FCF Tattoo Done By Fighter / Artist Luke Stewart

When not tattooing fighters with his fists, Luke Stewart (pictured below) did a tat for veteran MMA photographer Keith Mills (pictured left).

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SRC 15 Results: Izumi Defeats Zikic by Split Decision

By FCF Staff  World Victory Road held its latest Sengoku Raiden Championship event in Tokyo, Japan today; a card that featured action in the promotion’s ongoing welterweight and Asian bantamweight grand-prixs. In the main event, accomplished judo competitor Hiroshi Izumi was awarded a split decision win over British light-heavyweight, James Zikic.

In the welterweight tourney semis, Yasubey Enomoto and Keita Nakamura set up a future bout between them with victories, while Manabue Inoue, Akitoshi Tamura, Taiyo Nakahara and Shunichi Shimizu were winners in their respective bantamweight quarterfinal bouts.

Here are the results for SRC 15:

Hiroshi Izumi def. James Zikic via split decision

Brian Cobb def. Kazunori Yokota via split decision

Manabu Inoue def. Jae Hyun So via unanimous decision

Shunichi Shimizu def. Wataru Takahashi via unanimous decision

Akitoshi Tamura def. Shoko Sato via split decision

Taiyo Nakahara def. Shintaro Ishiwatari via split decision

Yasubey Enomoto def. Taisuke Okuno via unanimous decision

Kazuo Takahashi def. Chang Seob Lee via submission (armlock) - R1, 2:28

Maximo Blanco def. Kiuma Kunioku via KO (strikes) - R1, 4:26

Keita Nakamura def. Takuya Wada via submission (strikes) - R1, 3:30

READ MORE - SRC 15 Results: Izumi Defeats Zikic by Split Decision

Britt vs. St. Preux Confirmed for Nov. 19th Strikeforce

By FCF Staff; photo courtesy Strikeforce

Strikeforce has announced that light-heavyweight Ovince St. Preux will face Antwain Britt at the promotion’s upcoming, November 19^th, Challengers event in Jackson, Mississippi. The card, which will be broadcast on Showtime, will feature lightweight Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro vs. Justin Wilcox in the main event.

St. Preux (7-4) is coming off a first round, KO victory over UFC veteran Jason Day in July, to extend the former collegiate linebacker’s winning streak to four. (Pictured left: St. Preux)

“Everything is going good now but, the more I win, the harder I know I have to work,’’ St. Preux said in a press release from the promotion.  “I fought some tough guys early in my career because it didn’t matter to me who I fought. Looking back, I probably should have won all those fights. But I’m not mad because I learned so much from each of them.’

Britt  (11-4) is coming off a knock-out loss to current Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante in May, after stopping Scott Lightly at the promotion’s “Evolution” event in December. Britt is 3-2 in his last five bouts.

“This is a must-win fight for both of us,’’ said Britt. “But I really want this bad. I thought I had Feijao, and would love a rematch with him especially since he now is the Strikeforcechampion.’’

The November 19^th card will also feature lightweight Ryan Couture, however, no opponent has yet been announced.

READ MORE - Britt vs. St. Preux Confirmed for Nov. 19th Strikeforce

Bellator 34: Lombard Defends Title; Frausto Hands Fujii First Loss

By FCF Staff; photo courtesy Bellator FC 

Bellator Fighting Championships returned to Hollywood, Florida last night for its latest event, with a card that featured two title fights. The promotion’s middleweight champion Hector Lombard defended his title, by working his way to a unanimous decision over the renowned striker Alexander Shlemenko, while Zoila Frausto took home the women’s 115lb. championship with an upset, split decision win over Megumi Fujii. The loss was the first in Fujii’s twenty fight plus career. (Pictured left: Lombard)

Here are the results from last night’s Bellator 34 broadcast:

Hector Lombard def. Alexander Shlemenko via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)

Zoila Frausto def. Megumi Fujii via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46)

Mike Bernhard def. Dragan Tesanovic via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

READ MORE - Bellator 34: Lombard Defends Title; Frausto Hands Fujii First Loss

M-1 Challenge XXI: Gugenishvili Submits Garner

By FCF Staff

Ukrainian heavyweight Guram Gugenishvili tapped out American Kenny Garner with a second round, guillotine choke, today in St. Petersburg, Russia, to become the M-1 Global Heavyweight Champion. The M-1 Challenge XXI card also saw Artiom Damkovsky stop Mairbek Taisumov to take home the promotion’s lightweight championship, and in a welterweight “superfight”, Che Mills worked his way to a unanimous decision win over the previously undefeated Magomed Shikshabekov.

Here are the official results for M-1 Challenge XXI:

Official Results:

Che Mills def. Magomed Shikshabekov – Unanimous Decision.

Mikhail Zayats def. Matias Baric – Rear Naked Choke. 3:12 of R3.

Daniel Weichel def. Yuri Ivlev – Doctor Stoppage. 2:24 of R3.

Alexei Belyaev def. Alexei Nazarov – Head & Arm Choke. :41 of R2.

Alexander Sarnavsky def. Victor Kuku – Knock Out. :14 of R1.

Rashid Magomedov def. Igor Araujo – Unanimous Decision.

Dmitry Samoilov def. Gadzhimurad Omarov – Doctor Stoppage. :28 R3.

Vusal Bairamov def. Joakhim Apie – TKO. 2:13 of Round 1.

Denis Goltsov def. Marat Aliaskhabov – Submission (Armbar). 4:56 of R1.

Lightweight Title Fight:

Artiom Damkovsky def. Mairbek Taisumov – Doctor Stoppage. 2:52 of R3.

Heavyweight Title Fight:

Guram Gugenishvili def. Kenny Garner – Submission (Guillotine Choke). :54 of R 2

READ MORE - M-1 Challenge XXI: Gugenishvili Submits Garner

Zuffa Confirms WEC Merging with UFC

By FCF Staff  In a move that many long time observers of the sport thought inevitably would come, Zuffa has announced today that its World Extreme Cagefighting promotion will be incorporated into the much larger Ultimate Fighting Championship. The upcoming November 11th and December 16^th WEC cards will be the promotion's last.(Pictured left: former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber)

“As the UFC continues to evolve and grow globally, we want to be able to give fans title fights in every weight division,” UFC President Dana White was quoted saying. “This is a big day for the sport and the athletes who will have the opportunity to fight on the biggest stage in the world.”

According to today’s announcement, the UFC will begin promoting a featherweight and bantamweight division, and respective WEC champions Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz will keep their titles (however as UFC champions).

The winner of the upcoming, December 16^th, lightweight bout between WEC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson and challenger Anthony Pettis, will then face the winner of the January 1^st, bout between UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. The unifying bout will take place sometime later in 2011.

The aforementioned Aldo will reportedly defend his UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 125 on January 1^st; however, no opponent has yet been determined.

In terms of the television deal the WEC had with Versus, the cable network will now broadcast four UFC events annually instead of two, which is an overall decrease in Zuffa broadcasts on the network. The final two WEC cards will air on Versus as usual.

READ MORE - Zuffa Confirms WEC Merging with UFC

Bellator 34 Weigh-In Results and Pics

By FCF Staff; photos courtesy www.TomHillPhotos.com

All of the competitors weighed in yesterday for Bellator Fighting Championship’s latest event tonight, which will be hosted by the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Bellator 34 will see the promotion’s middleweight champion Hector Lombard look to defend against Alexander Shlemenko, and will also feature a bout between Megumi Fujii and Zoila Frausto, to determine who is the 115lb. women’s champion. (Pictured above: Shlemenko (left) and Lombard) 

Frausto (left) and Fujii

Here are the official weigh-in results for Bellator 34, which will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net.

Hector Lombard (183.25 lbs.) vs. Alexander Shlemenko (184.75 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.

Megumi Fujii (113.5 lbs.) vs. Zoila Frausto (114.5 lbs.) @ 115 lbs.

Mike Bernhard (185.75 lbs.) vs. Dragan Tesanovic (185.5 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.

Tony Lopez (204.5 lbs.) vs. Raphael Davis (205.25 lbs.) @ 205 lbs.:

William Kuhn (170 lbs.) vs. John Kelly ( 172.2 lbs.) @ 170 lbs.

Ralph Acosta (135 lbs.) vs. Tulio Quintanila (135.5 lbs.) @ 135 lbs.

Frank Carrillo (184.1 lbs.) vs. Moyses Gabin (184.25 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.

Igor Almeida (184.5 lbs.) vs. Dan Cramer (185.5 lbs.) @ 185 lbs.

Boumny Somchay (161 lbs.) vs. J.P. Reese (159.25 lbs.) @ 160 lbs.

Lopez will fight  Davis (Right)

Bernhard and Tesanovic (right)

READ MORE - Bellator 34 Weigh-In Results and Pics

Patrick Cote Confirms UFC Release

By FCF Staff  Following his one sided, unanimous decision loss to Tom Lawlor at UFC 121 this past weekend, Patrick Cote has confirmed on his official Twitter account that he has been released from the UFC. The following statement was posted on Cote’s Twitter page today:

I had a little hope but finally got the release word from the UFC .. Its been a awesome experience ! I ll be back !!

3 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

The loss to Lawlor was Cote’s third in a row. In May, Cote returned from a lengthy layoff due to injuries and was submitted by Alan Belcher. Prior to that, the powerful striker’s title fight with champion Anderson Silva came to an end in October, 2008, after incurring a knee injury in the third round.

Cote, who had won five straight before contesting Silva for the title, exits from the UFC with a record of 13-7.

READ MORE - Patrick Cote Confirms UFC Release

M-1 Challenge XXI Weigh-In Results

By FCF Staff; photo courtesy M-1 Global

All of the competitors made weight for tomorrow’s M-1 Challenge XXI event in St. Petersburg, Russia, save Che Mills, who is scheduled to face welterweight Magomed Shikshabekov. M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan was quoted saying in a press release from the promotion:(Pictured left: Kenny Garner)

“Magomed Shikshabekov has shown nothing but class in the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his opponent failing to make weight. Although there is never an excuse for missing the cut-off, Che Mills and his team made every effort they could despite not having their bags and training gear arrive with them upon landing. Thanks to both fighters for agreeing that the bout will go ahead as scheduled.”

Here are the official weigh-in results for Thursday’s event, which can be viewed live on the official M-1 Global website, starting at 11:30AM EST. 

Magomed Shikshabekov (168.0 lbs) vs. Che Mills (172.0 lbs) WW

Mikhail Zayats (200.5 lbs) vs. Matias Baric (198.5 lbs) LHW

Yuri Ivlev (154.0 lbs) vs. Daniel Weichel (154.0 lbs) LW

Alexei Nazarov (182.75 lbs) vs. Alexei Belyaev (184.0 lbs) MW

Alexander Sarnavsky (153.25 lbs) vs. Victor Kuku (155.5 lbs) LW

Rashid Magomedov (167.5 lbs) vs. Igor Araujo (170.25 lbs) WW

Dmitry Samoilov (198.75 lbs) vs. Gadzhimurad Omarov (205.0 lbs) LHW

Vusal Bairamov (153.75 lbs) vs. Joakhim Apie (155.25 lbs) LW

Denis Goltsov (213.25 lbs) vs. Marat Aliaskhabov (208.75 lbs) HW

Lightweight Title Fight:

Artiom Damkovsky, M-1 Selection Eastern Europe 2010 champion (153.75 lbs) vs.

Mairbek Taisumov, M-1 Selection Western Europe 2010 champion (153.25 lbs)

Heavyweight Title Fight:

Kenny Garner, M-1 Selection Americas champion (249.50 lbs) vs.

Guram Gugenishvili, M-1 Selection Western Europe champion (249.5 lbs).

READ MORE - M-1 Challenge XXI Weigh-In Results

Jake Ellenberger Calls Out Jake Shields

By FCF Staff UFC welterweight Jake Ellenberger has called out Octagon newcomer Jake Shields, following the former Strikeforce champion’s narrow, split decision win over Martin Kampmann at UFC 121. According to posts that have been made on Ellenberger’s official Twitter account, the 23-5 fighter apparently wasn’t very impressed with Shield’s performance Saturday. Here are some of the posts Ellenberger’s Twitter page currently includes:

EllenbergerMMA Jake Ellenberger

Hey Ms Piggy (aka Jake Shields) if u swing ur purse at me like that, I'll rub ur face in the mat like a puppy that missed the newspaper....

22 hours ago

EllenbergerMMA Jake Ellenberger

Jake Shields, you're as exciting as watching a bowl of mash potatoes get cold... Your days are numbered...

26 Oct

 EllenbergerMMA Jake Ellenberger

I would rather fight jake shields handcuffed than wrestle GSP....

25 Oct

EllenbergerMMA Jake Ellenberger

And Shields deserves a title shot?? He is a joke..

23 Oct

Ellenberger is coming off back-to-back stoppage wins over Mike Pyle and John Howard, after dropping a split decision to Carlos Condit at Fight Night 19 last September. The Nebraska fighter and former collegiate wrestler is 9-1 in his last ten fights.

READ MORE - Jake Ellenberger Calls Out Jake Shields

New FCF Radio with Robert Drysdale

On this episode of Full Contact Fighter Radio, host Jeff Meszaros and co-host James Kellaris run down the drama of UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez.  First, we compliment each other on our stunningly-accurate predictions for the main event, where Cain Velasquez put a merciless beating on the 265-pound behemoth to take the title.  Was that so easy to see coming?  In one word, yes.  Then again, who can predict what will happen in a fight?  Two words: We can.  What's next for Velasquez?  What about Junior Dos Santos?  What about Lesnar?  Will he go "back to the drawing board"?  Can he draw?  It's a valid question as not everyone is able to learn from their mistakes, or even realize what their mistakes are. 

Then it's time to talk about the co-main event, where Jake Shields looked as tired as an athsma-stricken triathlete while smothering Martin Kampmann en route to winning a split decision.  What will happen with Shields now?  Will he face Georges St. Pierre next?  Or will it be Josh Koscheck?  We'll just have to wait and see.  Hang on as we run down the whole card, including the Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill fight and the match between Gabriel Gonzaga and Brenden Schaub, then join us as Jiu-Jitsu phenom Robert Drysdale (pictured left) stops in to chat about Armageddon Fighting Championship, where he'll be stepping into the cage for his second-ever pro-MMA fight.  It's a half-hour interview chocked with quality as he runs down training with Frank Mir and Forrest Griffin, his climb to the top of the jiu-jitsu scene, and what he plans on doing next.  Miss this one and you risk being rendered irrelevant.

To check it out head here.

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