Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to the latest edition of “Crash Course”. “Crash Course” is a series of articles designed to give readers a quick rundown on all the relevant information they need to know heading into an upcoming major MMA event. Everything from why you should watch, what you should expect in the co-main and main event, and even where and when you can find it on TV is all covered in detail. So let’s get right to it with today’s edition, featuring Bellator 35. ...

5-time UFC competitor, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, though there had been talks, is now officially signed with budding promotion Bellator Fighting Championships. ...

Bellator's welterweight semifinals take place May 20 and the match-ups have been officially announced with Ryan Thomas (13-4) getting a second chance against Ben Askren (4-0). ...

It was announced today that Bellator just inked 6-foot, 3-inch "The Beast" Bryan Baker (11-1) for the season two middleweight tournament. The constant announcements of signed fighters for the up-coming season means we will see plenty of exciting fights. Bellator is doing exactly what they need to in order to build the organization but will the fans show their support and buy tickets? ...

Former EliteXC heavyweight champ “Junior” Antonio Silva (13-1) won his sixth straight when he tapped out "Big" Jim York (9-2) at 3:51 of round one at Sengoku Tenth Battle in Tokyo Tuesday night. It was Silva's second first-round stoppage in two tries at Sengoku; and, there are whispers Silva and eighth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) are on a collision course. ...

Canadian middleweight and former UFC and WEC fighter “El Dirte” Joe Doerksen (42-12) will take on Takenori Sato (2-5-2) at Sengoku Tenth Battle in Tokyo 23 September, World Victory Road announced Tuesday. Doerksen tapped “Blade” Gregory Babene (5-4) at CFC 2 in Winnipeg 22 May. Sato fought to a draw for the middleweight King of Pancrase title versus Izuru Takeuchi (25-10-5) at Pancrase in Tokyo 8 August. ...

The rise of Japanese lightweight Mizuto Hirota (10-3) left many breathless Sunday after he upset Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) by TKO at 2:50 of round four at Ninth Battle in Tokyo. Masanori Kanehara (5-2) stole the Featherweight Grand Prix Championship in a controversial final that featured Kanehara despite losing his semi-final fight by unanimous decision to Hatsu Hioki (16-3-2) versus Michihiro Omigawa (4-8) who was given a hometown free pass into the finals after majority draw on the cards versus Marlon Sandro (13-1) in the semi-finals. Strikeforce middleweight champ “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (23-9-2) strangled judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura's (13-10) hopes of challenging Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago (21-7) in a guillotine at 3:03 of round one, leaving Kaz' out on the mat. Denied a title challenge himself by Sengoku after pleading guilty to interfering with the duties of a public official following a March traffic stop, Misaki said nothing after playing spoiler, refusing the microphone in the ring. ...

Sengoku lightweight champion Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) and challenger Mizuto Hirota (9-3) both made weight for their main event at Ninth Battle in Tokyo Sunday. Kitaoka weighed 69.9 kg while Hirota tipped the scales at 70 kg. The card also features the semi-finals and finals of Sengoku's featherweight grand prix and all competing fighters also made weight. ...

Sunday in Tokyo at Sengoku II, Fighters.com's third-ranked heavyweight "Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett (22-5) ground out a unanimous decision over "Snowman" Jeff Monson (24-8) in a match battled mostly on the mat. Heavyweight "Monster" Kevin Randleman (17-12) also pulled out a UD over Pancrase star Ryo Kawamura (8-3-2).  The decision was considered controversial. Monson and Randleman are scheduled to fight on a 24 June card in Charlotte. Highly-touted Roger Gracie (2-0) remained undefeated after tapping MMA vet Yuki Kondo (48-22-6) in a rear naked choke at 2:40 of round one. "Kiss" Yoshihiro Nakao (7-1) called out "Ironhead" Kazuyuki Fujita (15-6) after knocking out Kiwi "Big" Jim York (9-2) 46-seconds into round two. American Top Team welterweight Jorge Santiago (17-7) fought off near-submissions before finding his own submission of Grabaka's Yuki Sasaki (21-14-1) in a third-round armbar at 2:10. Lighweight Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2) took only 4:15 to sink a rear naked choke submission in on "Crazy" Kwang Hee Lee (5-1). Xtreme Couture welterweight "Quicksand" Mike Pyle (16-5-1) locked in a triangle choke to tap "Handler" Dan Hornbuckle (15-2) at 4:52 of round one. Welterweight Pancrase vet Satoru Kitaoka (20-8-9) submitted Aussie Ian James Schaffa (7-5-1) in a guillotine choke in just 50 seconds to begin the night. ...

World Victory Road has added Fighters.com's third-ranked heavyweight "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett (21-5) to their 18 May Sengoku card at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. No opponent has been named. Also added to the line-up is a match-up between welterweights "Quicksand" Mike Pyle (15-5-1) and "The Handler" Dan Hornbuckle (15-1). Heavyweights Roger Gracie (1-0) and "The Monster" Kevin Randleman (16-12) remain on the card without opponents. At an 18 April press conference, WVR PR representative Takahiro Kokuho said, "At first we had one Japanese and one non-Japanese fighter ready to go [with Gracie]; but, because of injuries we are still in the process of deciding the opponent.  Roger’s side has been asking us to decide the opponent soon and for sure I would like to meet that request." Randleman recently cancelled a puroresu match in Inoki Genome Federation with an ankle injury, but Kokuho promised, "It has no relation to his MMA bout. We should be able to announce his card sometime next week." ...

Former UFC middleweight contender "The Crow" David Loiseau (16-8) righted his fluttering career Saturday night with a unanimous decision victory over Todd Gouwenberg (7-4) at Hardcore Championship Fighting's event in Loiseau's home nest of Gatineau, Quebec. Gouwenberg, perhaps only notable after giving "Minotoro"Antonio Rogerio Noguiera (13-3) a spirited round-and-a-half before being TKO'd, was thoroughly dominated as "The Crow" pecked at him with sharp elbows. Louiseau, who had won just one of his last five, took the cards by scores of 30-25 and 30-26 twice, fairing far better than fellow former UFC fighters on the undercard. Light heavyweight Rob MacDonald (5-3) dropped a unanimous decision to Team Oyama's "Sick Dog" Hector Ramirez (7-3-1); and, welterweight Gideon Ray (14-8-1) also failed to convince the judges in a UD "L" to "The Thrill" Nabil Khatib. Light heavyweight Brent Beauparlant (7-5) won a unanimous decision over Amir Rahnavardi (9-9) before his fellow Quebecois. "The Handler" Dan Hornbuckle (15-1) submitted middleweight Andrew Buckland (5-1) in an armbar at 3:34 of round one. Featherweight Bill Boland (4-0) remained undefeated with a TKO of "Hasa" Michal Hamrsmid of Bohemia. "The Sargeant" Jameel Massouh (16-3) scored a UD over "The Cowboy" Myles Merola (9-5) at featherweight. Brazilian middleweight Rodrigo Ruas (4-5-1) submitted countrymen "Ossoduro" Marcus Vinicios (4-5) in an arm triangle choke 52-seconds into round three. Former welterweight PRIDE fighter "Nino" Antonio Schembri (5-4) got back in the black with an armbar submission "The Bighouse" Daniel Grandmaison at 2:37 of round one. ...