Nov-19-2009
By Frank Curreri for WEC

LAS VEGAS – It’s no longer speculation, and he’s no longer a secret: Jose Aldo is clearly one of the world’s best pound-for-pound mixed martial artists. It will be hard for anyone to argue otherwise after the explosive Brazilian notched his ninth straight win by destroying WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown.

The outcome, which had been hotly debated by pundits leading up Wednesday night’s mega-fight at The Palms, was never in question once the bout commenced. In a battle billed as speed versus power, Aldo was the aggressor early, whacking Brown with leg kicks and drilling him with combinations. Brown tried to take the fight to the ground, where he presumed he would enjoy a sizable advantage, but Aldo proved even more difficult to take down than Urijah Faber had been, and he fought off the attempts. Brown scored here and there with kicks, but his hard overhand rights were largely blocked and did little damage to the composed challenger.

In round two, Aldo revved up his assault, and in a fistic flurry by both men, Brown slipped to the canvas on his knees and Aldo, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, pounced on him and took Brown’s back with hooks in. Brown ended up in a terrible position, face-down, and unable to move his hips. Brown’s head became an easy target and Aldo unleashed a rapid sequence of heavy punches upon it. With Brown failing to intelligently defend himself – and probably unable to defend himself because his hips were trapped – referee Steve Mazzagatti halted the bout at 1 minute 22 seconds of round two. The new champion fell to his knees and burst into tears.

“He was a pretty tough fighter,” said Aldo, who is now 16-1 and hasn’t lost in nearly four years. “Mike is very strong …I had to wait for the right moment to finish the fight.”

Plenty of people had questioned the quality of Aldo’s ground game, since all five of his prior WEC wins had come via TKO. But those who train with him recalled how he often beat multiple time world champion Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles in practices, and he showed his mettle on the ground by beating Brown, who coming into this fight had beaten Urijah Faber twice and had the look of a champion who could reign for a long time. Now the fallen champ will have to contemplate what went wrong and how he can fix it.

“He had a great night,” said Brown, who fell to 23-4 and sported a welt under this right eye. “He was landing the shots and I wasn’t; that’s how the game is. He’s a great fighter. He did a great job and exposed some holes that I have. It’s time for me to go back and start (improving) again.”

Don’t miss all the action as reigning WEC Featherweight Champ, Mike Brown defends his crown against the always dangerous and currently hungry Brazilian phenom, Jose Aldo. Also on the card, top Featherweight contenders — Leonard Garcia and Manny Gamburyan will clash in hopes of getting in line for a shot at the title. Coverage begins at 6:00 pm Pacific Time and 9:00 pm Eastern Time. There’s going to be some ass whoopin’ guaranteed.

CAN THE BRAZILIAN SCORE HIS SIXTH CONSECUTIVE KO AND TAKE THE WEC FEATHERWEIGHT BELT FROM REIGNING CHAMP MIKE BROWN ON NOVEMBER 18TH?

WEC: BROWN vs. ALDO
Live From The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Nov. 18

VERSUS TO CARRY CARD LIVE BEGINNING AT 9PM ET/6PM PT

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – While the combat sports community is focused on the likes of Randy Couture, Brandon Vera, Dan Hardy, and Mike Swick this weekend, there is a fiery Brazilian who believes that he’ll soon captivate the world’s attention.

Jose Aldo, a 23-year-old explosive striker in the World Extreme Cagefighting® featherweight division, is riding a five-fight win streak in the organization, including an eight-second TKO over Cub Swanson in his last fight in June. Just days away from his first world title shot against champion Mike Brown at The Palms Casino in Las Vegas on Nov. 18, the native of Rio de Janeiro feels that his time to rule the featherweight division has come.

“Everything in my life happens so fast for me,” Aldo said. “So I don’t feel any pressure for this fight. I might feel nervous before the fight, but that’s it. I want to bring the featherweight title back to Brazil. Mike Brown is an excellent fighter and a world champion. But I’m hungry to win the belt. It’s something I’ve wanted since I started this sport and I’m excited that the opportunity has arrived.”

On the heels of one of the most highly-anticipated fights in company history, WEC General Manager Reed Harris is anxious to see whether Aldo can derail the reigning champion. Given Brown’s 10-fight winning streak and Aldo’s knack for finishing fights, Harris believes the main event on Nov. 18 will be one for the ages.

“This is a fight that the entire sports world is excited to see,” Harris said. “For Mike, the fight with Aldo is a chance to cement his legacy as the best 145-pounder ever. For Aldo, this is an opportunity to continue his domination of the weight class.

“I’ve had some of the world’s best fighters tell me how fired up they are for Brown-Aldo,” Harris continued. “Guys like Shane Carwin and Chuck Liddell can’t wait for this fight. They know that Mike Brown and Jose Aldo are going to bring it on Nov. 18. This is what MMA is all about.”

Given the damage inflicted in his last fight, the thought of an even better Aldo could be a scary fact for many in the WEC featherweight division. On Nov. 18, could we be seeing the beginning of the Jose Aldo era? For more information on WEC: Brown vs. Aldo, visit www.wec.tv. Follow WEC at http://twitter.com/WEConVERSUS.

Get a jump on your holiday shopping! Or just stock up on some warm hoodies for the cold weather. Free ground shipping on orders over $50 bucks. Online shopping is the only way to roll.

Newly Signed Brayton Wins First Race with JGRMX/Toyota/Yamaha

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (November 2, 2009) – In just his first race with the JGRMX/Toyota/Yamaha Team newly signed Justin Brayton won the prestigious 27th annual Bercy Supercross held in Paris, France October 30 through November 1, 2009.

The Bercy Supercross is a three-night event with the overall scores resulting in the “King of Bercy” each year. Each of the three nights of racing is broken into three events; the super-pole, which is a single rider fast-lap competition, the duel races, pitting two riders against each other at a time, and the main event, which has all of the riders on the track.

Brayton was consistent on his YZ450F the entire weekend including winning the super-pole on Saturday night to earn the overall highest score and be crowned King of Bercy.

27th Annual Bercy Supercross overall results:

1. Justin Brayton (USA)
2. James Stewart (USA)
3. Gregory Aranda (France)
4. Marvin Musquin (France)
5. Fabien Izoird (France)
6. Josh Hill (USA)
7. Nick Wey (USA)
8. Matt Boni (USA)
9. Christophe Martin (France)
10. Degli Espoti (Italy)

BUD LIGHT® PRESENTS: VARNER VS. HENDERSON

From ARCO ARENA in Sacramento, California, Sunday, January 10;
First Bout at 3 p.m. PT
Fight to Air Live on VERSUS at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT

Tickets Go On Sale Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. PT

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – World Extreme Cagefighting® announced today that the long-awaited lightweight title unification bout between reigning champion Jamie Varner and interim champion Ben “Smooth” Henderson will take place on Sunday, Jan. 10 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif. In addition to this explosive championship clash, WEC also confirmed the return of former featherweight champion “The California Kid” Urijah Faber, who will be facing top-ranked contender Raphael Assuncao in his hometown of Sacramento.

“ARCO Arena is one of our favorite venues to bring fights, the fans in Sacramento are some of the best,” WEC GM Reed Harris said. “The world title bout between Varner and Henderson is a perfect way to start off the New Year. The title fight, plus the return of Urijah, makes this an instant winter classic.”

Tickets for Bud Light® presents: Varner vs. Henderson go on sale Saturday, Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. PT and will be priced at $200, $135, $75, and $40. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to WEC newsletter subscribers on Thursday, Nov. 5 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the WEC newsletter through wec.tv. Tickets may be purchased by calling Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 or by visiting the ARCO Arena Box Office. Tickets also are available online through www.wec.tv or www.ticketmaster.com.

Varner vs. Henderson will be televised nationally live on VERSUS beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. All of the network’s live WEC events are presented in HD and Spanish language SAP where available. For more information and how to find VERSUS in your local viewing area, visit http://www.versus.com/findversus.

Returning to the cage for the first time since his volatile collision with Donald Cerrone last January, lightweight champion Jamie Varner (16-2-2) is healthy and ready to prove that he is WEC’s top 155-pounder. A talented wrestler with slick boxing abilities, the 25-year-old owns a perfect 4-0 record in the organization and is eager to reclaim sole possession of the world title. Believing he is more polished than Henderson, the Arizona resident plans to make a statement on Jan. 10.

“He’s a tough dude,” Varner said of Henderson. “But I’m the champion for a reason. I have nothing but confidence going into this fight. I don’t think Ben poses any challenges or threats that I haven’t seen before. I’m ready to show the world that I’m still the true champion in this division.”

CARLSBAD, CA — Despite the ongoing fear and gloom in the retail and financial markets, No Fear has been bucking the trend. The action sports lifestyle brand has opened multiple new retail stores in California during the past year. Corporate-owned stores have sprung up in Concord, Sacramento and, most recently, in San Diego’s shopping mecca — the Fashion Valley Mall.

But it’s not only the corporate-owned stores that are enjoying success. The retail chain’s only two privately-owned and licensed stores in California, located in Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo (SLO), are riding a wave of growing sales.

According to Erin Mazzei, co-owner of the two licensed No Fear stores on the Central Coast, “sales in both locations have been increasing monthly.” Mazzei attributes their steady traffic and growing sales to a combination of locals and tourists. “We see a lot of local repeat customers, but we also get a lot of business from tourists who visit our beautiful coastal communities all year ‘round.”

Opened in August, No Fear Pismo Beach is nestled in the bustling Prime Outlet Mall, just minutes away from the Oceano Dunes, a popular destination for beach campers, off-road enthusiasts and fishermen. “In addition to featuring the same weekly sale items as the No Fear corporate stores, our Pismo store offers discounts on discontinued items, which drives customers to stock up on necessities like tee shirts and fleece,” says Mazzei.

This December, the No Fear store in downtown San Luis Obispo will celebrate its one-year anniversary. “Being located in a college town is a great fit for No Fear and the other core lifestyle products we carry,” Mazzei said. “We’re very active in terms of marketing to the University students. We advertise in the Cal Poly Mustang Daily newspaper, and support a wide range of the college’s clubs and fund-raising events.”

In addition to No Fear branded apparel and accessories, the licensed stores move a lot of products from core brands such as So Cal, Metal Mulisha, and One Industries.

For more information on the licensed No Fear retail locations on the Central Coast, contact Erin or Chris Mazzei at 805-706-0243 for San Luis Obispo or 805-773-1860 for Pismo Beach. To experience No Fear’s involvement in motocross, surfing or music scene enterprises, visit www.nofear.com

Get your shopping done online early at the No Fear Online store. So you’ll have more time to party during the holidays.

Carlsbad, CA – No Fear announced today that its newest retail store is slated to open this Friday, October 16th in the Fashion Valley Mall. The new 2,700 square foot store represents No Fear’s 69th retail location nationwide.

Located at 7007 Friars Road, San Diego, California, 92108 Fashion Valley is one of the region’s premier shopping venues. “We’re thrilled to establish a presence in Fashion Valley in time for the holiday shopping season,” said Michael Pierce, No Fear’s Director of Stores. With six major department stores, several specialty boutiques and numerous dining options, shoppers from all age and income demographics travel to Fashion Valley from all parts of the County.” So we’re anticipating excellent store traffic and sales.”

During the store’s Grand Opening promotion Friday through Sunday, October 16-18, customers will enjoy a 20% discount on a wide range of apparel and eyewear products and free No Fear Energy drinks while supplies last. In addition to No Fear branded products, the new store will showcase lifestyle apparel and accessories from So Cal, Metal Mulisha and other core brands.

For more information on No Fear’s new Fashion Valley store, contact store manager, Mariel Apodaca at (619) 291-1675 or via fax at 291-0723. To experience No Fear’s involvement and support of motocross, surfing, mixed martial arts (MMA), or the music scene, visit www.nofear.com

You may recognize Rachel from her many modeling assignments with No Fear, or perhaps you’ve seen her up close and personal at the Action Sports Retail show. To view her brief interview and profile, go to www.nofear.com/hotchick. When you get there, you can send Rachel a personalized message. You can also sign up to have Hot Chicks sent directly to your email address!