Thursday, June 24, 2010

UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com

UFC blog for latest news, videos, results, betting odds, fighter interviews and MMA rumors - UFCmania.com

Scary Cris Cyborg open media workout video before Jan Finney fight

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 07:47 PM PDT

Cyborg is a massive favorite on Saturday night ... here's why:

Bellator 23 weigh-in results for 'Pitbull vs Warren'

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 07:46 PM PDT

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (June 23, 2010) — On the eve of Bellator Fighting Championships’ much-anticipated show at the Fourth Street Live entertainment district in downtown Louisville, the fighters competing in tomorrow’s event participated in an official weigh-in earlier this evening.

Bellator 23 will be broadcast live in prime time nationwide on Thursday on FOX Sports Net and during special Bellator highlight shows this Saturday night on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.

The official results, as well as full video, of the weigh-in after the jump:

Main card:

Patricio Pitbull (144 lbs.) vs. Joe Warren (144 lbs.) @ 145 lbs.
Alexander Shlemenko (185 lbs.) vs. Bryan Baker (184 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.
Nik Mamalis (135 lbs.) vs. Albert Rios (135 lbs.) @135 lbs.
Zoila Frausto (120 lbs.) vs. Rosi Sexton (121 lbs.) @120 lbs..

Under card:

John Troyer (171 lbs.) vs. Brent Weedman (170 lbs.) @170 lbs.
Daniel Straus (154 lbs.) vs. Chad Hinton (156 lbs.) @ 155 lbs.
Stoney Hale (182 lbs.) vs. Mike Fleniken (183 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.
David Overfield (160 lbs.) vs. Kurt Kinser (155 lbs.) @ 160 lbs.*

* Kinser agreed to a 160 lbs. catchweight after Overfield weighed in overweight

Fabricio Werdum towers over Fedor Emelianenko at SHOSports photo shoot for Strikeforce event on...

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 06:23 PM PDT

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Fabricio Werdum towers over Fedor Emelianenko at SHOSports photo shoot for Strikeforce event on June 26 (Pic).

Lights, camera, action: MMAmania.com Strikeforce: 'Fedor vs Werdum' interview exclusive with Cung Le

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 03:07 PM PDT

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Lost in the shadow that Fedor Emeilanenko's return to the cage this Saturday night casts is a rematch that is sure to provide fight fans with the kind of action we all so desperately crave. 

Starring in said fight is one Cung Le.

And "starring" is the operative word here. Not only is Cung Le one of the best middleweights the sport of mixed martial arts has to offer, he is one of the very few (liberally speaking) fighters that have successfully parlayed his MMA career into a legitimate acting profession.

But the time has come for Mr. Le to truly focus on one arena in order to perform to the best of his ability. The decision has been made.

Scott Smith, be warned.

In anticipation of his rematch with "Hands of Steel" this Saturday night (June 26) on Showtime at 10 p.m. ET/PT, Le took some time to talk with MMAmania.com about balancing his career[s], Scott Smith, and his future in the fight game.

Have a look.

James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Thanks for your time today Cung. Let's start out with some Hollywood talk. You're one of the few, if not only MMA fighter, to make the move to Hollywood and star in actual, legit movies. One other prominent fighter just joined you in that space, Quinton "Rampage Jackson. Grade his performance in the A-Team.

Cung Le: Well, I haven't seen the film yet, but from everything I've heard and from the few clips of the movie that I have seen, he did really well. That role was perfect for him.

James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Talk about the movie Tekken. I know Roger Huerta worked on that project as well. It was slated for release this year, is that still the case?

Cung Le: I actually don't know what's going on with Tekken. I know they ran over budget and there was some CGI problems. I shot the movie back in 2008, so it should have been released by now. I think it will be released overseas before it is released here in the United States. It's unfortunate, but that's part of the business.

James Kimball (MMAmania.com): What other acting projects do you have in the pipeline?

Cung Le: There have been a few projects that have come through that I've passed on because I wanted to focus 100% on fighting. I know my agent wants to sit down with me after this fight to talk things over because there is a big project in the pipeline for me. But right now I'm not really focusing on those types of projects because I have a big fight coming up.

James Kimball (MMAmania.com): This next question is kind of from left field, but are you aware you've never fought outside of the HP Pavilion San Jose, California in your MMA career? Of course this weekend's fight is right back in San Jose. Is that purely a coincidence? And does being so familiar with a venue hold certain advantages?

Cung Le: I was actually hoping that I could take the show on the road but they [Strikeforce] wanted me to fight in San Jose because of my drawing power there. I really wanted to fight on the Strikeforce: "Los Angeles" card, but I'm excited to be back fighting in San Jose. Regardless of where the fight takes place, I'm not sure if it holds any advantage or disadvantage. If anything it just adds more pressure, but I feel like the pressure is off me now that I have loss. I'm coming off the crazy come-from-behind knockout loss to Scott [Smith], but that was last year. This is a whole near year and I'm excited to get this rematch.

James Kimball (MMAmania.com): To that last point, were you surprised that Scott Smith agreed to a rematch considering how the first fight played out?

Cung Le: I think Strikeforce just likes to put on exciting fights and they knew our fight was really exciting. With Fedor coming to town, I think they wanted to stack the card for San Jose and make it like a mega-fight card. I think the fans are going to enjoy it again. Matchmaking is tough. I thought the "Rampage" and Rashad Evans fight was gonna be a shootout but it turned into a chess match. Fights can look good on paper, but you never know how they'll turn out.  Obviously we already fought, so the rematch is very likely to be another shootout.

James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Will you be changing your game plan or strategy much for this fight seeing how you dominated the first go-round until Smith came back late?

Cung Le: Well, I'm definitely gonna listen to my corner more. I'm still gonna come out guns blazing because that's what I do. But in the 3rd round, my corner told me to kinda go in and out and stay busy because I already had the fight won. But I tried to knock him out, ended up blowing my wad, and got caught. It was a bad decision on my part. I should have listened to my corner. I learned the hard way. The saying is very true that you ‘learn more from a loss then a win.' I'll be sticking to my game plan this time around. I just have to fight a smarter fight. And with a full training camp under my belt for this fight, it'll be completely different. Last time Scott [Coker] called me up seven weeks before the fight and said, ‘We need a main event for December, will you fight?' So I stepped up. I had been out of action before then really for 21 months. I was just focused on my movie career and promotional obligations I had. My hands and shins weren't as sharp as when I fought Frank Shamrock, so I felt like I was kinda a weekend warrior. I mean, not only does Scott Smith have hands of steel, but he has a head of steel. But this time around my blades are sharpened.

James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Talk about your intentions and plans long term in this sport. Are you still in it to recapture your title? What's your ideal schedule in terms of MMA action?

Cung Le: Well, I'm not getting any younger. I've committed a lot of time to mixed martial arts over the last six months. Before then I was juggling both careers, movies and fighting. But now just focusing on one career, it has given me more time to spend with my family. My wife is actually due at any moment now [Le's wife Suzanne gave birth to a healthy baby boy on June 21]. We were hoping the child would come before the fight, but it is what it is. But this is my title fight. You don't get another chance at something like this, so I have to take full advantage of it. I haven't forgotten about my movie career, and I'm sure I will one day return to it, but my focus is on performing to the best of my ability on June 26. I can't do this forever, but martial arts is where I come from and I will never turn my back on it. The reason I am where I am today is because of martial arts.

James Kimball (MMAmania.com): Congratulations to you and your wife and thanks again for your time. Any sponsors or website you'd like to plug?

Cung Le: Thank you for the interview. First of all, l I want to thank all the fans for their support. Fans can visit my sponsor's website at cagehero.net, who created an awesome walkout shirt for me. I want to thank Scott Coker and all of the Strikeforce crew for being so good to me. And, of course, I want to thank God. I'm ready to go. Don't miss it.

UFC 116 video blog with Ricardo Romero (Episode 1)

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 03:03 PM PDT

The former Ring of Combat (ROC) champion makes his UFC debut against Seth Petruzelli on July 3 in Las Vegas.

Bellator signs top ten flyweight Jessica Aguilar to finalize Season 3 Women’s Tournament

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:58 PM PDT

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CHICAGO, Ill. (June 23, 2010) - Jessica Aguilar, the American Top Team product and No. 7 flyweight in the world is the latest and final addition to Bellator Fighting Championships' Season 3 Women's Tournament.

Aguilar, a rising star in women's MMA, brings an impressive 8-4 professional record to the tournament, which begins this August. In her latest showing just three weeks ago, Aguilar knocked out Catia Vitoria four minutes into the first round.

Aguilar is the eighth and final fighter to be added to the tournament, and all eight are ranked among the world's 10 best in their respective weight classes.

The others are Japanese MMA sensation Megumi Fujii - widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world - 11-1 British tae-kwon-do black belt Rosi Sexton, 12-5 Seattle submission artist Lisa Ward, 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene, 8-4 New Mexico-based submission specialist Angela Magana , 5-1 Las Vegas-based powerhouse Lynn Alvarez, and 9-0 Irish sensation Aisling Daly.

The tournament begins on Aug. 12 and will once again be televised LIVE in primetime every Thursday night on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2.

"This is my dream," Aguilar said. "Bellator is giving us 115 pounders a shot at showing the world what we can do. Whoever wins this tournament will have the right to say they are truly the best in the world. I just couldn't pass up that opportunity."

The 28-year-old, who was born in Mexico and raised in Houston , says she happened upon MMA four-and-a-half years ago on a whim. After moving to South Florida and entering the real estate industry, she needed a place to work out and eventually found a gym that offered aerobics classes as well combat training. One night, she decided to stick around for what she thought was a wrestling class.

"It ended up being a Brazilian jiu-jitsu class, and I loved it ... I never looked back," she said.

One month later, Aguilar was competing and winning BJJ tournaments. She made her pro MMA debut in February 2006 when she was tapped as a late replacement to fight fellow top-ten 115 pounder Lisa Ward. A life-long athlete, Aguilar took the fight without hesitation on just five days notice.

"I grew up with big brothers and I figured, what could another 115-pound woman do to me?" she said.

True to form, Aguilar showed the extent of her tremendous athleticism, taking Ward all three rounds before eventually succumbing to a rear naked choke with just three seconds left in the fight. Although she lost, the fight inspired Aguilar to train full time and fight for a living. At the ATT camp in Coconut Creek , Fla. , she now rolls with some of the top male fighters in the world.

"They call me pequeña - I'm like a sister to them," she says. "Having brothers myself, it felt really comfortable, like a family environment."

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said Aguilar's fierce fighting style compelled him to make her the final addition to the Season 3 Women's Tournament.

"Jessica Aguilar has that athletic X-factor that makes her competitive in almost any match-up," Rebney said. "She is a great final addition to our Season 3 Women's Tournament."

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator. Tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com.

KJ Noons: 'Nick Diaz is a great fighter -- he's just an idiot'

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:48 PM PDT

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Props: Sherdog.com

Quoteworthy:

"[A Nick Diaz rematch is] definitely in the mix. That's something I want to do, he wants to do it and Strikeforce wants to do it. It's just a matter of making it happen. The whole Nick Diaz thing, he's a great fighter. You look at everything since he first fought (and) I never took away that he's a good fighter. I just said he's an idiot. I don't like his personality. He's a good fighter. As a person, he's a dumb motherf----- ... I'm taking nothing away from him. As a person I just don't like him. Actually I feel sorry for the guy. Too bad he's not better on the outside. He'd actually be a better star and people would like him better. I'm not talking s---; that's just the plain truth."

Former Elite XC Lightweight Champion and current Strikeforce attraction KJ Noons talks about his inevitable rematch with Nick Diaz now that both fighters have set up shop in the San Jose-based organization. Diaz lost to Noons back in 2007 via TKO due to cuts and has since had surgery to correct that area of his face that was so easily opened. He's also gone 7-0 with seven finishes following their bout while Noons has competed just three times in MMA, including a close split decision win over Conor Huen on June 16. Noons vs. Diaz II -- Who ya' got?

UFC 118: Nate Diaz vs Marcus Davis official for Aug. 28 in Boston

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:21 PM PDT

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Marcus Davis will get a chance to fight in front of his fellow New Englanders when the UFC brings him Nate Diaz on the main card of the "Edgar vs. Penn 2" event at the TD Garden on August 28 in Boston, Massachusetts.

"The Irish Hand Grenade" (17-6) exploded against Jonathan Goulet at UFC 113: "Machida vs. Shogun II" back on May 8 to score a technical knockout finish and snap a rare two-fight losing skid.

After Dan Hardy squeaked past him with a split decision win at UFC 99: "The Comeback," Ben Saunders obliterated him in the clinch at UFC 106: "Ortiz vs. Griffin 2" just a few months later. Those consecutive losses effectively ended his welterweight title hopes after going 8-1 over a span of two and a half years.

Now Davis can continue his climb back up the 170-pound ladder against the wily Diaz.

The Cesar Gracie product is currently working through his issues with the Tennessee Athletic Commission for his role in the CBS brawl at the Strikeforce: "Nashville" event back in April and is expected to be ready to go by Aug. 28.

Diaz (12-5) has been hot and cold during his 155-pound run through the Zuffa organization. After submitting Melvin Guillard at Fight Night 19 in 2009, he lost a very questionable split decision to Gray Maynard earlier this year.

Since then, Diaz has moved up to welterweight with winning results. He stopped Rory Markham via technical knockout at UFC 111: "St. Pierre vs. Hardy" in March and could push himself further up the rankings if he finishes Davis.

"Edgar vs. Penn 2" will feature the rematch between Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn for "The Answer's" lightweight title, a number one 155-pound contender bout in the form of Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard and of course, the highly anticipated heavyweight fight between James Toney and Randy Couture.

For the latest UFC 118 fight card and line-up click here.

Strikeforce: 'Fedor vs Werdum' contest: Win FREE Cage Hero Cung Le walkout shirt

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 12:04 PM PDT

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We're back again, giving away more free gear as yet another major mixed martial arts event approaches.

MMAmania.com is proud to announce that a Strikeforce: "Fedor vs. Werdum" contest give-a-way is currently underway and in effect until Saturday night (June 26) at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

We will award three winners who enter the contest for Cage Hero walkout t-shirts worn by none other than Cung Le himself.

What do you have to do to win?

Because we know the Cung Le vs. Scott Smith rematch is going to be a stand up war with non-stop action, all you have to do is correctly predict the second-mark at which the first strike is thrown in each round and by whom. For example... Cung Le at 7 seconds in the first round, Scott Smith at 11 seconds in the second round, and Cung Le at 8 seconds in the third.

In the event of an early stoppage in the fight, the reader with the closet prediction to that point wins. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker will be the prediction of the overall fight outcome. So, your contest entry should look something like this: Cung Le at 7 seconds in the first round, Scott Smith at 11 seconds in the second round, and Cung Le at 8 seconds in the third; Cung Le via knockout in round one.

You still need to provide guesses for the time you believe the first strike will be thrown in every round even if you don't think the fight is going the distance.

To enter, leave your predictons in the comments section of this post.

Good luck!

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 11 Finale averages 2 million viewers, peaks with 2.4 on Spike TV

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 11:09 AM PDT

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Last Saturday night's (June 19) The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 11 Finale drew an average of 2 million viewers while peaking with 2.4 million, according to Spike TV officials.

The card's main event saw Court McGee claim the season 11 TUF middleweight title by submitting Kris McCray in the second round. In other action, Matt Hamill earned a majority decision win over Keith Jardine as he battled with a broken hand, a torn eye duct, and, of course, staph infection.

God bless him.

The ratings fell short of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 Finale, which drew an average of 3.7 million viewers, but also featured some character known as Kimbo. TUF 11 Finale's ratings were in line however with season 9's finale as that event drew 2.2 million viewers.

For a complete recap of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 11 Finale, click here.

Move over Rich Franklin, the UFC may have a new company man ...

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 08:20 AM PDT

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... and his name is Chris Leben?

"The UFC called me and they said Wanderlei was hurt and they want me to fight Akiyama ... At first I said no because I woke up in the morning, my phone was ringing and I was sore and it doesn’t make sense to take a fight when you’re not prepared and training for it. But then as I thought about it, you know, I’m a fighter, this is what I do. Why would I not take a great opportunity? It would be stupid of me. Not to mention that but I want to be a company man with the UFC, I want them to be happy with me. I don’t know a ton about Akiyama. My coach knows a bunch, but we haven’t even had a chance to talk much about our game plan. I saw him fight Alan Belcher and to be honest with you, I thought he lost that fight. He’s a good Judo guy, he’s got great Judo, fast kicks, maybe not the most power in the world. He’s a little bit shorter than me but he’s a good strong guy. I think that utilizing my skills, keeping it on the feet and clubbing him in the head with my left shouldn’t be too much of a problem."

"The Crippler" apparently wants to get in good graces with the Zuffa suits according to his latest comments on BJPenn.com. Leben pushed his record to 20-6 with a second round stoppage over the ultra-tough Aaron Simpson this past Saturday night (June 19) at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 11 Finale in Las Vegas -- his second straight win after dropping a pair of fights in a tumultuous two year span that also saw the former TUF bad boy get popped for steroids. Should fans be prepared for Chris Leben 2.0? Or will Akiyama be too sexy for the hard-hitting middleweight on July 3?

Marlon Sandro knockout video of Masanori Kanehara at Sengoku (SRC) 13

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 08:02 AM PDT

WEC 50: Chad Mendes vs Cub Swanson on tap for Aug. 18 in Las Vegas

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 07:22 AM PDT

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A featherweight match up in the form of Chad Mendes vs. Cub Swanson is in the works for WEC 50: "Cruz vs. Benavidez," which is booked for "The Pearl" at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday, August 18, according to MMA Weekly.com.

Mendes (7-0) has appeared only twice under the WEC banner but has been impressive in both outings.

After a unanimous decision win over the venerable Erik "New Breed" Koch at WEC 47: "Bowles vs. Cruz" back in March, he returned to the cage just over a month later, submitting Anthony "Cheesesteak" Morrison at WEC 48: "Aldo vs. Faber."

Tackling the 14-3 Swanson will prove to be a big step up in competition but also an opportunity to get into the featherweight title hunt with a convincing win.

Swanson is also coming off a submission win when he tapped out John Franchi via guillotine choke in the third round of their war back at WEC 44: "Brown vs. Aldo" in November 2009.

It was his first appearance since an eight second knockout loss to current 145-pound deity Jose "Junior" Aldo.

The Palms Springs native is 4-2 as a WEC fighter and has a well rounded mix of submission and (T)KO wins to his credit. Simply put, this should be yet another exciting fight for Zuffa's little engine that could.

WEC 50: "Cruz vs. Benavidez" will feature newly minted bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz taking on Joseph Benavidez while Urijah Faber makes his 135-pound debut against the ultra-tough Takeya Mizugaki.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more updates to this still-developing fight card.

Wanderlei Silva: 'After years of fighting, my body made me stop this time'

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 06:47 AM PDT

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Props: Fighter's Only

Quoteworthy:

"I went through a very tense and difficult weekend and had a very hard decision. Two weeks ago I felt pain in my knee while I was training wrestling. I had an MRI of my knee and three doctors told me my knee was torn. I took medicine to help with the pain, and although my knee felt loose, I said 'no,' this date is very important to me and I continued training. Last Friday, during sparring, I injured my rib. It was very painful and the next day I had an x-ray and an MRI. I discovered I had three broken ribs. After years of fighting, my body made me stop this time. This is a very, very, very hard moment for me. This was a fight I really, really desired. You cannot imagine how much I wanted to fight on this card. It was my birthday, I had friends and family from Brazil and around the world coming to see me and now I cannot fight. I apologize to my opponent. I hope that I can fight with you in the future. You are an amazing fighter."

A battered and remorseful Wanderlei Silva comments on the recent injuries suffered in training camp that ultimately led to his withdrawal from the UFC 116 co-main event against Yoshihiro Akiyama on July 3. "The Axe Murderer" has enjoyed a long and successful career even prior to his run with the UFC, but are the years of abuse finally catching up to him? While he's listed as 33-years-old, he may carry double that in fight years. Are we seeing the beginning of the end? Or is this just a minor bump in the road en route to another run through the middleweight division?

Fedor Emelianenko ready to grapple with Fabricio Werdum in Strikeforce fight on June 26 (Video)

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 06:24 AM PDT

UFC 116's George Sotiropoulos: 'A fight with Kurt Pellegrino is a step in the right direction'

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 06:09 AM PDT

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Props: BJPenn.com

Quoteworthy:

"He is an intense guy. He fights hard and I think he comes from a wrestling mold. He sticks to his roots and resorts to his strengths. He does have a jiu-jitsu black belt and likes to strike but I see him going back to his wrestling. He is very similar to my last opponent which was Joe Stevenson. Both guys are very talented but Stevenson is probably the more powerful of the two. Pellegrino is a little faster and more agile and I also think Stevenson's striking is a little more aggressive than Kurt's. I think those guys are on par. I think they are both successful. Pellegrino has won his last four fights and won them convincingly. I think Stevenson did beat Pellegrino but right now Kurt is at a good point in his career and I think Pellegrino is a step up in competition. They are both jiu-jitsu black belts and they are on par with one another. I think it's a step in the right direction."

In a battle of emerging lightweight stars at UFC 116 between George Sotiropoulos and Kurt Pellegrino, one man figures to propel himself into the top five of the division with a win. The Australian-bred Sotiropoulos looked great in completely dismantling Joe Stevenson back at UFC 110 while "Batman" has been on a four-fight tear. Though George sees similarities in Stevenson and Pellegrino, he admits this fight is definitely a step up in competition as well as a step in the right direction of one day achieving his ultimate goal. So, how do we see this fight shaking out? Let's get some predictions, Maniacs.

Matt Serra, Frank Edgar, Kimbo Slice and ... Jerry Springer? (Pic)

Posted: 22 Jun 2010 09:09 PM PDT

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Matt Serra, Frank Edgar, Kimbo Slice and ... Jerry Springer? (Pic)

Aisling Daly added to Bellator’s Season 3 Women's Flyweight Tournament

Posted: 22 Jun 2010 07:17 PM PDT

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CHICAGO, Ill. (June 22, 2010) — Aisling Daly, the best female mixed martial artist in Ireland and the world’s No. 3-ranked 125 lbs. female fighter, is the latest addition to Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 3 Women’s Tournament.

The 22-year-old Daly (whose first name is pronounced "ASH-ling") brings a pristine 9-0 record to the tournament, which will mark her MMA debut in the U.S. Her most recent win came against the previously undefeated Finnish knockout artist Maiju Kujala this past March.

Daly is the seventh announced participant in the tournament, each of whom is ranked among the world’s 10 best in their respective weight classes.

The others are Japanese MMA sensation Megumi Fujii – widely regarded as the No. 1 pound-for-pound female fighter in the world – 11-1 British tae-kwon-do black belt Rosi Sexton, 12-5 Seattle submission artist Lisa Ward, 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene, 8-4 New Mexico-based submission specialist Angela Magana and 5-1 Las Vegas-based powerhouse Lynn Alvarez.

The tournament begins on Aug. 12 and will once again be televised LIVE in primetime every Thursday night on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2.

 

"Bellator is the No.1 organization in the world form women’s MMA right now so I jumped at the chance to sign," Daly said Tuesday. "They have all of the best female fighters in the world signed and I firmly believe that whoever wins the tournament is the best pound-for-pound female fighter in the world. That’s my goal and that’s what I’m coming to the U.S. to do … nobody will remember who finishes second."

Daly got her start in combat sports at the age of 10 when she began training in karate. As a teenager, she picked up Brazilian jiu-jitsu and, later, boxing and wrestling. "When I put all of that together, I figured I’d give MMA a go," she said.

As evidenced by her four career TKOs (three of them in the first round), Daly considers herself an aggressive fighter who looks to finish fights early.

"When I go in there, I’m lookin’ to make an impact. I’m lookin’ to steamroll the person I’m fighting," she said.

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said that trait should serve her well no matter which of the other top-ranked opponents she draws once the tournament begins in August.

"Aisling’s as tough as they come and she has all the tools necessary to be dangerous against anyone in this stacked women’s tournament," he said.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator. Tickets are available at www.Ticketmaster.com.
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