Bellator 184
2017 in Bellator MMA was the tenth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 26 events in 2017. Background This year, Bellator announced their first MMA event to be held in New York: Bellator NYC. The event would also mark the Bellator debuts of former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg, calling his first card on Spike TV since 2011 (which was the televised portion of Bellator NYC, referred to as Bellator 180), and former Strikeforce commentator Mauro Ranallo. Bellator 170 Bellator 170: Ortiz vs. Sonnen took place on January 21, 2017, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The event aired live in prime time on Spike TV, drawing 1.4 million viewers. Background On October 18, 2016, it was announced that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and UFC veteran Chael Sonnen would headline this event. Sonnen owns career wins over the likes of Yushin Okami, Nate Marquardt, Brian Stann, former UFC Lig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Global. It is the second largest in the United States and one of the largest combat sports, combat sport promotions in the world. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor'', the Latin word for "warrior". Bellator's first event was held in 2009, and the promotion had since held over 200 "numbered" events as of December 2019. The promotion features talents such as Vadim Nemkov, Kyoji Horiguchi, Yoel Romero, Yaroslav Amosov, Patrício Pitbull, Cris Cyborg, A. J. McKee, Michael Page, Douglas Lima, Usman Nurmagomedov, Gegard Mousasi, and Sergio Pettis. Fighters such as Eddie Alvarez, Michael Chandler, Ben Askren, Anthony Johnson (fighter), Anthony Johnson, Rory MacDonald (fighter), Rory MacDonald, and Fedo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brian Stann
Brian Michael Stann (born September 24, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist and U.S. Marine who competed as a Middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was also a color commentator for both the Ultimate Fighting Championship and ACC football games on Fox Sports Net. Background Stann was born at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, Tokyo, Japan, and grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Scranton Preparatory School and subsequently enrolled in the United States Naval Academy in 1999 (Class of 2003). While at the Naval Academy, he played football for the Midshipmen as a middle linebacker. Upon graduation, he was assigned as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps, eventually achieving the rank of captain. On May 8, 2005, then-lieutenant Stann was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, commanding the 2nd Mobile Assault Platoon. During the Operation Matador (which took place during ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ralek Gracie
Ralek Gracie (born October 4, 1985) is an American Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist. As the son of Rorion Gracie, he is a member of the Gracie family. He was awarded his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu by his grandfather Hélio Gracie. He is also the founder of Metamoris, a submission-only grappling promotion. Early life Ralek grew up watching his father teach private Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes in his family's garage in Southern California. MMA career Ralek made his MMA debut at the age of 21 at ''K-1 Hero's - Middleweight Tournament Opening Round'' on July 16, 2007 against Katsuyori Shibata whom he defeated by armbar-submission after 3:05 of the first round. Ralek's next fight was at the 2008 Dream 4 Middleweight Grand Prix Quarterfinals, where he faced Alavutdin Gadzhiyev after Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović had to pull out of the originally scheduled match with Ralek due to injury. Ralek defeated Gadzhiyev by armbar after 3:02 of round 1. On M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hisaki Kato
is a Japanese-French professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer who most recently competed in Bellator's Middleweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2013, he has also competed for Rizin. Background Born and raised in Paris, Kato's father was a Japanese judoka who moved to Paris to pursue a career teaching the martial art, and become one of the top instructors in the country. However, he died when Kato was only a few years old. Kato's mother is French. Growing up, Kato pursued judo but favored the striking techniques of traditional Japanese martial arts such as karate. Kato was also a highly-talented handball player; he began competing in junior high and moved to Japan at the age of 18 where he competed for the national team and attended college. He later returned to his martial arts roots at the age of 23, joining the Kudo Federation of Japan where he competed and won five consecutive national tournaments. After winning his fifth title, Kato was offered ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brennan Ward
Brennan Ward (born June 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2008, Ward formerly competed for CES MMA and was the Bellator Season Nine Middleweight Tournament Winner. Background Ward was born in New London, Connecticut and raised in Waterford, Connecticut. Ward's father, Kent, owns a boxing gym, Whaling City Boxing (New London), where Ward began training from a young age. He competed in wrestling at Waterford High School, graduating in 2006, before continuing his career at Colby Community College. Ward later transferred to Johnson & Wales University, which has a Division III program. At Johnson & Wales, Ward demonstrated his talents, earning All-American honors and was also the runner-up in the nation for his weight class, after winning the New England title. Mixed martial arts career Early career Ward started his professional career in 2008, but only became active in 2012. He fought ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paul Daley
Paul Anthony Daley (born 21 February 1983) is a British former mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional competitor from 2003 to 2022, Daley competed for the UFC, Bellator MMA, Cage Rage, Final Fight Championship, Strikeforce, EliteXC, ShoXC, BAMMA, Cage Warriors, Cage Contender, Shark Fights, Pancrase, and Impact FC. Daley is a former Cage Rage World Welterweight Champion and Cage Rage British Welterweight Champion. Background Born in London, England to parents from the Caribbean, Daley moved to Nottingham at a young age, where he played junior football for Nottingham Forest FC alongside future England international, Jermaine Jenas. Daley began training in karate at the age of eight, before transitioning into Muay Thai. Daley is also a former member of the British Army, having served as a reconnaissance driver for the Household Cavalry. At the age of 18, Daley began training in mixed martial arts after graduation from Carlton-Le-Willows Academy. Dal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Colleen Schneider
Colleen Schneider (born March 12, 1982 in Syracuse, New York) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. Colleen was a contestant in season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter reality competition television show. Early life She attended Cicero-North Syracuse High School in New York, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in physics. While at Berkeley, Schneider competed in and taught taekwondo, which led her to discover mixed martial arts. Mixed martial arts career Strikeforce On August 13, 2010, she made her debut for the Strikeforce promotion at Strikeforce Challengers 10 in a reserve bout for their one-night Women's Welterweight tournament. She lost to future UFC bantamweight Liz Carmouche via unanimous decision after two rounds. Super Fight League After going 1–4 in her first five fights, she signed with the upstart Indian promotion, the Super Fight League at SFL 2 against Cherie Buck in the flyweight division. She w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Forrest Griffin
Forrest Griffin (born July 1, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2013 and currently serves as the Vice President of Athlete Development at the UFC Performance Institute. Griffin, a former Georgia police officer, first rose to prominence after winning the first season of ''The Ultimate Fighter''. In the tournament finals, he defeated Stephan Bonnar, which is widely credited as sparking the success of the UFC. Early life Griffin, who is of Irish descent, graduated from Evans High School in Evans, GA, a suburb of Augusta where he played football. He then graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Georgia. Thereafter, Griffin served as a law enforcement officer for the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Augusta, Georgia. He also served as a patrol officer with the University of Georgia police. He trained at The HardCore Gym (noSBG Athens in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ken Shamrock
Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other combat sports. A member of the UFC Hall of Fame, Shamrock is widely regarded as an icon and pioneer of the sport. He has headlined over 15 main events and co-main events in the UFC and Pride FC and set numerous MMA pay-per-view records. In the early part of his UFC career, Shamrock was named "The World's Most Dangerous Man" by ABC News in a special called "The World's Most Dangerous Things". The moniker has stuck as his nickname. Shamrock became known early on in the UFC for his rivalry with Royce Gracie. After fighting to a draw in the inaugural UFC "Superfight", he became the first UFC Superfight Champion when he defeated Dan Severn at UFC 6; the title was eventually replaced by the UFC Heavyweight Championship w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the most wins, knockouts, title defenses and longest winning streak in PRIDE history. He is the former PRIDE Middleweight Champion and the 2003 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion. He most recently competed for Bellator MMA in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. Mixed martial arts career Early career Silva's aggressive style is rooted in street brawling, refined with elements of Muay Thai and kickboxing, which he began learning at the age of 13 in Chute Boxe Academy in his hometown Curitiba. In his late teens he joined the Brazilian army and was quickly recognized for his fighting talents. He was asked to join Vale Tudo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu school. Silva enlisted after already winning fight tournaments in his ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephan Bonnar
Stephan Patrick Bonnar (April 4, 1977 – December 22, 2022) was an American mixed martial artist. Bonnar competed as a Light Heavyweight in the UFC for most of his career. Bonnar was the runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter 1, his TUF Ultimate Finale loss to Forrest Griffin is widely considered to be the most important fight in the history of the UFC. Early life and education Bonnar was born in Hammond, Indiana, and raised in Munster, Indiana, attending Munster High School. Bonnar had an extensive background in combat sports, beginning with Wrestling when he was 10 years old, Tae Kwon Do at age 12, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu at age 22, and then added Boxing and Muay Thai when he was 24 years old. He earned his black belt in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 16 and was a two-time Golden Gloves Champion in the Super Heavyweight division. He attended and graduated from Purdue University in 2000, earning a degree in Sports Medicine. Early career Bonnar began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Car ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alexander Shlemenko
Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko (russian: Александр Павлович Шлеменко, born 20 May 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division. He is most notable for fighting for Bellator Fighting Championships, where he is the former List of Bellator champions#Middleweight World Championship, Bellator Middleweight World Champion. Alexander is an expert in hand-to-hand combat and traditional kickboxing. He trains at the "Saturn Profi" sports club in Omsk, Russia, and holds a degree in Physical Culture (specialization – Combat Sports Trainer) at the Siberian University of Physical Culture. Shlemenko is ranked as the #8 Middleweight in the world by Fight!Magazine and #22 Middleweight according to global-mma.com rankings. Background As a teenager, Alexander did skiing and Greco-Roman wrestling. At the age of 15, Shlemenko seriously started to train ARB (martial art), ARB, which is the Russian abbreviation for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |