Cerrone (17-4-1; 77%) was riding as high as anyone else at the end of 2011 with an impressive six fight win streak within the WEC and UFC, with his last loss coming at the hands of the current UFC champion, Benson Henderson. However, that all changed when he stepped into the cage with Nate Diaz on December 30 when Cerrone played Diaz’s game and dropped a decision. All of his momentum and swagger went out the window. ... Read More »]]>

Cowboy Cerrone - via Wikipedia

On a rare Tuesday night, we will have more free MMA action from the sports’ largest promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Part of the six fight main card will be an opportunity for one fighter to bounce back into elite status in the deepest division with in the organization. That bout will put Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone against Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens at lightweight.

Cerrone (17-4-1; 77%) was riding as high as anyone else at the end of 2011 with an impressive six fight win streak within the WEC and UFC, with his last loss coming at the hands of the current UFC champion, Benson Henderson. However, that all changed when he stepped into the cage with Nate Diaz on December 30 when Cerrone played Diaz’s game and dropped a decision. All of his momentum and swagger went out the window. Now he looks forward to trail a new path a title shot, which starts with Stephens on Tuesday night. Cerrone will need to put together another three or four fight win streak in order to be considered for a title shot. With his long reach, aggressive style, good kickboxing and BJJ, don’t be surprised to see him rise above the rest of the division, again.

Stephens (20-7; 74%) who is also coming into this bout from a loss via split decision in October of 2011 against the last WEC Champion, Anthony Pettis. Stephens looked impressive at points through out the fight, but did not do enough to convince the third judge. Stephens is a deep veteran with in the sport of MMA and the UFC over Cerrone. Which is one of the most interesting aspects of Stephens background. Starting amateur bouts at the age of 18 and has been with in the UFC since 2007 at UFC 71. Stephens always has a level of confidence because of his historic career.

Prediction: With Cerrone’s proven track record to string long winning streaks together and that he has never lost two-in-a-row, I think he’ll have the edge and take this fight. Again, his long reach, more advanced kickboxing and BJJ skills will prove to be the difference.

The bout between Lopez and Sadollah was originally scheduled to take place UFC 143 back in February but both fighters were forced off the card due to suffering injuries.

Wand Fight Team product Lopez comes in to his second UFC fight needing a win after dropping a unanimous decision in his debut to Justin Edwards at UFC Fight Night 25. The loss snapped a 10-fight win streak for the welterweight stand-out who is currently 11-2 in his professional career with 5 wins coming by way of knockout.

Sadollah (5-3) burst in to the UFC back in 2008 on season 7 of “The Ultimate Fighter” but since winning the tournament has had trouble ... Read More »]]>

Amir Sadollah

The bout between Lopez and Sadollah was originally scheduled to take place UFC 143 back in February but both fighters were forced off the card due to suffering injuries.

Wand Fight Team product Lopez comes in to his second UFC fight needing a win after dropping a unanimous decision in his debut to Justin Edwards at UFC Fight Night 25. The loss snapped a 10-fight win streak for the welterweight stand-out who is currently 11-2 in his professional career with 5 wins coming by way of knockout.

Sadollah (5-3) burst in to the UFC back in 2008 on season 7 of “The Ultimate Fighter” but since winning the tournament has had trouble with consistency. Amir has the rarity of being able to say he has fought every single one of his professional fights so far under the UFC banner and was last seen in a losing effort to Duane Ludwig during the UFC on Versus 5 live card. The loss snapped the second two-fight win streak of his career.

With 13 combined decisions in their 21 professional fights so far this one could easily go the distance but it should be a very technical and interesting affair with stats showing that Sadollah’s best chance comes on the mat whilst Lopez’ will most likely want to keep the fight standing. It is also worth noting that neither fighter has lost two in a row so far in their careers.

Lawlor became a fan favorite in the UFC with his weigh-in and walkout parodies. While the costumes and skits got him fans, it hasn’t panned out for the middleweight inside the octagon losing three of his last four. His losses come at the hands of Aaron Simpson, Joe Doerksen, and Chris Weidman while his victory came over Patrick Cote.

MacDonald who was dubbed the “Ultimate Fighter” killer early on in his UFC career, was cut from the organization in 2009 after suffering back-to-back losses. He put together a 3-1 record after being released, earning his way ... Read More »]]>

Jason MacDonald - via UFC.com

Lawlor became a fan favorite in the UFC with his weigh-in and walkout parodies. While the costumes and skits got him fans, it hasn’t panned out for the middleweight inside the octagon losing three of his last four. His losses come at the hands of Aaron Simpson, Joe Doerksen, and Chris Weidman while his victory came over Patrick Cote.

MacDonald who was dubbed the “Ultimate Fighter” killer early on in his UFC career, was cut from the organization in 2009 after suffering back-to-back losses. He put together a 3-1 record after being released, earning his way back to the UFC. Like Lawlor, he hasn’t fared too well, going just 1-2 in his recent stint losing to John Salter and Alan Belcher.

Both fighters are likely on the verge of being released should they fail to earn a victory in the fight. MacDonald has experience on his side, bringing a massive 40 fights with him.

In order for Lawlor to win, he will need to overwhelm MacDonald early on much like several of MacDonald’s opponents who hold victories over him. MacDonald will try to weather the storm and then turn up his intensity as Lawlor has shown to decrease in speed as the fight plays out.

Barring a quick TKO victory, this fight will probably end up going the full fifteen minutes with MacDonald winning the majority of the time and thus earning a unanimous decision, 29-28.

Kicking off the night of action, Alex Soto will take on late replacement Francisco Rivera. Soto is entering the fight off a quick knockout lsos to Michael McDonald at UFC 139 in November of 2011. He will need a victory in order to keep his spot on the UFC’s bantamweight roster. Rivera was just officially announced on May 7th, and has little time to prepare for Soto. Rivera has fought twice for Zuffa, losing to Erik Koch at WEC 52 and ... Read More »]]>

Jeff Curran - photo by Joey Hill

The wheels are aligned, and the UFC’s partnership with Fox and their other channels is in full speed. On Tuesday, May 15th, the UFC returns to the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia for the third installment of UFC on Fuel TV. While the main card will air live on Fuel TV, the six preliminary fights will air via Facebook stream.

Kicking off the night of action, Alex Soto will take on late replacement Francisco Rivera. Soto is entering the fight off a quick knockout lsos to Michael McDonald at UFC 139 in November of 2011. He will need a victory in order to keep his spot on the UFC’s bantamweight roster. Rivera was just officially announced on May 7th, and has little time to prepare for Soto. Rivera has fought twice for Zuffa, losing to Erik Koch at WEC 52 and to Reuben Duran at the TUF 13 finale. He has since put together a two-fight win streak under the Tachi banner.

In a loser leaves the UFC, Jeff Curran takes on Johnny Eduardo. Curran returned to the UFC in October of 2011 against scott Jorgensen. Jorgensen was able to take Curran down and survive his guard, snapping a two-fight win streak for Big Frog. Eduardo will have been away from the cage for nine months after his unanimous decision loss to Raphael Assuncao. Both fighters have been informed, should they lose, they will be cut.

Rafael Dos Anjos finds himself in a difficult situation against Kamal Shalorus. Dos Anjos has struggled with fighters who have a good wrestling base and Shalorus fits that bill. Shalorus is on a two-fight losing skid and knowing a third loss could spell the end of his UFC career, will likely try to take Dos Anjos down and earn the victory there.

TJ Grant is unfortunately a very streaky fighter in the UFC division. Having gone 4-3 inside the octagon, winning one, then losing one, he’s on the wrong side of this situation against Carlo Prater. Prater is coming off his DQ victory over Erick Silva at UFC 142 where Silva punched him repeatedly in the back of the head. Prater got caught early, and Grant will likely want to implement a similar game plan.

Brad Tavares suffered the first loss of his career at UFC 132 in losing a unanimous decision to Aaron Simpson. The loss snapped a seven-fight win streak for Tavares. Standing across from him will be Dongi Yang who has gone just 1-2 inside the octagon. His lone win came over Rob Kimmons, while his two losses were to Chris Camozzi and Court McGee.

Finalizing the preliminary card, Marcus LeVesseur takes on Cody McKenzie. LeVesseur makes his UFC debut after compiling a three-fight win streak. McKenzie has won nearly every one of his fights by guillotine choke but has suffered back-to-back losses to Yves Edwards and Vagner Rocha. If the former Ultimate Fighter contestant wants to remain employed by the UFC, he will need to return to his winning ways.

Below are the full results for the entire card of Bellator 67:

Preliminary Welterweight Nathan Gunn vs Dom O’Grady Dom O’Grady defeats Nathan Gunn via submission (armbar) at 4:51 of round 2

Preliminary Catchweight (180 lbs.) Nordine Taleb vs Matt MacGrath Nordine Taleb defeats Matt McGrath via Technical Knock Out (punches) at 2:30 of round 2

Preliminary Featherweight Will Romero vs Matt Veal William Romero defeats Matt ... Read More »]]> Bellator 67 took place tonight in Rama, Ontario Canada on friday night at Casino Rama and was broadcasted on MTV-2 all around the world. In the main event, it was lightweight champion Michael Chandler who took care of Akihiro Gono quickly with his strikes, and pounded him out with punches just 56 seconds into round 1. In the co main event, it was Bryan Ford who defeated Ben Saunders by unanimous decision. The win advances Ford into the finals of the welterweight tournament.

Below are the full results for the entire card of Bellator 67:

Preliminary Welterweight
Nathan Gunn vs Dom O’Grady
Dom O’Grady defeats Nathan Gunn via submission (armbar) at 4:51 of round 2

Preliminary Catchweight (180 lbs.)
Nordine Taleb vs Matt MacGrath
Nordine Taleb defeats Matt McGrath via Technical Knock Out (punches) at 2:30 of round 2

Preliminary Featherweight
Will Romero vs Matt Veal
William Romero defeats Matt Veal via Technical Knock Out (strikes) at 4:22 of round 2

Preliminary Bantamweight
Nick Kirk vs David Harris
David Harris defeats Nick Kirk by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary Lightweight
Cosmo Alexandre vs Lorawnt Nelson
Cosmo Alexandre defeats Lorawnt Nelson by unanimous decision (30-27×3)

Main Welterweight
Ryan Ford vs Luis Santos
Ryan Ford defeats Luis Santos by Technical Knock Out (knee) at 1:24 of round 2

Main Heavyweight
Damian Grabowski vs Dave Huckaba
Damian Grabowski defeats Dave Huckaba via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Main Welterweight tournament semifinal
Ben Saunders vs Bryan Baker
Bryan Baked defeats Ben Saunders by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27×2)

Main Lightweight
Michael Chandler vs Akihiro Gono
Michael Chandler defeats Akihiro Gono by Technical Knock Out (punches) at :56 of round 1

The UFC On FOX MIller Vs. Diaz weigh-ins took place today the IZOD center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Below are the full weigh-in results for the entire card, and all fights will take place as scheduled. All of the fighters made weight with the exception of John Lineker who has 2 hours to lose 1 pound in order to make the limit. UPDATE: Lineker waived the 2 hour limit, and has been fined $1,200.oo which will go to his opponent Louis Gaudinot.

The fights begin tomorrow on Fuel at 5pm Eastern, and the main card begins at 8 pm Eastern on Fox.

Lightweight bout: Nate Diaz  156 lbs. Jim Miller 156 lbs

Welterweight bout: Josh Koscheck 170.5 lbs Johny Hendricks 170.5 lbs

Middleweight bout: Rousimar Palhares 186 lbs Alan Belcher 186 lbs

Heavyweight bout: Pat Barry 244 lbs Lavar Johnson 253 lbs

Lightweight bout: Tony Ferguson 154.5 lbs Michael Johnson 156 lbs

Flyweight bout: John Dodson 126 ... Read More »]]>

The UFC On FOX MIller Vs. Diaz weigh-ins took place today the IZOD center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Below are the full weigh-in results for the entire card, and all fights will take place as scheduled. All of the fighters made weight with the exception of John Lineker who has 2 hours to lose 1 pound in order to make the limit. UPDATE: Lineker waived the 2 hour limit, and has been fined $1,200.oo which will go to his opponent Louis Gaudinot.

The fights begin tomorrow on Fuel at 5pm Eastern, and the main card begins at 8 pm Eastern on Fox.

Lightweight bout:
Nate Diaz  156 lbs.
Jim Miller 156 lbs

Welterweight bout:
Josh Koscheck 170.5 lbs
Johny Hendricks 170.5 lbs

Middleweight bout:
Rousimar Palhares 186 lbs
Alan Belcher 186 lbs

Heavyweight bout:
Pat Barry 244 lbs
Lavar Johnson 253 lbs

Lightweight bout:
Tony Ferguson 154.5 lbs
Michael Johnson 156 lbs

Flyweight bout:
John Dodson 126 lbs
Tim Elliott 125 lbs

Welterweight bout:
John Hathaway 169 lbs
Pascal Krauss 169 lbs

Flyweight bout:
Louis Gaudinot 146 lbs
John Lineker 147 lbs *
*weighed in 1 pound over

Lightweight bout:
Danny Castillo 155 lbs
John Cholish 155.5 lbs

Featherweight bout:
Dennis Bermudez  145,5 lbs
Pablo Garza 145 lbs

Bantamweight bout:
Roland Delorme 135 lbs
Nick Denis 135 lbs

Middleweight bout:
Mike Massenzio 184 lbs
Karlos Vemola  185 lbs

Taurean Bogguess

Rafal Skibinski

Daniel Vizcaya

Andre Feliciano

Adam Ward

Andrew Krzeptowski

Brandon Wood

Damian Norris

Dan Aguirre

Hioki made his UFC debut at UFC 137 where he won a split decision over George Roop. Hioki didn’t look anything like his former self in that fight but decided to turn the heat up in his next fight at UFC Japan. There he took on Bart Palaszewski and showcased his skill set better than any of his previous fights before. After the victory, many had pegged Hioki to challenge for the featherweight title as the win put him on a two-fight win streak in the UFC and ... Read More »]]> An interesting featherweight bout has been scheduled for UFC on FX 4. The man many thought would be next to challenge Jose Aldo, Hatsu Hioki, has instead opted for one more fight inside the octagon. Stepping across the cage from him will be Team Top Notch’s Ricardo Lamas.

Hioki made his UFC debut at UFC 137 where he won a split decision over George Roop. Hioki didn’t look anything like his former self in that fight but decided to turn the heat up in his next fight at UFC Japan. There he took on Bart Palaszewski and showcased his skill set better than any of his previous fights before. After the victory, many had pegged Hioki to challenge for the featherweight title as the win put him on a two-fight win streak in the UFC and six-fight overall.

Lamas meanwhile is looking to just take the fight that is in front of him until there is nothing but the champion left for him to fight. Since dropping to the featherweight division, Lamas has put together a two-fight win streak with finishes over Matt Grice and Cub Swanson. Lamas was supposed to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 143, but had to withdraw due to injury.

UFC on FX 4 is headlined by Gray Maynard versus Clay Guida and will take place in Atlantic City, NJ.

Ford is entering the fight on a four-fight win streak. He has finished all four of his opponents in the first round, having a total fight time of just under 5 minutes. His latest victory came at LFC 50 when he submitted Ryan McIntosh a 1:17 into the first round.

Reardanz is looking to get back on the winning side of the equation after losing a tough fight to Genair da Silva at Bellator 60 in March. Da Silva was a last minute switch of opponent for Reardanz, his third for that card. Prior to the loss, Reardanz had put together ... Read More »]]>

IndyMMA Logo

Ford is entering the fight on a four-fight win streak. He has finished all four of his opponents in the first round, having a total fight time of just under 5 minutes. His latest victory came at LFC 50 when he submitted Ryan McIntosh a 1:17 into the first round.

Reardanz is looking to get back on the winning side of the equation after losing a tough fight to Genair da Silva at Bellator 60 in March. Da Silva was a last minute switch of opponent for Reardanz, his third for that card. Prior to the loss, Reardanz had put together a two-fight win streak with wins over Steven Baker and Dennis Dombrow.

The night of action is scheduled to feature four professional bouts and eleven amateur bouts. Headlining the amateur portion of the card is Cameron VanCamp taking on Jameson Sharp for the IndyMMA amateur lightweight title.

The full lineup includes:
Professional
Bobby Reardanz vs Justin Ford
Ronald Carter vs Cornelius George
Carson Gainey vs James Porter
Jonathan Tarrh vs Jason Gilliam

Amateur
Cameron VanCamp vs Jameson Sharp
Austin Tweedy vs Benjamin Ticen
Dustin Parrish vs A Warren
Gary Widget vs Daniel Blackburn
Michael Conte vs Justen Dowsett
Kyle Nickle vs Michael Walker
Damar Gibson vs Joseph Raney
Kamal Macon II vs James Eversole, Jr.
Kyle Davidson vs Paul Palacios
Brian Hood vs Kyle VanCamp
Jordan Hernandez vs Trey Cole

Maybe it was because the President Shannon Knapp and head of PR Mike Afromowitz used to work for Strikeforce before the merger, maybe it was because the fighters put it all on the line, or maybe it was because the concept to set themselves apart by having an all women’s card was the reasoning. No matter what ingredient one puts into the mix, it all worked and Invicta Fighting Championships delivered on Saturday, April 28th.

Hailing from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS, the show had the look and feel of a big ... Read More »]]>

Jessica Penne defeats Lisa Ellis At Invicta FC - photo by Joey Hill

There’s something to be said for a new promotion and their first show. Most times it seems like the people behind the show hit it out of the park, but then upon closer inspection lots of issues pop up. That wasn’t the case at all with Invicta Fighting Championships.

Maybe it was because the President Shannon Knapp and head of PR Mike Afromowitz used to work for Strikeforce before the merger, maybe it was because the fighters put it all on the line, or maybe it was because the concept to set themselves apart by having an all women’s card was the reasoning. No matter what ingredient one puts into the mix, it all worked and Invicta Fighting Championships delivered on Saturday, April 28th.

Hailing from Memorial Hall in Kansas City, KS, the show had the look and feel of a big time show, just in a smaller venue. While Memorial Hall has been featured on HDNet for Titan Fighting Championship and M-1 Fights, the size was considerably smaller than what appears on tv. The auditorium can play home to 3,500 fans, but that number wasn’t reached; a sad statement for what was quality mma that night.

However the fans that were in attendance, they knew what was going on. Surprisingly fight after fight, the fans had their favorites to root and cheer for. When Randi Miller came back from the beating she was receiving from Mollie Ashlers-Estes to win in the third round, the crowd went crazy. The audience continued to cheer when fighters like Amy Davis and Sarah Schneider locked on submissions and forced their opponents to tap. Even when Leslie Smith and Kaitlin Young finished a hard fought fifteen minutes in one of the most exciting fights of the night the crowd was not unhappy with the judges’s scorecards reading a draw.

Surprising even Marloes Coenen, the crowd erupted when she made her way to the cage. Even when asked directly about the fans support, she acknowledged that it was better in Kansas City than it was when she fought in Chicago.

The night couldn’t seem to go any better for everyone involved at Invicta, when the preliminary numbers came in for the live stream. Over 100,000 fans tuned in to the live stream to watch the inaugural event which likely far exceeded any goals Invicta had.

While the show had a big show feel to it, there were several things that did remind one that it was an upstart show. The number of media outlets in attendance at what was a special night was rather lackluster. Even with Afromowitz as head of the public relations, someone many members of the media built a relationship with while he was at Strikeforce, the number of media was not what I had expected.

Overall Invicta set the bar pretty high for themselves for their next show. During the broadcast they announced it would be taking place at the end of July, and several of the fighters who competed on Saturday night have already expressed their wishes to fight for the organization again.

Kansas City, Kansas

April 28, 2012

145 lbs. Marloes Coenen vs. Romy Ruyssen – Main Event

Ref: Chuck Wolf

Round One: Coenen took the center while Ruyssen moved around her. Coenen threw hand faints and Ruyssen responded in kind. Hard outside leg kick landed by Coenen. Ruyssen attempted a spinning back fist, but Coenen delivered another hard kick first. Ruyssen powered forward for a clinch against the cage. Dirty boxing and knees exchanged by both. Ruyssen leaned heavily on Coenen while against the cage. Ref called for time and removed a point away from Ruyssen for grabbing the cage. They restarted in the center. Coenen caught a kick from Ruyssen then Ruyssen pulled guard while her back was against the cage. Ruyssen started to slowly slip down the cage while Coenen punched her in the head on the way down. Coenen was ... Read More »]]> Invicta Fighting Championship

Kansas City, Kansas

April 28, 2012

145 lbs. Marloes Coenen vs. Romy Ruyssen – Main Event

Ref: Chuck Wolf

Round One: Coenen took the center while Ruyssen moved around her. Coenen threw hand faints and Ruyssen responded in kind. Hard outside leg kick landed by Coenen. Ruyssen attempted a spinning back fist, but Coenen delivered another hard kick first. Ruyssen powered forward for a clinch against the cage. Dirty boxing and knees exchanged by both. Ruyssen leaned heavily on Coenen while against the cage. Ref called for time and removed a point away from Ruyssen for grabbing the cage. They restarted in the center. Coenen caught a kick from Ruyssen then Ruyssen pulled guard while her back was against the cage. Ruyssen started to slowly slip down the cage while Coenen punched her in the head on the way down. Coenen was now in open guard landing more punches and kept control of her dominant position witch had Ruyssen’s right leg pinned to the side of her body. Ruyssen attempted to attack with left knees to the shoulder blade of Coenen. Ref called for a stand up due to lack of action. They restart in the center and Coenen delivered another outside leg kick. A straight left from Coenen that landed on the chin. Coenen moved the action to the cage again with Ruyssen’s back to the wall as the round ended.

Round Two: Ruyssen started the round more aggressive, but Coenen caught another kick and delivered punches from there. They both started to respect each other faints. Coenen pushed forward again against the cage with double under hooks. Ruyssen deafened with a knee across the hips. More knee strikes landed from Coenen to Ruyssen’s thighs. Ruyssen pulled guard again against the cage and slowly slid to the ground. Coenen backed away to let Ruyssen back to her feet and restart. A super woman punch from Ruyssen that left an opening for Coenen to charge forward and move the fight into clinch position against the cage. Ruyssen started to target the left ribs of Coenen against the cage. More knee strikes from Coenen to the legs of Ruyssen. The round ended with red attempting a single leg takedown.

Round Three: Coenen again took the center and opened up with outside leg kicks. Ruyssen kicked to the head, but it was blocked. A spinning back fist and body kick combo pushed Coenen back against the cage. The crowd was impressed. Coenen quickly turned the positions around on Ruyssen and worked more strikes to the body against the fence. High knees from Coenen, but Ruyssen pushed forward. Ruyssen able to wrap her arm around Coenen‘s head and then pulled guard for a modified guillotine choke. Ruyssen let it go after a few seconds and Coenen not falling for the trap. When Ruyssen’s feet hit the floor Coenen created space for a hard and clean elbow to Ruyssen’s face, then the action lulled. Ref restarts them in the center. Coenen delivered a solid push kick and the crowd responded by calling out the time left. Coenen leaned heavy on her opponent, then grabbed a leg of Ruyssen behind the knee and dropped her hard on the mat when the horn sounded.

Marloes Coenen defeated Romy Russen via Unanimous Decision (30.26 x3)

105 lbs. Jessica Penne vs. Lisa Ellis-Ward – Co-Main Event

Ref: Chuck Wolf

Round One: Ellis took the center as they measured each other up at first. Ellis landed first with an outside leg kick. Penne fired back with a punch combo, but Ellis avoids and lands punches of her own to Penne’s face. Penne took the center with punches, but Ellis clinched and secured the takedown via body lock and outside leg trip. Ellis reversed the position and ended in side control for an instant then Penne regained half guard. Penne landing punches to the right side of the rib cage. Penne moved to full guard and attempted to control the head of her opponent. Another armbar attempt from the bottom from Penne, but Ellis backed away. They restarted on their feet. Another transition into clinch from Penne that results in another takedown. The two scramble and end in an unusual position with Ellis’s arms trapped behind Penne‘s legs and her head and spine in front of Ellis’s knees.

Round Two: Ellis took the center but she reacted to Penne‘s faints. Penne rushed in for a tie up and takedown via body lock the landed in half guard. Penne threw punches to soften her opponent up, but Ellis moved to full guard. Ellis threw punches from the bottom to score points. As Penne postured up, Ellis used the space to place her feet on her hips and push off for the stand up. Penne pushed forward again, but Ellis bounced off the cage wall and charged forward for a takedown of her own. Now in Penne’s guard, she fell back for a leg lock that didn’t stick. Two up kicks landed to the face from Ellis. Ellis still on the bottom moved her guard up to attempt an armbar, but Penne used it as a slam opportunity. The crowd held their collective breath as it landed.

Round Three: Ellis opened with a body kick that was partially blocked. Ellis’ corner called for a six strike, but Penne not giving her the space. They clinch up and both throw knees that didn’t land hard. Ellis with a body lock and secured the takedown. The crowd reacted to Ellis’s face, which is now bloody, but she’s in guard non-the-less. Penne reverses the position and end in side control. With a few punches she moved to mount. Ellis turns over for protection, but more punches from Penne followed. Ref stepped in to save Ellis from more punishment.

Jessica Penne defeated Lisa Ellis-Ward via TKO at 2.48 in round three

135 lbs. Liz Carmouche vs. Ashleigh Curry

Ref: Greg Franklin

Round One: Carmouche took the center and delivered a solid spinning back fist that stuns Curry and sent her backwards. Carmouche moved in for an easy takedown and delivered several punches from postured guard against the cage. Carmouche moved to side control for more punches, then to full mount. Curry covered and reached up to control Carmouche for all she could. Carmouche locked down Curry’s fight arm with her left knee then unloaded the hammer fists to the side of the head. Ref stepped in to call the fight and rescue Curry.

Liz Carmuche defeated Ashleigh Curry via TKO at 1.58 in round one

135 lbs. Leslie Smith vs. Kaitlin Young

Ref: Greg Franklin

Round One: Smith took the center and threw first. She delivered a sneaky upper cut and body shots. Young pushed forward and pulled guard. Young worked from the bottom from high guard and landed punches. Smith held her opponent down to gain control of the fight. Young with several submission attempts from the bottom as Smith fought her way back the feet. Both fighters stood in front of each other and delivered several strikes. Knees, elbows, body punches and punches to the head all thrown and landed. Young able to land more outside leg kicks than Smith at this point. Smith caught looking at the clock and Young moved in to land more strikes. Both still seem fresh and pushed forward towards each other with flurries. Young landed a strong body kick that ignited Smith to push forward with several punches as the round ended. Crowd is defiantly in this fight.

Round Two: Smith took the center again, but Young landed stronger shots. Smith stalked Young down, but Young happy to pick her shots with conviction. Smith threw faints to try and confuse her opponent, but Young stayed focused. Young able to avoid strikes with good head movement and timing with counter strikes. Young caught Smith with fast hand combos in the middle frame. Both fighters turned it on as the round ended.

Round Three: Smith ran across the cage to meet her opponent to open the round. Young still seems calm and in control of the fight with counter strikes that consists of punches and knees. Smith with an over hand right that made Young dive in for a takedown. Young worked against the cage with a high crotch grab. Smith was able to reverse the attempt for a takedown of her own and end in Young’s guard. Young able to secure an armbar attempt, but Smith fought out of that the moved to side control then an armbar attempt of her own. Young fought of that attempt and stood back up. Young on her feet, but had blood flowing from the left side of her head. She pushed forward all the same. Smith landed an over hand right then another punch to the body. Young answered with a body kick. Both fighters’ hands are still as high as the productivity. Crowd was behind this fight and completely engaged. Young delivered one last hard leg kick and Smith countered with a one-two combo to end a great fight.

Draw 29.28 for Smith; 29.28 for Young; 29.29

135 lbs. Sarah D’Alelio vs. Vanessa Mariscal

Ref: Chuck Wolf

Round One: D’Alelio took the center as both look for their range. D’Alelio moved in for the quick tie up and trip takedown into half guard. D’Alelio moved to the back mount and landed few punches before Mariscal rolled D’Alelio on to her own back. Mariscal kept rolling to get out of the submissive position. D’Alelio did a great job of keeping on Mariscal’s back and landed punches to the side of the head. D’Alelio again with another RNC submission attempt in between punch combos. D’Alelio had full control and flattened Mariscal out several times. Mariscal displayed great hand fighting defense to stay in the fight early. Mariscal was able to gain two-on-one with the hands and prevent the choke. D’Alelio landed more punches from back mount. Mariscal landed powerful back elbows the face of D’Alelio. D’Alelio answered with punches of her own. D’Alelio feverously punched Mariscal as the round ended.

Round Two: D’Alelio took the center again, but it’s Mariscal who landed the better punches with one-twos to the jaw. D’Alelio not backing down and delivered punches of her own. D’Alelio seemed slower now compared to the last round, but secures the takedown into half guard. Fierce battle for leg control and D’Alelio won it then moved into full mount. Punches from D’Alelio found a home on Mariscal’s chin and the side of her head. Mariscal turned over to give up the back, but D’Alelio didn’t stop landing punches. Mariscal tapped out and the ref called the fight.

Sarah D’Alelio defeated Vanessa Mariscal via Tapout due to strikes at 3.19 in round two

115 lbs. Sally Krumdiack vs. Sarah Schneider

Ref: Chuck Wolf

Round One: Krumdiack took the center but both strike with body kicks at the same time. Nothing landed, but Krumdiack clinched and put Schneider against the cage. Krumdiack worked hard for a takedown or at least space to work close range strikes like knees and elbows. Schneider defended well and tied up when she could. Krumdiack secured the takedown and fell into full guard. Schneider moved her hips up for high guard and moved into a triangle choke from the bottom. Krumdiack started bleeding from her nose and the ref called the fight.

Sarah Schneider defeated Sally Krumdiack via Tapout due to armbar at 3.01 in round one

105 lbs. Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc vs. Amy Davis

Ref: Greg Franklin

Round One: Fight started in a flurry from both fighters. Calanoc pushed the action to the cage wall with Davis’s back against the cage. Calanoc dragged a single leg out for a spinning takedown. Davis worked form the bottom for a triangle submission that looked deep. Calanoc tried to stack her opponent as Davis tried to tighten the hold. Calanoc kept moving to avoid the submission and she popped her head out the back. Calanoc again pushed her opponent’s back against the cage and delivered knees to the thighs. Calanoc leaned heavily on Davis while she worked for another takedown. Another dragging single leg takedown secured by Calanoc. Davis delivered punches to the left ribcage of Calanoc and secured butterfly guard. Calanoc tried to posture up and land punches, but mostly unsuccessful. Davis looked to wall walk up and completed it. The fighters deliver one last fury as the round ended.

Round Two: Davis opened up with leg kicks, both low and to the body. Calanoc tried to punch her way inside. Calanoc dove in for a takedown and Davis countered by attempting a guillotine choke. Calanoc recognized the attempt and popped her head out. Fighters fought against the cage as Calanoc delivered body shots and Davis looked for the tie up. Calanoc with an unusual takedown that let Davis secure a crucifix, but Calanoc fought out of that with a major sense of urgency. Davis still had control of the upper body of Calanoc and went in for more punches. Once softened up, Davis secured the kimura for the tap and stoppage.

Amy Davis defeats Micdali Rivera-Calanoc via Tapout due to a kimura chock at 3.47 in round two

125 lbs. Sarah Maloy vs. Michele Gutierrez

Ref: Chuck Wolf

Round One: Maloy opened up with a super woman punch that made Gutierrez back off and circle the cage. Maloy kept up with the dramatic strikes to keep Gutierrez away from her. Gutierrez attempted to counter strike the heavy strike attempts. Crowd got demanding early. Maloy pushed the action hard and with several strikes. Maloy landed a head kick that was partially blocked and the crowd is back in the fight. Gutierrez maintained a large distance with in the fight. Maloy has created red marks on Gutierrez’s left leg. Maloy tried to chase down Gutierrez as the round ends.

Round Two: Gutierrez opened up with a body kick that went towards the spine as Maloy tried to spin and avoid the strike. Gutierrez came out more aggressive in this round and already land a punch combo within the first few seconds. Maloy took the center of the cage again and pushed back Gutierrez with strike attempts. Gutierrez came over the top and landed a left hook while Maloy pushed forward. Maloy pushed forward with more combo and heavy single attacks more than Gutierrez. Gutierrez landed a huge left hook and dropped Maloy hard. However she was unable to capitalize because Gutierrez slipped on the ground. After a few punches in guard from Gutierrez she decided to let Maloy stand back up as the round ended.

Round Three: Both traded kicks to open the round. Maloy again dominating the aggression and pushed Gutierrez around the cage at will. Gutierrez looked to counter attack. Maloy kept coming up with different attacks to throw while Gutierrez was not attacking back. Crowd started to get noisy at this point. Gutierrez showed great footwork to move around and dodge attacks, but not much aggression from her as the fight ends.

Sarah Maloy defeated Michele Gutierrez via Unanimous Decision (29.28 x2 30.27)

145 lbs. Mollie Ashlers-Estes vs. Randi Miller

Ref: Michelle Browning

Round One: Miller charged directly after Estes to start the fight. They tied up and delivered knees to each other. Miller was unable to secure a takedown on Estes this early in the fight. During a brief break from the clinch, Estes was able to land an elbow to the head. Still in the clinch, Estes delivered several knees aimed at the head. Miller with deep under hooks unable to get the fight in her arena of wrestling. Estes fought off of her back against the cage well. Another knee delivered from Estes, but Miller back on the attack of a takedown attempt. Miller attempted knee strikes of her own, but with little power behind them. Miller pushed Estes backwards with heavy punch attempts.

Round Two: Miller again chased down Estes, but she defended well enough to keep the fight standing. Miller gained under hooks again and Estes delivered more knees. Estes able to turn the fight with Miller‘s back against the cage for an instant, but Miller went for a low ankle pick. Estes stepped over with her other leg to stand over Miller‘s back and moved in for an armbar attempt. Miller fought out of the submission attempt and in half guard. Miller used her position to land several punches and take Estes’s back. With poor submission attempt from Miller, Estes was able to use the cage wall to stand up. The crowd loved the back and forth action. Miller again moved in for a low ankle pick and Estes again moved to take the back. Miller learning from her previous mistakes and countered into mount position to end the round on top and landing punches.

Round Three: Estes opened up with low and push kicks to keep away from takedown attempts. Estes able to keep Miller away from her most of the time via cross face to the jaw while on the feet. Estes landed a clean jab then Miller pushed forward to hold her against the cage while she worked for a takedown. Miller worked deep for a double leg takedown and scored it. Miller quickly moved in to half guard. Miller was able to throw elbows and punches from her position and scored with a few. With Estes not fighting back the ref came in to end the fight.

Randi Miller defeated Mollie Ashlers-Estes via TKO at 3.27 in round three

115 lbs. Ashley Cummins vs. Sofia Bagherdai

Ref: Michelle Browning

Round One: Bagherdai took the center throwing faint jabs and low kicks. Cummins waited for her opportunity to grab a leg for a takedown and scored with it. Bagherdai countered with a guillotine choke for several seconds until Cummins worked out of it and ended in guard. Cummins pushed the action against the cage on the ground while Bagherdai worked to get her out of her guard to stand up against the cage. Cummins worked hard for a single leg takedown. Bagherdai countered but pushing down on the head and stepping back into the center. Crowd fully invested in this fight. Bagherdai started landing right hooks to Cummin’s head. Cummins pushed forward to get back to the cage with under-over position. Again tried the single leg, but Bagherdai with good defense and back to center on the feet. Bagherdai tried to set up combos, but Cummins rushed in for a takedown attempt. Back to cage work for these two. Red scored with a takedown and punched along the way down. Crowd excited to see it. Bagherdai attempted an armbar from the bottom as the round ended.

Round Two: Bagherdai started again with more jabs to gage distance and landed a spinning back elbow that didn’t faze her opponent. This fight stayed on the feet with great exchanges by both fighters. Bagherdai tried to counter Cummins with overhand rights. Cummins used that to shoot in and move against the cage for knee and clinch work. Again Cummins worked on a single leg. More defense demonstration from Bagherdai. Cummins finally secured the takedown into guard and Bagherdai worked hard to get up. Cummins moved into side control and worked towards crucifix or mount. Bagherdai used that space during the transition to push off Cummins and get back to the feet. Cummins immediately shot in again and got another takedown into guard as the round ended.

Round Three: Bagherdai out with more jabs while Cummins waited to counter strike. Cummins started to land early in the round. Cummins started to mix up her striking by adding in low and body kicks to her attacks. Bagherdai just missed with a spinning heel kick and Cummins used that opening to dive in for another takedown attempt against the cage. Bagherdai still fought off well deep into the fight. Cummins secured the takedown by spinning her opponent. Bagherdai was able to escape again by pushing off Cummins. Cummins landed a solid one-two punch on the counter attack. Cummins pushed forward with Bagherdai backing away from the action. Bagherdai had two spinning back elbow attempts at the end of the fight. Crowd gave their approval and appreciation to both fighters.

Ashley Cummins defeated Sofia Bagherdai via Unanimous Decision (30.27 x2, 29.28)

105 lbs. Cassie Rodish vs. Meghan Wright

Ref: Greg Franklin

Round One: Wright came out wanting to touch gloves, but Rodish was not having it. When they got close, both fighters started to throw punches. Within the fury Rodish pushed Wright against the cage and held her head in a front headlock. Once settling, Rodish secured her arms around the neck and pressed her hips forward to apply the presser. Wright quickly tapped afterwards.

Cassie Rodish defeated Meghan Wright via Tapout via a guillotine choke at .32 seconds in round one

Quick Results:

Marloes Coenen defeated Romy Russen via Unanimous Decision (30.26 x3)

Jessica Penne defeated Lisa Ellis-Ward via TKO at 2.48 in round three

Liz Carmuche defeated Ashleigh Curry via TKO at 1.58 in round one

Leslie Smith vs. Kaitlin Young resulted in a Draw (29.28 for Smith; 29.28 for Young; 29.29)

Sarah D’Alelio defeated Vanessa Mariscal via Tapout due to strikes at 3.19 in round two

Sarah Schneider defeated Sally Krumdiack via Tapout due to armbar at 3.01 in round one

Amy Davis defeats Micdali Rivera-Calanoc via Tapout due to kimura chock at 3.47 in round two

Sarah Maloy defeated Michele Gutierrez via Unanimous Decision (29.28 x2 30.27)

Randi Miller defeated Mollie Ashlers-Estes via TKO at 3.27 in round three

Ashley Cummins defeated Sofia Bagherdai via Unanimous Decision (30.27 x2, 29.28)

Cassie Rodish defeated Meghan Wright via Tapout via a guillotine choke at .32 seconds in round one

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Below are the full weigh in results:

Featherweight bout: Marloes Coenen (146.0) vs Romy Ruyssen (149.8)*

Atomweight bout: Jessica Penne (105.6) vs Lisa Ellis (106.0)

Bantamweight bout: Liz Carmouche (134.2) vs Ashleigh Curry (136.0)**

Bantamweight bout: Kaitlin Young (135.4) vs Leslie Smith (135.0)

Bantamweight bout: Sarah D’Alelio (135.2) vs Vanessa Mariscal (136.0)

Strawweight bout: Sally Krumdiack (113.6) vs Sarah Schneider (115.6)

Atomweight bout: Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (105.4) vs Amy Davis (105.6)

Flyweight bout: Sarah ... Read More »]]> The official weigh ins took place today for Invicta Fighting Championship’s first event. Although all fights will go on as planned, 4 of the competitors missed weight, and they will forfeit %’s of their purse.  Although the promoters set up strict rules to ensure that the fighters made weight, including a soft weigh-in on Thursday and stiff financial penalties, Romy Ruyssen, Ashleigh Curry(made on second attempt,) Randi Miller and Sofia Bagherdai were all unable to meet their weight requirements for the all female card.

Below are the full weigh in results:

Featherweight bout:
Marloes Coenen (146.0) vs Romy Ruyssen (149.8)*

Atomweight bout:
Jessica Penne (105.6) vs Lisa Ellis (106.0)

Bantamweight bout:
Liz Carmouche (134.2) vs Ashleigh Curry (136.0)**

Bantamweight bout:
Kaitlin Young (135.4) vs Leslie Smith (135.0)

Bantamweight bout:
Sarah D’Alelio (135.2) vs Vanessa Mariscal (136.0)

Strawweight bout:
Sally Krumdiack (113.6) vs Sarah Schneider (115.6)

Atomweight bout:
Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (105.4) vs Amy Davis (105.6)

Flyweight bout:
Sarah Maloy (125.4) vs Michele Gutierrez (125.0)

Featherweight bout:
Randi Miller (149.0)* vs Mollie Estes (145.0)

Strawweight bout:
Ashley Cummins (115.0) vs Sofia Bagherdai (120.6)*

Atomweight bout:
Cassie Rodish (105.2) vs Meghan Wright (103.6)

*missed weight and will forfeit 25% of fight purse
** Curry made weight on the second attempt, but per the rules she loses 10% of fight purse

Third Star: Big Ben Rothwell

Not only has Ben Rothwell been streaky since he came into the UFC, before Saturday he was ... Read More »]]> We saw a lot of strange things at UFC 145 in Atlanta for the UFC’s first pay per view event after a long 6 week hiatus. We saw Mac Danzig gut his way through a visually injured ankle to a win over Effrain Escudero, we saw Eddie Yagin do sit ups while his opponent Mark Hominick did push ups after the final bell, and we even saw a machismo fueled tumbling exposition from Maximo Blanco and Marcus Brimage after a snoozer of a fight. Yes, you can never again question the heart of Mac Danzig, but unfortunately none of those things alone will get you on the three stars list. Lets get to this! The Better late then never edition:

Third Star: Big Ben Rothwell

Not only has Ben Rothwell been streaky since he came into the UFC, before Saturday he was 1-2, but he has also only fought one time a year since 2009 because of injuries. As soon as I saw Rothwell at the weigh-ins I regretted my Brendan Schaub pick. I haven’t seen Rothwell look that good physically since he was in the IFL. I thought Schaub would be way too athletic for him, and would push him into a situation where Rothwell would have to rely on his strength and conditioning. I was almost right. I really thought it was all down hill after Schaub landed a perfect spinning back elbow that left Rothwell backpedalling and wobbling. The always gritty Rothwell was able to get enough of his senses back in time to land a big shot on the chin of Schaub. When Rothwell followed him to the ground, he landed some of the biggest punches I’ve seen in a while from inside the guard. From now on that is what I will think about when I hear the term ground and pound, and the punishing blows earned him the win, the knockout of the night bonus, and the third star.

Second Star: Michael McDonald

The 15-1 McDonald, now 4-0 in the UFC, seems to be getting more and more exciting as he gets more and more experience. In his four UFC bouts he has a fight of the night bonus, and a knockout of the night bonus. Had Schaub not landed that spinning back elbow before Rothwell knocked him out, he would probably have the KO of the night bonus from 145 as well. Miguel Torres was 37-1 when he lost his WEC championship belt, and since he has been 3-4 (2-2 in the UFC.) I am not quite sure why Torres insists on doing a Jorge Gurgel impression, and completely disregarding his top shelf jiu-jitsu, as he has been finished 3 of the four times in his losses. Yes, one was a submission to Joseph Benavidez, but it came after he was hurt on the feet. All said and done, this hardly matters to our second star winner.

You could see from a mile away that Torres was looking straight down when McDonald was charging in with strikes, much like when Junior dos Santos handed Febricio Werdum his walking papers at UFC 90. It was a pro move for McDonald to pick up on that so early in the fight. Much like the Werdum knockout, Torres switched off like a computer, and was out before he hit the floor. The 21 year old McDonald has some growing to do in the sport, but this is a signature win that put him on the map. Perfect timing, a perfect upper cut, and a perfect game plan won him this fight as well as the second star. Congratulations to McDonald who has only been able to legally drink alcohol for 3 months.

Third Star: Jon Jones

With every fight Jon Jones silences another group of people. In his Last fight against Lyoto Machida, even though Shogun landed on him a few times, it was “Can Jon Jones take a punch?” In this fight it was “Can Jon Jones stop the takedown?” Everyone ate it up as well. A ton of late money came in on Rashad Evans that significantly moved the odds closer together, and the bookies made a fortune. Not only did Jones stop the takedown, he made Evan’s takedowns look almost silly.

There are only a few special fighters on the planet, and when I am asked how I can tell the difference or how I spot them, I always give the same answer. Special fighters make other really talented fighters look like mediocre fighters in the fight. We KNOW Shogun Rua is a great fighter, we KNOW Machida is a great fighter, and we KNOW Evans is too, but Jones made them look mediocre on fight night. This is what all the greats in MMA and boxing have done, and the most recent example of that is Anderson Silva. In my opinion, Jones has years ahead of him before he will ever eclipse the accomplishments of Silva, but its simple to argue that he is a prime candidate to do so.

There were a bunch of weird dynamics playing in this fight. The trash talking, the seemingly endless run up, the facts they trained together and once called each other brothers, and that Jackson was in Jones’s corner. For these reasons, we got our first glimpse of a tentative Jon Jones. These moments are just as important as the all out blitzkrieg approach he has shown in the past, because it shows he can ramp up his aggression and reel it back. His calmness and demeanor in the corner is also something that should be noted, it takes a certain person to calmly ask “What would you suggest coach?” in the middle of a championship fight.

Everyone thinks grudge matches are going to turn into all out bloody wars, but most of the time its the opposite. These guys talked so much before they got in the octagon, neither wanted to look foolish or eat crow if the other got his hand raised. In Jon’s corner, at the end of the 3rd and 4th round, it was obvious they were going to take this to a decision unless a finish revealed itself in the fight. It’s a game plan many were hoping against, but it was the one that worked and earned the 24 year old Jon Jones his 3 title defense.  With all of the previously discussed quirks coming into play, one can hardly blame him or his training staff. That is why he earned the first star at UFC 145.

Headlining the card will be Kevin Nowaczyk taking on Chuck O’Neil. Nowaczyk is a local fan favorite having fought four times for Hoosier Fight Club. The Chicago native is coming off a TKO victory over Joe Alexander at HFC 10.

O’Neil was part of the thirteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter. He lost a decision at the show’s finale to Chris Cope. He rebounded with a victory over former UFC fighter Marcus Davis at Warrior One MMA in Florida ... Read More »]]>

HFC 11 Poster

Headlining the card will be Kevin Nowaczyk taking on Chuck O’Neil. Nowaczyk is a local fan favorite having fought four times for Hoosier Fight Club. The Chicago native is coming off a TKO victory over Joe Alexander at HFC 10.

O’Neil was part of the thirteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter. He lost a decision at the show’s finale to Chris Cope. He rebounded with a victory over former UFC fighter Marcus Davis at Warrior One MMA in Florida in October of 2011.

Lloyd Carter just snapped a two-fight losing streak at IndyMMA by knocking out Jeremy Pender in just over 90 seconds. His fight prior to the Pender fight was as a late replacement against Carson Beebe at XFO 42 where he lost a unanimous decision. He will be fighting Larry DiGiulio at HFC 11. DiGiulio is riding a three-fight win streak into the fight and has finished four of his six opponents.

Other notables on the card include Midwest Training Center’s Kevin Switalla making his professional debut against Terry House, Lukasz Grabowski fighting Billy Johnson and Jake Grigson throwing down with Robert Menigoz.

The full lineup for HFC 11 includes:
Professional Card
Chuck O’Neil vs Kevin Nowaczyk
Anthony Hill vs Lance Surma
Jake Grigson vs Robert Menigoz
Daniel Sandmann vs John Cantu
Michael Shields vs Matthew Hemry
Kevin Switalla vs Terry House, Jr.
Larry DiGiulio vs Lloyd Carter
Lukasz Grabowski vs Billy Johnson

Amateur Card
Brandon Shelhart vs Jacob Morales
Ricky Newton vs Kyle Klein
David Rohn vs James Frasure II
Jonathan Ciavirelli vs Jonathan Bandy
Nicholas Armstrong vs John Lutz

While no fights have been made official yet, several fighters have been signed up to fight for the promotion. Midwest Training Center’s Will Brooks has been slotted to fight in the main event of the evening. Brooks has amassed a perfect 5-0 record as a professional, finishing all five of his opponents. In December of 2011, he flew out to Vegas to audition for the first season of TUF Live. Brooks was made an alternate for the show in case someone who won was injured and couldn’t continue. ... Read More »]]>

Ramy Daoud - photo by Joey Hill

Xtreme Fighting Organization is holding nothing back for their next professional show at the Sears Centre on Saturday June 16. The night of action will see a mix of both amateur and professional mixed martial arts fights and Big John McCarthy will be in house as a special guest referee for the night.

While no fights have been made official yet, several fighters have been signed up to fight for the promotion. Midwest Training Center’s Will Brooks has been slotted to fight in the main event of the evening. Brooks has amassed a perfect 5-0 record as a professional, finishing all five of his opponents. In December of 2011, he flew out to Vegas to audition for the first season of TUF Live. Brooks was made an alternate for the show in case someone who won was injured and couldn’t continue. Unfortunately that didn’t pan out, and now Brooks is looking to continue his winning ways.

Brooks’ teammate Ramy Daoud will also be on the card. Daoud was supposed to fight at XFO 43, but his opponent Johnny Coleman no-showed the weigh-ins and forfeited his fight. Daoud has taken time away from competing inside the cage, but is well versed in leg submissions and brings an exciting fight.

Other fighters who are scheduled to appear include Cory Galloway, Lucas Grabowski, Mike Budnik, Josh Estrada, Chris Haney, Andre Feliciano, and Phil Williams.

XFO 44 takes place on Saturday, June 16 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Tickets are available at www.xfomma.com starting at just $25.

Because of the name TapouT it’s obvious that they are trying to tap into the mixed martial arts fan base. And rightfully so. Many fans will automatically connect with seeing some of their favorite fighters not only in the promotional materials, but also working out. TapouT XT also says that there are no weights, no pull ups and no gym memberships. This is a great cost saver for those that have considered P90X which does require weights and a pullup ... Read More »]]>

TapouT XT Logo

The hardest part of any new workout or diet program is starting it and continuing it for the first ten days. It’s because of this that nearly every 90 day program wants you to take results at the ten day mark. But first, let’s take a look at what TapouT XT offers and how it differs from other 90 day programs.

Because of the name TapouT it’s obvious that they are trying to tap into the mixed martial arts fan base. And rightfully so. Many fans will automatically connect with seeing some of their favorite fighters not only in the promotional materials, but also working out. TapouT XT also says that there are no weights, no pull ups and no gym memberships. This is a great cost saver for those that have considered P90X which does require weights and a pullup bar.

Everything one needs is in the box for TapouT XT. This includes 13 DVDs, a nutrition guide, a 10 day slim down guide, 12 week workout guide, two resistance bands, a towel and some promotional materials. What’s not included in the box that are extras are hand weights and tighter bands.

The first thing one needs to tackle is the nutrition guides. They are vital to your success. I started with the 10 day slim down guide and I was a bit disappointed. Yes it had 10 days worth of meals planned for me, but it was in the form of Breakfast, Snack, Lunch or Dinner. Yes the last part said Lunch or Dinner. Was this supposed to be a “pick one meal to have and skip the other” or was I supposed to pick a lunch or dinner from a different day for the opposite meal?

Because of how I was eating prior, I opted to have three meals a day and up to two snacks. Most every meal I ate was modeled after the 10 day slim down guide; few carbs that weren’t a fruit, and a lot of salad and protein.

The regular nutrition guide is not without it’s flaws either. This guide doesn’t include snacks, but does offer the benefit of stating three meals per day. One thing that becomes immediately apparent is the portion size and what is really needed versus what we are used to eating.

Ten days worth of workouts and you tackle a variety of them. One great thing that is said a lot in the videos is that you shouldn’t be able to keep up with the people in the video, that they have been doing it for 90 days. Mike mentions taking breaks when you need it, which is a good thing for those just starting out.

Previous workout plans that I have tried to tackle seemed to focus on working specific muscles each day without overlapping much. TapouT XT likes to make you think that’s the case, but in doing the workouts, you realize that nearly every workout is a full body workout. While the first workout is Cross Core Combat and works your core, you will likely be sore everywhere. Moving onto day two of Strength Force Upper and Ultimate Abs, your core is still sore but you must push through it.

The third day is arguably the hardest workout in Plyo XT. This workout is made harder for a variety of reasons that could be fixed. Mike consistently calls the workout Legs instead of Plyo. He only mentions that it is Plyo one time. Additionally there are some edits in the video that make you wonder if your pace is completely off as they cut from person to person.

After Plyo, you are treated to a nice day of stretching in Yoga. Yoga will likely be the hardest day for many. Maybe not from a calories burned stand point, but it is very difficult to hold a pose for as long as is needed. And after the previous day’s Plyo, one of the first poses is a genie pose and one’s legs and gluts are on fire the entire time.

Legs & Back and Sprawl & Brawl round out the first week and these seem like cake walks compared to the previous four days. They aren’t easy workouts by any means, but they are placed there to make you feel like you are getting better. Repeat the first four workouts, and that’s where I am at after ten days.

So what are my results? In ten days I dropped 8.8lbs, lost 1.5 inches around my chest, 1 inch around my hips and 2 inches around my belly. By no means am I anywhere close to what they are calling a TapouT body, but maybe by day 90 I will get there. Next update will be at day 30 and look for videos and pics to be posted by then as well.

Several fighters who competed at CC20 will be in action again at CC21. Both Tyson Triplett, Sr and Robert Nieto were victorious in March and now look to throw down to see who will move up in the Colosseum Combat ranks. Nieto earned a unanimous decision over Jamey Scruggs in a hard fought three-round battle and Triplett scored the TKO victory over Michael Eikenberry in the first round.

Evan DeLong scored the biggest win of his career when he earned a unanimous decision over Daniel Head. Head was the considered by ... Read More »]]>

Colosseum Combat 21 Poster

Colosseum Combat XXI will be taking place on Saturday, May 12 at the Kokomo Events Center in Kokomo, Indiana. The night’s main event featuring Chase Beebe versus Cory Mahon is signed and ready to go, as are five other pro fights that will follow the night’s amateur portion of the card.

Several fighters who competed at CC20 will be in action again at CC21. Both Tyson Triplett, Sr and Robert Nieto were victorious in March and now look to throw down to see who will move up in the Colosseum Combat ranks. Nieto earned a unanimous decision over Jamey Scruggs in a hard fought three-round battle and Triplett scored the TKO victory over Michael Eikenberry in the first round.

Evan DeLong scored the biggest win of his career when he earned a unanimous decision over Daniel Head. Head was the considered by many to not only be the fan favorite, but also the favorite to win the fight. His opponent is Luke Taylor who has competed for Colosseum Combat before, earning a TKO victory over Michael Eikenberry at CC 17 in June of 2011. Taylor will likely have a bit of ring rust as it has been a year since his last fight.

Casey Craft will do battle with another CC vet as he takes on Atsuhiro Takano. Takano made his pro debut in January, earning an arm triangle submission over Michael Shields. Craft is 2-1 as a pro, and holds a two-fight win streak in 2012 with stoppages in all his fights.

The full lineup for Colosseum Combat 21’s card includes:
Pro Card
Main Event: Chase Beebe vs Cory Mahon
Roberto Nieto vs Tyson Triplett
Devin Miller vs Bobby Emmons
Atsuhiro Takano vs Casey Craft
Brady Hovermale vs Ryan Smith
Evan DeLong vs Luke Taylor

Amateur Card
Jacob Hurlock vs Zach Edington
Adam ‘Gonzo’ Gonzales vs Clint Maclin
Robert Duke vs Enrique Nunez
Drew Walters vs Reece Stepler
Patrick Ruby vs Brandon Slabaugh
Ryan Kenworthy vs Deryck Rothenberger
Andrew Ferguson vs Josh Sorrels
Clint Hoskins vs David Booth

Jon “Bones” Jones is the first ever UFC sponsored fighter, and he came through. Jones out-struck Evans in all five-rounds of action. He took a few speed bombs from Evans, as well as a head-kick at the end of the first round – but the champion proved too long and crafty for Evans to deal with. Numerous front kicks, long punches, and sneeky, vicious elbows ... Read More »]]>

Evans and Jones get ready to battle at UFC 145 - Photo by: JoeyHill.com

The champion is here to stay.

With four victories over four former champions, Jon Jones has now completed what was lingering as his toughest task – he has defeated Rashad Evans. Jones bested Evans in a five-round Unanimous Decision at UFC 145 at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on April 21st, 2012. The pair headlined a stacked six-fight main-card infront of a sold-out audience, and though they went the distance, the fight surely did not dissappoint.

Jon “Bones” Jones is the first ever UFC sponsored fighter, and he came through. Jones out-struck Evans in all five-rounds of action. He took a few speed bombs from Evans, as well as a head-kick at the end of the first round – but the champion proved too long and crafty for Evans to deal with. Numerous front kicks, long punches, and sneeky, vicious elbows kept Evans at bay, rocking him on multiple occasions.

Possibly the most interesting things about the fight was Evans unwillingness to wrestle. Almost everyone, including Jones, expected him to be hunting for take-downs. A few brief clinches and a couple of moderate commitments to a double are about all we saw from Evans. I personally expected him to run Jones down and attach himself to Jones’ hips, making the fight a tight fence-clinching take-down battle.

His choice to strike was probably very thought out – maybe he felt, “as if”, to use a Jones term, he wouldn’t be able to win the wrestling match? It appears that he had no confidence in his abilities to take Jones down even once. This speaks volumes on just how good Jones’ Greco-Roman style of wrestling really is. It shows us that the common “hold him down” game-plan forseen to defeat Anderson Silva may not apply to Jones, and that he may be excelling to new levels unforeseen in MMA.

Next up for Jones will be an old, tough veteran in Dan Henderson. A big right hand is all Jones really has to worry about in this match-up, and it is likely that he will be a very heavy favorite. Looking beyond Henderson, there really aren’t many light-heavyweights that seem like they will be able to challenge Jones. He has already defeated Ryan Bader, Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and now Rashad Evans.

Alexander Gustafsson has been a hot topic, but can he deal with the wrestling? Phil Davis may be a threat, but will his striking and MMA wrestling ever get to that level? One must look to Strikeforce to find top 205′ers like Gegard Mousasi, King Mo Lawal, and Rafael Feijao Cavalcante to find possible competitive match-ups. Based on the landscape of the division under Jones, he is going to be the reigning champion for a long, long time. Welcome to the Jones era.

Fight Night Bonuses: ($65,000) Travis Browne: Submission of the night Ben Rothwell: Knockout of the night Eddie Yagin Vs Mark Hominick: Fight of the night

Below are the full quick Results for UFC 145: Jones Vs Evans

Main Card Light Heavyweight Championship Bout: Champion: Jon Jones (205 lbs) vs. (Challenger) ... Read More »]]> UFC 145 took place tonight in front of a sold out crowd Saturday night in Atlanta, Georgia. In the main event it was champion Jon Jones who defended his belt in a five round unanimous decision over former training partner Rashad Evans. The fight wasn’t as exciting as some were expecting, but it was another dominant win for the defending champion. In the co-main event, it was the young Rory MacDonald who laid some violent ground and pound at the end of the first round, and finished the veteran Che Mills in the second frame with same pressure.

Fight Night Bonuses: ($65,000)
Travis Browne: Submission of the night
Ben Rothwell: Knockout of the night
Eddie Yagin Vs Mark Hominick: Fight of the night

Below are the full quick Results for UFC 145: Jones Vs Evans

Main Card
Light Heavyweight Championship Bout:
Champion: Jon Jones (205 lbs) vs. (Challenger) Rashad Evans (204 lbs)
Jon Jones defeats Rashad Evans by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45)

Welterweight Bout
Rory MacDonald (169.5 lbs) vs. Che Mills (170 lbs)
Rory MacDonald  defeats Che Mills by technical knockout (punches) at 2:20 of round 2

Heavyweight Bout
Ben Rothwell (263 lbs) vs. Brendan Schaub (237 lbs)
Ben Rothwell defeats Brendan Schaub by technical knockout (punches) 1:10 of round 1

Bantamweight Bout:
Michael McDonald (135 lbs) vs. Miguel Torres (135.5 lbs)
Michael McDonald defeats Miguel Torres by knockout (punches) at 3:18 of round 1

Featherweight Bout
Mark Hominick (145.5 lbs) vs. Eddie Yagin (144.5 lbs)
Eddie Yagin defeats Mark Hominick by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Lightweight Bout
John Alessio (155.5 lbs) vs. Mark Bocek (155 lbs)
Mark Bocek defeats John Alessio by unanimous decision (30-27×2,29-28)

Preliminary Bouts on Fuel

Heavyweight Bout
Travis Browne (250 lbs) vs. Chad Griggs (228 lbs)
Travis Browne defeats Chad Griggs by submission (head and arm choke) at 2:29 of Round 1

Welterweight Bout
Matt Brown (171 lbs) vs. Stephen Thompson (171 lbs)
Matt Brown defeats Stephen Thompson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-27)

Lightweight Bout
John Makdessi (158 lbs)* vs. Anthony Njokuani (156 lbs)
Anthony Njokuani defeats John Makdessi via unanimous decision (30-27×3)

Lightweight Bout
Mac Danzig (155 lbs) vs. Efrain Escudero (156 lbs)
Mac Danzig defeats Efrain Escudero by unanimous decision ( 30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Facebook Preliminary Bouts

Welterweight Bout
Chris Clements (169 lbs) vs. Keith Wisniewski (170.5 lbs)
Chris Clements defeats  Keith Wisniewski via split decision   (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Featherweight Bout
Maximo Blanco (146 lbs) vs. Marcus Brimage (145 lbs)
Marcus Brimage defeats Maximo Blanco by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

The athletic commission announced a hearing for April 24, but the UFC isn’t going to wait around for the results. Rumors ran rapid that Overeem would try to get a therapeutic use exemption at the hearing, and he still might, but it will ... Read More »]]> UFC President Dana White has just announced that Junior dos Santos will now be fighting Frank Mir at UFC 146 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dos Santos was originally set to fight Alistair Overeem at UFC 146, but at the pre-fight press conference the Nevada State Athletic Commission surprised 6 of the main card fighters with a drug screen. All of them passed with the exception of Overeem who was flagged for having an extremely high Testosterone to Epitosterone (T:E) ratio. Overeem’s ratio was 14:1, and the limit he had to come under was 6:1.

The athletic commission announced a hearing for April 24, but the UFC isn’t going to wait around for the results. Rumors ran rapid that Overeem would try to get a therapeutic use exemption at the hearing, and he still might, but it will now be about clearing his name and not about getting a license for the heavyweight bout. Overeem earned the title shot by beating Brock Lesnar for the number one contender spot at UFC 140 on the annual New Years card.

Frank Mir was scheduled to face former UFC champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 146, but as of publication an opponent for Velasquez has yet to be announced. There are plenty of heavyweights on the card to shuffle around so you can expect that he will still get a fight against someone.

The weigh-ins took place today for the much anticipated UFC 145, set to go on tomorrow in Atlanta, Georgia and on pay per view. The main event will feature one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history when the current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will face off against his former friend and training partner Rashad Evans. One thing is certain, the crowd at the weigh-ins were NOT a fan of Jon Jones, and they let him know with boos as he took the stage and scale. The trash talk is over, the fight is a 100% official and the only thing left for both fighters is to settle it in the octagon.

All fighters made weight with the exception of John Makdessi. His opponent Anthony Njokuani has agreed to fight at a catchweight, and Makdessi will forfeit 20% of ... Read More »]]>

The weigh-ins took place today for the much anticipated UFC 145, set to go on tomorrow in Atlanta, Georgia and on pay per view. The main event will feature one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history when the current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will face off against his former friend and training partner Rashad Evans. One thing is certain, the crowd at the weigh-ins were NOT a fan of Jon Jones, and they let him know with boos as he took the stage and scale. The trash talk is over, the fight is a 100% official and the only thing left for both fighters is to settle it in the octagon.

All fighters made weight with the exception of John Makdessi. His opponent Anthony Njokuani has agreed to fight at a catchweight, and Makdessi will forfeit 20% of his purse per Georgia regulations. Below are the full weigh in results for UFC 145:

Main Card

Light Heavyweight Championship Bout:
Champion: Jon Jones (205 lbs) vs. (CHallenger) Rashad Evans (204 lbs)

Welterweight Bout:
Rory MacDonald (169.5 lbs) vs. Che Mills (170 lbs)

Heavyweight Bout:
Ben Rothwell (263 lbs) vs. Brendan Schaub (237 lbs)

Bantamweight Bout:
Michael McDonald (135 lbs) vs. Miguel Torres (135.5 lbs)

Featherweight Bout:
Mark Hominick (145.5 lbs) vs. Eddie Yagin (144.5 lbs)

Lightweight Bout:
John Alessio (155.5 lbs) vs. Mark Bocek (155 lbs)

Preliminary Bouts on FX

Heavyweight Bout:
Travis Browne (250 lbs) vs. Chad Griggs (228 lbs)

Welterweight Bout:
Matt Brown (171 lbs) vs. Stephen Thompson (171 lbs)

Lightweight Bout:
John Makdessi (158 lbs)* vs. Anthony Njokuani (156 lbs)

Lightweight Bout:
Mac Danzig (155 lbs) vs. Efrain Escudero (156 lbs)

Facebook Preliminary Bouts

Welterweight Bout:
Chris Clements (169 lbs) vs. Keith Wisniewski (170.5 lbs)

Featherweight Bout:
Maximo Blanco (146 lbs) vs. Marcus Brimage (145 lbs)

The former Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez aims to avenge his 2008 loss against current DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki on Friday, April 20 LIVE from the I-X Center in Cleveland, Ohio on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX.

Just a very short time ago it looked like Aoki vs. Alvarez II would likely never happen. After falling to Chandler back in November in what many see as a “Fight of the Year” and certainly one of the best battles of 2011, Alvarez looked for an immediate rematch with the new champ but keeping true to the format, Alverez ... Read More »]]>

Bellator 66 Poster

It is undoubtedly a pinnacle moment for the Bellator Fighting Championships. One of the most talked about rematches nearly three-and-a-half years in the making is finally taking place and it is going to be available for everyone around the world to witness.

The former Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez aims to avenge his 2008 loss against current DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki on Friday, April 20 LIVE from the I-X Center in Cleveland, Ohio on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX.

Just a very short time ago it looked like Aoki vs. Alvarez II would likely never happen. After falling to Chandler back in November in what many see as a “Fight of the Year” and certainly one of the best battles of 2011, Alvarez looked for an immediate rematch with the new champ but keeping true to the format, Alverez would have to start over in the new lightweight tournament to attain that shot. With no title and a soon-to-be expired Bellator contract in limbo, CEO Bjorn Rebney came threw in a better way for Eddie as well as for fight fans around the world as well.
“Ed asked me to secure this rematch for him years ago,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney, “I promised I would, and now it’s official.”

Both fighters have raised their levels immensely since the two first met. From 2009 to 2011, Alvarez has been nearly unstoppable, capturing the Bellator 155lb. title on a seven-fight win streak, thrusting his name at the top of the world’s best lightweights.

“I’m excited, its’ been a long time coming.” Sates Alverez, “I’ve been wanting this for more than three years, and after I beat Aoki, I will be back in the rankings and back where I belong.”

While Alvarez has gone 8-1 since that meeting, Aoki has pieced together an 11-2 record coming into the fight with a seven-fight win streak dating back to his 2010 loss to Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

Though Aoki made quick work of Alvarez in the first fight, (92 seconds in the first round with a heel hook to earn the tap), he holds a huge amount of respect for Alverez after watching the championship clash with Michael Chandler.
“Both of our games have improved a lot over the last 3 years.” Shinya Aoki said in an exclusive interview with BloodyElbow.com, “I cannot use what happened in the first fight as a reference for this fight.”

Aoki has been training at Evolve MMA in Singapore since the 5th of February with the numerous Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champions on both the stand up and grappling aspects of his game. Aoki has been training wrestling directly under the tutelage of Olympic wrestler and former Team Quest owner and coach, Heath Sims.

“Evolve MMA is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my career,” Aoki earnestly says. “It is also the first time that I truly feel part of a family. I’m a totally different fighter today.”

Shinya’s well-documented ground game is just on a completely different level than Alvarez’s and since joining Evolve, his stand up has improved tenfold (i.e. Satoru Kitaoka fight). Furthermore, he’s now under the guidance of one of the best MMA coaches in the world, Chatri Sityodtong.

One thing going against Aoki for this fight is that he has to travel to America, and that has simply not boded well for most Japanese fighters in the past. Aoki’s first fight in the states against Strikeforce Champ Gilbert Melendez back in 2010 was evident of the taxation of traveling on a fighter. But being a true student of MMA, Aoki quickly picked up on american cage combat and pulled in an impressive showing at last years Strikeforce event against Lyle Beerbohm.

“Anytime you can put two of the world’s Top 10 Lightweights in the cage together at the pinnacle of their careers, you’ve got a very special fight on your hands – and that’s exactly what we will see in Cleveland April 20th.” CEO Bjorn Rebney.

Bellator 66 will feature five televised fights to highlight a card that will include four-plus hours of professional mixed-martial arts action. Interesting enough also on the bill is the Season 6 Lightweight Tournament semi-finals as Brent Weedman faces Thiago Michel and Rick Hawn takes on the biggest upset of the lightweight tournament and fan favorite Lloyd “Cupcake” Woodard. Other fights include the middleweight tournament semifinals as Maiquel Falcao battles the Russian, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky and Brian Rogers will now face the Swede alternate Andreas Spang in the second part of the middleweight tournament.

Bellator 66: Aoki vs. Alvarez 2
Friday, April 20 @ 8pm eastern on MTV2
Prelims @ 7pm eastern on Bellator.com and Spike.com

Lightweight Superfight Rematch
Shinya Aoki vs. Eddie Alvarez

Season 6 Lightweight Tournament Semifinals
Rick Hawn vs. Lloyd Woodard
Thiago Michel Silva vs. Brent Weedman

Season 6 Middleweight Tournament Semifinals
Maiquel Falcao vs. Vyacheslav Vasilevsky
Brian Rogers vs. Bruno Santos

PRELIMS
Jason Dent vs. Tyler Combs
Attila Vegh vs. Dan Spohn
Marcus Vanttinen vs. John Hawk
Frank Caraballo vs. Donny Walker
Anita Rodriguez vs. Jessica Eye
Joe Heiland vs. Julian Lane

Macdonald won the first two rounds of the three round battle before succumbing to a third round TKO with just seven seconds left in their fight at UFC 115. After analysis of the judges’ scorecards, it was revealed that had MacDonald survived until the end of the round, he would have won the fight via split decision. Since that close loss Rory is now on a two-fight win streak over very ... Read More »]]>

Rory MacDonald - via UFC.com

22 year old Rory Macdonald is possibly the highest touted prospect in the sport just now, and with good reason. ‘Ares’ burst on to the UFC with a 9-0 record back in 2010 and scored a big debut first round win with an armbar on Mike Guymon to state his arrival. He showcased his talent further with a very impressive Fight of the Night against now interim champion Carlos Condit.

Macdonald won the first two rounds of the three round battle before succumbing to a third round TKO with just seven seconds left in their fight at UFC 115. After analysis of the judges’ scorecards, it was revealed that had MacDonald survived until the end of the round, he would have won the fight via split decision. Since that close loss Rory is now on a two-fight win streak over very tough veterans Nate Diaz and Mike Pyle.

Macdonald should be in title contention following another one or two big wins but will have his work cut out for him at UFC 145 against English prospect Che Mills (14-4). Mills couldn’t have wished for a better debut when he entered the octagon at UFC 138 in his native England, blasting has way past TUF alumni Chris Cope in a mere 40 seconds. Mills also earned knockout of the night for his performance and won a lot of new fans with the impressive showing. Che is a BAMMA and Cage Rage veteran who holds two wins over DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis.

A win for either man could elevate to them to the upper echelons of the division and put them ‘in the mix’ so with these two brilliant prospects facing off expect fireworks!

The spirit of this column, and this is the first, is to do a 3 stars run down of the fighters on the card. If you ever watched hockey, one of the traditions is to name the three best players of the night. This is the same idea, but mixed martial arts. I will be honest and say I have no real criteria going into choosing who wins ... Read More »]]>
UFC on Fuel TV: Gustafsson vs. Silva took place on Saturday night in Stockholm as the Octagon made its first appearance in Sweden. The event turned out to be a big success, and the fights overall were a lot of fun. The main event took a hit as Antônio Rogério Nogueira was forced off the card with an injury, but Thiago Silva stepped up after his 1 year suspension to take the bout.

The spirit of this column, and this is the first, is to do a 3 stars run down of the fighters on the card. If you ever watched hockey, one of the traditions is to name the three best players of the night. This is the same idea, but mixed martial arts. I will be honest and say I have no real criteria going into choosing who wins the three stars, but you will certainly know why I chose them. That is sort of the idea here. I just want to say, it’s not necessarily the fight of the night winners, or the guys with the most on the line. Here is a run-down of the three stars for the event.

Third Star: James Head

This card had a few guys sticking their toes into the waters of a new weight division, and James Head was one of those guys. Although you need to rethink things when a guy like Nick Ring submits you in the third round of a fight, I thought this was peculiar decision for Head to make seeing it was his Octagon debut. I was the exact opposite of right on this one. Head looked great in his welterweight debut, and dare I say that this is where he belongs. Head really brought the fight to Papy Abedi, and he finished him the exact same his last opponent did- Rear Naked Choke, Round 1. Head swarmed on Abedy from the beginning, and was responsible for possibly giving him the longest 4 minutes of his life.  It was almost ten months since we last saw Head in the Octagon, and I hope we see the same type of violence from him in the future. If Head can bring that type of aggression to the welterweight division, and find the balance between coming forward and defending takedowns, he will be in the division a long time to come. This was a dominating win for James Head, and this got him the third star.

Second Star: Siyar Bahadurzada

Siyar Bahadurzada, a protege of Martijn de Jong, has been turning heads for a long time. Those of us who saw him fighting over the years knew it was a matter of time until Siyar “The Killer” ended up in the Octagon. The one thing you can always expect from Siyar, is that he will always be looking for a finish to a fight, and he will be looking to do it violently. Siyar’s performance in Sweden was stereotypical Siyar. I do not mean to downplay the remarkable performance from Siyar, but quite the opposite. This is what Siyar does, and he is really good at his job.

The part I was unsure about coming into this fight, was that Siyar was basically fighting in front of his friends and family and he was doing it in the UFC for the first time. Either one of those things alone is enough to crack a percentage of fighters, and when you throw in a guy as tough as Paulo Thiago you have your hands full. This was statistically a flawless victory as Thiago threw 2 strikes, and neither landed. Siyar followed up a one-two with an uppercut that landed on the button of Thiago, and switched him off like a light. Siyar rose to the occasion, dealt with the pressure like a professional, and won a knockout of the night bonus in his UFC debut.

First Star: Alexander Gustafsson

I have a tremendous amount of respect for fighters who do their talking in the cage, and earn the attention they get the old fashioned way. Most fighters, being 6-1 in the UFC and having finished all of his fights with the exception of one, would be barking how they are ready for a shot at the gold. At the very least, they would be out in front calling out top ranked fighters and talking about how they would get the better of them. Not Gustafsson. He was set to fight Nogueira, and when the fight fell apart, there wasn’t a second thought about taking the fight with Thiago Silva.

If you looked at Gustafsson on Saturday and thought to yourself that he looked like Dominick Cruz, there is a good reason for that. He has been training with Alliance MMA, and in fact they moved their whole camp to Las Vegas for Cruz’s coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter: Live. He displayed similar footwork as Cruz, and he showed an expert ability to keep Silva on the outside of his punches and kicks. With the reach advantage, that means Silva was barely a threat through the most of the fight. Silva did land a few shots, one I can remember in the second round, that I am sure reminded Gustafsson he was fighting a guy who was always in the fight. Gustafsson also displayed a lot of composure when he had SIlva hurt in the first round, and one could make the argument he should have been able to finish him there, but so far only Lyoto Machida has been able to finish Thiago.

My only complaint with Gustafsson was his accuracy. He out-landed Silva 2 to 1 overall in significant strikes, but he was 78/287 for a total of 27%. I understand that the output is high, and he was obviously throwing a lot of feints to keep SIlva guessing, but I would like to see that number of strikes landed higher. I am just being picky, as this was a great night for Gustafsson.. What everyone has to remember is that he is only 25 years old, and he has years of growing in size and skills ahead of him. He has a very bright future in the sport of mixed martial arts, and specifically in the UFC.

The event is set to feature local favorites Tanner Hendricks, Kenny Booker, Stanton Gavia, Rudy Gray, Damian Norris, James Barber, Anthony Goodwin, Mike Cannon and Shane Adams.

The night of action will take place at the Clock Tower Resort in Rockford, Illinois with the first fight kicking off at 7:00pm. For tickets and more information visit www.rockfordcagefighting.com

Gustafsson was in complete control of this fight from clap to horn. He was able to keep the very dangerous striker, in Silva, on the outside for most of the fifteen minutes allotted for this main event.  The native Swedish fighter caught Silva early with a punch combo from range that dropped the Brazilian. However, Silva showed good composure from the bottom to avoid being finished in the first round. With a cut under his left eye early in ... Read More »]]>

Alexander Gustafsson - via UFC.com

The Ultimate Fighting Championship took their show to a Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday night (Saturday afternoon for the western hemisphere) to show off one of their best up-and-coming light heavyweights, Alexander Gustafsson versus Thiago Silva. It also does not hurt that Gustafsson is native to Stockholm. Needless to say that the local crowd was extremely excited to see this card in full.

Gustafsson was in complete control of this fight from clap to horn. He was able to keep the very dangerous striker, in Silva, on the outside for most of the fifteen minutes allotted for this main event.  The native Swedish fighter caught Silva early with a punch combo from range that dropped the Brazilian. However, Silva showed good composure from the bottom to avoid being finished in the first round. With a cut under his left eye early in the fight, Silva knew the pressure was on him to answer or finish the fight himself. Silva kept pushing forward, but he never cut off the Octagon from Gustafsson and that is why Gustafsson was able to dance on the outside of the cage for most of the fight. From the outside he was able to choose when he would engage with Silva. In round two, Gustafsson was able to secure a trip takedown, that looked a lot like the takedown Yoshihiro Akiyama pulled on Jake Shields. However, he was unable to capitalize again from a dominate position.

Gustafsson out struck Silva 78 to 38 in total strikes over the three rounds according to FightMetric.com and took home all three rounds on the judges score cards.

Who’s Next…
Gustafsson should be matched up against Ryan Bader next. Bader is coming off of unanimous decision win over Quentin Rampage Jackson at UFC 144 in Japan.  This would be another great test for both fighters and answer the question of who is ready or close to a title shot.

Silva needs to take a step back and reevaluate his game. Maybe a bout with low to entry level light heavyweights will spark his hunger again. Both Nick Penner and Aaron Rosa suffered a defeat this year. Either one could be the spark Silva needs to get back to the top.

Next Training Session…
Gustafsson needs to work a getting a better game plan in place. Rashad Evans proved that Silva has trouble with wrestlers. I was predicting that Gustafsson would have taken the fight to the ground and submit Silva early or late in the fight.  Keeping the fight in the area where your opponent has the best chance of winning is not a smart game plan. Even if you’re winning in that particular area, you could still get caught. Mike Russon va. Todd Duffy anyone?

Silva needs to expand his arsenal. He is a BJJ Black Belt, but has yet to submit anyone in the UFC.  Perhaps takedown classes, wrestling for good positions and securing the submission would make Silva a deep threat in all areas of MMA.

OFFICIAL FIGHT CARD Main Event: Daniel Vizcaya vs. Brandon DelPrado Round One: The fighters traded low kicks to start until Vizcaya clinched and leg tripped DelPrado to the ground in guard. Vizcaya punched his way out of guard and into side control. DelPrado secured Vizcaya’s neck for control, but Vizcaya popped out and delivered knees on the ground. More punches followed from Vizcaya to DelPrado’s head. DelPrado turned to fight, but gave up his back. Vizcaya then put in the hooks for full control. Vizcaya punched the side of DelPrado’s head as he tried to find a way out. Full control from Vizcaya as he rolled to sit down still with hooks in. DelPrado worked for half guard for a few seconds, but Vizcaya put him back down for mount. With ten second left Vizcaya unloaded on ... Read More »]]>

Daniel Vizcaya vs Brandon DelPrado - photo by Joey Hill

XFO 43
Friday 13, 2012
The Copernicus Theater

OFFICIAL FIGHT CARD
Main Event: Daniel Vizcaya vs. Brandon DelPrado
Round One: The fighters traded low kicks to start until Vizcaya clinched and leg tripped DelPrado to the ground in guard. Vizcaya punched his way out of guard and into side control. DelPrado secured Vizcaya’s neck for control, but Vizcaya popped out and delivered knees on the ground. More punches followed from Vizcaya to DelPrado’s head. DelPrado turned to fight, but gave up his back. Vizcaya then put in the hooks for full control. Vizcaya punched the side of DelPrado’s head as he tried to find a way out. Full control from Vizcaya as he rolled to sit down still with hooks in. DelPrado worked for half guard for a few seconds, but Vizcaya put him back down for mount. With ten second left Vizcaya unloaded on DelPrado.

Round Two: Vizcaya light on his feet threw punch and kick combos. DelPrado answered with a heavy right hook that gave Vizcaya pause. Vizcaya quickly regained awareness and charged in for a huge slam double-leg takedown. Good elbows from the bottom from DelPrado. Tight battle for position from both fighters. Vizcaya again secured mount and punches from the top. Vizcaya with several small flurries of punches, still not able to stop DelPrado. DelPrado is now bleeding heavy from an elbow. DelPrado turned over again for position and left his neck out for Vizcaya to secure the RNC tap.

Daniel Vizcaya defeated Brandon DelPrado via Tapout due to RNC in round two

Co-Main Event: Andrew Krzeptowski vs. Lawrence Dunning
Round One: Dunning opened up with a clinch as Krzeptowski stuck the body then moved to a takedown attempt. Dunning connected with a right hook. Krzeptowski pushed forward. Dunning twice had Krzeptowski’s neck and dragged him to the ground to try and finish. Both times Krzeptowski shook out of it and stood up. Another body shot from Krzeptowski. Krzeptowski then found the head target for his punches. Dunning stated stumbling and back peddling. Krzeptowski with heavy pressure against the cage, but Dunning reversed it. Krzeptowski with a solid body kick, but Dunning answered with a jab to the chin. A third attempt from Dunning to drag the fight to the ground via neck hold that failed. Dunning showed a bloody nose. Another body shot from Krzeptowski and then a knee. Krzeptowski shot with a spinning back kick and body kick combo that Dunning just ate. These two fought to the final second, both landed and took heavy shots.

Round Two: Both open round two with a quick one-two that landed softly. A spinning back fist from Krzeptowski that landed hard, but Dunning pushed forward as if unfazed. Both men took deep breaths before pushing forward and after breaks. Another left hook landed form Krzeptowski. Krzeptowski stuffed a takedown attempt and controlled the neck. Then delivered knees to the body and head of Dunning. Another body kick landed from Krzeptowski. Crowd was very vocal and into this fight. Outside leg kicks landed from Dunning. Krzeptowski with neck control on the ground, but Dunning on top in half guard. Dunning punched the body of Krzeptowski to loosen the grip on his neck. Dunning corner screamed at their fighter to get out of half guard. Krzeptowski finally let go of the neck and Dunning tried to land strikes before the round ended.

Round Three: Both men opened up with strikes that land, but push forward. In a rush of strikes, Dunning delivered a low blow that stopped the action. Crowd started to ‘boo’ after two minutes. Action restarted and Dunning charged forward with strikes. Krzeptowski smartly evaded around the cage. Dunning still pushed forward hard. Dunning able to secure the clinch and deliver a few knees to the head. Sluggish battle for position and soft strikes in the middle of this round. Dunning attempted a leg sweep takedown, but was reversed as Krzeptowski landed halfway on top. Dunning snuck out the back to take Krzeptowski’s back and work for a choke. Krzeptowski still worked for position from the bottom. Dunning secured full mount and finished the fight punching.

Andrew Krzeptowski defeated Lawrence Dunning (29-28 x3) via unanimous decision

Justin Robbins vs. Daniel Aguirre
Round One: Aguirre opened as the more aggressive fighter. Tried to strike from distance. Robbins ducked under to land a body shot, but Aguirre countered with a knee to the body. Both men didn’t back down. Robbins was selective with his strike to find a way inside. Aguirre landed a soft left hook to start a flurry. Nothing heavy landed. Robbins connected a few times with the inside leg kick. Both men executing head movement and faints. Aguirre struck hard with a left hook that moved Robbins backwards. More knees from Aguirre to follow up. Robbins ducked to get inside for a one-two combo to the body of Aguirre. Aguirre pushed forward, but Robbins sent him the canvas after catching a body kick. Flurries back and forth to end the round.

Round Two: Aguirre opened up with the double-jab that is corner was calling for all of round one. Aguirre landed a right hook to the side of Robbins’s head. Robbins still able to land the low kicks as Aguirre delivered knees and kicks to the body. Aguirre connected with a right hand that dazed Robbins. As Aguirre pushed forward Robbins countered with a takedown into side control. Robbins delivered knees to the shoulder of Aguirre. Aguirre counted by creating space for his right leg to secure closed guard, the body triangle from the bottom. Aguirre started to strike form the bottom to the body of Robbins as the round came to an end. Then landed elbows from the bottom from Aguirre.

Round Three: Robbins opened up with an overhand right that landed on Aguirre’s chin. Both corners are called for aggression and action. Aguirre listened and delivered a flying right knee from distance. Robbins started to bleed from above the right eye. A scramble on the ground as Aguirre landed several strikes of punches and elbows. Robbins fought back hard with two on one while Aguirre took his back. Aguirre sinks it in and gets the tap.

Daniel Aguirre defeated Justin Robbins via Tapout due to a RNC at 2.47 of round three

Jason Graves vs. Rafal Skibinski
Round One: Skibinski opened up with a Thai clinch and attempted a knee that was just short. Graves pushed forward and landed a right hook that dropped Skibinski. With Skibinski dazed, Graves moved into mount and dropped several punches. Skibinski covered well enough for the ref not to stop the fight. Skibinski tried to buck off Graves. Graves took some time to complain to the ref and Skibinski reversed to put Graves on his back into guard. Graves showing some damage with a cut under his left eye. Ref and doctor call the fight. Graves is visibly upset and threw his mouth piece in disgust of the outcome.

Rafal Skibinski defeated Jason Graves via doctor stoppage (cut under left eye) 2.13 of round one

Brandon Wood vs. Christian Reynoso
Round One: Reynoso opened up the fight with punches. Wood responded in kind. Nothing heavy landed at this point. Both men willing to engage and pushed forward. Wood connected with a three-four combo that pushed Reynoso backwards. Reynoso started to show some damage at this point, some redness under the eyes. Wood connected low with a body shot. Reynoso shot back with a body kick and inside leg kick. Wood with two head kick attempts. Reynoso landing the inside leg kick well and often. Reynoso kicked again to the body, but caught by Wood then delivered a huge straight right hand that dropped Reynoso and made his head bounce off the floor.

Brandon Wood defeated Christian Reynoso via TKO at 2.39 of round one

Taurean Bogguess vs. Mike Santiago
Round One: both clash kicks to start, but Bogguess found the inside leg kick. He followed that up with a hard left hook that dazed Santiago. Santiago was pushed to the cage and went in for the takedown. Bogguess sprawled out and dipped his arm under Santiago’s chin to sink in the choke and pulled guard. Santiago’s knees gave out has he lost consensus. Ref stopped the fight.

Taurean Bogguess defeated Mike Santiago via Technical submission at 32 seconds of round one

Bobby Ferrier vs. Adam Ward
Round One: Ward opened up strong with kicks that pushed Ferrier backward. Ward with a lot of pressure and talking trash as well. Ward with a flying knee that almost connected. Followed that up with a strong right hand that stumbled Ward backward to the cage. Ferrier landed a strong left, but Ward countered with a kick to the body. Ferrier fell over against the cage and Ward rapidly took the back and secured a body triangle. After two attempts of an RNC, Ward finally puts it in deep and got the tap.

Adam Ward defeated Bobby Ferrier via Tapout due to a RNC at 2.23 of round one

Josh Killion vs. Joey Diehl
Round One: Killion opened up strong with kicks and punches to push Diehl against the cage, but Diehl countered with a takedown into guard. Killion from the bottom with a choke attempt, which Diehl was able to get out of. Killion turned over to escape, but Diehl took the back with hooks. Punches from the top from Diehl and moved in for the choke again. Killion with wrist control on Diehl from the bottom. Diehl opened up with numerous punches after he got his hands free. Killion seemed unfazed and worked calm. Diehl worked in his arm and Killion’s face was turning Killion. Killion had two on one and Diehl let the choke go. Killion slowly turned over Diehl into guard. Killion stood up in Diehl’s guard and passed to side control. Killion punched the body and moved into north-south. Diehl flipped his legs over for a submission attempt and Killion backed away. Killion ended the round with a flurry of punches.

Round Two: Diehl countered a punch with a body lock. Killion pushed him to the cage and dropped him into side control. Diehl tried to push off the cage wall. Killion found himself in a odd position and opted to stand up. Back against the cage, Diehl threw Killion down with a headlock. Killion countered by ending up in half guard landing punches. Killion moved to mount with plenty of time in the round. Diehl gave up the back. Killion punched as Diehl covered up. Killion with Diehl flattened out still landing punches to the side of the head. Diehl covering up well, but not fighting back. Killion switched to a submission attempt and gets the tap.

Josh Killion defeated Joey Diehl via Tapout due to a RNC at 3.10 of round two

Andre Feliciano vs Jerald Williams
Round One: Feliciano opened up with punches and kicks, but it is Williams that pushed the action to the cage. Feliciano with his back to the cage attempted a chock that Williams defended and moved back to the center. Feliciano with a shot that is stuffed by Williams and ended up on top in half guard and half butterfly guard. Williams moved the action to the cage and landed a few punches. Feliciano exploded and forced Williams on his back. Feliciano was in half guard when he started throwing elbows and punches. Feliciano went for the head and arm triangle but didn’t put his head on the ground. Feliciano gives up the attempt after some time and re-adjusted. Williams worked his way out of the bottom and the crowd exploded with approval. Action restarted in the center with rangy strikes until Williams worked the fight to the cage. Feliciano showed good defense from takedown, but ate punches form Feliciano. Williams caught a kick and landed a straight punch at the end of the round.

Round Two: Feliciano opened the middle frame with a takedown into full guard. Williams with good control of Feliciano form the bottom, using head and high guard. Feliciano not able to do much for a while. Williams holding on for a stand up. Feliciano worked the body with soft punches. Williams opened his guard and Feliciano moved to half guard, tried for mount, went to side control. Feliciano in control on top, but not landing damage. Feliciano secured full mount, but Williams had good head control from the bottom. Feliciano delivered heavy elbows from the top with half posture. Williams created space and pushed Feliciano’s face back to rock his body weight forward to site up. We reset on the feet in the middle. Williams in for a takedown attempt, but Feliciano reversed against the cage. The fighters fell forward and Feliciano capitalized into Williams’s guard. Feliciano punched the body of Williams as the round ended.

Round Three: Feliciano with a takedown and top control, but Williams on the bottom looked for submissions. Feliciano now in half guard and Williams with head control with his arms. Feliciano moved to side control, but still not landed damage. Feliciano backed away and kicked the legs while Williams was on his back Feliciano threw spinning heel kicks to the legs. Feliciano dove back down into Williams’s guard. Williams was able to push Feliciano out of his guard, but opted not to stand up with space between the two. Williams attempted a heel grab takedown, but Feliciano counted with a front choke attempt. Feliciano dragged Williams back to the ground and got mount. Feliciano in full control towards the end of the fight in guard. A solid left elbow across the brow of Williams. Feliciano ended the fight in full mount.

Andre Feliciano defeated Jerald Willimas by unanimous decision

James Smith vs. Phil Williams
Round One: Smith pushed the action against the cage, but Williams was able to get the trip to the ground. Williams quickly moved to the back of Smith and delivered punches to the body. Smith able to create space and get out from the bottom, but Williams not letting too much room between the two. Williams against the body control and carried Smith towards his own corner with a huge slam. Smith reversed with a fireman’s carry slam of his own. After several submission attempts from Smith, Williams escapes and takes the back for a third time. This time with both hooks sunk in the choke and gets the tap.

Smith is down after the stoppage and two doctors rush in to check on him. Tried to stand up and sat back down again quickly. They moved him to the stool and clearly dizzy. Finally he stood up to the crowd’s delight and appears to be okay.

Phil Williams defeated James Smith via Tapout due to a RNC at 2.56 of round one

Jordan Griffin vs Damian Norris
Round One: Norris opened up with kicks from low to high. Griffin didn’t check any of the lows ones, but blocked the few high ones. Griffin plowed forward for a takedown attempt, while Norris tried to counter by punching on the back of the head. A stalemate against the cage while Griffin switched from doubles to singles. Norris went over the top with a few punches. Ref broke them up and restarted in the center. Norris pushed forward with a flurry that excited the crowd, but nothing heavy landed. Exchanges went back and forward with a mix up of punches, kicks and elbows. Griffin with flying knee that didn’t land, but pushed Norris back against the cage. Griffin looked for the takedown again from the cage side. Norris defended well and struck the head while Griffin was focused on the takedown. Norris secured Griffin’s back after a failed attempt from Griffin. Griffin was able to remove the hooks and escape. Norris landed a nice and quick kick and one-two combo. Norris with a heavy jab that made Griffin stumble. Griffin turned it around for a takedown attempt against the cage as the round ended.

Round Two: Norris went out to touch gloves and Griffin touches then jabs him. Crowd wanted blood after that. Norris moved well on the outside while Griffin chased him down in the center. Griffin caught a kick for a quick takedown into Norris closed guard. Griffin moved the action against the cage while he punched the body. Norris tried to posture and land heavy shots. Griffin turned to give up the back while Norris took the back. Again Griffin able to reverse and get on top. Griffin showing damage and bleeding heavy from his forehead from an elbow on the ground. Ref called for time and a check from the doctor on Griffin. Norris whipped the blood off of himself while Griffin was checked. Doctor and ref called the fight.

Damian Norris defeated Jordan Griffin via doctor stoppage at 3.02 of round two

Quick Results:

• Daniel Vizcaya defeated Brandon DelPrado via Tapout due to RNC in round two
• Andrew Krzeptowski defeated Lawrence Dunning (29-28 x3) via unanimous decision
• Daniel Aguirre defeated Justin Robbins via Tapout due to a RNC at 2.47 of round three
• Rafal Skibinski defeated Jason Graves via doctor stoppage (cut under left eye) 2.13 of round one
• Brandon Wood defeated Christian Reynoso via TKO at 2.39 of round one
• Taurean Bogguess defeated Mike Santiago via Technical submission at 32 seconds of round one
• Adam Ward defeated Bobby Ferrier via Tapout due to a RNC at 2.23 of round one
• Josh Killion defeated Joey Diehl via Tapout due to a RNC at 3.10 of round two
• Andre Feliciano defeated Jerald Williams by unanimous decision
• Phil Williams defeated James Smith via Tapout due to a RNC at 2.56 of round one
• Damian Norris defeated Jordan Griffin via doctor stoppage at 3.02 of round two

In the co-main event,  it was Brian Stann who survived some early pressure from Alessio Sakara and started landing shots of his own. Stann put him on his back, ... Read More »]]> UFC On Fuel 2 took place tonight in Stockholm, Sweden in front of a sold out crowd in the Ericsson Globe Arena. The crowd was excited from the first fight on, and was treated to an exciting night of fights. In the main event, it was Alexander Gustafsson dropped Thiago Silva, and although he couldn’t finish the Brazilian, he used the momentum to get the unanimous decision win in front of his hometown. He used his long reach and footwork expertly, keeping Silva on the outside for almost the entire fight.  ”It was a big honor to get the win here in front of my countrymen,” Gustafsson said after the win.

In the co-main event,  it was Brian Stann who survived some early pressure from Alessio Sakara and started landing shots of his own. Stann put him on his back, and worked from guard landing ground and pound. One of the left hands connected perfectly on the chin of Sakara, and he was knocked out cold with a powerful left hand. In the fight before, there was an even quicker knock out.  Siyar Bahadurzada landed a short left hand to the chin of Paulo Thiago and put him to sleep at 42 seconds of the first round

UFC On FUEL 2 Gustafsson Vs. Silva

Stockholm, Sweden; Ericsson Globe Arena

Full Results

Light Heavyweight bout:
Alexander Gustafsson vs.  Thiago Silva
Alexander Gustafsson defeats Thiago Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Middleweight bout:
Brian Stann vs.  Alessio Sakara
Brian Stann defeats Alessio Sakara by knockout (punches) at 2:26 of Round 1

Welterweight bout:
Paulo Thiago vs.  Siyar Bahadurzada
Siyar Bahadurzada defeats  Paulo Thiago by knock out (punch) at :42 of round 1

Featherweight bout:
Dennis Siver vs.  Diego Nunes
Dennis Siver defeats Diego Nunes by unanimous decision (29-28×3)

Welterweight bout:
DaMarques Johnson vs.  John Maguire
John Maguire defeats  DaMarques Johnson by submission (armbar) at 4:40 of round 2

Bantamweight bout:
Brad Pickett vs.  Damacio Page 4:05
Brad Pickett defeats Damacio Page by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:05 of round 2

Preliminary Card
Featherweight bout:
Jason Young vs.  Eric Wisely
Jason Young defeats Eric Wisely by unanimous decision (30-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Welterweight bout:
Papy Abedi vs.  James Head
Head defeats Abedi by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:33 of round 1

Light Heavyweight bout:
Cyrille Diabate vs.  Tom DeBlass
Diabate defeats DeBlass by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)

Middleweight bout:
Francis Carmont vs.  Magnus Cedenblad
Francis Carmont defeats Magnus Cedenblad by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:42 of round 2

Lightweight bout:
Reza Madadi vs.  Yoislandy Izquierdo
Reza Madadi Yoislandy defeats Izquierdo by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:28 of round 2

Welterweight bout:
Simeon Thoresen vs.  Besam Yousef
Thoresen defeats Yousef by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:36 of round 2

XFC 17: Apocalypse took place on Friday night in Jackson, Tennessee at the Oman Arena, and aired live on HDNet. In the main event, it was Eric Reynolds who squeaked out a unanimous decision win over Luciano Dos Santos. Although Dos Santos’ winning streak was snapped, the crowd thought he won the bout, and he most certainly won over some new fans. Reynolds did put up a fight, and this was far from a robbery, but the case could easily be made that Dos Santos controlled the majority of the fight.

In the co-main event, it was Marlon Moraes who got the upper hand on Jarrod Card with strikes early in the first round, and 48 seconds in the referee was forced to jump in and save Card. In another featured bout, Felice Herrig squared off against Patricia Vidonic, ... Read More »]]>

XFC 17: Apocalypse took place on Friday night in Jackson, Tennessee at the Oman Arena, and aired live on HDNet. In the main event, it was Eric Reynolds who squeaked out a unanimous decision win over Luciano Dos Santos. Although Dos Santos’ winning streak was snapped, the crowd thought he won the bout, and he most certainly won over some new fans. Reynolds did put up a fight, and this was far from a robbery, but the case could easily be made that Dos Santos controlled the majority of the fight.

In the co-main event, it was Marlon Moraes who got the upper hand on Jarrod Card with strikes early in the first round, and 48 seconds in the referee was forced to jump in and save Card. In another featured bout, Felice Herrig squared off against Patricia Vidonic, and it was all sizzle and no steak. Both talked up a big game going into the fight, and although Herrig clearly won all three rounds, it was far from a dominating performance over someone she had a clear advantage over. Instead of using her ‘superior striking skills,’ it was Herrig who was taking the grappler down with inside trips, and doing just enough to win the rounds. It takes two to tango, and Vidonic must have been injured, because she just didn’t show up to fight.

Below are the full results

MAIN CARD
Eric Reynolds defeated Luciano Dos Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Marlon Moraes defeated Jarrod Card by knockout (punches) round 1, :48
Nick Newell defeated Chris Coggins by majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Felice Herrig defeated Patricia Vidonic by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Charles Blanchard defeated Johnny Davis by unanimous decision
Jason Wood defeated Ronnie Rogers by submission (guillotine) round 2
Joel Cooper defeated Amaechi Oselukwue by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Teddy Holder defeated Bobby Carter by submission (armbar) Rd. 1 (3:27)
Bradley Stafford defeated Tommy Roberts by majority decision (28-28, 30-26, 29-27)
Steven Durr defeated Michael Manley by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Bellator 65 took place Friday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was also streamed on Spike.com and main card was featured on MTV2. The main event featured a title fight between Zach Makovsky and Eduardo Dantas. It was Dantas who was crowned the new bantamweight champion when he choked Makovsky out cold with a arm triangle choke in the second round, just passed the midway point in the fight. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said of his new champion, “You’re looking at one of the best bantamweights in the world. Absolutely a spectacular performance from this young man tonight.”

Although the rest of the main card was all decisions, this was far from a boring event. In the co-main event, it was Daniel Straus who bloodied up Mike Corey over the full 15 minutes to win the unanimous ... Read More »]]>

Bellator 65 took place Friday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was also streamed on Spike.com and main card was featured on MTV2. The main event featured a title fight between Zach Makovsky and Eduardo Dantas. It was Dantas who was crowned the new bantamweight champion when he choked Makovsky out cold with a arm triangle choke in the second round, just passed the midway point in the fight. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said of his new champion, “You’re looking at one of the best bantamweights in the world. Absolutely a spectacular performance from this young man tonight.”

Although the rest of the main card was all decisions, this was far from a boring event. In the co-main event, it was Daniel Straus who bloodied up Mike Corey over the full 15 minutes to win the unanimous decision. The fight was an emotional one for Straus, as one of his training partners and close friends passed away last week after being involved in an automobile accident. Straus dedicated the fight to Chris Smith, and said “I’ve cried over the past three days, cried over the past two hours, and it’s just a blessing to be in here, man. I want to thank all the fans that are here tonight”. Straus is now set to fight Marlon Sandro in the tournament finals.

The main card also featured 2 opening round bouts in the bantamweight tournament. Alexis Vila seemed to come out strong against Luis Nogueira, and although he never had Luis in any real danger, Vila took the round. From then on out it was Luis Nogueira who controlled the fight everywhere it went, and although they were back and forth at times, he clearly won the final two rounds and won the bout. He picked up the unanimous decision win.

In the other bantamweight bout, Marcos Galvao pounded on Ed West for three straight rounds. Galvao arguably lost a few a fights by decision he should have won, and he vowed to finish this fight. He spent the entire time trying to do so, and Ed West showed plenty of heart surviving the fight. He didn’t get the finish, but Galvao picked up a dominating unanimous decision win to advance.

The full Bellator 65 results include:

MAIN CARD
Bantamweight Championship Fight
Eduardo Dantas defeats Zach Makovsky by technical submission (arm-triangle choke) round 2, 3:26
Dantas becomes the new bantamweight champion.

Featherweight tournament semifinal
Daniel Straus defeats Mike Corey by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight tournament/opening round
Luis Nogueira defeats Alexis Vila by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantamweight tournament/opening round
Marcos Galvao defeats Ed West by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Duane Bastress defeats Plinio Cruz by technical knock out (strikes) Round 2, 2:52
Will Martinez defeats Terrell Hobbs by submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 4:13
Scott Heckman defeats Lester Caslow by submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 3:40
Kris McCray defeats Ailton Barbosa by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Lyman Good defeats LeVon Maynard by knock out (punch) Round 1, 0:13
E.J. Brooks defeats Mikhail Malyutin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

While Miller has his eyes and training focused on beating Diaz in front of his friends and family in May, there is another fight that Miller is also focused on. However, This fight isn’t taking place in the UFC Octagon. Miller said “My 2 year old nephew, Daniel, suffers from recessive polycystic kidney disease (PKD). I fight everyday to raise money and be there for Daniel so that he has the care and support that he needs. ... Read More »]]> Top UFC Lightweight Jim Miller, who is set to fight Nate Diaz at the UFC On FOX 3 event in his home state of New Jersey on May 5th, has officially signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Tapout. TapouT is the leading apparel company in the sport of mixed martial arts, and has been running a very popular branding campaign entitled “My Fight Matters.”

While Miller has his eyes and training focused on beating Diaz in front of his friends and family in May, there is another fight that Miller is also focused on. However, This fight isn’t taking place in the UFC Octagon. Miller said “My 2 year old nephew, Daniel, suffers from recessive polycystic kidney disease (PKD). I fight everyday to raise money and be there for Daniel so that he has the care and support that he needs. That’s why my fight matters.”

In the past, Tapout has rallied around different charities, but when the matters strike close to home they respond accordingly. For his May battle against Nate Diaz, TapouT is creating a limited edition ‘MY FIGHT MATTERS’ shirt and will donate a percentage of the proceeds to the Daniel James Miller Foundation. The shirt will be sold exclusively on TapouT.com.

Historically, whenever a special charity or situation like this has risen up with a fighter in the sport of MMA, the fans respond with a tremendous outpouring of support. When news broke about Daniel, who is also the son of UFC middleweight Dan Miller, the response from the fans and the UFC was no exception. To support Miller in his upcoming fight against Diaz, fans are being encouraged to pick up the shirt and help a very worthy cause.

To learn more about the Daniel James Miller Foundation, watch Jim Miller discuss the importance of the charity and the support from the MMA community:

Getting things started for this “must see” card will be a middleweight matchup between Joel Cooper (2-0) and Amaechi Oselukwue (5-4) Once considered to be the best pound for pound amateur fighters in the state, the hometown favorite Joel Cooper has had a decorated amateur career holding several prestigious titles before turning pro. Cooper is coming off a decision victory in his last outing and is looking to make it two in a row. Cooper’s opponent, Amaechi Oselukwue will be making his second appearances in the XFC cage as he too is looking ... Read More »]]>

XFC 17 Poster

Continuing to thrive in the Southeast, Xtreme Fighting Championships is calling Tennessee home with its second of four strait shows happening throughout the volunteer state with XFC 17: Apocalypse taking place this Friday April 13, at the Oman Arena in Jackson, TN. The main card will be aired on HDnet.

Getting things started for this “must see” card will be a middleweight matchup between Joel Cooper (2-0) and Amaechi Oselukwue (5-4)
Once considered to be the best pound for pound amateur fighters in the state, the hometown favorite Joel Cooper has had a decorated amateur career holding several prestigious titles before turning pro. Cooper is coming off a decision victory in his last outing and is looking to make it two in a row.
Cooper’s opponent, Amaechi Oselukwue will be making his second appearances in the XFC cage as he too is looking for his second win in a row. Up until XFC 16, “AO” added 4 straight losses (3 by decision) to his then 2-1 record. “ The Infamous AO” impressed XFC President John Prisco at his last bout in Knoxville coming in on just a few weeks notice and knocked out the heavy handed Julio Gallegos in just over a minute. “He’s had some controversial decisions that didn’t necessarily go his way. When you watch the video of his fights, he’s so dynamic and so raw. He has a ton of upside and, in all honesty, could be the most athletic guy on the card,” stated Prisco.

Lightweights Ronnie Rogers (10-7) vs. Jason Wood (5-1) is the second fight on the card followed by another welterweight bout between Ultimate fighter 11 veteran Charles Blanchard (9-2) vs. Johnny “JJ” Davis (13-6)

Jason Wood once fought Jarrod Card for the XFC featherweight title. The weight cut to 145 proved to be to taxing on Wood. ““I felt like it killed me having to cut almost 40 pounds. I need to be at lightweight. The fight with Rogers will be at 155 and it’s a better cut. I can cut 25 pounds and still fight to my potential,” says Wood.
Charles Blanchard originally scheduled to fight UFC Vet Corey Hill in the co-main event but has now been re-routed to no face Johnny Davis in welterweight contention.

All eyes are sure to be on this “Little” fight in a Women’s 115 lb. bout as “Little” Patricia Vidonic (5-2) will battle Felice “Little Bulldog” Herrig (5-4). Felice Herrig is coming off of a very disappointing unanimous decision loss against Carla Esparza back at XFC 15 and will look to get her first win under XFC’s banner. Herrig was the IKF Women’s Bantamweight North American Champion in 2005 and 2006, she also won the 2008 Pro Muay Thai United States Bantamweight title. This skilled striker is now training under Bellator Champion Jeff Curran, and with two of her five victories coming by way of submission; she is also showing her evolution as a mixed martial artist.

Patricia Vidonic was sailing on a five fight win streak until she met with female standout and Bellator vet.,Jessica Aguilar back in Febuary. However with three of her five wins coming way of submission, Vidonic will looks to capitalize on an area she feels Herrig is weakest and bring this fight to the ground. “I have had only 2 losses in my pro career, one loss in my pro debut, to an opponent with 11 previous pro fights, and one to the #2 ranked female in the world.” Vidonic goes on to say, “So Felice, when that cage door locks, you had better hope you have been training even half as hard as I have. So for you saying that I am going to do what every other girl does, I am NOT every other girl you have ever fought. I am getting stronger, more skilled and smarter every day. See you in Tennessee.”

The nights feature fight has been getting so much buzz you would think it’s the main event. Undefeated Nick Newell (6-0) and Chris Coggins(5-1) are going to show the fans a fun fight to watch.
Newell has captured the hearts of the MMA community when he made his XFC debut last December. At XFC 15 ‘Tribute’ Newell defeated jiu jitsu ace Denis Hernandez in just over one minute. What is really impressive is the way that Newell submitted Hernandez with a heel hook, and did I mention he did it without a left forearm or hand? That is due to Newell having been born with this condition called congenital amputation, which means his left arm stopped developing just past his elbow. His story was recently featured on HDNet’s Inside MMA where he was a guest on the show.
No doubt the fan favorite in this fight will be Clarksville, TN’s own “Dodgin’Coggins”. Chris Coggins is sporting 3 fight win streak with them coming all by way submission. Coggins has a wrestling base, great ju-jitzu and explosive stand-up ability. Though not much is known about Coggins, he has assured fans he is not afraid to hand Newell the first loss of his career.

The co-main event features a Bantamweight bout as the former Featherweight champion Jerrod “The Wild Card” Card (12-5-1) faces off against Marlon Moraes (7-4-1). Card has been absent from competition since his XFC Featherweight Championship defense against Louis Palomino way back in December of 2010.
As his two Brazilian Muay Thai national championships underline, Moraes is no joke when it comes to striking skills. Moraes trains with the likes of Edson Barboza at The Armory in South Florida and has been labled by the press as the next version of Barboza.
With the Bantamweight title vacated since 2010, this fight could very well be a deciding factor in the future Bantamweight division. If Card establishes himself in the division with a win over Moraes, he may find himself in the lead for the next opportunity to wrap another the XFC strap around his waist.

Lightweight Headliners Luciano Dos Santos (9-5) Eric Reynolds (14-5) will end out the evening in the XFC 17’s main event.
Dos Santos, who makes his XFC debut, carries a three-fight win streak will be looking for his fourth straight victory at XFC 17: ‘Apocalypse’. “Macarrao” made a name for himself from submitting fighters in Brazil to knocking out opponents here in the states, 2 of the last 3 in fact, in the first round. The American Top Team product is rapidly evolving and with only two decisions in nine career victories Dos Santos has proven himself as a man who finishes fights and puts on a great showing.
Reynolds has developed a reputation as one of the most exciting lightweights in the country. Since his fist defeat in 2008 Reynolds has had a roller coaster career of wins and losses going from 9-0 to 14-5. Reynolds looked very impressive in his win in his XFC debut over Jonatas Novaes in December, and aims to secure 2 in a row and make a home for himself in the as the top lightweight under the XFC Banner.

Here is the complete fight card along with each fighter’s official weight from the weigh-ins:

MAIN CARD (HDNet)
Luciano Dos Santos (155lbs) vs Eric Reynolds (155lbs)
Marlon Moraes (135.2lbs) vs Jarrod Card (135.2lbs)
Chris Coggins (152.6lbs) vs. Nick Newell (151.4lbs)
Patricia Vidonic (114.6lbs) vs. Felice Herrig (114.6lbs)
Charles Blanchard (176.4lbs) vs Johnny Davis (173.6lbs)
Ronnie Rogers (153.6lbs) vs Jason Wood (154.4lbs)
Joel Cooper (183.4lbs) vs Amaechi Oselukwue (185lbs)
Preliminary Card
Teddy Holder (202.4lbs) vs. Bobby Carter (206lbs)
Bradley Stafford (186.2lbs) vs Tommy Roberts (187lbs)
Steven Durr (145.2lbs) vs Michael Manley (144.6lbs)

To learn more about the XFC, please visit www.officialxfc.com and stay tuned to MMArecap.com for more previews for your favorite fighting promotions.

The fight of the night went to Liam James vs. Jean N’Doye who put on a 3 round back and forth war. For the full 15 minutes both James and N’Doye were trying to end the fight, and it looked like both could have done it. In the end, James’ ... Read More »]]> Cage Warriors brought the cage to Amman, Jordan for Cage Warriors Fight Night 5 for what turned out to be a great night of mixed martial arts for fans at the New Boxing arena and around the world. The main event featured heavyweight DJ Linderman, who took the fight on one weeks notice, who defeated Bobby Brents. Linderman has now earned himself a shot at the Cage Warriors Heavyweight title against Mike Hayes. If Cage Warriors ever had the opportunity to play up the bad blood scenario, this is the time.

The fight of the night went to Liam James vs. Jean N’Doye who put on a 3 round back and forth war. For the full 15 minutes both James and N’Doye were trying to end the fight, and it looked like both could have done it. In the end, James’ hand was raised winning the split decision. The crowd didn’t agree with the verdict. Hopefully Cage Warriors puts this bout online. (MMARecap scorecard 29-28 N’Doye)

The night also featured the semi final round of the Cage Warrior’s Middleweight division. The winner of the tournament walks away with the vacant middleweight strap. In a high pace fight, it was Victor Cheng who used his striking to win round after round over Faycal Huccin to get the decision. He will face Pavel Kusch who attacked John Phillips right out of the gate, and they were quickly in a scramble on the floor. Kusch dove for the knee bar, and switched it up to the heel hook. He got the tap at 25 seconds into the fight, and the Cage Warriors Submission of the Night. Below are the full results:

The official Cage Warriors Fight Night 5 Results:

MAIN CARD

Heavyweight Bout

DJ Linderman vs. Bobby Brents

DJ Linderman defeats Bobby Brents by unanimous decision (30-27×3)
 Middleweight bout:
Pavel Kusch vs. John Phillips (middleweight-tourney semifinal)

Pavel Kusch defeats John Phillips by submission (heel hook) :25 of round 1

Middleweight Bout:
Victor Cheng vs. Faycal Hucin (middleweight-tourney semifinal)

Victor Cheng defeats Faycal Hucin via unanimous decision (30-27×2, 30-26)

Featherweight Bout:

Liam James vs. Jean N’Doye

Liam James defeats Jean N’Doye by split decision 29-28, 28-29, 29-28

(judges: Weir 29-28LJ Cartlidge 29-28 JN Sledge 29-28LJ)

Catch-weight 188lbs bout:

Eric Cebarec vs. Mike Ling

Mike Ling defeats Eric Cebarec by TKO at 2:11 of round 2*

*submission (strikes/elbows from guard)

Light heavyweight Bout:

Kevin Donnelly vs. Piotr Hallman

Piotr Hallman defeats Kevin Donnelly by submission (rear naked choke) 4:10 of round 3

Bantamweight Bout:

Thomas Back vs. James Brum

James Brum defeats Thomas Back by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Light heavyweight Bout:

Mohamed Ali vs. Doo Hwan Kim

Mohamed Ali defeats Doo Hwan Kim by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Bantamweight Bout:

Kris Edwards (6-3) vs. Janne Elonen-Kulmala (4-2-0)

Kris Edwards defeats Janne Elonen-Kulmala by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Home-town hero Alexander Gustafsson will face Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva in the main-event of UFC on FUEL TV 2. The event will be held in Stockholm, Sweden on April 14th, 2012 at the Ericsson Globe Arena. The show marks the UFC’s debut in Sweden. The main-event was briefly in jeopardy as Antonio Rogerio Nogueira withdrew because of an injury, but Silva stepped in as a replacement soon after.

Gustafsson has been climbing up the ranks in the UFC, with all five of his wins in the organization finishing in a knockout or submission. He is 13-1 overall, most recently TKOing UFC veterans Matt Hamill and Vladimir Matyushanko. Gustafsson is a tall, lanky striker, who uses down-the-pipe punches to keep his shorter opponents at bay.

To prepare for the fight Gustafsson joined ... Read More »]]>

Alexander Gustafsson - via UFC.com

The emerging Swedish star is up against a hell of a test.

Home-town hero Alexander Gustafsson will face Brazilian slugger Thiago Silva in the main-event of UFC on FUEL TV 2. The event will be held in Stockholm, Sweden on April 14th, 2012 at the Ericsson Globe Arena. The show marks the UFC’s debut in Sweden. The main-event was briefly in jeopardy as Antonio Rogerio Nogueira withdrew because of an injury, but Silva stepped in as a replacement soon after.

Gustafsson has been climbing up the ranks in the UFC, with all five of his wins in the organization finishing in a knockout or submission. He is 13-1 overall, most recently TKOing UFC veterans Matt Hamill and Vladimir Matyushanko. Gustafsson is a tall, lanky striker, who uses down-the-pipe punches to keep his shorter opponents at bay.

To prepare for the fight Gustafsson joined Team Alliance in Las Vegas for three weeks. He sparred with top light-heavyweights Forrest Griffin, Phil Davis, and Brandon Vera during his stay. He will need all the sparring he can get, as he is up against the best striker he has ever faced.

Being the dominant, powerful striker that Thiago Silva is, he always brings the fight. 14-2 overall, he has gone 5-2 in the UFC, finishing four fights by knockout. It’s a tough first bout back for Silva, who is returning to action after more than a year because of a steroid-related suspension.

Silva was scheduled for a bout with Brandon Vera and injured his back a couple weeks out. He decided that the only way he could continue with the fight was to take injections in his back and spine that contained substances prohibited by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. He claimed that he put a product into his urine sample to try and hide the presence of these substances, thus causing the sample to test as non-human.

Coming back from a year-long layoff after a suspension can’t feel good, but I believe it may have given him much needed time to rehabilitate his back. We also saw in the very competitive Rashad Evans fight that Silva can come back strong from a layoff.

I do not see this fight going to the ground for long, if at all. If it does go to the ground, I don’t see either having a great advantage. If anything, Silva’s strength and black belt in Jiu-Jitsu would be the difference.

Seeing that this is probably a striking bout, I believe that there will be some chin-checking. A tall, lanky, rangy kick-boxer in Gustafsson against a bulky, aggressive powerhouse in Silva. Gustafsson has been leaving his chin up in most of his fights because he relies on distance and straight punches to win. I think that Silva will be able to capitalize on the openings, and that he may have just too much power for Gustafsson to handle.

I will take the underdog in Silva to rain on Gustafsson’s Swedish parade. I pick Silva to finish him in the second round via TKO

There’s one semi-final round battle that is left in the tournament, and that features two of the best in the midwest: Mike Corey versus Daniel Straus.

Straus’s history is intriguing when you look back at it. Prior to his fights in Bellator, his last loss was in 2009 at XFO 29 against Pat Curran. After the loss, Straus went on to win seven fights in a row before getting a chance to fight for Bellator at Bellator 23. There he took on Chad Hinton ... Read More »]]>

Daniel Straus vs Mike Corey - photos by Joey Hill

Season six of Bellator has delivered on almost every single level and the featherweight tournament has been a shining example of what is going right for the promotion. The opening round had its fair share of issues leading up to the fights with injuries and missed weight, but that didn’t stop the fighters from putting on amazing performances.

There’s one semi-final round battle that is left in the tournament, and that features two of the best in the midwest: Mike Corey versus Daniel Straus.

Straus’s history is intriguing when you look back at it. Prior to his fights in Bellator, his last loss was in 2009 at XFO 29 against Pat Curran. After the loss, Straus went on to win seven fights in a row before getting a chance to fight for Bellator at Bellator 23. There he took on Chad Hinton and won a unanimous decision.

He then took two more fights outside of Bellator, one for XFO and one for Shark Fights. He won both, increasing his win streak to ten. That win streak was enough for Bellator officials to officially invite him to take part of the season four featherweight tournament.

Still he was a relative unknown in the tournament and many had placed him the lower half. But he made the most of it by defeating Nazareno Malegarie in the opening round. He moved onto the semis and submitted Kenny Foster four weeks later. In the finals he ran into Patricio Freire, who was likely the favorite for the entire tournament. Straus put up a good fight, but lost a unanimous decision.

Straus then returned to his winning ways with a decision over Jason Dent. Impressed with his performance both in and out of the tournament, Straus was given another opportunity to compete in the featherweight tournament. His first opponent was the undefeated Jeremy Spoon, and like Malegarie, Straus handed him his first loss.

Standing across the cage from Straus is someone who has watched a good number of his fights from cageside in Corey. Corey’s Bellator story is shaping up to be one that will go down in the history books.

In 2010, Corey was asked to be apart of the season two lightweight tournament. After accepting the spot, he was forced to withdraw due to an injury and in stepped his teammate Pat Curran. Curran went on to win the lightweight tournament, lost to the champ Eddie Alvarez, won the featherweight tournament, and became the champ after knocking out Joe Warren.

But Corey didn’t let the injury phase him. After recovering and able to train, Corey took a fight at XFO 38. He won a unanimous decision over Tom Ahrens that night. Bellator officials were calling him and asking him to fight for them again.

He got his chance at Bellator 57 against Chris Horodecki. The fight was billed as a tournament qualifier; meaning the winner would be invited to compete in the upcoming lightweight tournament. Unfortunately for Corey, Horodecki, and Bellator, the fight was ruled a draw and neither fighter would be asked to be in the tournament.

But Corey stayed positive and new his chance would come. While his teammate Pat Curran was scheduled to fight in the main event at Bellator 60 against Joe Warren for the title, Corey got a chance to fight on the undercard and took it.

Training was going well for the Team Curran fighter, then with less than two weeks till the fight, one of the featherweight fighters had to withdraw due to injury. Corey, a lightweight his entire career, jumped at the chance to not only partake in a Bellator tournament, but try his hand at a weight class ten pounds lighter.

Like his teammate Curran during season two, Corey was stepping in to fight one of the top fighters in the tournament. Many were giving Ronnie Mann the victory as soon as the fight was announced, but that didn’t deter Corey.

Prior to the fight, Corey said he wanted to turn the fight into a scrap. He knew Mann possessed great technical boxing and he wanted to avoid that as much as possible. The first round of the fight, Mann kept the fight in his world. Slipping and counter punching Corey relatively easily. Mann landed a big right hand that landed and a mouse immediately formed under Corey’s eye.

Unhappy with the first round, Corey wanted to turn the tables and took the fight to the ground. While Mann was able to work his way back to his feet, the tide clearly turned. Corey started to land with confidence and took Mann down when he wanted to. After what was probably the most exhausting ten minutes, Corey’s hand was raised in victory.

Both Corey and Straus are the type to grind their opponent until they break. The question is, will either of these two break? Trying to compare the two and figure out who has the edge is nearly impossible.

Straus has always enjoyed a size advantage over his opponents in the featherweight division, but Corey is just as big. Both like to use their wrestling to get their opponent down and break them, and both have dangerous standup. The only possible advantage you could give to either fighter would be Corey’s jiu jitsu.

While Bellator 65 has some exciting fights on deck, including a bantamweight title fight, Corey vs Straus is looking like it could be the fight of the tournament.

Fans of mixed martial arts in Chicago will not be disappointed as the card is stacked with local talent. Established pros like Dan Aguirre, Mike Santiago, Adam Ward, Joey Diehl, and Christian Reynoso all will be looking to not only improve their fan base, but increase their fans.

Phil Williams, Andre Feliciano, Jerald Williams and Damian Norris are names many have seen on the amateur circuit in the Chicagoland area. All of them are battle tested and will try to start their pro careers with a win.

Doors open at 6pm and the first fight is set ... Read More »]]>

XFO 43 Final Poster

On Friday, April 13, XFO returns to the Copernicus Center for XFO 43. The night of action is scheduled to feature an all pro mixed martial arts card with thirteen fights. The first 1,500 fans to arrive will receive a free 2012 X-Treme Ring Girls calendar.

Fans of mixed martial arts in Chicago will not be disappointed as the card is stacked with local talent. Established pros like Dan Aguirre, Mike Santiago, Adam Ward, Joey Diehl, and Christian Reynoso all will be looking to not only improve their fan base, but increase their fans.

Phil Williams, Andre Feliciano, Jerald Williams and Damian Norris are names many have seen on the amateur circuit in the Chicagoland area. All of them are battle tested and will try to start their pro careers with a win.

Doors open at 6pm and the first fight is set to start at 7:30pm. The full card now includes:
Daniel Vizcaya vs Brandon DelPrado
Daniel Aguirre vs Ryan McIntosh
Mike Santiago vs Tory Bogguess
Adam Ward vs Bobby Ferrier
Andrew Krzeptowski vs Lawrence Dunning
Joey Diehl vs Dominic Blanco
Matt Tobie vs Ryan Storey
Rafal Skibinski vs Jason Graves
Christian Reynoso vs Brandon Wood
Damian Norris vs Jordan Griffin
Ramy Daoud vs Johnny Coleman
Andre Feliciano vs Jerald Williams
Phil Williams vs James Smith