Randy Couture to drive pace car at Pepsi 500 NASCAR Race

Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, stars of the MTV hit series, “The Hills” will serve as honorary starters and wave the green flag to start the Pepsi 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, August 31. They will be joined during the pre-race ceremonies by American Idol season four runner-up Bo Bice, who will perform “The Star Spangled Banner,”

and mixed martial arts star Randy Couture will serve as honorary race official and pace car driver, leading the field to the green flag from behind the wheel of the official Chevrolet pace car.

Giving the command to start engines will be TV icon Drew Carey, announced earlier as the event’s Grand Marshal.

Montag and Pratt star in MTV’s reality show “The Hills”, which is currently in its fourth season. Montag is a native of Crested Butte, CO and moved to Los Angeles shortly after graduating from high school, where she met Pratt, a native of Malibu, CA. Montag is currently employed as an event planner with well-known Hollywood production company, Bolthouse Productions.

Bice released his second album, “See The Light,” last October and is currently on a national tour. The Huntsville, AL native spent his youth moving between Georgia, Alabama and Florida before his family relocated to England when he was 12; Ozzy Osbourne and his family were neighbors for a time. He returned to Alabama, playing clubs and opening for national acts such as Warrant and Blackfoot. With a wife and young son, he was also managing a guitar shop for $20,000 a year when he auditioned for “American Idol” on a lark, walking in as “the last person in the world who thought I was going to make it as far as I did.” But he wowed the famed trio of judges with his rock ‘n’ roll grit–including an audition version of the Allmans’ “Whipping Post”–and did the same with the reality show’s huge national audience, which clearly had an appetite for a contestant with genuine rock spirit.

Mixed martial arts star Couture has over 25 years of training in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling and made his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut in 1997 at the age of 33. His quick success gained him the nickname “The Natural” and he went on to be the only competitor to hold titles in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions. Couture was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2006. He has also taken up acting and owns two training centers. Couture is also a sponsored athlete of Affliction Clothing, which will make its motorsports sponsorship debut at the Pepsi 500.

One of television’s biggest stars, Drew Carey succeeded longtime host Bob Barker on the legendary show “The Price Is Right” after having had the distinction of starring in two hit shows simultaneously: “The Drew Carey Show”, which ran from 1995-2004, and the improv/sketch show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” on which he was both host and producer.

Randy On The Pursuit Channel Tonight

Randy had a great time bear hunting for the first time. Now you can watch him as the hunt airs tonight and Sunday night at 7:30 pm EST on DirecTV, channel 611 (HUNT), the Pursuit channel.

Randy Couture Video Highlights

“The Natural” has returned to Xtreme Couture after weeks on the road promoting his new book, “Becoming the Natural”. We were able to grab some great footage of Randy teaching our Pro Practice class and compiled a montage of highlights. Among the many XC fighters in attendance for the class were Gina Carano, Jay Heiron, Tyson Griffin, Martin Kampmann, Gray Maynard, Kim Couture, and Mike Whitehead. With so many Xtreme Couture fighters having fights on the horizon, the XC Pro Practice is always filled with the very best and hardest working fighters in MMA.

Having the guidance and many years of experience of Randy Couture adds to our already amazing staff of coaches and trainers. The same amazing staff that allows our fighters to time and time again, whether it be dominating in Elite XC, Affliction, or the UFC, make Xtreme Couture the best MMA training facility in the world.

MMA Banned

As the MMA expansion continues to sweep the world over there are still a few roadblocks that the sport needs to overcome in the states. MMA today is banned in many states like New York, Vermont and West Virginia and still no State Athletic Commission in many other states.

While MMA being banned is not new or breaking news, a new website Anger Management 4 MMA (http://www.angermanagement4mma.com) has recently been launched that is actively been collecting paper petitions and now is trying to collect  web based iPetitions so they can bring the MMA fans “say” to local legislation to show them what the people really want.

If you would like to see the sport keep expanding please take a moment to visit their site.

Gray Maynard to fight Rich Clementi at UFC 90

Xtreme Couture lighweight Gray Maynard has made a verbal agreement to fight Rich Clementi at UFC 90 on October 25th at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois. Gray remains undefeated at 5 – 0 as he returns to the ring after injuring his wrist while defeating Frankie Edgar at UFC Fight Night 13. A win over Clementi will push Maynard that much closer to a title shot in the over-crowded lightweight devision.

Clementi, an MMA veteran, has been on a tear recently with 6 consecutive wins to add to his 32-12-1 record. The winner of this fight will no doubt cement themselves as a contender in the 155lb arena.

EA ANNOUNCES – Randy Couture and Gina Carano – Red Alert 3

EA ANNOUNCES RANDY “THE NATURAL” COUTURE TO TAKE ON THE RUSSIANS THIS OCTOBER AS PART OF STAR-STUDDED CAST OF COMMAND AND CONQUER RED ALERT 3

Five-time UFC Champion Joins Gina Carano and Top Actors and Actresses from Around the World to Form One of the Largest Ensemble Casts in the History of Video Games

Leipzig, Germany – August 20, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced MMA legend and five time UFC champion Randy Couture as part of the all-star ensemble cast for this holiday’s highly anticipated video game Command & ConquerTM Red AlertTM 3 during EA’s press conference at the German Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany.  Mr. Couture will star in the Command & Conquer franchise’s trademark live-action movie sequences, alongside a diverse group that includes a host of award-winning actors, action stars, science fiction legends, up-and-coming starlets from around the globe and mixed martial arts fighters.

Mr. Couture stars and lends his voice to Red Alert 3 as Warren Fuller, Commander of the Allied Forces.  Not one for mincing words, Fuller has survived numerous battles against the Soviet Union through regimented training, raw talent, determination, and tenacity. He’s a born leader and fighter, prepared to defend the Allies’ freedoms to his last breath.  Gamers will have the opportunity to interact with and team with Mr. Couture as he battles the big, bad, Russians in the Allied Campaign.

“I spent six years in the Armed Forces, but, I’ve since moved to officer’s ranks and become a general”, joked Couture. “I have two kids who both play video games, so having this opportunity to star in Red Alert 3 alongside Gina and this cast is a huge honor and I look forward to teaming up with the fans this fall.”

The cast of Red Alert 3 includes Jenny McCarthy (Scream 3, former Playboy Playmate of the Year), Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Hunt for Red October), George Takei (Star Trek, Heroes), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man, Juno), Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean), Peter Stormare (Prison Break, Armageddon), Andrew Divoff (LOST), Kelly Hu (X2: X-men United, The Scorpion King), Gemma Atkinson (the UK’s Hollyoaks), Ivana Milicevic (Casino Royale), Autumn Reeser (The OC, MTV’s American Mall) and two of the most recognizable names in competitive mixed martial arts Randy “The Natural” Couture (5-time UFC champion, The Scorpion King 2) and Gina “Conviction” Carano (Undefeated EliteXC fighter, American Gladiators).

“This is by far the most exciting cast we have had over the past 13 years of shooting live-action movies for Command & Conquer,” said Chris Corry, executive producer at EALA.  “The caliber of the performances we received, both individually and collectively, have really raised the storytelling bar for the franchise.  We are really excited that we will be delivering such a high quality production that is on par with movies and television shows.”

“I wasn’t sure what to expect when I came in to work on a video game,” said Jenny McCarthy, who is playing Tanya, Allied commando and the most beloved heroine in the history of the Command & Conquer universe.  “What I realized is Red Alert 3 is not just a video game, it’s absolutely an interactive movie.  This is where the people at home get to move the story forward, and where seeing the plot thicken is a reward for a job well done.  And that’s really cool.”

“I think video games are one of the new frontiers for actors and using live action is just another way to connect more easily to the gamer rather than CG or animation techniques,” said J.K. Simmons, who is playing the anti-Communist U.S. President Howard T. Ackerman.  “To be in a groundbreaking game like Red Alert 3 where we are using full on shooting of live actors and to be with Jonathan Pryce, Tim Curry and Peter Stromare, it was a great opportunity for a character actor like me to have some fun.”

Fans searching for an opportunity to see even more of the talent in Red Alert 3 can now order the Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 Premier Edition – a limited edition copy of the game that includes a bonus DVD with over an hour of exclusive content, including interviews with the talent and a behind the scenes look at the shooting of Red Alert 3’s cinematic sequences. The Premier Edition is also packed with full of additional Red Alert goodness, including exclusive multiplayer maps, strategy tips from the development team, an exclusive Warhammer Online item, the official soundtrack and an exclusive beta key to a future Command & Conquer game.

Those who secure the Premier Edition or regular version of Red Alert 3 now via pre-order will also receive a special bonus package*, including:
∑ Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 – One of the most beloved RTS games of all time!
∑ From Fighter to Assassin – A featurette on EliteXC superstar, Gina Carano.
∑ Premier Edition Sneak Peek – Exclusive previews of Raising of the Iron Curtain, From Pens to Pixels, Command School, and BattleCast Primetime
∑ Red Alert Retrospective – A look back at Red Alert, Red Alert 2 and Red Alert 2: Yuri’s Revenge
∑ Exclusive multiplayer/skirmish map for Red Alert 3 when the game ships
∑ Exclusive Red Alert 3 desktop wallpapers

Red Alert 3 is set to ship this fall for the PC and Xbox 360.  Gamers who want to get a head start on the return to Red Alert can by purchasing Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath, which includes automatic entry into the Red Alert 3 beta** happening right now.  More information is available at  http://www.ea.com/redalert/beta.jsp.

Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI.  For more information about the game, please visit www.redalert3.com and tune into Command & Conquer TV in the coming weeks for the special one year anniversary episode of the online channel’s flagship program “BattleCast PrimeTime” filmed live from the German Games Convention 2008.

Scorpion King 2 Available on DVD Tomorrow

“The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior” is available on Blu-Ray Disc and DVD starting August 19th.

“Redbelt” will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD next week August 26th.

Jay Hieron Signs with Affliction

Jay Hieron signed his name to a 3-fight contract with Affliction yesterday.  Look for the reigning IFL Welterweight Champ to make his debut at Affliction 2: Day of Reckoning on October 11.  No word on an opponent yet.

Gray Goes to Hollywood

Turns out Randy isn’t the only one landing lead roles in action movies around here.  Gray Maynard plays the bad guy, Torch, in “The Red Canvas“.

Expect an announcement soon regarding Gray’s next opponent.  We’re hearing rumors of a high profile fight in late October.

Classic Cars Charity Event

A real good friend of ours, Shane O’Hallrahan, is hosting a charity Classic Car show and auction to raise money for a friend of his who is suffering some heavy medical bills.

The event will take place August 23rd at 5pm at the old Desert Nissan building (5050 W Sahara Ave/ Sahara-Decatur).  Come down to meet Gray, Tyson, Jay Hieron and see some classic cars including Jay’s ‘76 Impala (pictured above).