Wednesday, August 25, 2010

A grudge rematch that fans, media, and the confident fighters themselves have been clamoring for since the first fight ended in bloody controversy nearly three years ago, will take place on Saturday, October 9, when KJ Noons, challenges Strikeforce World Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz in the main event at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

M-1’s Director of Operations, Evgeni Kogan and heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko have released a public statement today; declaring their desire to work with Strikeforce to make the long awaited Fedor Emelianenko versus Alistair Overeem a reality later this year. With Fabricio Werdum out until 2011 with an injury, the bout may be closer than ever to becoming a reality.

Mike “300” Hayes brings an impressive 12-3-1 professional record to the tournament and is currently riding a four fight win-streak.  Hayes will likely have the toughest fight of his career at Bellator 26 this Thursday night at the Kansas City Power & Light District against on of the most feared heavyweight submission fighters in the sport, feared Russian submission specialist Alexey Oleinik (27-5-1). Among the most dangerous heavyweight submission artists in the sport, Oleinik owns 23 submission victories out of an astounding 27 wins.

As with past UFC events, MMA Spot will be bringing our readers coverage of press conferences, weigh-in events, post-fight press conferences, exclusive video, and behind-the-scenes moments leading right up to "UFC 118: Edgar vs Penn 2." The event takes place on August 28 from the TD Garden in Boston, Mass., and will be broadcast via pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The main event of the evening features a lightweight champ- ionship rematch between Frankie "The Answer" Edgar and B.J. Penn. In addition to coverage of the press conferences and weigh-ins, portions of the UFC Fan Expo will also be broadcast.

With less than a week to go before the Cage Contender promotion returns with another great card, Martin Smith of MMA Spot caught up with English welterweight stand out Danny Mitchell about his upcoming Cage Contender 6 main event match up with Gunnar Nelson. A fight that is being touted as one of the biggest in Europe this year.

The first set of Bellator bantamweights will finally enter the cage this Thursday, and the eight-man draw features many regional veterans looking to make a name on national television. No fighter in this group is considered a blue chip prospect, but they are a host of scrappy fighters who have preyed on the competition thus far.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Bellator announced today that top welter- weight prospect Tyler Stinson will have a second shot at tournament action this Thursday night, officially replacing a non- medically cleared Rory Markham.  Stinson will take on Iraq War veteran Steve Carl in a season four welterweight tournament qualifier at Bellator 26, taking place at the Kansas City Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City, Mo. on Aug. 26.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Bellator today announced the signing of heavyweight prospect D.J. “Da Protege” Linderman to its rapidly expanding roster. The California native brings an impressive 8-1 record to the promotion and is currently riding a three-fight win streak.  Although Linderman was signed after the completion of the season three heavyweight tour- nament roster, he remains ready and available should there be complications with any of the remaining fighters.

In their quest to mold Shine Fights Promotions into MMA's most fan-friendly organization, CEO Devin Price and COO Jason Chambers have taken the unprecedented step of allowing Shine fans to play matchmaker for the company's upcoming lightweight grand prix tournament, which will be televised nationally on pay-per-view.  Eight of the fight world’s best 155-pound competitors have been selected to put their skills to the test against one another on Sept. 10 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va.

With the sports world buzzing about the UFC debut of former world boxing champion James Toney, some of the biggest names in boxing and MMA have come together to offer their opinions on his epic fight with Hall of Famer Randy Couture on Aug. 28. Before the two legends lock horns inside the Octagon at TD Garden in Boston live on Pay-Per-View, we take a look at the thoughts, opinions, and predictions of some of the world’s finest fighters and personalities.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Hard-hitting striker Rafael Feijao shocked Strikeforce World Light Heavyweight Cha- mpion “King Mo” Lawal with a devastating third round knockout in Saturday’s Show- time televised main event at "Strikeforce: Houston" at Toyota Center. In a tactical co-feature, world-class submission spec- ialist Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza captured the vacant Strikeforce world middleweight championship with a unanimous decision over American military hero Tim Kennedy.

The Strikeforce men’s and women’s welterweight world champions, Nick Diaz and Sarah Kaufman, will return to the cage on Saturday, Oct. 9 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, live on Showtime (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). Diaz will face an opponent to be named in the coming week while Kaufman will defend her title against Dutch superstar Marloes Coenen.