MMA SPORT FED FIGHTS ON SEPTEMBER 10
August 31, 2010 by Matt
MMA Sport Fed will be having a show on 9/10 at Excalibur in downtown Chicago. No word yet on the card, but here is the fight poster with details on how to get some tix.
ROGER HUERTA VS. EDDIE ALVAREZ AT BELLATOR 33
August 30, 2010 by Matt
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 World Champion Eddie Alvarez, momentum is on his side, as he enters the Superfight 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 Roger 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. As the first MMA fighter ever to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Eddie Alvarez will be the toughest fights that Huerta has encountered is his MMA career.
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.
Tickets for “Bellator 33: Alvarez vs. Huerta” are priced at $150, $85, $65, $45, and $25, and go on sale Monday, August 30th at www.ComcastTix.com
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.
RUCKUS INVADES NAVY PIER PROMO
August 27, 2010 by Matt
New promo for the “Ruckus Invades Navy Pier” event on September 11th.
We’ll have an interview with Felice “L’il Bulldog” Herrig about her training camp and more coverage of the event as we get closer to the date. For tickets and more information visit the Ruckus website.
AMERICAN PREDATOR FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
August 27, 2010 by Matt
Results from American Predator Fighting Championship, August 21st in Lemont, IL
Jeff Lavalle Vs. Reginald Brown (135)
Brown defeats Lavalle via Unanimous Decision.
Julius Thompson Vs. Nate Patrick (185lb)
Patrick defeats Thompson via TKO at 2:40 of round 3.
Louie Boulhanis Vs Jabari Dill (170 lb)
Boulhanis defeats Dill via TKO at :15 of round 3
Anthony Lorenzo Vs. Kevin Scott (145lb)
Scott defeats Lorenzo via sub-RNC at 2:43 of round 2
Victor Johnson Vs. Darwin Hill (145lb)
Johnson defeats Hill by Submission- Arm Triangle at :56 of round 3
Teon Barry Vs Sebastian Antosiewics (Heavys)
Antosiewics defeats Barry via verbal sub at 1:17 of round 2
Chandler Fadler Vs. Dustin Stusse (155lb)
Stusse defeats Fadler via TKO, 2:45 of round 2.
Marcin Pogorzelski Vs. Marcus Hurt (170lbs)
Pogorzelski defeats Hurt by submission-RNC, 1:56 of round 1.
Otis Brumfield Vs. Tim Savanok (155 lbs)
Savanok defeats Brumfield via Unanimous Decision
JAMES TONEY IS GRABBY IN HIS LATEST INTERVIEW
James Toney might be getting just a bit tired of being interviewed by Ariel Helwani.
I suppose it would help considerably if Toney understood the questions, and the support Helwani was trying to show him when he asked about boxers being in his corner. I just want people to remember that Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard are fighting on this card, because that could be the brawl of the night.
If Toney loses, do we ever see him in a cage again? And now that Kimbo Slice is a full-time boxer, could we see a Toney/Kimbo matchup down the road?
SHINE LIGHTWEIGHT GRAND PRIX EXTENDED TRAILER
August 24, 2010 by Matt
Meet the fighters of the upcoming Shine Lightweight Grand Prix Tourney that will take place on Friday, September 10th at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.
RAY FLORES NAMED SHINE FIGHTS CAGE ANNOUNCER
August 24, 2010 by Matt
Local MMA personality Ray Flores has been named the cage announcer for the upcoming Shine Lightweight Grand Prix, which takes place at The Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia on September 10th.
Flores will be introducing some familiar names to MMA fans at the event. The combatants:
- Former WEC contender Rich Crunkilton
- Pride and UFC vet Marcus Aurelio
- Duneland Vale Tudo fighter Josh Shockley
- MFC and WEC vet Carlo Prater
- Art of War vet Hector Munoz
- UFC vet and submission specialist Drew Fickett
- KO artist and XFO vet James Warfield
- Pride and KOTC vet Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett
The tournament format is having success in Bellator and now Strikeforce. Shine’s lightweight Grand Prix looks like it will continue that excitement.
“I think Shine bringing back the tournament format is exciting for a variety of reasons”, Flores told Chicago’s MMA. “There are so many things that can happen and so many scenarios which can play out. The fighters in this tourney are world class. You have guys that are looking to get back to the UFC and have experienced big fight situations.”
“Then you have guys who are up and coming, solid fighters looking to make a name for themselves. I also think Shine is very fortunate to have Chicago native Jason Chambers at the helm as the COO. Here’s a guy who has a vision, brings excitement and energy to this product. He knows what fans want and it’s great to be along for the ride with Shine.”
It’s an especially great opportunity for Duneland Vale Tudo’s Josh Shockley. He was supposed to fight Mark Miller at Bellator 25, but Miller had to withdraw due to an injury. A killer knockout or sub could make Shockley or any of the other combatants a “You Tube Hero” a la Toby Imada’s inverted triangle. It could be a great career boost.
You can watch the tourney on Friday, September 10th at 8pm Central on pay per view.
BELLATOR 25 RESULTS
August 20, 2010 by Matt
Damian Grabowski lands a left against Scott Barrett
Where were you, Chicago? Another disappointing turnout for a major MMA event in the Windy City. But the event was still entertaining. The local fights injected a ton of excitement into the card, as all 4 of the main card bouts went to decision. To the results:
LAMAS, PALASZEWSKI WIN AT WEC 50
They took different paths, but local fighters Ricardo “The Bully” Lamas and Bart Palaszewski both won at WEC 50.
Palaszewski was on the televised card and looked amazing in his battle with Zach Micklewright. Bartimus was trading with the taller, Miletich fighter, but started winning most of the exchanges toward the end of the 1st round. In the 2nd round, Bart rocked him with a flurry of punches up against the cage, landed a vicious body kick and then finished him with a right hook at :31. Bart is now 4-2 in the WEC with 4 straight wins.
Top Notch fighter Ricardo Lamas needed all 3 rounds, but won a unanimous decision over Dave Jansen. Lamas had several sub catches in the fight and won 29-28 on all the judges cards. The picture above tells how much of a war this was, as does this photo of Lamas’ shorts after the fight.
Lamas improved to 9-1 with the win, his 3rd straight. He is now 4-1 in the WEC, his only loss coming to Danny Castillo at WEC 42.
photos h/t: MMA Weekly and Bloody Elbow
BELLATOR ADDS ZACH MAKOVSKY TO TOURNEY
August 17, 2010 by Matt
Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the official addition of Zach Makovsky to the Season 3 Bantamweight World Championship Tournament. Makovsky enters the tournament with an impressive 9-2 record, while currently riding a three fight win-streak. The Philadelphia-based fighter last competed at Bellator 21 in June 2010 against Eric Luke where he secured a fight-ending Kimura with just 30 seconds left in the second round.
Makovsky is the seventh confirmed participant in the bantamweight tournament along with dynamic striker Bryan Goldsby, the explosive Jose Vega, up-and-coming Danny Tims, Las Vegas-based Cobra-Kai jiu-jitsu instructor Ulysses Gomez, fast-rising Wyoming native Nik Mamalis and Minnesota-based powerhouse Travis “The Hurricane” Reddinger.
“Zack Makovsky trains with our Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez and like Eddie has great power and dangerous submission skills. His ability to apply non-stop pressure and grind out his opponents makes him a very serious threat to anyone in this talent-stacked tournament,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.
Currently training out of Philadelphia, Makovsky began his career in the regional New Jersey MMA circuit after eventually joining the now defunct EliteXC. Of his nine career victories, Makovsky has stopped five of his opponents decisively by submission.
“I’m really excited to be fighting in this tournament, as a fighter you want to be facing top competition and taking the best fights you can,” said Makovsky. “I feel like Bellator is the place to do it and I’m really looking forward to getting back in there.”
