Chris "The Dragon" John outpointed Japanese challenger Hiroyuki Enoki to successfully defend his WBA featherweight title for the 10th time in a mandatory fight at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on Friday. By defending his title for the 10th time in a row, Chris John become a Super Champion.

The Indonesian boxer took control from the outset and won a unanimous decision in the 12-round fight by scores of 118-110, 118-110 and 117-111. This was Enoki's first shot at a world title.

"Enoki was a tough customer but I felt I had him after about five rounds," Chris John told the reporters. "I was in total control of the fight and the judges agreed."

Enoki, who lost for the first time in his 30 professional bouts, paid tribute to the champion.

"He's a great champion," said Enoki. "He's strong but he's very cool too. He made me look bad but I gave it my best shot."

Chris John improved his record to 42-0 with one draw. Enoki dropped to 27-1 with two draws.

World Boxing Association (WBA) Featherweight Champion Chris "The Dragon" John will defend his title against Japanese contender Hiroyuki Enoki on Friday night October 24 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. After sweeping aside the Japanese challenger, Chris John has big fight plans ahead of him in the United States.

The negotiations are underway for the Indonesian boxer to face American Rocky Juarez in the USA in January 2009, on a Golden Boy Promotion. There is a possibility that Jesus Chavez could face Michael Katsidis at lightweight in the co-feature.

"Of course I want to fight in America," said Chris John. "I want all boxing fans to be able to see me in the ring. I just want to fight the best fighters in the world and by going to the United States, I can fight the best. I watched Rocky Juarez' last fight with Jorge Barrios. Juarez would be a good fight for me. I am ready for him and anyone else at featherweight or super featherweight."

While many fans are yet to see him in action live or on television, Chris John (41 wins, 1 draws, 22 wins by KO) defeated Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez, currently rated top ten pound for pound, on points over the distance in Indonesia in March 2006, a result that was viewed as a significant upset. Marquez returned home unhappy with the scoring and refereeing of the fight at the Golden Gate Arena in Tenggarong, Kutai Kartanegara, Indonesia claiming that he was robbed.

"I watched Marquez beating (Joel) Casamayor and it was a good win, but maybe Casamayor is old now," observed John. "I would like to fight Marquez again. I beat him before and will beat him again. I will give him a rematch anytime. Yes, I will fight him in America. I would love to fight him at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas."

Treated like royalty and the No. 1 sporting hero to over 220 million Indonesians, 28 year-old Chris John will be attempting the 10th consecutive defence of his world title in Japan this week. The fight with 28 year-old Enoki (27 wins, 1 draws, 19 wins by KO) from Tokyo will also be the champion's fifth mandatory title defence.

"I have fought before in Japan and I like it," said John. "But I like it more when I am fighting in my own country. Enoki is a good right hand puncher. He beat Nedal Hussein, so he must be a good boxer. He will be prepared for this fight."

Trainer/manager Craig Christian was pleased with John's 120 rounds of sparring in preparation for Enoki.

"Chris made me very happy last week," said Christian. "I was singing after training. He sparred ten rounds with Jackson Asiku and Willie Kickett. They could not touch him. Chris is so smart. A very smart boxer. He knows his capabilities. I watched Enoki's fight with Skinny Hussein and he is a good all-round boxer. I think he will be too slow for Chris, who will be much faster than him. There will also be too much pressure from the event on him. Chris will build the pressure on him from the first bell and it will be too much to handle."

The organization, whose last show featured a 14-second fight, calls it quits after losing $55 million.

It looks like Elite XC, the upstart mixed martial arts organization featuring Kimbo Slice, is down for the count.

ProElite, Inc., Elite XC's Los Angeles-based parent company, plans to file for bankruptcy, said T. Jay Thompson, an Elite XC executive consultant, whose Hawaii-based MMA organization was purchased by ProElite last year.

Elite XC has also informed fighters, office staff and others of immediate layoffs and has canceled fight dates, including a Nov. 8 card in Reno, Thompson said.

In an SEC filing Tuesday, ProElite said that Showtime Networks said it was in violation of a debt covenant because the MMA firm doesn't have enough cash on hand. ProElite has reported $55 million in net losses since January 2007, according to SEC filings.

Several ProElite executives declined to comment Tuesday.

"If I had to point fingers why this thing went bad, I'd have trouble, because I only have two hands," said Thompson.

ProElite, which opened two years ago, appointed boxing promoter Gary Shaw as president and he designated his son, Jared Shaw -- known by the nickname "$kala" -- a key executive with matchmaking powers.

Gary Shaw, who saw his role change from president to consultant this year, said Tuesday he "wasn't even a consultant anymore. I have no comment. I don't know anything about it. I don't know if they're done."

In another SEC filing, Pro- Elite acknowledged significant deficiencies in how it was operated, including wasteful spending by management and a finding that contracts it entered into were not adequately reviewed.

Thompson said he believes the company's fate was sealed when Slice, its biggest star, was knocked out in 14 seconds of the main event of a CBS show Oct. 4.

Slice was supposed to fight MMA veteran Ken Shamrock. Instead, a late injury replacement, Seth Petruzelli, was put into the cage. Petruzelli alleged in a later radio interview that Elite XC promoters told him he'd earn extra money by fighting a stand-up style that favored Slice's strength as a street fighter. A Florida commission is now investigating that claim.

Meanwhile, instead of gaining an investment by Showtime Networks that ProElite officials had said was vital for its survival, Showtime sent ProElite a default notice for $6.3 million last week, according to an SEC filing. "ProElite officials have advised us that they will not be able to put on the EliteXC event scheduled for exhibition on Showtime on Nov. 8," Showtime spokesman Chris DiBlasio said in a statement. "In view of Showtime's leadership role in sports programming, including boxing and mixed martial arts, we intend to explore other opportunities."

Thompson railed at what he called a cycle of wasted money by ProElite officials. Pro Elite would over-staff its fight cards with employees, bringing in "35 people who were running around, quite comically" at shows, he said. "It was mind boggling."

Earlier this year, in San Jose, a Pro Elite card generated a live gate of $1.2 million. Thompson, with 15 years of fight-promotion experience, said he advised ProElite officials to bring only a few employees north to maximize profits. Instead, he said, 23 employees worked the event.

A few Elite XC fighters, including champion Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler and Nick Diaz, may land at the top MMA organization, Ultimate Fighting Championship.

But Elite XC stars Slice and female fighter Gina Carano probably will have to look for fights elsewhere.

UFC President Dana White was not available for comment. But White's spokeswoman said he has previously insisted he wasn't interested in adding Slice to his stable of fighters because he didn't want to diminish the sport as "a freak show."

Carano's publicist did not return messages left for her, but the unbeaten female fighter, who has also performed as "Crush" on NBC's "American Gladiators," appears headed for a second-tier organization if she continues in MMA.

UFC's White has said that there isn't enough of a talent pool to start a women's fight league.

From day one of Elite XC's existence, White predicted a doomed effort.

"No one in that business has a clue how to do MMA," he said in December 2006. "These guys don't know the difference between MMA and thumb wrestling."

Taken from: http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-mma22-2008oct22,0,2976847.story

Anchored by a middleweight bout between Michael "The Count" Bisping and Chris "The Crippler" Leben, UFC 89 on Saturday drew an average of 2.6 million viewers, according to Spike TV representatives. The telecast -- which aired on tape delay from the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England -- peaked with 3.4 million viewers during the 11:30 PM to 11:45 PM quarter hour.

Despite stiff competition from Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on TBS and regional college football coverage on ESPN and ESPN2, the UFC 89 telecast ranked second with 18 to 49 year-old males, 18 to 34 year-old males and 25 to 34 year-old males among ad-supported cable for its time period.

Bisping (17-1) defeated Leben by unanimous decision in a competitive main event, as the UFC made its final stop in the United Kingdom this year. The popular 29 year-old Brit extended his winning streak to three fights and continued his rapid ascent up the 185-pound ladder. Scheduled to coach on the ninth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series, Bisping will face the winner of the UFC 93 match pairing Rich Franklin with Dan Henderson sometime in 2009.

In the co-main event at UFC 89, light heavyweight contender Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine eked out a split decision win over the suddenly enigmatic Brandon "The Truth" Vera. The event also featured a memorable welterweight slugfest between Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor, which earned both men a $40,000 "Fight of the Night" bonus. Lytle won by unanimous decision.

Despite its success, UFC 89 fell short of the mark set by UFC 75 "Champion vs Champion", which also aired on tape delay on Spike TV in September 2007. That event, which showcased a light heavyweight championship bout between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Dan Henderson, drew 4.7 million viewers, making it, at the time, the most-watched mixed martial arts event in North American history.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (picture), the twin brother of the interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, will square off against Moise Rimbon at World Victory Road: Sengoku 6 on November 1 in Saitama, Japan.

Nogueira (14-3) last fought at Affliction: Banned, knocking out Edwin Dewees in the first round.

Rimbon (13-7-3) from Paris, France will be making his second Sengoku appearance. He submitted K-1 fighter Peter Graham with a rear naked choke at Sengoku 4 in August.
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World Victory Road: Sengoku 6
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan

Middleweight Grand Prix:
Yuki Sasaki vs Kazuhiro Nakamura
Jorge Santiago vs Siyar Bahadurzada
Joe Doerksen vs Izuru Takeuchi (Reserve Match)

Lightweight Grand Prix:
Satoru Kitaoka vs Eiji Mitsuoka
Kazunori Yokota vs Mizuto Hirota
Bang Seung Hwan vs Jorge Masvidal (Reserve Match)

Non-Tournament Bouts:
Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs Fabio Silva
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Moise Rimbon

Here are the results of UFC 89 which held in The NIA, Birmingham, England last Saturday night:

• Michael "The Count" Bisping def. Chris "The Crippler" Leben by unanimous decision

• Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine def. Brandon "The Truth" Vera by split decision

• Luis "Banha" Cane def. Rameau "The African Assassin" Sokoudjou by TKO at 4:15 of Round 2

• Chris Lytle def. Paul Taylor by unanimous decision

• Marcus "The Irish Hand Grenade" Davis def. Paul Kelly by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:16 of Round 2

• Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy def. Akihiro "The Japanese Sensation" Gono by split decision

• Shane Carwin def. Neil Wain by TKO at 1:31 of Round 1

• David Bielkheden def. Jess "The Joker" Liaudin by unanimous decision

• Terry Etim def. Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout by unanimous decision

• Jim Miller def. David Baron by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:19 of Round 3

• Per Eklund def. Samy Schiavo by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:47 of round 3