(Video courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships)
Mar 222013
(Video courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships)
(Video courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships)
Mar 212013
(Photo courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships)
—MAIN CARD (on Spike TV)—
Season 8 Lightweight Tournament Final Fight
Marcin Held vs. Dave Jansen: Jansen via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28), Round 3, 5:00
Heavyweight Feature Fight
Ryan Martinez vs. Travis Wiuff: Martinez via KO (Punches), Round 1, 0:18
Welterweight Feature Fight
Waachiim Spiritwolf vs. Marcus Davis: No Contest (Inadvertent Groin Strike) Continue reading »
Sep 272012
Former Bellator 170lbs. king Lyman Good (black trunks) returns to his old stomping grounds, the Bellator welterweight tournament, in hopes of making his way to a rematch with the man who stripped him of his title, current champion Ben Askren. (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)
Bellator returns to the MMA world Friday night with a stacked welterweight tournament. To start Season 7, Bellator 74 will take place at Caesars Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Two men will make their promotional debut as “The Lonely Wolf” Michail Tsarev (23-2), owner of 18 submission wins, will look for his nineteenth when he faces ICF veteran “Cheapshot” Tim Welch (9-3) who is also well versed in the submission game. A two-time Bellator veteran who has never seen the judges’ scorecards, “Spartan” Andrey Koreshkov (10-0), will welcome returning tournament fighter “Mata Ele” Jordan Smith (17-3) back to the Bellator cage. Former DREAM champion “The Whitemare” Marius Zaromskis (18-6) recently closed the trilogy against Waachiim Spiritwolf (9-11), earning his place in this season’s tournament against Nordine Taleb (8-1), a two-time Bellator veteran who will look to make a name for himself as he takes on the dynamite-handed southpaw. Hometown favorite and former Bellator Welterweight Champion “Cyborg” Lyman Good (12-2) returns to the cage and the tournament format following a chilling 13-second knockout of “Da Maynman” Levon Maynard (12-9). Standing across the cage from Good will be Bellator veteran “Judo” Jim Wallhead (23-6) who is riding a two-fight win streak that took place at 185lbs. in BAMMA. Continue reading »
Aug 172012
Bellator returns for a seventh seasons in late September with the welterweights, including former champ Lyman Good and veteran competitor Jim Wallhead, taking center stage. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)
September 28 kicks off Season 7 for Bellator Fighting Championships at the familiar port of Caesars Palace in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The main card airing live on MTV2 will feature some of the best the world has to offer at 170lbs., courtesy of the Bellator Season 7 Welterweight Tournament Quarter-Finals, which features both returning competitors and tourney newcomers. The eight-man roster boasts the likes of ”Cyborg” Lyman Good (12-2), ”Judo” Jim Wallhead (23-6), Nordine Taleb (8-1), ”The Whitemare” Marius Zaromskis (18-6), ”Mata Ele” Jordan Smith (17-3), “Spartan” Andrey Koreshkov (10-0), ”The Lonely Wolf” Michail Tsarev (23-2), and ”Cheapshot” Tim Welch (9-3). Continue reading »
Jul 212012
Jul 202012
(Photo courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships)
—MAIN CARD (on MTV2 and Bellator.com)—
Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Final Fight
Bryan Baker vs. Karl Amoussou: Amoussou via Submission (Inverted Heel Hook), Round 1, 0:56
Welterweight Feature Fight
Paul Daley vs. Rudy Bears: Daley via TKO (Strikes), Round 1, 2:45
2012 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final Fight
Emanuel Newton vs. Attila Vegh: Vegh via Split Decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28), Round 3, 5:00
2012 Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Semi-Final Fight
Tim Carpenter vs. Travis Wiuff: Wiuff via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), Round 3, 5:00
Welterweight Feature Fight
Waachiim Spiritwolf vs. Marius Zaromskis: Zaromskis via Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29), Round 3, 5:00 Continue reading »
Jul 202012
Marius Zaromskis (black trunks) and Waachiim Spiritwolf (white trunks) will try a third time to finish a bout without controversy at Bellator 68. (Photo courtesy of Bellator Fighting Championships)
Bellator will drop anchor at the USF Sun Dome, in Tampa, Florida for Bellator 72 presenting a stacked card that features the Season 6 Welterweight Tournament finale between “Psycho” Karl Amoussou (15-4) and “The Beast” Bryan Baker (18-3). Former Strikeforce title contender and UFC veteran “Semtex” Paul Daley (29-12) bowed out from Strikeforce to sign with Bellator Fighting Championships and will make his debut against Bellator veteran Rudy Bears (14-10). The 2012 Summer Series light heavyweight semi-finals kick off as “The Hardcore Kid” Emanuel Newton (18-6) faces “Pumukli” Attila Vegh (26-4) and Tim Carpenter (9-1) takes on “Diesel” Travis Wiuff (67-14). A special feature fight and rubber match between bitter rivals opens the card as former DREAM Welterweight Champion “The Whitemare” Marius Zaromskis (17-6) and Waachiim Spiritwolf (9-10) look to settle the score after the past two bouts ended less than definitively. Continue reading »
May 122012
May 102012
Marius Zaromskis (black trunks) will make his Bellator debut in a long-awaited rematch against Waachiim Spiritwolf. (Photo courtesy of Sherdog)
It’s another stop in Atlantic City, New Jersey this Friday night as Caesars Hotel and Casino hosts the Bellator Season 6 Featherweight Tournament finale between former Sengoku 145lbs. king “The Monster of Rio” Marlon Sandro (22-3) and seasoned Bellator veteran Daniel Straus (19-4). Both men are making their second appearance in the tournament finals. Bantamweight semi-final number one goes down in the co-main event as WEC veteran “Loro” Macros Galvao (11-5) faces submission expert “T-Train” Travis Marx (19-3). Two UFC veterans will face off in a light heavyweight special feature fight as “The Silverback” Seth Petruzelli (14-6) battles “The Fury” Carmello Marrero (14-5). Starting off the main card on MTV2 is a rematch that has been brewing since November 2010 when their Strikeforce bout was ruled a No Contest, as DREAM Welterweight Champion “The Whitemare” Marius Zaromskis (16-6) locks horns with Wacchiim Spiritwolf (9-9) for a second time. Continue reading »
Mar 142011
So, the big news this week in MMA was that UFC parent company ZUFFA, LLC. purchased Strikeforce. Surprising, yes. I can only assume that this happened rather quickly since a secret that big doesn’t stay secret very long and no one seemed to have even heard rumors to this effect prior to the deal being announced by Dana White. However, considering the fact that contracts with fighters and deals with Showtime are already in place and Dana’s assertion that it’ll be “business as usual”, I don’t think we can expect to see any real changes or fallout for the immediate time being. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an eventual merger but I think that’s at least a few years off. Still, I see why it’s a big deal. Zuffa now owns most of MMA – aside from DREAM and Bellator and the much smaller regional organizations. With so few options outside of the Zuffa umbrella can a fighter’s union be on the horizon for the future? I dunno, man… just thinking out loud. I don’t mean to piss off King Dana by any means. Just Nick Diaz needs to have his ADHD medicine (aka: weed) covered by a health care plan, not to mention Diego Sanchez’s face and Brandon Vera’s nose. Continue reading »
Mar 052011
In the Bellator 35 main event, "The Assassin" Chris Lozano (left) took on former Bellator Welterweight Champion "Cyborg" Lyman Good (right) and was defeated via Unanimous Decision. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)
—Main Card: Strikeforce Welterweight Tournament Bouts (MTV 2)—
Jim Wallhead vs. Rick Hawn: Hawn via Unanimous Decision, Round 3, 5:00 (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Anthony Lapsely vs. Jay Hieron: Hieron via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke), Round 1, 3:59
Chris Lozano vs. Lyman Good: Good via Unanimous Decision, Round 3, 5:00 (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Brent Weedman vs. Dan Hornbuckle: Weedman via Unanimous Decision, Round 3, 5:00 (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Continue reading »
Feb 282011
(Photo courtesy of Bellator)
Bellator Fighting Championships returns to the spotlight with its Season 4 Welterweight Tournament this Saturday night at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino. The fight card also plays host to several Local Feature Fights and will mark the promotion’s debut on its new home television network, MTV2. Continue reading »
Nov 252010
Imagine standing across the cage from your opponent, staring him in the eye, finally facing him. Everything in the last several months has been leading up to this moment. It feels like it’s been an eternity. The bell sounds and the referee signals the beginning of the fight. You and your opponent emerge from your corners, ready to do battle. Immediately your adversary throws a flying knee, but you block it. Then as you both step back, you realize that something is different. Your vision is blurry, and your left eye burns with pain. Something is very wrong.
- The highly anticipated match-up between Marius Zaromskis (left) and Waachiim Spiritwolf lasted only six seconds before the latter of the two men suffered an inadvertent eye poke, putting an end to the fight and ruling it a No Contest. Both competitors were immensely disappointed with the outcome. (Photo courtesy of Strikeforce)
It’s a fighter’s worst nightmare. But this was the reality of Waachiim Spiritwolf’s (6-6-1) battle with DREAM Welterweight Champion “The Whitemare” Marius Zaromskis (13-4-1) at Strikeforce Challengers 12 last Friday.
In the opening seconds of their battle, Zaromskis threw a flying knee as he closed in on Spiritwolf. His hands were extended out as if he intended on pulling Spiritwolf’s head into the knee. Spiritwolf was quick enough to block the knee, but in the process was inadvertently poked in the eye by one of Zaromskis’ fingers. “The Whitemare” must have realized what happened, as he immediately went back to his corner without even being told to do so. The ref stepped in and examined Spiritwolf’s left eye then allowed the fighter to take five minutes to recover from the eye poke. After several minutes offered no improvement for his vision, the ringside doctor examined Waachiim and deemed him clear to continue the fight if he felt up for doing so. He was given several more minutes to decide. Spiritwolf complained that his eye was still bothering him, and that his vision was becoming increasingly blurry and dark. The doctor entered the cage for a second time and examined Spiritwolf’s eye again. The welterweight had sustained a cut on his eyelid that was quickly swelling. After a series of questions and another evaluation of Spiritwolf’s left eye, the doctor regarded the fighter unfit to continue. The bout was ruled a No Contest. Both competitors left the ring clearly upset about the fight’s outcome. The crowd was vocal about their discontent with one of the most highly-anticipated matches on the card coming to such a sudden stop and without first showing any action. Continue reading »
Nov 222010
Liz Carmouche grounds-and-pounds opponent Jan Finney at Strikeforce Challengers 12 on Friday. Carmouche won the bout via TKO in the third round. (Photo courtesy of Strikeforce)
Strikeforce made its first trip to the state of Mississippi on Friday night, settling in the city of Jackson to host Challengers 12. The card housed a roster of talented fighters – including locals as well those who hailed from other countries – and did not disappoint fans. There were some long-fought battles, some that ended more quickly and in a glorious fashion, and one that ended abruptly in a rather tragic No Contest. Here, MMA Gospel recaps Strikeforce’s twelfth effort in their Challengers series. Continue reading »
Nov 222010
Back when I was a little boy, I dreamed that one day I’d make jokes on the Internet that would make many hundreds of people somewhat amused. Of course, the Internet didn’t exist then so that just proves what a visionary I was. Needless to say, I have made that dream come true. First it was the KOS’d phenomenon. Which you can read up on here if you somehow missed it. Now, I invented TEAM MEATBERRY. I remember it like it was only a couple of days ago… Continue reading »