Bellator Fighting Championships will be returning to a pair of familiar places for it’s 25th and 26th shows as the promotion recently unveiled plans for events in Chicago and Kansas City as part of their upcoming third season.
Bellator announced plans to hold Bellator 25 from the Chicago Theatre in Chicago on August 19, while Bellator 26 has been slated for Kansas City’s Power and Light District one week later on August 26.
Bellator 24 will mark the first show of the third season and is set to take place from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida on August 12.
Bellator’s third season will feature eight man tournaments in the heavyweight (205+) and bantamweight (135) divisions along with a highly anticipated women’s tournament at 115 pounds.
LAS VEGAS - With UFC 116 just a couple days away, the organization today hosts the usual pre-event press conference, and you can watch a live video stream of the media event here on MMAjunkie.com.
Today's event takes place at the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre in Las Vegas with UFC president Dana White, UFC 116 headliners Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, and co-headliners Yoshihiro Akiyama and Chris Leben.
Bellator Fighting Championships returns to the familiar grounds of the
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., for the debut
event of the promotion's upcoming third season.
Bellator officials recently announced the Aug. 12 event, Bellator 24, and
tickets are currently on sale for the date.
Bellator's third season features tournaments in the heavyweight and
bantamweight divisions, as well as a 115-pound female bracket.
If ever there was a hollywood personality that was cooler than Andrei Arlovski it might just be Mickey Rourke. Rourke goes for a signing at the Freddie Roach gym as a guest of Team Pit Bull, and the two seem to hit it off quite well. Check out Arlovski near the end of the clip waiting to scare one of his friends.
LOS ANGELES (June 16, 2010) – Former STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8) may have earned a shot at current STRIKEFORCE 205-pound titleholder Muhammad “King Mo’’ Lawal after capturing a close, unanimous three-round decision over “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (17-6) on a special Wednesday night presentation of STRIKEFORCE Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on SHOWTIME®.
But Babalu, who narrowly outpointed Lawler in a main event fought at a catch weight of 195 pounds before 5,259 fans who produced a gate of $418,061 at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, may need a little time to decide if he’ll take the fight with his good friend.
“This is something I will have to think about,’’ said Babalu, who triumphed by the scores of 29-28 three times. “Yes, of course, I want to be a champion again but I’m old school and he is my friend and friends last longer than title belts. But we’ll see.’’
In other televised results, Brazil’s Evangelista Cyborg (18-13) registered an impressive 2:38, first-round knockout over DREAM welterweight champion Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis (13-5); American military hero Tim Kennedy (12-2) of Austin, Texas, made quick work of South African Trevor Prangley, winning by 3:35 first-round submission (rear-naked choke); and former world champion KJ Noons (9-2) of San Diego, Calif., outlasted Conor “Hurricane’’ Heun (8-4) of Hollywood, Calif., by way of Boulder, Colo., via split decision in a non-stop-action lightweight thriller that opened the telecast.
The first-ever STRIKEFORCE event scheduled for mid-week took place in the midst of the E3 Expo, the premier trade show for computer and video games. During E3 Expo 2010 at the L.A. Convention Center, EA SPORTS™ will exhibit its highly anticipated title, EA SPORTS MMA, in which STRIKEFORCE is featured as a premier league.
Besides deciding if he wants to fight King Mo, Babalu will need to take off some time for the severe cuts around his left eye to heal. Lawler, meantime, who exited the ring seemingly unmarked, may want to re-think his decision to feign an injury in the second round that he hoped would lure Babalu, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist known for his submissions, into a standup shootout.
“I wasn’t hurt, I just wanted to make him think I was,’’ said Lawler, who suffered damage to his body from a multitude of front kicks. “It was a ploy, a decoy, for him to fight me so I could knock him out.
“I’m disappointed with the result, but I have no complaints. The two takedowns in the first round may have been the difference. I know that I could have done much more. I should have done more.’’
Cyborg, the husband of women’s superstar Cris Cyborg and a member of the famed Chute Box Academy, was ecstatic after handling Zaromskis his second consecutive defeat.
“I am very happy with my performance and this fight,’’ the male Cyborg said. “I’ve had so many first-round knockouts. I can’t say if this was the best, but it was definitely one of the best.
“I want to fight (STRIKEFORCE world welterweight champion) Nick Diaz. He’s the fighter I want more than anybody right now.’’
The super-aggressive Kennedy, a United States Army Special Forces sniper with the 19th Special Forces outfit based in San Antonio who has earned the Army’s Bronze Medal Star medal for valor under fire, made it four victories in a row and 12 of his last 13.
“I don’t go the distance. In fact, I’m totally against going the distance,’’ Kennedy said. “I’m happy with the end result. He hit me with a good uppercut; that stuff’s not supposed to happen. I have some of the greatest hands in the sport. I just want to start fighting the kinds of opponents I can knock out and start a highlight reel on. I’m tired of fighting wrestlers.’’
Noons, a prolific striker and the last fighter to defeat Nick Diaz, praised Heun at bout’s conclusion.
“He’s a very game guy who brought it the whole fight,’’ said Noons, won by the scores of 29-28 twice and 27-30. “I definitely feel I won the fight and I really wanted to please the fans, but I had to work for it. I haven’t used my legs in a while so if felt good to get in some leg kicks.’’
A bloodied Heun felt he’d done enough to get the nod. “I wanted to fight one of the top guys to prove to everybody that I could compete with the top ones, and I think I did that tonight,” he said. “But I’m very disappointed with the decision. Only one judge scored the fight.
“I feel I did more than enough to win although the cuts were definitely a factor. By the third round, I was aiming my punches at the guy in the middle.’’
Wednesday’s bouts will re-air as follows:
DAY CHANNEL
Tuesday, June 22, at 10 p.m. ET/PT SHOWTIME 2
Mauro Ranallo called the action on SHOWTIME with MMA expert Stephen Quadros and MMA legend Pat Miletich serving as expert analysts.
Wednesdays non-televised results: Jeremy Umphries (5-1), Los Angeles; submitted (rear-naked choke) ESPN radio host RJ Clifford (3-2), Los Angeles, at 2:27 of the second round; and Hugo Sandoval (2-2), Riverside, Calif., TKO 2 (strikes, 0:42) over Marcus Koval (2-1), Los Angeles.
BABALU SOBRAL TAKES CLOSE, UNANIMOUS DECISION OVER “RUTHLESS’’ ROBBIE LAWLER
TIM KENNEDY WINS EASILY, EVANGELISTA CYBORG
TRIUMPHS IMPRESSIVELY, KJ NOONS OUTLASTS CONOR HEUN
ON UNIQUE WEDNESDAY NIGHT STRIKEFORCE FIGHT CARD
LOS ANGELES (June 16, 2010) – Former STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8) may have earned a shot at current STRIKEFORCE 205-pound titleholder Muhammad “King Mo’’ Lawal after capturing a close, unanimous three-round decision over “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (17-6) on a special Wednesday night presentation of STRIKEFORCE Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on SHOWTIME®.
But Babalu, who narrowly outpointed Lawler in a main event fought at a catch weight of 195 pounds before 5,259 fans who produced a gate of $418,061 at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, may need a little time to decide if he’ll take the fight with his good friend.
“This is something I will have to think about,’’ said Babalu, who triumphed by the scores of 29-28 three times. “Yes, of course, I want to be a champion again but I’m old school and he is my friend and friends last longer than title belts. But we’ll see.’’
In other televised results, Brazil’s Evangelista Cyborg (18-13) registered an impressive 2:38, first-round knockout over DREAM welterweight champion Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis (13-5); American military hero Tim Kennedy (12-2) of Austin, Texas, made quick work of South African Trevor Prangley, winning by 3:35 first-round submission (rear-naked choke); and former world champion KJ Noons (9-2) of San Diego, Calif., outlasted Conor “Hurricane’’ Heun (8-4) of Hollywood, Calif., by way of Boulder, Colo., via split decision in a non-stop-action lightweight thriller that opened the telecast.
The first-ever STRIKEFORCE event scheduled for mid-week took place in the midst of the E3 Expo, the premier trade show for computer and video games. During E3 Expo 2010 at the L.A. Convention Center, EA SPORTS™ will exhibit its highly anticipated title, EA SPORTS MMA, in which STRIKEFORCE is featured as a premier league.
Besides deciding if he wants to fight King Mo, Babalu will need to take off some time for the severe cuts around his left eye to heal. Lawler, meantime, who exited the ring seemingly unmarked, may want to re-think his decision to feign an injury in the second round that he hoped would lure Babalu, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist known for his submissions, into a standup shootout.
“I wasn’t hurt, I just wanted to make him think I was,’’ said Lawler, who suffered damage to his body from a multitude of front kicks. “It was a ploy, a decoy, for him to fight me so I could knock him out.
“I’m disappointed with the result, but I have no complaints. The two takedowns in the first round may have been the difference. I know that I could have done much more. I should have done more.’’
Cyborg, the husband of women’s superstar Cris Cyborg and a member of the famed Chute Box Academy, was ecstatic after handling Zaromskis his second consecutive defeat.
“I am very happy with my performance and this fight,’’ the male Cyborg said. “I’ve had so many first-round knockouts. I can’t say if this was the best, but it was definitely one of the best.
“I want to fight (STRIKEFORCE world welterweight champion) Nick Diaz. He’s the fighter I want more than anybody right now.’’
The super-aggressive Kennedy, a United States Army Special Forces sniper with the 19th Special Forces outfit based in San Antonio who has earned the Army’s Bronze Medal Star medal for valor under fire, made it four victories in a row and 12 of his last 13.
“I don’t go the distance. In fact, I’m totally against going the distance,’’ Kennedy said. “I’m happy with the end result. He hit me with a good uppercut; that stuff’s not supposed to happen. I have some of the greatest hands in the sport. I just want to start fighting the kinds of opponents I can knock out and start a highlight reel on. I’m tired of fighting wrestlers.’’
Noons, a prolific striker and the last fighter to defeat Nick Diaz, praised Heun at bout’s conclusion.
“He’s a very game guy who brought it the whole fight,’’ said Noons, won by the scores of 29-28 twice and 27-30. “I definitely feel I won the fight and I really wanted to please the fans, but I had to work for it. I haven’t used my legs in a while so if felt good to get in some leg kicks.’’
A bloodied Heun felt he’d done enough to get the nod. “I wanted to fight one of the top guys to prove to everybody that I could compete with the top ones, and I think I did that tonight,” he said. “But I’m very disappointed with the decision. Only one judge scored the fight.
“I feel I did more than enough to win although the cuts were definitely a factor. By the third round, I was aiming my punches at the guy in the middle.’’
——–
This photo and others from Wednesday nights event can be found at Strikeforce.com.
Thursday’s Bellator XXI event took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., headlining the event was the lightweight tournament final between Pat Curran and Toby Imada. Curran earned a split decision over Imada. The co-main event saw undefeated Japanese female fighter Megumi Fujii defeat Sarah Schneider via TKO.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (June 10, 2010) – Pat Curran completed his unlikely Cinderella-story run through Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 2 Lightweight Tournament on Thursday, scoring a split decision victory over MMA veteran and 2009 Submission of the Year titleholder Toby Imada to win the tournament championship.
Curran’s win headlined another great night of fights from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in South Florida, roughly 30 miles south of the high school that Curran represented in the state wrestling finals just four years ago.
On Thursday, with dozens of his friends and family looking on, the 22-year-old impressed the judges with an athletic takedown defense and a series of powerful blows to the head that opened two cuts around Imada’s right eye. With the win, Curran earned the Season 2 Championship and the right to fight reigning Bellator Lightweight Champion and 20-2 MMA star Eddie Alvarez.
Alvarez, who watched the fight cageside with his son, Eddie Jr., called Curran’s performance “tough” and “impressive.”
“The guy’s powerful and he hits hard,” Alvarez said as Curran (12-3) was presented with a check for $100,000. “I’m looking forward to fighting him.”
Curran, who was inspired to begin a career in MMA by his cousin, UFC, WEC and Strikeforce veteran Jeff Curran, said afterwards that Bellator “changed my life.” It was his third consecutive upset victory along with a quarterfinal KO of Georges St.-Pierre training partner Mike Ricci and a semifinal decision win against UFC veteran and early tournament favorite Roger Huerta.
“What Pat Curran accomplished tonight is exactly what Bellator is all about,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He proved to himself and to the world that he deserves this championship and he deserves a fight with Eddie Alvarez thanks to three straight outstanding wins against three very tough opponents.”
Imada, who helped put Bellator on the map during its inaugural season with his now-famous inverted triangle choke submission of Jorge Masvidal, accepted the defeat graciously, congratulating Curran and saying “that’s what I get for leaving it up to the judges.”
The night also featured an impressive statement from Megumi Fujii, the consensus No. 1-ranked female fighter in the world, who improved her pro MMA record to an impressive 20-0 with a third round TKO of Missouri-based jiu-jitsu specialist Sarah Schneider in the evening’s “Female Showcase Fight.”
Schneider turned in a gutsy performance to survive the first two rounds but Fujii took the fight to the ground early on in Round 3, moved quickly to full mount and unleashed a rapid-fire ground-and-pound that forced the stoppage at 1:58. It was Fujii’s first-ever TKO and she admitted afterwards that she was “very surprised” not to have won via submission.
The win cemented Fujii’s position as the overwhelming favorite in Bellator’s upcoming Season 3 women’s tournament, despite the inclusion of a bevy of the world’s top 10 female fighters including 11-1 British tae-kwon-do black belt Rosi Sexton (the world’s No. 1-ranked 125 lbs. female), 12-5 Seattle submission artist Lisa Ward and 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene.
“I will show my skills and I will be the champion,” Fujii told Bellator TV commentator Jimmy Smith after her fight, which also marked her first appearance on national television in the U.S.
In the evening’s first televised bout, a “Heavyweight Showcase Fight,” Seattle-area native Mike “300” Hayes (12-3-1) overcame a 30-pound weight disadvantage to win a unanimous decision victory over former Arena Football League player Steve Banks (4-3). The southpaw Banks used his size to claim the center of the cage and control the fight during Round 1, but he began showing signs of serious fatigue early on in Round 2. Hayes used his superior conditioning to control the fight the rest of the way and earn his fourth straight victory.
Later, in a “Bantamweight Feature Fight,” Philadelphia brawler Zack Makovsky (9-2) defeated local fan favorite and American Top Team product Eric Luke (4-3) with a crafty kimura submission at 4:28 into Round 2. With the win, Makovsky earned a spot in Bellator’s upcoming eight-man Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament.
The event also played host to four Local Feature Fights, a sampling of which will be aired at Bellator.com beginning this Sunday as part of Bellator’s ongoing “Sunday Night Fights” promotion. The results of the local fights were:
- Brian Eckstein def. Mitchell Chamale via unanimous decision
- Moyses Gabin def. Chris Boffil via rear-naked choke submission (4:41)
- Sabah Homasi def. Frank Carrillo via TKO (13:36)
- Luis Palomino def. Jose Figueroa via unanimous decision
Fans who missed Thursday night’s action can watch all the best moments this weekend during special highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2. Check your local listings for exact dates and times.
Bellator returns to action next Thursday night from the Kansas City Power & Light District, where former NCAA wrestling champion and U.S. Olympian Ben Askren faces MMA rising star Dan Hornbuckle in the championship round of Bellator’s Season 2 Welterweight Tournament.
For more information, visit www.Bellator.com follow us on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/BellatorMMA.
Thursday’s event took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. and was shown live on Fox Sports Net, and its regional sports network affiliates. A highlights package airing on Saturday on NBC, Telemundo and mun.
Lightweight tournament finalists Pat Curran and Toby Imada faced off in the main event of the evening, it was a close fight but Curran earned a split decision in the end (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
The co-main event saw the only female bout on the card and Japanese fighter Megumi Fujii earned a 3rd round TKO over Sarah Schneider.
The full Bellator 21 quick results are as follows:
Tournament bouts
-Lightweight Final: Pat Curran def. Toby Imada via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Non-Tournament bouts
- Women’s (120 lbs) bout: Megumi Fujii def. Sarah Schneider via TKO – R3, 1:58
- Heavyweight bout: Mike Hayes def. Steve Banks via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Bantamweight bout: Brian Eckstein def. Mitchell Chamale via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Middleweight bout: Moyses Gabin def. Chris Boffil via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 4:41
- Catchweight bout (175): Frank Carrillo def. Sabah Homasi via TKO – R3, 3:16
- Bantamweight bout: Zach Makovsky def. Eric Luke via submission (kimura) – R2, 4:28
- Lightweight bout: Luis Palomino def. Jose Figueroa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
In season one, Bellator lightweight Toby Imada was submitted by new champion Eddie Alvarez in the promotion's debut tournament. In season two, the end came in a far-more surprising form.
Pat Curran, he of beating Roger Huerta fame, earned a surprising split decision over Imada in the main event of Thursday's Bellator 21 event in Hollywood, Fla., and will now face Alvarez for the belt in season three.
Bellator Fighting Championships will be returning to a pair of familiar places for it’s 25th and 26th shows as the promotion recently unveiled plans for events in Chicago and Kansas City as part of their upcoming third season.
LAS VEGAS - With UFC 116 just a couple days away, the organization today hosts the usual pre-event press conference, and you can watch a live video stream of the media event here on MMAjunkie.com.
Bellator Fighting Championships returns to the familiar grounds of the
Maybe the third time will be the charm.