CHICAGO, Ill. (March 11, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships made two more noteworthy additions to its upcoming Season 2 middleweight tournament today with the signings of 9-1-1 Bellator Season 1 tournament finalist Jared Hess and 18-4 MMA veteran  Sean “The Destroyer” Loeffler.

[Read more →]

By Brian Hemminger

Josh Neer has been fighting for a good 8 years now.  In that time the Iowa native has been fortunate enough to face some of the top lightweights and welterweights around like Spencer Fisher and the brothers Nick and Nate Diaz.  He holds notable victories over Melvin Guillard and Ultimate Fighter winners Joe Stevenson and Mac Danzig.  Neer hasn’t wasted any time since he ended his third stint in the UFC with recent 1st round stoppage victories against Matt Delanoit and Anselmo Martinez.

Less than a month ago, it was announced that Neer would get in the cage against Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in a 160 lb catchweight superfight this May.  Alvarez is considered one of the top 5 lightweights in the world and needless to say, this would be a career defining victory for Neer.  I recently had a chance to do a short interview with Josh about his upcoming fight among other things.  Neer was brief and to the point at times, but also revealed a bit about himself and his family life that most fans don’t get to see.

[Read more →]

Toby Imada, whose jaw-dropping “Submission of the Year” helped put Bellator Fighting Championships on the map during its debut season, will return to the promotion for its upcoming Season 2 lightweight tournament.

Imada’s remarkable submission, an inverted triangle choke of the heavily favored Jorge Masvidal at Bellator V, became an overnight YouTube sensation (more than 650,000 people have watched it online to date) and took home honors for “Submission of the Year” from the 2009 World MMA Awards and virtually every major MMA news site.

“Toby has meant a great deal to our company and we are very pleased to have him back for our Season 2 lightweight tournament,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Toby Imada epitomizes the heart and soul of our tournament format where winning is what matters and where fighters can truly control their own destiny.”

Imada is the sixth confirmed participant in Bellator’s Season 2 lightweight tournament along with Carey Vanier, Ferrid Kheder, Mike Ricci, Janne Tulirinta and Chad Hinton. Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 170 and 185 lbs. during its second season, which will be televised on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo. Winners of each tournament will earn the rank of No. 1 contender and the chance to face off in a title bout against Bellator’s Season 1 champions.

Imada, a Los Angeles native, has compiled 23 professional wins during his 12-year career and is now 9-1 over the course of his last 10 fights. His only loss came to Bellator lightweight champion and the world’s No. 2 ranked lightweight, Eddie Alvarez, in Bellator’s first Lightweight World Championship fight.

“It’s a great thing for me to return to Bellator,” Imada said. “I can’t promise that I’ll give the fans another inverted triangle, but I can promise that I’m gonna’ be fighting my heart out and looking to take home that belt. I want to thank Bellator for all the opportunities they’ve given me.”

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Bellator.

KANSAS CITY (March 8, 2010) – Tyler Stinson, a 24-year-old native of Winfield, Kan., was the unanimous winner of an open tryout sponsored by Bellator Fighting Championships on Saturday, earning him a chance to fight in Bellator’s upcoming nationally-televised event at the Kansas City Power & Light District on April 29^th. [Read more →]

By Brian Hemminger

WEC 47 has come and gone and it really blew me away.  Here are a few of my post event thoughts on what I witnessed last night…

Ted Nugent has some magical power – My friend Phil actually turned to me as Benavidez walked to the cage and said he was going to win by choke.  He may not know much about MMA, but he’s a huge Ted Nugent fan and he remembers what Randy Couture did at UFC 109.  This was the second time in a month that a fighter used “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent as their entrance music and then proceeded to win via choke submission in the second round of their fight.  Randy Couture won via rear naked choke over Mark Coleman and now Joseph Benavidez with his incredible guillotine against the heavily favored Miguel Torres.  I fully expect the Nuge to be getting a huge revival in the MMA entrance department. [Read more →]

By Brian Hemminger

After a compelling night of fights from the incredibly talented fighters of the WEC, I’m once again thankful that I didn’t make any pre-fight predictions.  This was most certainly the night of the underdog, especially on the main card as 4 of the 5 favored fighters went down, some in dramatic fashion.

[Read more →]

By Brian Hemminger

The MMA world is just beginning to sizzle as we enter March.  With the major promotions having multiple cards loaded with title fights, stacked pay per views and even a big CBS show on the way, some might have overlooked WEC 47 today in Columbus, Ohio.  I certainly did not.  The WEC always delivers and these little guys are ready to entertain you once again.  There are plenty of very interesting questions that are going to be answered tonight, and plenty of solid MMA stories to be made.  Here are my top 4.

[Read more →]

CHICAGO, Ill. (March 4, 2010) – An undefeated fighter from Cincinnati and a police officer from Scandinavia are the latest additions to Bellator Fighting Championships’ upcoming Season 2 lightweight tournament.

The two fighters — Janne Tulirinta (12-3) and Chad Hinton (6-0) — join Ferrid Kheder, Mike Ricci and Carey Vanier in the nationally televised tournament, which begins April 8^th.  The last three 155 lbs. fighters will be announced later this month. [Read more →]

By Brian Hemminger

Every once in a great while, a fight not only lives up to the hype, but it exceeds it.  To some, the knockout is the most exciting finish, to others, the submission.  Occasionally, a fight can nearly end by both, yet both fighters literally will themselves to keep forging on.  These tests of will are what true champions are made of, and when both fighters can bring it for nearly three full rounds (or more) they get nominated for my best fights of the year.

Fight of the year videos are a little too long for youtube, so you’ll just have to go with my description.  Also I apologize for the delay in getting this published.  It’s been sitting here half done for over a month.

[Read more →]

KANSAS CITY (March 1, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships, Everlast and The Kansas City Power & Light District announced today that they are sponsoring an open tryout that will provide a once-in-a-lifetime chance for undiscovered fighters to earn a spot in one of the promotion’s upcoming nationally televised Season 2 events.

The winner will participate in a featured fight during Bellator’s April 29^th event at the Power & Light District, a state-of-the-art, open-air, mixed-use entertainment venue at the center of downtown Kansas City owned and operated by The Cordish Company. The event, like all of Bellator’s Season 2 and 3 events, will be broadcast live on FOX Sports Net and during special highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo.

[Read more →]