UFC and Bellator bantamweights take center stage

The old adage in combat sports is that smaller athletes never bring the same amount of interest as the big fighters. That truism will be put to the test this weekend for the UFC and this fall for Bellator, as both promotions rely on the little guys to bring in plenty of pay-per-view buys and ratings.

At UFC 132, the UFC is putting their faith in the hands of two exciting bantamweights on what is traditionally one of their biggest weekends. Over the past two years, PPV king Brock Lesnar has headlined the 4th of July card. This year, the UFC has swung to the other end of the weight classes, as they rely on 135-lb. champ Dominick Cruz and former champ Urijah Faber to bring in the eyeballs.

Faber is already a big name who has headlined a pay-per-view. At WEC 48, Faber and Jose Aldo headlined a card that was considered a success by WEC standards. Through lots of promotion and smart sponsorships, Faber has become more well-known than any other WEC fighters, even among those who still hold their belts.

Cruz is not in the same boat. Though he's defended his championship belt twice, all of his fights have been on WEC cards. What will help fans get to know Cruz is his beef with the normally mild-mannered Faber.

The two fought early in Faber's run as the WEC featherweight champ, and since Faber won that bout with a guillotine, enmity has simmered between them. On Twitter, in interviews and in the "Countdown" show, they've talked about their dislike for each other. That will add heat to what promises to be an exciting bout.

Similarly, Bellator is hoping that their bantamweight tournament will draw in fans when its season starts on September 24. It has firepower. Featherweight champ Joe Warren is dropping down, and in the first round will face Alexis Vila, an Olympic bronze medal-winning wrestler from Cuba who like Warren, holds a world championship in wrestling.

The other first-round match-ups are Eduardo Dantas vs. Joe Soto (a former Bellator FW champ), Luiz Nogueira vs. Ed West, and Chase Beebe (former WEC champ) vs. Marcos Galvao (WEC veteran).

Will the 135-lbers deliver? Speak your mind in the comment section or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-and-Bellator-bantamweights-take-center-stage?urn=mma-wp4129

Wesley Cabbage Correira  Patrick The Predator Côté  Randy The Natural Couture  Dan Cramer

?Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson? Main Card Confirmed

Following Monday’s bogus report on Strikeforce.com that Fedor Emelianenko was Octagon bound, the UFC’s little brother wanted to quickly reel fans back to reality by confirming the main card for “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson.” The eagerly anticipated show takes place July 30th inside the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Emelianenko will stand opposite current [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/81251/strikeforce-fedor-vs-henderson-main-card-confirmed/

Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle

UFC 132 openers: Njokuani shreds Winner on the feet ? Hougland, Bowles and Simpson also victors

LAS VEGAS - In what could've been his final fight with the UFC, Anthony Njokuani came up with a clutch effort.

The Nigerian-born muay thai specialist got back on the winning track by dominating Andre Winner in a 15-minute standup battle. Njokuani lit up Winner in the first round on his way to a unanimous decision win, 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27. The victory ensures Njokuani keeps his job with the UFC.

"I have a newborn son (Kai) now and it's really opened up my eyes and made me focus harder. I go in the gym every day and try to watch tape and improve on what I've done wrong in other fights. I'm trying to do the little things well. I keep my hands up, I move my head more. I think that showed tonight," said Njokuani.

Njokuani (14-5, 1-1 UFC) came in a loser in three-of-four. His last fight was a tight decision loss against Edson Barboza. He had to make sure the judges saw it his way tonight.

Njokuani came out with a blistering pace using leg kicks and counterpunches to really throw Winner off his game. With 1:15 left in the first, the Brit got a little sloppy when he tried to come inside. Njokuani rocked him with a right uppercut and a short left. Winner backed up, but his legs didn't cooperate. His plant leg was jello. Winner retreated to the cage where he absorbed 30-plus knees and punches. Referee Yves Lavigne showed a lot of self-control in allowing the fight to continue and Winner (11-6-1, 2-4 UFC) made it out of the round. Two of three judges scored it a 10-8 round for Njokuani.

"I thought he was gonna be (knocked) out there in the first round. He survived and proved that he's a tough dude," said Njokuani.

Winner, the runner up on Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter," has now lost three straight. He's got some of the quickest hands in the lightweight division, but too often he's a slow starter. Njokuani's length hurt him from the start.

"It took too long for me to get going tonight. I was too tense and didn't use my range. He was a good puncher, but I spar with guys like Paul Daley so I'm use to hard shots," Winner said. "Anthony was just better tonight in all aspects. He's a great technician."

Simpson roughs up Tavares in battle of dirty boxing

Brad Tavares can definitely hang with a top wrestler, but that wasn't enough to lock up a win against veteran Aaron Simpson.

Tavares stayed off his back, but couldn't consistently create space to make good on a striking advantage. Simpson, 36, worked the fight to the cage for most of the 15 minutes and rolled to a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all three cards.

"I'm going to be honest. I didn't think I was at my best tonight. Brad is very talented and he has very flexible hips. Some guys at 185 are easy to hold down and maneuver. He felt heavy and was strong and made it a tough fight," Simpson said. "This win is something to build off of. I have such good training with guys like Seth Baczynski, Robbie Lawler, CB (Dolloway) and (Ryan) Bader. It truly made the difference in there."

According to FightMetric, Simpson was good on just 2-of-15 takedown attempts, but outlanded Tavares 127-41.

Simpson (9-2, 6-2 UFC) opened with a solid first round. The former Arizona State wrestler couldn't get it to the ground, but was able to land the harder shots in side.

In the second, Tavares (7-1, 2-1 UFC) got off to quick start with a left hook that briefly put Simpson on his rear end, but the wrestler was able to clinch and move it to the cage. The fighters traded knees and punches from the clinch over the next two and half minutes. Tavares picked Simpson off the ground and scored a huge slam. Again Simpson refused to freak out, won the scramble and threatened for choke with head control for the next minute. It was more of the same in the final round with Simpson winning the inside exchanges.

"I'm disappointed I lost the fight. I just spoke with my coaches and know I did some things wrong," said the 23-year-old Tavares. "I'm not going to hang my head for long. I actually wish my gym was open tomorrow. I'm ready to get back in there and fix some things."

Less than aggressive Bowles gets by Mizugaki

Brian Bowles began the slow climb back to the top of the 135-pound tonight by taking out the very tough Takeya Mizugaki.

Bowles, the former WEC bantamweight champ, battling back from a myriad of hand injuries, got the unanimous decision, 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27. Bowles is now 2-0 in the UFC. He scored his first victory with the big boy promotion over Damacio Page.

Tonight wasn't easy for Bowles, who used a cautious approach to beat the Japanese veteran to the punch on most occasions in the first. In the second and third, Bowles (10-1, 2-0 UFC) used his grappling to win over the judges.

A native of Georgia, Bowles crushed Mizugaki (14-6-2, 1-1 UFC) with a big right at the 2:02 mark of the second. Mizugaki went down in a heap, Bowles jumped on top and eventually took his back. Mizugaki was in deep trouble. Bowles had a tight body triangle and began working for the choke. Mizugaki must have some super strong hands because hand battled with Bowles the rest of the way and never found himself in serious danger of being choked.

In the final round, Mizugaki fought without a sense of urgency. He allowed Bowles to take his back standing and then jump on top of him. With Mizugaki leaning against the cage, Bowles remained on his back for nearly four minutes.

Update: Bowles told UFC.com that he felt like he broke his right hand in the second. That certainly explains why his punch output was down to just 111 punches thrown.

In fight No. 1, Jeff Hougland and Donny Walker engaged in a back and forth battle. Hougland took a unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. It was the UFC debut for both fighters.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-132-openers-Njokuani-shreds-Winner-on-the-f?urn=mma-wp4267

Jorge Gurgel Andre Gusmao Alexander Gustafsson Jaime Gutierrez

First no Fedor-Couture, now we?re denied Chestnut-Kobi

MMA's done a pretty good job of putting together the super matches we've asked for as fans. It's helped that Zuffa purchased most of its competitors, but there are still a few fights we've been denied.It's nothing like what boxing is dealing with in the elusive Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather or even worse competitive eating's quandary with Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi.

A squabble between promoter (Major League Eating) and athlete (Kobayashi) is keeping fans from seeing Chestnut-Kobayashi IV, V, VI and so on. It's a damn shame.

Yesterday, while Chestnut was scarfing down 62 hot dogs on Coney Island, Kobayashi tore through 69 on a rooftop in Manhattan.

It's similar to Fedor Emelianenko's battle over the years with the UFC. Fedor and his management team didn't want to sign an exclusive contract that would keep the fighter from competing in Sambo. Kobayashi wants to be able to travel the world and compete in non-sanctioned MLE events, but the promoters, the Shea brothers, won't acquiesce.

Because Fedor and Zuffa couldn't come to terms, we missed out on these dream matchups -Fedor vs. Randy Couture; Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar; Fedor vs. Chuck Liddell; Fedor vs. Anderson Silva and  Fedor vs. Tito Ortiz.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/First-no-Fedor-Couture-now-we-re-denied-Chestnu?urn=mma-wp4425

Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesić Mauro Galvao

Tito Ortiz earns more than a half-million for UFC 132 win

Former light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz not only walked away from UFC 132 with his hands raised after a crucial bout where his future was concerned but also exited the Fourth of July Weekend event as the card?s highest paid athlete. According to a list of figures provided by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, ?The [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/07/05/tito-ortiz-earns-more-than-a-half-million-for-ufc-132-win/

Edson Drago  Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus 

Bas Rutten calls out testosterone replacement therapy users

The recent attention given to testosterone replacement therapy has really fired up some folks around the MMA world. Ben Askren straight up called Nate Marquardt a cheater. Bas Rutten piled on this week as well.

On HDNet's Inside MMA, Rutten showed no mercy for dopers.

"If you're take it for performance enhancing, you're a loser," Rutten said. "You see a lot of guys doing it. For me, the bigger they are, it shows weakness."

As Rutten was going on his rant, it was clear active fighter Dennis Hallman was squirming and getting agitated.

"The moment you're taking it, you're weak in the mind. If it's up to you that you have to take that [expletive], that's what I call it, to compete with the other ones, then don't compete," said Rutten.

Hallman chimed in by explaining why he uses hormone replacement therapy pointing to his issues with coeliac disease.

Rutten sounded like he's willing to accept the excuse put forth by some, but if you cross the line of legality with your testosterone limits, the former UFC heavyweight champ says throw the book at the fighter.

"I say just don't cross the line. If you're Nate marquardt [and you get] across the line, [it] wrecks a main event. That's a serious thing."

There seems to be one major issue with Hallman's explanation for his therapy. Don't forget, he tested positive for drostanolone and nandrolone back in 2007 after a win over Jeremiah Metcalf.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Bas-Rutten-calls-out-testosterone-replacement-th?urn=mma-wp4566

Dos Caras Jr   Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro Shane The Engineer Carwin 

Ben Saunders vs. Rick Hawn Highlights Bellator's Welterweight Tournament Field

Filed under: ,

Former UFC fighter Ben Saunders and season four tournament finalist Rick Hawn lead the field of Bellator season five welterweight tournament entrants, as announced by the promotion on Friday.

The welterweight tourney will open with quarterfinal round action on Sept. 10, at an event held at Caesers in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Among the group are several Bellator veterans.

The first round matchups are: Saunders vs. Hawn, Dan Hornbuckle vs. Luis Santos, Douglas Lima vs. Steve Carl and Brent Weedman vs. Chris Lozano.

Last season's tournament came down to Hawn and Jay Hieron, with Hieron winning in a tight split decision. The loss was the first of Hawn's career. Hieron is currently awaiting his reward, a title match against current champion Ben Askren. A date for that fight has yet to be finalized.

Hawn (11-1) won't have an easy time getting back to the finals, starting against the 28-year-old Saunders, who has won two straight since being released from the UFC. Saunders (10-3-2) made his Bellator debut in April, earning a TKO win over Matt Lee.

Also new to the tournament field is Lima, who is riding a six-fight win streak in pushing his record to 18-4. Lima had been the reigning champion of the Canada-based promotion Maximum Fighting Championships, but vacated the belt to move to Bellator.

Santos is the final newcomer to the field, boasting a 49-6-1 record in a decade-long career.

Bellator's season will again air live on MTV2.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/07/08/ben-saunders-vs-rick-hawn-highlights-bellators-welterweight-to/

Logan The Pink Pounder Clark  Steve The Snake Claveau  Rich No Love Clementi  Mark The Hammer Coleman