As they often do, ONE FC kicked off the final full weekend of MMA in 2014. They did so with a Beijing Flyweight and Featherweight tournament. Li Wei Bin defeated Wang Wei by unanimous decision to win the Flyweight tournament. He made it to the finals by winning his semifinal fight against Hao Yi Jie via armbar at 2:51 of round 1. Li Kai Wen defeated Wang Ya Wei by unanimous decision to win the Featherweight tournament. Wen got there by winning his semifinal fight against He Nan Nan via TKO at 2:25 of round 1.
Titan Fighting Championship is known for pushing their fighters to finish fights by offering a bonus to those who can pull it off, but at Titan FC 32 the desire for bonus money seemed to be absent. Only one fight on the entire fight card ended in a finish. In the main event Desmond Green claimed the vacant Featherweight belt by earning a hard fought unanimous decision win over UFC veteran Steven Siler.
At UFC Fight Night 58, former Bantamweight champion Renan Barao returned to the win column by sinking in an arm triangle on Mitch Gagnon. The finish came at 3:53 of round 3. Barao proceeded to call out the man who took his title from him, T.J. Dillashaw, in his post fight speech. The main event saw Middleweight Lyoto Machida completely dominate C.B. Dollaway. Machida won by TKO off of a nasty body kick at just 1:02 of round 1.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has resigned with the UFC after going 3-0 with Bellator FC. The contract rights to Jackson are still being worked out.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Sunday, December 14, 2014
12/14/14
Last Friday a landmark season of The Ultimate Fighter came to an end. The TUF 20 Finale crowned the first ever Women's Strawweight champion. Carla Esparza won that belt in impressive fashion, derailing the Rose Namajunas hype train. Esparza won in round 3 via rear naked choke at 1:26. Other notable winners included Charles Oliveira, Yancy Medeiros and Jessica Penne.
Two belts were on the line at World Series of Fighting 16. The first, the Featherweight belt, saw Lance Palmer defeat the champion Rick Glenn by rear naked choke at 3:09 of round 3. In the main event Rousimar Palhares successfully defended his Welterweight title against fellow UFC veteran Jon Fitch by his go to move, the knee bar, at 1:30 of round 1.
At UFC on FOX 13, three Heavyweight fights took up 75 percent of the main card and it made for an exciting night. The first of those Heavyweight fights saw Matt Mitrione TKO Gabriel Gonzaga at just 1:59 of round 1. Heavyweight Alistair Overeem got back on track with a KO win over Stefan Struve at 4:13 of round 1. In the co-main event Rafael dos Anjos earned a Lightweight title shot with a dominate decision win over Nate Diaz. The main event saw Heavyweights Stipe Miocic and Junior dos Santos slug out a fight of the night type performance. Dos Santos won by unanimous decision.
Following a loss to Drew Dobar at UFC on FOX 13, UFC/WEC veteran Jamie Varner has announced his retirement.
Rafael dos Anjos will get the next shot at Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis due to Khabib Nurmagomedov being injured.
Two belts were on the line at World Series of Fighting 16. The first, the Featherweight belt, saw Lance Palmer defeat the champion Rick Glenn by rear naked choke at 3:09 of round 3. In the main event Rousimar Palhares successfully defended his Welterweight title against fellow UFC veteran Jon Fitch by his go to move, the knee bar, at 1:30 of round 1.
At UFC on FOX 13, three Heavyweight fights took up 75 percent of the main card and it made for an exciting night. The first of those Heavyweight fights saw Matt Mitrione TKO Gabriel Gonzaga at just 1:59 of round 1. Heavyweight Alistair Overeem got back on track with a KO win over Stefan Struve at 4:13 of round 1. In the co-main event Rafael dos Anjos earned a Lightweight title shot with a dominate decision win over Nate Diaz. The main event saw Heavyweights Stipe Miocic and Junior dos Santos slug out a fight of the night type performance. Dos Santos won by unanimous decision.
Following a loss to Drew Dobar at UFC on FOX 13, UFC/WEC veteran Jamie Varner has announced his retirement.
Rafael dos Anjos will get the next shot at Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis due to Khabib Nurmagomedov being injured.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
12/7/14
As the year in MMA gradually comes to an end, each promotion begins to put their best fighters on each card to end with a bang. If this weekend wasn't evidence of that I don't know what is.
ONE FC made its way to the Philippines for ONE FC 23. Roger Gracie made his promotional debut at Light Heavyweight defeating James McSweeney via TKO at 3:15 of round 3. In a Heavyweight bout Brandon Vera made quick work of Igor Subora, utilizing soccer kicks after a punch dropped him. Vera won by KO at 3:54 of round 1. In the main event Bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes successfully defended his belt via rear naked choke at 1:16 of round 2 despite a valiant effort by Dae Hwan Kim.
At RFA 21, the promotions final event of the year, Mehdi Baghdad defeated Zach Juusola to claim the vacant Lightweight belt. Baghdad won by TKO after an elbow split Juusola's forehead. The finish came at 2:47 of round 4.
Invicta FC 10 only had eight fights on the fight card because of injuries but still managed to put on a show. Featherweight Tonya Evinger extended her win streak after getting the win over Cindy Dandois via armbar. The armbar marked her second straight and came at 1:23 of round 2. The main event saw a new Atomweight champion crowned. Herica Tiburcio earned the upset victory over "The Karate Hottie" Michelle Waterson via guillotine at 1:04 of round 3.
At UFC 181 Travis Browne defeated Brandan Schaub by TKO at 4:50 of round 1. The first of two title fights saw Anthony Pettis attempt to defend his Lightweight belt for the first time. Though Gilbert Melendez came out strong, Pettis was able to settle and earn a guillotine from the mount at 1:53 of round 2. The second of the two title fights served as the main event. Welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler picked up right where they left off in this rematch. The two slugged their way to a split decision which saw Lawler become the new champion.
Longtime UFC veteran Yves Edwards has announced his retirement from the sport following a recent loss.
Following his release from the UFC, Lightweight Anthony Njokuani has signed with Legacy Fighting Championship and will fight undefeated Thomas Gifford.
WWE superstar CM Punk has signed with the UFC.
ONE FC made its way to the Philippines for ONE FC 23. Roger Gracie made his promotional debut at Light Heavyweight defeating James McSweeney via TKO at 3:15 of round 3. In a Heavyweight bout Brandon Vera made quick work of Igor Subora, utilizing soccer kicks after a punch dropped him. Vera won by KO at 3:54 of round 1. In the main event Bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes successfully defended his belt via rear naked choke at 1:16 of round 2 despite a valiant effort by Dae Hwan Kim.
At RFA 21, the promotions final event of the year, Mehdi Baghdad defeated Zach Juusola to claim the vacant Lightweight belt. Baghdad won by TKO after an elbow split Juusola's forehead. The finish came at 2:47 of round 4.
Invicta FC 10 only had eight fights on the fight card because of injuries but still managed to put on a show. Featherweight Tonya Evinger extended her win streak after getting the win over Cindy Dandois via armbar. The armbar marked her second straight and came at 1:23 of round 2. The main event saw a new Atomweight champion crowned. Herica Tiburcio earned the upset victory over "The Karate Hottie" Michelle Waterson via guillotine at 1:04 of round 3.
At UFC 181 Travis Browne defeated Brandan Schaub by TKO at 4:50 of round 1. The first of two title fights saw Anthony Pettis attempt to defend his Lightweight belt for the first time. Though Gilbert Melendez came out strong, Pettis was able to settle and earn a guillotine from the mount at 1:53 of round 2. The second of the two title fights served as the main event. Welterweight champion Johny Hendricks and "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler picked up right where they left off in this rematch. The two slugged their way to a split decision which saw Lawler become the new champion.
Longtime UFC veteran Yves Edwards has announced his retirement from the sport following a recent loss.
Following his release from the UFC, Lightweight Anthony Njokuani has signed with Legacy Fighting Championship and will fight undefeated Thomas Gifford.
WWE superstar CM Punk has signed with the UFC.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
11/16/14
Five major fight cards in only two days, what more could you ask for as a MMA fan? Not to mention Cage Warriors event that featured two main cards. This weekend was like a buffet of fights.
Starting things off was Legacy FC 37 on Friday night. Mike Bronzoulis made a successful move to Lightweight with a second round rear naked choke win over Justin Reiswerg at 4:51. The main event put two UFC veterans against one another as Daniel Pineda took on Leonard Garcia in a Bantamweight bout. Pineda made quick work of him with a kimura at 1:54 of round 1. Following the loss, Garcia announced his retirement.
Cage Warriors made its way back to London for two main cards at Cage Warriors 74. The main events for both consisted of title fights. The first was for the inaugural Women's Bantamweight title. Pannie Kianzad won a unanimous decision over Eeva Siiskonen to claim the belt. The second was for the Welterweight belt. Nicolas Dalby retained his title with a unanimous decision over Mohsen Bahari.
WSOF 15 put three belts on the line, though Melvin Guillard missing weight made it two. First was Jessica Aguilar defending her Women's Strawweight title with a unanimous decision over Kalindra Faria. Next up was Lightweight champion Justin Gaethje whose fight was made into a Catchweight bout because of Guillard missing weight. Gaethje won a slug fest by way of a split decision. In the main event David Branch successfully defended his Middleweight title for the first time against UFC veteran Yushin Okami. Branch won via TKO at 3:39 of round 4.
At Bellator 131 Welterweight kick boxer Joe Schilling made his return to MMA after a six year layoff. He did so impressively as he earned a flash KO over veteran Melvin Manhoef at :32 of round 2. Will Brooks solidified his interim Lightweight championship with a TKO win over former champion Michael Chandler at 3:48 of round 4. The main event saw an end to the trash talk between Light Heavyweights Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar. Ortiz won a split decision.
Finishing up the eventful weekend was UFC 180. Featherweight Ricardo Lamas returned to the win column with an impressive win over Dennis Bermudez via guillotine at 3:18 of round 1. Welterweight Kelvin Gastelum earned a rear naked choke win over Jake Ellenberger at 4:46 of round 1. In the main event Fabricio Werdum won the interim Heavyweight title over Mark Hunt with a big TKO from a knee at 2:27 of round 2.
Bellator FC has announced its first four title fights to be held in 2015. At Bellator 132 Patricio Freire will look to defend his Featherweight belt against former champion Daniel Straus. At Bellator 133 Welterweight champion Douglas Lima will take on former UFC fighter Paul Daley and Light Heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton will fight against the undefeated Liam McGeary. Finally, at Bellator 134 Bantamweight champion Joe Warren will take on Marcos Galvao.
ESPN has hired Chael Sonnen as their newest MMA analyst.
Starting things off was Legacy FC 37 on Friday night. Mike Bronzoulis made a successful move to Lightweight with a second round rear naked choke win over Justin Reiswerg at 4:51. The main event put two UFC veterans against one another as Daniel Pineda took on Leonard Garcia in a Bantamweight bout. Pineda made quick work of him with a kimura at 1:54 of round 1. Following the loss, Garcia announced his retirement.
Cage Warriors made its way back to London for two main cards at Cage Warriors 74. The main events for both consisted of title fights. The first was for the inaugural Women's Bantamweight title. Pannie Kianzad won a unanimous decision over Eeva Siiskonen to claim the belt. The second was for the Welterweight belt. Nicolas Dalby retained his title with a unanimous decision over Mohsen Bahari.
WSOF 15 put three belts on the line, though Melvin Guillard missing weight made it two. First was Jessica Aguilar defending her Women's Strawweight title with a unanimous decision over Kalindra Faria. Next up was Lightweight champion Justin Gaethje whose fight was made into a Catchweight bout because of Guillard missing weight. Gaethje won a slug fest by way of a split decision. In the main event David Branch successfully defended his Middleweight title for the first time against UFC veteran Yushin Okami. Branch won via TKO at 3:39 of round 4.
At Bellator 131 Welterweight kick boxer Joe Schilling made his return to MMA after a six year layoff. He did so impressively as he earned a flash KO over veteran Melvin Manhoef at :32 of round 2. Will Brooks solidified his interim Lightweight championship with a TKO win over former champion Michael Chandler at 3:48 of round 4. The main event saw an end to the trash talk between Light Heavyweights Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar. Ortiz won a split decision.
Finishing up the eventful weekend was UFC 180. Featherweight Ricardo Lamas returned to the win column with an impressive win over Dennis Bermudez via guillotine at 3:18 of round 1. Welterweight Kelvin Gastelum earned a rear naked choke win over Jake Ellenberger at 4:46 of round 1. In the main event Fabricio Werdum won the interim Heavyweight title over Mark Hunt with a big TKO from a knee at 2:27 of round 2.
Bellator FC has announced its first four title fights to be held in 2015. At Bellator 132 Patricio Freire will look to defend his Featherweight belt against former champion Daniel Straus. At Bellator 133 Welterweight champion Douglas Lima will take on former UFC fighter Paul Daley and Light Heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton will fight against the undefeated Liam McGeary. Finally, at Bellator 134 Bantamweight champion Joe Warren will take on Marcos Galvao.
ESPN has hired Chael Sonnen as their newest MMA analyst.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
11/9/14
At ONE FC 22, Welterweight Luis "Sapo" Santos continued his hot streak of finishes by dispatching Bakhtiyar Abbasov via submission (knee to the body) at :53 of round 1. Lightweight Koji Ando defeated Zorobabel Moreira by TKO 4:21 of round 3. The main event saw Igor Svirid claim the inaugural Middleweight belt by defeating Leandro Ataides by KO at just :17 of round 1.
RFA 20 saw undefeated Luke Sanders win the vacant Bantamweight belt against Jarred Mercado in impressive fashion. Sanders won via TKO (knee) at 1:06 of round 1.
UFC Fight Night 55 in Australia set a promotional record with 11 finishes in 11 fights. Lightweight Al Iaquinta earned a big TKO win against Ross Pearson at 1:39 of round 2. The main event put an end to months of trash talk as Middleweight Luke Rockhold took on Michael Bisping. Rockhold won by one armed guillotine at :57 of round 2.
UFC Fight Night 56 took place on the other side of the world in Brazil. Welterweight Warlley Alves won a controversial decision over Alan Jouban. In the main event Light Heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux shocked everyone by getting a TKO victory over veteran "Shogun" Rua. The stoppage came at :34 of round 1.
Welterweight Roan Carneiro will only be fined $100 rather than the original amount of $15,000. The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission fined Carneiro after he showed up late to his pre-fight physical for the Battleground MMA O.N.E. tournament. Carneiro, who won the tournament, received $50,000 in prize money for doing so.
The UFC will serve as a title sponsor for the 2015 British Open Judo Championships.
RFA 20 saw undefeated Luke Sanders win the vacant Bantamweight belt against Jarred Mercado in impressive fashion. Sanders won via TKO (knee) at 1:06 of round 1.
UFC Fight Night 55 in Australia set a promotional record with 11 finishes in 11 fights. Lightweight Al Iaquinta earned a big TKO win against Ross Pearson at 1:39 of round 2. The main event put an end to months of trash talk as Middleweight Luke Rockhold took on Michael Bisping. Rockhold won by one armed guillotine at :57 of round 2.
UFC Fight Night 56 took place on the other side of the world in Brazil. Welterweight Warlley Alves won a controversial decision over Alan Jouban. In the main event Light Heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux shocked everyone by getting a TKO victory over veteran "Shogun" Rua. The stoppage came at :34 of round 1.
Welterweight Roan Carneiro will only be fined $100 rather than the original amount of $15,000. The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission fined Carneiro after he showed up late to his pre-fight physical for the Battleground MMA O.N.E. tournament. Carneiro, who won the tournament, received $50,000 in prize money for doing so.
The UFC will serve as a title sponsor for the 2015 British Open Judo Championships.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
10/16/14
Bellator 130 started off a weekend with only two major MMA cards. Women's Featherweight veteran Marloes Coenen held the honors of bringing back WMMA to Bellator with a third round rear naked choke of Linton Vassell at :57. Heavyweight Bobby Lashley moved to 2-0 under the Bellator banner with a submission due to strikes of Karl Etherington at 1:31 of round 2. In the main event Emanuel Newton successfully defended his Light Heavyweight belt against Linton Vassell in a come from behind win. Newton won via rear naked choke at :47 of round 5.
UFC 179 won't exactly go down as the best card in the promotions history. Light Heavyweight Phil Davis won a unanimous decision over Glover Teixeira by utilizing his wrestling and grappling. Jose Aldo defended his Featherweight title against Chad Mendes. The unanimous decision earned fight of the night.
UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been forced out of his UFC 180 title defense due to injury. The UFC 180 main event will now be for the interim Heavyweight belt, putting Mark Hunt against Fabricio Werdum.
UFC Women's Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will attempt to defend her belt against Cat Zingano at UFC 182. The contest will serve as the co-main event.
A third UFC title fight is now official. Middleweight champion Chris Weidman will finally fight Vitor Belfort in the main event of UFC 184.
Titan Fighting Championship has signed former UFC Featherweight Steven Siler along with four other fighters. This continues the trend of Titan FC signing a mass amount of young experienced fighters.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
10/19/14
ONE FC kept up their high frequency of events this weekend with a fight card in Malaysia. In the main event undefeated Russian Featherweight Marat Gafurov defeated Rob Lisita by rear naked choke at 1:08 of round 1.
Two belts were on the line at Legacy FC 36. First up was the Flyweight title. Damacio Page delivered a highlight reel KO against Brian Hall at 1:48 of round 1 to claim the belt. The second title fight was in the Heavyweight division. Cody East took home the belt after defeating Vernon Lewis via TKO at 3:26 of round 1.
At Bellator 129 Light Heavyweights Housten Alexander and Virgil Zwicker fought to a majority draw after Alexander was docked a point for headbutting. In the main event Welterweight Paul Bradley defeated Josh Neer by utilizing his wrestling in a hard fought unanimous decision.
UFC Featherweight "Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung will be sidelined for no less than two years as he has to fulfill South Korea's military service requirement.
Both UFC Welterweight contender Rory MacDonald and Titan FC Heavyweight champion Vinny Maghalaes will compete in Metamoris 5.
Two belts were on the line at Legacy FC 36. First up was the Flyweight title. Damacio Page delivered a highlight reel KO against Brian Hall at 1:48 of round 1 to claim the belt. The second title fight was in the Heavyweight division. Cody East took home the belt after defeating Vernon Lewis via TKO at 3:26 of round 1.
At Bellator 129 Light Heavyweights Housten Alexander and Virgil Zwicker fought to a majority draw after Alexander was docked a point for headbutting. In the main event Welterweight Paul Bradley defeated Josh Neer by utilizing his wrestling in a hard fought unanimous decision.
UFC Featherweight "Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung will be sidelined for no less than two years as he has to fulfill South Korea's military service requirement.
Both UFC Welterweight contender Rory MacDonald and Titan FC Heavyweight champion Vinny Maghalaes will compete in Metamoris 5.
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