(Garcia upsets Kevin Aguilar to win the LFC featherweight title last December. Highlights via AXS TV.)
2013 may have been a toss up between “The Year of the Rhino,” “The Year of the California Kid,” and “The Year of the Ruthless“(?), but there was one former UFC star who perhaps had the greatest career turnaround of them all: Leonard Garcia. Sure, the back-to-back-to-back stoppage victories Garcia picked up under the Legacy FC banner pale in comparison to the high-level wins of the other candidates, but none of those guys were coming off five straight losses either.
Yes, after kicking off last year by getting kicked out of the UFC following a loss to Cody “Tags” McKenzie at UFC 159, Garcia signed with Legacy Fighting Championships and proceeded to go on a three fight tear capped off by a first round TKO over the previously undefeated Kevin Aguilar at LFC 27 that earned him the promotion’s featherweight title. While it might not be the crowning achievement of his career, at least Garcia had to earn the damn thing (*cough* Rousimar Palhares *cough*).
Any which way you look at it, Garcia had a hell of a 2013. And on March 21st, “Bad Boy” will look to keep his win streak going when he faces Bellator and KOTC veteran Shane Howell at Legacy FC 27 in what will hopefully be his first title defense. Not that we have a dog in this fight or anything.
Don’t let Howell’s mediocre 13-7 record fool you, the Oklahoman has been on an absolute tear as of late. Currently riding a six-fight win streak with five finishes and nine victories in his past ten bouts, Howell should easily make for Garcia’s toughest test since exiting the UFC. So yeah, it’s 2014 and Leonard Garcia is *defending* the title of a semi-reputable organization. Who saw that coming?
(Garcia upsets Kevin Aguilar to win the LFC featherweight title last December. Highlights via AXS TV.)
2013 may have been a toss up between “The Year of the Rhino,” “The Year of the California Kid,” and “The Year of the Ruthless“(?), but there was one former UFC star who perhaps had the greatest career turnaround of them all: Leonard Garcia. Sure, the back-to-back-to-back stoppage victories Garcia picked up under the Legacy FC banner pale in comparison to the high-level wins of the other candidates, but none of those guys were coming off five straight losses either.
Yes, after kicking off last year by getting kicked out of the UFC following a loss to Cody “Tags” McKenzie at UFC 159, Garcia signed with Legacy Fighting Championships and proceeded to go on a three fight tear capped off by a first round TKO over the previously undefeated Kevin Aguilar at LFC 27 that earned him the promotion’s featherweight title. While it might not be the crowning achievement of his career, at least Garcia had to earn the damn thing (*cough* Rousimar Palhares *cough*).
Any which way you look at it, Garcia had a hell of a 2013. And on March 21st, “Bad Boy” will look to keep his win streak going when he faces Bellator and KOTC veteran Shane Howell at Legacy FC 27 in what will hopefully be his first title defense. Not that we have a dog in this fight or anything.
Don’t let Howell’s mediocre 13-7 record fool you, the Oklahoman has been on an absolute tear as of late. Currently riding a six-fight win streak with five finishes and nine victories in his past ten bouts, Howell should easily make for Garcia’s toughest test since exiting the UFC. So yeah, it’s 2014 and Leonard Garcia is *defending* the title of a semi-reputable organization. Who saw that coming?
Bellator President Bjorn Rebney just can’t catch a break. Only 18 days after bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas was knocked out in a bout for Brazilian organization Shooto, it appears that another champion has decided to walk away from the sport…
Bellator President Bjorn Rebney just can’t catch a break.
Only 18 days after bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas was knocked out in a bout for Brazilian organization Shooto, it appears that another champion has decided to walk away from the sport of mixed martial arts entirely.
Cole Konrad is an undefeated fighter who, at 28 years old, has captured a pair of NCAA Division I titles, the Bellator heavyweight championship and, apparently, a career trading milk products.
According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, Konrad has elected to retire from competition, as he has accepted a position as a financial trader at a Minnesota-based trading firm. The organization specializes in food stuffs, and Konrad will be working with milk products.
This news comes as a shock, as “The Polar Bear” has looked fantastic since joining Bellator. Konrad won the Bellator heavyweight championship in the promotions inaugural heavyweight tournament in 2010. With wins over UFC veteran Paul Buentello and a 60-second victory over fellow tournament winner Eric Prindle, Konrad appeared to be the real deal, with major potential to make waves in the sport.
These are bleak times for Bellator. Two of their reigning champions are coming off of a loss (the other being light heavyweight champion Christian M’Pumbu). And the departure of Hector Lombard left the MTV2-based company without a champion in their middleweight division either.
(McCorkle vs. Heden round 1; round 2 is after the jump. Props: PVTHansen16)
Notably stacked for a regional card, Worldwide Mixed Martial Arts‘ debut event went down Saturday night in El Paso, Texas, and was highlighted by an upset in the main event and a handful of UFC vets smashing their way into the win column.
At this point, when Sean McCorkle gets booked against a smaller, doughier opponent with a journeyman’s record, we just assume that “Big Sexy” will bully his way to a first-round stoppage without much difficulty. But WMMA 1’s super-heavyweight main event didn’t go down like that. Though McCorkle (who tipped the scales at 312 pounds) came very close to finishing the 287-pound Brian Heden near the end of the first round, he blew his cardio wad in the process. With McCorkle barely able to lift his arms in round two, Heden was able to reverse a takedown, trap McCorkle’s left arm, and slug his way to a TKO victory. According to Danga, the announcer referred to the win as “the upset of the century.” (Somewhere, Gus Johnson is masturbating.) In a follow-up post on the UG, McCorkle lamented the cardio problems that have plagued his entire athletic career, credited Heden for showing up in “decent shape”* and vowed to retire if his cardio ever contributed to another loss.
In the co-main event, Karo Parisyan snapped a three-fight losing streak when he scored a unanimous decision over veteran Thomas Denny. Even more impressive, Drew Fickett snapped a four-fight losing streak when he choked out WEC/Bellator vet Kevin Knabjian, despite reports that Fickett was pretty well sauced throughout fight week. (Obviously, it could have been worse.)
(McCorkle vs. Heden round 1; round 2 is after the jump. Props: PVTHansen16)
Notably stacked for a regional card, Worldwide Mixed Martial Arts‘ debut event went down Saturday night in El Paso, Texas, and was highlighted by an upset in the main event and a handful of UFC vets smashing their way into the win column.
At this point, when Sean McCorkle gets booked against a smaller, doughier opponent with a journeyman’s record, we just assume that “Big Sexy” will bully his way to a first-round stoppage without much difficulty. But WMMA 1′s super-heavyweight main event didn’t go down like that. Though McCorkle (who tipped the scales at 312 pounds) came very close to finishing the 287-pound Brian Heden near the end of the first round, he blew his cardio wad in the process. With McCorkle barely able to lift his arms in round two, Heden was able to reverse a takedown, trap McCorkle’s left arm, and slug his way to a TKO victory. According to Danga, the announcer referred to the win as “the upset of the century.” (Somewhere, Gus Johnson is masturbating.) In a follow-up post on the UG, McCorkle lamented the cardio problems that have plagued his entire athletic career, credited Heden for showing up in “decent shape”* and vowed to retire if his cardio ever contributed to another loss.
Further down the card, Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm rebounded from his two-fight skid in Strikeforce with a first-round guillotine choke against Cleburn Walker. Also, UFC veteran Rodney “Sho Nuff the Master” Wallace outpointed Derrick Mehmen, while TUF 10 punchlineDarrill Schoonover scored the biggest win of his career with a unanimous decision against Paul Buentello. The full list of results from WMMA 1 — as well as the stunning conclusion of McCorkle vs. Heden — are below.
– Brian Heden def. Sean McCorkle via TKO in round two
– Karo Parisyan def. Thomas Denny via unanimous decision
– Lyle Beerbohm def. Cleburn Walker via submission (guillotine choke) in round one
– Drew Fickett def. Kevin Knabjian via submission (guillotine choke) in round one
– Willie Parks def. Jamaine Facey via unanimous decision
– Rodney Wallace def. Derrick Mehmen via unanimous decision
– Darrill Schoonover def. Paul Buentello via unanimous decision
– Chris Gruetzemacher def. Frank Gomez via TKO in round one
– Esteves Jones def. Deutsch Pu’u via TKO in round one
– Lionel Lanham def. Brad Peterson via TKO in round one
* I was going to make a lame joke about “round” being a shape, but Heden’s body-type is more “amorphous” than anything else.
The promotion put together the pretty slick looking promo above for its McCorkle vs. Heden: Fighting For A Better World event that will see a portion of the proceeds from the show donated to the Wounded Warriors project.
In the main and co-main event of the evening, former UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle will take on a somewhat unknown fighter by the name of Brian Heden and onetime UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisyan will face King of the Cage, EliteXC and MFC vet Thomas “Wildman” Denny. The event will be available for rent via pay-per-view.
During the promo, clips were shown of Parisyan’s first fight — a bare-knuckle scrap he had in Mexico when he was 14 against a 20-something local champion.
Check out the entire impressive fight by young Karo and the complete WMMA fight card after the jump.
The promotion put together the pretty slick looking promo above for its McCorkle vs. Heden: Fighting For A Better World event that will see a portion of the proceeds from the show donated to the Wounded Warriors project.
In the main and co-main event of the evening, former UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle will take on a somewhat unknown fighter by the name of Brian Heden and onetime UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisyan will face King of the Cage, EliteXC and MFC vet Thomas “Wildman” Denny. The event will be available for rent via pay-per-view.
During the promo, clips were shown of Parisyan’s first fight — a bare-knuckle scrap he had in Mexico when he was 14 against a 20-something local champion.
Check out the entire impressive fight by young Karo and the complete WMMA fight card below.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/MXARMO)
(Video courtesy of YouTube/MXARMO)
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WMMA 1- McCorkle vs. Hedin: Fighting For A Better World
Saturday, March 30, 2012
Don Haskins Center, El Paso, TX
Main Card
Sean McCorkle vs. Brian Heden (Super Heavyweight)
Thomas Denny vs. Karo Parisyan (170lbs)
Lyle Beerbohm vs. Derrick Noble (170lbs)
Drew Fickett vs. Kevin Knabjian (155lbs)
Jamaine Facey vs. Willie Parks (170lbs)
Rodney Wallace vs. Derrick Mehmen (205lbs)
Under Card
Darrill “Titties” Schoonover vs. Paul Buentello (265lbs)
Frank Gomez vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (145lbs)
Deutsch Pu’u vs. Esteves Jones (265lbs)
Lionel Lanham vs. Brad Peterson (185lbs)
Filed under: Bellator, NewsUNCASVILLE, Conn. — Pat Curran is back for a second chance at gold.
Curran, who lost a Bellator lightweight title fight against Eddie Alvarez in April and then dropped to featherweight, won his second Bellator tournament, t…
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Pat Curran is back for a second chance at gold.
Curran, who lost a Bellator lightweight title fight against Eddie Alvarez in April and then dropped to featherweight, won his second Bellator tournament, this time knocking the highly regarded Marlon Sandro cold with a spectacular headkick finish at Bellator 48.
With the win, Curran gets in line to face the winner of the upcoming tilt between current champ Joe Warren and challenger Patricio “Pitbull” Freire.
Curran spent most of the first two rounds getting peppered by Sandro, who utilized a speed advantage to get to him repeatedly. But during an exchange late in the second round, Sandro looked to keep away from Curran’s offense with active head movement. In the fight’s most fateful moment, he ducked under what he thought was going to be a punch. Instead it was a right high kick, and Curran connected perfectly, sending Sandro crashing to the canvas. The fight could have been over right then, but Curran was able to land a pair of finishing blows before the referee stepped in to save Sandro from further damage.
“I listened to my corners, look low and kick high,” Curran said after the fight. “I just timed it right. I saw him bobbing and weaving, but his hand wasn’t blocking. It landed right on his chin.”
Sandro, who had been so good up until that point, looked devastated after he returned to his corner. The Brazilian bomber appeared at the post-fight press conference but he spent most of it shaking his head and with a faraway look on his face, probably re-running the finish in his mind.
“Congratulations to Pat, but I will be back and better for the next fight,” he said.
It became the second unlikely tournament win for Curran, who was signed into Bellator at the recommendation of his cousin, UFC fighter Jeff Curran prior to the season two lightweight tournament. He got the eighth and final slot in the field, and worked his way through the field before losing to Alvarez in the final.
Curran said the loss lit a fire under him, and he was impressive throughout in the featherweight field, finishing two of his three fights.
He’ll have a while to wait until he cashes in his title shot, but he might not mind the layoff; he’s fought four times in four months.
“The sky’s the limit,” he said. “I’m just going to go back to the gym, work hard and keep improving.”
In the co-main event, Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad returned for the first time in 10 months, and emerged victorious with a unanimous decision win over Paul Buentello in a non-title bout.
The unbeaten Konrad has taken criticism in the best for his wrestling-heavy style, but against the standup specialist Buentello, Konrad spent most of the fight competing in his opponent’s favored position.
Konrad flashed an improved striking game, particularly a strong jab, but never came close to finishing Buentello. Still, it was more than enough for an easy decision by scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.
“I had fun and learned a lot,” Konrad said. “I wanted to prove I can exchange punches with a standup fighter. I’m happy. I’m progressing everyday. That’s the goal.”
Konrad moved to 8-0 with the victory.
Seth Petruzelli made his Bellator debut with a flourish, scoring a first-round TKO over former UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez in a tremendous performance.
Petruzelli flashed his varied standup game, mixing things up with leg kicks, high kicks and head shots. The end came after a pair of spin kicks led to an opening and Petruzelli threaded the needle with a right hand to the jaw that put Rodriguez down.
Petruzelli (14-6) followed with a pair of double hammerfists from the top, and Rodriguez was out for the TKO.
Afterward, Petruzelli said that he hopes to get a slot in Bellator’s next 205-pound tournament and capture a title in the division.
“That light-heavyweight belt has my name written on it, and I’m coming for it, man,” he said.
Rodriguez had a 12-fight win streak snapped with the loss. He fell to 46-12.
“I have to go back to the drawing board,” he said. “I’m not done.”
In the final main card fight, unbeaten Rene Nazare kept his perfect record intact, stopping Juan Barrantes after the second round when the cageside doctor called a halt to the action. Barrantes’ right eye was swollen shut after a pounding over the first 10 minutes.
Nazare controlled the action both standing and on the ground during the duration, but simply couldn’t get the finish as Barrantes withstood his barrages and defended on the ground. But after the second round, his face was bloodied and a quick look by the doctor sealed his fate.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Pat Curran is back for a second chance at gold.