via www.addictedmma.com

As one of Canada's top featherweight fighters, Antonio "Pato" Carvalho will be looking to return successfully this weekend, when he competes on the Score Fighting Series: Mississauga card vs. Douglas Evans. Carvalho holds wins over Japanese legend Rumina Sato and highly ranked featherweight Hatsu Hioki.After a brief hiatus from the sport, Carvalho returned in 2010, taking home two victories under the W-1 banner, his last being a quick knockout of Juan Barrantes. Now Antonio is gearing up for a big year and was kind enough to talk with AddictedMMA before he faces Evans this Saturday.

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via mmagearguide.net

 First he will make a stop in Hamilton, Ontario, where he will hold a meet and greet with fans at the local fight store
http://www.fightplanet.ca/.  Jung will be training in various gyms accross the region this week looking to share his unique style of fighting to MMA fans that are no doubt chomping at the bit to train with the Korean fighter.

 After the Hamilton meet and greet Jung will be at Elite Training Center in Mississauga where he will teach a four hour submission wrestling and striking seminar. Accompanying Jung will be other Korean Top Team member and UFC middleweight Dongi Yang to the seminar.

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Dave Hess ~ Long Days And Hard Work

In every fighter's career an opportunity comes along to make a name for themselves by defeating an opponent with a well-known name. This Saturday, heavyweight fighter Dave Hess will get that opportunity as he faces off against UFC veteran "Irish" Jake O'Brien in the main event of "MMA Big Show: Triple Threat." MMASpot recently sat down with Dave to discuss his origins and his thoughts on the fight.

An Indiana native growing up in the town of Sunman, Hess has been an athlete his entire life. "I grew up playing football and got into wrestling at a pretty early age. I started wrestling before high school, maybe in fifth grade. I did just about every sport the school offered, but my main focus was wrestling. And I use a lot of that in my fights too, it's helped me out a lot."

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On The Spot ~ Rory MacDonald

Most teenage Canadian males have aspirations of one day playing along side the greatest hockey players in world. Rory MacDonald did not see it that way; at 16 years old he made his professional mixed martial arts debut. He made his start, with his parents permission, against Terry Thiara at "Extreme Fighting Challenge 4" in his native province of British Columbia, winning by way of rear-naked choke. MacDonald went on to win five fights in a row and captured the King Of The Cage lightweight championship belt at the tender age of 18.

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On The Spot ~ Rory MacDonald

Most teenage Canadian males have aspirations of one day playing along side the greatest hockey players in world. Rory MacDonald did not see it that way; at 16 years old he made his professional mixed martial arts debut. He made his start, with his parents permission, against Terry Thiara at "Extreme Fighting Challenge 4" in his native province of British Columbia, winning by way of rear-naked choke. MacDonald went on to win five fights in a row and captured the King Of The Cage lightweight championship belt at the tender age of 18.

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· Niko Vitale ~ Showing What He’s About

Hawaiian fighter Falaniko "Niko" Vitale has had an illustrious MMA career spanning more than a decade, appearing in major promotions such as the UFC, Strikeforce, Icon Sport, and the International Fight League (IFL). With 26 wins to only nine losses, Vitale has fought some of the toughest opponents in the world. In the coming months, Niko will return to fighting, after a year-long layoff, in his Shine Fights debut against Murilo "Ninja" Rua. MMA Spot recently sat down with Niko to discuss his past and his training.

Falaniko "Niko" Vitale was born in Hawaii and has lived there for most of his life. Growing up, he was constantly engaged in athletics. "I played sports all my life, football, baseball, basketball, messed around with boxing a little bit when I was 9 or 10. I wasn’t an amateur or anything but I did train." In addition to sports, Niko grew up influenced by his father's performing career. "My father was a fire dancer. It’s a Samoan fire dance called Siva Afi, a traditional dance performed by warriors back in the day. It was something that he grew up learning. I picked it up, I know how to do it. I performed twice though it wasn’t something that he really wanted me to do as a career because it’s a rough business to be in."

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· Niko Vitale ~ Showing What He’s About

Hawaiian fighter Falaniko "Niko" Vitale has had an illustrious MMA career spanning more than a decade, appearing in major promotions such as the UFC, Strikeforce, Icon Sport, and the International Fight League (IFL). With 26 wins to only nine losses, Vitale has fought some of the toughest opponents in the world. In the coming months, Niko will return to fighting, after a year-long layoff, in his Shine Fights debut against Murilo "Ninja" Rua. MMA Spot recently sat down with Niko to discuss his past and his training.

Falaniko "Niko" Vitale was born in Hawaii and has lived there for most of his life. Growing up, he was constantly engaged in athletics. "I played sports all my life, football, baseball, basketball, messed around with boxing a little bit when I was 9 or 10. I wasn’t an amateur or anything but I did train." In addition to sports, Niko grew up influenced by his father's performing career. "My father was a fire dancer. It’s a Samoan fire dance called Siva Afi, a traditional dance performed by warriors back in the day. It was something that he grew up learning. I picked it up, I know how to do it. I performed twice though it wasn’t something that he really wanted me to do as a career because it’s a rough business to be in."

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Springfield, Missouri’s middleweight prospect Zak Cummings recently made his Strikeforce debut where he put his perfect 10-0 record on the line against fellow up-and-comer Tim Kennedy. Cummings was handed his first ever loss that night, as part of the Strikeforce Challengers main event. However, the bout gained Cummings a lot of respect and some positive national exposure, showing his toughness and willingness to step up to upper echelon opponents.

Cummings is still a student at Missouri State University, where he’s majoring in exercise and movement science. He hopes to transfer on to physical therapy school once he graduates. Although, with his new found fame he may find time hard to come by as he prepares to help lead Stikeforce’s loaded middleweight division into the new year.Zak trains at the Springfield Fight Club and after a 6-0 amateur record he turned pro. As a professional he has collected seven stoppage victories by TKO or submission, and holds a decision win over UFC veteran Terry Martin. Cummings’ future in the sport is bright, as the well balanced fighter looks toward getting back into the cage in early 2010 to continue is ascent to the top of the rankings.

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"Ricardo Mayorga just signed to fight in Shine. I think he is afraid of me. If he does accept the fight I will put him into retirement and send him back to his fruit stand in Nicaragua. He will be wearing a straw hat, smoking cigarettes, and selling bananas once and for all. This is MMA and I will beat him standing or on the ground. I will let him pick how he wants to lose his first MMA fight."

-- The list of fighters lining up to welcome former pro boxer Ricardo Mayorga is growing longer and more distinguished by the day. Today, nine-time UFC fighter Din ‘Dinyero’ Thomas had some very strong words for the recent Shine Fights signee via MMA Spot. Thomas did not hold back when sending his message directly to Mayorga, his managers, and Shine Fights matchmakers.

The list of fighters lining up to welcome former pro boxer Ricardo Mayorga is growing longer and more distinguished by the day. Today, nine-time UFC fighter Din ‘Dinyero’ Thomas had some very strong words for the recent Shine Fights signee. Thomas did not hold back when sending his message directly to Mayorga, his managers, and Shine Fights matchmakers. "Ricardo Mayorga just signed to fight in Shine. I think he is afraid of me. If he does accept the fight I will put him into retirement and send him back to his fruit stand in Nicaragua. He will be wearing a straw hat, smoking cigarettes, and selling bananas once and for all. This is MMA and I will beat him standing or on the ground. I will let him pick how he wants to lose his first MMA fight." MMA Spot Article

As Ross ‘The Real Deal’ Pearson (10-3) prepares to step into the cage for his first fight as a full fledged member of the UFC roster at UFC 105 in Manchester, England, he took a break from sparring to speak with MMA Spot about his fight with Aaron Riley and his career. The most recent Ultimate Fighter knows he has the pressure of not only living up to the standards of a "TUF" champion, but also helping to carry the flag for England’s growing MMA presence.This humble, yet ferocious, lightweight got his start in the professional ranks by dominating England's MMA scene until he received the call to audition for Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show. He would earn his way into the house by winning his audition in front of UFC President Dana White and Team U.K. coach-to-be Michael Bisping.Once on the show and in the house, Ross had the opportunity to show the world his likable personality and the traits that would eventually take him to the finals of the tournament, defeating Richie Whitson (arm bar) and UFC veteran Jason Dent (unanimous decision). In the tournament, he faced off against friend and fellow U.K. teammate Andre Winner. After three grueling rounds, Pearson was awarded the decision and was crowned "The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs U.K." lightweight champion.

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As Ross ‘The Real Deal’ Pearson (10-3) prepares to step into the cage for his first fight as a full fledged member of the UFC roster at UFC 105 in Manchester, England, he took a break from sparring to speak with MMA Spot about his fight with Aaron Riley and his career. The most recent Ultimate Fighter knows he has the pressure of not only living up to the standards of a "TUF" champion, but also helping to carry the flag for England’s growing MMA presence.This humble, yet ferocious, lightweight got his start in the professional ranks by dominating England's MMA scene until he received the call to audition for Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show. He would earn his way into the house by winning his audition in front of UFC President Dana White and Team U.K. coach-to-be Michael Bisping.Once on the show and in the house, Ross had the opportunity to show the world his likable personality and the traits that would eventually take him to the finals of the tournament, defeating Richie Whitson (arm bar) and UFC veteran Jason Dent (unanimous decision). In the tournament, he faced off against friend and fellow U.K. teammate Andre Winner. After three grueling rounds, Pearson was awarded the decision and was crowned "The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs U.K." lightweight champion.

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On the heels of the news that Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves will be facing Jon Fitch at the Fedex forum in Memphis, Tenn. on December 12, several other key bouts have been added to UFC 107. The most notable contest is a bout between Kenny Florian and Clay Guida. The additions also feature the return of Paul ‘The Headhunter’ Buentello to the Octagon, where he will face the undefeated Todd Duffee.

Already official for the event were the main event and a feature bout. Headling the card is B.J. Penn (14-5-1) who will put his lightweight title on the line against Diego ‘Nightmare’ Sanchez (21-2). Penn is coming off of an impressive title defense over Kenny Florian at UFC 101 in August, in which he submitted the would-be challenger in the fourth round. Sanchez is undefeated since dropping from 170 lbs to 155 lbs and has won decisions over Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida.

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