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David Rickels vs. J.J. Ambrose, six prelims set for Bellator 103 in Kansas

BAD MMA News — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 23:35:00 +0000

A lightweight bout featuring a recent tournament winner and a full slate of prelims have been added to Bellator’s October show in Kansas.

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David Rickels vs. J.J. Ambrose, six prelims set for Bellator 103 in Kansas – MMA Junkie

Fight video: Michael Chandler demolishes David Rickels at Bellator 97

BAD MMA News — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:30:00 +0000

Each event, Bellator MMA picks a top moment from its fight card. Lightweight champion Michael Chandler easily wrapped up that honor with a devastating first-round knockout of David Rickels . Chandler (12-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) needed just 44 seconds to flatten Rickels (14-2 MMA, 8-2 BMMA), a recent tournament winner, and notch the second defense of his title at Wednesday’s Bellator 97 event. Chandler, who’s currently ranked No. 3 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA lightweight rankings , quickly unloaded a swarm of punches in the Spike TV-televised headliner to delight fans at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. 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. Edit this article

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Fight video: Michael Chandler demolishes David Rickels at Bellator 97 – 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

How a Firework Nearly Put David Rickels’ Bellator 97 Title Fight with Michael Chandler in Jeopardy

BAD MMA News — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:30:24 +0000

Bellator MMA’s David “The Caveman” Rickels earned a lightweight title fight with champion Michael Chandler by winning the Bellator Season 8 Lightweight Tournament. He defeated Lloyd Woodard, Jason Fischer and Saad Awad to get to the title fight, but an Independence Day firework accident nearly caused his championship aspirations to go up in flames. “I nearly blew up my hand on the Fourth of July. It didn’t affect my training at all. Everything is great, but I had a big open wound on my hand, and I had to be really careful as far as not getting infected,” Rickels told MMAWeekly.com. “I’ve done a really good job, surprisingly. I’ve got a resilient body and I’m feeling great going into this fight.” “I was lighting another one and the spark jumped over into the one in my hand and blew up. It was a really weird deal. It was a freak accident that could have cost me my damn hand let alone my title fight,” he explained. At first, Rickels didn’t know how much damage the firework caused, but his first thoughts were that it wasn’t good. “I said holy (expletive). I was like, how am I going to explain this? I didn’t know how bad it was because it was really dark and I couldn’t see anything. I could feel my finger, so I was like, okay, that’s there at least,” he said.

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How a Firework Nearly Put David Rickels’ Bellator 97 Title Fight with Michael Chandler in Jeopardy – MMA Weekly

Bellator 97 weigh-in results: Chandler-Rickels, Askren-Koreshkov official

BAD MMA News — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Bellator MMA’s “Summer Series” finale, featuring a pair of title fights and a pair of tournament finals, has a main card that is official for Wednesday night. In the main event of Bellator 97, lightweight champion Michael Chandler (11-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) puts his title on the line against David Rickels (14-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA), while welterweight champ Ben Askren (11-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) defends his title against Andrey Koreshkov (13-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) in the co-main event. All four title competitors came in under their allotted weights. Chandler and Rickels each were 154.6 pounds, while Askren was 169.9 for Koreshkov, who was 169.2. Also on the main card, the “Summer Series” four-man light heavyweight tournament draws to a close when Muhammed Lawal (10-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) meets Jacob Noe (12-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) to determine next in line for the 205-pound title. And in the heavyweight tournament, Ryan Martinez (10-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) meets Vitaly Minakov (11-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA). Lawal and Noe each came in on the mark at 205.6 and 205.7 pounds, respectively. Martinez will have a sizable weight advantage at 262.8 against Minakov, who was 239.1

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Bellator 97 weigh-in results: Chandler-Rickels, Askren-Koreshkov official – MMA Junkie

CEO: Bellator champ Michael Chandler now one of MMA’s highest-paid lightweights

BAD MMA News — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 23:00:00 +0000

When asked how much he had to convince Bellator MMA lightweight champion Michael Chandler to sign a new long-term deal with the Viacom-owned fight promotion, Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney put it in terms everyone could understand. “I can tell you that every single time Michael and I go out to dinner for the rest of our lives, he picks up the check,” Rebney told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). That sounds just fine to the unbeaten Chandler (11-0 MMA, 8-0 BFC), who told MMAjunkie.com on Wednesday that he’d agreed to a new multi-fight contract with Bellator – one which Rebney insisted would make Chandler “one of the highest-paid lightweights in all of MMA.” The new deal comes just a week before Chandler is slated to defend the Bellator 155-pound title against Season 8 tournament winner David Rickels (14-1 MMA, 8-1 BFC) at Bellator 97 on July 31. It also comes at a time when Chandler had roughly a year left on his existing Bellator contract, according to Rebney. The new contract will keep him off the free agent market and with Bellator for years to come, both men said in a phone interview.

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CEO: Bellator champ Michael Chandler now one of MMA’s highest-paid lightweights – MMA Junkie

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

Radio (noon ET): Bellator champ Michael Chandler, broadcaster Mauro Ranallo

BAD MMA News — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 19:05:00 +0000

MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes to the show Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler , who meets Dave Rickels on July 31 at Bellator 97. We also chat with veteran broadcaster Mauro Ranallo, who discusses this past weekend’s Invicta FC 6 pay-per-view event. MMAjunkie.com Radio airs today from noon to 2 p.m. ET (9 to 11 a.m PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio , or watch it live on select television markets as part of Fight Now TV. MMAjunkie.com Radio listener guide : HOW TO LISTEN: Go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio and choose a streaming option (such as Windows Media Player or Quicktime) to listen to the show live. A countdown clock appears when the show is offline. HOW TO WATCH (ON WEB): Check out a live webcam of the studio while there

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Radio (noon ET): Bellator champ Michael Chandler, broadcaster Mauro Ranallo – MMA Junkie

Jared Downing Replaces Rob Emerson, Faces Patricio “Pitbull” Freire at Bellator 97

BAD MMA News — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 20:46:28 +0000

function not found A labrum injury has forced Rob “The Saint” Emerson off of the Bellator MMA July 31 fight card, where he was originally scheduled to face longtime Bellator veteran Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. That won’t stop “Pitbull” from stepping in the cage, as Jared Downing will now battle the explosive Brazilian striker live on Spike TV. The night will also feature a Bellator Lightweight World Title fight as defending Bellator Champion Michael Chandler puts his title on the line against David “The Caveman” Rickels, while Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren will defend his title against Russian phenom Andrey Koreskov. “This is a great opportunity for me, one I couldn’t pass up,” Downing said.

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Jared Downing Replaces Rob Emerson, Faces Patricio “Pitbull” Freire at Bellator 97 – MMA Weekly

Bellator’s Andrey Koreshkov: Champ Ben Askren ‘has no idea what he is in for’

BAD MMA News — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 23:50:00 +0000

Undefeated Russian contender Andrey Koreshkov (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has an important message for Bellator MMA welterweight champion Ben Askren (11-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC): Enjoy your title run because it ends in less than three weeks. “Ben Askren has never faced a challenge like me,” Koreshkov told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I’m younger, faster, stronger and more powerful than anyone he has faced. I have prepared for nothing but him for months. “He’s never faced anyone with my standup skills and game off my back and my ability to get up. He has no idea what he is in for later this month.” Koreshkov and Askren meet in the co-main event of “Bellator 97: Chandler vs. Rickels,” which takes place July 31 at Santa Ana Center in Albuquerque. THe night’s main card airs on Spike TV following prelims that stream on Spike.com

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Bellator’s Andrey Koreshkov: Champ Ben Askren ‘has no idea what he is in for’ – MMA Junkie