Alvarez vs. Chandler, Lombard vs. Prangley Set for Bellator 58 on Nov. 19

A Bellator lightweight title fight between champion Eddie Alvarez and season four tournament winner Michael Chadler has been rescheduled to headline Bellator 58 on November 19 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Bellator 58 is shaping up to be the biggest of Bellator's fifth season, with a non-title fight between middleweight champion Hector Lombard and Trevor Prangley set for the co-main event.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/26368/alvarez-vs-chandler-lombard-vs-prangley-set-for-bellator-58-on-nov-19/

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

UFC 136 interview: Guillard is back home, it reminds him of how far he?s come

The Melvin Guillard you see today is all about fighting and family. It wasn't that way four years ago.

The 28-year-old made huge changes in his life and it has him on the brink of a UFC lightweight title shot if he gets the job done this weekend against Joe Lauzon at UFC 136 in Houston.

None of this was imaginable in 2007 and 2008. He spent time in jail and was popped by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a positive cocaine test following a loss against Joe Stevenson.

"It was a stupid mistake on my part, listening to friends 'oh man, you can have a little fun tonight, it'll be out of your system within three days.' You live and you learn in life and it makes you stronger," Guillard told us on ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas. "I think I'm a better person today for it. I think sometimes you have to hit rock bottom sometimes to regain yourself. I'm happy with my life right now."

Guillard actually spent time in a Houston jail before heading off to rehab in 2008. The UFC dropped him, but eventually brought him back. Dana White has always had a soft spot in his heart for Guillard.

"I'm pretty sure before Dana White was a billionaire guy and had all this Fortune 500 company, I'm pretty sure he was a normal guy who made mistakes too," Guillard said. "Everybody makes mistakes. You on the other end of this phone, I'm pretty sure you've made mistakes in your life that you possibly might regret. That's just the human nature. [...] That might be why he understands."

Over the last four weeks, Guillard had the chance to visit both his original hometown New Orleans and his second hometown Houston. His wife is from the Houston area. In prepping for the fight, he put in plenty of time in Albuquerque, the home of Jackson's MMA. Guillard has put all the outside nonsense on the back burner and it's paying off.

He's won five in a row with the UFC, but the promotion has several options to turn to when the dust settles between the champ Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard. The Ben Henderson-Clay Guida winner is in the running and so is Gilbert Melendez, the lightweight champ with Strikeforce. Guillard's been wowing fans and the promotion in recent fights, but probably needs to do so again to get the championship match. Guillard's says he fine with whatever the promotion chooses. He just wants to fight consistently and keep his new life on course.

Watch UFC 136 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-136-interview-Guillard-is-back-home-it-rem?urn=mma-wp7829

Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch Kenny Florian Jesse Forbes

Shlemenko, Vianna Advance to Bellator Middleweight Tournament Final

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Alexander Shlemenko and Vitor Vianna put on a couple of exceptional performances Saturday night at Bellator 54, winning their semifinal fights and advancing to the finals of the Bellator Fighting Championships middleweight tournament.

Shlemenko used vicious knees to finish off Brian Rogers in the main event, winning a second-round TKO after a round and a half of wild, back-and-forth brawling. Rogers hurt Shlemenko with some hard shots to the body, but it was Shlemenko's more diverse striking arsenal that was the difference in the fight. As he always does, Shlemenko showed off some of his trademark spinning strikes, but what was even more impressive was the way Shlemenko would control Rogers in the clinch and land knees, both to the body and to the head. Eventually those knees connected enough times that Rogers had no answer, and the referee stopped the fight.

Now Shlemenko will advance to the tournament final, where he'll face Vianna -- who looked plenty good himself on Saturday night.

Vianna is known primarily as a Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner, but it was his striking that looked sensational in his victory over Bryan Baker. Vianna leveled Baker with an overhand right, then pounced on him against the cage and finished him with hammer fists. Vianna's TKO victory lasted just 54 seconds.

Afterward Vianna said he's looking forward to the chance to face Shlemenko.

"He's a tough fighter. I know it will be a great challenge. I will be ready," Vianna said.

In a non-title fight, Bellator bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky sunk in a north-south choke to force Ryan Roberts to tap out with just seconds remaining in the first round. It was an easy victory for Makovsky, who ran his record to 14-2, including 6-0 in Bellator.

And in the first fight of the live MTV2 card, Rene Nazare, a previously undefeated Brazilian lightweight who was viewed by many as a promising prospect, was soundly beaten by Jacob Kirwan. Two judges gave the fight to Kirwan 30-27, and one judge scored it 29-28. It was a disappointing performance from Nazare and the biggest win of Kirwan's career.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/15/shlemenko-vianna-advance-to-bellator-middleweight-tournament-fi/

Luciano Azevedo  Ba Te er  Ryan Bader  Siyar Bahadurzada

Amanda Lucas Tries to Prove She's More Than Just a 'Star Wars' Reference

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There's a temptation to say that Amanda Lucas wants to fight so much, she'd take a bout on Tatooine.

Though Lucas certainly must be growing tired of the constant "Star Wars" references, she at least suffers them with a smile. The adopted daughter of George Lucas, creator of the biggest movie franchise in history, knows the mentions of her ultra-famous father and his uber-famous space saga are inevitable.

But what Amanda Lucas wants more than anything is to reach a point in her mixed martial arts career when "Star Wars" and her father are but mere footnotes, not the lead.


"it doesn't bother me - I'm proud of my family," Lucas said last week on "The MMA Hour" with host Ariel Helwani. "I hope to do my best on my own and prove I'm not just George's daughter. I work just as hard as my training partners and I don't want any special treatment. (But "Star Wars" is) going to get mentioned - it's nothing I can hide."

Lucas, 30, even had parts in the latter three films in the "Star Wars" saga, Episodes I, II and III, which helped fulfill a childhood fantasy of performing, even though she said acting is not where her talents lie.

"I'm not an actress," Lucas said. "It was fun, and it was something I can say that I did. I always wanted to be a performer. I liked the idea of acting, but it wasn't really my thing. I wanted to be Madonna or Janet Jackson, but I can't sing very well."

Instead, Lucas (2-1) now focuses her performance ambitions on fighting. After losing her MMA debut in May 2008, Lucas has won two straight, including a first-round submission win at Deep 55 in Japan two months ago. She'll next fight at Deep 56 on Oct. 29, her second fight in two months, but just her fourth in three and a half years.

Lucas, who trains at Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez's new gym, said though the women's MMA market is much tougher to crack than the men's, she wants to find a way to keep getting fights.

"My feeling is, I want to get in as much as I can and do this now," Lucas said. "I'm 30 years old, so now is the time. I can't be waiting every two years to fight."

Lucas will fight in Japan for the second time after her Deep debut in August. And this time, she's hopeful that she can avoid a certain highly iconic entrance theme. Lucas said she would never walk out to the theme from "Star Wars," but at Deep 55, it was played anyway.

For a while, Lucas will have to get used to the "Star Wars" comments. But she believes as long as she keeps training, fighting and building a name for herself. And famous father or not, her motivation is pretty simple.

"I just want to fight."

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/15/amanda-lucas-tries-to-prove-shes-more-than-just-a-star-wars-r/

Stav Crazy Bear Economou  Yves Edwards  Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo

Pick a Card: UFC 136 (MAIN CARD)

We left off yesterday discussing the UFC 136 prelims, and today, we’re back with the main card. The main card features a highly anticipated rematch, along with the possibly the greatest match-up of good and evil in the UFC‘s storied history. Let’s get started. Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon Guillard is one of the UFC’s [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/08/pick-a-card-ufc-136-main-card

Gerard Gordeau Jonathan Goulet Wilson Gouveia Jason Grace

Douglas Lima says Ben Saunders possesses ?nothing to be afraid of?

Now that Douglas Lima has improved his winning streak to eight with a pair of knockout wins in the Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament his focus has turned towards fellow finalist Ben Saunders. ?Killa B? has also finished both opponents he?s faced in the competition, most recently notching a third round submission victory over 50-7-1 [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/11/douglas-lima-says-ben-saunders-has-%e2%80%9cnothing-to-be-afraid-of%e2%80%9d

Lyman Good Gary Goodridge Gerard Gordeau Jonathan Goulet

Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian discuss UFC 136 title-fight and what?s next

25-year old featherweight champion Jose Aldo picked up the twentieth win of his career Saturday night and it?s hard to argue that any of his past victories were any bigger. Facing Kenny Florian, a seasoned veteran with a high rate of success at 155-pounds, Aldo avoided trouble throughout while delivering enough damage of his own [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/09/jose-aldo-and-kenny-florian-discuss-ufc-136-title-fight-and-what%e2%80%99s-next

Sean Gannon Edgar Garcia Leonard Garcia Andrew Gardner