Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past two weeks.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from April 18-May 1.
All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.
MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.
But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.
Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.
Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Feb. 7-13.
A former two-weight-class Cage Warriors champ took on a former two-weight BAMMA champ inside the Bellator cage.
Saturday’s Bellator London event was the company’s final European card of the year, and with it came a bunch of consequential results.
That includes what amounted to a battle for U.K. bragging rights between former two-division Cage Warriors champion [autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag], and former two-weight BAMMA champ [autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag].
Bak earned his way to a unanimous-decision victory at SSE Arena in London, to the disapproval of the crowd who were rooting a local product in Brazier.
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After the fight, Bak said he was okay with the crowd’s hate, and even fed off it.
“I kind of feed on it, I love it,” Bak told MMA Junkie. “I could do without the beer throwing in Liverpool, but there was none of that here, it was just booing. I can live with that.”
So what exactly raised the crowd’s ire? Well, Bellator has made the lightweight fight free for all to watch, so check out the video above to see the exciting Bellator matchup.
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Check out the full list of medical suspensions from Bellator Europe 6 in London.
Bellator finished closed out its 2019 European series schedule Saturday in London with Bellator Europe 6, which took place at The SSE Arena, Wembley.
In the main event, [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] ran through Italian newcomer [autotag]Giovanni Melilla[/autotag] by picking up another first-round knockout. The co-headliner saw [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] edge out a split decision win against [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag].
On Monday, MMA Junkie received medical suspensions from Mohegan Sun Tribe Department of Regulation president Mike Mazzulli, who oversaw regulation of the event. Among those facing lengthy suspensions is [autotag]Sam Sicilia[/autotag]. The Washington-based fighter was knocked out by fellow UFC veteran Robert Whiteford and will need neurological clearance to return. Whiteford was suspended indefinitely for a potential ankle/foot injury.
After his win over [autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag], [autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag] was suspended indefinitely until his right knee is cleared by a physician.
Additionally, [autotag]Josie Blaber[/autotag] was suspended 180 days or until cleared by a doctor. Blaber was on the receiving end of brutal, dragged-out attack by [autotag]Charlotte McIntyre[/autotag] in the card’s curtain jerker.
Check out the full Bellator Europe 7 medical suspensions below:
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Danish lightweight Soren Bak chats with the press after his promotional debut victory over Terry Brazier at Bellator Europe 6.
LONDON – [autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag] made a victorious start to life as a Bellator fighter, then threw a little shade at his opponent’s mat skills during the post-fight press conference.
Former two-division Cage Warriors champion Bak (14-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) defeated former two-weight BAMMA champion [autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag] via unanimous decision at Bellator Europe 6 after three grueling rounds with the Londoner at the SSE Arena.
Bak’s grinding performance didn’t win him too many fans among the London crowd, most of whom were cheering on local boy Brazier (11-3 MMA, 1-2 BMMA). And Brazier’s frustration was there for all to see when he shouted “Boring, mother (expletive)” into the microphone on his way out of the cage.
Bak said he understood the frustration, but attributed it to the Englishman’s inability to hang with him on the ground.
“He’s welcome to come to CSA (Bak’s team in Copenhagen) and I’ll personally teach him some wrestling, maybe a few get-ups, I don’t know. It seems like he’d need it,” he said.
“I kinda get it, because the home crowd, they want to see their guy win. But sadly, if your get-ups are doing ground and pound from the bottom, you’re not going to get anywhere, and that’s kinda what we showed… It’s so frustrating not being able to get up when that’s what you want to do. I also feel I had the fight standing up, too.”
Bak played the role of out-of-town spoiler as he strode down the ramp, holding his trademark ax, and claimed the scalp of a local hero. He did the same in his last fight for Cage Warriors, when he defeated Paddy Pimblett for the promotion’s lightweight title in Liverpool.
“I kind of feed on it, I love it,” he admitted. “I could do without the beer throwing in Liverpool, but there was none of that here, it was just booing. I can live with that.”
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Bak’s performance gave him a clear victory on his Bellator debut and the 27-year-old said he was pleased in his new MMA home.
“I’m happy, definitely,” he said. “You kinda get used to things being in one promotion for such a long time, as I was with Cage Warriors. Obviously, there’s a few changes when you move to an organization like Bellator. So it’s just a bit of adjustment and I think it will be perfect next time.”
And now he’s settled with Bellator and has his first win for the promotion under his belt, Bak said he’s ready to take on the very best the Bellator matchmakers can throw at him.
“My gameplan for this career has always been to take the toughest opponent who wants to fight me, and I’m going to keep doing that, because that’s the way to get to the top.” he said.
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Check out all the fighter walkout songs from Saturday’s Bellator Europe 6 event.
While it takes intense training, world-class skills and maybe even a bit of luck to register a Bellator win, picking the right song to accompany you to the cage is a key talent, as well.
See what the fighters from Bellator Europe 6 went with as their backing tracks in London.
* * * *
[autotag]Michael Page[/autotag]: “Gun Lean” by Russ
[autotag]Giovanni Melillo[/autotag]: “Sail” by AWOLNATION
[autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag]: “Gun Lean (Remix)” by Russ feat. Taze, LD, Digga D, Ms Banks & Lethal Bizzle
[autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag]: “Mother” by Danzig
[autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag]: “If I Had A Heart” by Fever Ray
[autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag]: N/A
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.
Michael “Venom” Page produced the highlight-reel finish London fans were hoping for when he stopped Giovanni Melillo inside one round.
LONDON – [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] gave his hometown fans what they wanted as he closed the show in style at Bellator Europe 6 with the latest addition to his spectacular highlight reel.
Page (16-1 MMA, 12-1 BMMA) finished late-notice replacement [autotag]Giovanni Melillo[/autotag] in just 107 seconds with a thumping right hand to bring the SSE Arena crowd to their feet at the end of a dramatic main card in England’s capital.
Page was originally set to face American Derek Anderson, but a late injury to “Barbaric” meant Bellator needed a short-notice replacement. And while Italy’s Melillo (13-5 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) stepped up to the plate, he found himself hopelessly outgunned in a fight where he barely laid a glove on the Brit, who found a home for his strikes almost immediately.
A slick three-punch combination signaled Page’s intent to claim a fast finish as he showed a visibly more aggressive pace than we’ve seen from him in some of his past fights. And, after backing his man up with a mixture of sharp punches and the occasional low kick, Melillo looked to launch an attack of his own.
But Page saw the Italian’s riposte coming and answered with a huge right hand that knocked out Melillo long before he hit the canvas as he registered the 10th knockout win of his professional MMA career.
VIDEO: @MichaelPage247 needed just one punch to halt Giovanni Melillo in the #BellatorLondon main event. 💥
More: https://t.co/qyoPo56O1u pic.twitter.com/X6yIhxvEOx
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) November 23, 2019
After all the drama and bad blood of fight week, [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] and [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag] finally got their hands on each other inside the cage but, in a strange twist, their co-main event fight ended with the winner calling for a rematch.
Former BAMMA middleweight champion Shipman (13-3 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) looked to implement a gameplan that saw him close the distance and smother Edwards’ strikes, before wearing on him against the fence and gaining takedowns. But while the Londoner was successful in avoiding the Birmingham man’s best shots, Edwards (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) still managed to score with shots as Shipman stepped in. Once in the clinch, Shipman used his strength to hold Edwards against the cage, but the undefeated prospect stayed calm and managed to escape each time after taking minimal damage.
By the time the fight reached the third round both men were feeling the pace, and that opened up opportunities for Edwards to let loose with his strikes as he started the final frame with a pair of solid left hands. Once again, Shipman was able to take his man to the mat, but this time he couldn’t hold him down as Edwards fought his way back to his feet.
Then “The Assassin” enjoyed his best spell of the fight as he unloaded his power shots on a fatigued Shipman and wobbled the former BAMMA champion with a powerful left hand as he chased a late stoppage.
Ultimately, however, the judges were required to provide a definitive winner, and they were split on the verdict, with each man earning a 29-28 score on the final scorecards. But the third card, a 30-27, was awarded to Edwards to give him the victory. But his post-fight interview suggested he wasn’t fully satisfied with the outcome as he called for a second bout with the Londoner.
It wasn’t pretty, but [autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag] was strong and effective as he served up a strict diet of takedowns and top control to stifle England’s [autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag] and secure a unanimous decision in their lightweight main card opener.
The battle between the former two-division Cage Warriors champion Bak (14-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) and former two-weight BAMMA champ Brazier (11-3 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) produced a grueling three-round battle, with the Dane’s simple, but effective, gameplan seeing him repeatedly take Brazier to the mat and achieve top position.
The Copenhagen native repeated the trick in each round to seal a unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 on the judges’s scorecards.
The night also marked the emotional return of Scottish featherweight [autotag]Robert Whiteford[/autotag], who ended an 18-month exile from the sport with a last-gasp knockout victory of [autotag]Sam Sicilia[/autotag] on his Bellator debut.
After a cagey opening round, Whiteford (16-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) was rocked by a right hand, then a flying knee, as Sicilia (17-11 MMA, 2-3 BMMA) appeared to be taking control of the fight in the second. But Whiteford stayed in the fight and, with the 10-second clapper sounding at the end of the final frame, launched one final flurry and decked the American with a huge right uppercut before finishing him with strikes on the ground with just six seconds of the fight remaining.
Official Bellator Europe 6 results include:
MAIN CARD (Bellator app, 5 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Bellator app, 11:30 a.m. ET)
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Check out our staff members’ picks for the Bellator Europe 6 main card in London, featuring Michael Page vs. Giovanni Melillo.
| Page vs. Milillo |
Edwards vs. Shipman |
Bak vs. Brazier |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 2019: 200-123 (62%) |
 Page (84%) |
 Edwards (73%) |
 Bak (77%) |
| Simon Head @simonhead 2019: 116-65 (64%) |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Dan Tom @DanTomMMA 2019: 206-117 (64%) |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 2019: 112-64 (64%) |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 2019: 204-119 (63%)  2017 Champion |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 2019: 204-119 (63%) 2018 Champion |
Page |
Edwards |
 Brazier |
| John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn 2019: 201-122 (62%) |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohnMMA 2019: 200-123 (62%) 2014 Champion |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 2019: 200-123 (62%) |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 2019: 197-126 (61%) |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 2019: 101-69 (59%) |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 2019: 184-130 (59%) |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Dave Doyle @davedoylemma 2019: 128-103 (55%) |
Page |
Edwards |
Bak |
| Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 2019: 172-151 (53%) |
 Melillo |
 Shipman |
Brazier |
Bellator is back in London this week with one of its superstars atop the bill.
Bellator Europe 6 takes place Saturday at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London. The card streams on MMA Junkie.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 11-1 BMMA) takes on short-notice replacement [autotag]Giovanni Melillo[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a welterweight bout. Page is a massive favorite of as much as 22-1 at one sports book, and to no surprise, 12 of our 13 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are picking him to win in front of his home fans.
In the middleweight co-main event, [autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) is more than a 3-1 favorite against [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) in a fight that saw bad blood boil to the surface at the weigh-ins. Only one of our pickers is taking Shipman in an upset.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) takes on [autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) in a lightweight fight that is a close one with the oddsmakers. Bak is just a slight favorite, but our pickers are taking him at a heavy 11-2 clip.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Page (94%), Edwards (73 percent) and Bak (77 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
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Soren Bak: “Bellator had the best deal on the table, the best opportunity.”
LONDON – [autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag]’s Bellator debut comes Saturday, where he’ll face 13-fight veteran Terry Brazier.
Highly regarded as one of Europe’s best featherweight prospects, Cage Warriors champion Bak (13-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) signed with Bellator in September.
At the time, there was some speculation the Danish fighter had two offers on the table and chose Bellator over the UFC. At a media day Thursday, Bak admitted there is some truth to the rumors.
“Yeah, there is some truth to that,” Bak told MMA Junkie. “But the real truth is we were looking for the best deal we could find anywhere. Not just financially or looking at long at the term, but all the way around. Bellator had the best deal on the table – the best opportunity.”
As for his matchup with Brazier (11-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), “The True Viking” Bak said he expects a physically strong opponent. A 33-year-old Englishman, Brazier has split his two promotional appearances and comes off an Americana submission victory over Alessandro Botti in June.
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“I see Terry has some size on people and he uses it to bully people,” Bak said. “So if you don’t have the technique on point, you’re going to be spending a lot of energy. That’s kind of what I’ve been seeing from him. He’s a good overall mixed martial artist, but he has big holes everywhere. I’m going to be able to exploit some of those.”
Bellator Europe 6 takes place Saturday at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London. The card streams on MMA Junkie.
Check out MMA Junkie’s full Bellator Europe 6 pre-fight interview with Soren Bak in the video above.
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If the Bellator Europe 6 co-main event was flying under the radar before Friday, maybe people will pay attention now.
LONDON – If the Bellator Europe 6 co-main event was flying under the radar before Friday, maybe people will pay attention now.
The weigh-ins are in the books for Saturday’s event, which takes place at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London. The card streams on MMA Junkie. And at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins, things got pretty heated between a pair of middleweights.
[autotag]Fabian Edwards[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) and [autotag]Mike Shipman[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) had to be separated when punches were thrown during their faceoff. You can check out the madness in the video above.
That video also includes the event’s welterweight headliners, [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 11-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Giovanni Melillo[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), as well as [autotag]Soren Bak[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Terry Brazier[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) and [autotag]Denise Kielholtz[/autotag] (3-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) vs. [autotag]Sabriye Sengul[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
Check out the ceremonial weigh-ins video above.
