Saad Awad after stopping Will Brooks (photo via Bellator)

By FCF Staff

The latest episode of Full Contact Fighter Radio is an all Bellator show, as it features segments with lightweight tournament winner Dave Jansen and one of last season’s break-out fighters, Saad Awad.

Awad advanced to the Season Eight lightweight tourney finals by stopping Guillaume De Lorenzi and then Will Brooks, before coming up short against David Rickels.

Jansen, on the other hand, won the Season Seven competition by handing Marcin Held a UD loss, but recently the vet was forced to withdraw from his title fight with Michael Chandler due to a torn ACL. Jansen discusses the injury in the interview as well as his plans to make a full recovery.

You can listen to the program by heading here or via iTunes.

Cortez Coleman

By Tony Kamps

Growing up it looked as though Cortez Coleman was destined to be just another statistic. All three of his brothers have spent time in jail. Coleman decided that route was not going to be his destiny. He started playing football in high school believing it was his path out of the town of Hugo in Oklahoma. It wouldn’t be football that got him out of the ghetto, it would be another sport.

One night Coleman went to Buffalo Wild Wings and watched a UFC fight that featured legendary Chuck Liddell. When Coleman saw how hyped up the crowd was watching two guys beat each other up he knew where his destiny lied, inside the cage.

“I always had a business mind,” Coleman said. “Basically there was some money in that sport and this fighting.”

He grew up fighting, and felt it was a natural transition to start getting paid for it. When people would tell him that not everyone can fight professionally he would laugh those statements off.

“Where I come from, where I been I’ve seen crack heads tougher than that with better skills than that,” Coleman stated.

He has great respect and admiration for Liddell, but he knew watching the fight that his career was going to come to an end soon.

“I just knew a person can’t keep knocking people out with their hands wide-open like that, it’s a new era,” Coleman said. “I respect Chuck he had some skills, but as far as just a boxer he wasn’t that.”

Coleman sought out gyms to train at and started training with the H.I.T. Squad. This is where he met twins Mike and Ken Jackson. After some time he became their manager as he continued to train on his own. One of his Uncle’s saw how much money he was spending as a manager and told him that he should fight himself. So he did and he found that he’s really good at it.

Having fought in Strikeforce and now Bellator, Coleman has a better understanding than most on the business side of the sport. He is a professional fighter, and he has been a manager. One of the hottest topics right now is that fighters need to band together and form a fighter’s union. Coleman is not so sure.

“Forget all that type of stuff,” Coleman said. “The deal with a lot of fighters is they need to learn how to hustle.”

“As far as a union, man and all that, I’m my own union,” continued Coleman.

Coleman has people helping him out, but it’s mostly him and his fiancée. For Coleman he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“For some fighters that really can’t talk and handle business really they can do that [join a union],” Coleman stated. “The only thing I need is some good coaches in the corner and God will take care of the rest.”

Good coaching can take great fighters to another level. With his upcoming fight against Keith Berry at Bellator 96 quickly approaching Coleman is soaking up everything they are showing him. Coleman though doesn’t train for specific opponents.

“I’m training for King Kong,” Coleman stated. “I don’t know what he’s going to bring, I just know what I’m going to do, [and] I don’t game plan just when I get in the cage I’m coming to fight.”

The fight is between two heavy hitters as Coleman has three of his nine wins come by KO, and Berry has nine of his 14 coming by way of KO.

“It’s going to be fireworks, and I’m going to have my hand raised,” Coleman stated. “I don’t really worry about what he’s going to bring I just know he’s going to want to take me down.”

“Because if he stands[s] up he’s gonna get knocked out,” continued Coleman.

One thing you can always count on in a Coleman fight is he is tough as nails, and won’t back down. He will continue to push forward and push the pace of the action. It’s why he has become a fan favorite in Bellator.

“Matt Hughes, which is a good friend, taught me how to be tough with great wrestling and great grappling,” continued Coleman.

As for his Mom that pushed him, she probably won’t be at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, OK on June 19^th. Not because she does not support her son, because she does, it will be because she knows how violent Coleman can be when fighting.

“She really [doesn’t] come too much to them, because she know[s] how violent I can get,” Coleman said. “She rather [see] me doing this, doing something good than what I was doing.”

Martinez (photo via Bellator.com)

By FCF Staff

One day before Bellator is set to begin its summer series heavyweight tourney, the promotion has announced that Ryan Martinez is replacing Vincius Queiroz. “Spartan” has reportedly been forced to withdraw due to a knee injury, and now Martinez will fight Richard Hale in the tourney’s semifinals.

Martinez is coming off a decision win over Manny Lara, and a quick knockout win over Travis Wiuff, after losing by split decision to Mike Wessel last August.

“I’m looking at this opportunity as a blessing,” Martinez (9-2) was quoted saying in a press release from the promotion. “Rich is a very qualified and tough guy, but I’m ready. I’ve been training with King Mo and Roy Nelson over the last few months, so I basically went through a normal training camp and haven’t stopped training. This is a huge chance for me, and I’m ready.”

Hale (21-5-1), meanwhile, advanced to the finals of Bellator’s last heavyweight tournament in December, but lost by unanimous decision to Alexander Volkov.

Tomorrow’s card will be hosted by the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, and will be broadcast on SPIKE.

MAIN CARD:

Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament: King Mo Lawal (9-2) vs. Seth Petruzelli (14-7)

Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament: Renato “Babalu” Sobral (37-10) vs. Jacob Noe (11-2)

Bellator Heavyweight Tournament: Ryan Martinez (9-2) vs. Rich Hale (21-5)

Bellator Heavyweight Tournament: Vitaly Minakov (10-0) vs. Ron Sparks (8-1)

Welterweight Feature Fight: War Machine (12-4) vs. Blas Avena (8-6)

PRELIMINARY CARD:

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Justin McNally (1-1) vs. Steven Artoff (5-1)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Brandon Girtz (8-2) vs. Derek Campos (10-3)

Light Heavyweight Feature Fight: Brandon Halsey (3-0) vs. Joe Yaeger (5-1)

Heavyweight Feature Fight: Jeremiah O’Neal vs. Raphael Butler (5-0)

Lightweight Feature Fight: Keith Miner (5-4) vs. Damon Jackson (4-0)

Bantamweight Feature Fight: Mike Maldonado (4-0) vs. Chavous Smith (2-3)

Middleweight Feature Fight: Keith Berry (14-10) vs. Cortez Coleman (9-3)

Featherweight Feature Fight: Jarrod Card (13-6) vs. Chas Skelly (10-0)

Jansen (photo via Bellator)

By Kelsey Mowatt

Although Dave Jansen has won six straight fights since he arrived in Bellator in 2011, and in doing so, has established himself as an elite lightweight, the veteran is having a tough time right now focusing on his accomplishments. The reason being, of course, that Jansen was recently forced to withdraw from a title fight with champion Michael Chandler, after tearing his ACL.

“It’s pretty disheartening to pull out,” Jansen told Full Contact Fighter recently. “I’ve actually never pulled out of a fight before. You’ve got to have two functioning legs and I tore my ACL all the way through, and there’s some meniscus damage too, and I actually went in and got it reconstructed last Thursday. I just have to get back on the road to recovery. Be 100% in the future.”

Jansen submitted Magomed Saadulaev, and then worked to decision wins over Ricardo Tirloni and most recently Marcin Held, to win Bellator’s Seventh Season lightweight tournament. So, although Jansen is understandably heartbroken about the recent setback, there are some positives to draw from.

“There’s got to be a silver lining at the end of it,” said Jansen, when asked if he can at least draw from his recent run as a source of comfort. “It’s hard for me to expect how the recovery’s going to go, but I’m going to put everything into it, the rehab.”

Dave Jansen (center left) after winning the lightweight tourney (photo via Bellator.com)

After having multifight campaigns every year since he started fighting professionally in 2007, Jansen will compete only once in 2013 (his decision win over Held took place at Bellator 93 in March). Although the surgery appears to have been successful, Jansen will likely need between six and nine months to recover from the procedure.

“That’s kind of what I’ve hear,” the 33 year-old said. “I’m going back Thursday for a follow up. I’ve got pictures, and it looks good, as far as the arthroscopic images before and after. My surgeon is really good at what he does. He’s worked on a lot of football players and professional athletes, so I’m confident he did a good job. It’s hard to say exactly what the rehab will be like, but 6 to 9 months is what I’m anticipating.”

As a result of Jansen’s injury, David Rickels was tapped to fight Chandler on July 31st, who won Bellator’s eighth season tournament. According to Jansen, when he is set to return, Bellator has assured him he’ll still get the title shot he secured by winning the Season Seven competition.

“That’s what they say,” said Jansen. “It will be a tough fight to come right back into, after an injury like this, but I feel good about it, after I’m fully recovered, and have that drive and determination renewed all over again. Adversity is supposed to make you stronger.”

“I wouldn’t have a problem fighting for the title first fight back,” Jansen noted, when asked if he’d prefer to take a non-title fight first. “It’s why I’m doing this; get that belt.”

You can hear the entire interview with Jansen on this week’s edition of Full Contact Fighter Radio.

Curran kicking Sandro

By Joshua Molina

Bellator recently announced that it would move to Friday nights in the Fall to avoid going head to head with the NFL on Thursday nights.

Boy, is this a bad move.

Not that Bellator wants to challenge the NFL, but moving to Friday is about the second worst move it could make.

Young men, the largest demographic that watches MMA, aren’t home on Friday nights to watch MMA, and especially not Bellator.

The UFC’s Ultimate Fighter struggled in this slot a year ago, and UFC is the most popular MMA company in the world.

The other problem is that Bellator will be moving away from its pro-wrestling lead-in, TNA, which is pretty dumb.

When you have a million people, mostly young men, watching the show before you, you probably want your product, which targets a similar demographic, to follow that show.

Bellator can’t move to Wednesday’s because the UFC plans several Fox Sports 1 shows on those nights.

Tuesdays are out because that’s when The Ultimate Fighter airs. Monday night cable is owned by the NFL and WWE.

Suddenly, there aren’t enough nights in the week for Bellator programming.

It’s a good thing Viacom owns Bellator because without a corporate network backing Bellator would be in big trouble.

All of the scheduling problems are just distractions from the real problem, however; Bellator isn’t resonating beyond hardcore MMA fans.

It needs to drop the tournament format. Unless, it’s a one-night tournament, tournaments are boring.

Fans want titles and weight classes and No. 1 contender matches.

Bellator also needs female fighters — and needs to spotlight them heavily.

Women’s MMA is hot. Fighting over Eddie Alvarez’s contract is not.

Bellator signed “Rampage” Jackson, which is a great move. It needs to do more of that. Sign big stars and big names. The UFC has Mike Tyson. Bellator should go get Evander Holyfield or Lennox Lewis.

Bellator is never going to make it as the alternative to UFC. This is fighting. Bellator needs to take the UFC on head-on.

Challenge them on Wednesday or Tuesday nights. If MMA fans are already watching the UFC on a particular night, it’s much easier to get them to flip to Bellator, and maybe stay there and not flip back, than it is to ask them to carve out an entire night of their lives, every week, especially on a Friday, to watch Bellator programming.

It’s the fight business. You can’t win if you don’t swing.

Lima

By FCF Staff

Bellator’s Season 8 welterweight tourney finale has been postponed again, as Douglas Lima has announced that he will not fight Ben Saunders on July 31st as scheduled, due to injury.

The former tourney winner and 25 year-old confirmed the news via Twitter.

Very unlucky with these back to back injuries but the fight is off for July. I’m injured again. Hope to get back training in no time.

Another neither Lima or Bellator have disclosed any information about the injury, according to Sherdog.com, the fighter has torn cartilage in his ribs. There’s been no word yet as to whether Saunders will still compete on the Bellator 97 card.

Saunders and Lima were expected to fight earlier this year, however, Lima broke his hand during his semifinals stoppage win over Bryan Baker in February. Saunders knocked out Raul Amaya that same February 21st night with a head kick.

The two met for the first time in November, 2011, and Lima stopped the TUF vet in the second round.

Bellator 97 will take place in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and will feature welterweight champion Ben Askren taking on recent tourney winner, Andrey Koreshkov.

The card will also see lightweight champ Michael Chandler fight David Rickels.

Nunes

By FCF Staff

Bellator has reportedly added another UFC vet to its roster, as Diego Nunes has announced via Twitter that he has signed with the promotion.

In addition to tweeting “Bellator fighter!”,  the 30 year-old, Brazilian featherweight posted “I want to make my story in the Bellator!”

The tweets correspond with several reports that have relayed Nunes is headed to Bellator. There’s no word yet from the promotion regarding the signing and when Nunes will make his debut.

Nunes was let go by the UFC after he lost by unanimous decision to Nik Lentz  at UFC on FX 7 in January, which followed a UD victory he recorded over Bart Palaszewski in October.

The resilient fighter went 7-4 during his run with the UFC and WEC, and also scored notable wins over Mike Brown, Raphael Assuncao, and Manny Gamburyan.

Just last week Bellator announced that it has signed former UFC light-heavyweight champ “Rampage” Jackson.

"Rampage" Jackson (photo via Bellator)

By Joshua Molina

It didn’t take long for TNA to throw “Rampage” Jackson into the thick of it.

Annnounced as an “MMA champion,” Rampage entered the squared circle on TV Thursday and hit an all-star homerun in a clever, well-produced storyline with Kurt Angle.

Jackson, showing all the charisma of a big-time pro wrestler, came to the ring to loud cheers and let everyone know that he started out as a wrestling fan.

TNA has something special with Jackson. While UFC President Dana White joked that Jackson can go fight where outcomes are predetermined, the reality is that wrestling fans don’t care about wins and losses.

Wrestling fans care about good performers and Jackson appears to be that. Putting him in the ring with Angle will help him be a bigger star. Angle is one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time.

A former Olympic Gold Medalist in wrestling, Angle came to the ring in a shirt that said “Save Wrestling 2020.” He confronted Jackson and said, “you might be the best in the cage, but now you are stepping into my ring!”

Angle finished his promo by blurting, “And that’s real. That’s damn real.”

Those two will have an excellent match one day because Angle can have a great pro wrestling match with a broomstick.

Unlike a lot of  athletes who have failed in their attempts at pro wrestling, Rampage has major charisma that comes through the camera.

If TNA and Bellator can work together and not rush him, like they did with “King Mo” Lawal, the two organizations could make a lot off money off Jackson.

If done right, Jackson could be a game-changer for both TNA and Bellator.

Rick Hawn (left) and Jim Wallhead exchange (right) (photo via Bellator.com)

By FCF Staff

Bellator continues to increase its size and scope through the ownership of Viacom, as today the promotion announced that future cards will be broadcast in the United Kingdom via the company’s VIVA channel. The agreement will mark the first time Bellator cards will be available to British television audiences.

According to a press release sent out by the promotion, VIVA will start broadcasting live Bellator cards on June 19th, which will feature the semifinals of the promotion’s summer light-heavyweight tourney.

The announcement comes not long after Bellator announced that it had signed British fighters Martin Stapleton, Rob Sinclair and Paul Sass. The press release also notes that the promotion intends “to aggressively pursue top British fighting talent.”

Earlier in the week Bellator also announced that is has signed former UFC light-heavyweight champ “Rampage” Jackson to a multiyear deal.

"Rampage" Jackson (photo via Bellator)

By FCF Staff

Former UFC light-heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will soon be fighting for one of the promotion’s leading competitors, as Bellator has announced that the 34 year-old vet has signed with the organization. According to a press release sent out by the company, the multi-year agreement will also see Jackson appear on TNA Impact Wrestling, which is another Viacom property that is broadcast on SPIKE TV.

“Rampage is a true superstar both inside and outside the MMA cage” Bellator CEO & Chairman Bjorn Rebney was quoted saying in a press release announcing the agreement. “The partnership that we’ve created with Quinton is unlike anything that’s ever been done in the sports & entertainment arena and Rampage is the perfect athlete/entertainer to carry it off.”

“We are thrilled to create this opportunity for one of the greatest athletes and personalities in MMA,” said Kevin Kay, Spike TV President. “Rampage is a proven ratings driver who brings incredible star power to both Bellator and TNA.”

No details regarding when Jackson will make his Bellator debut were included, however, the company has called a press conference in Los Angeles for Wednesday.

Jackson recently ended his six year run with the UFC by dropping consecutive bouts to Jon Jones, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira. The PRIDE vet secured the UFC title in 2007  by knocking out Chuck Liddell, but lost the belt to Forrest Griffin two bouts later.

The charismatic fighter’s new agreement with Viacom appears similar to the one former Strikeforce champ “King Mo” Lawal signed with the company, which also involves both Bellator and TNA Impact Wrestling.

Rickels (photo via Bellator.com)

By FCF Staff

Surging veteran Dave Jansen will not be the next man to fight Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler, as the former tourney winner is reportedly injured and has been forced to withdraw from the June 19th, Bellator 96 card. David Rickels has been tapped to fight Chandler as a result, and will do on June 31st at Bellator 97.

Jansen’s injury and the resulting line-up changes are being reported by MMA Junkie.com.

Rickels (14-1) won Bellator’s Season 8 lightweight tourney by scoring wins over Lloyd Woodard, Jason Fischer and then Saad Awad in the finals. The former welterweight has won four straight.

Chandler (11-0) hasn’t competed since January when he tapped out Rick Hawn with a second round, rear-naked-choke. The noted wrestler has won 8 consecutive bouts under the Bellator banner.

Bellator has not made any official announcement yet about the reported changes.

The upcoming June 19th card will also feature “King Mo” Lawal vs. Seth Petruzelli and “Babalu” Sobral vs. Jacob Noe in the promotion’s summer light-heavyweight tourney.

Alessio (right) in his SFS battle with Ryan Healy

By FCF Staff

UFC and WEC veteran John Alessio is the latest high profile fighter Bellator has added to its roster,  as the 33 year-old fighter has announced he’s signed a new contract with the promotion. Speaking via his Facebook account, Alessio stated:

I signed a contract!!!!!!!! ………………………………….I am now a BELLATOR MMA fighter, very excited for this new chapter in my fight career. Pumped to fight live on SPIKETV for all of you!!! I promise to always fight my heart out and do my best to put on a great show!!! Thanks to Bjorny Rebney for this opportunity.

Alessio has fought just once since he was released by the UFC last summer, following back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Shane Roller and Mark Bocek,  which was a no contest result while competing for Aggression FC in November. Alessio was accidentily poked in the eye by Dave Mazany and could not continue.

The Canadian lightweight had worked his way back to the UFC by putting together a 9-1 run.

According to a recent report by MMA Junkie.com, Bellator has confirmed it’s signed Alessio and the lightweight will compete in the promotion’s upcoming season this fall.

Alessio, who trains and resides in Las Vegas, currently holds a record of 34-16.

Jenkins (photo via American Top Team)

By FCF Staff

Bellator has added one of the sport’s top prospects to its roster, as it announced Friday that is has signed former NCAA wrestling champion and undefeated lightweight Bubba Jenkins to a “long term promotional agreement.”

The 25 year-old Jenkins will make his Bellator debut this summer, however, the organization has announced that he will compete several times before entering one of the promotion’s tournaments.

“Bubba Jenkins is MMA’s top young prospect and we have the optimal developmental program to maximize that talent,” Bellator CEO & Chairman Bjorn Rebney said in a press release from the promotion. “Our mission is to sign and develop the world’s best fighters.  Bubba’s development will be strategic and disciplined, taking all appropriate preliminary steps prior to his facing the rigors of the toughest tournament in sports.”

Jenkins has gone 3-0 to date since transitioning into pro MMA in 2011. The American Top Team fighter has won all three of his bouts in the first round.

“After sitting down with Bjorn, I really felt comfortable with the opportunity laid out for me, and this is where I want to be,” Jenkins said. “Bellator is doing a lot of great things right now and I want to be a part of it. I’m not here to step on any toes, I’m here to develop as an elite fighter, get my shot in the tournament and eventually compete for a world championship.”

Jenkins won the NCAA National Championship in 2011, at 157 pounds, while attending Arizona State University.

"King Mo" Lawal. Photo credit: Esther Lin/Strikeforce

By Joshua Molina

No, no, no, “King Mo”.

The pride of Bellator and TNA is getting caught up in more wrestling nonsense right before his big fight against Seth Petruzelli.

Apparently Mo was in Las Vegas last weekend supporting his wrestling friend Kenny King at a Future Stars of Wrestling show.

Stone, an Indy promoter, was apparently calling out Mo during the night trying to instigate a fight.

At some point, Mo, fed up with the taunting, apparently jumped over the barricade and choked out Stone. See the video here.

Now Stone in social media says he plans to sue King Mo. He claims he’s not joking.

Despite what he says, this is, unfortunately, a wrestling angle and another distraction leading up to his fight with Petruzelli on June 19.

King Mo is a great fighter and personality. Right now, though, he should be focused on fighting, not wrestling.

This is a guy, by the way, who beat Gegard Mousasi. Easily.

. . . The UFC can’t catch a break in New York, but it just struck gold on television.

Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey is a far more marketable fight than Rousey vs. Cat Zingano, who was injured and forced to pull out of The Ultimate Fighter and a fight against Rousey.

Zingano deserves a title shot, but Tate and Rousey will make better television.

The two women hate each other and Tate survived the longest with Rousey, nearly taking her out of the first round.

Zingano’s injury comes at a terrible time, but she will bounce back and will get an eventual title shot.

But for now, The Ultimate Fighter just got a heavy dose of sass.

. . . The International Olympic Committee Executive Board OK’d wrestling, baseball/softball and squash to move forward for final consideration in the 2020 Olympic Games. Wrestling is currently an Olympic sport, but was one of the sports recommended for elimination earlier this year.

A final decision will take place in September.

The IOC today eliminated several other sports for contention, including wakeboarding, karate and rollersports.

Keep in mind that table tennis is an Olympic sport. . .