Tag: Bellator FC

Bellator Featherweight Title On The Line Sept. 2nd

Press Release
Bellator Fighting Championships World Featherweight Championship belt will be on the line Sept. 2nd when reigning champ Joe “The Hammer” Soto defends his title against Season 2 Featherweight Tournament Champion Joe Warren at Bellator 27 in San Antonio.
The five-round Main Event Championship fight — which will be televised LIVE nationwide from San Antonio’s Majestic […]

Joe Soto_BellatorPress Release

Bellator Fighting Championships World Featherweight Championship belt will be on the line Sept. 2nd when reigning champ Joe “The Hammer” Soto defends his title against Season 2 Featherweight Tournament Champion Joe Warren at Bellator 27 in San Antonio.

The five-round Main Event Championship fight — which will be televised LIVE nationwide from San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre on FOX Sports Net — features two fighters at the top of their games each looking to make another huge statement that they are among the world’s top 145-pound fighters.

Soto, a native of California’s Central Valley, was a virtual unknown in the MMA world before knocking off Ben Greer, Wilson Reis and Yahir Reyes to take home the first-ever Bellator Featherweight Championship belt last June. He recently improved his record to a perfect 9-0 with an impressive May 20th ground-and-pound stoppage of durable UFC veteran Diego Saraiva at Bellator 19 in Dallas. The Hammer is known for his well-rounded arsenal and finishing ability with four of his wins coming via submission and four being stopped via KO or TKO.

Warren, the former NCAA all-American wrestler at the University of Michigan and two-time Greco-Roman wrestling world champion, burst onto the MMA scene in 2009 with stunning wins over former WEC standout Chase Beebe and Japanese sensation Kid Yamamoto. In 2010, he took home Bellator’s Season 2 Featherweight Tournament Championship with inspiring consecutive victories over Eric Marriott, Georgi Karakhanyan and the previously undefeated Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, improving his overall pro MMA record to 5-1 and solidifying his place among the best featherweights in the sport.

“Of our four upcoming world title fights, the Soto-Warren fight is hugely intriguing,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Joe Soto is extremely talented and has made a collection of top ten rankings. Warren’s a world-class wrestler who beat one of the greatest featherweights in the world in just his second fight. He has tremendous heart and he doesn’t understand what the word ‘lose’ means. Joe Soto also comes from a national-caliber wrestling background and anyone who saw his fight with Diego Saraiva in May knows that his game is polished and world-class throughout every facet of MMA. This should be a truly spectacular fight.”

Soto said that he “can’t wait for the fight” and thinks he matches up well against Warren.

“I’m just really excited to get in there and compete against him,” Soto said. “He’s a wrestler just like I am, but I think I can out-wrestle him. If he takes me down, I’m better on my back than he is on top. If we stay standing, I think I can out-box him. No matter where the fight goes, I think I’m a much better all-around fighter than he is.”

Warren, for his part, respectfully disagreed, saying that “after September 2nd, Joe Warren will have his first belt and that’s going to be big trouble for everyone in this weight division.

“Joe Soto is a tough fighter, but he’s going to see the best Joe Warren that’s ever been in a cage,” Warren said. “We’re both great wrestlers so I’m guessing we’re going to get in there and beat the crap out of each other, but in the end I’m going to be taking that belt home with me.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

Tickets for Bellator 27 are available at www.Ticketmaster.com.

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

Yves Edwards Vs. Luis Palomino Set For Bellator August 12 Card.

CHICAGO, Ill. (July 29, 2010) — A showdown between one of MMA’s most exciting lightweights and a colorful, highly-regarded South Florida fan favorite will serve as the “Local Main Event” when Bellator Fighting Championships returns to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., for its Season 3 debut on Aug. 12th.
The much […]

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CHICAGO, Ill. (July 29, 2010) — A showdown between one of MMA’s most exciting lightweights and a colorful, highly-regarded South Florida fan favorite will serve as the “Local Main Event” when Bellator Fighting Championships returns to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., for its Season 3 debut on Aug. 12th.

The much anticipated fight pits UFC and PRIDE veteran Yves Edwards (37-16-1) against four-time Bellator veteran and Miami native Luis “Baboon” Palomino (13-5) in a battle for bragging rights between two of South Florida’s top MMA gyms, American Top Team and MMA Masters.

Edwards, one of MMA’s most battle-tested veterans, is known as one of the most vicious finishers in the sport with 15 knockouts and 15 submissions to total 30 stoppages during his 13-year pro career. He has notable recent wins over UFC veteran Derrick Noble and WEC vet Kyle Jensen and is one of only three pros to have defeated former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson.

Palomino, who won a clear-cut unanimous decision victory over ATT up-and-comer Jose Figueroa at Bellator 21 on June 10th, has notched 7 of his 13 pro victories via KO or TKO. He also owns career wins versus Strikeforce and EliteXC vet Nick Gonzalez and Bellator, Strikeforce and Sengoku mainstay Jorge Masvidal.

Edwards and Palomino join a stacked Bellator 24 card that also features:

– A special non-title “Super Fight” between reigning Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard (26-2-1) and former NFL standout Herbert “Whisper” Goodman (15-8);
– An opening-round fight in Bellator’s Women’s World Championship Tournament featuring the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter, Megumi Fujii, and veteran submission grappler Angela Magana, the world’s No. 8-ranked female fighter at 115 lbs.;
– Another opening-round Women’s Tournament fight between the world’s No. 6-ranked 125-pounder, Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez, and Jessica Aguilar, the world’s No.7-ranked 115-pounder; and
– An opening-round fight in Bellator’s Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament between heavy-handed UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez and British behemoth Neil “Goliath” Grove.

Tickets for the event — which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net — are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.

“The Edward-Palomino fight is just part of a talent-stacked Bellator 24 card that will kick off our third season in exciting fashion,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Yves Edwards has a well-earned reputation as a show-stopper and Luis Palomino has been known to knock guys out with impunity as well. It should be a very interesting fight and one that I’m definitely looking forward to watching.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

Cole Konrad Vs. Rogent Lloret Set For Opening Round Of Bellator’s Season 3.

CHICAGO, Ill. (July 27, 2010) — Two-time NCAA wrestling champion Cole Konrad and highly-touted European submission ace Rogent Lloret will face of in an opening-round contest in Bellator’s Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament at the historic Chicago Theatre on Aug. 19th.
Konrad and Lloret join a stacked Bellator 25 card that also features the U.S. debut of […]

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CHICAGO, Ill. (July 27, 2010) — Two-time NCAA wrestling champion Cole Konrad and highly-touted European submission ace Rogent Lloret will face of in an opening-round contest in Bellator’s Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament at the historic Chicago Theatre on Aug. 19th.

Konrad and Lloret join a stacked Bellator 25 card that also features the U.S. debut of undefeated heavyweight sensation Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski in another opening-round Heavyweight Tournament fight with massive Georgia-based ground-and-pound specialist Scott Barrett, and an opening-round fight in Bellator’s Women’s World Championship Tournament between Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto and the world’s No. 6-ranked flyweight, Jessica Pene, as well as five other fights.

Tickets for the event — which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net — are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.

“Cole is on one of the best heavyweight wrestlers in the world and Rogent’s jiu-jitsu is at a similar level, so this should be a very intriguing fight,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Add this fight to a card that already includes the U.S. debut of Damian Grabowski and a highly anticipated Women’s Tournament fight between Zoila Frausto and Jessica Pene and you have the makings of a great fight night in Chicago.”

Konrad, a protégé and training partner of reigning UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, will enter the Lloret fight looking to improve on the unblemished 4-0 record he has compiled since making his pro debut in January. Dubbed “The Polar Bear” by Lesnar due to his freakish strength during sparring sessions, the 6-foot, 5-inch Konrad’s two most recent wins came during special “Feature Fights” at Bellator 17 and Bellator 22 in May and June. Previously, he won the NCAA Division I wrestling title at 285 lbs. in 2006 and 2007 while competing at the University of Minnesota and won a gold medal at the 2005 Pan-American Games.

“I think Lloret is going to be the toughest test I’ve faced in MMA up to this point in my fighting career,” Konrad said. “I’m going to be looking to finish him as soon as possible. The goal for this tournament is to get in and get out. I’m looking to finish all of these fights as quickly as possible and get out of there.”

Lloret, a Gracie Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and M-1 Global veteran has not lost a fight in more than three years and enters the tournament with a 9-1-1 overall pro record. He is known for his smothering ground game — submitting six of his nine victims, including four by arm triangle choke — but also displayed his striking prowess when he KO’d Serbian MMA veteran Miodrag Petkovic with a devastating high head kick this past April.

“I know that he is a good wrestler and he must be super strong too because he weighs way more than me — 22 pounds or more,” Lloret said of Konrad. “The only thing I hope is that my background and my speed are a little on top and that I can keep the fight standing. We are both going to give the best we have and it will be a war.”

Also competing in the Heavyweight Tournament alongside Konrad, Lloret, Barrett and Grabowski are Seattle-area knockout artist Mike “300” Hayes, heavy-handed UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez, power-punching British behemoth Neil “Goliath” Grove and one yet-to-be named fighter.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

Bellator Fighting Championships Set For New Orleans On September 9.

NEW ORLEANS, La. (July 22, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships will bring its action-packed brand of mixed martial arts to the Big Easy this fall during a nationally-televised show at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in downtown New Orleans on Thursday, Sept. 9th.
The show marks the first time that a major MMA […]

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NEW ORLEANS, La. (July 22, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships will bring its action-packed brand of mixed martial arts to the Big Easy this fall during a nationally-televised show at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts in downtown New Orleans on Thursday, Sept. 9th.

The show marks the first time that a major MMA promotion has traveled to New Orleans in nearly 10 years and the first time that the 36-year-old theater will host a professional sporting event. Tickets go on sale at 1 p.m. CT Friday at Ticketmaster.com.

The event, Bellator 28, will be headlined by two semifinal-round bouts in Bellator’s ongoing Season 3 tournaments as well as two “Qualifier Fights” for Bellator’s Season 4 Lightweight and Featherweight Tournaments. Those fights will feature:

– New Orleans-area native and beloved UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi (36-16-1) vs. Bellator Season 2 veteran Carey Vanier (9-3) at 155 lbs., and

– Bellator Season 2 veteran Georgi “Insane” Karakhanyan (13-2-1) vs. undefeated Texas-based submission ace Chas Skelly (7-0) at 145 lbs.

“We are really happy to be bringing Bellator to the die-hard MMA fans in New Orleans,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “The Mahalia JacksonTheater is the perfect venue to continue the semifinal rounds of our Season 3 tournaments and to host a couple of great “Qualifier Fights” that will help build our tournaments at 145 and 155 for our fourth season.”

The theater, which opened in January 1973 with a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Messa di Requiem, is home to the New Orleans Opera Association and the New Orleans Ballet Association and regularly plays host to stage plays such as Mama Mia, the Color Purple, Wicked and Avenue Q. The theatre was shuttered for more than three years after it suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina, but celebrated a triumphant grand re-opening in January 2009.

Bellator 28 will once again be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company based in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

Bellator Adds Two-Time NCAA Wrestling Champion Cole Konrad To Season 3 Heavyweights

CHICAGO, Ill. (July 20, 2010) — Cole Konrad, the two-time NCAA wrestling champion who is undefeated since making the transition into MMA earlier this year, is the latest confirmed participant in Bellator Fighting Championships’ upcoming Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament.
The 26-year-old Konrad, a protégé and training partner of reigning UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, will enter […]

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CHICAGO, Ill. (July 20, 2010) — Cole Konrad, the two-time NCAA wrestling champion who is undefeated since making the transition into MMA earlier this year, is the latest confirmed participant in Bellator Fighting Championships’ upcoming Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament.

The 26-year-old Konrad, a protégé and training partner of reigning UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, will enter the tournament looking to improve on the unblemished 4-0 record he has compiled since making his pro debut in January. His two most recent wins came during special “Feature Fights” at Bellator 17 and Bellator 22 in May and June.

Standing at 6 feet, 5 inches tall and tipping the scales at 265 lbs., Konrad is the seventh confirmed participant in the tournament along with undefeated European finisher Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski, power-punching British behemoth Neil Grove, heavy-handed UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez, Spanish submission ace Rogent Lloret, Seattle-area knockout artist Mike “300” Hayes and Georgia-based ground-and-pound specialist Scott Barrett.

The tournament begins Aug. 12th on FOX Sports Net.

“Cole Konrad’s pedigree as a wrestler is obviously second-to-none and he is quickly developing other aspects of his MMA arsenal as well,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Between Warren at 45 and Askren at 70, world class wrestlers have had a very good run with Bellator, and Cole could certainly follow in those footsteps.”

Konrad, who grew up in Neenah, Wis., won the NCAA wrestling championships at 285 lbs. while competing at the University of Minnesota in 2006 and 2007 and won a gold medal at the 2005 Pan-American Games. He has been training with Lesnar, a fellow U. of M. alumnus, for the past year and a half.

“This tournament is going to provide me with the greatest test that I’ve faced so far in my fighting career,” Konrad said. “But this is exactly the kind of test I’m looking for. I want to get as many fights under my belt as I can and I want to keep fighting tougher guys. This tournament is going to allow me to do that.

“I’m taking it one fight at a time, but I’m planning on winning this tournament. If I wasn’t planning on winning, I wouldn’t bother showing up.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

Bellator August 12 Show Opens With Eddie Sanchez Vs. Neil Grove.

CHICAGO, Ill. (July 19, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships’ much-anticipated Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament will kick off on Thursday, Aug. 12th with an intriguing opening-round fight between heavy-handed UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez and massive British knockout artist Neil “Goliath” Grove at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Sanchez and Grove join a […]

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CHICAGO, Ill. (July 19, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships’ much-anticipated Season 3 Heavyweight Tournament will kick off on Thursday, Aug. 12th with an intriguing opening-round fight between heavy-handed UFC veteran Eddie Sanchez and massive British knockout artist Neil “Goliath” Grove at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Sanchez and Grove join a stacked Bellator 24 card that also features:

– A special non-title “Super Fight” between reigning Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard (26-2-1) and former NFL standoutHerbert “Whisper” Goodman (15-8);

-An opening-round fight in Bellator’s Women’s World Championship Tournament featuring the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter,Megumi Fujii, and veteran submission grappler Angela Magana, the world’s No. 8-ranked female fighter at 115 lbs.;

– Another opening-round Women’s Tournament fight between the world’s No. 6-ranked 125-pounder, Lynn “Lights Out” Alvarez, andJessica Aguilar, the world’s No.7-ranked 115-pounder.

Tickets for the event — which will also be broadcast LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net — are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.

The Sanchez-Grove fight is one of four opening-round fights in the Heavyweight Tournament that will take place during Bellator’s first four Season 3 events in South Florida, Chicago, Kansas City and San Antonio. Also competing in the tournament are undefeated European finisher Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski, Seattle-area knockout artist Mike “300” Hayes, Spanish submission ace Rogent Lloret, Georgia-based ground-and-pound specialistScott Barrett and two yet-to-be named fighters.

Sanchez (12-3) has finished eight of his fights via KO or TKO. The San Diego native is now in the midst of a four-fight win streak that includes a devastating 10-second KO of Jay White during Bellator 7 in 2009 and a miraculous come-from-behind TKO victory over Marcus Sursa at Bellator 20 in San Antonio on May 27th.

Grove (8-2-1) has notched all eight of his wins via KO or TKO. The South African-born former semipro rugby player earned widespread recognition with a highlight-reel 10-second KO of former EliteXC, Pride and Sengoku headliner James Thompson and followed that up with an impressive TKO of UFC veteran James McSweeney.

“Both Eddie and Neil are known for their finishes so this should be an exciting fight,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “In addition, fans watching Bellator 24 at the Hard Rock and on our national TV broadcasts will also get a chance to see some outstanding fights featuring stars like Hector Lombard and Megumi Fujii. It’s going to be a great night in South Florida on August 12th.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.