Top US Freestyle Wrestler, Shawn Bunch, signs with Bellator

Shawn Bunch, one of America’s top freestyle wrestlers has signed with Bellator, reports Ariel Helwani on his Twitter feed.

Former U.S. Olympic Wrestling Hopeful Shawn Bunch (@bunchthegreat) Signs With Bellator — mmafighting.com/bellator/2012/…
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 18, 2012

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney posted the following on his Twitter feed, which was retweeted by Bunch:

If you’re a wrestling fan & its in your blood, stay tuned tomorrow for an announcement about another

UFC Fan Expo in July to host more than 50 stars under one roof

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced today that more than 50 UFC and Strikeforce stars are scheduled to appear at the UFC Fan Expo on Friday, July 6 and Saturday, July 7 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Fans will have the chance to meet their favorite stars during autograph sessions, Q&A sessions, meet and greets, training and development seminars and other special events. The UFC Fan Expo is coinciding with UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II.
Fighters scheduled for the UFC Fan

Shane del Rosario chronicles return from serious car accident

Undefeated Heavyweight prospect Shane del Rosario sits at 11-0 with a ton of potential. While this is a spot that most MMA fighters would love to find themselves in, del Rosario is in fact coming off the roughest stretch of his young career. After defeating Lavar Johnson in Strikeforce in early 2011, del Rosario was in a debilitating car accident, suffering serious back injuries that took longer to heal than expected. This Saturday, he will make his way back to fighting on one of the biggest cards ever

Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Final boasts highest ratings of the year

Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Heavyweight Grand Prix Final” held the promotion’s highest ratings of 2012. Both fights on the main card drew in 463,000 Showtime viewers according to MMAjunkie.com
This represents a steady rise from this year’s earlier events: “Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine” (January 2012): which drew in 344,000 viewers and “Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey” (March 2012) which was taken in by 431,000.
Both Headlining Fights went the distance with lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez defeating

Cain Velasquez: I will beat Antonio Silva no matter where the fight goes

This weekend’s UFC 146 will no doubt bring a star-studded lineup to the table. One of the major stars featured on Saturday will be former UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, who will face Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the co-main event. Having only fought twice since October of 2010, the AKA fighter will have much to prove in Las Vegas on May 26th. Coming off of a devastating 64 second loss to Junior dos Santos at the very first UFC on Fox card, Velasquez knows this a make-or-break fight in

Josh Barnett, will ‘the best heavyweight in the world’ return to UFC after a Strikeforce victory?

In a recent interview with MMA Weekly, when asked about a return to the UFC, Josh Barnett said, “I’d love to go over there and beat everybody up and sit on top of that pile too. I believe I’m the best heavyweight out there in the world, so what better way to prove it than to punch everybody else in the face first”.
On a conference call today with Showtime and Strikeforce about the Strikeforce® Heavyweight Grand Prix Final scheduled for May 19, Barnett indicated other plans, which did not

Cain Velasquez will now face Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva at UFC 146

Cain Velasquez has a new opponent for May’s UFC 146 in Las Vegas. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will step in to face Velasquez in his UFC debut. Dana White made it official today:
Don’t believe any of the BS you read on the internet. Cain is fighting Bigfoot Silva May 26th in Vegas
— Dana White (@danawhite) April 22, 2012
Velasquez was originally slated to face Frank Mir in a perceived number-one contender’s match, but these plans fell apart when original title challenger Alistair Overeem had a

Shane del Rosario leaves Strikeforce, signs with UFC

The Strikeforce Heavyweight division shrank by one more fighter today as Shane del Rosario signed with the UFC. The signing was initially reported via Iridium Sports Agency’s twitter account.
Del Rosario enters the UFC with a record of 11-0, with eight wins coming via knockout and three by way of submission. The deepest Del Rosario has ever gone in a fight was 1:07 into the second round.
The last time Del Rosario competed was back in February of this year when he earned a submission victory over Lavar