Yoshiyuki Yoshida vs. Dan Hornbuckle not happening at Bellator 25

Despite recent reports, former UFC fighter Yoshiyuki Yoshida and season-two welterweight-tournament runner-up Dan Hornbuckle are not fighting next month at Bellator 25.

A source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com the reported fight isn’t happening due to visa issues.

Yoshida, though, could fight for the organization in late September if the issues are resolved.

Chas Skelly forced out of Bellator 28 tourney-qualifier bout with foot injury

No sooner was Chas Skelly announced for Bellator 28 than he was forced off the upcoming card.

Bellator officials today announced the Texas-based ground specialist was set to fight Georgi Karakhanyan; the winner was slated to earn entry into next year’s season-four 145-pound tourney.

However, a source close to the fighter told MMAjunkie.com a foot injury
has forced the undefeated Skelly off the card.

Phil Davis replaces injured Stanislav Nedkov, meets Rodney Wallace at UFC 117

Highly touted Phil Davis has agreed to replace injured Stanislav Nedkov and now meets Rodney Wallace at next month’s UFC 117 event.

A source close to one of the competitors today confirmed the change with MMAjunkie.com.

Nedkov’s representatives could not immediately be reached for comment to determine the nature of the UFC newcomer’s injury.

DREAM.16 officially set for Sept. 25 in Japan

As expected the Japanese-based DREAM organization returns Sept. 25 for DREAM.16.

The event takes place at Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan, and airs in North America on HDNet.

No fighters have been announced for the card, but as MMAjunkie.com previously reported, both lightweight champ Shinya Aoki and UFC vet Caol Uno are expected to fight in separate bouts. Additionally, mini-grand-prix finalists Tatsuya Mizuno and Gegard Mousasi are expected to fight for the first-ever DREAM light-heavyweight belt.

Bellator 28 headed to New Orleans with Clementi vs. Vanier, Karakhanyan vs. Skelly

Bellator Fighting Championship makes its New Orleans debut on Sept. 9 with Bellator 28, the organization today announced.

The FOX Sports Net-televised event features a pair of “tournament-qualifier” bouts: UFC vet and New Orleans native Rich Clementi vs. lightweight Carey Vanier and Georgi Karakhanyan vs. fellow featherweight Chas Skelly.

The event takes place at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts.

MMAjunkie.com Radio: Jake Rosholt, Johny Hendricks and Roxanne Modafferi

MMAjunkie.com Radio features a star-studded show today as we welcome to
the studio a couple Team Takedown members: Johny Hendricks, who fights
Charlie Brennaman at UFC 117, and Jake Rosholt, who recently picked up
his first post-UFC win.

Also, on the eve of her title fight with Strikeforce women’s welterweight champion Sarah Kaufman, the always cheerful Roxanne Modafferi joins the show to discuss the Showtime-televised fight.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Fight Path: How Kendall Grove led Lolohea Mahe to Friday’s Strikeforce main event

While it’s easy to picture Lolohea Mahe in a mixed-martial-arts cage, fans may find it harder to imagine the dangerous striker singing in his church choir.

But Mahe often joins his family at church – when he’s not delivering flowers for his buddy’s Hawaiian business.

So how did Mahe, who headlines Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers 9 event in Showtime, find his other passion: mixed martial arts? He’s got fellow Hawaiian Kendall Grove to thank for that.

HDNet Fights Video Vault: Yuji Takeuchi vs. "Yuki" from K-1 tourney

In our latest installment of HDNet Fights Video Vault, we return to the Japanese-based K-1 kickboxing promotion and its 24-man “K-1 World MAX 2010 -63kg Japan Tournament.”

Our featured matchup comes from the opening round and pits Yuji Takeuchi against “Yuki.”

The 12-fight event took place May 2 at JCB Hall in Tokyo.

WEC 50 weigh-ins slated for Aug. 17 in Las Vegas

Weigh-ins for World Extreme Cagefighting’s next show, “WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez,” take place Tuesday, Aug. 17.

The Key West Ballroom at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas plays host to the festivities, which are free and open to the public.

Among those weighing in are WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and main-event title challenger Joseph Benavidez, as well as lightweight co-headliners Anthony Pettis and Shane Roller.

Daily Archives: July 22, 2010