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

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ДУБЛІН, ІРЛАНДІЯ. (Грудня. 16, 2016) – In the evening’s main event, it was wrestler versus judo practitioner as Мухаммеду "Король Мо" Лаваль (20-5, 1 Північна Кароліна) returned to moneyweight to face Olympic Gold Medalist Сатоши Ишии (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) для “King Mo.”

Зараз, 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 Грудня. 29 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan – the semifinals and finals are set for Грудня. 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, Amir Aliakbari, Mirko Filipovic, Kaido Hoovelson, Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Валентин Молдавський, and Szymon Bajor.

With a second tournament victory in Japan, “King Mo” would cap off a stellar 2016 кампанія, a 365-day run where in addition to Ishii, the American Top Team standout took current Bellator MMA Light Heavyweight Champion Філ Девіс 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 James Gallagher (5-0) kept his composure through the first two hard fought rounds against Ентоні Тейлор (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 три раунди з. У момент зупинки, the judges were split with the cards reading 20-18, 18-20 і 19-19 after the first two rounds.

Kavanagh Gets the Irish Crowd Started with UD Victory

Шинейд Кавана (4-0) was determined to put one on the board for the home team and that’s exactly what she did when she defeated Еліна Калліоніду (5-1) одноголосним рішенням суддів (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 Даніель 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 into the first frame, 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) тільки 20 seconds into round one.

Complete Weigh-In Photos Here

ДУБЛІН, ІРЛАНДІЯ. (Грудня. 15, 2016) – The official weigh-ins for both "Bellator 169: King Mo vs. Ishii” і “BAMMA 27” took place this afternoon at the 1878 club inside 3Arena in Dublin, Ірландія. The competitors are now ready for action завтра at 3Arena, with the event airing on SPIKE at 9 p.m. І/8 p.m. Коннектикут.

The Spike-televised main card will be highlighted by a heavyweight main event pitting “King Mo” (19-5, 1 Північна Кароліна) against Olympic Judo Gold Medalist Сатоши Ишии (14-6-1). На додаток, Ентоні Тейлор (1-1) will look to quite the crowd as he enters enemy territory to challenge Northern Ireland’s own James Gallagher (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 Північна Кароліна) і 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, Ірландія, and will air free on SPIKE at 9 p.m. І/8 p.m. Коннектикут.

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

Heavyweight Main Event: Сатоши Ишии (236.6 кг.) проти. Мухаммеду "Король Мо" Лаваль (213 кг.)

Сумірна головна подія у напівважкій вазі: Ентоні Тейлор (145.8 кг.) проти. James Gallagher (145.6 кг.)

Featherweight Feature Bout: Браян Мур (146 кг.) проти. Даніель Weichel (145.6 кг.)

Особливий поєдинок у легшій вазі: Еліна Калліоніду (135.8 кг.) проти. Шинейд Кавана (135.2 кг.)

Особливий поєдинок у легшій вазі: Cameron Else (145.2 кг.) проти. Dylan Tuke (144.6 кг.)

OFFICIAL WEIGH-INS FOR INTERNATIONAL DOUBLE HEADER TO BE HELD AT 4 P.m. Четвер AT 3ARENA

Additional photos

ДУБЛІН (Грудня 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 П'ятниця, Грудня. 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. Bellator MMA президент Скотт Кокер took center stage alongside BAMMA CEO David Green, and the two were flanked by “Bellator 169” combatants Король Мо(19-5, 1 Північна Кароліна) і Сатоши Ишии (14-6-1) разом з James Gallagher (4-0), і Ентоні Тейлор (14-2), as well as BAMMA main eventers Tom Duquesnoy (13-1, 1 Північна Кароліна) і Alan Philpott (16-8), a Chris Fields (11-7-1), який бере на себе Andrew Clamp (8-1, 1 Північна Кароліна).

Below are several transcribed quotes from the press conference.

Король Мо:

“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.”

Сатоши Ишии:

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

James Gallagher:

“At the end of the day I can say whatever I want and he can say whatever he wants, але, you step in there and none of that means jack s***. It’s a fight between me and him, і це все, що має, 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**. Tune in в п'ятницю 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.”

Ентоні Тейлор:

“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 в п'ятницю, 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. Якщо я втрачу, 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.”

Скотт Кокер

“We’ve been on the road quite a bit this year with 25 бої, 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 в суботу на 11 p.m. місцевий час, as well as on SPIKE in the United States at 9 p.m. І. It will also air in 140 countries around the world, 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 в п'ятницю?)

“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 (Зелений) 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 (серед інших) to Pride against some of the Japanese fighters and they sent over (Shinya) Aoki, (Tatsuya) Kawajiri and some of the best fighters they had. Мені, 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. Це (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 П'ятниця, Грудня. 16, which will feature multiple BAMMA world title bouts and an incredible Bellator MMA heavyweight main event rematch pitting “King Mo” проти Сатоши Ишии. But before our ‘Bellator 169’ і ‘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.

Також в п'ятницю ніч, Ентоні Тейлор enters enemy territory with a featherweight bout against Northern Ireland’s own James Gallagher. Also hailing from Ireland, Браян Мур will look to take advantage of the home crowd when he faces off against Даніель Weichel. The BAMMA bantamweight belt will be on the line at “BAMMA 27,” як Tom Duquesnoy challenges Alan Philpott for the division gold. Lastly, the stacked event features a featherweight world title fight pitting former Bellator competitors Ronnie Mann проти Мартін Степлтон.

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