BAD MMA - The origins of combat™ » Lightweight Champ

T.J. Grant to get next title shot, but Anthony Pettis’ knee still question mark

BAD MMA News — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 04:15:00 +0000

It appears that superfights will have to wait for newly minted UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, who today underwent an MRI to assess a knee injury he suffered before taking the title from Benson Henderson.

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T.J. Grant to get next title shot, but Anthony Pettis’ knee still question mark – MMA Junkie

Eddie Alvarez Remains with Bellator, Challenges Lightweight Champ Michael Chandler on PPV

BAD MMA News — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 21:12:10 +0000

It’s been nearly a year since he last fought, but Eddie Alvarez is once again under contract with Bellator MMA. He’ll make his next start for the promotion in a rematch with lightweight champion Michael Chandler.

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Eddie Alvarez Remains with Bellator, Challenges Lightweight Champ Michael Chandler on PPV – MMA Junkie

Video: With Askren’s Bellator deal up, Rebney hopes negotiation comes naturally

BAD MMA News — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 20:15:00 +0000

The last fight on Ben Askren ‘s Bellator MMA deal is in the books, and the promotion’s welterweight champion delivered yet again with perhaps his most dominant performance to date. Now CEO Bjorn Rebney finds himself in a position he’s been in before – hoping to keep one of his champions rather than lose him to the competition. Rebney on Wednesday confirmed to MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that Askren’s win over Andrey Koreshkov at this past week’s Bellator 97 card was the last fight on his current deal. Rebney also said he’s unsure of what steps the promotion will take in negotiations with Askren (12-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA), who has a standard exclusive negotiating period with Bellator built into his deal before he can seek offers from other promotions. In the past, as was the case with former lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez , Rebney waived the exclusive period and let Alvarez test the market early. He got an offer from the UFC, Bellator attempted to match it and now the entire case is tied up in the legal system with Alvarez’s side saying Bellator’s counter-offer was not a true match

Video: With Askren’s Bellator deal up, Rebney hopes negotiation comes naturally – MMA Junkie

XFC 26 set for Oct. 18, features Holtzman vs. Carroll, Casey vs. Gonzalez

BAD MMA News — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 03:10:00 +0000

“XFC 26: Night of Champions III” is set for Oct. 18 at Tennessee’s Nashville Municipal Auditorium, and a pair of title fights will be contested on the card. Xtreme Fighting Championships officials recently announced that lightweight champ Scott Holtzman (5-0) will defend his belt against Roger Carroll (11-9), while female contenders Cortney Casey (1-0) and Pearl Gonzales (1-1) will compete for the promotion’s inaugural women’s flyweight title. The evening’s main card airs on AXS TV.

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XFC 26 set for Oct. 18, features Holtzman vs. Carroll, Casey vs. Gonzalez – MMA Junkie

Bellator 97 video highlights: Askren beats down Koreshkov, ‘King Mo’ cruises

BAD MMA News — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:25:00 +0000

Wednesday’s Bellator 97 event included five main-card bouts and five knockouts, including TKO wins by welterweight champion Ben Askren and notable Muhammed Lawal . Check out the video highlights of each bout. Bellator 97 aired on Spike TV from Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. In addition to lightweight champ Michael Chandler (12-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) topping David Rickels (14-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) in just 44 seconds, fellow champ Askren (12-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) posted a hugely lopsided TKO win over fellow welterweight Andrey Koreshkov (13-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) in the co-headliner. Two “Summer Series” tournaments also concluded as “King Mo” Lawal (11-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) battered and bloodied fellow light heavyweight Jacob Noe (12-3 MMA, 3-2 BMMA), and heavyweight Vitaly Minakov (12-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) overcame a baffling point deduction to stop Ryan Martinez (10-2 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) late in their fight. The night kicked off with a vintage “Pitbull” performance as Patricio Freire (18-2 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) continually knocked down and ultimately stopped a resilient Jared Downing (9-3 MMA, 0-1 BMMA). Check out the fight video above. And for the latest on Bellator 97 , including the night’s official results, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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Bellator 97 video highlights: Askren beats down Koreshkov, ‘King Mo’ cruises – MMA Junkie

Bellator Signs Lightweight Champ Michael Chandler to Eight-Fight Contract Extension

BAD MMA News — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 02:18:41 +0000

Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler is currently preparing to defend his belt at next week’s Bellator 97 in Albuquerque, but he didn’t have to wait until after the fight to get a new deal done with the promotion. Bellator MMA on Thursday revealed that it signed Chandler to an eight-fight extension to his current contract. “In all my years in combat sports, I’ve never seen the growth and development in a fighter like we’ve all witnessed with Michael Chandler,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “I believe Michael is the best lightweight in MMA . And, given that, I felt it was paramount to keep Michael at Bellator for the long term. Both inside and outside the cage, Michael is a tremendous representative for our Bellator. And, now as one of the highest paid lightweights in MMA, he’s without question earned that distinction.” Chandler (11-0) was a relative unknown until he upset then-champion Eddie Alvarez for the Bellator lightweight title late in 2011 in what many considered the Fight of the Year. He has since fought just twice. Chandler’s first bout after winning the belt was a non-title victory over Akihiro Gono in May 2012. He then made his first title defense with a second-round submission of Rick Hawn in January of this year.

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Bellator Signs Lightweight Champ Michael Chandler to Eight-Fight Contract Extension – MMA Weekly

Fifty-pound cut underway, Bellator’s David Rickels on slimming down, growing up

BAD MMA News — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 04:00:00 +0000

David Rickels thinks he probably was at a buffet eating lo mein and crab rangoon when he got the call to fight lightweight champ Michael Chandler at Bellator 97. He knows he was 205 pounds. Rickels isn’t big on living in the past or the future, but the present of that moment sticks in his memory. “Initial shock factor was about a nine,” he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). A winner in Bellator’s Season 8 lightweight tournament, Rickels (14-1 MMA, 8-1 BFC) stepped in for an injured Dave Jansen to meet Chandler (11-0 MMA, 8-0 BFC) on July 31 at Santa Ana Star Center in New Mexico. The title fight headlines the event’s main card on Spike following prelims on Spike.com

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Fifty-pound cut underway, Bellator’s David Rickels on slimming down, growing up – MMA Junkie

Full fight video of UFC 163′s Jose Aldo winning title vs. Mike Brown

BAD MMA News — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 23:20:00 +0000

The featherweight division in the UFC has become one of the most exciting in all of MMA. Next month, 145-pound champion Jose Aldo puts his title on the line against “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung , at UFC 163. It’s a fight that came about only after former WEC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis fell out of the title fight with a knee injury. Jung then was moved into the slot – after more than a year off recovering from injuries. That title opportunity came much to the chagrin of fighters like Ricardo Lamas , who was scheduled to meet the “Zombie” at this past weekend’s UFC 162, and Cub Swanson . But Jung has the title shot nonetheless, with Lamas and Swanson waiting in the wings. Now you can take a look back at the fight that got Aldo his featherweight title to begin with – his championship win over Mike Brown at WEC 44. Check out the full fight video above.

USA TODAY: As UFC 162 taught us, UFC’s featherweight division packs a punch

BAD MMA News — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:15:00 +0000

(This story appeared in today’s edition of USA TODAY .) It’s no small thing to build a new weight class in the UFC. But if what’s going on in the 145-pound division these days proves anything, it is that patience pays off. UFC 162 on Saturday featured two fights in the featherweight class — one between ex-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (16-4-1 MMA, 10-4-1 UFC) and Charles Oliveira (16-4-1 MMA, UFC 4-4-1), and another between Cub Swanson (20-5 MMA, 5-1) against Germany’s Dennis Siver (21-9 MMA, 10-6 UFC). Both bouts won $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses. UFC 163 in August will be headlined by another featherweight bout, this one for the title, as champion Jose Aldo (22-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) defends his belt against “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung (13-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC). The debut event on Fox Sports 1 in Boston two weeks later is set for at least four featherweight bouts, including Ireland’s up-and-coming Conor McGregor (13-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC). It all adds up to what could be a breakout summer for the division that, as recently as three years ago, was deemed not quite good enough for the likes of the UFC

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USA TODAY: As UFC 162 taught us, UFC’s featherweight division packs a punch – MMA Junkie

Video: Watch UFC 162′s Charles Oliveira fight Darren Elkins in 2010

BAD MMA News — Sat, 29 Jun 2013 21:30:00 +0000

Frankie Edgar ‘s quest for a title in a second weight class continues a week from now, but the former lightweight champ must first get by Charles Oliveira at UFC 162. Oliveira (16-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) and Edgar (15-4-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC) co-headline the July 6 pay-per-view event, which takes place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. After falling short to champ Jose Aldo after a move to featherweight, Edgar looks to regroup against one of the division’s more entertaining fighters. Although Oliveira has won just four of his seven UFC bouts, the Brazilian has picked up four fight-night bonuses and put together an impressive highlight reel. In the above video, you can see Oliveira fight Darren Elkins in his 2010 UFC debut, which resulted in his first “Submission of the Night” bonus.

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Video: Watch UFC 162′s Charles Oliveira fight Darren Elkins in 2010 – MMA Junkie