(The Shlemenko vs. Falcao stoppage)

Last night’s Bellator middleweight title fight between ever-twirling Russian Alexander Shlemenko and hard-sluggin’ Brazilian Maiquel Falcao didn’t disappoint. After an evenly-pitched first round that featured both men making statements with their striking — and Falcao mixing in a couple takedowns — Shlemenko focused his attacks on the body in round 2, hurting Falcao with a liver punch then dropping him with a short right hand. Shlemenko fired down a few more body shots from above before KO’ing Falcao with a precision head-shot. Shlemenko earns the vacant middleweight title in impressive fashion, and will now take a break until the Season 8 middleweight tournament produces his first challenger.

Also on the Bellator 88 card, the featherweight tournament quarterfinals were highlighted by returning contender Mike Richman, who scored his third knockout under the Bellator banner with a head-kick-and-punches stoppage of Mitch Jackson — pretty much the same thing he did to Jeremy Spoon last October, only this time with Dan Miragliotta doing his lovable late-stoppage thing. You can watch the Richman/Jackson KO after the jump, along with five more stoppages from the event. Full results are below.

Main Card
- Alexander Shlemenko def. Maiquel Falcao via KO, 2:18 of round 2
- Marlon Sandro def. Akop Stepanyan via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27) – Stepanyan was docked a point in round 2 for fence-grabbing
- Mike Richman def. Mitch Jackson via TKO (head-kick and punches), 4:57 of round 1
- Alexandre Bezerra def. Genair Da Silva via submission (armbar), 1:40 of round 1

Preliminary Card
- Frodo Khasbulaev def. Fabricio Guerreiro via submission (arm triangle), 1:15 of round 2
- George Hickman def. Stephen Upchurch via submission (rear-naked choke), 2:19 of round 1
- Clay Harvison def. Ururahy Rodrigues via KO, 3:34 of round 3
- Ronnie Rogers def. Shane Crenshaw via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)
- Joe Elmore def. Jerrid Burke via KO, 4:11 of round 2

(Pretending to talk on the phone when your opponent is waiting for the face-off: Gangster. Photo via @BellatorMMA)

Bellator 88 goes down tonight at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia, headlined by Alexander Shlemenko and Maiquel Falcao meeting for the promotion’s vacant middleweight title. This is a big freaking deal, relatively speaking. Here’s why you should care, and perhaps even tune in to the Spike broadcast at 10 p.m. / 9 p.m. CT.

Currently riding a nine-fight win streak, Shlemenko is 7-1 under the Bellator banner, winning the Season 2 and Season 5 middleweight tournaments. Though he lost his first title challenge in a 2010 decision against Hector Lombard, Shlemenko at least holds the distinction of being the only guy who Lombard wasn’t able to KTFO during his Bellator run. (We’d call that a “half-win.”) Shlemenko’s Season 5 tournament sweep in 2011 should have secured him a rematch with Lombard, but the Cuban slugger buggered off to the UFC, vacating his title.

Enter “Big Rig.” After an odd one-and-done career in the UFC, Maiquel Falcao eventually landed in Bellator, where he scored three consecutive unanimous decision victories last year to win the Season 6 Middleweight Tournament. And so, Bellator’s last two middleweight tournament winners will now face each other. So will Falcao’s power triumph over Shlemenko’s fancy spinnin’-shit? Check out some relevant videos after the jump and let us know what you think…

(If the name “Michelle Jenneke” means anything to you, this will be your favorite video of the week. / Props: TheChive)

- Frank Mir Healthy, Ready To Challenge Daniel Cormier (Fightline)

- Unlike Mike Ricci, Colton Smith Views ‘TUF’ Experience as a Positive (MMAFighting)

- Firas Zahabi: Rory MacDonald Was Not Showboating Against BJ Penn (Sherdog)

- Jon Jones Talks About Move To Heavyweight Division (FightDay)

- Dan Hardy Interested in Fight With Matt Brown, Dismissive of Matt Riddle (BloodyElbow)

- UFC on FX 6: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson Weigh-In Results (MMAConvert)

- 16 MMA Ring Girls So Hot It Hurts (MadeMan)

- The Most Intense Feuds in Mixed Martial Arts [VIDEO] (BleacherReport)

- Maiquel Falcao meets Alexander Shlemenko for Middleweight Title at Bellator 88 (MMAJunkie)

- 13 Celebrities Who Fight Fat with Martial Arts (MensFitness)

- The 50 Greatest Movie Laughs of All Time (WorldWideInterweb)

- The 25 Worst Reality TV Stars of 2012 (Complex)

- Hollywood Superman Reviews the ‘Man of Steel’ Trailer [VIDEO] (ScreenJunkies)

When we last saw Maiquel Falcao and Andreas Spang in the cage with each other, the two nearly started brawling during a post-fight interview at Bellator 66. Anticipation for their main event clash at last night’s Bellator 69 from Lake Charles, Louisiana was high, even though Falcao initially missed weight for their bout. The dust has settled, and the event produced this season’s middleweight tournament champion, a close (borderline controversial) decision and much more.

The evening’s main event saw UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao dominate Swedish prospect Andreas Spang. Save for an early right cross that appeared to have Falcao in trouble, as well as an illegal knee from “Big Rig” that cost him a one point deduction on the scorecards, Maiquel Falcao controlled this entire fight. Already known for his Muay Thai prowess, Falcao utilized an ever-improving wrestling game on his way to the unanimous decision victory.

Immediately after winning this season’s middleweight tournament, Bjorn Rebney came to the cage to announce that Maiquel Falcao will be fighting Alexander Shlemenko, who was initially set for a rematch against Hector Lombard before he signed with the UFC, for the vacant middleweight title. Falcao vs. Shlemenko should be an interesting fight, especially if Falcao is healthy for it. At the post-event press conference, Maiquel Falcao revealed that he had been battling a flu leading up to his fight against Spang.

(Props: TheFightNerd)

Bellator has already proven that they have a zero-tolerance policy for tournament competitors missing weight, and this afternoon, Maiquel Falcao put himself in danger of being the second finalist to be disqualified this season.

During the weigh-ins for tomorrow’s Bellator 69 event at L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Falcao punished the scales at 188 pounds, three above his middleweight limit. He has been given two hours to sweat off the excess; if he doesn’t make it happen, his opponent Andreas Spang could win the Season Six Middleweight Tournament by default, earning a title shot against a cardboard cutout of Hector Lombard. Cross your fingers for a good result, because these two really need to squash their beef. UPDATE: Falcao made weight on his second attempt.

In other Bellator weigh-in news, two undercard fighters also came in heavy on their first attempts, and welterweight semifinalist Karl Amoussou made opponent David Rickels his bitch during the staredown. You can see a GIF of that rather embarrassing moment after the jump, along with complete weigh-in results from Bellator 69, which will also feature a 115-pound women’s match between Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar.

Even if you weren’t glued to your Twitter account last night, you still had plenty of MMA news to keep yourself entertained. From a middleweight and lightweight tournament to a post-fight brawl to a referee ignoring a fighter’s cornermen throwing in the towel, there were plenty of things to talk about. All of these story lines came from Bellator 66 last night in Cleveland, Ohio.

While this season hasn’t been a stranger to dangerously late stoppages, last night’s main event, a rematch between former Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki, provided one worthy of mention in our worst referee blunders roundtable. Alvarez dropped Aoki early, and although he initially seemed hesitant to jump into Aoki’s guard, Alvarez unloaded some heavy punches that almost immediately put Aoki out cold. When the referee in charge, Jerry Krzys, didn’t stop the fight Aoki’s cornermen threw their towel into the cage. Of course, everyone knows that “throwing in the towel” is just an expression for giving up, and not a sign that the fighter’s cornermen actually believe that the fight should be stopped, right? No? Well then someone should have explained that to Jerry Krzys, who allowed the fight to continue for a few more seconds before stopping the action.

After the fight, Alvarez had a very simple question for Bellator, and an equally simple follow up request: “Bjorn Rebney where you at? Show me the money.” Of course, if Bellator can’t- or isn’t willing to- comply with that request, something tells us that the UFC will.

Brian Rogers’ walk-off flying knee KO (Courtesy of YouTube/BellatorMMA)

Bellator kicked off its fourth 185-lb tournament last night and it was a pretty good night of scraps for those in the bludgeoning business. Despite a last minute cancellation of the scheduled Prindle-Santos rematch, the card marched bravely on. Eight middleweights squared off for a chance to advance to the semis and ultimately to challenge reigning champ Hector Lombard. It may not be the most popular tournament at the moment, but it’s ours, dammit, and here’s how it played out.

The opening bout in the eight-man scrum pitted Season 5 runner-up Vitor Vianna against Brian Rogers. Rogers came out as the early aggressor, firing off hard shots at a passive Vianna. Eager to get the fight to the ground, Vianna worked for the takedown, but his back only graced the canvas once for a few seconds following a hip-toss by Rogers. Back on the feet, “The Predator” stunned Vianna with a right hand that wobbled him back on his heels. Smelling blood, Rogers leapt in with flying knee for a textbook falling tree KO. “”That was my third flying knee knockout. Google it,” said Rogers in his post-fight interview. I would, boss, but I’m terrified of the internet. All nine of Rogers’ victories have come by first round stoppage. Not too shabby.

(Two words: Stanky toe.) 

We’re in the midst of the longest MMA drought of the year, Potato Nation. With only one UFC and one Strikeforce event scheduled in the next month, the gambling addicts within the CP staff are damn near starving to death. Seriously, we’ve been forced to start taking bets on things like: how long Karma can grow his fingernails before he scratches someone’s eyes out, the IQ of BG’s child (currently), and which cockroach in Danga’s apartment will finally die of lead poisoning.

Perhaps it’s a sign of how far the sport has come in the past few years that we expect a card every couple weeks; pehaps it is just a sign of our greed. In either case, Bellator has stepped up to fill the void left behind by all the major organizations, and thankfully so. With three events planned in the next two weeks, it presents a perfect opportunity to get some bad picks and ridiculous parlays out of your system before it really costs you.

Despite the main event being cancelled at the last second, tonight’s Bellator 61 card still presents some intriguing match-ups and more than a couple ways to come out with a more padded wallet to spend on tomorrows festivities, ie. green colored beer and an end of the night stomach pumping. But let’s get one thing straight, this is not your mamma’s Gambling Addiction Enabler, this is a sort of similar yet entirely different monster. CagePotato can not be held accountable for the following betting advice, so read at your own risk.

First, let’s take a look at the card…

(And YOU get an unnecessarily long beatdown, and YOU get an unnecessarily long beatdown!) 

Bellator recently announced the lineup and first round match-ups for its 6th season middleweight tournament, and it features more than its fair share of familiar faces. First off, after reportedly suffering a heart attack during training back in November, former UFC middleweight Maiquel Falcao will be returning to action against 10-1-1 Norman Paraisy. Paraisy, a Paris, France native, previously fell to a first round rear-naked choke at the hands of inaugural UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne in his last Bellator appearance, which took place back in April of 2009. Paraisy has gone 5-0-1 since the loss, picking up wins over Paulo Filho and Jack Mason among others. True to his fighting style, Falcao last picked up a first round TKO victory over Douglas Del Rio, a video of which is below.

(Falcao also strayed from his usual fighting style, however, as he actually managed to stop punching his opponent when the ref intervened.) 

(War Machine poses with the kids’ MMA class that he is somehow allowed to teach. Props: @WarMachine170)

Two interesting updates to Bellator’s sixth season, which begins March 2nd…

— After signing to the promotion in December, War Machine has secured his quarterfinal opponent for Bellator’s upcoming welterweight tournament. As he wrote on Twitter yesterday, “Fuck ya its on! My first fight in @BellatorMMA tournament will be March 30th vs. Karl Amoussou!! Gonna send him back to France in peices!!” It will be Machine’s first appearance since his impressive post-prison win against Roger Huerta in November.

Karl “Psycho” Amoussou (13-4-2, 1-1 in Bellator) is indeed French, and has also competed for M-1, Strikeforce, DREAM, and Pancrase. The Haute Tension product most recently scored a first-round TKO over Jesus Martinez in a 175-pound catchweight bout at Bellator 59 in November. Bellator’s Season 6 welterweight bracket will include Bryan Baker, Brian Foster, undefeated triangle-choke specialist David Rickels, and Season 5 tournament finalist Ben Saunders. War Machine is already looking forward to an emotional reunion with his TUF 6 castmate.

In other news…

(Photo courtesy of MMAjunkie.com, if you couldn’t tell.) 

According to multiple sources, UFC veteran and recent Bellator signee Maiquel “Big Rig” Falcao suffered a heart attack in training this past weekend, the cause of which has yet to be determined. His manager has stated the following:

Maiquel is still on the Intensive Care Unit and might stay there for few more days, when he’ll go through a catheterization. He’s lucid and improving fast.

Falcao’s lone octagon appearance, a decision victory over TUF 7 alum Gerald Harris, was memorable for a multitude of reasons. Not only did a timing error deny Falcao nearly 7 seconds to finish a rear naked choke on Harris in the first round (one which even Dana White though Harris would have tapped to), but the third round would become an exercise in tedium as neither fighter would engage. Bizarre to say the least, made all the more disappointing by the fact that Falcao had been so dominant up to that point over a tough guy in Harris.

Shlemenko vs. Rogers from last night’s Bellator 54

If last night’s Bellator 54 in Atlantic City, New Jersey was a preview of things to come, then under no condition should you skip the finale of this season’s middleweight tournament. Unless you don’t like watching exciting brawls and devastating knockouts. In that case, I really don’t know why you’re here in the first place.

Alexander Shlemenko and Brian Rogers both promised a knockout before the fight, and it quickly became apparent that neither man planned on breaking that promise. A back and forth battle from the opening seconds, the fight saw each fighter land hard shots to his opponent. In the second round, however, Shlemenko’s superior clinch game helped him get the better of Rogers, as Shlemenko rocked Rogers with knees to the head before the referee stopped the fight. Alexander Shlemenko is now 42-7 in his MMA career, and 6-1 in Bellator.

The evening’s co-main event, Vitor Vianna took home a quick TKO over Bryan Baker. From the start of the fight, Baker showed little respect for Vianna’s striking. Bryan Baker chose to throw bombs at Vianna in hopes of getting a quick finish. Bryan Baker chose poorly.

(Props: Valmirfernando28 via MMAMania)

Maiquel Falcao‘s brief UFC career began with a controversial, much-criticized fight against Gerald Harris last November, and ended with his subsequent release due to an old assault charge. But on Saturday, “Big Rig” returned to doing what he does best — beating the crap out of Brazilian opponents who you’ve never heard of.

Falcao (27-3, 1 no-contest) met journeyman Julio Cesar Bilik (10-7) in the main event of a Centurion Mixed Martial Arts show in Itajai, Santa Catarina, Brazil, and went home with the 22nd knockout victory of his career. Watch as Falcao drops Bilik with a stiff jab, then smashes him with strikes from the top until the referee puts a stop to the action.

After the fight, Falcao said…something. I don’t speak Portuguese, so I’m absolutely no help to you in that department. Anybody care to translate?

(Guy on the Right just got some competition. Props: Facebook.com/BigfootSilva)

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…

- Gus Johnson Signs With Fox but Stays With Showtime for MMA and Boxing (MMA Fighting)

- Maiquel Falcao Cut From UFC for ‘Legal Problems’ (5thRound)

- Dana White Stresses Personal Finance Management At 2011 Fighter Summit (MMA Convert)

- Jonathan Brookins out, Danny Downes in Against Jeremy Stephens at TUF 13 Finale (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Anthony Johnson Responds to Ben Askren Calling him a ‘Coward’ (MiddleEasy)

- Director Kahleem Poole-Tejada Talks About ‘New York MMA’ documentary (TheFightNerd)

- Exclusive Interview: Ninja Rua Expects a War Against Tom Watson at BAMMA 6 (LowKick)

- Management Break-Up Splits Jon Jones, Rashad Evans (NBC Sports MMA)

- Anderson Silva and the 10 Best Southpaws in MMA (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

(Luckily, Falcao listed a prescription for assault on his pre-fight medicals. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

Maybe that video of Maiquel Falcao‘s savage and prolonged beating of an old opponent should have served as a warning that the dude is a bit of a loose cannon. According to Diario Popular (via MMA Mania) Falcao was arrested on a corporal assault charge today in Pelotas, Brazil, by local police. The Chute Boxe prospect was pinched after giving an interview to Grupo Brasil de Comunicação, and offered no resistance while being arrested, according to witnesses. No other details have been released yet, but we’ll update you when we know more. From MMA Junkie:

The Brazilian native was detained after a warrant for his arrest was issued in relation to a 2002 assault charge. MMAjunkie.com confirmed with Falcao’s management that the fighter is currently incarcerated, though the Chute Boxe product hopes to be released as soon as today. According to Falcao’s camp, the Brazilian was ordered in 2002 to serve a 24-month house-arrest sentence. After eight months, Falcao moved to a new home, though his lawyer advised him that the Brazilian authorities would have no issue with him completing the sentence in a new location. Today, Falcao returned to his hometown, as he reportedly has several times since 2002, but authorities elected to take him into custody…[Falcao's] camp did insist the matter was unlikely to affect his Octagon career.

Oddly enough, Falcao’s bust wasn’t the only MMA-related assault case in the news today. After the jump, an MMA fighter finds himself on the receiving end of a weird dust-up in Albuquerque…

(Props: Gofightlive via Fightlinker)

Since nobody likes to get right back to work after a four-day weekend, we figured we’d ease you back into your time-wasting routine with a few ridiculous MMA videos. First up, a three-second KO at an Evolution AMMA event that’s notable for what happens after the knockout. The losing fighter is so dazed that not only does he grab onto the referee in confusion, he manages to successfully score mount. Early stoppage, if you ask me.

After the jump: During a 2007 bout in Brazil, new UFC acquisition Maiquel Falcao continues to beat on his opponent long after the fight is stopped. Could this be a bad omen for his UFC career? (And where was that intensity at UFC 123?) Also, video of Bob Sapp‘s latest sad kickboxing match, Saturday night in Sweden, in which the Beast takes a dive at the absolute earliest opportunity.

Apologies to those of you who patiently waited all day yesterday for our weekly rumor feature, which has been making us tons of new friends in the industry, believe me. After the jump, you’ll find five juicy items, mostly pertaining to guys getting screwed out of money. As usual, four are complete fabrications, and one is 100% on the level. Can you solve the mystery? Can we avoid getting sued for one more week? Time will tell!

(Props: TheProwler31 via MiddleEasy)

After a strong start against Gerald Harris at UFC 123, Maiquel Falcao checked out in the third round, deciding to coast to a decision victory rather than try to finish the fight — a terribly anti-climactic ending to what might have been a career-making performance. But things would have turned out a lot differently if not for a monumental screw-up by the timekeeper.

As the above video proves, the horn went off about six seconds before the first round actually should have ended. That wouldn’t make much of a difference in most fights, but Falcao had Harris in a fully-sunk rear-naked choke at the end of the round, and Harris seemed dangerously close to either tapping or passing out. Instead of picking up his eighth-consecutive first-round victory, Falcao became the night’s official scapegoat for boring point-fighters. Not that Big Rig’s behavior in the last five minutes of the fight should be excused, but that shit ain’t fair. I wonder if the timekeeper had money on Harris…

(Seriously, who let that mouse into the Octagon? Props: UFC.com)

Here’s what we know: BJ Penn and George Sotiropoulos already have dates at UFC 127 in Australia. Karo Parisyan has been fired (again), and Matt Brown will surely be let go as well after suffering his third-consecutive submission loss. (Tyson Griffin also lost his third-straight on Saturday, but will remain in the promotion, as the judges’ decision in his fight against Nik Lentz was utter horseshit.) So where do UFC 123‘s other winners and losers go from here? As usual, we have a few suggestions…

Quinton Jackson: This one’s fairly obvious, assuming that nobody really wants to see an immediate rematch between Jackson and Machida. Rampage should get the winner of Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader at UFC 126. The winner of that fight gets a title shot. Bada-bing, bada-boom.

Lyoto Machida: Once an unstoppable force in the light-heavyweight division, it’s now been a year and a half since the Dragon has put on a dominant performance against anybody. At this point, the UFC needs to re-build Machida against a mid-level contender. Give him Matt Hamill, who deserves a step up after handling Keith Jardine and Tito Ortiz. Alternately, you could throw Machida in against Randy Couture, and see if the Natural’s gift for game-planning can carry him through against the Dragon. Of course, that matchup might not be pointless enough for Randy, so don’t get your hopes up.