This will be the first time that Ben Askren has been anywhere in the area and we’re excited that he choose to hit up Ivey League. More then that, this is going to be the even the first seminar of this type to hit the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Maryland areas.

Mr. Askren will be covering a variety of different skills including striking to takedowns for MMA and also his very wild and outside the box techniques for choke holds and BJJ ground fighting. This seminar is sure to be a mega hit and we’re expecting a heck of a turnout.

Here are some details for the seminar and please keep in mind that this is open to anyone, not just students of Team Lloyd Irvin or Ivey League Mixed Martial Arts.

Ben Askren MMA Seminar
November 22nd, 2011 (Tuesday night)
To be held at Ivey League MMA 836 Ritchie Hwy #5, Severna Park, MD 21146 (443-517-8958)
It starts at 7pm and runs until 9:30pm.
Rates are: $50 for CAP students, $65 for Intro program and $75 for non enrolled members of Team L. Irvin

Don’t miss this rare chance to work with one of the best fighters in the MMA world!

The first 10 people that preregister w/ Teresa or Chrissy will receive a free t-shirt and a MMA instructional DVD by Master Danny Ives and Kru Jose Villarisco on the basics of winning with MMA training.

You can save your spot by calling us at (443) 517 8958)!!! Tell them you read this on Annapolis-mma-news.com!

Thanks!
–Ivy League Mixed Martial Arts Staff

Below is a highlight video of Ben Askren, this is what you can all look forward to…

CHICAGO, Ill. (November 1, 2011) — Brian Foster has a message for the Bellator welterweight division and its champion Ben Askren:

“I’m coming.”

The former UFC fighter who won his last two fights in the UFC and who sports a 18-5 record as a welterweight has recently signed with Bellator Fighting Championships in a deal that adds another legitimate contender to Bellator’s already stacked welterweight division. Currently riding a four-fight win streak, including a TKO win over Forrest Petz and a submission victory against Matt Brown during his UFC run, Foster, who has finished all 18 of his career wins, is hitting his stride and has one thing on his mind.

“I’m getting that belt,” Foster said. “I want to fight the best. I want to fight Ben Askren and take home that belt. I ran through my last two opponents and I’m better than I’ve ever been. I’m very happy to be a part of Bellator and I’m coming for the top spot.

The Springfield, Illinois fighter has never gone to a decision in his career. With 10 wins by submission and eight by TKO/KO, the exciting Foster should add another threat to an already stacked welterweight division. Despite a medical setback in his career, Foster says he’s now 100 percent healthy and ready to start on his road to the championship.

“I’ve been seen by two of the best doctors in the state, they’ve medically cleared me and I feel great,” Foster added. “I’m looking forward to facing Bellator’s best and becoming the next welterweight champion.”
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

About Bellator Fighting Championships

Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

MMA Welterweight Division Rankings Top 25

1. George St. Pierre (21-2, 17-2 UFC) 

2. Nick Diaz (26-7, 7-4 UFC) *Next Fight: Carlos Condit #3

3. Carlos Condit (27-5, 4-1 UFC) *Next Fight: Nick Diaz #2

4. Jake Ellenberger (25-5, 5-1 UFC) *Next Fight: Diego Sanchez #10

5. Johny Hendricks (12-1, 7-1 UFC)

6. Jon Fitch (23-4-1, 13-2-1 UFC) 

7. Jake Shields (26-5-1, 1-2 UFC) *Next Fight: Yoshihiro Akiyama #NR in the WW yet

8. Josh Koscheck (16-5, 14-5 UFC) *Next Fight: Mike Pierce #NR

9. B.J Penn (16-7-2, 11-7-2 UFC) 

10. Diego Sanchez (23-4, 12-4 UFC) *Next Fight: Jake Ellenberger #4

11. Tyron Woodley (10-0, 8-0 Strikeforce) 

12. Paul Daley (29-11-2, 1-2 Strikeforce) 

13. Martin Kampmann (18-5, 9-4 UFC)  *Next Fight: Thiago Alves #15

14. Rick Story (13-5, 6-3 UFC)

15. Thiago Alves (19-7, 11-4 UFC) *Next Fight: Martin Kampmann #13

16. Matt Hughes (45-9, 18-7 UFC) 

17. Paulo Thiago (14-3, 4-3 UFC) *Next Fight: Siyar Bahadurzada #NR

18. Ben Askren (9-0, 6-0 BFC) 

19. Jay Hieron (22-5, 3-1 BFC) 

20. Dong Hyun Kim (15-1-1, 6-1-1 UFC) 

21. Anthony Johnson (10-4, 7-4 UFC) 

22. Brian Ebersole (49-14-1, 3-0 UFC)

23. Charlie Brenneman (14-3, 3-2 UFC) *Next Fight: Daniel Roberts #NR

24. Rory MacDonald (12-1, 3-1 UFC) *Next Fight: Che Mills #NR

25. John Hathaway (15-1, 5-1 UFC) 

*NR = Not Ranked*

*Chris Lytle (31-18-5, 10-10 UFC) jumped back into the top 25 but due to retirement is removed from the list* 

*Mike Swick Removed for not fighting within a year*

Ben Askren (in blue), the reigning Bellator welterweight champion, won a pair of NCAA wrestling titles at Missouri. (Marlene Karas/US Presswire)

Ben Askren can’t fly, but you better not tell him that. The reigning Bellator welterweight champion loves to prove people wrong.

He says the primary reason he chose to wrestle at Missouri was that the team felt like family, but the “experts” who pointed out that the Tigers had never produced a national champion certainly had something to do with his decision.

“I guess the joke is on them now,” said Askren, who won two national championships and became the second wrestler in NCAA history to win multiple Hodge trophies, the wrestling equivalent of the Heisman.

Ben followed up his collegiate career with a trip to the 2008 Olympics, where he lost his opening match. Some USA Wrestling officials believe Askren gave up wrestling too early, but the reality is that even before Askren had finished his senior season at Missouri he was already starting to fall in love with MMA. John Mesenbrink, Askren’s high school coach, said that MMA was “on the horizon” even when Askren was training to be an Olympic freestyle wrestler.

“Freestyle is not my cup of tea,” Askren admits. He cites rule changes: Push-out points are “a joke” that reward inferior wrestlers for “getting lucky,” winning individual periods neutralizes his phenomenal conditioning and grinding style, and removing forced partier position makes it more difficult for Askren — who holds the NCAA single-season pins record — to wrestle from the top position. “Everything I was good at they kind of took away,” Askren said. “But you’ve got to go with what life gives you.”

For Askren that was jui-jitsu. The “funky” wrestling style he perfected at Missouri made it easy to learn BJJ, which also emphasizes flowing from position to position. Then there’s the fact that Askren didn’t dream of being an Olympic champion until after he starting having collegiate success. He didn’t watch his first Olympic wrestling match until he was 16, but remembers watching UFC 1 with his father at age 9.

Mesenbrink adds that Askren wanted a new challenge. “He really loved that starting over again,” said the coach who now helps Ben run the Askren Wrestling Academy in Wisconsin. People doubted Askren all over again. After a successful collegiate career Askren was almost expected to have international wrestling success, but MMA was a different animal.

“It’s just so funny the more people that say it can’t happen the more he makes it happen,” Mesenbrink said.

Askren admits that his striking skills still need improvement — which is why he’s training with kickboxing guru Jeff “Duke” Roufus in Milwaukee — but the former wrestler has a perfect 8-0 record in MMA. Saturday he’ll try to defend his Bellator welterweight title against Jay Hieron, the best wrestling mixed martial artist Askren has faced in his career. Hieron believes he can out-wrestle Askren and win the fight.

“He’s delusional. I’m glad. That makes it easier for me,” Askren said confidently. “I’m going to do what I always do. I’m going to take him down and beat him up.”

Askren adds that he isn’t content with the Bellator title. He believes he can be the world’s best MMA welterweight in three to five years, a goal Mesenbrink believes is realistic. You better not tell him he can’t do it.

– Stephen Boyle

So to those fans, I apologize for kicking up another long, entirely subjective fanboy debate. And I didn’t even have the common courtesy to make this about pointless P4P rankings, or whether or not Fedor’s record is padded with more cans than a Canadian cooler.

No, this week’s debate is centered on a classic showdown of number one versus number two. And no, I don’t mean that number two, or that number one. I’m talking about the UFC vs. Bellator, the MMA world’s monolithic fight juggernaut vs. the plucky, upstart competition.

Yes, Bellator is competition! Number two by default is still number two. It doesn’t matter if they took the General Veers approach to promotion by being elevated into the vacuum left by a suddenly dead superior. (Dana White to Coker: “Apology accepted, Scotty boy,”).

So what could be more fun than a hypothetical number one vs. number two debate? I mean didn’t Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney (who by name alone sounds like he should be fronting a Scandinavian death metal band) recently claim Hector Lombard could hang with the all-mighty Anderson Silva?

Empty promoterspeak, or careful analysis? Let’s breakdown this hypothetical clash of the champions, and see how Bellator’s champions would fare if they jumped, today, into the UFC.

Heavyweight: Cole Konrad

Would He Make it in the Division?: Definitely. The heavyweight division in MMA in general is pretty thin, and the UFC’s 265 lbs. class is no exception. Konrad would likely survive in the division based on his wrestling pedigree alone.

Would He be a Contender?: Hard to say. Like I said, it’s not a very deep swimming pool even in the upper end of the HW division. But to get there, Konrad would have to overcome serious obstacles. Shane Carwin, Junior Dos Santos, and Alistair Overeem would all pose serious – possibly insurmountable – problems.

Would He be Champion?: Probably not. I just don’t see Konrad’s rudimentary striking ot questionable gas tank surviving Cain Velasquez’s grind. I think his (likely) reluctance to face teammate Brock Lesnar could also hurt his upward mobility in the division.

Light-Heavyweight: Christian M’Pumbu

Would He Make it in the Division?: I’m going to be the pessimist here and say no, he wouldn’t. Sorry M’Pumbu, but we just don’t know enough about you as a fighter yet. I see LHW gatekeepers like Stephan Bonnar or Tito Ortiz giving him fits.

Would He be a Contender?: Like the old magic eight ball used to say, “Not looking good.”

Would He be a Champion?: Excuse me while I sprinkle some rock salt on the places where hell just froze over.

Middleweight: Hector Lombard

Would He Make it in the Division?: Yes. Middleweight is a “starved” division, eager for some star, any star who’s glow can withstand the pull of the black hole known as Anderson Silva. Chael Sonnen is an exception but for the most part the division looks shallow and boring because of how easily Anderson Silva has kicked it’s ass. A slugger like Lombard could make a name for himself very quickly.

Would He be a Contender?: Maybe. It all depends on if he was given the right fights. Feed him a steady diet of Chael Sonnen, Yushin Okami and Demian Maia and Lombard will quickly find himself in the outside of the title picture looking in. Match him up with some brawling-minded people – ‘Sexyama”, Chris Leben, Brian Stann, Wanderlei Silva – and he could climb the ranks very fast.

Would He be a Champion?: Being a heavy-handed brawler would likely punch Lombard’s ticket in the MW division. It would also get his ticket – and his face – punched if he ever made it to a title fight. Lombard vs. Silva would resemble Morpheus vs. Agent Smith from the first “Matrix” movie.

Welterweight: Ben Askren

Would He Make it in the Division?: Welterweight is a division full of world class wrestlers, so Askren would fit right in as perhaps the most accomplished wrestler in MMA today. His “funky” wrestling style would bring him consistent victory outside the division’s top-10.

Would He be a Contender?: I say yes. Those without an elite wrestling game would be prey to Askren, and even the elite wrestlers at the top of the division (Fitch, Kos, Hendricks, Shields) would find Askren a handful. Just look at the training footage of Askren and Shields together from earlier this year.

Would He be Champion?: No. At least, not yet. We’ve seen GSP make those same elite wrestlers I just mentioned look like it’s their first day on the mats when he faces them. If wrestling alone was all Askren could bring to the table (and right now, it is) I have no doubt GSP would use his head for Superman punch practice for 25 minutes.

Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez

Would He Make it in the Division?: Oh hells yes. Eddie Alvarez may be Bellator’s most legit champion. He’s the only Bellator champ currently ranked in the top-10 of his division by most reputable MMA media outlets. I see fights with Anthony Pettis, Melvin Guillard and Clay Guida being very winnable fights for Alvarez – not to mention exciting as all hell.

Would He be a Contender?: Again, yes. Alvarez as a fighter is the complete package. He can do it all, do it well, and keep doing it until the final bell rings. That puts him in the ruling class of fighters at 155 lbs. Men like Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Ben Henderson, and Gilbert Melendez. Alvarez is on their level.

Would He be Champion?: I think he’s got the best shot of any Bellator guy. Frankie’s speed and footwork would be a tough puzzle for Alvarez to solve, but you can say that about any fighter at LW. Alvarez has the power, poise and stamina to win that belt and defend it against the best in the world.

I’m going to leave Featherweight and Bantamweight out of the analysis for now, because those divisions yet deep enough (in either organization) to get a clear picture of where Bellator fighters would stand vis a vis the UFC.

Also my fingers hurt, and I’m lazy.

MMA Welterweight Division Rankings Top 25

1. George St. Pierre (21-2, 17-2 UFC) *Next Fight: Carlos Condit #6

2. Jon Fitch (23-3-1, 13-1-1 UFC) *Next Fight: Johny Hendricks #NR

3. Nick Diaz (25-7, 6-0 Strikeforce) *Next Fight: BJ Penn #8

4. Carlos Condit (27-5, 4-1 UFC) *Next Fight: George St. Pierre #1

5. Jake Ellenberger (25-5, 5-1 UFC) *Next Fight: Diego Sanchez #9

6. Jake Shields (26-5-1, 1-2 UFC)  

7. Josh Koscheck (16-5, 14-5 UFC) 

8. B.J Penn (16-6-2, 11-6-2 UFC) *Next Fight: Nick Diaz #3

9. Diego Sanchez (23-4, 12-4 UFC) *Next Fight: Jake Ellenberger #5

10. Rick Story (13-4, 6-2 UFC) *Next Fight: Martin Kampmann #14 

11. Thiago Alves (18-7, 10-4 UFC) *Next Fight: Papy Abedi #NR

12. Tyron Woodley (9-0, 7-0 Strikeforce)

13. Paul Daley (28-11-2, 1-2 Strikeforce) *Next Fight: Luigi Fioravanti #NR

14. Martin Kampmann (17-5, 8-4 UFC) *Next Fight: Rick Story #10 

15. Matt Hughes (45-9, 18-7 UFC) 

16. Paul Thiago (14-3, 4-3 UFC) 

17. Jay Hieron (22-4, 3-0 BFC) *Next Fight: Ben Askren #21

18. Dong Hyun Kim (14-1-1, 5-1-1 UFC) *Next Fight: Sean Pierson #NR

19. Anthony Johnson (10-3, 7-3 UFC)

20. Charlie Brenneman (14-3, 3-2 UFC)

21. Ben Askren (8-0, 5-0 BFC) *Next Fight: Jay Hieron #17

22. Rory MacDonald (12-1, 3-1 UFC) *Next Fight: Brian Ebersole #22

23. Brian Ebersole (48-14-1, 2-0 UFC) *Next Fight: Rory MacDonald #23

24. Mike Pyle (21-8-1, 4-3 UFC) 

25. John Hathaway (15-1, 5-1 UFC) *Next Fight: Matt Brown #NR

*NR = Not Ranked*

*Chris Lytle (31-18-5, 10-10 UFC) jumped back into the top 25 but due to retirement is removed from the list* 

*Mike Swick Removed for not fighting within a year*

Master Danny Ives has always been a big fan of Ben Askren, having watched him compete in Wrestling tournaments for a long time. When Ivey League MMA heard that the brothers would be only 3 hours away it was a no brainier

, so in the car they got and off they went! Master Danny was accompanied by his longtime girlfriend and fellow fighter Miss Teresa “Reeseeroll” Russin.

Ben and Max showed many many great Wrestling techniques that would work well for not just the sport of Wrestling but also for MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. They had a very fresh view of how to add skills to the MMA games, stuff that they took from all the years on the Wrestling mat. Master Danny really enjoyed the funk rolls and pass byes and Miss Reesee was also able to pick the stuff up pretty fast.

Thinking outside the box for both Wrestling and MMA

Here at Ivey League MMA we’ve always been considered a thinking school and we feel like this approach goes hand and hand with the way Ben and Max Askren think in terms of techniques and going outside the norms to try and find new and great ways to apply holds, for MMA, BJJ or Wrestling.

The match below says it all in terms of Wrestling…

http://www.pawrvideo.com/embed/Nzg5NDk5ODg0?related=1

Watch more video of Ben Askren on flowrestling.org

If you watched the match above then you know what we’re talking about! Pretty cool stuff right? If all Wrestling was an entertaining at that we wouldn’t have any problems getting people to Wrestling meets on both the high school and college levels.

Look for big things from both Ben and Max Askren. Ben is the current Bellator middleweight champion and will defend his title in October. Max is shooting for a spot on the Olympic team in 2012. Best of luck guys!

Master Danny Ives and Teresa "Reeseeroll" Russin

While Simmons likes to quote movies and television shows, I’m going to quote songs by a certain musical artist. Now I know you’re thinking that I’ll quote some rap or classic rock artist because when you think MMA, rap and classic rock are the music that comes to mind thanks to every fighter feeling the need to use the latest thumper by Lil Wayne or a classic AC/DC anthem as their walk out music. Now while I listen to plenty of rap and dabble in classic rock, my go-to artist is Taylor Swift. When it comes to the country pop music of Ms. Swift, I can usually recognize the song on the first chord. Once again, let me read you’re mind and tell you that you’re probably going to say, “Taylor Swift has absolutely nothing to do with MMA.” Well, you’re right. But if the NFL can open the 2010-2011 season with a mini Swift concert, I can do a MMA awards column based on songs written by Swift that are usually about break ups and make ups.

So from now on, when you think Taylor Swift, you’ll probably think of me. And the Bellator Season Four awards:

“It’s all right just wait and see your, string of lights are still bright to me.”

To Joe Warren…

Now I know Warren has only lost one fight in his MMA career but he’s been on the right side of some questionable decisions and when you talk as much trash as he does, you need to do more than eek out decisions. Mike Tyson wasn’t called “The Baddest Man on the Planet” because he won split decisions where he spent a good period of time taking a beating. He got that nickname because he knocked dudes out within the first few rounds. Warren is still an innocent though. He’s still young in the sport of MMA, he’s going to continue to improve (as long as he keeps focused on one thing instead of five), and he’ll shine bright in all of the lights.

“All this time I was wasting hoping you would come around. I’ve been giving out chances every time and all you do is let me down.”

To Karina Hallinan, Nick Thompson, Marcos Galvao, Chad Robichaux, and Falaniko Vitale…

All five of you had chances to defeat current Bellator champions (albeit in non-title bouts) and all five of you failed. Listen, I hate these “non-title super fights” that Bellator puts on because I hate any non-title fight and I hate the term “super fight” when it’s really a fight that not even the hardcore of the most hardcore MMA fan really cares about. Sooner or later a Bellator champion is going to lose one of these non-title fights and then I want to see how Bjorn Rebney handles things. Luckily for him, that hasn’t happened yet and I’m sure Bjorn isn’t sorry about that.

“I took a chance, I took a shot, and you might think I’m bulletproof but I’m not. You took a swing, I took it hard, and down here from the ground I see who you are.”

To Waachiim Spiritwolf and Jamie Jara…

These two men took swings and shots for 15 minutes and they took them hard. It was originally a preliminary fight that didn’t air but the fight was so entertaining that Bellator smartly aired the fight the following week. The fight ended in a razor close split decision and I would love to see a rematch in the future between the two. If you don’t agree with me, tell me why.

“I don’t know how it gets better than this, you take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless.”

To Jared Hess…

After brutally blowing out his knee in May 2010, Hess returned eleven months later and looked just as sharp as ever against Chris Bell. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Hess on his road to recovery but that fearlessness is why he’s a MMA fighter.

“I don’t know what to say since a twist of fate, when it all broke down.”

To Jay Hieron…

The story of Hieron and Bellator seemed like a fairytale. Hieron has always been one of the more underrated fighters in the sport and he wasn’t getting the publicity (or even fights) that he should have from Strikeforce. So when he entered the Bellator Season 4 tournament, he seemed like a lock to win. Well, he did win, but not without plenty of controversy. His first fight was stopped prematurely when his opponent didn’t tap out and his next two fights were close decisions where many people thought he lost both times. I’m not trying to knock Hieron because he’s not a judge and he can’t control how they look at things but for a guy who was supposed to be a top welterweight in the world and a big fish for the company, it hasn’t quite worked out that way.

“Cause I see sparks fly, whenever you smile.”

To Mercedes Terrell via Bren Conlan…

If you don’t know who Ms. Terrell is, she is one of the many Bellator ring girls. I don’t know how many of you watch the Bellator weigh-ins but my guess is that the number is less than five. Someone who does watch every Bellator weigh-in though is 5OZ’s own editor, Bren Conlan. Without fail, if Mercedes is not present when men are stripping down to their underwear, Bren makes sure to alert me (and others) of this fact via Twitter. Putting two and two together, I’m concluding that Bren might have a little crush on Mercedes. I hope that should they ever meet in the future, sparks do indeed fly between the two. But seriously, who develops a crush on a MMA ring girl…….Oh wait.

“We could be a beautiful miracle, unbelievable, instead of just invisible.”

To MTV2/Bellator Production…

For those of you that watched Bellator on FSN and compare it to Bellator on MTV2, you’ll probably notice some differences. I feel like on MTV2 they have better graphics and videos but that all goes unnoticed due to the fact that the show is in standard definition. At first I thought that I bought the wrong TV and was nothing but a “sillyhead” but unfortunately I discovered that there is no high definition version of MTV2. So now I, along with the rest of you, are stuck watching the television picture quality equivalent of the WNBA. Bellator should get praised more for their production, because they do a couple things that other companies don’t (like show prelim fights), but it’s completely overlooked by the non-clear picture.

“You should’ve said no, you should’ve gone home, you should’ve thought twice before you let it all go.”

To Roger Huerta…

Remember him? I think everybody was a fan of Huerta during his UFC run because of the incredible journey that he overcame and every time he stepped into the cage, he put on a great fight. But then he seemed to get a big head about things, thought he was worth more than he really was, and everything went downhill. So how can the man get an award when he didn’t even compete in Season Four? Simple. I don’t hand out awards based on just who shows up like most award shows. Besides that though, he was supposed to be Bellator’s big star when they signed him and yet he’s 1-2 in the company and didn’t even compete in the season four tournament. Huerta talked a big game when he signed with Bellator, and while I questioned his reasons, I was willing to give him a chance. He should’ve said no to Bellator though. He should’ve taken less money to stay with UFC, fought better-known competition, and maybe he wouldn’t be the afterthought in the MMA world that he is today.

“This aint Hollywood, this is a small town. I was a dreamer before you went and let me down. Now it’s too late for you and your white horse to come around.”

To Toby Imada…

For the third straight lightweight tournament, Imada bowed out before he could get his hands on the gold. This season he exited in the semifinals, which is the earliest he’s ever lost in the tournament. Sadly for Imada, it just doesn’t look like he was meant to be Bellator Lightweight Champion. He always puts up a good fight in the tournament but he always comes up short. Unfortunately for Imada, I don’t believe that his white horse is ever going to come save him from tournament defeat.

“Why would you wanna make the very first scar? Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?”

To Giedrius Karavackus…

Fighting in front of a crowd that was packed with Sammy Oropeza fans and down two rounds to none, Karavackus broke plenty of hearts when he mounted a third round comeback and capped it off with a rare scarf hold armlock submission. Hopefully we see Karabackus make more scars and break more hearts in the future.

“So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time. As far as I’m concerned, you’re just another picture to burn.”

To Hector Lombard and Eddie Alvarez…

I feel like Lombard and Alvarez are just wasting their time in the Bellator cage. They’re the two best fighters not under a Zuffa contract and they’re extremely talented but just how good are they? We’re not going to find that answer if they’re fighting guys like Falaniko Vitale and Pat Curran. Maybe Michael Chandler can present a threat to Alvarez but if not, who’s after that? And Bellator doesn’t even have a contender lined up for Lombard for next season. I want to know if Lombard and Alvarez are legit top five or ten fighters but right now they’re just pictures burning.

“We are the kings and queens. You traded your baseball cap for a crown. When they gave us our trophies and we held them up for our town.”

To Michael Chandler…

He traded his wrestling credentials for a MMA title and was spotlighted as one heck of a talent at 155. He beat highly touted prospect Marcin Held after being in trouble early and then showed a lot of heart in victories over Lloyd Woodard and Patricky Freire. Maybe after his fight against Alvarez, we’ll be saying, “long live” to the new Bellator lightweight king.

“Someday, I’ll be, big enough so you can’t hit me, and all you’re ever gonna be is mean. Why ya gotta be so mean?”

To Ben Saunders…

Now reading that lyric, you may think it has a negative context (and in song form, it does) but allow me to turn it into a positive. In MMA, being mean isn’t a bad thing and no one was meaner than Saunders during this past Bellator season. He put a beat down on Matt Lee so bad that if Lee were to walk the streets of Chicago, he may be mistaken for former Chicago Cubs first baseman Derek Lee. It was a reminder to the world of what Saunders is capable of when he’s on top of his game and at his meanest.

“It’s a love story baby just say yes.”

To Bryan Baker…

After stopping Joe Riggs, Baker one-upped himself by proposing to his very attractive girlfriend. It’s always nice to see a lighter side of MMA fighters because people tend to forget that outside of the cage, these guys and girls have significant others who care for them. I wish Baker and the future Mrs. Baker the best of luck and hope that their love story ends in happiness.

“Our song is the slammin’ screen door, sneakin’ out late, tappin’ on your window……And when I got home, before I said amen, askin’ God if he, could play it again.”

To Ben Askren…

Everyone has a song in life. While I don’t know what Askren’s life song is, I do know what his MMA game plan is and so does everyone else in the world. And yet no one can stop it. Just like no one can stop you or I from singing our favorite song when it comes on the radio. Fighters know exactly what Askren is going to do and there is nothing that can do about it.

“They might be bigger, but we’re faster and never scared.”

To Patricio Freire…

Guys like Georgi Karakahnyan, Wilson Reis, and Daniel Straus may have been bigger but that didn’t matter to Freire. He finished Karakahnyan and Reis in impressive fashion and then out-worked Straus to win the Season Four Featherweight Tournament and earn another crack at Warren.

“All I can say is it was, enchanting to meet you.”

To Christian M’Pumbu…

To most fans, M’Pumbu was either unknown or under the radar. Not anymore. M’Pumbu made his mark during Bellator’s first-ever light heavyweight tournament by knocking out his three opponents and capturing the vacant Bellator Light Heavyweight title. The MMA world was hopefully enchanted to meet M’Pumbu because who knows, he might be a name we’ll be saying for years to come.

“Don’t you ever grow up, just stay this little. Oh darling, don’t you ever grow up, don’t you ever grow up, it could stay this simple.”

To Bjorn Rebney…

Rebney probably doesn’t want to hear this but I hope that he and Bellator never grow up. They’re great as the third (or second, if you count Zuffa as one promotion) best promotion in MMA. They’re never going to catch UFC and as long as they don’t have that expectation, they can continue to tread along and make a nice name for themselves. Rebney doesn’t seem like a stupid guy. Hopefully he knows that he can’t challenge Dana White and company and he shouldn’t try to. There’s nothing wrong with being second place as long as you know that you’re second place and you don’t try and be first place. Has he seen what has happened to previous companies who tried to compete for first place? They latest about as long as a Taylor Swift relationship. Keep things simple Bjorn, don’t let nobody hurt you, don’t let nobody burn you, and never grow up.

(Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA): Roufusport is quickly garnering more and more attention from the MMA industry as a true force to be reckoned with. Recently, the gym was voted the top MMA gym by fans on Versus.com. And now, head trainer Duke Roufus has been listed amongst the “Top 20 MMA Powers” by USA Today.

The full article can be found here: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/mma/2011-06-20-power-10_N.htm

“I’m honored to be listed with names such as Dana White, Joe Silva, Randy Couture, and others,” stated Roufus. “We’re working hard to make the Roufusport team the best we can make it. It’s awesome to work with such a great group.”

A noted striking coach, Roufus has developed a gym that services every aspect of MMA. The reputation of the gym has been cemented, and fighters are coming from all over the world to train with the team.

Roufus has stated that his commitment is both to the present and future of the sport. While working with current stars such as Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, Strikeforce light heavyweight Joe Cason, and rising UFC stars Erik Koch and Alan “The Talent” Belcher, the Roufusport team is also grooming the stars of tomorrow.

“I want to see the sport of MMA continue to grow and grow, and we’re doing all we can from our end to make sure that happens,” explained Roufus. “Seeing young men and women develop into world class fighters…it’s an amazing process to be a part of.”

For more information on Roufusport, please visit http://milwaukeemma.com/.

About Roufusport
Roufusport is run by famed kickboxer and MMA trainer Duke Roufus and his business partner Scott Joffe. It is a world class brand that includes a state-of-the-art training facility, fight team, and MMA promotion, the North American Fighting Championship.

Roufus is one of the most recognizable MMA and striking coaches in North America, and is considered to be one of the top trainers of Muay Thai kickboxing outside of Thailand. Roufus also runs the Roufusport Fight Club team, which includes UFC stars Alan Belcher, Anthony Pettis (of the famous “Showtime Kick” off the cage), Ben Rothwell, Erik Koch, and “Danny Boy” Downes.

Former students include former UFC Lightweight Champion Jens Pulver, The Ultimate Fighter® season one star Stephan Bonnar, and UFC veterans Pat Barry, Matt Mitrione and Jesse Lennox.