Photo Gallery from Supreme Warrior Championship in Texas
One of the top mixed martial arts promotions in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is Supreme Warrior Championship out of Frisco. The 11th installment of SWC took place inside the Frisco Convention Center and featured a five fight card of pro fights.
In a event filled with local Texas fighters, SWC 11 was highlighted by the performance of Oklahoma prospect Lewis McKenzie (10-3). McKenzie was booked versus Davis Sylvester (5-3) in the night's main event.
ULTMMA.com sat cageside with top Texas photographer Mark B. Henry to capture all the evening's action.
For more information on and photos from Mark B. Henry visit http://www.markbhenry.com
In sports the art of projecting and evaluating young prospects is the great race outside of the field of play. Big time dollars are spent 365 days a year for scouts to comb through thousands of athletes in the hopes of landing the next superstar and/or diamond in the ruff.
For MMA, a sport still years away from its 25th birthday, prospect seeking is still in its infant stages.
The ULTMMA50 is a pound for pound listing of the top 50 unsigned prospects in MMA. To celebrate the release of the 2010 version ULTMMA.com reached out to a small panel of MMA experts for their opinion on a few of the more pressing issues that both local and national MMA promotions face when evaluating talent.
Part one:
Xtreme Kombat League in Michigan photo gallery
The first ever Xtreme Kombat League featured a mix of UFC veterans and regional MMA prospects. ULTMMA.com was cage-side with ace Michigan photographer Chris Jones who captured all the night's action through his lens.
For more information on and photos from Chris Jones visit www.production7.com
By ULTMMA Staff March 2010
The next round of ULTMMA prospect rankings features a mix of three and four star prospects in the five main weight classes currently promoted in the UFC (265, 205, 185, 170 & 155). At heavyweight England's Rob Broughton (14-5-1) is fresh off an amazing one night run at ZT Fight Night. The one night big man tournament saw Broughton submit one time UFC fighter Neil Wain (6-2) and knockout former Pride star James Thompson (15-12) in the second round.
The 27 year old Broughton has now won four straight and is newest heavyweight prospect to hit the UK MMA scene.
In Texas, welterweight Mikel Bronzoulis (8-1-1) resume continues to impress. After fighting current WEC fighter Kamal Shalorus (6-0-1) to a five round draw in April 2009, Bronzoulis recently TKO'd Ultimate Fighter Season 11 cast member Cleburn Walker (9-3) at a local MMA event in November.
A native of Houston Bronzoulis got into the MMA game late in his athletic career. Now 31 years old, Bronzoulis has not suffered a loss since his debut fight back in October of 2007.
One of the top prospects on the East Coast, lightweight Jeff Lentz (6-1) goes in 2010 following a very active 2009 campaign. The New Jersey product began the year with six straight wins over the course of just eight months. The first loss of Lentz career came at the hands of WEC vet Anthony Morrison (14-7), a fight which he showed flashes of his potential throughout all three rounds.
At just 21 years old Lentz is a four star prospect due to his athleticism and his very successful amateur MMA background.
Photo Gallery from Wild Bill’s FN 25-featuring Junie Browning vs. Aaron Hall
With one the most unique promotional nicknames in all of mixed martial arts Undisputed Productions and Full Throttle MMA have co-promoted a series of events in Georgia called Wild Bill's Fight Night for the past four years.
WBFN is now a staple of the Southeast MMA scene with fighters such as Raphael Assuncao, Rory Singer, Marcus Davis and Diego Saraiva all having competed under the WBFN banner.
For the 25th edition of Wild Bill's Fight Night UFC reality show pariah Junie Browning took on local Aaron Hall in the night's main event.
ULTMMA.com attended the event with top Georgia photographer Michele Mabie. Mabie was ringside to shoot all of the night's action through her lens.
For more information on and photos from Michele Mabie visit everythinglovelyphoto.com
Photo gallery from MMA Expo Philadelphia
For the past five years Mixed Martial Arts Expo, LLC has given combat sports a convention to call its own. After Pennsylvania legalized MMA in 2009 the Valley Forge Convention Centre was chosen to host the MMA Expo Philadelphia during the second weekend of January 2010.
The two day MMA convention featured MMA celebrities, referee/judging clinic, grappling tournaments, the Tokey Hill Challenge as well as some of the top MMA companies in the industry exhibiting.
ULTMMA.com was on hand with renowned photographer Keith Gunther to take in the sights over the weekend. Below is a brief picture gallery of some of the events.
For more information on and photos from Keith Gunther visit http://www.myspace.com/goofyboxer
Uniting Locals Through Mixed Martial Arts names Tyron Woodley MMA prospect of the year for 2009
In the still evolving sport of mixed martial arts the science of projecting prospects is inexact to a fault. With a lack of a solid amateur program as well as the inconsistent matchmaking in the majority of regional shows, rising MMA prospects in 2009 did not have a clear path to improve their stock.
Welterweight prospect Tyron Woodley entered the year with the potential to become one of the better up and in coming fighters in MMA.
On January 1, 2009 Woodley had only one professional MMA fight to his credit. 12 months and three promotions later Woodley is a bona fide five star prospect with championship expectations placed squarely on his shoulders in the coming years.
Woodley came into MMA with a decorated amateur wrestling background. A two time All American at the University Missouri and the school's first ever Big 12 champion, Woodley's advanced wrestling base already gave him at a competitive advantage in one of the key elements in MMA.
Behind the scenes, prior to 2009, Woodley worked diligently at his craft for two plus years with some of the best camps in the sport including Team Quest, American Kickboxing Academy, and American Top Team. Nearly three years after his first foray into the cage Woodley returned to action with a victory in February 2009 at a local event in Columbia, Missouri.
The win was the first of five for Woodley on the year including three under the Strikeforce Challengers Series, where Woodley became the model on how Strikeforce wants to grow a prospect with their smaller shows.
ULTMMA.com talked with ULTMMA 2009 Prospect of the Year Tyron Woodley about his 2009 fights, growing with Strikeforce and the goals he has for himself in 2010.
Uniting Locals Through Mixed Martial Arts names Shark Fights local promotion of the year for 2009
Of the 100s of local MMA promotions across the United States in 2009 few possessed the combination of marketing muscle and forward thinking that Shark Fight Promotions showcased in 2009. Based out of Amarillo, Texas Shark Fights held five events in 2009. Each fight card featured a mix of established MMA talent as well as rising prospects from the lone star state.
Fighters such as Gerald Harris, Dave Herman, Karen Darabedyan, and Darrill Schoonover legitimatized the talent level at Shark Fight events in 2009.
Outside of the cage is where Shark Fights really stood out from other local MMA promotions across the country. Shark Fights Promotion's tireless public relation campaigns and partnership with local charities raised the company's brand awareness nationally in 2009. In the Texas market Shark Fights gave back to their fans by holding a free event on July 18th and in the process set the state's MMA outdoor attendance record.
The promotion made history in September at Shark Fights 6 when they partnered with local ESPN radio affiliate 1440 and produced the first live radio coverage of MMA event in the United States.
ULTMMA.com sat down and spoke with Shark Fight Promotions president Brent Medley about his company's success over the past 12 months.
ULTMMA 2009 All Prospect Pro Team: Easton, Jansen & Tyron Woodley grab first team honors
2009 saw the rise and fall of many prospects in the sport of mixed martial arts. Below is the inaugural ULTMMA 2009 All Prospect Pro Team. For each of the eight weight classes a MMA prospect has been chosen based on how they performed over the last 12 months.
To be eligible a fighter must have started out 2009 unsigned by a national MMA promotion and competed a minimum of three times during the year.
The West region had three fighters make first team All Pro, with a total of seven fighters earning 2009 first or second team All Pro honors, the most of any of the four regions of the United States.
ULTMMA All Prospect First Team
HW (over 205 pounds) Damian Grabowski (09 record 6-0)
Damian Grabowski 10-0 
- FX3 Rough Justice 6/13/09
The Damian "Polish Pitbull" Grabowski put his name on the map early in 2009 by beating four other European heavyweights in a one night tournament in Austria. The 29 year old Grabowski is now tops in the always difficult to forecast heavyweight division.
Ring of Combat in Atlantic City Photo Gallery
Ring of Combat once again produced a fight card filled with some of the best up and coming MMA prospects on the east coast. Ace photographer Keith Gunther was cage side to capture images from ROC XXVII for ULTMMA (www.ultmma.com)
Photo credit Keith Gunther http://www.myspace.com/goofyboxer
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