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UFC 149 Calgary Update: Canadian Carvalho vs Roop and Akiyama vs Alves Added

UFC Canada announced last night via it’s Twitter feed that two bouts have been added to the UFC 149 Calgary card that takes place on July 21st from the Pengrowth Saddledome.
“Two more fights confirmed for Calgary #UFC149 – CDN Ant…

UFC Canada announced last night via it’s Twitter feed that two bouts have been added to the UFC 149 Calgary card that takes place on July 21st from the Pengrowth Saddledome.

“Two more fights confirmed for Calgary #UFC149 – CDN Antonio Carvalho faces American George Roop and Thiago Alves against Yoshihiro Akiyama”

Posted on UFC Canada Twitter Feed: @UFC_CA

Canadian featherweight Antonio Carvalho has landed a spot on the card against American George Roop in a very big step-up fight for the Oshawa, Ontario native. Carvalho is 13-5 in his career and coming off a razor-thin loss to Felipe Arantes in his UFC debut at UFC 142 in January. He will look to use this opportunity to establish himself in the UFC.

The 12-9 Roop was in line for a shot at the title as recently as last year, but has fallen off a bit with two consecutive losses to Cub Swanson and Hatsu Hioki, two of the very best in his weight class.

The other fight announced is a very intriguing match up between two veteran UFC warriors with their backs against the chopping block wall. Brazilian welterweight Thiago Alves will battle Japanese star Yoshihiro Akiyama.

The once top-five welterweight Alves has lost four of his last six fights, including his last fight against Martin Kampmann, where he dominated for the entire fight before being submitted in the last minute. The naturally large fighter continues his commitment to cutting weight to compete in the welterweight division.

On the other hand, Akiyama will be fighting for only the second time in his career as a welterweight. The long-time 185-pound fighter lost his welterweight debut to Jake Shields in Japan in February. The Japanese star Judoka has lost four of five fights in the UFC and needs a win very badly to avoid being cut by the UFC.

The announcement of these fights brings the total to six announced fights on the card and the addition of Carvalho means that four Canadians are already booked for the Calgary show.

Announced Bouts (subject to change)

– Jose Aldo vs TBA (Featherweight Title Fight)

– Thiago Alves vs Yoshihiro Akiyama (welterweight)

– George Roop vs Antonio Carvalho* (featherweight)

– Nick Ring* vs Court McGee (middleweight)

– Bryan Carraway vs Mitch Gagnon* (bantamweight)

– Mitch Clarke* vs Anton Kuivanen (lightweight)

* Canadian fighter

Keep it locked in here for all Canadian card updates.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA, MMA Editor at CKSN.ca and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator 64 Windsor Results: Askren Retains Title in a Funky Night of Fights

Bellator’s welterweight champion is one nasty and funky fighter…to watch that is. Ben Askren mauled, laid on, wrestled and battered Douglas Lima for five full rounds to retain the BFC welterweight title. The title fight was a tough one to watch and the headline for a very slow and frustrating night of fights from the Colosseum in the Caesars Windsor Casino.

The fighters always make the night and the Windsor fans were frustrated with the amount of ground fighting on this night. I appreciate and love it all and, admittedly, it wasn’t the most exciting fight card that I have ever seen. It wasn’t terrible either.

It is no secret what Ben Askren looks to do in his fights, as a relentless mix of diving in for the clinch, wrestling to get you down and mauling you from the top are in order all night long. Lima had a vicious uppercut waiting for him each time he waded in, but there was no other significant pushback all night.

It was a disappointing fight for the Brazilian Lima, who seemed worn out very early from trying to keep Askren off.

I love watching a fight no matter how it goes down, but the other three fights on the main card were very tough to watch as well.

In the featherweight semifinal match, Marlon Sandro scored in the first two rounds of his fight and then spent the third trying to stay away to gain a split decision victory over a sluggish Alexandre Bezerra. The fight was not fought at near the level I expected from the two, as they looked hesitant to engage in anything but an in-and-out point game.

The two bantamweight tournament matches were both a bit better, as Travis Marx and Masakatsu Ueda fought hard in tight for three rounds. While I thought Ueda won a razor-thin decision based on his kicks to the body of Marx, Marx was able to edge out the unanimous decision victory.

In the other bout, Hiroshi Nakamura overcame two low blows from Rodrigo Lima to grapple his way to victory. Masakatsu used his strength and conditioning to come out on top of every scramble and exchange on his way to victory. Lima was deducted a point after the second illegal blow, but it didn`t matter—this fight wasn’t that close.

The preliminary portion of the card was the most action-filled of the evening and at least gave the fans a couple of nice finishes to see.

Mike “The Marine” Richman violently knocked out Canadian veteran Chris Horodecki with a beautifully executed flurry combination at 1:23 of the first round. The two came out swinging right from the get-go and didn’t stop until Richman hit the mark.

Local favorite Chad Laprise showcased a very skilled ground game to go along with the knockouts on his resume by submitting Josh Taveirne with a triangle choke at 2:48 of the first round.

Detroit’s Jason Fischer stopped Taylor Soloman with a technical submission rear naked choke at 4:59 of the third round of their fight, with Soloman refusing to tap but going to sleep just before the final bell sounded.

Tristar fighter Nordine Taleb picked apart and dominated a tough Matt Secor for three rounds, using his slick boxing and power to keep Secor reeling and on his back all night.

The rest of the results:

Kyle Prepolec defeated Lance Snow via armbar submission at 2:54 of the first round.

Elias Theodorou defeated Rich Lictawa via verbal tap at 0:33 of the third round.

Attendance was at full capacity (5000).

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10 Fighters with the Most to Lose This Year

Fighters risk a lot every time they step inside the octagon, and that is what makes the sport as intense and intriguing as it is.Athletes in the UFC have worked their whole lives to get to the bright lights of the big show. Once there, they put it on t…

Fighters risk a lot every time they step inside the octagon, and that is what makes the sport as intense and intriguing as it is.

Athletes in the UFC have worked their whole lives to get to the bright lights of the big show. Once there, they put it on the line each and every day to build a name, climb the ranks and ultimately challenge for the ultimate prize, a title.

Some of the top dogs in this game have a lot of money and fame riding on each and every move they make. Some of the middle men are fighting just to get that one shot, and the rest? Well, the rest of them are just fighting to put food on the table and continue to do what they love.

Here are 10 Fighters with the Most to Lose This Year:

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Fights We Need to See at UFC 156 in Toronto

Even though the UFC’s third trip to Toronto, UFC 156, doesn’t go down until Sept. 22, the fight possibilities are swirling in my head.Granted, many things will happen between now and then to make it way too early to set any of this in stone.&…

Even though the UFC’s third trip to Toronto, UFC 156, doesn’t go down until Sept. 22, the fight possibilities are swirling in my head.

Granted, many things will happen between now and then to make it way too early to set any of this in stone.

I am always annoyed by lists that reach for orbits unseen in listing possible fights and dreaming up cards, like “duh Jones vs Anderson Silva for both titles in Toronto, Dana!” I prefer to keep my lists realistic.

Here are some intriguing and possible matchups for the UFC’s next invasion of Ontario in September and I’ll try to convince you why.

I am not saying all of these fights should make the card—it is only an idea of possible fights for the card.

Here are some fights that need to happen at UFC 156 in Toronto

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Bellator 64 Windsor: Full Card Preview and Predictions

Bellator Fighting Championships make a return to Ontario this Friday night with Bellator 64: Askren vs Lima, from the Colosseum inside Caesars Windsor. The show is a stacked card, featuring a welterweight title fight between champion Ben Askren an…

Bellator Fighting Championships make a return to Ontario this Friday night with Bellator 64: Askren vs Lima, from the Colosseum inside Caesars Windsor.

The show is a stacked card, featuring a welterweight title fight between champion Ben Askren and Season 5 tournament winner Douglas Lima. The main card will also feature exciting Brazilians Marlon Sandro and Alexandre Bezerra going at it in a Season 6 featherweight semifinal match, as well as the first two fights in the Season 6 bantamweight tournament.

The preliminary portion of the card will hold five fights and feature some of the best fighters in Canada and Southwestern Ontario. London native and experienced veteran Chris Horodecki will fight for the third time in Bellator (1-0-1), as he faces U.S. Marine and Minnesota native Mike Richman. Horodecki will be making his featherweight debut after years of success as a lightweight.

The rest of the card is intriguing as well, as it is rounded out by some exciting local fighters who are making their Bellator debut and looking to make a name for themselves. Highly touted up-and-comers Nordine Taleb (who trains out of Tristar) and Adrenaline Training Center knockout artist Chad Laprise are debuting on the card.

The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 8 p.m. EST on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. EST, with the first fight scheduled for 7 p.m. EST. The preliminary card, featuring the area’s top local talent will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com starting at 7 p.m. EST.

Here is a preview, breakdown and prediction for every fight on the card.

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Bellator: The 25 Best Fighters

Bellator Fighting Championships has quickly become the next best thing in mixed martial arts fight production over the last couple of years. Everyone knows the king of the hill is the The Ultimate Fighting Championship with their top talent stable of f…

Bellator is the reliable No. 2 with the intriguing tournament season and champion format that they have always thrilling fans with new and hungry talent. The Bellator roster of fighters is an absolute cobra pit of talent waiting to strike out and make a name for themselves at all cost.

Here are the 25 best fighters in Bellator.

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