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Congratulations on the opening of your gym last week. How did the grand opening go?
It was great. It was a lot better than we had even expected. We had started planning it about 3 weeks before we wanted to do it so it was a little rushed, but the outcome was incredible.

There have been some conflicting reports on your status with TNA Wrestling, which recently started going head-to-head with the WWE on Monday nights. What is your status with the company?
As far as I know, I'm not working with them. At the time things started getting really built up with fighting and signing with Strikeforce and everything, it was just kind of hard doing both at the same time. We tried to work something, but I guess it didn't work. So as far as I know, I'm on the future endeavored lists (laughs).

How would you describe your time with TNA Wrestling?
It was cool, I met a lot of real cool people there. It was a really cool time. Everybody gets along real well, they have a good atmosphere, they work hard. They have a lot of potential with that company.

Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff recently joined the organization and took over the creative reigns of the company. That are your thoughts on the changes that they've been making?
I think it's good. Having someone like Hogan on your side, it's always going to be a good deal. I think Hogan's going to bring a lot of the stardom to the organization that they need. He's an icon of the business, so of course, he's only going to make it better.

TNA Wrestling just recently re-started the famous Monday night wars of the 90's by moving their television show head-to-head against RAW on Monday nights. Having wrestled for both companies, how would you compare the two?
It's a hard comparison, each company has their own view of where they want to be and what they want to do. So it's kind of like comparing apples to oranges. I enjoyed WWE, WWE catered to the masses and they really pushed the entertainment aspect of it and TNA was a bunch of guys that really wanted to take it further and work hard. They had some great workers over there [in TNA]... I think they're both great organizations.

Everlast will become the exclusive equipment provider for Bellator, including fight gloves, cages and training equipment. Additionally, Everlast will produce a line of co-branded MMA equipment that will be available nationwide through catalog, online and retail.

Everlast will also be a category-exclusive promotional sponsor of all Bellator events and the two companies will both strategically market, promote, publicize and advertise their partnership through a wide variety of channels.

"This is a proud moment for Bellator," said the company's founder and CEO, Bjorn Rebney. "Everlast is one of America's most iconic brands and they have a 100-year history of providing the best-quality equipment for professional and amateur fighters around the world. We are thrilled that our fighters will be using Everlast gear and are also very pleased to have Everlast's support as a category-exclusive sponsor."

Bellator Fighting Championships marks a unique step forward in the evolution of professional MMA. Bellator is a first-of-its-kind, nationally televised, weekly mixed martial arts promotion that allows fighters to control their own destiny, eliminating the subjectivity of matchmaking and utilizing the tournament-based model used by every other professional sport.

"Built on 100 years of experience, no other brand in fight sports is as authentic or has a deeper understanding of a fighter's needs, wants and desires than Everlast," said Adam Geisler, president of Everlast. "Bellator is one of the most innovative and respected brands in the MMA industry and their tournament format reflects their own unique authenticity and understanding of the professional fighter. We are extremely excited and believe this partnership provides a tremendous opportunity to lift both brands to a new level."

Marketing support for the partnership includes retail signage, promotions, a dedicated online and print advertising campaign, and social media activation.

UFC Primetime, produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a look into the lives of perhaps the world's best pound for pound fighter, St-Pierre, and Hardy, the man looking to unseat him at the top of the welterweight ladder.

As the two prepare for their meeting in late March, Spike TV will present three special weekly installments that will take viewers across the pond to Nottingham, England as Hardy trains with the rest of his Rough House team, and back to North America to Montreal to see how St-Pierre, one of the most beloved athletes in Canada, is preparing for his title defense.

UFC Primetime delivers an extraordinary amount of access to two of mixed martial arts' best, as they head into what could be the signature fight of 2010 at UFC 111.

5thRound.com caught up with JoeB135 over the weekend and the stud didn't pull any punches when asked where he stood on the 135-pound totem pole.

"I think there's no one out there more deserving of a title shot than me," Benavidez told us in an exclusive interview. "I've fought the champion already, that's the only reason they wouldn't do the title shot. I think I'm definitely the number one contender. I just don't know if they want to see a rematch."

Benavidez holds an impressive 12-1 professional record, however his only blemish came in a unanimous decision loss at WEC 42 to newly-minted bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz.

Although their initial meeting didn't go as planned, the Alpha Male-trained athlete claims he's a completely different fighter than when they squared-off last August and for that reason, the 25-year-old believes the outcome will be entirely different if he was granted a rematch.

"Well for one, I'd win," Benavidez said of a potential mulligan against the reigning title holder. "Dominick Cruz is a great opponent, he has an amazing style. I think it'd be a great fight, it'd be one of the best fights. We'd get to go five-rounds with our pace. I think it would be one of the best fights that you could ask for.

"I just know I could go out there and beat him."

Watch Benavidez's exclusive interview with 5thRound.com as he addresses his utter destruction of Torres, the future of the bantamweight division, as well as a potential rematch with Cruz:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS4jyIOLG6I&feature=player_embedded