Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that the nationally televised mixed martial arts promotion will return to the Windy City for a Season 3 event at the historic Chicago Theatre on Aug. 19th.

Bellator 25 will mark the Chicago landmark’s second-ever mixed martial arts event – the first being Bellator 14 which took place on April 15, 2010.  The Bellator 25 card will feature two quarterfinal fights in both the Season 3 Heavyweight and Women’s World Championship tournaments.

Headlining the Fox Sports Net event will be undefeated heavyweight sensation Damian “The Polish Pitbull” Grabowski who will make his U.S. debut in a quarterfinal heavyweight world championship tournament fight against knock-out artist Scott Barrett.

Grabowski, who was considered one of the top heavyweight free agents in the world before signing with Bellator, boasts a perfect 13-0 pro record. The Polish Pitbull has not only finished each of his opponents by TKO or submission, but not one of his opponents has yet to see the third round of a fight. His spectacular tenacity was on full display in April 2009, when he competed in a one-night, 16-man heavyweight tournament in an Austrian promotion that featured no-time-limit bouts. Grabowski dismantled each of his four opponents, winning the tournament with his longest fight lasting only 3:48 into the second frame. In his most recent fight last month Grabowski TKO’d the highly regarded heavyweight Michal Kita in the first round.

Barrett, who owns a four-fight win streak coming into the tournament, fought earlier this year at Bellator 19 where he knocked out formerly undefeated Ty Lee just 2:25 into Round 1.

Bellator 25 will also include an opening-round fight in Bellator’s World Championship Women’s Tournament featuring Zoila “The Warrior Princess” Frausto and the world’s No. 6-ranked flyweight, undefeated Jessica Pene.

Frausto was added to the tournament after she shocked the MMA world recently at Bellator 23 with her stunning KO of the world’s top-ranked and heavily favored Rosi Sexton.  Sexton was subsequently forced out of the tournament due to a 60-day medical suspension from the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority. Pene debuted for Bellator in May 2009 with a first round TKO against Tammie Schneider at Bellator 5.  Her unblemished record also features a submission victory over fellow tournament participant and No. 8 world ranked 115 pounder, Angela Magana.

In other action, Aisling Daly, the best female mixed martial artist in Ireland and the world’s No. 3-ranked 125 lbs. woman, will drop down to 115 lbs. to face 13-5 submission ace and No. 3-ranked flyweight Lisa Ward in the opening round of the World Championship Women’s Tournament.  The 22-year-old Daly will make her U.S. MMA debut backed by a pristine 9-0 record, while Ward enters the fight with one win already coming under the Bellator banner.  Just two weeks ago at Bellator 22, she dismantled Stephanie Frausto with a slick rear naked choke 2:01 into the first round.

The Bellator Season 3 Heavyweight and Women’s World Championship tournaments begin Aug. 12 and will once again be televised LIVE in primetime every Thursday night on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator.

Tickets are priced at $100, $75, $50, and $35, and go on sale at Ticketmaster.com beginning this Saturday, July 10th, at 12 noon.

About Bellator Fighting Championships:
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company based in Chicago.  Bellator’s CEO & Chairman, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes.  Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.

About MSG Sports:
MSG Sports owns and operates several premier sports franchises, including the NBA’s New York Knicks, NHL’s New York Rangers, WNBA’s New York Liberty, and the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL). As well as promotes, produces and/or partners on a broad array of world class live sporting events, including world championship boxing, college and high school basketball, track and field, mixed martial arts, gymnastics, tennis, professional bull riding and others. Madison Square Garden is a fully-integrated sports, entertainment and media business. The company is comprised of three business segments: MSG Sports, MSG Entertainment and MSG Media, which are strategically aligned to work together to drive its overall business, and built on a foundation of iconic venues and compelling content that MSG creates, produces, presents and/or distributes through its programming networks and other media assets. MSG Sports consists of the New York Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL), the New York Liberty (WNBA), and the Hartford Wolf Pack (American Hockey League). MSG Entertainment is a leader in managing and creating concerts and events at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, the legendary Chicago Theatre, the Wang Theatre in Boston, and produces the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes. MSG Media is comprised of leading television networks MSG, MSG Plus, MSG HD and MSG Plus HD, as well as MSG Interactive, which oversees all company wireless and online initiatives, and Fuse and Fuse HD, the national television network dedicated exclusively to music. The company owns and operates the Madison Square Garden arena complex located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.  More information is available at www.thegarden.com.

About The Chicago Theatre:
The Chicago Theatre, a 3,600-seat venue located on State Street in the North Loop Theatre District of Chicago, was built in 1921 and designed in the French Baroque style by architects Cornelius W. Rapp and George L. Rapp.  It is the oldest surviving example of this architectural style in Chicago today. Built as a flagship in a series of opulent motion picture houses, it quickly became known as “The Wonder Theatre of the World.” The illustrious “C-H-I-C-A-G-O” marquee, at nearly six stories high, is one of the few such signs in existence today.  Designated a Chicago Landmark building in 1983 by the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council, The Chicago Theatre has become a destination for unforgettable concerts and events.   Most notable for presenting some of the biggest names in music, the theatre has hosted such musicians as Frank Sinatra, Neil Young, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Conick, JR., Prince, Diana Ross and Christina Aguilera. The Chicago Theatre has also served host to some of the biggest movie premieres including Kinsey with Liam Neeson, The Kite Runner with Marc Forster, and Dr. T and His Women with Richard Gere.  Broadway tours hosted at the venue include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Dreamgirls.

Click here to view all fight videos from the event and here for results and photos.

Main Event: 185 lb Title Fight – Brian Booth vs Andrew West

155 lb Title Fight: Lance Surma vs Jacob Brewick

135 lb Title Fight: Manny Camacho vs Jay Herrera

If you are a local vendor interested in having your company listed on our site, please contact Danielle at danielle@chicagomma.net for more details. Be sure to include the following information in your email:

Business Type
Business Name
Location
Email
Phone
Website

ChicagoMMA.net Webmaster and Photographer Danielle Hobeika specializes in web design for athletes and small businesses, and is giving discounts to members of the MMA and wrestling community looking to build a website.

For more information on rates and services, email dhobeika@gmail.com or call 609.933.5515. Click here to view samples of past web design projects.

• Babes & Brawls 3 Photo Gallery

Results:

• 155 lbs: Brian Gomez def Angel Cervantes, TKO 1:52 Round 2
• 125 lbs: Danielle Hobeika def Crystal Hilderman, Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) :32 Round 1
• 190 lbs: Billy Carrol def Jesse Burkshire, KO 1:13 Round 1
• 135 lbs: Matreal Woodfork def Dustin Curry, Submission (Rear naked choke) :24 Round 1
• 155 lbs: Mike Cantrell def Willie Buckler, KO 2:30 Round 1
• 150 lbs: Alan Hile def Rueben Mendez, Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1:30 Round 1
• 135 lbs: Robbie Sandoval def Jaret Griggs, Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) :28 Round 1
• 155 lbs: Otis Bloomfield def Anthony Milton, Submission (Guillotine Choke) 1:30 Round 1
• 180 lbs: Glenn Evans def Johnie Gill, TKO 2:59 Round 2
• 135 lb Title Fight: Manny Camacho def Jay Herrera, TKO 3:00 Round 1 (Herrera did not answer the bell at the start of round 2)
• 155 lb Title Fight: Lance Surma def Jacob Brewick, Submission (Armbar) 2:19 Round 1
• 185 lb Title Fight: Brian Booth def Andrew West, TKO 1:33 Round 1

Knock Outs Sports Bar & Grill will be opening in late July/early August of 2010 and its menu is diverse as the range of martial arts and types of fans that can be found at an MMA fight. “I am running this venue like an event,” said Corral. “At a fight, you have fans who want the $25 general admission tickets all the way up to those who want the VIP ringside seats. At Knock Outs, we will have dining options that cater to every level of dining experience.”

While typical sports bar fare such as wings, burgers, and fries are available, the restaurant also offers healthy options such as salads, wraps, Southwest turkey meat loaf, and turkey burgers for fighters and health-conscious diners. A Sake bar will serve the popular Japanese wine as a reminder of the Japanese influence on many forms of martial arts and the days of the Samurai. And fine dining options such as Rib Eye, New York Strip Steak, and Filet Mignon will also be served. The bar will have 20 taps that include a variety of microbrewery beers and will also serve mixed drinks, martinis, and margaritas.

For entertainment, the bar will show UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, and other televised MMA fights as well as WWE, boxing events, and mainstream sports such as football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. Live Mixed Martial Arts fights such as Corral’s C3 Full Contact Fighting events will be held on weekends in their outdoor area, along with Cross Fit challenges and other competitions.

Living up to its name, the bar promises to have “Knock Out” servers and bartenders. Corral is in the process of hiring “Knock Out Girls” with a love for sports and fitness to serve the diners, and they will don skirts and referee shirts to compliment the sports bar theme. The decor of the dining area will resemble a boxing ring with a ceiling reminiscent of the canvas and televisions as cornerposts. And Corral plans to decorate the walls with photographs of Chicagoland’s well-known professional fighters and dedicated MMA instructors and promoters who will be invited to visit the bar.

For more information on Knock Outs and to stay posted on the date of its grand opening, visit their website at www.KOrestaurant.com or stay networked through their Facebook and Twitter pages.

• Click Here for the Complete Photo Gallery (New photos from each fight added 6/13/10)

Results:

• 175 lb: Glenn Evans def Justin Ochoa, Submission (Choke), 1:30 Round 2
• 155 lb: Matt Brax def Angel Cervantes, Submission (Triangle Choke), 1:40 Round 1
• 145 lb: Efrain Vasquez def John Mitsis, Submission (Armbar), :30 Round 2
• 185 lb: Gojko Milutinovic def Gene Garcia, TKO 2:45 Round 1
• 155 lb: Trevor Relyea def Marko Damiani, TKO 3:00 Round 2 (Damiani did not answer the bell at the start of the 3rd round)
• 155 lb: Eric Rasmussen def Otis Brumfield, TKO 1:04 Round 2
• 155 lb: Leon Aguillar def Jame Brady, Submission (Armbar) :41 Round 1
• 145 lb: Ryan Haney def Victor Johnson, Split Decision
• 170 lb: Tavares Green def Jeremy Turner, TKO 2:52 Round 2
• 185 lb Title Fight: Justin Ruggio def Andrew West, TKO 2:22 Round 3

In the co-main event, light-heavyweights Anthony Gomez and Lew Polley slugged it out for three rounds, easily earning fight of the night.  Gomez, who has been on the lookout for a major MMA organization contract, earned himself a victory over Polley, which could very well be a ticket into an promotion such as the UFC, Strikeforce, or Bellator.

Making his lightweight debut, Mark Miller won a unanimous decision over Charles Wilson.  Miller looked very comfortable on his feet despite Wilson’s unorthodox striking, however dominated on the ground the majority of the fight with takedowns, punches, and elbows.  A very well fresh start in a new weight class for Miller.

On an unfortunate note, three fights scheduled to be on the card were cancelled last minute.  To clear up any confusion, that decision was not made by Hoosier Fight Club, it was a decision made by the Indiana State Athletic Commission.  Although I do not work for HFC nor can speak for their promotion, I would be willing to bet everything I own that if it were up to them, all fights would have remained in action as scheduled.  In all states that sanction mixed martial arts, each event is completely governed by the commission.  From judges to referees, to doctors, the commission controls all of the rule making.  If the Hoosier Fight Club promoters were to say no to the commission and attempt to have the three fights take place regardless, it would simply be illegal.  That being said, for those in attendance, fighting, cornering, or not in attendance and may have heard words being passed around, this should clear everything up.  I, Matt Giancarlo was very impressed by the event, and know firsthand what it’s like to be a fighter who made weight, and finding out on fight night about a cancellation.  With that, I can personally say it happens all of the time, and I feel both the Gomez/Polley fight, and the Kolosci/Fioravanti fight more than made up for the bad news of the night.

For photos of the undercard, click here*.  Main event and co-main photos along with undercard will be on www.thrumyeye.com during the week.
*Coming soon

Many Chicago area movie theaters are showing UFC 115, including 4 different theaters in the city of Chicago as well as theaters in Evanston, Niles, Addison, Bloomingdale, Lincolnshire, Woodridge, Deer Park, Barrington, Warrenville, Naperville, and more. For a full list of theaters, visit http://www.fathomevents.com/sports/series/ufc.aspx and enter your zip code to find the one closest to you.

UFC 115′s main event features former light-heavyweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell taking on former middleweight title-holder Rich “Ace” Franklin at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The undercard includes Patrick Barry vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Martin Kampmann vs. Paulo Thiago, Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel, and Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald.

Another controversial fight featured Jake Murphy of Gilbert Grappling vs Mike Santiago of team Top Notch.  Within the first couple seconds of the fight, the Illinois state wrestling champion Jake Murphy quickly secured a takedown, and was able to push Santiago against the fence, where he began to throw down punches.  Santiago eventually worked his way up against the fence, and on another takedown attempt by Murphy, he was able to lock in a reverse triangle.  Seemingly tight, Murphy eventually defended his way out of it, and finished his original takedown attempt.  The round ended with Santiago throwing elbows from his guard, as Murphy threw down punches.  The second round opened up with a hard right hand delivered by Santiago, however was taken down again.  Murphy was able to control the top position, and stayed active with punches until the round ended.  Third round was much the same, however instead of Santiago opening up with a punch, he opened up with a hard knee that rocked Murphy, however not enough to stop his explosive takedown, and control Santiago for the rest of the round with position control and punches.  With the audience nearly certain that the winner of the bout was Jake Murphy, ring announcer Ray Flores announced that the two of the three judges have selected Santiago as the winner by Split Decision.  Regardless of the judge’s vote, both fighters showed heart and determination, and put on an excellent fight. 

However with two controversial judgments made by the athletic commission, Kevin Nowaczyk and Matt Tobie brought back the positive excitement into the building, where they earned ChicagoMMA.net’s Fight of the Night.  The fighters both stood and traded punches and kicks for three straight rounds, and at a rapid pace at that.  The best part of the fight was is the fact that although they traded strikes for 15 minutes, it was not a “slug fest”.  Both fighters kept each punch, kick, and knee technical and well thought out.  From footwork to head movement, the fight was action packed and delivered to the audience.  Nowaczyk earned the split decision victory (30-27 twice Nowaczyk, and 29-28 Tobie)

Co-Main event was in the heavyweight division Boban Simic and Rashad Brooks.  Both fighters landed hard punches, kicks, and knees throughout the fight, including spinning back fists done by both fighters, and a spinning heel kick landed by Brooks, causing a cut to open up on the forehead of Simic.  In the third round, Simic quickly went for a takedown.  Securing mount, Boban rained punches until the referee called the fight.  After his win, he called out Tim Sylvia during his post-fight interview.

In the main event, UFC/IFL/Bodog vet Keith Wisniewski went head to head Ted “Red” Worthington – a veteran of over 50 professional fights.  Wisniewski, coming off of a recent win against UFC vet Pete Spratt, clinched with his opponent Worthington, and took the fight down to the canvas.  Wisniewski was able to maintain side control, and soon trapped the arm of Worthington leading to a crucifix position.  From that point, Wisniewski easily transitioned into mount, raining down elbows to finish the round.  Second round started off with a hard body kick delivered by Duneland Vale Tudo’s Keith Wisniewski.  With a taunt by Worthington, he threw a kick to the leg of Wisniewski.  Seconds after the kick was delivered, Worthington was taken down with a body lock, and was stuck in side control.  Wisniewski began to mount, and in a scramble attempt, Worthington became desperate for a submission, attempting an ankle lock.  Wisniewski quickly grabbed onto Worthington’s leg as an answer, and locked in a heel hook, causing Worthington to immediately tap out.  Simply put, Wisniewski made the fight look easy, despite Worthington being a very credible veteran of the sport.  In Ray Flores’ post-fight interview, the Duneland Vale Tudo welterweight expressed that he would like to get back into the UFC as soon as possible, which now with a win over both Spratt and Worthington, seems very likely.

Official Results:

• Mike Ryan def Billy Blackwell – Submission (Armbar) – Rd 1
• Carson Beebe def Joe Voitik – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) – Rd 1
• Bill Hill def Dan Bolden – Submission (Strikes) – Rd 2
• Jonatas Novaes def Ryan Bixler – Submission (Armbar) – Rd 1
• Mike Santiago def Jake Murphy – Decision (Split)
• Peter Grimes def Bobby Reardanz – TKO – Rd 2
• Kevin Nowacyzyk def Matt Tobie – Decision (Split)
• Boban Simic def Rashad Brooks – TKO – Rd 3
• Keith Wisniewski def Ted Worthington – Submission (Heel Hook) Rd 2