Tag Archives: Vitor Belfort

BELLATOR MMA IS THE NEW FIGHTING HOME OF WANDERLEI ‘THE AXE MURDERER’ SILVA

Bellator President Scott Coker and Wanderlei Silva (Credit: Bellator/Lucas Noonan)

 

SANTA MONICA (March 2, 2016) –Bellator MMA is pleased to announce that one of the most popular, recognizable and beloved fighters in the sport of mixed martial arts, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva (35-12-1), has signed an exclusive multi-year, multi-fight contract with the promotion. The 39-year-old publicly fielded offers from companies all around the world, but the former Pride FC Middleweight Champion made the decision to take his explosive style to Bellator MMA.

 

“The Axe Murderer” has fought in some of the most memorable feuds and battles the sport has ever seen. His wars with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Tito Ortiz, Mirko Cro Cop, Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Chuck Liddell, and Michael Bisping are the stuff of legend – but Silva is far from ready to close the book on his illustrious career.

 

In addition to his Pride FC Middleweight World Championship, Silva’s packed trophy case of accolades includes awards for Fight of the Year (2003, 2004, 2007), KO of the Year (2008), and multiple Fight of the Night awards including one for each of his last three fights, just to name a few. He now looks to continue to provide his award-winning, entertaining fights inside the Bellator cage.

 

Silva has several options for his first fight with Bellator. Although he has spent the majority of his career at 185-pounds, one of the things that his fans love most about him has been Wanderlei’s willingness to fight the best of the best – even if it was up two weight classes at heavyweight – as proven by his heavyweight wars against guys like Mark Hunt, Gilbert Yvel, Kazuyuki Fujita and Cro Cop; Or, his battles against light heavyweights like Ortiz, and his most recent opponent, Brian Stann, who he knocked out in the second frame.

 

Silva is the latest in a long line of recent free agent signings made by Scott Coker and Bellator MMA. The former Chute Box competitor joins: Josh Thomson, Phil Davis, Benson Henderson, Sergei Kharitonov and Anastasia Yankova on a roster with champions the likes of: Marcos Galvao, Daniel Straus, Will Brooks, Andrey Koreshkov, Rafael Carvalho, Liam McGeary andVitaly Minakov,

Fight Network weekly MMA & kickboxing programming (Jan. 12-18)

Fight Network, a 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports. It airs programs focused on the entire scope of the combat sports genre, including live fights and up-to-the-minute news and analysis for mixed martial arts, kickboxing, professional wrestling, traditional martial arts, boxing, fight news, as well as fight-themed drama series, documentaries and feature films.

 

Below find highlights of this week’s programming:

Fight Network, a 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports. It airs programs focused on the entire scope of the combat sports genre, including live fights and up-to-the-minute news and analysis for mixed martial arts, kickboxing, professional wrestling, traditional martial arts, boxing, fight news, as well as fight-themed drama series, documentaries and feature films.

 

Below find highlights of this week’s programming:

 

Monday, Jan. 12

 

7:00 p.m. ET 5 Rounds – Hosts John Ramdeen and Robin Black invite special guests to break down the weekend of MMA action.

 

7:30 p.m. ETFight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

 

8:00 p.m. ETEnfusion Live: Groningen – Professional kickboxing featuring Rachida Bouhout vs. Laetitia Bakissy for the Enfusuion women’s 64kg title from Nov. 30, 2013 in Groningen, Neatherlands.

 

Tuesday, Jan. 13

 

12:30 p.m. ETXPTV – Coverage of regional U.S. professional and amateur MMA events.

 

7:00 p.m. ETXtreme Fighting Championship – Florida-based professional MMA featuring top American prospects, international stars and UFC veterans.

 

9:00 p.m. ETJourney Fight Series 10 – Featuring Chris McMillan, Ben Pride, Matt Speciale and Manny Andrew in tournament action from Calgary.

 

Wednesday, Jan. 14

 

2:00 a.m. ETFighting Spirit MMA Season 4 – Compilation of international fights from SFL, Legend, FFC, M-1 and more.

 

3:00 a.m. ETTexas Fight Night – MMA action from Texas featuring the Lone Star’s top prospects in the cage.

 

4:00 a.m. ETRocktagon MMA – Professional and amateur MMA from the Buckeye State of Ohio featuring the next generation of stars.

 

Thursday, Jan. 15

 

1:30 a.m. ETUltimate Challenge MMA 28: Bostwick vs. Facey – Featuring Jke Bostwick vs. Jermaine Facey from May 26, 2013 from London.

 

6:00 a.m. ETBest of Cage RageFeaturing classic fights from the UK-based Cage Rage organization with Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort, Paul Daley and others.

 

6:00 p.m. ETChampionship Fighting Alliance – Professional MMA from Florida featuring the likes of Josh Sampo, Mike Jyle, John Howard, Sean McCorkle, Luis Palomino and others.

 

7:00 p.m. ETEnfusion Season 3 – Fighters from 18 different countries compete in the 85 kg MAX category in Ohrid, Macedonia as they live and train together in their quest for a kickboxing title.

 

8:00 p.m. ETFight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

9:00 p.m. ETDEEP: 69 Impact – Featuring Yoshiyuki Nakanishi vs. Ryuta Sakurai and Mizuto Hirota vs. Masakazu from Oct. 26, 2014 in Tokyo.

 

Friday, Jan. 16

 

12:00 a.m. ETIt’s Showtime Special – The world’s premier kickboxing organization featuring Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef and Giorgio Petrosyan.

 

2:00 a.m. ETPancrase Classics – Classic pioneering MMA battles featuring Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten, Nate Marquardt, Chael Sonnen and others.

 

4:00 a.m. ETBest of DEEP – Featuring class fights from the historic Japanese DEEP promotion including Shinya Aoki, Hayato Sakurai and Gegard Mousasi.

 

5:00 a.m. ETBest of Jewel – Classic fights from the all-female Japanese MMA league, Jewels.

 

6:00 p.m. ETM-1 Challenge – Professional MMA from Europe featuring top rising prospects and international stars.

 

8:30 p.m. ET – Hip Show: Arena Combat – Tag-team MMA inside a 12m-by-12m arena with three levels.

 

9:00 p.m. ETKSW 14: Pudzianowski vs. McCorkle 2 – Featuring Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. San McCorkle, plus Karol Bedorf vs. Pawel Nastila from Sept. 28, 2013 in Lodz, Poland.

 

Saturday, Jan. 17

 

6:00 a.m. ETBest of TKO – Featuring Hatsu Hioki’s epic battle against Mark Hominick from TKO 25, plus Martin Desilets in action.

 

7:00 a.m. ETBest of Gladiator Challenge – Featuring Jake Shields vs. Robert Ferguson from Gladiator Challenge 7.

 

10:00 a.m. ETBest of SportFight – Top quality MMA from the Pacific Northwest, hosted by UFC veterans Matt Lindland and Chael Sonnen.

 

6:30 p.m. ETMMA Meltdown with Gabriel Morency – Gabriel Morency breaks-down all the happenings in MMA, discussing odds, predictions, plus special weekly guests and exclusive interviews.

 

8:00 p.m. ET Fight News Now: MMA Edition – Covering all the happenings in the MMA world with exclusive analysis and features.

 

8:30 p.m. ETFight News Now Extra – The latest news, recaps, features and inside analysis of the fight game.

 

9:00 p.m. ETFinal Fight Championship 10 Kickboxing: Kreshnik vs. Belosevic – Featuring Rustemi Kreshnik vs. Dino Belosevic in kickboxing action from Dec. 13, 2014 in Skopje, Macedonia.

 

Sunday, Jan. 18

 

10:00 a.m. ETBest of ADCC – Featuring compilations of the greatest grappling matches ever held, featuring Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes, Eddie Bravo, Fabricio Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Ronaldo Souza and Royler Gracie.

 

11:00 a.m. ETElite Muay Thai: Thailand vs. Challenger – The biggest Muay Thai series in the world, featuring premium international stand-up fighters taking on the renowned Thai National Team.

 

4:00 p.m. ET – KSW 29: Khalidov vs. Cooper – Featuring Mamed Khalidov vs. Brett Cooper and Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Pawel Nastula from Dec. 6, 2014 in Krakow, Poland.

 

7:00 p.m. ETUSA Wrestling Weekly – Host Scott Casber gives weekly news and analysis centering around USA Wrestling, the sport’s national governing body, including interviews, features and look back at the past.

 

Information:

 

www.FightNetwork.com

 

Twitter & Instagram @fightnet

 

www.Facebook.com/FightNetwork

 

ABOUT FIGHT NETWORK:  Fight Network is the world’s premier combat sports network dedicated to 24/7 coverage, including fights, fighters, fight news and fight lifestyle. The channel is available in the U.S. on Cablevision in parts of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, Texas-based Grande Communications, Armstrong Cable in Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, as well as on Shentel Cable in Virginia, West Virginia and portions of western Maryland. Fight Network is also on Roku set top boxes in the U.S. and Canada and available on all major carriers in Canada and more than 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Fight Network recently launched on live streaming website KlowdTV.com.