Rally to Legalize MMA in New York and MMA Documentary Film Festival Coming to NYC March 6

On Tuesday, March 6, the Coalition to Legalize MMA in New York and Madison Square Garden will bring a full day of events to support the legalization of live Mixed Martial Arts in the Empire State. The festivities will start at 11:30 AM, where the Coalition will host a rally for the sanctioning of professional MMA in front of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Manhattan Office at 633 Third Avenue in the heart of lower Manhattan.

Governor Cuomo’s official endorsement of the sport is considered by many to be a slam dunk for Coalition forces looking to see live MMA in New York by the end of this legislative year. Among the confirmed speakers at the event are former New York State Assemblyman and co-sponsor of the Assembly MMA bill, Michael Benjamin and co-owner and President of Atlantic City-based Cage Fury Fighting Championships, Rob Haydak.

After the rally, the action moves to the New York sports staple Madison Square Garden. The Coalition, in association with Madison Square Garden and TaKe On Productions, will host a free MMA documentary film festival. Media and fan Q & A sessions with the Director and Producer will follow each film.

The MSG film festival will include the world premiere of “In Her Corner: The Inside Story of Women’s MMA.” The film features interviews with Munah Holland, Bjorn Rebney, and Roxanne Modafferi regarding the promotion and growth of women’s MMA.

Also on the docket will be the Manhattan premiere of “New York Mixed Martial Arts” about the battle to sanction MMA in the Empire state featuring interviews with Bas Rutten, Josh Barnett, Frank Shamrock, and many New York-based MMA personalities. The fesitival will end with the New York premier of the new MMA documentary “Fight Life,” featuring interviews with Jake Shields, Miesha Tate, Nick Diaz, and Big John McCarthy.

This will mark the second time a rally has been held in support of MMA’s sanctioning in New York. Last year’s rally came at a time of enormous support for the sport, both among the public and the legislature. Ultimately, in spite of several landslide voting victories for MMA in the State Senate, the bill that would legalize live events was defeated via a stall tactic from Assemblyman Herman Ferrell in the eleventh hour of the legislative year.

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.

MIESHA TATE vs RONDA ROUSEY SATURDAY MARCH 3rd @ 10PM ON SHOWTIME

A war of words between Miesha Tate and Ronda Rousey made for a tense room at the final press conference at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, before Saturday night's STRIKEFORCE Women’s Bantamweight Championship, LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), from Nationwide Arena.

Tate (12-2), of Yakima, Wash., will make the first defense of her title since shocking the MMA world and tapping out submission expert Marloes Coenen last July. The aggressive wrestling expert may face her toughest opponent to date in Rousey (4-0), of Venice, Calif., the 2008 U.S. Olympic Bronze Medalist in Women’s Judo.

In the co-feature, former STRIKEFORCE Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson (18-4, 1 NC), of San Jose, Calif., will face the hard-hitting KJ Noons (10-3), of San Diego, Calif.

A four-fight preliminary card televised LIVE on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) will precede the five-fight main card on SHOWTIME.

Here’s what the fighters had to say on Thursday:

MIESHA TATE:
“I don't care for Ronda's personality. I've fought people I haven't liked before but not to this extent. But I'm careful not to be overzealous and let tempers change my game plan.

“I don't really care what the odds are. Betting odds are just opinions. I'd love to see the statistics on how often they're right. I'll let the fight talk for itself.

“Ronda and I are feminine women and when you add on the fact that we're fighters, it makes for an intriguing package. For whatever reason, we're gaining viewers and it's our job to perform Saturday. We want people to walk away from the fight with a positive outlook because of the way we fought and not if we're gorgeous or not.

“Ronda is a self-righteous person. She cares more about herself than the sport. She talked her way into a title fight. Clearly, she doesn't deserve it. She's not the No. 1 contender. She hasn't even fought at this weight before. I mean, she's 4-0 and has been moderately impressive but she hasn't faced anyone like me.”

RONDA ROUSEY:
“The less everyone knows about my game, the better for me. There is very little footage on me. People can't study my full arsenal.

“Miesha will probably try to keep me on my feet because there's not much tape of me doing that so people think it's a weakness. But everyone else I've fought has tried to do keep me on my feet and that didn't go very well for them.

“I wasn't looking to make friends in this sport. I just wanted to make a living so I didn't have to catch coins. But it doesn't matter if people don't like me because it's mostly current or former champs who think everyone should throw petals at their feet. Honestly, I don't care if a bunch of girls I don't know don't like me. I'm doing this to support myself and not work night shifts at the gym.

“I don't have respect for Miesha's inconsistency. One minute it's about the sport, the next she is wearing booty shorts on her website and it's the entertainment business.”

JOSH THOMSON:
“I'm going to get the best KJ Noons anyone has ever seen. He has improved his kickboxing and other parts of his game. No one else has fought the KJ I'll be fighting on Saturday. It's a huge matchup. If I win, I should get a title shot.

“Am I worried about cage rust? I've been through this before. You saw I was in good shape after 15 months off against Melendez. The problem isn't conditioning, it's technique. So I've trained pretty hard with that in mind.”

KJ NOONS:
“I'm not worried about being in the Fight of the Night because I KNOW it will be. All of my fights are Fight of the Night.

“I've changed my fight game. I used to just want to get out there and see who the toughest man was. But other guys would try to take me down, lean on me and put rounds in the bank. So I've adjusted all parts of my game - knees, kicks, ground, everything - because I want to win and not just show I'm tough. I can do both.”

Mauro Ranallo will call the action alongside analysts Frank Shamrock and Pat Miletich with Heidi Androl serving as cageside reporter. The executive producer is David Dinkins Jr.


♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time. EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.

Strikeforce / Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey - Sat. March 3rd on SHOWTIME

Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion Miesha Tate returns to take on submission specialist Ronda Rousey! Saturday, March 3 live at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.



Tate vs. Rousey on Saturday, March 3, 2012, featuring the highly-anticipated female world title fight between newly-crowned bantamweight champion Miesha Tate and undefeated sensation Ronda Rousey.

The main card, headlined by Tate vs. Rousey will air live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), while preliminary fights will be shown live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on West Coast).

MAIN CARD – LIVE ON SHOWTIME AT 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast)

* All bouts are subject to change.

STRIKEFORCE Women’s Bantamweight Championship – 5 Rounds

Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey

STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Special Attraction – 3 Rounds

Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Kyle

STRIKEFORCE Lightweight Special Attraction – 3 Rounds

Josh Thomson vs. KJ Noons

STRIKEFORCE Welterweight Special Attraction – 3 Rounds

Paul Daley vs. Kazuo Misaki

STRIKEFORCE Middleweight Special Attraction – 3 Rounds

Jacare Souza vs. Derek Brunson



PRELIMINARY CARD – LIVE ON SHOWTIME EXTREME AT 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast)

* All bouts are subject to change.



STRIKEFORCE Women’s Bantamweight Special Attraction – 3 Rounds

Sarah Kaufman vs. Alexis Davis



STRIKEFORCE LightweightSpecial Attraction – 3 Rounds

Caros Fodor vs. Pat Healy



STRIKEFORCE Middleweight Special Attraction – 3 Rounds

Scott Smith vs. Lumumba Sayers

STRIKEFORCE Lightweight Special Attraction – 3 Rounds

Ryan Couture vs. Conor Heun

Mauro Ranallo will call the action alongside analysts Frank Shamrock and Pat Miletich with Heidi Androl serving as cageside reporter. The executive producer is David Dinkins Jr.

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.

STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL PRESENT:Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson - THIS Saturday on SHOWTIME!‏

This Saturday, two MMA legends will collide!
FEDOR EMELIANENKO and DAN HENDERSON


STRIKEFORCE® and M-1 Global, in advance of the upcoming STRIKEFORCE® and M-1 GLOBAL PRESENT: FEDOR vs. HENDERSON card scheduled for Saturday, July 30 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., as well as women’s bantamweight champion Marloes Coenen and top contender Miesha Tate

On Saturday, July 30 from Hoffman Estates, Ill., legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko makes his highly anticipated return to the cage when he takes on former Olympic wrestler Dan Henderson. The Russian-born Emelianenko, a former PRIDE® heavyweight champion, is looking to topple one of the best American MMA fighters and show the world that “The Last Emperor” is again ready to make a run to the top. Also a former PRIDE champion, current STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight champion, Henderson is on a mission to derail one of the best heavyweights of all time.

The evening of fights presented by Strikeforce and M-1 Global also features:Marloes Coenen vs. Miesha
TateRobbie Lawler vs. Tim Kennedy
Paul Daley vs. Tyron Woodley
Scott Smith vs. Tarec Saffiedine

Watch footage from the early days of both legends before their long awaited matchup.

Saturday, July 30, at 10pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uTqLIYsD9Y

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.