Category Archives: Bellator

OFFICIAL BELLATOR 202: BUDD VS. NOGUEIRA RESULTS & PHOTOS

 

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 Full Event Photos Here

 

Complete Bellator 202: Budd vs. Nogueira Results:

Julia Budd (12-2) defeated Talita Nogueira (7-1) via TKO (punches) at 4:07 of round three

Michael McDonald (19-4) defeated Eduardo Dantas (20-6) via KO (punches) at :58 of round one

Chris Honeycutt (11-2, 1 NC) defeated Leo Leite (10-2) via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25)

Valentin Moldavsky (8-1) defeated Ernest James (1-1) via TKO (punches) at 4:03 of second round

 

Preliminary Card Results:

Daniel Carey (6-2) defeated Aaron Webb (2-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:54 of round two

Will Morris (3-0) defeated Charles Williams (3-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25)

Veta Arteaga (4-2) defeated Emily Ducote (6-5) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Yaroslav Amasov (20-0) defeated Gerald Harris (25-7) via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Steve Kozola (9-2) defeated Ryan Walker (7-4) via KO (punches) at 1:45 of round one

Rudy Schaffroth (5-0, 1 NC) defeated Jon Hill (12-7) via TKO (punches) at :42 of round one

Tyler Ingram (2-0) defeated Fernando Gonzalez (3-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:13 of round two

Nation Gibrick (2-0) defeated Luis Erives (0-1) via submission (heel hook) at 1:30 of round one

 

FNU Combat Sports Show: Pro Boxer Anthony Laureano Interview, Brock Invades the UFC Cage, Cormier gets a Huge Win, Pacquaio Faces a Tough Boxing Test in Malaysia This Weekend

This week on the FNU Combat Sports Show, Psychic Tom and Rabble Rousin’ Rich start off with a great interview with pro boxer Anthony Laureano. The Connecticut professional boxer is coming off a big win on the undercard of the Joe Smith Jr. fight at the end of June. We also recap last week’s boxing and MMA action, highlighted by Daniel Cormier’s monumental win over Stipe Miocic to become the first two belt holder in the UFC since McGregor. Tony joins the broadcast after the Laureano interview to give his take on Brock’s return to the UFC after going back to the WWE at the end of his first UFC stint. We also touch upon the Danny O’Connor fight being called off due to severe dehydration suffered by O’Connor. Finally, we preview upcoming events and briefly discuss a rumored rematch between Vitali Klitschko and Lennox Lewis.

 

Listen to the full show right here:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9pj6fsfyhi4kmrj/tomtonyrichfnushowjuly10th2018.mp3?dl=0

OFFICIAL BELLATOR 202: BUDD VS. NOGUEIRA WEIGH-IN RESULTS & PHOTOS

 

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Full Weigh-In Photos Here

 

Complete Bellator 202 Weigh-in Results:

Women’s Featherweight World Title Main Event: Julia Budd (144.1) vs. Talita Nogueira (144.3)

Bantamweight Co-Main Event: Eduardo Dantas (135.5) vs. Michael McDonald (135.6)

Middleweight Main Card Bout: Chris Honeycutt (185.6) vs. Leo Leite (184.3)

Heavyweight Main Card Bout: Ernest James (261.1) vs. Valentin Moldavsky (232.9)

Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Gerald Harris (170.5) vs. Yaroslav Amasov (170.2)

Women’s Flyweight Preliminary Bout: Emily Ducote (125) vs. Veta Arteaga (125.7)

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Steve Kozola (154.6) vs. Ryan Walker (155.9)

Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Aaron Webb (144.7) vs. Daniel Carey (145.4)

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Charles Williams (153.6) vs. Will Morris (155.5)

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Nation Gibrick (155.3) vs. Luis Erives (155.9)

Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Tyler Ingram (169.9) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (170.7)

Heavyweight Preliminary Bout: Jon Hill (256.2) vs. Rudy Schaffroth (252.4)

 

PHOTOS FROM TODAY’S MONUMENTAL BELLATOR 203 AND BELLATOR KICKBOXING 10 PRESS CONFERENCE FROM ROME’S CAPITOL HILL

 

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CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS // CREDIT: BELLATOR/LUCAS NOONAN

 

 

 

BELLATOR’S FIRST EVENT IN THE ETERNAL CITY TAKES PLACE THIS SATURDAY, JULY 14 FROM IL CENTRALE LIVE ROMA – FORO ITALICO

 

 

 

ROME – Bellator fighters and officials gathered today at Piazza del Campidoglio (Rome’s Capitol Hill) in advance of the company’s first event in The Eternal City, which takes place at il Centrale Live Roma – Foro Italico this Saturday, July 14.

 

 

 

Fans tuning in Saturday evening are in store for a double main event featuring a rematch between Patricio “Pitbull” (26-4) and Daniel Weichel (39-9) for the featherweight title, as well as Italy’s most famous mixed martial artist, Alessio Sakara(19-12), taking on Jamie Sloane (8-3) at light heavyweight.

 

 

 

Bellator Kickboxing will also be on display, as featherweight champion Kevin Ross (45-13) defends his crown against Gabriel Varga (21-6) and international sensation Giorgio Petrosyan (85-2-2) takes on Chingiz Allazov (53-2).

 

 

 

Bellator 203 will be broadcast Saturday, July 14 free on Paramount Network at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and will be immediately followed by Bellator Kickboxing 10. Limited tickets remain and are on sale now at Bellator.com.

 

 

 

Updated Bellator 203 Fight Card:

Featherweight World Title Bout: Patricio “Pitbull” (26-4) vs. Daniel Weichel (39-9)

Light Heavyweight Feature Event: Alessio Sakara (19-12, 2 NC) vs. Jamie Sloane (8-4, 1 NC)

Welterweight Main Card Bout: Andrey Koreshkov (20-2) vs. Vaso Bakocevic (33-17-1)

Middleweight Main Card Bout: Alen Amedovski (5-0) vs. Will Fleury (4-0)

Lightweight Main Card Bout: Simone La Preziosa (3-4) vs. Maxim Radu (8-1)

Featherweight Preliminary Bout: Simone D’Anna (4-1) vs. Michele Martignoni (3-0)

 

 

 

Updated Bellator Kickboxing 10 Main Card:

Featherweight World Title Bout: Kevin Ross (45-13) vs. Gabriel Varga (15-6)

Lightweight Feature Bout: Giorgio Petrosyan (82-2-2, 1 NC) vs. Chingiz Allazov (56-2)

Featherweight Main Card Bout: Gaston Bolanos (11-1) vs. Domenico Lomurno (31-8)

Women’s Flyweight Main Card Bout: Martine Michieletto (21-11-3) vs. Gloria Peritore (13-2-1)

200-lb. Catchweight Main Card Bout: Mattia Faraoni (27-4) vs. Raffaele Vitale (57-9)

 

 

 

Updated Bellator Kickboxing 10 Preliminary Card:

183-lb. Catchweight Preliminary Bout: Gabriele Casella (18-2-1) vs. Alex Negrea (11-5)

Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Davide Armanini (29-1) vs. Fatmir Gordi (23-3)

Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Antonio Campagna (26-15-3) vs. Florenzo Pesare (31-9)

Flyweight Savate Bout: Leonardo Caputi (13-8-4) vs. Tarik Totss (3-10-2)

 

 

 

*Card subject to change

 

 

 

Please visit Bellator.com for additional information.

FNU Combat Sports Show: July 5th, 2018

This week on the FNU Combat Sports Show, Tom, Tony and Rich look back at Bellator 201, a new candidate for “Round of the Year” in the Zappavigna/Saucedo fight, Golden Boy making moves in boxing and MMA, and the increasing push by streaming services to drain away the PPV dollar from sports fans. We start off discussing concussion symptoms that led to the withdrawal of Max Holloway from the co-main event of UFC 226 this week.

 

Of course we also preview a huge weekend for the UFC with The TUF Finale tonight and the long-awaited UFC 226 main event of Stipe Miocic putting his heavyweight belt on the line against Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier.

 

Listen to the full broadcast at the link below:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pckwutknd1wvbm9/july5fnuradioshow.mp3?dl=0

FNU Combat Sports Show: UFC Fight Night Recap, Pacquiao vs. Matthysse still on, “Big Rig” Retires

This week on the FNU Combat Sports Show, we discuss the latest news in MMA and boxing, recap the past week’s events and preview the upcoming events this week. We also discuss Walter “2 Guns” Wright winning his main event fight against Mark DeLuca a couple days after we interviewed him last week. Wright’s split decision win came in part due to a persistent jab that frustrated DeLuca and left him bloodied, bruised and exhausted by the final bell. Of course bringing up this fact gets us all going on the absolute necessity of the jab in any combat sports fighter’s toolbox.

Among the news we touch on:

The rumors about Manny Pacquiao’s next fight with Lucas Matthysse being in jeopardy, Manny and his team say everything is on track.

Johny “Big Rig” Hendricks retires (also forgot to mention Rashad Evans retired as well).

 

The latest cast for The Contender Series, set to return this August featuring 16 up and coming young boxers in the 160-pound division.

 

Lyoto Machida’s defection from the UFC to Bellator and Bellator’s blockbuster deal with DAZN, a streaming service working to take over new markets this year, including the US and Italy.

 

Here is the link to our full broadcast:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fhh628mp15en9md/tomtonyrichjune282018.mp3?dl=0

BELLATOR & DAZN SIGN NINE-FIGURE, MULTI-YEAR DISTRIBUTION DEAL

 

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LIVE SPORTS STREAMING PLATFORM TO DELIVER SEVEN EXCLUSIVE STAR-STUDDED BELLATOR MMA EVENTS PER YEAR

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CHAMPION VS. CHAMPION – GEGARD MOUSASI-RORY MACDONALD MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT, PLUS ‘RAMPAGE’ JACKSON-WANDERLEI SILVA IV HIGHLIGHT FIRST EVENT ON SEPT. 29 FROM SAP CENTER AT SAN JOSE

 

LOS ANGELES – Bellator, a leading global combat sports franchise owned by Viacom, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands, and DAZN, the world’s largest dedicated live sports streaming service and part of Perform Group, today announced a multi-year landmark distribution agreement.

 

 

 

The nine-figure deal will feature seven exclusive stacked fight cards per year on DAZN and another 15 that are simulcast across Paramount Network and DAZN. All fights will stream in any country where DAZN is available. As part of the platform’s global expansion, DAZN will launch in the U.S. and Italy in 2018, with the service already live in Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan.

 

 

 

“The exciting new partnership with DAZN is a game-changer for Bellator,” said Bellator President Scott Coker. “The investment will enable us to continue expanding our roster with free agents that make sense, so we can put on PPV-worthy fight cards that fans want to see. Plus, on DAZN’s worldwide platform, our fights will be seen live for the first time to new audiences around the globe.”

 

 

 

“It’s simple; fans want to see great fighters in competitive fights so we’ve handed the keys to Scott Coker and his venerable team to go out and recruit even more top-level talent to further stack Bellator fight cards and build on their success,” said DAZN CEO James Rushton.  “With the combination of this investment and our recent announcement to bring more than 30 nights of boxing to the platform annually, DAZN will be a must-have for fight fans in the U.S.”

 

 

 

“The DAZN partnership speaks to the incredible growth of Bellator into a global sports powerhouse and high-valued franchise in the Viacom portfolio,” said Kevin Kay, President, Paramount Network, TV Land and CMT.

 

 

 

The deal begins with an epic event on Saturday, Sept. 29 from SAP Center at San Jose. The card features a highly anticipated middleweight title fight pitting Gegard Mousasi (44-6-2) against Rory MacDonald (20-4), who is moving up a weight class for a title shot against the 185-pound champ, along with the fourth fight in the legendary rivalry between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (37-13) and Wanderlei Silva(35-13).

 

 

 

Also included on Sept. 29, will be the opening fight of Bellator’s first-ever Welterweight World Grand Prix, which will feature eight of the best welterweight fighters on the planet. The Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix will be a major component of the first year of the multi-year agreement between Bellator and DAZN.

 

 

 

An exclusive online presale for this event takes place tomorrow, June 27 through Thursday, June 28, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Friday, June 29 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets start at just $30 and will be available at the ThreatMetrix Ticket Office at SAP Center at San Jose, as well as Bellator.com and Ticketmaster.

 

 

 

The event will air live on DAZN at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.  DAZN, which now streams 15,000 live events and 100 million hours of sports content globally each year, will be available in the U.S. this September with exact pricing and dates being announced this summer.

 

 

 

Mousasi vs. MacDonald:

 

 

 

Gegard Mousasi impressed in his promotional debut over former Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko, a win that earned him a shot at Rafael Carvalho, where 185-pound gold was on the line. Now, after a decisive victory against Carvalho at Bellator 200, Mousasi will defend his crown against Rory MacDonald, entering the bout with his current unbeaten streak at seven fights. “The Dreamcatcher,” who trains out of The Netherlands, holds one of the most impressive resumes in all of the sport, at one time winning the STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight title, as well as the DREAM light heavyweight and middleweight titles.

 

 

 

Over the last several years, “The Red King” Rory MacDonald has become the most popular Canadian mixed martial artist due to his classic stand-up wars and wins over some of MMA’s best in Paul Daley, Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, B.J. Penn and Demian Maia. Bellator’s welterweight champion joined the Viacom-owned promotion in 2016 and went on to defeat Douglas Lima for the welterweight title at Bellator 192. Now, the Tristar Gym-trained fighter sets his sights on winning gold in not one, but two separate weight classes.

 

 

 

“Rampage” vs. Silva:

 

 

A six-fight veteran of Bellator, “Rampage” Jackson’s legendary career has seen him compete against some of the top names in the sport, generating a loyal army of fans along the way. The former PRIDE and UFC champion is the proud owner of many epic highlight reel slams and knockouts that he has racked up throughout his epic battles with the likes of Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, “King Mo,” Kevin Randleman and, perhaps most-notably, his trilogy with fellow Bellator athlete Wanderlei Silva, who he now meets at heavyweight on Sept. 29.

 

 

Wanderlei Silva’s wars with “Rampage,” Tito Ortiz, Mirko Cro Cop, Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Chuck Liddell and Michael Bisping remain some of the more memorable bouts in MMA history. “The Axe Murderer” is far from ready to close the book on his illustrious career, returning to action against a man he has already competed against three times before. In addition to the PRIDE middleweight title, Silva’s trophy case includes awards for “Fight of the Year” (2003, 2004, 2007), KO of the Year (2008) and multiple “Fight of the Night” awards. Most recently, the Brazilian native made his Bellator debut against Chael Sonnen in the main event of Bellator: NYC.

 

 

Updated Bellator Fight Card:

 

Middleweight World Title Bout: Gegard Mousasi (44-6-2) vs. Rory MacDonald (20-4)

 

Heavyweight Feature Bout: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (37-13) vs. Wanderlei Silva (35-13)

 

Welterweight World Grand Prix First Round Bout

 

 

*Card subject to change.

BELLATOR TO DEBUT IN SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA ON FRIDAY, AUG. 17 AT SANFORD PENTAGON

 

 

BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION DARRION CALDWELL RETURNS TO 145-POUNDS AGAINST NOAD LAHAT IN BELLATOR 204 HEADLINER

 

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SOUTH DAKOTA’S OWN LOGAN STORLEY SET FOR CO-MAIN EVENT AGAINST A.J. MATTHEWS

LOS ANGELES – Bellator will hold its first-ever event in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Friday, Aug. 17 at Sanford Pentagon. Bellator 204 will be headlined by the promotion’s bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell (12-1) testing himself against Noad Lahat (12-3) in a non-title featherweight matchup.

 

 

 

A welterweight bout will serve as the co-main event of the card, when South Dakota-native Logan Storley (8-0) takes on the always-dangerous A.J. Matthews (9-7).

 

 

 

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, June 28 at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets start at just $28 and will be available at the Sanford Pentagon box office, as well as Ticketmaster.

 

 

 

The event will be broadcast live and free on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App. Additional bouts will be announced in coming weeks.

 

 

 

“I’m excited to bring Bellator to Sioux Falls this summer with a great venue partner in the Sanford Pentagon,” Bellator President Scott Coker said. “I always look forward to visiting a new market and having a crowd experience a live Bellator event for the first time. This is a great card with a lot of intriguing matchups that I know fans will enjoy. With this being such a strong wrestling community, I’m also excited to feature several former collegiate wrestlers on Aug. 17, including Darrion Caldwell and South Dakota’s Logan Storley.”

 

 

 

Caldwell, a 30-year-old Rahway, New Jersey native and the current Bellator bantamweight champion, will step up a weight class to take on Lahat in an exciting featherweight non-title affair on Aug. 17. Fighting out of San Diego, Calif., “The Wolf” has emerged as one of the most well-rounded fighters in the 135-pound class, collecting nine victories since signing with Bellator in 2013. The 2009 NCAA D1 National Champion wrestler from NC State boasts a resume that includes five first-round finishes, a 25-minute war against Eduardo Dantas for the world title and a textbook guillotine choke submission victory over Leandro Higo in his first career title defense earlier this year. Caldwell will look for his 13th professional and fourth consecutive win when he enters the cage as a 145-pounder for the first time since 2014.

 

 

 

A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu currently training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Lahat made his professional debut in 2008 where he began an impressive streak of seven consecutive victories. The 34-year-old hails from Alfei Menashe, Samaria, Israel, Lahat and served as a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces before transitioning to his MMA career. Lahat holds a 3-1 record in Bellator with his most recent win coming against Jeremiah Labiano this past November and now welcomes the Bellator bantamweight champion to his weight class when he enters the cage on Aug. 17.

 

 

 

Hailing from Webster, S.D., the 25-year-old Storley will fight in front of his hometown fans at Bellator 204 when he makes his fourth appearance for Bellator. The 4x NCAA All-American wrestler from the University of Minnesota has quickly climbed the ranks as one of the most dangerous welterweights in mixed martial arts, earning eight-straight victories to begin his career, including six knockouts and five first-round finishes. A win over the equally-dangerous Matthews on Aug. 17would only further cement his name amongst the division’s best, as Storley hopes to protect his unblemished mark of 8-0.

 

 

 

Fighting out of Carlsbad, Calif., Matthews will be making his 11th appearance under the Bellator MMA umbrella; a seven-year stretch that has earned the promotional veteran five victories, including a pair of first-round knockouts and a highlight reel-soccer kick finish over Charlie Rader. The 30-year-old certainly knows how to put on a show, with nine of his 16 career fights ending in a knockout, including six in the first round. “Mercenary” will look to build on his recent win over Kendall Grove at Bellator 193, as he enters the cage against hometown favorite Storley in the co-main event.

 

 

 

Updated Bellator 204: Caldwell vs. Lahat Fight Card:

 

 

Featherweight Main Event: Darrion Caldwell (12-1) vs. Noad Lahat (12-3)

 

 

Welterweight Co-Main Event: Logan Storley (8-0) vs. A.J. Matthews (9-7)

 

 

 

*Card subject to change.

 

Maia vs. Usman Recap, New ESPN Deal, Boxing Promotional Battles are topics of discussion on this week’s FNU Combat Sports Show

This week on the FNU Combat Sports Show, Tom, Tony and Rich discuss a wide variety of topics. We start out with the ESPN/UFC broadcast rights deal for five years, 30 fight cards and $1.5 billion. We also discuss the infighting among boxing promoters lately with both Bob Arum and UK upstart Eddie Hearn scrambling to sign free agents while trying to fill slots for slated shows in the United States over the coming year. We go on to recap last week’s combat sports action, highlighting the Adonis Stevenson vs. Badou Jack majority draw and the Usman vs Maia 5-round snoozefest headlining last Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night card. We of course also preview this weekend’s boxing matches and the UFC and Bellator cards coming out of England. We even touch on the regulation of bareknuckle boxing and Bobby Gunn’s claim of no fatalities recorded in the sport. Finally, we wrap up with  a reminder of what this weekend is all about: saluting our servicemen and women.  Listen to the whole show at the link below:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v8zi5h9j4j7t07e/tonytomandrichmay262018.mp3?dl=0

MIRKO CRO COP OUT OF BELLATOR 200 DUE TO INJRY

 

RAFAEL CARVALHO DEFENDS MIDDLEWIGHT TITLE AGAINST GEGARD MOUSASI IN NEW HEADLINER, WHILE ‘MVP’ TAKES ON DAVID RICKELS IN CO-MAIN

 

LOS ANGELES – Due to injury, Mirko Cro Cop can no longer compete in his highly anticipated Bellator debut atBellator 200 against Roy Nelson. As a result, the Bellator 200 main event now sees reigning middleweight champRafael Carvalho (15-1) defend his title against top contender Gegard Mousasi (43-6-2) in a five-round affair, while the co-main event features undefeated British striker Michael “Venom” Page (12-0), better known as “MVP,” againstDavid Rickels (19-4, 2 NC) at welterweight. Bellator 200 takes place Friday, May 25 at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London and will air on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT.

 

 

 

The main card also includes former titleholder Phil Davis (18-4) taking on Linton Vassell (18-6) in a light heavyweight matchup and reality star turned MMA fighter Aaron Chalmers (3-0) making his promotional debut against fellow BritAsh Griffiths (4-5). The remainder of the main card will be announced later this week.

 

 

 

Prior to the main card on Paramount Network, Bellator 200 will also feature plenty of exciting preliminary matchups showcasing many of the U.K.’s top young talent. The undefeated Anastasia Yankova (5-0) returns against the always-tough Kate Jackson (9-3-1), while a trio of former BAMMA champions are in action when former middleweight champion Mike Shipman (11-1) fights Carl Noon (7-2), former BAMMA featherweight kingpin Daniel Crawford (10-1) challenges Pedro Carvalho (6-3) and former BAMMA lightweight titlist Ryan Scope (11-1) faces Martyn Harris(4-4). Fans will see Bellator veteran Anatoly Tokov (25-3) clash with Vladimir Filipovic (10-2), SBG Ireland-productCharlie Ward (4-3) in action against Louis King (1-1) and Mousasi-trained prospect Costello van Steenis (9-1) meeting Kevin Fryer (6-2).

 

 

 

Tickets for the event are on sale now at The SSE Arena, Wembley box office (0844 815 0815), Ticketmaster.com,ssearena.co.uk and axs.comBellator 200 will be broadcast on Paramount Network at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary action will stream on Bellator.com and globally on the Bellator Mobile App beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT.

 

 

 

*Card subject to change.