BELLATOR NEWS: Bellator announces light heavyweight tournament for season four in March

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Bellator Fighting Championships will officially hold their first ever light heavyweight tournament when season four begins on MTV2 in March of 2011.

The organization on Monday announced plans for the 205 lb. division tournament, and revealed that the search is underway for tournament participants. Per the organization, six of the eight fighters have been signed, though no names were revealed. Announcements on those fighters should come in the coming days.

"We've wanted to add a Light Heavyweight World Championship Tournament since Season 1, but wanted to ensure that when we did it, we had a great group fighting for the title. Now, we do," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney in today's release. "One of the best parts of my job is handing over the Bellator World Title belt to a new champion, and I'll have the pleasure of doing it again this upcoming season."

Rebney told MMATorch last week that season four will also feature welterweight, lightweight and featherweight tournaments. He also confirmed the signing of Daniel Gracie, stating that if they went ahead with the light heavyweight tournament that he would take part in it, making him one of the six signed and confirmed participants.

Penick's Analysis: Bellator is likely to ramp up the announcements on season four as the next month or so unfolds, and we'll get a clearer picture of what to expect with season four as we get closer to March. With live events weekly taking place without preemption, Bellator will be hoping to gain an audience and build on it from week to week, and hopefully they're able to stick by their word and keep their shows looking like they have in the past and not have too much of an influence from the MTV2 team. But with four more tournaments coming in early 2011, it's going to mean more fights and more entertainment for MMA fans in the U.S.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Bellator/article_7897.shtml

Zach Light Scott Lighty Jae Suk Lim Daniel Lima

Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft on tap for UFC Fight Night 24

Heavyweights Sean McCorkle and Christian Morecraft are expected to meet in late March at UFC Fight Night 24.

Sources today told MMAjunkie.com that the matchup has been verbally agreed to and at least one fighter has put pen to paper. The news was first broken by MMA Fighting.com.

UFC Fight Night 24 is expected to take place March 26 in Seattle, though the promotion has yet to make a venue (or the event) official. Spike TV will air the evening's main card.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/9g9xSZoSjFU/sean-mccorkle-vs-christian-morecraft-on-tap-for-ufc-fight-night-24.mma

Darren M Jackson Jeremy Jackson Quinton Rampage Jackson Jaime Jara

UFC QUOTABLES: Joseph Benavidez talks his destruction of black belts, wants to make UFC debut in March

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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"My last four wins have been against black belts. It's cool cause even though I've been matched up with black belts my last four fights, my last four wins, looking back basically I've demolished anyone that's not named Dominick Cruz, that doesn't like run around from me. So I just beat them and they just happened to be black belts... I'm going to ask to travel and fight on one of these international shows, just to get the experience. I'm hoping for March. March is a good month for me, it's a lucky month for me. That's when I fought Miguel Torres last year, and I believe there's also three shows in March so I?m really hoping to get on one of those."

-Bantamweight contender Joseph Benavidez talks to MMAWeekly about his recent victories and wanting to make his UFC debut in March.

Penick's Analysis: Benavidez is entering the UFC in a tough spot. Having been beaten twice by current Champ Dominick Cruz, even though their title bout was a razor thin split decision, he doesn't have much further up the ladder that he can climb. He won't be getting another shot anytime soon, and if Urijah Faber can find a way to beat Cruz again - provided he's the next one to get the shot - Benavidez won't be fighting him either as they're close teammates. He's one of the best in the world at 135 lb., and yet he may be better suited for the flyweight division right now. If the UFC kick-starts that in 2011, he'll be at the top of the list for taking over that division in the UFC. But for now, he's likely going to keep taking tough fights, and likely winning, until the division gets sorted out further.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7925.shtml

Randy The Natural CoutureĀ  Dan Cramer Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz

Chuck Liddell Now vs. Then Highlight Video

Chuck Liddell may have officially retired today because of his (1-5) record since 2007 but that is not the fighter we should all remember. Before 2007 Chuck was (20-3) and the most feared fighter in the world. Here is a little look back at Chuck’s past. var s1 = new SWFObject("http://www.mmatko.com/player-viral.swf","JW","480","420","9"); s1.addParam("allowscriptaccess", "always"); s1.addParam("allowfullscreen","true"); s1.addParam("wmode","transparent"); s1.addParam("flashvars","file=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dEmPf9V0sU"); s1.addVariable("enablejs", "true"); s1.write("mediaspace"); . . .

Source: http://www.mmatko.com/chuck-liddell-now-vs-then-highlight-video/

Andrei Semenov Ivan Serati Matt Serra Nick Serra

Will It Be Stefan Struve or Mirko Cro Cop? New Reports Indicate That Brendan Schaub Could Fight Either One

It looks as if surging Heavyweight Brendan Schaub will have to continue to wait to get his shot at a UFC champion, past or present. Early rumors speculated that Schaub would meet former champion and submission specialist Frank Mir sometime in early 2011, but according to new reports, that fight has failed to materialize. Instead, [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/28/will-it-be-stefan-struve-or-mirko-cro-cop-new-reports-indicate-that-brendan-schaub-could-fight-either-one

Josh BurkmanĀ  Mikey BurnettĀ  Murilo BustamanteĀ  Grant CampbellĀ 

Bum Rush Nugget: Phil Baroni Represents 'Real Fighters,' Calls Out Minowaman for One More Battle

Phil Baroni PRIDE MMA ring girl Japan
(Forget money and fame – Phil was fighting back when the prize was a weird trophy and a semi-attractive Japanese chick. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

When we learned that the match between UFC veteran Phil Baroni and 23-year-old prospect Brad Tavares would indeed be aired before the UFC 125 pay-per-view broadcast this Saturday, it reminded me of our last chat with the New York Bad Ass on episode 11.1 of the Bum Rush Radio Show. Baroni has reached that point in his career where youngsters are trying to make their names off of him, and he has to beat them if he wants his own name to retain its value. I asked Phil if he felt like the last in a bygone generation of fighters, considering that so many of his rivals are no longer competing. And I thought his response was worth sharing again...

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Source: http://www.cagepotato.com/bum-rush-nugget-phil-baroni-represents-real-fighters-calls-out-minowaman-one-more-battle

Marcus DavisĀ  Tony DeSouzaĀ  Edwin DeweesĀ  Nick DiazĀ 

Jorgensen thinks Cruz is looking for excuses and will run the entire fight

Dominick Cruz has a way of getting under his opponent's skin. Just 25-years-old, he's a master of winning the mental war before the fight hits the cage. Scott Jorgensen isn't falling for Cruz's game. The WEC 135-pound says he'll be getting hand surgery following the fight and be sidelined for up to six months.

"In my opinion that's retarded. It's almost like he making an exuse for a loss, already. 'Oh my hands hurt. I gotta get surgery anyway,'" Jorgensen told ProMMARadio. "Maybe he's playing mind games, I really don't care." 

Jorgensen says Cruz is already shot mentally just days before they meet at WEC 53.

"He's looking for sympathy and he's building a built-in excuse. He’s thinking about losing … already has that seed in his head," said Jorgensen (2:35 mark). "That little bit of doubt may be too much for him. Come fight night, he has to make a decision. And I think I know what his decision already is. He’s looking for an easy way out (once the fight gets going)."

The 135-pound WEC champ has stymied recent opponents with his ducking and darting style. Too often, Cruz's victims got frustrated, went into chase mode and were made to look silly. Jorgensen isn't interested in playing Cruz's game on the feet.

"No matter who I fought, they look like they got beat up. I leave guys bruised, battered and I think that intimidates Dominick because he's never faced that," said Jorgensen. "A lot of running is what I feel like he's going to be trying to do. You can’t evade somebody from your back,"

The challenger is warning fans that if the fight is boring, it's not going to be his fault.

Cruz and Jorgensen meet in Phoenix on Thursday (Versus 9 p.m. ET/PT). The winner will be officially awarded the UFC bantamweight title. Check here for the entire 20-plus minute conversation with Jorgensen. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Jorgensen-thinks-Cruz-is-looking-for-excuses-and?urn=mma-296097

Anderson Silva Antonio Silva Assuerio Silva Paulo Silva

UFC QUOTABLES: Dominick Cruz - "Urijah Faber's become my biggest fan"

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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"I definitely want that fight. It's something I'll take in stride. I prefer to have that fight fighting for 'The Ultimate Fighter' as a coach, that's something I was really going for. It's pretty much up to the UFC. My job is to fight and to fight the best guys in the world, and I feel like beating Urijah is just a way to solidify that for myself... The bottom line is he's become my biggest fan in a sense because I hear 'Dominick Cruz' out of his mouth more on any show ever. In a sense, thank you."

-Dominick Cruz talks to MMAWeekly.com about wanting the rematch with Urijah Faber and wanting to coach opposite "The California Kid" on The Ultimate Fighter.

Penick's Analysis: Cruz and Faber would make for an excellent pairing on TUF, as would Faber against Miguel Torres, though the UFC still hasn't made a decision on the season 13 coaches. Cruz and Faber genuinely don't like each other, and their rematch will have a legitimate grudge factor to it. Cruz was quite impressive against Scott Jorgensen last week in making history as the first ever UFC Bantamweight Champion, and Cruz vs. Faber in 2011 sounds like a great matchup.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7934.shtml

Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen