MMA Hot Stuff

Nominations for 2009 World MMA Awards closes on Wednesday

Who do you think was the BreakThrough Fighter of the Year? Best MMA Promotion? 

As a reminder, the nomination stage for the 2009 World MMA Awards closes this Wednesday (tomorrow), Sept. 30. 

The World MMA Awards, which is operated by Fighters Only magazine, is viewed as one of the most prestigious awards for the sport, awarding in 18 different MMA related categories

Nominees will be announced on Oct. 5, and final voting will then run until Dec. 5. Winners will be announced at a Dec. 30 "Oscars-style" black-tie ceremony, which streams live on Versus.com (and throughout January on Versus) from The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. 

"Response to the World MMA Awards has been huge this year with thousands of fans worldwide taking part," Fighters Only CEO Rob Hewitt recently stated. "Nominations have been very diverse, and ... most of the categories are still wide open." 

The categories range from Fight of the Year to KO and Submission of the Year to Best MMA Brand and best MMA Media Source. MMA equipment manufactures also vie for a variety of categories. 

But before you place your vote I encourage you to take a minute and think about things. What makes someone the Best Fighter of the Year? Is it the number of wins? Is it the most vicious KnockOut? The biggest upset? Or is it because of heart and dedication?

Another category is Best MMA Journalist. I've thought a lot about this one (for obvious reasons). Always keep in mind the best Journalist may not be the one that breaks every 'story'... Sadly, fact checking has taken a back seat more often than not over being the first to the party. And then there are times the stories are known weeks before the story actually gets out but can't be discussed for confidential reasons. I personally take pride in the fact that while I consider many Fighters (UFC, WEC & Strikeforce) my personal friends, a lot of the information I hear I keep to myself. I'm so proud of what my friends have accomplished and there are times I know the information is just best left unsaid or unwritten. I want them to have time to train in private for a fight before it's publicly announced who their next opponent is. Who do you consider to be a Journalist that writes funny or interesting stories? Gives a different perspective than the 12 other sites that covered the same thing the day before.

So now that I've given you something to think about, please hurry and vote. 

Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/MMAHotStuff

Charles "Mask" Lewis Memorial Service Information

The memorial service, “’Simply Believe’: A Celebration of Charles ‘Mask’ Lewis Jr.,” is set for Tuesday, April 14 at 11:00 am at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. The service will be open to the public, and fans and friends alike will gather to pay tribute to the life that taught us that anything is possible if you “Simply Believe.”

If you are planning on attending the services please let them know at: memorial@TapouT.com

Tribute To Mask - TapouT Gear Day Photos

Thanks to all of you who sent me your photos sporting your TapouT gear today in memory of Mask and in support of PunkAss and SkyScrape. I picked a couple of my favorites...

Here's Tim - lookin good with the hood up!

And the Bentleys from Baltimore: Who could resist this photo of the adorable couple?

Today is TapouT Day in Memory of Mask

Friendly reminder today has been deemed TapouT day. Wear your gear in memory of Mask and in support of PunkAss and SkyScrape.

For those of you that are sporting your finest TapouT threads, feel free to send me photos and I'll post them on my site - you can email me at mmahotstuff@gmail.com

Keep 'em coming!

If you twitter tag with  #tapoutday

ESPN MMALive: Episode 44 UFC 96 Recap

This week Kenny was MIA but we were blessed to see Miguel Torres in the studio and Stephan Bonnar via satellite (looking good in the suit/ties boys).

They gave a review of Quinton / Jardine fight. It definitely wasn't Rampage's best performance and he looked a little flat. However having said that Keith deserves credit for making it a difficult fight for Rampage.
It was also noted that Rampage is a bit inconsistent at this point in his career. Having time off to recover before his next fight will do him good.

The MMALive crew also talked about frank mir's announcement at ufc 96 that he will not fight brock Lesnar at UFC 98 as planned due to knee surgery. The question is that will be a pretty significant amount of time off for Brock. Is it too much time off?

Whoa, y'all Don King entering MMA?

Matt Hughes moving to middleweight? I personally think he needs to get through the fight with Matt Serra first and I'm VERY anxious for that match-up!

Shane Carwin called into the program to talk about breaking his nose at UFC 96 against Gabriel Gonzaga. What does Shane think of his performance? And what's next for Shane? Find out...

UFC 96 also showed MORE questionable officiating and everyone had an opinion on that especially Stephan!

Randy couture as a referee?

By the way, I agree with you kevin about the taunting being a bit WWE like. I even sent it out on
my twitter last saturday night after the fights. I'd prefer keeping it alittle more respectful and
leaving the WWE showdown out of MMA.

This week's episode was dedicated to Mask. Friendly reminder; tomorrow is National TapOuT day! Pay your respect to Mask and show support to PunkAss and Skyscrape. More information can be found on my site.

Pay Tribute to Mask And The TapOut Crew This Friday

I can't say I had the pleasure of knowing Charles Lewis, Jr (aka Mask) personally. But I know what he meant to the sport of MMA. Mask, along with PunkAss and SkyScrape were the personalities that not only built an empire around MMA but turned into staples.

As it's been reported, Mask is now gone. As a way of paying tribute to him and showing support to PunkAss, SkyScrape and fellow MMA fans/fighters, I'm proposing we all wear our TapOut gear this Friday. I don't care if you're an Investment Banker that's usually a suit wearing breifcase totting executive, or if you're a fighter, wear your TapOut gear and show your support.

Pass this post around. Spread the word. Join me!
I also encourage you to go leave a comment at TapOut.com -

Mask of TapOut Killed

It's a sad day for Mixed Martial Arts fans as well as the sport overall.

As being reported by the LA Times, Mask (Charles Lewis) was killed early this morning in a car accident. The TapOut Crew will never be the same without Mask. RIP

 

More from the LA Times:

A bizarre car crash in Newport Beach involving two luxury cars early this morning left one person dead, a second injured, a third arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter and a fourth person was detained by police long enough to sober up.

An acquaintance of the victim identified him as Charles "Mask" Lewis, co-founder of the mixed-martial-arts apparel company TapouT, which also sponsors fighters. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A Newport Beach Police Department officer who witnessed the wreck and saw a red Ferrari and a white Porsche "spinning out of control" on Jamboree Road between Bison Avenue and East Bluff Drive at 12:57 a.m., Newport Beach Lt. Craig Fox said. The Ferrari "hit the curb and then collided with a pole." The Porsche came to a stop at the scene for a few seconds and then sped away, Fox said.

"It was terrible. It was extensive damage to the vehicle," Fox said, adding that the Ferrari appeared to have split in half.

A woman in the Ferrari was ejected during the accident and taken to a hospital, where she was in stable condition, Fox said. He said police have not determined which one was driving and which one was the passenger.

Police located the Porsche on Bison Avenue just west of Jamboree Road shortly afterward and saw a man and a woman walking away from the car.

"The vehicle had moderate damage and appeared to be consistent with the car involved in the accident on Jamboree," Fox said. "They determined that the male had been driving the Porsche, and he was arrested" for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, he said.

Police identified the driver of the Porsche as Jeffrey David Kirby, 51, of Costa Mesa, and said his bail was set at $1 million. Newport Beach resident Lynn Marie Nabozny, 32, was a passenger in the Porsche and was arrested for public intoxication. She was released about 7:45 a.m. and will not be formally charged, Fox said. He said the investigation is ongoing but that police identified skid marks at the scene "consistent with excessive speeding."

The speed limit on that stretch of road is 50 mph.

For video of the crime scene please go here.