Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Perhaps the deepest tournament in women’s mixed martial arts history, the Bellator 115-pound women’s draw features seven of eight fighters who are ranked in the top ten in either the featherweight or lightweight divisions, according to the Women’s Unified MMA Rankings. Despite the depth of the draw, Japanese star Megumi Fujii is the clear favorite to win all three fights and become the first-ever Bellator women’s champion.

Bellator officially announced today the signing of New York native Kenny “The Tooth Fairy” Foster to its fast growing list of up-and-coming fighters.  Foster joins the promotion with an impressive 7-2 professional record, including a six fight win streak which he compiled from July 2009 to March 2010.

There is a very strong possibility that Strikeforce Women's Welterweight Cham- pion Sarah Kaufman will be watching a future opponent during the first-ever Strikeforce women's single-elimination tournament at "Strikeforce: Challengers" on Friday, Aug. 13, at Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Ariz., live on Showtime. Kaufman will be on hand to watch as women's welterweight contenders Miesha "Take- down" Tate, Carina "Beauty But The Beast" Damm, Hitomi "Girlfight Monster" Akano and Maiju Kujala compete in the tournament.

To go along with some international flare, Bellator's season three heavyweight tournament features a nice mix of prospects and mid-level veterans. The tournament took a hit with the loss of highly regarded prospect Dave Herman (currently suing Bellator for breach of contract), but the winner will be able to say that he defeated three legitimate heavyweights within a span of three months, something not a lot of big men can say these days given the lack of quality depth in the division. The eight fighters hail from five different countries: United States, England, Poland, Spain, and South Korea. Each first round matchup will feature an American against an international fighter. The tournament field has a cumulative record of 72-10-3, an 88 percent winning percentage.

Bellator Fighting Championships is holding a women’s 115 pound tournament that will kick off at Bellator 24 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Fla., on Thursday, Aug. 12. On the card is up-and-coming fighter, Lynn Alvarez, who trains out of Tap Out Research & Development Training Center and Legion BJJ in Las Vegas, Nev. Alvarez has the exciting opportunity to represent women in MMA as she goes head to head with Jessica Aguilar. Alvarez was training for a fight that fell through when she received the opportunity to join Bellator’s women’s tournament, which has lead to a five-month training camp. MMA Spot’s Breanna Armstrong takes some time with Alvarez to discuss her bout, career and future goals in the sport.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Miesha “Takedown” Tate, Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm, Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano and Maiju Kujala will compete in the first-ever Strikeforce women’s tournament in history to determine the official number two contender in the fiercely competitive Strikeforce women’s welterweight division. The draw to determine the semi-final matchups for the two-round tournament will take place at the weigh in.

While multiple news sites reported last week that KSW had cut off negotiations with Aleksander Emelianenko due to Emelianenko having Hepatitis C, KSW representatives are denying such rumors. According to KSW co-owner Martin Lewandowski, they have heard the rumors of Emelianenko having the disease, but nothing had been confirmed to them, and that negotiations are still in progress. Lewandowski further stated that the decision to match Polish superstar Mariusz Pudzianowski against Eric “Butterbean” Esch had little to do with Emelianenko’s situation.

M-1 Global held its "M-1 Selection 2010 – Americas Semi Finals" Saturday night at Bally’s Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. The card showcased an exciting night of combat featuring mixed martial art's up-and-coming future contenders, all vying for a spot in the tournament finale.  MMASpot's Scott Bibby and Keith Schoeneick were on hand to capture all the action.  Continue for a full slide show. 

Monday, August 09, 2010

Bellator today announced the signing of former Arizona State University wrestling prodigy and fast-rising mixed martial artist Eric Larkin to its rapidly expanding roster. The 2003 recipient of the illustrious Dan Hodge Trophy, Larkin captured the 2003 NCAA Division I National Championship at 149 pounds on his way to becoming the only wrestler that year nominated for ESPN's ESPY Award for best male collegiate athlete. During his time spent wrestling at ASU, Larkin became a four-time All American along with picking up four PAC-10 Championships.

Live from the TD Garden in Boston, MA, Spike TV showcases two live undercard bouts from “UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2” on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 9:00 p.m. ET.  In action, local product and sure to be crowd favorite Joe Lauzon (“The Ultimate Fighter 5” alum) of Bridgewater, Mass. takes on his former housemate from the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and Gabe Ruediger, and Nik “The Carny” Lentz will square off with Andre Winner, fighting out of Leicester, England.

Bellator today announced the completion of the Local Feature Fights for Bellator 24 taking place in Hollywood, Fla. at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on August 12.  Joining an exciting lightweight fight between the ever-entertaining Yves Edwards and colorful, highly-regarded South Florida fan favorite Luis Palomino slated as the local main event, the promotion today confirmed four additional talent-rich fights for the Fox Sports Net event.

One of the most exciting and stacked cards in recent UFC history is in the books as the lights have faded on "UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen," with just three weeks to go before "UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2" takes center stage. The most anticipated middleweight title fight in nearly two years was everything it was hyped up to be, as number one contender Chael Sonnen dominated the first 23 minutes of the fight before being submitted by a triangle choke in the final round. The financial numbers, including the gate, attendance, and "Fight Night" bonuses have been released regarding this event.