We are in the process of posting pictures of Lion Fight 19 by Jon Fulcher on our Facebook page that include results for the Nov. 21 event, which was held at Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, CT. Look for complete coverage of the event this weekend, including the amateur bout results and a peek at the previous two Lion Fight events held at the resort.

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Spokespersons for the Muay Thai organization Lion Fight announced a change to the main card for tonight's event at Foxwoods.

Reigning welterweight champion Fabio Pinca will not be fighting Sean Kerney in the main event due to an illness and will be replaced by Jo Nattawut.

An official announcement, along with weigh-in results and the unaired amateur card, is posted on Lion Fight's site.

Will the change affect attendance for Lion Fight's third Connecticut event? In my opinion, no; the sport isn't popular enough yet for expectations to be affected. Hopefully tonight's event will be good enough generate the word of mouth needed for combat sports fans to broaden their tastes.

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On Nov. 21, Foxwoods Resort Casino will be hosting Lion Fight 19; a live Muay Thai event that will be aired on axs tv. This is the third Lion Fight event that the event resort in Mashantucket has hosted this year, which marked the debut of the organization there.

The card includes one title defense and a women's fight. But will it attract Connecticut MMA diehards seeking a fight fix until the next Bellator or Reality Fighting event?

Lion Fight's previous two events at Foxwoods were held on May 24 and Aug. 1. Our site, which covered the August event, will feature coverage of this week's event at as well.

If Glory Kickboxing can garner national attention and airtime on Spike TV, can Lion Fight achieve a similarly high profile?

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During an interlude in the main card at Bellator 123, Bellator MMA President Scott Coker announced the signing of UFC veteran Stephen Bonnar. During the announcement, Bonnar (best known for his appearances on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter that included a now-legendary fight with Forrest Griffin) attempted to get the crowd stoked for his Nov. 15 fight in Michigan with former UFC light heavyweight Tito Ortiz by verbally blasting his opponent. He added that former partners and friends were "coming out of the woodwork because they want to see me kick his ass," throwing in a few jibes at Ortiz's fans for good measure.

During the oddly-overdone tirade, which was worthy of Chael Sonnen, a well-dressed man with an executioner's hood over his head was brought into the cage along with the Bellator representatives surrounding Bonnar. Someone removed the hood and it was (surprise!) Ortiz....

Ortiz ranted about how no one talked trash about his friends, fans and family. "That's personal," said Ortiz before a brawl broke out and the men were separated.

I enjoy pro-wrestling as much as any other fan of combat sports, but was this kind of stagey attempt to build buzz really the correct way to generate interest? Many of the press and fans at the event seemed to disagree and expressed dismay.

Sparking interest in an MMA event can be difficult regardless of the quality of the fighters. But are these kinds of antics really the way to gain interest? MMA fans are a little more cynical about that kind of showmanship and it can put off the purists. What viewers should Bellator attract and how should they do it?

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Domenic Gagliardi is a Reality Fighting veteran with a 4-3 record. He offered us his predictions for Bellator 123 on Sept. 5 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville.

For the preliminary bout I got Matt Bessette by decision. Both fighters are experienced but bessette has seem to have proven he can handle the fight wherever it goes.

Next I got Blair Tugman by decision, though I think this will be mostly takedown and grinding out. I think Tugman's wrestling is going to be too much to overcome.

I got Pete Rogers by TKO. It seems experience will play a factor.

I got Mike Mucitelli by submission. These fighters are new to me and I think it's going come to who can handle the big stage best.

I got Dan Cramer by TKO. I've seen Cramer fight a few times and he seems very hard to stop. I see it coming down to conditioning and ending late in the fight.

I got Brennan Ward by TKO. I've seen his fights and he's very explosive. He's shown he can handle the more experienced fighters but most of his losses seem to be by minor mistakes just by him moving so fast through his career and fighting well-experienced fighters. I think he's gonna do big things in the future. 7

I got Josh Diekman by knock out in an early round. He has heavy hands and though I think it might be a slug fest I see him landing first.

I got Kin Moy by submission. Very fast and controlled. I see him keeping composure and taking advantage of finishing the fight.

I got Rico Disciullo by TKO. I haven't heard much of either but seeing it as who can control the pace.

For the main card I got Cheick Kongo by knock out. He is an experienced fighter and has fought the "who's who" of MMA. I got Lashley by submission in the early rounds but if it goes longer I think he might gas and it could be trouble for him.

I got Mo Lawal by decision; good hand but I just don't see him finishing. I think it's going to be technical boxing winning rounds.

For the main event I have Pat Curran by decision. I think he's hungry and it's going come down to who can grind the other guy out.

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Editor's note: Terry Sutton, a freelance writer and contributor to this site, offers his predictions for the main event of Bellator 123. Mohegan Sun will host the event in Uncasville on Sept. 5.

Cheick Kongo will beat Lavar Johnson. Despite Johnson's punching power, Kongo has fought better competition.  He needs a win to stay relevant. TKO in the third round.

Josh Burns versus Bobby Lashley: Hopefully Lashley's cardio has improved since his 2010 loss to Chad Griggs.  But his submission skills have. He will tire out Burn in the first round and submit him.  Burns had to retire in the first round in his last fight. The longer the fight goes the worse it will be for both fighters.

Tom DeBlass versus "King Mo": Lawal will rely on what he knows best; wrestling. He will try to wear down the hard-hitting DeBlass and grind out a majority decision.  

Patricio Pitbull versus Pat Curran: Fight of the night.  Both are very dangerous fighters. Pitbull's only two losses have been close.  Curran is a grinder and tough fighter.  Pitbull is good with submissions. Curran bounces back from defeats, so I will say he wins the next battle between the two in the trilogy because Pitbull is taking the title via a five-round majority decision.  

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Editor's note: Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket will host UFC Fight Night: Gegard vs. Mousasi on Sept. 5. Terry Sutton, a freelance writer that has contributed to our site and a long-time MMA fan, offers his predictions regarding the main card.

UFC Fight Night: Gegard Mousasi and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza has the potential to be "Fight of the Year".  These are two of the top five middleweights in the world right now and it looks like the winner will get an opportunity at current title holder Chris Weidman.  Souza will be more careful on the ground this time and don't expect him to get knocked out with an upkick like in their last fight.  Souza's takedowns will eventually prove too much for Moussassi.  Prediction:  Souza takes three out of five rounds in the contest for the victory. 

Alistair Overeem hasn't looked since he annihilated a "worn-down" Brock Lesnar.  Against a seasoned veteran like Ben Rothwell.  I predict an upset by knock out in the third round.  Overeem will be winning on all cards and get gassed.  From there he will meet the mat. Rothwell by KO.

Matt Mitrione versus Derrick Lewis:  A three-round decision will go to Mitrione who is just used to fighting a higher level of competition.  He'll get rocked but he'll use a ground game to wear Lewis down. 

Joe Lauzon versus Michael Chiesa: Despite his reach advantage, Chiesa is not known as a knock-out artist.  Lauzon is always the dangerous fighter and at 30 still in his athletic prime.  Split decision to Chiesa.

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In 2009, while I was working as a freelancer for a weekly newspaper called the Hartford News, I met Royce Gracie in Hartford, Connecticut.

The UFC Hall of Famer and early UFC champion was teaching BJJ techniques to police officers. His goal was to teach the officers, particularly those serving specialized functions like VIP protection and special tactics, how to subdue suspects and potential threats without seriously harming anyone. These seems particularly relevant following reports on the death of Staten Island resident Eric Garner and its aftermath.

Garner died in July during an altercation with police. He allegedly died because of a chokehold applied on him by police. Without knowing more about the logistics of the incident, one ponders whether his death could have been avoided if the right techniques were applied.

Garner's death obviously draws further attention to other incidents like the shootings of Kajieme Powell, Michael Brown and Dylan Taylor. Could these have realistically been avoided too?

It would be absurd to think that even superlative martial arts training is sufficient to handle all situations that police could face. There has been criticism by some sources regarding whether MMA training taught to military personnel had a realistic place in places like the Middle East.

It still makes sense that better training in martial arts will provide police and soldiers with more skills for their professional tool boxes. Should the government mandate training in BJJ or mixed grappling for police officers, perhaps providing federal funds toward it?

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Spokespersons for the Ammo Fight League have confirmed that Brenna Ward (9-2-0) will not be participating in a superfight with Dan Simmler during the organization's Aug. 30 mixed grappling event in South Windsor. A replacement is being sought as of this writing.

Sources stated that Bellator would not permit Ward to participate, although he will be participating in a future AMMO event. Ward is scheduled to compete in Bellator 123 this fall at Mohegan Sun. Ward is scheduled to fight Tamdan McCrory (11-3-0).

Bill Vigil, president of Ammo, issued a statement on Facebook regarding Ward's departure from the schedule.

"We have been notified by Brennan Ward's management that Bellator MMA got wind of the Grappling Super fight match against Dan Simmler and are totally against it and have notified Brennan that due to a contractual agreement to fight on Sept 5 at the Mohegan Sun Casino he cannot jeopardize getting hurt and if so would be cut from the card. We fully understand Bellator MMA's position and respect it but have been guaranteed by Brennan Ward and his management that he will be on our October 25th AMMO V Super Fight card. With this said we are looking for a replacement to go against Dan Simmler in Brennan Wards place. Please reach out to me as soon as possible to get your flyer and name posted!"

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Connecticut's own Brennan Ward, who will fight in Bellator 123 at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, will compete in one of two "super fights" to be held on Aug. 30 by the Ammo Fight League. The organization currently stages mixed grappling events in which strikes are not allowed.

Ward will compete against Dan Simmler, who has competed in previous Ammo events.

Ward defeated Justin Torrey and Mikkel Parlo in Bellator's ninth season middleweight tournament before losing to middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko earlier this year. His entrance into the tournament was certainly a Cinderella story in the classic sense; he was brought in as a replacement when he fought Torrey at Mohegan Sun in the first leg of the tournament.

Jarrid Heon will also compete in a featured bout at 155 pounds with rival Tommy Venticinque.

We will post more details as the event approaches.

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The UFC has released further information on the card for its September 5 event at Foxwoods. Bellator spokespersons announced that the organization will release the complete card next week on Bellator 123, which will happen at Mohegan Sun on the same night.

The UFC card can be found at http://www.ufc.com/event/ufc-fight-night-ledyard#/fight. This event, which be part of the UFC Fight Night series, will be the first time since 2005 that the organization has held an event in Connecticut. It will be aired on Fox Sports 1.

Spokespersons for Bellator confirmed that no tournament fights would be on the September 5 card. New additions to the card include a featherweight bout between reigning champion Pat Curran and Patricio Pitbull as well as three heavyweight bouts; Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal versus Tom DeBlass; Bobby Lashley versus Josh Burns; and Cheick Kongo versus Lavar Johnson.

Further details will become available as they are released.

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- Brian Woodman (opinion/editorial)

Update: Information on the card has started to become available.

The UFC will be coming to the Foxwoods casino and resort on September 5 in Mashantucket. The final card has yet to be determined, according to information at UFC.com. The event will air on Fox Sports 1.

This event is scheduled on the same night as Bellator 123, which will be held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. Spike TV will air the event.

It would appear that the two biggest MMA organizations in the country are competing directly for ticket sales as well as television ratings. It raises interesting questions.

Do more people watch Spike TV than Fox Sports 1? Fox Sports 1 is not widely viewed, but the UFC traditionally gets higher ratings than Bellator. That could change now that Bellator has grown and signed recognizable names like UFC veterans Quinton Jackson and Tito Ortiz. But many observers do not consider this likely.

Would more people prefer to go to Mohegan than Foxwoods? The last MMA events at Foxwoods that I can recall were WCMMA I, which was a fine event (I particularly liked the fact that VIP seating was kept separate from the press seats) and a CES event. Mohegan Sun has a bigger arena, is considered more generally popular resort, but will that be enough to attract diehards from a UFC event to Bellator's season opener?

Many people arbitrarily assume that the UFC brand name is enough to trump competing organizations. When Ortiz recently beat Bellator middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko in a non-title bout, it could well have reinforced the general perception that the UFC's talent pool is still the best despite the undeniable talent in other organizations such as the World Series of Fighting and King of the Cage.

What is initially surprising about Foxwoods as a choice of venue in Connecticut is that many speculated that the UFC would choose a location closer to the New York border. With insurance issues for MMA still being discussed, it makes sense that the casinos are the preferred site for the fights; events have been held their despite the sport being illegal until 2013 because they are on Indian reservations.

Will Foxwoods become the preferred location for UFC events the way that Mohegan Sun has become a home for Bellator? Or will the UFC move elsewhere once legislators resolve the insurance discussion and venues in cities like Hartford learn how to accommodate the MMA industry?

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Sources stated that two fighters from Connecticut may compete at Bellator 123 on September 5 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. The event will begin Bellator's eleventh season.

Groton resident Josh Diekman, who competed on the preliminary card at Bellator 98, will compete in the opening rounds of the season's heavyweight tournament. Bellator representatives did not confirm as of this writing who he will fight or who the other contenders in the tournament will be. It has not yet been confirmed by Bellator whether he will appear at Mohegan Sun.

Waterford resident Brennan Ward, who won the middleweight tournament for Bellator's ninth season, will fight James Irvin that evening. Ward was submitted by guillotine choke at 1:22 in the second round by belt holder Alexander Shlemenko during a middleweight title fight on March 28 at Bellator 114.

Bellator spokespersons confirmed that Matt Bessette, who trains at Hartord's Underdog BJJ, will also compete this fall. They did not confirm whether Bessette, a heralded fighter in Connecticut who competed as a lightweight for Reality Fighting, will be at Mohegan Sun this fall. Bessette competed this spring in Bellator's featherweight tournament and lost a decision to Daniel Weichel at Bellator 114.

More details will be posted as they become available.

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Reality Fighting, the MMA arm of the Marlborough-based organization NAGA (North American Grappling Association), has made a change to the card for its June 6 event at the Mohegan Sun resort in Uncasville.

The company originally scheduled a lightweight title fight between Jeremy Ross (6-5) and Andrew Calandrelli (6-4) as the main event for that evening. Reality Fighting spokespersons announced that Calandrelli had to pull out due to an injury and will be replaced by Tommy Marcellino, who started fighting with the organization about 14 years ago and has a 6-2 record with it.

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On April 26, AMMO will present the second of six mixed grappling events this year as part of its 2014 tournament. Competitors in Connecticut and the region will again have the opportunity to test their skills in gi and no-gi matches across different weight classes at Nomad's Quest in South Windsor.

Like this year's first event, which was held on Feb. 15, the event will include a featured non-tournament bout between two competitors; representatives of the South Glastonbury-based company have dubbed these grappling bouts as "super fights" and held their first one last year.

The February bout featured BJJ specialists Dan Simmler of Worcester, Massachusetts and Joshua Owen of Middlebury. Simmler won the competition in 14 minutes with a triangle choke, according to AMMO spokespersons.   

For the April event, two teen-aged grapplers  from Massachusetts will compete; company president Bill Vigil describes it as a first. Collin Donnelly of Cape Cod's South Shore Superfighting and Marlen Lamas of Team Link in Ludlow, both 15-years-old, will face each other on Saturday.

Professional featherweight Joey Pingitore will also appear at the event to pose for pictures.

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Quinton "Rampage" Jackson knocked out Congo native Christian M'Pumbu in the first round during Bellator's main event on Feb. 28 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. The victory assured the veteran UFC and Pride FC light heavyweight a shot at "King Mo" Lawal, who defeated Russian native Mikhail Zayats by decision in a fight that Bellator spokespersons admitted in a press conference afterward was not a match up ammounting to a particularly exciting fight. Both men are now finalists in Bellator's light heavyweight tournament.

The best received fight occurred during one of the event's four featherweight bouts, which opened the organization's current tournament for that weight class. Matt Bessette, who trains out of Underdog BJJ in Hartford, defeated Diego Nunes of Rio de Janeiro by split decision in an event that clearly had the crowd excited. Bessette is scheduled to fight Daniel Weichel of Frankfurt, Germany, who submitted Scott Cleve of Colorado Springs, Colorado by rear naked choke earlier that evening, on March 28 in Salt Lake City Utah during the semifinal round of the tournament; fellow "nutmegger" Brennan Ward of Waterford will fight Bellator Middleweight champion Alexander Shlemenko during the same event.

During the same tournament, Desmond Green of Rochester, New York earned an unanimous decision over Mike Richman of Rosemount, Minnessota and Will Martinez of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania did so over Brazilian native Goiti Yamauchi of Curitiba, Parana. Both winners will progress to the semifinals.

Earlier that evening, Lithuanian native Egidijus Valavicius knocked out Bulgarian native Atanas Djambazov in 48 seconds during the first round of a light heavyweight match. Valavicius, by winning with a knee to the head, earned the right to serve as an alternate for the fight between King Mo and Rampage.

In a featherweight match to determine an alternate for that tournament, Saul Almeida of Boston won an unanimous decision over Andrew Fisher of Sunderland, UK. Ryan Quinn of Danbury defeated Andrew Calandrelli by decision.

Two other fights ended as no contests. These were; a heavyweight match between Manny Lara of Rancho Santa Margarita, California and Josh Diekman of New London; and a bantamweight match between Marvin Maldonado of Latham, New York and Rico Disciullo of Peabody, Massachussetts.

 Further coverage and photos are coming to our site shortly.

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We will tentatively post live blog entries as Bellator 110 occurs. We encourage readers to check in as we post the progress of the event.

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Feb. 28 will be an exciting night for MMA fans in Connecticut.

Bellator will be staging another event at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville that evening and it is obviously attracting much attention due to the presence of MMA legend Quenton "Rampage" Jackson (18-5) on the card. Reports that he came in a fraction of a pound over the limit have not kept him out of the event, which features a main card that will be aired on Spike TV.

Ironically, Jackson lost his last fight in the UFC to a Connecticut resident; Glover Teixeira (22-2), who will tentatively fight UFC lightheavyweight champion Jon Jones in April. Jackson will fight Christian M'Pumbu (18-5) at Mohegan in the semifinals of Bellator's current lightheavyweight tournament.

Jackson, who has publicly praised the working conditions with Bellator, is considered by many to be in the final phase of his career. However, he looked pretty good on November 15 as he knocked out Joey Beltran in the first round during Bellator 108 and has drawn much attention to the promotion. Does he have enough left to progress in this tournament? And will this position Bellator to be a legitimate competitor with the UFC, which is a notion that appears to be dividing the opinions of media and fans?

But the presence of Jackson on the card is just one of the items of interest for Connecticut area fans because Matt "the Mangler" Bessette (12-4), who has made a name for himself in our state as a lightweight competitor for Reality Fighting, will enter the national stage in Bellator's featherweight tournament. Bessette, who is rapidly gaining national attention, will fight Diego Nunes (18-5). A victory here may put him in the spotlight not only with Teixiera but Waterford's Brennan Ward (9-1), who also fights with Bellator, and Milforld's Nick Newell (11-0) who fights for World Series of Fighting.

The preliminary card will also feature a few familiar faces such as Josh "Freight Train" Diekman (13-6) of Groton, former Danbury resident Ryan Quinn (8-4-1) and East Haven's Andrew Calandrelli (6-3). The lightweight battle between Quinn and Calandrelli was rescheduled from Bellator's previous event at Mohegan Sun on September 7. Diekman defeated Reality Fighting veteran Parker Porter (5-4) of Southington during the same event and will face fellow heavyweight Manny Lara (4-4).

Diekman seemed to really excite the crowd in Uncasville during his last appearance and will no doubt be well received again. There is also a lot of anticipation regarding the Calandrelli/Quinn fight; both have solid reputations and Calandrelli has trained under ADCC veteran Marcelo Garcia.

The tournament will also feature a bout betwen former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (11-3) and Mikhail Zayats (22-7).

The rest of the featherweight tournament consists of bouts between; Mike Richman (16-3) and Desmond Green (8-2); Daniel Weichel (31-8) and Scott Cleve (13-3); and Goiti Yamauchi (16-1) and Will Martinez (7-2-1). The Richman/Green and Weichel/Cleve bouts will appear on the preliminary card, according to information from Bellator.

Other prelimary fights include Egidijus Valavicius and Atanas Djambazov at light heavyweight, Andrew Fisher and Saul Almeida at featherweight, and Marvin Maldonado and Rico DiSciullo at bantamweight. More information on these fighters will be available during our coverage of the event.

Bellator reported that a prelimary fight between light heavyweights Pat Schultz and Dave Roberts was cancelled. Sources stated that Roberts could not make weight and will not compete.

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