Thursday, February 17, 2011

Ronnie Mann is coming back to America. Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the acquisition of the top featherweight Brit to its burgeoning roster of 145 pounders.  Mann, who has spent the bulk of his 21 fight career in Japan and England, made his U.S. debut last September where he won the Shark Fights Featherweight Championship. Mann will make his Bellator debut in the fourth season with an opportunity to take part in a future tournament. 

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

If you blink you may just miss one of Rob "Robocop" Mills’ fights. This rising British star has a knack for finishing fights in quick and devastating fashion. Mills will join fellow explosive finishers Paul "Semtex" Daley and John "The White Tyson" Phillips on the main card of the February 26 BAMMA 5 event, from the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England. MMA Spot’s Jamie Kennedy recently sat down with the electrifying mixed martial artist, as he prepares for his highest profile bout, to discuss his next fight, his fighting style, and his aspirations for the future.

Monday, February 14, 2011

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced Saturday that tickets for "UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields" at Rogers Centre in Toronto on April 30 sold out minutes after being made available to the public. Rogers Centre was originally configured for 42,000 seats, but due to overwhelming demand, UFC and Rogers Centre officials reconfigured the venue to accommodate 55,000. "UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields" is the first major mixed martial arts event to ever be held in Ontario.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

To put it lightly, “Fedor vs. Silva” was a huge event for Strikeforce. Not only did the promotion continue the momentum gained from a tremendous event on January 29, but the organization also distanced itself from the UFC and more towards Pride with a steady stream of finishes and exciting fights. All five main card bouts featured heavyweights, an appetizing choice as most heavyweight bouts tend to end before the scorecards can be read. This night was no different, with each of the five fights ending via stoppage, including four in the first round.

Strikeforce kicked off their much- publicized heavyweight tournament with a bang, albeit not the bang most anticipated. Thousands of fans packed into the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Saturday to see some of the sports most talented big men compete. With each passing moment, the story of the night would get bigger and bigger. It began with Valentijn Overeem’s swift submission via old-school neck crank and ran all the way through a battered and bloody Fedor Emelianenko softly saying good bye to the sport after he was unable to compete following a brutal second round beating from Antonio Silva.

Friday, February 11, 2011

The weigh-ins for "Strikeforce/M-1: Fedor vs. Silva" took place today at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. In all, 20 fighters weighed-in. The event is set to take place Saturday and marks the opening round of the Strikeforce eight-man heavyweight grand prix. In the headlining bout, Fedor Emelianenko faces Antonio Silva, while Andrei Arlovski looks for redemption as he takes on Russian striker Sergei Kharitonov in the co-main event. Full results and photos below.

Just a week after one seemingly immortal fighter rebounded from perceived past failures, another formerly immortal fighter will get his chance to do exactly the same on Saturday night. Anderson Silva went a long way to make fans forget back-to-back lackluster performances against Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen when he knocked out Vitor Belfort with a highlight reel front kick, but the difference between Silva and Fedor Emelianenko is that Silva didn’t actually lose. After a decade of running through the top competition that the sport had to offer, Fedor was beaten last June when he dove into Fabricio Werdum’s triangle. Now, he’ll have a chance to redeem himself, once again against top competition.

On the Feb. 26, 2011 the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) returns with their fifth, and strongest, event to date at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England. Headlining the card will be the ever-controversial and equally exciting knockout artist Paul "Semtex" Daley who faces off against Japanese welterweight sensation and Deep Champion Yuya Shirai. The card is packed from top to bottom with both international and homegrown talent, including former UFC fighters Ricco Rodriguez, James Mcweeney and Xavier Foupa-Pokam.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Bellator Fighting Championships today announced the promotion's season four welterweight tournament quarterfinal pairings for Bellator 35, the premiere event at the Tachi Palace Casino & Resort in Lemoore, Calif. on Saturday, March 5, 2011. With all four of the highly anticipated welterweight tournament quarterfinal fights on the schedule, Bellator 35 will serve as the launching point for talent-stacked welterweight tournament which will air live on MTV2.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

UFC 127 is on the horizon in less than three weeks but there are still some final details emerging from UFC 126. The injury report has been released to the public by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and several fighters from the event have been medically suspended. Among the most serious suspensions are Forrest Griffin and Jake Ellenberger.

Monday, February 07, 2011

In anticipation of what promises to be one of the most historic events in UFC history, "UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields" on April 30, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will be hosting a press conference and free fan event at Rogers Centre on Tuesday. UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and featherweight champion Jose Aldo will be joined by No. 1 contenders Jake Shields and Mark Hominick, along with UFC President Dana White and Canadian Director of Operations Tom Wright, for a press conference at 1 p.m. ET. Catch the live video feed right here at MMA Spot.

Two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion, Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez, has signed a new, multi-year agreement with the San Jose, Calif. based world championship Mixed Martial Arts promotion. Universally recognized as one of the top 155-pounders in the world, Melendez has won four in a row and five of six. Melendez of San Francisco, by way of Santa Ana, Calif., last fought on April 17, 2010, retaining the Strikeforce belt with a dominant, lopsided five-round decision over Japanese superstar Shinya Aoki in Nashville, Tenn., live on The CBS Television Network.