The MMA Hour will be off on Monday due to Memorial Day, but the show returns on Tuesday at its usual 1 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. PT start time with another loaded lineup. Here’s who you will hear from:
* Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren will be in studio to talk about his upcoming title defense against Jay Hieron.
* Clay Guida will discuss Saturday night’s lightweight battle against Anthony Pettis.
* Mike Swick will talk about his long road back to the Octagon and his upcoming fight at UFC 134.
* Chad Mendes will explain why he chose to fight at UFC 133 instead of wait for Jose Aldo to get healthy.
* Kyle Kingsbury will discuss his TUF Finale fight on Saturday night against Fabio Maldonado.
* Heavyweight Travis Browne will discuss his first round knockout win against Stefan Struve at UFC 130.
Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.
*** You can now 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.
Editor’s Note: Today’s show is over and a replay will be available by Wednesday.
The MMA Hour will be off on Monday due to Memorial Day, but the show returns on Tuesday at its usual 1 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. PT start time with another loaded lineup. Here’s who you will hear from:
* Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren will be in studio to talk about his upcoming title defense against Jay Hieron.
* Clay Guida will discuss Saturday night’s lightweight battle against Anthony Pettis.
* Mike Swick will talk about his long road back to the Octagon and his upcoming fight at UFC 134.
* Chad Mendes will explain why he chose to fight at UFC 133 instead of wait for Jose Aldo to get healthy.
* Kyle Kingsbury will discuss his TUF Finale fight on Saturday night against Fabio Maldonado.
* Heavyweight Travis Browne will discuss his first round knockout win against Stefan Struve at UFC 130.
Of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.
*** You can now 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.
Editor’s Note: Today’s show is over and a replay will be available by Wednesday.
“I believe you yanks call this a mean mug?” PicProps: Bellator.com
Since we mentioned it yesterday in that blatant vanity post, we’ll go ahead and fill you in with some of the details about Bellator’s plans for the summer. As you may remember, a BFC press release announcing the deal with MTV2 made a vague mention of “a collection of special feature events” on top of two full seasons a year. Details at the time were sketchy, and we weren’t really sure what those special feature events would entail. As the season four tournaments unfolded, we heard more and more about tournament action between seasons, initially referred to as a “mini-tournament”. We’d been thinking that this meant perhaps a couple of four-man brackets, maybe some of those Super Fights that Bellator digs so much.
Man, we were way off. Bjorn Rebney, head honcho of the BFC, has put together another intriguing tournament at 145, and that, ladies and germs, will be your main course for the summer series. If you are interested in that kind of thing, we’ve prepared a short primer on the featherweight tourney, plus a preview of Bellator 46, where the four quarterfinals will kick off in that other Hollywood.
Although we suppose you could come in and just throw poop at the new guy. Whatever.
“I believe you yanks call this a mean mug?” PicProps: Bellator.com
Since we mentioned it yesterday in that blatant vanity post, we’ll go ahead and fill you in with some of the details about Bellator’s plans for the summer. As you may remember, a BFC press release announcing the deal with MTV2 made a vague mention of “a collection of special feature events” on top of two full seasons a year. Details at the time were sketchy, and we weren’t really sure what those special feature events would entail. As the season four tournaments unfolded, we heard more and more about tournament action between seasons, initially referred to as a “mini-tournament”. We’d been thinking that this meant perhaps a couple of four-man brackets, maybe some of those Super Fights that Bellator digs so much.
Man, we were way off. Bjorn Rebney, head honcho of the BFC, has put together another intriguing tournament at 145, and that, ladies and germs, will be your main course for the summer series. If you are interested in that kind of thing, we’ve prepared a short primer on the featherweight tourney, plus a preview of Bellator 46, where the four quarterfinals will kick off in that other Hollywood.
Although we suppose you could come in and just throw poop at the new guy. Whatever.
Marlon Sandro (17-2) vs Genair “Junior PQD” da Silva (10-3)
Of course you guys remember Marlon Sandro, the Zombifier in Chief out of Brazil’s Nova Uniao, and you of course remember that he signed with Bellator back in February. Sandro, a consensus Top-5 here in the office, will match firepower with Brazilian Genair da Silva, a Renovacao Fight Team rep who likes knockouts, puppy breath, knockouts, long walks on the beach, knees on the ground, and knockouts. There’s a bit of a rivalry between the two styles (no really), so have your popcord ready.
Ronnie “Kid Ninja” Mann (19-2-1) vs Adam Schindler (9-1)
When Ronnie Mann made his Bellator debut a month ago, we thought it was some guy’s fifteen year old son that snuck into the cage. While he managed to do very unkind things to the face of some poor guy whose name escapes us at this time, he failed to actually end the fight, instead earning a lopsided decision and a spot in this tournament. Mann did make a good impression with his wrestling prowess–not something you expect from a Brit– and some serious offense on the ground. Meeting him will be submission wrestler Adam Schindler, a West Virgina native who won the state’s wrestling championship twice. An Air Force vet (My man! -RX), Schindler has victories at StrikeForce and Bellator, and it will be interesting to see how Mann’s wrestling matches up. The fight will be Schindler’s first at 145, after fighting at lightweight since his 2007 debut.
Pat Curran (13-4) vs Luis “Baboon” Palomino (16-6)
We passed along the news that Pat Curran was dropping down to 145, after a controversial Cinderella run through the season two brackets and subsequent loss to fade model and all-around BAMF Eddie Alvarez. Now fighting at a more natural weight, expect Curran to be a force to be reckoned with. Curran draws Peruvian-American contender Luis Palomino, who frequently competes at 155, including wins over Jorge Masvidal and Jose Figueroa and losses to Yves Edwards and Johnathan Brookins. Palomino took part in the first Bellator featherweight tournament, losing a split decision at Bellator 1 just two short years ago. On paper, it seems like an easy win for Curran, but Baboon has the tools to make it interesting.
Nazareno Malegarie (19-1) vs Jacob Devree (10-1)
After the 24 year old Argentine’s battle with eventual tourney finalist Daniel Straus, we reported that we would pay to see him fight again. Since Bellator listens to its fans, here’s Naza again in tournament action. Now carrying his first loss at 19-1 (which is still, you know, pretty alright as far as pro fighting record go), the Thiago Tavares training partner will be hungry for a win. His opponent is Jacob Devree, who we’ll admit not being familiar with. Apparently the PR folks at Bellator aren’t too sharp on his background either, since he rates exactly one sentence in the press release they sent to us. He’s probably legit though: they totally referred to him as “fast-rising”.
Jessica “Jag” Aguilar (10-4) vs Carla Esparza (5-1)
Also slated for action at Bellator 46 is a return to the women’s 125, with tournament vets Carla Esparza and Jessica Aguilar set to lock horns. Esparza had an excellent showing against Megumi Fujii at Bellator 24, despite being a relative MMA n00b at 3-0 and taking the fight on just three days notice (replacing an injured Angela Magana). Now with two wins between her and that first loss, the former high school wrestler has an intriguing matchup with Jag. Aguilar rebounded with a submission victory in November after her screwjob-loss to Zoila Frausto-Gurgel, and she will bring her fierce intelligence and unending positivity to the cage for this one. Oh wait, she’s also one of the most complete fighters in WMMA, repping American Top Team. If you still believe that women don’t have the skills for MMA, go ahead and DVR this fight. Then we’ll accept your apology.
Filed under: Bellator, News Bellator announced Monday the matchups for all four quarterfinal bouts in the promotion’s featherweight tournament happening on June 25 at Bellator 46 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Bellator announced Monday the matchups for all four quarterfinal bouts in the promotion’s featherweight tournament happening on June 25 at Bellator 46 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
The “Summer Series’ will bridge the gap between last week’s season four finale and the season five premiere slated for Sept. 17.
Check out the featherweight bracket, which includes Bellator lightweight tournament winner Pat Curran and former Sengoku featherweight champion Marlon Sandro.
23-year-old Pat Curran (13-4) is coming off a loss in a Bellator title fight against champion Eddie Alvarez in April. He’s already won a Bellator tournament lightweight division in season two and he’ll be after a featherweight title shot against Luis Palomino. Palomino is 3-2 in Bellator competition and his most notable win was a split decision over Jorge Masvidal in February 2010.
Marlon Sandro (17-2), who trains with UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo, signed with Bellator in February and will be making his debut with Bellator after fighting exclusively in Japan from 2007 through 2010. He joined Sengoku in 2009 and made it all the way to the finals where he lost a close decision in the finals to Michihiro Omigawa. Last June, he earned a shot at the title and knocked out Masanori Kanehara in 38 seconds to become the new Sengoku champion. At the last Sengoku event (to date), Sandro dropped the title to Hatsu Hioki. Sandro will be facing Genair da Silva (10-3), a prospect out of Brazil.
Last September, Ronnie Mann (19-2-1) won the Shark Fights featherweight title against Doug Evans and then signed with Bellator this year. Mann, who was 2-1 with Sengkoku in 2009, outpointed Josh Arocho last month at Bellator 42. His opponent Adam Schindler (9-1) is a one-time Strikeforce competitor and previously fought for Bellator in May 2010. He’s on a six-fight win streak.
Nazareno Malegarie (19-1) joined Bellator in March and suffered his first career loss in a decision to Daniel Straus. Jacob Devree (10-1) of Arizona has been fighting mostly locally and this will be his first taste under the national spotlight. Bellator 46 Fight Card:
Televised Bouts
Marlon Sandro vs. Genair da Silva
Ronnie Mann vs. Adam Schindler
Pat Curran vs. Luis Palomino
Nazareno Malegarie vs. Jacob Devree
Preliminary Bouts
Josh Samman vs. Mike Bernhard
Tony Johnson Jr. vs. TBA
Jessica Aguilar vs. Carla Esparza
Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, Bellator, News, Sports Business and MediaTo hear Mike Garrow tell it, starting a new channel is something like giving birth. It takes time, there are brief moments of pain and others of terror, …
To hear Mike Garrow tell it, starting a new channel is something like giving birth. It takes time, there are brief moments of pain and others of terror, but behind it all is a genuine labor of love. After a two-year process of planning and execution, Garrow’s project, a 24-hour combat sports channel called Fight Now TV, will launch on Tuesday morning on Cablevision systems in the New York, tri-state area.
While Fight Now TV is dedicated to more than just mixed martial arts — boxing, grappling and kickboxing will also be featured, among others sports — MMA is expected to be a major component of programming. Among the channel’s minority owners is UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
According to Garrow, the company has signed deals with several promotions in the U.S. and around the world to air events. Fight Now TV will launch two franchises. One, “American Made MMA,” will showcase regional promotions like Ring of Fire and Extreme Challenge. Another, “Global Impact MMA,” will turn the spotlight on international offerings, like BAMMA and Cage Warriors. It also has obtained rights to historical events, and can offer retrospectives on current stars. For example, they might show current UFC welterweight champ George St-Pierre’s last fight before joining the UFC, or Quinton “Rampage” Jackson years before he became a superstar.
The channel also plans to cover the world’s top promotions like the UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator and DREAM, in news programs, with original interviews, and taking fans behind the scenes. All in all, it’s an extremely ambitious plan for a channel that took just over two years from thought to launch.
“I want people to understand we’re trying to put our best foot forward,” Garrow told MMA Fighting in a recent interview. “There are going to be growing pains, but we will grow. Look at ESPN. When they first launched, it was with darts and softball and strongman competitions. I’m a fan, too. I want this to be as strong as we can possibly make it. If people are supportive and value it, I look forward to serving those fans for a long time.”
For Garrow, it’s his second shot at a virtually identical goal. He was the creative vision behind The Fight Network, a Canadian combat sports channel that once hoped to penetrate the U.S. market. But the two sides later split over differences, and the Fight Network’s growth eventually stalled. Garrow politely declines to talk about the situation due to ongoing litigation between the sides, but Couture — who previously worked with him at the Canadian channel — said The Fight Network’s loss is Fight Now TV’s gain.
“I think The Fight Network existed because it was Mike Garrow’s vision and his dream,” Couture said. “And when they did what they did to him, that dream and vision went somewhere else. You’re seeing it come back with Fight Now TV. He’s the guy who had all the pieces. He still has the original napkin he wrote the idea down on when he first came up with it. He has the passion to connect the dots and make this happen.”
While Fight Now TV will initially launch only on Cablevision — ironic given that New York and Connecticut are two of the few remaining states that have yet to sanction MMA — Garrow hopes to aggressively expand around the country in rapid fashion, saying they are likely to be announcing other deals quite soon.
“Like anything, we want to get it in as many homes as possible,” he said. “We’re realistic in our approach. We’ve got our internal projections. I can’t get into specific numbers but I’m pretty confident large pockets of the U.S. will be experiencing Fight Now TV by at least the middle of the summer.”
While the channel has no existing business deal with UFC and Strikeforce parent company Zuffa, there is hope that Couture’s involvement might help forge a relationship. Couture acknowledges the potential importance of such a development and says simply, “I expect we’ll be able to do it.”
Garrow, meanwhile, notes that with a 24-hour, 7-day a week existence, the channel will be able to offer major coverage of major events with analysis, features and interviews. MMAJunkie.com’s daily radio show will also be simulcast Monday through Friday, giving fans access to many major fighters and insiders. A weekend show, Fight Central hosted by JT McCarthy, will break down major fights and events. Couture will also provide expert analysis.
With 52 weeks a year in a sport that has no off-season, Garrow believes there will always be great fights to be found. Somewhere around the world, someone will be fighting, and Fight Now TV will be on the lookout for it. What SPEED is to auto sports, Fight Now TV wants to be to combat sports.
Right now though, things are still in a controlled state of chaotic anticipation. There is much to be done before the switch is flipped and Fight Now TV goes live at 11 am eastern on Tuesday. Garrow half-jokingly says that he randomly wakes up at 2:30 in the morning on most nights as the channel makes final preparations.
“Overall, our mission is to create an outlet for combative sports, not just MMA,” Couture said. “For example, there’s a huge grappling movement, not just nationally but internationally with things like Abu Dhabi, NAGA, and U.S. Pankration. And there’s always a void for amateur wrestling, no place to find or watch these dual meets. There is a ton of stuff in the combative sports genre, and we can provide that kind of programming to fans. There is a ton of opportunity and need for this kind of channel.”
Filed under: Bellator, ResultsMMA Fighting has Bellator 45 results of Patricio “Pitbull” Freire vs. Daniel Straus, Christian M’Pumbu vs. Richard Hale and the rest of the season finale card from the L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, La.
In the main event, M’Pumbu became the new Bellator light heavyweight champion by stopping Rich Hale in the 205-pound tournament final. Meanwhile, Freire won the season four featherweight tournament by defeating Daniel Straus, earning a rematch against current champion Joe Warren.
Main Card
Christian M’Pumbu def. Richard Hale via TKO (punches) – R3, 4:17
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire def. Daniel Straus via unanimous decision
Sam Alvey def. Karl Amoussou via split decision
Preliminary Bouts
Shawn Jordan def. John Hill via TKO (ground and pound) – R1 1:56
Tim Ruberg def. Mike Fleniken via unanimous decision
Luis Santos def. Nicolae Cury via unanimous decision
Rene Nazare def. Kelvin Hackney via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 4:44
Joseph Abercrombie def. Ben Parpart via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 1:11
Filed under: BellatorThe fourth season of Bellator Fighting Championships came to an end on Saturday night, with the promotion’s first light heavyweight champion being crowned and a featherweight title rematch getting booked.
The fourth season of Bellator Fighting Championships came to an end on Saturday night, with the promotion’s first light heavyweight champion being crowned and a featherweight title rematch getting booked.
In the main event at Bellator 45, Christian M’Pumbu won the light heavyweight championship by defeating Richard Hale by third-round TKO. M’Pumbu landed a huge right hand to knock Hale down, then landed several more punches on the ground as Hale tried to recover. Although Hale did a nice job of protecting himself at first, eventually M’Pumbu managed to get through Hale’s defense, land more punches, and force the referee to step in to stop the fight.
It was an impressive finish for M’Pumbu, improving his record to 18-3-1 and giving him his third consecutive TKO victory inside the Bellator cage.
Patricio “Pitbull” Freire took a unanimous decision victory over Daniel Straus to win the Season 4 featherweight tournament, effectively controlling the fight and winning 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 on the judges’ scorecards. The victory earns Pitbull a rematch with the only man who has defeated him Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren, in what promises to be a great fight.
“I’m happy to give him a rematch and the second loss on his record,” Warren said immediately after the fight.
In the other televised fight, Sam Alvey came back from a brutal beating in the first round of his bout with Karl Amoussou to win a split decision. Early on Amoussou turned Alvey’s head into a bloody mess with a series of vicious elbows, and it looked like the fight might need to be stopped. But Alvey fought just well enough in the second and third rounds to eke out a victory, with two judges giving it to Alvey 29-28 and one judge giving it to Amoussou 29-28.
The fight card was the last of Bellator’s fourth season, and the promotion will now take a five-week hiatus before returning for its “Summer Series” on June 25. Whether Bellator can build on what it’s done this year and build up some more fan interest over the summer remains to be seen, but Bellator is wrapping up an impressive fourth season.
The MMA Hour will be off on Monday due to Memorial Day, but the show returns on Tuesday at its usual 1 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. PT start time with another loaded lineup. Here’s who you will hear from:
Bellator announced Monday the matchups for all four quarterfinal bouts in the promotion’s featherweight tournament happening on June 25 at 
To hear Mike Garrow tell it, starting a new channel is something like giving birth. It takes time, there are brief moments of pain and others of terror, but behind it all is a genuine labor of love. After a two-year process of planning and execution, Garrow’s project, a 24-hour combat sports channel called Fight Now TV, will launch on Tuesday morning on Cablevision systems in the New York, tri-state area.
MMA Fighting has