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Glendale, Ariz. – UFC, are you ready for “Showtime?” Because he’s coming soon. On a night wrapped in historical overtones, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis dethroned WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson at Jobing.com Arena to earn a UFC title shot. Both fighters waged a back-and-forth battle that was worthy of Fight of the Night and may have been decided in the final 80 seconds of the fifth round. With the fight apparently up for grabs, Pettis went airborne, acrobatically bounced off the cage fence and executed a beautiful high kick that landed flush on the hometown champ’s jaw and dropped him to the canvas. It was an electrifying and unprecedented move that no one in press row had ever seen, like something out of a “The Matrix” movie. It sent the live crowd at the arena into mass hysteria. Henderson gamely weathered the crucial assault and got back to his feet, but that sequence may have anchored his defeat by unanimous decision. The riveting match was fittingly the last bout ever for the decade-old WEC, which is set to merge with its sister organization, the UFC. That means Pettis, a Milwaukee native who starred in an MTV episode of “World of Jenks,” is slated to fight the winner of the Jan. 1 bout between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and unbeaten challenger Gray Maynard. An emotional Pettis, whose father was murdered during an armed robbery in 2003, credited his coach Duke Roufus for the one-of-a-kind kick that made a lot of people’s jaw drop. “We practice that all the time,” Pettis said, “and I’ve got 10 more kicks like that coming when I get to the UFC.” Roufus called the kick an “Ong Bak” kick, noting it is an old Muay Thai technique. Pettis dropped Henderson on another occasion with a stiff right hand, but barely survived a rear naked choke in the fourth round that was close to being dead on. Pettis was not the only man to make history Thursday night. Dominick Cruz did, too. Cruz’s handsome reward for a night’s work: Two world titles and a slice of history. The super-quick Californian used his ‘catch-me-if-you-can’ striking style to beat up No.1 challenger Scott Jorgensen for five rounds to become the UFC’s first-ever bantamweight champion.

The most graceful finish in all of combat sports, the submission win can come in a number of ways, but the end result is always the same – a victory for the man pulling off the move, and a look of ‘what happened?’ from the victim. 2010 had its share of memorable wins by way of submission, and in part III of the Highly Unofficial awards, here are the best. 10 – Jim Miller gives Oliveira his first “0” Jim Miller felt a little disrespected in the lead-up to his UFC 124 bout against unbeaten phenom Charles Oliveira, and despite his lengthy win streak in the Octagon, he was seen by many as the underdog. So how did the Jersey native respond? By doing what veterans do. In this case, Miller walked through a few kicks to the head, took Oliveira down, and then finished him off with a kneebar less than two minutes into the fight. Don’t expect any disrespect to be thrown Miller’s way anymore. 9 – Davis breaks new ground against Boetsch ? Already known for his wrestling and ground and pound, Phil Davis’ submission game is starting to get some positive notices as well, not surprising since three of his five finishes have come via tap out. In his most recent bout at UFC 123 in November, “Mr. Wonderful” even went as far as to create his own move, a modified kimura that finished veteran Tim Boetsch and which is already being dubbed “The Philmura.” 8 – Palhares introduces Drwal to the heel hook If there’s one fighter in the UFC that you don’t want around your feet or legs, it’s Rousimar Palhares. In March, he gave a quick and deadly demonstration why, as he caught and submitted Tomasz Drwal with a heel hook in just 45 seconds. And while these moves happen so fast that they never look like much, a glance at the pained face of the fighter on the receiving end speaks a thousand words when it comes to the devastating effects of a well-placed move like the one the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt specializes in. 7 – Dogged Dollaway hangs on to finish Doerksen Ever since his Peruvian Necktie finish of Jesse Taylor in July of 2008, fight fans have been waiting for another submission to remember from The Ultimate Fighter alum CB Dollaway. They got it at UFC 119 in September, when Dollaway showed the continued evolution of his game in submitting veteran jiu-jitsu black belt Joe Doerksen. After locking in a guillotine choke, Dollaway had to weather a feverish escape attempt from the Canadian, but he held on and modified the choke to finish matters at 2:13 of the opening round. 6 – Lesnar roars back, finishes Carwin After taking a hellacious beating from Shane Carwin in the first round of their July bout, Brock Lesnar’s odds of making it out of his corner for round two, let alone winning the fight, were slim. But the then-heavyweight champion showed his warrior’s heart by roaring back, taking down a winded Carwin, and finishing matters with a memorable arm triangle. 5 – Bocek wins battle of black belts with Hazelett A lot of times, if you match up two Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, a kickboxing match breaks out. Not this time, and Mark Bocek made sure that his UFC 124 bout with Dustin Hazelett went to the ground almost immediately. In pre-fight interviews, Hazelett said he was just fine with that prospect, but Bocek sapped the joy out from the Kentucky native quickly, finishing the bout via triangle choke just past the midway point of the first round, and establishing Bocek as one of the game’s top groundfighters. 4 – Double Trouble – Lytle Surprises Foster and Brown When you’ve been around the fight game as long as Chris Lytle has, you develop more than a few veteran tricks.

There’s nothing like a good upset to shake things up in the world of mixed martial arts, and the UFC had its share of interesting ones in 2010. And though the winners in the second installment of the 2010 Highly Unofficial awards were underdogs going into these defining bouts, it’s safe to say that they won’t be sneaking up on anybody else anytime soon. 10 – “El Dirte” shows “Filthy” Tom Lawlor some veteran tricks Despite carrying a five fight winning streak and a boatload of experience into his UFC return against Tom Lawlor, late replacement Joe Doerksen was looked at by many as a mere hurdle for hot prospect Lawlor to hop over on his way to the next level of the fight game, especially considering that “Filthy” Tom was coming off a 55 second submission win over CB Dollaway and a controversial three round decision loss against Aaron Simpson. And early on, the fight went according to plan, as Lawlor rocked Doerksen standing and seemed to be one punch away from finishing him. But hard-nosed vets like Doerksen don’t go away that easily, and in round two, he roared back, catching Lawlor in a rear naked choke that finished matters at the 2:10 mark. 9 – Sonnen decisions Marquardt Everyone assumed that Chael Sonnen was going to be a stiff test for Nate Marquardt at UFC 109 in February, but few believed that the outspoken Oregonian was going to stop the streak that saw Marquardt knock out Martin Kampmann, Wilson Gouveia, and Demian Maia in consecutive bouts. But with an aggressive ground attack and an inhuman pain tolerance, Sonnen kept pushing and pushing for 15 minutes until the judges awarded him a well-earned unanimous decision win that also put him the number one middleweight contender’s spot. 8 – Dos Anjos surprises Etim Terry Etim will never be confused with countrymen Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy when it comes to dominating newspapers and websites with quotes come fight week, but after four consecutive UFC wins from October 2008 to November 2009, he had established himself as one of the UK’s top exports. But at the same time, Rafael dos Santos, in an even quieter manner, bounced back from an 0-2 UFC start to even his slate with wins against Rob Emerson and Kyle Bradley. And when dos Anjos took Submission of the Night honors with his UFC 112 armbar over Etim, it made a statement that when it comes to lightweight prospects, you can’t overlook this Brazilian up and comer. 7 – Pyle delivers career defining performance against Hathaway When your first two professional fights are against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Jon Fitch, it’s safe to assume that competing against an undefeated young gun in hostile territory isn’t going to rattle you too much. And that was the case when 11-year vet Mike Pyle traveled to England to face John Hathaway in October. In control from the opening bell to the end, Pyle never let Hathaway get untracked, and the unanimous decision win – Pyle’s biggest in the UFC – was a mere formality. 6 – Bader shows he’s big time with win over Lil’ Nog Ryan Bader has all the tools to make it big in the talent-rich light heavyweight division – physical gifts, heavy hands, stellar wrestling, and competitive drive. The only thing missing in his 12 pro fights was world-class experience. So when pitted against legit 205-pound contender Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, many expected that the experience gap would be too big for Bader to leap this early in his career. Not so, said young Bader, and though his three round win over the former PRIDE star won’t hit any Fight of the Year lists, the victory was a solid one that has propelled the former Ultimate Fighter winner into a highly-anticipated February showdown against fellow rising star Jon Jones. 5 – McCorkle shows more than internet savvy against veteran Hunt If you knew who Sean McCorkle was before his UFC 119 debut against Mark Hunt, you were either the hardest of hardcore fans or a member of the Underground forum. The rest of you were probably wondering what the unbeaten Indiana heavyweight had done to get UFC matchmaker Joe Silva angry, as there was simply no way he matched up with former PRIDE and K-1 star Mark Hunt. Then the bell rang, and the hometown hero fought like he had been in the Octagon since birth as he submitted Hunt with ease in just 67 seconds. Add in his recent bout against Stefan Struve (albeit a losing effort), and the notoriety of “The Big Sexy” has extended far beyond the internet. 4 – Beltran spoils the return of the Gracies The Gracie name is royalty in the UFC, and rightfully so. So when unbeaten Rolles Gracie became the first member of MMA’s first family to appear in the Octagon since his cousin Royce did so in 2006, it was a big deal. And when Joey Beltran was asked to come in on short notice to replace Mostapha Al Turk against Gracie, no one blinked twice, despite the fact that “The Mexecutioner” was coming off a second round TKO over Houston Alexander a few weeks prior to the bout. But Beltran wasn’t coming in to lose, and after weathering an early storm, he finished Gracie with strikes at 1:31 of the second round, shocking the MMA world in the process. 3 – Hathaway becomes Sanchez’ Nightmare England’s John Hathaway was solid in his UFC victories against Tom Egan, Rick Story, and Paul Taylor, but few thought the 22-year old had the experience to deal with veteran Diego Sanchez, whose previous three fights saw him in against BJ Penn, Clay Guida, and Joe Stevenson. Hathaway was a revelation though, as he welcomed Sanchez back to the welterweight division with a master class that left no doubt who the winner was after three rounds. It was ‘The Hitman’ 2 – Russow KO’s Duffee After a seven second KO of Tim Hague that set a UFC record for fastest knockout, Todd Duffee was going to be a favorite over a lot of people, including his second Octagon foe, Mike Russow. And for much of their bout at UFC 114 in May, things went according to plan for Duffee, who hit Russow with everything but the ring stool while building up an insurmountable lead. Well, it was insurmountable until Russow cracked Duffee with a right hand that ended the bout at 2:35 of the final round, capping off one of the more spectacular comebacks in recent history. 1 – Edgar Shocks Penn No surprise when it comes to the fight at the top of the list here, but it was a surprise at Abu Dhabi in April, when scrappy New Jersey native Frankie Edgar put on a career-defining performance by defeating BJ Penn for the UFC lightweight title. And while the fight was competitive and close, there was little doubt that Edgar’s crisp striking and effective movement, as well as a couple points-scoring takedowns, solidified the new champ’s unanimous decision win. And if that wasn’t enough, Edgar repeated the feat in more dominant fashion four months later, proving that the first win was no fluke. ? Honorable Mention: Dave Branch- Tomasz Drwal, Chris Leben-Yoshihiro Akiyama, Dennis Hallman-Ben Saunders, Frankie Edgar-BJ Penn II, Yushin Okami-Nate Marquardt, Nik Lentz-Tyson Griffin, Charles Oliveira-Efrain Escudero, Evan Dunham-Tyson Griffin ?

This is it: The end of an era. The grand finale of what two friends started back on June 30, 2001 as a “dabbling” investment for fun and relatively little profit. At the time, when MMA was but a blip on the mainstream sports radar, Reed Harris never envisioned his Indian casino adventure would blossom into an MMA superpower, second in prestige only to its sister organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Yet over the past decade, some of the world’s best fighters have produced riveting theater inside a WEC cage. The distinguished list of athletes includes the following stars: Jose Aldo, Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Carlos Condit, Chael Sonnen, Leonard Garcia, Hermes Franca, Nate Diaz, Chris Leben, Mike Swick, Brian Stann, Benson Henderson and Dominick Cruz. Thursday night in Glendale, Ariz., the final chapter in the WEC’s illustrious history will be written. When it’s all over – as Mike Goldberg would say – the WEC will be blended into the UFC. For the first time ever, the UFC will add bantamweight (135) and featherweight (145) world champions. Harris, the real estate guru turned MMA promoter, sat down with me and spoke about the incredible run of the enterprise he and Scott Adams founded 9 and ½ years ago. Harris discusses, for the first time, how arranging a real estate loan for Chuck Liddell set into motion the events that would usher him into the then-dead industry.? In this two-part series, the Chicago native talks about the perils of hosting an outdoor fight show, the horrors of losing his checkbook at a fight and having the lights go out at another show, and how he expects to feel when the final curtain falls. Q: You and Scott Adams co-founded the WEC as sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing, never intending it to be a huge deal. At what point did you guys realize you had staying power? Harris: We did that show at the Mohegan Sun and we had a number of problems and we were able to survive it. Three days before our event was a WWE. So the ticketing company was telling people that our event was sold out. People would call about the WEC and they thought it was WWE; the ticketing company didn’t differentiate between the two events. Four or five days before our event we couldn’t figure out why we weren’t selling tickets. So we called and they said it’s sold out. That show we did about 3,200 (tickets) but it was a very expensive show for us. I think we would have sold about 6,000 if that (mistake) hadn’t happened. There were probably 4,000 at the first event. The first event was really just a test for the casino to see if it was something they wanted to do. If that event wasn’t successful we would have done one show and that would have been it. It would have been like throwing a party. Q: What made you think the market was there for MMA, because you guys entered the business at a time when it wasn’t obvious or crystal clear like it is today. Reed: One of them was, I think it was our third show, about an hour and a half before our event Scott Adams got in a car accident. So the show is getting ready to start and he’s nowhere to be found because he was at the hospital

UFC Event Saturday, August 27 live from HSBC Arena; Tickets Go on Sale in May Las Vegas, NV (USA) – It started in academies, gyms and even in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. “Vale Tudo” or “anything goes” fights pitted modern-day gladiators of various fighting styles against each other for bragging rights and to prove which academy was the best. It was exciting, it was beautiful, it was – the birth of the sport of mixed martial arts. Now two decades, rule changes and improvements later and after its explosion on American soil with The Ultimate Fighting Championship® leading the charge, Brazil’s gift to the rest of the world is making its way back to the cradle of MMA. Backed by the extensive lineage of proud Brazilian UFC® fighters, the world’s leading mixed martial arts organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is pleased to announce it will return to Brazil for the first time since 1998. UFC owners Frank Fertitta, III, Lorenzo J. Fertitta, and Dana White announced today that the same Brazilian city that will be home to the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Rio de Janeiro, will also be home to an international UFC event at the HSBC Arena on Saturday, August, 27, 2011. “We couldn’t wait to host our first-ever UFC event in Brazil’s biggest city,” said White. “Brazilians have given so much to the growth of this sport. I’m excited that we can give back to the country that has given us so many great fighters. From Royce Gracie and Vitor Belfort to “Shogun” Rua, Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo, these fighters are all champions and are so proud of their roots. It’s time for us to bring a live UFC event here and show the people of Brazil how much this sport has grown.” “This is another giant step forward in our global expansion and in growing UFC into the biggest sport in the world,” said Lorenzo Fertitta. “By bringing world-class fights back to Brazil, we not only secure a foothold in a major international market but we also give back to the people who have supported UFC for nearly 20 years.” The Fertittas and White delivered today’s announcement live at 2:30 p.m. local time in a press conference held at Palacio de Cidade, the official residence of Honorable Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Antonio Pedro Figueira de Mello, President of Riotur attended and spoke at the event, along with UFC Hall of Famer and first-ever UFC Champion Royce Gracie, former Light Heavyweight UFC Champion Vitor Belfort and current UFC champions Anderson “The Spider” Silva (185lb/Middleweight), Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (205 lb/Light Heavyweight) and Jose Aldo (145lb/Featherweight). ? The original UFC champion, Royce Gracie brought his family’s style of jiu-jitsu to the states in the early 90s and it has never left. A revolutionary fighter, the Rio de Janeiro native changed the way the game was played and stressed the importance for mixed martial artists to learn the ground game. Gracie earned four victories in one night at the first Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a UFC Hall-of-Famer. Arguably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter ever, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has gone from his Brazilian city of Curitiba to international stardom. A true finisher, Silva has won a UFC record 12 fights inside the organization with 10 finishes. The long-reigning undisputed champion has held the middleweight title since October of 2006. Another champion from the great city of Curitiba, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua currently holds the UFC’s light heavyweight title with his recent win over another acclaimed Brazilian, Lyoto Machida. The dynamic 29-year-old is world-renown for his devastating striking skills and his relentless attack. A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort is another on a long list of exciting Brazilian fighters. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt that is known for his superior boxing skills, the 33-year-old Rio de Janeiro native will look to earn the UFC middleweight title when he takes on Anderson Silva at UFC 126 in February. A winner of 18 of his first 19 professional fights, Jose Aldo made history by becoming the first UFC featherweight champion in history. A native of Manaus, the 24-year-old Brazilian reminds many of a 145-pound Anderson Silva because of his vicious striking and strong ground game. More information about the UFC Rio taking place Saturday, August 27, 2010 at HSBC Arena including main event matchup, undercard bouts and ticket sale dates and prices will be announced in the near future. ?

MONTREAL, December 11 – Mark Bocek took the drama out of his anticipated UFC 124 bout with fellow jiu-jitsu black belt Dustin Hazelett early and emphatically, impressively submitting his foe in the first round at the Bell Centre Saturday night. Bocek vs. Hazelett “I’ve been quiet for a long time,” said Bocek. “I’ve got the best jiu-jitsu in the lightweight division. Let me fight George Sotiropoulos in Toronto (in April 2011) and prove it.” See post-fight interview Bocek scored the first takedown of the fight less than 30 seconds in, using his ground strikes to loosen Hazelett’s solid defense. It worked – as he effortlessly transitioned into a triangle choke. Hazelett tried to fight the move off, but he was soon forced to tap at the 2:33 mark of the opening round. With the win, Bocek improves to 9-3; Hazelett falls to 14-7. Doerksen vs. Dan Miller In middleweight action, Dan Miller squeezed out a close three round split decision win over Joe Doerksen. See post-fight interview Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29 for Miller, who improved to 13-4 with 1 NC; Doerksen falls to 46-14. The battle commenced on the ground almost immediately, with Miller pressing the action and Doerksen showing off solid defense as well as peppering strikes from his back. And while it wasn’t Miller’s best form in the first five minutes, he did enough to take the round. Miller opened up the second with another takedown, but this time Doerksen scrambled immediately and got into the top position. The Manitoba product was able to get off some ground strikes, but Miller fought back to his feet and then took Doerksen down, which didn’t please the crowd too much. A little past the midway point, Doerksen struck with a kimura from the bottom, but after some dicey moments, Miler escaped and resumed his attack of ground strikes, though it was the Jersey native who went back to his corner with a cut over his left eye. The gameplan remained unchanged for Miller in round three – take Doerksen down and work him over on the mat. Doerksen wasn’t a shrinking violet on his back though, as Miller’s bloodied and bruised face made very clear. And as the round progressed, it was Doerksen being the busier of the two fighters, which left the judges with a dilemma scoring-wise as the final bell tolled. Bongfeldt vs. Natal A big last round from Jesse Bongfeldt allowed the debuting Ontario middleweight to eke out a three round majority draw against Rafael Natal. See post-fight interview with Natal Scores were 29-28 for Natal and 28-28 twice. Natal put on a groundfighting clinic in the first round, with only Bongfeldt’s resolve keeping him in the fight until a late surge where he took the Brazilian down and attempted to get matters in his favor, only to have the bell ring. See post-fight interview with Bongfeldt Bongfeldt (15-4-1) did what he needed to do to get back in the fight in round two, turning it into a brawl. And it worked as he got the fight to the mat and unleashed ground strikes in between submission attempts from Natal. Eventually, Natal cleared his head and got back to his feet, drawing a warning just before the two minute mark for grabbing the fence. After the brief break, Natal took Bongfeldt to the mat and then took his foe’s back. Bongfeldt broke free after a spell, but only for a moment, as Natal kept him locked up as he looked for the choke. Natal (12-3-1) looked exhausted as he came out for the final round, and Bongfeldt – though fatigued himself – took advantage and used his striking to get Natal to the mat. He quickly got into the mount position as Natal tried to hold on, and a series of strikes from the top had referee Dan Miragliotta looking closely at the New York resident. Natal must have sensed the end though, as he got out of trouble, and despite taking more hard shots, he was able to make it to the end, though the 10-8 round on two judges’ cards cost him the bout. Riddle vs. Pierson It was a debut years in the making, but veteran Ontario welterweight Sean Pierson made the most of it, winning an exciting three round scrap with Matt Riddle via unanimous decision. See post-fight interview “It was great to be in there exchanging punches with Matt,” said Pierson. “He’s very resilient, but I felt like I had the decision. The crowd was amazing. This was 14 years in the making. I’m extremely proud and happy to be in the UFC.” All three judges saw it 30-27 for Pierson in a fight that was a lot closer than those margins would indicate. Pierson showed no sign of the first time UFC jitters as he took the fight to Riddle from the opening bell, rocking him with punches as the two battled against the fence, and then dropping the Ultimate Fighter veteran with a stiff right hand on the jaw. Riddle weathered the attack admirably, but Pierson still stayed one step ahead, slamming his foe to the canvas and continuing to pepper him with accurate shots while standing. Riddle came out fast for round two, only to get more flush counters to the face for his trouble. In response, Riddle looked for the takedown but was turned away. Pierson went on to put on a jabbing clinic, but Riddle kept pressing, almost catching Pierson in a guillotine choke after closing the distance. Moments later it was Riddle rejecting Pierson’s takedown attempt and getting into the dominant position on the mat, where he stood to the final bell. The exchanges got more and more heated in round three, but Pierson’s southpaw jab continued to dictate the action. That’s not to say Riddle wasn’t getting his licks in, as his strikes opened a cut under Pierson’s right eye. Through it all, Riddle kept a smile on his face, as the crowd chanted Pierson’s name. In the final minute, it was Pierson taking matters to the mat, but as the bout ended, it was bombs away for the two welters, with Riddle rocking Pierson just before the bell. With the win, Pierson ups his record to 11-4; Riddle falls to 5-2