Author: Gregg Mullen

Eddie Alvarez and 5 Other Bellator Fighters Who Should Be in the UFC

With Bellator Middleweight champion Hector Lombard having jumped ship to the UFC and seemingly only one win away from a UFC title shot, Bellator is now being looked at for more talent who could make it in the big show.Hot on the heels of Lombard in mov…

With Bellator Middleweight champion Hector Lombard having jumped ship to the UFC and seemingly only one win away from a UFC title shot, Bellator is now being looked at for more talent who could make it in the big show.

Hot on the heels of Lombard in moving over is former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez, who was spotted sitting next to Dana White during UFC on FOX 3: Diaz vs Miller. Alvarez’ Bellator contract is seemingly expired, and he looks very likely to be announced in the not-so-distant future with a fight with Anthony Pettis apparently in the works.

Alvarez has a 23-3 record (with 20 stoppage wins) with wins over guys like Shinya Aoki, Pat Curran and Roger Huerta. Eddie has been considered for a long time to be among the top 10 lightweights in the world.

So with Bellator finally being recognised for their talent pool, it is only a matter of time before more of their stars make the transition to the UFC.

Here are my top five Bellator stars who should be next.

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UFC 149: Siyar Bahadurzada Replaces Yoshihiro Akiyama to Meet Thiago Alves

Siyar Bahadurzada (21-4-1) has officially stepped in to replace injured Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-5) at UFC 149 to face Thiago Alves (19-9) on July 21st in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. There is no word as yet of the nature of Akiyama’s injury.Thiago Alve…

Siyar Bahadurzada (21-4-1) has officially stepped in to replace injured Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-5) at UFC 149 to face Thiago Alves (19-9) on July 21st in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 
There is no word as yet of the nature of Akiyama’s injury.

Thiago Alves was controlling a fight against Martin Kampmann and was surely on his way to a decision victory before shooting in for a late takedown and being caught in a guillotine choke at UFC on FX 2 in March. Alves was forced to tap at 4:12 of the third and final round.

Alves is just 2-4 since earning a title shot at welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100 but hasn’t lost two in a row since the first two fights of his professional career.

Bahadurzada, meanwhile, comes into this fight on the back of a seriously impressive knockout win over Paulo Thiago in just 42 seconds. The fight took place at UFC on FUEL TV 2 and marked Bahadurzada’s UFC debut and earned him “Knockout of the Night.” Siyar is now on a seven-fight win streak and brings in a 21-4-1 overall record.

This one has the potential to be a “Fight of the Night” standup war, and I, for one, can’t wait to see it happen.

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MMA: Ronda Rousey Set to Defend Her Title Against Sarah Kaufman This August

Strikeforce champion Ronda Rousey will defend her bantamweight title this summer against former titleholder Sarah Kaufman, and although no official date or venue has been announced, it is being rumored to take place in August. Rousey earned the title b…

Strikeforce champion Ronda Rousey will defend her bantamweight title this summer against former titleholder Sarah Kaufman, and although no official date or venue has been announced, it is being rumored to take place in August.

Rousey earned the title back in March with a vicious armbar on (then-champ) Miesha Tate and is now 5-0 in her professional career with five submission wins. Kaufman (15-1) earned her shot at the title by beating Alexis Davis on the same card in March. Sarah is now 3-0 since losing the title to Marloes Coenen back in 2010.

The 2008 Olympic bronze-medalist is a huge star in the MMA world at the moment, and she recently became the first woman ever to appear on The Ultimate Fighter, teaching some of her knowledge to the competitors of Team Cruz, before becoming the first woman to enter the “TUF” house as she watched Jon Jones beat Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC 145 with the cast and coaches. 

Ronda is maybe as well known for her trash-talking outside of the cage as she is for her skills inside it, and this time will be no different, as last night Rousey told Inside MMA, “It’s a grappler vs. striker matchup…she’s the best striker I’ve ever faced, but she’s been tapped out before—by less-skilled people.”

Rousey was referring to Kaufman’s loss to former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen (now fighting for Invicta Fighting Championships, an all-female fighting organization) which came by armbar.

So with the fight set, how do you see it going? Will it be a striking clinic from Kaufman or another submission win for “Rowdy” Ronda?

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Women’s MMA: First Scottish Female Fighter Joanne Calderwood Wins at SFL 3

Joanne Calderwood made waves this past weekend with a dominant showing against Ukrainian prospect Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova.Ovchynnikova came in on the back of a defeat at Super Fight League 1 to Sanja Sucevic (3-1) but had an overall record of 8…

Joanne Calderwood made waves this past weekend with a dominant showing against Ukrainian prospect Lena “Hunter” Ovchynnikova.

Ovchynnikova came in on the back of a defeat at Super Fight League 1 to Sanja Sucevic (3-1) but had an overall record of 8-1 entering the fight.

Calderwood had made just one appearance so far in her pro MMA career, winning by TKO in the first round against Noellia Molina in Scottish promotion ON TOP. The fight marked the first ever Women’s MMA bout in Scotland.

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MMA: "The MMA Show Live" Cancelled on 5 Days Notice

The upcoming MMA Show Live in Birmingham, England has been cancelled on five days notice.The show boasted top-MMA stars such as Randy Couture, Jake Shields, Benson Henderson, Michael Bisping, B.J Penn, Sean Sherk and Dan Henderson, but has now been “po…

The upcoming MMA Show Live in Birmingham, England has been cancelled on five days notice.

The show boasted top-MMA stars such as Randy Couture, Jake Shields, Benson Henderson, Michael Bisping, B.J Penn, Sean Sherk and Dan Henderson, but has now been “postponed” for unknown reasons.

There has been somewhat of an uproar from the many fans who, after spending their hard-earned cash (£34/$54) on tickets and hotels as well as taking time off of work to go to the event, now have to re-arrange their plans and will most likely lose money on the hotel deposits and days off of work.

The show is now being tipped to take place on May 20-21 and ticket holders will be given a replacement ticket to the show as well as free entry in to The Martial Arts Show Live at the National Exhibition centre on May 12-13

The MMA Show Live released a statement yesterday which said that the postponement was due to “circumstances beyond our control” and apologized “for any inconvenience caused” and said that they “appreciate your understanding.”

What do you think?

Was this bound to happen with the amount of money they have thrown at the big stars they are bringing over?

Or was this a legitimate problem that they could not help?

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