MMA Roundup: Bellator, Latest UFC Cuts, Roy Nelson

This time on the MMA Roundup, we’ll discuss the latest news regarding Bellator’s TV situation, Roy Nelson’s disappointment with being left out of UFC 125, and which fighters have been the latest to get the axe from the UFC. There are also items about Fedor Emelianenko, Jon Fitch and Alan Belcher to go over, too.

Bellator preemptions a thing of the past?

Bellator has definitely carved out there own niche in the MMA world, and while their shows don’t bring the ratings of the UFC’s shows on Spike TV, there is certainly a loyal fan base out there that eats up each successive Bellator season. One of the drawbacks of following Bellator has always been the likelihood of preemptions or scheduling inconsistencies (for instance, with my cable service, I never get to see Bellator live, but instead at 12:30 am central time).

Well, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has assured us all that those problems are a thing of the past. Not only did Rebney say that Bellator Fighting Championships is definitely moving to seasons “four, five six and beyond”, but also that the preemptions and other quirks will be a thing of the past. Rebney told Sherdog’s Greg Savage in a video interview that fans will be able to catch Bellator on the same channel and at the same time every week, and best of all- live.

I’m a fan of Bellator and hope that the organization continues to do well. They bring a different business model that gives fans a different product from what the UFC or Strikeforce offers, and they invest a lot of time in developing fresh talent. If anything, the only gripe many fans have is that Bellator’s contracts with competitors such as Hector Lombard keeps such fighters from being able to face many of the top fighters in their weight class, who fight in the UFC or elsewhere.

Former UFC title challengers bite the dust

This has become a regular thing: after many major UFC events, the “cut watch” begins, only to start hearing about who has lost their UFC roster spot through Twitter feeds or interviews with MMA websites. UFC 121 was not without its high-profile victims, as two former UFC title challengers have been cut.

That’s right, Patrick Cote and Gabriel Gonzaga have been released from their UFC contracts following losses to Tom Lawlor and Brendan Schaub, respectively. Cote has lost three fights in a row, beginning with his loss due to a knee injury against Anderson Silva (in a UFC Middleweight Championship fight), continuing with a submission loss to Alan Belcher, and ending with the unanimous decision loss to Lawlor at UFC 121.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga has gone from UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger against Randy Couture at UFC 74 to being just another former UFC fighter thanks to losing three of his last four fights. Two of those losses were TKO losses in the first round against heavy hitters Shane Carwin and Junior dos Santos, while the loss to Schaub at UFC 121 came by unanimous decision in a lethargic effort by Gonzaga. Gonzaga’s only win in nearly two years came during a TKO win over Chris Tuchscherer that was marred by a nasty low blow that Tuchscherer may have never fully recovered from.

Strikeforce has been slow to snatch up many of the UFC’s high-profile releases over the last several months, so we’ll have to see if they or someone else is interested in either of these two fighters. Cote remains a popular fighter in Canada and a solid competitor, while Gonzaga, despite his obvious inability to capitalize on his talent, is a commodity because of the lack of capable heavyweights outside of the UFC and Strikeforce.

Nelson’s “feelings were a little hurt” by the UFC

You surely should have heard by now that Roy Nelson’s UFC 125 opponent, Shane Carwin, was forced to drop out due to injury. Well, if you were expecting the UFC to merely find a replacement opponent for “Big Country”, think again. Instead, the UFC has chosen to simply take Nelson off the card completely, in a move that has disappointed the former champion of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

“I think my feelings were a little hurt. I was hoping they could find somebody to replace [Carwin]. This is one of the biggest cards of the year, and I was in the co-main event,” Nelson told Sherdog.com. Nelson further explained that while he was pushing the rehab of his injured knee to compete on the card as a favor of sorts for the UFC, he would have hoped that the UFC would have recognized his effort by keeping him on the card.

Fedor and the UFC: Nothing to see here, unsurprisingly

Slimy MMA manager and apparent delusional egomaniac Vadim Finkelstein has again shocked the world by announcing out of the blue that there are no current negotiations going on between Fedor Emelianenko and the UFC. Certainly, this comes as a huge blow to the seven people in the world who are still holding out any hope of seeing Fedor in the Octagon. Finkelstein says:

“We would love to fight with Lesnar, and Velasquez and all but why should we give up all these undertakings, all the years spent on Fedor’s development will go to them? Fedor did not grow in the UFC, right? So why should he go to the UFC? Fedor is now ready to fight. He is 34, he feels fine and is ready to work. He is ready to sign a contract for five or six fights, and do the job very well. He always says he’s ready to act. We need to protect our interests.”

You know, this makes a lot of sense. Why should the UFC benefit monetarily from its fighters? That’s not how business works! Also, it makes much more sense if M-1, a promotion that is not even a blip on the MMA radar, should benefit from Fedor’s development. After all, Fedor has fought in M-1 events a whopping what? Zero times? Oh, wait, I forgot…there were those “co-promotions” with Strikeforce and what not.

Also, a five or six fight contract? Let’s slow down a bit, Finky baby. After all, we’re a mere one year into a Strikeforce contract that has yielded all of two fights and which has been “renegotiated” after each one. Who wants to sign Fedor for five or six fights at this point and deal with renegotiations after each one of them?

Fink’s right. The UFC shouldn’t be able to dictate all of the terms and have a “take it or leave it” attitude. No, M-1, with their huge global success, instantly-recognizable brand should have all the bargaining power. That makes perfect sense.

Quick Shots

–Let’s go from non-news to great news, as Alan Belcher reports that his surgically-repaired eye is healing very well and that he has been cleared to do cardio and technique work by his doctor. This is good to hear, especially since the detached retina that he suffered was (and still could be) a career-threatening injury.

–Jon Fitch won’t be moving to middleweight anytime soon. He says now that even if teammate Josh Koscheck wins the welterweight title from Georges St. Pierre, he would be happy to fight non-title bouts against St. Pierre, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit, or Martin Kampmann while biding his time. Anyway, he says that a quick move to middleweight is impossible, as he estimates it would take him two years to properly jump up a weight class.

E-Mail Jon Hartley

Tags: Alan Belcher, Bellator, Bellator Fighting Championships, Bjorn Rebney, crazy Russians, Fedor Emelianenko, Gabriel Gonzaga, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Patrick Cote, Roy Nelson, Shane Carwin, Strikeforce, UFC