Bellator Fighting Championships 44
May 14, 2011
Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino,
Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States

Superfight
Middleweight (185 lbs)
[#12] Hector Lombard (28 – 2 – 1) vs. [#45] Falaniko Vitale (29 – 9 – 0)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Final
Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#49] Patricky Freire (9 – 1 – 0) vs. [#50] Michael Chandler (7 – 0 – 0)

Middleweight (185 lbs)
[#29] Alexander Shlemenko (38 – 7 – 0) vs. [#88] Brett Cooper (13 – 6 – 0)

Bantamweight (135 lbs)
[#156LW] Anthony Morrison (16 – 10 – 0) vs. [#46] Brian Goldsby  (13 – 13 – 0)
Morrison weighed in at 146.5!!

Featherweight (145 lbs)
[#194] Jeff Lentz (6 – 2 – 0) vs. [*] Anthony Leone (8 – 3 – 0)

Middleweight (185 lbs)
[#297] Sam Oropeza (5 – 1 – 0) vs. [#361] Giedrius Karavackas (4 – 1 – 0)

Heavyweight (265 lbs)
[*] Azunna Anyanwu (3 – 0 – 0) vs. [*] Randy Smith (11 – 8 – 1)

Middleweight (185 lbs)
[#86] Jay Silva (6 – 4 – 0) vs. [*] Gemiyale Adkins (6 – 1 – 0)

Interesting matchmaking note:
[#49] Patricky Freire (9 – 1 – 0) vs. [#50] Michael Chandler (7 – 0 – 0)

Only 1 spot separate these two fighters in the Fightmatrix rankings.

World Absolute Fighting Championship – Mayor’s Cup 2011
May 7, 2011
Platinum Arena,
Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia

Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#108] Alexander Sarnavskiy (13 – 0 – 0) vs. [#209] Joseph Ambrose (15 – 3 – 0)

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
[#72] Baga Agaev (20 – 11 – 0) vs. [#76] Kevin Randleman (17 – 15 – 0)

The Zone Fighting Championship – Unbreakable
May 7, 2011
Liseberg Hall,
Gothenburg, Vastra Gotaland County, Sweden

Light Heavyweight? (205 lbs)
[#159] Eric Cebarac (8 – 4 – 0) vs. [#209MW] Victor Cheng (6 – 1 – 0)

Featherweight (145 lbs)
[#58] Paul Reed (16 – 8 – 1) vs. [#179] Martin Svensson (7 – 2 – 0)

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Tachi Palace Fights 9 – The Contenders
May 6, 2011
Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino,
Lemoore, California, United States

Flyweight (125 lbs)
[#6] Ian McCall (9 – 2 – 0) vs. [*] Dustin Ortiz (7 – 0 – 0)

McCall is 3-2 in his last 5.  The 2 losses came to bantamweight standouts [#1BW] Dominick Cruz and [#54BW] Charlie Valencia in WEC.  He last fought [#8] Jussier da Silva on February 18th, 2011 and won via unanimous decision.  Undefeated prospect Ortiz, who has finished in all 7 of his victories,  last fought on January 7th, 2011 and defeated [*] Matt Horning via TKO from punches.

TPF Featherweight Championship

Featherweight (145 lbs)
[#112] Russ Miura (9 – 1 – 0) vs. [#127] Isaac DeJesus (9 – 3 – 0)

Miura is on a 6 fight win streak (5 by submission).  He last fought [*] Randy Conway on February 20th, 2011, defeating him by submission due to punches.  DeJesus is 1-3 in his last 4 (all losses by stoppage).  He last fought [#24] Micah Miller on December 12th, 2010, losing via neck crank.

Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#72] Fabricio Camoes (11 – 5 – 1) vs. [#135] Efrain Escudero (16 – 2 – 0)

Camoes is 3-1-1 in his last 5 (0-1-1 in the UFC, 3-0-0 in Strikeforce).  He last fought [#358] Steve Lopez on February 18th, 2011 and defeated him by TKO via head kick and punches less than :30 into the first round.  “Ultimate Fighter: Season 8” winner Efrain Escudero is 4-2 in his last 6 (3-2 in the UFC).  His most recent bout was a victory via unanimous decision over [*] Ashe Bowman on April 8th, 2011.

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Bellator Fighting Championships 43
May 7, 2011
First Council Casino,
Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Finals
Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#10] Jay Hieron (21 – 4 – 0) vs. [#49] Rick Hawn (11 – 0 – 0)

Middlweight (185 lbs)
[#37] Bryan Baker (14 – 2 – 0) vs. [#100] Joe Riggs (34 – 12 – 0)

Bantamweight (135 lbs)
[#44FW] Chase Beebe (17 – 7 – 0) vs. [#41] Jose Vega (9 – 4 – 0)

Heavyweight (265 lbs)
[#34] Neil Grove (10 – 3 – 1) vs. [#207] Zak Jensen (10 – 6 – 0) (Grove pulled out of the fight)

Heavyweight (265 lbs)
[#195] Ron Sparks  (6 – 0 – 0) vs. [*] Vince Lucero (19 – 19 – 1)

Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#328] David Rickles (7 – 0 – 0) vs. [*] Rich Bouphanouvong (1 – 3 – 0)

Middleweight (185 lbs)
[#210] John Bryant (5 – 4 – 0) vs. [*] George Burton (1 – 0 – 0)

Welterweight? (170 lbs)
[*] Mike Schatz (3 – 3 – 0) vs. [*] Michael Osborn (3 – 3 – 0)

Interesting matchmaking note:
[#41] Jose Vega (9 – 4 – 0) vs. [#44FW ] Chase Beebe (17 – 7 – 0)  Only 3 spots separate these two fighters in the Fightmatrix rankings.  Nice matchmaking by Bellator on this one!

On the upcoming UFC 129 card this weekend, we will see two bouts with fighters extremely close in the rankings facing each other.  The first fight is:

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
[#29] Vladimir Matyushenko  (25 – 5 – 0) vs. [#33] Jason Brilz  (18 – 3 – 1)

But even more interesting is this prelim bout:

Featherweight (145 lbs)
[#78] Yves Jabouin  (15 – 6 – 0) vs. [#79] Pablo Garza (9 – 1 – 0)

With these two fighters ranked literally one spot away from each other, it looks like UFC matchmaker Joe Silva (or Sean Shelby)  may have been perusing the FightMatrix rankings upon deciding on this bout!  Hey, dream big or don’t dream at all.

UFC Welterweight Championship

Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#1] [#3DD] Georges St. Pierre (21 – 2 – 0) vs. [#2] [#9DD] Jake Shields  (26 – 4 – 1)

Two of the best pound for pound fighters in the sport in Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields will clash this Saturday night.  St. Pierre comes into the fight on an 8 fight win streak, 5 by decision.  St. Pierre has been criticized in the past for not being a finisher, yet he remains a thoroughly dominant fighter.  His last loss came by way of a TKO (punches) at the hands of [#24] Matt Serra at UFC 69 back in April 2007.  St. Pierre lost the title that night in what was considered one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.  1 year and 3 victories later, St. Pierre rectified his 2nd career loss by winning the welterweight title back from Matt Serra via TKO (knees to the body) at UFC 83 in April 2008.  He went on to win 5 victories over top 10 competition, effectively cleaning out the division.  Enter Jake Shields.  The former Strikeforce middleweight champion comes into this fight riding an amazing 15 fight win streak (8 by stoppage).  Shields, who has also been criticized for having a rather prosaic and underwhelming fighting style himself, did not impress very much in his UFC debut.  After winning a contentious split decision over [#11] Martin Kampmann back at UFC 121 in October 2010, Shields was immediately thrust into the title picture because of his past accomplishments outside of the promotion.  Both men are adept on the ground, with Shields possibly having a slight submission grappling advantage on paper.  However, St. Pierre clearly has the wrestling as well as the boxing/stand up advantage.  St. Pierre will most likely be able to dictate where this fight goes.  Most expect St. Pierre to continue his march, but Shields does have a grapplers chance.  A victory for Shields would propel him to the pinnacle of the welterweight division, as well as the division dominance rankings.

UFC Featherweight Championship

Featherweight (145 lbs)
[#1] [#4DD] Jose Aldo  (18 – 1 – 0) vs. [#14] Mark Hominick (20 – 8 – 0)

Reigning featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo will make his first UFC featherweight title defense as well as his UFC debut this Saturday against Mark Hominick.  Aldo, who is on an 11 fight win streak (7 by T/KO), most recently knocked out [#10] Manny Gamburyan in September 2010 at WEC 51.  Aldo won the WEC featherweight title from [#25] Mike Brown at WEC 44 back in November of 2009.  He made two successful title defenses against [#3BW] Urijah Faber and Manny Gamburyan before the WEC merged with the UFC in January of 2011.  Aldo is seen as one of the most violent, dynamic fighters today.  Hominick is on a 5 fight winning streak, 4 by stoppage.  He most recently earned a title shot by TKOing [#61] George Roop in his 3rd promotional appearance (1st appearance at featherweight) at “UFC Fight for the Troops 2” in January 2011.  Hominick is a very game opponent who has been on a hot streak lately.  He has the ability to hurt his opponents standing or on the ground.  The problem for Hominick is that Jose Aldo most likely does everything he does better.   Hominick is a savvy veteran who will have to call on all his past experiences in order to stand a chance against the pound for pound ranked Aldo.

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Bellator Fighting Championships 42
April 23, 2011
Lucky Star Casino,
Concho, Oklahoma, United States

Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament Semifinals
Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
[#29] D.J. Linderman (9 – 1 – 0) vs. [#51] Richard Hale (16 – 3 – 1)

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
[#49] Christian M’Pumbu (16 – 3 – 1) vs. [#114] Tim Carpenter (7 – 0 – 0)

Other Bouts

Featherweight (145 lbs)
[#84] Ronnie Mann (18 – 2 – 1) vs. [#406LW] Josh Arocho (6 – 9 – 0)

Bantamweight (135 lbs)
[#69] Luiz Alberto Nogueira (10 – 1 – 0) vs. [*] Jerod Spoon (5 – 1 – 1)

Middleweight (185 lbs)
[#70] Jared Hess (10 – 2 – 1) vs. [*] Chris Bell (10 – 3 – 0)

Bantamweight (135 lbs)
[#22FLY] Shane Howell (9 – 7 – 0) vs. [#145] Mark Oshiro (12 – 3 – 0)

Heavyweight (265 lbs)
[#66] Mark Holata (10 – 2 – 0) vs. [*] Chris Guillen (13 – 12 – 0)

Featherweight (145 lbs)
[*] Owen Evinger (6 – 0 – 0) vs. [*] Brandon Shelton (16 – 5 – 0)

Bellator Fighting Championships 41
April 16, 2011
Cocopah Resort and Casino,
Yuma, Arizona, United States

Non Title Bout
Catchweight (137 lbs)
[#6 FW] Joe Warren (6 – 1 – 0) vs. [#108 FW] Marcos Galvao (9 – 3 – 1)

Non Title Bout
Bantamweight (135 lbs)
[#8] Zach Makovsky (12 – 2 – 0) vs. [#37 FLY] Chad Robichaux (11 – 0 – 0)

Bellator Featherweight Tournament Semifinals
Featherweight (145 lbs)
[#21] Patricio Freire (15 – 1 – 0) vs. [#22] Wilson Reis (12 – 2 – 0)

Featherweight (145 lbs)
[#17] Daniel Straus (16 – 2 – 0) vs. [#109] Kenny Foster (9 – 2 – 0)

Other Bouts

Heavyweight (265 lbs)
[#128] Carlos Flores (4 – 0 – 0) vs. [*] Rudy Aguilar (0 – 1 – 0)

Bantamweight (135 lbs)
[*] Anthony Birchak (4 – 0 – 0) vs. [*] Tyler Bialecki (7 – 3 – 0)

Featherweight (145 lbs)
[#205] Nick Piedmont (4 – 1 – 0) vs. [#419LW] Michael Parker (6 – 3 – 0)

Welterweight? (170 lbs)
[#286] Alex Garcia (12 – 4 – 0) vs. [*] Jose Diaz (2 – 10 – 0)

There was one bout that was scrapped between top British featherweight prospect [#85] Ronnie Mann (18 – 2 – 1) and [#397LW] Josh Arocho (6 – 9 – 0), due to visa issues for Mann. An interesting rankings note – [#15] Jay Hieron, one of the semi finalists in the Bellator welterweight tournament, is ranked 6 spots higher than Bellator welterweight champ [#21] Ben Askren.

Bellator Fighting Championships 40
April 9, 2011
First Council Casino,
Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States

Non Title Bout
Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#21] Ben Askren (7 – 0 – 0) vs. [#128] Nick Thompson (38 – 13 – 1)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Semifinal
Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#46] Lloyd Woodard (11 – 0 – 0) vs. [#161] Michael Chandler (6 – 0 – 0)

Bellator Welterweight Tournament Semifinal
Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#15] Jay Hieron (20 – 4 – 0) vs. [#28] Brent Weedman (19 – 5 – 1)

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Strikeforce – Diaz vs. Daley

April 9, 2011
Valley View Casino Center

San Diego, California, United States

Strikeforce Welterweight Championship

Welterweight (170 lbs)
[#5] Nick Diaz (24 – 7 – 0) vs. [#8] Paul Daley  (27 – 9 – 2)

Nick Diaz is the top ranked welterweight outside of the UFC, and is coming into this bout on a 9 fight win streak.  5 of these wins have come via TKO, and 3 have come by way of submission.  Diaz is a finisher, no question about it, but he will be standing across the cage from a brutal finisher in Paul “Semtex” Daley.  Anyone who has watched this man fight knows why he is nicknamed after an explosive.  20 of Daley’s 27 wins have come via TKO, and only 8 of his 38 fights have gone the distance.  Diaz has a solid striking game which is composed of mainly jabs and peppering shots from the outside, while Daley is known for his devastating power punches.  With a 4 inch height advantage, Diaz will want to keep a distance on the feet, and gain strategic takedowns to work his greatly superior ground game.  If this fight goes to the floor, Diaz could very likely walk away with a submission victory.  If Daley coaxes Diaz into wild punching exchanges, he could possibly capitalize on this much in the way he did when he knocked out [#44] Scott Smith.  However, Diaz has one of the best chins in the business.  He has only been stopped once in his career by strikes, and that was to [*] Jeremy Jackson in 2002.  A victory for Daley over Diaz would turn the Strikeforce welterweight division upside down.

Strikeforce Lightweight Championship

Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#4] Gilbert Melendez  (18 – 2 – 0) vs. [#9] Tatsuya Kawajiri (27 – 6 – 2)

Gil Melendez is one of the best at lightweight, having only lost twice in his career since debuting in October of 2002.  It has been almost one year since Melendez won a clear unanimous decision over [#3] Shinya Aoki.  Melendez is on a 4 fight win streak, and has won 5 of his last 6.  This is not the first time these two have faced each other.  Melendez holds a decision victory over Kawajiri from back at Pride Shockwave on 12/31/2006.  Since then, Kawajiri has gone 8-2 in 10 fights.  Kawajiri rebounded from a submission loss to Shinya Aoki in July 2010 by defeating [#25] Josh Thomson via unanimous decision on new years eve 2010.  Melendez most likely has the striking advantage, but Kawajiri could control Melendez if he gets in close and forces takedowns.  Melendez is incredibly hard to hold in one place, and Kawajiri will have to bring his A game if he is to stand a chance.

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SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2011

Knockout Entertainment – MMA: The Reckoning

April 2, 2011
Orillia, Ontario, Canada

Welterweight (175 lbs)
[#46] Josh Burkman (21 – 8 – 0) vs. [#58] Jordan Mein (20 – 7 – 0)

Lightweight (155 lbs)
[#174] Chris Horodecki (16 – 3 – 0) vs. [#175] David Castillo (9 – 2 – 0)

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