Bellator 178 Preview; The Return to New England

Bellator 178: Straus v. Pitbull 4 Preview

Travis Lizotte

                Premiere worldwide MMA Promotion Bellator MMA, will make its annual stop in New England on Friday night April 21^st in Uncasville, CT. Once again the Mohegan Sun Arena will play host to one of the largest MMA Promotions in the world; Bellator MMA has stacked a card with both local and national talent. Thus, staying true to the Bellator tradition of providing local stars the opportunity to fight on the same fight card as the world’s biggest stars; of the 15 fights (30 fighters) on the card, 22 fighters have fought in New England before, with many of them making their MMA names right here in the Northeast. Bellator 178 features fighters from all of the top New England promotions including; CES, NEF, Cage Titans, Combat Zone, Reality Fighting and Premiere FC. If it is star power you’re looking for; the Spike TV Main Event for the Bellator Featherweight belt pits stars; Daniel Straus (Champion) and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (Challenger) together in what will be their fourth meeting in the Bellator cage. Patricio “Pitbull” will be looking to put the Featherweight title back where it once belonged, around his waist, and make it three wins against the title holder Straus, who will be looking to once again handle the Brazilian and make it 2-1 in title fights against “Pitbull.” New England MMA fans and MMA fans worldwide will be treated to an exciting night of action on one of the world’s biggest stages, as Ballator MMA makes their highly anticipated return to our backyards, Friday night!

 

                The undercard which can be watched on Spike.com will be stacked top to bottom with our own home grown New England talent, including Champions, Rising Stars as well as hardened New England Veterans. New England MMA fans will get a chance to see some fights that would not likely happen if it weren’t for Bellator, being that many of the fighters are currently fighting for different promotions in the Northeast but many are considered to be atop the regional ranks in their weight classes. Being that Bellator is such a big promotion, it has become somewhat of a rite of passage on the local MMA scene. Therefore they have the ability to make these fights happen, we will undoubtedly be seeing some shaking up of names in our regional ranking system as the result of these fights on Friday night. New England MMA fans and national fans alike will most definitely be salivating at the idea of this star studded undercard that breaks down like this:

Bellator 149: Shamrock vs. Gracie 3 Full Card/ Fight Week Schedule of Events/ Live Streams leading up to Fight Night

Bellator is hoping you are all interested in a match between two of MMA's living legends, but chances are you'll be tuning in to see the young prospects they've brought together.  Never short on entertaining spectacles Scott Coker's team is setting the stage for what I think will be less of an MMA match and more of a WWE charade in Kimbo Slice (Kevin Ferguson) Vs DADA 5000 (Dhafir Harris) and this doesn't surprise me or in my mind take away from the attraction.  Locally we have shows that often mix talent and entertainment.  Under Bjorn Rebney Bellator began it's move toward fighter development and theatrical performances.  I remember when Rampage Jackson fought King Mo and how foreign and out of place the antics leading up to the fight seemed, but in the end the fight was entertaining and I doubt many people really gave it much thought afterward.

Ken "Shamrock" Wayne Kilpatrick, 51Yrs

Royce Gracie, 49 Yrs

Ken Shamrock is looking grizzled and old beyond his years.  Unsurprisingly Gracie is the image of health and vitality.  I say unsurprisingly because as a practitioner of BJJ and it's ideals, philosophies, and tenets I am constantly shown how beneficial it is to one's overall wellbeing.  Not sure about Ken's healthful habits, but the photos circulating give the impression that he's seen better days. Under the circumstances though I am hard pressed to find a reason that this won't be a fun fight between two iconic figures who played key roles in the upwelling of the sport in it's earliest days.  I'll be interested to see if either man has adopted new and effective tactics or if it'll be a throwback to the foundations of MMA where styles have hard lines and it would be a dishonor to venture outside those lines for any reason.  Will Shamrock stick to his guns or try and best Gracie at his own game?  Will Gracie stand and trade or be quick to take it to the mat and pressure the man once revered and feared as much as any man eating Lion?

Check out the cards here:  Tapology / Sherdog / The UG / Bellator

Plethora of Northeastern Talent Completes “Bellator: Lima vs. Koreshkov” Undercard

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (July 1, 2015) – Four preliminary bouts featuring prime east coast fighters have been added to complete the full card of “Bellator: Lima vs. Koreshkov,” which takes place July 17 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

The additional bouts include a featherweight faceoff between Waylon Lowe (15-6, 1 NC) and Ryan Quinn (10-5,1 NC), Billy “Wolverine” Giovanella (8-3), who faces Rodrigo “The Young Lion” Almeida (12-2) at bantamweight, Kaline “The Dark Angel” Medeiros (4-4), who fights Sarah “Soulja” Payant (1-0) in a women's strawweight scrap, and lightweights Dean “The Hammer” Hancock (1-0) versus Alex Dunworth (2-1,1 NC).

Bellator 140 features five world-class welterweight bouts including World Champion Douglas Lima (26-5) and Andrey Koreshkov (17-1),Chris Honeycutt (6-0) vs. Paul Bradley (22-6), Michael “Venom” Page (7-0) taking on Rudy Bears (16-13), Brennan “The Irish Bad Boy” Ward (10-3) scrapping with Gavin “War Horse” Sterritt (6-1), and knockout artist Paul “Semtex” Daley (36-13-2) challengingDennis Olson (14-8). The event also boasts several additional previously announced preliminary contests featuring more top prospects from the Northeastern United States.

                                                                                                                     

The main card airs live and free on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT, while the announced preliminary bouts stream on Spike.com at 7 p.m. ET.

Tickets for "Bellator MMA: Lima vs. Koreshkov," which start at just $25, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun Arena Box Office or Ticketmaster.com.

Bellingham, MA’s Billy Giovanella is 4-1 in his last five fights heading into his bantamweight bout. His last four victories include three submissions and a knockout en route to his Uncasville bout. Giovanella’s challenger Remo Cardarelli of Framingham, MA will look to rely on his record-proven submission talent to win. Expect both fighters to relentlessly compete to break from recent losses on their record.

Danbury, CT’s Dean Hancock wowed fans with a first round submission victory at Bellator’s “British Invasion” event. Hancock will look to repeat his entertaining performance by defeating challenger Dunworth of Bridgewater, MA, who makes his Bellator debut riding a two-fight winning streak.

Another Danbury, CT fighter Ryan Quinn, who trains with American Top Team in Connecticut has found great success in the Bellator cage, emerging perfect in all six of his appearances. He now faces an established veteran of the sport in Philadelphia’s Waylon Lowe, who fights under the Bellator promotion for the first time since 2009, when he scored a win in his promotional debut.

Kaline Medeiros of Fall River, MA, has taken three unanimous decision victories in her last four bouts, and scored an impressive knockout just seven seconds into a fight. She takes on Sarah Payant from West Springfield, MA, who makes her Bellator debut following up her first professional bout this past March, where she scored a triangle choke submission victory.

Main Card (9 P.M. EST)

Bellator Welterweight Title Fight: Douglas Lima (26-5) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (17-1)

Bellator Welterweight Feature Fight: Chris Honeycutt (6-0) vs. Paul Bradley (22-6)

Bellator Welterweight Feature Fight: Michael Page (7-0) vs. Rudy Bears (16-13)

Bellator Welterweight Feature Fight: Brennan Ward (10-3) vs. Gavin Sterritt (6-1)
Bellator Welterweight Feature Fight: Paul Daley (36-13-2) vs. Dennis Olson (14-8)

Preliminary Card (7 P.M. EST)

Bellator Welterweight Prelim Fight: Josh Neer (36-14) vs. Matt Secor (6-2)

Bellator Bantamweight Prelim Fight: Blair Tugman (7-5) vs. Rodrigo Almeida (12-2)

Bellator Welterweight Prelim Fight: Ilya Kotau (debut) vs. Nicolas Sergiacomi (1-0)

Bellator Heavyweight Prelim Fight: Parker Porter (5-4) vs. Eric Bedard (6-5)

Bellator Bantamweight Prelim Fight: Billy Giovanella (8-3) vs. Remo Cardarelli (4-2)

Bellator Lightweight Prelim Fight: Dean Hancock (1-0) vs. Alex Dunworth (2-1,1 NC)

Bellator Strawweight Prelim Fight: Kaline Medeiros (4-4) vs. Sarah Payant (1-0)

Bellator Featherweight Prelim Fight: Waylon Lowe (15-6, 1 NC) vs. Ryan Quinn (10-5, 1 NC)

About Bellator MMA

Bellator MMA is a leading Mixed Martial Arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, Bellator is available to nearly 400 million homes worldwide in over 120 countries. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike, the MMA television leader.  Bellator MMA is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.  Bellator is based in Santa Monica, California and owned by entertainment giant Viacom, home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.

About Spike:

Spike is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks.  A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.  Spike's Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike's press site at http://www.spike.com/press.  Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.

Boss's Bellator 98 review (pictures by The Artist)

The Artist and I were fired up for this one!! Bellator, the #2 in the MMA industry was coming our way, and they were stacking their card with some of our favorite, and some of the best fighters of, New England! Rico D, the Sityodtong 135lb killer was making his debut...The Mangler was back again to prove he's got what it takes...Nader was stepping up to fight an undefeated beast...and the 185lb tourney had 3 of new England's best, in Torrey, Filkins, and Ward..and to top it off, they were back at the beautiful Mohegan Sun Casino in near by Ct!

Glenn Allaire being strapped to a stretcher.

We left town a tad later than we wanted, as we had to wait for CityBoy to get home so we could borrow his car. Big thanks for the wheels CityBoy! The weather was beautiful and traffic was light. We made it in decent time but still arrived a few minutes late. We walked into the arena to the ring announcer stating that Rico was now 1-0 as a Pro with a 1st rd knockout victory! As we made it to our seats, his opponent still hadn't made it off the canvas. I heard it was a vicious knockout followed by a few extra elbows and the Ref was a little late getting there. Hoping Glenn Allaire is OK. The Artist made it to his cage side perch and I to my spot in the Media section and settled in for the fights. Onto the rest of the card:

Bellator 81 review

Hey all, it's The Boss, aka Reep, aka Jeremy. Yesterday, Fri. Nov. 16, myself, and my WMMMA associate, The Artist, aka The Wild Ginger, aka Joe.... jumped in his Jeep and made the trek out to sunny RI, to The Ryan Center at URI, to cover Bellator 81.