MMA You Want To Watch This Week 8/9 - 8/15

There is so much going on this month in the MMA world that it almost makes me hyperventilate a little.  The fact that my birthday is this month surely can't be a coincidence.  It's like Dana White, Scott Coker, and Bjorn Rebney got together and decided to make this month absolutely fantastic just for me!  Yeah, I know, that's a load of crap, but as you get older you start looking for any way at all to feel better about birthdays.  So anyway...

We've got three events airing this week, starting with the beginning of the much anticipated season 3 of Bellator Fighting Championships.  This season will include 3 tournaments: bantamweight, heavyweight, and a women's 115 lbs.  We also have a Strikeforce Challengers event, and also King of the Cage.  All this packed into just two days! 

Bellator XXIV

Hollywood, FL

Thursday, August 12, 8pm, FSN

And the women's tourney begins!!  Thursday night's card is going to feature two fights in the women's tournament.  We're going to see Lynn Alvarez (5-1) vs. Jessica Aguliar (8-3), and Megumi Fugii (20-0) vs. Angela Magana (8-4). 
I'm not going to go over these fights very much here - I'm saving that for something else this week.  I would like to say, though, that Fugii's record is TWENTY wins and NO losses.  I don't know if she's the only MMA fighter with a 20-0 record, but as of this morning I haven't been able to find any others.  She is certainly the only female fighter who can say they've won 20 fights and never been beaten as a pro.  AND, Josh Barnett is her wrestling coach.  If these facts don't convince you that you want to watch this event, then there is nothing more I can do.

We will also be seeing the first fight in the heaveyweight tournament Thursday, when Neil Grove (8-2) fights Eddie Sanchez (12-3).  The interesting thing about the heavyweight tourney is that, as of right now, only 7 guys have been named as participating.  The 8th has yet to be announced - and there is a rumor out there, floating along on the wind, that the ever-entertaining Chris Barnett is going to be magical number 8.  I'll be listening intently for any more news on that, and will keep you posted. :)

UPDATE: MMAJunkie.com has confirmed that as of today, Angela Magana is out of the tourney with an injury.  She will be replaced by Carla Esparza (3-0) in the fight against Megumi Fugii.  No word on when/if we'll see Angela fighting with Bellator in the future. 

Strikeforce Challengers 

Phoenix, AZ

Friday, August 13, 11pm , Showtime

Friday night sees the beginning of the Strikeforce women's mini-tournament.  We'll be seeing all 4 women fighting that night, but we won't know who is fighting who until the weigh-ins when they will draw randomly to determine opponents.  The participants are Meisha Tate (9-2), Hitomi Akano (15-7), Carina Damm (15-3), and Maiju Kujala (4-1).  I'll be discussing these girls later this week, so we'll move on for now. 

We will also get to see the pro debut (say it like Schiavello, 'day-boo'!) of Captain America's son.  Yes, Ryan Couture is fighting Friday night.  He will be facing Lucas Stark (2-4).  The comic book geek in me wants to go off about Iron Man and the Avengers, and Cap's son fighting a Stark... but I'll spare you that.  Suffice to say the younger Couture is going to have a lot of eyes on his performance this weekend.  It's a lot of pressure, and we'll see how he handles it.

HDNet Fights will be showing KOTC: Imminent Danger at 10 pm Friday night, and don't forget Inside MMA at 9.  You know Bas and Kenny will be discussing UFC 117, and Ben Henderson is one of the guests (for some nice eye candy).  KOTC is usually good for a couple of really entertaining fights, and this one features Afrozilla as well as Jeremy Horn.  Horn is 86-19.  No kidding.  Dude has fought more people than Zuffa's lawyers. 

That's all I got this morning, people.  Watch this space all week for stories leading up to the women's battles, I'll be discussing the fighters and the fights and giving you more reasons to want to watch!