Official Bellator M'Pumbu vs Vegh Discussion

Bellator MMA
M'Pumbu vs Vegh Light heavyweight Championship Bout
February 28th, 2013
Rio Rancho, NM - Santa Ana Star Center


BELLATOR Lightheavyweight Championship
Christian M'Pumbu vs Attila Vegh

Bellator Season 6 Light Heavyweight Tournament Winner
Attila Vegh
"Pumukli"
28-4-2
6'2'
205lbs
Slovakia
Asossication: Octagon Fighting Academy
Style: Striking, karate
Strengths: Submissions, Dictating the pace of a fight, Striking
Last 3 wins:Travis Wiuff, Emanuel Newton, Zelg Galesic
Last 3 Losses: Simon Carlsen, Daniel Tabera, Toni Valtonen

Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion
Christian M'Pumbu
"Tonton"
18-4-1
6'2'
205lbs
Democratic Republic of Congo
Association: Yogata Fight Team
Style: Muay Thai / Savate
Strengths: KO power, Always looking for the finish, Aggressive
Last 3 Wins: Richard Hale, Tim Carpenter, Chris Davis
Last 3 Losses: Travis Wiuff, Yoshiyuki Nakanishi, Jan Blachowicz

There can only be one Light Heavyweight Champion of Bellator so who will it be?


MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET, Spike TV)
Christian M'Pumbu vs. Attila Vegh - for light-heavyweight title
Saad Awad vs. Will Brooks - lightweight tournament semifinals
Jason Fischer vs. David Rickels - lightweight tournament semifinals
Ed West vs. Josh Montoya - Bantamweight feature
PRELIMINARY CARD (8 p.m. ET, Spike.com)
Adrian Cruz vs. Nick Gonzalez
Josh Appelt vs. Josh Lanier
Russell Wilson vs. Felipe Chavez
Blas Avena vs. Lenny Lovato
Holly Holm vs. Katie Merrill
Brennan vs. Vadiano La Luz

Vegh TKO

CDF47 wrote:Vegh TKO

Same here

Now that Tiger is out the winner of Brooks vs Awad will win the LW tournament. Not sure who will win in their semifinal.

PRIDE FC wrote:Now that Tiger is out the winner of Brooks vs Awad will win the LW tournament. Not sure who will win in their semifinal.

Don't be so quick to discount the caveman dave rickels or even his opponent jason fischer they both have a chance aswell.

Awad has no chance to move any further, in my opinion.

Even if he did, I don't think he could beat either Rickels or Fischer.

Whats the point of this fight


they might as well hand give Mikhail Zayats the title

stu3ufc wrote:Whats the point of this fight


they might as well hand give Mikhail Zayats the title

Zayats vs Vegh will be a great titlefight.

PRIDE FC wrote:

stu3ufc wrote:Whats the point of this fight


they might as well hand give Mikhail Zayats the title

Zayats vs Vegh will be a great titlefight.

That's what I'm hoping for.

Zayats might have a tough time with newton

Bellator 91's Will Brooks knows a unique family background is part of the story

Seconds after Will Brooks scored a decision win over Ricardo Tirloni in the opening round of Bellator's Season 8 lightweight tournament, a large man left his cageside seat, charged for the cage, blasted by security, and went after the fighter.

The man soon confronted Brooks, who was a bit startled by his arrival.

Soon, though, they embraced and celebrated the latest win from one of MMA's fastest-rising prospects. Nearly two years to the date after he lost his adoptive mother after a long battle with cancer, Brooks and his adoptive father found a silver lining.

"It was pretty emotional because the Friday after the fight was actually the anniversary of when Mama J passed away," Brooks told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) about his adoptive mom. "So it was kind of harder for us because we knew that was coming up, so it just meant a lot. We're all still trying to transition to understanding that she's not here. She was just such a huge part of what we do today. She kept everyone on track, so it's difficult adjusting to not having her around."

And his dad?

"After the fight, he had to bust through security to see me," he joked. "They wouldn't let him through, and you know, he's a bigger dude so once he gets his feet moving, it's hard to stop him. He ran up on me and gave me a big hug. We really didn't exchange too many words. We didn't need to because he knows me, and I know him."

Brooks (9-0 MMA, 1-0 BFC), who meets Saad Awad (13-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) tonight in a Spike TV-televised main-card bout at Bellator 91, had a rough upbringing in Chicago, and as a young teenager, he was separated from his biological mother, who had her own issues – personal and legal – to deal with. His relationship with his biological father also fell apart. But a friend's family took him in, and he turned around his life.

He's still close with his adoptive father, and he's also reunited with his biological parents. It's resulted in a big cheering section at his fights, all of which have ended in victory.

"My real family has been a huge part of what I've been doing also," he said. "It can be difficult too, having to balance two different families. Every fight that I go into, I carry all of my family with me, but the connection I had with Mama J was something special. It comes once in a lifetime, when you find that one person that you just connect with. So after my win over Ricardo Tirloni, I just felt like she was watching over me and protecting me. Every fight I feel like she's looking down on me and she's got my back.

"I felt like it was more her coming down and taking me into her hands and guiding me along. She's given me the tools to display the skills and talents that I've been blessed with, and display the champion that she helped me build. She helped me build the person I am today."

A tournament championship would further elevate the profile of Brooks, who caught Bellator's attention after he knocked out former World Victory Road/Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka in December at DREAM.18. The little-known fighter with the amazing story became an overnight notable, and now, he's two wins away from challenging for the title currently held by Michael Chandler.

"I wanted to make a statement in that (Tirloni) fight that I'm not just some bum that they're bringing in off the street to get beat up," he said. "I was looking to come in there and let people know that I'm a threat. I'm a very very serious threat in the lightweight division."

While his fighting skills have given him opportunities, Brooks' story has been part of his promotional push. Initially he was hesitant to share such intimate details of his life, and he didn't want fans to root for him merely out of sympathy.

But he soon realized he could impact others.

"At first, I was one of those guys who didn't want to be known for a story, and I still don't want to be known just for my story," he said. "But as I've grown up and matured, been able to see the big picture and see the whole world around me in a better light, I feel like when people hear my story, if I can motivate them to go out and work hard, to try their best and to sacrifice something – anything – to better themselves as a person or those around them, and it helps them to achieve their goals, I don't care how people see me.

"As long as they see me and realize what I've done, and use that in their own lives to be motivated and focused, they can see me however they want to."

And once they see him, Brooks hopes they see a motivational figure, a committed family member, a skilled fighter and, more than anything, a champion.

"Who am I?" he said. "I'll tell you who I am. I feel like I'm a champion already. I'm a champion as a person and in my everyday life, and I'm on the verge of being a champion as a fighter in this tournament."

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/02/bellator-91s-will-brooks-knows-a-unique-family-background-is-part-of-the-story

Attila Vegh plans KO of champ Christian M'Pumbu at Bellator 91

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and Attila Vegh seems to be taking that philosophy into his Bellator light heavyweight title fight.

Vegh (28-4-2 MMA, 4-0 BFC) challenges champion Christian M'Pumbu (18-4-1 MMA, 3-1 BFC) tonight for the promotion's 205-pound belt. He plans on winning it, and he plans on knocking M'Pumbu out.

It's that simple – even though M'Pumbu has never been stopped with punches in a 23-fight career.

Bellator 91 takes place at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. The main card, including the Vegh-M'Pumbu title fight, airs on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com

"Honestly, I don't see this fight getting to the third round," Vegh told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I feel confident that I will be able to take him out in the first or second round. I know I can beat Christian by knockout or submission, but the clearest path to victory for me is to just knock him out."

And there you have it – the shortest distance, the clearest path, whatever you want to call it, Vegh knows precisely what he's looking for.

The Solvakian has been on a tear, winning eight straight fights with five stoppages. During Bellator's 2012 "Summer Series" light heavyweight tournament, he submitted Zelg Galesic 60 seconds into their fight, then picked up a split decision win over Emanuel Newton (who just took out Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal in the current tourney) and stopped Travis Wiuff with a 25-second knockout to earn his shot against M'Pumbu.

Though the two were supposed to fight in Season 7 for the title at Bellator 84, a Vegh injury forced him out of the December fight and delayed the bout until now.

That kept M'Pumbu on the shelf even longer – the champ hasn't fought since a November 2011 non-title loss to Wiuff. It's been nearly two years since he won the title with a third-round TKO of Rich Hale at Bellator 45, giving him three TKO stoppages in the Season 4 light heavyweight tournament to become the promotion's first 205-pound champ. But the fight with Vegh will be his first defense of the title.

Vegh, the favorite in the fight, knows the champ is dangerous – but believes he is more so.

"I know Christian M'Pumbu is a world-class fighter," Vegh said. "He's a champion for a reason. I have a lot of respect for him. But that's not going to stop me from hurting him on Thursday night. I'm going to knock him out and take his belt from him. He has very powerful punches, as he has shown with his knockouts in Bellator. But I feel like I'm better than him in all areas. I know I have the tools to beat him. I also know that I have the power in my fists to put him to sleep. That's what I plan to do."

The old fighting adage is that no one is looking past the opponent in front of them. And that may be true for Vegh. Well, mostly true.

Let's just say the challenger is confident enough in what he believes will happen Thursday to have been paying plenty of attention to the current Season 8 tournament, which will see Newton take on Mikhail Zayats in the finals.

"The fighters that fought in the current tournament were the best yet," Vegh said. "I'm really excited to see who ends up winning it so I can see who I will be fighting next. But right now, I'm just focused on the task at hand. My only focus right now is to knock Christian out and become the next Bellator light heavyweight world champion.

"After I get that belt around my waist, I will take on anyone that earns the right to fight me."

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/02/attila-vegh-plans-ko-of-champ-christian-mpumbu-at-bellator-91

Bellator champ Christian M'Pumbu ready to remind the world just who he is

Fans probably could be forgiven if they can't name Bellator's light heavyweight champion.

After all, it's pushing up on two years since he had the belt strapped around his waist, and he hasn't defended it yet. His lone fight since winning the title was a stay-busy loss to Travis Wiuff, and even that was more than a year ago.

So if people need to get reacquainted with Christian M'Pumbu, it's understandable.

But perhaps no one is more amped up to get back to the business of winning fights – and reminding people he's here – tha M'Pumbu himself.

Tonight at Bellator 91, M'Pumbu (18-4-1 MMA, 3-1 BFC) meets tournament winner Attila Vegh (28-4-2 MMA, 4-0 BFC) for the promotion's 205-pound title. The bout headlines the event at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M. The main card airs on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

"I have been away from the cage for way too long, but I've used all that time to constantly get better," M'Pumbu told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "There are still a lot of fans in the United States that don't know who I am, but all of that is going to change on Thursday night."

The Zaire-born M'Pumbu, who lives in France, didn't fight in the U.S. until he signed with Bellator. He fought elsewhere all over the world at the start of his career, going 9-0 to open up – including a win over UFC heavyweight contender Stefan Struve a little more than five years ago.

He's been stopped just once in his four losses and he's never been knocked out. So the fact Vegh is planning on knocking him out could be a lofty goal for the challenger, even if M'Pumbu has been out for 15 months and is coming off the upset loss to Wiuff.

But M'Pumbu isn't worried about that Wiuff fight, or any other fight except the one against Vegh, for that matter.

"Right now I'm completely focused on doing whatever it takes to beat Attila Vegh," he said. "I've never been so ready. What happened in the past is in the past. I have used my past losses to become more dangerous, more prepared. Attila will be facing an entirely different Christian M'Pumbu than he has seen in the past. I'm going to be too much for him."

That said, the champ is looking at Vegh probably just the way he should – as an opponent that is of the utmost danger to him.

And to get ready, M'Pumbu spent some time training in California with former PRIDE and Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson.

"Training at Team Quest was eye opening for me," he said. "It was a great experience. Fans can expect to see the results of my hard work in this fight with Attila. I will show the world that Christian M'Pumbu is here to stay."

It's all part of M'Pumbu's longtime dream to be a world champion. And for now, that dream, as well as what it's done for his family, might be enough additional motivation to put him over the top.

"Bringing the belt home to my children was a great moment," he said. "It means a lot for them to tell their friends that their daddy is a champion. They used to play with fake wrestling belts, but now they have a real belt to play with.

"They've become quite attached to that belt, and so have I."

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/02/bellator-champ-christian-mpumbu-ready-to-remind-the-world-just-who-he-is

Bad ass scarf-hold sub on the prelims just now!

Amazing upset!

Unbelievable.

Main event fell short big time. LW tourney bouts were solid though.

Very mediocre main event. M'Pumbu didn't even look like he wanted to be there.