Bellator is reportedly working on putting together what might but one of its most notable fights ever.
According to Flo Combat, Bellator is working on a potential fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Mitrione for early 2017. They say the fight is close to being a done deal.
Fedor has fought twice since retiring from MMA in 2012. He beat Singh Jaideep on Dec. 31, 2015 and Fabio Maldonado in June. The Last Emperor has won five straight fights since going on a three-fight losing streak in Strikeforce.
Mitrione is 11-5 in his career and has won both of his fights since signing with Bellator this year. He previously fought in the UFC and notably beat the late Kimbo Slice back in 2010.
Kevin Ferguson Jr. aka “Baby Slice” held an open workout Wednesday in Memphis ahead of Bellator 162.
The workout took place on Beale Street in Memphis at King Jerry Lawler’s Bar & Grill. Bobby Lashley, who is fighting Josh Appelt on the main card, also trained at the makeshift ring during the open workout.
The fight card will take place at the FedEx Forum in Memphis on Saturday. Alexander Shlemenko vs. Kendall Grove is the main event, and it will be Shlemenko’s first fight since testing positive for steroids last year.
Despite being on the preliminary card, Ferguson will be one of the main draws. The son of the late Kimbo Slice is 1-0 in his professional MMA career and will be fighting for the first time since March. His opponent on Saturday is Rick Bing.
Brock Lesnar failed two drug tests prior to his July 9 win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200, and the former heavyweight champion insists he mistakenly ingested the same banned substance twice.
Steven Marrocco of MMA Junkie reports that Lesnar’s camp has requested tests on an eye medication and a foot cream to determine if either substance contains clomiphene, which is an estrogen blocker that increases testosterone levels. Lesnar’s attorney, Howard Jacobs, said in a letter last month that the eye medication came back negative for clomiphene but the foot cream is still being tested.
“We are still investigating this matter (which investigation includes the ongoing testing of products used by Mr. Lesnar prior to the date of the positive test),” Jacobs wrote. “To provide further detail, I am advised that the testing laboratory (Korva Labs) initially tested an eye medication, which was negative for either clomiphene or clomiphene metabolites. Subsequent testing has been conducted on a foot cream; that testing has included three separate extraction attempts, all of which have failed. A fourth extraction attempt is being made by Korva Labs this week.”
The odds of proving Lesnar ingested a banned substance unknowingly are incredibly slim. Jon Jones also tested positive for clomiphene, and there have been some crazy rumors about how he ingested the substance. In the end, both fighters are likely to face some sort of suspension.
Ronda Rousey is officially making her UFC return at UFC 207 in December to fight Amanda Nunes, and the bantamweight champion doesn’t seem the least bit concerned about Rousey’s reputation.
“I 100 percent am gonna beat Ronda Rousey,” Nunes told TMZ this week. “I’m 200 percent (going to beat Ronda Rousey).”
Nunes went out of her way to compliment Rousey, noting that her upcoming opponent is the most “dominant” fighter in the sport and deserves a title shot despite critics saying Rousey should have to work her way back up to it. However, Nunes says she has trained for Rousey and knows exactly how to beat her.
“I know how we’re gonna beat Ronda Rousey,” Nunes said. “I’ve been training for Ronda Rousey since my first fight in UFC. I come from the same background as Ronda Rousey. I’ve been training Judo my whole career. I understand everything Rousey’s gonna bring that day.
“This is gonna be hard for Ronda because everybody expects her to win. She can’t. She knows that.”
If Rousey does lose, that will probably be the last we see of her in the UFC. We know how much her undefeated streak meant to her, so it will be interesting to see if she can still fight with the same edge she used to. If not — well, we all saw what Nunes did to Miesha Tate over the summer.
The daughter of legendary MMA fighter Fedor Emelianenko was reportedly attacked last week and hospitalized, and there is speculation that the 16-year-old may have been victimized in response some political drama Emelianenko recently created in Chechnya.
A Russian report that was translated by Bloody Elbow states that the daughter of a “famous heavyweight” was attacked by unnamed assailants while walking home from school. She was supposedly kicked in the chest and later diagnosed with a “contusion of the chest and abdomen.” Bloody Elbow confirmed the girl was Emelianenko’s daughter.
Police said the 16-year-old was unwilling to identify the attackers, and the implication is that she was intimidated.
On Oct. 9, Emelianenko wrote on social media that the child MMA fights being hosted in Chechnya are “unacceptable & cannot be justified.” That angered Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, who later said Emelianenko “realized his mistakes” after the fighter deleted the post.
Fedor has been met with a great deal of backlash since he spoke out against the child fights.
Greg Hardy has decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts, and Jay Glazer is urging the MMA community to shun the former NFL defensive lineman.
Glazer, a FOX Sports NFL reporter who runs the Unbreakable performance training center in California, tweeted on Tuesday that he would be “incredibly disappointed” if any MMA trainers or promoters welcomed Hardy into the sport.
“I would be incredibly disappointed in any of my fellow MMA coaches and any promoters if they took Greg Hardy in and taught him a shred of our incredible sport,” Glazer wrote. “Many of us train women in self defense specifically to help protect vs domestic violence. Me and all my coaches at @Unbreakable do and take great pride in that.
“Competing in any sport is a privilege, Greg Hardy should not be granted the privilege. There are many beautiful arts taught in our sport, none of which should be afforded to him.”
Those who know Glazer are not surprised he would take that stance, as he has also gone on record in the past as saying Ray Rice does not deserve another shot in the NFL after the former Baltimore Ravens running back was caught on camera hitting his then-fiancee.
Hardy, who was one of the most talented players in football, has basically become untouchable by NFL teams after disturbing details of his domestic violence case surfaced last season. Glazer would like to see the 28-year-old treated the same way in the MMA realm.
Greg Hardy has not received any interest from NFL teams since the end of last season, so the former Dallas Cowboys defensive end has decided to pursue a career change.
He’s going to try his luck in the Octagon.
Ariel Helwani of MMA.com reports that Hardy is putting his football career on hold to focus on mixed martial arts. The 28-year-old has been training in the Dallas area for several months, and his representatives claim several promotions have already expressed interest in signing him.
“I’m very focused and excited to start my MMA career,” Hardy told Helwani. “I’m going to do this the right way, I can assure you of that.”
Hardy was one of the most talented defensive linemen in the NFL, but his off-field issues derailed his career. While the Cowboys tried to give him a chance to prove he had changed, Hardy was reportedly a locker room distraction and became virtually unemployable after disturbing details of his domestic violence case emerged.
