July 03, 2009

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® FIGURES

AT UFC® FAN EXPO™

UFC Fighters Get First Look

at Their Own Action Figures at The Event!

What: Top UFC fighters and MMA fans will get the first look at the official Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) action figures from leading U.S. toy maker JAKKS Pacific, Inc (Nasdaq: JAKK) at UFC® Fan Expo™ for UFC 100 in Las Vegas. The first two series of the line, Wave 0 and Wave 1 include some of the best and well known UFC fighters such as Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell, Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin, Rampage Jackson and Royce Gracie. Several of the fighters will be in attendance to view their new figures before they hit retail shelves this Fall, and are expected to meet and greet with fans at the JAKKS UFC Fan Expo booth (#427).

To help celebrate UFC 100 and the first ever UFC Fan Expo, JAKKS will also have Limited Edition UFC Fan Expo Platinum Chuck Liddell figures available for purchase by fans in attendance at the JAKKS booth while supplies last. The exclusive Limited Edition Platinum figures will be sequentially numbered 1:500 and will only be available at the UFC Fan Expo. The first 250 units will go on sale at 10:00 am on Friday with the next 250 units available Saturday starting at 10:00 am as well.

Who: Leading U.S. toymaker JAKKS Pacific

Top UFC Fighters

MMA fans

All attendees must have a ticket to enter UFC Fan Expo.

Tickets are available for purchase at www.ufcfanexpo.com.

When: Friday, July 10 (10 am – 7 pm) – Saturday, July 11 (10am – 4 pm)

Where: JAKKS Booth # 427

Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Bayside Hall B, located at 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Why: UFC Fan Expo is the world's premier MMA event where millions of fans of the fastest-growing sport will have the opportunity to celebrate their passion through the experience of exhibitions, training and development, fan-inspired special events and competitions, meet and greets with the elite fighters, and demos of various fighting techniques – all held in conjunction with the UFC fighter weigh-ins and the 100th Pay-Per-View Fight Card.

For more information about UFC Fan Expo visit www.ufcfanexpo.com.

June 20, 2009

For more photos please visit Round 5

May 27, 2009

With Gina Carano's approval, Round 5 figurine ready for production
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on May 25, 2009 at 11:10 am ET
Popular female fighter Gina Carano's Round 5 figurine is apparently ready for production.

Carano, arguably the sport's most popular female fighter, stopped by the company's Toronto headquarters this past Friday, May 22, to make the final adjustments to her collectible.

Carano's figurine is part of a Series 4 release set for July.

Round 5 executives sent over the included photo.

Carano (7-0), the first female fighter with a Round 5 figurine, has emerged as MMA's most popular female fighter following her stint with the now-defunct EliteXC organization. She became the first female fighter to compete on U.S. network televised when she appeared on CBS in 2008. She was also the first female fighter to appear on Showtime, and she competed in Nevada's first-ever state-sanctioned female combat-sports bout in 2006.

Although now a free agent, Carano is expected to sign with Strikeforce in time for an August bout with Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. The two were on a collision course in EliteXC before the company's collapse. The bout will likely be the biggest in female MMA history.

In addition to Carano, Round 5's Series 4 release – the company's largest to date – includes Fedor Emelianenko, Dan Henderson, Cung Le, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Matt Serra.

Round 5 figurines are available at retailers such as Toys 'R' Us (Canada), Champs Sports and FYE.

Visit Round5MMA.com

May 06, 2009

MARKHAM, Ontario, Canada, May 6, 2009 – Round 5, the leader in collectible mixed martial arts figurines, today announced that Walmart Canada will carry the collectibles in its stores across the country beginning this month. Walmart Canada will stock the two current Series, which are comprised of eight popular MMA figures, as well as planned future Series.

“Having our figurines available at Walmart locations will significantly boost our exposure throughout the country,” said Damon Lau, Round 5 President. “Walmart Canada serves more than one million customers each day, bringing great visibility to the Round 5 brand and products.”

Round 5 has announced partnerships with more than 20 mixed martial arts stars to date, with eight figurines already available: Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Quinton ‘Rampage' Jackson and Tito Ortiz (Series 1); and Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva (Series 2). Series 3 figurines are scheduled to be available in May, featuring Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski, “Big John” McCarthy, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.

Series 4, which is scheduled for release in time for UFC 100 in July, features an expanded line of six figures. Women’s MMA pioneer Gina Carano, international superstar Fedor Emelianenko, and recent additions Dan Henderson, Cung Le, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Matt Serra are included in the Series.

Round 5 plans to release collectibles of two additional series of athletes later in 2009, one during each quarter. Canadian Jason MacDonald has signed to be part of one of those releases, while other athletes to be represented in those series are yet to be announced.

Existing Round 5 figurines are available at other retail outlets throughout North America and online at www.Round5MMA.com.

Each Round 5 athlete maintains creative control of his likenesses, including the pose, facial design and shorts and has a major hand in creating the final design. Each also benefits from a royalty agreement that gives him a considerable portion of the proceeds from the sale of his unit.

Visit Round 5

April 22, 2009

Round 5 also confirmed today that Series 3, which features Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski,
“Big John” McCarthy,

Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, will be in
stores across North America and at online outlets including www.Round5MMA.com in late
May, about a month behind its original schedule.

“With six figurines, Series 4 will be our largest issuance to date,” said Damon Lau. “Adding
four more of the biggest names in the sport – with wide fan bases – to what began as an already
stacked set is huge for Round 5 and a great opportunity for fans to quickly add to their
collections.”

To date, Round 5 has issued two Series of four athletes each: Randy Couture, Matt Hughes,
Quinton ‘Rampage' Jackson and Tito Ortiz comprised Series 1 while Rich Franklin, Sean
Sherk, Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva were released in Series 2. Series 3 had been
planned for an April release, but has been delayed by about four weeks.
“The Series 3 prototypes have been completed and are currently in production,” said Lau. “It
took a little longer than we had originally anticipated, but we feel that the finished product is
well worth the extra wait.”

Henderson, the last man to hold the welterweight and middleweight titles for PRIDE, has a 24-
7-0 career MMA record, competing against many of the best in MMA. “Hollywood” defeated
Wanderlei Silva to take his final PRIDE crown, then rejoined the UFC, where he has won his last
two bouts. He leads Team USA in Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter television program and will
fight fellow coach Michael Bisping at UFC 100 on July 11 in Las Vegas.

Though he has competed for years in the Chinese martial art of Sanshou, the South Vietnamese
native Le gained fame in North America by defeating legendary Frank Shamrock via TKO last
year in San Jose, Calif., where he trains. Le is unbeaten (6-0) in his MMA career and has begun
a career in acting, with several feature films nearing international release.

The Brazilian star Rua, known the world over as “Shogun,” boasts and 18-3 record, last week
recording a first-round knockout over Chuck Liddell at UFC 97. He is a former PRIDE
champion, winning the Grand Prix title in 2005 with wins over Quinton Jackson, Rogerio
Minotoro Nogueira and Ricardo Arona.

Serra, a Long Island, N.Y., native, has compiled a 9-5 MMA mark, earning international
acclaim following his first-round TKO of Georges St. Pierre in their first meeting in 2007 for the
UFC welterweight championship. St. Pierre won the rematch last year, and Serra is next
scheduled to battle Matt Hughes at UFC 98 in May. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master, Serra also
gained fame as the winner of Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Visit Round 5

April 16, 2009

Round 5 and Pavelich Sports Entertainment are pleased to announce that Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald will become the first Canadian to create a figurine in his likeness through Round 5, the Ontario-based company which has become the leader in mixed martial arts collectibles. MacDonald, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, will now join an exclusive group of MMA stars who have collaborated with Round 5 to produce some of the most detailed and unique MMA action figures in the world.

"Since we are based in Ontario, I am particularly excited that Jason MacDonald is the first Canadian to sign with Round 5," said Damon Lau, Round 5 President and Co-Founder. "He is one of the most successful and popular MMA stars in the country and enjoys a strong following across North America."

MacDonald’s figurine is expected to be released as part of a Round 5 series later this year. To date, two Series have been issued: Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, Quinton ‘Rampage' Jackson and Tito Ortiz comprised Series 1 while Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva were released in Series 2. Series 3, featuring Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski, “Big John” McCarthy, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, is scheduled to be available at retail and at www.Round5MMA.com within the next three to four weeks.

Nicknamed “The Athlete,” MacDonald began his career with a series of dominating performances in Canada’s largest MMA organization, the Maximum Fighting Championship. He then burst onto the international stage with an impressive triangle choke victory over Ed Herman at the UFC’s Ultimate Fight Night 7 in October of 2006.

Now sporting a 21-11 record (5-4 in the UFC), MacDonald is set to take on former TUF alumnus and UFC middleweight contender Nate Quarry at UFC 97 in Montreal, Quebec on Saturday.

As in the earlier series, MacDonald will maintain creative control of his likeness, including the pose, facial design and shorts. He will be instrumental in creating the final design and will benefit from a royalty agreement that gives him a considerable portion of the sale of his figurines.

Round 5 collectible figures may be purchased at leading retailers such as Toys ‘R’ Us, FYE, Century Martial Arts, Sunrise Records, The Treadmill Factory and Hatashita International. Other retailers can be found at Round 5 where to buy.

Round 5 plans to release three additional series of athletes in 2009, one during each quarter. In addition to those noted above, Fedor Emelianenko and Gina “Conviction” Carano have also partnered with Round 5 for figurines scheduled for 2009 release.

March 14, 2009

Andrew "Test" Martin

Former professional wrestler Andrew "Test" Martin was found dead in his Harbour Island home on Friday night, according to Tampa police.

Martin had appeared with World Wrestling Entertainment off and on from the late 1990s until 2007 and also with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He was 33.

Police said foul play is not suspected. The cause of death is unknown pending the results of an autopsy.

A neighbor contacted police about 8 p.m. saying she could see into Martin's apartment through a window and that he appeared motionless. Officers who arrived to check on Martin found him dead.

Police initially said officers responded to the Post Harbour Place apartments, 725 Harbour Place Drive. However, public records show that Martin lived at the GrandView, a high-rise condominium at 371 Channelside Walk Way. He purchased the condominium in 2005.

Born in Ontario, Canada, Martin wrote on his MySpace page March 10 that he had just returned from a tour of Japan and was planning to leave for a tour of Europe on March 16, the day before his birthday.

"This is with the crew from Ireland," he wrote. "These guys hold a special place in my heart because they stuck by me when I was going thru some hard times and we all ended up becoming good friends. … I'm looking forward to this trip."

The 6-foot-6-inch wrestler listed his father as his hero and wrote of his favorite movies, "A good scary movie on the couch with my girl is a good night."

An attempt to locate his family today was unsuccessful.

World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling posted their condolences to Martin's family on their Web pages.

"TNA sends its deepest condolences to the Martin family, and we hope our fans will keep Andrew in their thoughts in the coming days," the latter site wrote.

According to FOX Sports, Martin requested and received his release from WWE in 2007 after he was suspended for failing a drug test. On his MySpace page at the time, Martin described the release as mutual.

He made local news last April when he was arrested in Pasco County and charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence. Online court records show he pleaded no contest and the charge was amended to reckless driving; he received probation.

Those who knew Martin described him as a friendly young man who, despite his stature in the wrestling world, didn't take on airs.

"He was a very personable young man, very personable," said Karen Swatzel, 64, who purchased her Lutz home from Martin in 2005.

She remembers him having his championship belt on display in his home office when she went to take a look at the property. He also offered to give Swatzel's grandson, who was 6 years old at the time, one of his wrestling action figures.

"I feel very bad that this has happened to him, that things went bad for him," she said.

February 27, 2009

Expect to see these on eBay soon.