Monday, February 08, 2010

Bellator announced today that 9-1 featherweight standout Wilson Reis will return for the season two featherweight tournament looking to avenge his loss to Champion Joe Soto.  The 25-year-old Reis is a back belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and, in 2008, took home the first-ever EliteXC bantamweight championship belt with his win over “The Silent Assassin,” Abel Cullum. Despite entering Bellator as the number one tournament favorite and the number seven ranked featherweight in the world, Reis fell in the semi-final round to the upstart Soto. It was considered by many as the upset of the tournament and was the first and only loss of Reis’ career.

Sunday, February 07, 2010

"UFC 109: Relentless" is in the books, and the exciting event drew a crowd of 10,687 to the Mandalay Bay Events Center for an estimated live gate of $2.27 million. Randy Couture earned a flat $250,000 for his appearance, topping the disclosed payroll which totalled $944,000, not including four $60,000 bonuses.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

As with past UFC events, MMA Spot will be bringing our readers round by round coverage and post-fight press conferences for tonight's pay- per-view broadcast of "UFC 109: Relentless". The event will be taking place from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and features a light heavyweight bout between Hall of Famers Mark Coleman and Randy Couture. Also on the card, middleweight title hopefuls Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt. Catch all the live blow-by-blow action as we bring you live coverage of the main broadcast card round by round.

Over the past few months EA Sport's MMA video game has received increasing attention and high expectations. When it launches, there will be some of the sport’s biggest stars and some of its best up-and-coming talents featured in the roster. As the top sports game producer for video game consoles EA Sports has put months of work into development of the game, which is set for release later this year. This week more fighters were added to an already extensive roster.

Friday, February 05, 2010

Saturday night's "UFC 109: Relentless" will be the promotion's third event in 2010, taking place in Las Vegas Nevada at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The MMASpot staff has sat down to discuss our thoughts on this exciting event full of veterans of the sport.

In the main event of the evening, Randy "The Natural" Couture faces Mark "The Hammer" Coleman at 205 pounds. Couture (17-10) made his successful return to the light heavyweight division against Brandon Vera at UFC 105 and hopes to continue his streak in the division. Coleman (16-9) snapped a two-fight losing streak besting Stephan Bonnar in July 2009. A win against Couture would make a strong statement and propel Coleman up the 205 pound ladder.

Bellator Fighting Championships continued to bolster its roster of Season 2 middleweight tournament fighters today with the signing of 11-1 former WEC standoutBryan “The Beast” Baker.  The 6-foot, 3-inch-tall Baker will be familiar to many Bellator fans thanks to his dominating victory during a special feature fight at Bellator VIII last June. He also boasts wins over UFC veteran Rory Singer (first round KO), TUF’s Jesse Forbes (first round TKO) and a host of WEC veterans.

With this weekend's "UFC 109: Relentless" festivities in full swing, UFC Hall of Famer Mark "The Hammer" Coleman took a few moments away from his last minute preparations to talk to David McKinney about his up coming main event bout. Coleman will meet fellow Hall member Randy Couture in Las Vegas. Although both are over forty years old, both fighters still remain at the pinnacle of their careers long after many others would be retired. To hear Coleman talk, he is only getting started in resurgence and seems focused on wearing UFC gold before he ends his illustrious career.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

UFC officials have been setting up fight cards at an unprecedented pace so far in 2010. Already with six live events through the first quarter of the year, they show no signs of slowing in the second. Reports have surfaced that two fights, Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham and James Wilks vs. Peter Sobotta, are projected to be set up for the UFC's first venture into western Canada, when they bring their product to Vancouver, British Columbia for UFC 115 on June 12. The event is expected to be held at GM Place, home to the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.

As with past UFC events, MMA Spot will be bringing our readers coverage of press conferences, weigh-in events, post-fight press conferences, exclusive video and behind-the-scenes moments leading right up to "UFC 109: Relentless." The event takes place on Feb. 6, 2010 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will be broadcast via pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.  The main event of the evening features a light heavyweight contest between UFC Hall of Famers Randy Couture and Mark Coleman, as well as a middleweight match up with potential title implications as Nate Marquardt faces off with Chael Sonnen. 

With one month of mixed martial arts competition in the books for 2010 it is time to decide where the top fighters rank in their respective divisions. This month we will look at the lighter weight classes, bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight. As with every month, we have also updated our top pound-for-pound rankings.

A fight between light heavyweight contenders Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, originally targeted for UFC 113, has been moved to UFC 114 on May 29. UFC 114 will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia. The event has not been officially announced by the UFC but is expected to be headlined by the grudge match between Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, the two coaches of this past season of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show. The two were scheduled to face off at UFC 107 in December, in Jackson's home town, but Jackson pulled out to do the upcoming "A-Team" movie.

The UFC's first trip to the Middle East has added yet another intriguing matchup, as a bout between welterweight prospects Rick Story and Nick Osipczak is reportedly in the works. UFC 112 will be held in the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi and features the UFC's first ever outdoors event. It is expected to air live on pay-per-view on April 10.