If you live by the sledgehammer, you die by the sledgehammer. And that’s exactly what happened last night at Extreme Rules. Triple H got hit in the jaw with a sledgehammer before getting caught in Brock Lesnar’s F5 that sent him crumpled to the ground. After Triple H evened their series at 1 a piece Lesnar took the rubber match last night to hopefully end the feud.

The fans want to see Lesnar in fresh matchups and it’s silly that the WWE brought him back just to feud with the CEO’s son in law for most of the year when he could be helping elevate other talent who needs the rub that comes from being in the ring with the former UFC champ.

With a division already boasting the likes of Ben Askren, Paul Daley, Douglas Lima, Ben Saunders, Andrey Koreshkov and Karl Amoussou, Matt Riddle knows he will be swimming in “Deep Waters” when he enters the Bellator Welterweight Tournament this Fall as Bellator has signed a long-term promotional agreement with the controversial Pennsylvania native.

Riddle joins Bellator coming off four straight victories with the UFC, but was recently released as he failed his post-fight drug test after his victory over Che Mills. Known for his strong wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu background along with a stifling takedown defense, Riddle is ready to challenge himself against the best in the world inside the Bellator cage.

“I had so many options after I left the UFC, but knowing that I was able to compete in a tournament against guys like Paul Daley, Ben Saunders, and Douglas Lima, signing with Bellator was an easy decision,” Riddle said. “This division is just so stacked, and being able to fight in a tournament makes it even better. Bellator is doing a lot of great things right now, and I want to be a part of it.”

Bellator CEO & Chairman Bjorn Rebney understands some of the risks involved with signing Riddle, but after discussions with Riddle, Rebney is confident the 27 year old welterweight is in the right place to impact the welterweight division.

“Matt’s got all the tools to be a force in our welterweight division,” Rebney said. “When I saw Matt get released from the UFC coming off 4 straight wins including his dominant win over Mills in February, we took notice. We both realize that Matt will have a target on his back for his past indiscretions. But having discussed it with him, I’m comfortable that he’s in the right place to enter the Bellator cage this fall in what will be the most loaded Bellator Welterweight Tournament in the promotions history.”

While Riddle isn’t looking too far ahead of himself, it’s clear there are a number of goals he’d like to accomplish on his way to a title shot.

“No questions asked, I want to win the next Bellator Welterweight Tournament, get my shot at the title and take my beautiful wife to the MTV Awards and meet Snoop Dogg,” Riddle remarked. “I’ve seen all the pictures of Bellator guys walking red carpets and it’s something I want to earn and be able to do. What could be better than that?”

Riddle’s journey to a Bellator Title shot and future red carpet appearances will begin this fall live on Spike.

Will he or won’t he? That’s the question the fans want to know concerning a bout proposed by Chael Sonnen featuring himself and Wanderlei Silva. The two men clearly do not like each other and after his loss to Jon Jones Sonnen announced he wasn’t retiring and wanted ‘The Axe Murderer’ in Boston at UFC on Fox Sport 1. Now Chael P. is giving Silva 24 hours to accept the bout.

Wand- you have 24 hours to accept. If you do, I will donate 10% of my purse to help schools in your hometown of Curitiba .. I mean, VEGAS.

— chael sonnen (@sonnench) May 9, 2013

Silva has never backed down from a fight before so I bet the fight gets made. Sonnen has lost two straight to two world champions while Silva is coming off a Fight of the Year performance against Brian Stann in March. Neither are in title contention and it would be an easy fight to hype and sell to the fans.

Some of the top welterweights in the country will be featured on Fight Master:Bellator MMA when it debuts next month on Spike TV. Some of the top prospects in the promotion such as Andy Uhrich and Joe Williams will have a chance to win 100 grand and a shot at the Bellator tournament if they can run the table on the show. Veteran Joe Riggs also made the show and it will be interesting to see how the former UFC welterweight title challenger fares against younger talent in the tournament.

Marcus “Lelo” Aurelio
Age: 26
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Nick Barnes
Age: 22
Record: 5-0
San Diego, CA, USA

Eric Bradley
Age: 31
Las Vegas, NV , USA

Mike Bronzoulis
Age: 34
Houston, TX, USA

Frank Carrillo
Age: 29
Miami, FL, USA

Darryl Cobb
Age: 32
East St. Louis, MO, USA

Christopher Curtis
Age: 25
Cincinnati, OH, USA

Evan Cutts
Age: 22
Dallas, TX, USA

Mike Dubois
Age: 30
Thomasville, GA, USA

Tom Gallicchio
Age: 26
Howell, NJ, USA

Ismael Gonzalez
Age: 32
Los Angeles, CA, USA

Gareth Joseph
Age: 28
San Diego, CA, USA

Chris Lozano
Age: 30
Cleveland, OH, USA

AJ Matthews
Age: 24
Carlsbad, CA, USA

Rob Mills
Age: 35
Newcastle, United Kingdom

Steve Montgomery
Age: 22
Florence, SC, USA

Chip Moraza-Pollard
Age: 24
Plymouth, MA, USA

Brett Nakamura
Age: 30
Maui, HI, USA

Jason Norwood
Age: 28
Fort Hood, TX, USA

Dom O’Grady
Age: 31
Detroit, MI , USA

Jacob Ortiz
Age: 31
San Manuel, AZ, USA

Josh Quayhagen
Age: 26
Lake Charles, LA, USA

Joe Riggs
Age: 30
Phoenix, AZ, USA

Eric Scallan
Age: 27
Lafayette, LA, USA

Cristiano Souza
Age: 30
Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Tim Welch
Age: 22
Great Falls, MT, USA

Brendan Tierney
Age: 37
Queens, NY, USA

Bryan Travers
Age: 29
Bakersfield, CA, USA

Andy Uhrich
Age: 27
Gering, NE, USA

Cole Williams
Age: 30
Darian, WI, USA

Joe Williams
Age: 27
Tustin, CA, USA

Artenas Young
Age: 32
Houston, TX, USA

After two straight title fight losses Chael Sonnen will get the Axe Murderer he called out earlier this week according to Dave Meltzer. Sonnen let it be known on Tuesday that he wasn’t done fighting after falling to Jon Jones last week. He then called out former PRIDE champ Wanderlei Silva who he has had a beef with for a while.

Sonnen stated his reasons for the fight on UFC Tonight.

“Wanderlei pulled a real dirt bag move on me one time. We’re in a van together, he mutters something at me, but I can’t understand what he’s saying for the life of me. Truly, I couldn’t understand him. He then puts this video on the Internet, with subtitles, because he knows I can’t understand him – I don’t even know if that’s really what he said or not – and it looks as though I’m conceding to him. I’m not going anywhere until me and Wanderlei Silva straighten this thing out once and for all,” Sonnen said. “If you’re a fighter, that doesn’t fly, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a van or not. You must respond, and I’m ready to respond to him.”

Silva doesn’t care for Sonnen’s pro wrestling theatrics and two years ago he told him in Portuguese just what he thought. Sonnen doesn’t speak that language and sat there listening intently. Since then the two men have had a war of words but now in August they will get to settle it in Boston for the first ever Fox Sports 1 UFC Show.

On Saturday, May 4, the Fort Myers Miracle will welcome WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler to Hammond Stadium. The game between the Miracle and the St. Lucie Mets will start at 6:05 p.m. and gates will open at 5 p.m.

Lawler is one of the most beloved wrestlers in history. A long time co-host of Monday Night Raw, Lawler joined the broadcast team in 2001 and has been a part of many memorable moments in wrestling. Monday Night raw is the longest running weekly entertainment show in television history.

In 1982, Lawler began a notorious feud with comedian Andy Kaufman. At the time, Kaufman wrestled women as a part of his comedic routine and declared himself the Intergender Heavyweight Champion. Lawler took exception to the skits and on April 5, 1982, “The King” wrestled Kaufman in Memphis, Tenn. During the course of the match, Lawler delivered two pile drivers, sending Kaufman to the hospital.

On July 29, 1982, Lawler slapped Kaufman in the face on an episode of Late Night with David Letterman. Kaufman responded by throwing his coffee on Lawler. Years later, Lawler appeared as himself in the Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon.

On September 10, 2012, Lawler suffered a heart attack while live on the air with Monday Night Raw. The heart attack caused Lawler to miss two months of the broadcast schedule. On November 12, 2012, Lawler returned to Monday Night Raw to a standing ovation.

Orginally a disc jockey in Memphis, Lawler started wrestling professionally in 1970. During his career, Lawler won more than 160 titles including the AWA World Championship. In 2007, Lawler was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by none other than William Shatner.

While at the Miracle game on Saturday, May 4, Lawler will sign autographs, pose for pictures and throw out a ceremonial first pitch. Media outlets wishing to get in touch with Lawler for interviews should contact John Kuhn in the Miracle offices at (239) 768-4210 or jkuhn@miraclebaseball.com.

After delivering a dramatic and dominating submission victory in his first title defense, top ranked Bellator Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler will once again put his title on the line as Bellator MMA returns to WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma Wednesday, June 19th for the start of the Bellator MMA Summer Series live on Spike TV.

The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 6 p.m. CST on Spike. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 5:30 p.m. EST. Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting the WinStar World Casino Box Office, with tickets starting at just $45 dollars.
Only 27, Chandler holds impressive victories over Eddie Alvarez, Rick Hawn, Akihiro Gono and Patricky Pitbull while sporting a spotless 11-0 record that has catapulted the Alliance MMA product into Top 3 rankings across the MMA landscape.

“I’m excited to get back in the cage and defend the belt against a tough guy like Jansen,” Chandler said. “He’s proven to be a very tough and durable competitor. My plan is the same as every fight, which is to show up new and improved and collect another dominant finish for the fans.”

Jansen enters the fight riding a six fight win streak that includes a dominating Bellator Lightweight Tournament run with victories over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Ricardo Tirloni, as well as a Finals win over Polish phenom Marcin Held. With the Oregon native owning an established submission pedigree and the resilience to have never been finished inside the cage, Jansen presents a unique set of challenges for Chandler on June 19th.

“I really want this fight to be an absolute grind and make Mike as uncomfortable as possible inside that cage,” Jansen said. “I’ve been known in my career to really be able to weather the storm and I really feel like I get stronger inside the cage as the fight goes on, and I’m really looking forward to having that full 25 minutes to work with and take this fight in deep waters. This is just an incredible opportunity for me and would a huge validation on my career to become a Bellator World Champion.”

Know across MMA as one of the top light heavyweights in the world, King Mo returns and will begin his quest to claim the Bellator Light Heavyweight Title. No stranger to WinStar, Mo had the crowd on its feet last January as he delivered a vicious knockout in opening round action, and will be looking for a similar performance against Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli.

“Seth has been in this game for a long time and has beaten guys like Kimbo, Ricco Rodriguez and Dan Severn so this fight is going to be tough, but I’ve been working my ass off in the gym with Jeff Mayweather and my team and I’m ready to get another win under my belt,” Mo said. “Point blank, I’m looking to deliver a straight Mortal Kombat style fatality to Seth.”

Decorated MMA legend Renato “Babalu” Sobral will also make his return to the Bellator cage as the imposing Brazilian looks to punch his ticket to the Bellator Light Heavyweight Finals with a victory over Tennessee’s own Jacob Noe. After both men had their first taste of Bellator Tournament action last season, expectations have risen for both competitors.

“God has blessed me with the opportunity to fight again and consequently has cursed my opponents,” Babalu stated.

After nearly two years away from the cage, the always exciting and controversial War Machine will be back in action in front of a raucous WinStar crowd. Injuries and legal troubles have delayed the Bellator debut for War Machine but the highly skilled welterweight has finally put the past behind him and is ready to show the MMA world what it has been missing.

“It’s like I hit the rewind button,” War Machine said. “I pressed rewind and now I have a chance to get my life back on track. It feels great. Right now I’m just out to show the world that I do belong here fighting the best with Bellator.”
“This event is insanely stacked,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “With a Lightweight Title fight, Mo, Babalu, and War Machine, this is going to be an amazing show start to finish on Spike.”

Bellator MMA Main Card:

Bellator Lightweight Title Fight: Michael Chandler (11-0) vs. Dave Jansen (19-2)
Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament: King Mo Lawal (9-2) vs. Seth Petruzelli (14-7)
Bellator Light Heavyweight Tournament: Renato “Babalu” Sobral (37-10) vs. Jacob Noe (11-2)
Welterweight Feature Fight: War Machine (12-4) vs. Blas Avena (8-6)

More information on Bellator MMA from WinStar World Casino will be made available in the coming weeks.

Former middleweight and light heavyweight title contender Chael Sonnen hinted at retirement after his loss Saturday night to Jon Jones. But after taking a couple of days off the Gangster from Oregon insists he will keep fighting and wants a bout with Wanderlei Silva in the octagon. Sonnen made the announcement on UFC Tonight.

“I will definitely continue – and at 205 pounds, unless they come up with a catchweight,” Sonnen said. “They have a couple of people that do that. I know Rich Franklin has fought at catchweights a bunch, but I’m not going to be in contendership anytime soon, and neither is Rich Franklin or a pool of other guys. So there is a little bit of room where we could meet in the middle. Now that I’ve dropped Rich’s name, this wasn’t my way of challenging Rich. I was speaking to the point of the catchweight situation. I’m going to stick around.”

“I’m not leaving this sport. Whenever I get asked about retirement, I never say it, but I always think it: I’m not going anywhere until me and Wanderlei straighten this thing out once and for all.”

Say what you want but Sonnen made himself one of the hottest commodities in MMA by using his WWE-schtick. He went from a guy no one really knew about into one of the UFC’s biggest draws after his fight with Anderson Silva two years ago when he came within two minutes of taking ‘The Spider’s’ belt.

FORMER CWFC middleweight champion Chris Fields (pictured) will return to action for a clash with French star Norman Paraisy at Cage Warriors 55.

Fields (10-5), who relinquished his title with a loss to Jesse Taylor at Cage Warriors 51 on New Year’s Eve, will tackle Paraisy in his hometown of Dublin on Saturday, June 1.

The 29-year-old SBG Ireland fighter had been crowned champion in Jordan last September courtesy of a third-round TKO victory over Pavel Kusch in the final of the CWFC middleweight title tournament.

“I’m really happy to be fighting on this show and I feel like I owe the Irish fans a performance. It’s coming on June 1,” said Fields.

“I’m in a great place in my training and I’m looking forward to showing off some new skills, as well as some old ones. There will be a shin hitting a chin by the time this one is done.”

Paraisy (11-3-1-1), a three-time Bellator veteran and contestant on the 11th instalment of The Ultimate Fighter, will be appearing on a CWFC card for the first time since defeating Jack Mason at Cage Warriors 43.

The 27-year-old said: “I’m very happy to be back at Cage Warriors, fighting against such a good opponent and former champion in front of an amazing crowd that is world famous for its passion and enthusiasm.”

Another middleweight contest has also been added to the Cage Warriors 55 main card, with Dublin-based Nigerian fighter Henry Fadipe set to take on Mike Ling.

On the preliminary card, SBG Ireland’s Philip Mulpeter will face Englishman Avi Jack in a welterweight bout, Liam James returns to featherweight to clash with Ireland’s Stephen Coll, while Piotr Ptasinski will face Dublin’s own John Redmond in a welterweight clash.

Cage Warriors 55 will be co-headlined by a CWFC welterweight title bout between champion Cathal Pendred and challenger Che Mills, and a flyweight bout between Neil Seery and Mikael Silander for the vacant title.

Tickets are available HERE. Keep track of Cage Warriors on Facebook and Twitter for more news, updates and fight announcements.

It was a crazy night last night Newark with eye pokes and injuries. UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones broke his big toe on his left foot during his fight with Chael Sonnen when he pushed off of it really hard. Jones discovered the injury during the postfight interview with Joe Rogan. The injury was so severe that the bone actually broke through the skin.

It’s not yet known how long ‘Bones’ will be out of action but I would imagine we will see him back in the Octagon sometime later this year.

Had the fight been stopped due to the injury Sonnen would’ve been awarded the belt despite the fact that he was getting beat up by Jones for most of the first round.