Batman Begins — with Bellator

It’s a short-lived retirement for Kurt Pellegrino. The former UFC fighter announced at Bellator 49 that he will be joining Bellator to fight Patricky “Pitbull” Friere in the main event at Bellator 59 on November 26 in Caesar’s Atlantic City. The fight will be seen LIVE on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX.

“I had a choice to fight at Boardwalk Hall or fight in the Ballroom at Caesars and I chose Caesars,” Pellegrino said. “I want Patricky to feel suffocated. I want to suffocate him before I ever take his back and choke him out. I’m going to put a thousand of my family and friends in this Ballroom and I want him to feel the pressure. This is going to be the biggest fight of his life.”

The 32-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt holds a 16-6 professional record and has beaten some notable names, including Josh Neer, Thiago Tavares, Mac Danzig, Fabricio Camoes and Junior Assuncao. The exciting veteran has been away from the cage for six months and took time off to be with his wife and two young children. Now the perpetual contender realizes how important fighting was in his life as well.

“It was like Rocky II when Adrian awoke from the coma and told Rocky to ‘win’,” Pellegrino said. “I was retired, sitting home watching videos with my son, but I was also training at that time and was in great shape when my wife walked up to me and said ‘If you want to do it again, go for it’. Before that, I felt bad for being away training and missing my daughter’s first words, changing diapers, etc. I was so happy that I was able to be there for my son’s big moments – but the fact that my family supports me returning to fight means everything to me.”

After two straight losses on one badly injured knee, Pellegrino says he’s 100-percent healthy and ready to put on a great show for his hometown fans.

“I retired from fighting and didn’t think I was going to do this anymore. I feel like this is the right show for me to do everything I want to do and to go where I want to go. I get to finish the vision quest my way and this is why I chose Bellator. My family comes before anything and Bellator understands that. I wanted to wait until I was able to fight in Atlantic City and Bellator is giving me that opportunity – so I couldn’t be happier.”

The always dangerous “Pitbull” has won five of his last six fights with four finishes, but Pellegrino feels this is his house and his time.

“If he can come into my state, the birthplace of me fighting, the place Arturo Gatti made famous – this is me resurrecting Arturo Gatti,” an excited Pellegrino said. “I’m going to rock Atlantic City just like Arturo did.”

The night will also feature the return of Polish prodigy Marcin Held, who enters the Bellator cage looking for victory against former UFC lightweight Phillipe “The Filipino Assassin” Nover. Only 19, Held already holds an impressive 11-2 record with victories over opponents nearly twice his age. With a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a continued desire to push the pace in any fight he enters, Held will provide a unique challenge to Nover.

A New York native and former finalist on The Ultimate Fighter, Nover will make his promotional debut at Bellator 59. Fighting out of Brooklyn, “The Filipino Assassin” will be looking to impress Bellator brass and the Atlantic City faithful with a dominating win.

“I’ve been a Kurt Pellegrino fan for many years,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Kurt is a world class lightweight, and his fight against Patricky Pitbull should be spectacular on November 26^th from Caesars Atlantic City.”

 

Celebrating the 4th, MMA Style

Looking at the famous 4s in MMA history…

UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors
	UFC 4 was an 8-man tourney back in 1994. No weight classes or weight limits. No time limits, rounds or judges. Royce Gracie beat Dan Severn with a triangle choke to win the tourney. Gracie had to get by local fighter Keith Hackney (Hackney’s Combat Academy) in the semis to get to Severn.
WEC 4: Rumble Under the Sun
	WEC 4 took place in Connecticut in 2002. Jeremy Horn won the main event by subbing Aaron Brink in the 1st round. Kurt Pellegrino (pictured) beat Mac Danzig for the WEC Lightweight Title. Mike Swick won in just his 3rd professional fight, as did local fighter Jeff Curran, who beat Bao Quach by decision.
Pride FC 4
	Pride FC 4 was held back in 1998 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. “The Smashing Machine” Mark Kerr remained undefeated with his 10th straight win, a TKO of Hugo Duarte. Marco Ruas’ corner threw in the towel in his bout, giving Alexander Otsuka his first professional win. Igor Vovchanchyn KO’d Gary Goodridge, and Rickson Gracie beat Nobuhiko Takada by an armbar near the end of the first round.
King of the Cage 4: Gladiators
	King of the Cage 4: Gladiators was held in June of 2000. Co-creator of KOTC Tedd Williams won via keylock in round 1. Marvin Eastman defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by unanimous decision. Duane “Bang” Ludwig beat up Shad Smith, whose corner called it quits for him in round 1. And the late Jeremy Williams needed less than one minute to win by armbar.
Strikeforce: Triple Threat
	Triple Threat was the fourth MMA event held by Strikeforce. Gina Carano beat Elaina Maxwell for her 3rd straight win as a pro. Ruben Villareal’s corner stopped his fight against Paul Buentello in round 2. Cung Le beat Jason Von Flue by TKO after a huge knee opened up a gash over Von Flue’s left eye. Bobby Southworth won the Strikeforce LHW belt by beating Vernon White via unanimous decision.

CELEBRATING THE FOURTH, MMA STYLE

Looking at the famous 4s in MMA history…

UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors
	UFC 4 was an 8-man tourney back in 1994. No weight classes or weight limits. No time limits, rounds or judges. Royce Gracie beat Dan Severn with a triangle choke to win the tourney. Gracie had to get by local fighter Keith Hackney (Hackney’s Combat Academy) in the semis to get to Severn.
WEC 4: Rumble Under the Sun
	WEC 4 took place in Connecticut in 2002. Jeremy Horn won the main event by subbing Aaron Brink in the 1st round. Kurt Pellegrino (pictured) beat Mac Danzig for the WEC Lightweight Title. Mike Swick won in just his 3rd professional fight, as did local fighter Jeff Curran, who beat Bao Quach by decision.
Pride FC 4
	Pride FC 4 was held back in 1998 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. “The Smashing Machine” Mark Kerr remained undefeated with his 10th straight win, a TKO of Hugo Duarte. Marco Ruas’ corner threw in the towel in his bout, giving Alexander Otsuka his first professional win. Igor Vovchanchyn KO’d Gary Goodridge, and Rickson Gracie beat Nobuhiko Takada by an armbar near the end of the first round.
King of the Cage 4: Gladiators
	King of the Cage 4: Gladiators was held in June of 2000. Co-creator of KOTC Tedd Williams won via keylock in round 1. Marvin Eastman defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by unanimous decision. Duane “Bang” Ludwig beat up Shad Smith, whose corner called it quits for him in round 1. And the late Jeremy Williams needed less than one minute to win by armbar.
Strikeforce: Triple Threat
	Triple Threat was the fourth MMA event held by Strikeforce. Gina Carano beat Elaina Maxwell for her 3rd straight win as a pro. Ruben Villareal’s corner stopped his fight against Paul Buentello in round 2. Cung Le beat Jason Von Flue by TKO after a huge knee opened up a gash over Von Flue’s left eye. Bobby Southworth won the Strikeforce LHW belt by beating Vernon White via unanimous decision.

MIGUEL TORRES SUBMISSION FLOW

Check out this clip from the former local MMA show “Combatwire”. Miguel Torres shows Felice Herrig the submission flow that allowed him to beat Chase Beebe for the WEC title. Playing the part of Beebe is UFC fighter Kurt Pellegrino.

Miguel needs to get back to more of this when he fights Joseph Benavidez at WEC 47 on March 6th. Felice Herrig will fight next on April 17th. Pellegrino will battle Fabricio Camoes at UFC 111.