MMA Gospel Exclusive: Round Two With Bellator Tourney Champ “Psycho” Karl Amoussou

 Posted by at 2:31 PM  Bellator, MMA Gospel Exclusives, MMA News  1 Response »
Aug 162012
 

Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Champion Karl Amoussou’s (red trunks) striking skill set has played a large role in his success as a top competitor. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)

M-1 Global, DREAM, and Strikeforce veteran “Psycho” Karl Amoussou (16-4-2) started off his tenure in Bellator Fighting Championships at 0-1 after a controversial Split Decision loss to “Smiling” Sam Alvey (19-4) at Bellator 45 in May 2011. Many might have been deterred by such a disappointing start in one of the world’s most prominent mixed martial arts promotions, but that wasn’t the case for the Frenchman. A fire was lit under Amoussou, who then went on to amass four consecutive victories over the course of nine months, along the way dropping from middleweight to the 170lbs. division. Amoussou’s long-awaited move to welterweight began with a catchweight bout at 175 against “Chavo” Jesus Martinez (6-3). It took Amoussou only 2:20 to destroy Martinez with lighting quick strikes and the victory earned him a spot in the Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament. From there the “Psycho” would tear through the opponents within the tourney ranks and earn the title of Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Champion, with the trail of devastation left in his wake catching the MMA world’s attention. Between his rigorous training to dethrone Bellator Welterweight Champion “Funky” Ben Askren (10-0) in a title fight this fall, Amoussou chats with MMA Gospel Staff Writer Cole Moorman about his journey through the promotion’s ranks. Continue reading »

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Bellator 69 Main Card: Pre-Fight Breakdown

 Posted by at 5:51 PM  Bellator, MMA News  No Responses »
May 172012
 

Ron Sparks (red trunks) will return to the Bellator cage Friday night to pit his size and knockout power against Kevin Asplund. (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

It’s back to Cajun country as Bellator returns to the L’Auberge du Lac Casino and Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana with a loaded card featuring heavy hitters and dynamic finishing artists. Season 6 Middleweight Tournament finalist and owner of 23 first-round (T)KOs “Big Rig” Maiquel Falcao (30-4) will face submission specialist “Sweet Swede” Andreas Spang (8-1). Lightning fast French import “Psycho” Karl Amoussou (14-4) takes on “The Caveman” David Rickels (10-0) in a welterweight semi-final match-up that will determine who will face “The Beast” Bryan Baker (19-3) later this season. Former female tournament finalist and long-time top female fighter in the world “Mega Megu” Megumi Fujii (25-1) steps back into the Bellator cage after a lengthy hiatus to face the recharged and surging “JAG” Jessica Aguilar (13-4). Kentucky countryboy “The Monster” Ron Sparks (8-1) hopes to make a successful return to the bayou as he welcomes Brutaal fight veteran “Concrete” Kevin Asplund (15-1) and his 15-fight win streak to the Bellator cage. Continue reading »

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Bellator 63: The Aftermath

 Posted by at 12:03 PM  Bellator  No Responses »
Mar 312012
 

Karl Amoussou (right), Bryan Baker, David Rickels, and Ben Saunders are the four men moving on to represent the 170lbs. division in the Bellator Season 6 tourney semi-finals. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)

The welterweights went to war last night at the popular Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut in front of a welcoming crowd. Eight men entered the Bellator circle as part of the Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals, but only four were allowed to move up the ladder to the semi-finals. “Killa B” Ben Saunders (13-4) took on “Smash Mode” Raul Amaya (9-1) in the opening tournament match-up. “The Caveman” David Rickels (10-0) put his undefeated record on the line against veteran “Mata Ele” Jordan Smith (17-3). Former 185lbs. tourney contender “The Beast” Bryan Baker (17-3) faced Brazilian fight ciruit journeyman and Bellator newcomer “Indio” Carlos Alexandre Pereira (33-10) in a battle of the strongmen of the 170 lbs. division. In the main event MMA Gospel Young Gun and Bellator gladiator “The Cleveland Assassin” Chris Lozano (9-3) took on M-1 veteran “Pyscho” Karl Amoussou (14-4) in a bad blood fight that finally came to a head when they faced off in the cage. Continue reading »

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Bellator 63, Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals Live Results

 Posted by at 3:52 PM  Bellator  2 Responses »
Mar 302012
 

(Photo courtesy of Bellator)

—MAIN CARD (on MTV2)—

Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Final Fight
Chris Lozano vs. Karl Amoussou: Amoussou via Submission (Rear Naked Choke), Round 1, 2:05

Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Final Fight
Ben Saunders vs. Raul Amaya: Saunders via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27), Round 3, 5:00

Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Final Fight
Bryan Baker vs. Carlos Pereira: Baker via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29), Round 3, 5:00

Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Final Fight
David Rickels vs. Jordan Smith: Rickels via TKO (Punches), Round 1, 0:22 Continue reading »

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Bellator 63, Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals: Pre-Fight Breakdown

 Posted by at 2:06 PM  Bellator, MMA Gospel Young Guns, MMA News  No Responses »
Mar 292012
 

"The Beast" Bryan Baker (black trunks) has the wrestling abilities to completely control his Bellator 63 bout if he so chooses. (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

It’s back to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut Friday night for another Bellator tournament bracket to get underway, this time with eight explosive welterweights hitting the cage for Bellator 63. Featuring a returning cast of warriors that have literally rocked the Bellator cage with their previous performances, the tourney also includes several newcomers more than willing to step up and engage in the firefights Bellator’s tournaments have become known for, all in the hopes of getting a shot at championship gold. Brazilian journeyman with nearly 45 fights to his credit “Indio” Carlos Alexandre Pereira (33-9) makes his Bellator debut against former WEC and Bellator 185lbs. contender turned oversized welterweight, “The Beast” Bryan Baker (16-3). Submission specialist and Bellator veteran “The Caveman” David Rickels (9-0) meets well-rounded promotion newcomer “Mata Ele” Jordan Smith (17-2), who steps in as a late replacement for UFC veteran Brian Foster (18-5). Season 5 Welterweight Tournament finalist “Killa B” Ben Saunders (12-4) is slated to pit his lethal striking and BJJ credentials against undefeated finishing machine “Smash Mode” Raul Amaya (9-0). The main event features original MMA Gospel Young Gun and heavy-handed Bellator 170lbs. tournament vet “The Cleveland Assassin” Chris Lozano (9-2) teeing off against former 185lbs. French wrecking machine “Psycho” Karl Amoussou (13-4), in a fight that has had both men chomping at the bit for weeks. As in previous seasons, the Bellator welterweight tourney match-ups are sure to add a few more clips to the promotion’s highlight reels. Continue reading »

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Chris Lozano Discusses Move to Jackson’s MMA, Berth in Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament

 Posted by at 4:27 PM  Bellator, MMA Gospel Exclusives, MMA Gospel Young Guns, MMA News  No Responses »
Feb 112012
 

"The Cleveland Assassin" Chris Lozano (left) will make his third run at the Bellator 170lbs. tournament starting in March, this time under the tutelage of Greg Jackson and team. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)

“The Cleveland Assassin” Chris Lozano’s (9-2) name is back on the Bellator welterweight tournament roster with the Ohio native looking to the make the third time a charm. The now 29-year-old Lozano made his Bellator debut in September 2010 with an impressive TKO victory over Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-6). Six months later at Bellator 35, a three-round battle in favor of former Bellator champion “Cyborg” Lyman Good (11-2) ended Lozano’s hopes of advancing in the Season 4 welterweight tourney. Lozano followed up his first professional loss with a pair of first-round stoppage victories in the regional promotion North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS) before being asked to return to the Bellator cage. The Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals in September 2011 saw the “Assassin” shut down a seasoned veteran and top prospect in Brent Weedman (18-7) and move on to the semi-finals with the hopes of winning it all; heavy-handed eventual tournament champion “The Phenom” Douglas Lima (19-4) had something different in mind, however, and handed Lozano his first and only knockout loss to date. Continue reading »
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Spilled Bag of Fights: Absolutely Suck!

 Posted by at 6:19 PM  Spilled Bag of Fights  2 Responses »
Oct 112011
 

There’s been a lot of fights since my last Spilled Bag of Fights but I’m going to mainly focus on UFC 136 which was really one of the most impressive and stacked cards in recent memory. It featured two title fights as well as the return of the entertaining albeit polarizing Chael Sonnen. So, let’s just dive right in. Continue reading »

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Bellator 53: The Aftermath

 Posted by at 4:02 PM  Bellator, MMA Gospel Young Guns, MMA News  No Responses »
Oct 092011
 

Nearly locking in several Omoplata shoulder locks, "Killa B" Ben Saunders (right) shocked the fans by giving Jiu-Jitsu black belt Luis Santos (left) all he could handle from the bottom before finishing the fight with an Americana submission in the third. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)

In the race to the tournament finals, it was the welterweights to reach the mountain top first, as four men entered the Bellator cage to fight for their claim towards the $100,000 payday and title shot against the winner of the upcoming bout between welterweight champion Ben Askren (8-0) and “The Thoroughbred” Jay Hieron (19-4). “Killa B” Ben Saunders (12-3) met Brazilian bomber Luiz Santos (48-7) in a Muay Thai slug fest that ended in an unforeseen fashion and MMA Gospel Young Gun “The Cleveland Assassin” Chris Lozano (9-2) stood across the cage from former MFC Welterweight Champion “The Phenom” Douglas Lima (18-4) to determine the final two 170-pounders of the season. Featherweights “The Tooth Fairy” Kenny Foster (9-4) and “Kid Ninja” Ronne Mann (21-3) battled it out in a bout to determine who would take the first spot in the Bellator Season 6 145lbs. tournament and late addition heavyweight bout Josh Burns (5-3) and “Big Monster” Thiago Santos (5-1) started off the night with hopes of being a fill in for the heavyweight tournament on the line. Continue reading »

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Bellator 53, Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Semi-Finals Results

 Posted by at 4:37 PM  Bellator, MMA News  No Responses »
Oct 082011
 

(Photo courtesy of Bellator)

—MAIN CARD (on MTV2)—

Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Semi-Final Fight
Luis Santos vs. Ben Saunders: Saunders via Submission (Americana), Round 3, 1:45

Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Semi-Final Fight
Douglas Lima vs. Chris Lozano: Lima via KO (Punch), Round 2, 3:14

Featherweight Tournament Qualifier Fight
Kenny Foster vs. Ronnie Mann: Mann via Submission (Triangle Choke), Round 1, 3:51

Heavyweight Tournament Alternate Fight
Josh Burns vs. Thiago Santos: Santos via Submission (Rear Naked Choke), Round 1, 2:23

Continue reading »

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Bellator 53, Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Semi-Finals Pre-Fight Breakdown

 Posted by at 7:26 PM  Bellator, MMA News  No Responses »
Oct 072011
 

"Kid Ninja" Ronnie Mann (white trunks) will bring his high powered offense back to the Bellator cage to open the main card as he looks for redemption for his recent loss to Pat Curran. (Photo courtesy of Shark Fights)

The Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament semi-finalists are set to drop bombs in Miami, Oklahoma’s Buffalo Run Casino, where tomorrow night only two men will walk away with their hand raised to move on to the finals. Destruction’s right hand “Killa B” Ben Saunders (11-3) will battle it out the old school way of Muay Thai against the exerienced and aggressive “Sapo” Luis Santos (48-6). The torch carrier for MMA Gospel’s Young Guns and heavy handed striker “The Cleveland Assassin” Chris Lozano (9-1) will meet former MFC Welterweight Champion and ever improving contender “The Phenom” Douglas Lima (17-4). With supporting bouts featuring middleweight Strikeforce alum Darryl Cobb (6-3) and Elite XC veteran “The Arm Collector” Givalindo Santana (16-1) going to battle in their Bellator debuts and former featherweight semi-finalist “The Tooth Fairy” Kenny Foster (9-3) and Shark Fights champion “Kid Ninja” Ronnie Mann (20-3) taking their recent tournament frustrations out on each other, this Bellator card could hardly promise more action. Continue reading »

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Spilled Bag of Fights: Don’t Cry!

 Posted by at 3:56 PM  Spilled Bag of Fights  2 Responses »
Sep 272011
 

Some people watch The Ultimate Fighter purely for the fights and don’t like the reality TV element. These people tend to be party-pooping wet blankets who think that they’re too good for a little mindless voyeuristic entertainment. Either way, the stuffy “purists” were treated to almost two hours of nothing but fights on the Season 14 premiere of TUF on Wednesday.  The fights were pretty solid – as to be expected from bantamweight and featherweight fighters. Continue reading »

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Bellator 49: The Aftermath

 Posted by at 5:20 PM  Bellator, MMA Gospel Young Guns, MMA News  No Responses »
Sep 112011
 

Chris Lozano (white trunks) won a hard fought three-round war against Brent Weedman (black trunks) to advance to the Bellator Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Semi-Finals. (Photo courtesy of Keith Mills and Sherdog)

It was another night of success for Bellator Fighting Championships as the welterweight tournament began the promotion’s fifth season. The action took place at Caesar’s Palace in Atlantic City, New Jersey as eight welterweights stepped into the Bellator cage but only four would continue on to the semi-final rounds. Opening the tournament was Bellator veteran and former US Army member Steve Carl (14-3) and former MFC Welterweight Champion “The Phenom” Douglas Lima (17-4). The return of fan favorite “The Handler” Dan Hornbuckle (18-5) was soured by the strength of “Sapo” Luis Santos (48-6). UFC veteran and American Top Team stand-out “Killa B” Ben Saunders (11-3) did what he does best and laid down a beating against Chris Cisneros (11-5). In the main event “The Cleveland Assassin” Chris Lozano (9-1) and Brent Weedman (18-7) gave the fans what they wanted for three rounds, a hard fought war. Continue reading »

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Bellator 49, Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals Live Results

 Posted by at 3:32 PM  Bellator, MMA News  No Responses »
Sep 102011
 

(Photo courtesy of Bellator)

—MAIN CARD—

Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals Fight
Chris Lozano vs. Brent Weedman: Lozano via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), Round 3, 5:00

Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals Fight
 Ben Saunders vs. Chris Cisneros: Saunders via TKO (Knees), Round 3, 0:29

Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals Fight
Luis Santos vs. Dan Hornbuckle: Santos via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), Round 3, 5:00

Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals Fight
 Steve Carl vs. Douglas Lima: Lima via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28), Round 3, 5:00

Continue reading »

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Bellator 49 Pre-Fight Breakdown: Season 5 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals

 Posted by at 7:48 PM  Bellator, MMA Gospel Young Guns, MMA News  No Responses »
Sep 092011
 

Douglas Lima (black trunks) will bring his explosive striking to the Bellator cage as one of eight talented welterweights in the organization's Season 5 tournament. (Photo courtesy of the AP)

The welterweight division of Bellator is not one of its most talent-rich divisions but it is one of the most exciting, and with the new crop of tournament competitors, depth won’t be an issue for long. Bellator Fighting Championships starts off Season 5 tomorrow night with the 170lbs. tournament in Atlantic City, New Jersey with a stacked bracket of eight men who look to earn their shot at Bellator gold. Former MFC Welterweight Champion “The Phenom” Douglas Lima (16-4) is coming off a quick first-round knockout victory over “Dangerous” Terry Martin (21-9) at MFC 29 and will take on Bellator veteran Steven Carl (14-2) who has a submission game that has earned more than half of his victories. A very familiar face, “The Handler” Dan Hornbuckle (18-4), will look to get back to the form that saw him steamroll the Season 2 field until he came up short to the stagnant wrestling of Ben Askren (8-0) when he battles with the well versed Brazilian fighter “Sapo” Luis Santos (47-6). Santos may not be known by mainstream MMA fans but when he steps into the cage and starts to throw hands they will see why those who do know him, fear him. UFC veteran and Muay Thai wrecking machine “Killa B” Ben Saunders (10-3) earned his way into the tournament with a one-sided beatdown over journeyman Matt Lee (12-9), but can he blast through X-1 MMA veteran Chris Cisneros (11-4)? Cisneros is riding a strong five-fight win streak with four finishes, and a win over Saunders will certainly improve his stock in the Bellator welterweight division. The main event features MMA Gospel’s first Young Gun “The Cleveland Assassin” Chris Lozano (8-1) and the owner of one of the previous season’s biggest upset victories, Brent Weedman (18-6). Weedman upset Hornbuckle but came up short against tournament winner “The Thoroughbred” Jay Hieron (19-4), but with another shot at glory only one win away, Weedman is coming in ready for a battle against Lozano. “The Cleveland Assassin” looks to erase the memory of his fight against former champ “Cyborg” Lyman Good (11-2) and what better way than a knockout win over Weedman? Continue reading »

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