The two biggest promotions in the world had the spotlight this weekend, as Bellator and the UFC each had events. Bellator 150 kicked things off on Friday.
A title fight between Bantamweight champion Marcos Galvao and former champ Eduardo "Dudu" Dantas was originally going to headline Bellator 150 but Galvao withdrew due to sickness. Instead a Heavyweight contest between Cheick Kongo and Vinicius Queiroz headlined. Before that though, Middleweight Kendall Grove won in vicious fashion with a KO victory over Francisco France at :35 of round 2. Lightweight David "Caveman" Rickels rebounded from a loss when he defeated - in what was most likely the fight of the night - Bobby Cooper via TKO at 3:49 of round 1. Cheick Kongo won his second straight fight with a narrow split decision over Vinicius Queiroz.
UFC Fight Pass had its biggest event in history with UFC Fight Night 84. In a Middleweight contest that received boos from the crowd, Gegard Mousasi defeated Thales Leites by unanimous decision. In the main event former UFC Middleweight title holder Anderson "Spider" Silva lost, in a fight that he thought he won in the third round, to Michael "The Count" Bisping. Bisping won by unanimous decision despite looking like his face rubbed again a cheese grater.
UFC Lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos will no longer be fighting Featherweight champion Conor McGregor at UFC 196 after breaking his foot. McGregor will now fight Nate Diaz at Welterweight.
ONE Championship Welterweight Ben Askren will defend his title at ONE: Global Rivals against Nikolay Aleksakhin on April 15.
A Heavyweight fight between recently resigned Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski will headline UFC Fight Night 87 in Rotterdam.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
2/21/16
The first truly busy weekend of 2016 in MMA took place the last couple of days. From Indonesia to Utah, if you complained about there being no fights to watch, you obviously were not looking hard enough.
Though the weekend was exciting, Bellator 149 was not the greatest way to kick it off. Light Heavyweight Linton Vassell won his rematch against former champion Emanuel Newton despite taking several illegal groin shots. Vassell won by unanimous decision. Lightweight Derek Campos snapped a two fight losing streak when he knocked out Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard at :32 of round 2. In a Heavyweight contest that turned out to be a snooze fest, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson won by TKO against fellow street fighter Dhafir "Dada5000" Harris at 1:32 of round 3. The main event saw MMA pioneer and legend Royce Gracie win a controversial fight against Ken Shamrock. The Light Heavyweight contest ended by way of TKO when Gracie, who didn't even have his hands wrapped for the fight, utilized ground and pound following a unnoticed groin strike. The stoppage came at 2:22 of round 2.
A much more exciting RFA 35 saw Thiago Alves Cavalcante Rodrigues defeat David Putvin by decision in a Lightweight contest. In the main event Thiago Moises took home the Lightweight belt after an armbar victory over David Castillo at 3:19 of round 2.
At ONE Championship 37 Welterweight Luis Santos looked impressive with a devastating TKO (knee, soccer kicks) over Rafael Silva at 1:17 of round 1. Featherweight Kotetsu Boku took out Vincent Latoel with a TKO at 4:04 of round 2.
One of the more questionable decisions of the weekend took place at WSOF 28. Bantamweight Timur Valiev lost a split decision to Chris Gutierrez. There was no question about who won the main event though. Bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes successfully defended his belt again, this time against Joseph Barajas. Moraes won via TKO at 1:13 of round 1.
UFC Fight Night 83 capped off the weekend in impressive fashion. Flyweight Cody Garbrandt moved up to a catchweight of 140 pounds to take on Augusto Mendes. Garbrandt came out on top with a TKO coming at 4:18 of round 1. Middleweight Derek Brunson made quick work of Roan Carneiro with a TKO at just 2:38 of round 1. The main event saw a match-up between two "Cowboys." Lightweight Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone won the battle of the nicknames over Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira when he pulled off a slick triangle choke at 2:33 of round 1.
Light Heavyweight legend Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will be returning to Bellator after his contract dispute was figured out.
Invicta FC 16 has been announced for March 11 and will feature a title fight between Atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki defending her belt against Amber Brown.
Though the weekend was exciting, Bellator 149 was not the greatest way to kick it off. Light Heavyweight Linton Vassell won his rematch against former champion Emanuel Newton despite taking several illegal groin shots. Vassell won by unanimous decision. Lightweight Derek Campos snapped a two fight losing streak when he knocked out Melvin "The Young Assassin" Guillard at :32 of round 2. In a Heavyweight contest that turned out to be a snooze fest, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson won by TKO against fellow street fighter Dhafir "Dada5000" Harris at 1:32 of round 3. The main event saw MMA pioneer and legend Royce Gracie win a controversial fight against Ken Shamrock. The Light Heavyweight contest ended by way of TKO when Gracie, who didn't even have his hands wrapped for the fight, utilized ground and pound following a unnoticed groin strike. The stoppage came at 2:22 of round 2.
A much more exciting RFA 35 saw Thiago Alves Cavalcante Rodrigues defeat David Putvin by decision in a Lightweight contest. In the main event Thiago Moises took home the Lightweight belt after an armbar victory over David Castillo at 3:19 of round 2.
At ONE Championship 37 Welterweight Luis Santos looked impressive with a devastating TKO (knee, soccer kicks) over Rafael Silva at 1:17 of round 1. Featherweight Kotetsu Boku took out Vincent Latoel with a TKO at 4:04 of round 2.
One of the more questionable decisions of the weekend took place at WSOF 28. Bantamweight Timur Valiev lost a split decision to Chris Gutierrez. There was no question about who won the main event though. Bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes successfully defended his belt again, this time against Joseph Barajas. Moraes won via TKO at 1:13 of round 1.
UFC Fight Night 83 capped off the weekend in impressive fashion. Flyweight Cody Garbrandt moved up to a catchweight of 140 pounds to take on Augusto Mendes. Garbrandt came out on top with a TKO coming at 4:18 of round 1. Middleweight Derek Brunson made quick work of Roan Carneiro with a TKO at just 2:38 of round 1. The main event saw a match-up between two "Cowboys." Lightweight Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone won the battle of the nicknames over Alex "Cowboy" Oliveira when he pulled off a slick triangle choke at 2:33 of round 1.
Light Heavyweight legend Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will be returning to Bellator after his contract dispute was figured out.
Invicta FC 16 has been announced for March 11 and will feature a title fight between Atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki defending her belt against Amber Brown.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
2/7/16
While most sports fans were looking ahead to the Super Bowl, MMA fans were enjoying a pretty entertaining weekend of MMA. Only two major fight cards took place, but both had their moments.
Legacy FC 51 kicked things off. Dana White was in attendance, filming for his YouTube show "Looking for a Fight." Welterweight Jacob Volkman won a unanimous decision over Antonio Trocoli. MMA veteran Brock Larson defeated fellow Welterweight Travis Coyle via TKO at 2:03 of round 1. And in the main event, Manuel Vasquez claimed the vacant Bantamweight belt in an upset win over young prospect Ricardo Lucas Ramos. Vasquez won by way of rear naked choke at 1:45 of round 1.
UFC Fight Night 82, which was originally meant to be a pay-per-view, saw a number of significant wins in various divisions. Flyweight Joseph Benavidez out struck Zach Makovsky on his way to a unanimous decision win. Despite suffering an early ankle injury, Light Heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux was able to keep his composure and earn a decision win over Rafael Cavalcante. In one of the weekends most boring fights, Roy "Big Country" Nelson snapped a three fight losing streak with a unanimous decision against fellow Heavyweight Jared Rosholt. The main event stole the show as Welterweight Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson kncoked out former champion Johny Hendricks. The KO was at 3:31 of round 1.
Former WEC and UFC Lightweight champion Benson Henderson has signed with Bellator. He will make his debut fighting for the Welterweight title against Andrey "Spartan" Koreshkov at Bellator 153.
Bellator also signed Heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov, a PRIDE and Strikeforce veteran.
A rematch between former Middleweight champion Chris Weidman and new champion Luke Rockhold will headline UFC 199.
The UFC announced a pair of fight cards during Saturday's event. UFC 197 will be headlined by a Light Heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Cormier and Jon "Bones" Jones. Additionally, the co-main event will be Flyweight title holder Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson defending his belt against Henry Cejudo.
The second fight card announced was UFC on FOX 19. The main event will feature what is presumed to be a Lightweight title eliminator fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Legacy FC 51 kicked things off. Dana White was in attendance, filming for his YouTube show "Looking for a Fight." Welterweight Jacob Volkman won a unanimous decision over Antonio Trocoli. MMA veteran Brock Larson defeated fellow Welterweight Travis Coyle via TKO at 2:03 of round 1. And in the main event, Manuel Vasquez claimed the vacant Bantamweight belt in an upset win over young prospect Ricardo Lucas Ramos. Vasquez won by way of rear naked choke at 1:45 of round 1.
UFC Fight Night 82, which was originally meant to be a pay-per-view, saw a number of significant wins in various divisions. Flyweight Joseph Benavidez out struck Zach Makovsky on his way to a unanimous decision win. Despite suffering an early ankle injury, Light Heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux was able to keep his composure and earn a decision win over Rafael Cavalcante. In one of the weekends most boring fights, Roy "Big Country" Nelson snapped a three fight losing streak with a unanimous decision against fellow Heavyweight Jared Rosholt. The main event stole the show as Welterweight Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson kncoked out former champion Johny Hendricks. The KO was at 3:31 of round 1.
Former WEC and UFC Lightweight champion Benson Henderson has signed with Bellator. He will make his debut fighting for the Welterweight title against Andrey "Spartan" Koreshkov at Bellator 153.
Bellator also signed Heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov, a PRIDE and Strikeforce veteran.
A rematch between former Middleweight champion Chris Weidman and new champion Luke Rockhold will headline UFC 199.
The UFC announced a pair of fight cards during Saturday's event. UFC 197 will be headlined by a Light Heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Cormier and Jon "Bones" Jones. Additionally, the co-main event will be Flyweight title holder Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson defending his belt against Henry Cejudo.
The second fight card announced was UFC on FOX 19. The main event will feature what is presumed to be a Lightweight title eliminator fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
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