Bellator 85 Championships Discussion

wekka wrote:Good tournament, outside of Petruzelli/Noe.

Is Lins still injured?

I believe so. He will not be in this tournament which sucks.

Jason Lambert meets Hector Ramirez at Jan. 17 Bellator 85 card

A light heavyweight bout has been added to Bellator's Season 8 debut later this month.

Jason Lambert (24-13 MMA, 0-0 BFC) will meet Hector Ramirez (9-4-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) at Bellator 85. The two fighters were announced for the card by Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney this past month, but they won't be in separate fights – they'll be fighting each other.

Sources close to the promotion on Wednesday told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of the fight booking. Both Lambert and Ramirez will be making their Bellator debuts.

Bellator 85 takes place Jan. 17 at Bren Center in Irvine, Calif. The event's main card airs live on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com. The show will be Bellator's first on Spike after moving over from its recent television home at MTV2.

The card is headlined by a pair of title fights. Lightweight champion Michael Chandler defends his title against Rick Hawn, plus featherweight champ Pat Curran defends against Patricio "Pitbull" Freire. In addition, the Season 8 light heavyweight tournament kicks off.

Lambert returns for the first time since August 2010, when he was knocked out by Tony Lopez in a 205-pound title fight for Powerhouse World Promotions. That loss snapped a two-fight win streak he had built up that year following a stretch of five straight defeats and six losses in seven fights.

Lambert went 3-0 in the UFC before a loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 63. But he rebounded from that 2006 loss with a knockout of Renato "Babalu" Sobral at UFC 68. But then his troubles began with five straight losses, and three straight stoppage losses in the UFC led to his release from that promotion.

Ramirez, also a UFC veteran, has won three of his past four fights since being released from that promotion after a June 2007 loss to Forrest Griffin. Ramirez fought twice in 2008, getting wins over Rob MacDonald and Rick Roufus before a split-decision loss to Anthony Ruiz.

The latest Bellator 85 card now includes:

Champ Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn - for lightweight title
Champ Pat Curran vs. Patricio Freire - for featherweight title
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mikhail Zayats - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Jacob Noe vs. Seth Petruzelli - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Atanas Djambazov vs. Emanuel Newton - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Jason Lambert vs. Hector Ramirez
Mike Guymon vs. TBA


http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/01/jason-lambert-meets-hector-ramirez-at-jan-17-bellator-85-card

2 more fights added....undercard....

jamie yager 6-3 vs joe williams 7-1


aaron miller 12-8 vs joe camacho 13-17

The 11-bout lineup for Bellator MMA's first Season 8 event, "Bellator 85: Chandler vs. Hawn," is now complete with a three-fight main card and a seven-fight preliminary card that features MMA notables Mike "Joker" Guymon, Jason Lambert, Seth Petruzelli, Hector Ramirez and Jamie Yager.

Additionally, a night-ending local bout between Cleber Luciano (7-4 MMA, 0-0 BFC) and Mario Navarro (4-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) takes place following the evening's televised lineup.

Featuring a lightweight title fight between champ Michael Chandler (10-0 MMA, 7-0 BFC) and tournament winner Rick Hawn (14-1 MMA, 6-1 BFC), as well as a featherweight title fight between champion Pat Curran (17-4 MMA, 7-1 BFC) and top contender Patricio "Pitbull" Freire (17-1 MMA, 5-1 BFC), Bellator 85 takes place Jan. 17 at Bren Center in Irvine, Calif.

Those two title fights, as well as a Season 8 light-heavyweight tournament bout between Renato "Bablu" Sobral (37-9 MMA, 0-0 BFC) and Mikhail Zayats (19-6 MMA, 0-0 BFC) will air on the evening's three-fight Spike TV-televised main card.

The seven-bout preliminary card, which features previously announced light-heavyweight tournament bouts of Jacob Noe (8-1 MMA, 1-0 BFC) vs. Seth Petruzelli (14-6 MMA, 1-0 BFC) and Atanas Djambazov (17-2 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Emanuel Newton (18-7 MMA, 1-1 BFC) streams on Spike.com.

Also on the preliminary card is a previously announced 205-pound fight of Lambert (24-13 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Ramirez (9-4-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) and new matchups of J.J. Ambrose (18-4 MMA, 0-1 BFC) vs. Brian Warren (18-16-1 MMA, 0-1 BFC), Guymon (14-5-1 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Savant Young (10-9 MMA, 0-0 BFC), Joe Williams (7-1 MMA, 1-1 BFC) vs. Yager (6-3 UFC, 0-1 BFC) and Joe Camacho (13-17-3 MMA, 0-0 BFC) vs. Aaron Miller (12-8 MMA, 0-0 BFC).

The evening's "local bout" between Luciano and Navarro is expected to serve as an untelevised or "dark" match but could make it on to Spike.com or Spike TV if time allows.

Bellator 85 is the promotion's first on Spike TV after moving over from its recent television home at MTV2.

The evening's complete lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD
Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn - for lightweight title
Renato Sobral vs. Mikhail Zayats - light heavyweight tournament opening round
Pat Curran vs. Patricio Freire - for featherweight title
PRELIMINARY CARD
Cleber Luciano vs. Mario Navarro
Jacob Noe vs. Seth Petruzelli - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Jason Lambert vs. Hector Ramirez
J.J. Ambrose vs. Brian Warren
Atanas Djambazov vs. Emanuel Newton - light-heavyweight tournament opening round
Mike Guymon vs. Savant Young
Joe Williams vs. Jamie Yager
Joe Camacho vs. Aaron Miller

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/01/bellator-85-set-with-11-fights-includes-guymon-vs-young-williams-vs-yager

The Bulgarian Atanas Djambazov has a brutal record. 17-2 with 17 finishes, all but one in the the first round.

PRIDE FC wrote:The Bulgarian Atanas Djambazov has a brutal record. 17-2 with 17 finishes, all but one in the the first round.

Damn, that is impressive.

Featherweight Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire says Bellator allowed him to make living

Before Patricio "Pitbull" Freire joined the ranks of Bellator, he had to rely upon his family to support him.

Two years after signing with the tournament-based promotion, the native of Natal, Brazil, said he can return the favor.

"I can pay my bills; I can help my family," Freire told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I have money for myself, and I can help those people close to me."

After winning $100,000 as the winner of the Season 4 tournament, Freire (17-1 MMA, 5-1 BFC) could climb another ladder on the financial rung if he's successful in taking the Bellator featherweight title from champ Pat Curran (17-4 MMA, 7-1 BFC), whom he meets Jan. 17 at Bellator 85 at Bren Center in Irvine, Calif.

The fight opens the Spike TV-televised main-card following prelims on Spike.com.

The Brazilian could also take a big step up in notoriety. Back home, he's been fighting for so long that people around town know he's a Bellator fighter. But it's when he flies stateside that the impact of his work is most apparent.

"When I go to a city I've never been to, and the taxi guy knows who I am, and the guy at the bar comes to say hello and asks for a picture, saying that they saw me on TV," Freire said.

For more than a year, only his immediate circle of friends and family has kept tabs on him. After winning Bellator's Season 4 tournament, he's waited on the sidelines as the promotion worked out kinks in its scheduling. A fight against Curran scheduled for this past August was delayed when the champ broke his orbital bone in training.

But Freire returns to a much bigger stage as part of Bellator's long-awaited debut on Spike TV, which is likely to double its viewing audience.

Curran, too, has sat on the sidelines for an extended period, so both could be dealing with ring rust.

"He's a very conservative guy that doesn't throw too many punches," Freire said. "When he does it, it's to finish the fight."

Curran sees the same finishing instincts in his opponent, who represents the first defense of his title. But there's a key difference.

"We saw with the Joe Warren fight where he blew his load and gassed out," Curran said. "He's very powerful, very explosive, and with two years off, it's really hard to see how his style has changed or what to expect in the fight. But you've got to watch out for his power."

Indeed, Warren handed Freire his only loss under the Bellator banner. But with two tournaments behind him, he's ready to vie for a title. While Bellator fighters can now receive immediate rematches if they deliver impressively, he wants to reach his goal in one outing.

"It's pretty good that you can have the chance to fight again, but I'm training and doing my best to finish this fight," Freire said.

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/01/featherweight-patricio-pitbull-freire-says-bellator-allowed-him-to-make-living

After Losing Vision Briefly, Pat Curran Fully Recovered from Fractured Orbital

It was a scary injury.

Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran was winding down his training camp for a title defense against Patricio Freire in August, and he caught a punch that put him on the sidelines for weeks with a fractured orbital.

“I guess I was sparring with a guy a little bit too big,” Curran told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “He was a boxer. I was just boxing down in Chicago. I don’t know, it was just a freak accident. I was sparring with him pretty much the whole camp leading up to the fight. It was my second to last sparring session and he just clipped me with a right hook, and it fractured it.”

If a fractured orbital sounds painful, that’s because it is.

“It was pretty painful,” Curran said. “It was my first time ever fracturing my orbital. When it happened, I really didn’t know what was going on. I was instantly blind. My nose started bleeding on the same side and I pretty much lost vision for about 30 minutes. It was hard for me to see out of that eye for a while, but in time, it healed.”

The injury didn’t require surgery. Instead, Curran went eight weeks without sparring and then switched to thicker headgear before jumping back in the ring to prepare for his defense against Freire, which takes place Thursday at Bellator Fighting Championships 85.

“Pretty much my first sparring session, I just jumped right back into it,” Curran said. “I didn’t even think about it. It wasn’t even on my mind. I just wanted to get back into training.”

Curran enters the bout on a four-fight win streak. However, after a March knockout of Joe Warren, he appeared to be headed into the originally scheduled date with Freire at full momentum.

“After the injury I was very disappointed,” Curran said. “I was upset with myself. It’s something I couldn’t have done anything about, but it was definitely a setback in our plans.”

Now that he’s fully recovered, though, he’s not worried about the time he had to take off. If anything, Curran said, the fight’s delay has given him even more time to develop his skills. And even though he’s been on the sidelines, Freire has as well, having not fought since May 2011.

“It’s really hard to [know what to] expect, but I’m looking to stand and trade,” Curran said. “If it hits the ground, I’m looking to submit him or either get back up and just keep it standing.”

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/After-Losing-Vision-Briefly-Pat-Curran-Fully-Recovered-from-Fractured-Orbital-49037

Pat Curran: Ring Rust No Problem for Bellator 85 Title Defense Against Patricio Pitbull

Ten months have passed since Pat Curran last stepped into Bellator Fighting Championships’ circular cage, but the featherweight champ says he is nevertheless in top shape and ready to defend his title against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire at Thursday’s Bellator 85.

“You hear about ring rust, but I really don’t think it’s going to affect me,” Curran said during a recent media conference call. “I don’t think I took that much time off. I was in a training camp, and I was getting a lot of training and sparring in and developing as a fighter. If anything, I think the time off has helped me prepare for Pitbull and got me ready.”

Curran rides a four-fight winning streak into his inaugural title defense at UCI Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. The 25-year-old captured his title from Joe Warren last March and was initially expected to defend his belt against Freire at Bellator 73 in August before suffering a broken orbital bone in training. His injury now fully healed, Curran has taken extra safety measures to protect against a second such occurrence.

“I got a bigger headgear so I wouldn’t feel the full impact of the punches,” said Curran. “My training camp has been great. I have no injuries. My fractured orbital is completely healed, and I have no pain at all.”

Curran made his Bellator debut in 2010 as a lightweight, winning the Season 2 tournament before faltering against Eddie Alvarez in his world title shot. Soon after, Curran made the cut to featherweight, capturing the 2012 Summer Series tournament crown with a devastating knockout of Marlon Sandro before lifting the title from Warren in another brutal finish.

“When I started out, I was just a wrestler who would take you down and grind you out, but I really didn’t want to be that type of fighter,” said Curran. “I knew I needed to develop my hands and become a striker. Little by little, I developed that and became more confident in the cage, and that’s where I’m at now. I love striking. I love everything about it. I love learning new moves, and I’m really excited to showcase my skills.”

In Freire, Curran faces a hard-hitting Brazilian who nearly conquered the Season 2 featherweight bracket before relinquishing a controversial split decision defeat to Warren in the finals. Pitbull rebounded with three victories in the Season 4 tourney, only to see his guaranteed title shot postponed by injuries. Finally healthy, Freire will now take a title shot nearly two years in the making.

“He’s a very explosive fighter. When he sees an opening, he explodes and goes for the kill, but you saw with the Joe Warren fight how he blew his load and gassed out,” said Curran of his opponent. “He’s just very powerful and explosive. With almost two years off, it’s really hard to know how his style has changed or what to expect in the fight, but you’ve really got to watch out for his power.”

Regarded by many as the world’s second-best featherweight behind UFC king Jose Aldo, Curran has defeated everyone he has faced in the Bellator cage, save for the highly-regarded Alvarez. However, in spite of all he has accomplished thus far, Curran says he is still eager to prove himself and exceed his own high expectations.

“My hunger and drive are still there. I want to be one of the best featherweights in the world and put on the best performances of my life and please the audience,” said Curran. “That’s all I can really ask. That’s my drive -- to keep performing like I have and growing as a fighter and amazing people.”

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Pat-Curran-Ring-Rust-No-Problem-for-Bellator-85-Title-Defense-Against-Patricio-Pitbull-49081

In Spike TV title fight, Bellator 85's 'Pitbull' to make Curran pay for layoff

Delayed by a hand injury that postponed his title fight and a rematch with Joe Warren, Patricio "Pitbull" Freire said his annoyance only increased when Pat Curran filled in and won the title.

Curran (17-4 MMA, 7-1 BFC) took the slot, dethroned Warren, and set up a title fight with Freire (17-1 MMA, 5-1 BFC). But once Freire was cleared to fight, Curran was in no rush to get back to competition.

Freire said it's created some bad blood as they prepare to meet in Spike TV's first-ever Bellator title fight.

"I was only unhappy with Pat Curran once, right after he won the belt (in March 2012)," Freire told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "He went on vacation. We wanted him to get his medicals so we could schedule our fight, but he kept saying he was on vacation and couldn't do an exam, and it took him 40 days to do it. I was bothered.

"I thought he was running. Or maybe he was just tired and didn't want to fight right away. But that affected me a lot because I had already been wanting to fight Joe Warren again, but I couldn't do it because I got hurt. And I kept training, waiting for my turn, and after Pat won, Bellator couldn't schedule our bout because he wouldn't get his medical exams done. That bothered me. Everyone says he's a great guy, a great athlete, and that he's respectful. Regardless I am coming to hurt him in the cage."

Their bout co-headlines Thursday's Bellator 85 event at Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif. It kicks off the organization heavily promoted eighth season, which marks Bellator's move from MTV2 to the higher-rated Spike TV.

While the UFC boasts much of the world's top talent, Bellator has always stocked a competitive featherweight division. Curran, Freire, Daniel Straus, Marlon Sandro, Rad Martinez and Shahbulat Shamhalaev are among the world's top 145-pounders, and all are under the Bellator banner.

But specifically against Curran, Freire knows the margin for error is minimal.

"From my point of view, he's a very conservative fighter," Freire said of the champ. "He likes to fight without exposing himself much. He strikes but then pulls back. He is very evasive when attacking or defending. He has great takedowns. On the ground, he has good top control.

"He likes to fight in his comfort zone, and he's very dangerous because he might seem very passive until he pulls a knockout or submission from his sleeve when least expected. He did that to Marlon Sandro and Joe Warren. That's how he's dangerous. He waits for errors. So part of my strategy is to make the least possible errors."

The Curran-Freire title fight, which accompanies lightweight champion Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn at Thursday's event, nearly took a detour this past year. With Curran on the sidelines due to a broken orbital, and with Freire chomping at the bit to get back in the cage, Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney briefly considered an interim title fight featuring Freire and Straus.

Ultimately, though, the organization opted to wait for Curran. That's put Freire on the sidelines since May 2011, but he said ring rust won't be an issue when he fights for what should be the biggest TV audience in Bellator history.

"I know I haven't fought in over a year and a half, but I never stopped training," he said. "I started training at 10 years of age. I've only ever stopped due to illness. I've never stopped for any other reason, even vacation. I've been a high-level athlete for a long time now, and now my time has arrived. This great moment for Bellator will hopefully be a great moment for me too, God willing."

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/01/in-spike-tv-title-fight-bellator-85s-pitbull-to-make-curran-pay-for-layoff

Challenger Rick Hawn feels hype around Chandler fight before Bellator 85

After a lengthy buildup, both for the fight itself and the Bellator debut on Spike TV, the wait is almost over for Rick Hawn.

Hawn (14-1 MMA, 6-1 BFC) on Thursday will meet Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler (10-0 MMA, 7-0 BFC) for the title. The anticipation for the promotion's Spike debut hasn't gone unnoticed by Hawn, a former Olympic judokan.

"I'm starting to feel all the hype," Hawn on Tuesday told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "I went to the Bellator offices (in California) and saw them, and there's a lot of publicity going into this. I'm happy to be the main event. We're worthy of that, and I know Michael comes out every fight like a raging bull, and I probably will as well. I don't want to let the emotions get too much of me. But there's a lot of excitement built around this fight."

"Bellator 85: Chandler vs. Hawn" takes place at Bren Events Center on the campus of The University of California-Irvine. The three-fight main card, headlined by Chandler-Hawn, airs on Spike TV at 10 p.m. ET and is preceded by prelims on Spike.com.

Hawn comes into the title fight on the strength of a three-fight tear through the Season 6 lightweight tournament. In that tourney, he knocked out Ricardo Tirloni and Lloyd Woodard before a unanimous decision win over Brent Weedman to claim $100,000 in total tournament prize money and his shot at Chandler.

Working with Firas Zahabi and the Tristar Gym team in Montreal, Hawn said he's been trying to hone his game into a more well-rounded fighter.

"He's a very good wrestler, so I really needed to focus on wrestling," he said. "But other than that, I really focused on what I needed to do and my overall game, which was become a better boxer, better striker (and) better grappler. We worked on specific things for him – wrestling, mostly, and jiu-jitsu. But most of the training camp was improving my overall game."

Hawn said Zahabi, known as one of the sport's most cerebral coaches, is starting to pay dividends. And that could result in another belt for the team in Montreal – which has UFC welterweight Georges St-Pierre as its biggest name.

"He's a thinker," Hawn said. "He really goes out and dissects the opponent and comes up with a game plan that's smart. We spent a lot of time on this training camp – I've been in Montreal 12 weeks, basically. Firas really has an understanding of the MMA game, and he's a brilliant coach and teacher. I'm happy to be with him."

And when it comes to that mental side of things, Hawn continued down a visualization path he's been using for years now, dating back to his early days in Olympic-level judo.

"Visualization is key in athletics," he said. "I've envisioned every scenario possible for this fight. It's an exciting matchup in every facet of the fight. I don't want to get caught up in the fight going just one way. I'm ready and prepared for everything, and I"m sure there will be things he'll bring to the table that I haven't seen before."

But the one area Hawn most wants to visualize is getting his hand raised and leaving California with the Bellator lightweight belt.

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/01/video-challenger-rick-hawn-feels-hype-around-chandler-fight-before-bellator-85

Bellator 85 Weigh-in Results: Chandler-Hawn, Curran-Freire Title Bouts Made Official

Michael Chandler will defend his Bellator lightweight title for the first time Thursday when he meets Rick Hawn in the main event of Bellator 85.

Both Chandler and Hawn were cleared to compete at Wednesday’s pre-fight weigh-ins, checking in at 154.6 and 155 pounds, respectively.

Bellator 85, which kicks off the promotion’s eighth season, takes place at the UCI Bren Center in Irvine, Calif., and will also see Pat Curran (144.8) put his featherweight strap on the line against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (144.5). The evening’s Spike TV-broadcast main card is rounded out by a light heavyweight tournament quarterfinal between Mikhail Zayats (205.7) and Renato “Babalu” Sobral (205.3).

Immediately prior to the main draw broadcast, the show’s preliminary card streams live on Spike.com and is highlighted by two more light heavyweight quarterfinals pitting Seth Petruzelli (204.8) against Jacob Noe (205.9) and Emanuel Newton (205.4) against Atanas Djambazov (205.6).

Chandler, 26, last saw action this past May, when he trounced retiring veteran Akihiro Gono in a 56-second drubbing at Bellator 67. Known for his excellent wrestling and powerful linear punching attack, Chandler owns four knockouts and four submissions to his credit and has yet to taste defeat in more than three years as a pro.

Hawn earned his crack at Chandler’s title by winning the Season 6 lightweight tournament, dropping down from 170 pounds to best Ricardo Tirloni, Lloyd Woodard and Brent Weedman last spring. A 2004 Olympic judoka, Hawn’s dynamite right hand has guided him to nine knockout victories in 15 career appearances, with his lone loss coming to ex-IFL champion Jay Hieron in the Season 4 welterweight tournament finals.

Bellator 85 Weigh-in Results

Michael Chandler (154.6) vs. Rick Hawn (155)
Pat Curran (144.8) vs. Patricio Freire (144.5)
Mikhail Zayats (205.7) vs. Renato Sobral (205.3)
Seth Petruzelli (204.8) vs. Jacob Noe (205.9)
Emanuel Newton (205.4) vs. Atanas Djambazov (205.6)
Hector Ramirez (204.8) vs. Jason Lambert (205.5)
Aaron Miller (145.8) vs. Joe Camacho (145.8)
Jamie Yager (170.8) vs. Joe Williams (170.7)
Michael Guymon (155.7) vs. Savant Young (155.5)
J.J. Ambrose (164.5) vs. Brian Warren (165)
Cleber Luciano (144.9) vs. Mario Navarro (144.5)

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Bellator-85-Weighin-Results-ChandlerHawn-CurranFreire-Title-Bouts-Made-Official-49111

By the way, despite what the zombie MMA 'media' says, Bellator is no longer numbering the shows. This is not 'Bellator 85', except in the fantasy world of these clowns. Look at the Bellator web site, the press releases, etc.

I confirmed this with both Bellator and Spike, although they are not making a big deal out of this since they want whatever coverage they can get. But the only real media coverage they are getting is on No Holds Barred.

And although I am not a betting man, having Newton the favorite over Djambazov is nuts.

nhbnews wrote:By the way, despite what the zombie MMA 'media' says, Bellator is no longer numbering the shows. This is not 'Bellator 85', except in the fantasy world of these clowns. Look at the Bellator web site, the press releases, etc.

I confirmed this with both Bellator and Spike, although they are not making a big deal out of this since they want whatever coverage they can get. But the only real media coverage they are getting is on No Holds Barred.

And although I am not a betting man, having Newton the favorite over Djambazov is nuts.

Alright then, out with the numbers! Let's all remember this for future everyone so we don't look like dummy zombies!

Alvarez in rearview, Bellator 85's Chandler ready for next title test vs. Hawn

Months and months and months after his fight with Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler still can't stop talking about it.

But the reason is because no one will stop asking him about it. Not the fans. Certainly not the media. And hey, why not? Chandler still was a relatively unknown commodity, despite a tournament victory, before he upset Alvarez in November 2011 to win Bellator's lightweight title.

In a bout that for many was 2011's "Fight of the Year," Chandler submitted Alvarez in the fourth round after a back-and-forth slugfest. But having to talk about that fight doesn't bother him – it's what got him to where he is now, and that's hours away from defending the belt for the first time.

Chandler (10-0 MMA, 7-0 BFC) meets Season 6 lightweight tournament winner Rick Hawn (14-1 MMA, 6-1 BFC) on Thursday night at Bellator 85, which takes place at Bren Center on the campus of the University of California-Irvine. The fight headlines the main card, which airs live on Spike TV at 10 p.m. ET following prelims on Spike.com (7 p.m. ET).

"It's been a pretty quick rise," Chandler told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) this past fall while in Orlando, Fla., doing advance promotional work for Bellator's debut on Spike. "I can't talk to anybody without them bringing (Alvarez) up. The fans loved that fight.

"For me, it hasn't been a ton different (since winning the title). I'm trying to keep the main thing the main thing – and that's getting better. I'm still relatively young in this sport – young, hungry, happy, healthy and enjoying this ride."

But Alvarez is in the rearview mirror. With a judo Olympian like Hawn now in front of him, Chandler knows he may be in for just as big of a test.

Hawn's road to the title through the Season 6 tournament included a pair of knockouts of Lloyd Woodard and Ricardo Tirloni. The 36-year-old has nine knockouts in his 14 wins, and just a lone defeat – a split decision loss to Jay Hieron in the Season 4 welterweight tournament final before he decided to drop to 155.

Chandler said he'll be well aware of Hawn's power, and he isn't necessarily overly concerned with it thanks to testing himself against Alvarez and Patricky "Pitbull" Freire and walking away with his hand raised.

"I think I have a pretty tough chin, and I've tested it against some of the hardest hitting guys in the world," he said. "Patricky put a couple on me. Eddie put a couple thousand on my chin in the third round. I think I have a tough chin and a heart that's not easily stopped. I plan on going out there and taking it to him."

Though Hawn has fought at welterweight, he won't necessarily have a major size advantage over Chandler, who considers himself a natural lightweight. Chandler, too, has fought at welterweight in a short-notice fight for Strikeforce before his Bellator run.

But it's not really size or power that Chandler is concerned with against Hawn. Instead, he believes when it comes to the mental game, he'll have the edge.

"I'm definitely more motivated than him," he said. "I'm in this sport to be the No. 1 lightweight in the world. I'm not saying I am that, but I'm working toward that. He's an Olympian who represented my country, and anyone who represents my country in the Olympics, I have a ton of respect for. He's a great competitor and has a ton of confidence and momentum behind him. But at the end of the day, I do, too."

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/01/alvarez-in-rearview-bellator-85s-chandler-ready-for-next-title-test-vs-hawn

Rick Hawn having trouble finding sponsors

Tonight marks the beginning of the Bellator era on Spike TV. After the long waiting period, MMA fans looking for something extra will finally have regularly scheduled fights outside the UFC once again. The question is, just how lucrative will it be for the fighters? The actual purses might be competitive, but there aren't any discretionary bonuses, no PPV percentages, and most importantly, the lion's share of the big money sponsors are locked into iron-clad deals with the UFC. This presents a daunting challenge for athletes to make their bread and butter, and unless new life blood is transfused, doesn't look to get much better.

I spoke with one half of tonight's Bellator headliner, Rick Hawn, last week, and was was not surprised to find that he was also having a good degree of difficulty locating sponsors. The fine folks at FundAFighter have offered their services in helping him to locate extra money, but in this economic climate, a sponsor solution is really what's needed to offset the costs of following a dream. Here's what Rick had to say on the subject:

It's definitely been hard. I figured it would be pretty easy for this fight, to get sponsors, but I think most of the sponsors are locked up with the UFC and their contract thing, so a lot of the top paying guys are already spoken for by that organization. I've been trying to put stuff together, but it's been a little more difficult than I figured it would be, considering the magnitude of this fight and my background. It's been frustrating, but I have people that are taking care of that, and I'm trying not to think about it too much, so I can just go out there and win the belt.

Hopefully, in the future, more companies from outside the MMA world will come and get their hands in it. It's all about understanding and making relationships. I'm a huge underdog here, and people aren't really counting me in for this fight, so I think that's another reason why I'm kind of under the radar, in terms of being a face to represent someone.

Underdog or not, Hawn is fighting the Bellator lightweight champion tonight, and will be on national television. This should serve as a wake-up call for managers, promoters, and MMA as a whole to tighten up their game, in hopes of landing the big fish sponsors for these athletes, and pushing the sport further into the mainstream.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2013/1/17/3886764/bellator-rick-hawn-having-trouble-finding-sponsors

1 1/2 hours until prelims. Can't wait for this event. They stacked this one up.

This definitely has an improved feel over the MTV2 broadcasts

Just get home from work. How were the pre lims?

Freire got boxed up. Zero head movement. Abandon the leg kicks. Pretty bad performance.

wekka wrote:This definitely has an improved feel over the MTV2 broadcasts

Agreed, it feels a lot more cleaner-looking than the MTV2 productions, and the lighting has improved too.

Lighting is key to TV production. Yup, this is the big time.

Can't believe Chandler just walked through Hawn like that.

I thought Hawn's superior boxing and judo base would give him a good chance at winning.

It is very hard to stop a wrestler.