MMA News & Notes from the weekend
This weekend was somewhat uneventful in the MMA world coming off historic UFC 129 last Saturday.
Still, there is always some news going on, so here is a look at some news and notes from the weekend.
– Jay Hieron won the Bellator Season 4 Welterweight Tournament on Saturday with a split decision victory over Rick Hawn. Hieron used his diverse striking to keep Hawn out of reach, but still took a good deal of punishment and looked like he took more damage when the fight was over. Still, two judges saw the fight 29-28 in his favor, giving him $100,000 and a title fight with Ben Askren in the future.
– UFC heavyweight Antoni Hardonk retired from competition. He had just an 8-6 record in his career and never quite lived up to the potential that many thought he had. Hardonk is still considered to have some of the best kicks in all of MMA.
– Tachi Palace 9 took place on Friday and saw a pair of former UFC contenders in action. Middleweight Gerald Harris picked up a unanimous decision win over Anthony Ruiz in his first bout after the UFC while lightweight Efrain Escudero suffered a decision loss to Fabricio Camoes.
-Gina Carano has an opponent for her return to action as she will face Sarah D’Alelio at the Strikeforce event on June 18 in Dallas. Carano hasn’t competed since August of 2009 when she lost to Cyborg Santos.
– In a couple of UFC injury notes, Matt Riddle will be unable to compete on June 26 against T.J. Grant, so Grant will now face Charlie Brenneman in Pittsburgh. Lightweight Cody McKenzie is out for his scheduled bout with Bart Palaszewski at UFC 130, but Gleison Tibau will step in to take on the scrappy WEC veteran.
Posted in: Bellator, Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC
Tags: Antoni Hardonk, Bellator, Ben Askren, Cody McKenzie, Efrain Escudero, Gerald Harris, Gina Carano, Jay Hieron, Matt Riddle, Rick Hawn, Strikeforce, UFC
