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Controversial promoter Stephane Patry announced that his TKO 18 show has been postponed until July 15th.

Patry sighted injuries to key fighters, as well as the inability to come to terms with reluctant fighter Joe Riggs, as the reasons for the postponement.



Any fighters still owed money by TKO president Stephane Patry, can contact him at:

Stephane Patry, President/CEO
TKO Communications Inc.
Tel: (450) 676-3666
TKOZone.tv

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UFC President Dana White in what may be a retouched photograph.


The Ultimate Fighting Championship(R) Comes Out Fighting to Protect Brand Image
06.03.05, 2:33 PM ET

Boston Herald Story Creates Consumer Confusion With Use of 'Ultimate Fighting' References ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Zuffa, LLC, d/b/a Ultimate Fighting Championship(R), requested and received a correction to a Boston Herald story that appeared in the paper June 1. The article erroneously referred to intellectual property owned by Zuffa, LLC to describe a ban placed by the city of Boston on an event that has no relationship whatsoever with Zuffa, LLC or any competitions conducted by the Company. The use of the trademarked term, "Ultimate Fighting" in the lead paragraph, throughout the body of the story and use of photography of a UFC(R) event created an overall impression that the article referenced an event staged by the Nevada-based company.

Additionally, several other news organizations have picked up on the story using similar verbiage. Zuffa, LLC reaffirms its ongoing support for the unified rules of mixed martial arts in full cooperation with the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission. The MSAC, and other state commissions, oversee all combat sports, including boxing, to ensure that judges, referees, rule enforcement, on-site medical personnel, drug testing, etc. are mandatory and in place for an event. Zuffa, LLC is unwavering in its commitment to protecting the health and safety of the fighters, many of whom are elite athletes, with backgrounds in the Olympics, Pan American Games and NCAA. For this reason, there has never been a serious injury or a death in the eleven year history of the UFC.

"The Boston event had nothing to do with the UFC organization but the article has created a untrue and damaging perception that we are somehow involved," said Dana White, president of Zuffa, LLC. "It's important for us to clear this up immediately."

The article has required Zuffa, LLC to respond to confused consumers who are concerned that tomorrow's event, UFC53: Heavy Hitters, live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on pay-per-view, has been cancelled. White says that the event is definitely still on, and is fully sanctioned and licensed by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission, one of the most respected athletic commissions in the world. The pay-per-view event will appear as scheduled at 10pm EDT on In Demand, Echostar and Direct TV. Visit www.ufc.tv for more information.

SOURCE Ultimate Fighting Championship -0- 06/03/2005 /CONTACT: Jim Byrne of Zuffa, LLC, +1-917-587-5423/ /Web site: http://www.ufc.tv / CO: Ultimate Fighting Championship; Zuffa, LLC ST: New Jersey IN: ENT SPT SU: LAW AJ-AC -- LAF063 -- 3776 06/03/2005 14:31 EDT http://www.fightsport.com



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Travis Fulton (left).

From Eastside boxing


After a pawing opening stanza Smith came out in the second marginally more aggressive but got tagged with a wide-armed bomb and collapsed into the ropes. Smith, surprised but in annoyingly familiar territory shook it off and realized he had to get serious. Far more seriously than his soft body was telling us. Digging for all he had Smith tapped his reserves, walked down Fulton and caught him with a short hook sending him to a knee. An unresponsive Fulton was given the wave by the ref in mid count to an unceremonious chorus of hometown boos.



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UFC 53: 'Heavy Hitters'
June 4th, 2005
Boardwalk Hall
Atlantic City, NJ


Andrei Arlovski vs. Justin Eilers
Evan Tanner vs. Rich Franklin
Nathan Quarry vs. Shonie Carter
Paul Buentello vs. Kevin Jordan
Matt Serra vs. Karo Parisyan
Nick Diaz vs. Koji Oishi
David Loiseau vs. Charles McCarthy
Forrest Griffin vs. Bill Mahood

Gladiator FC II
June 4th, 2005
Seoul, South Korea


Mark Coleman vs. James Thompson
Jefferson Silva vs. Alex Stiebling
Dos Caras Jr. vs. Kim Jong Wang
Mario Sperry vs. Kim Jin Oh
Jun Ishii vs. Zaur Akhmedov
Ryuta Sakurai vs. Im Jae Suk
Daijiro Matsui vs. Valentin Sulzhin
Mitsunori Tanimura vs. Kim Sung Hee
Hermes Franca vs. TBA

Pancrase 2005 Spiral Tour: 'Neo Blood Tournament 2005'
June 5th, 2005
Gold's Gym South Tokyo Annex
Tokyo, Japan


Welterweight tournament semifinals:
Asaki Honda vs. Hirokazu Takamoto
Yohei Ota vs. Shinsuke Shoji

Lightweight tournament semifinals:
Minoru Chujo vs. Toshiaki Kitada
Sotaro Yamada vs. Naoki Yoshimura

Featherweight tournament semifinals:
Takafumi Shiroma vs. Masaki Yanagisawa
Naoji Fujimoto vs. Manabu Inoue

Single matchups:
Tsuiki Minoru vs. Takumi Murata
DJ.taiki vs. Katsuhiro Hirata
WINDY Tomomi vs. Bacchus HATORI
Asuka Ito vs. Seri
Shin Katayama vs. Ichiro Kudo

China Smith (Right)


The Herald Tribune have reported the following.


China Smith, in rare bout, to take on mixed martial arts fighter tonight

The Sarasota boxer will fight in the main event at Robarts Arena.

BY CHAD BROCKHOFF CORRESPONDENT



SARASOTA -- For the first time in nearly a year, Sarasota heavyweight China Smith will step into the ring. He will fight tonight against mixed martial arts fighter/boxer Travis Fulton in the main event of a seven-bout card at Robarts Arena.

Whether it's in a ring or a cage, Fulton (12-9, 12KOs) likes to fight. Versed in jiu-jitsu, the 6-foot, 240-pound native of Waterloo, Iowa, has compiled a record of 160-41-9 in mixed martial arts fights, which incorporate grappling, striking and submission wrestling.

Fulton, who goes by the moniker of Ironman, has won 24 of his last 25 mixed martial arts fights since March 2004. In the squared circle, Fulton has never gone past the second round in any of his 21 fights. Tonight will be his first time fighting a scheduled 10-rounder.

Fulton last boxed May 7 when he scored a second-round knockout of Rory Prazak in Duluth, Minn. It was the second time in less than five months that he knocked out Prazak, a 199-pound fighter he has beaten five times on the mixed martial arts circuit.

Fulton has also recorded two victories over Brian Robinson, whose current record is 0-7.

Fulton's biggest boxing match was a second round knockout loss to up-and-coming Polish heavyweight Albert Sosnowski (37-1-1, 23 KOs) in Las Vegas in March.

In mixed martial arts, he is 0-3-1 in bouts against former Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Dan Severn. He also suffered a knockout loss to Forrest Griffin, one of the winners on the UFC's "Ultimate Fighter" reality show earlier this year.

Smith (27-2, 23KOs) had his last scheduled fight in April against Terry McGroom canceled because poor eyesight prevented McGroom from passing the pre-fight physical. Smith last fought in October when he regained the National Boxing Association heavyweight championship after Russell Chasteen was disqualified in the eighth round of their scheduled 10-round bout at Sarasota's Municipal Auditorium.

Smith's NBA championship will not be at stake tonight.

Tickets are $20 and $30 for general admission. Doors open at 7 p.m. and bell time follows an hour later. For more information, call 955-1515.

Vanderlei Silva

PRIDE: 'Critical Countdown 2005'
June 26th, 2005
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan

Below is the developing line-up for the PRIDE GP card on June 26th. At least two more single matchups are still expected to be announced:


Single matchups (official)
Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Pawel Nastula
Pedro Rizzo vs. Sergei Kharitonov

Single matchups (unofficial):
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Ibrahim Magomedov
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. TBA

PRIDE middleweight GP quarterfinals (official):
Vanderlei Silva vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Ricardo Arona vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua vs. Rogerio 'Minotoro' Nogueira
Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Alistair Overeem

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Lee Murray

Cage Rage 12: 'The Real Deal'
July 2nd, 2005
Wembley Conference Center
London, England


Lee Murray vs. Daiju Takase
Sol Gilbert vs. Mark Weir
Ebenezer Fontes Braga vs. Antonio Silva
Vitor 'Shaolin' Ribeiro vs. Gerald Strebendt
Jorge Patino 'Macaco' vs. Curtis Stout
Travis Lutter vs. Matt Ewin
Mark Epstein vs. Mathias Riccio
Herb Dean vs. Tom Blackledge
Alex Reid vs. Hassan Muridi
Brad Pickett vs. Steven Milward
Phil Norman vs. Darren Guisha
Cyrille Diabate vs. Fabio Piemonte
Rick Andrews vs. Tony Thompson
Dave Lee vs. Jason Barret

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SHOOTO GIG Central vol.8
July 3rd, 2005
Fukiage Hall
Aichi, Japan


Class-A bouts:
Hideki Kadowaki vs. Hatsu Hioki

Class-B bouts:
Takeyasu Hirono vs. Keisuke Kurata

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Jerome LeBanner

Below is the lineup for the developing HERO's card on July 6th:

Single matchups (MMA rules):
Jerome Le Banner vs. TBA
Peter Aerts vs. TBA
Rodrigo Gracie vs. TBA
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. TBA

HERO's lightweight tournament (MMA rules):
Royler Gracie vs. Koji Yoshida
Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira vs. Hideo Tokoro
Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto vs. Ian Schaffa
Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Arslan Magomedov
Kaoru Uno vs. TBA
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. TBA
Remigijus Morkevicius vs. TBA

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Elvis Sinosic

Pancrase 2005 Spiral Tour
July 10th, 2005
Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium
Kanagawa, Japan


Tsuyoshi Tamakairiki vs. Masayuki Kono
Elvis Sinosic　vs. Ryuta Noji
Kentaro Imaizumi vs. Hirotaka Miyakawa
Yoshiki Takahashi vs. Sakuragi Yuji
Hikaru Sato vs. Seiji Ogura
Alex Roberts vs. Masahiro Yamagishi
Atsushi Yamamoto vs. Nobuyuki

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Tetsuya Kawajiri

DSE/PRIDE announced that the following fighters will participate on the PRIDE Bushido 8 card on July 17th:


Ryo Chonan
Hayato Sakurai
Joachim Hansen
Takanori Gomi
Tatsuya Kawajiri
Marcus Aurelio
Luis 'Buscape' Firminho
Ikuhisa Minowa
Jutaro Nakao
Kazuo Misaki
Naoyuki Kotani
Masakazu Imanari

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SHOOTO
May 29th, 2005
Kitazawa Town Hall
Tokyo, Japan


Class-B bouts:
Tiger Ishii defeats Kenichi Sawada by TKO at 5:00, RD 1.
Akiyo Nishiura defeats Hiroshi Nakamura by TKO at 3:57, RD 2.
Yuki Shoujou defeats Hiroharu Matsufuji by rear naked choke at 1:40, RD 2.
Yusei Shimokawa defeats Takuya Mori by unanimous decision.
Yuki Inoue defeats Hirotaka Tomiyama by unanimous decision.
Kenichi Takeda defeats Hiroaki Takezawa by unanimous decision.

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SportFight 10: 'Mayhem'
May 28th, 2005
Sportfight Dome
Gresham, Oregon


Chris Wilson defeats Brandon Melendez by KO at 2:30, RD 1.
Art Santore defeats Bristol Marunde by unanimous decision.
Mike Pyle defeats Damian Hatch by rear naked choke at 2:07, RD 1.
Fabiano Scherner defeats Sebastian Rodriguez by armbar at 2:35, RD 1.
Enoch Wilson defeats Noah Thomas by rear naked choke at 0:55, RD 2.
Buck Meredith defeats Paul Purcell by TKO at 4:46, RD 2.

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Andrei Arlovski (right)

Sources in America are saying that Andrei Arlovski may be training in boxing with boxing great Roy Jones Jr..

The two supposedly met at the recent Brewster vs. Golota boxing match, and talks progressed from there.

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Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira

The Brazilian media reports that Alexandre 'Pequeno' Nogueira has signed a 3-fight deal with the HERO's promotion, which is run by Akira Maeda and K-1.

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Gracie-Barra Japan

The Japanese media reports that Gracie Barra has opened an academy in Kobe, Japan. The academy is being run in partnership with Nao Takigawa.

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Hello. My name is Raymond A. Mardo III. Most people simply call me, 'raymardo'.

Thank you for stopping here to see how I took down the UFC. This is not an attempt to brag. It is merely to show that the little guy need not be afraid of the big guy, even if it is the big guy's job to kick ass for a living! When you are right and prepared, you will win.

The UFC needed to prove three key points in their case against me. The one which proved to be their downfall was:


Registering the domain name with bad intentions.
This could not be proved by the UFC or it's high powered attorneys because it was not true. I never tried to sell the URL for profit. I also registered the domain name two full years before the new owners of the UFC, Zuffa LLC, even bought the fledging and financially challenged company. I had interest in the UFC before Zuffa.

What follows is a press release outlining most of the details of this case between the UFC and myself. I hope you enjoy the results of this case.


- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -

For Additional Information Contact:

Ray Mardo at

LGRE (973) 703 3568

No Kill Date

Screenwriting DJ Wins Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ray Mardo, a professional DJ and screenwriter is a former freestyle wrestling champion who has recently scored a major victory over the UFC, an international no holds barred fighting organization that has served as the launching pad for professional wrestlers Ken Shamrock, Dan "The Beast" Severn, and Tank Abbott into the WWE & WCW.

The UFC attempted to wrestle the domain name "ultimatefightingchampionship.com" away from Mardo but appears to have been choked out by Mardo, the savvy screenwriting DJ who is in negotiations with Hollywood makeup artist Louis Lazzara about the movie rights to this interesting tale of a former amateur wrestler who defeats an international no holds barred fighting organization.

"I registered ultimatefightingchampionship.com after interviewing Vince Mcmahon's daughter, Stephanie, and speaking with WWE champion and 1996 Olympic gold medallist, Kurt Angle," says Mardo. "Like myself, Kurt wrestled in amateur tournaments. I decided to put together tournaments for professional wrestlers and have all of the winners face each other in a tournament called the ultimate fighting championship. Ultimate fighting is a generic term that means; no holds barred. It's basically hardcore professional wrestling."

At this time Mardo also registered the domain names extremechampionshipwrestling.com and worldchampionshipwrestling.com, since both of the WWE's competitors, ECW & WCW, were on the verge of bankruptcy and were looking to sell their organizations. Ray saw it as a way of giving former wrestlers from these organizations the opportunity to compete in his ultimate fighting championship tournament.

"The UFC was struggling financially and was sold by Rob Meyrowitz to Zuffa, LLC. Rob had no interest in the domain name so I bought it well before Zuffa purchased the UFC and had it for nearly two years before they filed an internet domain name dispute against my company," adds Mardo. "Today's wrestling scene is radically different then it was years ago. The WWE employs the now defunct ECW's former owner, Paul Heyman and they bought WCW from Ted Turner. These two events changed my plans for the wrestling tournaments and I was considering transferring the name to Zuffa, but when they tried to intimidate me, I decided to apply a submission hold and make them tap out."

With his big victory over the UFC, Mardo is at work on the screenplay for the movie. "Hollywood sees this as the classic tale of the big guy with money and strength trying to bully the little guy around. It's an abuse of power. Sometimes the underdog can win if he is right and is prepared," Mardo stated with smile. "This is a story of motivation for the average Joe. I feel like Rocky Balboa. Yo Adrian, I did it!"

Mardo is also scheduled to set a DJ world record for Guiness, and has his second cd is coming out soon possibly through Dave Sanchez at Madonna's old boyfriend's label; Jellybean Records.


You can view the results of Zuffa, LLC vs. LGRE Ray Mardo by clicking
here


# # #

There it is. If this helps anyone then I'm glad.

Wishing you success,

Raymond A. Mardo III

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By Scoop McTroll

Mark Wahlberg

Greetings MMA fans, Scoop McTroll here, bringing you The Inside Word, the latest news, rumors and gossip in the MMA scene.

Today's Inside Word is about all the past hype regarding the new UFC movie starring Mark Wahlberg aka Marky Mark. It was announced just before the christmas of 2004 by Insomina Entertainment, which is another play company that doesnt need to perform, by the billionare Fertitta brothers of Las Vegas.

My sources in Hollywood are telling me that despite reports to the contrary, Mark Wahlberg has not signed a contract to do any movie with Insomnia entertainment.

A source close to Wahlberg claimed that he isnt even sure if he wants to do it now. Wahlberg is busy filming another movie and wont be available for some time as he is committed to several other projects.

Scheduled for release or production in 2006 are:

The Italian Job II (2006)

Invincible (2006)

The Departed (2006) (filming now)

Four Brothers (2005) (filming now))


These movies all have far more class and budget than the UFC movie that Wahlberg entertained the thought of doing in a momentary lapse of reason. It would be an extremely dangerous career move to go from doing movies with Martin Scorcese and John Singleton, to doing something that Don 'The Dragon' Wilson probably wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

If the movie does still go into production with the 5ft 8" 145lb 'Marky Mark' in the lead role. It will not be possible until at least late next year.

Insomnia entertainment have ceased all press releases about the seemingly failed project and are remaining tight lipped on the matter.

Dana White was not available for comment when I contacted his office.

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The controversial underground fight between Sean Gannon and Kimbo Slice cause massive controversy and bad publicity for MMA in the city of Boston.

Six months after the controversy caused by the underground fight between Boston police officer Sean Gannon and professional street fighter Kimbo Slice, city officials in Boston have now banned an upcoming MMA event from taking place in the city, and have vowed to ban MMA permanently in the city of Boston.

Below is the article regarding the matter, courtesy of the Associated Press:


"Wednesday, June 1, 2005 1:14 AM

City bans ultimate fighting event

(Boston - AP) - City officials in Boston have pulled the plug on an ultimate-fighting event and are vowing to ban them altogether.

They say the fights incite the crowds and create a danger to public safety.

Extreme fighting is legal and is regulated by the Massachusetts Boxing Commission, but city police and licensing officials blocked the Roxy nightclub from hosting the event, planned for Saturday.

Patricia Malone, head of Boston's licensing department, tells the Boston Herald that this "is not something the city of Boston is going to sanction."

She says it's a threat to public safety.

Ultimate fighting features brawlers in caged rings kicking and punching each other.

Six hundred tickets were sold for Saturday night's event at the Roxy. Promoter Mike Varner says he'll move the event to Taunton.

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By Coffee Guy

A fan's humorous parody of the UFC reality show and what appears to be its percieved strategy of appealing to the upper class homosexual demographic.

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.

The following exclusive report was sent to us by our Zuffa informant called 'Coffee Guy':


All of the 'The Ultimate Fighter' Season II contestants are now currently being sequestered in order to figure out who exactly will be on the next season.

The contestants are now being held in separate hotel rooms and are NOT allowed to talk or interact with anyone. All seems to be running smoothly except for the cell phones that they forgot to take away from the fighters.

I have thus far talked to two of the contestants, both of which have said that since Sunday they have been locked in there rooms without any interaction at all.

Jorge Gurgel said that he and Kerry Schall are now there, and that the only thing that he did was a 15-minute interview. After the interview Dana White quickly walked into the room and introduced himself. He said that he is going crazy being in his hotel room. He also said that every few hours there is a knock on his hotel room door and there is some fruit and water on the outside.

Sam Morgan claims that he actually breeched UFC security and left his hotel room only to run into Mike Whitehead. He said that they both looked at each other and immediately walked back to their rooms without saying anything to each other.

Here are the contestants that I have talked to thus far:

Sam Morgan
Jorge Gurgel
Kerry Schall
Mike Whitehead

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BY ARIZONA CAGEFIGHTING IDENTITY 'THE PREDATOR'


Ryan Bennett (left)

In my lengthy career as a professional cagefighter, it has become obvious that the internet is the backbone of the sport. Without the internet, cagefighting would not exist, and even if it did, cagefighting certainly would not be as big as it currently is. I don't think anyone would question this.

Therefore, I will be giving a short review of the major MMA sites as a consumer report style review for the fans. While something like this has probably been done before, never before has it been done from the unique perspective of a professional cagefighter.

After conducting my review, I came to the unfortunate conclusion that aside from one major site, MMA 'journalists' are typically Star Wars fanboy types who have made the crossover to MMA because of its hardcore image and lack of journalistic standards.

Here it is, in no particular order:


1.) www.MMAWeekly.com - Owned by former UFC post-fight interviewer Ryan Bennett, who was fired from his job with the UFC for stuttering and speaking in ebonics too often. MMA Weekly made a name for itself when Ryan Bennett ratted out Eddie Bravo for drug use to the Fertitta brothers. Bennett copied a post Eddie made about his marijuana use on mma.tv, sent it to the owners of the UFC, and begged for Eddie to be fired and to get his old job back.

Ryan 'The Weasel' Bennett denied these charges for over a year until he finally apologized to Eddie Bravo and admitted he was a liar and had done these disgraceful things, although he never apologized to Fightsport.com, the site that broke the story.

As far as the actual site's content, it is most commonly identified as the journalistic site of choice for MMA writers who lack basic grammar and spelling skills while bringing to the table a writing ability on par with a 12-year old attending remedial English classes.

Without going into too much detail on the generally poor writing ability of the writers for MMA Weekly - as that is hardly unique to just MMA Weekly - it is rare to find an article not containing several major grammar and spelling errors.

Furthermore, MMA Weekly has been caught repeatedly stealing Fightsport.com 24/7 stories, albeit after rewording them in broken English so as not to be too obvious, and later taking credit for the scoop. MMA Weekly journalists have also accused FS reporters of hacking their emails and stealing their information.

Generally, Ryan Bennett, the former Zuffa employee and owner of the site, dictates that MMA Weekly act as a PR service for the UFC, rewording Zuffa press releases and passing them off as news. Overtly positive coverage of Dana White and the UFC that reads like a state run Communist newspaper is rewarded with interviews of UFC fighters and backstage press passes to the UFCs.

Additionally, Ryan "The Weasel" Bennett conducts a radio show from his basement and charges $5 a month to listen. Although sometimes the sound of Bennett's small children and nagging wife can interrupt the professional broadcast, some fans feel hearing the big names of the sport, along with noted gay pornography participant Frank Trigg, is worth the price each month. While doing remote radio shows from the UFCs and other big events, accused rapist and all around annoying wigga 'Big Poppa' Schnake fills in for Bennett.



2.) www.MaxFighting.com - Attempted to charge $5 a month for its content, but lacked a radio show and regular updates. Most noted among mma internet fans for once carrying the columns of Josh 'MMA's Brad Pitt' Gross, Jake 'Camry Man' Rossen, and Jason 'boxing expert' Probst. As a result, the site was an incredible failure. With yet another Zuffa employee owning the site, the coverage of the UFC and Dana White was every bit as critical as that of MMA Weekly's.

Kirik Jenness, owner of MMA.tv, recently purchased MaxFighting and has redone the basic layout to match the general tacky vibe and feel of his similar colossal failures in trying to capture the mma clothing and gold markets. The most notable scandal from maxfighting involved internet pervert and gambling addict Jake Rossen refusing to pay southern California pretty boy Shiloh McIver a bet he had lost.



3.) www.InsideFighting.com - While MMA Weekly is best described as a mouthpiece for Zuffa, InsideFighting shares that charge as well, but with an additional crime of being a mouthpiece for certain fighters. The few professional fighters who give InsideFighting.com the time of day often receive lavish articles and softball interviews bordering on the type of verbal soft-core pornography most commonly associated with romance novels. Tito Ortiz is a constant there, with each ass kissing and excuse-making article becoming worse than the last. As a result, some internet mma fans nicknamed the website 'InsideAsskissing.com' in response to its numerous Larry King-style interviews and articles.

InsideFighting.com first achieved notoriety on the MMA internet scene after attempting to discredit a Jake R report on Fightsport.com stating Tim Sylvia had tested positive for steroids prior to the first planned matchup with Arlovski. Sylvia's denials were taken at face value in a typical MMA fanboy style interview, and InsideFighting concluded Sylvia was telling the truth and Fightsport.com was lying.

Unfortunately, just a few days later the UFC, after initially denying the report, admitted the report was true and Sylvia had tested positive for steroids. InsideFighting.com endured a great deal of humiliation for this event, and have refused to comment on it since.

IF.com recently brought in Jason 'boxing expert' Probst, well known for making horrible boxing predictions, boxing observations, and just in general being a chubby white guy who shares Ryan Bennett's affinity for acting black. He amusingly acts as if he is a boxing expert from television viewing, while never actually training in the sport. Jason Probst was brought in partially to relieve some of the pressure off of financial guru and legal expert Michael 'Mutual Fund' DiSanto, who is still in the midst of a scandal involving defrauding an investor in a scheme where a mutual fund based on the winnings from gambling on fighting took place. As one would expert with the expert analysis of an mma media figure, DiSanto lost the investor thousands.



4.) FullContactFighter.com - Known for having a fighter database that was stolen from Sherdog.com, several week-old stories promoted as news, inaccurate and poorly written event reviews, the usual repeating of Zuffa propaganda, and an unusual amount of positive Phil Baroni coverage, as Joel Gold - Phil's manager - owns the newspaper and enjoys promoting the former gay pornography bodybuilding star.



5.) Sherdog.com - Famous for several reasons. Among them is the owner himself, Jeff 'Sherdog' Sherwood, a 400-pound internet mail order dvd/tape selling guru and possible father of Annabelle Champagne's latest bastard child. The forum itself is dominated by middle school kids who suffer from ADD and are in desperate need of Ritalin. The poorly worded and incoherent posts are generally shorter than the cliched and misspelled automatic signatures that appear underneath each contribution, giving most readers with an IQ above 90 a severe headache.

The site also faced controversy when Sherdog implemented a spyware program on his site, damaging many computers of his loyal fans and also earning the 'spywaredog' nickname. Josh Gross is the hired gun who has been brought in to fill the void of a nerdy goofball unemployed film student and aspiring screen play author who writes corny essays and links together unintentionally hilarious and inappropriate analogies, all the while attempting to portry his work in an artistic manner.



6.) MMA.tv - Excellent money making scheme for its owner, South African Kirik Jenness. What once began as a website to advertise The Fighter's Notebook has now blossomed into a site that charges customers $30 a year to use basic HTML, visit certain sections of the forum, or search for threads. In addition, the Dungeons and Dragons role players who dominate the forum and live their lives online publicly pressure and ostracize those who do not have the colored screen name of one who spends the $30 to gain certain features. As some mma fans have remarked, a segregated color based system like this has not been seen since the apartheid days of South Africa.

Various con men and swindlers have lined up to sponsor MMA.tv in return for Kirik's public support, with both parties splitting the profits. The most recent example involves the hilarious KTFO incident.

The forum itself is dominated by social rejects and nerds numbering in the thousands. Rapists, child-molesters, murderers, homosexuals, internet perverts, stalkers and various other con men and convicted criminals are accepted as normal people on mma.tv, with several of them holding moderator positions at mma.tv.

Also, most 'normal' members claim they are from some sort of inner city background and are incredibly athletic, tough, and intelligent. However, whenever photos of forum get-togethers are posted, particularly on the off topic sub-section devoted to in-depth homoerotic discussion and flirtation known as the Otherground, the same forum members are exposed as overweight dorks and social rejects, matching countless physical and social characteristics of Star Trek convention attendees. The only physical danger one would be in is if they blocked an OGer's access to the buffet line minutes before closing time.

In addition, the number of forum moderators there run almost as high as the total forum member count, with countless instances of cowardly moderators running off fighters for not showing proper internet nerd forum etiquette, all the while staying anonymous. Recently a scandal emerged where several forum moderators sent naked photos of themselves to escaped mental patient Demoness.

Finally, the best aspect of MMA.tv is without a doubt the green colored screenname, indicating that the person has had a professional cagefight. While it may seem impressive to the uninitiated at first, further examination will reveal that most of the green namers have horribly lopsided losing records in small time events. If they have even had more than one or two fights, they are usually almost all losses against scrubs. These D-level fighters routinely call out A-level fighters, talk themselves up, challenge one another, criticize the strategy and technique of world class fighters, and make emotional retirement threads, but only impact the forum itself and no one of importance. However, D-level scrubs such as Chris Brennan, 'Barnoneguerra', Dan 'The Wolfman' Theodore, 'grapplegirl', Phil Baroni, and Reggie 'Shannon The Cannon's Bitch' Cardiel are held up as some sort of fighting gods on the forum and treated as if they were in fact A-level fighters, leading to even more delusional behavior from the scrubs in question.



7.) Fightsport.com - The lone voice of the MMA media that is not currently bought off with press passes and UFC trading cards by the heavy-handed Zuffa regime. Contains several exclusive and original reporters who often break stories that might otherwise be covered up by the rest of the MMA media, such as the Tim Sylvia steroid scandal or the Z-Files.

Much like the news blog, the forum itself is a refreshing change of free speech pace, where criticizing the actions of Zuffa does not automatically earn censorship. As a result, UFC President Dana White was run off the forum in humiliation after first denying he had ever taught a cardio boxing class and egging the forum on to provide the photo and story, and then leaving the forum and claiming he was banned after the photo and story was provided.

Dana White, along with the rest of the MMA media who hate being scooped by a site they have tried to discredit, despises Fightsport.com for many reasons, but chief among them is Dana's desire to hold power over all the major MMA media sites, thereby creating a media monopoly he can control. Unfortunately, Fightsport.com has ruined his plans and publicized his many blunders, making life far more difficult for the ageless former Boxercise instructor and current UFC CEO who is 'built like a fighter'.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

Marcelo Garcia (right) trapping Chris Brennan in an armbar.

Men's division:

Super fight:
Dean Lister defeats Jean Jacques Machado by a score of 8-0.



Absolute division opening round:
Roger Gracie defeats Shinja Aoki by achilles lock.
Fabrcio Werdum defeats Reece Andy by heel hook.
Gabriel Napao defeats Eduardo Telles by decision.
Xande Ribeiro defeats Antoine Joaude by kneebar.
Ronaldo 'Jacare' defeats David Avellan by a score of 6-0.
Alexandre Ferreria 'Cacareco' defeats Leo Santos by heel hook.
Marcelo Garcia defeats Ricco Rodriguez by heel hook.
Diego Sanchez defeats Daniel Valverde by a score of 7-2.

Quarterfinals:
Roger Gracie defeats Fabrico Werdum by rear naked choke.
Xande Ribiero defeats Gabrial Napao by rear naked choke.
Ronaldo 'Jacare' defeats Alexandre Ferreria 'Cacareco' by kneebar.
Marcelo Garcia defeats Diego Sanchez by armbar.

Semifinals:
Roger Gracie defeats Xande Ribeiro by rear naked choke.
Ronaldo 'Jacare' defeats Marcelo Garcia by armbar.

Final:
Roger Gracie defeats Ronaldo 'Jacare' by rear naked choke.

3rd Place match:
Marcelo Garcia defeats Xande Ribiero by rear naked choke.



218 pounds (99 kg) and above tournament opening round:
Fabricio Werdum defeats Dennis Roberts by decision.
Marcio Corletta defeats Jay White by triangle choke.
Daniel Gracie defeats Craig Pumphrey by armbar.
Marcio Cruz defeats Miodrag Petkovic by rear naked choke.
Gabriel Napao defeats Mustpha al-Turk by decision.
Ricco Rodriguez defeats Haim Gocali by neck crank.
Rhadi Ferguson defeats Jun Ishii by decision.
Jeff Monson defeats Karim Byron by decision.

Reserve matchup:
Rodrigo 'Cumprido' Medeiros defeats Wade Rome

Final:
Jeff Monson defeats Gabriel Napao by a score of 6-0.



194-216 pound (88-98 kg) tournament opening round:
John Olav Einemo defeats Rick Macauley by decision.
Mike Van Arsdale defeats Victor Viana by rear naked choke.
Roger Gracie defeats Justin Garcia by rear naked choke.
Robert Drysdale defeats Anthony Perosh by rear naked choke.
Alexandre Ferreria 'Cacareco' defeats Yukiya Naito by decision.
Eduardo Telles defeats Antoine Jaoudue by kneebar.
Jamal Patterson defeats Travis Wiuff by kneebar.
Xande Ribiero defeats Michel Grothe by armbar.

Final:
Roger Gracie defeats Alexandre Ferreria 'Cacareco' by verbal submission.



169-191 pounds (77-87 kg) tournament:
Saulo Ribeiro defeats Larry Papadoupoulos by decision.
Jorge 'Macaco' Patino defeats Takefumi Hanai by decision.
Frank Trigg defeats Dennis Hallman by heel hook.
Ronaldo 'Jacare' defeats David Belkheiden by keylock.
Demain Maia defeats Marko Helen by decision.
Hidemi Mihara defeats David Avellan by decision.
Robert Suiski defeats Bento Ribeiro by decision.
Reece Andy defeats Matt Horwhich by decision.

Final:
Ronaldo 'Jacare' defeats Demain Maia by decision.



145-167 pounds (66-76 kg) tournament:
Marcelo Garcia defeats Chris Brennan by verbal submission.
Pablo Popovitch defeats Renzo Gracie by decision.
Leo Santos defeats Jason Brudvik by decision.
George St-Pierre defeats Otto Olson by decision.
Juan 'Jucao' defeats Gavin Kulper by decision.
Shinja Aoki defeats Marcos Avellan by decision.
Jake Shields defeats Diego Sanchez by decision.
Cameron Earle defeats Martin Linqvist by armbar.

Reserve matchup: Daniel Valverde defeats 'Jamelao'.

Final:
Marcelo Garcia defeats Pablo Popovitch by keylock.



143 pounds (65 kg) and under tournament:
Leo Vieira defeats Tetsu Suzuki by decision.
Joey Gilbert defeats Fredson Alves by decision.
Gilbert Melendez defeats Baret Yoshida by decision.
Rainy Yahera defeats Mario Delgado by decision.
Wagney Fabiano defeats Jani Lax by decision.
Uriah Faber defeats 'Parrumphina' by decision.
Marcio Feitosa defeats Toni Kruger by decision.
Rob DiCenso defeats Alberto Crane by rear naked choke.

Reserve matchup: Jeff Glover defeats Russ Miura by decision.

Final:
Leo Vieira defeats Rainy Yahera by a score of 6-0.



Women's division

132 pounds (60 kg) and over tournament:
Juliana Borges defeats Hannette Stack by decision.
Megumi Yabushita defeats Amanda Buckner by decision.
Merloes Coenen defeats Yuki Kondo by leglock
Stacy Cartwright defeats Camila Gielstein by armbar.

Reserve matchup:
Kizma Button defeats Jessica Ross by submission.

Final:
Juliana Borges defeats Stacy Cartwright by a score of 10-0.



132 pounds (60 kg) and under tournament:
Leka Viera defeats Roxy by armbar.
Gazzy Parman defeats Leticia Ribeiro by decision.
Kyra Gracie defeats Erica Montoya by decision.
Megumi Fuji defeats Rima Haddad by armbar.

Reserve matchup:
Tara LaRosa defeats Sari Redzoposki.

Final:
Kyra Gracie defeats Leka Viera by a score of 8-0.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

BY SCOOP MCTROLL

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.


In the January of 2001 the ailing reality fighting contest known as The Ultimate Fighting Championship, was purchased from its founder, the SEG CORPORATION by ZUFFA LLC. Three men, Frank Fertitta III, his younger brother Lorenzo Fertitta and their brother in law, the low profile but nonetheless powerful, Blake Sartini, are the owners of ZUFFA LLC. Sartini has since resigned from Station Casino's however and his current role in ZUFFA is unknown to this reporter.



Frank III (left) and Lorenzo (right).

The Fertitta brothers Frank III and Lorenzo, take the limelight in this partnership and have recently become known to millions of people through the reality television show 'American Casino'. As the CEO and President respectively, of the Station Casinos Empire, they appear on the surface to be amiable and successful young businessmen. Las Vegas residents may know of Frank through his involvement in many charities and community projects, including Catholic Charities, Opportunity Village and the Las Vegas Chapter of the I Have A Dream Foundation. They may know of Lorenzo Fertitta from his time on the board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, or as the chairman of the Nevada Resort Association. The two brothers donate hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to the Republican Party and they are an integral part of the Las Vegas A-list social scene. Many people have wondered just how they came to be so successful at such relatively young ages and where they came from. Our in depth report 'The Z-Files' will explore these issues and attempt to throw some light on the history of the family behind The Ultimate Fighting Championship. I hope you enjoy reading The Z-Files; it is the result of several months of research.

Part II

In 1960 Las Vegas was a sleazy paradise for the scum of society, the mob was heavily invested in Vegas, through both the covert ownership of Casinos and in the skimming scam that earned them millions of dollars. Guiseppi 'Nick' Civella was the head of the Kansas City mob and along with his brother, Carl 'The Cork', had been making a fortune through illicit means in Vegas casinos. They received a setback however when they became charter members of the infamous Nevada "Black Book", which banned them from all Vegas gaming venues for life. Their nephew, Anthony Civella would soon become the third family member to end up in the black book. This meant that they needed to find another way of getting some of the money being splashed around Vegas.

Frank Fertitta jr. arrived in Vegas in the same year and his family's reputation appeared to open many doors for him. He immediately got work in one of the Casino's and his official job was that of a bellboy. In a remarkable rate of success, Frank soon became a Blackjack dealer and then worked his way into management. Throughout the 1960's Frank Fertitta jr gained a reputation for being a street smart operator who understood the business as well as anyone could. Not bad for a guy who arrived in town a few years prior with little more than the shirt on his back, or so the story goes.


Nick's nephew Anthony Civella, another Black Book member.

The infamous Nevada Gaming Commission Black Book



During this same period, the Kansas City mob were eager to get their claws back into some of the Vegas revenue. In 1970 the FBI ran surveillance on Nick Civella through the use of wire taps and acquired enough evidence to arrest him and several other mobsters for fixing the Superbowl between Kansas and Minnesota. An associate of Civella's named Sol Landie was given immunity in return for testifying against Civella. In November that same year, Landie's home was invaded by 4 black men who forced him to watch as they stripped his wife naked and forced her to commit felatio on each one of them. Then they took turns at savagely raping and sodomizing her while forcing Landie to watch the entire ordeal. Once they had finished with his wife, they murdered Landie. Before they left, they arranged the room to look as though it was a botched robbery attempt. A few days later the 4 men were arrested and they admitted that they had been paid to kill Landie because of his testimony. Eventually, Nick Civella would serve 20 months for his part in the Superbowl scam.


By the early 1970's the Kansas City mob had struck up an association with a high profile Vegas Casino star named Carl Thomas. Thomas was soon taken under the wing of the Kansas City mob and he was used by them as a front man, a respectable cover for the mob. The Kansas City mob controlled the notorious Teamsters Union and they had been using the Teamster union members fund money for several years to fund illegal activities. Using Teamsters Union money, the mob purchased several casinos in Las Vegas, the most famous one being the Stardust. Through a strawman named Alan Glick, the Kansas City mob also purchased and sold The Fremont, the Tropicana, the Hacienda and the Marina during the 1970's.

Carl Thomas had been made the Chief Executive Officer of Glick's casinos and he quickly recommended his friend Frank Fertitta jr for a President's position. The one time bellboy was now the President of the Fremont and worked directly under the mob stooge, Alan Glick. Many of you may remember Glick's thinly diguised character 'Mr Green' in the Martin Scorcese movie 'Casino' starring Robert De Niro. 'Casino' was based on the true story of the mafia casino skimming operations at Glick's casinos. Skimming operations that, according to FBI wiretap transcripts, Frank Fertitta was involved in.


The movie 'Casino' was based on the skimming of the Fremont Casino, when Frank Fertitta jr was it's President.

In 1976 the Kansas City mobster Carl Thomas formed a partnership with Frank Fertitta jr and they started a 5000 square foot gaming venue aptly named 'The Casino', the name would later be changed to 'The Bingo Palace' and eventually 'Palace Station'. Now, Vegas executives did get paid decent salaries even in those days, but it's difficult to believe the official version that together they "scraped together" the money to start 'The Casino'. For one thing, Carl Thomas was owned by the Kansas City mob and anything he was involved in, they were involved in. There is little doubt that at least Thomas's share of 'The Casino' was backed by mob money, namely that of the Civella Brothers and their La Cosa Nostra mafia chapter in Kansas City.

Oddly, Fertitta and Thomas continued to work for the other casinos, despite now owning one themselves. As a mafia strawman, Glick was pushed to one side by the mob and they put their own guys in to run the casinos. Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal and Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, made millions for the mob by skimming the slot machine takings at the casinos. Rosenthal, who was played by the actor Robert de Niro in the movie 'Casino' (Tony "The Ant" Spilotro was played by Joe Pesci), was officially known as Glick's entertainment director and he allegedly reported to the mafia bosses in Kansas and Chicago, who between them had financed Glick with $62 million in loans from the Teamsters Union.


The real Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal

The FBI had long suspected an elaborate skimming operation was taking place at some of the four Glick owned casinos and launched 'Operation Strawman', which was a massive surveillance operation that included telephone wiretaps. It is in one of these wiretaps that Frank Fertitta jr becomes implicated in the skimming operation. In this particular scam, the management rigged the scales to make them read only a third of the actual weight of the coins. The extra money was skimmed and set aside, later being converted into paper bills. The skimming was taking place at The Tropicana and at the Fremont, where Frank Ferttita jr was the President.



The Fremont Hotel, where the mob made a killing during Frank Fertitta jr's reign.

The Tropicana Hotel, another victim of the mob's skimming.


Below is the transcript of the FBI wiretap involving Frank Fertitta jr, Tropicana Manager Don Shepard and Kansas City mobster Carl Thomas.

FBI Wiretap of the Bingo Palace Casino, Las Vegas, Nev. Feb 7, 1979.
9.00pm outgoing call:

Frank Fertitta Jr, Carl Thomas voices heard, inaudible conversation takes place between them as the number 9739-2222 is dialled from The Bingo Palace.

FEMALE OPERATOR: Tropicana

FERTITTA: Don Shepard, please (casino manager)

FERTITTA: Hello Shep.

SHEPARD: Yeah.

FERTITTA: Frank.

SHEPARD: What are you doing?

FERTITTA: I'm sitting here having a glass of wine with Mr. Thomas.

SHEPARD: Oh, good.

FERTITTA: He's telling me how smart he is and, im sitting here listening to him like an idiot.

SHEPARD: Yeah.

FERTITTA: Yeah.

SHEPARD: If you need anybody to tell you how dumb you are come on over, im pretty good at that.

FERTITTA: (Laugh)

SHEPARD: Ah, this, listen this conversation isn't being recorded is it?

FERTITTA: I, I really couldn't tell ya.

SHEPARD: Yeah. Ask, ask, a ask Carl if anybody's going to go boogie-ing tonight. I'm ready to boogie, do a little YMCA number.

FERTITTA: You're ready?

SHEPARD: Oh, yeah, shit, yeah.

FERTITTA: Jesus Christ, I don't believe this.

SHEPARD: I'm just sitting here, my legs are twitching. I can hardly wait to dance.

FERTITTA: We, were just talking about going out of town or something.

SHEPARD: Oh, yeah, well actually I should go out of town to dance.

INTERUPTION OF RECORDING

SHEPARD: Did you see me?

FERTITTA: I didn't see you.

SHEPARD: Oh?

FERTITTA: No.

SHEPARD: A quarter of it whatever.

FERTITTA: Right, so if these coins cost us say $20,000, we got $150,000 on, you know, we're going to have like $130,000 in excess cash.

SHEPARD: Yeah.

FERTITTA: You know.

SHEPARD: Yeah. We don't have that problem over here.

FERTITTA: Well, yea, you...well I don't mean excess cash, but I mean more cash than they have so, I don't think its funny here.

SHEPARD: We've got…I've got about like $80,000 stock piled.

FERTITTA: Yeah.

SHEPARD: You know or something, we, we haven't felt any crunch or anything I was just curious if you're, you know.

FERTITTA: Well we had $50,000 see, but I didn't want to make the change over here until we got them all cause $50,000 wouldn't, you know, we couldn’t make the change with 50, so, ah, we need like 150.

SHEPARD: When are you going to switch your tokens?

FERTITTA: As soon as I get them all.

SHEPARD: Yeah.

FERTITTA: I'll switch in fact I think we're supposed to have them all. Oh, Jimmy gave me a date today, but I've forgot what it was. Ah, now maybe next week or something, then I'll probably just go ahead and switch over.

SHEPARD: Okay, well listen I'll talk to you.

FERTITTA: OK


The FBI swooped on Glick's strawman empire in 1979 and arrested Fertitta's partner Carl Thomas, Glick, the Civello Brothers and about a dozen others. Despite the seemingly incriminating wiretap transcript, the FBI could not get enough substantial evidence to charge Fertitta. Despite the testimony of former Fremont Security Chief, Harold McBride, where he swore under oath that Frank Fertitta jr had been involved in the skimming operation at the Fremont, and wiretap evidence of the Civella's and Thomas that implicated him, Fertitta was never charged with the skimming at Fremont casino where he presided.

Amazingly, when Thomas first became implicated by the FBI, the ownership of The Bingo Palace was transferred solely to Frank Fertitta jr. Did this mean that Frank Fertitta was now a front man for the Kansas City mob, or are we to believe that they happily sold him Thomas's share of the casino and wished him well? It's a tough call, I know.

In 1979 the Nevada Gaming Control board ordered Glick to sell up and he did, to associates of Moe Dalitz, the man that Frank's relative, Sam Maceo had helped to get started all those years ago. Glick sold for $2 million in cash, the assumption of $92 million in debts and with another $66 million to be paid from the casino's earnings by 1991.

Although he was one of the few to escape prison, Frank Fertitta jr did not go completely unscathed in the aftermath of the skimming scandal. Fertitta was the target of a four year investigation by the Nevada Control Board but in 1989 they voted 2-1 not to initiate disciplinary action against him.

Despite this decision, Fertitta's reputation had been damaged. Some sources claim that Frank Fertitta jr knew that his mob connections could hamper any future applications for gaming licences. Whatever the actual reasons, in 1993 Frank Fertitta jr officially stepped down as the Chairman of the board and handed over to his son, Frank Fertitta III, or 'Frankie Three Sticks', as he is known in some circles. The company then became public. Station Casino's then applied for licences with the Missouri Gaming Commission to run casinos in Missouri. Many would ask if it's possible for a business that was believed to be built on mob money and mob connections to become squeaky clean simply by changing the name of the Chairman.

In 1993 the Missouri Gaming Commission called on Frank Fertitta's former employer and business partner, the convicted casino skimmer Carl Thomas. They requested information from Thomas about Frank Fertitta jr, Thomas agreed to attend an inquiry with them. Before he did this however, Thomas drove to Vegas from his home in Oregon and met with Station executives to discuss his testimony with them. Noone really knows exactly how that meeting went down or what transpired. The people that do know, arent talking. He then left Vegas to return to Oregon before heading to meet with the Missouri Gaming Commission. Before he could attend that meeting and give testimony on Frank Fertitta's background, Thomas was killed in a bizarre single car accident, it was a clear night and the road was in good condition. Thomas knew the area well. Due to Thomas's untimely death, the Missouri Gaming Commission were unable to complete their inquiry into Frank Fertitta jr and they granted licences to Station Casinos.


A Palace Station Frank Fertitta Anniversary Gaming Chip(Above)

A recent photo of Frank Fertitta (Left)

Today, Frank Fertitta jr keeps busy with his finance company, Frank Fertitta Enterprises and with his many positions in the community, including being on the board of Trustees of the University of Las Vegas and a member of the Bishop Gorman High School Development Corporation. These days Frank Fertitta jr mixes with the Governor of Nevada and is a respected member of the Las Vegas community.



Frank Rosenthal (Left), pictured with Frank Sinatra, says Thomas could have been bumped.(See below)





When asked about his former associates Frank Fertitta jr and Carl Thomas, the infamous criminal Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal, recollects;

"Carl introduced me to Frank Fertitta, as "my main guy", and his right-hand man. Frank became the President of Allen Glick's Fremont Hotel Casino at the recommendation of Carl Thomas during my temporary absence from the industry while I was awaiting the outcome my appeal versus the Nevada Gaming Commission. When I regained my former position as the CEO of all properties under the "Argent" (Allen R. Glick Enterprises) umbrella Frank and I became more interactive. Frank had gained a solid reputation as a topnotch casino executive who understood the games with a high degree of professionalism. After several private meetings and close personal observation I too agreed that Frank was well suited to operate the second largest Casino in the downtown area.

During the course of the next several years Frank with assistance from Carl Thomas forged an imposing empire. Soon thereafter Carl Thomas died when his car ran off a winding road in the mountains of Oregon, I think he could have been bumped! In 1976 Frank opened the Bingo Palace, ultimately renamed Palace Station. Next came Boulder Station, then Texas Station, Barley's and Sunset Station.

Frank was driving hard on course to become a behemoth within the gaming industry. In 1998 he purchased King 8, renaming it The Wild, Wild West. Next came the Santa Fe and Fiesta casinos. Frank acquired 49 acres near Jackie Gaughn's Suncoast, with future plans to build on other parcels at Craig Ranch Station and Martin Luther King Road. Frank decided he had enough and retired into the sunset. Some guys always seem to windup with all the dirty work. Estimated wealth $1 Billion" - Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal.


Coming soon in the Z-files III. Frank Fertitta jr and his son "Frankie Three Sticks" set their sights on Missouri. 'Lucky' Lorenzo joins the family business and the brothers sign up for Boxercise classes. Watch this space for the Z-Files III.

Discuss this at Fightsport.com

The History of the family behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship

BY SCOOP MCTROLL

Before reading any further, please read our disclaimer first.


In the January of 2001, the ailing reality fighting contest known as The Ultimate Fighting Championship, was purchased from its founder, the SEG CORPORATION by ZUFFA LLC. Three men, Frank Fertitta III, his younger brother Lorenzo Fertitta and their brother in law, the low profile but nonetheless powerful, Blake Sartini, are the owners of ZUFFA LLC.


Lorenzo (Far left) and Frank III (Far right) with a friend.

The Fertitta brothers Frank III and Lorenzo, take the limelight in this partnership and have recently become known to millions of people through the reality television show 'American Casino'. As the CEO and President respectively, of the Station Casinos Empire, they appear to be amiable and successful young businessmen. Las Vegas residents may know of Frank III through his involvement in many charities and community projects, including Catholic Charities, Opportunity Village and the Las Vegas Chapter of the I Have A Dream Foundation. They may know of Lorenzo Fertitta from his time on the board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, or as the chairman of the Nevada Resort Association. The two millionare brothers donate hundreds of thousands of dollars per year to the Republican Party and they are an integral part of the Las Vegas A-list social scene. Many people have wondered just how they came to be so successful at such relatively young ages and where they came from. Our in depth report 'The Z-Files' will explore these issues and attempt to throw some light on the history of the family behind The Ultimate Fighting Championship. I hope you enjoy reading The Z-Files; it is the result of several months of research.

Part 1

It is 1993 in Galveston, Texas and a relative to the Fertittas, 89 year old Vic Maceo has just shown how business is done in his family. The aging alleged mobster had walked into the Galveston Post Office, pulled out a .38 calibre revolver and started firing at postal worker Pete Miller, whom Maceo believed owed him money. Maceo's aim was a little off since his hey day but he still managed to hit Miller in the right arm, shattering the bones and bringing him to the ground, wincing in pain.

When the Maceos and the Fertittas ruled the town a few decades prior, this was the way disputes were settled in Galveston, Texas. In this case Vic Maceo had sold a house to Pete Miller for $45,000 in 1968 and when Miller sold it in 1991, he sold it for $180,000. Naturally Vic felt that some of the profit should have been his. Miller had once worked as a busboy at the Maceo-Fertitta controlled illegal casino known as 'The Balinese Room' and Vic C. Mateo, who was also known as 'Little Vic' to distinguish him from his cousin Vic A. 'Gigolo' Maceo, could not cope with the fact that a busboy had seemingly gotten the better of him.

As Vic Maceo attempted to make his escape in his sports car, police apprehended him. He gave himself up willingly and when approached by the police, he said in a defiant and firm voice, "When you look a guy in the eye and tell him he owes you forty grand and he tells you, 'Let me get the file,' you know that the son of a bitch is lying." As the police slapped handcuffs on him he retorted with "You don't handcuff a gentleman in this town!" Such was the power that the Maceo and Ferttita gang once wielded in Galveston


Fertitta In-Law 'Big' Sam Maceo, The 'Barber of Galveston'

It all began in the early 20th century when two Sicilian barbers arrived in Galveston from Sicily via Louisiana. Rose and Sam Maceo were soon to build an illegal gambling empire from simple bootlegging roots and become known as Papa Rose and Big Sam. Along with their relatives the Fertitta family, they would control the black economy, the organised crime and the politics of Galveston for many years. One of their more well known illegal casinos was 'The Balinese Room' but by the mid 1930's, and the time that prohibition ended, they had built up an entire city block of illegal casinos and gambling dens in Galveston. Many people feel that they created the Vegas format before Vegas ever existed. Sam Maceo organized for all the big name singers and bands of the time to appear at his casinos, including Frank Sinatra.



The Balinese Room in Galveston Texas.

A gaming chip from the illegal casino

The Maceo-Fertitta gang was responsible for funding many things in the Galveston community and despite obvious connections to the New Orleans mob; no one dared to complain about the criminal benefactors of the town. In fact those that did complain usually ended up sleeping with the fishes, according to local legend.

The Maceo-Fertitta gang wielded great power and most of the other mobsters knew better than to tread on their turf. The Chicago crime czar Al Capone had heard about the lucrative gambling and bootleg empire that the Maceos and Fertittas had built in Galveston and he wanted some of that action. He planned to at first become a partner with them and then muscle them out of the picture once he had his hooks firmly embedded. Al Capone sent his main man Frank Nitti to Galveston to intimidate the Maceos into allowing Capone to "invest" in their businesses. The Maceos received word of Nitti's impending arrival and they decided that they would flat-out refuse any offers from Nitti on behalf of Capone to take a piece of their illegal gambling pie.

They decided to call on the skills of the most ruthless member of their family's gang, Maceo In-Law, Anthony Fertitta. Nitti arrived in town and was introduced to the Maceos and to Anthony Fertitta, Fertitta told Nitti that they needed to talk and he took Nitti for a drive in his car. The two men were gone for several hours and it is not clear what events took place during that time. All that is known is that Nitti was dropped at the city limits very late that evening, he appeared to be shaken but alive and well. No one knows what took place during the car ride but when Nitti made it back to Chicago, he told Capone that the Fertittas were no pushovers and it would require an all out war to move in on their territory. Capone never pursued it any further.

Rose Maceo was suspected of many gangland killings during the 1930's. Including his first wife and her lover, but no Maceo was ever convicted of a felony.


Al Capone came off second best when he tried to muscle in on the Fertittas.

Sam Maceo, was the brain behind the Maceo-Fertitta empire and he was directly under the control of New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello, who later would be linked to the assassination of JFK. Sam also helped the pioneer Vegas hotelier, Moe Dalitz to get a gaming licence for The Desert Inn Las Vegas's first casino, not very long before his death. Papa Rose and Big Sam had both passed away by the 1950's and many of the remaining Maceo's and the dealers who worked in their illegal casinos moved out to Las Vegas.



The Galveston gambling empire was under the control of mob boss Carlos Marcello, who would later be implicated in the JFK assassination.


The Fertittas, who were related to the Maceos by marriage, took control of the Galveston gaming empire, where they honed their skills in the casino and hospitality fields, a legacy that would remain lucrative to the family for generations to come. Unlike the socially more adept Maceos, who flaunted their success despite its illegality, the Fertittas did not take too kindly to publicity.


The August 1955 edition of Time Magazine that exposed the Fertittas as thugs.


In 1955, a Time magazine LIFE reporter visited one of the illegal Fertitta casinos in Galveston. In an article entitled 'Thugs vs The Press', he reported the following in the August 1955 edition of Time Magazine.

" Many a mug on the edge of the big time thinks there is a formula for dealing with newsmen: intimidate or bribe. In Galveston, Texas, where vice and crime abounds, Gambling Boss Anthony Fertitta tried that formula in an effort to prevent LIFE from getting pictures of his illegal operations. It did not work.

After LIFE Photographer Joe Scherschel and Reporter Hank Suydam took pictures (with a concealed camera) in one of Fertitta's gambling houses, the boss and two henchmen followed the LIFE men to their hotel. Photographer Scherschel took his film upstairs while Reporter Suydam encountered Fertitta and his two strong-arm men in the lobby. Fertitta demanded an explanation of what Suydam and Scherschel had been doing, suddenly smashed Suydam in the face. By the time Suydam had picked himself off the floor, Fertitta had switched tactics, tried to stuff a $20 bill into the reporter's pocket.

Last week, just before LIFE published "Wide-Open Galveston Mocks Texas Laws," Gambling Boss Fertitta was tried for simple assault in the Galveston justice court. After Fertitta pleaded "not guilty" and then refused to take the stand, Justice J. L. McKenna found Fertitta guilty, gave him the maximum punishment: a $25 fine. The conviction was much more important than the small fine. In Galveston, where gang leaders like Fertitta have long tried to pose as legitimate businessmen, the criminal conviction reported on Page One of Texas newspapers helped to expose these "legitimate businessmen" for the thugs they are."


Partially in light of the adverse publicity that they began to attract and partially due to the more conservative political climate of the mid to late 1950's, the Galveston gambling empire began to slowly crumble. Many of the Fertittas also began to migrate to Las Vegas and it all finally came to a crashing halt in Galveston in 1957 when the Attorney General Will Wilson, along with the Texas Rangers, smashed the Fertitta's illegal gambling racket. The glory days for the Maceos and Fertittas were over in Texas, for the moment at least.


With no choice but to shut up shop and leave town, a mass exodus took place. With the vast experience the owners and employees had gained in Galveston by running or working in the biggest chain of illegal casinos and live entertainment restaurants in the country, Las Vegas seemed to be the natural place to migrate. A pilgrimage from Galveston to Vegas of mobsters, card dealers, croupiers, hores and gamblers began. In those days Vegas was not as heavily regulated as it is today and offered the lure of an easy buck to such dregs of society.

In 1960, a 21-year-old man named Frank Fertitta Jr would arrive in Las Vegas and find work at a Casino as a bellboy. With him are his wife and newborn son, Frank III.

The fun for him, was just beginning.


(That was Part 1 of Scoop McTroll's new series 'The Z-Files'. Watch this page for part 2, coming to FS 24-7 soon.)

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