To keep his spot in the UFC flyweight pecking order, Wilson Reis will need to get past Sean Santella at UFC 201 this month.
The promotion announced Reis-Santella during the UFC Fight Night 91 broadcast Wednesday night for the July 30 card from Atlan…
To keep his spot in the UFC flyweight pecking order, Wilson Reis will need to get past Sean Santella at UFC 201 this month.
The promotion announced Reis-Santella during the UFC Fight Night 91 broadcast Wednesday night for the July 30 card from Atlanta. Reis was scheduled to challenge flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, but “Mighty Mouse” bowed out with an injury.
Santella (15-5) has 10 career submission wins to his credit and is coming off back-to-back wins on the regional circuit. He is 7-2 with one no-contest since a 2011 loss to UFC bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling via decision.
Reis (20-6) is 3-1 in his last four, losing only to Jussier Formiga via decision in 2015. He holds wins over Dustin Ortiz, Scott Jorgensen and Joby Sanchez to his credit in recent memory.
UFC 201 feature a welterweight title fight between champion Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley.
Fans who were looking forward to UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson’s next title defense will have to wait a little longer than expected.
“Mighty Mouse,” the reigning UFC Flyweight Champion and the guy more and more people are pointing to as …
Fans who were looking forward to UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson’s next title defense will have to wait a little longer than expected.
“Mighty Mouse,” the reigning UFC Flyweight Champion and the guy more and more people are pointing to as the rightful owner to the number one spot in the always-debated “Pound For Pound” rankings, has reportedly pulled out of his next title defense, which was scheduled to be against Wilson Reis.
Brazilian media outlet Globo was first to report the story, which was later confirmed by MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani via Twitter, as seen below.
The extent of Johnson’s injury and the amount of time he will be on the sidelines because of it is still unclear.
The Johnson-Reis bout was scheduled to serve as the co-main event and second title fight at the UFC 201 pay-per-view scheduled for the end of this month.
Headlined by Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight Championship, UFC 201 takes place on Saturday, July 30, 2016 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Demetrious Johnson is injured and out of the 7/30 title fight vs. Wilson Reis at UFC 201, per sources. Globo reported it first.
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, the UFC’s No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, is the only man in promotional history to hold 125-pound gold. Since acquiring the title in 2012, Johnson has run a demolition course through the flyweight division, defending the strap eight straight times. He has looked unbeatable to say the least. But the reality of
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, the UFC’s No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, is the only man in promotional history to hold 125-pound gold. Since acquiring the title in 2012, Johnson has run a demolition course through the flyweight division, defending the strap eight straight times. He has looked unbeatable to say the least.
But the reality of the situation is that he is beatable, and few fighters are more aware of that than reigning bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who handed Johnson one of his only two career losses back in 2011.
Coincidently, Cruz is a training partner of Wilson Reis, a man slated to challenge Johnson for the title in the co-main event of July 30’s UFC 201 from Atlanta, Georgia. According to “The Dominator”, Reis too knows that the puzzle that is Demetrious Johnson can indeed be solved:
“Demetrious Johnson is not unbeatable – if anyone knows that, it’s me,” Cruz told MMAjunkie. “He’s a very beatable individual. I beat him for five rounds straight. He didn’t win one round of that fight. I know how to beat him. I understand what you’ve got to do. And Wilson does, too.”
Despite being a rather unknown to the casual fan, Reis is no push over. The 31-year-old Brazilian contender has won three of his last four, and possesses quite the well-rounded skillset according to Cruz:
“I love that fight because there’s a lot of unknowns about Wilson,” Cruz said. ”I brought him to help me get ready for my first fight with Joseph Benavidez because he’s a short-statured fighter, with good explosive movement. And he has a good grappling game in general. He’s got good wrestling, good jiu-jitsu. And if you look at his striking, he keeps getting better training with us. We understand how to build a gameplan around his strengths.”
Being skilled in every area likely won’t be enough to topple “Mighty Mouse”, however, as the title-holder has appeared to be near perfect in all aspects of the fight game. But Cruz once again claimed that Johnson is beatable, and it may be that mental edge that leads Reis to victory in the mind of the bantamweight king:
“Wilson believes in himself. The first step is believing that Demetrious is beatable. And we all know that he is. A lot of these other guys go in there almost believing that they can’t. Wilson won’t go in there with that mindset. He’s going in there very confident. And he should, because he’s very tough to deal with.”
Over the last few years, Cruz has become one of the best analysts in the sport, breaking down fights with intelligence and fight knowledge that very few possess. Is he on to something here with Reis, or will Johnson once again defend his long-held title?
A second title fight has been added to UFC 201, as Demetrious Johnson defends his belt against Wilson Reis.
The bout was first reported on “UFC Tonight” Wednesday evening.
Johnson (24-2-1) has defended the belt eight times previously, including a…
A second title fight has been added to UFC 201, as Demetrious Johnson defends his belt against Wilson Reis.
The bout was first reported on “UFC Tonight” Wednesday evening.
Johnson (24-2-1) has defended the belt eight times previously, including a recent first round finish vs. Henry Cejudo. “Mighty Mouse” also holds wins over John Dodson, Kyoji Horiguchi and Joseph Benavidez during his run.
Reis (20-6) is coming off a decision victory over Dustin Ortiz, but was bested by Jussier Formiga prior to that. He is 3-1 over his last four and 8-2 over his last 10 fights.
UFC 201 takes place July 30 from the Philips Arena in Atlanta. Tyron Woodley challenges Robbie Lawler for the welterweight title in the main event.
Above is the decidedly high-def looking promo for Bellator’s fifth season, kicking off on September 10th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I mention the spiffyness of the visuals because one of the few complaints that I’ve ever leveled at BFC is the standard definition broadcasting. When the trailer was released a few weeks ago, I honestly thought it was just a little accidental irony.
Nope. A couple of days ago, it was announced that Bellator season five tournaments will be broadcast in HD baby! Now go dig out your cable programming guide and try to determine if you have EPIX. I’ve never heard of it, but apparently it’s an actual channel somewhere, so I’m going to call DISH Network and start offering them money until they can confirm that I’ll see Bellator in 1080p.
If you’re not excited about the upcoming season, watch that video again. You may not realize it, but that’s Bruce Lee talking about being like water. It’s some deep philosophical type shit, and it’s pretty much him guaranteeing that he’s going to join a tournament and wreck shop. Seeing the founder of Jeet Kun Do step away from his acting career and FINALLY step into the cage is going to be sick, and I’m looking forward to putting an end to all that speculation about how good he’d be.
(For an actual preview of two of the four planned tournaments this season, come on in past the jump.)
Above is the decidedly high-def looking promo for Bellator’s fifth season, kicking off on September 10th in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I mention the spiffyness of the visuals because one of the few complaints that I’ve ever leveled at BFC is the standard definition broadcasting. When the trailer was released a few weeks ago, I honestly thought it was just a little accidental irony.
Nope. A couple of days ago, it was announced that Bellator season five tournaments will be broadcast in HD baby! Now go dig out your cable programming guide and try to determine if you have EPIX. I’ve never heard of it, but apparently it’s an actual channel somewhere, so I’m going to call DISH Network and start offering them money until they can confirm that I’ll see Bellator in 1080p.
If you’re not excited about the upcoming season, watch that video again. You may not realize it, but that’s Bruce Lee talking about being like water. It’s some deep philosophical type shit, and it’s pretty much him guaranteeing that he’s going to join a tournament and wreck shop. Seeing the founder of Jeet Kun Do step away from his acting career and FINALLY step into the cage is going to be sick, and I’m looking forward to putting an end to all that speculation about how good he’d be.
(For an actual preview of two of the four planned tournaments this season, come on in past the jump.)
Bantamweight
The 135 pound tournament is packed full of storylines and rivalries. Current featherweight champ Joe Warren is joining the field in an attempt to earn Bellator gold in two weight classes. Here’s the thing about Joe Warren: before Chael Sonnen, there was Joe Warren: he doesn’t lack confidence and he’s not afraid to tell you what’s on his mind. The self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” missed the 2008 Olympics due to smoking a little reefer, where he would have represented the US at 60kg in wrestling. (Just my opinion, but if you can smoke grass and stay on weight , you deserve a medal at something. Damn IOC always trying to bring a man down. )
His opponent will be the Cuban Olympic wrestler Alexis Vila, who won a bronze medal in at the 1996 Games at 48kg. You may remember Vila from his appearance in the Genghis Con web documentary Miami Hustle, in which he was angry a lot and hit people really hard. If anyone wants to bet me that Vila does not beat the absolute piss out Warren in the first round, I will laugh and take your money.
Chase Beebe, who fought Warren in his first pro MMA fight and lost (Beebe was 12-3 at the time), joins the tournament looking for redemption. To get it, Beebe will have to get through Marcos Galvao, who gave Warren all he could handle at Bellator 41 (and lost a controversial split decision). Still with me?
Eduardo Dantas out of Brazilian powerhouse Nova Uniao signed on with Bellator, and will face perennial contender Wilson Reis for his North American debut. Dantas won the Shooto South American title, but failed to win the world title in a bout with Masakatsu Ueda in 2009.
Ed West made it to the finals in season three before losing to current champ Zach Makovsky, and he draws Team Renovacao product Luis Alberto Nogueira in the quarterfinals. Nogueira has a loss on his record to Dantas, and if the two meet, expect Bellator to fill you in on Luta Livre vs BJJ.
Welterweights will kick off the fifth season, with the quarterfinals in the 170 pound tournament taking up the card at Bellator 49 on the 10th. Welterweight has always been a deep division for Bellator, and new free agents add some spice to the brackets.
MFC’s former welterweight champ Douglas Lima enters the quarterfinals against Steve Carl, who lost to Dan Hornbuckle in the season two tournament, then rebounded with win over Tyler Stinson via CTFO.
Hornbuckle, meanwhile, will run into a welterweight almost as tall as he is — Luis “Sapo” Santos, a Brazilian wrecking machine that’s every bit as well-rounded as Hornbuckle. Check your DVR twice, because you are not going to want to miss this fight.
Ben Saunders draws Chris Cisneros, a 13-3 Hawaiian fighter who stepped in for the recently injured Rick Hawn, and Kentucky fighter-philosopher Brent Weedman battles the Cleveland Assassin Chris Lozano. Weedman went 5-0 in Bellator until he met Jay Hieron in the semifinals a few months ago, and he’s totally worth following on Twitter. Lozano has earned all eight of his wins via stoppage, with just one loss — a decision to former Bellator champ Lyman Good.
MMA Fighting has Bellator results from the Cocopah Resort and Casino in Yuma, Arizona.
Bellator 41 features two featherweight tournament semifinal bouts, as well as a pair of superfights, one featuring featherweight champ Joe Warren, and another with bantamweight kingpin Zach Makovsky.
MMA Fighting has Bellator results from the Cocopah Resort and Casino in Yuma, Arizona.