(Jeff Monson returns to M-1 March 16th)
All the fans know the UFC and all the press report on that promotion but where
do their fighters come from? What else is going on now? Perhaps most
importantly what shows should fans watch to see tomorrow’s stars develop? The
Declaration of Independents is a monthly snapshot of what is going on in the
non-UFC or “independent” scene.
Although not exactly springtime weather-wise the MMA scene is thawing in March. Bellator season 6 starts in just a couple
weeks while HDNet are still slugging away with LFC this weekend and Fight Now
TV is growing with the addition of international shows like UCMMA. The spring should be interesting with
ProElite finishing their HW tournament but expect some fallouts from last year
such as rumors of Shark Fights’ demise now that UFC is on Fuel TV.
Here is a list of confirmed MMA events on TV and the internet for the next five
weeks:
February 24th LFC (HDNet)
February 26th UFC 144
March 2nd TFC (HDNet)
March 3rd UFC on FX 2 (FX)
March 3rd Strikeforce (Showtime)
March 9th BFC 60 (MTV 2)
March 16th BFC 61 (MTV 2)
March 16th Score Fighting Series (Score)
March 23rd BFC 62 (MTV 2)
March 30th BFC 63 (MTV 2)
April 6th BFC 64 (MTV 2)
April 13th BFC 65 (MTV 2)
April 14th UFC on Fuel TV 2 (Fuel TV)
April 21st UFC 145 (PPV)
Televised shows:
British Association of Mixed Martial
Arts (BAMMA)-March 24th is now the date for the next BAMMA show but there
is no word on the card. Nate Marquardt
had been signed for several months. In
the archives is a report on the December 10th show which was broadcast live
from Nottingham on HDNet.
Bellator Fighting Championship (BFC)-Arguably
the number 2 show kicks off season 6 March 9th in Hammond, IN (Chicago suburbs)
and now the live event info is coming in fast.
March 9th Joe Warren faces Pat Curran, March 16thEric Prindle rematches
Thiago Santos for the finals of last season’s HW tournament, March 23rd Lloyd
Woodard headlines against Patricky Freire, March 30th sees Ben Saunders vs.
Raul Amaya, April 6th is Ben Askren vs. Douglas Lima, and April 13th is Zach
Makovsky vs. Eduardo Dantas.
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
(CWFC)-A new entry due to Fight Now TV CWFC (as well as MMAjunkie.com)
finished the quarterfinals of the MW tournament February 18th as Chris Fields
defeated Jack Mason. The semifinals take
place April 15th and the finals in July.
What is interesting from an independent point of view is BAMMA is also
running in the same market while Bellator have been talking expansion into the
UK.
DREAM-The New Year’s Eve DREAM show
had plenty of stars but not many surprises (see archives). No word is available on the next show however Bellator have been
talking about exchanging fighters like DREAM used to do with Strikeforce.
King of the Cage (KOTC)-The pay-per-view
for Greatest KO’s 6 airs now while #7 starts February 24th. On the live front KOTC hit Las Vegas March
3rd, Tulsa March 10th, and both Norman, OK and Walker, MN on March 17th.
Legacy Fighting Championship (LFC)-the
show most tailor-made for HDNet return February 24th with Eric Davila vs. Mike
Bronzoulis. Look for more on this show
in the days to come.
M-1 Global/Challenge/Selection (M1C)-With
eighteen shows in 2011 M-1 Global (including M-1 Challenge) were one of the
busiest events. All that is confirmed at
this time for 2012 is M-1 Challenge 31 on March 16th in St. Petersburg with
Jeff Monson headlining against Alexey Oleinik.
Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) –Following
the January 27th show MFC cut the contracts for both Antonio McKee and Brian
Cobb, the main event fighters who both came in over the contract weight for the
lightweight title, McKee was over by seven pounds but Cobb by only .5
pounds. McKee won the fight by unanimous
decision. Next up Nathan Coy and Ryan
McGillivray face off for the welterweight title at MFC 33 May 4th.
ProElite-Rumors of ProElite 4 taking
place in San Jose have not been confirmed.
Whenever it does take place it is assumed to air on HDNet and assumed to
hold the finals of the HW tournament.
Score Fighting Series (SFS)-March
16th The Score Fighting Series hold their fourth show, this time headlined by
UFC vet Forrest Petz vs. Sergej Juskevic.
Also on the card Shane Campbell faces Derek Boyle and Ryan Dickson takes
on Chris St. Jean.
Shark Fights-Yes, still at this time
there is no word on the next live Shark Fights event, just “coming in 2012”.
Titan FC-Leonardo Pecanha takes on
Jorge Santiago for the start of TFC’s 2012 season, more information will be
posted next week.
Ultimate Challenge MMA-the newest addition to Fight Now TV UCMMA is basically
the remnants of Cage Rage, actually the predecessors (along with Cage Warriors)
of the current wave of UK shows including BAMMA. The first UCMMA show to air live from London on
Fight Now TV will be April 7th, no card is yet available.
Webstreamed shows:
Aggression MMA-In the archives is a
report on AMMA 9 February 11th. No
information is available on the next show.
Cage Fury Fighting Championships-Hot
on the heels of the February 4th show CFFC make the move to Borgata Hotel and
Casino in Atlantic City April 16th for CFFC 14.
Aljamain Sterling headlines against Casey Johnson.
Ring of Combat (ROC)-No word is
available on the fight card for ROC 40 April 27th but expect it to webstream on
GoFightLive. In the archives is a report
from ROC 39 February 10th.
Tachi Palace Fights (TPF)-No
confirmation is available regarding if TPF 12 on March 9th will webstream on
Sherdog but on the card Casey Olson fights Cody Gibson while Georgi Karakhanyan
takes on Micah Miller.
Other:
Invicta MMA-No news is available on
how this new company’s first show April 28th will be distributed but it is
already getting a lot of attention due to the all-women card. Former Strikeforce champion Marloes Coenen
fights Romy Ruyssen in the main event.
North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS)-Slowing
down this year from the 20 NAAFS shows of 2011 the Ohio-based promotion has
“only” had three shows so far in 2012, two of which were webstreamed on
GoFightLive (see archives for Jan. 28th and Feb. 18th). March 24th NAAFS hit Akron then return to
Morgantown, WV April 27th.
Superior Cage Combat (SCC)-With
their fourth event SCC continued to grow in importance if not distribution with
Jay Silva defeating Kendall Grove in the main event. Since this show just happened February 16th
there is no word on the fifth event.
