Sunday, July 31, 2016

7/31/16

It was an important weekend for WMMA and it was only right that Invicta FC 18 kicked it off. Bantamweight Cindy Dandois defeated Jessamyn Duke with an armbar that came at 1:33 of round 1. Strawweight Mizuki Inoue echoed the fight before her when she submitted Lynn Alvarez by armbar at 3:00 of round 2. Young Polish phenom Agnieszka Niedzwiedz defeated fellow Flyweight Christine Stanley via unanimous decision. And finally, Strawweight Alexa Grasso remained undefeated when she took home a unanimous decision against Jodie Esquibel.

At RFA 41 Lightweight Alexander Hernandez took out Chris Pecero via rear naked choke at 1:27 of round 1. Featherweight Jamall Emmers bounced back from a loss with a unanimous decision win over Rivaldo Junior. And in the main event Middleweight Trevin Giles looked impressive against Josh Clark, defeating him via rear naked choke at 1:10 of round 2.

Two titles were on the line at WSOF 32. But before all of that, brother took on brother as Welterweight superhero Ben "Phoenix" Jones fought Caros Fodor. Caros took home bragging rights with a unanimous decision. In the first of two title fights, Lance Palmer reclaimed his Featherweight belt when he defeated Alexandre Almeida via majority decision. Marlon Moraes dramatically retained his Bantamweight belt when he knocked out Josh Hill with a head kick at :38 of round 2.

Finishing off a busy weekend of fights was UFC 201. Bantamweight Erik Perez out slugged Francisco Rivera for a unanimous decision victory. Welterweight Jake Ellenberger defeated Matt Brown via TKO at 1:46 of round 1. Karolina Kowalkiewicz set up a future date with Joanna Jedrzejczyk when she defeated "Thug" Rose Namajunas by split decision. And in the main event Tyron Woodley captured the Welterweight belt with a nasty KO of "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler at 2:12 of round 1.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan has resigned with the promotion. However, Rogan will commentate less fights than before.

A matchup between MMA legends Gegard Mousasi and Vitor Belfort has been scheduled for UFC 204.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

7/24/16

At a submission filled Legacy FC 58, Lightweight Josh Quayhagen defeated Reynaldo Trujillo by unanimous decision. Robert Drysdale took home the vacant Light Heavyweight belt when he submitted Ryan Spann via rear naked choke at 2:58 of round 2.

Bellator 159 saw Featherweight Daniel Weichel win an odd split decision against Emmanuel Sanchez. Women's Flyweight Emily Ducote looked impressive when she defeated Bruna Vargas via rear naked choke at :29 of round 2. Lightweight (soon to be Welterweight) Melvin Guillard finally got his first Bellator win when he knocked out David Rickels at 2:14 of round 1. And in the main event Bantamweight Joe Taimanglo came back to submit Darrion Caldwell at :09 of round 3.

UFC on FOX 20 featured the return of two popular female fighters, though one fared much better than the other. One of them, Women's Strawweight Felice Herrig, won by way of rear naked choke against Kailin Curran at 1:59 of round 1. Heavyweight Francis Ngannou kept his streak alive against UFC newcomer Bojan Mihajovic when he won via TKO at 1:34 of round 1. Edson Barboza earned a unanimous decision win over former Lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. And Women's Bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko upset Holly Holm by unanimous decision.

The NSAC confirmed that UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive for estrogen blockers and has been temporarily suspended.

UFC Heavyweight Brock Lesnar also tested positive for a banned substance following his UFC 200 victory over Mark Hunt.

The TUF 24 cast has been announced and will feature two former UFC Flyweight fighters, Tim Elliot and Damacio Page. The winner of the tournament will get a title shot against Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson.


Sunday, July 17, 2016

7/17/16

This weeks MMA action actually kicked off on Wednesday with UFC Fight Night 91. And while the viewership was not very good, the fights were. Welterweight Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura defeated Kyle Noke via rear naked choke at 4:59 of round 2. Middleweight Tim Boetsch rebounded from a three fight losing skid by finishing Josh Samman via TKO at 3:49 of round 2. Lightweight Tony "El Cucuy" Ferguson survived a near upset defeat with a D'arce choke of UFC newcomer Lando Vannata at 2:22 of round 2. And in the main event John Lineker made his case for a Flyweight title shot with an impressive first round KO of Michael McDonald at 2:43.

RFA 40 saw Bantamweight Terrion Ware win a unanimous decision over Marvin Blumer. And in the main event former Flyweight Chico Camus made it look easy against Czar Sklavos, winning by unanimous decision.

At Victory FC 52, which aired on UFC Fight Pass, Welterweight Dakota Cochrane took out Jason Witt via rear naked choke at 3:17 of round 2. Maki Pitolo remained undefeated with the promotion and took home the Welterweight belt in the process when he defeated Kassius Holdorf by unanimous decision.

Finishing off the weekend was Bellator 158, the promotions debut in London, England. Welterweight phenom Michael "Venom" Page knocked out Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos at 4:31 of round 1. Light Heavyweight Francis Carmont defeated Lukasz Klinger via D'arce choke at 3:54 of round 1. In what was the most exciting fight of the night, Heavyweight Matt Mitrione knocked out Oli Thompson at 4:21 of round 2. And in the main event, former Welterweight champion Douglas Lima upset Paul "semtex" Daley's homecoming with a unanimous decision.

The UFC has been sold to WME-IMG. Dana White will remain on board as president.

UFC and Bellator veteran Paul Bradley has signed with WSOF.

The World MMA Association has overturned the results of the Fedor Emelianenko and Fabio Maldonado fight to a draw.

A Lightweight contest between Patricio "Pitbull" Freire and Benson Henderson will headline Bellator 160.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

7/10/16

Boy do we have a lot to go over...

Let's kick things off with UFC Fight Night 90, the first of three UFC events this past week. Lightweight Joseph Duffy choked out Mitch Clarke with a rear naked choke at just :25 of round 1. Welterweight Alan Jouban defeated Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision. Despite knocking out his opponents tooth, Heavyweight Derrick Lewis only won a split decision against Roy "Big Country" Nelson. And in the main event, Lightweight Eddie Alvarez became the first fighter ever to hold a belt in Bellator and the UFC by defeating Rafael dos Anjos via TKO at 3:49 of round 1.

Two titles were up for grabs in the most overlooked fight card of the weekend. Cage Warriors 77 in London, England saw Chris Fishgold claim the vacant Lightweight strap with a rear naked choke of opponent Adam Boussif at 1:33 of round 1. Jack Marshman won the vacant Middleweight belt when he dispatched of Christopher Jacquelin via TKO at 4:58 of round 1.

At The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale - the second of three UFC events - former Bellator Lightweight champion Will Brooks made a successful debut with a unanimous decision over Ross Pearson. Tatiana Suarez won the TUF Women's Strawweight tournament in impressive fashion when she sunk in a D'arce choke on Amanda Cooper at 3:23 of round 1. The TUF Light Heavyweight tournament was won by Andrew Sanchez when he completely dominated Khalil Rountree for three rounds. Sanchez won by unanimous decision. Joanna Jedrzejczyk came back from a slow start to out strike Claudia Gadelha. Jedrzejczyk won by unanimous decision to retain her Strawweight belt.

Finally, UFC 200. Kicking off the main card, Heavyweight Cain Velasquez took out Travis Browne via TKO at 4:57 of round 1. Jose Aldo rebounded from his loss to Conor McGregor by claiming the vacant Featherweight title against Frankie Edgar. He did so by unanimous decision. Daniel Cormier defeated late replacement Anderson Silva by unanimous decision in a Light Heavyweight non title bout. Heavyweight Brock Lesnar returned to MMA after five years. Lesnar won a unanimous decision against Mark Hunt. In the main event, Amanda Nunes snatched the Women's Bantamweight title from Miesha Tate by utilizing pinpoint striking and her ground skills. Nunes won via rear naked choke at 3:16 of round 1.

Former Heavyweight champion Frank Mir has requested release from the UFC.

Michael Bisping will look to defend his Middleweight belt in a rematch against MMA legend Dan Henderson.  

Sunday, July 3, 2016

7/3/16

Twas the week before UFC 200 and all through the land, people were preparing, but wait just one minute... there were still other MMA events to be watched!

A lot went down at ONE Championship 44 in China, including a Flyweight tournament and a title fight. Starting with the Flyweight tournament, Bu Huo You Ga won it all by first dispatching of Wan Jian Ping via guillotine at 1:24 of round 2 and then defeating Li Hao Jie by unanimous decision. Mongolian MMA veteran Narantungalag Jadambaa made quick work of Eric Kelly, winning the Featherweight belt in the process, with a KO coming at :44 of round 1.

At Legacy FC 57, Middleweight Charles Byrd took out Quentin Henry in a quick but back and forth fight that ended by TKO at 2:50 of round 1. Welterweight Derrick Krantz furthered the fight cards streak of finishes with a first round rear naked choke of Dave Burrow at 4:22. In the main event Kevin Aguilar claimed with vacant Featherweight title with a split decision win over Tony Kelley.

Three major match-ups have been added to UFC 202 including two Welterweight fights that see Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone take on Rick "The Horror" Story and Carlos Condit versus Damien Maia. The third fight sees Light Heavyweight contenders Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and Glover Teixeira go to war.

"JZ" Cavalcante will defend his Lightweight title against challenger Freddy Assuncao at Titan FC 40.

A Light Heavyweight super fight between UFC veterans Dan Spohn and Matt Hamill will headline CFFC 60.