Author: John Morgan [kingofabuelos]

Weigh-ins for next week’s “UFC Fight Night 21: Florian vs. Gomi” event
take place Tuesday, March 30, at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C.

The same venue hosts the following night’s fight card, which features a
headliner of Kenny Florian vs. Takanori Gomi and three other televised
bouts and serves as a lead-in to the debut episode of “The Ultimate
Fighter 11.”

Prior to the weigh-ins, UFC Fight Club members are invited to a Q&A
session with MMA legend and recent UFC signee Renzo Gracie.

While UFC lightweight Darren Elkins’ (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) recent
promotional debut was one of the most memorable in company history, it
wasn’t necessarily for all the right reasons.

Elkins’ first-round takedown of Duane Ludwig at this past weekend’s UFC
on Versus 1 event resulted in a grotesque contortion of “Bang’s” leg,
and the resulting break ended the fight before it ever really began.

So while Elkins wishes Ludwig a speedy recovery, he’s also looking
forward to a chance to truly prove his abilities.

French striker Cheick Kongo (15-6-1 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has surprisingly
become one of the most polarizing figures in the UFC’s heavyweight
division.

While his intimidating physique and aggressive style have earned him a
legion of fans, his tendency to find himself in controversial situations
have left other fans observers questioning Kongo’s commitment to
sportsmanship.

But despite having a point deducted for an illegal blow in his win over
Paul Buentello this past Sunday, Kongo insists he’s not a dirty fighter.

With Bellator’s second season rapidly approaching, the budding fight
promotion has partnered with Engine Entertainment to handle its
international broadcast distribution.

While Bellator has already partnered with Fox Sports Net, NBC and
Telemundo in the U.S., as well as The Score in Canada, Engine
Entertainment will handle the distribution outside of those two
countries.

Engine Enteratinment will handle the distribution for all 24 of
Bellator’s live events in 2010, as well as any additional premium
pay-per-view events that the promotion produces.

While M-1 Global is perhaps best known as the management team of top
heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, the company also has an extensive history
in the fight promotion business as well.

And though the company’s “M-1 Challenge” events are regularly featured
on HDNet, the company also conducts a worldwide tournament designed to
find top prospects all over the globe.

That tournament, the “M-1 Selection,” touches down in the U.S. on April 3
at Bally’s Atlantic City in New Jersey, and HDNet’s Mike Straka and
MMAjunkie.com’s John Morgan will take to the broadcast booth to call the
action.

After a two-fight stint in Japan, Strikeforce heavyweight contender
Antonio Silva’s return to the U.S. didn’t go exactly as planned.

The first and only EliteXC heavyweight champion, Silva dropped a close decision to fellow Brazilian Fabricio Werdum at this past November’s Strikeforce and M-1 Global co-promoted “Fedor vs. Rogers” event.

Now Silva is set to face former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski at May’s
“Strikeforce St. Louis: Heavy Artillery,” and “Bigfoot” says it’s his
shot at redemption.