JAMES GALLAGHER & SINEAD KAVANAGH SCORE WINS FOR THEIR HOMETOWN FANS WHO PACKED THE 3ARENA IN DUBLIN

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דובלין, אירלנד. (דצמבר. 16, 2016) – In the evening’s main event, it was wrestler versus judo practitioner as מוחמד "המלך מו" Lawal (20-5, 1 NC) returned to moneyweight to face Olympic Gold Medalist סאטושי האישי (14-7-1). King Mo avoided Ishii’s crafty throws as he scored a couple takedowns of his own throughout the fight. The contest finished with a shutout unanimous decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) ל “King Mo.”

עכשיו, after yet another impressive performance during the main event of “Bellator 169,” Lawal looks to end 2016 in style by repeating his domination over Rizin Fighting Federation opponents, when the 2015 eight-man Rizin heavyweight tournament winner returns to grand prix action during the Japanese-based promotion’s New Year’s Eve weekend of events.

Fresh off his victory in Dublin tonight, Lawal now sets his sights on the fellow contestants competing in the quarterfinals of the open-weight grand prix on דצמבר. 29 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan – the semifinals and finals are set for דצמבר. 31.

The 35-year-old former Strikeforce Champion defeated Brett McDermott, Teodoras Aukstuolis and Jiri Prochazka en route to winning the heavyweight tournament last year, now the “King” looks to retain his crown against the likes of: Shane Carwin, אמיר אליאקברי, מירקו פיליפוביץ ', Kaido Hoovelson, צווישי קוסאקה, ולנטין מולדבסקי, and Szymon Bajor.

With a second tournament victory in Japan, “King Mo” would cap off a stellar 2016 קמפיין, a 365-day run where in addition to Ishii, the American Top Team standout took current Bellator MMA Light Heavyweight Champion פיל דיוויס to the limit during their “Bellator 154” tussle back in May

Gallagher Sinks in RNC During Third Frame of Co-Main Event

In what many considered “the people’s main event,” the highly touted SBG prospect ג'יימס גלאגר (5-0) kept his composure through the first two hard fought rounds against אנתוני טיילור (1-2). The American threw several powerful strikes, connecting on multiple occasions as Gallagher fought from safe range. Not long after the start of the final round the “Strabanimal” took the back of “Pretty Boy” Taylor with a body triangle actively looking to find a choke. It looked as though Taylor had it under control, walking across the cage toward his corner, pandering to the camera with a smile but seconds later, he was on his stomach, where he succumbed to a rear naked choke at 1:52 סיבוב שלושה. בזמן הפסקה, the judges were split with the cards reading 20-18, 18-20 ו 19-19 after the first two rounds.

Kavanagh Gets the Irish Crowd Started with UD Victory

שינייד קוונה (4-0) was determined to put one on the board for the home team and that’s exactly what she did when she defeated אלינה קליונידו (5-1) על ידי החלטת פה אחד (30-25, 30-26, 30-27). Kavanagh stalked the Greek regional champion around the cage and scored on a great deal of combinations up against the fence. Kallionidou showed impressive resiliance, toughing out firestorm after firestorm of punches and bouncing back as though unfazed.

“Drake” Weichel Wants Another Shot at the Title

In the first televised fight of the evening, the crowd was loud, hoping to propel their Irishman Brian “Pikeman” Moore (9-5) to victory against דניאל Weichel (38-9). Moore looked sharp on his feet, throwing crisp jabs before getting taken to the canvas. From the ground, Moore fought off several rear-naked choke attempts before rolling into a triangle choke 4:44 לתוך המסגרת הראשונה, making it 0-2 for the Irish-born fighters to start the card.

Who Else but Cameron Else to Spoil Hot Prospect Dylan Tukes Night

An electric Irish partisan crowd was on hand at the 3Arena in Dublin, but it didn’t take long for Great Britan’s Cameron Else (4-3) to silence them all with a jaw-dropping knockout victory over the highly-touted hometown fighter Dylan Tuke (3-1) אך ורק 20 seconds into round one.

Complete Weigh-In Photos Here

דובלין, אירלנד. (דצמבר. 15, 2016) – The official weigh-ins for both "Bellator 169: King Mo vs. Ishii” ו “BAMMA 27” took place this afternoon at the 1878 club inside 3Arena in Dublin, אירלנד. המתחרים מוכנים כעת לפעולה מחר at 3Arena, with the event airing on SPIKE at 9 p.m. ו/8 p.m. CT.

The Spike-televised main card will be highlighted by a heavyweight main event pitting “King Mo” (19-5, 1 NC) against Olympic Judo Gold Medalist סאטושי האישי (14-6-1). בנוסף, אנתוני טיילור (1-1) will look to quite the crowd as he enters enemy territory to challenge Northern Ireland’s own ג'יימס גלאגר (4-0) in a featherweight co-main clash.

In addition to a full card of Bellator action, ticketholders will also have the unique opportunity to experience an additional fight card from Europe’s leading mixed martial arts promotion, BAMMA. The bantamweight belt will be on the line at “BAMMA 27,” as Tom Duquesnoy (13-1, 1 NC) ו Alan Philpott (16-8) prepare to duke it out for the division gold.

"Bellator 169: King Mo vs. Ishii” takes place inside 3Arena in Dublin, אירלנד, and will air free on SPIKE at 9 p.m. ו/8 p.m. CT.

"Bellator 169: King Mo vs. Ishii” Card: (SPIKE TV – 9 p.m. ו/8 p.m. CT)

אירוע במשקל כבד ראשי: סאטושי האישי (236.6 קילו.) לעומת. מוחמד "המלך מו" Lawal (213 קילו.)

אירוע משותף של משקל נוצה: אנתוני טיילור (145.8 קילו.) לעומת. ג'יימס גלאגר (145.6 קילו.)

מאפיין במשקל נוצה באוט: בריאן מור (146 קילו.) לעומת. דניאל Weichel (145.6 קילו.)

קרב תכונה במשקל חבל: אלינה קליונידו (135.8 קילו.) לעומת. שינייד קוונה (135.2 קילו.)

קרב תכונה במשקל חבל: Cameron Else (145.2 קילו.) לעומת. Dylan Tuke (144.6 קילו.)

OFFICIAL WEIGH-INS FOR INTERNATIONAL DOUBLE HEADER TO BE HELD AT 4 P.M. יום חמישי AT 3ARENA

Additional photos

דובלין (דצמבר 14, 2016) – Two of the top MMA promotions in the world, Bellator and BAMMA have joined forces to deliver an early Christmas gift for MMA fans everywhere with a unique doubleheader event at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland this יום שישי, דצמבר. 16.

Despite the cold and rainy weather in Dublin, the main and co-main event fighters turned up the heat at the Official Fight Week Press Conference for the co-promoted event inside the Gibson Hotel. MMA נשיא Bellator סקוט קוקר took center stage alongside BAMMA CEO דיוויד גרין, and the two were flanked by “Bellator 169” combatants המלך Mo(19-5, 1 NC) ו סאטושי האישי (14-6-1) ביחד עם ג'יימס גלאגר (4-0), ו אנתוני טיילור (14-2), as well as BAMMA main eventers Tom Duquesnoy (13-1, 1 NC) ו Alan Philpott (16-8), a Chris Fields (11-7-1), מי לוקח ב Andrew Clamp (8-1, 1 NC).

Below are several transcribed quotes from the press conference.

המלך Mo:

“The cold weather (in Ireland) gets me, you know what I’m saying. But it’s gonna be hot in the venue, because I’m gonna bring the heat.” It’s gonna be action packed. I’m ready to scrap.”

“I’m shocked (by the support from the Irish fans). I came here to do PR last time and everyone was cool, but this time around its been even better. I went to Nandos (chicken restaurant) and got hooked up with like $70 worth of food. If y’all haven’t eaten at Nandos yet I suggest you try it out because that place is good.”

(To Ishii)

“Don’t run around the cage. Fight me square, entertain the fans, and put on a good show.”

“All the people out there, ya’ll better tune in and watch me kick and beat Ishii’s a** out the cage.”

סאטושי האישי:

“It’s an honor to fight in Dublin. I’m looking forward to the fight, אני מתרגש, and I will do my best.”

ג'יימס גלאגר:

“At the end of the day I can say whatever I want and he can say whatever he wants, אבל, you step in there and none of that means jack s***. It’s a fight between me and him, וזה כל מה שחשוב, and I’ll come out the winner.

“I literally do not care about him. I just care about me and what I’m going to do. I’m just going to go in there and smash his face in and that’s that. Simple answer.”

“Everything he is saying is a load of old bullsh**. לכונן ביום שישי night and you’ll see who’s going to the hospital after.”

“It’s amazing to fight in your own country and right here in the 3Arena. Walking out into that crowd, that feeling of pride is something you will always remember for the rest of your life.”

אנתוני טיילור:

“Oh man, everything is going my way. The fact that I’ve got him, one-on-one, with the pretty one, it’s going tremendously fine. The atmosphere in Ireland is so beautiful. The weather, the women…oh my gosh the women! This is cuddling season

and I’m on Tinder just swiping right.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to showcase my skills. Everyone is looking at me as the underdog and saying this is a test. This ain’t no test, this is finals, and guess what? He’s going to fail.”

“I’m going to shock the world ביום שישי, and let them know who the hell is Anthony Pretty Boy Taylor, the most electrifying man in Bellator MMA. That’s what’s up, and I’m going to put on a show for all the people out there.”

“I get a lot of criticism, but I’ve also got a lot of Irish fans, just as much as he’s got, so it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t have the pressure, it’s on him. I’m coming here to do my thing. אם אני מפסיד, I suck it up like a man. But if I win, I’m gonna be a superstar. I already know I’m going to win, he can’t stop me.”

סקוט קוקר

“We’ve been on the road quite a bit this year with 25 קרבות, 28 if you include kickboxing. This is something that David and I started talking about a year ago. It’s been seamless and a lot of fun. David’s been a great partner to work with, BAMMA’s been great.”

“We’ve been following this league for a couple years now. We know that they’re the powerhouse here in the UK and were happy to team up with them and bring our top fighters.”

“This is going to be a great show that is going to be televised all over the world. It will be on SPIKE UK, which airs here in Ireland as well ביום שבת ב 11 p.m. זמן מקומי, as well as on SPIKE in the United States at 9 p.m. ו. It will also air in 140 מדינות ברחבי העולם, so this is an event that brings worldwide recognition to this event here in Ireland, and we’re very proud to be here.”

(Is this somewhat of a scouting mission for you ביום שישי?)

“The mission statement of the company is to bring the best fighters in the world to Bellator. So we’re going to be watching very closely I know there is some great talent here, and I’m excited to watch it and see what the future holds.”

(On the event coming together)

“David (יָרוֹק) and I became friends a little more than a year ago, and has a big television producing background, and he’s done stuff for Spike and Viacom in the past. He’s a very big producer here in the United Kingdom. But as far as coming together, if you look at the background of Strikeforce or even before that in kickboxing, we were never opposed to having fighters in one organization against fighters in another organization. In the earliest parts of the Strikeforce career in MMA, we sent Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson (בין יתר) to Pride against some of the Japanese fighters and they sent over (Shinya) Aoki, (Tatsuya) Kawajiri and some of the best fighters they had. לי, this is what martial arts is all about. We should have more events like this where top guys from different leagues compete against each other to find out who the best is. We’re not going to be opposed to that. That’s always been our philosophy

(On doing it again)

“That’s something David and I will talk about once this is over. We both individually have a big schedule for next year. We (Bellator) are going to go to more international events and more cities across the world. We are going to go to Latin America next year with shows on Mexico and Brazil.

“So we are going to have an exciting schedule to announce soon. זה (Dublin event) is something that has worked out fantastic. The schedule and the timing was perfect. The door is always going to be open, these guys are a great partner and have been fantastic to work with and we look forward to doing more events.”

EVENT INFO

BAMMA and Bellator MMA will hold a unique doubleheader event in Dublin, Ireland this יום שישי, דצמבר. 16, which will feature multiple BAMMA world title bouts and an incredible Bellator MMA heavyweight main event rematch pitting “King Mo” נגד סאטושי האישי. But before our ‘Bellator 169’ ו ‘BAMMA 27’ competitors meet inside the cage, join us for an afternoon of verbal submissions at the official press conference inside The Gibson Hotel in Dublin.

כמו כן ביום שישי לילה, אנתוני טיילור enters enemy territory with a featherweight bout against Northern Ireland’s own ג'יימס גלאגר. Also hailing from Ireland, בריאן מור will look to take advantage of the home crowd when he faces off against דניאל Weichel. The BAMMA bantamweight belt will be on the line at “BAMMA 27,” כ Tom Duquesnoy אתגרים Alan Philpott for the division gold. לבסוף, the stacked event features a featherweight world title fight pitting former Bellator competitors Ronnie Mann נגד מרטין סטייפלטון.

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