Dream featherweight champion, Bibiano Fernandes is thought by many to be the number one featherweight in the world, and his current seven fight win streak is certainly impressive. Dream has been the fighters home, but after a recent “money” issue in which Dream took some extra time to pay what the fighter was promised, many have wondered if the jiu-jitsu wonder would join the ranks of WEC in North America. The answer, at this time seems to be no, as he seems content to fight in Japan. Here’s the blurb via Tatame:

Well, man… I’ll be pretty honest with you: If someday I stop fighting in Japan, I won’t fight anywhere else because I’m not interested. My plan is Jiu-Jitsu, I love Jiu-Jitsu. Whatever I can do in order to help Jiu-Jitsu, I will. Dream is an excellent event, but is going through a difficult situation, I don’t really know what is going on. Whoever fought in Japan know what it feels like… The fans respect you there. I hope that, someday, Dream or other event may go though it and find a way out of this because it’s a good event, it’s beautiful and the Japaneses, for their own formation, need an event like Dream there. Before there wasn’t this problem, but I hope they really find a way out of this and that everything works out just fine for them.

Fernandes is a great representative for the sport and it would be fantastic to see him fighting in North America. A rematch against Urijah Faber would only be the first of many matchups but it seem’s pretty cut and dried that Japan is where the brazillian likes to fight.

Well, he definitely wasn't going to be known as the high school sports star.

"I was one of the worst wide receivers in history," Jonathan Brookins said. "I averaged one catch a season for three years as a
starter. That was my career in football. I also ran track in the 100,
200 and 400 meters, and I never won a race."

Instead, Brookins and his flowing locks probably always will be
remembered as the guy who stood on the other side of the cage in one of
current WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo's first fights for the
promotion.

While the weather begins to cool down, Midwest Cage Championship is bringing the heat back to Hy Vee Hall on Friday, October 22 for MCC 29: “Champion vs. Champion.”

The main event of the evening will pit two champions in two different weight classes together, at a catch weight of 150 lbs., for a three round non-title match which promises to be action packed from bell to bell. Returning from his stint on UFC’s popular reality television show, “The Ultimate Fighter”, MCC’s Lightweight Champion, TJ “The Spider” O’Brien looks to return to Des Moines in hopes of capturing a win over MCC’s Featherweight Champion, Josh “Bam Bam” Henry.

MCC brass explains, “We were looking for solid fights for both of these guys, but the right opponents were not coming through. We want to challenge our champions, push them, in hops of getting them to the next level. Since O’Brien has fought at 145 lbs. and Henry has fought at 155 lbs., we thought it would be interesting to have them meet in the middle and fight each other in a non-title bout. We know this will be a great fight for the fans to watch.”

Featured earlier in the evening, two of the most exciting up and coming lightweights in the Midwest will meet. Rick “The Gladiator” Glenn, who has displayed both his stand up and ground fighting prowess time after time inside the MCC cage, will look to keep his win streak in tact when he takes on Johnny “Hollywood” Case, a mixed martial artist who competes under the tutelage of Rick Tasler.

Case known for his lighting fast hands and knock out power will face one of his toughest opponents to date. With the heart of a champion and the ever improving skill of Rick Glenn, look for this bout to be the fight of the night with fireworks written all over it.

And, speaking of Rick Tasler, the undefeated featherweight fighter will step back into the MCC cage, one more time.

Tasler explains, “I have been training the whole time since I left competitively fighting, training my own guys, running a show, basically submersed in the sport. It’s like I never left. I missed getting in there and mixing it up myself, so I am happy to say that I am returning to MCC. I am focused on October 22, and I plan on staying undefeated with another amazing performance for all my fans.” Tasler will be writing a weekly blog leading up to his fight, which will be posted every Monday on the MCC website.

Tickets for MCC 29: “Champion vs. Champion” are available on-line at www.MidwestCageChampionship.com, by phone at 515-229-8566 and at all Dahl’s ticket outlets. For more information on the fight card including interviews, video blogs and up to the minute news, check out the web site. DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT FOR MCC? Fill out this application- http://www.midwestcagechampionship.com/want-to-be-an-mcc-fighter/

CHICAGO, Ill. (September 3, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships today finalized the official main card fights for Bellator 28, which is taking place at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre in New Orleans on Sep. 9th, marking the promotion’s first trip to the city.

Headlining the card will be a lightweight battle between Season 2 Lightweight semifinalist Carey Vanier (9-3) and explosive UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi (37-16-1).

Vanier TKO’d his way into the semi-finals in Season 2, but fell to submission specialist Toby Imada at Bellator 17. Vanier will be hungry for a win at Bellator 29, which marks his first fight back since the loss to Imada.

An eight year Navy veteran and eleven year, 54-fight MMA veteran, Clementi comes to Bellator Fighting Championships after spending the last decade fighting some of the toughest opponents MMA has to offer. Well known for stopping his opponents early, 20 of No Love’s 36 victories have come via submission with another nine being finished via KO or TKO.

Also on the card, will be a closely contested match-up between two powerful middleweights when Bellator Season 2 semifinalist Eric Schambari (12-2) takes on battle-tested UFC veteran Matt Horwich (25-15-1).

In featherweight action, hard-hitting Season 2 semifinalist Georgi “Insane” Karakhanyan (13-2-1) collides with dangerous WEC veteran Anthony Leone (8-1).

Karakhayan is understandably eager for a victory after dropping a unanimous decision to eventual Season 2 Featherweight Champion Joe Warren at Bellator 18.

The Fox Sports Net event will also feature an exciting lightweight fight between fast-rising NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion Eric Larkin and up-and-coming Louisiana native Marcus Andrusia.

“We’re happy to be headed o New Orleans,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “This event has some great fights scheduled and it should make for a great night of fights for New Orleans fans.”

Tickets for the event – which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net along with action-packed highlight shows that will air on NBC Saturday nights – are on sale now at ticketmaster.com

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

About Bellator Fighting Championships:
ellator 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.

PRESS RELEASE / CHICAGO, Ill. (September 3, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships today finalized the official main card fights for Bellator 28, which is taking place at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre in New Orleans on September 9th, marking the promotion’s first trip to the city.

Headlining the card will be a lightweight battle between Season 2 Lightweight semifinalist Carey Vanier (9-3) and explosive UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi (37-16-1).

Vanier TKO’d his way into the semi-finals in Season 2, but fell to submission specialist Toby Imada at Bellator 17. Vanier will be hungry for a win at Bellator 29, which marks his first fight back since the loss to Imada.

An eight year Navy veteran and eleven year, 54-fight MMA veteran, Clementi comes to Bellator Fighting Championships after spending the last decade fighting some of the toughest opponents MMA has to offer. Well known for stopping his opponents early, 20 of No Love’s 36 victories have come via submission with another nine being finished via KO or TKO.

Also on the card, will be a closely contested match-up between two powerful middleweights when Bellator Season 2 semifinalist Eric Schambari (12-2) takes on battle-tested UFC veteran Matt Horwich (25-15-1).

In featherweight action, hard-hitting Season 2 semifinalist Georgi “Insane” Karakhanyan (13-2-1) collides with dangerous WEC veteran Anthony Leone (8-1).

Karakhayan is understandably eager for a victory after dropping a unanimous decision to eventual Season 2 Featherweight Champion Joe Warren at Bellator 18.

The Fox Sports Net event will also feature an exciting lightweight fight between fast-rising NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion Eric Larkin and up-and-coming Louisiana native Marcus Andrusia.

“We’re happy to be headed o New Orleans,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “This event has some great fights scheduled and it should make for a great night of fights for New Orleans fans.”

CHICAGO, Ill. (August 30, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the official Local Feature Fights line-up for Bellator 27 taking place in San Antonio at the Majestic Theater on September 2nd.

Headlining the local main event are undefeated Texas natives Rodrigo Pinheiro (3-0) and Andrew Craig (1-0). Pinheiro currently owns and operates his own Jiu-Jitsui gym in San Antonio, and looks to continue his impressive rise in the sport when he faces off with the hard-hitting Craig.

Five additional Local Feature Fights join this already stacked card including:

San Antonio based Gilbert Jimenez (2-1) squaring off against Houston’s Aaron Barringer(4-2) in the nights local co-main event.

Additionally, 11-year SAPD officer Richard Odoms (1-0) battles Dallas native Dale Mitchell (0-2) in heavyweight action.

Dallas-based Joe Christopher (10-3) will be taking on Houston fighter Andrew Chappelle (9-6) in a Welterweight contest. Both fighters have previous Bellator experience, with Chappelle notching an impressive rear-naked choke at Bellator 20 and Christopher locking up a fight-ending guillotine choke at Bellator 19.

Pasadena, TX native Jon Kirk (15-8) faces San Antonio’s Shane Faulkner (3-2) in a middleweight fight.

Rounding out the local card will be two fighters making their professional MMA debuts in Steven Peterson and Ernest De La Cruz.

“San Antonio fans are in for a treat with our Local Feature Fight lineup.” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “The Majestic Theater has been a great venue for Bellator and with our stacked main card in addition to our Local Feature Fights – it should be a great night of fights.”

Bellator 27’s main card includes:
Bellator Featherweight Champion Joe “The Hammer” Soto (9-0) defends his title against Bellator Season 2 Featherweight Tournament Champ Joe Warren (5-1) in a Featherweight World Championship fight.
Two Bellator veterans square off when Nick “Garfield” Mamalis (10-4) and Zack “Fun Size” Makovsky (9-2) collide in an opening round Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament fight. .
In other bantamweight tournament action hard-hitting Bryan Goldsby (15-7) meets submission specialist Ed West (13-4) in a quarterfinal match-up.
Rounding out the main card will be another opening round Bantamweight Tournament fight between the always exciting Travis “The Hurricane” Reddinger (14-2) and submission ace Uylsses Gomez (6-1).

Tickets for the event – which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net along with action-packed highlight shows that will air on NBC Saturday nights – tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber brings a camera along to show fans how his recovery from injury is going. “The California Kid” does some lower body training in this video.

He was to have faced Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 50 in a move to bantamweight but an injury forced him from the card. Both fighters are expected to meet at WEC 52 in November of this year.

HT: UrijahFaber.com

PRESS RELEASE / CHICAGO, Ill. (August 30, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the official Local Feature Fights line-up for Bellator 27 taking place in San Antonio at the Majestic Theater on September 2nd.

Headlining the local main event are undefeated Texas natives Rodrigo Pinheiro (3-0) and Andrew Craig (1-0). Pinheiro currently owns and operates his own Jiu-Jitsui gym in San Antonio, and looks to continue his impressive rise in the sport when he faces off with the hard-hitting Craig.

Five additional Local Feature Fights join this already stacked card including San Antonio based Gilbert Jimenez (2-1) squaring off against Houston’s Aaron Barringer (4-2) in the nights local co-main event. Additionally, 11-year San Antonio Police Department officer Richard Odoms (1-0) battles Dallas native Dale Mitchell (0-2) in heavyweight action. Also, Dallas-based Joe Christopher (10-3) will be taking on Houston fighter Andrew Chappelle (9-6) in a Welterweight contest. Both fighters have previous Bellator experience, with Chappelle notching an impressive rear-naked choke at Bellator 20 and Christopher locking up a fight-ending guillotine choke at Bellator 19. Finally, Pasadena, Texas native Jon Kirk (15-8) faces San Antonio’s Shane Faulkner (3-2) in a middleweight fight.

Rounding out the local card will be two fighters making their professional MMA debuts in Steven Peterson and Ernest De La Cruz.

“San Antonio fans are in for a treat with our Local Feature Fight lineup.” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “The Majestic Theater has been a great venue for Bellator and with our stacked main card in addition to our Local Feature Fights – it should be a great night of fights.”

Bellator 27′s main card includes:

- Bellator Featherweight Champion Joe “The Hammer” Soto (9-0) defends his title against Bellator Season 2 Featherweight Tournament Champ Joe Warren (5-1) in a Featherweight World Championship fight.
- Two Bellator veterans square off when Nick “Garfield” Mamalis (10-4) and Zack “Fun Size” Makovsky (9-2) collide in an opening round Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament fight. .
- Hard-hitting bantamweight Bryan Goldsby (15-7) meets submission specialist Ed West (13-4) in a quarterfinal tournament match-up.
- An opening round Bantamweight Tournament fight between the always-exciting Travis “The Hurricane” Reddinger (14-2) and submission ace Uylsses Gomez (6-1).

Click here to view the embedded video.

WEC 51 “Aldo vs. Gamburyan” is set to take place on Thursday, Sept 30th from the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, CO and Versus will air the program live starting at 9 PM ET. The card will feature featherweight champion Jose Aldo vs. Manvel Gamburyan and The MMA News will carry live coverage for the event.

A featherweight matchup between a pair of once-beaten fighters has been added to the preliminary portion of WEC 51.

WEC officials today announced that Tyler Toner and
Diego Nunes will square-off on the preliminary
portion of the September event.

Featuring a main event between featherweight champion Jose Aldo and top
contender Manny Gamburyan, "WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan" takes place
Sept. 30 in Broomfield, Colo.