Having been around combat sport for over two decades, my passion for MMA and Boxing just grows and grows. I am a former columnist for MMA Uncaged Magazine and currently contribute to Fighters Only and other leading MMA sites.
Bellator’s British Invasion has seen a new opponent for newly signed British fighter Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley (35-13), as Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima has been forced out of his bout due to injury.
Daley took to his facebook account earlier stating this:
Paul Daley FB Statement
Nervous, Scared??…..I understand, preparing to fight me…. I would be. It’s ok…. guess you get to have a few more photo shoots with the belt…. My focus has shifted, same date, new opponent…. British Invasion at Bellator 134
The new opponent is Andre “Chatuba” Santos (37-9) . A veteran of the sport in his own right, the Rio De Janeiro fighter has two more wins than Daley in four fewer fights. Santos defeated James Terry at Bellator 129, in what was his first fight on American soil. He now has his sights set on Daley, with hopes to win his seventh straight fight.
Also injury has forced the delay of a heavily anticipated matchup between Bobby Lashley (12-2) and James Thompson (20-14) but Bellator MMA officials have announced a blockbuster fight to replace it in Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (14-4) vs. Cheick Kongo (22-9-2).
Bellator: British Invasion, which takes place on Friday, February 27, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Main card airs live on Spike TV, while preliminary bouts stream on Spike.com.
In the early hours of Tuesday 20th January 2015, UFC and Bellator MMA veteran Dave Herman [22-6] who most recently competed for Titan FC, was arrested for leading a police chase in Indiana.
Charges were filed by Dekalb County Sheriff Department and states Herman was ‘Speeding without his lights on and did not immediately pull over. Once he did stop, he approached the officers and forced them to use a taser’.
The charges Herman faces include resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, battery against law enforcement and neglect of a dependent.
Now this is where Herman’s wife [Madeleine] steps in, who filmed a good portion of what happened.
UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, who was found to have traces of the illegal drug cocaine in his system on December 4th last year, prior to his title fight against Daniel Cormier on January 3rd 2015, at UFC 181 in Las Vegas, Nevada has now done a ‘stint’ [one day] in rehab.
UFC fined Jones $25,000 for violating its code of conduct policy and will still to continue to support the champ.
Here is the one on one video interview that was aired as a special on FOXSPORTS 1 Monday night in the states.
Fairfax, Virginia at the Patriot Center is where it is set to go down. The date Saturday April 4th. UFC Fight Night 63 will be in town and two of the top women’s Bantamweight will throw down for the night. Liz Carmouche [9-5] will take on Lauren Murphy [8-1] in what is set to be one of this year’s great fight. Both women have a fairly similar record on paper. Carmouche’s stats according to sherdog are 67% in KO/TKO, 22% in submissions and 11% in her only decision fight. Laurens stats according to sherdog are 75% KO/TKO, 0% in submissions and 25% in decisions for 2 of her fights.[The 0% in submissions is that Lauren chosses her method of a KO/TKO finish in the first 6 of her fights].
What makes this an interesting fight for fans around the world, is the striking ability both women posess on paper and what we have seen them do in the cage. Also both women are very highly skilled on the ground if they choose for the fight to go this way, (we saw this when Carmouche fought Ronda Rousey and Murphy when she fought Sara McMann), every which way you look at this fight, for me, it is without a shadow of a doubt already a ‘fight of the night’ candidate. These women mean business and will leave it all in the cage, no matter what.
UFC Fight Night 59, Boston lived up to the hype from the very first fight on FIGHT PASS, for me though the pure transitions, fluidity and skill shown of his Jiu-Jitsu in the aired Prelim fights on Fox Sports 1 was Charles Rosa, to me it was so awesome to watch. With an array of submission attempts and one step ahead I felt, it was beautiful, with a tight D’arce choke sunk in the third round.
Another Prelim fight for which I personally enjoyed every single minute was Johnny Case, another example of beautiful short elbows (yes I love using my elbows too), amongst a great winning fight.
Paddy Holohan Weigh in
Patrick Holohan is always impressive, especially with his ground game, he came out fast, with intent on finishing Shane Howell within the first round. He almost succeeded several times with a rear naked choke, but credit where credit due, Shane Howell is tough, durable and managed to escape Paddy’s rear naked choke in the last ten seconds of the first round to end up on top. Although it was a one sided ‘beating’ for Shane, his skills on the ground amazed alot of people to escape several of Paddy’s Chokes.
Cathal Pendred and Sean Spencer
Wow is all I can say at the beginning of Cathal Pendred’s fight! Who else saw Sean Spencer knee (accidently) Cathal when he was on the ground at 2 mins 32 seconds of the first round? Cathal clearly stated ‘woah, hang on’ but even the commentators by passed the incident and carried on commentating about the ‘over hand right punches’ that were then connecting with Cathal after that incident by Sean Spencer!
On the flipside of this, I feel Sean Spencer did a great job of working his boxing skills, Octagon control, damage and therefore I did not see what the judges saw (good job I am not a judge), then again I do not think I am alone in saying this!
Uriah Hall and Ron Stallings Face Off
I have to mention Ron Stallings for taking this fight against Uriah Hall on five days notice, not many athlete’s go ahead once it is fight week when it comes to Uriah Hall so full props to Ron. Uriah Hall is a beast on his feet and has a very nasty ground and pound game for which we saw again Sunday.
The below picture was taken straight after his fight with Uriah Hall and shows the Ground and Pound damage by the fighter.
Photo courtesy of UFC Shanda
Ron Stallings cut Courtsey of UFC ShandaDonald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Benson Henderson
The Co-Main event Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone vs Benson Henderson. What can one say. Cerrone is definitely in his prime and Henderson has been on the end of some shocking decisions as of late, but he will be back to winning ways I feel very soon. Again I did not see what the judges saw in this fight and I am sure I am not the only one!
Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor lived up to every bit of the hype, starting off with ‘flipping the bird’ at Dennis Siver as he did not touch gloves. Siver managed to keep his composure all week and not let McGregor get into his head one bit (unlike most of McGregor’s previous opponents).
Conor McGregor
McGregor did not dispose of Siver within the two minutes as he previously predicted, but he did dispose of him in the second round, convincingly. Next for McGregor is the featherweight champion JoseAldo either in Las Vegas or Croke Park in Dublin.
UFC Fight Night 47 is live on the FOX Sports network tonight or BT Sports if you are in the UK. Before any event takes place, the all important weigh-ins happens first, which happened live from Bangor, Maine where UFC Fight Night 47 will be taking place tonight.
MAIN CARD
Ryan Bader 205lbs vs Ovince St. Preux 205lbs
Ross Pearson 156lbs vs Gray Maynard 156lbs
Tim Boetsch 186lbs vs Brad Tavares 185 lbs
Seth Baczynski 171lbs vs Alan Jouban 170 lbs
Shawn Jordan 260lbs vs Jack May 247lbs
Thiago Tavares 146lbs vs Robbie Peralta 146lbs
PRELIM CARD
Jussier Formiga 126lbs vs Zach Makovsky 125lbs
Lauren Murphy 135lbs vs Sara McMann 135lbs
Tom Watson 185lbs vs Sam Alvey 185lbs
Nolan Ticman 136lb vs. Frankie Saenz 136lb
UFC Fight Night 47 takes place tonight on the FOX Sports network (check your local area listings) and also on the BT Sport platform in the UK at 1am.
On August 16th, Lauren Murphy will make her long-awaited UFC debut where she will take on former UFC title contender Sara McMann in the women’s Bantamweight division.
McMann [7-1, 1-1 UFC] is an Olympic Silver Medalist who will be looking to seek to put herself back into title contention again after her last outing with Ronda Rousey ended in a 66 second defeat.
Murphy, who is 8-0 in her MMA career, with six of those wins coming by T/KO victories and two via decision wins. Murphy’s first, five fights never made it into the third round and were all T/KO wins. On December 7th 2013, Murphy won the first ever inaugural Bantamweight Belt for promotion InvictaFC after defeating Miriam Nakamoto in the fourth round via TKO, before relinquishing the title to sign with the UFC.
I managed to catch up with Lauren for a quick chat about how the UFC offer came about, her new home in Arizona, new training home at The MMALAB and when we will get to see ‘The Lauren Murphy Documentary’ amongst others.
What made you say ‘right the time is now for UFC’, after all you are the Invicta Bantamweight Champion – or was it a case of the UFC came to you with an offer [the offer you had been waiting for] after finally noticing that you should be in the UFC?
I had an offer previously with the UFC, to take a short notice fight last year. I decided not to pursue it at that time, because I was not ready. I also did not pursue the Ultimate Fighter, because at that time, I wanted more experience before getting a fight in the UFC. Therefore, there were a couple of times when there might have been an opportunity to go to the UFC, but the time was not right. Then this last year, Invicta had a long time between shows and we were not really sure what was going on for a long time, so we started looking into our options for the UFC- much the same way several other champs in Invicta have. When Sara needed an opponent, I think I was the only one willing and healthy that made sense, so Sean Shelby called Shannon and off I went.
You have just moved to Arizona. How are you finding it having your family complete and with you since Joe is now retired from the Air Force. Is it great to be together all the time (so to speak) whilst just celebrating your first year of marriage and having your son Max with you?
It IS great! It really is nice to wake up next to my husband everyday. That is why I married him! There are some things we have to adjust to, of course. When I would do camps in Houston by myself, I learned how to handle bad days and good days alone. Now I have someone who loves me right there with me to share that with, and I think that is an adjustment for Joe. I also have a little more to worry about. In Houston, I could go home, make my own food, get in bed, watch something on Netflix and call it a day. Now, I have to make sure Max is ready for the next day, get dinner ready for everyone, make sure the laundry is done. I have a much bigger house to keep clean. Before, I was just renting a tiny room. All the same stuff people deal with when they have a job and a family. Before, when I was on my own, I could just worry about myself. I could afford to be very selfish that way, and now I cannot. Joe does a TON around the house while I train, but it is still an adjustment for all of us to some extent.
You moved training camps to The MMA LAB in Arizona, was this to start preparing for the fight that has just been announced or was it for other reasons?
No, I was not even in the UFC when we decided to move. My long time coach in Houston decided to move his family to Virginia to be closer to his extended family, and when he left Texas, I decided to look for a new gym. I just figured it was a good time to go to a big gym with a big camp. There are pros and cons to every situation, but I came to the Lab to see if I would like it and just fell in love with it. Therefore, when Joe was released from the Air Force, we decided to set up shop here. We wanted a place that had a strong coach, a good gi program for jiu jitsu, and had a family-like and family-friendly atmosphere. The Lab has all those things, plus a kick ass team in a great location. We are very happy here.
Lauren with her new training team The MMA LAB #Family Benson Henderson Gym
With the news breaking that you are now signed to the UFC and also on the same day that you would not have to wait long for your debut, as you will be fighting UFC ranked number 4 Sara McMann on August 16th in Maine; At that point with it now being ‘public’ knowledge, is it becoming more real to you, that you have now made it to the UFC?
Ha! Most days I wake up and am in awe of where I am at, but I felt that way before I signed to the UFC. If I start really thinking about it, my whole life has been pretty surreal. The UFC is just one more loop on the crazy roller coaster of my life 😉
‘Lauren Murphy fans’ who know you, know that whoever your opponent is, you will go into the octagon and fight 100%. What were your initial thoughts when you knew it was Sara McMann that you will be facing as your first UFC opponent?
I am really glad the UFC gave me a tough fight to begin with. I like being the underdog. I am so honoured to fight one of the best women in the world! I also know I can beat Sara. I do not know if I will. But I know I can if I work hard and go out there and perform to the best of my ability.
What are you expecting from your first UFC debut – in terms of being on the biggest stage for MMA, pre-conceptions if any or will it be business as usual?
Someone told me to remember, “It’s just another cage.” I like that. There might be a few more cameras, a few more lights, a few more people in the audience, but there is only one opponent, and she is human just like me.
How do you think you will ‘deal’ will the added side of the business that comes with being in the UFC – doing the media days and open public displays on fight week? Would you like to just concentrate on what you are here for and that is to get in the octagon and show why you are in the UFC?
The media days, interviews, and what not is just a part of the job. It is a challenge. We are at a level now where these things are done, so what is the point of liking it or disliking it? I go in to it like anything else, to do my best, and whether I like it or not, is actually not even really relevant to me ha ha ha.
When can we see ‘The Lauren Murphy Documentary’ as I for one am so looking forward to seeing your journey so far on DVD?
I think it is now planning on being released about a week before my fight? I have just signed all the gloves we are shipping out and those will come to donors soon. The release date is not set in stone, and I do not think it needs to be at this point. I have talked to the film’s producer and we agreed it should probably be released before the 16th of August, so it can generate some interest leading up to the fight.
The film editor experienced a sudden death in his family, and he needed some time to process that a little. I cannot imagine having something like that happen and then trying to work. My heart hurts for him 😦
Thank you for your time, it is always a pleasure, lastly anyone you would like to thank?
I always thank my husband for being so awesome 🙂 and I want to thank my manager as well, Chuck Wichert. He has been amazing and he always takes great care of all his fighters. Also to the team at the Lab, thanks for working with me so much. And to all my fans and family and friends that have supported me through all this craziness, thanks to you 🙂 It means everything to me.
You can watch Lauren Murphy in her debut UFC appearance on August 16th UFC Fight Night: Bader vs Saint Preux, which takes place at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. It is also available free to view on the FOX Sports 1 network or BT Sports in the UK.
If you want to get better acquainted with Lauren Murphy, you can now see her last three fights on the UFC Fight Pass network under the Invicta FC library, starting from Invicta 5 where she competed against Kaitlyn Young. What better way to start your free 7 day trial than now!
If you missed my two-part in-depth interview with Lauren I covered last year you can read them here:
Victor Cui [CEO of OneFC] and Manny PacquiaoBoxing superstar Manny Pacquiao has become a shareholder in Asian-based Mixed Martial Art Company One Fighting Championship, [OneFC], it has been reported earlier today.
The eight division world champion boxer, [in which he has ten world titles] already owns several gyms in Asia all equipped to offer MMA classes and training areas, so the next step for the ‘newbie’ in the sport was to become a shareholder.
You can read here where the official story broke and all of it contents in detail.
![Victor Cui [CEO of OneFC] and Manny Pacquiao](https://fiveroundswithemma.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/pacman-onefc.jpg)
Five Rounds with Emma 
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