Weekly Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing News – 08/17/2012
By PDG Staff
Remy Bonjasky Is Back! Heavyweight Legend to Headline ‘GLORY 2 Brussels’ Oct. 6 against Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva
It has been three years since heavyweight kickboxing legend Remy Bonjasky (75-14, 40 KO’s) entered the ring. But on Saturday, October 6, 2012 his hiatus will come to an end and ‘The Flying Gentleman’ will climb between the ropes and square off with one of the sport’s brightest rising stars, Brazilian standout Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva (32-7, 22 KO’s).
The bout headlines ‘GLORY 2 Brussels’ at Vorst National Arena, the biggest kickboxing event in Brussels history. Superstars Gokhan Saki (76-15, 53 KO’s) of Breda, Netherlands; Nieky Holzken (77-10, 33 KO’s) of Breda as well as rising stars Filip Verlinden (38-6, 17 KO’s) of Berlaar, Belgium and Andy Ristie (34-2, 26 KO’s) of Surinam, are all slated for action and will face opponents to be announced soon.
UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs. Diaz – Fight Card Update
December 8th’s UFC on FOX event is shaping up to possibly be the best yet, as a lightweight championship bout between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz headlines, supported by a light heavyweight showdown between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Alexander Gustafsson, and the rescheduled welterweight bout between BJ Penn and Rory MacDonald.
UFC on Fox 5: Henderson vs. Diaz
December 8, 2012
Benson Henderson (17-2) vs. Nate Diaz (16-7) – UFC Lightweight Championship
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (21-6) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (14-1)
Rory MacDonald (13-1) vs. BJ Penn (16-8-2)
ONE FC Returns to Singapore on 6 October for ONE FC: Rise of Kings
ONE Fighting Championship returns to the Lion City on Saturday, 6 October, with the highly anticipated Lightweight Super Fight between Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki and French Mixed Martial Arts Champion Arnaud “The Game” Lepont. All the action will take place at the 12,000-seater Singapore Indoor Stadium in what is expected to be the greatest fight card ever compiled in ONE FC history. After selling out arenas in Indonesia and Malaysia, it is finally time for ONE FC to return to the beautiful island of Singapore where it is headquartered.
ONE FC: Rise of Kings will be a historic moment for Asian MMA because for the first time ever, three championship belts will be awarded. Three ONE FC weight divisions will see a World Champion crowned. Since ONE FC’s sold-out launch in 2011, fans and fighters have been eagerly awaiting the crowning of ONE FC World Champions as stars began to emerge from the ever growing talent pool.
CEO of ONE Fighting Championship Victor Cui stated, “We are coming back to Singapore to put on one of the greatest fight cards in Asian MMA history and to add icing to the cake, we will crown an incredible three World Champions and have our first Super Fight! Singapore will witness Shinya Aoki and Arnaud Lepont in a super fight that showcases two of the toughest lightweight fighters in Asia. With the largest pool of the top MMA talent in Asia, I have decided that the time is perfect to introduce three ONE FC world titles. This card is going to be epic and fans can expect to see some incredible fights come 6 October.”
The first ONE FC Super Fight will be a battle between the top pound-for-pound lightweight fighter in Asia, Shinya Aoki, versus the heavy-handed slugger from France, Arnaud Lepont. Fans of ONE FC can look forward to see the return of mega star Melvin Manhoef to the ONE FC cage, as well as rising star Zorobabel Moreira and Singapore’s first pro-MMA fighter, Radeem Rahman.
Good vs. Wallhead headlines Welterweight Tournament at Bellator 74 from Caesars Atlantic City September 28th
With the tournament field now complete, Bellator Fighting Championships is ready for another season of incredible knockouts and dynamic finishes as the promotion kicks off Season 7 with a loaded Welterweight Tournament headlined by former Bellator Welterweight World Champion Lyman Good battling the UK’s “Judo” Jim Wallhead.
“Each quarterfinal pairing in our Season 7 Welterweight Tournament is basically a pick’em fight, with Lyman and Jim headlining what should be a fantastic night of fights,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Atlantic City is a classic fight town and New Jersey is a hotbed for mixed martial arts, so our fans are in for a great night on September 28.”
Bellator 74 – Fight Card:
Main Card:
Welterweight Tournament Quarterfinals:
Lyman Good vs. Jim Wallhead
Andrey Koreshkov vs. Jordan Smith
Tim Welch vs. Michail Tsarev
Nordine Taleb vs. Marius Zaromskis
Preliminary Card:
Popo Bezerra vs. Jeff Smith
Derrick Kennington vs. Phillipe Nover
Brylan Van Artsdalen vs. Jay Haas
Munah Holland vs. TBD
Kelvin Tiller vs. Plinio Cruz
Claudio Ledesma vs. Kenny Foster
Chael Sonnen Publicly Trashes “Punk Kid” Jon Jones
K-1 Signs 9 Fighters from the Open Tryouts in Los Angeles; They will Debut September 8th
When K-1 makes its long-awaited return to the United States on Saturday, Sept. 8 at the LA Sports Arena, fight fans will see fast-paced, aggressive matchups between K-1 legends and veterans. They will see fights between the sport’s newest generation of young, talented kickboxers. They also will witness the debut of nine brand new faces who were just signed to the organization as a result of the K-1 Open Tryouts held last month.
Doug Kaplan, K-1 CEO, has revealed that K-1 has called back nine fighters who went through the official tryout process and has not only signed them to K-1, but that they will make their K-1 debut as part of the U.S. Grand Prix Championship event.
“There was an incredible display of passion and talent at the K-1 Open Tryouts, and as a result we have discovered nine new fighters and signed them to K-1,” said Kaplan. “Six of these fighters will compete in the undercard, and three more are slotted to the main card in the Superfights. In all, there are about 30 more guys to be called back for additional drills, including some sparring, and we will do that as soon as possible. There are athletes all over the world that we want, and we are figuring out the right opportunity to bring them in.”
Here are the Fighters and Match-Ups:
James “The Beast” Wilson vs. Doug Sauer
Jermaine Soto vs. Damien Earley
Mike LeMaire vs. Dylan Clay
Lerdsila Chumpairtour vs. Gabriel Varga
Showtyng Wedderburn vs. TBA
Invicta FC Announces Stacked, 13 Bout Women’s Event; First World Title Fight for October 6th
American phenom Jessica Penne (9-1) of Laguna Hills, Calif. will square off with undefeated Naho “Sugi Rock” Sugiyama (8-0) of Kyoto, Japan in the first-ever Invicta Fighting Championships title fight and atomweight (105 pounds) main event of the promotion’s third all-women’s Mixed Martial Arts event at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. on Sat., Oct. 6.
After bringing fans to their feet in a hard-fought main event battle against Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist Sara McMann, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D. will return to action in the bantamweight (135 pounds) co-main event and take on Invicta FC 2 winner Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio (6-2) of San Jose, Calif.
Another Invicta FC 2 victor, Barb “Little Warrior” Honchak (6-2) of Bettendorf, Iowa will face off with rising star and furious finisher Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly (13-3) of Dublin, Ireland in a super flyweight (125 pounds) contest.
Invicta FC will welcome one of the original pioneers of women’s MMA, submission expert Tara LaRosa (21-2) of Woodstown, N.J., who will lock horns at super flyweight with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vanessa Porto (14-5) of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Undefeated Cat “Alpha” Zingano (6-0) of Broomfield, Colo. will make her long-awaited Invicta FC debut against Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith (3-2-1) of Pleasant Hill, Calif. in a bantamweight matchup and Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson (9-3) of Albuquerque, N.M. will also make her first start under the Invicta FC banner against Lacey “The Ladie” Schuckman (7-5) of Lakewood, Colo. in an atomweight scrap.
In the leadoff main card bout, Julia “The Jewel” Budd (3-2) of Port Moody, Canada will meet Elaina “Beef” Maxwell (7-4) of San Jose, Calif.
UFC on Fuel TV 5: Struve vs. Miocic – Fight Card Update
Undefeated Icelandic welterweight Gunnar Nelson, who has finished all of his opponents, looks to extend that streak to 10 as he takes on German-born Pascal Krauss. Another undefeated prospect joins the UFC on that card as English light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa gets his first Octagon opponent in Kyle Kingsbury.
UFC on Fuel TV 5: Struve vs. Miocic
September 29, 2012
Capital FM Arena
Nottingham, England
Stefan Struve (24-5) vs. Stipe Miocic (9-0)
Dan Hardy (24-10) vs. Amir Sadollah (6-3)
Brad Pickett (21-6) vs. Yves Jabouin (18-7)
Andy Ogle (8-1) vs. Akira Corassani (9-3)
Paul Sass (13-0) vs. Matt Wiman (14-6)
Che Mills (14-5) vs. Duane Ludwig (21-13)
Jason Young (9-5) vs. Robert Peralta (15-3)
Fabio Maldonado (18-5) vs. Jorgen Kruth (5-0)
Tom ‘Kong’ Watson (15-4) vs. Brad Tavares (8-1)
John Hathaway (16-1) vs. John Maguire (18-3)
Jimi Manuwa (11-0) vs. Kyle Kingsbury (11-4)
Gunnar Nelson (9-0-1) vs. Pascal Krauss (10-1)
Buakaw vs. Abdoul Toure at Thai Fight – 8/17/2012
From the PunchDrunkGamer Forums:
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* CES MMA on October 6 Featuring Dave Bautista & David Loiseau – Card Updates
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