Viacom Stakes Claim in Bellator Fighting Championships

 Posted by at 2:46 PM  Bellator, MMA News  No Responses »
Oct 262011
 

Late Tuesday night an announcement was made that raised Bellator Fighting Championships’ stock in the MMA market: Viacom, the parent company of Spike TV, MTV, BET, and Comedy Central, has purchased broadcasting rights for the Chicago-based promotion.

The deal won’t come into effect until 2013, but that doesn’t mean the benefits will be on hold for the promotion, the fighters, and the fans. Apart for the obvious gains in terms of consistent programming and production value, the deal will also help insure the long-term stability of Bellator as a promotion, meaning that fighters will be able to count on their paychecks cashing and their jobs being secure so long as they continue to preform. For fans, it means more MMA on more channels on a more regular basis.    Continue reading »

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Bellator 55: The Aftermath

 Posted by at 4:40 PM  Bellator, MMA News  No Responses »
Oct 232011
 

Forty-year-old "The Exorcist" Alexis Vila (red trunks) bested Marcos Galvao (blue trunks) in their three-round affair and advances to the Bellator Season 5 Bantamweight Tournament finals. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)

Last night the outdoor cage at the Cocopah Resort and Casino in Yuma, Arizona, presented a night of upsets and established the proving grounds for a young contender courtesy of Bellator 55. The card also saw the four remaining Season 5 Bantamweight Tournament competitors battle it out in the mid-90-degree heat for the coveted pair of tickets to the tourney finals. Brazilian Ricardo Tirloni (9-1) and Steve Gable (3-2) both made their promotion debuts with the hopes of a tournament position come the new year. Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion “Tonton” Christian M’Pumbu (5-2) welcomed “The Diesel” Travis Wiuff (63-14) to the Bellator cage in a non-title fight. In the featured bouts of the evening, “Wild” Ed West (15-6) slugged it out with Brazilian Shooto veteran Eduardo Dantas (7-2) and “The Exorcist” Alexis Vila (10-0) faced “Loro” Marcos Galvao (10-6) with only two men earn the title of Bellator Season 5 Bantamweight Tournament finalists. Continue reading »

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Spike.com to Stream Bellator Season 5 Prelim Fights

 Posted by at 4:01 PM  Bellator, MMA News  No Responses »
Sep 062011
 

(Photo courtesy of Bellator)

The year 2011 has been a rather defining one for MMA. Following suit, Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that fans no longer have to miss out on its live event preliminary cards, as the promotion has inked an agreement to stream the fights live on Spike.com. The partnership marks the first time the popular male-oriented television network’s website has streamed live mixed martial arts events. Continue reading »

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Another KO, Another Question for Hector Lombard

 Posted by at 7:17 PM  Bellator, Features, MMA News  2 Responses »
May 172011
 

With "Niko" Falaniko Vitale (black trunks) being added to Hector Lombard's (white trunks) lengthy list of KO victories, many can't help but wonder where the Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion is to go from here. (Photo courtesy of Keith Mills and Sherdog)

Though the fight lasted the better part of its scheduled three rounds, it took only one well-placed punch for Bellator Middleweight Champion “Shango” Hector Lombard (27-2) to add “Niko” Falaniko Vitale (27-9) to his long list of knockout victims.

Vitale used his reach and jab to keep his distance from the powerful hands of “Shango” but the Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Lombard still got the edge on the judges’ score cards in rounds one and two by keeping on the pressure and landing solid strikes against the Hawaiian born “Niko”. After ten minutes of a slow paced fight, Vitale came forward with an uppercut to the body but unwisely hung his left arm low. Lombard came forward and slammed a right hook into the jaw of the former Superbrawl champ. Just under a minute into the final stanza, Lombard connected with that fight-ending right hook that left his opponent on the canvas and left fans singing a mixed tune, as the earlier frames were met with boos from the crowd. Continue reading »

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Spilled Bag of Fights: Chicken Salad!

 Posted by at 7:31 PM  Spilled Bag of Fights  3 Responses »
Apr 182011
 

“We’re taking Chicken Shit and making Chicken Salad!” –Contemporary Philosopher, Brock Lesnar.

Apparently, Brock is as good at analogies as he is at taking a punch. Oh Snap! Yeah, I went there! I said it! A lot of feelings seemed to be hurt by this comment and Brock’s “clarification” of what he meant was basically to repeat himself. Predictably, this did little to help the issue and his team continued to dab their tears away on their pretty dresses. Metaphorically, of course, since none of them were actually wearing dresses. But it wouldn’t surprise me if some of them were wearing lacy panties under their shorts. Anyway, so far this season of The Ultimate Fighter seems to be filled with a lot of whiny little bitches. “Waaahh! Brock called us chicken shit.” “Waahh! I miss my kid. I’m going home.”  “Waahh. Lew Polley is yelling at me.” Sheesh! Continue reading »

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Bellator Heavyweight Champ Cole Konrad to Take On KO Artist Paul Buentello April 23

 Posted by at 5:59 PM  Bellator, MMA News  No Responses »
Apr 062011
 

"The Polar Bear" Cole Konrad returns to action later this month against Paul Buentello in a non-title heavyweight tilt. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)

Bellator Heavyweight Champion “The Polar Bear” Cole Konrad (7-0) returns to the spotlight at Bellator 42 on April 23, opposite UFC and Strikeforce veteran “The Headhunter” Paul Buentello (28-13). The Lucky Star Casino in Concho, Oklahoma plays host to the non-title superfight that is likely the card’s main event. The card is also expected to feature bouts from the Bellator Season 4 Tournaments.

The decorated NCAA Div. I wrestler Konrad hasn’t had any cage time since his submission win over heavy-handed Neil Grove (10-3) to win the heavyweight title at Bellator 32 in October of last year. Buentello has gone 1-1 since his UFC release last spring and is coming off a knockout loss to former UFC Heavyweight Champion “The Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (28-7) at the War On The Mainland event. Continue reading »

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Eddie Alvarez Set to Defend Bellator Lightweight Title Against Season 2 Winner Pat Curran

 Posted by at 6:23 PM  Bellator, Features, MMA News  1 Response »
Feb 192011
 

Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez (left) is slated to make his first title defense in April against Season 2 Lightweight Tournament winner Pat Curran. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)

After a shoulder injury left Bellator Season 2 Lightweight Tournament Winner Pat Curran (12-3) unable to challenge current 155lbs. champion Eddie Alvarez’s (19-2) lightweight crown, fan favorite and UFC veteran “El Matador” Roger Huerta (21-5-1) took his place in a non-title fight against Alvarez at Bellator 33 in Philadelphia last October. The fight was all Alvarez as he picked apart Huerta with powerful leg kicks and crisp boxing, causing the ringside doctors to stop the fight after the second round due to Huerta’s swollen eye and battered knee. Continue reading »

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Bellator Signs UFC Veteran “Killa B” Ben Saunders

 Posted by at 7:31 PM  Bellator, Features, MMA News  1 Response »
Feb 032011
 

UFC veteran and American Top Team fighter Ben Saunders (right) is the newest addition to Bellator's already stacked welterweight division. (Photo courtesy of Jon Kopaloff and Getty Images)

This afternoon, Chicago-based MMA promotion Bellator Fighting Championship (BFC or Bellator) announced that it signed seven-time UFC veteran and The Ultimate Fighter 6 alum “Killa B” Ben Saunders (9-3-2) to its already shark infested welterweight roster. Saunders will not take part in the upcoming Bellator Welterweight Tournament, but he will make his debut with the promotion sometime during Season 4, which begins March 4. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said of the acquisition, “Ben Saunders is an exciting, powerful welterweight with explosive knockout power.  Ben’s dangerous and always shows up to fight.  I’m excited to see his first fight under the Bellator banner…” Continue reading »

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Bellator to Hold Inaugural Light Heavyweight Tournament in Season Four

 Posted by at 5:58 PM  MMA News  2 Responses »
Dec 202010
 

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney announced today that, for the first time in its history, the promotion will feature a Light Heavyweight Tournament as part of its fourth season. (File photo)

Bellator Fighting Championship (BFC) announced today that for the first time in its two-year and three-season history, the promotion will be hosting a Light Heavyweight Tournament in addition to those for its other weight classes. The eight-man 205lbs. Tournament kicks off in March as part of the fourth season.

The bracket style tournament will pit four pairs of men against one another, with the winners of those matches advancing to the semi-finals then the top two men facing each other in the finals. The winner of the Light Heavyweight Tournament will be crowned the very first Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion and be awarded $100,000 for his efforts. Continue reading »

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Bellator Fighting Championship Inks Three-Year Deal with MTV2

 Posted by at 9:41 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Dec 142010
 

(Photo courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championship)

Earlier today, Bellator Fighting Championships (BFC) announced its new television partner starting in 2011 – MTV2.

The announcement came as a surprise to many, as for several months there has been speculation about who the MMA promotion would sign with for their next season; most recently the Fox Network’s FX channel was leading the pack as the most likely candidate. Continue reading »

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And the Winner Is…

 Posted by at 11:01 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Dec 012010
 

The 2010 World MMA Awards were held tonight at the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The awards show annually honors all things MMA, from fighters, to referees, to equipment, to apparel, and much more. Here are the winners, as voted by fans: Continue reading »

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Bellator 24: Hector Lombard Impressive in Second Tier Victory; Future Uncertain

 Posted by at 5:11 PM  MMA News  No Responses »
Aug 132010
 

Hector Lombard Victorious at Bellator 24 (Photo: http://www.tomhillphotos.com)

Last night at Bellator 24 we witnessed the current welterweight champion Hector Lombard (24-2-1) win via knock out in just 38 seconds over former NFL running back Whisper Goodman (16-9). Hector is an impressive fighter with only two defeats both coming by way of decision. A champion of his caliber should not be fighting a Whisper Goodman and it leads me to wonder if the best years of his career are being wasted.

Continue reading »

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