MMA-URLS

LOS ANGELES — The first person to climb up the orange ladder and clip a piece of net after Colorado captured the Pac-12 tournament title on Saturday evening wasn't coach Tad Boyle or one of the team's senior leaders. In fact, it wasn't a member of the team at all. Out of gratitude for the support Colorado's student section known as the "C-Unit" gave the Buffaloes this week, athletic director Mike Bohn asked Boyle's permission to have one of the students be part of the net-cutting ceremony. Boyle was on board, so a young man in a Colorado cape and suit of armor got to climb the ladder, smile for the TV cameras and take home a unique souvenir after the Buffaloes' 53-51 win over Arizona. It's Bohn who is responsible for the 50 Colorado students who were able to make the trip to Los Angeles to support the team the past four days. Bohn arranged for his department to spring for a charter a flight for 50 members of the C-Unit and to purchase tickets for all the games. "His leadership bringing those students here is a testament to what he's all about," Boyle said. "That's to help make dreams come true and life-long experiences for student athletes or students at the University of Colorado. I'm just so thankful that those 50 kids could come here and experience that with us."

Posted in: team, colorado, member, student, boyle

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On Dave Meltzer's Wednesday update at The Wrestling Observer, there was a very strange single line stating that the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) told commissions to no longer recognize events that take place in the state of Michigan, nor license any fighters from the state. The ABC is made up of commission members from across the country and exists to provide communication between different commissions, standardize record keeping, ensure adherence to federal regulations and look out for the health and well being of fighters. Despite the name, they are just as involved with the MMA aspects of commissions as they are with the boxing side, and the letter that was sent out specifically notes mixed martial artists, not boxers. After issuing a few requests I was able to get my hands on the letter sent out to the ABC members and get the actual details of what is going on. Basically it comes down to Michigan's continued inability (or unwillingness) to adhere to basic standards of regulation. The state has continually failed to report results of events and injury suspensions as well as ignoring existing medical and drug suspensions of fighters which came out of issues in other states. This has been an ongoing problem which basically forced the ABC to take the drastic step of requesting its members not recognize Michigan events and, much more importantly, blacklist fighters who are coming out of the state. This is just one of the many, many issues with the Michigan MMA scene. Being from the state, I've seen multiple events held with the only medical professional on hand being a local "diet doctor," events where guys show up to the building with their hands already wrapped, guys with lengthy pro resumes fighting on an "amateur" card (where they get paid) against a guy with only one amateur fight and other horrific situations. The commission does a laughably poor job and this is yet another hurdle that ensures the UFC won't be coming back any time soon. When reaching out to members of two different prominent commissions I was told that most commissions will, in fact, honor this letter. Effectively, fighters who reside in Michigan are now unlikely to be able to find any fights outside of the state until the commission cleans up its act and shows that they're willing to act like the professionals they are supposed to be. The full letter can be read after the jump... Here's the full letter that was sent out to ABC members: On October 6, 2011, I sent the attached letter to Dr. James Webber, Chairman of the Michigan Unarmed Combat Commission. The purpose of the letter was to formally provide notice of the concerns which the ABC had with the non-regulation of events in Michigan. After speaking to Dr. Weber, he seems very concerned about the way both professional and amateur sports are being regulated in Michigan, but he realizes the way the law is written in Michigan, the Commission has no power whatsoever to remedy these blatant and obvious health and safety concerns. The Michigan legislature has a great opportunity to make changes for the betterment of the sport and protect the health, safety and welfare of the contestant and ensure fair and equitable contests for all involved. Sadly, HB4295 in its present from fails to remedy the issues at hand in any fashion. The ABC has failed, through its many and repeated communication attempts, to get the State of Mchigan to amend its policies and practices. However, the ABC cannot sit idly by while Michigan's actions, or lack thereof, constitute threat to the health and safety of mixed martial arts; and the integrity and fairness of mixed martial arts contests. Michigan has allowed promoters of events to consistently fail to comply regarding the reporting of results and any suspensions from mixed martial arts contests. In addition, Michigan has a repeated record of allowing mixed martial artists to compete regardless of medical or drug suspensions in place. In conclusion, the ABC sees no other option but to ask its over eighty-seven member commissions to bar any fighter with a Michigan address, a Michigan mixed martial arts identification card, or a recent record showing competition in Michigan. Otherwise, member Commissions may not realize the true record of the competitors, the medical status of the competitors, and the suspension history of the competitors.

Posted in: commission, state, member, michigan, abc

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow

Only eight months after receiving his UFC walking papers, Nate Marquardt has become a member of the Strikeforce roster.

Posted in: ufc, strikeforce, nate, member, marquardt

Read the full article at Sherdog

Team Alpha Male member Danny Castillo talks his win at UFC 141 and how he plans to get better in 2012.

Posted in: ufc, fight, member, castillo, danny

Read the full article at Heavy MMA

Montreal's Ivan Menjivar will look to make it three wins in a row as he is scheduled to fight TUF 14 cast member John Albert on Feb. 15.

Posted in: tuf, feb, vet, member, menjivar

Read the full article at sportsnet.ca

The preliminary card for The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale will stream live on Facebook, officials today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com. The social-networking site has streamed most of this year's prelims. Saturday's card, which features a Spike TV-televised headliner between Michael Bisping and Jason "Mayhem" Miller, will be heavy on cast members from "TUF 14."

Posted in: michael bisping, prelim, member, cast members, socialnetworking site

Read the full article at MMA Junkie

Mauricio Rua is not the first member of his family to square off with Dan Henderson

Posted in: henderson, mauricio, ninja, family, member

Read the full article at Sherdog

LowKick.com Staff and fellow MMA media members share their picks for this weekend's UFC Heavyweight title clash between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.

Posted in: ufc, mma, media, member, staff

Read the full article at Low Kick

Growing up, Kurt Kinser spent plenty of time in a garage. That's what happens when your grandfather, father and older brother are sprint-car racers. But as other members of his family turned to gears to make their living - even his mother's family members worked as crew members for Indianapolis 500 racers - Kinser spent his time in the wrestling room, which led him to his college path and future sporting interest. The former Indiana University wrestler is now a top undefeated MMA prospect.

Posted in: kurt kinser, kinser, member, crew members, college path

Read the full article at MMA Junkie