Around the World of MMA: Melendez calls out Alvarez, Overeem vs. Fedor and more

The Triangle Choke

Around the World of MMA

Bellator

The Bellator Fighting Championship tournaments are heating up.  Each division has very talented fighters vying for a shot at the title.  If you haven’t watched Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez and Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard you are missing two of the best fighters on the planet. 

Rumors are circulating and trash is being talked from Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez regarding Alvarez.  Hopefully, the two organizations can create a super fight between two of the best lightweights in the world. 

Follow each tournament live on Fox Sports Net every Thursday night.  For previews/recaps of Bellator events visit www.profighting-fans.com .

Don King

The world of MMA already has enough unsavory characters to go around, now the man who many credit with the demise of boxing has entered the fray.  Shine Fights had a major promotion scheduled for May 15 which featured former boxing champion Ricardo Mayorga vs. former UFC veteran Din Thomas. 

The event was scheduled to be available on DirecTV on pay-per-view and was receiving significant attention.  Throughout the week leading up to the fight, Don King threatened to sue Shine Fights due to his contractual relationship with Mayorga which involved the promotion of boxing events only. 

Shine Fights executive Devin Price dismissed the threat as all involved believed King had no recourse due to the event being MMA instead of boxing.  King put on a full court press in the last minutes which resulted in finding a judge foolish enough to rule in his favor. 

The judge placed an injunction on Mayorga/Shine Fights which eventually forced the entire event to be cancelled.  A sad night not only for the promotion but for all the fighters who spent an entire camp getting ready for the event. 

The bottom line is if Don King is involved, something bad will happen.  Hopefully Shine Fights wins an appeal and receives damages from the overly inflated King.

There are plenty of lessons learned from the fracas but the one all fighters should learn from is: in boxing or MMA, do not sign representation agreements with promoters!

Event Cancellations

Just as in the case of Shine Fights, when events are cancelled the fans and fighters suffer most.  Although Shine Fights wanted to continue with the event (the North Carolina athletic commission shut down the event), in most cases promoters call off events due to their own ineptitude. 

It’s inexcusable and those particular promoters should be called to the carpet.

Strikeforce

On their May 15th event, Strikeforce finally got their Heavyweight Champion on US soil.  It may have been worth the wait as the physically imposing Alistair Overeem dominated Brett Rogers. 

Overeem used his incredible strength and striking game to gain a first round victory.  In the post fight interview, the Dutch striking sensation called out the #1 fighter on the planet, Fedor. 

If Fedor defeats Werdum in June, it will set up a titanic battle which could dramatically help Strikeforce’s growth. 

Andrei Arlovski supporters were hoping the Pit Bull would find his former menacing prowess; they were disappointed once again as Antonio “Big Foot” Silva got the victory over the former UFC Heavyweight Champion via unanimous decision.

UFC

Finally the ballyhooed bout between two of the biggest trash talkers in the sport will happen on May 29.  Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans will exchange leather in a grudge match long overdue. 

The two exchanged pleasantries throughout their stints as Ultimate Fighter coaches leading up to their scheduled bout in late 2009.  Instead of fighting, Rampage Jackson decided to take the role of BA Baracus in the soon to be released A-Team movie. 

His actions not only upset the eagerly awaiting Evans but they also infuriated UFC President Dana White.

The scrum resulted in a brief retirement for Rampage and put Rashad Evans in the cage against Thiago Silva.  Evans won a tough fight via decision which prompted Rampage to end his retirement. 

Now its finally set, Rampage vs. Rashad with the winner likely getting a shot at Shogun Rua’s Light Heavyweight Title. 

To get a closer glimpse of the camps of Rashad and Rampage and hear some creative trash talking, watch UFC Primetime Wednesday night on Spike TV.

For all things MMA visit www.profighting-fans.com

Scott Dryden
Editor-in-Chief, www.profighting-fans.com