Bellator Signs Top Ten Featherweight and Former Sengoku Champion Marlon Sandro to 145 lbs Roster

World number six-ranked featherweight and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Marlon Sandro will make his U.S debut under the Bellator Fighting Championships banner, officials announced today.  The Sengoku, Pancrase, and Shooto veteran will not participate in the upcoming Season 4 Featherweight Tournament which airs LIVE beginning in March, but will make his debut in 2011.

“Marlon Sandro is a phenomenal talent at 145,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Our Featherweight division is absolutely stacked and Sandro pushes that talent pool to an even higher level, I’m thrilled to have him on board.”

The former Sengoku Featherweight Champion and reigning Featherweight King of Pancrase brings an extremely impressive 17-2 professional record to Bellator, which includes seven TKO or KOs and three submission victories.  Taking his first professional MMA fight in 2004, Sandro maintained a 5 year, 14 fight win-streak prior to his first career loss – a must-decide split decision to Michihiro Omigawa in the Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinals.

Recently compiling a string of devastating knockouts, Sandro’s last four victories have come via TKO or KO, – all in the first round – with a total fight time of just 3:39.

Residing and fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Sandro currently trains along side UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo with Team Nova Uniao.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago.  Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes.  Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

About MTV2

MTV2 is a man’s best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

Richard “Rare Breed” Hale Joins Bellator’s Light Heavyweight Tournament in Season 4

Bellator Fighting Championships continues to add to its Light Heavyweight Tournament, this time adding powerful Ohio native Richard “Rare Breed” Hale to the competition that airs LIVE Saturdays on MTV2. Hale now has the opportunity at picking up a $100,000 paycheck while becoming the first Bellator World Light Heavyweight Champion.

“Richard is another guy we have had our eye on for a while, and his size and experience should enable him to make some noise this season,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.

Now fighting out of Tempe, Arizona, Hale (15-3-1) began his MMA journey in 2006 just days after being invited to a local MMA event a friend of his was competing in. Now almost five years later, the training has paid off, as the 25-year-old Hale has held Rage in the Cage Championships in three different weight classes, including Light Heavyweight, Heavyweight, and Super Heavyweight.

After giving more than 40 pounds away to opponents in the past, Hale is thrilled to enter the tournament fighting at 205, stating, “Iabsolutely feel like I’m more powerful and explosive at 205 pounds,” said the 6’4” Hale. “My strength and my stamina is better, and just everything all around. With the weight cut and everything, it pushes me to be a better athlete.”

With 13 finishes in 15 victories, Hale is anxious to put his crowd pleasing style on display LIVE on MTV2 during Bellator Season 4.

“I’m looking at this tournament as an opportunity to display my skills to the world,” said Hale. “I feel like this is my opportunity to make a statement and I’m absolutely going to take advantage of it. I’m not coming to Bellator just to put on a fight; I’m coming to put on an entertaining fight. This is an entertainment sport, so my opponents have to be ready for anything.”

Hale is the fifth confirmed participant in the Light Heavyweight tournament, joining Nik “The Machete” Fekete, Chris Davis, D.J. Linderman, and Tim Carpenter.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago.  Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes.  Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

About MTV2

MTV2 is a man’s best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

The next six months, win, lose, or draw at any stage of the tournament,  determine my next five to ten years – Brent Weedman

Brent Weedman

Brent Weedman finishes fights, period. All of his career wins have come via stoppage and he does not plan on that changing as he heads into the Bellator Season Four Welterweight Tournament.  The Louisville, Kentucky, native drew Dan Hornbuckle as his first-round opponent in the Bellator opener on March 5 in Lemoore, California, at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino.  Brent is thrilled at the chance to avenge his  2006 loss to Hornbuckle, and CageCraze.com was thrilled to get a chance to visit with Brent at his training camp at Real Fighters Gym in Louisville with Team Haycraft. There is no better candidate for our first Featured Fighter from Kentucky, and Brent had a ton of things on his mind.

We spoke with Brent after a grueling Team Haycraft sparring session, and his fight against Hornbuckle had just been publicly confirmed. We thought at first that “Weedman vs Hornbuckle II” was a fight that was worthy of being a semi-final or final fight of the tournament but Brent looked at it differently, and spoke highly of the matchmaking at Bellator. “The thing I love about fighting for Bellator is that their fights are the main focus. They always put the best possible fights together and they did a great job. I can guarantee that something exciting is going to happen, someone is getting finished…I like that because win, lose, or draw, we both come out of it with higher earning potentials and higher visibility.”

The chatter leading into the Bellator tournament has been mostly concentrated on other fighters, which is the way that Brent likes it. “I’m fine being overlooked, I love playing the underdog. It is a little bit of a spoiler though, because in every interview that Dan [Hornbuckle] has done he talks about how it was one of the toughest fights of his career. So, it does kind of suck that my first opponent won’t sleep on me. Everybody else does, but you’ll never hear Dan say ‘Who is this guy? I am going to run right through him.’ ”

Weedman takes direction from Eric Haycraft

Brent went on to discuss how far he has grown since the first fight against Dan Hornbuckle, and why this fight will be different. “Instead of stepping back and pushing him over with one finger like I should have [after hurting Hornbuckle with a body shot],  I freaked out. I picked him all the way up to the ceiling and then drove him all the way to the mat.” Dan Hornbuckle then submitted Weedman with a triangle choke. “The thing I like to point to in this fight …my first real Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lesson ever was with Helio Soneca after the Hornbuckle fight, on how to escape the triangle. Fast forward to now, and I am a three-stripe purple belt under a 5th-degree black belt [Soneca] from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that is a legend in the sport.”

Looking at the rest of the field, Brent’s journey towards a matchup against Ben Askren will not get easier if he gets past Hornbuckle. “Everybody in this tournament can win. On any given night, anyone in this tournament can win. That is the kind of professional sport that I want to be a part of.” When asked if he thought everyone in the field could beat Askren, Weedman hesitated, but went on to say, “That’s a good question, a really good question. I am going to say ‘yeah’ just for the simple fact that Ben is so good at wrestling, that we have not seen much else from him and we haven’t needed to. That is not necessarily a slight against him. Ben Askren is a fantastic athlete which means he is going to pick up the rest of the game rapidly…that being said, he is still young in his submissions game, he is still young in his kickboxing game.”

Weedman working drills at Real Fighters Gym

Brent likens Askren’s wrestling prowess to the BJJ game of Jake Shields. Brent spent some time out in California training with Shields, along with Nick and Nate Diaz. Brent says that his training with them “completely revolutionized” his game. Brent is kind of a big fish in a small pond in Louisville, but in California he said he was “fodder, just another body for them.” Brent is back in Louisville now and along with his trainer, Eric Haycraft, has begun to plug in the new training methodologies he picked up from his trip to the West Coast.

Brent is now just weeks away from the biggest fight of his career, and this is make-or-break time for him. “The next six months, win, lose, or draw at any stage of the tournament,  determine my next five to ten years. Ten years from now, I can look back and say that for six months I did it full bore, I did it the way you are supposed to, I put everything else on hold, and I did what I wanted to do.  Fighting is not important. Do you think that any of the protestors in Cairo care about Brent Weedman vs Dan Hornbuckle? No. They’ve got important things to care about. But fighting is in me, it is my passion, and you have to do what you love in life. We all only get to live one time…and then it is over.”

CageCraze.com would like to wish Brent the best of luck heading into the Bellator Season Four Welterweight Tournament. You can watch the opening round of the tournament on March 5 on MTV2. Please visit Bellator.com for more info on Brent Weedman, Dan Hornbuckle, and all of the other competitors. We would also like to say thank you to Eric Haycraft for allowing us to come into Real Fighters Gym and observe the Team Haycraft workouts. Brent would like to thank his management team at SuckerPunch Entertainment. Please check out their website and contact them if you are interested in becoming a sponsor for Brent’s tournament run.

CageCraze.com is your MMA Social Network dedicated to connecting, promoting, covering and improving local MMA everywhere. Create your free profile today, and stay connected with local MMA Everywhere! Brent Weedman has his own CageCraze.com profile, create yours and connect with Brent!

Randy Couture remembers the path his life was supposed to follow. He would put his foreign language and literature degree to good use as a high school teacher, and his background as an All-American wrestler to work as a coach.

Those were the days before mixed martial arts, back when something called the “Ultimate Fighting Championship” was only beginning to give birth to an entirely new sport. The former NCAA runner-up at Oklahoma State was content trying out for the Olympics, helping young wrestlers in high school and college, and scraping together enough money for a decent living.

As school wrestling programs are put on chopping blocks across the country, either to reach Title IX compliance or save a few bucks in a down economy, mixed martial arts is providing the centuries-old sport some salvation. Kids interested in professional fighting without access to trainers or gyms are giving it a lift – simply by walking into wrestling rooms again.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, more than 355,000 high schoolers competed on 9,772 teams during the sport’s high-water mark in 1977, back when Dan Gable was an Olympic hero and the United States was a force on the international scene.

By 1995, more than 1,200 of those programs had been cut and participation was at 217,000.

For Complete Article by Dave Skretta, theTandD.com

“I’m gonna make a statement on Daniel Head’s face.”

CageCraze.com Profile: Ryan Thomas

Photo: Steve Brylka SportsPageMagazine.com

Ryan Thomas has had experience dealing with adversity so when things didn’t go his way in 2010, he went right back to work.  The 11-6 welterweight trains out of American Top Team in Florida, but he got his start right here in the midwest.  Thomas made the transition to MMA when Eastern Illinois cut their wrestling program while he was still on the team.  Thomas worked his way up to the UFC and was a participant in the Bellator season 2 welterweight tournament where he fought and lost to eventual champion Ben Askren twice.  Thomas would go on to lose a decision to “Judo” Jim Wallhead with an invite to the season 4 welterweight tournament on the line.

Needless to say, Thomas has plans for bigger and better things in 2011.  It all starts in a homecoming of sorts on February 19th when he squares off with dangerous submission artist Daniel Head in the main event of Colosseum Combat XVI in Kokomo, Indiana

Ryan was kind enough to speak with CageCraze.com about his upcoming fight with Daniel Head and his future prospects.

When asked how he planned to get back on track in 2011, Ryan had a very simple answer.

“Well it starts with Daniel Head.  I’ve just got let people know that I’m for real.  I’m gonna make a statement on his face.  All the fights I’ve won, I’ve finished my opponent.  I plan to keep doing the same thing with Daniel Head.  He’s a tough guy.  He hangs in there and waits for you to make a mistake but he’s used to fighting 155 pounders.  I think he’s gonna have a hard time hanging in there with me with my power and strength advantage.”

Thomas plans on using the momentum of a win over Head to propel himself into immediate relevancy for the next Bellator welterweight tournament after season 4 concludes.

“I’ve got one more fight on my contract,” said an excited Thomas.  ”This fight will help me go into the Bellator fight with a little momentum behind me.  Coming off a loss, I’ve just gotta make sure I come into the Daniel Head fight in shape, stay in shape and roll right into the Bellator season which opens up March 5^th. It’s 12 weeks long so I’m expecting to fight some time in that timespan.”

After losing in the season 2 welterweight tournament, Thomas made a big change.  He packed up his bags and moved from Illinois to Florida to train with one of the premiere MMA fight camps, American Top Team.

“Florida’s been great”, said Thomas.  ”I live real close to the gym.  Back in Illinois I was driving two hours a day to the gym and a couple hours back from the gym.  I’ve been doing a lot of jiu jitsu with Master Ricardo Liborio and Master Conan Silveira.”

Thomas actually trained with Daniel Head’s current jiu jitsu instructor James Clingerman every week when he lived in Illinois.  He understands that Head will have plenty of inside info on his game but he assured us that he has evolved considerably since he moved to Florida.

“I think I’ve evolved a lot and my striking has evolved a lot too.  I’ve been working with top guys here training with all the big name pros and I’m hanging with them and that’s something to be said for the stable of fighters they have down here.  I definitely have to be on my toes though because if I slip up (Daniel)’s gonna snatch me in something.”

Throughout his burgeoning MMA career, Thomas was studying to be an elementary school teacher.  Both Ryan and his opponent Daniel Head actually received degrees in elementary education.  Thomas graduated in 2009 and continued his education, recently earning his endorsement to teach Physical Education.

“I have my first job interview three days after the Daniel Head fight so the goal in that fight is to not get too beat up”, said a laughing Thomas.  ”It’s for a first and second grade PE position so I don’t want to go in there looking like Sloth from the Goonies.  I definitely want to come out of this fight better looking than I did after the Wallhead fight.”

Speaking of Jim Wallhead, Thomas had heaps of praise for the tough British judo specialist.

“He’s a tough guy, really respectful and tough as nails.  I worked my wrestling a lot and I couldn’t take him down.  Jim probably has the best takedown defense of anyone I’ve ever fought.  I took down Ben Askren but I couldn’t take down Jim Wallhead.  I’ve been working on that, working on my striking and working off my back a lot more.  I got banged up a little bit when I pulled guard on him so I’m making sure that next time I’m on my back I’m gonna not get punched and go for some submissions and hopefully get something going off my back.

If Judo Jim can get through the tournament and match up with Askren, I think that’d be a really good matchup for Wallhead because he’s got the best takedown defense in the tournament.  He might have the best chance at keeping it standing.”

When the name of the Bellator welterweight champion, Ben Askren, was brought up, Thomas discussed the almost other-worldly power that Askren has in sucking his opponents into grappling matches.

“He does that to everybody.  You go in there with a gameplan of sprawl and brawl and he’s just got something about him where he turns it into a wrestling match.  Nobody’s gonna win a wrestling match with Ben Askren in MMA.”

The interview made a cyclical turn, returning back to Thomas’ upcoming opponent.  Ryan realizes that there are parallels between Askren and Daniel Head when it comes to the gameplan for his Colosseum Combat main event.

“I have to make sure I don’t fall into the same trap with Daniel Head”, said a cautious Thomas.  ”His gameplan is going to be similar.  He’s going to know that I’m a better striker just like Askren did and he’s probably gonna wanna be on top.  I think Daniel Head’s Achilles heel is absorbing too much damage from bottom so I don’t think he’s gonna wanna be on his back against me.  He’s gonna try to get on top of me which is the same gameplan I was trying to work on against Ben Askren.  I have to make sure I don’t fall into that trap again.  I don’t want to turn this into a grappling match against Daniel Head because I know that’s his strong point.”

When asked about his goals for 2011, Thomas said he first wants to defeat Daniel Head.  After that, he’d love to have a fight with MMA veteran Shonie Carter which he says is potentially in the works.  He also stated that he wants to renegotiate a new contract with Bellator and secure an invite to the next welterweight tournament to go after the title.

Ryan Thomas would like to thank his sponsors and friends: American Top Team, the Institute of Human Performance, KCMdistribution.com and The Business Card Shoppe.  Also Enlightening Fashion, Integrity Streetwear, Jim Hartt Physical Therapy and Tim Wills at Modern Fighting Systems who helped him schedule his upcoming fight.

Bellator 30

CageCraze.com was live at Bellator 30 at the “4th Street Live!” Entertainment District in Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday night. The event was headlined by a middleweight clash between Bryan Baker and Jeremy Horn. The card also featured the semi-final bouts in Bellator’s Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament, as well as a qualifier for Bellator’s Season 4 Welterweight Tournament between Jacob McClintock and local favorite, Brent Weedman. It certainly was a night to remember for Kentucky MMA fans as the local fighters from the “Bluegrass State” stole the show.

Jeremiah Riggs (186 lbs.) vs. Mike Fleniken (185 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.

Louisville MMA’s Mike Fleniken lost a hard-fought war to Jeremiah Riggs via Unanimous Decision. Both fighters sustained a ton of punishment through three rounds but Riggs managed to outwork Fleniken to earn the decision. The loss brings Fleniken back to .500 (3-3) in his professional MMA career. Fleniken thought that he had the opportunity to finish the fight at several points but lamented the fact that he could not close out Riggs. There is no such thing as a “moral victory” in Mixed Martial Arts but the crowd in Louisville made it clear that both fighters should be proud of their efforts in the opening bout of Bellator 30.

Submission of the Night

Stoney Hale (170 lbs.) vs. Mike O’Donnell (170 lbs.) @ 170 lbs.

Mike O'Donnell post-fight

The second fight of the evening matched up Team Oxendine fighter, Stoney Hale, against Four Seasons Martial Arts’ Mike O’Donnell out of Lexington, Ky. O’Donnell came into the fight holding a win over War Machine in 2006, but had not fought since his 2007 loss to Jason Ireland in King of the Cage. Hale’s last fight ended with a submission win over Mike Fleniken at Bellator 23 in Louisville. The lingering question about this fight was whether or not O’Donnell could come back from a three year hiatus and defeat a very dangerous fighter like Stoney Hale. The answer to that question came swiftly at the 0:50 mark in the second round. O’Donnell hurt Hale with a right hand and followed up with a barrage of knees. With Hale against the cage, O’Donnell leaped to his back and brought the fight to the ground. The Carlson Gracie Jr. black belt used a Kimura and then transitioned to a straight armbar, forcing Hale to tap just fifty seconds into the round. CageCraze.com caught up with Mike O’Donnell after the fight and this is what he had to say about his game plan:

“I was just going to let him conduct the symphony. I felt like my takedown would be better off of his shot. I figured that after we connected a few times, that instinctively, he would go for the clinch because of his history in Toughman competitions…after a few rights he would clinch and then I would try for a Kimura or look for a high hip throw. “ O’Donnell’s game plan definitely worked.

T.J. Barber (142 lbs.) vs. B.J. Ferguson (144 lbs.) @ 145 lbs.

All American Martial Arts’ BJ Ferguson was able to pull out a slick armbar submission in a fight that many thought Barber was winning. After an exciting first round, which saw TJ Barber and BJ Ferguson trade punches, kicks, and takedown attempts, Ferguson found himself in a dangerous situation on his back. Barber was landing solid punches when Ferguson grabbed an arm and locked on the decisive armbar.

Jacob McClintock (171 lbs.) vs. Brent Weedman (170 lbs.) @170 lbs.

Brent Weedman following his victory

The Weedman/McClintock fight was pushed off of the live broadcast due to time constraints. If only Bellator would have known what Louisville’s Brent Weedman had in store for Jacob McClintock, they definitely would have shown the fight live. McClintock looked for a standing guillotine early in the fight, but Weedman maintained his composure and slipped out of the choke. With McClintock on the ground, Weedman was able to land several shots, but decided to back off and let McClintock up to his feet. Weedman catches McClintock with a hard body shot that crumples him to the mat. Weedman pounces on the fallen fighter , alternating strikes to the head and ribs of McClintock. The referee gives McClintock ample time to defend himself but he is unable to do so; the referee steps in to save him from further damage. Brent Weedman turns to the cameras and shouts, “What’s my name?” The local hero earned a spot in Bellator’s Season 4 Welterweight Tournament with his win. The sea of fans wearing “Weedman Nation” shirts went nuts with excitement. Weedman is a very passionate, intelligent, and unique person; CageCraze.com met up with the local fighter moments after his win:

“I don’t know if you saw it out there tonight, but there are about 150 t-shirts that say “Weedman Nation” on them…I don’t have any fans out there tonight, those are all my friends. That’s how we do in Louisville.”

When asked if he could describe the way he felt, Weedman admitted he could not adequately explain the emotions that he was experiencing:

“No, I can’t, man. This is why I fight. This is why I wake up at six in the morning and run. This is why I do pushups, this is why I throw up in the gym. This is why I don’t hang out with people, this is why I don’t drink, and this is why I don’t party…I feel like this is what I have been put on Earth to do.”

Knockout of the Night

Greg Maynard (263 lbs.) vs. Ron Sparks (258 lbs.) @ 265 lbs.

Ron "The Monster" Sparks

Ron Sparks has been a 5-0 fighter for what seems like an eternity. For months it looked like the MMA gods were toying with “The Monster” from Louisville, Ky. A fight with Bobby Lashley fell through. Sparks saw two fights with Ray Mercer disappear. Betwixt the two cancelled fights with Mercer, Ron also saw a proposed fight on Bellator 23 vanish due to contractual obligations with King of the Cage. All of that changed Thursday night when Sparks and Maynard entered the Bellator cage. The cage door shut this time. It was really happening. Ron Sparks’ sixth professional win only took fifty seconds. Sparks dropped Maynard with a left and grazed him with a right hand as he fell to the canvas. The fight was immediately stopped. When CageCraze.com spoke to Ron after the fight, he mentioned that he had “found a home” at Bellator. This was a prime opportunity to confirm the rumor that Ron’s win over Maynard was the first fight on his newly inked three-fight contract with Bellator:

“Yeah, it’s true.” Ron then confirmed that he was released from his contract with King of the Cage and is free to pursue his goals within Bellator’s Heavyweight Division:

“I want the Heavyweight belt from Bellator. I want that and I want to fight in that tournament. I want in that tournament bad.”

Fight of the Night

Josh Clark (185 lbs.) vs. John Troyer (186 lbs.) @185 lbs.

Battle-tested John Troyer

This fight was a tale of two streaks. Clark, out of Four Seasons in Lexington, came into the fight after winning his first three fights as a professional. Troyer stepped into the cage Thursday night having dropped three straight fights. It was widely thought that this was Josh Clark’s coming-out party, but Louisville MMA’s John Troyer had something else planned. Both fighters seemed to have “Louisville Sluggers” for arms because these Middleweights came out swinging for the fences. Troyer opens up a huge cut over the right eye of Josh Clark in the first round of a fight that left both fighters battered, bruised, and bloodied. The first two rounds went back and forth with both Troyer and Clark landing punches, knees, and kicks that would leave lesser men crumpled on the floor. After the second round both fighters seemed gassed but Troyer looked to be fresher heading into the final round. Clark put everything he had into trying to end the fight in the third round but just could not stop Troyer. John fired back and closed out the round punishing Clark with elbows and hammerfists from the full mount, securing the decision. Troyer admitted that he “needed” the win, but went on to explain that it was no fluke that he was able to beat Clark:

“I think my record is deceiving, I think I am one of the best fighters out there in Middleweight, and especially at Welterweight…if I can get the sponsors and get to training full time I think I can beat anyone out there…I’m just taking it one day at a time. If could get it to where the only thing I was doing was fighting full time, you could give me two months and I will beat anyone out there.”

Televised Bouts

All three televised bouts went to the scorecards. Ed West and Zach Makovsky won their respective fights and will meet each other in the finals of Bellator’s Season 3 Bantamweight tournament. In the headliner match, Bryan Baker was able to outpoint MMA pioneer, Jeremy Horn, to earn a Unanimous Decision.

Event Notes

Brent Weedman is not your typical tattooed MMA fighter. He has no barbwire or tribal bands around his arms. Weedman sports tattoos of the Solar System on his left leg. Weedman requested that CageCraze.com mention his third passion outside of his wife and MMA:

Helio Soneca, Brent Weedman, and Eric Haycraft

“Astronomy is my other passion. I’d like to say…tonight is Neptune’s Birthday. It was over 160 years ago today that Neptune was in the sky, right where it is right now, when it was discovered. I told my corner that I was going to say that in the ring and they made fun of me. I said that if one kid, somewhere in America, Googles that…that’s all I’m here to do, man.”

Brent is a character and a great ambassador for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts in Kentucky. CageCraze.com would like to congratulate him and his team (Team Haycraft/Real Fighters Gym/Helio Soneca BJJ of Louisville) on the victory. We wish them the best of luck in the Bellator Welterweight Tournament in 2011.

All of the Kentucky fighters rose to the challenge of competing at an event on the level of Bellator Fighting Championships. Their performances served as a great testament to the potential of Mixed Martial Arts across the state. CageCraze.com is proud to be able to bring their stories to you and keep connecting, promoting, and improving local Mixed Martial Arts, everywhere!

Quick Results

Jeremiah Riggs def. Mike Fleniken via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds

Mike O’Donnell def. Stoney Hale via Tapout due to an armbar at 0:50 in Rd. 2

Ed West def. Jose Vega via Split Decision – Advances to Bellator Bantamweight Tournament Final

Zack Makovsky def. Bryan Goldsby via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 twice) – Advances to BW Final

Bryan Baker def. Jeremy Horn via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 twice)

BJ Ferguson def. TJ Barber via Tapout due to armbar at 2:50 in Rd. 2

Brent Weedman def. Jacob McClintock via TKO at 3:05 in Rd. 1

Ron Sparks def. Greg Maynard via KO at 0:50 in Rd. 1

John Troyer def. Josh Clark via Unanimous Decision (30-27 three times)

Official Fight Card

Jeremiah Riggs (186 lbs.) vs. Mike Fleniken (185 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.

Stoney Hale (170 lbs.) vs. Mike O’ Donnell (170 lbs.) @ 170 lbs.

Jose Vega (135 lbs.) vs. Ed West (136 lbs.) @ 135 lbs.

Bryan Goldsby (135 lbs.) vs. Zack Makovsky (135 lbs.) @135 lbs.

Jeremy Horn (186 lbs.) vs. Bryan Baker (184 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.

T.J. Barber (142 lbs.) vs. B.J. Ferguson (144 lbs.) @ 145 lbs.

Jacob McClintock (171 lbs.) vs. Brent Weedman (170 lbs.) @170 lbs.

Greg Maynard (263 lbs.) vs. Ron Sparks (258 Ibs.) @ 265 lbs.

Josh Clark (185 lbs.) vs. John Troyer (186 Ibs.) @185 lbs.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bjorn Rebney, CEO of Bellator Fighting Championships, is still trying to get a cross promotion with Strikeforce that would feature Eddie Alvarez taking on Gilbert Melendez in a drool worthy lightweight “superfight.” The vibe from the video is that Strikeforce is looking at other directions so we’ll more than likely not be seeing this pairing. Bellator has been a very solid entrant into the mixed martial arts promotion game, and seems to be doing well so we could see something in the future.

MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes to the show Ron Sparks, who gets a fight at Thursday's Bellator 30 event after a KOTC fight with Ray Mercer fell through.

Additionally, UFC Fight Night 22 winners Jim Miller and Brian Foster call into discuss what's next in their careers.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Bellator Fighting Championships' first-ever heavyweight tournament final
will feature an old-school feel as striker meets grappler.

Division I wrestling champion Cole Konrad and British slugger Neil Grove each punched their tickets to the bracket's final bouts with main card wins at Thursday's Bellator 29 event.

The Bellator 29 fight card took place at the Rave-Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisc. The event aired on FOX Sports Net.