Tag: Welterweight Grand Prix

Douglas Lima Wants Title Back, But Doesn’t Want Gracies To Hate Him

ROSEMONT, Ill – Former 170-pound champion Douglas Lima will get another crack at the title in the finals of the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix tournament. Lima earned that right with an unbelievable win over Michael “Venom” Page inside the Allstate Arena on Saturday night in Rosemont, Illinois. After the fight, “The Phenom” was thrilled […]

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ROSEMONT, Ill – Former 170-pound champion Douglas Lima will get another crack at the title in the finals of the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix tournament.

Lima earned that right with an unbelievable win over Michael “Venom” Page inside the Allstate Arena on Saturday night in Rosemont, Illinois.

After the fight, “The Phenom” was thrilled at the reality that he would soon be fighting for ‘his’ welterweight strap. It’s just one more goal for Lima to check off his bucket list. For instance, he said he wanted to have the performance of his life earlier this week, and, well, he did.

“Right now, I feel that was the biggest highlight of my career,” Lima said to media during the post-fight scrum including Lowkick MMA. “That was the biggest fight that I’ve been in. I said it before – I was going to finish it. I went in there and executed. I’m really happy with my performance, and I’m moving on to the finals.

“I got caught with some good shots, as well. He was very fast in the beginning. But I knew there was a moment in the fight I was going to connect and finish it.”

All the attention now shifts to the other side of the bracket. Will it be the champion Rory MacDonald moving on to the finals to defend the title against the man he took it from in Lima, or will Neiman Gracie continue his improbable run?

For Lima, it really makes no difference. He just wants his belt back. But at the same time he doesn’t want the Gracie family to hate him should he defeat Neiman in the process.

“Honestly, I need the belt,” Lima said. “That’s what I want, that’s what I’m going to get. If it’s Rory, even better – of course, I lost that close decision to him. I definitely want to get that back. But it really doesn’t matter to me. The goal here is to get the belt back – finish another fight and get that belt.

“If I were to choose, of course I would say Rory – a bigger fight, a guy that has a win over me. Let’s see what happens when they fight in June. I can’t wait to fight the winner.

“I just don’t want the Gracies to hate me when I beat him. I’m pretty cool with most of them. That’s the only thing that I think about: ‘Man, if I beat this guy, they’re all going to hate me.’ But it’s the fight game. The Gracies are big, and I’ve got a lot of respect for all of them, of course. … But if we’ve got to fight, I’ve got to win.”

Let us know what you think. Who will Douglas Lima face in the finals of the Bellator Welterweight World Gran Prix?

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Rory MacDonald vs. Jon Fitch, Bellator Welterweight GP Set For April

Mark your calendars, the Bellator welterweight Grand Prix has a date. 170-pound champ Rory MacDonald will defend his title against perennial title contender Jon Fitch in the opening round of the GP. If “The Red King” defeats Fitch on April 27 in San Jose, Calif, he will advance in the historic tournament. If he loses, […]

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Mark your calendars, the Bellator welterweight Grand Prix has a date.

170-pound champ Rory MacDonald will defend his title against perennial title contender Jon Fitch in the opening round of the GP.

If “The Red King” defeats Fitch on April 27 in San Jose, Calif, he will advance in the historic tournament. If he loses, he will not only watch the rest of the GP from the sidelines, he will also lose his strap to Fitch. Every match-up in the GP is scheduled for five rounds. However, it is unclear at this time if MacDonald and Fitch will headline the event.

MacDonald, 29, will return to welterweight after a losing bid at becoming Bellator MMA’s first-ever “champ-champ.” Although he lost to Gegard Mousasi in his last outing, that was MacDonald’s first setback since inking a deal with the Viacom-owned promotion.

As for the 40-year-old Fitch. He is on a five-fight winning streak that includes his promotional debut against Paul Daley last May. Having challenged Georges St-Pierre for the UFC’s welterweight strap, Fitch is no stranger to big-time fights.

As of now, the Bellator card in San Jose does not have any other targeted bouts. However, if you find yourself fiending for your MMA fix, tune into this weekend’s Bellator 214 event that features the finale of the Heavyweight World Grand Prix between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader.

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Wanderlei Silva Speculates On Fighting Future

Following his TKO loss to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at Bellator 206, Wanderlei Silva speculates on the future of his fighting career. Prior to his co-main event loss at Bellator 206, Silva was adamant that he would keep fighting win or lose. Despite the loss, it appears the “Axe Murderer” hasn’t shied away from his promise […]

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Following his TKO loss to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at Bellator 206, Wanderlei Silva speculates on the future of his fighting career.

Prior to his co-main event loss at Bellator 206, Silva was adamant that he would keep fighting win or lose. Despite the loss, it appears the “Axe Murderer” hasn’t shied away from his promise to keep fighting.

“I want to be more busy, I want to fight as soon (as I) can,” Silva said at the post-fight press conference. “I want to do better next time.”

Later still, Silva took to Instagram to echo his earlier sentiment and to proclaim that he and “Rampage” put on the fight of the night at the SAP Center.

“At 42, I can still do a few more fights,” Silva said. “I’m already thinking about the next one. Who could be my next opponent?”

“I’d like to thank all my friends and fans for rooting for me. Leaving the octagon acclaimed made me very happy and it gives me the strength to fight again. I represented our country with heart. Unfortunately, the win didn’t come this time. It was the best fight of the night at Bellator 206. At 42, I can still do a few more fights. I’m already thinking about the next one. Who could be my next opponent? Thank you for the support, brothers.”

Finding a suitable opponent for Silva may not be that difficult. Shortly before Bellator 206, fellow Brazilan Vitor Belfort took to social media to declare his bias towards his countryman. Belfort also mentioned a possible “soccer stadium” rematch of their 1998 encounter in Brazil.

With the loss on Saturday night (Sept. 29, 2018) Silva and Jackson are now tied at two wins apiece.

Let us know what you think. Should Silva and “Rampage” meet for the fifth time to settle the score once and for all?

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Rory MacDonald Reacts To Brutal Bellator 206 Loss

Rory MacDonald met a harsh reality when he was thoroughly beaten by middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi in the main event of last night’s (Sept. 29, 2018) Bellator 206 (highlights here) from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. Mousasi dominated the action from the very beginning. Overall, he poured out precious little offense. He simply appeared overmatched […]

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Rory MacDonald met a harsh reality when he was thoroughly beaten by middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi in the main event of last night’s (Sept. 29, 2018) Bellator 206 (highlights here) from the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

Mousasi dominated the action from the very beginning. Overall, he poured out precious little offense. He simply appeared overmatched by the larger ‘Dreamcatcher.’ Mousasi used his patented accurate jab to batter and bloody ‘The Red King’ in the first.

In the second, Mousasi’s edge on the ground became violently apparent. He achieved mount and rained down endless bludgeoning strikes on his welterweight foe. The referee had to stop the fight.

Its a massively disappointing set of circumstances for the welterweight champion. However, he’s not going to make any excuses for the loss. MacDonald reacted to his loss to ‘The Dreamcatcher’ on Twitter today. In the reaction, he said he didn’t show up mentally and froze. He gave all credit to Mousasi and made no excuses:

He said he just wanted to update his fans on why he lost in such dominant fashion. MacDonald thanked his fans for all of their support:

The Bellator welterweight ruler will regroup. He’s scheduled to take on onetime UFC contender Jon Fitch. The two will meet in the opening round of the Bellator World Welterweight Grand Prix.

He should have an easier matchup due to Fitch’s more similar size. A return to the top could come as a result. GSP’s protege is far from done.

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Aaron Pico Calls Out Bellator Champion After Latest Knockout Win

Surging future star Aaron Pico picked up his fourth straight knockout win (highlights here) by defeating veteran Leandro Higo at last night’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. After losing his pro debut at Bellator 180 in June 2017, Pico has looked like a man possessed. He’s run […]

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Surging future star Aaron Pico picked up his fourth straight knockout win (highlights here) by defeating veteran Leandro Higo at last night’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California.

After losing his pro debut at Bellator 180 in June 2017, Pico has looked like a man possessed. He’s run through every one of the opponents Bellator has put in front of him. Not one of the fights has left the opening round.

The sky is obviously the limit for the 21-year-old prospect. It looks like he’s aiming for the top of the food chain already, however.

Pico discussed his words to current featherweight champ Patricio Freire after his win at Bellator 206. Asked what he said to Freire, Pico revealed at the post-fight press conference via MMAjunkie that he told the champion his time was coming:

“Your time is coming. It’s a new generation of young fighters, and the clock is ticking down for him,” he said at the event’s press conference. “Every day he goes and trains, there’s a guy like me just waiting to get a shot at him and take his belt. That’s just how it goes.”

The nature of the fight game is a cold, patient beast. Indeed there’s always a hungry young contender waiting to rise up and take the king’s throne.

Pico is that fighter – perhaps more than any other rising contender in MMA right now. But while it seems he may be aiming for the fences by calling out the current champ, Pico knows he has to focus on getting better. That won’t happen in just one fight:

“My whole job is just to progress as a fighter,” Pico said. “That’s so important to me right now. I’m very young in my career. I have a lot of things to work on.

“Being the best fighter doesn’t happen overnight. It takes many years. But all I can do is progress and take each fight as it comes.”

He appears to have the mindset of a fighter much older than his years. Freire could be an option for Pico soon, yet maybe it shouldn’t be in his very next fight.

Pico knows he has all the time in the world. He’s only getting better, too, so the future is more than bright for MMA’s fastest-rising star. How long do you think it’ll it take for him to rise to the pinnacle of the sport?

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Twitter Reacts To Action-Packed Bellator 206

Last night’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, was one of the best cards in promotional history on paper. With the results now in the books, it’s safe to say the event delivered on that lofty promise due to the sheer amount of action involved. Gegard Mousasi dominated […]

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Last night’s (Sat., September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California, was one of the best cards in promotional history on paper.

With the results now in the books, it’s safe to say the event delivered on that lofty promise due to the sheer amount of action involved.

Gegard Mousasi dominated Rory MacDonald to retain the middleweight title (highlights here) in the main event. Rampage Jackson finished Wanderlei Silva (highlights) to even their four-fight series at two wins apiece.

Douglas Lima got the Bellator World Welterweight Grand Prix off to a great start by submitting Andrey Koreshkov. And finally, Aaron Pico continued his meteoric rise with another brutal first-round KO (watch it).

There’s a lot to unpack. Find out how social media reacted to the action-filled event right here:

Stan Szeto for USA TODAY Sports

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