Tag Archives: mma

Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA

BELLATOR MMA RETURNS HOME TO SAN JOSE, CALIF. ON MAY 14 WITH KING MO VS. PHIL DAVIS AND MICHAEL CHANDLER VS. JOSH THOMSON IN TOW

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HOUSTON, TEXAS (February, 19) – Bellator MMA is pleased to announce its next tentpole event, “Bellator 154: Davis vs. King Mo,” which will emanate from the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on May 14 and air LIVE on SPIKE.

 

A light heavyweight bout to determine the No. 1 contender for Liam McGeary’s (11-0) title will anchor the card, when Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal(19-4, 1 NC) meets Phil “Mr. Wonderful” Davis (15-3, 1 NC) in a contest that was supposed to decide the victor of the 205-pound tournament at“Bellator MMA: Dynamite 1.”

 

But that’s not all –

 

The evening’s co-main event will feature a fight that mixed martial arts fans and media members have yearned for since Josh Thomson (22-8, 1 NC) chose to sign with Bellator MMA last year. “The Real Punk” will meet longtime lightweight standout “Iron” Michael Chandler (14-3) who’s fresh off a new longterm contract extension with the Scott Coker-led promotion.

 

Tickets for this MMA supershow start at $30 and go on sale Friday, February 26 at 10 a.m. at Bellator.com, as well as SAP Center Box Office and Ticketmaster. Bellator Nation Presale offer will begin Wednesday February 24.

 

To reach this point, both Lawal and Davis had to dispatch of multiple opponents over the course of one night to win two separate tournaments. Lawal most recently was victorious in a light heavyweight tournament for Rizin FF in Japan, beating Brett McDermott, Teodoras Aukstuolis, and Jiri Prochazka, running his current winning streak to seven-fights.

 

For Davis, his Bellator MMA debut came in September, when he ran through both Emanuel Newton and Francis Carmont enroute to winning the tourney at “Bellator MMA: Dynamite 1.” The 31-year-old Alliance MMA product was slated to face “King Mo” in the final of the bracket, but Lawal suffered a broken rib that forced the fight to be delayed.

 

Chandler and Thomson have seemingly been on a collision course since Thomson entered the Bellator MMA fray, mainly due to a barrage of questions to both men that revolved around the other and when/if they would eventually meet inside the cage.

 

After racking up two wins – both in San Jose – against Mike Bronzoulis and Pablo Villaseca, Thomson, a member of American Kickboxing Academy, has his sights set on a matchup with the 14-fight Bellator veteran.

 

A native of Missouri, “Iron Mike” has been riding a wave of momentum following emphatic victories against Derek Campos and Dave Rickels. The 29-year-old former lightweight kingpin has made it clear that he intends on fighting everyone on the Bellator MMA roster, which he hopes culminates in another run with championship gold wrapped around his waist.

 

“Bellator 154: Davis vs. King Mo” takes place on May 14, and airs live on SPIKE at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT — Don’t miss it.

Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA, Spike TV

ROYCE GRACIE, KIMBO SLICE EMERGE VICTORIOUS IN DOUBLE MAIN EVENT AT ‘BELLATOR 149’

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Complete Set of Photos Here

HOUSTON, TEXAS (February 19) – It’s a pairing that is synonymous with the sport of mixed martial arts — Ken Shamrock versus Royce Gracie — and on Friday night at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas during “Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie,” it was Gracie who went home with a second victory over Shamrock in the third fight of their classic rivalry.

 

After landing a knee to the body of Shamrock, Gracie pounced, raining down hammerfists to the temple of “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” that forced the referee to call a stoppage to the action at 2:22 of the opening frame. Will this victory lead to more fights for Gracie inside the Bellator MMA cage? Stay tuned.

Kimbo Slice (6-2) emerged victorious after an all-out brawl with his old nemesis Dada 5000, sending the South Florida resident facefirst into the mat at 1:32 of round three. The win ends a longstanding beef between the two men that began in the streets of Perrine, and wound up being settled inside the Bellator MMA cage.

Derek Campos (16-6) upset Melvin Guillard (32-16-2) with vicious strikes only 32 seconds into the second round.  With the win, “The Stallion” bounced back from two consecutive defeats against Michael Chandler and Brandon Girtz.

A light heavyweight rematch between Emanuel Newton and Linton Vassell featured multiple low blows, which ultimately cost “The Hardcore Kid” the bout on the scorecards, with judges’ giving scores of (30-26, 29-27, 29-27). With the victory, “The Swarm” snapped a one-fight skid and moves one-step closer to the top at 205-pounds.

Emmanuel Sanchez (13-2) grinded out another split decision at “Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie,” defeating Daniel Pineda (21-12) with scores of (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). With the victory, “El Matador” has now won three consecutive bouts at featherweight and continues his pursuit of trying to become the “Oscar De La Hoya” of mixed martial arts.

Preliminary Results:

Isaac Villanueva (9-7) defeated Richard Knepp (3-3) via TKO (punches) at :42 Mahon (5-4) defeated Davis Sylvester (5-4) via TKO at 4:22 of R2

Adrian Yanez (4-1) defeated Ryan Hollins (10-8) via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Jason Langellier (3-0) defeated Anthony Ivy (1-1) via submission (anaconda choke) at 2:09 or R1

Justin Wren (12-2) defeated Juan Torres (4-5) via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

Mike Trinh (3-3) defeated Angel Zamora via submission (armbar) at 3:49 of R

C.J. Hancock (1-0) defeated Ruben Esparza (1-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:26 of R3

Manny Lozoya (1-0) defeated Jacob Norsworthy (1-6) via submission (guillotine) at 2:33 of R1

Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA

MMA LEGENDS KEN SHAMROCK & ROYCE GRACIE SET FOR ‘BELLATOR 149’ SHOWDOWN TOMORROW

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Complete Weigh-In Photos Here

 

HOUSTON, TEXAS (February 18, 2016) – After weigh-ins on Thursday inside the Toyota Center, the main card competitors of “Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie” are set to enter the cage and fight tomorrow night LIVE and FREE on Spike.

 

The big night features a double main event that pits Ken Shamrock (28-16-2) against Royce Gracie (14-2-3) for a third time and Kimbo Slice (5-2) fights the man who has been calling him out since their friendship ended years ago, Dhafir Harris, better known as “Dada 5000.” Also fin action is former light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton (25-9-1) and Linton Vassell (15-5, 1 NC), who will look to top their epic 2014 slugfest. In catchweight action,Emmanuel Sanchez (12-2) looks to build on his impressive young career, when he takes on Daniel Pineda (21-11). And, Melvin Guillard (35-15-2) returns to the cage to take on Derek Campos (15-6), as the two lightweights go to battle.

“Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie” takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX, and airs live on SPIKE at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts will stream on Spike.com at 6 p.m. CT. Full weigh-in results can be found below.

Main Card: (Live on SPIKE – 9 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT)

 

Bellator Openweight Main Event: Ken Shamrock (201.2) vs. Royce Gracie (190.8)

Bellator Heavyweight Main Event: Kimbo Slice (232) vs. “Dada 5000” (265)

Bellator Lightweight Feature Bout: Melvin Guillard (156) vs. Derek Campos (155)

Bellator Light Heavyweight Feature Bout: Emanuel Newton (205) vs. Linton Vassell (205.4)

Bellator Catchweight Feature Bout: Emmanuel Sanchez (149.2) vs. Daniel Pineda (148.2)

 

Preliminary Card: (Spike.com – 6 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. CT)

 

Bellator Heavyweight Feature Fight: Justin Wren (247) vs. Juan Torres (259.8)

Bellator Featherweight Feature Fight: Davis Sylvester (144.2) vs. Jeremy Mahon (144.4)

Bellator Middleweight Feature Fight: Ruben Esparsa (184.2) vs. C.J. Hancock (185.6)

Bellator Bantamweight Feature Fight: Adrian Yanez (134.6) vs. Ryan Hollis (134.8)

Bellator Middleweight Feature Fight: Isaac Villanueva (185.8) vs. Richard Knepp (184.8)

Bellator Catchweight Feature Fight: Mike Trinh (128.8) vs. Angel Zamora (129.4)

Bellator Lightweight Feature Fight: Jason Langellier (158.4) vs. Anthony Ivy (154)

Bellator Featherweight Feature Fight: Manny Lozoya (142) vs. Jacob Norsworthy (141.8)

Bellator, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, MMA

SCOTT COKER LAUNCHES BELLATOR KICKBOXING   ADDITIONAL DETAILS REVEALED ABOUT THE PREMIERE BELLATOR KICKBOXING MEGA EVENT IN ITALY APRIL 16

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Houston, TX, (February 18, 2016) – Scott Coker, President of Bellator MMA and one of combat sport’s most accomplished promoters, will launch “Bellator Kickboxing” this April with his partners at Spike. The announcement was made today at a press conference ahead of “Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie,” which airs tomorrow night on Spike at 9e/8c.

Bellator Kickboxing will feature many of the world’s best kickboxers including Joe Schilling, Raymond Daniels, Kevin Ross, Keri Melendez and Anastasia Yankova, who were in attendance at today’s press conference. The current Bellator MMA team based out of Santa Monica, CA will run the new league.

 

Coker has over 30 years of experience promoting combat sports, overseeing both K-1 and Strikeforce Kickboxing leagues during his illustrious career. “Kickboxing is a thrilling, non-stop action-packed sport that I believe will resonate with MMA fans,” said Coker. “Our first goal is to develop stars and showcase these incredible athletes on the #1 home for combat sports, Spike TV.”

 

The first event for Bellator Kickboxing will be a co-promoted show with Bellator MMA and Oktagon Kickboxing on April 16 at the Pala Alpitour in Torino, Italy.

 

The Bellator Kickboxing event’s headliner will feature Melvin Manhoef vs. Alexandru Negrea as well as a 5-round title fight when current ISKA 72kg champion Mustapha Haida will move up in weight to challenge Karim Ghajii for his ISKA 75 KG belt. Other participants competing at the inaugural Bellator Kickboxing extravaganza include Ross, Daniels and Denise Kielholtz.  Opponents for these participants will be announced in the near future.

 

The event will also include “Bellator 152,” a mixed martial arts card will feature Alessio Sakara vs. Brian Rogers, and also features Bellator MMA stars Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, Brent Primus, Anastasia Yankova and A.J. McKee.

 

Bellator Kickboxing’s debut event will air on Spike Saturday, April 16 at 9:00pm ET/PT on brief tape delay. Earlier that day, Spike will broadcast Bellator MMA’s first international show, “Bellator 152,” LIVE at 3:00pm ET.

 

Details on future events will be announced in the near future.

 

M-1, M-1 Challenge, mixed martial arts, MMA

M-1 Challenge 64 Official Weights & Pictures WATCH LIVE ON M-1GLOBAL.TV

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Photo gallery below
 
MAIN CARD
 M-1 GLOBAL GRAND PRIX MIDDLEWEIGHT TOURNAMENT – SEMIFINALS – 5 X 5
Alexander “Storm” Shlemenko (51-9-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Russia 184 ½ lbs. (83.8 kg)
vs.
Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (27-3-0, M-1: 10-1-0), Russia 184 ½ lbs. (83.8 kg)
CO-FEATURE
VACANT M-1 CHALLENGE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP – 5 X 5
Alexander “Drago” Volkov (24-6-0, M-1: 8-3-0), Russia 236 ½ lbs. (107.5 kg)
vs.
Denis Smoldaraev (11-1-0, M-1: 7-1-0), Estonia 269 ½ lbs. (122.4 kg)
M-1 CHALLENGE BANTAMWEIGHT SEMIFINALS ELIMINATOR – 3 X 5
Pavel Vitruk (12-2-0, M-1: 6-2-0), Russia 135 lbs. (61.3 kg)
vs.
Sergey Morozov (6-0-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Kazakhstan 134 lbs. (60.9 kg)
Antun “Killer” Racic (18-6-0, M-1: 3-3-0), Croatia 134 lbs. (61.0 kg)
vs.
Vitaly Branchuk (20-5-0, M-1: 0-1-0), Ukraine 134 ½ lbs. (61.1 kg)
MIDDLEWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Joe Ray (13-4-0, M-1: 0-0-0, United States 184 lbs. (83.6 kg)                           
vs.
Vladimir Katyhin (31-6-1, M-1: 1-0-0), Ukraine 183 ½ lbs. (83.4 kg)
PRELIMINARY CARD
HEAVYWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Kurban Ibragimov (3-1-0, M-1: 2-1-0, Russia 230 lbs. (104.5 kg)
vs.
Dmitriy Mikutsa (5-2-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Ukraine 239 ½ lbs. (108.8 kg)
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- 3 X 5
Magomed Mutaev (6-2-0, M-1: 3-0-0),Russia 185 lbs. (84.0 kg)
vs.
Vadim “Archie” Orischak (5-4-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Russia 184 lbs. (83.6 kg)
Valery “The Russian Hammer” Myasnikov (8-1-1, M-1: 0-1-1), Russia 185 lbs. (84.0 kg)
vs.
Vyacheslav “Bison” Bogomol (5-1-0, M-1: 1-0-0) 183 lbs. (83.3 kg)
WELTERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Stefan Larisch (8-3-0, M-1: 0-0-0), Germany 168 ½ lbs. (76.6 kg)
vs.
Maksin Grabovich (2-2-0, M-1: 2-0-0), Russia 168 lbs. (76.3 kg)
FEATHERWEIGHTS – 3 X 5
Andrey “Iron” Lezhnev (7-5-0, M-1: 1-1-0) 145 lbs. (65.8 kg)
vs.
Timur Nagibin (5-1-0, M-1: 1-0-0), Russia 145 lbs. (65.8 kg)
WHAT:             M-1 Challenge 64
WHEN:             Friday, February 19, 2016
 
WHERE:           Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia
 
PROMOTER:     M-1 Global
M-1 Challenge 64 will be streamed live from Moscow in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register atwww.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all of the action on their computers, as well as on Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.
Information:

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@M1GlobalNews
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ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premier entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With its office in St Petersburg, Russia, the M-1 brand has staged more than 170 events worldwide, including M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the U.S. network, Showtime. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2016 promises to be another sensational year of world-class competition, featuring a full calendar of Challenge events, fueled by a talent-rich contention system to rank M-1 Global Champions among the greatest fighters in the sport.
ABOUT M-1GLOBAL.TV:  Enjoy MMA action now in high definition brought to you by M-1Global.tv, offering only the best fights from M-1 Global and other MMA organizations. M-1Global.tv is a great platform developed specifically to bring together the most exhaustive fight video database.  It also provides an easy and intuitive interface, helping everyone to start using the platform in no time while avoiding any spoilers.  Besides watching the past fights on demand at any time convenient to the customer, viewers are able to enjoy the action LIVE, all available to M-1Global.tv users through a low-priced month to month digital subscription. Your world of action. Anytime!
Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA, Spike TV

PHOTOS AND VIDEO FROM “BELLATOR 149: SHAMROCK VS. GRACIE” PRESS CONFERENCE

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CLICK HERE FOR FULL SELECTION OF PHOTOS

(CREDIT: BELLATOR MMA / LUCAS NOONAN)

 

CLICK ABOVE FOR FULL PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO

 

HOUSTON – (Feb. 17, 2016) – The four combatants of the “Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie” double-main event joined Bellator MMA President Scott Coker on stage for the official press conference on Wedneday afternoon, with Ken Shamrock (28-16-2), Royce Gracie (14-2-3), Kimbo Slice (5-2) and “Dada 5000” each contributing to the highly entertaining press conference with great soundbites, that you can find in the video above.

 

The highly anticipated event takes place this Friday at the Toyota Center in Houston and airs live and free on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT. Preliminary bouts will stream live on Bellator.comand The Bellator Mobile App .

 

Also fighting at “Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie” will be former light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton (25-9-1) and Linton Vassell (15-5, 1 NC), who will look to recreate their epic 2014 barnburner. In featherweight action, Emmanuel Sanchez (12-2) will attempt to continue his torrid pace when he meets Daniel Pineda (21-11) and a pair of lightweight assassins go to battle, when Melvin Guillard (35-15-2) returns to meet Derek Campos (15-6).

 

Tickets for this mixed martial arts extravaganza start at just $50 and are on sale now at Bellator.com, as well as HoustonToyotaCenter.com, the Toyota Center Box Office and Houston area Randall’s locations.

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mixed martial arts, MMA, World Series of Fighting

WORLD SERIES OF FIGHTING COMES OUT SWINGING IN 2016

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Strong TV Ratings, Record Web Traffic and New Sponsorships
Highlight Formidable Start to the New Year

LAS VEGAS (February 17, 2016) –World Series of Fighting (WSOF.com) came out of the gates swinging to begin the new year and its fourth year of operation, generating impressive NBCSN television viewership figures for its first live event of 2016, as well as record levels of traffic and engagement on its web platform and a pair of new sponsor partners.

The live NBCSN telecast of WSOF27: Firmino vs. Fodor, which took place at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. on Saturday, Jan. 23, generated an average viewership of 213,000, and peaked at 245,000, up 13% from NBCSN’s World Series of Fighting 2015 average.  An immediate replay of the event that began atmidnight, garnered another 111,000 viewers.

The number of unique visits to the league’s website skyrocketed by 515 percent between December and January, while World Series of Fighting secured two new sponsor partners in Talk2Legends and 1800 Tequila.

“It has been a tremendous start to a very promising year, and this is just the beginning,” said World Series of Fighting CEO Carlos Silva.  “With a full schedule of world championship live events; a new, athlete-focused web TV series that we will be rolling out; and a host of other opportunities we are exploring with potential partners, it’s going to be an exciting year for World Series of Fighting and MMA fans.

“We are off to a great start, and we have a lot more in store for fans, with a new live event nearly every month this year,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo.  “We made some strong additions to our fighter roster last year, and fans can expect to see some more top level talent join our ranks in 2016.”

“We are looking forward to continued growth of the league and delivering our audience another year of exciting world championship MMA action,” said Gary Quinn, NBC Sports Group’s vice president of programming.

WSOF.com engagement soared by 400 percent between December and January, and the number of user sessions increased by 480 percent over the same time period.  World Series of Fighting’s social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) all achieved their highest reach and levels of engagement since the

The partnerships with Talk2Legends and 1800 Tequila kicked off during WSOF27 last month.  Utilizing the Talk2Legends video chat app, World Series of Fighting offered fans unprecedented, one-on-one access to both its athletic and NBCSN on-air talent, including Chael Sonnen, Bas Rutten, Jon Fitch and reigning, undefeated world lightweight (155 pounds) champion Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje.

Live World Series of Fighting action returns to NBCSN from Garden Grove, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT with WSOF28: Moraes vs. Barajas.  Headlining the four-bout telecast will be a world bantamweight (135 pounds) championship showdown between reigning kingpin Marlon Moraes (15-4-1), who will risk his title against fast-rising star, Joseph Barajas (12-1).

About World Series of Fighting (WSOF)
“World Series of Fighting” (WSOF) is a worldwide premier professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion dedicated to delivering the best action-packed fights for fight fans by producing the best possible match-ups between elite fighters from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com and follow “World Series of Fighting” on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries.  WSOF and World Series of Fighting are registered trademarks of MMAWC, LLC.
Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA, Spike TV

PHOTOS FROM “BELLATOR 149: SHAMROCK VS. GRACIE” OPEN WORKOUTS

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CLICK HERE FOR FULL SELECTION OF PHOTOS

(CREDIT: BELLATOR MMA / LUCAS NOONAN)

 

The four combatants from the “Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie” double-main event took part in an open workout this afternoon at the beautiful, state-of-the-art  O Athletik gym in Houston prior to their fights on Friday night.

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The event features Ken Shamrock (28-16-2) in action against Royce Gracie (14-2-3) for a third time and Kimbo Slice (5-2) fights the man who has been calling him out since their friendship ended years ago, Dhafir Harris, better known as “Dada 5000.”

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Also fighting at “Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie” will be former light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton (25-9-1) and Linton Vassell (15-5, 1 NC), who will look to recreate their epic 2014 barnburner. In featherweight action, Emmanuel Sanchez (12-2) will attempt to continue his torrid pace when he meets Daniel Pineda (21-11) and a pair of lightweight assassins go to battle, when Melvin Guillard (35-15-2) returns to meet Derek Campos (15-6).

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Tickets for this mixed martial arts extravaganza start at just $50 and are on sale now at Bellator.com, as well as HoustonToyotaCenter.com, the Toyota Center Box Office and Houston area Randall’s locations.

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“Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie” airs live and free on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while preliminary bouts will stream live on Bellator.com and The Bellator Mobile App.

 

 

 

 

 

Bellator, mixed martial arts, MMA, Spike TV

Rampage Coming Back to Bellator MMA

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Rampage-Jackson-Bellator

Following an amicable agreement to settle the litigation between the two parties, the always entertaining and exciting Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is returning to Bellator.

 

Bellator MMA is thrilled to have “Rampage,” one of the most recognizable fighters in the history of the sport, joining a very competitive light heavyweight division featuring champion Liam McGeary, Phil Davis, King Mo, Tito Ortiz, Emanuel Newton, Linton Vassell among others.

M-1, M-1 Challenge, mixed martial arts, MMA

M-1 Challenge 65 rescheduled from March 4 to April 8 in St. Petersburg, Russia Due to scheduling conflict

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ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (February 15, 2016) –  M-1 Global has announced that M-1 Challenge 65 has been rescheduled from March 4 to April 8 at Ice Palace Sports Center in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The Ice Hockey World Championships will be held this May in St. Petersburg and Moscow.  Many sports venues in St. Petersburg are closed in March due to renovations, resulting in the switched date for M-1 Challenge 65.
In the M-1 Challenge 65 main event, reigning M-1 Challenge middleweight champion Ramazan Emeev(13-3-0, M-1: 7-1-0) will take on Brazilian challenger Maiquel “Big Rig” Falcao (35-8-0, M-1: 0-0-0) in the M-1 Grand Prix middleweight semifinals match.
The other M-1 Grand Prix middleweight semifinals match is set as three-time Bellator championAlexander “Storm” Shlemenko (51-9-0, M-1: 2-0-0) takes on former M-1 Challenge middleweight and light heavyweight titlist Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (27-3-0, M-1: 10-1-0) at this Friday’s (Feb. 19) M-1 Challenge 64 at Olympic Stadium in Moscow.
The winners of Shlemenko vs. Vasilevsky and Emeev vs. Falcao will advance to the M-1 Grand Prix middleweight championship later this year.
In other M-1 Global news, M-1 Challenge lightweight champion Mansour “Tarzan” Barnaoui‘s (13-2-0, M-1: 2-2-0) title defense versus challenger Artium Damkovsky (20-9-0, M-1: 10-6-0), has been moved from M-1 Challenge 64 to M-1 Challenge 65.
Replacing Barnaoui vs. Damkovsky on M-1 Challenge 64 is a classic striker-wrestler matchup between American Joe Ray (13-4-0, M-1: 0-0-0) and Nodar Kudukhashvili (10-2-0, M-1: 2-1-0), of Georgia.
M-1 Challenge 64 & 65 will be streamed live from Russia in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register atwww.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all of the action on their computers, as well as on Android and Apple smart phones and tablets.
Information

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