That’s right kids, Luke Thomas recently passed along the word that some more UFC veterans are going to throw down for the right to challenge whoever Bellator’s current heavyweight champion is (I think it ends in “agrov” or “arinov”?) for the low, low price of 35ish dollars!
(That’s right, three consecutive posts anchored by gifs. Deal with it.)
That’s right kids, Luke Thomas recently passed along the word that some more UFC veterans are going to throw down for the right to challenge whoever Bellator’s current heavyweight champion is (I think it ends in “agrov” or “arinov”?) for the low, low price of 35ish dollars!
(That’s right, three consecutive posts anchored by gifs. Deal with it.)
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.
(“Don’t worry, Mo, we’re pretty sure your belt just got lost in the mail.”)
On the heels of his first successful title defense over Rick Hawn at Bellator 85, Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler has officially been booked to take on his next challenger at Bellator 96, which goes down from the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma on June 19th.
Undefeated in his mixed martial arts career, Chandler has won eight straight fights under the Bellator banner, including victories over Akihiro Gono, Patricky Freire, and a 4th round submission over Eddie Alvarez in an absolute war back in November of 2011 that secured him the title.
Also set for the June 19th card will be a clash between former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and UFC/EliteXC veteran Seth Petruzelli that will in no way draw comparisons to Petruzelli’s infamous knockout of Kimbo Slice, we assure you (ROCKY! ROCKY IS HERE!! THE MOST INCREDIBLE…VICTORY…IN THE HISTORY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS!).
(“Don’t worry, Mo, we’re pretty sure your belt just got lost in the mail.”)
On the heels of his first successful title defense over Rick Hawn at Bellator 85, Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler has officially been booked to take on his next challenger at Bellator 96, which goes down from the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma on June 19th.
Undefeated in his mixed martial arts career, Chandler has won eight straight fights under the Bellator banner, including victories over Akihiro Gono, Patricky Freire, and a 4th round submission over Eddie Alvarez in an absolute war back in November of 2011 that secured him the title.
Also set for the June 19th card will be a clash between former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and UFC/EliteXC veteran Seth Petruzelli that will in no way draw comparisons to Petruzelli’s infamous knockout of Kimbo Slice, we assure you (ROCKY! ROCKY IS HERE!! THE MOST INCREDIBLE…VICTORY…IN THE HISTORY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS!).
I do not want to reveal too much, but the next card will eclipse the Road FC 11 card. We are very close to getting Melvin Manhoef vs Mirko Cro Cop done for the next event.
If that statement does not make your heart skip a beat, then you are dead inside.
Sure, many of you will look at this as one of those “__ Years Too Late” fights, but we all said the same thing about Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell, and how amazing was that fight? Despite the fact that he’s coming off a loss to Brock Larson at One FC 8, Manhoef has actually reeled off three wins in his past four contests and has proven that he can still kick with the best of them (and oft through them). As for the size difference? I refer you to this.
(Oh yeah, they’ll be a lot of this sort of thing.)
I do not want to reveal too much, but the next card will eclipse the Road FC 11 card. We are very close to getting Melvin Manhoef vs Mirko Cro Cop done for the next event.
If that statement does not make your heart skip a beat, then you are dead inside.
Sure, many of you will look at this as one of those “__ Years Too Late” fights, but we all said the same thing about Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell, and how amazing was that fight? Despite the fact that he’s coming off a loss to Brock Larson at One FC 8, Manhoef has actually reeled off three wins in his past four contests and has proven that he can still kick with the best of them (and oft through them). As for the size difference? I refer you to this.
Also set for ROAD FC 12, the professional MMA debut of former Korean national boxing champion, PABA champion, and IBF champion, Ji Hoon Kim, who will likely be competing in a bantamweight contest.
(Yeah, we’d miss this kind of thing too. Photo via Getty Images.)
Alright, this is getting ri-goddamn-diculous.
Less than a fortnight ago, we dropped the official ban hammer on fighters announcing their retirement from the sport, then immediately unretiring. Aside from the fact that most of these so-called “retirements” last less time than the average hangover, the fighters who usually pull this bait-and-switch tend to look anything but “revitalized” or “renewed” upon returning. In most cases, it is quite the opposite.
And the latest offender of our ban? Former Strikeforce light heavyweight and semi-rehabilitated former bastard Mike Kyle, who announced his retirement from the sport following a first round submission loss to Gegard Mousasi in January. As in January of this year. One would think it would take a mighty fine offer against a well known opponent to draw Kyle out of retirement so quickly. One would be wrong, as it was announced recently that Kyle will be squaring off against fellow Strikeforce vet Valentijn Overeem in a heavyweight contest in May. Details via MMAJunkie:
A heavyweight bout between former Strikeforce fighters Mike Kyle (19-9-1) and Valentijn Overeem (32-30) is set for Championship Fighting Alliance’s 11th event, which is slated for May 24 at BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
(Yeah, we’d miss this kind of thing too. Photo via Getty Images.)
Alright, this is getting ri-goddamn-diculous.
Less than a fortnight ago, we dropped the official ban hammer on fighters announcing their retirement from the sport, then immediately unretiring. Aside from the fact that most of these so-called “retirements” last less time than the average hangover, the fighters who usually pull this bait-and-switch tend to look anything but “revitalized” or “renewed” upon returning. In most cases, it is quite the opposite.
And the latest offender of our ban? Former Strikeforce light heavyweight and semi-rehabilitated former bastard Mike Kyle, who announced his retirement from the sport following a first round submission loss to Gegard Mousasi in January. As in January of this year. One would think it would take a mighty fine offer against a well known opponent to draw Kyle out of retirement so quickly. One would be wrong, as it was announced recently that Kyle will be squaring off against fellow Strikeforce vet Valentijn Overeem in a heavyweight contest in May. Details via MMAJunkie:
A heavyweight bout between former Strikeforce fighters Mike Kyle (19-9-1) and Valentijn Overeem (32-30) is set for Championship Fighting Alliance’s 11th event, which is slated for May 24 at BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla.
Although Kyle’s decision is a little frustrating from a fan’s perspective at first, it’s not hard to see what “MAK’s” endgame is here. In case you lack the astute observational skills of the average MMA blogger, it goes like this: Kyle never really wanted to retire, but realized following his loss to Mousasi (and given his general reputation in the MMA community) that he would not be heading (back) to the UFC with some of his fellow Strikeforce cohorts. Not wanting to be left standing out in the rain, so to speak, Kyle figured he would save his dignity and retire, then unretire, crush a total can, and declare that “he is back” before starting a #RallyforKyle campaign to finally get back in the UFC.
Nice try, you snake in the grass.
But if you ask us, the real shame here is that — barring the possibility that Kyle has been training at Jackson’s MMA, Black House, and Tristar simultaneously since retiring — there is zero chance that we will see a better version of the 33 year-old in his next appearance. Then again, he will be fighting the other Overeem known for turtling at the first signs of resistance in Valentijn, who is just 1-3 in his last 4 fights including a loss in Russia last December that has yet to even be acknowledged by his Sherdog profile…
(“Oh hey, didn’t see you there. When my doctor first informed me that I would be getting murdered by Cris Cyborg this April, I had lots of questions; Is there anything I can do to prevent getting murdered? Would bringing a friend to the fight help my chances? Why me, God, WHYYYY?!“)
It has recently been announced that Cris Cyborg’s originally scheduled opponent for her Invicta FC debut on April 5th, Ediane Gomes, has been forced to withdraw from their Invicta FC 5 bout with a rib injury. It’s a real shame, because as someone who used to beat up dudes on the Brazilian underground fight circuit (Fallon Fox’s doppelganger, if you will.*fires invisible pistols*), Gomes was being given more than a snowball’s chance in Hell against Cyborg, a privilege few of her opponents have been able to enjoy.
But now, stepping in on short notice against the former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champ will be Fiona Muxlow, a 6-2 grappling specialist out of Queensland, Australia. Originally scheduled to face Julia Budd at the event (who is now awaiting a replacement opponent as of this write up), Muxlow has not competed since dropping a first round armbar to Marloes Coenen at DREAM 18 on New Year’s Eve last year, snapping a three fight win streak in the process.
Although Muxlow is coming off a loss — one she was utterly dominated in at that — and lacks any notable victories, one should look beyond the numbers to see what this woman is truly capable of. For starters, she began her MMA career by submitting three straight opponents in a one night tournament, so we know she’s a finisher and has cardio for days to boot. Secondly, Muxlow has a poker face that will burn a hole right through your soul. That HAS to count for something in this topsy-turvy world, dammit.
(“Oh hey, didn’t see you there. When my doctor first informed me that I would be getting murdered by Cris Cyborg this April, I had lots of questions; Is there anything I can do to prevent getting murdered? Would bringing a friend to the fight help my chances? Why me, God, WHYYYY?!“)
It has recently been announced that Cris Cyborg’s originally scheduled opponent for her Invicta FC debut on April 5th, Ediane Gomes, has been forced to withdraw from their Invicta FC 5 bout with a rib injury. It’s a real shame, because as someone who used to beat up dudes on the Brazilian underground fight circuit (Fallon Fox’s doppelganger, if you will.*fires invisible pistols*), Gomes was being given more than a snowball’s chance in Hell against Cyborg, a privilege few of her opponents have been able to enjoy.
But now, stepping in on short notice against the former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champ will be Fiona Muxlow, a 6-2 grappling specialist out of Queensland, Australia. Originally scheduled to face Julia Budd at the event (who is now awaiting a replacement opponent as of this write up), Muxlow has not competed since dropping a first round armbar to Marloes Coenen at DREAM 18 on New Year’s Eve last year, snapping a three fight win streak in the process.
Although Muxlow is coming off a loss — one she was utterly dominated in at that — and lacks any notable victories, one should look beyond the numbers to see what this woman is truly capable of. For starters, she began her MMA career by submitting three straight opponents in a one night tournament, so we know she’s a finisher and has cardio for days to boot. Secondly, Muxlow has a poker face that will burn a hole right through your soul. That HAS to count for something in this topsy-turvy world, dammit.
