Author: Ariel Helwani

MEXICO CITY — Rafael dos Anjos talks about life as a UFC champion, his injury rehab, fighting Donald Cerrone again, getting the respect that he deserves, another fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov and more.

Three World Series of Fighting champions have decided to stick around with the promotion.

Bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes (14-4-1), lightweight champion Justin Gaethje (14-0) and middleweight champion David Branch (16-3) signed new multi-fight contracts with the organization, executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz informed MMAFighting.com on Friday.

“They all wanted to stay here,” Abdel-Aziz said. “They want to help build the brand. Marlon, in particular, had an opportunity to go elsewhere, but he wanted to stay here.”

In fact, Moraes’ contract recently expired, despite the fact that his next title defense against Sheymon Moraes (no relation) has already been announced and scheduled for Aug. 1. The Brazilian has won his last nine fights in a row.

In March, Gaethje (14-0) defeated Luis Palomino in a Fight of the Year contender. His next fight has not been signed just yet, however, he is expected to return to action in the fall.

Branch has a chance to become a two-division champion for WSOF, as he is also scheduled to fight Teddy Holder in the finals of the promotion’s light heavyweight tournament. The former UFC fighter is on a six-fight winning streak.

A joint kickboxing and MMA show is headed to Spike TV in the fall.

According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Glory Kickboxing has agreed to partner with Bellator MMA for a hybrid combat sports show in September. The news is expected to be announced at a Friday press conference in St. Louis, site of Bellator 138.

The event, which is slated to take place in San Jose, Calif., will feature a Glory ring and a Bellator cage in the arena. Naturally, the kickboxing matches will take place in the ring, while the MMA fights will be held in the cage.

Among the names expected to fight on the card are Tito Ortiz, Phil Davis, Paul Daley and Joe Schilling. It’s unclear at this time how many fights will take place on the card.

On Thursday, Bellator sent an e-mail to the press about an announcement on Friday at 5:15 p.m. ET. In that e-mail was a picture of a hand wearing a Bellator glove, while holding a stick of dynamite. While not officially confirmed at this time, it appears as though the joint venture will revive the Dynamite!! brand, which was synonymous with hybrid shows in Japan.

The event is expected to air on Spike TV.

On this week’s episode of “The MMA Beat,” the panel will discuss Kimbo vs. Shamrock, the state of the UFC heavyweight division, MMA in New York, a title fight on UFC Fight Pass and more.

Watch “The MMA Beat” live today at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT / 5 p.m. BST.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes: audio | video or Soundcloud here. Stream it on Stitcher here.

Music courtesy of APM Music.

Gilbert Melendez is getting right back to work.

Four days after losing to Eddie Alvarez at UFC 188, Melendez has agreed to fight Al Iaquinta on July 15 in San Diego, FOX Sports Live reported Wednesday night. The opportunity presented itself after Bobby Green, Iaquinta’s original opponent, withdrew from the fight due to an injury suffered in training.

Melendez (22-5) lost a close split decision to Alvarez on Saturday night in Mexico City. The loss dropped his UFC record to 1-3.

Iaquinta (12-3-1) has won his last four fights in a row. He most recently defeated Jorge Masvidal via split decision in April.

The event, which will be headlined by Frank Mir vs. Todd Duffee, will take place at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego. Melendez vs. Iaquinta will serve as the co-main event.

Bobby Green has been forced to withdraw from his anticipated July 15 fight against Al Iaquinta due to an injury suffered in training, MMAFighting.com confirmed with multiple sources.

As of right now, a replacement opponent has not been found for Iaquinta, so there’s no word just yet whether he’ll remain on the Fight Night card in San Diego.

Both fighters engaged in a war of words as of late, but alas, the fight was not meant to be for now.

When reached for a comment, Iaquinta said, “I’d rather be drunk at Jones Beach, but I’m still training for TBD.” Iaquinta added that fights against Gilbert Melendez, Dustin Poirier and/or Efrain Escudero “would be good fights.”

The card, which will air on Fox Sports 1 in the United States, is scheduled to be headlined by Frank Mir vs. Todd Duffee.