Although it’s being headlined by a matchup that is equal parts garbage and ass, the rest of Bellator’s first ever pay-per-view card is really starting to come together. Not only does it feature two title-fight rematches in Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler (lightweight) and King Mo Lawal vs. Emanuel Newton (interim LHW), but Bellator officials announced earlier today that the much delayed featherweight title fight between Pat Curran and Daniel Straus will be joining the main card as well.
MMAJunkie passes along Bjorn Rebney’s statement on what is quickly becoming one of the most stacked cards of the year. Yup, I just wrote that:
Pat Curran’s one of the best mixed martial artists we have in the game today. Before breaking his hand, Straus was a fixture in the top 10 rankings with a huge amount of talent. Curran vs. Straus is a fight I’ve wanted to see since Daniel won the tournament a year ago last May. This should be an epic world title fight and our pay-per-view provides the perfect stage.
As Rebney stated, Straus was expected to face Curran a little over a year ago after capturing the season 6 featherweight tournament, but was replaced by season 7 tourney winner Shahbulat Shamhalaev following a broken hand he suffered in training. Curran would go on to defeat the Russian replacement at Bellator 95 via first round guillotine choke.
Although it’s being headlined by a matchup that is equal parts garbage and ass, the rest of Bellator’s first ever pay-per-view card is really starting to come together. Not only does it feature two title-fight rematches in Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler (lightweight) and King Mo Lawal vs. Emanuel Newton (interim LHW), but Bellator officials announced earlier today that the much delayed featherweight title fight between Pat Curran and Daniel Straus will be joining the main card as well.
MMAJunkie passes along Bjorn Rebney’s statement on what is quickly becoming one of the most stacked cards of the year. Yup, I just wrote that:
Pat Curran’s one of the best mixed martial artists we have in the game today. Before breaking his hand, Straus was a fixture in the top 10 rankings with a huge amount of talent. Curran vs. Straus is a fight I’ve wanted to see since Daniel won the tournament a year ago last May. This should be an epic world title fight and our pay-per-view provides the perfect stage.
As Rebney stated, Straus was expected to face Curran a little over a year ago after capturing the season 6 featherweight tournament, but was replaced by season 7 tourney winner Shahbulat Shamhalaev following a broken hand he suffered in training. Curran would go on to defeat the Russian replacement at Bellator 95 via first round guillotine choke.
It should be noted that Curran, who will be making his third title defense come November 2nd, previously defeated Straus via KO at an XFO event in 2009. While Straus has gone 17-1 (!) since then, a year layoff will do him no favors against a fighter of Curran’s caliber.
It’s funny, three rematches and a headlining bout between two guys with a combined record of 3-8 since 2010 is arguably a more stacked card than 2 out of the last 3 UFC events. Dana, you got some splainin’ to do.
(I would totally wear that shirt. But if somebody asks me who it’s supposed to be, I’d tell them it’s Rob Tyner. / Photo via MMADiehards)
Former Olympic wrestler Ben Askren is undefeated in 12 fights since he began fighting MMA in 2009, has won his last two by TKO, and has beaten many of the best welterweights outside of the UFC. It’s little wonder why fans have been curious how the Bellator welterweight champion would do against the best in the world in the UFC and even champion Georges St. Pierre, if only because of Askren’s superb wrestling.
But last week, when White was asked whether the UFC would speak with Askren, whose contract is up with Bellator, White said that his promotion would indeed talk to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Freestlye wrestler.
That was trippy enough, but it’s a testament to the fact that the UFC usually seeks out the best fighters in the world, no matter how popular or “exciting” MMA fans or White himself think they are. Bellator, however, seems to be taking a different approach.
(I would totally wear that shirt. But if somebody asks me who it’s supposed to be, I’d tell them it’s Rob Tyner. / Photo via MMADiehards)
Former Olympic wrestler Ben Askren is undefeated in 12 fights since he began fighting MMA in 2009, has won his last two by TKO, and has beaten many of the best welterweights outside of the UFC. It’s little wonder why fans have been curious how the Bellator welterweight champion would do against the best in the world in the UFC and even champion Georges St. Pierre, if only because of Askren’s superb wrestling.
But last week, when White was asked whether the UFC would speak with Askren, whose contract is up with Bellator, White said that his promotion would indeed talk to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Freestlye wrestler.
That was trippy enough, but it’s a testament to the fact that the UFC usually seeks out the best fighters in the world, no matter how popular or “exciting” MMA fans or White himself think they are. Bellator, however, seems to be taking a different approach.
“If Ben’s going to go to the UFC, we should speed up that process so he can go fight. I’d love to see Ben versus GSP,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney recently told ESPN.
“I don’t think we’re going to make an offer at this point…So I don’t see any reason to make anybody sit out.”
When Bellator actually wants a fighter, they have no problem making them “sit out” during protracted legal battles. This guy know what we’re talking about.
“If the UFC does make an offer, we’ll take a look at it and move on from there,” Rebney said. “We haven’t been proactive yet. I have nothing but good things to say about Ben as a fighter, but we’re all very aware of how he fights and what he does. It’s not for everyone.”
Not for Bellator, we guess. It appears that Askren is not exciting enough to Bellator and the fact that he’s a dominant, elite fighter isn’t enough to interest them at whatever financial cost they imagine he’ll run them.
So, Bellator currently looks poised to let a champion walk away. Not that they’ve exactly been a bastion of title respect and consistency up to this point anyhow.
If Askren joins the UFC, who do you want to see him face first, nation? He’d become the most accomplished amateur wrestler in the welterweight division immediately. Do you those skills will be enough to challenge the likes of Georges St. Pierre and Johny Hendricks?
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are four of the most influential men in American history. Apparently, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney believes Tito Ortiz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson are as equal…
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are four of the most influential men in American history. Apparently, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney believes Tito Ortiz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson are as equally influential in the world of MMA.
Rebney spoke to Fox News Latinoabout the two men who are headlining Bellator’s first foray into pay-per-view.
“On the Mt. Rushmore of Mixed Martial Arts, Tito Ortiz & Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson are two of the four heads carved out of stone,” Rebney said.
Um what?
Apparently Rebney has made the jump past hyperspeed and straight to “Ludicrous Speed” for promoting the upcoming pay-per-view. Rebney is basically saying that without Ortiz or Rampage, MMA wouldn’t be where it is now.
All jokes aside, the claim is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, Ortiz and Jackson are two of the most well-known figures in the sport, but are far from achieving the type of influence that would merit a place on MMA’s Mt. Rushmore.
Ortiz has fought in the Octagon for nearly his entire career (only his third fight was competed outside the UFC) and eventually became the sport’s top light heavyweight. Ortiz would defend the UFC Light Heavyweight Title five times before losing it to Randy “The Natural” Couture.
Rampage Jackson, on the other hand, made a name for himself while competing in Japan under the Pride FC promotion. Jackson quickly became a star for his colorful personality as well as his vicious KO power inside the ring. His rivalries with Wanderlei Silva were the stuff of legend.
Although Ortiz seemed like a dominant champion, there were plenty of detractors who believed “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” was hiding from his former training partner Chuck Liddell. The two men would finally meet at UFC 47 and once more at UFC 66. Liddell won both matchups via TKO.
Many fans will only remember Ortiz as the broken-down fighter he’d become in his later years. His last few years with the UFC were mired with injuries and disappointment as Ortiz managed to go 1-7-1 in his final nine bouts.
Jackson’s starpower was at its height when he took out Liddell at UFC 71 in a much-hyped rematch for the light heavyweight title. Rampage would then unify the Pride and UFC 205-pound belts before losing to Forrest Griffin.
After the loss to Griffin, Jackson went on a rampage (pun intended) through the streets in his truck. Although Jackson would avoid any serious penalties, it would become the beginning of the end for “Rampage” and the UFC.
He burned quite a few bridges with Dana White for choosing The A-Team film over fighting Rashad Evans and burned the rest with his attitude towards the UFC after his most recent fights.
Both Jackson and Ortiz were involved in some of the most intense (and talked about) rivalries in MMA. But I don’t get how anyone can say they belong on a Mt. Rushmore of MMA.
(Eye squares off with Prison Michelle at the Bellator 66 weigh-ins. Photo via Sherdog.)
Big news out of Cleveland today, as it has been announced that 10-1 bantamweight prospect Jessica “Evil” Eye has signed with the UFC. The news was broke late last night by none other than Eye herself, who posted the following to her Twitter:
A fierce striker with just as deadly submission skills, Eye’s coming out party came at Bellator 83, where she thrashed Bellator women’s strawweight champion Zoila Gurgel before locking up a standing arm triangle choke that put Gurgel out on her feet less than a minute into the contest. After Bellator decided to shut down their women’s division last week, most correctly assumed that Eye would be snatched up by either the UFC or Invicta, as was the case for fellow Bellator star Felice Herrig.
Although no date or event has been set for Eye’s debut, she is currently being linked to a bout with Sarah Kaufman, who recently saw her Fight Night 27 bout on the 28th cancelled as a result of Sarah McMann’s last second injury. We will have more details on the potential Eye/Kaufman matchup as we are made aware.
After the jump: Eye puts a beating on Gurgel at Bellator 83.
(Eye squares off with Prison Michelle at the Bellator 66 weigh-ins. Photo via Sherdog.)
Big news out of Cleveland today, as it has been announced that 10-1 bantamweight prospect Jessica “Evil” Eye has signed with the UFC. The news was broke late last night by none other than Eye herself, who posted the following to her Twitter:
A fierce striker with just as deadly submission skills, Eye’s coming out party came at Bellator 83, where she thrashed Bellator women’s strawweight champion Zoila Gurgel before locking up a standing arm triangle choke that put Gurgel out on her feet less than a minute into the contest. After Bellator decided to shut down their women’s division last week, most correctly assumed that Eye would be snatched up by either the UFC or Invicta, as was the case for fellow Bellator star Felice Herrig.
Although no date or event has been set for Eye’s debut, she is currently being linked to a bout with Sarah Kaufman, who recently saw her Fight Night 27 bout on the 28th cancelled as a result of Sarah McMann’s last second injury. We will have more details on the potential Eye/Kaufman matchup as we are made aware.
We’ve thrown a video of Eye’s aforementioned beating of Gurgel below, so check it out.
On behalf of CP, I’d like to personally welcome Jessica to the UFC women’s bantamweight division. Now start drilling armbar defense or you’re f*cked.
Many feared it would never materialize, but—once he settled his differences with Bellator MMA—Eddie Alvarez all but finalized his highly anticipated rematch with lightweight linchpin Michael Chandler.
The rematch will go down at Bellator MM…
Many feared it would never materialize, but—once he settled his differences with BellatorMMA—Eddie Alvarez all but finalized his highly anticipated rematch with lightweight linchpin Michael Chandler.
The rematch will go down at Bellator MMA’s first pay-per-view event (Bellator 106) on Nov. 2, nearly two years removed from Chandler’s epic win over former champ Alvarez at Bellator 58.
In the first installment of this 155-pound rivalry, Alvarez got dropped twice in Round 1 only to bounce back with an offensive assault in Round 3 that nearly finished an ever-resilient Chandler.
Although both men seemed fresh heading into the fourth, Chandler dropped Alvarez midway through the round, took his back and then cinched up a fight-ending rear-naked choke to take the belt in just his ninth fight.
Because of the thrilling back-and-forth nature of the bout,Yahoo! Sports named it the 2011 “Fight of the Year.”
Since their unforgettable showdown, Chandler and Alvarez have gone a combined 5-0 with five finishes in Bellator MMA.
Here’s a head-to-toe breakdown of what will be the most hyped rematch in Bellator MMA history.
For some MMA fighters, professional wrestling was just a one-time cash grab. For others, it became a second career. Inspired by yet another week of TNA Impact Wrestling’s efforts to get anyone to care about the professional wrestling experiments of two broken-down MMA legends, we’ll be examining fighters who took up professional wrestling after they made their names in MMA in our newest installment of The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.
Bear in mind that this article is focusing on mixed martial artists who transitioned to professional wrestling careers, and not fighters who started off as professional wrestlers. So that means fighters like Brock Lesnar, Ken Shamrock, Bobby Lashley, Giant Silva, Bob Sapp, Dos Caras Jr. (aka Alberto Del Rio), Dan Severn (Google it) and Sakuraba will not be covered here — although a few of these men will make appearances in this article. Let’s start off on a positive note…
The Good
The Professional Wrestling Career of Josh Barnett.
When you’re thinking of good instances of an MMA fighter turning to professional wrestling as a second career choice, Josh Barnett should immediately come to mind. There have been other fighters who dabbled in professional wrestling, but Barnett is one of the only ones to be just as popular and successful in it as he was in MMA.
Before his transition, Barnett became the youngest heavyweight champion in UFC history by defeating Randy Couture at UFC 36. After being stripped of his title due to a positive drug test, Barnett set his sights on the Japanese professional wrestling scene, where the fans value legitimacy and toughness from their wrestlers more than mic skills and charisma (although Barnett has both in spades). He immediately challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and although he came up short, he went on to enjoy the most relevant crossover career of any fighter on this list before his return to the UFC earlier this year put a halt to the wrasslin’ for the time being.
For some MMA fighters, professional wrestling was just a one-time cash grab. For others, it became a second career. Inspired by yet another week of TNA Impact Wrestling’s efforts to get anyone to care about the professional wrestling experiments of two broken-down MMA legends, we’ll be examining fighters who took up professional wrestling after they made their names in MMA in our newest installment of The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.
Bear in mind that this article is focusing on mixed martial artists who transitioned to professional wrestling careers, and not fighters who started off as professional wrestlers. So that means fighters like Brock Lesnar, Ken Shamrock, Bobby Lashley, Giant Silva, Bob Sapp, Dos Caras Jr. (aka Alberto Del Rio), Dan Severn (Google it) and Sakuraba will not be covered here — although a few of these men will make appearances in this article. Let’s start off on a positive note…
The Good
The Professional Wrestling Career of Josh Barnett.
When you’re thinking of good instances of an MMA fighter turning to professional wrestling as a second career choice, Josh Barnett should immediately come to mind. There have been other fighters who dabbled in professional wrestling, but Barnett is one of the only ones to be just as popular and successful in it as he was in MMA.
Before his transition, Barnett became the youngest heavyweight champion in UFC history by defeating Randy Couture at UFC 36. After being stripped of his title due to a positive drug test, Barnett set his sights on the Japanese professional wrestling scene, where the fans value legitimacy and toughness from their wrestlers more than mic skills and charisma (although Barnett has both in spades). He immediately challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and although he came up short, he went on to enjoy the most relevant crossover career of any fighter on this list before his return to the UFC earlier this year put a halt to the wrasslin’ for the time being.
With Frye’s “rematch” against Yoshihiro Takayama being one of the few exceptions, the professional wrestling careers of Don Frye and Bas Rutten have been exactly what you’d expect them to be. If I need to explain why that’s a good thing, you’reobviouslynewhere.
The Polar Bear Fights Taz at ECW Hardcore Heaven.
(Enjoy the video while it lasts. Seriously, WWE’s lawyers will probably have it taken down soon.)
By 1996, a stocky, Brooklyn-born judoka by the name of Peter Senercia — better known as Taz — was one of the most talented, respected wrestlers on the independent circuit. Dubbed “The Human Suplex Machine,” Taz brawled his way through most of the ECW roster and was looking to take on some credible new opponents. This led to a problem for ECW owner Paul Heyman: Despite its success among hardcore wrestling fans, ECW was still very much an independent promotion that couldn’t afford to bring in established wrestlers just to job to one of their top stars. Always one to embrace new ideas, Heyman solved this dilemma by bringing Paul “The Polar Bear” Varelans in from the upstart Ultimate Fighting Championship to challenge Taz to a “real” fight at Hardcore Heaven.
At 6’8” tall and tipping the scales at 300 pounds, Varelans was the perfect fighter for Heyman to utilize. He was big enough to be seen as a formidable opponent, but his MMA record wasn’t too impressive for anyone to buy that Taz could actually beat him. The strong-style nature of the match hid The Polar Bear’s lack of professional wrestling training, yet also wasn’t out of place in ECW — especially not while Taz was in the ring. And while Taz obviously won the fight, he relied on outside interference. Having heels bend the rules in order to defeat larger, more skilled opponents is not only a common way to generate heat, but it also makes the ending more realistic in the eyes of the ECW fans who were familiar with those early UFC events. Well, at least as realistic as a fight that ends by Tazmission after an outsider dropkicks one of the fighters can look, I guess (work with me, people). Basically, everyone involved benefited from the situation and the fans actually cared about the angle — something that rarely happens when MMA fighters infiltrate the world of professional wrestling.
Bonus: According to wrestling legend, it was Taz who brought tapping out to professional wrestling. Taz was a huge Royce Gracie fan, and thought it would be more authentic if wrestlers tapped out at the end of their matches instead of just verbally submitting. If you think wrestling looks fake now, just imagine what it looked like when wrestlers verbally submitted to choke holds.
Brian Johnson Reinvents Himself in Japan
I’m willing to bet that, like most MMA fans, you’ve all but forgotten about Brian Johnson — the man who punched out a hapless Reza Nasri in under 30 seconds at UFC 11 before being emphatically tackled by Big John McCarthy. In terms of his real fighting career, you didn’t miss much — Johnson retired barely one year after he started fighting and lost to everyone he’s fought that you’ve heard of. However, with few other career options available for hulking spandex-clad athletes, Johnson turned to fake fighting and quickly excelled at it. He enjoyed success as a tag-team wrestler, pairing up with guys like Don Frye and Kazuyuki Fujita in the Japanese professional wrestling circuit.
Unfortunately, Johnson’s professional wrestling career would eventually serve as a brutal reminder that even though the fights are fake, the injuries that plague wrestlers are all too real. A series of concussions led him to retire in early 2001, and later that year, at only thirty-two years old, he would suffer a severe stroke. Though Johnson is alive and well today, he has wisely stayed away from the squared circle.
Hit that “next page” link for god awful gimmicks, the career that should have been, and the partnership that never should have…
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are four of the most influential men in American history. Apparently, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney believes Tito Ortiz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson are as equally influential in the world of 
