Maximum Fighting Championship

(Billy Evangelista and Mike Aina headline tonight's "Challengers" show in Fresno. Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.)

The UFC is taking another weekend off, but there's still enough MMA action going on tonight to satisfy your thirst for combat — as long as you have a solid cable TV package. Here's what's happening...

STRIKEFORCE CHALLENGERS 1
When+Where: Tonight at the Save Mart Center in Frenso, California, starting at 6 p.m.
How to Watch: Showtime, 11 p.m. ET/PT
Lowdown: Strikeforce's new up-and-comer series kicks off with a lightweight clash between undefeated prospect Billy Evangelista and BJ Penn student Mike Aina in the main event. Elsewhere on the main card, Miesha Tate tangles with Sarah Kaufman, and former Strikeforce #1 light-heavyweight contender Anthony Ruiz takes on ShoXC vet Aaron Rosa. The full lineup can be seen here.

(Okay, but just so you know, shooting out jets of sparks from your arms is currently prohibited under the unified rules. Photo courtesy of faniq.com.)

I guess Bobby Lashley is serious about this cage-fighting stuff after all. MMA Mania reports that the former WWE star has signed with Canada's Maximum Fighting Championship promotion, and will appear at their "Hard Knocks" event (May 15th, Edmonton) a month before he collides with Bob Sapp in Biloxi. Lash will be taking on Mike Cook, a Frank Shamrock-trained heavyweight who's either 6-3 or 5-5, depending on who you ask. Will Cook further expose Lashley as a work-in-progress, or will Lashley redeem himself after his unsatisfying performance against Jason Guida? "Hard Knocks" will be broadcast live in North America on HDNet, and will feature UFC vets Marvin Eastman, David Heath, and Trevor Prangley.

MMA Mania also reveals that the June 27th Lashley vs. Sapp pay-per-view event has been given the official name of "Unarmed Combat." Din Thomas is expected to be on the card (along with Tom Atencio), and Lashley's fight nickname is now "The Dominator." Yawn. Come on guys, I think we can do better than that...

(Awww, who could stay mad at that face?)

Drew Fickett and Maximum Fighting Championship boss Mark Pavelich have been engaged in a war of words since Fickett agreed to fill in for Joe Riggs at "Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson," and Pavelich has had enough. Here's a new press release from MFC, courtesy of TKO Xtreme:

I would like to take this opportunity to offer a personal response to comments and actions taken by Drew Fickett over the past 72 hours.

Drew had agreed to and signed a contract to fight on the Maximum Fighting Championship show on July 25 for the welterweight title against Ryan Ford. Over the last few days, Drew has caused severe problems and therefore we find him in complete breach of his contract.

We were shocked to learn Drew agreed on one day’s notice to fight as a middleweight in another organization’s event this past Friday. When I contacted this other organization, its owner immediately cancelled Drew’s fight when informed that he was under contract to fight on the MFC show and as part of Mr. Fickett’s contract he was not allowed to take another fight up to five weeks before the MFC show.

When I learned of Drew’s intentions to take this fight, I repeatedly attempted to reach Drew’s manager to find out why. After numerous attempts to reach his manager went unreturned, I did leave a voice mail which has since been made public. I admit to being very upset, angry and frustrated not only by Drew’s action but also by not being able to reach his manager and the tone of that voice mail reflected my feelings.