Bellator Fighting Championship will make a return trip to the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, OK on June 19 to kick off its “Summer Series.”  Bellator 96 will feature one of the most stacked cards in the promotions history as it will not only feature a title fight, but also kick off their light heavyweight tournament and four-man heavyweight tournament.  The event will also be carried live on Spike TV in a rare three hour televised broadcast.

“This event is insanely stacked, and it’s the reason we are making this a jam packed three hour show,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “With a Lightweight Title fight, Mo, Babalu, War Machine and the start of our heavyweight tournament, this is going to be an amazing show start to finish on Spike.”

With a card featuring the likes of Michael Chandler, “King Mo” Lawal, “Babalu” Sobral, and War Machine, it is sure to be a huge night of MMA action.  Additionally, a couple of local fighters will appear in separate bouts on the undercard.  Damon Jackson (Octagon MMA) will take on Keith Miner while Jason Sampson (Mohler MMA) will take on Mike Maldonado. 

The full fight card is below:

It’s called the “Art of Eight Weapons” and perhaps no other martial art contains the unlikely mix of beauty and brutality quit like that of Thailand’s muay thai.  In the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex there are a number of muay thai schools with legitimate teachers eager to bestow the art and nuance of Thai boxing to a number of eager participants.  

From time to time the various schools in the area will meet up for an open sparring session where these practitioners can congregate and get in some solid work with some high-level fighters and hobbyists.  

Cage Authority was on hand recently at one of these open sparring sessions to snap some pics of the action.  You can view the gallery on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.601480919877115.1073741836.459416287416913&type=1&l=1072540c0d

In the world of MMA there is little shame in losing a fight provided you gave it all you could in a competitive contest.  MMA fans (for the most part) are a forgiving lot and their only requirement is that you go out in battle on your shield.  Which is exactly why most fight fans were impressed with Ryan Benoit despite losing a grueling decision to Anthony Birchak on Friday night.

The Birchak-Benoit fight headlined MFC 37 in Alberta, Canada and was aired live on AXS TV.

Fight fans in Texas are well aware of the talent and exploits of Ryan Benoit.  The young fighter has made a name for himself in short order following some highlight reel fights in the Legacy Fighting Championship cage.  However, in Birchak, Benoit found an opponent who was willing to walk through fire in order to secure a win.

Photo and results by Seth Fuller

Exclusive results for Xtreme Fight Club:

Mohsena Wahed def. Marisa Hicks via decision

Julius Holmes def Bobby Alexander by 2nd round KO

Carlos Munoz via 12 second KO

Donald Sawyer def. John Charo via Unan. Dec.

Eric Palanco def. Trevor Wells via 2nd Round TKO

In all honestly, it is a pretty sad state of affairs that for all the success and growth of MMA in North Texas, the amateur scene is virtually non-existent.  It’s an issue that arguably extends throughout the country but with the costs associated with hosting a fight, most promoters are unwilling to incur the expenses of a fight card devoid of name professional fighters. 

Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime

As I stood shoulder to shoulder at a bar Saturday night with what seemed like a million people I was reminded of the human condition that craves the spectacle of combat.  While boxing may have taken a backseat to the sport of MMA here in America as the combative sport du jour there is an undeniable communal draw to a big-time boxing PPV.  Sure, Dana White and company would have you beelve that the UFC PPV is the evolution in this long-standing tradition but for all the popularity of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva, the very real fact of life is that the real king of the combative sports landscape is one Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Saturday night “Money” Mayweather reminded us all that his the king of PPV.  Despite facing a huge underdog in Robert Guerrero, a fighter most casual fight fans no little of, Mayweather was able to convince the public to plop down $60 to essentially watch him toy with a fighter far below his level.  Netting over $30 million dollars against Guerrero, Mayweather essentially put on an exhibition for what amounts to a king’s ransom. 

Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones did exactly as what many fight fans expected him to do against Chael Sonnen; he destroyed the “American Gangster” in as easy a fashion as is possible at the highest level of MMA.

Ok, maybe it wasn’t exactly that easy.  After all, Jones suffered a broken toe so horrific that people will look back and refer to it as “The Toe.”  But, the main event of UFC 159 did one thing and one thing only; it solidified what we already knew about Jones.  Jones is a genetic freak of nature, a man who seems built with the sole intention of being a fighter.  It’s the reason that people are already considering him an all-time great.  Jones seems to continue to rise to the next level as a fighter with his game continuing to evolve in ways that drives other fighters green with envy. 

Seven fighters competing in seven separate fights in the span of two weeks is a daunting task for any fight team.  However, compound that with the logistical issues of having these fights taking place over 300 miles apart and the challenges of said fight team and its coaching staff are risen exponentially.  All of which is why the recent run of success by Octagon MMA’s fight team is pretty damn impressive.  Not only did the team have to contend on two separate cards in the span of a week, they had to do so while working out the challenged of fighting for a huge promotion (Legacy FC) and then heading west nearly 400 miles to Odessa.  The fact that all seven of the Octagon MMA fighters won their respective contests speaks volumes to the dedication of the fighters, the coaches, and the fight team members.  

Cage Authority sits down with Phalanx MMA Academy owner and head coach Durwyn Lamb to talk about the trials and tribulations his school has gone through and why the future seems bright for the Fort Worth fight gym.