Bellator to Zoila Gurgel ‘We’re Going to Take Care Of It’

Zoila Gurgel

It’s been a rough week for Bellator women’s champion Zoila Gurgel, who first suffered a torn ACL in training and then realized that paying for the surgery to repair the injury would cost an exorbitant amount of money.
Well now sunnier skies appear overhead for Gurgel, whose bosses at Bellator Fighting Championships are assuring their champion that her surgery and recovery will be well taken care of over time.
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney spoke to MMAWeekly Radio this week about Gurgel’s injury and he stated that the promotion will make sure Gurgel is taken care of, but patience is the key.
“We said it from day one and I understand it because I was an athlete in college, I played football in college and I understand how injuries work. I understand that when you get an injury as an athlete you want everything to happen immediately and for the world to stop and get it fixed. It’s just human nature,” Rebney stated.
“I’ll say the same thing to you that we said to Zoila and to Jorge (Gurgel), we’re going to take care of it, we’re going to get you through this and we’re going to get it covered by insurance and all of it will be covered. All of it will be taken care of and it will be fine, it will get worked out and it will get taken care of, but those things don’t happen in the matter of a day, or 48 hours, or 72 hours.”
Rebney says that the company has been committed to helping Gurgel through this injury since the first moment it occurred, but because insurance and medical processes take time, it’s not something that can happen overnight.
“You have to go through a process, you have to fill out the paperwork, you have to take steps for it to get done. I understand the angst and the anxiety because as an athlete who lost half of his senior year playing as a full scholarship running back at a major college, I understand as an athlete you’re like ‘open me up, fix it, get it done right now’. But you’ve got to take a step back and a breath and say let the process work itself out,” said Rebney.
“Let the insurance take care of what needs to be taken care of, and it will be taken care of. We said it from the very start and we said it to her and we said it to her husband. We’ll get it worked out.”
Gurgel has stated that after visiting her doctors the knee injury will put her on the shelf without any kind of real activity for the better part of six months. With rehab and recovery time she’s likely to return in about a year’s time.
Obviously the time off is as painful as the actual injury when looking at mounting medical bills and lack of income from fighting. Rebney however has assured Gurgel that she will not be left behind in this process and her knee will be nursed back to health with the best possible care that can be provided.
“She’s had a serious injury, she’s had the kind of injury that’s going to take time to recuperate from. It’s not one of those injuries where you can get some therapy and it can kind of work itself out. It’s going to take time,” said Rebney. “But the essence of getting that situation taken care of the right way, the essence of giving her the best possible chance of getting back in the Bellator cage, is to take care of it with the right doctors, the right rehab, the right attention to detail. It’s not about rushing it and getting in the first person who agrees to cut the leg open. It’s about doing it the right way, and that’s the process that we’re trying to follow.
“If Zoila follows that process she’ll be given as good an opportunity as you can possibly have with the severity of the injury she has to recuperate fully.”
Rebney does his best to avoid getting too political when talking about the growing debate about the health care industry in the United States, but when it comes to Gurgel’s injury like anybody else’s, the time it takes can obviously be frustrating.
“Whatever your political opinion is on the medical system here in the U.S., I think we can all agree no matter what side of the fence we’re on that it isn’t fast,” Rebney stated. “You’ve got to work through the dynamics of getting it done and getting it done the right way.”
Gurgel has visited with her doctors and hopes to have the surgery done as soon as possible to decrease the amount of time she’ll be forced to the sidelines. Now with Bellator committed to her recovery as well, it appears this story will ultimately have a happy ending.

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Steven Morrocco: Champ Ben Askren on Bellator 56 challenger Jay Hieron: 'I will put him on his back'


Ben Askren is not one to hide behind his 'fro.

The Bellator welterweight champ faces perhaps the most significant challenge to his belt when he meets Jay Hieron on Saturday at Bellator 56. Thus, Askren plans on doing what he does best, which is get the takedown and grind out the fight.

All Hieron can do is try to stop him.

Bellator 56 takes place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan. Main-card action airs live on MTV2 (and in high-definition on EPIX) while prelims stream on Spike.com.

If Heiron (22-4 MMA, 3-0 BFC) manages to stay on his feet, Askren (8-0 MMA, 5-0 BFC) will just keep at it until he puts the fight on the mat.

"I'm not going to try one time and go, 'Aw shucks, he stopped me,'" Askren told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "That's just not my personality at all. He's going to get on his back one way or the other. I don't care if he stops three or four or five (takedowns)."

Askren, a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champ at the University of Missouri and former U.S. Olympian, freely admits that Hieron is a better striker. But he's confident that won't be the case two years down the road. Having worked with renowned striking coach Duke Roufus, he feels he'll be able to strike with anyone.

"But that's down the road, and this is now," Askren said. "I never made any bones about the fact that my striking is not high level. I make up for it in other areas."

Of course, that's his wrestling and jiu-jitsu, which he's used to win all eight of his professional bouts.

Hieron has had a different trajectory. Although he has a wrestling background, his junior-college credentials pale in comparison to the champ's. He's become far more known for his striking ability, and most recently, he earned the right to face Askren by outpointing Rick Hawn in the finals of Bellator's season-four welterweight tournament.

Askren hits hard, but he doesn't have much technique. But training alongside UFC vets Alan Belcher, Anthony Pettis and Danny Downes, he brings another asset to the fight.

"They like that I'm fearless," Askren said. "I don't really mind getting hit at all."

He may have to take a few hits on his way to a takedown. But Askren is confident that he'll get the job done.

"I'm not a quitter," he said. "I keep on coming, and I will put him on his back whether it's my first attempt or 10th attempt. He'll be on his back."

Pederneiras Questions Judging, Rebney Praises ‘Warrior’ Galvao

Yuma, Ariz., has not been kind to Marcos Galvao.

Six months after dropping a highly controversial decision to Bellator featherweight champ Joe Warren at Yuma’s Cocopah Resort and Casino, Galvao returned to the scene of the crime Saturday to face Cuban slugger Alexis Vila in the semifinals of the company’s fifth-season bantamweight tournament. Once again, the Brazilian came out on the wrong end of a verdict which many observers felt he had in hand.

Speaking with Sherdog.com on Sunday, Galvao’s trainer and Nova Uniao head Andre Pederneiras lamented his pupil’s second debatable defeat in three outings.

“I’m so confused to talk about the rules with my students after yesterday. I don’t know anything about these rules,” said Pederneiras. “In my opinion, Galvao clearly won the fight, 29-28. I really don’t understand the judges giving this fight to Alexis Vila. I think the judges need more training to learn about MMA.”

“I’d like to be clear that it wasn’t Bellator’s fault. Sometimes commissions make mistakes because of a lack of knowledge” Pederneiras later wrote via Twitter. “[Galvao] was a poor boy who left his family at age 13 in Manaus with a dream of becoming a fighter. He slept for 10 years on the mat, believing that all his sacrifice would be worthwhile to change the lives of his mother and family. This dream was stolen yesterday for a second time by a boxing commission who knows nothing about MMA. It has to end.”

Galvao’s bout with Vila was a much tighter affair than his March fight against Warren, with a toss-up opening round, a close second period and a third which clearly leaned in Galvao’s favor. Judges Luis Cobian and Cardo Urso each saw fit to award two rounds to Vila, while dissenter Peter Rogers gave all three to Galvao. None of the judges scoring Saturday’s bout were involved in the Warren decision.

In a Saturday video interview with Sherdog.com, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney agreed that while the Galvao-Vila outcome was “not nearly the kind of obvious, clear-cut, poor decision” seen in the Galvao-Warren affair, he still believed Galvao to be the winner.

“It was much closer. I don’t want to go overboard and say ‘Marcos clearly won the fight,’ but it appeared, based on what I was seeing, that the second and third looked to be more in Marcos’ favor than they did in Alexis’ favor,” said Rebney, who offered Galvao automatic entry into the company’s next 135-pound bracket, as he did after the Warren debacle.

Although the judges did not award him a victory, Galvao was paid his win bonus by the promotion and granted a spot on Bellator’s Nov. 26 card in Atlantic City, N.J. The 30-year-old Brazilian was also on the receiving end of some effusive praise from his boss.

“He’s just a great warrior. He’s a great fighter. He’s a really good human being,” said Rebney. “He’s got a great wife and a lot of support mechanism around him. He’s come out of a real crap situation and has really turned his life into something positive.”

Michael David Smith:Dantas, Vila Advance in Bellator Bantamweight Tournament

Eduardo Dantas and Alexis Vila will meet in the final of the Bellator Fighting Championships bantamweight tournament after both men won split decisions at Bellator 55 on Saturday night.

The 22-year-old Dantas showed off his trademark fast pace in beating Ed West by split decision, staying active and clearly earning the decision. The judges scored it 30-27 Dantas, 29-28 Dantas and 29-28 West, and it was surprising that one judge gave the fight to West: This was Dantas's fight all the way.

The decision in the other semifinal was much more controversial: One judge scored it 30-27 for Marcos Galvao, while the other two scored it 29-28 for Vila, and it was clear from the crowd's reaction that most of the fans in attendance thought the judges got it wrong, and Galvao deserved to win.

Dantas vs. Vila should be a very good fight for the bantamweight final, culminating what has been an entertaining eight-man tournament, but the controversial decision in the main event had the crowd booing when Dantas and Vila squared off in the cage Saturday night.

In other action, Bellator's light heavyweight champion, Christian M'Pumbu, lost to Travis Wiuff and in the process became the first Bellator champion to lose a non-title "super fight." The bigger, stronger Wiuff controlled most of the way, and M'Pumbu didn't really get things going until he knocked Wiuff down and appeared close to winning by TKO in the third round. That late rally wasn't enough, and Wiuff won by unanimous decision. M'Pumbu is still the light heavyweight champ, but he'd be well served to move down to middleweight: He's just not big enough to take on a guy the size of Wiuff.

And Ricardo Tirloni, widely regarded as one of the best young lightweights in MMA, sunk in a rear-naked choke to force a quick tap from Steve Gable in the second round of the opening fight on the MTV2 broadcast. Tirloni, who was making his Bellator debut, improved his pro record to 14-1. He looks like he's going to be a very good fighter in the Bellator lightweight division.

Vitor Vianna’s Crushing TKO of Bryan Baker at Bellator 54 (video)

It was a heartbreaking night for middleweight Bryan Baker who was eliminated for the second time in a Bellator Tournament. Just one win away from a possible rematch with Alexander Shlemenko in the finals, Baker was stunned early on by Vitor Vianna. While both exchanged blows early, it was Vianna that caught Baker with a crisp overhand right to drop “The Beast” and secure a Bellator Finals spot and a shot at a $100,000 payday.

Briggs Seekins: Bellator Fighting Championships: 5 Things You Need to Know About Rene Nazare

This Saturday, October 15th, Bellator Fighting Championship returns to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. One of the most highly anticipated fights on the card features rising lightweight prospect Rene Nazare, who will meet Jacob Kirwan in a televised feature fight.

With a perfect 10-0 record, the 29-year-old Nazare has to be regarded as a fighter to watch.
A native of Brazil, Nazare now fights out of Ithaca, New York. Only two of his 10 victories have reached decision. He has four finishes each by submission and TKO.
I recently spoke with him at his training facility, Ultimate Athletics Gym, home of the BombSquad Mixed Martial Arts Team.

He Has an Elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Base

At 15 years old, Rene Nazare began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in his home city of Teresopolis, Rio Janeiro, Brazil. His coach was Rodrigo Antonio Garcia.
Nazare is a highly decorated BJJ player. He is a four-time Mundial World Champion, having won the tournament in the blue, purple, brown and black belt divisions.
Nazare told me he started to think about attempting MMA when he got to brown belt, but his coach insisted he hold back until he was a black belt champion.
His reasoning, as Nazare relates it, was pretty hard to refute: "He said, you're going to have to fight the black belts, you must have a black belt."
It is clear the fighter still buys into his old coach's philosophy: "You have to have the strong ground game."
Even when Nazare has won by strikes, his BJJ has been on prominent display, as he has excelled at putting opponents on the ground, holding position and pounding them out.

He Has a High-Level Training Camp Behind Him

At the beginning of 2011, after over a year without an MMA fight, Nazare moved to Ithaca, NY to join the BombSquad MMA Team and to become the Jiu-Jitsu coach at Ultimate Athletics, the BombSquad's home gym.
Since then, he has reeled off four straight wins, two by submission and two by TKO.
Nazare's happiness with his current training situation is apparent from only a few minutes of talking to him.
"The first time in the gym, I knew everything was right," he says.
"The first time at my school in Brazil," he continues, "I went home and told my mother, that's what I'm going to do with my life. That was the feeling I had the first time at this gym."
It is understandable why a professional MMA fighter would be happy to train at the Ultimate Athletics Facility. Housed in a former Office Max building, it contains two octagons, a boxing ring and heavy bag section, over 3,000 square feet of mat space and fully tricked-out areas for weight lifting and cross-fit style workouts.
Head trainer Ryan Ciotoli was a three-time All-American wrestler for Ithaca College and is a veteran MMA trainer and fighter. He designed Ultimate Athletics to serve as a homebase to MMA champions. On any given day of the week, the gym is full of veterans from the UFC, WEC, Bellator and Strikeforce.
"We have everything we need here to succeed," Nazare told me. "The space, the training partners, the coaches. Every week, I feel like the coaches push me to another level."

He Is a Great Natural Athlete

Armed with a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Rene Nazare is a technical wizard on the ground.
But, beyond that, he has great natural speed and agility, and a high level of athletic intelligence.
That kind of natural athleticism is crucial in a sport like MMA, where competitors must learn techniques from multiple sports and seamlessly integrate them. Nazare picks up skills quickly when working with his boxing coach, Alex Stewart, and his Muy Thai instructor, Primo Bellarosa.
In this linked fight against Kelvin Hackney, Nazare looks very comfortable and fluid on his feet, using good head movement, punches from angles and a very strong defensive wrestling game to completely control the distance and pace of the action.
When the opportunity arises, he is ready to pounce with his elite BJJ game.

He Is a Mentally Locked-In Athlete in His Prime

With a perfect 10-0 record and his fights regularly appearing on television, Rene Nazare is poised to be a breakout MMA star in 2012.
The 29-year-old fighter is entering the heart of his athletic prime, and he knows it.
"I'm not a young guy now," he says. "But, I am a long way from being retired, just the coach. This, right now, is my time, so I have to work very hard."
With four straight finishes over the past eight months, Nazare looks very much like an athlete in the zone. His naturally relaxed and cheerful demeanor belies an intense focus.
At this critical juncture in his career, he is single-minded in his approach to the sport.
"Every day has to be serious," he says. "Every day we have to train to be champions."
"I want to do well for my coaches and friends in Brazil," he continues. "For my daughters, for my coaches and teammates. A lot of people helped me...I want to not let them down."

His Next Opponent: Jacob Kirwan

Nazare's opponent for this Saturday, Jacob Kirwan, does not have a big youtube presence that I could find.
But, with an 8-3 professional record, he has clearly accomplished some things in the sport.
He was a Maryland state wrestling champion in high school, and as the linked video demonstrates, he is not afraid of a rugged conditioning program.
Two of his three losses have come by way of choke, one rear-naked and one guillotine.

Jade Bryce @ Mercedes Terrell: The Bellator Girls Getting Fit

We catch up with Bellator Ring girls Jade Bryce & Mercedes Terrell in the gym!!

Michael David Smith: Defection, Prison Weigh Heavily on Alexis Vila

Alexis Vila earned by far the biggest victory of his mixed martial arts career when he knocked out Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren in the first round of the promotion's bantamweight tournament. For Vila, it was an achievement that had special meaning because of everything he's been through on his way to making his mark in MMA, at the age of 40.

Vila was a bronze medalist in wrestling at the 1996 Olympics, when he represented his native Cuba. A year later he defected to the United States and began exploring the possibility of becoming a professional fighter -- but that process was nearly derailed when he was sent to prison for three years after what he says was an accident, but the authorities labeled a terrorist act.

In an appearance on The MMA Hour, Vila described how his prison experience motivated him to make something of himself in MMA.

"I was in prison for three years," Vila said. "It's no good. I'm a little guy so people who don't know me try things all the time. So I fought a lot. They didn't believe that I could fight. I said when I get out and I fight I'm going to be the champ."

In 2004 Vila crashed his SUV into a crowded terminal at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. No one was hurt, and Vila has always maintained that it was simply an accident. But authorities initially believed Vila had committed a terrorist act, and charged Vila with committing airport violence, a felony that could have put him in prison for 20 years. He eventually pleaded guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence.

Even before that incident, Vila had been through a lot. He still struggles with his decision to leave his family and his country behind in 1997.

"My dad is really sick over there but there's nothing I can do. I can only send money, not visit," Vila said. "I tell my mom, I send money so you guys can have a better life."

If Vila wins his next two fights and is crowned the Bellator tournament champion, he'll have a lot more money to send back home. After all he's been through, that's what motivates Vila.

Alexis Vila KO’s Joe Warren In Brutal Fashion

For the first time in his Bellator career, Joe Warren not only lost a fight but was finished as former Cuban Olympian Alexis Vila put an exclamation mark on the evening with a 64-second knockout victory over the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” in the main event at Bellator 51 LIVE from the Canton Civic Center on MTV2.
“Just spectacular performances by our 135ers,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “These four semi-finalists are some of the best in the world. Vila and Dantas’ knockouts are two of the greatest knockouts I’ve seen all year. This division is stacked and I cannot wait for October 22nd in Arizona. These semi’s will be magic.”
Vila had his raised high inside the Canton Civic Center after putting Warren to sleep with a fierce left hook after he rocked the featherweight champion with a powerful right hand on the previous exchange.
The win sent a statement to the remaining competitors vying for Bellator Bantamweight Champion Zack Makovsky’s title, that Vila isn’t just some Olympic wrestler – he’s a 135-pound knockout artist.
“There’s nobody that can stop me from becoming the next Bellator Bantamweight World Champion,” Vila said. “I feel like the belt is already mine. I just have to beat up a few guys before I get to take it home.”
Those guys he’s referring too are Marcos Galvao, Eduardo Dantas and tournament veteran Ed West, who all walked away with wins at Bellator 51 in Canton.
West outlasted Luis Nogueira who only tried to tie him up in a clinch for most the fight. Once West kept his distance and fought his fight from the outside he was able to pick apart Nogueira with dazzling kicks and a superior jab-cross combination.
Fighting not only to advance to the semis but also looking for a chance at redemption against Warren were Galvao and former WEC veteran Chase Beebe.
The first round of this fight was extremely back and forth with both fighters escaping multiple submissions and getting their fair share of punches in, but as the fight progressed Galvao gained the edge on the ground and was able box his way to a victory in the third and final round. Cardio seemed to be a big factor in this fight and Galvao walked away with the win by split decision.
Wilson Reis was eliminated from the tournament once again in his first attempt at 135 pounds, but big things were expected from his opponent, Eduardo Dantas, when he showed up with world champion Jose Aldo and Marlon Sandro in his corner.
Dantas earned a knockout as exciting as Vila’s when he capitalized on a kick caught by Reis in the opening round. Reis wouldn’t let go of the leg at first and looked to set up a takedown, but when Dantas took his leg back and Reis began to retreat to get outside his striking distance, Dantas sprinted toward him and laid him out flat with a knockout by flying knee.
Bellator 52 takes will take place at the L’Auberge Du Lac Casino in Lake Charles, LA, on Saturday, October 1. This event is scheduled to kick off the second Bellator Heavyweight World Championship Tournament which includes heavyweights Mike Hayes, Neil Grove, Blagoi Ivanov, Thiago Santos, Abe Wagner, Eric Prindle, Mark Holata and Ron Sparks.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney Breaks Down Bellator 51 Bantamweight Tournament

UFC 135 might be taking all the attention away from Bellator 51, but Saturday's Bantamweight Tournament opening round lineup is arguably one of Bellator's strongest main cards on paper.

I recently caught up with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney to talk about the storylines heading into Saturday's card. Check out the Q&A below.

Quarterfinal #1: Alexis Vila vs. Joe Warren

RH: Both men hold world-class wrestling credentials. Do you see one outwrestling the other or do you think the fight ends up being determined on the feet?

BR: You'd be hard pressed to think one of these two guys will outwrestle the other. Warren is a two-time world champion; Vila's got an Olympic bronze medal. My natural assumption would be that their wrestling will cancel each other out and it's going to be a striking battle. I think it's going to be the question of the evolution of Joe Warren's striking.

RH: There are certain variables, though, that could potentially give Warren the edge. Warren, the 145-pound champ, is looking for a two-division reign, while Vila arguably belongs in the 125-pound weight class. Another factor is that Vila is 40 years old, an age where fighters tend to be far removed from their explosive peak.

BR: Man, that's a tough call. If you've watched Vila's fights, he has been wildly explosive. The funny thing is that a lot of wrestlers rely on their takedowns to set up their punches. He hasn't. He's looked like a wickedly great in-shape puncher with a ton of gas. I don't know. It's an interesting question. He's an interesting specimen. None of these guys are young by any stretch of the imagination, but on the scale of not being young, Vila is a little bit more north of young than Joe Warren, but who knows? I wouldn't want to bet on any specific direction in this fight. We could both be wrong. Warren could be too big and too powerful and could he utilize his relentless style to take Vila down?

Quarterfinal #2: Eduardo Dantas vs. Wilson Reis
RH: At 22, the Shooto South American champion Dantas could be one of the hottest prospects, but he hasn't really faced top flight competition under Shooto Brazil. With an always gamer in Reis, I think this fight is Dantas' first big league test. Would you agree with that assessment?

BR: I would except for the long sitdown I had with Marlon Sandro talking about this and what Jose Aldo had to say about him. Sandro and Aldo are two of the greatest featherweights in the earth and both said this kid is absolutely a phenom.

I asked Sandro, "Where do you think he matches up?" And Sandro's answer was, "I don't know anyone in the world right now who could beat him."

The confidence his team has in him is at an elite, elite level. Now, has he faced world-class competition yet? No, he hasn't and Wilson dropping back down to 135 where he was at an elite level and this is the weight where he's enjoyed the vast majority of his success as a jiu-jitsu player. It's be a great test for Dantas and it'll be a real eye-opener for us in terms of where Dantas matches up.

If Dantas can beat Reis at this weight, it speaks to the fact that all of the accolcates that have been bestowed on Dantas are accurate. If Reis can beat Dantas, then Reis has found his right weight and perhaps can accomplish all that which he hasn't been able to accomplish under the Bellator banner at 145.

The Future of Joe Soto

RH: Wilson Reis stepped in for Joe Soto, originally slated to fight in this tournament. I know Soto is coming off losses, but since it was on a short notice fight on a lesser known show and after a serious eye injury. Still, I figured with his name value, he would still be an intriguing name in the bracket. Can you talk about the decision-making process to ultimately replace Soto with Reis?

BR: The fight that Joe took out of Tachi [Palace Fights] wasn't short notice. Tom called his manager and said to me, "Look, Joe is coming off of a serious eye injury, he hasn't been in the cage in a long time, I want to get him a fight before he comes in the tournament," and really handpicked the guy he wanted to fight, really hand-picked. He wanted Joe to get comfortable back in the cage. And unfortunately, because I'm a huge Joe Soto fan, Joe got dominated in that fight. For whatever reason, it was a very bad night for Joe. And given the amount of time he had to prep and given that his management really handpicked his opponent, we talked. It was kind of a team decision between Joe's management and us; it's not the right time to put him in this tournament.

RH: Do you have any current plans for Soto? Perhaps as an alternate?

BR: Right now, what we got to do with Soto is determine where his head is and what he wants to do with his career. If his decision is to press forward at 135, we'll get him some off-TV fights and get his feet back under him and not force him into deep waters.

Quarterfinal #3: Luiz Nogueira vs. Ed West
RH: Of the four fights, I found this one the most ambiguous. I don't really know at what level these guys are at and I'm curious to see how the winner performs in the semfinals. Do you have any inkling how this fight might transpire?

BR: I think ambigous is a very good way to put it. There's no one way to look at this fight and say, "If this happens then this will be the result."

From the day we signed Ed West, he's been amazingly athletic. He's constantly moving for submission, he has no lay-and-pray in him at all. He's a very exciting fighter. We haven't seen an awful lot of striking out of Ed except Ed seems to be able to seamlessly move from one aspect of the game to the other. Ed West prides as a true martial artist. Maybe striking Nogueira would have a little edge on Ed, but I don't know. Ed's never been forced to strike because everybody we've had in the other 135-pound tournament, Ed mowed down until he ran up against Zach (Makovsky].

Quarterfinal #4: Chase Beebe vs. Marcos Galvao
RH: Galvao looked tremendous against Warren and many feel he should have won the decision at Bellator 41 in April. Fighting another wrestling-based opponent, what do you think Galvao needs to do this time around to ensure a victory?

BR: I would do very little from the last time he fought. The flying knees, the strikes, the grappling, the ground and pound, everything looked good. There was no part of his game that didn't look great when he last fought under our banner and it was up against our 145 pound champion. In terms of doing anything differently, I wouldn't do too much differently if I were him. Chase comes from a wrestling background, I don't know if I would suggest that Marcos change anything much different.

Bellator's Quiet Champion

RH: Out of all the Bellator champions, the least recognized would have to be Zach Makovsky. As a promoter, how do you handle the challenge of making him a "name" alongside guys like Eddie Alvarez and Hector Lombard.

BR: I think what we've got to do as a company is we've got to provide him with the kind of platform and the kind of fighters that he's deserving of and that's what we're doing here. When this tournament ends, if Zach can beat the guy that comes out of this tournament and retains his title, then we'll be able to complement that with the support mechanism for Zach we've got: Putting him on Impact Wrestling on Spike, get him out there and really try to powerfully support Zach. Just the qualitative level of the guys that are in the tournament will justify a top 3 or 4 ranking on earth and then we'll be able to put the entire power of the machine behind him so that people can go, "Whoa! That's Zach." And it couldn't happen to a better guy. It'll be a pleasure to put that power behind him.

Bellator Welterweight Brent Weedman Not Fighting To Put Points On A Scoreboard, Hopes For A Rematch Versus Douglas Lima

Bellator welterweight Brent Weedman (18-6-1) had a disappointing showing during the promotions season four tournament, losing to Jay Hieron by unanimous decision in the semi-finals.
Many felt the fight was a lot closer than the judges 29-28 scores across the board indicated, some going so far as naming Weedman the winner. That defeat ended a ten fight win streak for the 27-year-old.
Weedman has since recovered mentally from that loss and will begin that journey once more this Saturday as part of Bellator’s season five welterweight tournament. At the Bellator 49 event, he is set to meet Chris Lozano at the Atlantic City event, and having learned his lesson about leaving a fight in the judges hands, will look to finish his opponent.
Also taking part in the tournament is former MFC champ Douglas Lima, who Weedman defeated back in 2008 at an AFL event in Atlanta. Lima would very much like a chance to avenge that loss and Weedman would like to give it to him, but he’s got to finish Lozano first.
Speaking to MMAMania.com, Weedman talked about both of these subjects.

Every one of your career victories had been a stoppage coming into that tournament. With that close decision victory over Dan Hornbuckle and the controversial decision loss to Jay Hieron, does that make you want to not get a decision that much more coming into this tournament?

Brent Weedman: It does, more than anything. If you want to win by points, go play basketball. I’m not the guy who’s in the cage trying to score points here, score points there. Dan Hornbuckle is the most awkward human being I’ve ever faced in terms of awkward style and awkward body type. I had a very difficult time putting him away. I had that rear naked choke in the second round but that was a day late and a dollar short. Against Jay Hieron, man, I just didn’t bring my track shoes. I was trying to get him but I had to chase him around the cage. It lit a fire under my ass thinking, “well, that effort isn’t going to get it done, clearly. I’ve got to do it even more.”

Coming into this tournament, one of the new entrants into the field was Douglas Lima. Going back through your record, your fight against Douglas Lima was the turning point of your career. Can you talk about that situation, because that’s where you really took off.

Brent Weedman: That was a big experience for me. At the time, it was my biggest fight not only in status but there were 6000 people, it was the Phillips Arena where the Atlanta Hawks play and 5999 of those people were there to see Douglas Lima. That was a big fight for me, to shut up the home crowd, build some new fans. That was a huge turning point for me, find out what my potential was and scrapping with a guy that was undoubtedly good. I was at a journeyman point of my career and Douglas Lima was a really big name especially in Atlanta at the time which is where he trains.
I know he wants the rematch really bad, he said it when he came over to Bellator in the press release so I’m bound by honor to give it to him. I really hope, and far be it from me to say I’m looking past Chris Lozano or anything like that, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I hoped I got Douglas Lima in the later rounds because that would kill two birds with one stone. If I don’t fight him in this tournament, I’d probably have to fight him another time because he wants it and I owe it to him.

Bellator’s Joe Warren Looking To Capture Second Title Starting This Fall On MTV2

The home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio is known for having tough guys well inside its city limits – September 24th will be no different.
Bellator Featherweight Champion Joe Warren looks to become the first man in history to hold two Bellator belts at the same time as Bellator brings its single elimination tournament action to the Canton Memorial Civic Center to kick off the Season 5 Bantamweight Tournament at Bellator 51. Locally, Bellator will be working with Ohio’s top Mixed Martial Arts promotion, The North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS).
Ticket information for this nationally and internationally televised event will be announced shortly. The four-fight bracket can be seen live on MTV2, starting at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT.
“Canton is a city that truly appreciates champions,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Growing up a football fan and playing my college football in the great state of Ohio, I can definitely appreciate a football city. It’s an honor to bring the fastest rising sport and world-class fighters to a great city such as Canton.”
In possibly Warren’s toughest test to date, the self proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” is riding a five-fight win streak since joining Bellator and takes on world-class freestyle wrestler and Olympic Bronze medalist Alexis Vila, who is 9-0 in his professional mixed martial arts career.
A 2004 Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Wilson Reis steps in for what may be the toughest fight of his career and looks to stop the world’s No. 1 ranked Bantamweight prospect in Nova Uniao member Eduardo Dantas. The 22-year-old rising star trains with Season 4 Featherweight Tournament finalist Marlon Sandro and UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and is looking to make plenty of noise in this season’s bantamweight bracket.
Coming off a memorable fight against Warren, Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Marcos Galvao takes on former WEC champion Chase Beebe in a match that could turn into a memorable display of ground fighting and submission attempts.
In the fourth quarterfinal, Ed West, the lone returning fighter from Bellator’s Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament looks to make it back to the tournament finals once again but he must first take on 11-1 Brazilian phenom Luis Nogueira before he realizes that dream.
Established in 2005, The NAAFS has produced nearly 100 live events in the region, and has featured a number of Bellator fighters, including Chris Lozano, Brian Rogers, Daniel Straus and Jessica Eye.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

Fans Can Expect Pat Curran To Stay At 145 Lbs (Video)

Summer Series Featherweight Tournament winner Pat Curran says he plans on staying at 145 lbs, as he feels it’s a more natural weight class for him. Curran stopped the highly ranked Marlon Sandro in Saturday’ night’s Bellator 48 main event with a second round knockout.
Curran earned his second $100,000 check from Bellator, having won the season two lightweight tourny previously.
Props Sherdog.com for the video