Weekly Mixed Martial Arts & K-1 News Recap – 10/28/2011
By PDG Staff
Memorial Event for Shawn Tompkins at TapOut Training Center in Las Vegas
Talent Filled Bellator 56 Card Invades KC’s Memorial Hall Saturday Night
As Bellator Fighting Championships prepares to invade Memorial Hall in Kansas City on October 29th, the fight card has been finalized with a number of preliminary fights featuring some explosive local talent sure to make the Kansas City faithful proud. Saturday will also feature the Kansas City return of Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, who puts his title on the line against former UFC veteran and Season 4 Tournament winner Jay Hieron. The Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament also marches on as semifinalists Ron Sparks and Eric Prindle battle it out for a spot in the finals, while Neil “Goliath” Grove takes on Thiago Santos to move one step closer to a title shot against current Bellator Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad. The action will be LIVE on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX2 beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. CT. First fight will take place at 7 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com.
A 2008 U.S. Olympian and former ESPY award nominee for Best Collegiate Athlete, Askren, the reigning Bellator Welterweight Champion, will put his title on the line for the first time since capturing the crown at Bellator 33 over then champion Lyman Good. While the fight may be the toughest test of his young MMA career, the University of Missouri product and two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion should feel right at home fighting in Kansas City.
“It’s an unreal feeling knowing I’ll be fighting so close to Mizzou,” said Askren. “It won’t affect me during the fight, I could beat Jay in his living room, but to be able to celebrate with all my friends and family after the win is going to be awesome.”
Missouri native and long-time Bellator veteran Rudy “Bad News” Bears will square off against Kansas resident Marcos Navarro in a welterweight fight, while the undefeated Jeremy Spoon will look to keep his record spotless with a victory over former Featherweight Tournament participant Adam Schindler.
“Kansas City has been a spectacular home for Bellator with huge, loud crowds and incredible fights,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “But, this event Saturday night is the greatest event we’ve ever brought to KC with our partners from MTV.”
Light Heavyweight Dan Spohn will look to keep his momentum going in a scrap with Kelvin Tiller. Spohn left fans stunned with a nine-second knockout victory in his Bellator debut and will be looking for the same result Saturday at Memorial Hall.
St. Louis native and undefeated lightweight E.J. Brooks will take on William De Souza, while Jacob Aiken will battle Jeimeson Saudino in a featherweight affair.
Odessa, Missouri native Owen Evinger will fight Aaron Ely, who is making his Bellator debut and will be looking to impress. The night will round out with Derrick Ruffin battling Daniel Gallemore in a heavyweight fight sure to produce fireworks.
UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida
Verbal agreements are in for a brawling fan’s dream bout pitting hard-hitting Constantinos Philippou versus two-time Fight of the Night winner Jared “The Messenger” Hamman in Toronto. The middleweight matchup rounds out the UFC 140 fight card.
UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida
December 10, 2011
Air Canada Centre,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship:
Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida
Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Tito Ortiz vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Brian Ebersole vs. Rory MacDonald
Mark Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung
Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman
Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson
Claude Patrick vs. Rich Attonito
Igor Pokrajac vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
John Cholish vs. Mitch Clarke
Former ESPN Anchor to Serve as Commentator for UFC Events on FX and FUEL TV
The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced that it has agreed to terms with broadcaster Jon Anik, who will serve as a commentator and on-air talent for the fastest-growing sports organization in the world. The 33-year-old Boston native, who has served as a top ESPN host for nearly six years, will handle play-by-play duties for upcoming UFC events to air on FX and FUEL TV. Jon will also fulfill the newly-created host position for the revamped Ultimate Fighter on FX. In addition, he will host UFC’s new magazine show, Ultimate Insider, which premieres on FUEL TV in January.
“Jon Anik has been a top tier talent at ESPN for a number of years and I’ve made it a priority to bring him over to the UFC as we start our new partnership with FOX,” UFC President Dana White said. “It’s critical to seek out the best talent in the business as our company continues to grow.”
Anik, who began his stint with ESPN in 2006 as a SportsCenter anchor, has handled play-by-play duties for college football and the 2010 WBC heavyweight title fight between Vitali Klitschko and Shannon Briggs. He now heads Octagon-side with the opportunity to fulfill what he calls “a chance of a lifetime.”
“The UFC is one of the strongest brands in sports, and in my opinion, it’s the greatest sport in the world,” Anik said. “The product speaks for itself. More frequently than any other sport, the UFC delivers. I had the chance to be on the road at UFC events when I was with ESPN and what separates the UFC from other sports is that it prides itself on being hands-on and fan-friendly.”
“I look forward to helping play a small role in bringing the UFC to as many people across the world as possible. I’m really excited to a part of an organization that is filled with quality people who are the best in the world at what they do.”
ONE Fighting Championship announces largest MMA network in Asian History
ONE Fighting Championship has signed mutually exclusive partnerships with most of the major Asian MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia as a part of its ONE Asia strategy to unify all the key players in the sport of MMA in Asia. The ONE Asia Partnership Network is the largest of its kind in MMA history in Asia.
ONE Fighting Championship has formed exclusive partnerships with the following organizations:
-URCC (Philippines) -Cage Fighting Championship (Australia)
-ROAD Fighting Championship (Korea)
-DARE Fightsports (Thailand)
-Team Lakay Wushu (Philippines)
-Tiger Muay Thai and MMA (Thailand)
-Tigers Gym (India)
-Evolve Mixed Martial Arts (Singapore)
-Legacy Gym (Thailand)
-Tough MMA (Taiwan)
-Synergy Jiu-Jitsu (Indonesia)
-Juggernaut FC (Singapore)
-Fightworks Asia (Singapore)
-PAK MMA (Pakistan)
-Team Force (Korea)
-MuayFit (Malaysia)
-Leverage MMA (Malaysia)
ONE Fighting Championship currently remains in confidential discussions with many of the other top Asian MMA promotions and MMA gyms across Asia. Additionally, ONE FC has added another 17 of Asia’s top MMA fighters to its roster. Further announcements will be made in the near future.
Victor Cui, CEO/Owner of ONE Fighting Championship, said,”Our goal is to unify Asian MMA and to build the sport that we all love dearly. With today’s announcement, many of the top MMA organizations and gyms in Asia have joined hands. Given our current discussions with various parties, we will be announcing another 23 additional MMA organizations and gyms to the ONE FC Network in the coming days and weeks. These strong partnerships will help to accelerate the development of Asian fighters and the sport of MMA in the region. Asian fighters need platforms to gain invaluable experience and to showcase their skills to the world. If you are a ONE FC fighter, you will automatically be able to compete in the biggest MMA events across Asia within the ONE FC Network. If you are a sponsor, you will be able to leverage and target your sponsorship dollars across multiple platforms. If you are a fan, you will enjoy many more high quality MMA shows around Asia. Ultimately, as it continues to grow, the ONE FC Network will multiply in benefits for all parties involved.”
Additionally, ONE Fighting Championship is pleased to announce the dates and countries of its next 3 events:
ONE FC 2: February 11, 2012 in Indonesia
ONE FC 3: March 31, 2012 in Singapore
ONE FC 4: April 27, 2012 in Malaysia
The Ultimate Fighter Season 14: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller – Episode 6 Recap
– Controversy continues after the “Tap that Herb Dean didn’t see” last week. Bisping starts trash talking Team Miller coach Ryan Parsons, making fun of how much money he makes and his physical stature.
Fight #6 (FW): Steven Siler (Team Miller) vs. Diego Brandao (Team Bisping) via TKO RD. 1
TEAM MILLER – 4
TEAM BISPING – 2
– At the next fight announcement Bisping not only talks shit Mayhem but he then refers to everyone involved with Team Miller including some of the fighters as assholes. Miller doesn’t know why Bisping is like he is but he figures it’s because he has a small penis.
– Team Miller’s Roland Delorme’s foot swells up like a balloon and he is sent to the hospital.
– It appears that some Team Bisping fighters were not happy that T.J. Dillashaw wasn’t going to fight Jon Dodson.
Fight #7 (BW): John Dodson (Team Miller) vs. “Prince” John Albert (Team Bisping) via Unanimous Decision
TEAM MILLER – 5
TEAM BISPING – 2
– T.J. Dillashaw (Team Bisping) vs. Roland Delorme (Team Miller) announced for next week.
K-1 WGP in Nanjing has been postponed, not Cancelled
According the K-1 Official Website – FEG has announced that they decided to postpone “K-1 WORLD GP 2011 IN NANJING FINAL16”. A press-release from FEG says they have been making an effort to hold K-1 WGP in Nanjing just before the date of the event but some issues FEG holds such as visa preparation have not been solved, Then they decided to postpone the WGP in Nanjing. In the release, They state they sincerely apologize to fans, fighters and all the persons concerned for this postponement, and also mention that further information will be announced after matters become certain.
Former Bellator Champion Lyman Good Returns to face Michael Costa
Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that former Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman “Cyborg” Good will make his long-awaited return to the Bellator cage as the New York native squares off against promising Brazilian Michael Costa in a Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Qualifier fight on Saturday, November 26 from Caesars Atlantic City in New Jersey. The night will also feature the Bellator Season 5 Bantamweight final between Alexis Vila and Eduardo Dantas as well as two other spectacular fights that include Point Pleasant, New Jersey’s Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino taking on Patricky Pitbull and Brooklyn’s Phillipe Nover against Marcin Held.
Born in Harlem and currently fighting out of Manhattan, the explosive Good brings an impressive 11-2 professional record to the cage, including five knockout victories. The Tiger Schulmann product marched through the Season 1 Welterweight Tournament and captured the title to become the first ever Bellator Welterweight Champion.
Good was originally supposed to get back into the cage earlier this year against fellow welterweight Dan “The Handler” Hornbuckle, but a nagging hamstring injury forced “Cyborg” out of the fight. The New Yorker has been on a long layoff since coming off a tough split-decision loss at the hands of undefeated Judo Olympian Rick Hawn in the Bellator Season 4 Welterweight Tournament Semifinals and is eager to get back to work.
“Coming off of that last fight, it really made me go back to the drawing board and start fresh,” said Good. “You’re going to see a new Lyman Good, but at the same time it’s going to be the old Lyman Good. I felt like I got away from some things that made me who I was as a fighter, and I needed to get back to my roots. I can’t wait to get into that cage, trade some leather and get back to my winning ways.”
For Costa, the Royler Gracie trained black belt has been waiting to make his Bellator debut, and will have his hands full with the veteran Good. Costa currently trains and teaches alongside current Bellator Middleweight Tournament Finalist Vitor Vianna at Wand Fight Team in Las Vegas, and a meeting with Good should produce fireworks.
“Lyman was our first ever Welterweight Champion and it’s going to be good to see him back in the cage and fighting for a shot in our next tournament,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Lyman always brings it, and Michael is the real deal with great skills, so this should be a very explosive fight”
