Sadly, the official line from Bellator is that Carano has not signed with the organization. Via Ariel:
Indeed. MMA fans still love Gina — but most of us recognize that sacrificing her to Ronda Rousey for a meaningless yet profitable UFC title fight is a joke on multiple levels. Still, what if Carano took a couple fights in Bellator against some lower-level competition? You’d watch that too, right? And the sudden appearance of Gina Carano in Bellator could create a competitive frenzy between the UFC and Bellator that would be pretty damn entertaining to watch unfold. So yes, we want to believe.
We’ll update you when Bellator’s actual major fight announcement is revealed. Don’t get your hopes up.
If you’re not familiar with MMA reporter/occasional UFC employee Ariel Helwani by now, all you need to know is that he loves to instigate shit between MMA fighters more than MMAMania’s Jesse Holland loves to eye-rape Brittney Palmer. The shots, they have been fired.
Helwani has been rightfully punked for talking noise on several occasions in the past, most notably by sirs Diaz, Page and Ortiz, but has never ceased in his quest to poke bee nests from afar while simultaneously acting as if he isn’t the one holding the honey-covered stick. His shit-stirring skills were on full display at the unveiling of the TUF 20 cast last week, where he sat down (sort of) with each member of the cast to ask hard-hitting questions like:
-“Is there anyone you saw while moving into the house that you were like ‘Oh my gosh, I have to live with this person?'”
-“Is there anyone that you’re annoyed that you have to live with for the next six weeks?”
-“Like who, who are we talking about?”
-“C’mon, it’s more fun that way.”
-“Is it Felice? Are you talking about Felice?”
If you’re not familiar with MMA reporter/occasional UFC employee Ariel Helwani by now, all you need to know is that he loves to instigate shit between MMA fighters more than MMAMania’s Jesse Holland loves to eye-rape Brittney Palmer. The shots, they have been fired.
Helwani has been rightfully punked for talking noise on several occasions in the past, most notably by sirs Diaz, Page and Ortiz, but has never ceased in his quest to poke bee nests from afar while simultaneously acting as if he isn’t the one holding the honey-covered stick. His shit-stirring skills were on full display at the unveiling of the TUF 20 cast last week, where he sat down (sort of) with each member of the cast to ask hard-hitting questions like:
-”Is there anyone you saw while moving into the house that you were like ‘Oh my gosh, I have to live with this person?’”
-”Is there anyone that you’re annoyed that you have to live with for the next six weeks?”
-”Like who, who are we talking about?”
-”C’mon, it’s more fun that way.”
-”Is it Felice? Are you talking about Felice?”
-”Really? You don’t like anyone, you don’t hate anyone?”
And my personal favorite…
-”Who do you think will win the show?”
Even in a room full of women, Ariel Helwani manages to come out the cattiest bitch of the bunch. I’m sure this series of high school superlatives passed off as interviews — in which Helwani tells Felice Herrigto her face that no one seems to like her — was not in any influenced by the report that Herrig and Heather Clark got into a fight on the first day of filming. Classy, classy stuff.
So congrats, Ariel, you ahave truly earned your title as the Perez Hilton of our fine sport. May you jerk off to the “Biggest Reality Show Catfights” Edition of US Weekly forevermore.
“But Jared, aren’t you instigating some shit between CagePotato and Ariel Helwani right now?” you ask, to which I bat my eyelashes and respond that I’m just a powah wittle witah who would nevah dweam of insulting a weal joinalist.
Bellator’s tenth season hasn’t even started yet and the company is already in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Remember the highly suspicious bait-and-switch Bellator pulled in November 2013? The one where their light heavyweight champ Attila Vegh conveniently got “injured,” allowing Bellator to book a much-anticipated rematch between Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Emanuel Newton (who really should’ve adopted the nickname “Kingslayer” after defeating Mo the first time) for an interim title?
Fast forward to yesterday, when Ariel Helwani interviewed Vegh in what looks like a dingy auto repair shop. Vegh spoke about the “injury,” but not before some prodding by Helwani.
Bellator’s tenth season hasn’t even started yet and the company is already in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Remember the highly suspicious bait-and-switch Bellator pulled in November 2013? The one where their light heavyweight champ Attila Vegh conveniently got “injured,” allowing Bellator to book a much-anticipated rematch between Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Emanuel Newton (who really should’ve adopted the nickname “Kingslayer” after defeating Mo the first time) for an interim title?
Fast forward to yesterday, when Ariel Helwani interviewed Vegh in what looks like a dingy auto repair shop. Vegh spoke about the “injury,” but not before some prodding by Helwani.
“I was injured,” Vegh maintained through a translator when first asked about the situation.
“I did have an injury before, but I was ready for the November fight,” he then said. “I wasn’t disappointed, but I was ready to fight.” He claimed to have “internal bleeding” from a kick to the rib cage.
Helwani kept pressing while Vegh and his translator nervously fiddled. He wanted to know why Vegh didn’t ask Bellator to book him in the fight against Newton since, after all, the Slovak was ready for the fight. Vegh channeled his inner Dana White with his response.
“No, I didn’t ask them,” he said. Why not? “Because.”
“I was ready just in case if somebody would be out or injured,” he explained. Then the discussion drifted to other, less interesting topics.
Let’s get this straight. According to Vegh, the CHAMPION (Vegh) was relegated to being an alternate for an INTERIM title fight. Wow. Is that the most Bellator thing that’s ever happened? We’re not definitively saying Bellator screwed Vegh, but the situation sounds fishy to us, especially in light of this interview.
Bellator: Where title shots are earned, not given…unless you’re not quite as marketable or well known as somebody else. Then we’ll give you a title shot.
The UFC held a media press conference for UFC Fight Night 26 today in Boston, featuring eight of the main card fighters as well as Irish featherweight Conor McGregor and his opponent Max Hollaway, who will be facing off on the prelims. You want to talk about hype? The press conference began with the unveiling of a fan-made Conor McGregor poster, for God’s sake. Hollaway was asked how he felt about all the attention that McGregor has been receiving lately, but really, that question would be better answered by main card fighters Matt Brown, Mike Pyle, Uriah Hall, and John Howard, who didn’t get a spot at the table thanks to the King of Dublin.
Some highlights from the presser…
– 1:08: The first question comes from Kevin Iole, who asks Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to explain why he hasn’t been able to string together any victories lately. So we’re off to a pretty good start.
– 8:29:Chael Sonnen think that MMA judges do a fine job overall, although “when people are judging people, it’s never fair. It’s not fair in rodeo, it’s not fair in gymnastics, and we’ve got problems in this sport.”
– 10:35: “Dere’s two tings I really like dadiew, and that’s whoop ass and look good, and I’m doin’ wunnadem right now, and Saturday night I’m gonna do deeudda.” – McGregor
(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)
The UFC held a media press conference for UFC Fight Night 26 today in Boston, featuring eight of the main card fighters as well as Irish featherweight Conor McGregor and his opponent Max Hollaway, who will be facing off on the prelims. You want to talk about hype? The press conference began with the unveiling of a fan-made Conor McGregor poster, for God’s sake. Hollaway was asked how he felt about all the attention that McGregor has been receiving lately, but really, that question would be better answered by main card fighters Matt Brown, Mike Pyle, Uriah Hall, and John Howard, who didn’t get a spot at the table thanks to the King of Dublin.
Some highlights from the presser…
– 1:08: The first question comes from Kevin Iole, who asks Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to explain why he hasn’t been able to string together any victories lately. So we’re off to a pretty good start.
– 8:29:Chael Sonnen think that MMA judges do a fine job overall, although “when people are judging people, it’s never fair. It’s not fair in rodeo, it’s not fair in gymnastics, and we’ve got problems in this sport.”
– 10:35: “Dere’s two tings I really like dadiew, and that’s whoop ass and look good, and I’m doin’ wunnadem right now, and Saturday night I’m gonna do deeudda.” – McGregor
– 11:52: Ariel Helwani asks Chael why fans should watch the fights on Saturday. Hilarity ensues. Chael then gets serious and cuts a rather impressive promo about how UFC Fight Night 26 could be the most-viewed combat sports event in TV history.
– 14:09:Michael Johnson mentions World Series of Fighting, immediately regrets it.
– 18:04: ”I’ve got a moral obligation to beat up a lot of guys that I haven’t got to yet, and I will go to whatever weight I need to.” – Sonnen
– 27:15: Dana White blows off some steam about the Culinary Union’s continuous trolling of this event since it was announced.
– 29:25: Dana’s old Boston accent begins to leak through as he pronounces “hockey” as “hawkey.”
– 30:36: Ariel asks Alistair Overeem about the relative lack of attention he’s getting on this event. “Ariel had to have his dick moment today,” Dana says. “There you go, he got it in. Good job, Ariel.”
– 33:32: Sonnen adds another monologue to his trash-talk highlight reel, blasting “Little Nerd” for pulling out of his scheduled fight against Rua. Best part: “Every time Lil’ Nog or Vitor Belfort signs a contract, I go into training camp, because I know an opportunity is going to open up.”
(Guida engages the UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodsonaudience in the ancient Native American dance known as the “Iwannanothadrinka.” Photo via Combat Lifestyle.)
We’ve thrown the word “curse” around a lot here at CagePotato in the past year or so (as in “injury curse,” “cursed from birth,” and “curse you Dana for setting this up!”), but featherweight contender Chad Mendes is one of the few fighters who might actually be able to stake a claim to that title. In his past three scheduled fights, all of his original opponents have pulled out due to a last minute injury, leaving Mendes to face off against late replacement opponents on two occasions and cancelling his fight altogether in the third. Then again, any curse that ends in you collecting two quick knockouts and upwards of eighty thousand dollars is a hell of a lot better than the festering boils and dead first born I’ve been stuck with.
Anyway, the last man to pull out of a fight with Mendes was none other than recently-converted featherweight Clay “N-Pray” [*rimshot*] Guida, who was replaced by Darren Elkins just as quickly as Darren Elkins was defeated by Chad Mendes when the two eventually met at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz. According to Ariel Helwani, the UFC is considering rebooking Mendes vs. Guida for the August 31st-scheduled UFC 164 card, which will also feature the beginning of Brandon Vera’ssecond attempt to become the UFC’s first two-division champ when he returns to the heavyweight division to face…Ben Rothwell. Baby steps, folks.
(Guida engages the UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodsonaudience in the ancient Native American dance known as the “Iwannanothadrinka.” Photo via Combat Lifestyle.)
We’ve thrown the word “curse” around a lot here at CagePotato in the past year or so (as in “injury curse,” “cursed from birth,” and “curse you Dana for setting this up!”), but featherweight contender Chad Mendes is one of the few fighters who might actually be able to stake a claim to that title. In his past three scheduled fights, all of his original opponents have pulled out due to a last minute injury, leaving Mendes to face off against late replacement opponents on two occasions and cancelling his fight altogether in the third. Then again, any curse that ends in you collecting two quick knockouts and upwards of eighty thousand dollars is a hell of a lot better than the festering boils and dead first born I’ve been stuck with.
Anyway, the last man to pull out of a fight with Mendes was none other than recently-converted featherweight Clay “N-Pray” [*rimshot*] Guida, who was replaced by Darren Elkins just as quickly as Darren Elkins was defeated by Chad Mendes when the two eventually met at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz. According to Ariel Helwani, the UFC is considering rebooking Mendes vs. Guida for the August 31st-scheduled UFC 164 card, which will also feature the beginning of Brandon Vera’ssecond attempt to become the UFC’s first two-division champ when he returns to the heavyweight division to face…Ben Rothwell. Baby steps, folks.
Although the booking “isn’t 100% yet,” it’s hard to deny that this fight makes just as much sense as it did previously, if not more. Mendes wiped the floor with Elkins — who was on an impressive five-fight streak of his own — in his last contest, and Guida is on the heels of a featherweight debut victory over the highly-ranked Hatsu Hioki. An impressive victory for either man could put them in a prime position for a shot at Jose Aldo (or in Mendes’ case, another lesson in humility shot).
