Everyone knows people from Philly have the pre-conceived notion of being "tough guys". But perhaps nobody personifies that notion more then the top-10 ranked lightweight, Eddie Alvarez. After a fairytale run through DREAM's 2008 lightweight grand prix was cut short when the ring side doctor's claimed Alvarez unable to continue due to large swelling around his right eye, despite defeating Tatsuya Kawjiri to claim the final spot in the tournament run. We would later return to the states after a brief stint in Japan, and signed with Bellator Fighting Championships. From there, even the initiated who weren't familiar with Eddie Alvarez and his punching prowess, were going to get a rude introduction to the punch-face-spectrum. ...

Yesterday I posted an article stating that Eddie Alvarez, the current Bellator FC Lightweight Champion, is now a “Top 5” fighter after destroying Roger Huerta at Bellator 33. That opinion hasn’t changed, and it won’t change for quite some time. Following his big win over the former UFC star, talks have once again centered on Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez, the Lightweight Champion of the more-famous Strikeforce promotion. And according to Bellator FC’s CEO, and even Eddie Alvarez himself, Melendez/Alvarez has officially crossed the line from “it just needs to be worked out” and is now a case of “Gilbert Melendez is ducking Eddie Alvarez, Strikeforce is ducking Bellator FC”. Here are all the details. ...

The upstart Bellator FC promotion recently held its thirty-third event, featuring a major championship bout and perhaps the biggest fight in Bellator FC history. In the co-main event, Ben Askren kept his undefeated record intact when he defeated Lyman Good to become the Bellator Welterweight Champion. And in the main event, Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez thoroughly dominated former UFC fighter Roger Huerta. Here are the full results to Bellator 33. ...

The people's champion, Roger Huerta has been in the minds of all media and fans alike with his recent accolades. With his drubbing of an alleged 220-pound ex-Texas Longhorn football player, who knocked out a woman outside of a bar (to whom Roger was avenging), Huerta has virtually all but erased his recent struggles in his mixed martial arts career. After a strong run in the UFC, where Roger racked up an impressive 6-2 record, he left the worlds largest organization in favor of the upstart promotion, Bellator Fighting Championships. An early favorite to become the second season lightweight tournament finalist, Roger's rise to the top was cut short by lightweight prospect Pat Curran (UFC and WEC veteran Jeff Curran's cousin). Now, losing the last 3 of his last 4 fights, Huerta knows that his next scheduled bout against Eddie Alvarez, in a non-title fight on Oct. 21 is either do-or-die for his career. ...

The recent talk of a Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez “strikeforce Champion vs. Bellator Champion” dream-fight got me thinking: how would cross-promotion benefit these two drastically different companies? Bellator is home to some of the most promising newcomers in the sport although they lack a lot of big-name talent, Strikeforce has a large roster of big-name talent but don’t have a lot of low-to-mid-level fighters to fill their ranks. I think both promotions would only profit from a co-promotional agreement, so here are my top five reasons why I think a Bellator/Strikeforce partnership would work. ...

Roger Huerta, the famous former ufc fighter who once sported a 20-1 record, is now 1-3 in his last four fights and is perhaps more famous nowadays for his widely-publicized street brawl. A trip to the upstart Bellator FC promotion seemed to signal the start of a career revival, with a showdown between "El Matador" and Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez having dream-match status. A loss to Pat Curran seemed to put a halt to such a fight, but with Curran injured, Huerta/Alvarez is now planned as a non-title affair. While I don’t think that Roger Huerta is in such a slump that his career is on the line for this fight…apparently he does. ...

For many reasons, Roger Huerta has become a pretty famous MMA star. He had a really good run in the ufc, competing against some of the best Lightweight talent in the world and putting on some really amazing performances in the process. He was the first Mixed Martial Artist to ever grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. He’s a budding actor and had a role in the movie adaptation of the popular video game franchise “Tekken”. But most recently, “El Matador” is most famous for literally stomping a drunk man’s face in after said man sucker-punched a woman and tried to do the same to Huerta. Huerta recently spoke to notorious celebrity gossip website TMZ, who first broke the story of Roger Huerta’s outside-the-bar brawl in the first place, and said that he has no regrets. I in turn don’t regret supporting him for his actions. ...

The fight everyone wanted to see, is back in business. Eddie Alvarez, the reigning and defending Bellator lightweight champion and DREAM veteran, will be facing UFC veteran and now-internet-sensation, Roger Huerta at Bellator 33. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to another edition of “Great Moments in MMA History”. Today’s induction features one of my favorite UFC fights, a fight between two Lightweights that would have stolen the show if not for the simple fact that this fight took place on the same card that featured Matt Serra taking down Georges St. Pierre. While both men would go on to have ups and downs in their careers since this fight, this will be one they can tell their grandchildren about. It’s Roger Huerta vs. Leonard Garcia, and it’s one of the best brawls you’ll ever see. ...

In what will undoubtedly go down as one of the stupidest things you could ever possibly do, a video has surfaced of a drunken club-goer picking a fight with former UFC Lightweight and current Bellator FC fighter Roger Huerta. The famous celebrity gossip website TMZ was the first to report that “El Matador” was spotted getting into a bloody brawl last weekend outside of an Austin, Texas bar. A video has surfaced online of the altercation, and take a guess as to who came out on the winning side and who ended up eating pavement. Here’s how it all went down. ...

A fight between Strikeforce lightweight champion "El Nino" Gilbert Melendez (18-2) and Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez (17-2) is in the works. We are finally starting to see cross-promotional fights that the fans have been clamoring for since the days of Pride Fighting Championships. ...

Bellator Fighting Championships founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney announced today that "El Matador" Roger Huerta (21-3-1) will face rising star Pat Curran (10-3) while “Submission of the Year” title holder Toby Imada (25-14) will face Carey Vanier (8-1) at Bellator’s May 6th event at the Wang Theater in Boston. ...

Former UFC lightweight title contender “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-3-1) and undefeated former ICF champion Chad Hinton (6-0) will matchup in the first round of Bellator's 155-pound tournament at Bellator 13 in Miami April 8. ...

Bellator has called a video press conference for Monday at 3 PM EST that streams live from Bellator.com. This press conference is expected to be when they announce the signing of former UFC lightweight "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-3-1). ...

UFC lightweight “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-3-1) told Sherdog Tuesday that he is officially a free agent and would consider signing to fight in the UFC, Strikeforce, and Bellator Fighting Championships. ...

Fighters.com and UFC Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" BJ Penn (14-5-1) will defend his titles from unranked, but popular The Ultimate Fighter 1 champion “Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (21-2) at UFC 107 at the FedExForum in Memphis December 12, the UFC officially announced Tuesday. ...

Xtreme Couture lightweight "Bully" Gray Maynard (8-0)  defeated "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-3-1) via split decision victory at UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City Wednesday night. ...

Ultimate Fighter Nathan Diaz (9-5) will square off across the Octagon from lightweight banger "Young Assassin" Melvin Guillard (22-7-2) and former lightweight contender "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-2-1) will return from a 13-month hiatus versus "Bullly" Gray Maynard (7-0) at UFC's Fight Night in Oklahoma City 16 September.

Diaz and Guillard cross paths moving in opposite directions.

Diaz is on a two-fight losing streak, most recently getting manhandled in a UD loss to a relentless "Daddy" Joe Stevenson (30-9) at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale in Las Vegas last month.
...

August brought the crowning of Fighters.com's new Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (13-4-1) and the top ten debuts of fourth-ranked "Hellboy" Joachim Hansen (19-7-1), sixth-ranked Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2), and eighth-ranked Kotetsu Boku (13-5-1). "Hellboy" shocked Osaka 21 July by TKOing former Fighters.com Lightweight Champion "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (17-3) in the first round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix final. Aoki spirals down eight wrungs to ninth on the loss, taking vanquished rival tenth-ranked "JZ" Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1) with him. Penn takes the Championship from the second rank, but is torn between moving to welterweight to fight Fighters.com Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (17-2) or defending his Fighters.com and UFC titles from seventh-ranked, top UFC contender "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (10-3). In Minneapolis 9 August, Florian cleared-up the UFC's lightweight picture with a dominant UD over "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-2-1). ...

Fighters.com's Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (17-2) defended his title in a five-round unanimous decision over top contender Jon Fitch (17-3) Saturday night in Minneapolis by scores of 50-44 twice and 50-43. The win facilitates an apparent New Year's Eve champion-versus-champion rematch between St. Pierre and Fighters.com's Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn (13-4-1), who was invited into the Octagon after the main event to challenge St. Pierre, saying, "I want to put this fight together." St. Pierre accepted Penn's challenge, proclaiming, "I'm a proud champion." In the co-main event, Brock Lesnar (2-1) dominated a three-round unanimous decision over Fighters.com's eighth-ranked heavyweight “Texas Crazy Horse” Heath Herring (28-14) by scores of 30-26 three times. "I fell off the horse," Lesnar told the 15,082 spectator hometown crowd referring to his Octagon debut loss to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir (11-3), "but, tonight I got on that stallion and rode it out of town, baby! Wooo!" Fighters.com's seventh-ranked lightweight "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (10-3) won a blow-out unanimous decision over "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-2-1) by 30-27 on all three judges' score cards in a UFC top contender bout. ...

Fighters.com confirmed Tuesday that UFC lightweight contender “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-1-1) and welterweight “The Heat” Karo Parisyan (18-5) will join the all-star cast at Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque. Jackson's is already home to Fighters.com's sixth-ranked light heavyweight "Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine (13-4-1), WEC featherweight title contender "Bad Boy" Leonard Garcia (11-3), and light heavyweight "Sugar" Rashad Evans (11-0-1). Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (16-2) also makes regular tune-ups in Albuquerque with Greg Jackson and his crew. Jackson's publicist Ricky Schroder confirmed the commitment of Huerta and Parisyan early Tuesday morning, but would not discuss any more details. Huerta will finish training for his 9 August lightweight challenger dispute with seventh-ranked "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) in Albuquerque. Parisyan is rumored to be matched versus tenth-ranked welterweight "Zenko" Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2) 6 September in Atlanta. ...

So thorough was second-ranked UFC Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn's (13-4-1) domination of fifth-ranked "Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (31-3-1) 24 May in Las Vegas that Penn leaps two spots in Fighters.com's June Lightweight Rankings to place as the top contender to Fighters.com's Lightweight Champion "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (15-2). Fighters.com never questioned Penn's talent, just his recent body of work at 155-pounds. Though Penn fought unquestionably tougher competition last month, "Tobikan Judan" stole the show in the division by pulling a gogoplata from the mount out of his hat to tap Katsuhiko Nagata (4-3) 15 June in Tokyo. It seems impossible for DREAM's magician from Tokyo and the UFC's warrior from Hilo to settle the cross-Pacific lightweight question; but, UFC President Dana White is desperate to keep Penn's eyes from wandering out of the young UFC 155-pound division. Penn told the post-UFC 84 press conference that, after out-boxing Sherk, it's hard for him to get motivated to fight the winner of seventh-ranked "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) versus "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-1-1) to be fought in Minneapolis 9 August. ...

"This is the kind of thing I've tried to stay away from," UFC President Dana White said Thursday when asked about "Kimbo Slice" Kevin Ferguson (2-0) becoming the mainstream face of MMA when he headlines 31 May's CBS-broadcast EliteXC card. CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights will be the North American broadcast television unveiling of our sport. "This is more than a spectacular opportunity for Kimbo to be in front of a potential audience of 100-million plus eyeballs," said EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw, also on Thursday. "I think it sucks," White concluded.  "Kimbo Slice isn't a mixed martial arists.  This is a guy who was fighting in your back yard three months ago.  Now he's headlining on CBS." For those behind White, the argument runs: MMA has gone from groin strikes to Unified Rules since UFC 1, from Kevin Rosier (2-6) to "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (16-2).  Kimbo Slice erases the last 15 years of the sport's evolution. How many years does Brock Lesnar (1-1) erase?  At least 12, back to the beginning of the powerful Hammer House era. Lesnar headlines the UFC's August card in Minneapolis versus Hammer House's original "Hammer" Mark Coleman (15-8). But, an argument that either Slice or Lesnar is going to convince the mainstream that MMA peaked in 1996 is misguided. That's what they already think. We're blinded inside the MMA bubble to the reality that Slice and Lesnar still represent what the mainstream thinks MMA is. A backyard brawler or former pro wrestler sell tickets and PPV buys because that's still the mainstream expectation of MMA. Despite the last three years of North America  MMA eruption, the mainstream still considers MMA a blood-thirsty, no-holds-barred duel of brutes. Few minds will be changed, but continued mainstream ignorance may be encouraged.  There's still so many to educate about the sport. Notes From Around MMA * Last Wednesday on TAGG radio, “El Matador” Roger Huerta (20-1-1) became the latest UFC fighter to complain about his compensation, saying, “It's kind of sad, you know, when the company comes out on the cover of Forbes, and then you definitely just know where all the money is going to. It's kind of like, 'What the hell?'" * TUF 7 cast member Jesse Taylor (6-2) told the North County Times, “"Let's just say I'm undefeated so far,” about his record on the SpikeTV reality competition show. * When asked by Eastside Boxing what his most satisfying moment was, “Stitch” Jacob Duran said, “For MMA the most satisfying moment came during the Forrest Griffin/Mauricio Rua fight.  I was working Forrest's corner during this fight when he received a lightning bolt gash on the center of his forehead.  It was a really bad cut and the fight was close to being stopped.  I managed to get it under control for about four minutes, and Forrest went out and submitted Rua.”  Fifth-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (15-4) thanked Duran with a card and gift certificate to an upscale restaurant. * “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (31-8-1) is urging UFC President Dana White to make a fight between UFC Welterweight Champion St. Pierre and UFC Middleweight Champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (21-4), the top-ranked welterweight and middleweight respectively.  "If Dana can make that fight, I'll be in the line to buy a ticket," Silva told Yahoo!Sports. * “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1) was discharged from the South Korean military two days after reporting for mandatory service.  Officials cited Choi’s brain tumor pressing against his optic nerve as the reason for his dismissal. ...

The worldwide lightweight division got all shook up the passed several weeks. After two false starts, "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (15-2) and "JZ" Gesias Calvancante (14-2-1) finally fought for the Fighters.com top ranking in Tokyo at the end of April. Aoki came out on top with a unanimous decision and now tops Fighters.com lightweight rankings, but suffered injuries that have postponed his DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix quarter final match-up versus Katsuhiko Nagata (4-2) until DREAM.4. Calvancante fell to number three, allowing "Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-3) to claim the second ranking. Gomi is rumoured to be joining the 8 June Sengoku III card in Tokyo, but no opponent has been leaked. Fourth-ranked "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (12-4-1) and fifth-ranked "Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (31-2-1) will tussle for the UFC lightweight title 24 May in Las Vegas. Eddie Alvarez (14-1) debuts in the lightweight top ten at number six after dominating "Hellboy" Joachim Hansen (17-7-1) in the quarter final of DREAM's Lightweight GP.  He'll fight in the semi-finals (and perhaps the finals) at DREAM.5 21 July. Seventh-ranked "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) and eighth-ranked Hermes Franca (18-6) both hop two spots after "Endless Fighter" Mitsuhiro Ishida (16-4-1) got tapped in a rear naked choke in "Uno Shoten" Caol Uno's (25-10-4) DREAM Lightweight GP quarterfinal debut. Florian is scheduled to fight "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-1-1) 9 August in Minneapolis for the UFC's top contender spot, while Franca lingers in suspension after testing positive for banned substances last July. Uno advances to the DREAM Lightweight GP semis (and maybe finals) with Alvarez, but against an unknown opponent. "Dida" Andre Amade (6-3-1) also debuts in the lightweight rankings at number nine, mostly on the strength of his unanimous decision victory over Uno last September.  Recently, though, Dida has been dominated by Calvancante and Alvarez. May Lightweight Rankings 1. "Tobikan Judan" Shinya Aoki (14-2) Aoki has ten straight wins, including MMA's first gogoplata stoppage over Joachim Hansen.  A UD over Calvancante in April cemented him atop Fighters.com's rankings. 2. "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (28-3) Gomi avenged a 2006 blip to Marcus Aurelio with a stoppage on NYE the same year followed by a stoppage of Mitsuhiro Ishida.  A year-long layoff keeps Gomi from ichi-ban, but he returned last month with a stoppage of Duane Ludwig. 3. "JZ" Gesias Calvancanti (14-1-1) "JZ" has brushed Amade, Vitor Ribeiro, and Nam Phan off his shoulders with stoppages since a MD over Caol Uno in '06, part of 13 straight without a loss until losing a UD to Aoki in April. 4. "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn (12-4-1) "The Prodigy's" return to lightweight quickly resulted in UFC gold with two second-round stoppages over Joe Stevenson and Jens Pulver.  He defends his title from Sherk at the end of May. 5. "The Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (31-2-1) "The Muscle Shark" has been on the shelf for nearly a year since decisions over Franca and Florian.   He was the UFC's first lightweight titlist since the division was reinstated and challenges Penn for title he was stripped of. 6. Eddie Alvarez (14-1) Since dropping from welterweight for the DREAM Lightweight GP, Alvarez has been relentless in a stoppage of Amade and a UD over Joachim Hansen. 7. "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) Florian is a finisher since losing a UFC title challenge to Sherk by UD.  "KenFlo" is ready for a second run at the title, but will first face Roger Huerta for the UFC top contendership. 8. Hermes Franca (18-6) Despite a year suspension, Franca has been busy the last two years with stoppages of Spencer Fisher, Nathan Diaz, and new WEC champ Jamie Varner.  He's only dropped a UD to Sherk. 9. "Dida" Andre Amade (6-3-1) Since a UD over Uno, Amade has been stopped consecutively by top tenners Alvarez and Calvancante.  In the last two years, "Dida" has also stopped Artur Oumakhanov and Hiroyuki Takaya. 10. "Uno Shoten" Caol Uno (25-10-4) Uno splashed into the top ten with a submission of former PRIDE title contender Mitsuhiro Ishida.   The former UFC and K-1 star now begins a run in DREAM. ...

Is there a fighter who accomplished more than Fighters.com's ninth-ranked lightweight "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) last month? He opened April dominating a UFC lightweight contender and closed the month as the color commentator at UFC 83. Now, he's awaiting confirmation from the UFC on the only fight he wants, versus fellow top contender "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-1-1). Kenny spoke to Fighters.com from Boston Tuesday afternoon. "It's not signed yet," Florian said of a match-up pitting him against Sports Illustrated cover boy Huerta, "but, I'm confident it's going to happen. The UFC is finishing up the contracts right now." Florian issued a challenge to Huerta after his second-round TKO of “J-Lau” Joe Lauzon (16-4) in Denver at the beginning of April. Florian had entered that fight with two bulging discs and a herniated disc in his lumbar spine, as if anyone - least of all Lauzon - could tell. “I felt like the old lady in the commercial where you’ve fallen and you can’t get up,” Florian told the Boston Herald. “It was a nightmare. I couldn’t get up; I couldn’t get to a phone.” Florian admits, "I was having fun. There were a lot of guys in camp preparing for [UFC 83] and I was taking advantage of the sparring." Too much advantage! "A lot of the guys were middleweights, so they're walking around at 200-pounds," Kenny explained. "[My team] won't let me do that anymore. They're holding me back." After a dominating finish of Lauzon, he could've just as legitimately called out the UFC Lightweight Champion to be determined 24 May in a fight between current titlist "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn (12-4-1) and former champ "The Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (31-2-1). "It's a promise I made. Before I fight for the title again, I want there to be no doubt that I'm the number one contender," Florian explained. "It's nothing personal. Roger is a good kid." After losing his 2006 title challenge to Sherk by unanimous decision, Florian made another promise. He promised to be "a finisher". Since that loss, "KenFlo" was become a dual stoppage threat, finishing Dokonjonosuke Mishima (17-6-2) and "Dinyero" Din Thomas (22-8) by submission and "Kid" Alvin Robinson (9-3) and Lauzon by TKO. Florian also finished Huerta's vacation after "El Matador" fought five times in 2007. "It could be an advantage; but, I know Roger is going to be ready. I know he's been training since his last fight," Florian said. The fight is expected to be added to the Minneapolis fight card, where Huerta lives and trains. "We can fight in his hometown. We can fight in my hometown. I don't care. Getting booed doesn't bother me," Florian said. In fact, Florian admitted, "It could be advantage depending on how Roger handles the pressure and the spotlight." When not training for a fight, Florian stays busy for the UFC. At UFC 83, Florian filled in for broadcaster Joe Rogan. "It was Joe Silva's idea," Kenny said. (Silva is the UFC's matchmaker.) "When they suggested I do the post-fight interviews, I jumped at it. I was finally able to tell my mom and dad that my college degree didn't go to waste." Florian also showed-up for a recent Boston tryout for the eighth season of the show that Florian nearly won, The Ultimate Fighter. "I hate to be an MMA snob, but it just amazes me some of the guys who show up to try out. I mean, guys who don't even know what guard is or can't even thrust forward a punch," Florian said. ...

"There is nothing signed as of yet," Ron Weinberg, agent for Fighters.com's ninth-ranked lightweight "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3), text messaged me Wednesday night in response to request for confirmation that Florian will fight "El Matador" Roger Huerta (20-1-1) in Minneapolis 9 August. However, in a coy, non-committal explanation, Weinberg explained, "Kenny wants to fight Roger.  Kenny is also eager to fight again soon.  So, August 9th would seem logical." Sources had informed Fighters.com that Huerta was in fact training with UFC Welterweight Champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (16-2) in Montréal with a 9 August Florian fight in mind. Thursday, in an interview with Arianny Celeste at MMA Rated, Huerta confirmed he's training in Montréal with "Rush". "It's possible," Huerta commented on a fight with "KenFlo".  "What better than to fight in August, in Minneapolis, Minnesota?  It's where I live." Though Huerta seemed to shy away from confirming the fight, he ended the interview claiming, "I'll be ready to fight Kenny in August." Florian issued the challenge to Huerta after his second-round TKO of "J-Lau" Joe Lauzon (16-4) in Denver at the beginning of April. Huerta had planned to take a long break after a rear naked choke submission of "The Carpenter" Clay Guida (23-9) in Las Vegas last December. ...