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Two weeks into Bellator Season 6 and yours truly is six of eight when it comes to picking the first-round fights. Nothing spectacular I suppose, but that sort of success rate is pretty decent when it comes to the sport of MMA, and if you’re the betting type it’ll likely net you some money. So let’s try to keep that going and finally score the thus far elusive (or all-usive, if you will) perfect week. This Friday begins the search for Michael Chandler’s first challenger in the lightweight division, while former champion Eddie Alvarez is off getting a big name fight against Shinya Aoki and likely departing the promotion afterward. Match-making messiness in the division aside, this version of the lightweight tournament continues Bellator’s trend of consistently making their divisions deeper and more talented. Whereas previous iterations of the 155-pound bracket have had a few solid fighters (Alvarez/Jorge Masvidal in Season 1, Pat Curran/Roger Huerta in Season 2, Chandler/Patricky Freire in Season 4), in some cases it wasn’t discovered until during or after the tournament how good some of those men were. ...

Fans in Canada got a treat this week when the UFC revealed plans to put on three shows in the country over the next nine months as well as an additional trio of events in 2013. Specifically, the cities receiving a double-dose of MMA love in the coming years will be Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. Though the UFC is still putting the lineup together for UFC 149, a July 21 card in Calgary, it was revealed Jose Aldo will defend his title at the event in a headlining bout against a yet-to-be-revealed opponent. ...

The personal animosity between UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and former training partner, current top contender Rashad Evans has been well-documented over the past year. However, with only a month remaining before the two finally fight in the main event at UFC 145, Evans appears ready to tone down the trash-talk and focus on the task at hand – winning his championship back while smashing the mystique surrounding the seemingly unbeatable “Bones”. Evans recently spoke about his annoyance at the ongoing drama with Jones, also adding he’d reunited with Keith Jardine in the past few weeks and was extremely happy with how his career was currently going. ...

UFC welterweight Rick Story will look to right his career trajectory on June 22 as part of the UFC on FX 4 lineup. Story, who will face TUF alumnus Rich Attonito at the event, had won six in a row and was looking like a future title-contender before losing a pair of hard-fought decisions in his last two tussles. UFC officials have confirmed both the match-up and date/location. ...

Not every fight has to last a full 60-90 seconds to count as an entertaining clash. Case in point, this little dandy between the Buffalo Sabres' Cody McCormick and Montreal Canadiens' Brad Staubitz. The two go at it for a short period of time before one gets the advantage and throws the other one down on the ice for good measure. ...

Hard-nosed middleweight Dan Miller (13-6) will follow the lead of countless peers by making a move down divisionally in hopes of finding consistent success inside the Octagon. Were that news not enough, it looks like fans will find out exactly how he fares in his endeavor this summer at UFC on FX 4 against Ricardo Funch (8-3). The bout and its placement on the June 22 card were both confirmed by the UFC. ...

The UFC will sort out its welterweight contendership picture this summer when top challengers Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann meet in a headlining match-up at the Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale on June 1. Both men are considered to be among the best 170-pounders in MMA and have turned in a number of impressive performances over the past few years. The bout was confirmed earlier today by the UFC. ...

The recently announced match-up between Michael Bisping and Tim Boetsch caught a number of people off-guard with the bout essentially coming of the blue save for some minor lobbying on the part of Boetsch. One of the folks who found himself amongst those who were surprised was UFC middleweight Mark Munoz, a highly-touted challenger who is currently sidelined until the summer due to elbow surgery. As a matter of fact, Munoz though he was in line for a bout with Bisping as a means of determining an uncontested top contender. Instead, “The Count” will now face Boetsch on July 7 at UFC 148. Interestingly enough, that’s the same month Munoz expects to be ready to fight. ...

Fans have been left wondering what UFC welterweight Matt Hughes’ next move would be after the iconic former champion suffered his second straight knockout loss in a September bout against Josh Koscheck. After the fight many, including UFC President Dana White, felt Hughes had likely stepped foot inside the Octagon for the final time in his storied career, while Hughes himself left the door slightly open for a potential return but remained noncommittal in general. Hughes updated the world while sitting in during this week’s episode of UFC Tonight where he said he still hadn’t made his mind up but expected to come to a decision in the immediate future. ...

Since yesterday's segment featured multiple players getting down on the ice it seems only natural today's should feature the same as well given the rarity of multiple-man melees. This time the key players are the Phoenix Coyotes' Shane Doan and Dallas Stars' Brenden Morrow with action being brought on due to a cheap elbow-shot from the latter resulting in blood, brawling, and more! ...

Forum Posts

• 20 Rampage Jackson Almost 'Squashes Beef' Following UFC 130 Victory Rampage Jackson Almost 'Squashes Beef' Following UFC 130 Victory Posted On: July 12, 2011
• 20 Rampage Jackson Almost 'Squashes Beef' Following UFC 130 Victory Posted On: July 12, 2011
• 20 Rampage Jackson Almost 'Squashes Beef' Following UFC 130 Victory Posted On: July 12, 2011