Sherdog.com on Thursday confirmed the news with sources close to the event. The promotion had made plans weeks ago to make Bellator 47 its first event on Canadian soil, but multiple undisclosed difficulties put that plan in serious doubt. However, Sherdog.com’s sources assert that those problems have been overcome, and the promotion is Canada-bound after all. It remains unknown which province will host the promotion on July 23.
Little is known about the event at this point, other than it will likely be headlined by a featherweight title bout between reigning champion Joe Warren and Season 4 tournament winner Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. The event will be the second effort in the promotion’s “Summer Series” trilogy and will air live on MTV2.
Bellator 115-pound women’s champion Zoila Frausto will return to the cage March 5 as she competes at Bellator 35 from the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif.
Sherdog.com previously reported Frausto's speculated involvement in the event, and Thursday the fighter confirmed the report by announcing the news over Facebook. It is currently unknown whether Frausto will defend her title, and her opponent has not yet been named.
A Strikeforce veteran, Frausto rides a five-fight winning streak heading into the bout. The only blemish on the career of “The Warrior Princess” came last March when she was submitted by 135-pound contender Miesha Tate at Strikeforce “Challengers 7.”
Frausto made her Bellator debut in June, knocking out Rosi Sexton in the first round of their 121-pound catchweight affair at Bellator 23. Frausto then rattled off three straight victories to become Bellator's first-ever 115-pound queen. The 27-year-old outpointed Jessica Pene, Jessica Aguilar and the previously unbeaten Megumi Fujii en route to claiming the tournament crown.
Though no bouts have been officially announced for the March 5 event, the promotion's third welterweight tournament is expected to begin. Also expected are appearances by Waachiim Spiritwolf and Poppies Martinez against to-be-named opponents.
Miguel Torres (right) faces high stakes at UFC 126. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
For years, Miguel Torres led a life strangely defined by dominance and anonymity. Inside the cage, he ran up dozens upon dozens of wins against only one -- later avenged -- loss. But those wins came at a time when lighter weight fighters struggled to capture the public’s imagination. Many of Torres’ victories remain unchronicled to this day, and his known triumphs took place almost exclusively in low-profile shows in the Midwest. Torres had a feared reputation but lacked the proper stage to showcase his skills.
That changed with Zuffa’s purchase of World Extreme Cagefighting. The WEC became the promotion for lighter weight North American fighters, and Torres had the venue to become a star. Torres won the WEC bantamweight title in his second bout for the promotion and defended it successfully on three occasions. Torres’ name was a mainstay in pound-for-pound lists, and his classic bout with Takeya Mizugaki drew more than 5,000 fans in Chicago.
With fame arrived a new set of challenges. Opponents once knew little about Torres’ tendencies. Now, they were studying his game for weaknesses and devoting training camps to tackle his particular style. Torres’ anonymity vanished, but so, too, did his dominance. Torres dropped consecutive bouts via knockout to Brian Bowles and submission to Joseph Benavidez.
Following the first back-to-back losses of his over decade long career, Torres decided to make major changes. He turned to Firas Zahabi, the renowned trainer of UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Torres traveled to Montreal’s Tristar Gym to prepare for his next fight. He defeated Charlie Valencia in the second round of WEC 51 and picked up the “Submission of the Night” bonus.
To prepare for his UFC debut against Antonio Banuelos at UFC 126 on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas , Torres returned to Zahabi for a full three-month training camp. The longer-than-usual camp was intended to quickly build on the adjustments and additions made to Torres’ game in preparation for the September bout with Valencia. It also allowed Torres to keep a tight focus on MMA rather than the trappings that come with fame and success.
“I think he was focused on too many things,” Zahabi says of Torres’ recent past. “The lifestyle of a champion can be distracting. In Montreal, it’s secluded. Distractions are kept to a minimum. When you have distractions, it kills performance.”
Torres’ performance will be under greater scrutiny than ever before as he moves to MMA’s biggest stage. As WEC champion, he fought in front of large crowds and in high-profile fights. That will help him as he makes the adjustment to a new organization. Still, there was never the scrutiny that comes from competing at a major UFC event. A victory over Banuelos and Torres could find himself challenging for the UFC bantamweight title or even coaching on “The Ultimate Fighter.”
With the stakes so high for Torres, Zahabi raves about the fighter’s preparation and ability.
“He has been training relentlessly,” Zahabi says. “It was a long, hard training camp and I feel like he’s very prepared. I believe that the old Miguel would have beaten Banuelos. The new Miguel should have a good time on Saturday night. It should be a good fight. I’m very confident Miguel will assume the dominant position on the ground and have the upper hand in the striking.”
Banuelos, a longtime friend and training partner of UFC hall of famer Chuck Liddell, has a lot in common with Torres. They have both been fighting professionally since a young age, and Banuelos was one of the WEC’s top bantamweight fighters back when the promotion still ran in Lemoore, Calif., well before Torres joined up. There will be no intimidation on the part of either MMA veteran. Banuelos is less submission oriented than Torres but utilizes a similar mixture of striking and wrestling.
Perhaps the greatest similarity between Banuelos and Torres lies not in their common MMA past or their similar abilities but in their penchant for exciting fights. Either Torres or Banuelos could serve as a poster child for the all-action reputation of WEC lighter weight fights. That reputation netted Torres and Banuelos the first bantamweight or featherweight pay-per-view main card bout in UFC history. At the biggest UFC event of the early 2011 calendar, they will have the opportunity to steal the show from the likes of Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin and Jon Jones.
Banuelos has fought in enough high-profile fights over the years for the Torres camp to formulate a carefully tailored gameplan. Banuelos has won four of his last five fights, but Zahabi sees vulnerabilities in his game.
“You’ve got to attack his weakness,” Zahabi says. “He’s a very circular-style puncher, and he likes to throw bombs. He’s not very good with double-leg shooting but can close the distance and is good in the clinch. He’s resilient in the submission game and adept at avoiding attacks on the ground. He’s not a slick jiu-jitsu guy but knows what’s going on.”
With the challenge outlined, it falls on Torres to back up the hype and pull out the win. Just like a few years ago when he debuted for WEC, he has the opportunity to win over a new base of fans. This time, his opponents are going to be more than ready for him. But the hope is he, too, will enter with a heretofore unmatched level of skill and preparation. The stakes have never been higher.
Four-time national judo champion and 2004 Olympian Rhadi Ferguson will make his promotional debut against Canadian prospect Ion Cherdivara in a featured light heavyweight matchup at Strikeforce Challengers 13 on Jan. 7 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.
Ferguson, a black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, owns a Ph.D in education from Capella University in Minneapolis. A cousin of Internet street-fighting sensation and UFC veteran Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson, the 35-year-old father of two was named the 2001-02 United States Federation International Senior Male Athlete of the Year. Ferguson, a protégé of Judo Jack Williams, remains the only athlete ever to compete in the Olympics, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships and the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships. Based at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., Ferguson has trained UFC veterans Thiago Alves, Brandon Vera, Jeff Monson and Karo Parisyan, among others.
“I don’t think MMA is ever a natural transition,” Ferguson said in a release. “I did judo. I did BJJ. I’m a strength and conditioning coach and a judo coach for some top MMA fighters. After training these guys for a while, the sport caught me a little bit. I’m 35, but I feel like I still have some stuff in the tank. I’m satisfied with my athletic career, but I wouldn’t mind putting the Strikeforce light heavyweight title belt on my mantel.”
Cherdivara, a former member of the Moldovan national wrestling team, made his professional MMA debut under the Ringside MMA banner in January, as he stopped Aaron Dupuis on first-round punches in Montreal. He trains out of Brazilian Top Team Canada.
“I’m only 1-0 because I’ve had a hard time finding fights in Montreal,” Cherdivara said. “No one wants to fight me. With Strikeforce, I’ll finally be able to face some quality opponents who otherwise wouldn’t dare fight me. I’m looking to face the best light heavyweights Strikeforce has to offer.”
A welterweight showdown between prospects Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine will headline Strikeforce Challengers 13, which will air live on Showtime.
Urijah Faber's bantamweight debut was a successful one as he submitted Takeya Mizugaki in the first round. LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The MMA world got its first glimpse of a reinvented Urijah Faber here Thursday night as he choked Japanese star Takeya Mizugaki out cold in the WEC 52 main event at The Pearl at The Palms. The first-round stoppage – which began as a one-arm rear naked choke – served notice to the rest of the bantamweight division that The California Kid is a force to be reckoned with.
“I’m a finisher,” said the former WEC featherweight champion, now 24-4. “It’s time to step it up and get my belt in the UFC. Now it’s my time to shine right now at my most competitive weight.”
Holding the distinction as the only man to beat current 135-pound kingpin Dominick Cruz, the 31-year-old Faber had difficulty taking Mizugaki down early, and abandoned leg and hip takedowns in place of a swift front headlock that did the trick and pulled the action to the canvas. That set into motion the fateful take-the-back sequence that rendered Mizugaki (13-5-2) unconscious.
In the evening’s co-main event, fellow Team Alpha Male fighter Chad Mendes also made a statement. Producing exciting, action-packed fights may not be Mendes’ forte just yet, but winning certainly is. The brutish wrestler rode his explosive takedowns and mistake-free style to his ninth straight victory, smothering the world-class jiu-jitsu of Javier Vazquez, who had irked the unbeaten Mendes by asserting he had not paid his dues while climbing the featherweight ranks and was being “spoon fed” non-elite opponents. Save for a solid high-kick that landed, and a right hand that temporarily stunned Vazquez, Mendes followed his usual blueprint of scoring takedowns and sticking like glue to his foes. Vazquez’ finest moments came in the first round when he fired elbows to Mendes head from the guard. Yet despite Vazquez’s repeated attempts to use rubber guard in a quest for a triangle choke, Mendes never appeared to be in much danger.
Erik Koch vs. Francisco Rivera
He wanted Josh Grispi, he got Francisco Rivera instead. And Erik Koch offered a rude welcome to the short-notice replacement, methodically controlling the fight in the standup realm before unleashing a vicious high kick that floored the unbeaten Californian. A few blows later, at 1:36 of the first round, the referee stopped the action and declared Koch the victor by TKO.
“That was perfect, man. Hopefully I get a bonus for this,” said Koch (11-1), roommate to No. 1 lightweight contender Anthony Pettis, who challenges Benson Henderson for the title next month at WEC 53. “I got to say it was a good knockout. That was an Anthony Pettis kick right there and it worked.”
Now 4-1 in the organization, the 22-year-old Iowan had been widely regarded as a slippery ground fighter and more of a volume puncher in the standup aspect until Thursday’s revelation. Afterward he thanked Rivera (5-1) for taking the fight despite an abbreviated training camp.
Joseph Benavidez vs. Wagnney Fabiano
True to his word, Joseph Benavidez not only tried to submit Wagnney Fabiano, but actually achieved the feat with a second-round guillotine choke that prompted the highly-decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt to tap.
“I got all sorts of guillotines and I had to keep trying them out on him,” said the Team Alpha Male fighter, who took the fight on five weeks’ notice after Brian Bowles bowed out due to injury. “He’s a great grappler but I tried that ‘Joe-jitsu’ on him and I got the tap.”
The triumph marked Benavidez’s fourth win over a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. The super-tight move was an exclamation point to a bout that began with both fighters waging a fierce stand-up battle.
Demetrious Johnson vs. Damacio Page
Tired of getting bullied around the Octagon by bigger foes, Demetrious Johnson committed to a powerlifting regimen that apparently paid dividends as he won a wrestling match against Damacio Page and eventually submitted the Greg Jackson protégé with a mounted guillotine choke at 2:37 of the third stanza. Ever cautious of Page’s potent right hand – arguably the most powerful right hand in the entire bantamweight division – the much-quicker Johnson excelled at closing the distance and achieving the clinch, minimizing Page’s force.
The bout predominately played out as a grappling match with both men trading takedowns throughout. It appeared that Page won the first round thanks to a takedown and top control, but Johnson stole the momentum in the second, even scoring with a high kick that prompted Page to mockingly stick his tongue out.
In the third round, Johnson unleashed a nice punching combo and capped it off with a high kick that put Page on the deck. In a scramble, Johnson ensured it would not go to the judges by securing a fight-ending guillotine choke, notching his second straight WEC win to improve his record to 12-1.
Raphael Assuncao vs. L.C. Davis
Assuncao, an Atlanta transplant who hails from Brazil, used his grinding style and timely takedowns en route to a unanimous decision victory over the equally rugged Davis. Though Davis, who for years trained with Pat Miletich in Iowa, has the more celebrated wrestling skills, he was outdone in that department by the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, who won a unanimous decision to halt a two-bout losing streak and improve to 16-3.
Anthony Njokuani vs. Edward Faaloloto
Crediting the hardest training camp of his life, Njokuani snapped a two-fight losing streak with a second-round TKO over previously unbeaten Faaloloto. In what was predominantly a boxing match, the lightning-quick striker imposed his will throughout, punishing and bloodying the Hawaiian lightweight with powerful right hands until a referee stoppage at 4:55 of the second round.
Njokuani improved to 14-4; Faaloloto fell to 5-1.
Dustin Poirier vs. Zack Micklewright
The most intense staredown at the WEC 52 weigh-ins involved these two fighters, who are in many ways mirror images of each other and looked like they wanted to do battle right then and there. When it came time for the real fisticuffs, Poirier – who had chastised himself for showing “30 percent” of his fight game in his WEC debut loss to Danny Castillo – opened up a can of blitzkrieg on Micklewright in the form of dozens of heavy punches. The all-out and one-sided assault forced the overwhelmed Iowan to retreat, but he was especially rocked by wave after wave of vicious hooks. How Micklewright remained upright is anybody’s guess (and a testament to the US Marine Corps vet’s valor and toughness), but the referee had seen enough and rightly halted the bout at just 53 seconds of the opening stanza, giving Poirier (8-1) his first WEC triumph in impressive fashion.
“I have huge respect for him,” Poirier, a lifelong Louisianan, said of his opponent. “He’s a hell of a fighter, a military veteran, and he’s got a tough chin. After the last fight I didn’t leave it all there. I went back to the drawing board and said, ‘What got me here?’ and that’s what I did out here tonight.”
Michael McDonald vs. Clint Godfrey
One thing we learned about 19-year-old Michael McDonald over the past few days: the kid likes to smile. A lot. He came to the weigh-ins smiling and smiled during the face-to-face staredown. He walked to the cage smiling (and singing along to his entrance song). Fittingly, the northern Californian left the cage smiling, too, courtesy of a first-round armbar submission victory in his WEC debut.
Anyone who mistook the kid’s kindness for weakness learned otherwise once the opening horn sounded. He tagged Godfrey with a crisp 1-2, and then put the South Dakotan on his rump with a textbook straight right counter. After eating some hard shots, Godfrey gamely got to his feet and proceeded to explosively slam McDonald. Apparently unfazed, McDonald soon transitioned to his fight-ending submission, pushing his record to 11-1.
Cub Swanson vs. Mackens Semerzier
A couple of things jump to mind: First, I’m amazed at how fresh and relatively undamaged each fighter was at the conclusion of their three-round war of attrition. I expected to see a lot of blood given the heavy blows that were flying and the breakneck pace these guys set. Second, it’s back-and-forth fights like this that make me happy I’m not a judge, because it’s a shame that one man had to be declared a loser in such a razor-thin close bout. That man, that loser by split decision, was Mackens Semerzier, though he should rightly hold his head high after leaving it all in the cage and “getting after it” in a battle that instantly became front runner for Fight of The Night.
Both fighters displayed an incredible variety of attacks – everything from standard punching combos, to flying knees, spinning backfists, headlock judo throws, upkicks to digging body shots – and it seemed like everything they fired was thrown with conviction. There was no “feeling out” process. Both fighters occasionally scored with takedowns, and Mackens scored the best ground-and-pound in the final 90 seconds of the bout.
In defeat, Semerzier fell to 7-3; Swanson improved to 15-4.
Yves Jabouin vs. Brandon Visher
On the heels of back-to-back losses and badly in need of a victory, noted striker Jabouin may have surprised Visher with a steady diet of takedowns (five, to be exact), effective top control and three submission attempts. Owner of 11 TKO’s, Montreal’s Jabouin seemed to play it safe on his feet, clearly respecting the one-punch knockout power in his Hawaiian foe’s right hand. Jabouin’s best moment in the standup realm came with a left kick that whacked Visher’s noggin clean early in the second stanza. Visher, who had been trying to rebound from the first loss of his career against Colorado’s Tyler Toner, was unable to find much momentum in against his bigger and faster opponent other than a flurry of body shots he landed in the first round that caused Jabouin to take it to the canvas. The 31-year-old Jabouin, who was cornered by former WEC bantamweight kingpin Miguel Torres, improved to 15-6. Visher fell to 13-2.
"It’s really cool that the UFC gave me a good opportunity and put me in the co-main event on such a big card. So it just shows that the people in the UFC have some faith in me and they want to push me as the real vet that I am and not some new guy. This is truly a chance to make my mark and let them see how I want them to know me now. I’m coming out there full action, trying to bring it.” Before he was placed in a co-main event slot on Saturday’s UFC 121 card in Anaheim against Martin Kampmann, and before he was beating guys like Dan Henderson and Mayhem Miller and being considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Jake Shields was simply a scrapper, a former two-time All-American wrestler who lived up to the adage of fighting anyone, anytime, anyplace.
And if you glance at the names on his record in those early years of a career that began in 1999, you might think that this kid’s manager just didn’t like him too much.
He laughs.
“I was kinda managing myself and I took any fight thrown at me,” said Shields, who is now represented by his father Jack. “I definitely didn’t build up, and I didn’t get too many easy fights in the beginning. I just fought whoever. But now I have so much experience that in the long run, it was a good thing.”
You can’t buy that type of experience or pick it up in the gym, no matter who you’re training with. To be a top of the food chain fighter, you’ve got to fight, and you’ve got to do it against people who can beat you. It’s an idea boxing has lost over the years, where the only prospects getting television spots and title shots are those building up glossy 25-0 records against those who have no business being in there with them. Not in mixed martial arts, and not in the careers of guys like Shields.
Just look at his resume, one that includes fights against (and wins over) Henderson, Miller, Robbie Lawler, Dave Menne, Yushin Okami, Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Toby Imada, Carlos Condit, Steve Berger, Renato Verissimo, Mike Pyle, Nick Thompson, and Paul Daley, and you’ll know immediately that the 31 year old from San Francisco is the real deal.
“It makes you tough,” he said. “There’s nothing like the actual experience of being in those tough fights. So me being in so many wars and having fought so many tough guys, I’m coming into the UFC with more experience than almost anyone. Guys like Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva and Shogun (Rua) came in with experience, and I’m coming in with that kind of depth and it’s nice because I can come out and make my mark right away.”
Among the hardcore fans in the sport, Saturday night is one they’ve been anticipating for a long time. But to more casual fans, Shields may be just another new guy entering the Octagon for the first time. Bizarre? Sure is.
“It’s actually a little weird because to some people I am the new guy popping in there,” he said. “But it’s really cool that the UFC gave me a good opportunity and put me in the co-main event on such a big card. So it just shows that the people in the UFC have some faith in me and they want to push me as the real vet that I am and not some new guy. This is truly a chance to make my mark and let them see how I want them to know me now. I’m coming out there full action, trying to bring it.”
And when Shields brings it, he’s hard to stop. Winner of 14 straight fights dating back to 2005, the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt was running another pretty notable streak of eight consecutive finishes at the same time before back-to-back five rounders against Miller and Henderson. At middleweight. And even more impressive than winning those fights against that level of opposition while giving up size and strength was the fact that he proved that he can fight the five round championship distance, something that will come in handy should he beat Kampmann and then fight the winner of December’s George St-Pierre vs John Koscheck bout for the UFC welterweight crown.
“It gives you confidence knowing that you can go through a tough five rounder,” said Shields. “I certainly don’t want to fight another tough five rounder; I want to go out there and finish all my fights. But now I know I’m mentally tough enough to do it and get through those situations.”
First things first though, and that’s Saturday’s clash with Kampmann, which will be back at welterweight and back at the three round non-title limit, two things that sit well with Shields.
“It’s a little different. At five, you’ve got to pace yourself a little more. At three, you just want to come out and give it your all. I feel like I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been and I’m able to fight at a higher pace for three rounds. (Weightwise) I was eating whatever I wanted at ’85, which was nice. (Laughs) I was pigging out and eating out all the time, so I just had to eat a lot cleaner and eat a little less, but the weight came off pretty easy. I feel like ’70 is my best weight – I feel fast here and in better shape.”
He’s also ready for whatever the ultra-talented Kampmann has to throw at him. In return, he hopes to throw the “Hitman” to the mat and work the game that has seen him submit 10 of his 25 pro victims.
“He’s well rounded, but I still think his biggest threat to me will be on the feet,” said Shields of Kampmann. “He’s got a good right hand, good movement, and good kicks. I think on the ground he’s a good grappler, but I’ll hold a big advantage, so I want to put him down there and work him over.”
If that’s the case, then Shields will move on to bigger and better things in a place where he always felt he belonged.
“(In the past) I was trying to focus on what I was doing at the time, so I was doing big fights elsewhere and focusing on that, but I was also a little frustrated because I felt like all the hype’s around the 170-pound division of the UFC, and I felt like that was where I belonged and where I wanted to be. So it’s nice to finally be there.”
Fight fans feel the same way about Shields being in the UFC, so on Saturday, he plans on giving them a show.
“I just want the fans to be like ‘wow, this is someone new in the division who’s gonna shake things up,’” he said. “I want to come out there and make such an impression that they want to see me fight for a title.”
