UFC 124 which will take place on December 11 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada has had another match added to the card and it looks like the PitBull will return to action to take on John Howard. Originally there was considerable speculation that Mike Pierce would be facing Alves, but it seems that the UFC decided to go with the Howard Alves matchup instead.

While the fight will be watch worthy, you have to think that almost everyone will be more interested to see if Alves can make weight which has been more than just a little issue for the fighter. UFC president Dana White has also expressed his doubts about Alves staying in the welterweight division, but Alves and team are adamant that he will fight at 170. The choice, however, may be stripped if he comes in overweight yet again. It’s a shame really, as Alves was once thought of as one of the most dangerous strikers in the Welterweight division and he could return to form if he can get the cut down pat.

His opponent, Howard will bring a solid 4-1 record into the ring and will look to take out a marquee name in a chance to advance towards the division gold. Expect a good fight if everything goes according to plan.

Thursday night’s Bellator 23 event featured Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 2 Featherweight and Middleweight finals. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire took on Joe Warren in the Featherweight final and Russian Fighter Alexander Shlemenko faced Bryan Baker in the Season 2 Middleweight tournament.

Bellator 23 took place at the Fourth Street Live! entertainment and retail complex in Louisville, Kentucky and was broadcast live on FOX Sports Net. Fans can expect a highlights package to air Saturday on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

Joe Warren fought a hard fought three round battle against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire in the Featherweight Tournament Final. The “Pitbull” came out hard in the first round pressing the attack and was close to ending the fight with a standing arm-triangle choke which Warren worked free of. The second and third saw Freire slow down, which allowed Warren to take the fight to the ground and score some points. Warren earned the split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) from the judges and will meet Bellator Featherweight champ Joe Soto in season three.

It didn’t take long for Russian Middleweight Alexander Shlemenko to find his range and finish Bryan Baker in the Season 2 Middleweight Tournament Final. Both fighters exchanged briefly with both men trading kicks in the opening minute. Shlemenko misses a kick only to eat one from Baker and is sent to the mat. The Russian is quite to rebound and gets back to his feet to drop his opponent with a liver shot. Shlemenko pounces for the finish and forces the stoppage with some strong ground and pound at 2:45 of the first round. Shlemenko will now go on to meet Bellator’s middleweight champion Hector Lombard in season three.

The full Bellator 23 results are as follows:

Main Card:

Featherweight Tournament Championship: Joe Warren def. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Middleweight Tournament Championship: Alexander Shlemenko def. Bryan Baker via TKO – R1, 2:45
Bantamweight Showcase Fight: Nik Mamalis def. Albert Rios via TKO – R1, 4:30
Female Showcase Fight: Zoila Frausto def. Rosi Sexton via knockout – R1, 2:00

Preliminary Card:

Local Main Event: Brent Weedman def. John Troyer via submission (arm-bar) – R1, 4:55*
Local Feature Fight #3: Daniel Straus def. Chad Hinton via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)*
Local Feature Fight #2: Stoney Hale def. Mike Fleniken via submission (rear-naked choke) – R2, 4:20
Local Feature Fight #1: Kurt Kinser def. David Overfield via TKO – R1, 2:30

* – bouts took place after the televised card.

Make no mistake about it - Joe Warren was in trouble.

The hard-nosed, never-say-die wrestling stud looked to have finally met
his match in the explosive Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, and it was only
the bell that helped Warren survive the opening frame of the pair's main
card featherweight matchup at Thursday's Bellator Fighting Championship 23 event in
Louisville, Ky.

But Warren dug deep in the final two frames and took advantage of a
slowing "Pitbull" while wrestling his way to a hard-fought
split-decision in Bellator's final season-two event.

Dino Costeas has worked with Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski for 10 years
and knows when something's not right.

He accompanied Arlovski to Freddie Roach's Wild Card
Boxing Gym along with trainers Mike Garcia and John Kading just
three-and-a-half weeks before the Belarusian's fight with Brett Rogers
at "Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields" this past June. He and Arlovski's
other trainers were aghast at what they saw.

"We were out there for three-and-a-half weeks, and the whole time, we
were like, 'This is a bust,'" Costeas told MMAjunkie.com. "Every night I wanted to drink a bottle of
tequila."

(Pictured: Hector Lombard standing over Jay Silva. Photo courtesy of Bellator.com)

Tonight’s latest chapter of Bellator Fighting Championships second season is happening right now at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, La.

Bellator 18 features a ‘Superfight’ between middleweight champ Hector Lombard vs. Jay Silva in a non-title match at a catchweight of 190 pounds.

Also featured will be two semi-final matchups in the featherweight tournament between Patricio “Pitbull” Freire vs. Wilson Reis and Joe Warren vs. Georgi Karakhanyan.

The event is showing live on FOX Sports Net (or on a few hours’ delay if preempted by local sports programming) right now, and a highlights package will air this Saturday on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

To see the full Bellator 18 quick results click

Superfight

- Middleweight champ Hector Lombard def. Jay Silva via KO (punches) – R1, 0:06

Featherweight Tournament Semifnal Bouts

- Joe Warren def. Georgi Karakhanyan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire def. Wilson Reis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Non-Tournament Bouts

- Charlie Rader def. Christian Fulgium via KO (punches) – R1, 3:20
- Brock Kerry def. Mike Braswell via TKO – R1, 3:20
- Lamont Stafford def. Jules Bruchez via TKO – R2, 0:19
- Shawn Jordan def. Douglas Williams via TKO – R1, 0:19

A welterweight rematch between Thiago Alves (16-6) and Jon Fitch (22-3) has been delayed once again.

Both fighters were going to meet at UFC 115 on June 15 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada but will instead meet at UFC 117 on Aug. 7 in Oakland, Calif. Alves has not been medically cleared at this time so the UFC erred on the side of caution moving the bout back a few months.

The original rematch had been scheduled for UFC 111 last month but Alves failed a CT scan and was suspended by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board. Alves underwent successful corrective surgery for a arteriovenous fistula four days later.

Currently the “Pitbull” is waiting to complete an angiogram on May 25th to receive final clearances from the NJSACB.

Their first fight took place in June of 2008 at the UFN 5 event with Fitch earning a TKO victory.

This will be Alves’ first appearance in the octagon since his defeat at the hands of Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100 last summer. While Fitch has rattled off four straight victories including a unanimous decision win over Ben Saunders at UFC 111.

The Volcanic ash from a volcano in Iceland, which is plaguing air travel to and from Europe, has prevented one fighter from traveling to the next installment of Bellator Fighting Championship’s tournament card, which is set to take place this Thursday with Bellator XV.

Bellator XV is set to take place this Thrusday on April 22 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. with tournament bouts including Dan Hornbuckle vs Tyler Stinson, Jacob McClintock vs. Ryan Thomas, Steve Carl vs. Brett Cooper, and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire vs. William Romero.

Jim Wallhead (18-5) had been scheduled to meet Jacob McClintock (6-0) in a welterweight tournament quarter final bout but was forced out of the tournament. Wallhead was to travel to America for the fight but can’t fly out of England because all commercial air traffic has been grounded by the volcanic ash.

The bout will go on without Wallhead, replacing him will be Ryan Thomas (18-5) who lost to Ben Askren at Bellator XIV due in a controversial stoppage. Askren was awarded a technical submission victory after sinking in a guillotine choke midway through the fight, causing Thomas to give an audible grunt which prompted the referee to halt the bout prematurely since Thomas never tapped out.

In a press release Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney was pleased to give Thomas a second chance in the tournament.

“While I am very disappointed that Jim won’t be able to make it to the U.S. this week, at least some good comes out of this situation as Ryan will get the opportunity to step back into our welterweight tournament. After the fight last Thursday, I promised Ryan that he would be our first alternate for the tournament and, based on a natural disaster, his opportunity came much sooner than anyone would have guessed. Ryan and Ben Askren were locked in a tough fight last week that was ended, somewhat controversially, by the referee. While I respect that decision, I am pleased that this opportunity has presented itself for Ryan.”

Sources close to the event confirmed the fighters for three preliminary bouts for this Thursday’s card. Former “TUF 7″ fighter Dan Cramver will face Dennis Olsen, while Matt Lee takes on Ryan Quinn, and Brylan Vanartsdalen will step into the cage against Richard de Los Reyes.

Main Card

- Dan Hornbuckle vs. Tyler Stinson (welterweight tourney first round)
- Jacob McClintock vs. Ryan Thomas (welterweight tourney first round)
- Steve Carl vs. Brett Cooper (welterweight tourney first round)
- Patricio “Pitbull” Freire vs. William Romero (featherweight tourney first round)

Preliminary Card

- Dan Cramer vs. Dennis Olsen*
- Matt Lee vs. Ryan Quinn*
- Richard de Los Reyes vs. Brylan Vanartsdalen*

* – Not officially announced

Press Release

The sport of MMA is a rough business and when our athletes train as hard as they do, injuries can inevitably happen. Unfortunately, Ronin MMA standout Nick ‘The Ninja of Love’ Denis got injured in training and will not be facing Ian ‘The Barn Owl’ Loveland for the Wreck Bantamweight Title. Stepping up on short notice and coming in as an underdog is Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts’ Xavier ‘Pitbull’ Desrochers.

When Desrochers learnt of Denis’ injury, he immediately asked for the fight and jumped at the opportunity to fight for a World Title against some of Loveland’s pedigree. The 37 year old Desrochers has been training for for almost 10 years and has only recently begun his MMA career but this BJJ standout has been given the opportunity of a lifetime to shock the MMA world.

“To step up on short notice to face someone of Loveland’s calibre is a real testament to Xavier’s character,” said matchmaker Alex Caporicci. “Xavier not only saw this as an opportunity to test himself and potentially win a title, but to step up and help Wreck when he was needed most. I’m really excited to see this fight that reminds me a lot of a real life Rocky story where the veteran underdog can potentially suprise the world class fighter.”

Also changed on the card is Jenn Ricker from Sudbury BJJ will be making her MMA debut stepping up against FIT MMA’s Anna ‘Smiles’ Barone. Ricker is the third opponent for Barone who is just excited about stepping into the Wreck ring one more time and was ready to face anyone that Wreck put in front of her.
In attendance will be UFC Veteran Rolles Gracie and his brother, Bellator & Wreck veteran Igor Gracie who will be signing autographs and taking pictures with the fans. Do not miss the opportunity to meet two members of the first family of MMA.

Wreck: Unite for Brian’s Fight is brought to you by Fitshop.ca and tickets for this stacked event are available at TICKETMASTER.CA or by calling (613) 755-1111. Buy your tickets now to assure yourself a spot for the one show you do not want to miss!! Tickets are also available at The Fit Shop on 1383 Clyde Avenue in Ottawa. Bring your Wreck ticket and receive 10% off on all products and 15% off all Musclepharm products!!!

Musclepharms ASSAULT and the best cutting supplement out there RIPPED FREAK will be on sale at the event for ONLY 40$! The Fit Shop is having this special promotion to thank everyone for their huge support.

About Wreck and Brian’s Fight

As Wreck continues our policy of adding a charitable aspect to all our events, Wreck MMA will return to the Robert Guertin Arena to help a member of the Ottawa community. Brian Dyck was diagnosed Lou Gehrig’s Disease in October 2009. Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS ultimately leads to death. Brian has not only served his country in the Canadian forces but is currently an Ottawa police officer. His life has been devoted to helping others including his wife Natalie and their one year old daughter Sophi. It is no secret, Brian will leave us – and his family will need our help! Wreck MMA will donate up to $50,000 to Brian and his family, but we cannot do this without your help! We are calling for the members of the MMA community and the Ottawa/Gatineau region to all come together to help a family that needs us. Let’s all unite; for Brian’s fight.

WRECK MMA: UNITE FOR BRIAN’S FIGHT – CONFIRMED FIGHTS
Date: APRIL 16th, 2010
Venue: ROBERT GUERTIN ARENA
Location: GATINEAU, QUEBEC

MAIN EVENT – Wreck Bantamweight Title

Ian ‘The Barn Owl’ Loveland (Team Quest, Oregon) vs. Xavier ‘Pitbull’ Desrochers (OAMA, Ottawa)

CO-MAIN EVENT

Simon ‘The Mutant’ Marini (Regency Boxing, Hamilton) vs. Louis-Philippe ‘The Joker’ Carle (FIT MMA/Zahabi MMA, Ottawa)
Kurt Southern (Alliance, Saskatoon) vs. Samuel Guillet (BTT Canada, Montreal)
Chase Degenhardt (Progressive Fighting Academy, Lethbridge) vs. Craig ‘Farmer’ Brown (FIT MMA, Ottawa)
Justin Smethurst (Team MFC, Windsor) vs. Stephane Bernadel (OAMA, Ottawa)
Stephane Pelletier (Juvaldo MMA, Val D’Or) vs. Mike ‘Hurricane’ Hong (BAMA, Burlington)
Jeff Laughren (RAMA, Rockland) vs. Gerry Bruyere (Florin’s Ultimate MMA, Kanata)
Jenn Ricker (Sudbury BJJ, Sudbury) vs. Anna ‘Smiles’ Barone (FIT MMA, Ottawa)
Paul Ebejer (Team Tugboat, Toronto) vs. Mike Reily (Bluewater Martial Arts, Rockland)
Mikael Pellerin (Team Legion, Victoriaville) vs. Randy Turner (OAMA, Ottawa)
Albert Cheng (Iron Tiger/Xtreme Couture) vs. Wes Ranger (Florin’s Ultimate MMA, Kanata)

*** Subject to change ***

UFC welterweight fighter Thiago “Pitbull” Alves (16-6) will undergo outpatient surgery at the Hyman Newman institute for Neurology and Neurosurgery located at Roosevelt Hospital later this week.

“I went and saw a specialist this morning who told me I need to have the minor procedure,” Alves said.

At a press conference on Friday Tracy Lee reported that it Alves has a “malformation on the left side of his brain.”

He has malformation of the left side of his brain. After a few days of anguish, they found that whatever it is, it should not be career ending- not an aneurism. He should be back training full speed in 3 weeks.

The outpatient procedure is expected to take place this Wednesday (31 March).

Photo and story courtesy of TMZ.

UFC welterweight fighter Thiago Alves (16-6) has had to withdraw from this weekends “UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy” due to a failed CT scan.

Alves was scheduled to meet Jon Fitch (21-3) on the pay-per-view card but a a pre-fight CAT Scan revealed an irregularity involving an artery in Alves’ brain.

UFC honcho Dana White tells TMZ he will fly Pitbull to a specialist for further evaluation. White says, “If it’s true, it can be career-ending.”

UFC 111 will take place this Saturday March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The bout was going to be a rematch between Alves and Fitch from their initial meeting in 2007, which Fitch won via TKO.

No information has been provided as to whether Fitch will be given a new opponent on such short notice but a preliminary bout featuring Kurt Pellegrino (14-4) vs. Fabricio Camoes (10-4-1) has been moved to the main card.

Pellegrino posted the update on his Twitter site on Thursday.

For all my twitterbugs I’m now on the Main Card so that means I’m on ppv haha

I’m so pumped to be on the main card but let’s all hope that Thiago is ok and that all our thoughts are with him aswell

Pellegrino has won three straight bouts defeating Thiago Tavares, Rob Emerson, and Josh Neer. His last fight occurred at UFC 101 where he earned a unanimous decision over Neer. His record in the UFC so far is 6-3.

The Brazilian Camoes will have his second fight in the UFC, facing Caol Uno to a draw in his debut at UFC 106. Before the draw he won seven straight fights with various promotions in Brazil and California.