It's not every weekend that the UFC is the first promotion to hold an event. Typically, the Ultimate Fighting Championship puts on fights Saturday night, but since the event took place in Abu Dubai we were able to watch on Friday afternoon. In the co-main event Featherweight Clay Guida defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri by unanimous decision in a contest that was deemed "Fight of the Night". The main event saw Heavyweight Roy "Big Country" Nelson knockout veteran Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with a vicious right hook at 3:37 of round 1.
At Bellator 116 Light Heavyweight Joey Beltran sunk in a north south choke on Vladimir Matyushenko to win at 3:06 of round 3. Former Heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov advanced to the tournament final with a head kick KO of Mighty Mo at just 2:44 of round 1. Volkov will take on fellow Heavyweight Blagoi Ivanov in the final. Ivanov won by americana at 4:08 of round 1 over Lavar Johnson.
The vacant Flyweight title was on the line at RFA 14. Matt Manzanares claimed that belt by taking a split decision over Junior Maranhao. It seemed like it was a pretty clear decision in favor of Manzanares but for whatever reason the judges thought otherwise. Either way the rightful victor took home the title.
Bantamweight champion Brett Johns looked to defend his belt at Cage Warriors 67 but that did and didn't happen. Confused? I bet. Johns missed weight and was stripped of the belt so technically it was never on the line. He did however win a one sided unanimous decision over James Brum.
One time UFC Welterweight title contender Jake Shields has been released from the promotion.
Eduardo Dantas will defend his Bantamweight title against former champion Joe Warren at Bellator 118.
Lightweight Melvin Guillard has signed with the WSOF.
Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson will defend his Flyweight belt against Ali Bagautinov in the main event of UFC 174. It will be Johnson's first time headlining a pay per view.
Bellator Middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko will take on Tito Ortiz in a Light Heavyweight bout. The fight will take place at Bellator's first ever pay per view event on May 17.
Leonard Garcia will defend his Featherweight belt for the first time against Damon Jackson at Legacy FC 33.
UFC Women's Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will defend her title at UFC 175. The co-main event fight will be against Alexis Davis.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
4/6/14
Bellator 115 opened the weekend with an injury filled fight card that saw two key fights not even take place. The result was a last second, thrown together main card that was rather lackluster. In the main event Vitaly Minakov defended his Heavyweight belt for the first time against Cheick Kongo. Kongo, who is infamous for throwing illegal blows, was actually on the receiving end of two groin shots which led to a one point penalty early in the fight. Despite the penalty, Minakov was still able to win via unanimous decision by combining wrestling and a nice clench based attack.
At Legacy FC 30 Holly Holm claimed the Women's Bantamweight title by completely dominating Juliana Werner. Holm won by landing a head kick that led to a ground and pound TKO at 1:50 of round 5. It is still uncertain whether or not Holm's next fight will be in the UFC.
The Titan FC 28 main event has been announced and it originally featured two former UFC fighters. Light Heavyweight Vinny Magalhaes was suppose to fight Jason Brilz but days after the announcement Magalhaes had to pull out of the fight. Brilz will now take on Raphael Davis.
UFC Light Heavyweights Daniel Cormier and Dan Henderson have verbally agreed to fight one another. The winner will get a title shot but only after Alexander Gustafsson gets his first.
At Legacy FC 30 Holly Holm claimed the Women's Bantamweight title by completely dominating Juliana Werner. Holm won by landing a head kick that led to a ground and pound TKO at 1:50 of round 5. It is still uncertain whether or not Holm's next fight will be in the UFC.
The Titan FC 28 main event has been announced and it originally featured two former UFC fighters. Light Heavyweight Vinny Magalhaes was suppose to fight Jason Brilz but days after the announcement Magalhaes had to pull out of the fight. Brilz will now take on Raphael Davis.
UFC Light Heavyweights Daniel Cormier and Dan Henderson have verbally agreed to fight one another. The winner will get a title shot but only after Alexander Gustafsson gets his first.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
3/30/14
At Cage Warriors Fight Night 10, Middleweight Abu Azaitar finished off an exciting fight card by earning a TKO on Jack Marshman at just :34 of round 1.
Bellator 114 featured semifinal fights in both the Middleweight and Featherweight divisions. The main event saw the Middleweight belt on the line as veteran Alexander Shlemenko looked to defend it for the third time. Shlemenko did just that against Brennan Ward by submitting him via guillotine at 1:22 of round 2 to remain champion.
The XFC continued rolling with their international events with XFCi 3 in Sao Paulo Brazil. In the main event XFC veteran and fan favorite Luis "Sapo" Santos defeated fellow Lightweight Alfredo Morales by landing a devastating front kick that could be a candidate for knockout of the year. The KO came at 1:34 of round 3. This win was the 60th of Santos's career.
The WSOF returned with perhaps their most impressive event yet. Former UFC Middleweight Yushin Okami dominated Svetlozar Savov with impressive judo and ground and pound which led to a win via arm triangle at 4:46 of round 2. Marlon Moraes won the inaugural Bantamweight belt by battering Josh Rettinghouse with leg kicks for five rounds. The kicks resulted in some pretty nasty bruising and even dropped Rettinghouse on several occasions. Moraes won by unanimous decision. The main event saw the return of controversial fighter Rousimar Palhares. The Welterweight belt was on the line and Palhares claimed it from Steve Carl in his usual fashion, by first round heel hook. The submission came at just 1:09 of round 1.
Middleweight champion Chris Weidman is out of his UFC 173 title fight with Lyoto Machida. Bantamweight champion Renan Barao will now serve as the main event, defending his belt against T.J. Dillashaw.
Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will fight Gilbert Melendez at the UFC year end event following their coaching rolls on The Ultimate Fighter.
Matt Riddle and Jose Landi-Jons will fight for the vacant Welterweight title at Titan FC 29. The fight card will feature several former UFC fighters including Vinny Magalhaes, Jason Brilz and Dave Herman.
Bellator 114 featured semifinal fights in both the Middleweight and Featherweight divisions. The main event saw the Middleweight belt on the line as veteran Alexander Shlemenko looked to defend it for the third time. Shlemenko did just that against Brennan Ward by submitting him via guillotine at 1:22 of round 2 to remain champion.
The XFC continued rolling with their international events with XFCi 3 in Sao Paulo Brazil. In the main event XFC veteran and fan favorite Luis "Sapo" Santos defeated fellow Lightweight Alfredo Morales by landing a devastating front kick that could be a candidate for knockout of the year. The KO came at 1:34 of round 3. This win was the 60th of Santos's career.
The WSOF returned with perhaps their most impressive event yet. Former UFC Middleweight Yushin Okami dominated Svetlozar Savov with impressive judo and ground and pound which led to a win via arm triangle at 4:46 of round 2. Marlon Moraes won the inaugural Bantamweight belt by battering Josh Rettinghouse with leg kicks for five rounds. The kicks resulted in some pretty nasty bruising and even dropped Rettinghouse on several occasions. Moraes won by unanimous decision. The main event saw the return of controversial fighter Rousimar Palhares. The Welterweight belt was on the line and Palhares claimed it from Steve Carl in his usual fashion, by first round heel hook. The submission came at just 1:09 of round 1.
Middleweight champion Chris Weidman is out of his UFC 173 title fight with Lyoto Machida. Bantamweight champion Renan Barao will now serve as the main event, defending his belt against T.J. Dillashaw.
Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will fight Gilbert Melendez at the UFC year end event following their coaching rolls on The Ultimate Fighter.
Matt Riddle and Jose Landi-Jons will fight for the vacant Welterweight title at Titan FC 29. The fight card will feature several former UFC fighters including Vinny Magalhaes, Jason Brilz and Dave Herman.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
3/23/14
Legacy FC 29 kicked off the weekend of MMA. Featherweight Jonathan Brookins returned from his long lay off to win via rear naked choke over Cody Fuller at 3:02 of round 2. In the main event Paul Buentello lost a controversial split decision to Myron Dennis. Leonard Garcia was suppose to fight for the Featherweight belt but his opponent had to drop out of the fight last second due to suffering from the flu. Garcia was still awarded the belt.
Bellator 113 marked the unification of the light heavyweight belts. Emanuel Newton took on Attila Vegh. The two first met at Bellator 72 with Vegh taking a controversial split decision. This time Newton took home a split decision of his own, successfully unifying the belts in his favor.
At Cage Warriors 66 Nicolas Dalby won the vacant Welterweight title by defeating Sergei Churilov via TKO at 2:19 of round 4.
The UFC headed down to Brazil for UFC Fight Night 38. Welterweight C.B. Dollaway made quick work of Cezar Ferreira by TKOing him at just :39 of round 1. Light Heavyweight Dan Henderson won the second of two epic meetings between himself and "Shogun" Rua. Henderson landed one of his signature right hands on "Shogun" which ended the fight by TKO at 1:31 of round 3.
Welterweights Danny Roberts and Jim Wallhead will headline Cage Warriors 68.
Lightweight Benson Henderson will next fight Rustam Khabilov at a UFC event in Albuquerque in June. The fight will serve as the main event.
Cage Warriors Lightweight champion Ivan Buchinger has announced that he is vacating his belt. Curt Warburton and Stevie Ray will fight for it at Cage Warriors 69.
Lightweight veteran Melvin Guillard has been released from the UFC.
Bellator 113 marked the unification of the light heavyweight belts. Emanuel Newton took on Attila Vegh. The two first met at Bellator 72 with Vegh taking a controversial split decision. This time Newton took home a split decision of his own, successfully unifying the belts in his favor.
At Cage Warriors 66 Nicolas Dalby won the vacant Welterweight title by defeating Sergei Churilov via TKO at 2:19 of round 4.
The UFC headed down to Brazil for UFC Fight Night 38. Welterweight C.B. Dollaway made quick work of Cezar Ferreira by TKOing him at just :39 of round 1. Light Heavyweight Dan Henderson won the second of two epic meetings between himself and "Shogun" Rua. Henderson landed one of his signature right hands on "Shogun" which ended the fight by TKO at 1:31 of round 3.
Welterweights Danny Roberts and Jim Wallhead will headline Cage Warriors 68.
Lightweight Benson Henderson will next fight Rustam Khabilov at a UFC event in Albuquerque in June. The fight will serve as the main event.
Cage Warriors Lightweight champion Ivan Buchinger has announced that he is vacating his belt. Curt Warburton and Stevie Ray will fight for it at Cage Warriors 69.
Lightweight veteran Melvin Guillard has been released from the UFC.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
3/16/14
It's always awesome when you get to start off a weekend of great MMA action on a Friday morning. ONE FC 14 allowed us to do just that. The event took place in Malaysia and saw rear naked choke wins from Flyweight Adriano Moraes as well as Bantamweight Dae Hwan Kim. In the main event Nobutatsu Suzuki won the inaugural Welterweight title by unanimous decision over Brock Larson.
Bellator 112 hosted the opening round of their Welterweight tournament. The event also played host to a very exciting Featherweight title fight. Daniel Straus and Pat Curran finished off their trilogy, and for the second time it was for the Featherweight belt. Straus was defending his belt for the first time but failed to do so because of a late rear naked choke pulled off by Curran. The submission came at 4:46 of round 5.
At UFC 171 Lightweight Myles Jury outworked Diego Sanchez to earn a unanimous decision win. Welterweight Carlos Condit suffered a gruesome knee injury following a kick landed by his opponent Tyron Woodley. The fight was ruled a TKO at 2:00 of round 2 for Woodley. The main event saw the Welterweight belt on the line and for the first time in what seems like forever, GSP wasn't defending it. Johny Hendricks won a close unanimous decision over Robbie Lawler to become the new Welterweight champion.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal will fight for the season 10 Light Heavyweight tournament final on the Bellator pay-per-view fight card.
Bibiano Fernandes will defend his Bantamweight belt against Masakatsu Ueda at ONE FC 15 on May 2.
Bellator 112 hosted the opening round of their Welterweight tournament. The event also played host to a very exciting Featherweight title fight. Daniel Straus and Pat Curran finished off their trilogy, and for the second time it was for the Featherweight belt. Straus was defending his belt for the first time but failed to do so because of a late rear naked choke pulled off by Curran. The submission came at 4:46 of round 5.
At UFC 171 Lightweight Myles Jury outworked Diego Sanchez to earn a unanimous decision win. Welterweight Carlos Condit suffered a gruesome knee injury following a kick landed by his opponent Tyron Woodley. The fight was ruled a TKO at 2:00 of round 2 for Woodley. The main event saw the Welterweight belt on the line and for the first time in what seems like forever, GSP wasn't defending it. Johny Hendricks won a close unanimous decision over Robbie Lawler to become the new Welterweight champion.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal will fight for the season 10 Light Heavyweight tournament final on the Bellator pay-per-view fight card.
Bibiano Fernandes will defend his Bantamweight belt against Masakatsu Ueda at ONE FC 15 on May 2.
Monday, March 10, 2014
3/9/14
Bellator 111 kicked off a weekend filled with MMA. This fight card, which took place in Oklahoma, saw much more success then the season opener for the promotion. The Heavyweight tournament kicked off with every fight ending in a finish. And in the main event Eduardo Dantas defended his Bantamweight title by defeating Anthony Leone via rear naked choke at 2:04 of round 2.
At RFA 13, Lightweight Dakota Cochrane squeaked by Efrain Escudero to win a controversial unanimous decision.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship headed to England for yet another UFC Fight Pass event. Bantamweight turned Flyweight Brad Pickett slugged it out for three rounds with Neil Seery in route to a unanimous decision win. Pickett's next fight will possibly be against Flyweight champion Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson whom he beat in their first meeting. Lightweight Michael Johnson continued his hot streak by earning a unanimous decision over Melvin Guillard. In the main event former Light Heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustafsson landed a vicious knee followed up by punches to win via TKO over Jimi Manuwa at 1:18 of round 2. Gustafsson will get the winner of Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.
Former UFC Middleweight Yushin Okami will fight Svetlozar Savov at WSOF 9.
Lightweight Mike Ricci and George Sotiropolous will fight at Titan FC 28. The fight will most likely be the main event.
EFC Africa fighter Booto Guylain past away due to injuries sustained in his February MMA fight.
The California State Athletic Commission has announced its ban on TRT. It follows the same path as Nevada and UFC sanctioned events.
At RFA 13, Lightweight Dakota Cochrane squeaked by Efrain Escudero to win a controversial unanimous decision.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship headed to England for yet another UFC Fight Pass event. Bantamweight turned Flyweight Brad Pickett slugged it out for three rounds with Neil Seery in route to a unanimous decision win. Pickett's next fight will possibly be against Flyweight champion Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson whom he beat in their first meeting. Lightweight Michael Johnson continued his hot streak by earning a unanimous decision over Melvin Guillard. In the main event former Light Heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustafsson landed a vicious knee followed up by punches to win via TKO over Jimi Manuwa at 1:18 of round 2. Gustafsson will get the winner of Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.
Former UFC Middleweight Yushin Okami will fight Svetlozar Savov at WSOF 9.
Lightweight Mike Ricci and George Sotiropolous will fight at Titan FC 28. The fight will most likely be the main event.
EFC Africa fighter Booto Guylain past away due to injuries sustained in his February MMA fight.
The California State Athletic Commission has announced its ban on TRT. It follows the same path as Nevada and UFC sanctioned events.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
3/2/14
I did a lot of running around this weekend but fortunately I had the chance to watch all the major MMA events that were shown online and on TV.
A non stop weekend started with the return of Bellator to Spike TV. Bellator 110 kicked off their season with a decision filled fight card which included lackluster fights from the prelims too. The Light Heavyweight tournament final was set after Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal defeated Mikhail Zayats by unanimous decision. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson joined him after earning a KO at 4:34 of round 1 against former champion Christian M'Pumbu. During the Lawal/Jackson face off things got a bit chippy and the two were forced to separate. Whether it was real or set up it does make for some great anticipation.
Titan Fighting Championship made their CBS Sports Network debut with Titan FC 27. Former UFC Welterweight Matthew Riddle defeated Michael Kuiper via guillotine at 2:29 of round 2. In the main event TUF veteran Mike Ricci made quick work of Jorge Gurgel by getting a TKO at 3:57 of round 1.
At the TUF China Finale Welterweight Zhang Lipeng became the first ever Chinese Ultimate Fighter by narrowly defeating Wang Sai by split decision. Dana White has said that Sai, despite losing, will get another shot in the UFC. In the main event Welterweight veteran Dong Hyun Kim continued his exciting ways by knocking out John Hathaway with a spinning elbow at 1:02 of round 3.
Cage Warriors 65 saw Welterweight Ben Alloway win a unanimous decision over Jack Mason. Lightweight Saul Rogers also won a unanimous decision over John Maguire in the main event.
Lightweight Gilbert Melendez has resigned with the UFC and will coach opposite of Anthony Pettis on the Ultimate Fighter 20.
Bellator Middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko has extended his contract with the promotion.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has banned the use of TRT. The UFC additionally announced that any event that they sanction will follow the same rules as the NSAC.
Vitor Belfort has pulled out of his Middleweight title fight with champion Chris Weidman. Weidman will now face former Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.
A non stop weekend started with the return of Bellator to Spike TV. Bellator 110 kicked off their season with a decision filled fight card which included lackluster fights from the prelims too. The Light Heavyweight tournament final was set after Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal defeated Mikhail Zayats by unanimous decision. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson joined him after earning a KO at 4:34 of round 1 against former champion Christian M'Pumbu. During the Lawal/Jackson face off things got a bit chippy and the two were forced to separate. Whether it was real or set up it does make for some great anticipation.
Titan Fighting Championship made their CBS Sports Network debut with Titan FC 27. Former UFC Welterweight Matthew Riddle defeated Michael Kuiper via guillotine at 2:29 of round 2. In the main event TUF veteran Mike Ricci made quick work of Jorge Gurgel by getting a TKO at 3:57 of round 1.
At the TUF China Finale Welterweight Zhang Lipeng became the first ever Chinese Ultimate Fighter by narrowly defeating Wang Sai by split decision. Dana White has said that Sai, despite losing, will get another shot in the UFC. In the main event Welterweight veteran Dong Hyun Kim continued his exciting ways by knocking out John Hathaway with a spinning elbow at 1:02 of round 3.
Cage Warriors 65 saw Welterweight Ben Alloway win a unanimous decision over Jack Mason. Lightweight Saul Rogers also won a unanimous decision over John Maguire in the main event.
Lightweight Gilbert Melendez has resigned with the UFC and will coach opposite of Anthony Pettis on the Ultimate Fighter 20.
Bellator Middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko has extended his contract with the promotion.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission has banned the use of TRT. The UFC additionally announced that any event that they sanction will follow the same rules as the NSAC.
Vitor Belfort has pulled out of his Middleweight title fight with champion Chris Weidman. Weidman will now face former Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.
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