animalmother
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Most MMA fans have either seen the guys from Tapout at various MMA events over the last 6-7 or so years or have watched the show they had on WEC (where the guys went around the country looking for new MMA fighters). From sherdog:
"Charles "Mask" Lewis, one of the founding members of the ultra-popular Tapout clothing brand, died in a car crash around 1 a.m. on Wednesday in Newport Beach, Calif., according to Orange County Coroner's Office spokesman Jim Amormino.
Lewis, a star of the Versus reality TV show "Tapout," was 45 years old.
Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene of an accident that involved his red Ferrari and a white Porsche, said Lt. Fox, of the Newport Beach Police Department. Toxicology tests on Lewis will not be available for a few weeks, said Amormino. Lewis' death will most likely be attributed to blunt force trauma and massive internal injuries, added Amormino.
A female, who was identified as Lewis' girlfriend by friends, was ejected from the car and rushed to Western Medical Center, where she is believed to be in stable condition.
Authorities have not been able to determine who was driving the Ferrari due to the excessive damage incurred.
The accident was not depicted as a race between cars, although the two vehicles were traveling alongside one another in the same direction on the three-lane Jamboree Road.
"The end of the accident was witnessed by one of our on-duty officers," said Lt. Fox. "What the officer saw -- he was driving in the opposite direction –- he saw two vehicles out of control, spinning around. One, a red Ferrari hit the curb, struck a pole and broke in half."
Lt. Fox said the officer observed a white Porsche stop at the scene and then take off a few seconds later southbound on Jamboree Road.
Skid marks were recorded at the scene, said Lt. Fox, denoting high speeds may have been involved.
A second police unit retrieved the Porsche, which also had moderate body damage, a short distance away from the accident on a side street. A man identified as Jeffery D. Kirby and a woman were observed walking away from the vehicle.
"Through an investigation of the officers, it was determined that the male was the driver of the Porsche," said Lt. Fox.
Kirby, 51, of Costa Mesa, Calif., was arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, while the unidentified female was charged with public intoxication. Kirby is being held on $1 million bail at the Newport Beach Jail.
The well-liked Lewis left an indelible mark in mixed martial arts. As one of three founding members of the "Tapout Crew," Lewis and his partners debuted their logo in November 1997 and built a multimillion-dollar clothing business virtually from scratch, selling T-shirts out of their cars at grassroots events into the early 2000s. Lewis and his partners were noted for their dedication to the sport's advancement, as well as their generosity as sponsors to countless MMA fighters.
Lewis also trained with many of the sport's athletes and was anonymously featured with former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz on the cover of the UFC video game "Throwdown."
Lewis' alter ego, the heavily tattooed, face-painted "Mask," was a fan favorite at events alongside his cohorts "Skyscrape" and "Punkass," and were known for their outrageous costumes and outgoing behavior. The "Tapout" name quickly became synonymous with the sport, especially with the support it received from the UFC and numerous champion fighters.
The jet-setting trio became the subject of the "Tapout" reality TV series on Versus debuting in June 2007, where the crew toured the nation to scout out promising up-and-comers to don their brand. The series ended its second season in September 2008.
Friends have said that Lewis is survived by a brother."
Sad to hear of this man's passing.
Rampage Jackson will not be fighting Rashad Evens in May. Lyoto Machida will be gettin his shot:
"UFC President Dana White confirmed Wednesday that Lyoto Machida, not Quinton Jackson, will challenge champion Rashad Evans for the light heavyweight title at UFC 98 on May 23.
In an interview with Yahoo Sports, White said Jackson needs jaw surgery and would not be ready for UFC 98.
The Jackson-Evans matchup, which was hyped Saturday following Jackson's win over Keith Jardine at UFC 96, was intended to replace the Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir main event that was postponed after Mir's knee surgery.
Evans told Sherdog.com on Monday that he had a "feeling" that Jackson would not be able to fight. In Machida, he faces an opponent who, like himself, is undefeated.
"The kid's been phenomenal," Evans said of Machida. "He's been better than phenomenal. He's been looking better every fight. But that's the fight business. That's the fun part about a fight is the fact that you go in there with an opponent that sometimes seems insurmountable. But then you figure it out and that makes the victory that much sweeter. With that said, there may be some kinks in his armor that I have yet to see that I can exploit when I look at the tapes more closely. Nobody's unbeatable. Machida's been looking slicker than I don't know what, but everybody has a weakness even if you do look slick as oil. Everyone has a weakness."
This is a legit super fight. First, it is a title fight in one of the most stacked weight divisions in all of MMA. Second, both guys are also fighting to remain undefeated.
"Charles "Mask" Lewis, one of the founding members of the ultra-popular Tapout clothing brand, died in a car crash around 1 a.m. on Wednesday in Newport Beach, Calif., according to Orange County Coroner's Office spokesman Jim Amormino.
Lewis, a star of the Versus reality TV show "Tapout," was 45 years old.
Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene of an accident that involved his red Ferrari and a white Porsche, said Lt. Fox, of the Newport Beach Police Department. Toxicology tests on Lewis will not be available for a few weeks, said Amormino. Lewis' death will most likely be attributed to blunt force trauma and massive internal injuries, added Amormino.
A female, who was identified as Lewis' girlfriend by friends, was ejected from the car and rushed to Western Medical Center, where she is believed to be in stable condition.
Authorities have not been able to determine who was driving the Ferrari due to the excessive damage incurred.
The accident was not depicted as a race between cars, although the two vehicles were traveling alongside one another in the same direction on the three-lane Jamboree Road.
"The end of the accident was witnessed by one of our on-duty officers," said Lt. Fox. "What the officer saw -- he was driving in the opposite direction –- he saw two vehicles out of control, spinning around. One, a red Ferrari hit the curb, struck a pole and broke in half."
Lt. Fox said the officer observed a white Porsche stop at the scene and then take off a few seconds later southbound on Jamboree Road.
Skid marks were recorded at the scene, said Lt. Fox, denoting high speeds may have been involved.
A second police unit retrieved the Porsche, which also had moderate body damage, a short distance away from the accident on a side street. A man identified as Jeffery D. Kirby and a woman were observed walking away from the vehicle.
"Through an investigation of the officers, it was determined that the male was the driver of the Porsche," said Lt. Fox.
Kirby, 51, of Costa Mesa, Calif., was arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, while the unidentified female was charged with public intoxication. Kirby is being held on $1 million bail at the Newport Beach Jail.
The well-liked Lewis left an indelible mark in mixed martial arts. As one of three founding members of the "Tapout Crew," Lewis and his partners debuted their logo in November 1997 and built a multimillion-dollar clothing business virtually from scratch, selling T-shirts out of their cars at grassroots events into the early 2000s. Lewis and his partners were noted for their dedication to the sport's advancement, as well as their generosity as sponsors to countless MMA fighters.
Lewis also trained with many of the sport's athletes and was anonymously featured with former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz on the cover of the UFC video game "Throwdown."
Lewis' alter ego, the heavily tattooed, face-painted "Mask," was a fan favorite at events alongside his cohorts "Skyscrape" and "Punkass," and were known for their outrageous costumes and outgoing behavior. The "Tapout" name quickly became synonymous with the sport, especially with the support it received from the UFC and numerous champion fighters.
The jet-setting trio became the subject of the "Tapout" reality TV series on Versus debuting in June 2007, where the crew toured the nation to scout out promising up-and-comers to don their brand. The series ended its second season in September 2008.
Friends have said that Lewis is survived by a brother."
Sad to hear of this man's passing.
Rampage Jackson will not be fighting Rashad Evens in May. Lyoto Machida will be gettin his shot:
"UFC President Dana White confirmed Wednesday that Lyoto Machida, not Quinton Jackson, will challenge champion Rashad Evans for the light heavyweight title at UFC 98 on May 23.
In an interview with Yahoo Sports, White said Jackson needs jaw surgery and would not be ready for UFC 98.
The Jackson-Evans matchup, which was hyped Saturday following Jackson's win over Keith Jardine at UFC 96, was intended to replace the Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir main event that was postponed after Mir's knee surgery.
Evans told Sherdog.com on Monday that he had a "feeling" that Jackson would not be able to fight. In Machida, he faces an opponent who, like himself, is undefeated.
"The kid's been phenomenal," Evans said of Machida. "He's been better than phenomenal. He's been looking better every fight. But that's the fight business. That's the fun part about a fight is the fact that you go in there with an opponent that sometimes seems insurmountable. But then you figure it out and that makes the victory that much sweeter. With that said, there may be some kinks in his armor that I have yet to see that I can exploit when I look at the tapes more closely. Nobody's unbeatable. Machida's been looking slicker than I don't know what, but everybody has a weakness even if you do look slick as oil. Everyone has a weakness."
This is a legit super fight. First, it is a title fight in one of the most stacked weight divisions in all of MMA. Second, both guys are also fighting to remain undefeated.
