Bellator?s Joe Warren ready to move on and ?pummel Pat Curran?

HAMMOND, Ind. -- Bellator featherweight champ Joe Warren admits he does not take losses well, but he was forced to deal with it after getting knocked out by Alexis Vila in the Bellator bantamweight tournament.

Luckily, he doesn't have to relive memories of that 1:04 fight. He doesn't have any memories of the fight at all.

"After that last fight, I don't remember it. I hate to say it. I'd never been knocked out or submitted in practice to the point where I went out," Warren told Cagewriter.

He admits that he was emotional in the loss because fighting means so much to him.

"You put everything you have in one basket, when it doesn't work, it's emotional. When I lose it takes a piece of my heart away. I don't take losses well."

The last memory MMA fans have of Warren is of him laid out from Vila's punch, but he's ready to stop that losing streak in his title bout against Pat Curran on Friday night.

"The reason I'm a champion is that when I'm down, I push back up. What's done is done. I can't go back and change it. Now I have to focus on the task at hand, and that's to pummel the [expletive] out of Pat Curran," Warren said.

"The only thing I'm worried about for me is to impress myself. I've worked as hard as I can in the room. I'm still a young fighter. I haven't really had a fight yet where I've impressed myself."

Though fans may wants a spectacular knockout or submission, getting the win is most important for Warren, even if that means grinding out a decision.

"Keep my hands up, my chin down, and winning a five-round war. I'm here to win. I know you guys want knockouts and submissions. I need a win to keep my belt and take care of my family."

After Friday night, Warren will get ready for the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he will try to make his first Olympic team. Warren won a world championship as a Greco-Roman wrestler but was suspended for the Beijing Olympics. He also wants to return to Bellator's bantamweight tournament because it's a better weight class for him.

Even with all that on his plate, he isn't worried about focus.

"I'm constantly focused. I believe in myself, I believe in my training. I have a great support system, so all I have to worry about is taking a deep breath and pressing myself and putting on a show."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/bellator-joe-warren-ready-move-pummel-pat-curran-151615725.html

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

Poler Napsack Contest: What's In The Bag, Dad?

Our good friends at Poler came to us with a simple idea ? let?s give some stuff away.

We were like, ?Hell yeah, good friends at Poler. Let?s!?

So, once a week for a month, we?re going to give you a chance to win one of Poler?s hooded Napsacks, perfect for sleeping wherever you might find yourself sleeping ? a friend?s couch, the back of a pickup, side of the road, or inside a tent.

Source: http://theskateboardmag.com/blogs/kevin-wilkins/2011/12/16/poler-napsack-contest-whats-in-the-bag-dad/

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

UFC on FX 2 weigh-in: Joe Benavidez?s new physique

The flyweight era is upon us. A mini-tournament starts tonight in Australia on the UFC on FX 2 card. Joe Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson are the huge favorites in the 125-lbs. showdowns, but we'll find out if their first legitimate weight cut in years will affect their performance.

Both Johnson and Benavidez were far from true bantamweights. Johnson didn't look too much different down at 125, but there was definitely some mass missing on Joe B.

The main event fighters made weight as well. That's always a challenge for Thiago Alves. Last night, he looked as good as ever down at 170.5. Alves balloons up between fights and has missed weight for three previous fights.

UFC on FX 2 weigh-in:

MAIN CARD (FX)
Thiago Alves (170.5) vs. Martin Kampmann (170.5)
Joseph Benavidez (125.5) vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (125.5)
Demetrious Johnson (125.5) vs. Ian McCall (125.5)
Court McGee (184.5) vs. Constantinos Philippou (185.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)
Aaron Rosa (205.5) vs. James Te Huna (206)
Nick Penner (203.5) vs. Anthony Perosh (205)
Cole Miller (146) vs. Steven Siler (146)
Andrew Craig (185) vs. Kyle Noke (185)
Jake Hecht (171) vs. T.J. Waldburger (170)
Daniel Pineda (146) vs. Mackens Semerzier (146)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Shawn Jordan (245.5) vs. Oli Thompson (235)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-fx-2-weigh-thenew-bodies-mighty-mouse-180859121.html

Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè 

?UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans? Official Televised Lineup

The televised lineup for "UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans" is now official, with four fights gracing the FX-aired preliminary card portion of the broadcast and a five-fight main card set up for pay-per-view; the final three preliminary card bouts do not yet have an official medium for broadcast.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27870/ufc-145-jones-vs-evans-official-televised-lineup/

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Bjorn Rebney?s top five fights for Bellator?s upcoming season

Bellator's spring season starts on Friday with a featherweight championship bout between Joe Warren and Pat Curran plus four featherweight tourney bouts. Cagewriter caught up with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney and found out which fights he's most looking forward to this season. Here they are, in no particular order, complete with Rebney's comments.

-- Joe Warren vs. Pat Curran on March 9 for the Bellator featherweight title: "Joe has so much at stake, and Pat has built such a resume fighting under our banner," Rebney said.

-- Ben Askren vs. Douglas Lima on April 6 for Bellator welterweight title: "It's kind of an old-school MMA match-up. You know exactly what Ben's going to try to do. It reminds me of the old days when you thought, I know. He's going to try to take him down and submit him. Ben's going to try to put him on his back, and Lima's going to try to stand and knock him out. He just made a couple folks' top 10, of which he is deserving."

-- Eddie Alvarez vs. Shinya Aoki on April 2o: "For obvious reasons. I'm a huge fan of Ed, and he's just jumping out of the frying pan into the fire with that one."

-- Megumi Fujii vs. Jessica Aguilar, which sources close to the bout say is May 18: "It's No. 1 vs. No. 2, and it's two wickedly talented women who rely on no spin, no promotion. They're just two women who fight at the highest level in the world and they're going to get to face each other."

-- Giva Santana vs. Bruno Santos on March 16 in the middleweight tournament: "Being a southern California guy, Giva Santana is a guy I followed for a while. He's an old-school guy who has deserved a shot on a big stage but because he's perceived as being one dimensional, because everything ends via armbar, he hasn't been given that shot. Him and his Santos fight. I never pick a guy because I always want everyone to have an equal shot but I look at a guy like that, and he really is reminiscent of the old-school guys. He's got a discipline that he relies on and believes it heart and soul, and it almost has a spiritual connection to it. His fight in the first round of the tournament because he's a terrific human being. This is his opportunity."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/bjorn-rebney-top-five-fights-bellator-upcoming-season-171217392.html

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott