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DARRION CALDWELL SUPLEXES, CHOKES HIS WAY TO MAIN EVENT VICTORY AT ‘BELLATOR 151’ ON SPIKE
THACKERVILLE, OK. (March 4, 2016) – It’s safe to say Darrion Caldwell (9-0) asserted himself as a legitimate title contender with his victory over Joe Warren (13-5) in the main event of “Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” on Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd at WinStar Resort and Casino.
As many expected, the fight quickly made it to the mat, with “The Wolf” taking down the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” and initiating a sequence of ground-and-pound offense. After Warren made it back to his feet, the former NC State wrestler suplexed Warren and sunk in a rear-naked choke — that Warren refused to tap to — forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to wave off the bout at 3:23 of round one.
Following the technical submission victory, Caldwell made good use of his time on the microphone with color commentator Jimmy Smith, calling out current bantamweight champion Marcos Galvao, simply saying: “F*ck you [Marcos] Galvao, you’re a p*ssy.” That’s nine straight victories for the former NCAA Champion to begin his mixed martial arts career, three wins since making the transition from featherweight to bantamweight. Meanwhile, Warren has now dropped two out of three and will not get a shot at the winner of Galvao and Eduardo Dantas when they do finally meet.
In the co-main event of the evening, Fernando Gonzalez (25-13) extended his winning streak to five at the expense of Gilbert Smith (12-5), taking home a split decision win (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). The takedowns were likely the difference on the judges’ scorecards, but both fighters had their moments over the course of 15 minutes. Gonzalez now moves even closer to a shot at the 170-pound title, or a matchup with Michael Page, who was originally slated to face “The Menifee Maniac” before withdrawing. The future of the division will be much clearer following “Bellator 153: Koreshkov vs. Henderson” April 22, when Benson Henderson challenges Andrey Koreshkov for the welterweight belt.
Goiti Yamauchi (19-3) came into his fight against Bubba Jenkins (11-2) riding a wave of momentum after three-straight wins, but the Arizona State wrestling standout used his world-class grappling to neutralize the striking and jiu-jitsu prowess of Yamauchi. The 23-year-old Japanese competitor took the back of Jenkins for the duration of round one and nearly secured an arm bar late in the final round, but “The Highlight Kid’s” effective grappling was the difference, earning the unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-27). Jenkins now has won three consecutive fights since his January 2015 loss to Georgi Karakhanyan.
During the opening main card contest at “Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell,” Sirwan Kakai (12-4) dropped his first fight under the Bellator MMA banner to Joe Taimanglo (22-6-1) via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). It looked as though “Baby Joe” was going to finish the contest early — sinking in an Anaconda Choke before transitioning to a deep guillotine — but “Zohan” weathered the storm and hung around for the final ten minutes, even creating some bright spots of his own in the third and final round. In the end, the judges’ cage side awarded the Guam-native his third consecutive victory and sent Kakai back to the drawing board.
Preliminary Card Results:
Treston Thomison (9-4) defeated Aaron Roberson (5-4) via Submission (Guillotine) R2, 2:20
Jermayne Barnes (1-1) defeated Derek Palmer (0-1) via Submission (Punches) R2, 1:17
Neiman Gracie (4-0) defeated Roger Carroll (16-14) via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Ricky Turcios (6-0) defeated Steve Garcia (6-1) via Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)
Justin Patterson (7-1) defeated Chance Rencountre (8-2) via Split Decision (29-28. 28-29. 29-28)
Ray Wood (6-1) defeated Chris Jones (10-4) via TKO (Punches) R1, 3:10
JULIAN WILLIAMS OPENS UP IN ADVANCE OF HIS SATURDAY, MARCH 5 FIGHT AGAINST MARCELLO MATANO LIVE ON SHOWTIME®
“Each fight, I just want to be better than the last fight … I want to go down as the best junior middleweight to ever lace up a pair of gloves.”
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I AM A FIGHTER: JULIAN WILLIAMS
Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME
From a single parent household in West Philadelphia, life has always been tough for Julian Williams. At a young age, he was constantly getting into fights with his brothers and at school, until he set foot in the gym at age 12 and unveiled his love for boxing. Williams has set his goals high and is determined to set records and break barriers while giving his all on each on of his fights.
“Each fight, I just want to be better than the last fight and I’m on the cusp of being a contender and getting the title shot. When I win the title, I want to break the title defense record which is held by Terry Norris. I want to go down as the best junior middleweight to ever lace up a pair of gloves.”
Check out this I AM A FIGHTER feature on Julian Williams, the undefeated super welterweight who is up against Marcello Matano in an IBF Super Welterweight Eliminator bout tomorrow night in the main event of SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION, live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).
FIGHTERS HOPE TO SETTLE THEIR DIFFERENCES IN THE CAGE AT NEF 22
Lewiston, Maine (March 4, 2016) – New England Fights (NEF), America’s number-one regional fight promotion, will hold its next event, “NEF 22: ALL ROADS LEAD HERE” on Saturday, April 23, 2016 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine. The fight card will feature a mix of mixed-martial-arts (MMA) and professional boxing bouts. Earlier today, NEF announced the addition of a professional lightweight contest to the MMA portion of the “NEF 22” fight card. Matt “Ken Doll” Denning (2-1) will meet Josh “Hook On” Harvey (0-0) at a fight weight of 150-pounds.
Lewiston’s Matt Denning is coming off the first loss of his professional career this past November against Jon Lemke (5-4). Prior to that defeat, Denning was riding a four-fight win streak, all four of those wins coming by way of submission. He is a member of Central Maine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (CMBJJ). Denning acknowledges personal issues have existed in the past between he and Harvey, culminating in a cageside confrontation between the two athletes at the close of “NEF XV” in the fall of 2014.
“I’m honored to have been asked specifically for this fight,” said Denning. “Josh is the 155 ammy champ and is an amazing fighter. I’m excited to watch him continue his career as a pro and move up to the top of the professional rankings. We had some personal issues between the two of us because of a poor decision I made, and I hope with us fighting it will clear the air and I’ll be able to cross train with him and Young’s MMA. We gotta give the fans what they want and this is what they wanted. I look forward to seeing everyone April 23rd.”
The bout will indeed be the professional debut for Harvey after an amateur career in which he went 5-1. He is the reigning NEF MMA Amateur Lightweight Champion, a title which he will now vacate as a professional. Harvey capped off his amateur stint with a highlight reel knockout over Ryan Dibartolomeo (4-4), a victory that solidified his position as the northeast region’s top-ranked amateur lightweight. Harvey is a member of Young’s MMA in Bangor, Maine. He recently signed a long-term NEF developmental deal.
“I’m feeling blessed to be a signed professional cage fighter,” said Harvey. “I’m one step closer to my goal and April 23rd I’ll take another. I’ve wanted a chance to fight ‘Ken Doll’ ever since I met him – he is just one of those guys. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”
“One thing is very clear in this matchup – Josh and Matt don’t like each other,” stated NEF matchmaker and co-owner Matt Peterson. “There is some deep, pent-up frustration that has been percolating between these two for a long time – and on April 23rd, the cork comes out. It’s going to be spectacular.”
New England Fights’ next event, “NEF 22: ALL ROADS LEAD HERE,” takes place Saturday, April 23, 2016 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine. Tickets for “NEF 22” start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisée box office at 207.783.2009 x 525. For more information on the event and fight card updates, please visit the promotion’s website at www.NewEnglandFights.com. In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”
About New England Fights
New England Fights (“NEF”) is a fight events promotions company. NEF’s mission is to create the highest quality events for Maine’s fighters and fans alike. NEF’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.
CAPE COD GETS ITS FIRST MMA CAGEFIGHTING EVENT; BATTLES & LAMONTE TO MAKE PRO DEBUTS
Hyannis, Massachusetts (March 4, 2016) – New England Fights (NEF), America’s number-one regional fight promotion, announced today that it will bring Cape Cod its first-ever mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event this spring. The event, entitled “NEF 23: NEF CAGES THE CAPE,” will take place on May 14, 2016 at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center (HYCC) in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Both professional and amateur MMA bouts will be presented that evening.
To date, NEF has held twenty-two events, a mix of MMA and boxing shows, in the state of Maine. The promotion was formed in 2012 by business partners Nick DiSalvo and Matt Peterson. NEF has a reputation of putting on action-packed events in venues filled with thousands of rabid fight fans. The promotion has a large, dedicated fan base unmatched by any of its competitors on the regional level. Over the years, NEF’s cage has played host to UFC veterans such as Marcus Davis (22-11) and two-time UFC World Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia (31-10), among others. NEF co-promoted a nationally-televised event with Bellator in the spring of 2013. Its fight highlights have been featured prominently on AXS TV, TUFF TV and the “World’s Greatest Knockouts” on Spike TV.
“The NEF brand is expanding,” noted DiSalvo. “Cape Cod is hungry for an MMA event. I’m surprised it’s taken this long to happen with so many great teams located in the area. NEF is honored to be the first to present an MMA show on the Cape.”
One MMA team whose fighters will be featured prominently on the May 14 card will be Hyannis-based Team Juniko.
“This show will be the first MMA show on Cape Cod in Team Juniko’s backyard,” remarked Team Juniko coach Mike Gresh. “Congrats NEF!”
Gresh is a longtime, respected leader in the New England MMA community. Two of his team’s members have been confirmed as making their professional debuts on May 14 – Erin “Fun Size” Lamonte and Brendan “Lockdown” Battles.
Scituate’s Erin Lamonte put together a perfect 6-0 record as an amateur competitor. She is coming off back-to-back submission victories in Lewiston, Maine.
“I cannot wait for NEF to come to the Cape,” exclaimed Lamonte. “All but one of my fights have been out of state, so I am so excited to fight in front of all my family and friends in my own backyard! Don’t miss it. May 14th ‘Fun Size’ goes pro and makes her presence known in the women’s straweight division!”
Brendan Battles is a native of nearby Eastham, Massachusetts where he was a three-time All-American wrestler for Nauset Regional High School. Battles won two state championships and three New England regional championships while amassing a total of 161 wins over the course of his high school wrestling career. Later, Battles played defensive end and tackle for the University of Connecticut.
“It’s an honor to fight down the street from my hometown and the gym where I train,” said Battles. “It gives me the chills to fight my very first professional fight on my home turf, with my family, friends, and all who supports me to see the work I’ve put in and the fighter I have evolved into at this point of my career.”
“NEF 23: NEF CAGES THE CAPE,” takes place Saturday, May 14, 2016 at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Tickets for “NEF 23” are $40 for general admission and $60 for cageside. They are on sale now at www.NewEnglandFights.com/Tickets/ .
For more information on the event and fight card updates, please visit the promotion’s website at www.NewEnglandFights.com. In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”
About New England Fights
New England Fights (“NEF”) is a fight events promotions company. NEF’s mission is to create the highest quality events for New England’s fighters and fans alike. NEF’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.
Mad Integrity Fight Sports returns with “Bombs Away 5” April 2!
Tampa, FL (March 3, 2016) – Joey Orduna’s Mad Integrity Fight Sports returns to the beautiful Hilton Bayfront Hotel in St. Petersburg, FL for “Bombs Away 5: Turf Wars” Saturday, April 2.
Tickets from $35 are on sale now by calling 813-507-5110.
Returning to St. Pete’s for the first time in nearly three years, Mad Integrity Fight Sports ran two highly successful cards at the Hilton Bayfront which featured future TV fighters Amos Cowart and Clarence Booth.
Headlining the card is an eight round Sunshine State showdown between popular welterweight Ali Tareh of Tampa and Jacksonville’s Juan Aguirre. Tareh, who has fought all but three of his professional bouts in Florida, has a 13-11-5 ledger with 5 wins by knockout. The owner of Fight Fitness Center in nearby Pinellas Park, Tareh has won four of his last six bouts but is coming off a decision loss to Javier Garcia last July. Originally from Guatemala, Aguirre has a reputation for his fearlessness and incredible durability. In his most recent fight, Aguirre extended unbeaten prospect Armando Alvarez the distance while making him work from bell to bell.
Talented featherweight Jose “Lil Pacquiao” Resendez, 4-0 (2 KO’s), of Brandon, FL returns to the ring against crafty Cuban Raul Chirino, 7-1 (3 KO’s), in the highly-anticipated co-feature. A mirror image of boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, Resendez is fighting for the first time since December 2014. The Resindez-Chirino bout is scheduled for six rounds and expected to steal the show.
Undefeated Armando “The Gentleman” Alvarez, 8-0 (4 KO’s), will trek north from Miami, FL to battle Tampa’s Lee “Holliwood” Dawson a six round welterweight contest. Alvarez is a talented boxer-puncher with a loyal fan base that follows him wherever he fights while Dawson will look to make it five straight without a defeat.
In four round bouts, hard-hitting St. Petersburg based Ukrainian Victor Kulakovski (4-2) meets fellow Floridian Paulie Simpson (2-1) of Tampa in the junior middleweight division, Tampa’s Rafael Rivera (1-1) squares off against New Port Richey, FL’s Michael Guillen (1-0) in a lightweight matchup and Pensacola, FL’s Beden Laurent (2-3) challenges Miami’s Serge Cadeus (1-1) at super middleweight.
In other action, Tampa’s Christina Swanson-Campfort (3-1), Leanthony Fleming (1-1) of Lakeland, St. Petersburg’s Raynard Hill (5-10), New Smyrna Beach’s, “King” Kenmon Evans (2-0), Ruskin’s Martin Lagunas (2-0), and Justin Pauldo (6-1) of Orlando will all appear in separate bouts.
“We’re excited to be back in St. Petersburg and I’d like to thank the staff at the Bayfront for making this a reality, said Joey Orduna. “In return, we’re providing them with an outstanding local-themed fight card that everybody will definitely enjoy. I’m expecting another great crowd with fans from all across the Sunshine State come April 2nd.”
For more information and updates, please visit Facebook.com/Madintegrityfightsports.
WEIGH-IN RESULTS FOR “BELLATOR 151: WARREN VS. CARDWELL’ – AIRING TOMORROW ON SPIKE AT 9 PM ET/8PM CT
THACKERVILLE, OK (March 3, 2016) – For the third consecutive Friday, Bellator MMA returns to Spike, this time around with “Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell.” In the main event, Joe Warren (13-4) looks to live up to his self-proclaimed label as the “Baddest Man on the Planet” against one of Bellator MMA’s brightest young stars in the undefeated Darrion Caldwell (8-0).
“Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” airs live and free on SPIKE at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts will stream live on Bellator.com andThe Bellator Mobile App.
In the co-main event, Gilbert Smith (12-4) will try to put an end to Fernando Gonzalez’s (24-13) four-fight winning streak when the two go toe-to-toe. In addition, Goiti Yamauchi (19-2) comes into the fight riding a wave of momentum after three-straight wins, but Arizona State wrestling standout Bubba Jenkins (10-2) will look put an end to that win streak. In bantamweight action, Sirwan Kakai (12-3) will make his seventh appearance under the Bellator MMA umbrella, and is riding a two-fight winning streak as he prepares for Joe Taimanglo (21-6-1).
Tickets for “Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” are on sale now and start at just $45. You can purchase tickets at the WinStar World Casino and Resort Box Office, as well as Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com. Doors for the event open at 5:00 p.m. CT local time, with the first contest taking place 45 minutes later.
Main Card: (Live on SPIKE – 9 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT)
Bellator MMA Bantamweight Main Event: Joe Warren (135.2) vs. Darrion Caldwell (135.6)
Bellator MMA Welterweight Co-Main Event: Gilbert Smith (170.4) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (171)
Bellator MMA Featherweight Feature Bout: Goiti Yamauchi (146) vs. Bubba Jenkins (146)
Bellator MMA Bantamweight Feature Bout: Sirwan Kakai (135.6) vs. Joe Taimanglo (135.4)
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com – 6:45 p.m. ET/5:45 p.m. CT)
Bellator MMA Welterweight Feature Fight: Roger Carroll (169.8) vs. Neiman Gracie (170.6)
Bellator MMA Bantamweight Feature Fight: Steve Garcia (135.4) vs. Ricky Turcios (135)
Bellator MMA Welterweight Feature Fight: Justin Patterson (170.2) vs. Chance Rencountre (169.2)
Bellator MMA Featherweight Feature Fight: Chris Jones (152.4) vs. Ray Wood (145.4)
Bellator MMA Middleweight Feature Fight: Derek Palmer (194) vs. Jermayne Barnes (202.4)
Bellator MMA Featherweight Feature Fight: Treston Thomison (145.6) vs. Aaron Roberson (146)
JULIAN WILLIAMS VS. MARCELLO MATANO FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES & PHOTOS
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Chuy Gutierrez & Leon Spinks III: You will know my name!
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Judah vs. Torres headlines “Knockout Night at the D”
Mar. 12 live on CBS Sports Network from DLVEC in Las Vegas
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 LAS VEGAS (March 3, 2016) – Rising star lightweight star Chuy “El Huracan” Gutierrez(14-0-1, 4 KOs) and his March 12th opponent, Leon “The Third Generation” Spinks III(11-3-1, 7 KOs), are both looking to make their own mark in their 8-round “Knockout Night at the D” co-feature. Gutierrez is seeking to expand his marquee on a national level, while Spinks attempts to shine on his own terms despite his spotlight catching last name.
Five-time, two division world champion Zab “Super” Judah (42-9, 29 KOs) takes onJosh “Pitbull” Torres (15-4-2, 7 KOs), in the 10-round main event of the inaugural show of the new monthly pro boxing series, “Knockout Night at the D”, airing (8 p.m. PT / 11 p.m. ET) live on CBS Sports Network from the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (DLVEC).
Presented by the D Las Vegas and promoted Englebrecht Promotions, the “Knockout Night at the D” series’ inaugural event Mar. 12 will take place inside the DLVEC’s 20,000-square-foot tent, located in the heart of the downtown Las Vegas casino district, one block away from the world famous Fremont Street (200 S. 3rd St.).
 The 27-year-old Gutierrez (14-0-1, 4 KOs), fighting out of Las Vegas, is ready to make a name for himself and Mar. 12th is scheduled to be his coming out party on a national stage. He’s rapidly become a fan favorite in Las Vegas because of his exciting, aggressive style of fighting. Chuy’s ready to spread his wings, now being showcased fighting on national television, and expand his growing fan-base.Born in the fertile boxing town of Sinaloa, Mexico, which produced Hall of Famer Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr., among many others, Gutierrez is making up for lost time. He was a baseball prospect who didn’t box until he was 21. “I played sports in high school, baseball was my first love, and I dreamed of becoming a big leaguer,” Gutierrez said. “Boxing found me. I was attending college at Southern Nevada and working, but the first day I walked into Johnny Tocco’s gym, I fell in love with boxing. I’ve watched so many greats train there and I learned a lot from them.”
“I have a lot of respect for Spinks, but I’m just fighting the man, not his family. His grandfather was world champion, but I’m not fighting his grandfather. I’m excited to be fighting him on CBS Sports Network.”
Spinks (11-3-1, 7 KOs), who fights out of Huntington Beach, CA, is not only the grandson of former world heavyweight champion and 1976 Olympic gold medalist, “Neon” Leon Spinks, his great uncle is world light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, in addition to being a 1976 Olympic gold medalist, Michael Spinks. And young Leon, who turned 28 this past Valentine’s Day, is also the nephew of former 2-division world champion Cory Spinks.
 His familiar last name in boxing has been a blessing, albeit one that has also put a lot of pressure on Leon. “Things have always been that way (pressure) because I’m named after my grandfather, ‘Pops,'” Leon III explained. “From the beginning of my pro career, I was put in tough fights because of my name, just tough fights…real wars.
“I got to 8-0 but that hurt me because I couldn’t get good fights. But I’ve always really been my own man. This is a very, very, very big event for me, my family will be in the house supporting me.”
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Limited tickets, priced at $65.00 ringside and $20.00 seated general admission, remain on sale at www.Ticketmaster.com or www.DLVEC.com. Suites are $1000.00, up to 10 guests, and includes a beverage package. Taxes and fees apply to all sold tickets.
Doors open at 5:00 p.m. PT with the opening bout scheduled at 6:00 p.m. PT.
The “Knockout Night at the D” series was developed in partnership with DLVEC and Neon Star Media.
CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
TITLE Boxing is the official apparel and gloves partner for the “Knockout Night at the D” series.
INFORMATION
Website: www.dlvec.com, www.thed.com
Twitter: @thedlasvegas, @dlvec, @DerekJStevens
Instagram: @dlvec, @thedlasvegas
Follow these fighters on Twitter: @SuperJudah, @PitbullTorres, @ElHuracan88, @LeonSpinksIII.
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Ricky Hatton: “Browne winning the Heavyweight title would be huge for my company”
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