Team Top Notch lightweight Keoki Cypriano brings fireworks all the way from Hawaii. Don’t blink when he’s in the cage because he can finish the fight in a flash.  Check out “Hawaii’s Bad Boy” as he faces Mark Sinclair at Total Fight Challenge 14. This is how you ground and pound.

Come watch Keoki Cypriano and other local fighters at Bellator 25 on August 19th at the Chicago Theatre.

Ranger Up War Eagle Crown T-Shirt

MMA Junkie is reporting TUF veteran Kevin Knabjian will face journeyman Brian Gassaway, and Keoki Cypriano(training partner of WEC lightweight Ricardo Lamas) will face Eric Kriegermeier in the promotion’s third show in the Windy City.  Those matchups join a lineup already featuring Chicago favorite Shonie Carter and Dan Hornbuckle, who has fought in several regional promotions including Ironheart Crown, Total Fight Challenge, and The Duneland Classic.

The Gassaway /Knabjian will be interesting to watch because both trained together at Midwest Training Center, although Gassaway has since left the gym.   The “Mandingo” hasn’t fought since 2008 when he lost to Mike Pyle by armbar at SuperFights MMA in Las Vegas.  Knabjian will make his second appearance in Bellator.  He lost to Jacob Volkman at Bellator 7  by Brabo Choke.

Cypriano goes by the nickname “Hawaii’s Bad Boy” and brings a heavy-handed exciting style to the cage.

Bellator has not officially announced these fights, nor have they officially announced Carter’s fight(against Torrance Taylor) or Hornbuckle’s(against Brad Blackburn.)   The only officially announced fights are two tournament matches.

In the heavyweight tournament Damian Grabowski faces  Scott Barrett in opening round action.  Meanhwhile, Jessica Pene will face Zoila Frausto in the first round of the female 115 pound tournament.  Grabowski and Frausto are two names to watch in season 3 of the Chicago/Los Angeles based fight promotion.

Damian Grabowski is undefeated at 13-0 and has finished all his opponents.  Zoila Frausto has a Muay Thai background and is fresh off an upset knockout victory over highly regarded Rosi Sexton.  That knockout helped the “Warrior Princess” steal the tourney spot originally intended for Sexton.

Chris “Lights Out” Lytle (The Ultimate Fighter Season 4) will be at The Olympian Centre for a one day MMA and Jiu Jitsu workshop.  He’s coming off a win at UFC 116 where he Matt Brown with an armbar.  This will be a three(3) hour workshop.  Lytle is one of the most exciting fighters in the Octagon who brings professional boxing experience(13-1-1 record) and a solid ground game to the fight.   It will take place August 7 and goes from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Price is $50 per person but there is a discounted price, $35, to the first 25 people that register at TOC and pay up front. To reserve your spot contact The Olympian Centre.

MMA Junkie is reporting Carter will face Torrance Taylor, a one time Strikeforce fighter, at Bellator 25 which is scheduled for August 19.  Bellator has not officially announced the fight yet.

Prior to taking part in Bellator 25, Shonie is supposed to fight in New Hampshire at HAVOC on July 31 against former Olympic Judoka Rick Hawn for the promotion’s welterweight title.  It’ll be a quick turnaround for Mr. International but maybe he’ll pull off some Chris Leben-esque magic and rip off two straight victories in a month’s time.

Here’s the promo video for HAVOC.

Felice Herrig is giving a Muay Thai clinic in August at MBD Martial Arts in Des Plaines.  The Lil’ Bulldog is most known for starring in the reality show “Fight Girls” and training under renowned trainer Master Toddy.  In the show’s finale she fought in Thailand and defeated her opponent.

Bellator 25 will mark the Chicago landmark’s second-ever mixed martial arts event — the first being Bellator 14 which took place on April 15, 2010.  The Bellator 25 card will feature two quarterfinal fights in both the Season 3 Heavyweight and Women’s World Championship tournaments.

Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski will make his U.S. debut in a quarterfinal heavyweight world championship tournament fight against knock-out artist Scott Barrett.

Grabowski, who was considered one of the top heavyweight free agents in the world before signing with Bellator, boasts a perfect 13-0 pro record. The Polish Pitbull has not only finished each of his opponents by TKO or submission, but not one of his opponents has yet to see the third round of a fight. His spectacular tenacity was on full display in April 2009, when he competed in a one-night, 16-man heavyweight tournament in an Austrian promotion that featured no-time-limit bouts. Grabowski dismantled each of his four opponents, winning the tournament with his longest fight lasting only 3:48 into the second frame. In his most recent fight last month Grabowski TKO’d the highly regarded heavyweight Michal Kita in the first round.

Barrett, who owns a four-fight win streak coming into the tournament, fought earlier this year at Bellator 19 where he knocked out formerly undefeated Ty Lee just 2:25 into Round 1.

Bellator 25 will also include an opening-round fight in Bellator’s World Championship Women’s Tournament featuring Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto and the world’s No. 6-ranked flyweight, undefeated Jessica Pene.

Frausto was added to the tournament after she shocked the MMA world recently at Bellator 23 with her stunning KO of the world’s top-ranked and heavily favored Rosi Sexton.  Sexton was subsequently forced out of the tournament due to a 60-day medical suspension from the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority. Pene debuted for Bellator in May 2009 with a first round TKO against Tammie Schneider at Bellator 5.  Her unblemished record also features a submission victory over fellow tournament participant and No. 8 world ranked 115 pounder, Angela Magana.

In other action, Aisling Daly, the best female mixed martial artist in Ireland and the world’s No. 3-ranked 125 lbs. woman, will drop down to 115 lbs. to face 13-5 submission ace and No. 3-ranked flyweight Lisa Ward in the opening round of the World Championship Women’s Tournament.  The 22-year-old Daly will make her U.S. MMA debut backed by a pristine 9-0 record, while Ward enters the fight with one win already coming under the Bellator banner.  Just two weeks ago at Bellator 22, she dismantled Stephanie Frausto with a slick rear naked choke 2:01 into the first round.

The Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight and Women’s World Championship tournaments begin Aug. 12 and will once again be televised LIVE in primetime every Thursday night on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

Tickets are priced at $100, $75, $50, and $35, and go on sale at Ticketmaster.com beginning this Saturday, July 10^th, at noon.

Courtesy: Five Ounces of Pain

Lesnar has learned BJJ under  Comprido’s tutelage for the past two years.  In the locker room after tapping Shane Carwin with the arm triangle/shoulder choke, Lesnar singled out Comprido’s efforts.  The champ boasted,  “That little maneuver was Mr. Comprido, and we worked on it all camp long.”

Courtesy: Five Ounces of Pain

Lesnar was coming off a well-documented absence from MMA due to health concerns.  In order to make sure his long-awaited return to the Octagon would be successful Comprido made some sacrifices of his own to ensure Lesnar would be properly prepared for his title fight with Carwin.  He recently told GRACIEMAG.com:

“It made up for not having competed at the Worlds because I opted to work and couldn’t prepare myself to compete.”

Lesnar has undergone much scrutiny regarding his ability since getting involved with mixed martial arts.  His detractors continue to suggest he only wins based on his size and pure strength.  They refuse to recognize any technical skills he may possess outside of his All American wrestling background.  However Comprido is quick to refute the so-called haters.  In the same interview he also told GRACIEMAG.com:

“Brock is every coach’s dream. He doesn’t complain, he always pays attention to what we’re teaching and he’s a born athlete. He has abnormal strength and speed. The sky’s the limit with him, and he’ll continue to evolve for a long time. He’s a grappler, so he loves training on the ground, likes training as a whole a lot. And one thing you haven’t seen yet is how he has an aggressive guard. He’ll surprise a lot of people.”

Brock Lesnar isn’t the only fighter who works with Comprido.  Another local based UFC heavyweight, Mike Russow, trains regularly with the Team Brasa standout(whose teammates include Andre Galvao, Robert Drysdale & “Jacaere” Souza) as does Christian “Xaropinho” Uflacker, leader of the Uflacker Academy in Summit.

Watch Comprido tap veteran Jiu JItsu and MMA fighter Nino “Elvis” Schembri:

For Comprido’s entire interview with GRACIEMAG.COM click here.

To learn more about the man himself check out his website:  CompridoBJJ.com

Strikeforce and M-1 Global teaming up for another co-promoted event.  “Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Werdum” is this Saturday in San Jose, CA.  Showtime has another preview video featuring main event fighters Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum.