The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s what we have planned for our 101st episode.
* MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta, MMAConvert.com’s Jim Genia and TapouT’s Mike Straka will return for another edition of the MMA Media Roundtable. We’ll discuss the fallout from UFC 135, UFC on Versus 6 and much more.
* And Jared Hamman will talk about his move down to 185 pounds and his new wine label.
Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.
*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.
Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.
The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s what we have planned for our 101st episode.
* MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta, MMAConvert.com’s Jim Genia and TapouT’s Mike Straka will return for another edition of the MMA Media Roundtable. We’ll discuss the fallout from UFC 135, UFC on Versus 6 and much more.
* And Jared Hamman will talk about his move down to 185 pounds and his new wine label.
Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714.
*** You can also stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here.
Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.
Filed under: Bellator, NewsJoe Warren’s pursuit of a second Bellator title didn’t get very far.
Warren, Bellator’s featherweight champion, dropped to bantamweight to enter the promotion’s Season 5 tournament, hoping to win the tourney and get a shot …
Joe Warren’s pursuit of a second Bellator title didn’t get very far.
Warren, Bellator’s featherweight champion, dropped to bantamweight to enter the promotion’s Season 5 tournament, hoping to win the tourney and get a shot at bantamweight champ Zack Makovsky. But Alexis Vila had plenty to say about that Saturday at Bellator 51, and he said it with his left hand.
Vila dropped Warren with a big left in the main event, knocking him out before he hit the ground. The knockout came at just 1:04 of the first round. Vila advanced to the semifinals of the Bellator bantamweight tourney, as did Eduardo Dantas, Marcos Galvao and Ed West with their wins on Saturday in Canton, Ohio.
“This is what MMA is about,” Vila said after the fight. “I think everyone’s happy with my performance, so let’s roll. I’m looking for the title. It’s why I came here – to get a title.”
Warren’s loss snapped a five-fight winning streak, all in Bellator, since his last loss at Dream 11, a submission setback to Bibiano Fernandes in October 2009. Warren’s featherweight title was not on the line. Vila, from Cuba, remained unbeaten at 10-0. It was his Bellator debut.
In the co-main event, Dantas, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, upset Wilson Reis with a first-round knockout. Dantas landed a big flying right knee to Reis’ chin. Six shots on the ground later, Reis was in his second straight Bellator semifinals. He lost in the featherweight tournament’s semis in the spring.
And in a pair of unanimous decisions to open the quarterfinals, Marcos Galvao beat former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe with a close split decision. Galvao, a BJJ black belt, survived several first-round submission attempts from Beebe. And West beat Luis Nogueira, a Brazilian national wrestling champion, by unanimous decision.
The semifinal fights of the bantamweight tournament are expected to take place in a Bellator event next month.
This weekend is stuffed to the gill with decent fights. So many, in fact, that it’s going to be difficult to rank all of them. So, in the spirit of picking the best fights, Strikeforce challengers has been eliminated. Strikeforce challengers has …
This weekend is stuffed to the gill with decent fights. So many, in fact, that it’s going to be difficult to rank all of them. So, in the spirit of picking the best fights, Strikeforce challengers has been eliminated. Strikeforce challengers has never had the most competitive matchups, and there are plenty of other interesting options. With […]
Filed under: Fighting, MMA Media Watch, UFC, Bellator, News, Sports Business and MediaLost in the shuffle of a big event weekend, we may have gotten our answer about whether or not Bellator would move from MTV2 to Spike in 2012. And suffice it to say, …
Lost in the shuffle of a big event weekend, we may have gotten our answer about whether or not Bellator would move from MTV2 to Spike in 2012. And suffice it to say, it’s not looking good.
During a Wednesday interview with MMA Fighting, UFC president Dana White briefly spoke about what should be the dying days of the UFC-Spike relationship. While their deal for new programming expires at the end of 2011, Spike retains use of the UFC library for an additional year. That one-year spillover clause also precludes the cable network from televising a competing MMA product. For that to happen and for both sides to be free and clear of each other, the UFC would have to buy out the remaining 2012 rights. But according to White, that’s not going to happen.
“UFC programming will be on Spike in 2012,” White said. “It will continue there.”
As long as those rights stay in place, the UFC will have no concerns about a competing promotion quickly replacing it on Spike.
But those rights can also work as a double-edged sword. Once UFC’s live programming is exclusive to FOX-owned networks, Spike could attempt to counterprogram new UFC content with shows from its own UFC library.
That exact scenario isn’t unprecedented. Just a few months ago in June as negotiations between the two sides stalled out and Comcast seemed to be the frontrunner for future UFC television rights, Spike scheduled a Nate Marquardt marathon on the same night the UFC scheduled a live Versus card highlighted by a Marquardt vs. Rick Story main event. As it turned out, Marquardt was a late scratch due to the sudden “Nategate” hormone replacement therapy issue that popped up, and Story fought Charlie Brenneman instead.
Surprisingly, a 9 pm Spike rebroadcast of UFC Fight Night 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares (an event that had occurred nine months earlier) out-rated the live event, drawing 793,000 viewers compared to 744,000 for the Versus show.
Those numbers show that potential confusion among casual MMA viewers is a real concern. While White seemed adamant that the UFC would not buy back the ’12 library rights, it is still possible that FOX will insist upon a deal to ensure they are the exclusive home of UFC content. The two sides recently inked a 7-year deal worth around $700 million, and FOX may not be willing to risk confusion while establishing their channels as UFC headquarters for TV viewers.
Meanwhile, Spike continues to expand its relationship with Bellator, recently announcing it will stream live undercard fights throughout the 12-week Bellator season that began on September 10.
That development seemed to irk White, who called it “not honorable.”
“If you really look at what I call the spirit of the deal, it’s the wrong thing to do,” he said.
So the waiting game continues. With three months left in the year, there is no urgency on either side to negotiate, and there is still time for UFC executives to change their minds and buy back library rights, thereby ending their obligation but also opening up the Spike airwaves to Bellator. Or, they can let the deal run its course, and make them wait. In that case, Bellator will stay on MTV2 one more year and likely move to Spike in 2013.
Eddie Alvarez was just weeks away from title fight with season four Bellator lightweight tournament winner, Michael Chandler.Now the bout between Alvarez and Chandler has hit a minor snag. Alvarez—the current Bellator lightweight champion—h…
Eddie Alvarez was just weeks away from title fight with season four Bellator lightweight tournament winner, Michael Chandler.
Now the bout between Alvarez and Chandler has hit a minor snag. Alvarez—the current Bellator lightweight champion—has suffered undisclosed injuries and won’t be ready in time for the October 15th title fight at Bellator 54 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
According to Alvarez though it is only a minor snag and should only delay the title fight for 30 days.
“Eddie suffered an injury that will keep him out of our Oct. 15 show at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City,” Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney said on MMAJunkie.com. “Eddie Alvarez has a huge heart, and if there was any way for him to fight on the 15th, I know he would. Ed’s in spectacular condition, so both of us are hopeful that this fight can potentially still occur later this fall.”
Alvarez is considered a top five lightweight by many MMA outlets and is undefeated in six bouts for Bellator. Alvarez is 22-2 overall in his MMA career with his only losses coming against Shinya Aoki and Nick Thompson.
Alvarez won the Bellator lightweight title in June of 2009 when he won the inaugural season one lightweight tournament. Alvarez has only defended his title once since then with two other fights being non-title bouts.
Chandler is 8-0 in his young career and was recently crowned the Bellator season four lightweight tournament winner when he beat Patricky Friere at Bellator 44 in May. Chandler is 5-0 in Bellator and also has two wins under the Strikeforce banner.
For unfunny jokes, MMA news and reaction from events, you can follow me on Twitter: @SalDeRoseMMA.
In the game of mixed martial arts, there are veterans and then there are veterans. Not many fighters are as young in life and as well seasoned as the man known as Ed “Wild” West.At 27 years old, West carries a pro record of 16-5 over a career spent fi…
In the game of mixed martial arts, there are veterans and then there are veterans. Not many fighters are as young in life and as well seasoned as the man known as Ed “Wild” West.
At 27 years old, West carries a pro record of 16-5 over a career spent fighting for seven various organizations. Those organizations include Rage In The Cage, Desert Rage, Cage Fury, The IFL and Bellator.
West was recently the runner-up in the inaugural Bellator Bantamweight tournament, falling to current champ Zack Makovsky. This was West’s only loss in over three years, with the previous loss coming twenty pounds heavier than his natural fighting weight.
He has trained under legends like Don “The Predator” Frye, and currently calls Apex MMA home in Tucson Arizona where he trains under rising star Joey Rivera and with his close friend UFC fighter George Roop, among many others.
The man has been around the block more than a few times and continues to grow as an athlete and as a staple in the Bellator bantamweight division. His first run down a Bellator bracket showed fight fans what a dynamic and capable fighter he truly is.
Those performances no doubt were very much the reason Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney invited West back for a second helping of tournament action for their fifth season to be showcased on MTV 2. Ed West was kind enough to share his take on his ambitions of becoming a Bellator champion.
The rise of a Bellator star is incredibly unique, given the tournament aspect of the competition. Whereas many top names in the sport are given anywhere from three to four months to prepare for one opponent, a Bellator champion may fight as many as four unknown opponents in a shorter frame of time.
Ed is no stranger to this challenge and discussed that angle in depth. West stated, “I’m going to have one month between my first fight and my second fight. I have already been told that round two of the bantamweight tournament is going to be on October 22nd. So that gives me about a month in between the fights.”
He went on to explain, “That is much better than the previous tournament in which they only gave me three weeks. I fought three times in six weeks for the last tournament and that was a lot of stress on my body. It was very difficult to maintain my peak without getting hurt.”
West added, “I found it more difficult to continue to make the weight every time. The first time I made weight to fight Bryan Goldsby, it was one of the easiest cuts I’ve ever had. I felt great, I felt healthy, I put on good weight afterward. Then three weeks later, I had to do it all again. It seemed like my body held on to the weight more that time.”
By the final bout in the tournament, the cuts were weighing on him. “Then when I got to Kansas City to fight Makovsky, I found it very difficult to make the weight. It was like my body was put on a roller coaster, and it was rather upset with me for putting it through that. So making the weight back to back like that was a little more difficult.”
That previous experience has become a weapon for West as he knows what to expect and plans on taking advantage of prior lessons. “This time around, I have a much better idea of how I need to do things. I know how to maintain my body, and how to stay healthy for the tournament. I plan on doing things a little better this time around.”
Having fought for so many organizations, it appears West has found a home under the Bellator flag. He spoke of the appeal regardless of one minor critique he has of the organization. “I really like Bellator. The only thing I don’t like about Bellator is the fact that I got shelved for a whole year. I fought Zack Makovsky at the end of October and that was my last Bellator.”
He went on to say, “But Bellator has always treated me real good. They have always told me how much they liked me, and that they wanted me back. That shows in the fact that I’m the only one from the 135 pound tournament that they did bring back. All the other guys are not in this tournament.”
West’s return to the second season speaks volumes about the credibility he has developed among the brass in the Bellator front office.
West added, “The owner Bjorn Rebney has always been so super cool with me. He’s like the nicest dude on the planet. He has always told me how much he enjoys watching me fight.”
Well, Rebney will get his next chance to watch “Wild” West do his thing at Bellator 51 when he takes his first steps in the tournament against Luis Nogueira, a touted Brazilian wrestling champion. But don’t ask West if he is concerned with the wrestling prowess of his first opponent of the tournament.
West stated, “Well yeah, but that’s Brazilian wrestling. Everyone has been telling me about that, Brazilian national wrestling champion. Come on dude, if I told you I was the best Jiu Jitsu guy in France would you be impressed? Or what if I was the best Capoeira guy in Sweden?”
He went on to explain his position. “The Brazilians are not necessarily known for their wrestling. I just know his wrestling is not going to be on the level of a Makovsky, or a Joe Warren, that’s just a given. I think every single dude I have ever fought has probably been a better wrestler than me.”
West added, “Luis Nogueira, everybody that knows me knows I’m a very cerebral type of guy. I’m really big on watching video tape, I study my opponents a lot. I really believe that styles dictate fights and the way you fight any given opponent can dictate outcomes. I’m real big on watching a guy, seeing what his habits are, how he responds to pressure. I have watched this guy’s fights so many times that I almost fall asleep watching them now.”
As always his confidence is high. “I have a pretty good idea of how I want to play this fight, and the things that I want to do that I think are going to be really effective.”
Other than the Brazilian wrestler, West has his eye on a few other threats in the field. “Obviously you never can count out Joe Warren. Even when the guy goes in there and just gets murdered he always finds a way to win. He is a very physically strong individual, and has got that mental attitude where he doesn’t believe he can be beat.”
He also added, “It shows in his fights, how many times have you seen that guy fight and the first round is a 10-8 or a 10-7 and he still manages to get the guy down and grind him out and somehow he gets the win. He did it to Pitbull, he did it with Soto, he did it with Marcos Galvao. So you never can really count out Joe Warren.”
Another fighter he hold highly is Chase Beebe. “Obviously Chase Beebe is a very skilled competitor, with really good submission skills, and a good wrestling background. He has fought a lot of top guys with real good experience.” West also included one final note, “The other guy I’m looking at, although I think he might be slightly overrated, is Eduardo Dantes.”
With all that being said, the ultimate goal is current Bellator bantamweight champion Zack Makovsky, a man who has defeated West before.
When asked what he might like to see differently if he reaches that goal, West offered a very humble answer.
There was a multitude of things that happened leading up to that fight that just resulted in my poor performance. For one I just had a really bad game plan. I figured there was no way he could spend a half hour in my guard and not get submitted, and I turned out to be wrong. So I just gave up more takedowns than I should.
He closed out the humble statement with one final claim of confidence that reflects the drive and desire that has followed West throughout his impressive MMA career. “If I fought him again, I just think there are some things I would do differently, or rather I should say when I fight him again.”
If his previous run in the Bellator tournament is any indication of the platform he has used to improve over the course of the last year, there is no reason whatsoever to believe it will be anything other than “when” he faces Makovsky again.
Tune in to MTV 2 every Saturday night to see how this and other Bellator tournaments will play out.
The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday. Here’s what we have planned for our 101st episode.
Joe Warren’s pursuit of a second 
Lost in the shuffle of a big event weekend, we may have gotten our answer about whether or not 