Author: Michael Stets

The GLORY women’s super bantamweight division has been made official. The Grand Prix Tournament to crown the inaugural champion kicks off tomorrow night (May 13, 2016) at GLORY 30 in Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.

A women’s division is officially coming to GLORY kickboxing.

At Citizens Business Bank Arena earlier today, the world’s leading kickboxing promotion announced the launch of the women’s super bantamweight division, which carries a limit of 122 pounds (55.5 kg).

In addition to that news, GLORY announced a Grand Prix tournament to crown the inaugural women’s super bantamweight champion. That tournament will play out over the course of several events.

GLORY CEO Jon J. Franklin got a great taste of women’s action just last week as a guest for Invicta FC. He told MMAmania.com just before today’s announcement it made him even more excited for the new GLORY women’s super bantamweight division.

“It was great for me to be at Invicta and see how these girls fight their heart out,” he said. “I’m looking forward to having a division of women who all have the same passion for combat sports.”

Franklin said the launch of the new division is very “meaningful” to him because his mother and sisters were all athletes. The longtime television executive has had a great deal of experience working with women in boxing in two of his prior places of employment. The GLORY CEO worked with America Presents for the Jackie Frazier-Lyde vs. Leila Ali fight in 2001 and also served as the Olympic broadcast supervisor with the Olympic Broadcast Services for women’s boxing in the 2012 Olympics.

“This is really the culmination of being able to be a part of watching women grow in combat sports,” Franklin said. “It’s personally meaningful and very exciting to me to be able to announce this today.”

The first matchup in the eight-woman tournament will be Tiffany van Soest and Esma Hasshass, which takes place tomorrow night (May 13, 2016) on the Superfight Series portion of the GLORY 30 card. “Timebomb” was the first fighter signed to the promotion.

The second fight of the Grand Prix will take place at GLORY 31 where Isis Verbeek (8-2) of the Netherlands will face Iman “Pretty Killer” Barlow (82-5-3) of England.

The final two bouts of the tournament were announced, but the card and date they will take place on were not yet revealed.

Former Bellator MMA strawweight champion Zoila Frausto (4-0) will meet German boxer Daniel Graf (23-4-1) and undefeated World Kickboxing Network (WKN) champion, Amel Dehby (27-0) of France will square off against Korean muay thai champion, Ji-Waen Lee (13-2).

In addition to that bout, South African’s Ferial “Felix” Ameeroedien will face Russia’s  Irena Mazepa in the tournament reserve bout.

Michael Stets dives into the world of kickboxing in this new podcast. In the second episode, Liverkick.com’s Dave Walsh returns to preview GLORY 30 and break down Thursday’s big announcement involving the launch of GLORY’s new women’s division as well as the Rico Verhoeven vs. Badr Hari rumors.

“The Iron Lady” picked up a decisive victory at UFC Fight Night 87 earlier today (Sun. May 8, 2016) in Rotterdam, Netherlands, much to the delight of the raucous hometown crowd.

Germaine de Randamie (6-3) defeated Ann Elmose (3-1) by technical knockout in the opening round inside Ahoy Rotterdam, after delivering a huge knee to the body of Elmose.

The official time of the stoppage came at 3:46 of the first round.

Netherland’s own, de Randamie clinched up Elmose to begin the bout, but the Denmark fighter was able to tie up the No,14-ranked UFC women’s bantamweight along the fence. de Randamie began to utilize her huge reach advantage and landed a few blows before Elmose dove in on an unsuccessful takedown attempt.

From there the end was merely moments away. The Dutch striker locked Elmose in the clinch and delivered a brutal knee to the midsection of “Panda,” which sent her crumpling to the canvas. Referee Rich Mitchell immediately stepped in to wave the bout off.

De Randamie, 32, took care of business in emphatic fashion and her stock will only rise, as she continues to prove she is one of the most dangerous strikers in the division. “The Iron Lady” improves to 3-1 in UFC competition.

In her UFC debut, Elmose, 31, tastes defeat for the first time in her career.

For complete UFC Fight Night 87 “Overeem vs. Arlovski” results, including play-by-play updates, click here.

Bellator MMA President Scott Coker had high praise for Welterweight champion, Andrey Koreshkov, after the Russian dominated Benson Henderson last night (Fri., April 22, 2016) en route to a 50-45 unanimous decision victory.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Benson Henderson’s (23-7) promotional debut didn’t quite go exactly as he had planned in Bellator 153’s main event last night (Fri., April 22, 2016) inside Mohegan Sun Arena. “Smooth,” Bellator’s newly signed free agent, had absolutely no answer for the current Welterweight champion, Andrey Koreshkov (19-1), who scored a clean sweep on the score cards for a unanimous decision victory.

All three judges scored it 50-45 (watch video highlights here).

Simply put, Koreshkov was just too big. Henderson struggled to get inside of the champion’s reach and his takedown attempts were all thwarted with relative ease over the course of the 25-minute bout.

In fact, it looked like it was about to end in the opening round when 25-year-old Russian from Omsk connected with a flying knee that floored Henderson, but the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion some how held on. For the remainder of the fight, though, it was a one-sided affair in favor of Koreshkov as Henderson could not mount much offense other than a handful of low leg kicks while enduring and absorbing big strike after big strike.

“It was a tough fight,” said Bellator president Scott Coker after the fight’s conclusion. “He took a lot of shots. Even from the very beginning, he looked he was about a foot shorter than Koreshkov. Koreshkov is no joke. He’s got a lot of power. Everything is hard. Hits hard with every shot. You guys saw the fight. It was fairly one sided, so we will see what Benson wants to do next.”

Coker thinks Henderson will get together with his head coach John Crouch next and decide if he’ll stay at 170 pounds or head back down to 155. As far as he sees it, it’s not that Henderson can’t fight at Welterweight, but Koreshkov was just a much larger fighter than him.

“Could he fight guys at 170? Yeah. Koreshkov is just a big man, super strong and hits hard,” Coker explained. “He’s a guy that … It’s just, I don’t know. If you don’t … I’m not sure what Benson could’ve done differently I guess is what I’m saying. He took a lot of shots and he didn’t have an answer for it.

“A fight is a fight,” he continued. “Anything can happen. It seemed like his punches were short all night long and that reach that Koreshkov has, I don’t think he had an answer for that. I think Benson has a lot of his better fight at 155, but that’s going to be his choice.”

Although Henderson came over as the prized free agent, and most were expecting he would win his first bout and become the first fighter to ever win a title in WEC, UFC and Bellator, he surprisingly got dominated instead. That’s a testament to the homegrown talent like Koreshkov, who has been growing within the promotion. The champion, who defeated Douglas Lima at Bellator 140 to win the title in July 2015, made his debut with Bellator in 2012 and is now 11-1 within the promotion. His lone loss was a one-sided drubbing by the hands of former Welterweight champion, Ben Askren, who is now the 170-pound champion for One Championship.

Coker, again, praised his champion.

“I mean, Koreshkov is the real deal,” he said. “He is no joke. He had a tough fight against LIma and he’s been fighting for Bellator way before I even got here. He’s been doing extremely well. He had a great fight tonight. He had a great game plan. Benson seemed a little bit short the whole night. The punches were six inches from his face. The leg kicks were working, but at the end of the day, he couldn’t land the big shot to hurt him and Koreshkov just kept coming in, coming in.”

Henderson “fought hard, he fought valiantly,” Coker added,” but at the end of the day, Koreshkov is a beast and that is why he is our champ.”

Uncasville, Conn.– Bellator MMA and its president, Scott Coker, have come under heavy criticism recently after booking Kimbo Slice for their upcoming Bellator 158 card in London, England, which takes place at O2 Arena on July 16, 2016. Slice, real name Kevin Ferguson, is set to face James Thompson in a rematch from their Elite XC bout that took place in 2008, where Slice won the bout by technical knockout.

The issue that fans and media are having with the booking of Slice, is that he failed a post-fight drug test following his technical knockout victory over Dada 5000 at Bellator 149 this past February. Slice, 42, tested positive for Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid. Since the fight took place in Houston, Texas, it falls under The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which handed down a 90-day suspension to Slice. Three months is hardly a punishment in most eyes in comparison to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which would hand down a much harsher punishment, as would the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which now works in conjunction with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Several media members have suggested that Bellator MMA follow UFC’s lead and dole out its own punishment since the TDLR is offering such a light punishment to Slice. Coker is of the mind that the promotion is best suited to let the commissions do the regulating, no matter that the difference in punishment varies from state to state.

“To me it is so simple,” said Coker. “Greg [Alvarez], the commissioner there, said he [Slice] has 90 days. So, it’s not longer than 90 days and that is it. In Texas, it is a really tricky rule. In fact, Mazzulli [Mike Mazzulli, the president of Association of Boxing Commission and Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulations Director] was saying to me and telling Rich [Chou] today he is going to work with Greg and they are going to change the rule because the rule is 90 days in Texas and one year outside of Texas. So guys, for 31 years that’s what we’ve been following is athletic commission ruling. Listen, when Marc Ratner was in Nevada and I was doing K-1 in Nevada he said, ‘Look, this referee is on suspension he can’t do it for a year.’ Well, hey guess what referee? You are out for a year. Or he said this guy is this you have to test this guy.’ Whatever the commission says we abide by the rules. We don’t make the rules we just follow by the rules.”

Coker pointed out that when former Bellator MMA Middleweight champion, Alexander Shlemenko was suspended for three years by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) after a failed test last June, they accepted that, just like they accept Slice only getting 90 days.

“When Shlemenko was in California and he got three years, we didn’t complain,” Coker said. “We didn’t say anything. We just said, ‘hey this is what it is.’ You look at the … I want to say inconsistencies in every state and we’ve had to deal with this for 31 years of my career we’ve had to deal with this. This is just how it is and when Greg says 90 days for Kimbo and he is good to fight, then he is good to fight. So he is going to fight.”

Coker said he’d love to see rulings not be so inconsistent from state to state, but made it clear he does not think a promotion should get involved in regulation at all.

“I will say this, when you are self regulated I don’t think it works because to me you are the judge, jury and the executioner?” he asked rhetorically. “To me that is never going to be a good situation. It’s a conflict of interest.  So, It’s either go that way or to abide by the commissions and we’ve chosen to got with what the commissions say.”

“They are the governing body that regulates the sport and we should let them regulate the sport,” he continued. “And let me tell you, California is tough. We’ve been in states where they are tough and they are tough on our guys and you know what? We never complain. We never say anything. In 31 years that is just how it is. This one seems a little controversial because it’s just the 90 days and then a one year. To me it makes it a little more controversial. We’ve been in touch with Greg and he said we are good to go so we are going to go.”

Michael Page spoke to MMAmania.com about his upcoming fight at Bellator 153 against Jeremie Holloway, whether or not he’d fight in Bellator Kickboxing, and his continued progression in grappling.

When you look at the opponents that Michael Page (9-0) has defeated, you won’t have the same expression as the one when bearing witness to the type of arsenal he wields inside the Bellator MMA cage.

Page, 29, remains undefeated as he heads into his tenth career fight on Friday (April 22, 2016) when he takes on Jeremie Holloway (7-1) at Bellator 153 inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. He’s laid seven out of those nine fighters to rest in the very first round with an assortment of the wild and unorthodox style he is know for, which stems from his sport karate background.

Critics and fans alike may not be impressed with the level of competition the London native has faced, and many feel Bellator president Scott Coker is lining up another can for Page to crush in Holloway, but he is not the least bit concerned.

When the wins continue to come against more difficult adversaries, Page feels that will silence any doubt and more believers will begin to surface.

“It doesn’t matter to me, because when the media and the fans see me come up against the bigger names and I’m still doing my thing against them people will realize it’s just what I do,” said Page, who will fight at Mohegan Sun Arena for the third straight time. ” I think Bellator is trying to create an ‘MVP’ buzz over there. It’s becoming my town.”

“Venom” said he can’t wait to get inside the Bellator cage on Friday night and is feeling “as good as ever,” heading into Friday’s matchup with Holloway, whom he said has one noticeable attribute he needs to pay close attention to.

“He is very, very strong,” said Page. “Any kind of mistake it seems like you will struggle to get out of because of the strength he seems to have. I need to be careful. If you can’t get to me and put your hands on me that strength doesn’t mean anything. I need to keep them twinkle toes moving, keep dodging and then land that shot.”

Page continues to work on his ground game at London Shootfighters, where he is constantly improving on his wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills in order to become a more complete fighter. As much as he is considered to be more of standup fighter, “Venom” scored a nice trip takedown on Charlie Ontiveros in his last fight at Bellator 144, and finished him off on the ground with strikes.

Grappling is something he has also grown to truly enjoy.

“It’s what I’ve been working on from day one, obviously knowing it would be a weakness or weak area in my game because of the head start that my kickboxing and standup has had. I’ve been working on wrestling, working on jiu-jitsu and the grappling side. It’s something I’ve been working on massively. Working on my ground-and-pound. Working on massively just all-around control when on the ground both on top and on my back. And I really enjoy it and that helps with learning and it helps with being able to remain successful when you go to the floor when you are actually enjoying what’s going on.”

An arena where he could just showcase his high-flying standup skills, Bellator Kickboxing–which put on its inaugural show last week in Turin, Italy–seems like a likely spot for Page to compete. But the martial artist who began training in Lau Gar Kung Fu at the age of three says not so fast.

“A lot of people are already saying that it’s an obvious thing for me to do, but for me that is going back into something that I left and I left for a reason. As much I still enjoy doing the kickboxing… if a show comes up and it’s the right time, 100 percent I will take the fight. But, my focus is MMA and it’s something I really want to keep progressing in and continue to do well in and it will always take priority over the kickboxing events.

“I’m really enjoying what I’m doing in the cage. I’m really enjoying progressing and showing people that I have more to my arsenal especially on the ground with my wrestling and everything else and I want to become the face of MMA and taking kickboxing fights doesn’t necessarily do that.”

What about facing a fighter who has a similar skill set to his like Raymond Daniels? That is something that kickboxing fans would love to see: two fighters unloaded crazy spinning and jumping techniques on each other.

“One thing I always say is that sometimes two positives don’t always bring another positive,” said Page, who faced Daniels during his sport karate days. “I already know how that fight would be viewed as and it would be probably be boring because we would spend so much time… It would be a very intense fight for us, but for the people watching it’s going to be a fight where we spend more time trying to figure out each other’s distance because we are so used to doing that and we will spend more time figuring out that and not having much action going on. I actually know already people would enjoy that fight as much as I think they would. Me and Raymond Daniels are good friends and I don’t believe that is something that would happen anyway.”

“Venom” has his sights fixated on the Bellator cage for now and continuing his ascent up the ranks of the division that continues to grow in depth, especially with the recent addition of former UFC lightweight champion, Benson Henderson, who faces Andrey Koreshkov in the Bellator 153 main event. He likes the idea of a deeper division because it will make his rise up the ranks even sweeter, he says.

“It’s just growing as it should be. The bigger Bellator gets the more it seems they attract more talent. It’s good for me. I always want to be a part of a group of good fighters or a weight division that will have enough fighters and when I get to the top it’s because I had to go through a lot of talented fighters. It’s going to happen soon.”

And Page is expecting a top-flight opponent will be next up after Holloway.

“100 percent, so yeah, I need to get this next fight out of the way and then it’s onwards and upwards from there.”