HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (June 9, 2010) — On the eve of Bellator Fighting Championships much-anticipated show at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the fighters competing in tomorrow’s event participated in an official weigh-in earlier this evening.

Bellator 21 will be broadcast live in prime time nationwide on Thursday on FOX Sports Net and during special Bellator highlight shows this Saturday night on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

The official results of the weigh-in are as follows:

MAIN CARD:

Pat Curran (155.5 lbs.) vs. Toby Imada (155.5 lbs.) @ 155 lbs.

Megumi Fujii (118.5 lbs.) vs. Sarah Schneider (119.5 lbs.) @ 120 lbs.

Mike “300” Hayes (235 lbs.) vs. Steve Banks (265.25 lbs.) @ 265 lbs.

Eric Luke (137.5 lbs.)* vs. Zach Makovsky (135.5 lbs.) @ 135 lbs.

LOCAL FEATURE FIGHTS:

Jose Figueroa (155.5 lbs.) vs. Luis Palomino (153.75 lbs.) @ 155 lbs.

Sabah Homasi (174.5 lbs.) vs. Frank Carrillo (175 lbs.) @ 175 lbs. (previously negotiated CW)

Chris Boffil (184 lbs.) vs. Moyses Gabin (184.5 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.

Brian Eckstein (136 lbs.) vs. Mitchell Chamale (136 lbs.) @ 135 lbs.

Press Release

MFC snares top young prospect

Product of ZUMA camp considered first-class phenom

If there ever was a top-ranked, first-overall pick to be selected in a mixed martial arts amateur draft, the Maximum Fighting Championship feels it has made the right choice by snaring a can’t-miss prospect.

The MFC has signed Alexi Argyriou to a provisional contract, and the 16-year-old is expected to make his professional debut when he turns 18. A product of the renowned ZUMA stable in Victoria, B.C., Argyriou is considered a young phenom with an incredibly bright future in the sport.

The National Hockey League has its next budding stars in Tyler Seguin and Taylor Hall. The National Football League boasts future standouts in Sam Bradford and Gerald McCoy. In Argyriou, the Maximum Fighting Championship has mined out the next big thing, the five-diamond prospect poised to make an impact in mixed martial arts.

“He is the No. 1 draft pick,” stated MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich. “We have the best young fighter anywhere now in our organization. I can’t be any more succinct – he is the future.

“And not only is he a superb athlete, he is confident, he has great charisma, and best of all he is someone who brings that intangible quality of being able to hype and sell a fight. That is such a huge commodity and it jumps right out of him.”

Because of his underage status, Argyriou has the opportunity to further grow under the tutelage of ZUMA’s top instructor, Adam Zugec, who firmly believes in his young protégé, calling him the most talented young fighter he has ever worked with.

“He is just that good,” said Zugec. “I pick and choose who I work with closely. It’s about what I see within an individual. With Alexi, it goes beyond how well he punches. There’s just that desire and that hard work ethic. There are those special qualities that make him different.

“He’s grown up in the MMA scene and he just gets it. He understands the whole role like having the entertainment value but also being able to back it up. He’s a sweet, good-looking kid that you wouldn’’t think can do some of that showboating type of stuff but he does. But he’s so tough. He trains and spars every day with some real bad-ass guys and he has absolutely no fear.”

Argyriou has already proven to have quite a burning desire to thrive under extraordinary circumstances. Shortly after first starting out at the ZUMA gym as a 12-year-old, Argyriou was on a run in a wooded area when a stick pierced his neck.

“He almost died,” recalled Zugec. “He had to stop for a while but he came back at 14 and he’s where he’s at now at 16. He is a fighter.”

Zugec will keep Argyriou under wraps a while longer, agreeing with the analogy that it would be similar to a top prospect in hockey or baseball being sent to the minors for some grooming before their ultimate debut.

Argyriou is also likely due for another growth spurt, though he already stands six-foot and has a brother who is six-foot-six. Zugec figured his Argyriou should wind up around six-foot-two and fight professionally as a rangy yet powerful lightweight.

Once Argyriou does burst onto the big stage, Zugec is of the opinion that the youngster is going to thrive under the spotlight.

“No question about it – this is not a kid who’s going to get in there and get nervous. I absolutely see big things for him,” said Zugec. “I see him already with some similarities to (Jose) Aldo. His ground game is good, he’s a strong wrestler, he’s got good hips and he’s hard to take down. No one really knows how good is ground game is yet because no one can get him down. And he can punch and kick so well.”

The weigh-ins for the latest installment of Bellator Fighting Championships upcoming Bellator 21 event were completed on Wednesday evening.

Thursday’s event will take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. and will be shown live on Fox Sports Net, and its regional sports network affiliates, with a highlights package airing on Saturday on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

Only one fighter failed to make weight on his initial attempt but headliners lightweight tournament finalists Pat Curran (155.5) and Toby Imada (155.5) both made weight for their match.

Also featured at the event will be a womens bout between undefeated female fighter Megumi Fuji, who puts her undefeated record against Sarah Schneider.

Tournament bouts

-Lightweight Final: Pat Curran (155.5) vs. Toby Imada (155.5)

Non-Tournament bouts

Televised bouts

- Women’s (120 lbs) bout: Megumi Fujii (118.5) vs. Sarah Schneider (119.5)
- Heavyweight bout: Mike Hayes (235) vs. Steve Banks (265.25)
- Bantamweight bout: Eric Luke (137.5)* vs. Zach Makovsky (135.5)

Non-Televised Bouts

- Bantamweight bout: Brian Eckstein (136) vs. Mitchell Chamale (136)
- Middleweight bout: Chris Boffil (184) vs. Moyses Gabin (184.5)
- Catchweight bout (175): Sabah Homasi (174.5) vs. Frank Carrillo (175)+
- Lightweight bout: Jose Figueroa (155.5) vs. Luis Palomino (153.75)

* – Luke was given an hour to make weight

Urijah Faber (23-4) talked recently about dropping down to the bantamweight division, well now apparently, it’s official and MMAWeekly.com has the scoop.

The former WEC featherweight champion will make the move down to 135lbs for his next fight on August 18 as he faces Japanese fighter Takeya Mizugaki (13-4-2) in the WEC.


The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight stating bout agreements have been issued at this point for the bantamweight showdown.

Faber has fought at bantamweight in the past, earning the King Of The Cage bantamweight title in 2004 against Eben Kaneshiro. The fighter eventually moved onto the WEC and won the featherweight title in 2006 at WEC 19 and successfully defended the belt for another five times.

“The California Kid” made two more attempts at the featherweight title, losing to Mike Brown and then to Jose Aldo in his last fight. Aldo earned a unanimous decision over Faber in the headliner for WEC’s first ever pay-per-view event at WEC 48.

The fight will be Mizugaki’s fifth WEC match when the two meet in August. So far he’s 2-2 with the promotion, earning a unanimous decision over Rani Yahya as part of the same ppv event at WEC 48. He lost to Scott Jorgensen at WEC 45 via unanimous decision, earned a split decision over Jeff Curran at WEC 42, and lost to former bantamweight champ Miguel Torres at WEC 40.

The Japanese fighter has won 8 of his fights by decision and will likely go the distance with Faber like he’s done in the past.

The California Kid has a new home.

Urijah Faber, the once dominant king of the WEC’s 145-pound division, will indeed be making a move down to bantamweight, according to MMAWeekly.

Faber’s first opponent will be the always tough Takeya Mizugaki, who will be most remembered for giving then bantamweight champion Miguel Torres his toughest fight at WEC 40. Since then, Mizugaki has picked up victories over Jeff Curran and Rani Yahya, and he dropped a decision loss to Scott Jorgensen.

Faber went 2-2 in his last two fights, but his losses were to Jose Aldo and Mike Brown, past and present champions of the promotion.

At this past weekend's APF Senior Nationals in Chicago, best lifter honors went to Stephanie Vandeweghe (181), Michael Cartinian (181), Jose Garcia (275), and Jason Coker (198 and 220).

Press Release

For the second time in a week, the Maximum Fighting Championship has added a first-class talent from Brazil to its growing stable of impressive fighters.

Light heavyweight Glover Teixeira (9-2) has joined the MFC talent pool and is expected to make his organizational debut at the soon-to-be-announced MFC 26 event. The native of Sobralia, Brazil, has scored seven of his nine victories by way of KO/TKO and came highly recommended by several sources, not the least of which was his friend, MFC middleweight title contender Thales Leites.

“When you hear things like ‘He can beat anyone in the division’ and those kinds of statements are coming from well-respected people, you have to take notice,” said MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich. “I believe that Glover can make an immediate and serious impact in the grand scheme of our light heavyweight picture.

“The MFC is becoming more of a global product and international fighters are stepping up to become part of the action. It is an important aspect of our growth to be adding fighters like Glover Teixeira, Thales Leites, Tom Watson, and Luciano Azevedo.”

The Teixeira signing comes on the heels of the MFC adding Azevedo (16-8) to its contingent of lightweights. The Rio de Janeiro product is the lone fighter to hold a victory over world-ranked standout Jose Aldo, earning a submission victory in 2005. Azevedo, whose career victory list is also highlighted by a decision win over veteran Din Thomas, is also expected to make his organizational and North American debut at the forthcoming MFC 26.

Teixeira has fought somewhat sparingly throughout his career, no more than twice a year since turning pro, but he is expected to become significantly busier under the MFC banner. The 30-year-old has fought twice already in 2010 in his native Brazil, coming away with a pair of convincing victories. Notable wins have come at various points for Teixeira beginning with the lone decision outcome of his career, taking the judges’ verdict over veteran Matt Horwich. Teixeira scored a stunning five-second knockout win over Jorge Oliveira and earned the biggest win to date in his career by handing “The African Assassin” Sokoudjou the first loss of his career with a stellar first-round knockout only 1:41 into their 2006 encounter.

While clearly well-versed in the stand-up game, Teixeira has showcased a multitude of skills on the ground as well. He captured the 2009 title in the under-99 kg class at the Brazilian ADCC championship which qualified him for the world competition alongside such well-known names as Dean Lister, Vinny Magalhaes, and Ricco Rodriguez. Teixeira had previously competed against Jeff Monson and Brandon Vera in grappling events, and he was featured in Season 2 of the “TapouT” reality TV series.

Click here to view the embedded video.

After his dominating performance over Urijah Faber at WEC 48 in April, WEC featherweight champ Jose Aldo has heard a lot of talk about him moving into the UFC’s lightweight division.

During this past weeks UFC 114 activities, Aldo had a chance to address the question by noting that he wishes to remain at featherweight and defend his title a few more times. The champ also say’s his next fight will be in the fall but is unsure of who it will be against.

HT: MMAFighting.com

Click here to view the embedded video.

UFC president Dana White talked with reporters during the post-fight events from last Saturday’s UFC 114 show. He was asked about whether WEC featherweight champ Jose Aldo should make the move into the lightweight division of the UFC after his dominant performance against Urijah Faber. White would like Aldo to defend his title “a couple more times” before he’ll consider moving the fighter up.

HT: MMAWeekly.com

UFC President Dana White recently speculated on World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion José Aldo moving up to the UFC’s lightweight division and facing some of the top fighters there.

“Yeah, there’s a possibility he could move to 155,” White admitted in a conversation with MMAFighting.com. “That’d be fun.”

But not yet.

“I think that he should defend his title a couple more times,” the UFC President said.

And while White sang Aldo’s praises for weeks leading up WEC 48, he was critical of the 23-year old champion’s first title defense, stating, “He had a dominant performance against Urijah [Faber], but I think he could have done better. I think he could have stopped him.”

Aldo’s one-sided mauling of Faber was accomplished almost solely with a lightning-quick leg kick that left Faber’s left thigh and knee swollen and purple for weeks. Over the course of five rounds, the story of the fight became less about Aldo finishing, and more about Faber surviving. Whether or not Aldo deserves criticism for decimating one of the historically best featherweights in the world is arguable.

How could he have finished Faber? It “comes with experience,” says White.

“The more times you get in there, you start to feel more and more comfortable,” he continued. “After guys get some experience and get a couple of big fights under their belt, this place starts to feel like home, [and] they turn it up to a whole other level.”

Just how Aldo, who has finished six of seven fights in the WEC by TKO, and has only gone to four decisions in his 18 fight career, can turn it up to another level is a mystery. Still, it looks like plans are in motion for Aldo to stay a featherweight a little longer.

“It’s one thing to win the title,” White added. “But you gotta defend it a few times.”

It is difficult to argue White’s point. Aldo’s next title defense will likely come against UFC veteran Manny Gamburyan, who knocked out former champion Mike Brown the same night Aldo and Faber fought.

Whether he moves up to lightweight, down to bantamweight, or stays at featherweight, the most refreshing thing about Jose Aldo is that there is no hint of him slowing down–only talk of what he can, and just might, accomplish in the future.