The Big Easy will be the host for Bellator 70 as heavyweights Cole Konrad and Eric Prindle face off for the Bellator World Championship and headline a loaded fight card presented by Harrah’s New Orleans from the New Orleans Convention Center on Friday, May 25. Reality star Jeremiah Riggs will be featured on the undercard.

The night will also feature the Finals of Bellator’s Lightweight Tournament, a Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal fight and a host of preliminary action featuring some of Louisiana’s best talent, including New Orleans’ own Rich Clementi.

Tickets for Bellator 70 are now on sale and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting the New Orleans Convention Center Box Office. Tickets are priced from $30-$125. The event will also be broadcast LIVE starting at 7 p.m. CST on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. CST, with the first fight scheduled for 6 p.m. CST.

The preliminary card, featuring the area’s top talent will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 6 p.m. CST. The official weigh-ins for Bellator 70 will be held at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 24 at Masquerade inside Harrah’s Casino.

After a dominating run through the Season 6 Lightweight Tournament that included a vicious knockout over Ricardo Tirloni at Bellator 62. Rick Hawn is looking to secure his guaranteed title shot with a victory over Brent Weedman. For Weedman, the longtime Bellator veteran is eager for his title shot, and knows it’s just a victory away.

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“Winning this tournament is important to me because it will really cement who I am as a fighter,” Weedman said. “With each round, the tougher guys are going to advance, and they will be able to get that exposure on TV again and again. The fans at home will be following their stories and following their fights. Whoever wins this tournament is going to be solidified.”

Known as one of the better bantamweight prospects in MMA, Luis Nogueira is set to take on the incredibly skilled “Iron” Nakamura in the Season 6 Bantamweight Semifinals. Both secured dominating victories in their quarterfinal fights, and will look to keep the momentum going into the finals at Bellator 70.

The night will also feature Louisiana native Rich “No Love” Clementi returning to the Bellator cage after nearly two years against Derek Campos. A long time veteran of the sport, Clementi holds notable victories over Melvin Guillard, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Sam Stout, and is primed for a homecoming victory.

New Orleans native Charlie “Superstar” Rader will look to get back to his winning ways when he squares off against fellow welterweight A.J. Matthews in front of family and friends. The 30-year-old Rader has won both of his previous fights in Bellator, as “Superstar” delivered two TKO finishes to Josh Rafferty and Christian Fulgium.

An intriguing catchweight contest will take place as once-beaten prospect Josh Shockley faces local fighter Keith Schneider. Shockley is currently riding a three-fight winning streak that includes a Bellator 60 victory over Shamar Bailey.

The New Orleans Convention Center will play host to a middleweight bout as Cologne, Germany’s Jonas Billstein takes on well-traveled MMA veteran Mike Seal. Billstein, who enjoyed a nine-fight winning streak to begin his career, is looking to make a statement when he enters the Bellator cage against New Orleans’ Seal.

MMA veteran Kyle Bradley of nearby Denham Springs, Louisiana will step back in the cage when he meets John Harris in a lightweight fight. Bradley, who has scored a finish in 15 of his 16 wins, will try to secure his first win this year at Bellator 70.

Also, local bantamweights Blake Dufour and Derek Arcement will meet as the two young, hungry fighters looking to take their careers to the next level. Both men will be making their Bellator debuts when they meet in front of an electric New Orleans crowd.

Rounding out the card, WWE Tough Enough star Jeremiah Riggs will meet fellow middleweight Kelvin Tiller in a 185-pound matchup. Tiller, who has posted three consecutive wins, will look to keep his momentum going against Riggs.

MAIN CARD:
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Jon Jones will put his UFc light heavyweight belt on the line against Dan Henderson on Sept 1st at UFC 151 in Las Vegas according to Dana White.

Verbal agreements are in for one of the biggest fights of the year, as Dan Henderson, one of the most accomplished fighters in MMA history, will attempt to dethrone reigning UFC world light heavyweight champion Jon ‘Bones’ Jones at UFC 151 in Las Vegas.

Henderson will attempt to capture Jones’ title and figure out a way to beat the unstoppable champion. ‘Hendo’ is the Strikeforce light heavyweight champ and was the Pride champion when he unified the titles in a loss to Rampage Jackson a few years ago.

In an unprecedented move – one of the biggest names in mixed martial arts, “King Mo” Lawal, has signed a deal to compete in Spike TV’s two major sports properties, Bellator Fighting Championships and TNA’s IMPACT Wrestling. King Mo will join the stars of TNA this summer and resume his mixed martial arts career next year when Bellator Fighting Championships moves to Spike TV from its current television home, MTV2. The deal was jointly announced today by Kevin Kay, President, Spike TV along with Bjorn Rebney, Chairman & CEO, Bellator Fighting Championships and Dixie Carter, President, TNA Entertainment.

“King Mo is an incredible athlete and a great addition to the Bellator family. He immediately adds prominence and star-power to our light heavyweight division,” said Rebney.

“King Mo is the perfect athlete for this type of alliance. He is the real deal in MMA, and his bold personality and world class wrestling accomplishments are unparalleled. I’m confident he will have a major impact in both sports,” stated Carter.

Lawal (10-1-1) launched his mixed martial arts career in 2008, and after four straight wins, he faced off against his toughest challenge, renowned fighter Mark Kerr. King Mo knocked out Kerr in the first round, and eight months later he defeated Gegard Mousasi in a Light Heavyweight world title fight. Lawal also holds an impressive KO victory against multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Roger Gracie in September 2011.

“This deal is a dream come true for me,” Lawal said. “Bjorn and Dixie have given me the opportunity to engage in my two great loves, mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, at the same time. And, to have it all on Spike TV is really Buttercream icing on a big ole cake – not that whipped cream stuff either!”

King Mo rose to grappling acclaim as a NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University in 2003 and a three-time U.S. National Champion (2005, 2006, and 2008) in the 84 kilogram division. In 2007, as a member of the U.S. National team, he brought home a gold medal at the Pan American Games and a silver medal at the World Cup.

A native of Murfreesboro, Tenn., Lawal lives in San Jose, Calif. and trains with the prominent American Kickboxing Academy.

Undefeated 19-year-old prospect Guilherme Bertholdo (6-0), the nephew of UFC Middleweight Champion and pound-for-pound great Anderson Silva, will look to extend his perfect run in Muay Thai’s amateur ranks and move one step closer to turning professional when he faces off with Chris Lazaro (7-2) of Las Vegas, Nev. in a welterweight (147 pounds) matchup on the undercard of the Lion Fight Muay Thai VI: Schilling vs. Marcus II full-rules Muay Thai event at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Saturday, May 12, live on LionFightPromotions.com.

“I am excited to finally test my skills against top level amateur opponents,” said Bertholdo, a member of Black House Team Nogueira, the famed training camp that is also home to Silva and is headed by MMA legends and twin brothers Antonio “Rodrigo” and Antonio “Rogerio” Nogueira in San Diego, Calif. where he trains under Kru (trainer) Alex Palma.

In Brazil, Bertholdo took up Karate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at an early age before relocating to San Diego with his family. While his father has schooled him Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and helped Bertholdo attain the rank of purple belt in the submission fighting discipline, Bertholdo has gravitated to the sport of Muay Thai due to his love for kicking and punching.

“Striking is my passion,” he said. “My Kru (trainer) has really taught me to use my hands and angles and, because of this, I’ve learned to appreciate the beauty of Muay Thai. MMA is a sport that I eventually will focus on in the future but, for now, I want to sharpen my striking and compete in an all-striking sport.”

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Bertholdo said he is knocking on the door of gaining his United States citizenship and would like to eventually represent America as a member of the U.S. National Muay Thai Team.

“I am learning from my senior (training partners) how to conduct myself and perform like a true fighter, I am not attending college. Black House Team Nogueira is my college.”

Bertholdo’s opponent, Lazaro, is a 24-year-old member of Hard Knocks Muay Thai gym and student of Renzo Asparria, whom Lazaro has been training with for the last two years. The matchup with Bertholdo will be Lazaro’s first since he sustained a broken thumb during training last year.

“I love this sport and I’ve been eagerly waiting to get back in the ring. That time has come now that I’m healed up and I’m looking forward to putting on a great show,” said Lazaro, a technical fighter known for staying in the pocket with his opponent and throwing hard uppercuts.

Reserved ticket seats for Lion Fight Muay Thai VI: Schilling vs. Marcus II, priced from $45, are on sale at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino box office, all Ticketmaster outlets (800-745-3000) and online at Ticketmaster.com.

Doors at The Joint open at 4 p.m. and the first preliminary bout will begin at 5 p.m.

The live stream of the 12-bout card, which will be facilitated by Go Fight Live, will begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on LionFightPromotions.com and can be purchased for a one-time credit card charge of $14.99.

In the highly-anticipated main event, WBC Light Heavyweight (175 pounds) Champion Joe “Stitch ‘Em Up” Schilling (12-2, 10 KO’s) of Los Angeles, Calif. will face off with undefeated top contender and bitter rival Simon Marcus (23-0, 18 KO’s) of Toronto, Ontario Canada in a grudge rematch after their first meeting on Feb. 25 ended in a controversial first-round TKO in Marcus’ favor.

In the co-main event and a second highly-anticipated rematch, Filipino American Romie Adanza (16-3, 7 KO’s) of Irvine, Calif. will face off with Thanit “Boom” Watthanaya (45-12, 12 KO’s) of Vancouver, BC Canada via Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.for the vacant WBC international super flyweight (115 pounds) championship.

Thai superstar Mongkon “Malaipet” Wiwasuk (138-27-5, 26 KO’s), fighting out of Fresno, Calif. will put his WBC national welterweight (147 pounds) strap on the line against aggressive-minded counterpuncher Justin Greskiewicz (17-8, 3 KO’s) of Philadelphia, Pa.
Fresh off his rubber match victory over “Coke” Chunhawat, seasoned technician Matt Embree (20-3, 9 KO’s) of Toronto, Ontario Canada will return to Lion Fight action and face another tough, highly-experienced adversary in former world champion Nils Widlund (34-1, 12 KO’s) of Stockholm, Sweden.

Undefeated rising star Tiffany Van Soest (2-0) of San Diego, Calif. will take on fellow prospect Heidi Otterbein (3-1, 1 KO) of Las Vegas via Vancouver, BC Canada. in a 125 pound catchweight bout.

In a matchup of two experienced, Las Vegas-based MMA competitors who have decided to test their combative skills in the Muay Thai ring for the first time in their respective careers, Javier Torres (0-0) will square off with Michael Madrid (0-0) in a 170 pound catchweight fight.

Fresh off his fifth professional victory at Lion Fight Promotions’ last event on Feb. 25, Scotty Leffler (5-2, 3 KO’s) of Las Vegas will return to action against promising upstart Artem Sharoshkin (3-1) of San Diego, Calif. in a welterweight (147 pounds) affair.

LION FIGHT MUAY THAI VI: SCHILLING VS. MARCUS II
COMPLETE MAIN FIGHT CARD:
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All eyes will be on Bellator as the promotion returns to Lake Charles, Louisiana for Bellator 69 from L’Auberge Casino Resort on Friday, May 18. The night will feature the long-awaited battle between No. 1 ranked women’s 115-pound fighter Megumi Fujii and No. 2 ranked Jessica Aguilar, as well as the semifinals and finals of the $100,000 welterweight and middleweight tournaments respectively, along as a Heavyweight Tournament qualifier as knockout specialist Ron Sparks takes on rising star Kevin Asplund, who is currently riding a 15-fight win streak.

Tickets for the event are on sale and are available through Ticketmaster.com or at the L’Auberge Casino Resort Box Office. Tickets are priced from $40-$65.

The event will also be broadcast LIVE starting at 7 p.m. CST on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. CST, with the first fight scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CST. The preliminary card, featuring the area’s top talent will be streamed LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com starting at 6 p.m. CST. Fans must be 21 years or older to enter the Event Center.

Maiquel “Big Rig” Falcao will bring his explosive knockout power to the Bellator Middleweight Tournament Finals as he battles Swedish born Andreas Spang as both fierce competitors look to lock up a guaranteed title shot later this year. Spang delivered a vicious knockout to Brian Rogers in the semifinals (Watch Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9ef8M5k-SY) and will look to continue his impressive run with another dominating victory.

After Brian “The Beast” Baker punched his ticket to the Bellator Welterweight Finals at Bellator 67, David “The Caveman” Rickels and Karl “Psycho” Amoussou will look to do the same at Bellator 69. Both fighters can end a fight in the blink of an eye, and are sure to provide fireworks on May 18 from L’Auberge.

Lake Charles native Josh Quayhagen will have the hometown support in the Bellator cage when he takes on fellow lightweight Cliff Wright Jr. in a 155lb affair. Quayhagen gained popularity when he defeated Brazilian Muay Thai Kickboxing Champion Cosmo Alexander at Bellator 52 last year and is looking to keep the momentum going when he fights in front of family and friends from L’Auberge Casino Resort.
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UFC Bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz is out of UFC 148 in his co-main event matchup with nemesis Urijah Faber according to UFC President Dana White.

It’s true Cruz blew his ACL. Stay tuned for more info

— Dana White (@danawhite) May 7, 2012

The two men are coaching the Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas right now but with Cruz’s injury it’s unclear if he will leave the show and someone new will step in like Rich Franklin did when Tito Ortiz went out a few seasons ago. We will have to stay tuned to see who could step up and take Cruz’s place against Faber. I’d like to see Faber take on Mike Brown, he’s always had ‘The California Kid’s’ number.

Michael Bisping is a bit upset that Hector Lombard is walking into the mix at middleweight after spending time in Bellator. The perennial UFC contender thinks Lombard has beaten a bunch of part time fighters while he has been fighting the best the UFC has to offer. According to an interview with MMADiehards.com;

“It does piss me off a little bit, you know? I’ve been slugging away in the UFC for six years now, fighting the best guys in the world and just because Hector Lombard’s been knocking out little part-time fighters who probably hold down jobs full-time and he’s been knocking out people that I haven’t got a clue who they are, I haven’t even heard of them, you know, while I’ve been knocking out the best fighters in the world and fighting the best consistently for six years and he’s going to come in from knocking out John the baker from around the corner and you know, he gets a title shot?”

Bisping is set to face Tim Boetsch this summer and if he can get past him he will have to wait in line or fight another top contender despite his impressive performance against Chael Sonnen in February in a losing effort.

Nate Diaz will get a title shot after his second round submission win over Jim Miller in Miller’s backyard. Frankie Edgar will take on Ben Henderson for the lightweight title and Diaz will get the winner according to Dana White. Anthony Pettis wants a title shot and even asked for Diaz in the meantime but White gave Diaz the nod over the former WEC champ.

Chael P. Sonnen isn’t in making friend his fellow fighters in the UFC. After talking trash about Anderson Silva, the Noguiera brothers, and Wanderlei Silva Sonnen has now turned his sites on former light heavyweight champ Rampage Jackson. UFC Middleweight #1 contender told MMA30 exactly what he thinks of Rampage.

“You know, Quinton is really good, and I’m not sure why. I don’t have the foggiest idea what he’s good at. He can’t wrestle a lick, I don’t believe he knows any submissions, he’s got no real competitive boxing or kickboxing, but he is a fantastic fighter when you stick him in the cage and you turn him loose. You know, I think he’s got a place, but he’s a crybaby, he’s a real ‘poor me’ guy. He comes in, he takes all the money, he takes all the money, he takes all the spotlight, and it’s still not enough. And, you know, it’s coming down to, you know, guys showed him respect for a lot of years but now he’s just a nuisance. You know, you want to come around me talking that crap; I’ll smack you down so fast. You know, you think you have problems with Ryan Bader, you know don’t even try that stuff with some of us that have, you know, kicked and scratched and clawed while you, you know, you’ve been eating at the trough for years. So, you know, ‘Rampage’ has a place, but you know if he doesn’t want to fight anymore, he doesn’t have too.”

On this week’s “UFC Tonight,” Host Todd Harris and Analyst Kenny Florian look ahead to Saturday’s UFC ON FOX fight in New Jersey, which features lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller facing off in the Octagon, plus we have an exclusive interview with Miller. We also have a preview of another UFC ON FOX event in August, with newly announced fights that include Brian Stann facing recent UFC signee Hector Lombard. Jay Glazer has a new “UFC 101” with Dan Henderson that features the art of “dirty boxing.”

Quote of the Week: “UFC Tonight” Analyst Kenny Florian on Diaz vs. Miller: “Nick Diaz is very good at keeping his opponents on the outside. He has a long reach and knows how to use it. He is tied for having the longest reach in the lightweight division. He always throws a high volume of punches. Once he finds his range, he throws a lot of punches, and he wears his opponent down until he gets what he wants. Miller is going to have to get inside of that long reach and push Diaz up against the fence. Miller does great work on the mat. He has the submission skills to beat Nate Diaz.”

Florian on if Miller can mimic Condit’s approach against a Diaz brother: “There is no doubt it was an effective strategy that Carlos Condit used, but Miller is a different kind of fighter. He doesn’t possess the same reach as Condit. He isn’t the same striker as Condit. He is not at that level. What he does possess is some high-level wrestling and that has posed some problems for both Nick and Nate in the past.”

Florian on if Miller or Diaz should get a title shot if either wins this fight: “I think so, these guys are two of the best lightweights in the world. Both of these guys have fought at a very high level against a series of opponents and both have a great resume.”

Jim Miller on the pressure of the upcoming fight: “I’m not really feeling any pressure, just the excitement and energy of being in the main event on FOX.”

Miller on prepping to fight Nate Diaz: “I’m prepared for a physical fight. I’m going to make a point to fight my fight and make him feel uncomfortable.”

Miller if he prepared to fight Nate Diaz from watching Nate’s brother, Nick, lose to Carlos Condit: “What I learned from watching Condit is how to have a well-planned-out game plan. Nick and Nate are similar, but I don’t like comparing brothers. They’re different fighters and have different styles.”

Miller on whether his wrestling background gives him an advantage: “It’s one of the biggest advantages that I have. I’ve been working on my striking game over the last few years. If I can use my wrestling to dictate where the fight goes, I will, but I hope I don’t have to.”

Miller on who he’d like to fight next if he wins? “I’m not really thinking about it. I have a big fight against a tough opponent this week. I’m just working on that right now.”
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