Another pro wrestler is trying their hand at mixed martial arts.
While appearing on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani this afternoon, Jack Swagger (real name Jake Hager) announced that he’s signed with Bellator MMA and will be debuting as a heavyweight in 2018. Swagger said he’s wanted to do MMA for a long time and had been negotiating with Bellator since the summer, finalizing terms with them over the weekend.
When asked how the news would affect his pro wrestling schedule, Swagger said he wants to continue wrestling in addition to his new career in MMA. Swagger has been working on the independent scene since departing WWE earlier this year.
Swagger noted on an episode of Chael Sonnen’s Beyond the Fight podcast in March that he had requested his release from WWE due to a lack of opportunities and being far apart in contract negotiations. He told Sonnen that it would be difficult to decline a good offer to try out MMA if he got one.
Before starting with WWE in 2006, Swagger was a standout amateur wrestler at the University of Oklahoma.
In a wild scene, Conor McGregor made an appearance at Bellator 187 in Dublin, Ireland today and ended up getting into a confrontation with a referee.
Charlie Ward, who is one of McGregor’s teammates and trains at SBG Ireland, defeated John Redmond in one of the show’s main card fights. McGregor then hopped the cage to celebrate with Ward, and he ended up getting into a confrontation with referee Marc Goddard and shoving him.
McGregor had previously been admonished by Goddard at last month’s UFC show in Poland when McGregor was getting too close to the Octagon during Artem Lobov’s fight against Andre Fili.
A video posted by TMZ also shows McGregor slapping a Bellator staffer during today’s show. Bellator released a statement about the altercation: “We’re aware of the in-cage altercation involving Conor McGregor and a Bellator staff member. Viacom and Bellator hold the safety and well-being of our staff in the highest regard and we’re currently reviewing the situation.”
Bellator 187 will air on Spike TV at 9 p.m. Eastern time tonight.
On a brand-new edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, the two-year unintended exile of Jeff Wagenheim (The MMA Beat, Washington Post, SI) officially ended.
For the first time since October 2015, yours truly and Jeff took a spin around the MMA world on a near-hour long edition, hitting on the following and more:
– The ups and downs of UFC free agents heading to Bellator and the reality of what happens when they get there
– A look ahead at October’s UFC main events and which fight both of us are looking forward to the most
– What stood out the most from the recent performances of Luke Rockhold, Mike Perry, and Ovince Saint Preux
– A history lesson on the UFC not playing the national anthem in any country they run a show in
– Debating where the Claudia Gadelha vs. Jessica Andrade fight from UFC Japan will fit in the Fight of the Year rankings
Bellator returns to San Jose, CA, for the first time since the failed Fedor vs. Matt Mitrione fight with an entertaining live card on Spike TV featuring a former UFC lightweight champion, a fan favorite, and a prospect looking to reclaim his buzz after a disastrous debut.
In the main event, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson returns to action against Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. Coming off a loss to lightweight champion Michael Chandler in November 2016, the 33-year-old is looking to get his name back in the mix after a strange 1-2 start to his Bellator career. Freire has won three of his last four and is coming off a convincing second round knockout of Josh Thomson in February. He is looking to avenge his brother’s loss to Henderson in 2016 although it was an injury that stopped the fight.
Former UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson makes his promotional debut against Javy Ayala, winner of his last two by first round T/KO. Nelson is 3-5 since 2014 and hasn’t won two in a row since last 2012-13. At 41, this is his last chance.
Also on the show, you’ll get what promises to be an entertaining welterweight tilt between Paul Daley and Lorenz Larkin with both guys looking for some redemption after their last outings. Additionally, uber prospect Aaron Pico looks to redeem himself after a terrible debut outing at the promotion’s MSG debut against Justin Linn, a fighter who hasn’t competed since April 2016.
Dave Meltzer will have your main card live coverage from cageside tonight.
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ADAM PICCOLOTTI (9-0) VS. GOITI YAMAUCHI (21-3), LIGHTWEIGHTS
First round: Low kick by Yamaguchi and another. Piccolotti in with pucnhes. Jumping knee and guillotine by Yamauchi. Piccolotti escaped and is on top. . Yamaguchi going for an uma plata. Yamaguchi now has his back standing. Yamauchi with a knee. Yamauchi tried a German suplex but blocked. Yamauchi jumped on his back and has a choke. Piccolotti had to tap out. Yamauchi was just superior in the grappling game. 3:19
AARON PICO (0-1) VS. JJSSTIN LINN (7-3), FEATHERWEIGHTS
First round: No reaction to Pico, what a difference one big loss makes in your debut. Linn is relaxed. Pico nervous as hell. Pico with a high takedown. Pico unloaded with several punches. Pico let him up. Linn landed punches. Pico is just overwhelming him with punches. Linn stayed up from the barrage. The crowd is going nuts. Another takedown by Pico. Pico with more punches and elbows on the ground. Pico let him up again. Pico knocked him cold with al left hook. 3:45
Linn is in real bad shape from that knockout. The stretcher is out and this is genuinely scary.
Linn was able to get up on his own. He was down for a few minutes.
This was Pico’s 21st birthday.
Pico vowed that he would win the title.
ROY NELSON (22-14) VS. JAVY AYALA (10-5), LARGE HEAVYWEIGHTS
First round: Ayala has a fan base coming from Porterville, CA. Nelson got a nice reaction. Ayala hurt him with a knee. Nice uppercut by Ayala. Ayala with two punches. He’s a step faster than Nelson. Nelson was thinking takedown. He’s going for it. Nelson got him down. Nelson is landing punches on the ground. Nelson with punches to the body. Nelson is remembering his Jiu Jitsu and moved to full mount. Ayala escaped and back up and landing knees and elbows. Nelson tied him up. Hard round to score. 10-9 Ayala
Second round: Crowd buzzing with the start of round two. Ayala with an elbow and head kick. Both trading punches. Nelson took him down again. Nelson landing punches on the ground. Nelson has his back now. Ayala reversed and up. Ayala took Nelson down and his his back. . Ayala let him up and kicked him in the head. Front kick by Ayala and Superman punch. Nelson with hard uppercuts. Nelson took him down again. People are loving this fight. Nelson landing a lot of elbows on the ground. Nelson’s round for sure so 19-19 after two
Third round: Head kick and jumping knee by Ayala. Right uppercut by Ayala. Front kick by Ayala. Body kick by Nelson. Ayala landing and Nelson running away. Another takedown by Nelson. Nelson landing punches on the ground. Nelson moved to side control. Ayala tried to use the cage to get up but Nelson kept him down. Nelson with knees to the body. Nelson now landing a lot of punches on the ground. Nelson landing hard shots on the ground. 29-28 Nelson.
Scores: 30-26, 29-28, 29-28 Nelson
LORENZ LARKIN (18-6) VS PAUL DALEY (39-15-2), WELTERWEIGHTS
First round: These two went at it a weigh-ins yesterday. Low kick by Daley. Fans booing quickly. Trading low kicks. Good low kick by Larkin. Larkin in with punches. Larkin landed another flurry as the crowd booed. Daley threw a head kick and slipped and fell down. Larkin on top and Daley working for a triangle. Larkin moved to side control. Larkin dropping short elbows. Larkin with more punches on the ground. Larkin 10-9
Second round: Larkin with a body kick. They are tied up. Daley with a knee and threw punches. Daley tied up with him again. Left by Larkin. Daley hurt him with a left hook and knocked him out with a left to the temple. 2:40
He said the only people who have beaten him standing were Douglas Lima and Nick Diaz. He said if anyone else stands with him they’ll get knocked out. Daley challenged Michael Page for England.
They are bringing out Douglas Lima and Rory MacDonald to build up their fight at the Forum in Los Angeles on 1/20. MacDonald said he’s a level above these guys.
BENSON HENDERSON (24-7) VS. PATRICKY PITBULL FREIRE (17-8), LIGHTWEIGHT
First round: Henderson with a body kick. Henderson landed a punch and slipped. Henderson with a Superman punch. Henderson went for a body kick but Pitbull caught the kick. Pitbull short on a spinning kick. Accidental eye poke by Henderson. Henderson went for a kick and missed and slipped. Pitbull went for a kick but it was blocked. Both trading. Very close round. Pitbull 10-9
Second round: Henderson landed a left. Henderson working for a takedown . Jumping knee by Pitbull and an elbow. Henderson has him tied up but isn’t doing much. Fans are booing. Pitbull threw him down. Another close round. Henderson so 19-19 but you could go the other way in both of these rounds since nobody got any real advantage.
Third round: Henderson with a body kick. Henderson ducked for a takedown but didn’t get it. Pitbull with body kicks. Knee by Pitbull. Henderson went for a takedown and didn’t get it again. Pitbull dropped him to a knee with punch. Henderson with a hard body kick. Another body kick by Henderson. Pitbull hurt him again. Henderson landed a hard punch back. Head kick by Henderson. Henderson shooting for a takedown again. Crowd booing again. Right by Pitbull . Knee by Pitbull. Henderson is backing off in the closing seconds which isn’t going to help him at all in another close round. Henderson backing off again as the round ended. Pitbull’s round so I’ve got him winning 29-28.
On my continued unearthing of the WGMA MMA Show archives, we head back to June 23, 2011, for a show that talked a lot about the future of TV for the sport.
If you’re new to these shows, the WGAM MMA Show was a weekly show that ran on a New Hampshire ESPN affiliate, co-hosted by myself and producer PJ Huot.
On the docket back on June 23:
– We previewed the upcoming UFC on Versus card headlined by Nate Marquardt vs. Rick Story and how Spike decided to counterprogram the event with…a Marquardt marathon.
– We lauded the efforts of young Matt Mitrione and how UFC was bringing him along in his early MMA career.
– Before we were joined by Bjorn Rebney, we talked about impending TV deals and the potential shifts that were happening with everyone (UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, etc)
– Then-Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney stopped by to talk about the Summer Series on MTV2, the tournament format, the rumors of his promotion moving to Spike if UFC left, the rumor of Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler, and his philosophy on signing free agents.
– We were then joined by then-UFC welterweight John Howard who was prepping for a fight against Matt Brown. This wasn’t the best interview, but we eventually got to some interesting topics like his friendship with then-Boston Celtics forward “Big Baby” Davis and training kickboxing with him.
Click below and jump back in the time machine for 45 minutes:
Gegard Mousasi announced this morning that he had signed a six-fight contract with Bellator, and immediately set his eyes on middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho, light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader, and Rory MacDonald.
Mousasi said that UFC’s offer was close to the Bellator offer, but he made his decision based on previously working for Scott Coker. He also said that after his UFC contract expired with his April 8th win over Chris Weidman, his fifth win in a row, that he had also talked to Russian promoters about going into boxing.
Mousasi is 31, but has had 50 MMA fights (42-6-2). He first became a star in Japan in 2006, with Pride, and won the middleweight title with Dream in 2008. He worked for Coker in Strikeforce from 2009 to 2013, before going to UFC. Mousasi was coming off five wins in a row. He was ranked as the number four contender for the middleweight title as of the weekend, behind only champion Michael Bisping, new interim champion Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero, and Luke Rockhold.
Mousasi told Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour that he’s looking forward to winning a Bellator title, saying his first goal is the middleweight title, then moving up and challenging for the light heavyweight title. He also said he’d be interested in fighting at heavyweight. In 2009, as a heavyweight, Mousasi knocked out Mark Hunt in the first round in Japan.
“I worked before with Scott Coker,” he said. “I have no problems going to Bellator. I know how I’m going to get treated in Bellator and the opportunities I’m going to get there. After the fact (his contract expiring), I knew all the options were open. I wanted to have the best deal for me. In the end, Bellator was a better choice for me.”
Mousasi said the money wasn’t the factor. He didn’t say much negative about UFC, saying the company always treated him well, but did say the Reebok deal was one that left nobody happy and that they didn’t even make good shorts. He said that he thought he was ahead of Robert Whittaker and should have gotten the title match with Yoel Romero. He said that if he got offered that spot, he’d have been interested. He also said he believed if he was against either Whittaker or Bisping, that he’d be the favorite in both fights.
He said he’d also like to fight Wanderlei Silva and other legends, as well as MacDonald, saying that both are in their primes.
He didn’t say when his first fight would take place past that it would be in 2017, and said he wasn’t promised an immediate shot at Carvalho. Representatives of Carvalho contacted the MMA Hour during the interview with Mousasi and said that Carvalho would love to fight him.
Bellator MMA returns to pay-per-view for the first time in over three years with a big show from Madison Square Garden in New York City tonight.
Headlining the show is a grudge match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva that was originally scheduled for 2014, first for UFC 173 and then UFC 175.
Drug test issues on the part of both men made it seem like this fight might never happen, but barring any last minute complications they will finally step into an MMA cage tonight.
Another former Pride legend — Fedor Emelianenko — will also make his Bellator debut as he faces heavyweight Matt Mitrione in the co-main event. These two were originally supposed to fight in February before a last minute medical issue on the part of Mitrione forced a postponement.
Rounding out the big matchups are three title fights. Light heavyweight champion Phil Davis goes up against Ryan Bader in Bader’s Bellator debut. Lorenz Larkin also gets a title shot in his first fight for the promotion as he takes on welterweight king Douglas Lima. 155 lb champion Michael Chandler will defend his belt against the unbeaten Brent Primus.
Spike.com will have five prelim fights beginning at 6 p.m. eastern. The prelims move over to Spike TV starting at 8 p.m., and that portion of the show will be called Bellator 180. The PPV main card begins at 10 p.m. Join us for live coverage starting with the Spike TV fights.
The production definitely has a more professional feel with Mike Goldberg and Jimmy Smith doing the intro plus Mauro Ranallo, Brendan Schaub, and Josh Thomson on the in-arena desk. This is the promotion’s big night and they are going all out.
We did get one report of the upper part of the arena being tarped off and fans being moved down to the lower level.
> Heather Hardy (1-0) def. Alice Yauger (4-6) by third round TKO (4:47) Flyweights
This is Hardy’s pro debut after a quality career as a boxer. She’s also a Brooklyn, NY, native.
R1: Hardy bloodied up Yauger above her eyebrow, but took some shots that had her blinking. Yauger has a little size on Hardy and doesn’t seem intimidated in the least, catching her in the clinch and delivering knees when she can. Thus far, not a great showcase for Hardy. Yauger 10-9
R2: Hardy looks a little more confident, but you have to keep in mind this is her MMA debut so the expectations should be kept in check. Yauger is slowing down and Hardy is making her pay with punches. Her hands are down though and if Yauger had any real power, she’d be in a lot more trouble. Better round for Hardy, but she’s getting by on guile and an edge on skill at this point. Hardy 10-9
R3: Yauger went down with a stiff shot at the beginning of the round. Seeing lots of reports of ‘Hardy’ chants in the arena and you can kinda hear them sitting at home. Hardy is using Yauger as a punching bag, landing hooks and trying to land with the occassional wild Liddell punch. Yauger did land a nice head kick and Hardy took it like a champ. Hardy got a decent cut over her left eye after a headbutt with a minute to go that caused ref John McCarthy to have the doctor check it out, but the fight went on. The last 40 seconds, Hardy turned it on, hurting Yauger badly with a right hand that put her on her butt. She got up and Hardy swarmed with lefts and rights, eventually causing McCarthy to stop the fight.
This was something you’d see in your local MMA promotion on a Friday or Saturday night. Again, this wasn’t the showcase I was expecting, but it’s hard to expect a lot from someone making their pro debut.
> James Gallagher (7-0) def. Chinzo Machida (5-3) by 1st round submission (2:22) Featherweights
Pre-fight, Gallagher walked all the way over to the opposite end of the cage and got in Machida’s face during the announcements. He’s from Conor McGregor’s camp and Bellator is fully behind him as their Irish star…unless they sign Joe Duffy, that is. Machida is Lyoto’s brother and isn’t exactly a spring chicken.
R1: This was all Gallagher. He used his strikes and got it to the ground early and locked in the body lock, working for the RNC. About halfway through the round, it was a quick tap for Machida. This wasn’t even competitive.
Two fights in, this hasn’t been the best show, but there’s time.
>Ryan Bader (24-5) def. Phil Davis (17-5) by split decision (49-46, 49-46, 47-48) to win the Bellator light heavyweight title
R1: Davis looks a lot bigger than Bader. Bader stuffed Davis’ first takedown attempt. The two fighters circled each other with Bader pushing the action. Bader stuffed another takedown attempt by Davis. The crowd booed at the lack of action. Not much action in the first round. Pretty much even, with neither guy doing much to win the round. Bader10-9. Barely.
R2: Davis is a bit busier in this round, but he isn’t landing much. The Madison Square Garden boobirds are out. Bader seems content with a stand-up fight. Bader stuffed another takedown attempt. Round 2 was a lot like the first. Bader landed a big right hand toward the end of the round. Bader 10-9.
R3: Davis landed a big righ-left combo that rattled Bader for a second. Bader seemed to recover quickly. Davis started to land leg kicks. Davis is showing more of a sense of urgency in this round, loosening up with his punches. Davis kept Bader on the defense for much of the round. Bader scored a quick takedown and almost put him in a guillotine, but Davis rolled out.. Close round. Davis 10-9
R4:The referee a minute into the round pulled both fighters together and told them to “fight.” Bader landed a right hand, but couldn’t follow it up. Davis was moving a lot, but wasn’t doing any damage. Both fighters started throwing more kicks in the round. Davis kept trying to throw an overhand counter-right after Bader threw a jab or a kick. Davis landed a few good knees to the mid-section. Another close round. Davis has yet to land a takedown. Davis 10-9.
R5: Bader is fighting like he’s ahead in the fight, content with an unaggressive stand-up attack. Davis land a long right hand, followed up by a left. Davis threw a roundhouse kick that missed. Bader scored another takedown, but Davis popped up quickly. Bader landed another right hand. Davis’ left eye is swollen. This was a boring fight and not the best lead-in to the PPV. Bader 10-9.
Official decision: Winner Bader, via split decision, 49-46 Bader, 49-46 Bader, 48-47 Davis
PPV (10 p.m. ET) —
> Bellator Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima (29-6) def. Lorenz Larkin (18-6) by unanimous decision (50-45, 48-47, 48-47) to retain the Welterweight Championship
R1: Both fighters traded a few leg kicks, but not a lot of action. Both fighters showing a lot of respect for each other. Lima is busier, throwing more strikes. He landed a couple of kicks to Larkin’s front leg. Larkin threw a fast combination, but missed. Lima landed a left jab and pushed Larkin up against the cage to end the round. Close round. Lima 10-9
R2: Larkin was more aggressive to start the round, but Lima did a good job of dodging punches. Larkin connected with a big right hand that bloodied the nose of Lima. That woke up Lima who landed a wicked left hand that dropped Larkin. Lima pounded him with elbows and fists, but Larkin defended and eventually scrambled to his feet. Lima continued to land with combinations, but appeared to punch himself out a bit. Larkin connected with some punches to end the round. Lima 10-9
R3: The two fighters seem very aware of each other’s power to start the round. Lots of circling of each other, but not a lot of punches landing. Larkin landed a left body kick Lima countered with his own. They both seemed to take the round off, but Lima is more aggressive. Lima 10-9
R4: Larkin landed a left leg kick to Lima’s shoulder. Lima landed a clean bodypunch. Larkin landed a leg kick again. Lima seemed a bit flustered by Larkin’s movement, even though Larkin didn’t land much. Larkin landed a double jab, but Lima pushed him down and jumped on top of him. Larkin stood up to end the round. Another close round. Larkin 10-9
R5: Although Larkin is busier, he seems relunctant to close the distance after tasting Lima’s power in the second round. Larkin gave Lima lots of different looks, but Lima stayed conservative and stuck to his game plan of throwing leg kicks to Larkin’s front leg. Everytime they get close, Lima pushes him off. Lima seemed a lot stronger than Larkin throughout the fight. Lima 10-9
Official decision: Lima retained the title via unanimous decision, 50-45, 48-47 (2x)
> Zach Freeman (9-2) def. Aaron Pico (0-1) by d’arce choke in 24 seconds
Lightweights
Freeman landed a right uppercut to the face of Pico and dropped the former amateur wrestling champion to the mat. He jumped on Pico and finished him with a d’arce choke. Pico tapped in 24 seconds, the fourth fastest finish in Bellator history. Not the outcome Bellator expected.
> Brent Primus (8-0) def. Michael Chandler (16-4) to win the Bellator lightweight championship via doctor stoppage at 2:22 seconds of Round 1.
R1:Chandler slipped early inexplicably and seemed to have rolled his ankle or twisted his knee. Chandler is favoring his left leg heavily. Chandler landed a right hand that dropped Primus, but Chandler could not stand up. The referee interrupted the fight to check on Chandler’s leg and the doctor called the fight off. The replay showed that Chandler’s ankle gave out underneath him as he was backing up. A freak injury cost him the title. The Madison Square Garden crowd booed heavily.
Chandler in his post-fight interview said “cut it off” referring to his ankle, and challenged Primus to a rematch.
> Matt Mitrione (12-5) def. Fedor Emelianenko (36-5) by knockout at 1:14 of Round 1
Heavyweights
R1: Fedor stalked Mitrione for the first few seconds. Emelianenko landed a left jab. The two connected simultaneous right hands and both went down, but Mitrione got up quicker and pounced on Emelianenko for the ground-and-pound finish. Mitrione landed several punches and Emelianenko was out cold.
> Neiman Gracie (6-0) def. Dave Marfone (5-3) by rear naked choke at 2:27 seconds of Round 2 Welterweights
R1: Gracie took him down quickly and tried to take his back, but Marfone pushed him off. Marfone landed a big right hand, but didn’t follow it up. Gracie took Marfone down, but he scrambled up. Gracie landed a few punches in the standup. Gracie went for a takedown, but Marfone caught him in a guillotine choke with less than 10 seconds to go in the round. Gracie held on. Gracie 10-9
R2: Gracie took his back and tried to get a takedown. Marfone tried to flip him forward, but Gracie held on and slapped on a body triangle. A few seconds later, he tapped Marfone out with a rear naked choke.
Prefight: Both fighters got their national anthems played. Guitar legend Dave Navarro played the U.S. national anthem live.
R1: Sonnen took Silva down in the opening seconds and started with the ground and pound. Sonnen showed an aggression at the level of the first Anderson Silva fight. Sonnen tried to apply a can opener, but Silva defended. It’s all Sonnen right now. Silva scrambled to his feet and pulled away. Silva landed a big right hand and dropped Sonnen. Sonnen scrambled up and took Silva down again. Silva went for a guillotine choke, but Sonnen slipped out. Sonnen finished the round on top. Sonnen 10-9
R2: Sonnen came out hot and landed a flying knee. He went for a takedown and Silva put on a guillotine choke. He kept the choke on forever, forcing the referee to stand them up because Silva wasn’t doing anythin to finish the hold. Sonnen immediately took Silva down again. Sonnen stayed on top and pounded Silva with right hands and elbows. The round ended with Sonnen on top of Silva. Sonnen 10-9
R3: Sonnen took Silva down again to start the round. Sonnen is showing shades of his dominant performance against Anderson Silva, just staying relentless on top of Silva. Sonnen tried for a wristlock submission attempt that Silva defended. Silva doesn’t have much on the ground in this position. Sonnen wrapped him up with a leg lock, but Silva tied him up from the top. Sonnen just wouldn’t let him up and Silva had no way to get off of his back. Sonnen 10-9
Official Decision: Winner Sonnen, 30-26, 30-27 (2x)
It’s the biggest show in the history of Bellator MMA tonight as they return to PPV with Bellator NYC. There are three world title fights on the card, but the show is headlined by a grudge match years in the making with Chael Sonnen taking on Wanderlei Silva in the promotional debut for the latter fighter.
Also making their Bellator debut is former Pride legend and the one-time top heavyweight in the world Fedor Emelianenko. He will step into the cage with Matt Mitrione, looking for his third straight win since joining Bellator.
The most high profile title fight will actually headline the prelims on Spike, called Bellator 180, as light heavyweight champion Phil Davis faces the debuting Ryan Bader.
On the PPV main card, there are two title fights. Lightweight champion Michael Chandler, who in many ways is the face of the company, defends against little known but unbeaten Brent Primus while recent UFC free agent Lorenz Larkin challenges champion Douglas Lima for his welterweight belt.
If you’re new here, our panel picks are listed below and listed alongside the fighter’s names are their worldwide FightMatrix rankings, as well as BestFightOdds.com betting odds. The panelist’s 2017 records is in parentheses, and we also have panel consensus picks as well as a line where we show how the betting favorites did:
John Pollock (30-13; .698) — Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Dave Meltzer (30-13; .684) — Wrestling Observer publisher
Consensus Picks (28-13; .683)
Favorites (29-14; .674)
Mike Sawyer (28-15; .651) — Tough Talk MMA publisher
David Bixenspan (28-15; .651) – Deadspin pro wrestling columnist; Between the Sheets podcast host
Steve Juon (27-16; .628) — MMA Mania writer, Angry Marks publisher
Tom Lawlor (3-2; .600) – Co-host Filthy Four Daily; pro wrestling undercard fighter; UFC enhancement talent currently suspended due to wellness violation
Mike Sempervive (25-18; .581) — Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Ryan Frederick (23-20; .535) — WrestlingObserver.com UFC writer
Paul Fontaine (22-21; .512) — MMADraws.com publisher, WrestlingObserver.com writer
Front Row Brian (20-23; .465) — MMA newsbreaker, beloved internet personality, podcast host
Chael Sonnen (28-15-1) vs Wanderlei Silva (35-12-1) LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
This fight was originally scheduled to happen in UFC in 2013, but both men had PED issues at that time and the fight never took place despite both guys building up the grudge match as TUF Brazil coaches.
Sonnen has already fought in Bellator, losing to Tito Ortiz earlier this year while “The Axe Murderer” will be fighting for the first time in Bellator. Both guys have been relatively quiet leading into this one and it’s hard to say where either guy goes from here, no matter what the result.
> Fedor Emelianenko (36-4) vs Matt Mitrione (11-5) HEAVYWEIGHTS
This one was originally set to go down in February in San Jose, but Mitrione had to pull out that night due to kidney stones while Fedor elected to wait until Mitrione was healthy enough to compete rather than take on another opponent.
Fedor is on a five-fight win streak with no blemishes on his record since losing to Dan Henderson in Strikeforce back in 2011. However, he was retired for a few years and one of the wins on his comeback, Fabio Maldonado in EFN, was questionable at best. Mitrione has knocked out both of his Bellator opponents so far and a third KO in this one would make him the leading contender for the vacant heavyweight title.
> Bellator Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler (16-3) vs Brent Primus (7-0)
Chandler has looked great ever since capturing the title vacated by Will Brooks. He knocked out Patricky Pitbull in the first round to win the belt and then won a decision over former UFC champion Benson Henderson in his first title defense. Primus will fight on a Bellator main card for only the second time in his career but he does have five stoppage wins in his young career, including each of his first three Bellator fights. Neither the oddsmakers or our panel is giving him much of a chance of escaping MSG with his perfect record intact.
> Bellator Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima (28-6) vs Lorenz Larkin (18-5)
Lima is a 2-time champion in Bellator, having won a tournament for the vacant title in 2015, later losing it to Andrey Koreshkov, and then gaining it back with a 3rd round KO last November. He’s a Bellator mainstay as this will be his 14th trip into their cage. Larkin fights for the first time in Bellator but he has worked for Scott Coker in the past. He started his career in Strikeforce, running up an impressive record there before moving over to UFC when that promotion was shut down. He won his last two fights in UFC and would’ve won five in a row if not for a split decision loss to Albert Tumenov.
Another ex-UFC vet in Rory McDonald awaits the winner.
> Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Phil Davis (17-3) vs Ryan Bader (22-5)
This will be the first title defence for the veteran Davis, who won the title with a dominant performance over Liam McGeary last November. He has won all four of his fights in Bellator, including a one-night tournament in September 2015 which earned him the title shot.
Bader was long considered the top UFC 205-pound fighter to not receive a title shot. Like Larkin, he won his last two UFC fights and seven of his last eight fights there with the only loss being a first round KO at the hands of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Bader beat Davis in January 2015 in what was a very controversial decision. The winner here will likely defend against King Mo next.
> Aaron Pico (pro debut) vs Zach Freeman (8-2) LIGHTWEIGHTS
Pico NR; no betting odds for this fight
Freeman #506
> James Gallagher (6-0) vs Chinzo Machida (5-2) FEATHERWEIGHTS
Gallagher #472; -200 betting favorite
Machida NR; +198 betting underdog
> Neiman Gracie (5-0) vs Dave Marfone (5-2) WELTERWEIGHTS
Gracie #212; -833 betting favorite
Marfone NR; +702 betting underdog
> Ryan Couture (10-5) vs Haim Gozali (7-3)
WELTERWEIGHTS
Couture #253; -525 betting favorite
Gozali NR; +530 betting underdog
Action begins with the Spike.com prelims at 6:00 PM EST and moves over to Spike at 8 PM EST. The main card airs on PPV at 10 PM EST, and will be covered here.
Following on the heels of Sean Grande’s announced departure due to scheduling issues, Bellator MMA upped the game Tuesday by announcing the signing of not one, but two of the sport’s most well-known and recognizable voices.
Longtime combat sports play-by-play man Mauro Ranallo and former UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg have joined the company and will begin work at the promotion’s event at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on June 24th, announced via press release.
What isn’t clear is what role both men will have as they have worked primarily as play-by-play with a variety of different color commentators. In the release, Bellator mentioned that they joined a broadcast team that includes Jimmy Smith, Chael Sonnen, and backstage reporter Jenn Brown.
Adding to the confusion, in a press conference Tuesday to promote the MSG event, Bellator head Scott Coker said that both men “will do all our shows the rest of 2017.”
Since his much-discussed exit from WWE, Ranallo has been active on the announcing scene, returning to Showtime to call boxing as well as Japan’s Rizin MMA. He goes back years with Coker as the voice of Strikeforce as well as PRIDE.
Goldberg has been on the shelf since the UFC decided not to renew his contract after last December’s UFC 207.
Bellator MMA is back in London tonight night with a show airing stateside via tape delay on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET.
The show features the company debut of former UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald as he takes on fellow UFC alumnus Paul Daley in the main event.
McDonald is perhaps the most high-profile of Bellator’s free agent signings of the last couple of year and is likely just entering the prime of his career. He has publicly stated that his goal is to become a two-division champion. A win here would earn him a shot at division kingpin Douglas Lima.
The card is stacked by Bellator standards as the main event is a bigger marquee matchup than a lot of UFC shows on FS1. In addition, the second and third matches from the top could easily headline any other Bellator show. Former light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary will again fight in his home country as he hopes to pick up his second straight win since dropping his title to Phil Davis as he goes up against another UK fighter in Linton “Swarm” Vassell.
Also on the card is 42-year-old Cheick Kongo, who is shooting for his fifth consecutive victory at heavyweight as he takes on the unbeaten Brazilian Augusto Sakai. The main card debut of Kevin Ferguson Jr., aka Baby Slice, is also on the show. Ferguson is, of course, the son of the late Kimbo Slice.
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This is the last show before the Bellator PPV next month and the hard sell begins right away.
They open by mentioning that it’s been a year since the passing of Kimbo Slice and also that he was scheduled to headline a show right here in London at the time of his passing. They pretty much came out and said that the reason Baby Slice is on this card is because of who his father was and Jenn Brown interviewed him backstage. He didn’t have much to say other than that he’s a different type of fighter than his father and he didn’t mind the pressure of being on a main card so early.
Kevin Ferguson Jr. (0-1) vs. DJ Griffin (pro debut) (165 lb catchweight)
Announcers and graphic have completely dropped the “Kevin Ferguson” part of his name so from here on in, he’s Baby Slice.
In terms of skill, this was easily the worst fight you’ll ever see on a national TV broadcast. Baby Slice has a lot of work to do on his ground game, particular submission defence. The guy they brought in normally fights at featherweight, so this was a setup fight and it went as it should’ve. Slice overpowered him on the feet. He was in trouble a few times on the ground but ended up punching out of it for a first round TKO win. Announcers put him over strong but he’s not even close to being ready for this.
WINNER – BABY SLICE (1-1) by TKO at 3:40
Jimmy Smith asked Baby Slice how it felt to pick up his first win a year after his Dad passed away. Slice just said he was happy to get the win and thanked his team but never mentioned his Dad at first. He did go on to say that he loved his Dad and misses him and he was proud to win where his Dad was supposed to fight.
Dan Edwards (14-14) vs. Alex Lohore (11-1) (welterweights)
Dan Edwards has a nickname as well, so he’s known as Dan Vinni on the broadcast and , I guess, this report. Lohore is coming off an upset win over former UFC fighter Colin Fletcher in February. This isn’t quite as obvious as the last fight but clearly seems like a showcase fight for Lohore.
Weird first round. Vinne got it to the ground right away and was going for all kinds of submissions. Lohore was struggling to get out of them but never seemed in danger of getting caught. Whenever it got back to the feet, Lohore dominated but it would quickly go to the ground. In the last 30 seconds, Lohore got off some ground and pound and that may have been enough to steal the round.
Early in the 2nd, Lohore dropped Vinni with a punch and then started walking away like it was a walk-off. When the ref didn’t step in right away he landed a couple more shots before the ref stepped in.
WINNER – ALEX LOHORE (12-1) by KO at 56 seconds of the 2nd round
Lohore brought his mom into the cage and hugged her. He said he wouldn’t be fighting if it weren’t for her and he owes her everything.
Rafael Cejrowski (2-0) vs Fabian Edwards (2-0) (middleweights)
This was from the prelims. Slow start and I was starting to wonder why they showed this fight. Edwards was the better standup fighter but didn’t look like a killer or anything. And then out of nowhere he nailed Cejrowski with a high kick and then a flying knee to the head for the KO.
WINNER – FABIAN EDWARDS (3-0) by KO
More PPV hype and between this and showing that last fight, it’s looking like the big fights probably had early finishes.
Cheick Kongo (26-10-2) vs. Augusto Sakai (9-0-1) (heavyweights)
Speaking of the fights ending early, they’ve also been airing all of the walkouts, even for guys like Sakai and the two guys in the last main card fight, who were basically unknowns. It would be nice if we saw a finish in a Kongo fight, who’s had decisions in each of his last 5 fights.
First round almost put me to sleep. Neither guy even threw a strike for the first two minutes, let alone landed one. Sakai landed about 4 leg kicks during the round and Kongo may have landed a knee in the clinch. Just awful.
Kongo managed a couple of takedowns but Sakai was usually able to get back up. When they were on the feet, Kongo just held him against the cage. He landed a couple strikes and Sakai did nothing. Just a horrible, horrible fight that is probably tied after 2.
There was a stretch in the third round where Kongo just laid Sakai against the cage for what felt like an hour and did nothing. It was probably closer to 2 minutes. Kongo did land a couple kicks and punches in the middle of the round and may have taken it.
WINNER – CHEICK KONGO (27-10-2) by split decision (29-28 x 2; 28-29)
Jimmy Smith joked that he put up his scorecard before the fight even started cause he knew it would be 29-28 Kongo.
Liam McGeary (12-1) vs. Linton Vassell (18-5) (light heavyweights)
Both guys are promising an early finish here.
First round saw Vassell get a knockdown 2 minutes in and he held McGeary down for the rest of the round. McGeary was far more active from his back, landing punches and elbows and working for submission. Vassell didn’t do much at all and, while the round was tough to score, I thought McGeary took it.
Vassell dominated the 2nd, taking McGeary down 1 minute in and holding him the rest of the way, doing a lot more damage and with several submission attempts. He even obtains mount 3 times, although obviously McGeary escaped twice. I had it 10-8 Vassell and up 19-18 overall.
Vassell took him down right away to start the third and immediately moved into mount. He patiently moved into position for the arm triangle and eventually secured it and got a quick tap,
WINNER – LINTON VASSELL (19-5) by submission at 2:28 of the third round
That was the first time anyone has every finished Liam McGeary who really needs to work on his takedown defence. Vassell called out the winner of next month’s Ryan Bader-Phil Davis for a world title fight next time they’re in London and that fight pretty much has to get made.
Yet more hype for the PPV and they interview James Gallagher, who fights on the Spike portion of that show. He tries hard but in terms of promo ability, he sounds more like Finn Balor than Conor McGregory, who they are obviously positioning as their version of. Gallagher faces Chinzo Machida, Lyoto’s brother, in what will be his debut in the US. He predicted a first round stoppage and then hyped up a potential fight with fellow prospect AJ McKee.
A funny moment as he said he would stop Machida in the first round on June 14th and then Jenn Brown politely corrected him by saying June 24th, which is the actual date of the show.
Rory was interviewed backstage in what seemed to be live but he was still in his suit. He showed the charisma of a carrot but that’s never really been his strong suit anyway.
In the pre-fight video package, which was great, both guys promised knockouts. Daley said he’d leave him effing dribbling. Except he didn’t say “effing”.
Rory MacDonald (18-4) vs. Paul Daley (39-14-2) (welterweights)
Rory McDonald fought on the undercard of Chuck Liddell vs Rich Franklin……and he’s only 27 years old. Something about that just seems wrong.
Just complete dominance by McDonald. He got him down about a minute into the first. He held him down the whole way and was constantly advancing and/or landing strikes. Enough for a 10-8 in my book.
The scores didn’t matter anyway as he took Daley down again after a head kick to start the second. He quicly moved into side control and held Daley down until he had an oppornity to secure his back and quickly secure a rear naked choke for the tap.
WINNER – RORY MCDONALD (19-4) by submission at 1:45 of the 2nd round.
Jimmy Smith explained that Rory was VERY VERY happy, Glad he clarified that as Rory had the exact same expression (none) on his face as he did in the pre-fight interview. He promised more to come and to the surprise of no one, he challenged the winner of next month’s welterweight title fight between Douglas Lima and Lorenz Larkin.
Daley got some mic time and put Rory over as a safe fighter who did just enough to get the win. He called Michael Page a type of cat and repeated that P word about 10 ten times before the end of the promo so that looks to be his next fight.
If this is on your PVR do yourself a favor and skip ahead to the last two fights. Do that and it was a pretty good show.
MVP just happened to be at cageside and they got into a tussle on Daley’s way back to the locker room.
With a week in which UFC returns to the Midwest and questions about New York’s athletic commissions are swirling, who better to talk about it all than former Bellator play-by-play man, author, and Kansas Athletic Commission member Sean Wheelock?
On a packed 90-minute edition of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, your host Josh Nason and Sean jumped around the MMA map. A few points of discussion:
– Sean’s current gigs with MMA & boxing and what he takes into consideration when a new company comes calling
– What he thought when Bjorn Rebney reappeared as an MMA association lead and what’s next for him
– Whether time has changed his mind on his surprise release from Bellator MMA
– His thoughts on the current Mauro Ranallo/WWE situation
Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva seems to finally be happening, and the fight is scheduled to headline Bellator’s return to pay-per-view and debut at Madison Square Garden.
In a story broken by the Associated Press, Bellator revealed that they would be running MSG for a PPV on June 24th. More match announcements involving Bellator’s top fighters are expected to be made soon.
“We always said that when we come to New York, we’ll bring the biggest and the best fight card we’ve ever had in the history of this company,” Bellator president Scott Coker said. “We’re putting it together, and our roster is robust enough that we feel like it’s time to get into the pay-per-view business, so here we go.”
Bellator 120, which took place under the promotion’s previous regime, is the only other PPV in company history. The AP article noted that Coker doesn’t intend to run PPVs every few weeks, but is open to using it for their biggest shows.
Sonnen and Silva have long been rivals, but the UFC was never able to make the fight happen while both were in the promotion for a variety of reasons. Silva hasn’t fought since 2013, while Sonnen debuted for Bellator in January in a loss against Tito Ortiz.
Bellator 172 returns to the SAP Center in San Jose, CA, Saturday, but not with the main event everyone expected.
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione was scrapped late in the day due to Mitrione suffering from kidney stones. There were fighters who offered to take his place but at such late notice Bellator was unable to put a new fight together. The co-main event of Josh Thomson vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire has been elevated to main event status — a fight that could determine the next challenger to lightweight champ Michael Chandler.
Also on the undercard, former UFC welterweight title challenger Josh Koscheck finally makes his promotional debut as he’s set to fight journeyman Mauricio Alonso.
Cheick Kongo will step into a Bellator cage for the tenth time on Saturday as he takes on ex-UFC fighter and Englishman Oli Thompson. Rounding out the main card is a women’s flyweight fight as Veta Arteaga goes up against Brooke Mayo, who will be making her pro debut.
Dave Meltzer will be live at cageside with the main card coverage starting at 9 p.m. on Spike TV.
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There will be five fights on Spike. The new fight will be Anatoly Tokov, one of Fedor’s fighters, against Francisco France, which was scheduled to be on the streaming undercard.
JOSH KOSCHECK (17-10) VS. MAURICIO ALONSO (12-7), WELTERWEIGHTS
First round: Koscheck looks in great shape for his age. Koscheck was mostly cheered, not thunderously loud or anything. Koscheck landed a nice uppercut. Alonso with a left jab. Alonso with a few punches and then missed. Both trading punches, Alonso landed more. Low kick by Alonso. Both trading again. Alonso rocked him with a punch. Alonso with an uppercut and put Koscheck down and landed punches on the ground and it was stopped. Josh’s chin has been gone for some time and unfortunately that doesn’t turn around.
A right cross hurt him. , then an uppercut, a right cross and punches on the ground. 4:42
VETA ARTEAGA (2-1) VS. BROOKE MAYO (0-0), WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
First round: Mayo is from Concord, CA so and she’s got fans here. Nice reaction. Mayo with a knee to the head. Arteaga shoved her down. Mayo back up. Mayo took her down, and has her back. She’s working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Arteaga landing punches. Arteaga out of trouble and on top after escaping and on top after escaping. Arteaga with punches. Mayo back up. Arteaga is cut from a collision of heads. The doctor was called in. Head kick by Mayo. Mayo 10-9
Second round: Both trading and Mayo with a head kick. Takedown by Mayo. Arteaga reversed to the top. Both throwing. Arteaga with some body punches. Close round, Arteaga so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Arteaga with punches and knees. Spinning punch by Arteaga. Arteaga with punches. Mayo throwing knees form the clinch. Arteaga landing a lot. Mayo took her down. She moved to mount and got her back. Mayo again working for a choke. Arteaga reversed to the top. Crowd is super hot for this. Left by Mayo. They stopped the fight. Mayo was begging for it to continue. Her left eye was swollen and she was bleeding from the nose. It didn’t look like something that would stop a fight but John McCarthy was right there. The crowd was loving the third round. I can’t say either fighter looked impressive but the third round was exciting. The stoppage was from her swollen left eye. 4:04
They pushed Arteaga against Anastasia Yannikova, they had a controversial split decision last year that Arteaga lost.
ANATOLY TOKOV (24-2) VS. FRANCISCO FRANCE (13-4), MIDDLEWEIGHT
First round: Tokov in with punches. Tokov took him down into side control. France working for an armbar. Now France has a triangle. Great escape by Tokov. France 10-9
Second round: France tried a takedown and Tokov easily evaded it. Uppercut by Tokov. France went for a takedown. Tokov land a nice punch. France is on his back. A time out was ordered as Tokov kicked him in the groin as France was on his back. Tokov landed a counter punch and is on top. Tokov landed hard punches from the top and it was stopped. 2:24
Fedor Emelianenko did an interview. They strongly indicated that Fedor vs. Mitrione would be taking place as soon as they can arrange a date.
CHEICK KONGO (25-10-2) VS. OLI THOMPSON (17-9), HEAVYWEIGHTS
First round: Kongo landing good punches and now Thompson back with punches. Kongo with a knee to the groin from close range causing a time out. Kongo with a punch and takedown. Hard punches on the ground. Knee by Kongo. Lots of knees by Kongo, a right and a ton of more knees by Kongo until the round ended. Thompson was in trouble. 10-9 Kongo, almost a 10-8
Second round: Thompson landed a right. Knee by Kongo. Takedown by Kongo. Hard right on the ground by Kongo. Kongo with body and head punches. Now Kongo landing elbows. He’s bouncing Thompson’s head all over the place. Kongo was landing more hard punches on the ground. For sure a 10-8 for Kongo so 20-17 after two.
Third round: Thompson went for a takedown but blocked. Kongo throwing knees to the body again. Kongo with a takedown. Kongo with a mount. Kongo is continuing to land punches. Kongo with elbows from the top. Another for sure 10-8 round, 30-25 overall.
Scores were 30-26, 30-25 and 30-25 for Kongo
JOSH THOMSON (22-8) VS. PATRICKY PITBULL FREIRE (16-8), LIGHTWEIGHTS
First round: Of course Thomson got by far the best reaction of the night. This is the 11th anniversary of his first fight in this arena. Body kick by Pitbull. Pitbull landed a right. Low kick by Pitbull. Low kicks by Pitbull. Pitbull threw a few punches. Pitbull landed a punch. Thomson with a low kick. Another low kick by Pitbull and another. Pitbull knocked him down with a right. Thomson back up and tried a takedown and didn’t get it. Thomson threw a head kick. Pitbull 10-9
Second round: Pitbull dropped him although they may have bonked heads. He then cracked Thomson with an uppercut and that was it. Nice knockout. Not a good night for this area’s original stars. :40
First reported by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani and later confirmed by Bellator president Scott Coker via Twitter, Saturday night’s main event of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione has been canceled due to an undisclosed illness suffered by Mitrione.
As of this writing, the cause for the illness hasn’t been disclosed, nor has any rescheduled date been announced. John Morgan of MMA Junkie said he has heard kidney stones were the reason.
Helwani tweeted that officials tried to find a last second replacement, but were unable to do so. Of note, there is another heavyweight fight on the show featuring Cheick Kongo and Oli Thompson but it’s unclear if either man was asked to fill the spot.
As a result, Josh Thomson vs. Patricky “Pitbull” Freire is now the new main event in San Jose, CA.
This was to be Fedor’s first fight in the U.S. since a July 2011 loss to Dan Henderson on a Strikeforce event.
After retiring in 2012, Fedor returned to action in 2015 and was riding a five-fight win streak going into tonight’s show although his last performance against Fabio Maldonado was a controversial victory in which “The Last Emperor” looked anything but.
This was the biggest fight of Mitrione’s career and his third since signing with Bellator as a free agent in 2016. The 38-year-old is 2-0 in his new home with two T/KO wins.
It’s a weekend of big personalities on big stages here in the United States and MMA wasn’t about to be left in the dust on this inauguration weekend.
Former UFC superstars Chael Sonnen and Tito Ortiz will do battle in Los Angeles, CA, Saturday at Bellator 170, and who better to talk about that show than the man who will be calling the action cageside?
Bellator MMA & Boston Celtics play-by-play man Sean Grande dropped by Josh Nason’s Punch-Out for a 45-minute conversation that hit on the following topics and more:
– The nostalgic feel of Ortiz vs. Sonnen, and how this fight is different than other “fun” fights the promotion has had
– Sean’s first 18 months in the promotion and what he’s learned
– Some surprises that are in store for those watching Saturday, exclusive to JNPO listeners
– Sean’s thoughts on Jimmy Snuka, the Royal Rumble, and more.
