Maurice L. Smith is a retired American kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In kickboxing, he held the WKC world light heavyweight championship, the WKA world heavyweight championship, and the ISKA world heavyweight championship. In mixed martial arts, he held the Heavyweight championship in Battlecade Extreme Fighting and the UFC, and became a member of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2017. A professional competitor since 1980, Smith has formerly competed in kickboxing for the companies All Japan Enterprise and K-1, Pancrase, RINGS, PRIDE, Strikeforce, International Fight League and RFA.
ProElite, Inc. is an American entertainment and media company involved in the promotion of mixed martial arts (MMA).
Strikeforce: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives was a mixed martial arts event held at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on November 16, 2007. The event was hosted by Strikeforce in conjunction with bodogFight, and was streamed live on Yahoo! Sports. The event held two distinctions in that: 1) it contained the first MMA tournament sanctioned by the California State Athletic Commission and 2) Strikeforce's heavyweight champion was determined during the event in a non-tournament fight.
Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le was a mixed martial arts event co-promoted by Strikeforce and EliteXC. The event took place on Saturday, March 29, 2008 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Strikeforce. The event took place at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California on Friday, June 27, 2008. The main event was the long awaited match between lightweights Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson for the Strikeforce Lightweight title.
Strikeforce: At the Mansion II was a mixed martial arts event held on September 20, 2008. The event took place at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California. In addition to the event, all guests were entitled to a top-shelf, open bar; buffet-style, gourmet dinner; and wine tasting party featuring the spirits of various California gold medal wineries.
Strikeforce: Payback was a mixed martial arts event held on October 3, 2008. The event was produced by Strikeforce and took place at the Broomfield Events Center in Broomfield, Colorado. It marks the first time Strikeforce has held an event in Colorado and the main event featured a rematch between Duane Ludwig and Sammy Morgan.
Strikeforce: Destruction was a mixed martial arts event held on November 21, 2008. The event was held by Strikeforce and took place at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California. This event aired live and free on HDNet.
Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Gracie was the inaugural mixed martial arts event promoted by Strikeforce. The event took place at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California on March 10, 2006. The main event was the long awaited match between Frank Shamrock, returning to the sport after a 3-year absence, and Cesar Gracie. The show is also notable for featuring the MMA debut of Cung Le.
Strikeforce: Revenge was the second mixed martial arts event promoted by Strikeforce. The event took place at the HP Pavilion at San Jose in San Jose, California on June 9, 2006. The main event featured the North American debut of Alistair Overeem.
Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields was a mixed martial arts event held by the MMA organization Strikeforce. It was held in St. Louis, Missouri on June 6, 2009. The event drew an estimated 275,000 viewers on Showtime.
Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello was a mixed martial arts event held on October 7, 2006. The event was held by Strikeforce and took place at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
Strikeforce: Young Guns was a mixed martial arts event.
Strikeforce/M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Rogers was a mixed martial arts event held on November 7, 2009 promoted by Strikeforce in association with M-1 Global. It was the first MMA event on network television since the now-defunct EliteXC promotion broadcast its final event, EliteXC: Heat, on CBS on October 4, 2008. The event had a four-fight main card with a broadcasting team of Gus Johnson, Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo. The event drew an estimated 4,040,000 viewers, with a peak at 5,460,000 on CBS.
Dream 13 was a mixed martial arts event held by Fighting and Entertainment Group's mixed martial arts promotion Dream. The event took place on Monday, March 22, 2010 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. The event aired live in North America on HDNet.
Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II, was a mixed martial arts event held by Strikeforce on October 9, 2010 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, United States. The event aired live on the Showtime cable network.
While mixed martial arts is primarily a male dominated sport, it does have female athletes. Female competition in Japan includes promotions such as DEEP Jewels. Now defunct promotions that featured female fighters were Valkyrie, and Smackgirl. Professional mixed martial arts organizations in the United States that invite women to compete are industry leader Ultimate Fighting Championship, the all female Invicta Fighting Championships, Resurrection Fighting Alliance, Bellator Fighting Championships, and Legacy Fighting Championship. Now defunct promotions that featured female fighters were Strikeforce and EliteXC.
