UFC Creator And RipeTV Launch XARM, First Combat Sport For The Digital Age

Courtesy of Ripe Digital Entertainment:

LOS ANGELES, Nov 18, 2008 -- RipeTV.com, the web’s top destination for short-form video entertainment for men 18-34, teams with UFC creator Art Davie to debut an entirely new sport, created for the digital platform: the first-ever XARM Heavyweight Tournament on November 19, 2008.

The XARM tournament, consisting of 10 fighters, combines arm wrestling with contact sports like boxing and martial arts. The first competition takes place in San Bernardino, CA. The winner of the Heavyweight Tournament will earn the title of “XARM Heavyweight Champion” and the top prize of $10,000.

“In XARM, there’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide once you step up to the table. It’s hard-core hand-to-hand combat.” said Art Davie, CEO of XARM and creator of Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC). “The action is tremendous. This is the most intense 3 minutes in sports.”

“It’s action, it’s entertaining, it’s real,” said Ryan Magnussen, CEO of Ripe Digital Entertainment. “We know our audience will love this show and advertisers will benefit from the viewer interest and expected viral pass through.”

The fighters in this first-ever tournament come from a variety of fighting backgrounds including mixed-martial arts (MMA), arm wrestling, weightlifting, football and kickboxing. Athletes participating in the XARM Heavyweight Championships are: Bond Laupua, Rick Vardell, Homer Moore, Justin Del Mugnaio, Rick Cheek, Frederick Steen, Ivan Gatoloai, Steve Walston, James Cordrey and Andy Flennoy.

An XARM bout features 3 one-minute rounds with athletes tethered to the XARM table in a belted harness. The combatants’ grip hands are strapped together and fighting gloves are worn on their free hands. Punching, striking, kicking, chokeholds, and submission moves are all part of the official XARM rules. The winner of the match is the first athlete to pin his opponent’s arm, knock him out or make him submit.

In the event the bout goes the full three minutes and a decision is needed, three XARM-trained judges score the match on a special, “10-point must” system.

Ripe Digital Entertainment (www.ripetv.com) will also release XARM match video via VOD (Video On Demand) on Time Warner Cable and Comcast as well as via its mobile partners for view on handheld devices. XARM is optimized for the limited screen size of mobile digital delivery due to the small circumference of the tethered fighting area, bringing viewers as close to the action as they’ve ever been in combat sports.

About Ripe Digital (www.ripedigital.com)

Ripe Digital Entertainment was founded in 2004 as a multi-platform entertainment destination for men and has emerged as a leading digital media Company with distribution to 100 million screens across the Internet, Cable VOD and Mobile video enabled devises. Ripe is exclusively focused on producing, editorializing and monetizing entertaining short-form video programming around men’s lifestyle, automotive enthusiasts and music.

About XARM (www.xarm.com)

XARM is a new combat sport wholly owned by Piranha Entertainment LLC. Working with Art Davie, the creator of the hugely successful Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC), Piranha has set plans to develop a live sports league with multiple revenue streams for the domestic and international marketplaces. Based in Seattle with offices in Los Angeles, Piranha Entertainment creates and produces concepts and content for all forms of broadcast media, with a focus on digital platforms.

Note from Ric: Folks, I know a good idea when I hear one, and this ain't even close.