(If you thought we were going to pass up the opportunity to post a Wu Tang-infused Marlon Sandro highlight vid, well, you must be new around here. Vid: YouTube/Meyer124)

Former Sengoku featherweight champion Marlon Sandro – believed to be the second-best 145-pounder not currently under the UFC umbrella – has signed a deal with Bellator Fighting Championships and will make his American debut sometime in 2011, according to multiple internet reports out on Wednesday. Sandro’s exodus comes amid news that Sengoku is granting releases to fighters who ask for them, probably signaling that the Japanese promotion’s prolonged death spasm is nearing its end.

Sandro is currently ranked in the featherweight Top 10 on any list worth its salt. Though he lost his Sengoku title to Hatsu Hioki in late December he’ll make a stellar addition for the newly MTV-friendly Bellator. The promotion crowned Joe Warren it’s 145-pound champ after his come-from-behind victory over Joe Soto in September and you’d have to think Sandro immediately becomes No. 1 contender. Some pontificating on what it all means after the jump.

(That’s no mean mug, that’s really just Warren’s normal expression.  PicProps:  Bellator.com)

We bid you good morning, Potato Nation, and we present you with our second installment of preview materials for the upcoming Bellator tournaments, this time running down the 145ers set to do battle in March.  By now you should know that Bellator will be airing live on Saturdays on MTV2, so we’re really going to stop telling you.  But don’t come crying to us when your DVR doesn’t magically start recording the fights in the new time slot, all teary-eyed with your bare face hanging out, asking us what went on and who advanced, because we totally won’t even tell you.

Sorry about that.  Listen, go grab some coffee, and venture in past the jump for introductions and videos for all eight featherweights confirmed for the brackets. 
 

Monica and Mercedes have enjoyed the vacation.     PicProps: Bellator.com

In all this talk of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix and subsequent rumors of a Lightweight Grand Prix, it seems that some of us are forgetting about the promotion that put on *seven* tournaments last year, without once sucking their own dicks about how awesome they were to pull it off. Well, Bjorn Rebney and company are returning to the airwaves new and improved on March 5th with a new slate of tournaments, and CagePotato wants to keep you abreast of developments.  Because we care, Potato Nation, because we care.

Probably the deepest and most talented division in Bellator, eight fighters are entered in the third tournament at 170 pounds. The field is already set, and packed with stars and standouts competing for a large check (see what we did there?) and a date with current welterweight kingpin “Funky” Ben Askren. A full list of the competitors and some highlight vids are after the jump, so now you can discuss the tournament intelligently, should it come up on the golf course or at the dinner table.  You’re welcome.

(Rebney’s thinning patience with Coker showed in this recent Twitter posting.)

By CagePotato contributor S.C. Michaelson

CHICAGO — With the recent announcement from Strikeforce that it will put on a 2011 heavyweight grand prix tournament, the MMA community has been abuzz with excitement and intrigue. Many analysts predict that a successful tournament could be the catalyst to Strikeforce becoming more of a major player in today’s market. However, not everyone is as excited about the prospect of the proposed tournament — enter Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney.

"Tournament schmurnament," spat Rebney. "Hello, does anybody remember what Bellator is? Our whole company is based around tournaments. Hell, we just had a heavyweight tournament last year!"

"…and Ben, I have you down to guest host on ‘Saturday Drop a Deuce’.  That’s cool, right?"

A press release today announces that Bellator Fighting Championships has reached an agreement with MTV Networks to air live events on MTV2.  The three-year deal, which begins in March of 2011, provides for broadcast of two seasons of tournaments a year, "plus a collection of special feature events."  Eric Conte, Senior VP in charge of Programming and Production for MTV2, is quoted as saying that "MMA is at the top of our audience’s wish list" and that a partnership with the surging promotion "made complete sense".  (We haven’t received word yet on whether Conte was the guy that green-lit Wrestling Society X.)

The news comes as a surprise, as Bellator had been expected to announce an extension of its partnership with Fox Entertainment Group, parent of Fox Sports Net and FX.

Obviously, this is big news for Bellator, which has been hampered by lack of a stable time slot on FSN and plagued by last minute preemptions.  MTV2 is a step up on the distribution ladder, and more people will have access to the weekly shows than ever before.  As the press release noted, there is a nice dovetail in the demographics for the network and the Bellator fanbase.

("CBS? They suck. I’m not sure I want to work with them anymore.")

During today’s Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu conference call, the promotion’s CEO Scott Coker touched on some pressing questions, but was noticeably mum on others.

"You’re going to see big things," Coker teased when speaking of the California-based promotion’s plans for next year, but he didn’t say whether or not a return to CBS is in Strikeforce’s stacked deck of cards. In an interview he did earlier this month with Sherdog, Coker said that a reputable TV deal would have to be in place for him to entertain a co-promotion deal with the promotions, which could be a telling sign that CBS has taken his number off of speed dial.

He did mentione Showtime when discussing the ongoing, yet unfruitful negotiations with Fedor Emelianenko’s M-1 Global management team, but didn’t give a clue about the status of Strikeforce’s relationship with CBS, which many assume is dead in the water thanks to the Team Cesar Gracie-Jason Miller brawl that took place during their last telecast in April.

"It’s been quite a long road here with the M-1 camp trying to get this done. I agree with [M-1 director of operations] Evgeni [Kogan] that there’s some light at the end of the tunnel," Coker explained. "We would welcome Fedor to have a long term deal with Strikeforce fighting on Showtime and we’re trying to get this done. It’s not done yet, there’s nothing signed. So really there’s nothing to announce."

("I have no idea how I’m going to explain this to my wife. And you know what? I don’t care." Photo courtesy of ESPN.)

Jay Hieron‘s stint with Strikeforce has been one kick in the nuts after another. Since debuting last August at Carano vs. Cyborg, the former IFL champ has only competed once more for the promotion, and both of his appearances have been buried on untelevised preliminary cards. He signed with Strikeforce under the impression that he’d be getting a title shot against Nick Diaz — then saw himself get line-jumped by Marius Zaromskis. After he and Strikeforce couldn’t see eye-to-eye this year on contract re-negotiations, Hieron became one of MMA’s most valuable (and frustrated) free-agents.

According to a press release distributed last night, Hieron has decided to take his talents to Bellator for their season 4 welterweight tournament, which is slated to kick off in December and already features such 170-pound standouts as Dan Hornbuckle, Jim Wallhead, and Rick Hawn; the winner of the eight-man bracket will receive a big-ass check (yay!) and a shot at current champ Ben Askren (NOOOO!). Hieron explained his decision like so:

(The UFC’s newest Octagon Girl looks very familiar. GSP, as usual, is not impressed. Props: Twitter.com/BrittneyPalmer)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– ‘WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki’ Open Workout Highlights (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Vazquez, Mendes Look to Settle Differences at WEC 52 (Versus MMA Beat)

– Rodriguez, Monson, Trigg, Sokoudjou Score Wins at Israel FC; Shonie Carter Might Retire After Loss (MMA Fighting)

– According to the Rumor Mill, Bellator May Be in Deep, Deep Doo-Doo (MiddleEasy)

– Jose Aldo’s Coach Turned Down Kenny Florian Fight Because It Wasn’t ‘Interesting’ (MMA Convert)

– Scott Carson Lashes Out at the ‘Keyboard Warriors’ Who Are Writing Him Off Against Herschel Walker (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Rashad Evans Explains ‘Conflicting Stories’ Are His Source of Frustration (LowKick)

– Thales Leites Back On The Winning Track At Superior Challenge 6 (FightMagazine)

– Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller Beats the Crap Out of MTV Bully (MMA Scraps)

– Urijah Faber Looking To Make a Statement at WEC 52 vs. Takeya Mizugaki (SBNation.com/MMA)

("My biggest regret? Not springing for caller ID. Next question …" PicProps: GalsGuidetoMMA)

Over the weekend, we brought you news that Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney was pursuing the very questionable strategy of trying to publicly shame Strikeforce into a promotional partnership with his lesser-known MMA company. After Rebney went to the media with his claims that Strikeforce jefe Scott Coker was ignoring his text messages about a potential cross-brand superfight between Gilbert Melendez and Eddie Alvarez (and Coker denied it, also to the press … so, you see where this is headed …) Bellator published some gloomy, Loch Ness Monster-style photographs of four messages Rebney allegedly sent somebody he had saved in his phone as “Scot Coker Mobile.” Yeah, it was all pretty hilarious in a slapstick, will-you-lookit-what-these-idiots-are-up-to-now kind of a way and the lolz just increased exponentially when later that same day Strikeforce confirmed that Rebney had been sending his texts to Coker’s old number.

Once we were all done shouting, “Smooth fuckin’ move, Bjorn!” in unison, we began to wonder aloud: How exactly would the boss of America’s second largest MMA promotion look upon the revelation that his potential new business partners would so readily try to out him as liar to the public … and even fumble around and fuck that up? As it turns out, not favorably. Coker told Bloody Elbow this week in his ever understated way that he has “concerns” about how Bellator handled this. If we had to guess about specifics, we’d wager the major concern is that Bjorn Rebney made himself look like a backbiting no-account who texts like my mom when she’s trying guilt trip me into calling her back about Sunday dinner. But maybe it’s best if we let Coker tell it in his own words.

(Step one of trying to create a strategic partnership with another organization: Publicly claim CEO of other organization is a goddamned liar. That’s some Dale Carnegie shit, right there. PicProps: Connect.in.com)

We’ve got a classic (and totally stupid) media gambit on our hands here between Bellator honcho Bjorn Rebney and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. Ever since Bellator decided that one of its primary corporate strategies would be to continually repeat the dubious claim that Eddie Alvarez is the No.1 lightweight fighter in the world, it’s been publicly pushing for a co-promotional, company vs. company show with Strikeforce. Rebney took the idea to the MMA media, saying he’d “love” for the two promotions to double-up on a pay-per-view effort featuring a bevy of cross-brand championship matches, but that Coker wasn’t calling him back about it. In response, Coker – who’s always down for totally mishandling a public relations opportunity – went on Sherdog Radio this week to say he too was interested, but denied he’d ever heard from Rebney and accused Bellator of pulling a PR stunt. Naturally, Bellator’s next move was to release what it alleges are a bunch of Rebney’s text messages to Coker. Ruh-roh.

It’s pretty easy to imagine someone in the Bellator office pumping their fist and yelling out, “Checkmate, motherfucker!” as they hit “send” on this particular email, which reportedly contained four fairly low-quality snapshots of Rebney’s texts. The images are after the jump, of course. If you squint, you can even kind of read them.

("Trust me, everything at Strikeforce is just fine. Say, anybody else hear those violins?") 

In the wake of yesterday’s merger between the UFC and the WEC, Strikeforce’s quest to carve out an equal space in the MMA world just got even more unlikely. But if you’re Scott Coker, this is no time to despair. It’s time to fight harder — and finally fix the slew of problems that have been dragging you down. So here’s what you do…

No more "Challengers" cards until further notice
The bottom line is, your roster isn’t deep enough to pull it off, and nobody gives a fuck. We just came off of a Challengers event that was headlined — I said headlined — by Roger Bowling vs. Bobby Voelker. For God’s sake, the next Raging Wolf card is more stacked. Strikeforce should abandon their minor-league series, and stick all those prospects onto the prelims of their larger Showtime cards (more on that next). If that means fewer events, so be it. Sure, you want to develop your brand by holding regular shows around the country, but just as importantly, you want to associate your brand with excellence and excitement. And let’s be honest, Strikeforce can’t be turning a profit on those Challengers cards anyway.

(Video courtesy YouTube/FightHubTV)

At last week’s Bellator show, middleweight Hector Lombard raised a few eyebrows when he said he wanted to face recently-signed Strikeforce heavyweight Josh Barnett in his next bout.

It turns out that the pair have a beef between them that can be traced back to a particular sparring session in 2008.

According to Lombard’s former and Barnett’s current trainer from Combat Submission Wrestling, Erik Paulson, a day or two after a bloody 30-minute boxing match between the duo at the gym, "The Babyfaced Assassin" dragged Lombard into the cage and used his weight advantage to hold him on the canvas and humiliate the Cuban judoka in front of his teammates.

Paulson revealed that the incident was the reason Lombard walked away from the gym to join American Top Team and said he’s surprised that he’s still upset over it.

(You think Huerta’s had it rough over the last couple years, imagine how this guy feels. PicProps: ImageShack)

It’s hard not to feel a little bit bad for Bellator this month. Here the upstart promotion is about to stage the biggest fight of its short history when Roger Huerta takes on Eddie Alvarez next Thursday and it seems like nobody even cares. Part of that is just sheer bad luck, what with Brock Lesnar and his magnificent new beard gobbling up the headlines prior to his title defense against Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 two days later. Some of it has to be thrown at Bellator’s feet too, since this bout would certainly be garnering some more attention if it weren’t a weirdo nontitle affair. Then there’s Huerta who, after losing three of his last four, is putting waaay too much pressure on himself this week. 

“I feel like if Eddie wins, he ends up killing my career,” Huerta told Sherdog Radio on Monday. “I can’t take another loss. This is really personal for me. This is my life.”

(They call him "The Hurricane" because he makes opponents want to hide in the basement when he touches down on them.)

If you don’t know who Ferrid Kheder is, by this time next year you will.

Here’s the story of The Hurricane:

The French-born Tunisian judoka who placed seventh as a lightweight at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia has completely dedicated himself to becoming a mixed martial artist since discovering the sport in 2005 and has done so impressively, compiling an 18-5 record in the process.

Hooking up with Hector Lombard, a fellow judo competitor and friend who was living and training in Australia at Sydney satellite of The Lion’s Den, the pair soon became the best fighters in the gym and were looking for a change.

Out of the blue, Kheder received a MySpace message from Ryan Parsons, the manager of Dan Henderson’s Temecula, California branch of Team Quest, inviting him and Lombard to move to the states to train with the stacked fight team that at the time included guys like Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Krzystof Soszynski, Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Joey Warren.

He jumped at the offer.

“To make a living at MMA, I knew it would be hard because every day I had to work. I couldn’t even speak English, so I had to work doing jobs that I didn’t need to talk to do. I worked as a mover and security at a nightclub and I trained in the morning and at night between working. You can’t expect to be one of the best in the world living and training like that, so after I had a few wins, I was contacted by Ryan Parsons," he recalls. "He contacted me through MySpace and he wanted me and Hector to come over to train at Team Quest. That was why we decided to move to America. Hector didn’t get his visa at the same time as me, so I started in 2007 to train at Team Quest.”

(Bryan Baker putting the stomp on Jeremy Horn and cancer. Photo props Fight!Mag)

Bellator came back around to Louisville, Kentucky last night with a passel of pint sized contestants in the first bantamweight championship field, a middleweight fight featuring Bellator regular Bryan Baker and a man who has somewhere over 9000(!) fights at Moneyweight, and the standard assortment of young up and comers looking to have a breakout performance. Come on in and we’ll find out who’s going to the bantamweight tourney finals, who is bouncing back from serious illness, and who has a juvenile sense of humor.

You know who has the juvenile sense of humor? You do. But we dig that about you. Check it out: through pure coincidence (or epic matchmaking radness), Bellator’s thirtieth show features a card full of fighters with somewhat suggestive nicknames.

Just try to skim the names and not picture them working for Vivid Entertainment. (PS: You just lost the game.) (PPS: I’m sorry Mom, I was raised better than this.)

Ok, then: Fights!

(Above: ‘Ayyyyyy‘ — An expression of combat known worldwide. / Below: Matt Major shows off the design that got him eliminated on last night’s episode of Project Runway.)

By ReX “I H8 FSN” Richardson

Last night, Bellator XXIX went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (which I believe is a Native American word meaning “Dude, I Think We’re Lost”) and put on the first nationally-televised MMA event ever in the state. Bellator seems to thrive by signing fighters hungry for wins, and has kept the energy up by focusing on the lighter weight classes, so it was a bit of a curveball when a heavyweight tournament was announced. Many questioned if Bellator could pull enough quality heavyweights with the conditioning necessary to put on entertaining fights. Heavyweight fights in the Bellator promotion to this point have been a mixed bag, but we’re starting to see the cream rise so I’m optimistic that some fun stuff happens. A couple of loser-leaves-town matches round out the televised card, featuring some guys who’ve been bounced out of tournaments previously (and want back in), plus they snagged the tubby Guida brother to test the light heavyweight waters.

Come on in and I’ll fill you in on the latest Bellator results and news. I promise I’ll lay off the fat jokes this time.

By DL “Dance Lord” Richardson

(Video courtesy YouTube/BellatorMMA)

When it comes to MMA, everyone has preferences. Some people want nothing but knockouts (these are the people waiting three hours to get Chuck Liddell’s autograph), some people love nothing more than a fighter scoring a submission win off their back (if you don’t heart Sakuraba, I don’t want to be your friend). Some people love the heavy leather of the weight classes over 200 pounds (looking at you, Stak40), and some people love the non-stop dynamos that compete below 160 pounds. For those who dig an “I just gave my four year old Starbucks and meth” pace, Bellator hooked it up with a bantamweight showcase at The Majestic Theatre in San Antonio last night, and topped off the card with a much-anticipated matchup between current Featherweight Champion Joe Soto and Joe Warren. If you missed it, you better have a damn good reason or a note from your mom.

Come on in for a recap, but I *highly suggest* you watch Soto – Warren before you read it. These guys both wanted the belt like a thirteen year old girl wants a vampire boyfriend, and they put on a jaw dropper. I’ll talk about it, run down the other fights on the card, and if you’re good boys and girls, I’ll even tell you about bantams.

* * *

(Video courtesy HDNet)