CHICAGO, Ill. (March 17, 2010) - Bellator Fighting Championships put the final piece in place for its much-anticipated Season 2 lightweight tournament today with the signing of 9-3 up-and-comer Pat Curran.

The 22-year-old Curran is the cousin of UFC, WEC, Strikeforce and PRIDE veteran Jeff Curran but is quickly stepping out of his cousin's shadow and carving his own path in the MMA world.

Pat Curran first gained widespread notoriety thanks to his appearance on Season 2 of the short-lived TapouT reality show, where he was given the nickname "Paddy Mike" by the show's host, Mask. Most recently, in late February, Curran won a unanimous decision over Robbie Olivier, one of Britain's top ranked fighters, at an event in Olivier's home country.

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Promoted To Frontpage From Fanposts By Kelvin Hunt

Photo: MMAJunkie.com

It's amazing what a cover shot on a mainstream magazine can do for you.  Ok well there is also the fact that he is an amazing fighter, marketable, and has brings attention to their lightweight tournament which is why Bellator reportedly shelled out $250,000 for him to sign onto their organization.  This is a huge payday for someone fighting outside of the UFC.  It seems to also lend credence to the talk of Competition and Salaries in Professional Sports over at Bloody Elbow.  I for one think this was a great move by both parties and am excited to check out the tournament.  Let's just hope Huerta doesn't have to duck out because of injury.

Promoted To Frontpage From Fanposts By Kelvin Hunt 

via www.mmagearguide.com

MMAweekly has the scoop.

"It took a bit for the first one to step up, but now there seems to be some momentum in that area. We're about to announce another partnership between now and the fight, not sure exactly when we're going to announce it, but it's another brand that's broader than the sport. It's affiliated with other iconic athletes from various sports so we're really excited about that one as well," said Spencer

St. Pierres manager also talk about the strategy she took in getting Georges the current partner ships he has.

"I didn't make a lot of friends in the beginning when I was turning down a lot of the fight specific brands, but I really saw from the beginning when I started working with Georges, that he had the potential to transcend the sport ala Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan," Spencer told MMAWeekly Radio in an interview.

"It was a very intentional strategy to stay away from fight specific brands and then start to cultivate relationships with brands that were broader than the sport," she commented. "Even with someone as marketable as Georges, it was still quite a challenge. Just because of the nature of the sport in the mainstream marketplace.

The only fight specific brand that is a huge money Maker is Tapout. There are a few others such as Warrior International, Sprawl, and Bad Boy, but none of them have really reached the casual fan in the same way Tapout has. Silverstar, Affliction and others who are money makers are not really stitched to the sport as Tapout.

What makes this even more interesting is the fact GSP got to where he is without a huge deal of shit talking to hype fights. George has never been one to talk smack, instead choosing to listen to the smack talk and state that he does his talking in the octagon. I for one am happy that George was the first guy to cross over into brands such as Under Armour and Gatorade. George's class and professionalism is a great example to debunk some of the existing stereotypes that go along with being a fighter. Now MMAforrealers which brand do you think is next to contribute to Georges Bank account?

Hey North Carolina. We have a lot going on right now in this state. Right now though I would like for all of you to take a minute to pause and wish one of our states top ambassadors, Roger Carroll a speedy recovery. Roger was diagnosed with walking pneumonia and was admitted into the hospital last night. Let's all wish the Leprechaun well and keep him in our thoughts. Roger is scheduled to fight on April 24 in Carrolton, GA and refuses to pull out in hope that he will be able to train and prepare. War 'Leprechaun"!

While the most talked about matchup on Strikeforce’s April 7th show is the middleweight title fight between Jake Shields and Dan Henderson, a fight is on the card which represents a crucial point in the future of both the American promotion as well as MMA in Japan. That fight is the lightweight title match between Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez and DREAM Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki.

Aoki, one of Japan’s most recognizable fighters and an absolute wizard on the ground, takes on a serious test against Melendez, a fellow PRIDE veteran looking to make his first title defense since wresting the belt away from Josh Thompson in December. Aoki has been vocal recently about the superiority of Japanese MMA over that seen in America, and now has the chance to prove it. This also marks the highest-profile matchup involving the alliance between Strikeforce and DREAM, with two champions meeting with the Strikeforce title at stake.

While Aoki seems to be under less pressure with his belt safe, he needs to be on his A game here against a top tier lightweight like Melendez in both his debut fighting in the US as well as his first fight in the cage. While he has stated that the cage will not be an issue and that he has studied it exhaustively, Aoki will definitely need to make adjustments in this new environment. For all we know, the cage may benefit his style, we simply do not know yet. He will also have to adjust to the noise issue. It is a fact that fighting in Japan sounds like fighting in a library; the crowd is silent and very educated, only cheering when a significant event occurs in the match. In Strikeforce, however, the crowd will be screaming from the onset throughout the entire fight. Aoki will need to adjust to how he hears his corner, and with Aoki being as emotional a fighter as he is, it is unknown just how this will affect him.

This is all routine for Melendez, who can most certainly claim the edge in this fight when it comes to the standup and really needs to keep it there in order to win. Bear in mind he has never been stopped in a fight, by either strikes or submission, with his only losses coming by way of decision. And while he has only a single submission win to his credit, he has a highly underrated ground game combined with competent wrestling skills.
It’s pretty cut and dry what each fighter needs to do here in order to win this fight. Aoki needs to avoid getting his somewhat questionable chin smashed in the opening exchange, get inside on Melendez, and either utilize his skills with trip takedowns or simply pull guard to get the fight to the mat. If he can succeed in this, his probability of winning skyrockets. There are very, very few fighters who are able to escape from Aoki’s ground game intact, especially if he manages to gain top position. If Aoki wins this fight, it will be either by submission early, or a decision.

Melendez, on the other hand, simply needs to stay upright here. Every minute he stays on his feet, frustrating Aoki by picking him apart with striking, his stock rises. Melendez seems to have the inverse possible results as Aoki in my opinion, and will either notch a devastating knockout win early in the match or frustrate Aoki en route to a decision victory.

This is a huge fight for both fighters. Melendez is looking to cement himself as the top lightweight in Strikeforce and send a message to all contenders that he is holding on to the belt for a long time. Aoki has placed the nation of Japan on his back, fighting to establish not only himself, but his country as the premier source for MMA in the world. Don’t overlook this one, it has all the potential to be one of the best fights you will see this year.

Maynard and waiting to get a Title Shot

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Epicentre Cage Fights 2, Pavilion at the Epicentre Uptown Charlotte March 26, 2010

This is a heads up,  The last count I made, there were 55 total tickets left online, about 30 of them General Admission.  If you are looking to go to this event buy your tickets now,  It will be sold out.  If you know a local fighter ask to buy a ticket from them otherwise, you can get them at the link below.

http://get.crowntickets.com/ordertickets.asp?p=327

via www.mmabay.co.uk

MMAweekly caught up with Ryan Bader and asked him about his current win and what he looks forward to next and who he would like to fight..

"I'm in no rush right now," Bader said when asked who he wants to fight next. "I'm a young fighter. I've said this before, I don't want to get rushed into a title and not be the best fighter I can be at that moment."

"I want to take my time, but at the same time I want to keep moving up that ladder," he told MMAWeekly.com. "Keith Jardine was a big step up and I want to keep doing that, chipping away at guys, and chipping away, and climbing that ladder 

Bader seems to have a good head on his shoulders and with his most recent departure from Arizona Combat sports it could be a sign that he feels as though he reached the peak of what that camp could do for him. Many fighters stick to their original camp despite lack of success (Chuck Liddell i'm looking at you).

The question what do the UFC do next with him? Bader is in that transition zone in which Bisping was in when he fought Dan Henderson, where we get to see if he can hang with the elite of the division. Personally I would like to see him face the winner of Vera/Jones or throw him in their with Luiz Cane. 

Lets hear it people who do you think is the next logical step for the man they call darth.

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Following the poor ratings performance of WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz, Zuffa's smaller promotion was surely thrilled to learn of some good news as it limps toward its first pay-per-view on April 24. Today Comcast, which owns the channel, and DirecTV reached an agreement which would return the Versus to the DirecTV lineup after months of anguish for MMA fans with the satellite provider.

The deal comes as welcome relief for the promotion which showcases smaller weightclasses with minimal starpower, as MMA Junkie spoke to the WEC's Vice President Peter Dropick today:

"We're excited that Versus is back on DirecTV, and it allows the WEC fans to see our fights," Dropick said. "There are 14 million fans who were missing out for a few months, but we're excited that we're back up."

The WEC and Versus first teamed up in June 2007 with its debut broadcast, WEC 28, which drew 416,000 viewers. Despite steady growth – the WEC had a record-breaking WEC 34 event (1.54 million viewers) a year after that first airing – the five WEC shows since DirecTV pulled Versus from the lineup barely averaged that initial audience (435,200 viewers per event).

Although WEC 47 lacked the promotion's one true star, Urijah Faber, it did feature former Bantamweight champ Miguel Torres and legend Jens Pulver en route to pulling a very disappointing 373,000 viewers. As the promotion moves forward, hopefully the new deal with DirecTV will bump up those ratings and position the WEC as a showcase event should Comcast decide to transform Versus into NBC Sports.

From UFC.com-

"I'm still fresh," he laughs. "I'm still a baby in boxing, with only four years of practice. The only thing I don't remember are the uncountable times I boxed in Bahia, but it's only because I didn't count during that time. I know in near future I'll forget all I said in this interview, so record it (laughs)."

It's hard to believe that Dos Santos has only been training boxing since 2006. This guy has the best hands in the heavyweight division, with only four years of training. He is making seasoned MMA strikers look like complete amateurs.

Imagine what this guy is going to look like in a year or two?