MMA UK

Crossover fights that need to happen

Nicolas Suarez 18/04/2022

Honorable Mention: Bellator: (C) Sergio Pettis (22-5) vs ONE: (C) John Lineker (35-9) vs UFC: Marlon Vera (18-7) Bellator: Aaron Pico (10-3) vs PFL: Bubba Jenkins (16-5) UFC: Rafael Fiziev (11-1) vs PFL: Raush Manfio (15-3) UFC: (C) Valentina Shevchenko (22-3) vs Bellator: (C) Juliana Velazquez (12-0) UFC: (C) Israel Adesanya (22-1) vs Bellator: (C) Gegard Mousasi (49-7): Israel Adesanya has established himself as the top dog in the UFC’s middleweight division. He has toyed with his opposition to the point that there doesn’t appear to be any worthy challengers left, Izzy has defeated every major rival at least once and even moved up a weight class to challenge Jan. However, many believe Bellator’s Gegard Mousasi is the only man in the world that can give Izzy a run for his money. The former UFC fighter has been on an incredible run since leaving the UFC, joining Bellator and becoming their champ, “the dreamcatcher” has continued to show that his striking is still elite, but is it Izzy elite? MMA fans around the world deserve to know who is the best 185. Bellator: Michael Venom Page (20-1) vs UFC: Wonderboy Thompson (16-6): While this fight may not be champ vs champ, this could easily be one of the greatest pure striker vs striker matchups out there today. Both compete in the same division for rival organizations but their style and overall body of work is what makes this a must see fight. Both fighters are long and rangy and know how to use their jab and kicks to keep opponents where they want them. Wonderboy can put anyone out with his kicks but is more of a point fighter, where MVP is still accurate but is more of a finisher. Here’s to hoping that if this fight ever happens we are treated to a stylistic war and not so much a repeat of MVP vs Daley. UFC: (C) Rose Namajunas (11-4) vs ONE: (C) Angela Lee (11-2): While both fighters are relatively the same age and have nearly the same amount of fights, Rose has been in the bigger spotlight with much more difficult competition. But this doesn’t take away from the fact that Angela Lee has been wrecking shop for One Championship since 2015 and is looking like she could one day reach the levels of success and fame that Rose has. This matchup would pit 2 of the best 115-pound women on earth who combine their speed and athleticism with their hard work and dedication. Rose is renowned for her striking and grappling ability, while Angela has been a human Boa Constrictor scoring 7 submissions in 11 wins. UFC: Tai Tuivasa (14-3) vs PFL: Bruno Cappelozza (14-5): This fight does not go the full 3 or 5 rounds. Both fighters are KO walking machines, combined they share 26 KO’s (13 individual) and have had almost the same amount of fights. Tai is looking like a contender as he is on a 5 fight win streak and is currently ranked #3 in the UFC. Bruno has exploded since coming back to MMA after a 2-year layoff and scored 4 straight wins (3 KO) en route to winning the PFL million dollar tournament. Bellator: (C) Ryan Bader (29-7) vs UFC: Curtis Blaydes (16-3): Longtime LHW Ryan Bader has moved up to HW since leaving the UFC and captured gold in both divisions for Bellator (lost title at 205), but Bader is undefeated as a heavyweight and continues to show that he can still hang with the best of them. Curtis is currently on a 2 fight win streak and is becoming the Francis Nganou of ground and pound. Both fighters are some of the best wrestlers in the division but are more than capable as strikers, both have a combined 26 stoppages and this number could easily be 27 should they ever meet. Bellator: Corey Anderson (16-5) vs UFC: Jan Blachowicz (28-9): The series is tied 1-1. Corey beat Jan in 2015 by UD and Jan KO’d Corey in his final UFC fight. Corey has gone on to have a resurgence and came close to capturing Bellator’s LHW crown, if not for an accidental headbutt that caused an NC. Jan on the other hand went on to win and defend his belt, but has since lost it. Both fighters still hold animosity toward each other and it would be great to see 2 of the best LHW settle their rivalry. Bellator: (C) Yaroslav Amosov (26-0)vs UFC: Colby Covington (17-3): Yaroslav currently has a record that no other champion even in the UFC has, an unprecedented 26 fight streak that includes names like Douglas Lima, Erick Silva, Ed Ruth and Logan Storley. The Ukrainian fighter is a master of Sambo and has demonstrated that he loves to finish opponents (19 stoppages). Colby is stuck in purgatory after losing to Usman a second time, he took out rival Masvidal and is looking to face Khamzat Chimaev to establish who is Usman’s next challenger. But a fight against Amosov would be the perfect test for both fighters who seem to be slightly behind the current 170 king. Bellator: Douglas Lima (32-10) vs UFC: Jorge Masvidal (35-16): These two have been through just about everything that a fighter can experience, with a combined 93 fights, these two welterweights not only offer a library of knowledge and experience but also have the most fan friendly styles that an MMA fighter can have. While they may not always get their hands raised, one can’t say that these two don’t give 100% in every fight. Each fighter has 16 KO wins individually and Douglas has 10 Submissions as well. This match could be a backyard style fight in the octagon. Bellator: Fedor Emelianenko(40-6) vs UFC: Derrick Lewis (26-9): Call me the typical UFC “just bleed” kind of fan here, but that’s exactly what this fight would lead to. While Fedor never fought in the UFC during or after his prime, he showed last October (1st round KO win) that he can still flatline any man

Bellator 277 preview

Nicolas Suarez 15/04/2022

In one of the most anticipated rematches in Bellator history, champion and undefeated fighter Aj McKee (18-0) defends his title for the first time against the man many consider to be the greatest Bellator fighter ever in former 145 and 155 pound champ Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (32-5). The event is set to take place Saturday night with Vadim Nemkov vs Corey Anderson as the co-main event, also on the main card we will get to see Aaron Pico, Brittish fighter Linton Vassell and American Timothy Johnson. In their first matchup, Aj and Pitbull met in what many believed would be Aj’s biggest test. Yet the newly crowned champion took out the Brazilian Pitbull less than 2 minutes into the first round and started his reign as king of 145. Pitbull had been on a 7 fight win streak and had never been KO’d or even TKO’d in his 36 fight career. The bad blood has been building ever since, with Patricio’s younger brother and 155-pound champion Patricky (24-10) getting involved in the feud after AJ claimed he would end the “Pitbull” legacy. We will have to wait until Saturday to see what the future holds for two of the biggest and most respected fighters in Bellator. There have been rumors that if AJ were to win, he could potentially leave Bellator for the UFC, or possibly move up to 155 to add another belt to his collection. In the Co-main event, we have a pivotal fight at 205, when champion Vadim Nemkov (15-2) takes on contender Corey Anderson (16-5). Nemkov is no stranger to facing former UFC competition as he captured his title from Ryan Bader via TKO and has already beaten Phil Davis twice, the Russian is looking to add another marquee name to his resume. Corey Anderson has been on a tear since leaving the UFC scoring 3 straight victories via TKO, the former TUF 19 winner is looking to win his first ever title and cement himself as the best 205 in Bellator. On the card as well is Aaron Pico (9-3) who is looking closer to challenging for the 145-pound strap, the former standout wrestler and boxer has looked impressive since suffering back to back losses in 2019 and is currently riding a 5 fight win streak (4 stoppages). Main Card: (C) A. J. McKee vs Patrício Pitbull (C) Vadim Nemkov vs Corey Anderson Aaron Pico vs Adli Edwards Timothy Johnson vs. Linton Vassell Prelims: Tyrell Fortune vs. Rakim Cleveland Rafael Carvalho vs Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov Gaston Bolanos vs Daniel Carey Kyle Crutchmer vs Michael Lombardo Bobby Seronio III vs. Calob Ramirez Rhalan Gracie vs. Tyson Miller Edwin De Los Santos vs Alberto Mendez Socrates Hernandez vs Rogelio Luna Laird Anderson vs. JT Donaldson Theo Haig vs. Alan Benson

8 Fighters not in the UFC who should be

Nicolas Suarez 15/02/2022

Aj McKee (Bellator 18-0): Bellator’s new Featherweight champion is quickly establishing himself as one of the top fighters in the world. In July of 2021, he needed only 1 round and less than 2 minutes to KO and secure his title. He has most recently seen his star level rise as he keeps dominating his opponents and has been linked in feuds with Nate Diaz and UFC featherweight champ Volkanovski. AJ has 3 fights left on his contract and while nothing is ever certain the UFC is the only company that has the kind of roster that truly challenges this undefeated fighter. Kayla Harrison (PFL 12-0): The 2X Olympic Judo gold medalist has not disappointed since turning pro in 2018. Since joining the PFL Kayla has ragdolled her opposition en route to winning the women’s PFL lightweight tournament twice and becoming one of the most coveted free agents in MMA. She is currently in contract negotiations with both the UFC and PFL. But it’s in the UFC that we could see her matched up with names like Amanda Nunes, Juliana Pena, and Holly Holm. Not since Ronda has a judoka had this much of an impact on MMA and could easily fight for gold right away if and when she makes her UFC debut. Ray Cooper III (PFL 23-7-1): 2-time champ and winner of the million-dollar PFL tournament Ray Cooper has been lighting it up since 2019 and is riding a 6 fight win streak. As a fighter, Ray used to be thought of as another scrappy striker, but now we have seen him evolve into a methodical athlete that uses his frame and strength to take the fight where he wants it to, this was evident by his UD victory over Rory McDonald and 3rd round stoppage of Magomed. A Welterweight fight vs Masvidal or Luque would make for a fight of the year. Vadim Nemkov (Bellator 15-2): Fedor’s protege has not disappointed as a fighter. A man who has not lost since 2016 Vadim has held the title of champion while taking out names like Ryan Bader, Phil Davis (twice), Liam McGeary and others. Of his 15 fights, only 2 have gone the distance, while Vadim will likely face new LHW contender Corey Anderson and possibly rematch Bader but a fight in the UFC vs the only man to stop him in Jiri Prochazka or even Aleksandar Rakic is the fight the fans want to see. Yaroslav Amosov (Bellator 26-0): When people see a record this good the first thing that comes to mind is that it’s padded beyond belief. But since joining Bellator in 2018 “Dynamo” has scored wins over top talent like Gerald Harris, Erick Silva, Ed Ruth and most recently he took out veteran and former champion Douglas Lima to win the WW strap. A fight with another grappling standout like Colby Covington would make sense. Gegard Mousasi (Bellator 48-7-2): A legendary career that has spanned close to 20 years and counting “The dream-catcher” has seen and done it all. He’s fought for major companies like Pride, DREAM, UFC and now Bellator as their MW champion. Since his departure from the UFC (left on a 5 fight win streak), Gegard has been living up to his monicker as he has taken out names like Rory McDonald, Machida, Douglas Lima and Alexander Shlemenko. A return to the UFC would be most welcomed as we could see an explosive reunion VS the upper echelon of the MW division which is littered with amazing strikers like Izzy, Whittaker, Costa and Vettori. Patricio Pitbull (Bellator 32-5): The former Bellator kingpin is back on the prowl looking to avenge his title loss against AJ. The Brazilian fighter has been the most consistent fighter in Bellator history as he is rapidly approaching 12 years of fighting for the organization. As a fighter, not many can match the intensity and ferociousness that is in EVERY single one of his fights(23 fights won by stoppage). It really is a shame that we never got to see Pitbull compete in the UFC during his prime or title reign, but even at this stage in his career, it’s safe to say that fans would welcome a fight against Max Holloway, Yair Rodrigues, or the Korean Zombie. Corey Anderson (Bellator 16-5): Corey was once labelled another “good wrestler with ok striking” during his time in the UFC. Boy oh boy were those people wrong. Since joining Bellator Corey has developed some hands of steel as he is 3-0 all by TKO and continues to have some of the nastiest GNP in his division and was even able to KO HW champ Ryan Bader in under a minute. Many fans feel Corey should still be in the UFC as he has wins over current and former champs Jan Blachowicz, Glover Teixeira and talented fighter Johhny Walker. Seeing Corey rematch Jan to see the winner of the trilogy or even a fight against former contender Dominick Reyes would get fans excited.

Bellator 197 and UFC Glendale fun fight facts

Peter Knox 11/04/2018

Another double feature is upon us this weekend with a lightweight banger between Michael Chandler (17-4-0) and Brandon Girtz (15-7-0) to kick’s us off on Friday the 13th at Bellator 197. Fireworks follow as Justin Gaethje(18-1-0) and Dustin Poirier(22-5-0) look to break into a top three spot in the UFC lightweight rankings on Saturday at UFC Glendale. Here are some fun fight facts: Bellator 197 At 22, AJ Mckee is undefeated 10-0 with the longest winning streak in Bellator history. Seven of those wins via finish Mckee headlined his last fight at Bellator 187, where he defeated Brian Moore via RNC “Halloween terror, its Friday the 13th, I’m coming to slice something Michael Myers style. Its gonna be fun” (Aj Mckee via fightful.com) Home court advantage, Justin Gaethje fights in his home state of Arizona while Michael Chandler returns to Missouri for the first time since Bellator 157. Last time, Chandler knocked out Patricky Pitbull to win the vacant lightweight title Chandler’s 14 victories are tied with Patricio Freire for most in company history Michael Chandler started as a welterweight but made his lightweight transition with the Bellator promotion winning the season 4 tournament to get the title shot against Eddie Alvarez Chandler’s 11 victories in Bellator lightweight competition are most in divisional history Girtz and Chandler have a combined 30 Bellator fights under their belts At Minnesota State, Girtz received NCAA Division II All-American honours Brandon Girtz and Justin Gaethje are longtime training partners, he said: “This is like the third fight in a row where Gaethje and I are fighting a week apart” (Brandon Girtz via Cagesidepress.com) MMA vet Justin Lawrence was a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 15 Lawrence is a two-time St. Louis’ Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament Champion and has over 150 amateur kickboxing wins Kevin Ferguson Jr. is the eldest son of the late professional fighter Kimbo Slice Ferguson’s has two pro wins, both first-round finishes “Baby Slice” Kevin Ferguson attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where he studied Fashion and Photography.He most recently designed new Team Kimbo shirts UFC Glendale Dustin Poirier won an eight-man tournament as an amateur in Iowa over the course of two days He’s received several UFC bonuses 4x fight of the night, 2x performance of the night and 1x submission of the night Dustin Poirier is known to auction off his fight kit to donate $$ to various foundations helping those in need Justin Gaethje’s TKO win/UFC debut against Michael Johnson won 2017’s fight of the year 15 of his 18 wins have come by stoppage At the University of Northern Colorado, Justin received 2010 Division I All-American and finished seventh in NCAA tournament “I want to go to Brazil, I want to fight top Brazilians in Brazil. I want to go to Russia, fight Khabib in Russia. They’re going to be screaming ‘you’re gonna die’ the whole time. That’s the sh*t that I freakin’ love. It’s the sh*t that separates one from the other.” (Justin Gaethje via MMAfighting.com) Alex Oliveira’s most recent bout against Yancy Medeiros came in a close second for 2017’s fight of the year Oliveira’s fight journey began after he was spotted fighting in a nightclub and invited to start training Oliveira is stepping up on short notice (two weeks) to replace Matt Brown Carlos Condit is a former interim UFC welterweight champion and WEC welterweight champion. where he made three successful title defences as their last champion 28 of Condit’s 30 wins have come by way of knockout or submission Bellator 197 Fight Card Michael Chandler vs. Brandon Girtz AJ McKee vs. Justin Lawrence Kevin Ferguson Jr. vs. Devon Brock Logan Storley vs. Joaquin Buckley Josh Sampo vs. Dominic Mazzotta Rebecca Ruth vs. Juliana Velasquez Derek Anderson vs. Zak Bucia Jordan Dowdy vs. Jeff Crotty Adam Cella vs. Dewayne Diggs Joe Roye vs. Cort Wahle Justin Robbins vs. AJ Siscoe Jordan Howard vs. Eric Ellington UFC on Fox 29 Fight Card Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje Carlos Condit vs. Alex Oliveira Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori Cortney Casey vs. Michelle Waterson Ricky Rainey vs. Muslim Salikhov John Moraga vs. Wilson Reis Tim Boetsch vs. Antonio Carlos Junior Gilbert Burns vs. Dan Moret Shana Dobson vs. Lauren Mueller Krzysztof Jotko vs. Brad Tavares Arjan Bhullar vs. Adam Wieczorek Dhiego Lima vs. Yushin Okami Patrick Williams vs. Luke Sanders Matthew Lopez vs. Alejandro Perez

Bloodlines- featuring Bellator MMA fighter AJ McKee

Myles Painter 13/04/2017

In life, there is no greater joy for a parent then to witness their offspring succeed at something. In today’s episode of Across The Pond, you will meet a ruthless wrecking ball whose ability to capitalize on any opening combined with a rich MMA pedigree makes him one of Bellator MMA’s brightest young guns. A professional since April 2015 and representing Team Bodyshop, 22 year old AJ McKee holds a 7-0 record consisting of three knockouts, two submissions and two decisions. AJ is the son of MMA veteran Antonio McKee. In his MMA debut at Bellator 136, AJ submitted Marcos Bonilla via rear naked choke in round one. Then he knocked out James Barnes at Bellator 141. AJ earned a first round knockout over JT Donaldson at Bellator 147 followed by a TKO victory over Danilo Belluardo at Bellator 152. At Bellator 160, McKee submitted Cody Walker in the second round. He defeated Ray Wood via unanimous decision at Bellator 166. In 2017 AJ earned a unanimous decision victory over Brandon Philips at Bellator 171. At Bellator 178 on April 21, AJ will face Dominic Mazzotta (11-1) in a battle between two up and coming prospects. Good luck AJ!