CHICAGO, Ill. (September 20, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships today announced that undefeated heavyweight Ron “The Monster” Sparks will make his Bellator debut in his hometown of Louisville when he takes on undefeated ground-and-pound specialist and fellow Louisville product Greg Maynard at Bellator 30, taking place at Fourth Street Live! on September 23.

“We’re thrilled to give the Louisville faithful a heavyweight match of this caliber,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Both fighters are beloved in Louisville, and will give the fans at Fourth Street Live! a great show.”

Both heavyweights enter the fight sporting perfect professional records, Sparks is 5-0 and Maynard is 2-0 in their respective fighting careers. The massive 6′5” 265 lb Sparks has notched 4 of his professional victories by knockout, while his Maynard has won both of his outings from submissions due to strikes. The pair of hard-hitting heavyweights has finished a combined 6 of their 7 fights, which makes the odds of this heavyweight showdown making it to the judges very unlikely.

“This fight should end with a knockout,” said a confident Sparks. “Although I wouldn’t mind it going to the ground either. Everyone sees me as a huge stand up fighter, but I have taken my ground game to a whole new level, and I want people to see that.”

The biggest struggle “The Monster” has faced hasn’t been in the ring, but finding someone who is willing to take him on. After having his previous two fights cancelled or postponed, Sparks is truly thankful to be given this opportunity in his hometown.

“I’m just excited to get back into the ring,” said Sparks. “Bellator is a huge promotion, and to make my debut in front of all my friends and family just makes it even more special. The fans know I always provide a great show, and this won’t be any different.”

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

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.

Josh Stottlemire lifting at the storied "American Record Breakers" meet in Powerlifting legend Luke Iam's hometown, New Martinsville, WV suffered a near catastrophic shirt blowout and comes back to put up a PR Bench.

If UFC contender Josh Koscheck thought he had it
bad in his first trip to Montreal, imagine how it will feel fighting
hometown hero Georges St-Pierre.

On Thursday, the UFC's "Ultimate Insider" series officially announced
that previous reports of a return trip to Montreal's Bell Centre were
indeed true, and the massive arena will play host to UFC 124 on Dec. 11.

Early reports had suggested the fight would take place in Las Vegas, but
UFC officials looked to capitalize on St-Pierre's popularity in his
hometown. Ticketing information for the event has yet to be released.

PRESS RELEASE / CHICAGO, Ill. (August 30, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships officially announced today that the promotion will make its debut in Pennsylvania when Philadelphia native and Bellator Lightweight World Champion Eddie Alvarez (20-2) squares off against former UFC star Roger “El Matador” Huerta (24-4-1) in one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year.

“Bellator 33: Alvarez vs. Huerta” is set to take place from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 21st.

For explosive Bellator champion Alvarez, momentum is on his side, as he enters the super-fight with an impressive five-fight win streak on the line where the longtime knockout artist has finished all of his most recent victims by submission. In his most recent trip to the cage, Alvarez put rugged UFC veteran Josh “The Dentist” Neer to sleep with a nasty rear-naked choke during Bellator 17 in Boston on May 6th of this year.

Alvarez is admittedly excited about the opportunity to compete in front of his hometown fans in Philly for the first time in the top lightweight’s career that currently spans 22 professional fights, from Japan to Boston, against many of the toughest 155 lb fighters in the business.

“Roger Huerta, Philadelphia, October 21st… this is a dream fight for me,” said Alvarez. “I’ve never even lost a fight here in the United States, so I’m definitely not going to start in my hometown of Philadelphia with all of my people there. That’s not going to happen. Not a chance.

“I’m not going to be happy unless I completely control and dominate Roger in this fight. It’s important for me to go in there and dominate this fight and prove that I’m one of the best lightweights in the world.”

In the case of Huerta, the electrifying 27 year old lightweight is eager to return to the cage after suffering a defeat in his previous outing when Pat Curran shocked the MMA world and defeated “El Matador” by unanimous decision in the semifinal lightweight tournament at Bellator 17.

Although fighting in Alvarez’ backyard of Philadelphia, Huerta expects for the advantage to ultimately lie in his favor, stating, “The cheers or jeers won’t affect me one way or the other. The pressure is on him fighting in his hometown. He’s going to bring the best out of me. The best. It’s going to be scary.

“This is a fight that I’ve always wanted. It’s a dream come true. It’s going to be a grueling fight for the both of us. It’s going to be a potential fight of the year. I’m going in there expecting a war, and I’m going in there trying to finish Eddie.”

Intending to send a direct message to his critics and fans alike in his upcoming performance against Huerta, Alvarez would be the first to admit that he’s had the former Sports Illustrated cover athlete in his sites since the moment Huerta signed his contract with Bellator.

“I don’t care where you fought in the past, but if you come to my promotion and you have a big name and you’re obviously marketable, and the promotion signs you, I’m going to have an issue with that,” said Alvarez. “If I don’t feel threatened by that, then I’m an idiot. I feel threatened by someone like Roger trying to move into my house and I’m going to do everything I can to protect what’s mine and get him out of there. I want to keep all eyes on me. I’m going to go out there and do my job and get him out of there.”

Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney was admittedly excited to bring this incredible Superfight to Philadelphia, stating, “The Alvarez-Huerta fight should be one of the most electrifying bouts in the history of Bellator Fighting Championships, and to be able to host it in one of the greatest fights towns on earth, Philadelphia is spectacular. . I’ve said it before, I believe Eddie Alvarez is the best Lightweight Mixed Martial Artist in the world today and for Roger to have the courage to face him speaks volumes about his confidence and character. The fans are really in for a treat with not only a great fight card, but also a fantastic host venue in The Liacouras Center.”

The Liacouras Center is located on the campus of Temple University, in the heart of Philadelphia, and is home to the Temple Owl’s Basketball and Volleyball, as well as Professional Indoor Soccer. The Liacouras Center was opened in 1997, and has a capacity of just over 10,000.

As expected Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will fight in his hometown and meet Roger Huerta at Bellator 33.

MMAjunkie.com first reported the three-round non-title fight earlier this month, and Bellator executives today made it official.

The event takes place Oct. 21 at the 10,000-seat Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, and the night's main card airs live on FOX Sports Net.

Lightweight Gabe Ruediger drew a few eyes and ears this past week when presenting Joe Lauzon with a cake during their face off at the UFC 118 weigh-ins. As it turns out, the baked good might make for an appropriate dessert for Lauzon after the Massachusetts native feasted on Ruediger’s arm a few minutes into their Boston-based bout. Lauzon not only took home “Submission of the Night” for his highlight-reel worthy armbar but also pocketed $60,000 for the honor.

News of the bonus was announced at the post-event press conference.

Also earning sixty thousand dollars for their performances at UFC 118 were welterweights Nate Diaz and Marcus Davis. Their main card scrap, which featured bloody brawling and a last-minute finish by Diaz, was labeled the show’s “Fight of the Night”.

Understandably, no “Knockout of the Night” was named as the card did not feature a single separation from consciousness (at least by strikes).

UFC hall of famer and two times UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes (44-7), isn’t concerned with being the oldest fighter taking part on this Saturday’s UFC 117 event in Oakland, California.

In a recent blog post from his personal website Matt-Hughes.com, Hughes talked about his preparations for his fight with Ricardo Almeida, and a recent interview with his hometown paper where he was asked his feelings on being the oldest fighter on the card.

Training was great for this fight. Had some tough workouts at my gym and also went out to Salt Lake City and got to train with Jeremy, his guys and Matt Pena. My three corners for this fight will be Robbie Lawler, Matt Pena and Jeremy Horn. I really feel that my cornermen are the best in the business.

Just did a little interview with my hometown paper, one of the questions was asking how I felt about being the oldest man on the card. I turned around and said that I appreciated him pointing that out to me and that I hadn’t even thought about it. To be honest, it doesn’t matter to me. I guess I’m just glad I’ve been able to have as long of a career as I have. So many other people out there who have fought in the UFC wouldn’t even think of fighting as long as I have. So I guess I look at it as a privilege.

I think Ricardo will be hungry for this fight, I’ve beaten two Gracies and a teammate and, back about ten years ago, I beat Ricardo himself in a grappling match in Abu Dhabi. So on one hand he’s got a lot of motivation and on the other he sees what I just listed and knows I’m a threat. I think he will come at me hard and try to get me down to the ground somehow. He wants to be on top of me, but I’m sure if he’s on the ground he’ll be happier than on his feet.

I don’t think my weight cut will be hard for this fight, as I’ve been doing good with my exercise and diet.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - "You gotta start growing up and taking things serious."
The words directed at Jacob Volkmann two years ago didn't come from his wife, his parents, or a close friend, but from the owner of a bank in his hometown of Fergus Falls, Minnesota who apparently believed that being a professional fighter wasn't the right path for a family man who was also a practicing chiropractor.