Complete Results From Bellator 40

Newkirk, Okla. (April 9, 2011) ? Bellator Fighting Championships brought its world-class MMA to the First Council Casino in Newkirk, Okla., for Bellator 40, which aired LIVE on MTV2, where reining welterweight champ Ben Askren dominated against veteran Nick Thompson in a non-title Super Fight. Welterweight Jay Hieron and lightweight Michael Chandler also punched their tickets to the tournament finals. <Br><Br> It was all Ben ?Funky? Askren against longtime MMA veteran Nick ?The Goat? Thompson in Askren?s first fight since taking the title from former Bellator World Champion Lyman Good. Askren started Round 1 with a spinning-back fist but quickly started a three-round grappling clinic, which left Thompson ineffective for almost the entire fight. At the very end of Round 3, a frustrated Thompson showed a glimmer of hope as he landed a few blows from the top with Askren on his back. It was not nearly enough to impress the judges, who awarded Ben Askren the unanimous decision victory. <Br><Br> ?Tonight at Bellator 40 Ben Askren continued to show the world that he?s the best wrestler in all of MMA,? said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. ?Chandler looked spectacular and Jay put on a very solid performance as well?<Br><Br> In the second lightweight semifinal of the season, All-American wrestler Michael Chandler met Lloyd ?Cupcake? Woodard in a tightly-contested match. In Round 1, Chandler outwrestled Woodard, displaying crowd-pleasing takedowns, which included a powerful belly-to-belly suplex. Woodard found his ground in Round 2, landing a big knee to the face of a crouched Chandler and, later, locking in a standing rear-naked choke. Chandler came out fresh in Round 3, continuing his wrestling domination and throwing heavy shots from the top position to close out the round. Going the distance, the judges awarded Chandler the victory via unanimous decision, securing his place in a lightweight finals matchup with Patricky Pitbull. <Br><Br> Fast-rising Brent Weedman faced MMA veteran Jay ?The Thoroughbred? Hieron in a hard-fought welterweight semifinal fight. At the outset of Round 1, Weedman landed a left hook, dropping Hieron to the ground. Hieron, an experienced wrestler, quickly took the top position where he locked in D?Arce chokes on two occasions but was unable to submit Weedman. An aggressive Weedman had Hieron backpedaling for the majority of Round 2, initiating powerful leg kicks and strikes. In Round 3, Hieron took Weedman to the ground but was unable to remain in control as Weedman attempted a guillotine choke. Weedman continued the round by landing powerful thigh kicks. Hieron retaliated with a few super-man punches. Hieron closed out the round from the top position, which made an impression on the judges, as they declared Hieron victorious via a unanimous decision. Jay Hieron advances to the finals where he will face Rick Hawn. <Br><Br> Official Main Card Results:<Br><Br> Welterweight Super Fight: Ben Askren def. Nick Thompson by Unanimous Decision [30-26, 30-27, 30-27]<Br> Welterweight Semifinal Fight: Jay Hieron def. Brent Weedman by Unanimous Decision [29-28. 29-28, 29-28]<Br> Lightweight Semifinal Fight: Michael Chandler def. Lloyd Woodard by Unanimous Decision [29-28, 29-28, 29-28]<Br><Br> For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator<Br><Br>

Source: http://www.mmanews.com/home.php

Jorge Santiago Evangelista Santos Rey Phillip Santos Bob Sapp

No Surprises Here: Sean McCorkle Is No Longer A UFC Fighter

It appears that Sean McCorkle?s five minutes of fame are up. After coming into the ufc a perfect 9-0, McCorkle debuted at UFC 119 and won his first UFC fight in the very first round. But that win was swiftly followed by two stoppage losses, one of which was in the co-main event of a [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/08/no-surprises-here-sean-mccorkle-is-no-longer-a-ufc-fighter

Jorge Santiago Evangelista Santos Rey Phillip Santos Bob Sapp

"Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley"--Upset of the Night: Gegard Mousasi vs. Keith Jardine

Keith Jardine has some “big ones”. He always seems like the type of fighter that can always rise to the occasion, despite possessing one of the more infamously panned “chins” in the mixed martial arts community. He’s pulled off the upset plenty of times. Having beaten Chuck Liddell who was just removed from his strap [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/11/strikeforce-diaz-vs-daley-upset-of-the-night-gegard-mousasi-vs-keith-jardine

Denis Kang Georgi Karakhanyan Alex Karalexis Mark Kerr

Strikeforce "Diaz vs. Daley" peaks with 806,000 viewers on Showtime

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Strikeforce_Diaz_vs_Daley_poster_180_10.jpg

Nick Diaz continues to be one of Strikeforce's biggest draws, as last Saturday's "Diaz vs. Daley" event brought an average of 528,000 viewers to Showtime, making it the fourth most-watched Strikeforce event on the network.

The numbers were reported on Tuesday by MMAJunkie.com, who also stated that peak viewership came in at 806,000 viewers for the night's headlining fight between Diaz and Paul Daley.

The fantastic main event fight saw Diaz defeat Daley by TKO in one of the wildest and most exciting one round fights in memory, as well as Gilbert Melendez's return to action with a first round demolishing of Tatsuya Kawajiri.

Ratings for the event rank just below Diaz's last outing, his January 2011 win over Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, which brought an average of 561,000 viewers to Showtime. However, that event was boosted by Herschel Walker's participation on the card.

In all, this was the third Strikeforce event of 2011 to best the viewership of all of 2010's events, and makes three events headlined by Nick Diaz that rank in the top five for Strikeforce.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This was a very enjoyable fight card, with three exciting one round finishes. Diaz brings in viewers for Strikeforce and Showtime, but as I wrote yesterday he's cleared out all but one challenger in Strikeforce - Tyron Woodley - and there are more intriguing fights for him now in the UFC. Still, this is a good number for this show after a downturn for March's event in Columbus.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_9041.shtml

Bobby Ologun Andy Ologun Alan Omer Michihiro Omigawa

Reminder: "UFC Primetime: St-Pierre vs. Shields" debuts tonight on Spike TV

As a reminder, "UFC Primetime" returns tonight in anticipation of UFC 129's championship main event.

The three-part series focuses on UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre and former Strikeforce titleholder Jake Shields, who headlined this month's massive UFC 129 event.

The show debuts tonight (early Thursday) at midnight ET/PT. Two subsequent episodes debut each week in the same timeslot.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/BYVgaTs0JBs/reminder-ufc-primetime-st-pierre-vs-shields-debuts-tonight-on-spike-tv.mma

Kit Cope  Wesley Cabbage Correira  Patrick The Predator Côté  Randy The Natural Couture 

Sakara and Rivera look to make it third time lucky at UFC 133

Both Alessio Sakara and Jorge Rivera are coming off tough losses but, at UFC 133 in August, the middleweight sluggers will face off in a bout that has previously fallen through twice. UFC.com has revealed that verbal negotiations are currently in place and an official announcement looks likely. This contest was originally booked to take [...]


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmahq/main/~3/T73wo4hwEVo/

Gregor Gracie Ralek Gracie Renzo Gracie Rickson Gracie

What you need to know from this week on ?The Ultimate Fighter?

Welcome to the weekly recap of "The Ultimate Fighter." In the last episode, Team Lesnar turned the momentum in their favor as Chris Cope won his fight and Team dos Santos' Keon Caldwell left the show. What will happen in tonight's epsiode? Why is Junior smiling? Will anyone learn how to pronounce the name McGillivray? Read on for answers to those questions and spoilers.

Wait, what did he call us? of the week: Brock Lesnar said many times in this season that he was turning chicken [expletive] into chicken salad. After the 700th time he said it, his team said, "Wait a second. We're not chicken [expletive]" They were quick on the uptake, ya see.

Lesnar tries to explain away his statement but it seems that his definition of chicken [expletive] is different than the popular definition.

New guy of the week: Team dos Santos meets Justin Edwards, the replacement for Caldwell. He has an uncanny resemblance to Randy Couture, or at least what Couture looked like when he was younger.

That's gotta hurt of the week: Lew Polley runs dos Santos' practices with an iron fist, which appears to makes Junior uncomfortable. After Shamar Bailey gets cut over the eye, dos Santos speaks up, telling his team that he's not comfortable with Polley's style.

Fight pick of the week: Len Bentley (Team Lesnar) vs. Ryan McGillivray (Team dos Santos)

Meanwhile, at the house of the week: Cope has made friends on both teams, which in the fish bowl world of a reality show, means he's a spy for the other team. Bentley gets slightly paranoid before his fight and takes his concerns about espionage to Lesnar, who tells him to calm down.

Communication breakdown of the week: Dos Santos reminds Polley who is in charge. Despite what commercials have touted, it has the drama of a status meeting about the TPS reports in conference room B.

Weight-cut weirdness of the week: We get an up-close look of dos Santos and the coaches as they help McGillivray cut down to welterweight, and a get a bit closer look at McGillivray's backside then he wanted. Afterwards, both fighters made weight.

Absentee of the week: Lesnar won't be present for Bentley's fight because of "a personal issue in his personal life." Awkwardly, Lesnar tells the camera that his personal life comes first, then runs away.

Awwww of the week: McGillvray's daughter is his motivation, and he asks dos Santos to hold onto a picture of his daughter in the corner. He is also missing her birthday, so he puts aside a pie to celebrate when the fight is over.

Fight of the week: Bentley vs. McGillivray

Round one: A left hook early in the round from Bentley sends McGillivray to the canvas. Bentley follows up with a full mount, peppering McGillivray with punches. McGillivray pushes Bentley to side control then closed guard, but Bentley punishes him with elbows along the way. McGillivray gets out from underneath Bentley, and they return to their feet. This time, he sends Bentley to the canvas with a straight left, and follows Bentley to the ground. After some time grappling, Bentley tries for an armbar. He can't get it. McGillivray tries for a choke, and he can't get it. The time runs out on the first round.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who is watching the fight, asks Dana White, "Who won the round?" Dana answers that he doesn't know. It's a round that could go either way, as both fighters scored knockdowns and submission attempts.

Round two: Both fighters start the round more conservatively than they did the first, but McGillivray breaks it up with an elbow, and Bentley answer with kicks. They both start to land more strikes as the round goes on, but their fatigue is starting to show. Bentley tries a spinning backfist but ends up just hitting McGillivray's back. McGillivray charges in and pushes Bentley to the fence in an attempt for a takedown. Bentley succumbs to the takedown but gets back to his feet. The two finish the round by throwing every strikes under the sun at each other. Was it technically perfect? Nah. But it was two fighters giving everything they had in a bout, which is always fun to watch.

Surprisingly, it was finished in two rounds. The judges scored it 19-19, 20-18, 20-18 for Ryan McGillivray. In good news for Bentley, White found Bentley to tell him specifically that he had fought a great fight. TUF is about catching the UFC's eye and getting a contract, and if you don't win the show, impressing White is crucial. Bentley did that.

Back in the locker room, McGillivray emotionally looks at the picture of his daughter, while dos Santos and his teammates tell him to be proud. Awwww. Pie for everyone!

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/What-you-need-to-know-from-this-week-on-The-Ult?urn=mma-wp1210

Brian Stann Aaron Stark Kalib Starnes Joe Stevenson

Nick "The Goat" Thompson retiring following Bellator 40 loss to Ben Askren; Askren moving full-time to Duke Roufus' camp

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Logo_Bellator_150_275.jpg

Bellator's 40th event took place on Saturday night on MTV2, featuring two season four tournament semifinal fights as well as a non-title bout in the welterweight division between Ben Askren and longtime MMA veteran Nick "The Goat" Thompson.

In the welterweight tournament semifinals, Jay Hieron squeaked past Brent Weedman in a close unanimous decision and will meet Rick Hawn in the season four tournament finals. In the lightweight tournament semifinals, Michael Chandler got past Lloyd Woodard by decision, earning a spot against Patricky "Pitbull" Freire in this season's final bout.

Ben Askren's dominating, smothering and frustrating decision win over Thompson was yet another example of Askren's ability to impose his gameplan and will on his opponent. However, the win brought criticism for Askren's inability to finish a fighter in Thompson that had been stopped in three straight losses heading into the fight.

Still, Askren remains a dangerous opponent for any welterweight due to his ability to control anyone he faces, and he looks to get more dangerous with the announcement he made after the bout that he'll be moving to Duke Roufus' camp in Milwaukee full time moving forward. The fight team has come into focus in the MMA world over the last year due to the performances of Anthony Pettis, Erik Koch, Dan Downes, Matt Mitrione, Pat Barry and more under the Zuffa banner, and Askren's full time addition to the camp is a big move for all parties involved, and will make everyone fighting there a better fighter.

But that wasn't the only announcement coming out of the event. Thompson commented after that it was his last fight, and he clarified in a post on The Underground Forum that the loss to Askren was indeed his last fight as a professional.

"I have fought many great fighters, even beating a few along the way. In all those fights, I have never felt as frustrated as I felt tonight," Thompson wrote after the loss. "Ben Askren is truly a great wrestler/grappler and I look forward to seeing him develop in the sport. I have been a fan of Ben's since I knew him in high school and am appreciative that Bellator provided me an opportunity for my last fight to be against a fighter for whom I have such tremendous respect.

"I love this sport and all that it has given to me and it is with a mix of joy and sadness that I realize that I am no longer willing to pay the price necessary to compete at the level I expect from myself ? the level of guys like Ben, Weedman and Heiron. I have reached a point where it is more important to me to spend time at home with my daughter and wife, who have been great about me competing, and focus on developing my law career at O'Flaherty Heim Egan & Birnbaum LTD, which has also been great about me competing. I am grateful for the many wonderful people who supported me and those I met in mixed martial arts, fans and fighters, and am hopeful that I can give something back to the sport I love by coaching and/or representing the next crop of mixed martial arts superstars. Thank you!"

Thompson's career comes to an end after eight years, a career that took the 29-year-old all over the U.S. and the world in many different promotions, including the UFC, Strikeforce and Sengoku. A couple of notable career wins in his 53-fight career include Paul Daley and Eddie Alvarez, but his career comes to an end with four consecutive losses to Tim Kennedy, Dan Hornbuckle, Taisuke Okuno and Askren. His ends his time in MMA with a 38-14-1 record.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Bellator/article_9029.shtml

Ben Mortimer Curtis Mostat Gegard Mousasi Mark Munoz

Brian Foster Out of UFC 129 Due to Brain Hemorrhage

Filed under: ,

Brian Foster.Welterweight Brian Foster has been forced out of his scheduled UFC 129 fight after a brain hemorrhage was detected in an MRI.

"I'm sorry to all my fans but I won't be fighting in Toronto," Foster wrote on Twitter. "My MRI came back and [I was told I] have a brain hemorrhage! I'm so sorry."

The 27-year-old was scheduled to face Sean Pierson on April 30 at the Rogers Centre, expected to be the largest event in the promotion's history.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/12/brian-foster-out-of-ufc-129-due-to-brain-hemorrhage/

Sean Salmon Diego Sanchez Jorge Santiago Evangelista Santos