Brock Lesnar, Shane Del Rosario, Gina Carano & More: MMA News & Notes
By Kevin Nelson
This edition of MMA News and Notes discusses all the news, rumors, and possible signings of the mixed martial arts world. The organizations such as Bellator, Strikeforce and the UFC we cover. Also included are other promotions such as Shark Fights, TPF, and MFC. Enjoy and a late Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there.
Strikeforce
The news being reported is that Shane Del Rosario is injured and will not be able to face Dan Cormier on the Dallas Strikeforce Grand Prix card. KJ Noons may face Jorge Masvidal as a replacement bout.
Dan Henderson is set to face Fedor Emelianenko at a catch weight of 225. Fedor is coming off back to back losses and Dan Henderson is coming off back to back wins. Nick Diaz has signed on to face Jeff Lacy as the bout has been rumored for weeks and has been confirmed.
Gina Carano is set to face Sarah D’Alelio on the Werdum vs. Overeem card. A week after the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, Strikeforce Challengers 16 will take place with the main event featuring light heavyweights Lorenz Larkin facing Gian Villante.
UFC
The UFC has announced the signing of Jason Mayhem Miller and is set to face Aaron Simpson at UFC 132. Mark Hominick fresh off his courageous fight with Jose Aldo may only be a couple of wins away from getting a rematch.
UFC 130 features the third fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard also Rampage vs Matt Hamill and Brian Stann vs. Sengoku Middleweight Champion Jorge Santiago along with Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson.
This card promises to be one of the deepest cards( also on the card Miguel Torres, Thiago Alves. UFC 131 takes place in Vancouver and the main event is Brock Lesnar facing Junior Dos Santos the winner is the number one contender to Cain Velasquez. Also on the card is the debut of Kenny Florian at featherweight and the return of Shane Carwin.
Bellator
Lyman Good was set to face Dan Hornbuckle in a season 5 qualifier at Bellator 44 but is injured no replacement has been mentioned yet but some speculation that it might be Ben Saunders to replace Lyman Good.
The next card is Bellator 43 featuring two of the best welterweights in the world as the welterweight finalists Jay Hieron and Rick Hawn will meet to determine who will earn the right to fight for the title against Ben Askren.
Bellator has signed middleweight Vitor Vianna (11-1-1) to a deal. Vianna is a two time BJJ world champion. Bellator 44 will feature the return of Hector Lombard as he faces Frankie Vitale. Also the lightweight final for the right to face lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez features Patricky Freire facing Michael Chandler.
Other News & Notes
Tachi Palace fights took place last night as Fabricio Camoes defeated former tuf winner Efrain Escudero. Also victorious were Gerald Harris and Ian McCall. Look for big things from this promotion. Dream announced a fight for Japan card that will take place on May 29 and have Shinya Aoki facing Antonio McKee and also the beginning stages of their bantamweight tournament. Other possible fighters on the card are Joachim Hanson, Mitsuhiro Ishiida. June 4th will have the MMA debut of former NHL enforcer Donald Brashear to face Martin Trempe(0-2),also a catch weight bout with Patrick Cote facing Todd Brown. The next MFC card will take place June 10th and the main event is Hermes Franca facing Drew Fickett. These are just some of the events that have occurred in the last 7 days.