced at £90 instead of £100 and for this fans will get 1 training session per day, all the benefits of VIP access to both The Martial Arts Show Live and The MMA Show Live across the weekend, exclusive access to the Platinum Room in the MMA hall where fans can sit down and talk with the A-list fighters & celebrities, entrance to the VIP party held on the Saturday evening in Birmingham city centre, a souvenir event program, access to the fast-track line at the autograph zone and premium platinum seating at the Q&A stage.

Every Platinum ticket holder is guaranteed a place at 1 training session per day and there will be 20 different training sessions hosted by 20 different fighters each day. Platinum ticket holders can book their preferred session on a first come first serve basis by registering each day at the registration desk open from 8am each morning. By buying your Platinum ticket now you will secure your place as one of the limited 500 places available.

More fighters and personalities confirmed to attend will be released in the coming weeks. Strictly limited reduced price “Early Bird Tickets” are available starting at 9am on Friday, February 3 at www.theticketfactory.com.

“It Ain’t Chemo” Charity Tournament

San Francisco, CA. – February 2, 2012 – Kountermove is very proud to announce that Randy “The Natural” Couture and his son Ryan Couture will be hosting a Kountermove charity tournament during UFC® 143 to benefit the ‘It Ain’t Chemo’ foundation. The charity aids families with loved ones that are battling cancer.

The tournament, Randy Couture’s “It Ain’t Chemo” Charity Tournament has a $1,500 prize pool and top prize of $540. The entry fee is $10. All Kountermove proceeds from the tournament will be donated to ‘It Ain’t Chemo.’

‘It Ain’t Chemo’ is an organization that provides cancer patients with comfort and care supplies, advice, and emotional support. Founded by firefighter and cancer survivor Kevin Hoyt, the charity raises awareness for its cause through the endorsements of local and national celebrities including Randy Couture, Forrest Griffin, Martin Kampmann, Clay Guida, Kevin Randleman and many others.

According to Aaron Ard, co-founder of Kountermove, “We are thrilled to put together a tournament hosted by Randy and Ryan Couture for such a worthy cause. All proceeds from the 165 player Kountermove tournament will go to ‘It Aint Chemo’ to benefit families with loved ones going through chemotherapy.”

Kountermove’s fantasy MMA games work very similar to fantasy football. Members draft a team of fighters and compete with that team against other Kountermove players in their league. Members have a $25,000 “salary cap” when drafting their fantasy team of fighters, each fighter has a “salary” designated by Kountermove. Members choose from free or entry fee games of varying sizes.

Winners and losers are then determined by fantasy points earned based on each fighter’s performance – strikes landed, submission attempts, knockdowns, dominant positions, rounds won, and knockout or submission bonuses.

After each event, Kountermove updates game results by listing the points members received for that event, the rankings, and prize pool winners. All entry fees are added into a prize pool that is divided among the league’s winners at the end of the game. Visit www.kountermove.com for full details on the Kountermove fantasy MMA scoring system.

To enter Randy Couture’s “It ain’t Chemo” Kountermove Charity Tournament please log on to www.kountermove.com, click on the tournament link, and draft your Fantasy MMA team! Have fun playing fantasy MMA while giving back to those in need!

For more information on Kountermove please visit www.kountermove.com or follow Kountermove on twitter @kountermove.

Our publication can now be used on such popular mobile platforms as iPhone / iPad, Android or any other HTML5 enabled device. Users of such devices will now be able to use view our online publications even without installing Flash Player. Just log on to our site from you enabled mobile device, go to the subscription tab and start reading.

“The Score is Bellator’s longest running TV partner worldwide, having broadcast each of our first five seasons,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “As the place where Canadian fans go for MMA programming, news and information, theScore is the perfect partner to help us connect with our fans in a place where MMA and Bellator have thrived.”

“We are extremely pleased to announce the continuation of our partnership with Bellator,” says Benjie Levy, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Score Media Inc. “Bellator has developed a reputation for being one of the world’s elite MMA promotions and its programming is a perfect fit for our young audience.”

Season 6 kicks off on Friday, March 9th headlined by the Bellator World Featherweight title fight between Joe Warren and Pat Curran. In addition, Bellator is planning multiple Canadian event dates in 2012. The televised portion of each week’s events kick off at 8 p.m. ET LIVE on MTV2 in the U.S. and on thescore.com in Canada simultaneously, followed by repeat airings on theScore Television Network on Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET, Sundays at 8 p.m. ET and Wednesdays at 4 p.m. ET.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

AFN will air Bellator’s highly-anticipated Sixth Season starting March 9

CHICAGO, Ill. (January 30, 2011) — In a continuing effort to bring premier sports and entertainment to those who serve in the United States Armed Forces, Bellator Fighting Championships has once again partnered with the Armed Forces Network, extending a relationship that was formed in 2010. For the approximately one million service members and their families deployed to 175 countries around the world that depend on AFN, Bellator’s sixth season and beyond will be able to be seen via the Armed Forces Network, including Bellator’s March 9 premier from The Venue at The Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Tickets for this event are on sale and are available at The Horseshoe Casino, Ticketmaster, www.thevenue-chicago.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

“It is an honor for us to be able to continue to provide Bellator programming to the men and women of The United States Armed Forces,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said.  “The strength and courage displayed by the men and women of our armed forces is admirable at the highest level.  To be able to give back to them, even a little bit is something I am pleased we can do”.

With over 10 years of service in the United States Army, Bellator Heavyweight Tournament Finalist Eric Prindle is well aware of the importance of the AFN.

“When you are stationed overseas, being able to sit down and watch sports or a big fight like Bellator brings back a piece a home, and allows you to keep doing your job,” Prindle said. “It’s a tremendous honor to know I’ve got the soldiers watching me fight, and I can promise in my rematch with Thiago Santos, I won’t let them down.”

San Francisco, CA. – January 27, 2012 – Kountermove is thrilled to announce that UFC veteran’s Mark Coleman and Frank Trigg and K-1 Legend Rick “The Jet” Roufus have joined the Kountermove Fantasy MMA movement! This weekend MMA fans can enter the “Fight Legends” Kountermove tournament to test their fight prediction skills against three legendary combat sports fighters.

According to Aaron Ard, co-founder of Kountermove, “It is such an honor to have Mark Coleman, Rick Roufus and Frank Trigg competing in this weekend’s Kountermove “Fight Legends” tournament. This ups the stakes for fans, as they are testing their fight prediction skills against true legends in the sport.”

Ard went on to say, “We are committed to keeping Kountermove tournaments fun and interesting for fight fans and what better way than to host tournaments where they can play against some of their favorite fighters. We also plan to host a Kountermove “Coaches Invitational” tournament in the near future, where MMA coaches will have the opportunity to test their Fantasy MMA skills and go head-to head with coaches from other gyms.”

The 110 player “Fight Legends” Fantasy MMA Tournament has a $5 entry fee and a $500 prize pool. Fans can log on to www.kountermove.com to enter the tournament. Spots are filling up fast!

Kountermove’s fantasy MMA games work very similar to fantasy football. Members draft a team of fighters and compete with that team against other Kountermove players in their league. Members have a $25,000 “salary cap” when drafting their fantasy team of fighters, each fighter has a “salary” designated by Kountermove. Members choose from free or entry fee games of varying sizes.

Winners and losers are then determined by fantasy points earned based on each fighter’s performance – strikes landed, submission attempts, knockdowns, dominant positions, rounds won, and knockout or submission bonuses.

After each event, Kountermove updates game results by listing the points members received for that event, the rankings, and prize pool winners. All entry fees are added into a prize pool that is divided among the league’s winners at the end of the game. Visit www.kountermove.com for full details on the Kountermove fantasy MMA scoring system.

The Kountermove Fantasy MMA site, backed by Randy “The Natural” Couture, continues to gain momentum in the MMA community and has quickly become a popular destination for MMA fans, fighters and key media players. The site has both paid tournaments and FREE tournaments and is a great way for fans to learn more about the fight stats of MMA’s rising stars.

For more information on Kountermove please visit www.kountermove.com or follow Kountermove on twitter @kountermove.

CHICAGO, Ill. (January 27, 2011) — Bellator Fighting Championships returns to the Bayou State on Friday, March 16 for Bellator 61 live from Bossier City at the Horseshoe Riverdome. The night will feature the long awaited rematch between “The American Solider” Eric Prindle (@EricPrindleMMA) and “The Big Monster” Thiago Santos (@BigMonsterMMA) to determine a winner from last season’s heavyweight tournament, as well a host of local talent from the Louisiana area.

Tickets for the event are now on sale and can be purchased online at Riverdome.com, by phone at 888-512-SHOW (7469) or by visiting The Gift Horse at Horseshoe Bossier City Casino. Tickets are priced from $25-$75. The event will also be broadcast LIVE starting at 7 p.m. CST on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. CST, with the first fight scheduled for 6 p.m. CST. The preliminary card, featuring the area’s top local talent will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com starting at 6 p.m. CST.

“Louisiana’s been an amazing home to Bellator. Our last two Louisiana events we’re spectacular sell outs, so bringing Bellator to Bossier City was an easy decision to make,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “This Prindle-Santos fight has war written all over it and both of these guys have taken this huge fight very personally. March 16 should be a great night.”

Prindle meets Santos after last season’s Heavyweight Finals were declared a no contest as Santos delivered what was ruled an accidental illegal blow to the groin of Eric Prindle, which eventually halted the fight. The two will square off to determine who will earn the right to face current Bellator Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad(@ColeKonradMMA).

The night will also feature the quarterfinals of the Bellator Season 6 Middleweight Tournament. UFC veteran Maiquel “Big Rig” Falcao (@Falcaomma) will make his Bellator debut against the dominant Norman Paraisy. Falcao enters Bellator with an astonishing 23 knockouts to his record and will look to keep that trend intact at Bellator 61.

In a matchup worthy of a Middleweight title fight, Brian “The Predator” Rogers (@Brogthepredator) battles Brazilian ace Vitor Vianna (@VitorVianna) for a spot in the semifinals. For Rogers, the Ohio native wants to build off last season’s semifinals appearance and punch his ticket to a guaranteed title shot. Vianna put up a tremendous fight against eventual Middleweight Tournament Champion Alexander Shlemenko(@StormShlemenko) and is eager for another long tournament run.

Entering Bellator on a 14-fight win streak, explosive Russian Vyacheslav “Slava” Vasilevsky (@SlavaVasilevsky) will be making his U.S. debut in a fight with Victor O’ Donnell (@Victor_ODonnell). One of the most promising prospects in the world, “Slava” joins Bellator as two-time Sambo World Champion and will look to make his mark with Bellator.

Giva “The Arm Collector” Santana (@GivaSantana) is back with Bellator and will be gunning for another victim when he takes on Bruno Santos. Always looking for the armbar, Santana has tapped 13 of his 17 career opponents with the hold.

“A lot of fighters like to go out there and try to knock their opponents out as soon as they can, and that’s the same way I am with my submissions,” Santana said. “For me, to tap a guy out is the same feeling as the knockout. When a punch lands and you know you knocked your opponent out, I feel the same feeling when I lock up a submission on my opponent. I know right away that he’s going to tap, and it’s a great feeling.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

Nashville has waited a long time to have MMA return to the Music City since 2009, when the UFC first traveled there. Bridgestone Arena will be loud on Friday night as many talented fighters will step into the Octagon to put on a show.

The main event is sure to live up to its potential, as two top lightweight contenders will look to get back on track. Melvin Guillard recently broke his winning streak by losing to Joe Lauzon at UFC 136, while Jim Miller is looking to make another run himself since losing to current No. 1 contender Ben Henderson. This fight is a huge bout in the division, where the loser could no longer be in the mix for a shot at the 155-pound belt.

The co-main event is a fight that should not get overlooked, as now-official record holder of the fastest knockout in UFC history, Duane “Bang” Ludwig, will try to work his way up the welterweight ranks. But first, he has to get past the tough Josh Neer, who is on a five-fight win streak.

Rounding out the main card will be Mike Easton welcoming newly announced opponent Jared Papazian to the Octagon, while two heavyweights will go to war in the opening bout as Pat Barry takes on Christian Morecraft.

The MMA Corner’s panel of Joe Atkins, Gregory Chase and Corey Adams will break down the four main card bouts in this edition of the Round Table.

Chase: This fight has all the makings of being Knockout of the Night. Barry is coming off of two losses in a row, and in this company that means this is do-or-die. Barry is looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses to Stefan Struve and Cheick Kongo, both formidable opponents. This may or may not be the cutting block for him, since his competition has been tough and he has a great personality. The strength in his hands and if he can avoid blows himself will determine if this heavyweight can hang among the best still.

Morecraft is a little on the safer side, coming off of only one loss, but one loss is still one more than any fighter wants. Morecraft holds the ability to knock you out as well, but has a stronger submission game than Barry. Barry’s losses are primarily submissions, and if this goes to the ground, it may be an early night for Barry.

Christian Morecraft (R) battles Matt Mitrione (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

I see Barry being very motivated for this fight. He has the advantage on the feet, so I would give him a knockout victory. However, if it goes to the ground, it is all Morecraft. Officially, I will have to say Morecraft’s well-roundedness and longer reach will be tough for Barry to overcome, and Morecraft will be the victor.

Atkins: Barry desperately needs a win if he wants to keep his place in the UFC. Barry, to be frank, isn’t a well-rounded mixed martial artist. Once the fight wanders out of his comfort zone, he appears utterly helpless. He’s been training with Brock Lesnar and the guys at Team DeathClutch for some time now, but I’ve yet to see the fruits of his labour. That being said, he is one of the finest strikers in the heavyweight division, and if this fight stays standing, he will have a tremendous advantage.

Morecraft’s UFC career has been up and down so far, but he has potential. He’s a huge heavyweight, and will have a marked size advantage over the 5-foot-11 Barry. He has shown he’s vulnerable on the feet against better strikers, so I assume his game-plan will be to put Barry on his arse and submit him. Morecraft’s not great in any particular area, but he’s versatile and if he can avoid being clipped on the chin, he should win this fight.

Morecraft defeats Barry via submission in round one.

Adams: This is going to be Pat Barry’s breakthrough fight.

I agree with my fellow panelists that “HD” isn’t well-rounded at all, but my hunch is that his wrestling will be improved on Friday and will surprise some people. Knowing that he could get released with a loss, Barry will be focused coming into this one and will have a lot of emotion.

Morecraft could use a win here, as well. He has never been past the second round in his career, but has also been knocked out twice out of his last three fights. That’s not a good statistic when coming into a fight with a striker like Barry.

The logical choice would be to go with Morecraft here, but I’m gonna ride with “HD” by first-round TKO.

Atkins: Mike Easton had a good outing in his Octagon debut in October of last year when he defeated Byron Bloodworth via TKO. He’s a black belt in both taekwondo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so he’s comfortable wherever the fight ends up. I think Easton is the more tested fighter. He has some good wins in his career so far, including a victory over TUF 14 winner John Dodson.

Papazian has earned a call to the Octagon. He’s won his past three fights, and at just 23 years old, he has the potential to go far in the sport. However, the bright lights and the main card attention could prove unnerving for the young fighter. Jared, like his opponent, is a fairly balanced mixed martial artist, but four of his six losses have been by submission, so I can only assume he’ll be at a disadvantage if the fight goes to the ground against Easton.

Mike Easton (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

I’m going to predict Easton beats Papazian via submission in the second round.

Adams: Out of the four main card bouts on the card, this fight is without a doubt the most lackluster. Not saying that these two young guys won’t put on an exciting fight, but many fans aren’t going to know who Easton and Papazian are.

I did not know that Easton had defeated John Dodson until Joe mentioned it, and then when looking at the 27-year-old’s record, I also saw that he earned a close win over Chase Beebe. Easton does have some solid wins in his career, has only lost once before, and should be the favorite in this fight.

Stepping in for an injured Ken Stone will be Papazian. What stands out to me is that “The Jackhammer” has eight of his 14 victories by decision, and that’s against mid-level competition outside the UFC. It will be interesting to see how Papazian performs in the main card spotlight against Easton.

Papazian won’t be a walk-over, but Easton is going to get the best of him. I’m going with Easton by third-round TKO.

Chase: Have to agree with Joe that Easton is the more tested fighter. While Papazian is coming off of three wins, Easton himself is on a six-fight winning streak. Easton made his debut back in October, and put on a good show for his first fight in the Octagon, but Papazian is making his debut with this fight.

As Joe and Corey have pointed out, being on the main card and making his Octagon debut, to me, already puts Papazian at a disadvantage mentally. It could mean the opposite, but more often than not, newcomers have some issues adjusting. This is not a huge pay-per-view event, but the card is still not too shabby with a great headliner.

I am going with the majority here as well, Easton will walk out of the cage victorious. He has the better experience, and Papazian is not one to finish the fight that often. His losses have primarily come by submission, and that is perfect for Easton to execute in their fight. While not having many submission victories under his belt, Easton still possesses the ability to submit his opponents and will have the ground advantage here. Easton wins via TKO in the second round, or a sub in the first.

Adams: While this fight may not sound like a huge co-main event, this is a bout that I am really looking forward to, however.

Duane Ludwig (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

The Denver native Ludwig is one of the most well-rounded fighters in the welterweight division. “Bang” specializes in using a high-level Muay Thai approach that is difficult to defend, but also has a lot of power in his hands, along with an underrated jiu-jitsu game. He is also a long-time veteran of combat fights, both in MMA and kickboxing. The 33-year-old is currently on a two-fight win streak as well, and has a few solid years left in him to make a run in the division.

“The Dentist” Neer has never been as consistent as right now, winning in his last five fights, including a UFC win over Keith Wisniewski in October. Neer has beaten top guys in the sport, including Melvin Guillard and Mac Danzig, but just hasn’t been able to string together multiple wins to earn himself a UFC title shot. At this point, it’s going to take a lot of work for the Iowa native to reach the top of the heap, but at only 28 years old, it’s possible.

But with that said, it will be difficult for Neer to take out Ludwig. In his five recent wins, none of those guys Neer faced has had the talent “Bang” possesses. Ludwig has a good mindset right now on his fight career and is just going out there comfortable and looking to have fun.

If Neer decides to stand and trade with Ludwig, he may be in for a long night. I don’t believe Ludwig will finish “The Dentist,” but he will get his hand raised by earning a unanimous decision.

Chase: I agree with Corey: this fight has all the makings to be a really great fight. Neer is on a five-fight winning streak and has been looking good while doing so. He is a very well-rounded, just as Ludwig is.

This fight intrigues me because it is not style versus style, but truly two well-rounded fighters, versed on the ground and standing (and efficient at it), that will be going toe-to-toe on Friday night. Ludwig is on a two-fight winning streak, so his momentum is good, but not that of Neer’s. Both of his wins, though, were decisions, so it is not as motivating as Neer’s last eight wins not leaving the second round, and many finished in the first. Based on his performances lately, I would have to say a finish win could go to either, but Neer has the better chance of pulling it off.

I am going to have to go with Neer winning this one by TKO or submission.

Atkins: This fight should be an excellent scrap. It’s going to boil down to what’s more effective, Ludwig’s technical striking or Neer’s grittiness?

Josh Neer (R) battles Keith Wisniewski (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

Ludwig has been steadily improving as a mixed martial artist, and he showed in his last fight against Amir Sadollah that he’s capable of keeping the fight where he wants it. He is a better striker than Neer, but he can’t risk rushing his attack and getting countered by Neer’s wild punches. Ludwig will likely want to control the distance with his jab and teep, and gradually chop away at Neer’s legs with kicks.

Neer possesses an incredible chin, and also an unshakable desire to win. I don’t think Ludwig will be able to stop Neer with strikes, no matter how ugly it gets. Neer will be wanting to get in Ludwig’s face and put him on his back foot. He can win this fight if he shoves Ludwig up against the fence and beats him up, or takes him down and crushes him with ground-and-pound. I don’t think he will do either of those things though.

Neer’s going to stand toe-to-toe with Ludwig for three rounds and lose an unanimous decision.

Chase: When I first heard about this fight, I was ecstatic. Here is a shining example of two styles going head to head. This is ground vs. striking in a big way, and thus should provide a great fight. This is another fight that has the potential to win any of the “of the Night” bonuses. First, you have Guillard, who is coming off a disappointing loss where his emotions got the best of him. He is an explosive striker who I see coming into this fight as very focused and motivated.

Melvin Guillard (Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

Miller is an excellent submission artist and a very hard man to put away. He is currently 20-3, with more than half of those wins coming by way of submission and, most noteworthy, has never been finished. He is coming off a loss as well, and will be looking to re-establish himself.

This division is very deep in talent and has many people clamoring for the title shot. Both cannot afford a second loss in a row, and both want to get back to their top contender status they were at prior to both of their last fights. It is very worthy to note that Guillard has nine losses, and only one came by decision. The others were all submissions.

This leads to, once again, if it stays standing, Guillard wins. If it goes to the ground, Miller walks away victorious. I will have to side with Guillard for this fight. I think he has been humbled by his last fight, is aware of the danger Miller poses, and has something to prove. I will predict Guillard wins via TKO sometime in the first round.

Adams: This is such a difficult fight to predict and, as Gregory stated, has the makings of winning bonuses, as both guys love to put on exciting fights.

Guillard is arguably one of the most dangerous fighters in the lightweight division. He can put away his opponent with his explosive striking and quickness. I also believe “Young Assassin” will come in very confident and focused for this fight and will have a different attitude than he had against Lauzon, where he lost in the opening round.

The New Jersey native Miller is one of those guys who isn’t exceptionally talented standing and doesn’t have a ton of explosiveness, but sure does know how to find a way to defeat the best guys in the sport. Miller was on a seven-fight win streak until he met Ben Henderson. Henderson was able to pick him apart on the feet and pulled out a unanimous decision.

I’ve been going back and forth in this fight, but in the end I think Guillard will be too much for Miller to handle on the feet. This one shouldn’t go to the judges’ scorecards and Guillard will get back on track by earning a TKO in round two.

Jim Miller (Dave Mandel/Sherdog)

Atkins: Guillard’s loss to Lauzon can be attributed to two things: Overconfidence, and a poor ground game. It’s no secret that Guillard struggles against submission specialists, but it seemed for a while that he’d engineered a strategy to avoid fights ending up on the mat. He’ll be wanting to put that same strategy into use against Miller, because the New Jersey native has no doubt spotted that weakness in Guillard’s game.

Miller’s no slouch on the feet, but he’ll be wanting to get this fight to the ground as soon as possible. I believe his striking is almost as good as Guillard’s, but he’s not as quick and he doesn’t hit as hard, so he’ll be doing himself a disservice if he doesn’t try to take him down. Miller, as we all know, is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He had no problem submitting Charles Oliveira, so I fancy his chances of catching Guillard in some sort of choke.

Jim Miller wins via submission.

LOS ANGELES, CA. (January 17, 2012) – ProElite MMA (PK:PELE) and DREAM, the largest Japanese MMA organization, have initiated a promotional partnership and fighter exchange program, jointly announced today. The alliance will foster co-promoted events, both in the United States and in Japan with fighter exchanges featured on the cards of both fight promotions, respectively.

“Our partnership with DREAM forms a promotional bond with the most prominent Japanese MMA organization,” said Billy Kelly, President of ProElite and COO of Stratus Media Group Inc. (SMDI:OTCBB) — parent company of ProElite. “Dream has developed a stable of great fighters on their roster and a strong team behind the scenes. With this exchange, the two organizations are building a cultural and fight-event bridge that our fans are sure to welcome. W

The initial fighter exchange debuts this Saturday, January 21, in Hawaii when DREAM star and Japanese fan favorite Ikuhisa “Minowaman” Minowa takes on Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove in the ProElite main event at the Neal Blaisdell Center.

“I’m really honored to join the partnership with ProElite,” said DREAM Event Producer Keiichi Sasahara. “It is important for us to exploit Asian or Pan-pacific markets by improving relationships with foreign organizations like ProElite. We would like to make this fighter exchange program a first step to generate synergistic success for both organizations.”

DREAM Light heavyweight tournament runner-up Tatsuya Mizuno will take on Ilima Maiava, also on the Honolulu fight card while the always exciting voice of Japanese MMA, Lenne Hardt, will be joining the shows as the fighter walk out announcer. The ProElite main fight card will be televised live on HDNet at 10:00 P.M. EST. Tickets are on sale at the Neal Blaisdell Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800-745-3000), www.ticketmaster.com, and www.proelite.com.