#‎danHenderson‬ ‪#‎tweet‬ Who will ‪#‎fedor‬ fight first? Thoughts on him signing with Scott Coker? #Bellator

#‎danHenderson‬ ‪#‎tweet‬ Who will ‪#‎fedor‬ fight first? Thoughts on him signing with Scott Coker? #Bellator

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal meet in the PPV headliner

It's fight day, and for the first time, Bellator tries its hand at pay-per-view.
We're on site in Southaven, Miss. (right outside Memphis) for tonight's event, where Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal meet in the PPV headliner.
Our live round-by-round coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) with the Spike TV and Spike.com prelims. You can get all of the event updates here: http://wp.me/p3WzJ0-tzS.
Also, here are the start times and fight card for tonight's show:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
- Quinton Jackson vs. Muhammed Lawal - light heavyweight tournament final
- Will Brooks vs. Michael Chandler - for interim lightweight title
- Tito Ortiz vs. Alexander Shlemenko - non-title fight
- Blagoi Ivanov vs. Alexander Volkov - heavyweight tournament final
- Michael Page vs. Ricky Rainey
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV, 8 p.m. ET)
- Cheick Kongo vs. Eric Smith
- Marcin Held vs. Nate Jolly
- Fabricio Guerreiro vs. Shahbulat Shamhalaev
- Mike Richman vs. Goiti Yamauchi
PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 6 p.m. ET)
- Austin Lyons vs. Zach Underwood
- Justin Frazier vs. Mike Wessel
- Ben Brewer vs. Andy Uhrich
- Anthony Lemon vs. Codie Shuffield
- Brian Hall vs. Cortez Phelia

Light Heavyweight World Title, plus Caveman’s return As Bellator Returns to Kansas Star Arena Friday, March 21st Live on Spike TV

Post by MMA Extreme.

Light Heavyweight World Title, plus Caveman’s return As Bellator Returns to Kansas Star Arena Friday, March 21st Live on Spike TV

"BREAKING NEWS!" of mma all time: Tito Ortiz has pulled out of the Bellator PPV with a neck injury ?

Tito Ortiz drops out of the Bellator PPV main event against Rampage due to injury...It appears that Tito Ortiz’s neck has once again collapsed under the weight of his massive head (via MMAFighting):


Bellator’s inaugural pay-per-view has been hit by the injury bug.

Tito Ortiz suffered a neck injury in training which will keep him out of next weekend’s fight against Quinton Jackson, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

Bellator is currently seeking a replacement for Ortiz, and it is unclear at this time whether Jackson will remain on the Nov. 2 card. There is a chance next weekend’s pay-per-view card turns into a Spike show with Jackson being moved to another event.

Well, at least Tito didn’t wait until 3 days after the fight to announce that he had been injured the whole time. It’s what we like to call “progress
Who should step in to fight?

‘Rampage’ Jackson, Roy Jones Jr. Targeted for PPV Boxing Bout in 2013

Jones, 44, is regarded by many as one of the finest fighters in the history of boxing and was long linked to a potential matchup with former UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva. The 44-year-old began his boxing career in 1989 and went on to win world titles at 160, 168 and 175 pounds before winning the WBA heavyweight championship from John Ruiz in 2003. The Florida native won 49 of his first 50 fights but has gone just 7-7 in his last 14 fights. Jones did win his last two contests, however, winning the UBO cruiserweight belt in 2011 before besting Polish talent Pawel Glazewski last year.Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Roy Jones Jr in a Boxing Match? It’s Agreed to for a Year-End PPV
‘Rampage’ Jackson, Roy Jones Jr. Targeted for PPV Boxing Bout in 2013 Jackson, 35, signed with Bellator last month with plans to also join the TNA Wrestling roster in a deal akin to Muhammad Lawal’s. “Rampage” exited the UFC earlier this year amid complaints about his treatment from the Zuffa-owned organization, which he joined in 2007. Jackson won the UFC light heavyweight title that same year by knocking out Chuck Liddell but relinquished the belt in 2008 to Forrest Griffin. More recently, Jackson departed the UFC on the heels of three straight losses, dropping a January decision to Glover Teixeira in his final fight with the promotion.

“Babalu” Sobral Retires From MMA; But Was He one of the best pound for pound #MMA fighter ?

On Wednesday night at Bellator 96 at Winstar Casino Resort in Thackersville, OK, Renato "Babalu" Sobral announced his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts following a third-round TKO loss to Jacob Noe in the semi-finals of the Bellator Summer Series light heavyweight tournament. According to Sobral at the event's post-fight press conference, he will still remain around the sport in some capacity, but not as a competitor. Babalu (37-11) first competed in MMA all the way back in 1997, and the Brazil.

Sweet Submissions - Rear Naked Choke

$100,000 Lightweight Tournament Final Headlines as Marcin Held Battles Dave Jansen

$100,000 Lightweight Tournament Final Headlines as Marcin Held Battles Dave Jansen March 21st From Maine’s Androscoggin Colisee Updated: February 20, 2013 - 12:29 p.m. (ET) More Sharing ServicesNewport Beach, CA. (February 20. 2013) – All eyes will be on Bellator March 21st as the Lightweight and Welterweight Tournaments are decided as submission ace and Polish phenom Marcin Held takes on Dave Jansen in the long awaited $100,000 Lightweight Tournament Final, while the final two Season 8 Welterweight participants square off for their guaranteed title shot, live on Spike TV. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at TheColisee.com, the Androscoggin Bank Colisee Box Office or by phone by dialing 207-783-2009. Tickets range from $40-$125. The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 10 p.m. EST on Spike, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 7:30 p.m. EST. Only 20 and holding an impressive 15-2 record, polish phenom Marcin Held stormed through the opening rounds of the lightweight tournament, collecting explosive victories over Murad Machaev and longtime MMA veteran Rich Clementi. Known across the MMA landscape as one of the top submission artists in the sport, Held is a victory away from capturing his first Bellator Tournament crown and a guaranteed title shot. For Jansen, the charismatic lightweight enters the Bellator Finals riding a five fight win streak and is fully prepared for the test that awaits him on March 21st, in what undoubtedly be the biggest fight of his career. “I’ve had a lot of time to work on my game plan and really focus on this fight on March 21st,” Jansen said. “Marcin has the total package when it comes to submissions, so I know what I need to focus on to win this fight, and get a shot at the Bellator title.” The night will also feature a collection of heavyweights, as Brett “Da Grim” Rogers returns to the Bellator cage to take on Eric Prindle. After suffering a broken arm in his fight with eventual Bellator Heavyweight Champion Alexander Volkov, Rogers is ready for a shot at redemption on March 21st. “I am looking forward to getting back in the Bellator cage and a chance to fight on Spike TV,” Rogers said. “In my last fight I broke my forearm but I am fully recovered, training at American Top Team and this time the only thing breaking will be my opponent. Now that I am at ATT I am a new and smarter fighter." Longtime veteran Travis Wiuff also returns, this time at heavyweight to battle Colorado native Ryan Martinez. Previously fighting at heavyweight, Wiuff is now at his more natural weight, and looking to continue his illustrious career that has seen him compile an astonishing 68-16 record. The preliminaries will be headlined by Maine native and fan favorite Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis taking on Waachiim Spiritwolf in a welterweight affair. Davis has found a home in Bellator, and looking to put on a show against Spiritwolf in his promotional debut. “Having the chance to fight for a promotion like Bellator in front of my friends, family and fans is a dream come true,” Davis said. “It’s great to find a new home and fight for one of the biggest promotions in the world.” The full card for Bellator MMA from Lewiston, Maine can be found below: MAIN CARD: Lightweight Tournament Finals Fight: Dave Jansen vs. Marcin Held Welterweight Tournament Finals Fight: TBD vs. TBD Heavyweight Feature Fight: Ryan Martinez vs. Travis Wiuff Heavyweight Feature Fight: Brett Rogers vs. Eric Prindle PRELIMINARY CARD: Welterweight Feature Fight: Waachiim Spiritwolf vs. Marcus Davis Featherweight Feature Fight: Vince Murdock vs. John Raio Welterweight Feature Fight: Ryan Sanders vs. Michael Page Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Brent Dillingham vs. Mike Mucitelli Middleweight Feature Fight: Luc Bondole vs. Joe Pacheco Middleweight Feature Fight: Jason Butcher vs. Jack Hermansson Middleweight Feature Fight: Dave Vitkay vs. Jesse Peterson Lightweight Feature Fight: Jesse Erickson vs. Jon Lemke For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BellatorMMA About Bellator MMA Bellator MMA is the world’s largest tournament based Mixed Martial Arts organization. Televised to nearly 500 Million homes worldwide in over 107 countries, Bellator’s majority owner is entertainment giant Viacom. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. With over 150 world-class athletes under contract, Bellator is home to many of the sport’s top mixed martial artists. Bellator’s founder & CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment executive with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator’s core philosophy is that title shots should be earned, not given. This belief gave rise to Bellator’s real sport, tournament-based format, which gives Bellator’s tournaments a true playoff feel that keeps the sport true and distances itself from the subjective side of fighting sports found in organizations that utilize a matchmaking/casting formula. Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Newport Beach, California.

BELLATOR 76: ALVAREZ VS PITBULL - 10/12/12 Fight Card in Windsor, Canada with Season 7 Featherweight Tournament

BELLATOR 76: ALVAREZ VS PITBULL - 10/12/12 Fight Card in Windsor, Canada with Season 7 Featherweight Tournament

Bellator 76: Alvarez vs Pitbull

Bellator Fighting Championships LXXVI - Bellator 76 wiki

Season 7, Episode 3 - Bellator FC 7.3

Friday, October 12, 2012 - MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Event

Location: The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor in Ontario, Canada

Broadcast: MTV2 and EPIX in HD (prelims on Spike.com)

Bellator 76 Results will be posted here on MMAmadman.com after the show.

FIGHT CARD

MAIN CARD (10/12/12 - 8:00 pm EST)

Eddie Alvarez (23-3) vs. Patricky 'Pitbull' Freire (10-3)

[Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal]
Nazareno Malegarie (22-2) vs. Rad Martinez (12-2)

[Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal]
Wagnney Fabiano (14-3) vs. Akop Stepanyan (12-3)

[Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal]
Mike Richman (12-1) vs. Jeremy Spoon (12-1)

[Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal]
Cody Bollinger (13-2) vs. Shahbulat Shamhalaev (9-1)

PRELIMINARY BOUTS (7:00 pm EST and 10:00 pm EST)

Jason Fischer (3-0) vs. Kyle Prepolec (5-1)

Chad Laprise (5-0) vs. Ainsley Robinson (5-1)

AJ Matthews (6-1) vs. Dom O'Grady (14-5)

Nayeb Hezam (13-12) vs. Magomedrasul Khasbulaev (16-5)

Simon Marini (9-5) vs. Ali Mokdad (5-2)

BELLATOR RECORDS AND MMA STREAKS

[Current Overall MMA Winning/Losing Streaks in Brackets]

Plus/minus = fights currently won/lost in a row in ANY MMA promotion

1 – Lightweight (155 lbs)

• Eddie Alvarez (7-1 Bellator) [+1]
• vs
• Patricky "Pitbull" Freire (3-2 Bellator) [-1]

2 – [Bellator Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal] (145 lbs)

• Rad Martinez (2-0 Bellator) [+3]
• vs
• Nazareno "Naza" Malegarie (1-2 Bellator) [+2]

3 – [Bellator Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal] (145 lbs)

• Wagnney Fabiano (Bellator Debut | 4-2 WEC | 6-0 IFL) [-1]
• vs
• Akop Stepanyan (Bellator Debut) [+12]

4 – [Bellator Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal] (145 lbs)

• Mike "The Marine" Richman (1-0 Bellator) [+3]
• vs
• Jeremy "Spooner" Spoon (2-1 Bellator) [-1]

5 – [Bellator Season 7 Featherweight Tournament Quarterfinal] (145 lbs)

• Cody Bollinger (Bellator Debut) [+1]
• vs
• Shahbulat Shamhalaev (Bellator Debut) [+3]

6 – Lightweight (155 lbs)

• Kyle Prepolec (1-0 Bellator) [+2]
• vs
• Jason Fischer (1-0 Bellator) [+3]

7 – Lightweight (155 lbs)

• Chad Laprise (1-0 Bellator) [+5]
• vs
• Ainsley Robinson (Bellator Debut) [+1]

8 – Welterweight (170 lbs)

• A.J. Matthews (2-0 Bellator | 0-1 Strikeforce) [+2]
• vs
• Dom "I Hate You So Much" O'Grady (1-0 Bellator | 5-2-1 KOTC) [+1]

9 – Featherweight (145 lbs)

• Mogomedrasul Khasbulaev (Bellator Debut | 7-3 M-1 Global) [+4]
• vs
• Nayeb Hezman (Bellator Debut) [-1]

10 – Middleweight (185 lbs)

• Ali "The Monster" Mokdad (Bellator Debut | 1-0 MFC) [-2]
• vs
• Simon "The Mutant" Marini (Bellator Debut | 1-1 MFC) [-2]

Bellator Fighting Championship knock out of the day MMA style Ortiz vs Garcia

Bad Idea of the Day: Edgar Garcia Encourages Jacob Ortiz to Knock Him The F*ck Out










If our past pleas to him are any indication, God pretty much lets this MMA stuff sort itself out without much interference. That’s not to say that The Fates don’t follow the sport, and they had front row seats for the prelims at last night’s Bellator 55 event.
Ortiz vs Garcia

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If there’s ever a good time to showboat, it’s when you’re pretty much dominating your opponent. From that standpoint, Edgar Garcia‘s timing was impeccable. With the sounds of the opening bell still reverberating through the air, Jacob Ortiz was crouched low and looking for the takedown, but with his first few attempts stuffed before they even really got started, he had little option but to duke it out with the former UFC competitor and look for an opening. And so Garcia circled away throughout the first round with awkward footwork and hands down around his waist, getting tagged in the exchanges and eating a score of brutal leg kicks. When he did finally get to uncork a big right to Garcia’s jaw, his opponent seemed unfazed, tapping his own chin and inviting more blows. As Garcia would soon learn, Karma doesn’t care for such bravado.

After absorbing a few more solid leg kicks, Ortiz lunged in with a massive overhand right, connecting squarely on Garcia’s jaw. Whatever power may have been lacking in his earlier punch was clearly being saved for this one, as Garcia dropped face first to the canvas. Ortiz managed to rattle off a couple of follow-up shots for good measure before being dispatched by the referee. Not that further proof was needed, but this solidifies the theory that taunting

Bellator 51 highlights - Alexis Vila vs Joe Warren

Bellator 51 Moment - Alexis Vila vs Joe Warren

 

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Uploaded by BellatorMMA on Sep 25, 2011

Vila had his raised high inside the Canton Civic Center after putting Warren to sleep with a fierce left hook after he rocked the featherweight champion with a powerful right hand on the previous exchange. The win sent a statement to the remaining competitors vying for Bellator Bantamweight Champion Zack Makovsky's title, that Vila isn't just some Olympic wrestler -- he's a 135-pound knockout artist

Bellator Fighting Championship 48 fight card & weigh in video

Bellator 48 Saturday August 20th, 2011 Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT.

Featherweight Tournament Final Marlon Sandro Pat Curran 5' 8" 5' 10" 145lbs 155lbs 19-2-0 15-4-0 Heavyweight Feature Fight Paul Buentello Cole Konrad 6' 3" 6' 5" 265lbs 266lbs 29-13-0 7-0-0 Heavyweight Feature Fight Seth Petruzelli Ricco Rodriguez ' " 6' 4" lbs 215lbs 13-6-0 46-11-0 Lightweight Televised Feature Juan Barrantes Rene Nazare 5' 6" ' " 155lbs 155lbs 7-5-0 9-0-0 LOCAL FEATURE FIGHTS Featherweight Local Feature Fight Tateki Matsuda 6-2 Boston, MA vs Saul Almedia 9-1 Framingham, MA Welterweight Local Feature Fight Brett Oteri 8-1 Taunton, MA vs Ryan Quinn 7-2-1 Danbury, CT Lightweight Local Feature Fight Matt Nice 2-1 Philadelphia, PA vs Andrew Calandrelli 4-3 New Haven, CT Light Heavyweight Local Feature Fight Mark Griffin 3-2-1 West Bridgewater, MA vs Nik Fekete 4-1 Las Vegas, NV Middleweight Local Feature Fight Jeff Nader 4-4 Plymouth, MA vs Dan Cramer 7-2 Danbury, CT

A broken hand has forced Patricio "Pitbull" Freire out of bellator 47

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire out of Bellator 47 with broken hand, title fight to be rebooked for fall


by John M. Dann S. 

A broken hand has forced Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (17-1 MMA, 5-1 BFC) to withdraw from a planned fight with Bellator Fighting Championships featherweight champion Joe Warren (7-1 MMA, 5-0 BFC).Mixed Martial Arts For Dummies



MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the injury with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, who said the fight will likely be rebooked following Warren's participation on the promotion's upcoming season-five bantamweight tourney.



Freire and Warren had been expected to meet at Bellator 47, which takes place on July 23 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada.



Bellator 47, which airs on MTV2 as part of Bellator's "Summer Series" events, will still feature the semifinals of Bellator's current featherweight tournament.



Warren was looking to defend the 145-pound belt for the first time since defeating Joe Soto in September 2010 to take the crown. The former Greco-Roman wrestling world champion most recently saw action in a 137-pound catchweight win over Marcos Galvao this past April.



Warren is now expected to return on Sept. 24 for an opening-round tournament bout at Bellator 51, as he bids for a title in the 135-pound division, as well.



Meanwhile, Freire was looking to avenge the lone loss of his career. The Brazilian youngster was a finalist in Bellator's season-two featherweight tournament, where he ultimately lost a hard-fought split decision to Warren. Freire the returned to the promotion and earned the season-four tournament title

Bellator as Christian M’Pumbu became the promotion’s first ever light heavyweight champion with a TKO win over Richard Hale.

Another one was written on Saturday night at Bellator as Christian M’Pumbu became the promotion’s first ever light heavyweight champion with a TKO win over Richard Hale.




Speed Training for Martial Arts and MMA: How to Maximize Your Hand Speed, Boxing Speed, Kick Speed and Power, Punching Speed and Power, plus Wrestling Speed and Power for Combat and Self-Defense

A native of Zaire in Africa, M’Pumbu relocated to France as a teenager where he took up karate. As he grew older, M’Pumbu’s love of the martial arts never slowed and he eventually took a turn to MMA. Now his career includes a $100,000 paycheck and a Bellator light heavyweight title.





M’Pumbu almost finished challenger Rich Hale in the first round of their bout, tagging him with a huge shot that dropped him to the canvas. Immediately, M’Pumbu followed him to the ground and looked for the finish, and then transitioned to a D’arce choke trying for a submission instead.





Inadvertently, M’Pumbu may have given Hale just enough time to recover, and the fight continued on. The action slowed for pockets of time until M’Pumbu absolutely crushed Hale with a right hook that sent him crashing to the canvas.



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M’Pumbu paused for a moment thinking his opponent was out, but he soon jumped down and continued the assault until he landed a few more flush shots and Hale was done. Referee Jason Herzog finally rushed in for the save as M’Pumbu becomes the first ever Bellator light heavyweight champion.





“At the end, I can’t help but cry because I fight with all my heart and I do everything I do for my kids,” an emotional M’Pumbu said with a gold belt around his waist and a hefty check from Bellator waiting to get cashed.

MMA Travel Guide Modern Martial Arts Travel Guide



M’Pumbu will now await for his next challenge, but first he’ll go home to France to spend time with his family, who he says he missed dearly during his time fighting overseas.





Ever since losing a controversial split decision to Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire has been gunning for a rematch, but to get there he had to go through another 145lb tournament.





On Saturday night, Freire closed down that mission winning a split decision over Daniel Straus to get a second shot at Warren later this year.





The Brazilian showed several improvements over the course of the Bellator tournament, most notably his takedown defense that he showed off stuffing Straus at every turn during their fight.





Freire even managed a couple of takedowns of his own, while mixing in some strong strikes and a barrage of kicks that swung Straus’ legs from side to side. Straus stuck around and showed good energy at the end of each round, but Freire just got the better of the exchanges and controlled the action for the majority of the 15 minute fight.





The judges were split when the scores were read, but Freire got the win and now gets his ultimate wish to face Joe Warren later this year with the Bellator featherweight title on the line.





“There is only one thing in my mind, I’m going to be champion,” a confident Freire said when asked about the rematch with Joe Warren. “I’m going take his belt.”





In a battle of middleweights looking to earn their way to the next Bellator 185lb tournament, Sam Alvey got the best of Karl Amoussou getting the nod by split decision.





Things looked like they might go bad for Alvey early after Amoussou took him down early in the fight, and transitioned fluidly to the mount. Amoussou began his assault from the top, absolutely blasting away at Alvey with elbows, opening a nasty cut on his head. Alvey’s blonde head soon turned red, but he survived the round and came back strong in the final two rounds.





Alvey bounced back by slowing down the pace and controlling the action for the biggest part of the final 10 minutes. While the action wasn’t ultra exciting, Alvey did a good job of throwing combinations and keeping Amoussou on the defensive.





When it was over, the judges handed a split decision to Sam Alvey who now enters the next Bellator middleweight tournament, kicking off this fall.





“It’s very deep, it’s very intense, it’s a hell of a tournament,” Alvey said in closing

Bellator 43 results: Jay Hieron vs Rick Hawn

Bellator Fighting Championships bills itself as the place "Where championships are earned, not given."




Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

Following a highly controversial split-decision loss to fellow season-four welterweight tournament finalist Jay Hieron, former Olympic judoka Rick Hawn might disagree.

Graciemag Magazine (Practical guide to the gracie diet, December 2010)



The Hieron vs. Hawn bout served as the featured contest of Saturday's Bellator 43 event, which took place at the First Council Casino Hotel in Newkirk, Okla., and aired on MTV2.





The opening round saw Hieron stalking and working his strikes from the outside. Hawn was willing to stand and trade, but he had more difficulty finding range with his efforts. Hawn did land on occasion, but Hieron appeared to possess the more effective strikes en route to claiming the round.





Hawn pushed forward with powerful punches in the second frame. Hieron again kept the fight in his range as often as possible, but Hawn started to find the mark more frequently. An early knockdown looked more like a slip than anything, but Hawn was certainly scoring with clean blows. Hieron netted a late takedown to make the scoring interesting, but Hawn popped right back to his feet.





In the final frame, Hieron's face showed the wear of the mounting strikes. Hawn continued to push forward while Hieron looked to keep his distance and retreat and counter. Hawn varied the striking attack as he looked to close out his opponent, but Hieron refused to quit. The action was tight once again, but Hawn appeared to have his best frame in the final five minutes.





In the end, it looked as if Hawn's forward movement may have done enough to take the fight, but only one judge agreed, giving him the fight 29-28. The remaining two gave the fight to Hieron, 29-28, and "The Thoroughbred" walked away with a razor-thin split-decision victory.





With the win, Hieron (22-4 MMA, 3-0 BFC) books a future date with Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren. Meanwhile, Hawn (11-1 MMA, 3-1 BFC) loses for the first time as a professional, though he continues to impress and improve in each outing.





Baker drops "Diesel"





As the fight opened, both fighters felt each other out on the feet. Baker had the most damaging strike in the early going with an illegal shot to the cup, but Riggs quickly recovered. On the restart, it was a pair of Baker flying knees that secured him the round, but he was unable to follow up on the powerful strikes.





In the second, Baker relied on his heavy hands to do the damage, and he found range with the shots. Pushing into the clinch, Baker drove a knee into Riggs body that appeared to land a bit, low, but referee Jason Herzog did not assess any sort of stoppage. Baker kept pushing, and he landed a crisp hook to the chin. Riggs buckled and hit the deck.





With Baker prepared to pounce with additional damage, the fight was waved off at the 3:53 mark of the frame.





A former tournament finalist, Baker (15-2 MMA, 5-1 BFC) is now 9-1 in his past 10 outings. Riggs (34-13 MMA, 0-1 BFC) has now been stopped in two-straight fights and is just 2-3 in his past five fights.





Beebe earns tourney spot with first-round submission





In a bantamweight affair, former WEC champion Chase Beebe made quick work of Jose Vega with an opening-round guillotine choke.





It was Vega who initiated the grappling early on by working into a clinch, but Beebe immediately began to work for a guillotine. Vega briefly took his back in an ensuing scramble, but Beebe quickly worked himself free and reset on the feet.





Vega found some success in the striking department, but Beebe looked over and over again fror a guillotine choke to end the fight. It finally came with a minute left in the round. After locking in the hold, Beebe dropped to his back and squeezed tight, forcing the tap with 54 seconds left in the first round.





With the win, Beebe (18-7 MMA, 1-0 BFC) earned his fourth-consecutive win and guaranteed himself a slot in Bellator's upcoming season-five 135-pound tournament. Meanwhile, Vega (9-5 MMA, 2-2 BFC) has dropped two-straight fights.





Sparks taps Lucero in first





In the night's card-opening heavyweight affair, knockout artist Ron Sparks showed some well-rounded abilities with a first-round submission finish of Vince Lucero.



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After firing off a few heavy punches to open, Sparks pushed into the clinch and landed a few knees to the gut. When a low kick but Lucero on his back, Sparks capitalized on the opportunity.





"The Monster" dove immediately into side control and attacked the arm with a keylock. The finish took some effort, but Sparks finally earned the tap at the 2:18 mark of the first frame.





With the first submission win of his career, Sparks (7-0 MMA, 2-0 BFC) keeps his professional mark unblemished and wins for the second time under the Bellator banner. Meanwhile, Lucero (19-20-1 MMA, 0-1 BFC) is now winless in his past eight outings, netting only a draw along with seven losses.





OFFICIAL MAIN CARD RESULTS





Jay Hieron def. Rick Hawn via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) - welterweight tourney final

Bryan Baker def. Joe Riggs via knockout (punch) - Round 2, 3:53

Chase Beebe def. Jose Vega via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 4:06

Ron Sparks def. Vince Lucero via submission (keylock) - Round 1, 2:18

OFFICIAL PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS





David Rickels def. Richard Bouphanouvong via submission (triangle choke) - Round 2, 1:11

Michael Osborn def. Mike Schatz via submission (strikes) - Round 1, 1:58

For more on Bellator 43,

HIGHLIGHTS Rich Bellator fighting 41 & 42

Stacked Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinals Pairings set for Bellator Season 4 Premiere LIVE March 5th on MTV2 - Bellator Fighting Championships

Stacked Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinals Pairings set for Bellator Season 4 Premiere LIVE March 5th on MTV2 - Bellator Fighting Championships

CHICAGO, Ill. (February 8, 2011) - Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the promotion's Season 4 Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal Pairings for Bellator 35, the premiere event at the Tachi Palace Casino & Resort in Lemoore, California on Saturday, March 5, 2011. With all four of the highly anticipated Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinal fights on the schedule, Bellator 35 will serve as the launching point for talent-stacked welterweight tournament which will air LIVE on MTV2.


"This Welterweight tournament is stacked. Every fight should be hyper-competitive" said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Any one of these 8 fighters could win it, make $100,000 and earn the right to fight Askren for our world title.



View Fight Card Here: Bellator 35 Fight Card



Kicking things off it will be Judo vs. Judo as "Judo" Jim Wallhead and former Judoka Olympian Rick Hawn clash for a spot in the semifinals. Currently riding an eight-fight win streak, Wallhead will be looking to ride the momentum from a recent Bellator victory over UFC veteran Ryan Thomas into the semifinals, while the promising former Olympian Hawn will look to add to his perfect 9-0 professional record.



The evening's second 170 lbs. quarterfinal finds Army and Bellator veteran Steve Carl taking on the highly touted Bellator newcomer Jay "Thoroughbred" Hieron. Carl will look to capitalize on his Season 2 Welterweight Tournament experience to get past the highly regarded Hieron, who has not lost a fight in the last three years.



Additionally two Bellator veterans will collide in a long-awaited rematch when Dan "The Handler" Hornbuckle meets Brent Weedman in a quarterfinal pairing. Hornbuckle looks to get one step closer to a redemptive fight with current Bellator World Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, who he lost to in the Bellator Season 2 Welterweight Finals. However, he'll first have to go through Weedman who will look to redeem a 2006 submission loss to Hornbuckle while improving his impressive win streak to eleven-straight.



Leather will be flying in the Bellator 35 Main Event, as heavy-handed former Bellator World Welterweight Champion Lyman "Cyborg" Good will collide with fast-rising undefeated knockout artist Chris "The Assassin" Lozano. Both Good and Lozano are content to keep things standing which should provide a highly entertaining fight for Bellator fans.



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





About Bellator Fighting Championships



Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator's founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships' executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator Fighting Championships is the first MMA promotion to hold a nationally televised tournament format. Bellator's fourth season will begin March 5, 2011, airing LIVE on MTV2.



About MTV2



MTV2 is a man's best friend, available in nearly 80 million homes and with the highest concentration of males 12-24 and 12-34 on TV today. A vibrant mix of music, lifestyle and action sports programming, MTV2 has reflected the habits and behavior of young people since its launch in 1996. MTV2 is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom, one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

STRIKEFORCE World Grand Prix -- Heavyweight Tournament, a three-stage, single-elimination tournament

STRIKEFORCE has assembled eight of the world's top ranked heavyweights to compete in the STRIKEFORCE World Grand Prix -- Heavyweight Tournament, a three-stage, single-elimination tournament that will take place over several events in 2011. The first two quarterfinal fights begin on Saturday, Feb. 12, live on SHOWTIME from the IZOD Center in E. Rutherford, N.J. In the main event, the 34-year-old Fedor Emelianenko will face the towering Antonio "Big Foot" Silva (15-2) in a STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL co-promoted event. Co-featured on Feb. 12, former world champion Andrei Arlovski (15-8) will face Sergei Kharitonov (17-4), Pride FC and K-1 veteran as well as the last man to defeat current STRIKEFORCE Heavyweight World Champion Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem.

Bellator Fighting Champ Ben Askren

Throughout its history, mixed martial arts’ welterweight division largely has been controlled at the top by fighters whose prime goal was to get their opponents on their back and damage them from there.




Matt Hughes used his powerhouse style of wrestling to become the division’s star from 2001 though 2006. His heir apparent, Georges St. Pierre, has used a takedown and ground-and-pound style while dominating the past four years. Jon Fitch has used a grinding-out, wrestling-based style to compile the second-best win-loss record in the UFC’s history. Josh Koscheck, St. Pierre’s next opponent, was a former NCAA wrestling champion. And the next championship contender, Jake Shields, has won 15 fights in a row along with championships in two organizations through a style based on takedowns, control on the ground and submissions.




That’s what makes the introduction of newly crowned Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren to MMA so intriguing.



With the exception of Cael Sanderson, Askren was arguably the best college wrestler of any weight class in the United States over the past decade. And in less than two years in MMA, he become a welterweight champ.



“It was OK,” said Askren (7-0) about his Oct. 21 title win over Lyman Good (10-1) in Philadelphia. “I’ve got a lot of room for improvement. He was pretty tough. He didn’t quit.”



Unlike the aforementioned fighters who mix in a stand-up game to set up their takedowns, Askren spent five rounds playing a game where he would move in, take punches if he had to, lock up his opponent, then take Good down. What made it so impressive is that Good, who came into the fight unbeaten, is a physical specimen known for having freaky strength. Good also got in some perfectly timed sprawls, particularly late in the fight, that at first seemed to thwart the takedown. But Askren would keep driving and moving, and even with his opponent showing strong takedown defense, Good eventually ended up on his back for most of every round.



“He’s maybe the most confident fighter I’ve ever encountered in the past 20 years,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney of Askren. “This is a guy who had never thrown a punch in his life 18 months ago. When his stand-up gets to 30-40 percent of his ground game, he’ll be unstoppable.”



“What makes St. Pierre’s wrestling work is that people have to fear his stand-up,” Askren noted. “Right now, nobody fears my stand-up.”



And while Askren didn’t finish Good, his game is not the oft-criticized wrestlers “lay-n-pray” game. Like in his heyday as one of college wrestling’s biggest stars, Askren’s constant movement, his completely unorthodox “funk” style of wrestling – based on creating and coming out on top in scrambles – resulted in constantly getting the dominant position. And his top-control game had him mounting Good for long periods of time. Despite fighting at a fast pace for 25 minutes, he did not tire. Not that the fight wasn’t without rough moments: Askren took a lot of shots that left his face lumped up, but he still won an obvious decision.



Askren’s wrestling style, which goes against the fundamentals of what would be taught in that sport, was more beneficial than a standard wrestling style in his transition to Jiu Jitsu and the ground aspect of MMA.


UFC: Ultimate Fighting Championship Tapout 2
Noting that he immediately fell in love with Jiu Jitsu after college, his moves on the ground are more like those of a grappler than folkstyle wrestler, which was his background. And these new grappling skills are enhancing in his strengths as a takedown machine.



Askren earned his title shot during Bellator’s second season when he won an eight-man tournament where opponents, including the far more experienced and favored Dan Hornbuckle, also could not stop what everyone knew was coming.



“Hornbuckle was a world-class fighter, and he never had more than 10 seconds of advantage time the entire fight,” Rebney said.UFC MMA



Coming into the sport, Askren’s mentality was similar to Brock Lesnar’s, probably because they came from a similar level of college wrestling success. Askren went 153-8 between 2004 and 2007 at the University of Missouri, notching 91 pins – the third-highest total in the history of Div. I wrestling. He was second in the nation as a freshman and a sophomore at 174 pounds. As a junior and a senior, he went 87-0, winning two national titles. He was the 12th wrestler in history to reach the NCAA finals all four years.



He also won the Hodge Trophy as both a junior and a senior, meaning he was not only the best wrestler in his weight division, but also was considered the best wrestler in any weight division. He and Sanderson remain the only wrestlers in history to have won the trophy more than once.



“That was always my goal at the beginning of the season – to be the best wrestler in the country and win the Hodge Trophy. More than winning the national title,” Askren said. “Because you couldn’t win the Hodge Trophy unless you won the national title.”



While still involved in wrestling as an assistant coach at Arizona State, MMA is now his primary sport, and he’s not considering going for the 2012 Olympics. Askren had a disappointing 2008 Games. He dropped to 163 pounds and earned a spot on the U.S. team, but lost in the second round and placed seventh overall. He did attempt a comeback after starting in MMA, but decided that competing in two completely different sports at the same time wasn’t going to work.



“Maybe if you’re 213 pounds or a heavyweight, where it’s not as technical, you can do both,” he said. “I don’t want to say it’s impossible, but it’s very difficult.”



He joined Bellator in April, having only three fights under his belt and all on smaller shows. Rebney noted he proposed a schedule to Askren that would get him several fights against opponents of his same experience level, giving him time to learn the sport before putting him in a tournament.



“The 170-pound tournament was stacked for us,” said Rebney, who indicated Askren will likely have a non-title superfight in the spring, then defend his championship later in the year against the winner of an eight-man tournament. “We wanted to build him up, but he wanted to fight the best guys right away. He said he thought he could beat anyone.”