TapouT Owner Dies in Horrific Ferrari Crash
TMZ has confirmed the owner of the TapouT MMA clothing line died this morning when his ultra-rare $300,000 Ferrari crashed into a light pole, ripping the car in half.
TMZ has learned Charles Lewis Jr. -- aka "Mask" -- was driving his Ferrari Modena in Orange County, Calif. around 1:00 AM this morning when cops say it "left the roadway, hit the curb, took out a light pole."
"Mask" was declared dead at the scene. A female passenger -- who was ejected from the crash -- was taken to a local hospital, but we're told she's in bad shape.
Cops believe "Mask" was racing a guy in a Porsche at the time of the crash, and authorities have since arrested the guy they believe was driving the other car. That man -- Jeffrey David Kirby -- is being held on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter.
RIP Mask
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BJ Penn and his crew will not let this go.
PENN FILES COMPLAINT WITH NSAC
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/tem ... 7&zoneid=2
After a month of telegraphing their intentions, B.J. Penn and his representatives have filed a formal complaint against Georges St. Pierre.
The 20-page document, filed on Monday with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, requests sanctions against St. Pierre, his cornermen, and other unknown licensees of the commission, and requests a formal hearing into the matter.
The complaint, drafted by Penn legal representative Raffi A. Nahabedian, of the Rosenfeld law firm in Las Vegas, Nevada, alleges that St. Pierre and his camp knowingly used illegal greasing agents to affect the outcome of his fight with Penn at UFC 94 on Jan. 31 in Las Vegas.
Penn succumbed to St. Pierres furious ground and pound attack 20 minutes after their encounter began, with Penns cornermen throwing in the towel between the fourth and fifth rounds.
Controversy erupted inside the cage between the first and second rounds when the NSAC was alerted to the inappropriate use of Vaseline by St. Pierre cornerman Phil Nurse. Officials wiped the welterweight champion down with a towel between rounds and monitored the corner closely until the bouts halt.
The document cites unnamed mixed martial arts fighters who complained about St. Pierres use of greasing agents as evidence of his culpability.
It is Penns belief that the aforementioned strategies were intentional and were orchestrated by Pierre as a means to unfairly and illegally defeat Penn in a regulated and sanctioned championship bout that prohibits the aforementioned conduct and that such calculated actions by Pierre were implemented as a means to prevent Penn from defending himself in a manner consistent with that contemplated in unarmed combat due to the highly and unnaturally slippery nature of Pierre during the bout, the document states.
Penn and his representative also allege that St. Pierre ingested a substance that would cause his body to become highly and unnaturally slippery during the bout.
Nurse, Jackson trainer Greg Jackson, and the unknown parties are named as co-conspirators to St. Pierres use of the agents.
The complaint requests numerous punishments for St. Pierres camp. It asks the commission to fine St. Pierre, Jackson, Nurse, and the unnamed parties up to $250,000; suspend St. Pierres license as well as the licenses of Jackson, Nurse, and the unnamed parties; change the result of the bout to a no contest; and require Pierre undergo a pre-bout shower to make sure no substances exist on his body.
St. Pierres manager, Sherri Spencer, had not read the document and would not comment to MMAWeekly.com until she had reviewed it.
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A championship battle of undefeated light heavyweights is slated to headline UFC 98, SI.com has confirmed.
Rashad Evans (13-0-1) will defend his UFC belt May 23 against Lyoto Machida (14-0).